Setting up the pad

Inside Sony Studios in Culver City


Taku stuffed in the back seat with the flat screen

One of the first things you need in your house is a TV. Especially when you are in the business of selling DVDs. So after we got our new place we headed off to get a TV. You can see we barely fit it in the rental car with our friend Taku in the back seat.
Getting cable here in the US takes so much time. My mistake EVERYTHING here takes so much time.
We still don't have a land line because we are still waiting for the guy to come hook up the house. That was after being put on hold for about an hour to get through to someone. Doing this for cable, electricity and internet can get pretty old. I'm glad we're almost finished with everything...
Starting your life from scratch in a new place can be pretty challenging. I grew up here so I can speak the language but I have not spent any of my adult life living here. Which means no credit. No credit in the US means you get no credit card and no record of any financial status. Basically a baby.
Sometimes you really feel like you were born yesterday. I was just telling some friends of mine today that the people at the grocery store looked at me as I was seriously challenged when I asked them what in earth was "cash back" when I used my new debit card to pay.
In Japan we don't have this. You always have to go to the ATM to retrieve cash. Never at the same time you buy something. I was just trying to pay and they are asking me if I want "cash back". I never gave any cash so why would I want "cash back"? It's more like "cash withdrawl" right? The cashier lady was "so you want cash back or what?".
I was so scared by her glaring at me I was like, "no, no I don't want any cash, thank you and I'm sorry". She would have climbed over the counter to kick my ass if I asked another stupid question about how to use the darn debit card.
Anyway we're getting used to this. Lesson one, just use cash if in doubt.