go-gatsu byo

jon was telling me about the japanese epidemic of "go gatsu byo", or, "may sickness"which many japanese suffer upon returning to their jobs after a whole 5 days off in a row (unheard of). i wouldn't necessarily say that i'm a sufferer, though it was rather difficult to pull myself out of bed yesterday morning and wind myself up to teach elementary school. as soon as the alarm pulled me from my sleep and i immediately realized that this wasn't another holiday day, that i had to get up and had obligations...it was definitely not a pleasant feeling. though it didn't last long. i walked to school and as i rounded the corner to the parking lot, the students in front of me were walking under the dark pink cherry blossom trees, laughing with each other. it made me feel better and more able to tackle the day.
our holiday was great. we did a variety of different things and saw many varied places from the temples in nara to the villages of the kiso valley, the the hustle and bustle of nagano city. we couldn't have asked for more perfect weather. hot and sunny every day, even at the top of norikawa, a national park in western nagano prefecture, where everywhere was still covered in snow and spring hadn't arrived to greenify the trees yet. we went to an outdoor onsen there and i actually burned fairly badly.
it was my second time to matsumoto but it is a great city. i could definitely live there. it's got a lively downtown core, with lots of interesting restaurants and bars and architecture. it just seems to have a pulse that other cities close to it's size lack.
the "i'm on holiday i have no obligations" feeling was shattered this morning when my cranky never-speaks-to-me neighbour knocked on my door and brought me downstairs to show me a dime-sized bit of blue paint on her car door which she says i caused. i guess she wants me to pay for the paint repair (how much are we talking here?). not a great start to the day, that's for sure. i'm at work now and it looks incredible outside, i wish i were free so that i could enjoy it.