she works hard for her money...

so i've picked up a few odd jobs here and there lately; the money doesn't hurt but i'm more interested in finding myself in these new, sometimes bizarre, situations. a couple weeks ago i taught an english lesson for the joetsu australia society of japan. i was told their language ability was superb, but i wasn't ready for the level of english ability that these students had to proffer. i was glad i’d planned a challenging lesson that culminated in a debate on whether or not prime minister koizumi should visit yasakuni shrine, where many of japan’s world war II casualties are enshrined including several class A war criminals. they eloquently and convincingly argued their points and, in the process, further educated me on the subject. another arubaito [part-time job] came by way of a phone call from the owner of a local bar that i frequent; he wanted me to come down and meet someone. thinking he was trying to set me up, i raced on over. turns out his friend is employed by a local company that peddles its wares via an online catalogue. they have a new ‘american apparel’ line and really needed gaijin [foreign] models. this fella mentioned that i’d met his boss previously during a wild night out but i didn’t put it together until i’d arrived at the studio in the mountains for a photo shoot. this whole thing coulda seemed real shady, like some of those modeling contract frauds that lead to young girls being uncovered dead in wooded areas, but the bar owner/liaison is actually a good friend. the shoot was a frenzied, but fun, couple of hours during which i received no direction and basically just put on clothes and stood around. we were obviously both amateurs at this whole deal. a few cups of coffee, some interesting conversation and $50 later i was on my way. i used the business card he’d given me to timidly check the website. one day i stumbled upon a whole page of me, sometimes looking stylishly unconcerned, sometimes looking poised uncomfortably, online. what a freakin’ riot. sneak peak…