BEST: getting a phone call from Japan and hearing Moe-chan speak English to me. Thank you, Moe-chan. You TOTALLY made my day!

This was especially nice after waking up at 7:00am in a cold sweat from having my first nightmare in a very long time and not being able to go back to sleep.

Little Moe (pronounced "Mo-eh") had been practicing hard all week so she could say a few sentences to me in English.

Apparently the stress from reciting those lines in English got her body really tense:

Here she just looks a little nauseous having to tolerate my awful attempts at Japanese conversation:

Finally, when saying goodbye and an oh-so-sweet "I love you!" she finally relaxes a tiny bit - but still has a death grip on the phone with both hands:

Thanks to Hiroko for the action shots. :)

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WORST: Having to deal with apartment's new management ... again and again.

Me: Hi, I don't know why I got a notice for not having paid my rent. I have it automatically set to deduct from my checking account every month.

Apartment's New Management (ANM): With the new management, we don't have that anymore, and don't know if we will ever have that. If you bring in a money order in today, we'll waive the late fees.

Me: OK, can I have the exact total of rent plus utilities?

ANM: No, we don't know the exact amount. They're still figuring it out. [ cue my rolling of eyes ] Your best bet would be to pay what you paid last month. If you end up paying a little more, that amount will be credited towards your next statement.

Me: And what if I end up short a few bucks? Would that just be tacked onto the next statement?

ANM: Well ... then we would bill you for that amount and you'd have to come in and pay that, again via money order. So, we advise you to maybe pay a couple bucks more so that doesn't happen.

To say that they are concerned only for their bottom line seems something like an understatement. Is that the norm? Or only because I live in this particular apartment complex?

Also, I can't get straightforward answers to inquiries, like: "Have you added freon to my A/C yet?" and, "There are big gaping holes in my weather stripping, you do realize that all my A/C is just going out through those holes?" So far, I've "only" had to call them 4 times and talk to them in person about it once, only to get answers like, "Well, you should test it by turning the dial to 70F so we know if they did it or not," and "Don't you have a foundation problem? The weather stripping will NEVER be perfect."

Well, I'll keep thinking about the BEST wake up call ever and Moe's adorable voice and it'll be all good. :)