Jan 14

Tadaima Resurection! (5)

Career, Uncategorized, Writers Christmas, puppy, Tadaima Add Comment (4)

My name is Rick Ambrosio (Ibaraki-ken, 2006-08).  And whether readjusting to post-JET life is something you’re facing now, will deal with in the future or if you just enjoy reconnecting with that awkwardly uncertain feeling you had when you got back from Japan, come along with me as I look for a new job, a new apartment, and yes, mow the lawn of my parent’s house.  Tadaima!

Hello all.  Yes, I’m back, still living at home, doing chores and looking for work!  Apologies about the long black out and happy new year to all!  I think Julie, who writes Editorial Pursuits, really did a great job summarizing how I feel right now, in terms of thanking people, looking for work, and dedicating myself to working harder.  So thanks Julie, you saved me a good amount of space to write about….  (Drum Roll)

The Puppy!  That’s right.  As if I needed more distractions, this Christmas my sister wanted one thing, and she got it.  A puppy.  A deviously cute, usually well behaved puppy.  Let me outline what that first week was like.

Day 1:  Love Puppy.  He’s so cute.  Did you see that?  He looked at me!  Sooo cute!

Day 3:  Puppy is cute.  He pees where he shouldn’t, and bites me shoes sometimes, but he is so cute, is he not?

Day 5:  I’m going to use this thing as a football soon.  All he does is eat and poop, and tries to look cute as he is doing it.  Neighbors are smitten, but I am on to his little game.

Day 7:  Still at odds with puppy, but have now figured out exploiting him with pictures on facebook yields girls messaging me to hang out to meet the puppy.  Dog gets stay of execution.

That was pretty much what it was like.  With my sister up at college for most of December taking finals, the family decided that since I was the one home all the time, I was to watch the dog.  So for a few weeks my life was consumed with walking and feeding and training.  Luckily my sister is home now so it’s not so bad anymore.

I bet you are all wondering “Rick, what did you get for Christmas!?”  Well folks, let me tell you the story of the traditional family Christmas at my house.  You see every year we get some presents under the tree.  Sweaters, gloves, the occasional CD, normal Christmas fare.  But the BIG present, the one you wait for every year, the crowd pleaser, awaits under the stockings in front of the fireplace in the Den.  Every year, two big boxes await my sister and I as we walk in, glazed anime eyes in awe of what our parents have bought.

Let me give you an idea of previous “Big Fire Place Presents” of the past.  My first Nintendo.  My first bike.  The largest Transformer known to man at the time (Fortress Maximus).  My first CD player.  My first Ipod.  Last year it was an Optimus Prime voice changing helmet, which was pretty much all I wanted that year.  (I was living in Japan last year, what more could I want?)

So obviously it was a highly anticipated gift this year as well.  I know I know, I’m 27, but one can still get excited on Christmas in some ways.  My mother was even gloating before hand.  “This is a good one this year!” she exclaimed.  I tried to contain my excitement Christmas day.  I opened the requisite sweaters and gloves this year (Which of course I am still quite thankful for, of course!) but forever looming in my mind was the mystery behind the Big Fire Place Present!  The BFPP baby!

When the time came, my sister and I rushed into the den towards the fireplace.  I sort of expected my parents to put a bow on the dog and have it sit on the fireplace for my sister, but Low! another gift awaited her!  Wow, a double surprise gift!  This only intensified the lust for what was behind the colorful paper bag with tissues artfully splayed from the top.  I tore through it and found….

An envelope.  Okay okay, not instant satisfaction, no, but maybe something exciting!  Plane tickets?  Maybe.  A coupon for something?  Perhaps.  The envelope could signify something larger that couldn’t fit in the house!  What oh what could it be!?  As my sister celebrated her new Pea Coat, I once again ravenously made ribbons of the manila covering to FIND!!

A letter from the MTA.  With a ticket attached.  My mother then chimed in.  “It’s a ticket, from our station to Penn station, 5 trips to be exact, for you know… going into the city.. and…”  She trailed off.  She might as well have said it.  “To get a job.”

Yes folks, this year the grand BFPP was “get a job” in a less than convincing disguise.  I smiled of course, I mean, it was highly useful and I was not about to seem like an ungrateful whelp, but I mean, a TRAIN TICKET?  It was then that my father smiled at me and said, “There is something else too, son.”  My eyes brightened a bit as I looked toward him hopefully.

“When you’re done, we need you to shovel the snow in the driveway.”