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Our washing machine broke! As of this writing, we’re not entirely sure what’s gone wrong but it has something to do with the drainage. A repairman will visit later this week and we’ll find out then how much it will cost to fix.
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This led me to trekking out on Sunday night to our nearest laundromat. I couldn’t remember if I’d ever used a laundromat before but it all went pretty smoothly. I paid the extra money (¥1300!) and used a single large machine that could do all the clothes I’d brought in one cycle (doing both washing and drying).
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We organised the removalists for the move (scheduled for 9 March). The price is about the same as what we paid when we moved to our current place which feels reasonable, especially given the (admittedly moderate) inflation Japan has experienced in the past three years. We have also visited an electronics shop about installing air conditioners and a home furnishing shop about installing curtains.
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Speaking of the last time we moved, it was brought to my attention when discussing that move with a colleague at work that the word ‘removalist’ isn’t a word that other native English speakers use. Wiktionary agrees that its use to mean ‘mover’ is chiefly Australian.
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I also decided to go back to Asahinet for our Internet service in the new house. The apartment we’re in provides decently fast Internet service to each apartment at no additional fee so I’m not exactly looking forward to having to pay for that again. I have signed up for a 10Gb connection which, if the speeds we receive are close to that, will make for a decent upgrade.
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One of the things that I did when we returned to Australia last year for Christmas was switch away from Vodafone to an MVNO, amaysim. The appeal was that they had a 1-year plan for $10 whereas Vodafone’s 1-year plan was $40 (although I did also have to spend $10 to activate international roaming so effectively $20). A couple of weeks back, it stopped being able to connect to a Japanese network. I eventually put aside a bit of time to chat (in the IRC sense) to a support person who eventually got it resolved by turning something off and on again on their end. Since then it’s been fine but it has left me worried if the problem will recur.
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By this point, you may already have come across Ezra Klein’s ‘Don’t Believe Him’, his essay about the beginning of Donald Trump’s second term (it was published back on February 2). It’s as good as everyone says.
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After several prods from Eugenia, I finally started watching Severance. I had been meaning to get to it but let other shows take priority. I don’t like it as much as she does but it is very good. The lead actor is Adam Scott and I spent the first few days as I was watching the show trying to work out the actor he reminded me of. At first I thought it was Jason Schwartzman and then I thought it was Zach Braff but finally I realised it was Ashton Kutcher. A quick search suggests this opinion is held by just me and this guy.
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One aspect where I do very much agree with Eugenia is the soundtrack to Severance. In keeping with the show, its pieces are predominantly sparse and sterile, with some absurdist flourishes here and there (Apple Music).
