♡ Captain Ari

Super Update Yay!~~~Jun 7, 2024

To be honest, it has been a long, long time since I've updated my blog consistently. My last two blog posts were my feeble attempts at trying to update all of the things I've done since March until now, June 7th. There is just no way...0-0

It's literally 1:43 AM in Tokyo, and I felt that if I didn't make one big blog post explaining my absence and everything that has happened so far, I'd never be able to catch up! To me, this blog is like my diary, and being able to document my progress is so important. Plus, it is always nice to help others who are in similar situations! ^ ^

Okay, I'll do my best to catch up.

So...I don't know if I mentioned it already, but I finally got my Long Term Residency Visa in Japan! I say "finally," but I got it back in March. I was taking a walk with Moemi when I got an email from my lawyer telling me my visa was accepted! I was soooo happy I nearly started crying. I've been wanting to live in Japan for so long, not because of work opportunities or anything like that. I just genuinely love the culture and Japan as a whole and wanted to stay here permanently. I mentioned this before, but after having my daughter, I had no idea I could live here as the mother of a Japanese child until a lawyer told me when I was inquiring about something else entirely. So, I went through the process of moving, and after three long years, I'm here and can stay here! Praise God. ^ ^

But realistically, this has been a dream of mine since 2011 when I first visited Japan. So really, after 13 long years, I feel like crying again. lol

Anyway, the whole process was super expensive. The lawyers, the hotels, the documents...I'm too embarrassed to mention the cost of everything. The upside to all this is that I trade stocks in the NASDAQ American market, so I make USD, and as most people know, the USD is very strong against the YEN.

So after I got my visa, I hit a huge wall.

No place wanted to rent to me.

That was mainly because I didn't have a job in Japan. Most places, even if the job nets me significantly less than what I make in stocks, still require the tenant to have a job in Japan. I talked it over with my friend Hiro, and he said it was because I was looking at newer buildings, but cheaper ones wouldn't require that. I'm not too sure how true that is, but I talked to three different real estate agents, and each one found extreme difficulty finding me a place in the area I wanted. I ended up finding a place on my own. It's kinda like a share house, but I get my own room and rooftop balcony. It's only one room on the first floor that is technically shared. Speaking of "Tech"nically, this share house is for tenants who are in the IT field! However, my landlords made an exception for Moemi and me. They are so kind.

So, I'm now living in Minato-Ku, one of the richest wards in Tokyo, so I was told by my friend's husband, and my rent is more expensive than the tower mansion that I wanted to move into -_- but that's okay. I've always wanted a place with a rooftop balcony, and my landlord suggested I buy a pool and place it out there for Moemi and me! I think that's a great idea, and I'm strongly considering it since summer is coming! I also saw fireworks from my balcony a few nights ago!

Honestly, the place is so lovely! One of my favorite restaurants, Beside Seaside, is very close by, and I enjoy taking Moemi there because there's a play area in front that she loves to play at. There's also another place called Seavans Amall that is similar to a community center, and I usually go there to read or write.

So, just a recap: I got Moemi's Japanese passport, I got my Long Term Visa (which is similar to the Permanent Residency Visa; the only difference is the LT Visa needs to be renewed every 1, 3, or 5 years), I finally moved into my own apartment (no more hotels!), and I lost 43 pounds since I moved back to Japan! (I'm now smaller than I was even before I had Moemi! Similar to my high school weight.) Moemi had her birthday in May, and I had a BBQ birthday party where I got to see my old friend Hiro. I went to Okinawa with Moemi for the first time, and she broke my iPhone 15 by throwing it off the balcony of our amazing hotel room. -___-

These are the big events, although I'm leaving a few out; I'm not quite ready to share those yet.

^ ^

I promise I'll post photos soon, but it's super late, and I'm simultaneously trading, so I need to focus on that.

Now I can finally update my blog normally, now that I'm mostly caught up!

I'm so happy to get back a bit of normalcy. I've been so busy lately, although it seems I just play around all day.

I can't use my LINE app or most apps because my phone's LCD is still busted. It's been well over a month, but I don't have an urgency to repair it because then I have to get back to a million different people, and I just want to rest a bit longer.

My parents sent my PS4 in the mail, so it should arrive in a few weeks, and I'm SO looking forward to it arriving. I just bought a treadmill, and it will be so fun to game while on it! Especially on rainy days, which there have been so many recently. Also, I don't know if it's because I'm so thin now :p but I've been feeling so cold lately, I'm actually welcoming the summer weather. Did you notice the little humble brag I threw in there :p. lolol I'm just so happy to be thin again. I don't care if guys don't like skin and bones; I like it, dang it!

Anywho, I really need to sleep. I'm acting a fool. Goodnight!!

Oh, and please excuse the typos; I'll fix them when I wake up!