Thursday, December 23, 2004

Almost Christmas...

I've been in New Zealand for almost a week. It's weird... everything's green. It doesn't feel much like Christmas. Yes, there's the shoppers and the shopping... but it's weird since every Christmas in my memory is a winter Christmas! It just IS... White Christmas... that's what Christmas has always been. I'm getting used to the weather, but it just seems really strange at the same time. Especially since we're at the beach this year... heehee...

I'll take some cool pictures at Christmas... but believe me, I'll be missing the snow!

SO... Tomorrow Lauren arrives in New Zealand!! I'm excited... it'll be really nice to see her. It's weird she's like family. She's my Japan family! And now I have my New Zealand family as well... Ben and all his family are here. Now I have family all over. It's really fun. And then there's my original family... Heehee... my mum and dad... I wish they could be here for Christmas. BUT... Next year... I'll be in Alaska... Mum's already planning it.

I'll be updating for a Merry Christmas message... hope your shopping goes well!!!

Monday, December 20, 2004

HELLO!!

So, I made it to New Zealand. It's a fantastic place. It's SUMMER!! And green and lovely... I'm really enjoying things so far... and it's only going to get better. When I have more time, I'll write more... I had a great weekend with Ben and his parents, they're LOVELY. Just wanted to say hello... more to come soon!


Wednesday, December 15, 2004

I'M RUNNING AWAY!!!!

Yup... that's right. I leave for New Zealand in the morning. I can't wait!!! It's going to be AWESOME!!! You have no idea how much I need this vacation. :-) Wheeeeee!

I'll be doing loads of things there... taking LOADS of pictures... so I'll try to post some if I can. If not... you'll get a massive wave of pictures when I get back... and will be SO jealous. Heehee... that's the plan anyway.

Wish me luck, I have some sticky connections to make in the morning. :-)

TTFN!!
ROCKIN' GOOD TIMES!

Yesterday was AWESOME!!! Really it was... some things could have been better, but whatever... it's life.

I taught 5 classes (yes, count them - 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5!). I was busier than a REAL teacher. Heehee... yes, I was just teaching Christmas lessons, but it was still a blast. That AND I got to teach with one of my FAVE elementary school teachers. Hanaoka-sensei ROCKS!! He's absolutely one of the coolest/nicest Japanese guys ever. First off, he's enormous, about 6'3" or so... which means everything in his classroom is normal size (the little podium I put my stuff on for instance!). Also, his class LOVES him. Every class he's ever had has been that way, so it's not just a fluke. Which means that all he has to say to get them to calm down is "shhh, listen" and they do!! So, that made for a great day! :-)

THEN... I went for an awesome run. Went about an hour and got in between 7 and 8 miles. It rocked!! Just went and kept up a good pace, it's been awhile since I did that. It felt really good. But MAN was it cold. Aw, well... I came home and laid down on my heated carpet and felt pretty good. :-)

And to top it all off... I went to kendo... and had an AWESOME practice. Getting things in order is so much fun. Basically, I'm learning all the skills I knew before, but with a lot more speed. And I got drilled on "doh" hits (chest protector) yesterday. It was fun, but I really didn't know what I was doing at the beginning at all. Wajima-sensei just kept making me do it! And I finally started getting it! Heehee... I'm a bit slow sometimes. :-)

GREAT day yesterday!!

AND today... I leave for Tokyo. Yup! I'll be leaving for New Zealand in the morning. Can't wait!!! WARMTH.... SUN... HEAT... They're all MINE!!! Hahahahaha... ;-)

Tuesday, December 14, 2004

As the World Turns...

And when we left Alisha last time... she was a crying, bawling mess... let's tune in this week to see how the story ends...

Really... It's amazing how someone talking sense can make you see how silly life is... and in particular yourself. I must give a standing ovation to Sean... my guru. He's all about telling me to CHILL out! And I thank him for that...

It doesn't mean that last night or even today was the best night or day of my life. But in the long run, I may be happier if I just let things flow along slowly... and see where things go. This is all in reference to Mike.

Yes, I'm still not ready to overlook the way things went down... but I'm ready to consider just hanging out once I'm back from break. And then, just getting to know each other. This is all starting to sound SO cliche, but in the end... whatever happens, happens. And I may have no control over that... which is going to have to be alright. I can see that now... or if I can't really see that clearly, I will in a reasonable amount of time.

So... I just wanted everyone to know at home... that I'm ok, and guess what?? I'm becoming a well-adjusted adult!! How cool is that??
;-)
Message for Sean...

Sean... I can't email you! I don't know what's wrong, but I keep getting my mails sent back to me... :-( Making me very sad. SO... if you read this... let me know. Is your inbox too full? Anyway... will talk to you later...

Monday, December 13, 2004

TYPECASTING SUCKS!!!

Yeah, I'll get around to the title of this entry in a minute...

Once again, I managed to find a guy that I liked. Oh, wait... the amazing thing about this guy is he liked me too... and he made me feel like I was someone special, like I was a person to hold onto... like I was meant to be with him. AND... then... somehow, just like all the other times in the past... it's been yanked away. It's a big - gotcha!!

Yeah, so Mike... not ready for anything serious... we don't know each other well enough... he wants to "take a step back to move forward" which is fine and good... but for once... for once, I really don't want to.... I don't want to be "the friend".

My life up until this point has been as "the friend"... high school, college, and Japan. So much so that I've pretty much perfected the role, I think I would win an Oscar in the category of being "Just Friends". And I'm tired. I am so ready to be with someone. I LOVE my friends!! I do... I may not say it enough... but I do. BUT I have enough friends... for once in my life, I deserve more.

But not this time... nope... once again, it's not meant to be. Only this time it hurts a lot worse than all the other times... because this time... I actually thought that Mike was different or special or something. But really... he's like the rest of them... just wants to be a friend. But for once, I might change my mold... and tell him no. Because my friends tally is all full up... I don't want another friend right now.

Yeah... so I'm having a bit of a shit time right now. Just needed to vent and let you, my friends, know. Thanks for listening... I wish I could have a hug from you all.
It's Monday...

Yup... it's that day again! ARGH!! I hate Mondays... but this one is particularly nice... I have multiple classes at the junior high, two classes at elementary school, then ANOTHER class at junior high. I think I'm going to be absolutely wrecked this afternoon. Oh, well... I'll live. But man, after these next three days alone, I'll have earned my NZ trip!! :-)

I leave for New Zealand on Thursday morning... for most of you that's Wednesday afternoon/evening. Heehee... but I'll be in NZ on Friday morning. Wheeee!! I can't wait. It'll be the vacation that I've really needed. AND it'll be SUNNY and WARM and JEALOUSY-INDUCING!!! As all really good vacations should be... heehee...

Hope your Monday's great!

Sunday, December 12, 2004


This is me and Tsubasa... a seven year old at the orphanage that we visited on Saturday. Lauren and I are rock-paper-scissors-ing for him before we leave in August. :-) Posted by Hello
Reactions...

So... sometimes I can be a little high-strung... I know that's a shock to some people, but yes, I can be a bit of a live-wire. And poor Mike found that out this weekend! ;-) See he changed plans on me at the last minute. Needless to say, I got a bit miffed. Well, pissed off really. And unfortunately, instead of just picking up the phone and telling him... I texted what I was feeling. BAD IDEA!! Intonation and intent is often lost by texting.

I talked to my mum, dad, and brothers... got a perspective on things... yelled a bit and then... I was ok. Got it all out... vented if you will and was fine. But the texts I sent were still hanging out there... and I think I scared the pants off of Mike. Argh!!

He's coming up today, so I'll have to explain the way my reactions sometimes work. So he doesn't get blind-sided by the next one. Poor guy... I told him I had a bit of a temper... but I don't think he knew what I was taking about really... now he does. :-)

Yeah... so, new resolution on the week?? DON'T SCARE PEOPLE... or rather, don't scare Mike. Hahahahaha!

Hope all's well on the weekend from with everyone! ;-)

Friday, December 10, 2004

BIG FAT LIAR!

So, after re-reading my post from this morning... I realized I'm SUCH a liar. I have some good/funny stories to tell... I was just too sleepy this morning to think. :-)

First off... on Wednesday I got to cook with my special kids at Tachikawa. There's only three of them... and we were doing no-bake cookies. You know the kind that are made with oatmeal, peanut butter and cocoa powder? Yeah those ones. Well... we got it all mixed up (Yasue is awesome at mixing!!) and had to put the stuff on WAX paper. Hmmmm... who forgot the wax paper? Oh, me! Don't know how I managed that, but I did. So we put it on this other stuff... not wax paper... and they wanted to stick. The only way we got them off was to practically PRY them off with a spatula. BUT the saving grace was that they tasted AMAZING! Yay!!

Then there was last night. Lauren organized the orphanage visit (there's an orphanage that we've gone to every year since I've been in Japan! I organized last year...). And we decided to do Christmas cookie decorating again this year. Which meant making the cookies, frosting and decorations all beforehand. As Lauren is BRILLIANT, she thought to invite her 3rd year girls (about 5-6 of them). Thank goodness she did! We made well over 300 cookies to feed and allow little kids to eat and decorate. Heehee... sugar them up. But the night wasn't interesting because of what we were doing... rather, it was interesting because of what we were talking about.

Girls will be girls... and we managed to gossip even with the language barrier. It was really good! And of course in the first five minutes the infamous/famous question came up... kareshi iru?? (do you have a boyfriend?) And for once, I got to answer... yes!! I got teased a bit... and Lauren's student asked how he is ('he' being Mike)... and Lauren made me really happy... and said he was awesome that he's a really great guy. Which just made me pleased as punch, it's one thing to know that's the case... but it's even better to hear one of your best friends reiterate it! :-) Thanks Lauren!!

And today... after teaching 4 classes this morning (and being absolutely wrecked) I decided to run in the awesome weather we're having. Did 7 x 2'-1' and was done in about 30min. GREAT feeling and now the endorphins are properly flowing! Gotta love that. ;-)

So there's the stories... my life hasn't been as boring as I try to describe it, it's actually been a great week!!


This is my name in kanji on my kendo tare (the hip protectors)... it reads 'Amarume' across the top... and then my name down the center bit. It's SO cool!! I'm so excited that I finally have a name... ;-) I was the no-name kendo-ka!! Posted by Hello
TGIF!!!

And MAN, is it ever good to say that. I thought this Friday would never come!! It's been quite a week. From Monday to now I've been busy busy busy. I NEED to sit and rest. But I won't get to do that at least until Saturday or Sunday. And even then I have to pack for New Zealand... so that's not going to be restful at all.

Garret's officially gone from Japan. He must have landed in Japan sometime in the wee hours of the morning (poor guy) and now he's on his way toward Fairbanks. On Wednesday night he said he didn't want to leave... he likes Japan too much. Heeheehee... he'll be back! ;-) Just wait.

This weekend is going to be really good. We have the Christmas orphanage visit tomorrow... we've been doing this since before I was a JET. The kids are awesome. We have a bajillion Christmas cookies made to decorate... and there'll be games... and a pinata! Should be good... as Lauren says... we sugar them up and leave! With all the frosting and cookies... that's exactly what'll be happening. :-)

MIKE is also coming up this weekend!! It'll be the last time I see him before I leave for New Zealand. Nothing big planned... just relaxing and watching movies... oh and TRYING to keep warm! It's gone really cold here.

Sorry for the boring blog... don't have many good stories!!

Tuesday, December 07, 2004

Strange realization...

So... today I was leaving school... putting on my jacket and scarf... you know the drill... and I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. And I had the scariest realization... I am an ADULT!! I look the part now... good clothes, good hair, responsible looking... even wearing a nice amount of make-up. When did this happen?? When did I actually grow up? It's very weird to just one day realize that I'm all grown up.

So, maybe I'm weird... but that was my major realization for today.

This week is getting scary busy... have classes all day long tomorrow... Garret's last day, I'm taking the afternoon off (hate the principal at Tachi-chu!!!)... and then we have an enkai (drinking party) and then Thursday I get to wake up at the butt-crack of dawn (yup, that's right!) to take Garret to Sendai. Then speed back for class!! Wheeee... this weekend will be good. Have an orphanage visit, music party... Mike's coming for Saturday night and Sunday. Can't wait to see him! I'm so tense right now... and he just relaxes me. Wish he were closer to me... *sigh* Oh, well...

Anyway... if this doesn't get updated for a few days... it's because I'm insanely busy... GOMEN!!

Monday, December 06, 2004

Tests are EVIL!!!

So, I took it. The Japanese Proficiency exam is finally over... and man, was it evil!! I suppose had I studied more (which I knew that I should have going into it) maybe I wouldn't feel this way. But I didn't. And I feel like tests are really evil. However, it did bring a lot of random people together that I never normally get to see... and we were all struggling against the same enemy (the test!). It was kind of like being in college around final exam time!! :-)

Oh, well... what can you do??

I also got to spend time with Mike. The more time I spend with him, the more time I want to spend with him. He's just this person who manages to teach me something new every time I'm with him. At times in the last few weeks, we've both said "man, I wish that we'd gotten to know each other last year!" But it's Mike who turns around and says, "things happen for a reason... we're together now..." I think he stole my line!! I used to be the optimistic one... how'd this happen?? Heehee... anyway... it was a tremendous weekend and it was really hard to say goodbye last night when it was time for me to come home. :-)

But it's just 6 days until I'll see him again!

Saturday, December 04, 2004

WEEKEND!

Yep, it's finally here. The weekend. *sigh* I never thought it'd get here. It's been a long and busy week. I love Tachikawa, but man... this week I needed time to chill out and study at my desk, but couldn't because I was working. Heehee... now I shouldn't complain, but it would have been nice to study. Oh, well... I'm not going to pass my test anyway... it'll just be a good exercise in taking a test. And then my brain will be leaking out my ears... and... yeah, I'm looking forward to the experience. Can you tell?? ;-)

I ALSO get to see Mike today. It's funny... even though I've never lived near him... and we're just really getting to know each other... I missed him this week. I guess spending 3 days together last weekend spoiled me a bit. It also didn't help that Ben wanted the full scoop... I think he approves... so far. He just doesn't want to see me hurt again. And I keep telling him what I told my dad (I told him this twice actually)... I've NEVER felt this way about ANYONE before. I think Ben believed me a bit more readily than my dad. Let's hope.

Anyway... maybe after the weekend I'll have some pics to put up on here. Heehee... we'll have to see how many times I can drag Mike into purikura. :-D Teehee...

Thursday, December 02, 2004

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MUM!!!

Yeah, so it's my mum's birthday. I won't give away her age because then she might get mad at me!! But I had to wish her a very happy birthday... she's my mum and I love her!!! :-)

This week has been flying by. Well, kind of. I've been studying like mad (not sure why, since it's pretty much futile!) for this test on Sunday. And things are going... kind of ok. Just wish I were going to come close to passing. Don't think that's even remotely possible... still... am giving it a go. In that respect things have been flying by... it's already Thursday!

On the other hand things seem to be CRAWLING along. Every night I just want to be with Mike. But no... it's still the middle of the week and I can't be with him. Now this sounds so silly... seeing as things have just kicked off between us... but the thing about Mike is that the more I talk to him and know about him... the more I want to know... and it's just a big vicious cycle. :-) So... I'll get to see Mike on Saturday afternoon... wish it were sooner, but it can't be helped!

This week I've been running like crazy! I've increased my time from 30 min. to 40 min. Even though the weather is markedly colder (tights, and stocking hats are out already) than last week. Something about running outside always makes things better. It's just nice to be running again. In about a week I'll start doing some harder stuff. Intervals and such.

Anyway... another big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my mum.... I LOVE YOU!!!


Wednesday, December 01, 2004

Hey there...

Today's just a normal day. A few classes here and there. The weather sucks!! Still overcast and threatening looking. Poor Garret's at home in bed (my bed to be exact because it's warm!). He's suffering from the "I've caught a cold blues!" And trying to sleep them away as well.

I've been trying to get more sleep lately, but it's really hard with Mike being a bajillion miles away (ok, just 2 hours... but that's far enough!) so we talk late at night. It's just difficult is all. But... I like him more every time I talk with him. I've finally realized (how long did it take??) that this is real... it's not a dream... it's not my imagination... but Mike is real and he's fab.

Tonight I have dance practice and then I'm going over to have a visit with Oi-san. I haven't seen her in ages!! I feel bad, it's much harder though now that Ben's not in Yuza. I'm only there for dance things anymore.

Hope you're all having a great day!!

Tuesday, November 30, 2004

Sugar Shock!!

Hey there! SO... I was informed that my last blog was a bit sugary sweet! And it might have sent some of you into sugar shock... sorry!! I'm just really happy is all... and wanted to share... will just make sure to mix it up a bit!!

Yeah, so I have a really stupid principal at my favorite school. He won't let Garret come visit school with me. Apparently he's worried there'll be an ACCIDENT at school or something!?! So, for this last week that Garret's here he gets to be bored at home twiddling his thumbs. Am SO annoyed!! But what can I do... literally the principal's school is his castle... so what he says goes. STUPID MAN!!! ARGH!!!

Well, I'll be going to school... I'm still as happy as ever... Mike is fantastic! And that's your update! :-)

Sunday, November 28, 2004

Weekend...

So, I've had the most spectacular weekend!! Friday I had kendo... not spectacular, but enjoyable enough. All the sensei were away, so it was just me and kids. Which... wasn't so good, because they can't seem to tell me what to do. I need to give my kids some bossy lessons! ;-) I'm sure I could do that.

After that I met up with Mike, a guy that I've been texting for about two weeks and had come up for the Thanksgiving party on Saturday. Mike is probably the most amazing guy I've met in a really long time... and I really like him. SO... we just hung out and talked for hours... until it got too late (around 1:30...) and I needed to go home to sleep because I had to be somewhere at nine the next morning.

The Thanksgiving party was a massive hit on Saturday. Lauren, Kim and I had organized and done the cooking... and about 50 people enjoyed the benefits. We had really nice turkey... and all the Thanksgiving treats... including a bajillion pies... I think we had about 12 pies. I can't remember what the final count was. We just kept on making them until all the pie pans were filled. Hahaha...

Then we watched a bit of football... and Mike and I left the rest of the group and hung out at my house. Looked at pics... and talked for hours. He's the best. We can just talk... and be honest. He doesn't bullshit me... and I in turn try not to bullshit him. But sometimes telling the truth is scary... especially since I like him SO much.

It's funny, we had similar reactions to our situation. I wouldn't tell anyone about him because I didn't want to jinx anything... and he did pretty much the same thing. How funny is that?? I was highly amused... and relieved that he was thinking along the same lines.

Tonight, I had to say goodbye to Mike after one of the best weekends EVER!!! It was amazing... having a guy that wants to be with me and that I want to be with... *sigh* Just wish that I didn't live 2 hours away from him. Oh, well...

So, I hope the weekend has been as prosperous as mine... I'm the happiest I've been in ages... and the happiest I've ever been with a guy!! ;-)
Giddy, silly, ecstatic me!!

Yeah, so that's me! I'm on cloud 9 (or even 999) today... it's amazing. I talked to my mum today about my guy... and it's hard because half of what makes him so great is the way he looks at me, how he speaks to me, how he gets nervous (very cute!) when he's with me... how do you explain that to your mum?? I don't know. I think the fact that I'm insanely happy is probably evidence enough of what kind of effect that he has on me.

So... I've had the most amazing weekend! The Thanksgiving dinner last night was AWESOME... last night with Mike (yup, that's his name) was amazing... and now, I'm going to go have lunch with him as well. :-D

Hope everyone's as happy as me!! :-D

Saturday, November 27, 2004

PERMA-GRIN is here to stay!

So, I just got back from the most amazing first date! It didn't even start until around 10... but as I write this, it's nearing 2:30... ample date time I suppose. I just needed to tell someone how happy I am!! I've had this grin on my face since I started off the night... I can't help it. This is the happiest I've been in AGES... and it looks like it's here to stay.

Now, I'm not counting my chickens... but this guy is amazing... and he likes me as much as I like him. I've found someone who appreciates the tomboy in me, the runner in me, and so far... all the stuff that he knows. Either appreciates or accepts... which is great...

Just needed a bit of a share... now I have to try to go to sleep! Wish me luck!

Friday, November 26, 2004

IT'S FRIDAY!!

Yay... finally Friday! It's taken ages to get here. Figures, whenever you want Friday to hurry up and come it seems that time actually SLOWS down. But it's here at last. :-) Am so HAPPY!! Am actually a bit sleepy, but that kind of goes with the territory of it being the end of the week.

So, this weekend is the BIG Thanksgiving dinner. The dinner's tomorrow... we've got 5 turkeys (all about 10 pounds), LOADS of potatoes, sweet potatoes, pumpkins, broccoli/cauliflower, and pie stuff. Should be a fantastic meal. Wish us luck! Nont of us has ever cooked for this many people before. Heehee...

Enjoy TURKEY DAY!!!

Thursday, November 25, 2004

OVER THE MOON!!

Well, I'm a tiny bit sleepy this morning... nah, that's an understatement... I'm really sleepy this morning. But content and happy to be sleepy. Does that make any sense? I've met an amazing guy recently... and our late-night texting sessions have me a bit tired today. I was wound up so tight afterwards it took me AGES to get to sleep. But that's ok... because this is the happiest I've been in a long time.

I won't bore you with all the details here... but if you want, email me and we'll chat.

I'm doing fantastic over here in Japan. And this is with winter right around the corner (the really cold wind blew in last night, no lie!)... and grey skies all around! Hope you're having a great day... :-)

Wednesday, November 24, 2004

FAVOUR/FAVOR!

Was just wondering how many people actually look at my blog... so, if you all could do me a massive favour/favor (I get Lauren yelling at me if I spell it just the British way...) and sign my guestbook once just letting me know who gets on... that would be great! Thanks...


COOKING FOR FORTY-SOMETHING...

Yesterday was another national holiday in Japan. And as Saturday is our big Thanksgiving dinner here (yes, it's a few days late!), Kim, Lauren and I had to do some shopping. We went to the cheap grocery store... where we had two carts going... double decker style!! It was funny... Lauren and I could barely push the carts!

We're cooking for over 40 people. Thanksgiving is going to be AMAZING!! But we're going to start off super early on Saturday... Cooking begins at 9am... and we're eating at 4! Wish me luck... this is going to be one heck of a cooking project. We've got 5 experienced cooks going to do the bulk of the cooking. So that'll be good... just no forgetting anything... and no stressing!! :-)

BRING ON THE TURKEYS!!!

Sunday, November 21, 2004


A night out in Sendai... here's what we saw last night...  Posted by Hello
GREAT NIGHT OUT!!!

So... last night it was girls' night out! Lauren, Jo, and I headed to Sendai to go dancing. We got there (after some issues with navigating...) around dinner time... we met up with Mike from Yamagata City and then headed out to find food. After walking around for awhile... Lauren offers to buy my dinner if I ask and find an Indian curry restaurant. That was ALL the incentive that I needed...

And... a nice Japanese man gave us directions... and we had the most AMAZING curry last night. Yummmy!! So oishiiiiiiii!

Dancing was great... had a LOT of Eminem... needed Peter there to play the part... even went as far back as 1993-94 to start the night off. Was really good fun!! Next time... we're taking a whole group of us...


Saturday, November 20, 2004

GIRLS' NIGHT OUT!!!

Yup!! There's some girls stuck over in 'inaka' (country) Japan who are taking on the city tonight! Heehee... the city is only Sendai, but it's over a million people... don't know if we could handle Tokyo... we might go into culture shock. :-) Dancing, drinking and shopping (not necessarily in that order!)... will be a great day!!

Hope all of you at home have great things planned for the weekend!!

Friday, November 19, 2004


Another Tribute to Kendo! Posted by Hello
I LOVE KENDO!!!

After far too long away from kendo, I was able to practice tonight with my junior high kids. Wow!! I had such a good night. I feel like things are all coming together... only problem is my main guru, Shinko-sensei, wasn't there tonight. I need to ask her about doing the ikkyu (ee-kyou) qualification test. I think I can... we'll just have to see. But tonight I left kendo on such a high.

I've only just now eaten dinner (that's right at 11 o'clock!!) and am not really feeling tired, but I know I have to get up and run tomorrow morning, so definitely want to rest up for that. SO... after an AWESOME night... I wish you all a great Friday as I head to bed!!

Night, night!

Thursday, November 18, 2004

GOT ME SOME LOVIN'!

Yes, that's right... I got me some lovin'... from my 4th grade special kid, Shoyo!! He is so cute! Every time I see him I get a BIG hug and he says 'Alisha-sensei kawaii!' ('Ms. Alisha's so cute' is a rough translation.) And today, boy did I need that hug! And it's been a great day ever since. Three great classes at elementary school, yaki-imo for lunch... what else could a girl want??? Not much more than that, let me tell you! ;-)

Wednesday, November 17, 2004

I did it!!!

So, I finally did it! I passed that bloody driving test yesterday! YAY!! Now all I have to do is go back Friday morning and finish up the paperwork that goes along with it. And THEN, I'll have a Japanese driver's license. How fun is that?? :-)

I'm stoked! I wish I'd been able to do it in one try (like I did at home...), but alas... I did not. Just glad it didn't take 4-5 times. I would have been SO embarrassed if it did!

SO... watch out JAPAN... Alisha's got a license and she's NOT afraid to use it!! ;-)

Sunday, November 14, 2004

HILARIOUS!!!

Oh my gosh! I haven't laughed so hard in AGES! This is SO funny... So for all of you who want to laugh about what the next 4 years could bring... try this on for size. ;-)

http://zapatopi.net/cascadia.html

Other news...

This weekend was a good one. I went to a friend's birthday party on Saturday... we ate, drank (only Coke!) and sang karaoke for ages. Peter busted out Eminem, Will made a fab Bob (Dylan), and Lauren and I managed a GREAT Busted impression with "Thunderbirds Are Go!!" (Ben, you were with us in spirit!) We had a really good time... Hope all your weekends are going just as well as mine!

Saturday, November 13, 2004

GOOD LUCK BULLDOGS!!!!

SO... the girls have done it!! They've made it to Nationals... and made everyone out here in alumni-land REALLY proud. Just giving a major shout out to all of those fantastic girls carrying on "the BULLDOG" tradition. I'm starting to sound like Coach... what's that about? ;-)

Anyway... I'm over here in Japan WISHING I were closer to Evansville! Oh, well... I'll get all the up-to-date infor from our friend the Internet.

GANBARE!!!!

Friday, November 12, 2004

HELLO!!!

Hey everybody! I know it's been AGES since I've posted anything on my blog. It's just been very busy around here. And most of this week I was at a teacher's conference... separating me from my computer. ;-)

I took my driving test on Tuesday. Needless to say, I did not pass. Now I am a bit ashamed of losing my cool following the test... but to be fair, I'd had enough disappointment for one week (no concert and a freaking AWFUL conference go to... and then no license!! the concert was a MAJOR disappointment!) and I just couldn't handle a Japanese man patronizing me and telling me that I have to do all these stupid little things in order to be able to pass the test. Was SO not up for that!! AT ALL!! But... I have another test next Tuesday and driving school the day before. Going to kick its butt next time around!! ;-)

Then I had the Tendo Mid-Year Seminar for English teachers. I'm tired of doing these teacher's seminars because it's the same old stuff... every time. One time of telling us how to teach is enough... and this is the third of these things that I've gone to. NOT that impressed... but... I did have fun in the cultural workshops and my friend Bryan did a GREAT multiple-intelligences talk. The rest of the seminars (to be honest...) I picked based on people (and a little bit on usefulness, just a little). What can I say?? After 3 years... I should be exempt from this thing!!

This afternoon after we finished, Lauren and I headed to an onsen and then into Yamagata City to pick up her dad. He got in just after 7. Then dinner and home... I'm happily home... and really tired. Tomorrow... is an all-day study day!! ;-) I swear.

Saturday, November 06, 2004

HOW????? (to recover...)

I just read an article that gave me hope. As long as there are kids out there that care this much (check this link http://cnn.aimtoday.cnn.com/news/story.jsp?&idq=/ff/story/0001%2F20041105%2F0259819650.htm&sc=1110) we may have a chance. Maybe... they make me proud to be an American. NOT our election process, NOT our president, NOT even my state. Kids like this make America what it is.

So even though I am not proud of this past week in American history... as long as there are kids like this in our country... I'm proud that they belong to us. Thanks, kids from Boulder. You've started the process of restoring my faith in America. There's a LONG way to go... but it's begun.

Friday, November 05, 2004

MOVING ON!!!

Ok... so, now that Bush has won re-election, I'm moving on. I am NOT going to think about that fact again until I have to... which is about the time I have to come back to the US sometime next August. ;-)

Today... a wonderfully sunny autumn day in Shonai. This morning I had to get up and take my car in for the vehicle inspection that they do here. It's called "shakken". Basically, the inspect your car to see if anything could break in the next year (or two if you get it done for that long) and fix it. SO, there's a lot of things that are unnecessarily fixed in this process and it's no wonder that it costs a good chunk of change (mine will cost about $750). The morning was pretty... but just the thought of emptying my pockets made me want to cry.

Today I have ONE class. Afterwards I was surrounded by kids that wanted "seals" or in real-speak, stickers. But just because they said "seal please" I was not going to give them a sticker. Instead, I insisted that all of them answer a couple questions in order to earn their sticker. Heehee... only after about 5 minutes did the mod around me dissipate so I could move to the staff room. Crazy, eh? Over a sticker... I really wish that some of the innocence these kids have wasn't lost on our junior high kids in the US.

So... there you have it... my day... not so exciting. A bit of kendo tonight and that's it. I have to be off to study Japanese. I have a month until I take a REALLY hard Japanese proficiency test... no more procrastinating for me. :-)

Thursday, November 04, 2004


For everyone else out there who'd like to be wearing one of these... I mourn for my country... just because a man wins a position, doesn't mean he is the right man for the job. It may just mean that people are too cowardly to try for a change... I mourn the fact that I woke up this morning embarrassed and ashamed to be from the United States. Embarrassed because in the next four years I cannot see that there will be any changes for the good. I see our country on the course that it is presently on, which is not the road to peace and international alliances, but the path to alienation. These next four years are going to be some of the hardest in our country's history... let's hope we can weather them.

Good night.

Tuesday, November 02, 2004


in honor of this very important day... please, go out and vote! Posted by Hello
VOTING!!!

I had the BEST day today! First off, got to school and realized - I have NO classes. Some people would be very annoyed and MOST of the time I'd be really annoyed. However, now, I've got so much on with grad school applications and the big proficiency test in December. Yeah, got LOADS done today...

Then I got home... and the best surprise awaited me. MY ABSENTEE BALLOT!!! I got to VOTE today. Yes indeed! I am more excited to vote in this election than I've been since I got to register to vote. Wahoo!! How cool is that!?! AND I think I got a good omen... there was a MEGA big rainbow in the sky as I walked to and from the post office. Hmmm... good sign?? Maybe?? Let's hope.

And then tonight... there's kendo. I went and was a bit worried when none of the girls showed up... then my buddy Mami showed up and told me the younger girls have a tournament tomorrow. Well, with no girls around... I got SO much practice in. Which made me very tired. But I'm getting a whole lot more used to my bogu. So that's great!! I LOVE KENDO!!!

Anyway... GET OUT AND VOTE!!! If I can from JAPAN... you can from wherever you live in the States!! :-)

Sunday, October 31, 2004


You'd never know it from this picture... but these boys slept through a decent portion of Bunkasai!! Sweet music is meant to put you to sleep, right? Just ask these two... Posted by Hello

Ever ready: 3rd year girls are always ready to have their picture taken... Mami (second from the left) is one of my kendo girls. :-) Posted by Hello

Reluctant ichi-nensei: It took me about 5 minutes before I could convince these three boys to have their picture taken... Ryouta on the left was particularly reluctant! Posted by Hello
Weekend Update!

Hey there! Well, this weekend has been WILD! On Saturday, I had a choral competition for school all day. It's called bunkasai which means 'culture festival' but it's really just a choral competition. What happens is, each class from each grade chooses a song to perform and then there's a year-wide song to learn. On a Saturday in October (this past one), they perform them and the judges give awards to the top three in each grade.

It was AWESOME this year. The quality of the singing was much better than in the past two years. I dragged Garret along for the second half, when the 3rd years were performing. They did SO well. One of my fave classes won... they did an amazing job. They were clearly the best out of the 3rd year students.

So that was very exciting indeed...

Then we had a bit of a Halloween party at my house last night. I discarded the Betty Rubble costume... was feeling VERY fat yesterday. So, instead I went for the costume with coverage... I was a decent Trinity likeness... just needed better glasses. Will see about the party next weekend! What will I be then? ;-)

Last night was a nice night, I got to see people I haven't seen in an age... I also had a good talk with my girls (Kirsty and Lauren) which was nice. And believe me... my last months in Japan will not go wasted... I finally got a bit of perspective to things. Which was extremely helpful. Thank you to them... I felt really great this morning when I woke up. All except for the whole... hacking up a lung business (still a touch sick).

Anyway... this is a rambling post. I'll try to do something interesting in the next few days to update you all on. Going to go to bed early to catch up on sleep right now!

NIGHT!!!

Thursday, October 28, 2004

So... today I read something on the internet and followed up on it. So, went on to find the new Eminem video 'Mosh.' Now, don't get me wrong, am not a big fan of Eminem... but I figured if he's up for a bit of political commentary, I'm open to seeing it. Check it out!

http://www.gnn.tv/videos/viewer.php?id=27&spd=hi

I don't know what the reaction across the country will be, but to be honest... this IS what freedom of speech is all about. No slander. No libel. Just facts that are presented to back up a message. It's cleverly done and more importantly, the message is important. Because at the end of the day, voting is what's important.

That's enough of me being political. I'm still waiting on my absentee ballot... I don't know if it's going to get here. Am crossing fingers and all, but not yet holding my breath. ;-)

Today was a good one. All in all... I'm wrecked so, at 10:30pm I'm going to be turning in...

Night, night.


Wednesday, October 27, 2004

The ONLY reason for pink...

The only reason I'd use pink is to get your attention... as everyone knows that I hate the colour. I have a request... now I'll precurser this with, I know not everyone reading this blog believes in God, but for all those who do...

One of my best friends got some really sad news this morning. My friend Lauren was told that her 17 year old cousin was diagnosed with cancer this morning. He's 17!! Now, I'm shocked and a bit shaken because that is SO young.... and he's the youngest person diagnosed with this type of cancer. And I don't even know him, just think of how his family must be feeling. SO... please pray... pray for my friend Lauren, her cousin, her family... it's going to be tough for them and for her... she's in Japan and doesn't have the support of her family. I'd really appreciate it... and I know she would to.

News like this makes me think about how petty life can get, but also how precious life is. Please tell the people you love that you love them and value them... and remember that small problems, no matter how big they seem, are actually small and there are more important things to be worrying about.

Thanks, I love you all!
HALLOWEEN!!!

The first Halloween party of the year is upon us... and somewhere around Monday I realized that ALL of my potential costumes were too 'adult' for a high school Halloween party (yes, that means TOO much skin!). So, I had to pull something out my ass... and here you go... I'm going as... a '50s housewife!! Now, I know it sounds silly, but I just happen to have a dress (a really nice one actually) that will easily double for housewifey-ness... AND I even have funny fake pearls and shoes and everything! Heehee... the students (Japanese high schoolers) may not 'get' it, but the other English teachers should...

Have other costume ideas up my sleeve as well, but those are for MUCH later! ;-)


Monday, October 25, 2004

When you LEAST expect it...

So, after a harder than usual week, I didn't have too many expectations going into the weekend. I'd gotten a call from Tomo during the week, saying he had the weekend off and wanted to play tour guide. I was apprehensive, but thought it would be nice to get away... so decided to go for it.

Saturday, we got up pretty early to go to Naruko Onsen (hotsprings) and Matsushima. Naruko is famous for lovely autumn foliage and Matsushima is one of the three GREAT views of Japan. And then the plan was to go for dinner and after that go where the wind blew us... or something like that.

The day was great, weather was fantastic, and fun was had by all. Garret had a good time, though climbing through the gorge at Naruko wasn't exactly his cup of tea (fear of heights!) he was a good sport about it anyway. And the leaves were really pretty. :-)

Then we headed out to Matsushima... which is absolutely gorgeous. Basically 'matsushima' means 'pine island' and what is it is a cove with lots of little rocky islands filled with pine trees. The view is absolutely gorgeous, you can climb up about the area and look down on these islands AND you can go across a nice bridge to one of the islands. Either way, it's really pretty and worth doing. Though it got a bit windy as the sun went down... it was still a really nice day.

We started our evening with a slight diversion... Tomo knows a lady who's involved with the exchange/international students at Tohoku University and she has a student from Italy staying with her. As he just came back from Italy we stopped by to drop something to this girl. Anyway... we ended up going inside and having a glass of wine. Which led to the telling of the 'pikalisha' story... and the fact that I like 'Awamori' (strong Okinawan liquor)... which then led to our hostess bringing out an array of 'awamori-ish' drinks for me to try. If I had finished all the cups in front of me I would have tripped my way to the car. As it was, I sipped and was a bit rosey on the way out...

Then it was on to gyutan! 'Gyutan' is cow tongue. Sendai is famous for it. You should have seen Garret's face when he saw there was no chicken on the menu... and it got a bit funnier when I told him that we were at a restaurant that ONLY sold gyutan. Heeheehee... I didn't really know we were going there myself until that day. But as Garret is a VERY finicky eater I kept it a bit hush hush... and he did fine. Liked almost everything... he said it tastes like chewy steak! But I don't think he'll be going for gyutan again. ;-)

That was about when the news of the Niigata earthquakes got to us. Well, the news of how serious they were. Tomo works for the weather service which also assists with disaster relief situations... and even if it's his day off he's got to report in in the event of a disaster (these earthquakes count if you've seen the pics!)... so after some Baskin Robbins... he left us.

We went with Helen (a really great girl who lives and attends the university in Sendai) and went looking for a place to drink. We ended up in the nicest cocktail bar I've ever been to. Low-lighting, jazz in the background, lovely bar staff... AND great cocktails. No menu, basically they knew it all. I had the best long island iced tea! Wow!!

We each had two amazing cocktails and some sabisu (service) items (lovely bready thing and a dessert)... about a half hour before we left, a man came into the bar. And busted out a cigar. Well, Garret is not opposed to having a cigar on occasion so this guy made him very jealous. One of the bartenders must have mentioned to him that we were from Alaska (Garret and I) because the guy passes down a cigar and says "welcome, I've been to Anchorage..." in Japanese of course. And the cigar... was... CUBAN!!!! Yup... Garret almost fell off his chair. Heehee... (and he said he can't wait to tell Norm Phillips and Bill Husby!)

So, after seeking out the tobacconist... we met up with Tomo and then headed to Bar Isn't it? A "chain" bar (there are several of these places in the bigger cities in Japan... very western in styling) for a bit of a dance. One of the guys that Lauren and I met in September also came... right when we were about to leave... but that's ok...

Helen and I tore it up on the dance floor. I haven't danced in SO long and the music was pretty good... and I had a buddy on the dance floor. It was perfect! I even got Garret out on the dance floor for almost ONE song (that's pretty good if you know him!). And then at around 2:30am, we decided to go. That was pretty late considering that I had to be up and on a bus at 7:40am... I thought I stretched it out pretty good.

Then I slept like a ROCK for a few hours, got up, showered... and made the bus!! BUT... wow... it was worth the sleep deprivation!! It was SO much fun!! :-D

I'm ordering up another good weekend like that VERY soon....

Sunday, October 24, 2004

This weekend was fantastic... but right now I'm completely wrecked! So, I'll post weekend exploits tomorrow morning. Sleep is far more important right now! Night night... ;-)

Look at the autumn leaves... there's still LOTS of green... but the leaves are definitely starting to change. Very nice, eh??  Posted by Hello

Haha!! Got Garret without him being able to look away... usually he's a butt about pics... this time, he didn't have any warning! Posted by Hello

Tomo, Garret and I at Matsushima!! Some lovely girls from Tokyo took our picture for us. It was a BEAUTIFUL day!! Posted by Hello

Friday, October 22, 2004

Heehee... I love talking to drunk people on MSN! My best friend, Ben, is online pissed as a fart... it's hilarious! It makes me feel so good... and it gives me PLENTY to laugh about! :-) Just thought I'd share... hope you're all having a good night/day. :-)

Funny Japan Stories...

So... it's been awhile since I relayed some of the ridiculousness that is my life in Japan... heeheehee...

Let's start with the startling information that one of my 15 year old boys, is indeed a girl!! Or that's what he says!! Funny thing, we're just sitting around shooting the shit, babbling in half-English, half-Japanese... and out comes "I'm girl!' From a boy called Yutaro. Now I look at him and ask "Really?" Because to be honest I thought he got all mixed up between boy and girl or something (I can't necessarily trust the level of my students' English...). But no, indeed he said that he was a girl (again) and proceeded to claim he was a "D-cup, D-cup!" Now, unlike in the US, you can touch a student without being afraid of a lawsuit. So I patted down the front of his uniform... and it seems that, despite claims, he is indeed still a boy! NUTCASE!!! Have you ever heard a 15 year old at home claim to be a girl?? Geesh!

Oh, it gets better!! Remember when the Backstreet Boys were cool... for girls!! Well, now that they have fallen out of favor (have they officially broken up?) in the States, they are finding popularity in Japan. One of my boys (also 15) LOVES the Backstreet Boys. Heehee... the one thing he won't do is dance to them... why like them if you don't want to BE them!! ;-)

Best story of the week... doesn't actually have anything to do with my students...

My brother was set to go to Sendai on Wednesday. He procrastinated (read - fell asleep) and missed the train and bus to get there. So, I got home to a note saying, "Sorry I missed your calls... (called to wake him up!) I've gotten money and I'm getting on a train and we'll see where I go! I'll be back by Friday. Talk to you soon. Garret. PS Don't forget the movies!"

I've heard from him once, and expect him back tonight with loads of adventures to share!

Anyway, there are some funny (ish) Japan stories! Enjoy!!!


Kirsty and I BEFORE putting on men (the helmet!)... yes, we have to wear those things on our head... it may look funny, but they soak up the nasty sweat! And boy, do you sweat!! Posted by Hello

Hello... this is what I look like in BOGU! It's SO much fun to wear... need a little practice getting it all on, but will be fine! Posted by Hello

Wednesday, October 20, 2004

MORNING!!

I'm hoping that the orange will wake me up. I'm really tired today... and it doesn't help that it's pea-soup outside. Blah!! If there's anything that'll kill a good mood... it's rain. And if there's anything that'll make a not great mood worse, it's rain. So... there you have it - rain, my friends, causes all ills. Of course there's the side that says we need rain for crops and stuff like that... but I still think that autumn is the WRONG time for rain.

Ok... that being said...

Last night kendo was AMAZING!! Once again I got to use my bogu (armor) and had a blast. This time I didn't get nearly so sweaty because the windows were open and there was a nice breeze. But I did get to do more practice with my "ki-ai". Hmmm... "ki-ai" is the sound that you make in kendo. It's philosophically the focusing of the spirit and helps a person to strike with strength and power, etc. But really, it sounds like you're yelling and that's about it. It's quite loud, and every person has a different approach to "ki-ai". Anyway, with kendo you're meant to yell out the part of the body that you're hitting (in practice)... so you "ki-ai" (yell), then yell the part you're going to hit "men" (head), "kote" (wrist), or "do" (chest guard). Well, I was lacking on the second bit... I was kind of going "Yaaaaa" and then "men". Or at least that's what the teacher told me. So we worked on that for a bit... and I got to hit him a bunch of times. :-)

SO, the moral of the story is... when feeling down... Hit things with bamboo swords and yell in the face or your oponent!! :-)

Monday, October 18, 2004

HELPU ME!!!! (in true Japanese style...)

So... I woke up this morning in a major funk. You know those times when you wake up and all of a sudden nostalgia, homesickness, etc... hits... (ok, so this may be a uniquely Japan-related problem... but sit and imagine being in a place where no one really understands anything about you... and then you might get where I'm coming from).

Yeah... so that was me this morning.

The day got worse before it got better... I found out, when I got to school, that one of my kids (2nd year) was hit by a car on Saturday and is in the hospital in a coma. So, please pray (if you do that) for him... it's tough on the kids. He's only 14.

Things gota bit better when we worked on a mosaic and chilled with the kids. Oh, and danced around to Bouncy Knowles.

SO... if there's anything exciting going on with ANYONE out there!! PLEASE let me know... I need news from the REAL world!! ;-)



Sunday, October 17, 2004

BORED IN SHONAI!!!

Ok... so tonight, we reached a new low. I was SO bored tonight... but in that stir crazy kind of way... SO... we went looking for some excitement. I dragged Robbie and Garret along. :-) What are friends/sisters for? Well... we lucked out, oh yes... we hit the jackpot. Erm... maybe.

We headed up to Matsuyama observatory, mainly to have a look at the view of Shonai... but then went into the observatory... we got to look through a big telescope at the stars. I didn't really understand all that we were looking at, but it was pretty cool! I don't think I've ever seen whole star systems like that before. AND (this is the really good part!) we saw a shooting star!! Is luck in the stars?? Maybe?? Let's hope... I could use a bit of luck. Just a little....

After that, we did the usual... late-night food run (was actually quite hungry) and went for a bit of purikura (short for "print club" i.e. really silly picture-booth pictures). We found the BIGGEST dive of a game center (I wanted this GREAT purple sweatshirt that said VERMONT across the front, but a cooler Japaese guy had found it first!!)... and had a bit of fun. Then... the night, alas, was over... I'm barely awake here... but I had to write this great night into the history books... OH... and my house is SO cold. Yup, the temps have definitely dipped into the too cold to sleep bit of the thermometer. :-) Winter's coming!!

Thursday, October 14, 2004

For a lack of anything better to post, I've posted two funny t-shirt pics. It's amazing what things you can find in Japan... stuff that seems to have been lost/imported from the closet of a random American... somehow ends up selling (for not shabby prices) in Japan. What a wonderful world we live in. Reuse, renew, recycle... :-D

Now, you women out there, how disturbingly funny is this shirt?? It's hard not to laugh, but what would you do if your doc wore this shirt to work... heeheehee... ;-) Posted by Hello

INSIDE ALASKAN JOKE!! Do you know where this t-shirt's from?? I'm a bazillion miles from home, but can feel at home anytime with the help of the Japanese second-hand shop. Only thing, in Japan, this shirt is worth about $30. At home, it would be 2 at Value Village... what's that about another man's trash again?? Posted by Hello

Wednesday, October 13, 2004

Today was a gift...

And now I'm supposed to say something very profound... like everyday is a gift... blah blah blah. No really, today was a gift! I got out of school at NOON!! I totally forgot that's what was happening until I got to school. I even made my lunch and everything. (Didn't need to...)

So, what did I do?? Was I somehow really productive? Oh, no... not at all actually. Went and met Lauren for coffee... got Garret some shoes... and mailed my test stuff. I guess that was pretty important, but other than that the afternoon was a slackers heaven. :-) And you know what?? It felt really good.

So, no profound anything to say here... no pics even (though I could scrounge some old ones I suppose)... night! Maybe I'll have more excitement to report tomorrow... for now, I'm very content. That's worth celebrating, right? :-D

Tuesday, October 12, 2004


Here is a pic of Garret and I in front of Matsumoto-jo (castle). A nice Japanese man asked if we wanted our picture taken... what can you say to that?? SURE!!!!  Posted by Hello
Sometimes the BEST weekends are the ones that aren't planned... but that happen totally spur of the moment. Last week, somewhere around Wednesday, I thought that going away for the weekend would be nice. So, what happened?? Garret and I decided where to go (Nagano), what to see (Matsumoto-jo) and went! It was great. Japan always has a surprise up its sleeve. What are the odds that there's a special festival when you go somewhere? And what are the odds that you run into people from the same prefecture where you live??

Well, there was a SOBA festival... and we ran into people from Yamagata who were selling soba. We couldn't pass that up... so we had Yamagata soba while in Nagano-ken! We also had an amazing lunch of soba today as well. Garret likes the warm soba, and I like the cold soba (today was a really warm day!)... so we had what we liked and got on the train - stuffed - and managed to each have a bit of a nap. :-)

Hope every else had a fab weekend as well...

Sunday, October 10, 2004

MORNING!!

Well, I'm faced with a massive issue this morning... to race or not to race. I've said I would run in the annual Himawari Marathon (Sunflower Race) in my town. I am out of shape and not really wanting to, but I'm going to show up. Now the real question is: do I race? or do I just run for fun? Heehee... massive issue, eh? We'll see...

After all that, I'm heading to Matsumoto in Nagano-ken with my brother. There's a massive castle there and Garret's into castles. I'm sure there will be lots of picture taking, so I'll post those when we get back.

This week is going to be awesome... I get Monday and Tuesday off... so I have to teach 3 days! Yup. That's it... 3 days!! Yay! Sorry, it sounds like I'm very excited to NOT be teaching. Hmmmm... maybe I am just a little bit. :-)

Have a great day everybody!

Saturday, October 09, 2004

MY BOGU CAME!!!!!

The long-awaited bogu (kendo armor) has arrived! I got the call today and jumped about 5 feet in the air. HOLY COW!! I'm SO stoked. Yes, I will gradually turn into a smurf for about a month, but after that I will return to normal. :-) I can't wait!! You have NO idea how exciting this is... unless you're one of the people that I've bored to DEATH with my moaning and talking about bogu... then, I apologize profusely. :-)


Wataru! look at that thug... wearing his hat all ghetto like that... i think i helped him with the hat actually! ;-) Seems like the little boys are my favourites??? Can you blame me!? They're SO cute!! Posted by Hello

Shiryu-kun was being camera shy... he kept running away from me!! But I finally got him to stay still for this one picture... isn't he a cutie?? Posted by Hello

Thursday, October 07, 2004


And here are some of the babies!! How cute are they?? Imagine them... hugging on you, giving you high five... and just being cute in general... and you can see why my day got better!! ;-) Posted by Hello
Kindergarteners Rock My World!!

Yes, you heard me correctly... kindergarteners rock this girls' world. What can I say? I needed a bit of unconditional loving today... and I got it. That's the great thing about kids... they love you no matter what. The do!! And then, just in case you ever had a doubt you were cool or wanted... they come back for a high five and just one more hug. I needed that today...

Wanna see some of the cuties that I get to get "lovin'" from?? Will post them next! They're too sweet, I promise. :-)

Saturday, October 02, 2004

Dance Dance Revolution...

Has anyone seen the King of the Hill in Japan?? Well, Dance Dance Revolution is definitely here to stay. I'm crap at it... just need to put a bit of practice in... heehee... no, I promise... I have a life! Lauren whooped my arse at it today... but hey, she's a REAL dancer!

In other notes... I'm off to Tokyo tonight! Oh, yes... tonight... I will be dancing all day tomorrow (Sunday) in a dance competition in Tokyo... and will be back for work on Monday! NO dilly-dallying or anything, just down to Tokyo for business and that's it. Wish me luck! I will be completely wrecked on Monday, but you know... it's all about the experience, right?

Will let y'all know how it goes! :-)

Sunday, September 26, 2004


Today we went to a big kendo taikai (tournament)... this isn't a picture from today. But it is a fantastic picture of kendo! LOVE this sport... ;-)  Posted by Hello

Saturday, September 25, 2004

Day 3 of Garret's visit!

So... today, I exposed Garret to kendo. I'm not sure what he thought... but by the end I think he was starting to realize that if he did get to try kendo... he might get his butt kicked. Not only that, but getting it kicked by kids that are at least 4 years younger than he is. Hmmmmm... I think I'd like to see that! Does that mean I'm a bad sister?? Haha... nah, means I'm a NORMAL sister!

Sometime soon here I might let him get some sleep... but that'll be a few more days yet. ;-)

Thursday, September 23, 2004

He's here!!!

Garret has arrived in Japan... he's had quite the journey. But managed to get to Sendai all in one piece. Lauren and I picked him up at 7ish and headed to Shonai. Making good time, with a dinner stop, we got back and are about to crash. Am exhausted.... ZZZzzzzzzz...

I'll be taking him to school tomorrow... boy will my girls be excited!! Heehee... get ready for celebrity status Garret! Little does he know what my kids are like... hahaha!

Anyway... will post pics as soon as I have some!

Saturday, September 18, 2004

So, I'm finally trying to do things with my blog... which means that you'll have to bear with me as I mess around with stuff. Like... posting random pics of my kids... me babbling... etc. All part of the fun! Wheee... ;-)

Anyway, will continue to play and hope that I can make some sense of this stuff...


Yuya... this is my buddy! How sweet is he?? Posted by Hello

Ruri and Mami... not really rivals... just fun-loving girls! Posted by Hello

edit that... DUH! this is SHUYA!! our fearless shiro-gumi leader! Posted by Hello

Kazuma... now doesn't he look sweet?? Really, he's got an inner thug somewhere in there... ;-) Posted by Hello

Hello there Naoki... you look so EXCITED! and hello Kohei *kid flashing peace in the back* Posted by Hello