Nixed plans and school uniforms

Cord and I resolved in January to take the Trans-Siberian and go from Beijing to Moscow this August. We'd been dreaming about doing it for a long time, and we decided to quit putting it off. Sure, it would be freakishly expensive, but it'd be worth it.

It didn't work out. I spoke to Cord today, and he wants to back out. He works for a real estate company, so he's pretty wary of blowing his savings at a time like this. This actually was a good thing: I had been having second thoughts for a while. The go! you only live once! part of me had been receiving a stern talking-to from the look at how much money that is! and do you really think you'll be up to 2+ weeks of travel after saying goodbye to everyone in Japan? parts. In short, the trip ain't happening this year.

In other news, today's morning meeting at Toyotama was amusing. There was a staff meeting devoted entirely to uniform enforcement. As part of the orientation process for the newly-christened freshmen, the meeting was supplemented by an illustrated guide to dos and don'ts. Covered in the packet was hair length (no longer than the ears for the boys, no longer than the neck for girls unless tied back, and no longer in the front than the eyebrows for both), skirt length (must touch floor when kneeling), shirts (fully buttoned, always tucked in for boys), and piercings (none whatsoever). My favorite was the explicit prohibition of eyebrow shaving, which is apparently a mark of beauty among traditional Japanese.