toe socks!

i needed some new dress socks, and these are the rage (not to mention they're on sale at uniqlo). i admit that i was a hater a few years ago, but you can really get used to these things. i recommend.

perhaps you're asking yourself, "why does dean need dress socks? all he ever does is dress like a scrub." well, i done got myself a job. yes, a real job that requires me wearing a suit five days a week. i am officially employed as an english instructor for nova. the pay is decent and i only have to work during the evenings (m-f, 5pm-9pm). although i do have to work holidays, including thanksgiving and--gasp--christmas!! since it's 20 hours a week, i still have time to do my schoolwork (or at least pretend to) during the day. also, i can still go out for drinks and whatnot after work.

most of the other teachers are pretty cool folks, although there's this one guy that i just can't stand. i'll be surprised if he can last in japan for longer than a month. for someone so anti-everything japanese, i really wonder why he decided to come out here. and if someone in this country buys you a drink, you don't put it in your pocket and go home. ugh.

in other news, i'm helping my uncle look for a new computer right now (he's still using a pentium 2). i found a pretty good HP laptop that was hella cheap. he just gave me this befuddled look and said he's never even heard of the company before. i told him "HP is one of the biggest american computer manufacturers, and is based in the bay area!!" this is where it gets funny: he said he doesn't trust american companies and would gladly pay more for japanese! for some reason i always subconsciously placed japanese electronics above american electronics, but that never really applied for my opinions of computers. but listening to his reasoning, it all made sense. it's interesting to notice how proud japanese consumers are of their products' reputation, even to the point that they ignore external reviews, not to mention the PRICE. if american products can't even sell here, it's no wonder that chinese and korean companies can't even make a dent in this market.