No work today, so I got to sleep in which was good - Venus was also sleeping in Peter's room all night, which meant I actually got to sleep in - she tends to wake me up early when she's in with me... Had a very relaxed morning at home just hanging out, reading my David Sedaris book, etc.

Peter headed out at about 2:30 for a meeting, and I left shortly thereafter to go vaulting at JRA. I think they must put the surcingle back on the barrel slightly differently after they use it on the horse, because it tends to either be loose (but without enough slack to get it one hole tighter, which is annoying!) or really tight. Today was a tight day which was great, I basically spent 40 minutes doing hangs and shoulder stands, good fun but I'm sure I'm going to be sore tomorrow! I also have kind of a weird bruise now on one arm, but that's ok - it was lots of fun to hang upside down again for awhile (yea, I'm weird). I also managed to start keeping my head down more during my swing for my scissors, which really does help you get more airtime...sugoi!

After that, I headed to Omotesando Hills and finally opened my Shinsei Bank account. You may remember that I tried to open an account last year before my 20th birthday, and nothing, not even telling them I was an orphan would make them move past their 'those under the age of twenty need parental consent' rule to let me open an account. So, today, finally armed with enough years on the planet, an extended visa, and my gaijin card I ventured in there to get one. I drew the one English speaker in the bank, which was lucky, and since there were no spare machines (to do the registration on) in that branch, she actually walked downstairs with me to the other location in the Hills to get me signed up - I guess maybe she knew no one down there would be able to talk to me? It was actually the weirdest bank I've ever seen, as its in the 'Shinsei Cafe Bank', sponsored or partnered heavily with DeLonghi, and with quite the Italian theme-have your espresso with a side of money management! We got me signed up, and I got my atm card at the same time - in hot pink! Shinsei's big thing is their 'colour yor life' campain, where you get to choose from like 24 different colors of card. I got pink, no so much because its my favorite color or anything, as clearly it isn't, but because it is just so UN-bank-y that it seemed like a good idea.

After that I headed up to meet Peter at the office, I knew I'd be waiting (and wanted to work somewhere that wasn't the house), so brought my laptop and took the opportunity to write a couple of query letters, and then read for a bit (finished my David Sedaris book which was so funny, especially in the second part, where he talks about learning French! Also started back in on my Margaret Atwood book). Also saw Jordon for a bit before Peter and I headed out at around 9:30, stopping for dinner at Jonathon's on the way home. It's a typical 'fami-resu', and was pretty tasty. I had a hamburger steak and rice kind of deal, while Peter had the indian chicken with mexaicn pilaf; as you do!

Headed back home and got here at around 11... Peter is on some kind of old school TV kick, including the Johnny Carson Show and Hawaii Five-O on DVD....

No idea what's going on tomorrow, but I don't have to teach or anything, so we'll see what happens...
D.