K: So lately I’ve been thinking a lot about permanent residency and how we are permanent residents now of Japan. Yay us!
C: Yes, we are. (K laughs) Can’t get rid of us anymore.
K: Nope, they cannot. So, for me, the kind of … a pre-thing about permanent residency is what I’ve come to call the “visa grind” or the “visa hustle”. And I feel like we did a lot of different visa hustles.
C: Yes. We had a lot of different visa statuses.
K: Yes. And so we started out being on the humanities visa.
C: Right, the humanities and specialist in international services, which is sometimes called the English Teacher Visa, but it’s a lot more than that.
K: Yeah. And it’s the visa I would be on now if I wasn’t a permanent resident, because I’m a therapist and … but being a therapist, interestingly enough, wouldn’t be enough of a job to give me visa status. The fact that I’m a therapist for English speakers… Japan values my ability to speak English more than my ability to be a therapist.
C: Right. And it’s the visa that I was on when I was doing editing, even though my job required a PhD. But before that, so most recently I was on that visa. Before that, I was on a professor visa because I was doing a postdoc. And before that I was on a student visa.
K: Mmhmm.
C: And before that I was on an investor visa, and before that was the humanities specialist visa.
K: Yeah. And then way before that, I was over here for a minute learning Japanese on a student visa.
C: Yeah, and you were on a ‘pre-student’ visa, which doesn’t exist anymore.
K: Yeah. Which that… so they did away with the cultural activities visa.
C: No, they still have the cultural activities. They did away with the pre-college student visa, which wasn’t actually who hadn’t gone to college, it was for education that wasn’t university.
K: Yeah.
C: So now the people who come over to learn Japanese are on the same type of visa as college students, but they didn’t used to be.
K: Oh, okay. Interesting.
C: Just like now if you come over here to be a computer programmer or something like that, you are on the specialist in humanities / international services rather than the “Engineer” visa. They combined those two.
K: Oh, okay. And so something that I’m always grateful for is your hard work in helping us get to permanent residency. And the sacrifice that you made, and I’m grateful to myself for the hard work I did and the sacrifices that I made. Because it was hard.
C: Yes, it was.
K: It was a really hard journey. And made more difficult because we were both over 40.
C: Yes.
K: And, so in Japan, you know this better than I do about the 5-year under-40 thing. The point system, rather. It’s not under 40.
C: Right, so in 2000…
K: But it affects your points.
C: In 2013, Japan introduced a new immigration system where they had a designation called “Highly Skilled Foreign Worker”, and if you could get 70 points or more under one of three different categories, then you qualify for a special kind of… upgrade to your visa.
K: Yeah.
C: So, the reason that … the trick about it is that when you turn 30, you have to make more money than if you were under 30. When you turn 35, you have to make more money than if you were under 35 but over 30. And when you turn 40, you have to make more than $100,000 a year to qualify.
K: Ageism in all its glory.
C: Right. And that’s for the scientific visa. The researcher visa. Now, if you want to qualify as a business person, you have to make even more money.
K: Yeah. So it’s … it’s tough. It’s tough over 30.
C: Yes.
K: … to qualify for that visa. And then under 20 is challenging for a lot of foreigners, because you have to been here for 3 years.
C: Yes, and under 20… 20 is when you’re considered an adult, so if you’re under 20
K: If you’re under 30. I didn’t mean under 20. I misspoke.
C: If you’re on the highly skilled foreign visa, then at the end of 5 years, you’re eligible. But otherwise it’s 10 years. Unless you’ve done something “notable”. So notable is like… if you win an Olympic media, that’s notable. That’s the level of kind of thing.
K: Yeah, because you had patents before we moved, and they didn’t really care.
C: Well, they would have cared. So that would have been enough, if I had made enough money. So when I went down and applied for it, they said “well, you have 70 points”, even counting 0 points for the amount of money I was making as a post-doc, but what they didn’t say is that the money is an absolute requirement. So the form made it look like you’ve gotta add up to 70 points. And I had 70 points without any points for money because I have patents and publications and went to a Japanese university, you get points for that, or for demonstrating fluency in Japanese. And all kinds of other stuff.
K: So what I thought was kind of wacky about that is it didn’t matter what your assets and holdings were. It was your annual income.
C: Yes.
K: And so that’s something that was surprising. For us, we thought, well, you know, we own our own house, we’re financially stable. Our finances were good at the time, and so we didn’t feel that income would be a thing. And… I didn’t apply for it because I’m old. And I was just like, there’s no way I’m ever going to get it.
C: Yeah, so … the post-doc I had was not the standard post-doc. So kind of the post-doc most people have is the Japan Society for Promotion of Science, and that comes with a salary of about $30,000 a year. The post-doc that I had, I think I got paid about $2,000 for 6 months.
K: Yeah.
C: So they said that’s sufficient income, and I said “well, we have sufficient savings, and we have…” and they said “That doesn’t matter. It’s gotta be income.”
K: Yep. So, the whole PhD and post-doc stuff, that’s a different episode coming down the pike where we’ll talk about yours and talk about mine that’s in progress. So when we became permanent residents, for me, the biggest change was that it no longer felt precarious. And it felt like we could now actually make money… I mean make decisions not based on money but based on lifestyle.
C: Right.
K: And, for me, the biggest change in that is the ability for you to become a writer full-time.
C: Yeah. I think the Japanese immigration system is less onerous than the American immigration system.
K: By far.
C: But it still has some restrictions, such as because I was on a specialist in humanities visa to be an editor in management, I had to go down and get special permission to teach a class on how to write because that was considered to be a professorial activity because I was teaching at a university.
K: Even though you were doing it for the same company you had your visa for.
C: Yes, exactly.
K: So, for me, it’s a huge relief, because it allowed you to quit that job. Because you also have to have consecutive employment. I think for me everything is easier because I’m at Adjustment Guidance and that’s my own gig and I’m my own boss and all of that. And I think for you it’s much more complicated in that you couldn’t have any breaks in your employment, which luckily for you, everything you did was seamless.
C: Right. I think you have to have 5 years of continuous employment and 3 years of employment at the same company.
K: Yeah, so that really hemmed us in, because if you were going to make any moves
C: It had to be really quick after I got my first job, which wasn’t what I was looking to do.
K: Right. And then too, you were really happy at the job you were at before.
C: Oh, yeah, that’s why I say, it wasn’t something I was looking to do.
K: But for me it did create a little bit of stress and worry when… sometimes things got hard with that job, and there were some aspects that were really challenging and some aspects that were unfair, and it felt like we weren’t on an even playing field where we could address those things. It was always precarious to address them.
C: Yes.
K: And that was completely on our side. It had nothing to do with the company. Just completely on our side, because we knew what we needed for permanent residency.
C: Right.
K: So I think it creates this disbalance. This imbalance, rather, where it’s really a top-down situation, where the company has way more power than the employee. Which can make it rife for extortion. We’re very lucky that your company wasn’t extorting you, but a lot of foreigners are getting extorted and taken advantage of.
C: And I think too it really depends on the company. So a lot of people come over and teach English, which is a hard job, and it takes skill, you can … it’s an entry level job, but people do get better at it. But their companies play games, because to be covered by “shakai hoken”, which is the social insurance for people who are employed, I think the official English translation is like “Employee National Insurance” or something, you have to be working 3/4 of a full-time schedule. And so these companies claim that you’re working 29 and a half hours. So just shy of that 3/4.
K: Yes.
C: When I was teaching at one, for example, we had 10 minute break between lessons. And they said that we had 1 minute to finish the lesson, 1 minute to prepare for the lesson, and 8 minutes of “time off”.
K: Yes.
C: So, we ended up being told that even though we were there for 8 hours, we had actually only worked 7 hours, or like 6 hours and 40 minutes. Because of all these kind of micro-breaks. They said “this is your time off”. If you’re not on Shakai Hoken, then they don’t pay your pension. And if your pension isn’t paid, for I think three or five years prior to applying for permanent residency, they’ll deny you permanent residency. So a lot of foreigners when they go to apply for permanent residency, they’ll discover that they have a huge pension bill to pay before they can get it.
K: Yeah. And they want your pension paid for your entire time in Japan. For permanent residency.
C: Yes.
K: And now they’ve made the law so you can only back pay for two or three years.
C: For two years. That applies to everybody though, not just to foreigners. That actually came out of a scandal in parliament. So in the Japanese Diet, which is what parliament is called, where it turned out that most of the members of the legislature had not been paying their pensions.
K: And so, getting permanent residency is really tricky.
C: Yes.
K: Because some people have been denied permanent residency over traffic tickets. Some people have been denied permanent residency over social situations and… so traffic tickets are the only one I really know about. And I think maybe a drunk and disorderly.
C: I know of people who’ve been denied permanent residency because they were stalked.
K: Mmmm.
C: And so they had had involvement with the police. And it didn’t matter that that involvement was as a victim.
K: Yeah, and so the permanent residency dynamic in Japan is pretty strict. Pretty tough. And I felt really, really lucky that we were able to just be quiet and under the radar.
C: Yes.
K: And not have, you know, too much buzz about us, but enough buzz that we’re seen as a positive thing. Because something that Japan considers in the permanent residency application is how do you intend to better Japan?
C: Yes.
K: … by being a permanent resident. And so having that answer ready, like, “What are you going to do? How are you contributing to the social good?” I’m really happy that we have been contributing to the social good.
C: Yes. Well, and Japan has not had a great history recently with this kind of thing. So it’s not up any more, but around the time of the immigration law, in 2013, there was a website where you could report people you suspected of violating their visa. And so, one of the reasons you could give, like an official reason for reporting somebody for visa violation was “I don’t like foreigners.”
K: Yeah.
C: And that was just… hugely embarrassing for the government that that had slipped through, because a lot of us foreigners can actually read Japanese.
K: (laughing) Yeah.
C: See what you’re saying about us. So yeah, I mean it’s tricky if you get in disputes with your neighbors, that can cause problems. If you have a loud dog, for example, that barks, and your neighbors complain, that can cause your problems in applying for permanent residency because it’s run by bureaucracy, and there’s not much room for appeal. So if you get a bureaucrat who decides you don’t deserve it, then you don’t get it that application cycle and you have to try again.
K: Yeah, and trying again is 6 months down the road.
C: Right.
K: And it takes… so, when we applied, it took us six months to get it
C: Yeah that’s correct
K: From application
C: Yes, we submitted our application in December and got our answer in June.
K: So, for me it was really great in hearing that we got it. It was really really tough after we applied because I really, really wanted you to quit.
C: Mmhmm.
K: Like, I was so ready for you to quit the job that you were working.
C: But that would have constituted a “substantial change in circumstances” and we would have had to report that, and that would have tanked it for sure.
K: And I think that it’s important to say why I wanted you to quit so bad. Because with your epilepsy specifically, having an arbitrary time that you have to get up every day is really hard because your sleep quality varies so much. And when you get overtired, your seizures increase. I felt like there was days that your seizures had increased ten-fold.
C: I think so, yeah. Because… it wasn’t just a matter of getting up. I can get up at any particular time.
K: Yeah.
C: Staying up is a different matter. So if I need to get up at 5 am for something, to make a call to the US or whatever, or,… you know, whatever reason… that’s not a problem. I can wake up at 5 am. But to stay up for 8 or 10 hours after that isn’t necessarily possible. So, I like to take a nap in the middle of the afternoon because it reduces the number of seizures that I have by quite a lot.
K: Yeah. And I think, too, sustained attention. If you’re having to do 8 hours of consecutive sustained attention, while you are capable of that, that also increases your seizures.
C: Right. And I think too that it’s a matter of buildup. So it’s like building a sleep debt. You know, if there’s one week where you’re busy and don’t get as much sleep it’s not a big deal. But if it’s five years of that, it kind of builds up.
K: Yeah. And it just felt like your seizure debt was so high that you were just having days where you were just having seizure after seizure after seizure. And that’s really hard to witness. And I’m sure it’s harder to live through.
C: Yeah. Because I don’t have generalized seizures except at night, I might have a lot of seizures. So, I think there are weeks I’ve probably had a hundred seizures or more.
K: Yeah. And there were times when I wasn’t working I would have time off and you were working, and I was just seeing that happen and it… it makes our dynamic a little bit trickier because you have to completely rely on my reporting.
C: Yes.
K: And so when I’m saying “Hey, babe, you’re having a bad seizure day”, you’re like “I don’t feel like I’m having a bad seizure day”, and I’m like “Dude, I’m watching you have seizures. You’re having a bad seizure day.” It created some tension in the marriage a little bit. Especially the last six months, because I was so hypersensitive to how sick the job was making you.
C: And I think too I was doing a lot of managerial work, and managerial work isn’t especially stressful. I like people, and I like helping them do their job well. But it’s not easy to count. So if I was editing, I could count how many pages I had done in a day and say “Okay, my average is only 4 pages an hour, that is half of what I can usually do, so obviously half of my time is just disappearing.” But with managerial work it’s hard to say whether any time has disappeared or not.
K: Yeah. I’m just really, really happy you’re not in that dynamic anymore.
C: I’m happy about that, too.
K: And I’m so happy that you’re able to take that time and dedicate towards the things that we want to do. Because we wanted to do this podcast probably for a year before we launched it.
C: I think so. I think more than that.
K: Yeah, and so we had a couple false starts where we tried to record some episodes, but then we weren’t able to get a consistent recording schedule down.
C: Right. Because I think when we started recording, the equipment we had was like… it was like wax records, and it would make, you know… 33 rpm LPs. Right.
K: Mmhmm (doubtfully).
C: You’d need a record player to play our podcast.
K: Yeah.
C: You just give me blank face like it’s not funny.
K: You know. I’ll smile at you. And…
C: People can’t see you smile. They can hear you laugh.
K: (laughs) I’m sorry to leave you out there on your own, but it just wasn’t working, babe, sorry.
C: You hung me out to dry.
K: I didn’t hang you out to dry, I’m just hanging with our listeners. I don’t want to falsely overreport how funny you are.
C: Oh, okay.
K: Because they can hear you, too. They’re hearing you, too. So I’m sorry that you had a moment where a joke felt like womp womp. Should I have done that instead? I didn’t know where you were going with it. Were you making a joke? You were saying some random confusing stuff. What are you on about?
C: I was saying that I was literally recording on records.
K: Yeah, I saw that. You’re saying like it was so long ago…
C: It was so long ago that cassette tapes hadn’t even been invented. That’s what I was saying.
K: (laughing) It wasn’t that long ago.
C: No, it wasn’t.
K: And I think, for me, a gift in that is that we were able to find our style and really able to plan it because we weren’t just, like, rushing…. I felt like rushing something to market, in a way. Because we hadn’t had time to sit down and brainstorm and sit down and talk about what we want our podcast to be about, the “so what?” and “who cares?” and all that kind of stuff. And now you’re able to do it and you’re able to transcribe it. Because as somebody with hearing loss, I’m like “You’ve got to transcribe it.”
C: Yeah, that was never an issue. We always planned on that. So I think, for me, too, there was the issue of dual loyalty. So when I was full-time employed, I did feel loyalty to my employer, like I should be doing things that promote that business.
K: Yeah. But you also gave them a lot of ownership of creative endeavors.
C: Right, because I started working in the California / Silicon Valley culture where they literally claim all of your creative endeavors, the California Inventions Act. Inventions Code? I forget which one it is. So, yeah, I didn’t heave healthy boundaries about “No, this is actually my creative activity and belongs to me. And this is what I’m doing creatively for the company, because the management aspect included creative aspects.
K: That was really hard for me, because we have a newsletter, we have content on our website… all of that content creation that I do and we do, you were like “Well, I’m unsure whose content this is,” and I’m like “It’s our content, 100%”, and you were “No, I get that your stuff is your content, but I don’t know if I can give… say, if I want to write a piece on editing or a piece on creativity, am I stealing content from the company?” And I was “No! This is your original thought.”
C: Well, I was writing a newsletter for the company also, which is why it was a little bit of conflict.
K: So to be clear, everything we do, I’m saying right now, mark it down on the calendar, is all of our creative content. We’re not taking it from anyone.
C: Correct.
K: So for me it was really challenging because you did the company’s website… because that experience was horrific… I don’t think I’m telling tales out of school when I say it was horrific, it was not a good collaboration at all for any of the people involved, and it really depleted you and drained you. It made you afraid of doing our website.
C: Yes.
K: Like even starting the process.
C: Yes.
K: And you had gotten shellshocked that even the thought of doing a PowerPoint would stress you out.
C: Right.
K: And I think that’s because of the way the company went about collaborations. It was very much “Ooh, we see everything you can do, so everything has to be perfect, but perfect is going to be a moving target and ambiguous.”
C: I think a lot of creative people who work for other people can experience that, too.
K: Yeah, absolutely.
C: Because I think both of us are skilled. I don’t think it’s immodest to say that, at what we do. And so we know we can do a good job.
K: Mmhmm.
C: Being able to say this is good enough is a freedom.
K: Yeah.
C: And so, when you’re separated from the ability to say this is good enough, it can be really hard to not just push yourself. And because I came from academia right before that, in academia they’ll never tell you that it’s good enough, it’s just “push yourself until you drop” at most institutions.
K: So I’m really happy that you’re out of that environment, because, you know, you do our Twitter, we made a conscious decision not to do Instagram. I do our Facebook primarily, and I… it feels like it’s more of an even keel. I also tweet. I don’t tweet as much. I want to tweet more, but I’m super busy.
C: Yeah.
K: I usually tweet if something is frustrating me, and I usually tweet if I come across any sort of transphobia in my day.
C: Mmhmm.
K: Because I’m cisgendered, but transphobia just makes me so angry. I really can’t tolerate it. So if I come across it, or if I’m watching something that there’s transphobia in, I’ll… you know, tweet out something.
C: Well when we met you had a lot of friends who I think now would be considered trans.
K: Yes.
C: I think like the officiant at our wedding was a guy named Eric.
K: He was not trans.
C: Okay.
K: Not at all.
C: Not at all? Okay.
K: And you shouldn’t say people’s names.
C: But he’s dead.
K: You still shouldn’t say people’s names.
C: Okay. I won’t say anybody else’s name.
K: Thank you. Don’t tell other people’s stories. Only tell ours.
C: That’s a good point.
K: So, really dear, beloved friend, but none of those people you met were trans. They were just extremely effeminate. There’s a difference.
C: I understand there’s also a difference. But I also understand there’s been a large shift in the twenty years, and…
K: But he wasn’t even genderqueer. And his pronouns were he and him.
C: Okay.
K: So I think that I have a better understanding of trans culture.
C: I think you do
K: It’s not perfect.
C: I think you do, definitely.
K: But, the point is for me, why I don’t get upset with you is because you’ll take a note.
C: Yeah.
K: And you’ll be like “okay, their pronouns were he and him”.
C: I made an assumption because he was introduced to me as “miss”, so.
K: Okay. (starts laughing) Miss Kane! Which was not his last name. But that was because of the soap opera Erica Kane, and he was very very dramatic, so we called him Miss Kane, because “oh, you’re acting again in your soap opera, being drama” (laughs) I get it, okay. Yeah, that makes sense. But no, he was very… for me, even though he had an effeminate side, he was also still very masculine and still very male.
C: Okay, yes.
K: Did you experience him as being very masculine and male?
C: Yes, I did.
K: I knew that you did, but I just wanted our listeners to know that this isn’t a biased thing from you. This is you being autistic and being a literal thinker and thinking “Oh, okay…”
C: Yeah. If he says my name is “Miss”, I’m going to take that you’re trans, whether you’re non-binary femme or whatever… that you’re not identifying as cis male.
K: So we’re both cisgendered, but I’m part of the LGBTQ community.
C: Yeah.
K: And I find, for me, it’s really nice that you’re open to notes, and I’m open to notes, too, because I get things wrong all of the time. And I’m learning and evolving as the conversation continues. I expect to learn and evolve more, and I think you’re open to the conversation, so please don’t send us hate when we make a mistake. Please send us notes. Feel free to send us a note and say “Hey, the way you guys talked about that isn’t true to my experience,” because here’s the thing, no one person represents an entire community. That’s something I believe whole-heartedly. As somebody who’s pansexual and Black and a woman, I don’t think that I can speak for any other Black woman than myself.
C: Yeah.
K: Or women that I know. And I can’t speak to any other … anybody else who is pansexual, because I do think that pansexuality is different than bisexuality. I don’t think one is better than the other. I think that they are different, and I think there was a time in my life when I considered myself bisexual. There was a time in my life when I considered myself to be just a lesbian. There was a time in my life when I thought I was straight. And now the reason that I classify as pansexual is because, for me, I’m not attracted to gender, I’m attracted to people.
C: Right.
K: And that’s not better than anyone who’s attracted to gender, because I do have specific things like, for me, if you’re a man, for me to be attracted to you, you have to be able to grow facial hair. And I don’t care if you’re a trans man or a cisgendered man, once you have that “man” as a title, I expect facial hair. That’s what I’m attracted to. So I don’t expect it. It’s what I’m attracted to.
C: Right.
K: And, for women I have a whole bunch of different things. Mostly around breasts. (both laugh)
C: A shared interest.
K: Yeah. (laughs) So I like really big boobies and round bellies.
C: Like I said, a shared interest.
K: Yeah (laughs).
C: Yeah, so we try and do our best. So I know you’re much more aware of LGBTQ issues, and I try, and I think sometimes I’m more aware of disability issues, even though are also disabled
K: I think my disabilities are so different than
C: Yeah, you’re more on the chronic illness end of things, but, yeah, so I think we try and do our best. And permanent residency has kind of unlocked that, for us, the ability to just focus on becoming better us, rather than fitting better into Japanese society in a way that will be found acceptable at the time of judgment.
K: Ooh, well done on that looping us back around after the digression.
C: Thank you.
K: Yeah, I’m there with you. I went on that ride.
C: Oh, but a note on the other thing. In transcribing an earlier episode, we said something about we support our “trans brothers and sisters”, and we should have said we support our “trans siblings” because we also include non-binary in that.
K: Yes. But… okay. So, you put non-binary people in the same category as trans?
C: I have been reading a lot of binary-people, and they say they identify as trans because they are not cis, and so, yes, I am putting non-binary people
K: So I know non-binary people who don’t identify as trans, and they’re not cis.
C: Right. So, I know non-binary people who say “I’m non-binary femme, I’m a non-binary woman, I’m non-binary masc, I’m non-binary trans”. So that’s why I say “siblings”.
K: Okay, so you’re trying to use the most inclusive term, you’re not trying to define anybody’s identity.
C: Correct.
K: So for us, our understanding of non-binary is just that. You’re saying that you’re not part of the binary system of she and he.
C: Yes, exactly.
K: So, getting us back to permanent residency.
C: Okay.
K: (laughs) So, I do want to talk a little bit about political correctness, just really quick.
C: Right.
K: For me, I don’t view political correctness to be a burden in any way, and that’s why I always say that I’m a work in progress and that I’m learning, so if we say something on the cast that you say “wait a minute, that doesn’t speak to my experience” or “that hurts me” or “that offends me”, please don’t send hate. Instead of sending hate, educate. Don’t be mean, you know. Because we’re not coming here with a spirit of meanness, and if we do something that hurts you, we are generally sorry we did something that hurts you. That’s not our intention. This is not that kind of important.
C: I think language is important there. We’re sorry that you’re hurt. We’re not sorry “if you’re hurt”.
K: Yeah, so we take responsibility and ownership. We want to do better. So go ahead and send us a note if we’re getting something not quite right to your experience, and we will absolutely take that note on board. So, for us, it’s not about political correctness. It’s about our humanity recognizing your humanity and saying we’re trying to come from a place of peace and love and happiness. We want everybody to feel groovy. We’re not trying to create pain. We’re trying to be inclusive.
C: Yeah, I think “politically correct” was invented to be disparaging about people who are trying to be inclusive.
K: So.
C: Yeah, so, we’re not that.
K: At all. So, for me, permanent residency has let me just kind of relax into being Kisstopher again, and not always having to be on my Ps and Qs. Which, I didn’t really do a good job of always being on my Ps and Qs before permanent residency, but now there’s not anxiety about it. So it’s not a matter of whether I’m on my Ps and Qs, it’s about how I feel about whether I’m on my Ps and Qs. And I feel like I can start making long-term plans for my life, and how I want to live and who I want to be.
C: I think Ps and Qs is really interesting in Japan. Because on the one hand it’s really easy. Because taxes, for example, it takes about 5 minutes a year to file taxes. But if you don’t file your taxes, that’s a huge issue come permanent residency time. But on the other hand,
K: And they will deport you over taxes.
C: Yes. But on the other hand, getting in trouble for parking tickets seems like “What should that have to do with anything” … but obviously, being a good member of society you would never park in the wrong place. Me, personally, I would be horrified at getting a parking ticket. When I did drive, I got one parking ticket the entire time I drove, and I was horrified by that, and upset by that.
K: But you had a lot of moving violations, didn’t you? Oh, no, you had a lot of accidents
C: I had a lot of accidents. I had no moving violations. I had several “fix it” tickets when I was younger because I was driving a broke-down car.
K: Mmhmm. Because you were poor.
C: Yeah. And it wasn’t even my car. Because I was poor. (both laugh)
K: So you drove someone else’s hoopdee.
C: I drove someone else’s hoopdee. There was one time I got pulled over at 3 am because I had a broken tail light, and they called that person to make sure I was allowed to drive that hoopdee. Because they had a lot of hoopdees they let people drive, apparently, and so they had had many
K: Was that their thing?
C: That was just their thing.
K: Hoopdee collectors and they just.. a hoopdee lending library?
C: Yeah, exactly, when their vehicles wore out, they would lend it out to people they thought could use a vehicle.
K: Mmm, that’s kind of nice. So we currently don’t own a car. And I’m on the fence about whether or not. Rasta owns a car, and that kind of feels like enough car for right now. And I absolutely love his car, because it reminds me of my car in the United States, so now I’m like “Uhh”. Now, I wouldn’t be happy unless I was buying a green car. (C laughs) So, I don’t want a black car. Which, black cars are really common in Japan.
C: Yes.
K: Like, I think the most common car color is black in Japan. Black, white, and silver.
C: Yeah.
K: And then every now and then you’ll see other colors. But mostly it’s black, white, and silver. I don’t want one of those. I want a hunter green car. I really love the green. And I love the green and the beige, which is what I wanted originally, which Rasta’s car is green and beige. The interior is I guess more camel than beige.
C: I would call it Latte.
K: (laughs) I think it has more yellow than Latte.
C: No…
K: I think it’s more camel.
C: When I was 16, I had a job at a carpeting store, so I learned all these color words because we sold carpeting, we sold paint, and all.. so, I think it’s Latte.
K: I’m giving you side eye. I’m looking at you sideways. Not on board with that. I’m going to say camel.
C: Okay.
K: So, yeah, so I’m on the fence about it. I go back and forth. I don’t know. Who knows. Who knows what I’m going to do. And that’s what I love about permanent residency. It feels more like “Who knows what I’m going to do” rather than “mmm, I better not do that.” And that feels really good. So that’s really all I have to say about permanent residency. It’s awesome. I love it, and if you’re going to live in Japan, it should be definitely something that you consider before moving or in the first couple years of living here because if you’re under 30, it would really be worth your while to go for that Highly Skilled … visa, which is like permanent residency. Which allows you to fast-track permanent residency. And, you know, think about all of that, like making sure your pension is paid, and making sure you know, you pay your health insurance, and making sure you pay your taxes, and all that good stuff.
C: Well, and, as a permanent resident, we did it the hard way. Just being married to another foreigner. For all the steps to do it legally. You know, shout out and much love to anyone listening who is an immigrant, documented or not, whatever country you’re living in.
K: Because life as an immigrant is hard. And if you know someone who is an immigrant, break them off some love. (laughs) They need it. Trust. Trust they need it. (both laugh) And that’s us for today. Thanks for cruising by. We hope you cruise by again.
C: Talk to you next time.
K: Bye.
C: Bye bye.