I must be some kind of glutton for punishment. Along with all the paperwork that is required at Kawasaki, my visa will come up for renewal in June, and so I’ve got to start getting the paperwork together now. The only time to apply for the visa is during normal business hours, and that means that I must take two days off to take care of it (one day to turn in the papers, one day to pick up the visa). According to “the rules” you cannot apply for a renewal until two months before expiration. My two months begins April 6th. Until April 6th I have about 11 days off, so this would be an ideal time to do it. After April 6th I have one day off only.
So, my job today is to go to the immigration office and try to convince them to do the visa paperwork a couple of weeks early. Flexibility? In the Japanese government? I don’t know what I’m thinking.
Anyway, after they turn down my request I’ll spend time in Kobe today doing research on textbooks for my future students, and doing some shopping for some other stuff before I meet Kuniko for Vietnamese food in the evening. I already planned the cheer-myself-up party – that’s how confident I am about how things will go with the government officials today.
