St. Valentine and the 7-11

Wow, a month to the day since I last posted. So many happenings recently that I havent stopped to record them.

First, a Happy Valentines Day to all. It is celebrated here, but only the women have to give presents to the men (it comes round again though, on White Day/March 14, when the men must return the favor and buy gifts for women). I received chocolate from many of the female teachers at my schools, much to my delight (if you dont know, I eat chocolote everyday without fail). One choco-gift came with a card that said: "Love Memory: My heart cannot stop throbbing. As I love you, you become more pretty." And the envelope said: "All are new. You'll have your favorite places of course. You'll be relieved for sure when you visit there. This is my favorite time." Not sure, but I think I may have an admirer.

I even got chocolate today for buying something from the convenience store. I bought a single lightbulb and they gave me a gold chocolate coin as big as a saucer for their appreciation of my business. I'll be going back there for sure. I may have talked about convenience stores before, but they continue to impress me with their convenience. The other day at the 7-11 I saw that you could buy an Ipod. It was right between the blank CDs and the batteries. Amazing. Who goes in for some pretzels and a Pocari Sweat, sees the Ipod, and says: "Oh yeah, I guess I need that too"? Also you can pay your bills there, buy stamps/send mail, make copies, choose from an impressive selection of refreshing beverages/snacks/beer/wine/liquor, make prints/enlargements from digital photos, buy underwear and winter weather accessories, get a decent meal, buy DVDs, etc., etc.