o(^-^o)(o^-^)o o(^-^o)(o^-^)o o(^-^o)(o^-^)o o(^-^o)(o^-^)oo(^-^o)(o^-^)o o(^-^o)(o^-^)o
So after Sports Day preparation today (yes, I went to school on a non-event day Saturday voluntarily!), Tomabechi-sensei took me to Yamada Denki in Hachinohe to check out prices for a washer-dryer combo and fridge.
To make a long story short, I ended up getting a brand new front-loading (or "drum-type" as they call it in Japanese) washer-dryer combo!! I LOVE it!! I can press a single button to set it to wash AND dry (or to just wash, or just dry), plus it even tells me exactly how much detergent I need for the load! There's also a timer, so I can set the time when I want the laundry to finish and it will start it automatically!! It's so BEAUTIFUL!!!! It was a little more expensive (~20,000 yen or $200) than the older model I saw at the Shimoda Jusco (like a Japanese Wal-Mart), but it's a slightly higher end brand and it's better designed and easier to use!
I also bought a fridge. It's pretty standard, except that I can choose which direction I want the door to open--very important since I want it to open towards the left, which is NOT standard!!
And although I was planning on waiting, since the prices at the shop were so reasonable/good, but I didn't think I could be bothered to try to find it on my own, I also bought a 20" Panasonic LCD TV! (Not a necessity by any stretch of the imagination, but nice since my new place is pretty small.)
Everything will be delivered on Mon. May 26th (free delivery)!
The warranties on the washer-dryer and TV last for 5 years, and it's 3 years for the fridge, so I guess I need to stay on as a JET for the maximum 5 years to get the most out of my purchases? =P Well, at the very least I suspect that (unless something goes horribly and drastically wrong this year) I will probably stay for 3 years total (i.e. another 2 years)!
All in all, I'm quite thrilled with the day's purchases. (You can probably tell that I'm happiest about the washer-dryer, though.) Best of all, if my calculations are correct, I should have just missed the statement period for this month (on my credit card), so I hopefully won't have to pay for everything until the beginning of JULY! (Giving me a lot more breathing room budget-wise.)
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Friday, May 16, 2008
Not a Golden Week Update
Sorry, I still haven't had time to sit down and a) sort through my photos; or b) write anything about my various travels throughout Golden Week.
This is just a quick note to say that I purchased a table and four chairs, plus a computer desk (I didn't realize it came with a roll-y chair too!) from a recycle shop today! Including delivery, it cost me 256,000, which is pretty good, I think. (Having never purchased such furniture before, I can't be sure.)
The funny thing is even though I spent a lot of time measuring various things in my new apartment, the one thing I forgot to measure was the door width! When the delivery guys came, it turned out that the kitchen table wouldn't fit through the door! Luckily I'm on the ground floor and have a big set of windows/sliding doors facing the parking lot, so we were able to get it in that way.
I wonder, though, if I'm going to have to move everything--the sofas I'm planning on buying, the washer/dryer, fridge, etc.--through the window, since the door is ridiculously narrow: 70cm!
Oh well. I'm sure it will all work out somehow!
This is just a quick note to say that I purchased a table and four chairs, plus a computer desk (I didn't realize it came with a roll-y chair too!) from a recycle shop today! Including delivery, it cost me 256,000, which is pretty good, I think. (Having never purchased such furniture before, I can't be sure.)
The funny thing is even though I spent a lot of time measuring various things in my new apartment, the one thing I forgot to measure was the door width! When the delivery guys came, it turned out that the kitchen table wouldn't fit through the door! Luckily I'm on the ground floor and have a big set of windows/sliding doors facing the parking lot, so we were able to get it in that way.
I wonder, though, if I'm going to have to move everything--the sofas I'm planning on buying, the washer/dryer, fridge, etc.--through the window, since the door is ridiculously narrow: 70cm!
Oh well. I'm sure it will all work out somehow!
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Tokyo, Singapore & Malaysia (The Short Version)
Tokyo: Walked a lot, shopped a lot, and had a lot of fun! The Ghibli Museum was AMAZING! If I lived closer, I would go there at least once a month!
Singapore: Scorching hot & humid. Did a lot of shopping, mostly books and (English subtitled) Japanese TV series.
Malaysia: Visited a lot of relatives. Ate WAY too much. Did a lot of shopping, mostly books and (English subtitled) Japanese TV series.
Summary: Am very tired and have a lot of laundry and "stuff" sorting to do! Will write more when I have recovered.
Singapore: Scorching hot & humid. Did a lot of shopping, mostly books and (English subtitled) Japanese TV series.
Malaysia: Visited a lot of relatives. Ate WAY too much. Did a lot of shopping, mostly books and (English subtitled) Japanese TV series.
Summary: Am very tired and have a lot of laundry and "stuff" sorting to do! Will write more when I have recovered.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Playing House
It's official: I'm moving into an apartment in May! I haven't actually signed the rental agreement yet, but I informed my office today of my intent to move.
The timing is pretty bad--I just wiped out my account paying for my Golden Week trip(s) to Tokyo and Singapore--but I'm nonetheless very excited to be setting up my own place! True I've been living on my own for the past eight and a half months, but since the house came pre-furnished, it's not like I got to decorate it myself (although, of course, I did add my own touches).
So yeah, even though my original plan was to come straight home today to do laundry--my whites and towels in preparation for my parents and friends' visit--I ended up going to a bunch of stores to check prices on appliances for my apartment.
It's hard, though, because I have to remind myself that this is NOT my permanent home, so I should err on the side of frugality when buying things for the apartment. I need to purchase things thinking about what will give me good value for one or two years of use, but also looking for durability for up to four years.
The area I find this the most difficult is washer/dryers. Since I've been spoiled having a dryer in my house now, I decided that I'm going to buy a washer/dryer combo, even though there's a washer in storage that I could use. There are quite a few in the low 20,000 yen to 70,000 yen range (plus I found one at the recycle shop for 17,850 yen), but what I really want is one of the newer, front-loading models.
K's Denki has one on sale until Friday priced at 120,000 yen, and the regular price for an older model is between 130,000-170,000. ^^;; Considering that I'm just barely going to be able to make my initial payment (including first month's rent, brokerage fees, damage deposit, key money, etc.) of 204,000 yen, it's pretty silly for me to be looking at such high end washer/dryers (particularly since the 9kg capacity is far more than I need), but I'm still tempted. I guess it's because my dream has always been to have a front-loading washer and dryer (they're more water-efficient). But really, it would only be worth it if I ended up staying the full 5 years (meaning I'd get 4.25 years use out of it). And I think it might be hard to find someone to sell it to when I do leave, since I wouldn't want to sell it at a dirt-cheap price to an ALT.
Besides, I haven't even begun pricing essentials--like a bed--yet! I do have the couch I got from Weldon & Crystal which I can use first (I'm sleeping on it instead of my bed right now anyway), but it probably makes more sense to buy a decent bed rather than a super expensive washer/dryer...
Maybe if I end up getting a tax return (which I would keep as savings), I could assuage my guilt at using my paycheque to furnish my apartment rather than putting it into savings?
Anyway, if things go according to plan, I'll be able to sign the rental agreement on Apr. 21st. I'll request a May move-in date so I can start moving my stuff, but I'll stay at the house until the end of May (rent's cheap here anyway!) and schedule all of my bills and utilities to change over on Jun. 1st.
I'm a little worried, though, because I don't know what questions, if any, I should be asking when I go to sign the agreement. I guess I can ask my supervisor to come with me, but she's so busy getting into things at the office, I'd feel bad... Well, I guess I can ask her about it when I'm in the office on Friday and see what she thinks. I mean, doing this kind of thing is part of a supervisor's job...
But yeah, I hope everything works out!! ^_^
The timing is pretty bad--I just wiped out my account paying for my Golden Week trip(s) to Tokyo and Singapore--but I'm nonetheless very excited to be setting up my own place! True I've been living on my own for the past eight and a half months, but since the house came pre-furnished, it's not like I got to decorate it myself (although, of course, I did add my own touches).
So yeah, even though my original plan was to come straight home today to do laundry--my whites and towels in preparation for my parents and friends' visit--I ended up going to a bunch of stores to check prices on appliances for my apartment.
It's hard, though, because I have to remind myself that this is NOT my permanent home, so I should err on the side of frugality when buying things for the apartment. I need to purchase things thinking about what will give me good value for one or two years of use, but also looking for durability for up to four years.
The area I find this the most difficult is washer/dryers. Since I've been spoiled having a dryer in my house now, I decided that I'm going to buy a washer/dryer combo, even though there's a washer in storage that I could use. There are quite a few in the low 20,000 yen to 70,000 yen range (plus I found one at the recycle shop for 17,850 yen), but what I really want is one of the newer, front-loading models.
K's Denki has one on sale until Friday priced at 120,000 yen, and the regular price for an older model is between 130,000-170,000. ^^;; Considering that I'm just barely going to be able to make my initial payment (including first month's rent, brokerage fees, damage deposit, key money, etc.) of 204,000 yen, it's pretty silly for me to be looking at such high end washer/dryers (particularly since the 9kg capacity is far more than I need), but I'm still tempted. I guess it's because my dream has always been to have a front-loading washer and dryer (they're more water-efficient). But really, it would only be worth it if I ended up staying the full 5 years (meaning I'd get 4.25 years use out of it). And I think it might be hard to find someone to sell it to when I do leave, since I wouldn't want to sell it at a dirt-cheap price to an ALT.
Besides, I haven't even begun pricing essentials--like a bed--yet! I do have the couch I got from Weldon & Crystal which I can use first (I'm sleeping on it instead of my bed right now anyway), but it probably makes more sense to buy a decent bed rather than a super expensive washer/dryer...
Maybe if I end up getting a tax return (which I would keep as savings), I could assuage my guilt at using my paycheque to furnish my apartment rather than putting it into savings?
Anyway, if things go according to plan, I'll be able to sign the rental agreement on Apr. 21st. I'll request a May move-in date so I can start moving my stuff, but I'll stay at the house until the end of May (rent's cheap here anyway!) and schedule all of my bills and utilities to change over on Jun. 1st.
I'm a little worried, though, because I don't know what questions, if any, I should be asking when I go to sign the agreement. I guess I can ask my supervisor to come with me, but she's so busy getting into things at the office, I'd feel bad... Well, I guess I can ask her about it when I'm in the office on Friday and see what she thinks. I mean, doing this kind of thing is part of a supervisor's job...
But yeah, I hope everything works out!! ^_^
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