Today I got all dressed up and trundled off to my school to make the easiest money I’ve ever made – working the STEP test. When I got there my contact lenses were bugging me just a bit. My vision was cloudy, even though I put brand new ones in this morning.
I took them out and rinsed them in clear tap water, and that cleared up my vision nicely. And then my eyes started burning. They didn’t stop burning for four hours. Oh, my, god.
The good news was that the most visible part of my job was taken care of before the burning eyes, which is the meet and greet thing I do. I stand in the hallway as people go up to the test room, and I make sure they don’t walk the wrong direction. Today I decided to pretend I didn’t speak Japanese and so I just spoke English with everyone. These are people that are testing for English proficiency, so it’s a good experience for them. Some spoke in Japanese anyway, and some were too nervous to even return my “Good morning!”.
Anyway, after everyone was settled I rinsed off the contacts and was in agony for four hours. Finally at lunchtime to pain abated somewhat, and I survived the rest of the day with just a little discomfort. Maybe something was in the water?
At the end of the day I collected 14,000 yen from Mr. Hayashi and went home. Easy money.
While I was at work I finished a book that my parents had sent for my birthday, Dove. It’s an autobiographical book about a boy that set off to sail around the world alone at sixteen years old. The book was great and even though it happened back in the late sixties, it was still a great read. A lot has changed in the world since his adventure. Anyway, I recommend the book. If I could figure out why books like Dove and this seem to call to me, maybe I can figure out what my next adventure will be.
