Monday, December 29, 2008
I Am The Customer You're Looking For
Not much more than 48 hours remain in 2008. Even if I could spend every single one of them playing video games, something would remain unappreciated on my bookshelf.
Of course, I cannot spend two straight days playing games, and despite the abundance of titles to choose from I find my list of available digital entertainment expanding rather than contracting. Richard came to town this weekend with his mom and stepdad and we exchangedChristmas Kurisumasu gifts. Long story short: we now both own copies of Resistance 2 and LittleBigPlanet, two games that really demand a partner to play with. I can't imagine we'll have "finished" them before Resident Evil 5 comes out in the Spring, which also looks to be a sensational cooperative experience.
Speaking of which, I'm still feeling rather jazzed about my accomplishment earlier in the evening. Sony decided to offer a choice of two discs to new PlayStation 3 customers in Japan. Both discs contain a handful of demo software, but Resident Evil 5 in particular stands out because it's highly anticipated and the demo is not otherwise available to the public (at least not PS3 owners). I saw the sign in our local electronics store and it clearly said "available only with purchase [of a PS3]" but I decided I'd try to chat up the clerk and see if I couldn't work him over. After all, I bought a PS3 barely six months earlier from that very store, surely I should not be penalized for being proactive in my video game purchases? Besides, what's it to this guy if I get a disc loaded with free samples? That kind of stuff should be handed out to the masses anyway.
So I grabbed the sign and walked up to the guy and asked "these discs aren't for sale, are they?" He agreed, noting that they were only for customers buying new PS3s. I smiled and said "But I bought a PS3 this year. Am I supposed to buy a second one for this?" He got my drift and grabbed a nearby phone to ask...somebody. It didn't matter who - I knew the hard part was over. If he wanted to brush me off, he would have done so already. Indeed, the phone conversation was extremely brief. Whoever he called, that guy clearly didn't want to hear it. He probably barked "Give him the damn disc, you idiot. He's a customer." After all, here in Japan I am always right and heaven forbid I feel less than honored to be in their store. In a flash (yes, he did run) I was given my choice of free discs. I chose wisely.
I wish I could really cap this tale off with a story of what I think of this gift I procured, but the truth is I haven't had a chance to actually play the damn thing. When we got back from shopping it was dinnertime and after dinner Mako got locked into watching TV. It hasn't been all bad, considering I did just see Ray Parker Jr. sing for the first time in 25 years (yeah, he sang exactly what I thought he would). It's just that after whipping out a Jedi mind trick and convincing this guy to give me something for free, I want to take advantage of this opportunity while it lasts. It's only a matter of time before that demo becomes widely available - in English no less - and then my gambit will have been for naught.
つづく... (Click here to read more)
Of course, I cannot spend two straight days playing games, and despite the abundance of titles to choose from I find my list of available digital entertainment expanding rather than contracting. Richard came to town this weekend with his mom and stepdad and we exchanged
Speaking of which, I'm still feeling rather jazzed about my accomplishment earlier in the evening. Sony decided to offer a choice of two discs to new PlayStation 3 customers in Japan. Both discs contain a handful of demo software, but Resident Evil 5 in particular stands out because it's highly anticipated and the demo is not otherwise available to the public (at least not PS3 owners). I saw the sign in our local electronics store and it clearly said "available only with purchase [of a PS3]" but I decided I'd try to chat up the clerk and see if I couldn't work him over. After all, I bought a PS3 barely six months earlier from that very store, surely I should not be penalized for being proactive in my video game purchases? Besides, what's it to this guy if I get a disc loaded with free samples? That kind of stuff should be handed out to the masses anyway.
So I grabbed the sign and walked up to the guy and asked "these discs aren't for sale, are they?" He agreed, noting that they were only for customers buying new PS3s. I smiled and said "But I bought a PS3 this year. Am I supposed to buy a second one for this?" He got my drift and grabbed a nearby phone to ask...somebody. It didn't matter who - I knew the hard part was over. If he wanted to brush me off, he would have done so already. Indeed, the phone conversation was extremely brief. Whoever he called, that guy clearly didn't want to hear it. He probably barked "Give him the damn disc, you idiot. He's a customer." After all, here in Japan I am always right and heaven forbid I feel less than honored to be in their store. In a flash (yes, he did run) I was given my choice of free discs. I chose wisely.
I wish I could really cap this tale off with a story of what I think of this gift I procured, but the truth is I haven't had a chance to actually play the damn thing. When we got back from shopping it was dinnertime and after dinner Mako got locked into watching TV. It hasn't been all bad, considering I did just see Ray Parker Jr. sing for the first time in 25 years (yeah, he sang exactly what I thought he would). It's just that after whipping out a Jedi mind trick and convincing this guy to give me something for free, I want to take advantage of this opportunity while it lasts. It's only a matter of time before that demo becomes widely available - in English no less - and then my gambit will have been for naught.
つづく... (Click here to read more)
Friday, December 26, 2008
Vacation of Awesome (NY), Part II: Attack of the Particulates
Nearly a week into our Vacation of Awesome, Mako and I still found ourselves waking up each morning drowsy and unrested. What was initially dismissed as jet lag could no longer be ignored - something was obviously preventing us from sleeping properly. It wasn't the bed or the noise of the city, it turned out to be the air.
Yes, for the first time in my life I was having trouble dealing with a lack of humidity, which up until that trip had been my mortal enemy. I spent years of my childhood holed up in the basement playing video games next to mankind's greatest invention: the dehumidifier. No matter how hot and nasty a summer's day became, I could enter the basement and relax.
Here in Japan, humidity is the single most frustrating element about the climate (and therefore my everyday life). Both summers and winters in Japan feel harsher than the temperature suggests entirely because the air is moist and heavy, so it was with great surprise that I realized dryness, my lifelong friend, was actually needling me in the night and waking me up to cough or blow my nose. It made sense for Mako to have a problem because she was used to the dampness of Japan, but what the hell happened to me?
Regardless of our cultural-climactic backgrounds, the two of us had a mutual problem to face and it was up to me to deal with it since Mako was completely out of her element. I first tried to ask the front desk for help, an idea so ludicrous it seems almost comical in hindsight. After initially expressing confusion at the word "humidifier," a disinterested staff member made a phone call to somebody and asked if they were available for guests. They were not. I asked her if there was anything else she could do and said no. To paraphrase The Simpsons, she had tried nothing and she was all out of ideas.
No matter, I was a wealthy tourist flush with mega-valuable Yen in the bank (seriously, it may be bad for the rest of the country but I am doing great, thanks for asking!) so it was obvious that money would solve our problem. All I had to do was buy a humidifier. It didn't matter that we couldn't possibly fit it in our suitcases to take home because in Japan there's no reason to ever use one. My dad would happily use the thing while we were not around - aside from my basement sanctuary, the rest of our house had a humidifier stationed in every room of the house during the winter.
Mako and I hit the streets when I realized I had no idea who sold humidifiers anymore. The stores I always associated with those infernal machines were big, cluttered disaster areas that sold everything under the sun, like Caldor. In other words, they went out of business decades ago. Standing in midtown Manhattan I wasn't sure where to begin, so I just walked to the nearest big-ticket electronics store and hoped they might have something. While I found a copy of Chinese Democracy on sale for just $12 (which is a surprisingly enjoyable, if eclectic, album) they didn't have what we were looking for. I asked their staff for suggestions (I know, crazy, right?) and the best they could manage was the other big-ticket electronics store next door. When the neighboring store had nothing we wanted, I wasn't sure where to go next.
It was my father who, being unable to lend us one of his own machines, suggested a trip to Bed, Bath and Beyond. BB&B is apparently the spiritual successor to the crap-stores like Caldor I grew up shopping at except that they're a little leaner. There's no clothing department or power tools but "Beyond" obviously allows them to sell any particular junk they feel like stocking. Much to my surprise their humidifiers were right in front of the entrance which allowed me the pleasure of not having to ask for anyone's assistance. I ended up buying something that fit our needs so well I didn't even know it existed: a portable humidifier that just uses a standard 500mL bottle of water as a reservoir. I set it on the table right next to Mako's head and we were good to go.
Editorial note: That story took a lot longer to tell than I thought it would!
After a family-centered weekend, the next three days were mostly about the two of us. We spent so much time walking around Manhattan and just resting in the hotel that I'm having trouble remembering what happened when. Monday we spent a few hours with my Mom shopping downtown, mostly looking at cosmetics, clothing, and Dean & Deluca. Mom surprised us with more baby clothes and she was a little disappointed that she wasn't the first person to do that. She also generously took us (Salena too!) out to dinner at Mary's Fish Camp for our "anniversary," as it was one year earlier that we had been "married" in our Kobe wedding ceremony. It's not a date that will appear on any official records, but celebrating that date was a nice way to commemorate our union with family over some glorious lobster rolls.
On Tuesday (I think) we did some more shopping that was a little more up my alley. We hit a bookstore or two, including the not-so-recently relocated Kinokuniya, so I could stock up on English reading material. I'm actually facing a book surplus right now but unlike my video game surplus, my job offers me plenty of time to read in-between classes or semesters (playing my PS3 at work would be frowned upon, I believe). So far, I've been really enjoying The Game which came highly recommended by a friend. I questioned why it was in the "Self-Improvement" section at first because I'm not reading this book to learn more about meeting women, but as I read it I am starting to see why it was shelved in that particular area. I'll write more about it when I finish the story, but so far I can echo my friend's glowing recommendation to anyone, man or woman.
Wednesday morning my Mom flew back to Florida so we bid her farewell, but not before she could give us more baby clothes that she bought for us the day before. I guess we can expect a lot more of that in 2009, not that I'm complaining. From what I've seen of babies they need to change outfits every half-hour or so. Mako and I then took a trip downtown to visit the soon-to-be-obsoletely-named New Museum. Despite the impressive exterior the gallery space inside is rather limited right now and the exhibits we saw struck me as extremely repetitive. There were two floors dedicated to a single portrait artist who seemed to draw the same face on all her subjects. Maybe I'm not "getting it" but I'm of the opinion that a portrait of Kurt Cobain shouldn't need to be labeled "Kurt" for me to distinguish it from the other two dozen drawings of pasty, skinny white dudes around me.
Next time: Thanksgiving and the exciting conclusion of the Vacation of Awesome. No more about humidifiers or airline service, I promise.
つづく... (Click here to read more)
Yes, for the first time in my life I was having trouble dealing with a lack of humidity, which up until that trip had been my mortal enemy. I spent years of my childhood holed up in the basement playing video games next to mankind's greatest invention: the dehumidifier. No matter how hot and nasty a summer's day became, I could enter the basement and relax.
Here in Japan, humidity is the single most frustrating element about the climate (and therefore my everyday life). Both summers and winters in Japan feel harsher than the temperature suggests entirely because the air is moist and heavy, so it was with great surprise that I realized dryness, my lifelong friend, was actually needling me in the night and waking me up to cough or blow my nose. It made sense for Mako to have a problem because she was used to the dampness of Japan, but what the hell happened to me?
Regardless of our cultural-climactic backgrounds, the two of us had a mutual problem to face and it was up to me to deal with it since Mako was completely out of her element. I first tried to ask the front desk for help, an idea so ludicrous it seems almost comical in hindsight. After initially expressing confusion at the word "humidifier," a disinterested staff member made a phone call to somebody and asked if they were available for guests. They were not. I asked her if there was anything else she could do and said no. To paraphrase The Simpsons, she had tried nothing and she was all out of ideas.
No matter, I was a wealthy tourist flush with mega-valuable Yen in the bank (seriously, it may be bad for the rest of the country but I am doing great, thanks for asking!) so it was obvious that money would solve our problem. All I had to do was buy a humidifier. It didn't matter that we couldn't possibly fit it in our suitcases to take home because in Japan there's no reason to ever use one. My dad would happily use the thing while we were not around - aside from my basement sanctuary, the rest of our house had a humidifier stationed in every room of the house during the winter.
Mako and I hit the streets when I realized I had no idea who sold humidifiers anymore. The stores I always associated with those infernal machines were big, cluttered disaster areas that sold everything under the sun, like Caldor. In other words, they went out of business decades ago. Standing in midtown Manhattan I wasn't sure where to begin, so I just walked to the nearest big-ticket electronics store and hoped they might have something. While I found a copy of Chinese Democracy on sale for just $12 (which is a surprisingly enjoyable, if eclectic, album) they didn't have what we were looking for. I asked their staff for suggestions (I know, crazy, right?) and the best they could manage was the other big-ticket electronics store next door. When the neighboring store had nothing we wanted, I wasn't sure where to go next.
It was my father who, being unable to lend us one of his own machines, suggested a trip to Bed, Bath and Beyond. BB&B is apparently the spiritual successor to the crap-stores like Caldor I grew up shopping at except that they're a little leaner. There's no clothing department or power tools but "Beyond" obviously allows them to sell any particular junk they feel like stocking. Much to my surprise their humidifiers were right in front of the entrance which allowed me the pleasure of not having to ask for anyone's assistance. I ended up buying something that fit our needs so well I didn't even know it existed: a portable humidifier that just uses a standard 500mL bottle of water as a reservoir. I set it on the table right next to Mako's head and we were good to go.
Editorial note: That story took a lot longer to tell than I thought it would!
After a family-centered weekend, the next three days were mostly about the two of us. We spent so much time walking around Manhattan and just resting in the hotel that I'm having trouble remembering what happened when. Monday we spent a few hours with my Mom shopping downtown, mostly looking at cosmetics, clothing, and Dean & Deluca. Mom surprised us with more baby clothes and she was a little disappointed that she wasn't the first person to do that. She also generously took us (Salena too!) out to dinner at Mary's Fish Camp for our "anniversary," as it was one year earlier that we had been "married" in our Kobe wedding ceremony. It's not a date that will appear on any official records, but celebrating that date was a nice way to commemorate our union with family over some glorious lobster rolls.
On Tuesday (I think) we did some more shopping that was a little more up my alley. We hit a bookstore or two, including the not-so-recently relocated Kinokuniya, so I could stock up on English reading material. I'm actually facing a book surplus right now but unlike my video game surplus, my job offers me plenty of time to read in-between classes or semesters (playing my PS3 at work would be frowned upon, I believe). So far, I've been really enjoying The Game which came highly recommended by a friend. I questioned why it was in the "Self-Improvement" section at first because I'm not reading this book to learn more about meeting women, but as I read it I am starting to see why it was shelved in that particular area. I'll write more about it when I finish the story, but so far I can echo my friend's glowing recommendation to anyone, man or woman.
Wednesday morning my Mom flew back to Florida so we bid her farewell, but not before she could give us more baby clothes that she bought for us the day before. I guess we can expect a lot more of that in 2009, not that I'm complaining. From what I've seen of babies they need to change outfits every half-hour or so. Mako and I then took a trip downtown to visit the soon-to-be-obsoletely-named New Museum. Despite the impressive exterior the gallery space inside is rather limited right now and the exhibits we saw struck me as extremely repetitive. There were two floors dedicated to a single portrait artist who seemed to draw the same face on all her subjects. Maybe I'm not "getting it" but I'm of the opinion that a portrait of Kurt Cobain shouldn't need to be labeled "Kurt" for me to distinguish it from the other two dozen drawings of pasty, skinny white dudes around me.
Next time: Thanksgiving and the exciting conclusion of the Vacation of Awesome. No more about humidifiers or airline service, I promise.
つづく... (Click here to read more)
Thursday, December 25, 2008
フェリース・ナビダッド
At long last, that day has arrived. They day we've all been waiting for since 2008 began. It's my last day of work!
Oh, right, it's also Christmas.
Christmas in Japan is oddly familiar while at the same time completely different. All the usual imagery is everywhere: Santa Claus, reindeer, trees, blinking lights, even people who will slip in "Merry Christmas" (or at least Merii Kurisumasu) into their daily vocabulary. Everything except the Nativity scene, because there's very few Christians in this country. There's even a few unexpected things, like fried chicken commercials and Christmas Cake reservations, but those things certainly fit right into the greater scene of things without a second thought.
What's missing, and what makes Christmas so different in Japan, is the sense that anybody really gives a shit about this holiday. For starters, it's not a "holiday" in any impactful way. Everything is open; in fact, I'm typing this on my laptop in school. If certain calendar dates had fallen in a slightly different fashion we might still be teaching classes today. No one does anything special to reflect that today is Christmas Day. If anything, this is the first day people start putting Christmas behind them so they can get ready for the really important holiday of New Year's Day.
I've probably got a different take on all of this than the other foreigners in Japan who are no doubt writing similar posts on their blogs/Twitter/Facebook as we speak. I grew up in America either indifferent to Christmas or actively loathing it, depending on how depressed and angry I was at the world at the time, so when I point out what's "missing" it's not because I actually miss it. If anything I feel like the Japanese really nailed it: have fun with the lights and some food, maybe give some presents to people, and then get on with it.
For some of you, this may sound really strange. This might be what all your Christmases are like already - good times, but no big deal. Well I can tell you that there a lot of people out there who take Christmas very seriously. I've worked a number of jobs that required certain employees to come in on December 24th or 25th and seen plenty of fierce arguments about who it was going to be (I often volunteered to save people the trouble). I've had customers look at me with a mix of horror and disgust on their faces when I told them I had no plans for Christmas because I don't celebrate it. It's like my neutral position towards their holiday was some kind of an attack. I guess they never met a Jew before. Or a Muslim. Or a Buddhist. Or a...you get the idea.
I have tried to get my head around the variations of the Christmas experience and how all these very different holidays, festivals and traditions all seem to operate under a single name. I made a video two years ago where I discussed my reluctance to accept my own version of Christmas because I didn't want to have anything to do with the Christmas I saw certain other people celebrating. And with millions of people out there on the pro-Christmas side, I suppose I took it as some kind of "honor" to live outside the popular norms, even if it ruffled a few feathers.
So it is with some measure of satisfaction that while I may never come around to celebrating Christmas, I am totally on board for Kurisumasu. As far as I can tell, Japan does this holiday just right. After all, who doesn't like fried chicken and presents?
つづく... (Click here to read more)
Oh, right, it's also Christmas.
Christmas in Japan is oddly familiar while at the same time completely different. All the usual imagery is everywhere: Santa Claus, reindeer, trees, blinking lights, even people who will slip in "Merry Christmas" (or at least Merii Kurisumasu) into their daily vocabulary. Everything except the Nativity scene, because there's very few Christians in this country. There's even a few unexpected things, like fried chicken commercials and Christmas Cake reservations, but those things certainly fit right into the greater scene of things without a second thought.
What's missing, and what makes Christmas so different in Japan, is the sense that anybody really gives a shit about this holiday. For starters, it's not a "holiday" in any impactful way. Everything is open; in fact, I'm typing this on my laptop in school. If certain calendar dates had fallen in a slightly different fashion we might still be teaching classes today. No one does anything special to reflect that today is Christmas Day. If anything, this is the first day people start putting Christmas behind them so they can get ready for the really important holiday of New Year's Day.
I've probably got a different take on all of this than the other foreigners in Japan who are no doubt writing similar posts on their blogs/Twitter/Facebook as we speak. I grew up in America either indifferent to Christmas or actively loathing it, depending on how depressed and angry I was at the world at the time, so when I point out what's "missing" it's not because I actually miss it. If anything I feel like the Japanese really nailed it: have fun with the lights and some food, maybe give some presents to people, and then get on with it.
For some of you, this may sound really strange. This might be what all your Christmases are like already - good times, but no big deal. Well I can tell you that there a lot of people out there who take Christmas very seriously. I've worked a number of jobs that required certain employees to come in on December 24th or 25th and seen plenty of fierce arguments about who it was going to be (I often volunteered to save people the trouble). I've had customers look at me with a mix of horror and disgust on their faces when I told them I had no plans for Christmas because I don't celebrate it. It's like my neutral position towards their holiday was some kind of an attack. I guess they never met a Jew before. Or a Muslim. Or a Buddhist. Or a...you get the idea.
I have tried to get my head around the variations of the Christmas experience and how all these very different holidays, festivals and traditions all seem to operate under a single name. I made a video two years ago where I discussed my reluctance to accept my own version of Christmas because I didn't want to have anything to do with the Christmas I saw certain other people celebrating. And with millions of people out there on the pro-Christmas side, I suppose I took it as some kind of "honor" to live outside the popular norms, even if it ruffled a few feathers.
So it is with some measure of satisfaction that while I may never come around to celebrating Christmas, I am totally on board for Kurisumasu. As far as I can tell, Japan does this holiday just right. After all, who doesn't like fried chicken and presents?
つづく... (Click here to read more)
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Vacation of Awesome (NY), Part I: The Fetal Menace
So San Francisco was fun. Brief, but fun. Now let's get to the glorious main event: me in New York.
My cross-country journey turned out to be excruciating because it turns out there's no longer free meals on domestic US flights. Full-fare airlines are now Jet Blue minus the savings - you get free TV but if you want a movie, a game or even a fucking sandwich you have to pay six or seven dollars. I put up with stuff like that when I used to fly to Florida to see my Mom because it was a short flight and I didn't pay much for the ticket. Plus, at the time it was easy to bring your own food and beverages on board to circumvent their inflated prices. Now they expect me to sit for six hours without a free meal or a free movie and I can't possibly bring anything substantial on board unless I buy it in the airport after I clear security, where it naturally costs nearly as much as they charge on the plane. I don't believe in conspiracies but this works out very nicely for the airlines, don't you think? At least the sandwich was pretty good.
Alright, I promise, no more in-flight belly-aching. We landed in New York on Thursday night which, in hindsight, is the best time to arrive anywhere. Landing in the morning, as we did in San Francisco, is simply too much of a hassle. You get off the plane and maybe you're hungry but you're definitely tired, and the idea of spending an entire day awake in order to adjust to local time is torturous. In New York, all we had to do was take the bus into Manhattan (nap time!) and then we had a few hours to spend before we could crash in our hotel bed.
Our midtown hotel allowed us to walk to my father's apartment with ease, although the unseasonably cold weather made that walk a little more trying than usual. It was only thirty-eight degrees when we arrived, about ten degrees cooler than the weather we had expected (and at least twenty degrees colder than San Francisco). Once we arrived though, we were able to enjoy the glory of heat which Japanese homes simply do not do very well. We spent some time with my father and sister, telling them pretty quickly that Mako was pregnant. Dad quipped "Who's the father?" much to Mako's amusement. Everyone started hugging and at least one person cried. It was a nice way to start a homecoming.
Friday we tried to head out and see some sights, spending an hour or two at MoMA and running into my friend Scott on the streets (I have a knack for that), but we ran into a problem. Our little fetus of joy was wearing poor Mako out. The biggest surprise of the pregnancy thus far has been Mako's continued and unpredictable fatigue. Some days she feels great and we can spent an entire day walking, eating, shopping, whatever. Other days she can barely manage to sit up and eat before collapsing onto our couch. I blame Hollywood for convincing me that women can lead completely normal lives without noticing they are pregnant until they throw up a lot or get fat. Mako hasn't been puking at all but each day is a toss up as to whether or not she can go outside.
In Friday's case, there were obviously a lot of mitigating circumstances. We had taken three plane flights in the previous three days and passed through two separate time zones. We were both having trouble sleeping at night as a result, so shortly after we ate lunch Mako simply couldn't go any further. We went back to hotel and she was done for the day. I was a little drowsy but otherwise feeling excited to be back in New York. She encouraged me to go out and see my friends but only I after I made sure to buy her a few things so she could eat dinner in the room if she got hungry again.
So Friday night turned into a hangout night where I got to spend an evening with most of my friends in Westchester. There was a massive amount of pizza, a chicken parm sandwich with my name on it (figuratively) and a cookie cake with my name on it (literally) to celebrate my recent birthday. Unfortunately, with so many people there I had a hell of a time getting to my big news, and I ended up having to force it in towards the end of the night just before I took the last train back to the city. There was much rejoicing and a group hug the likes of which I've never really experienced before.
Saturday was a very quiet day as Mako was still not doing so well. We spent most of the afternoon in my father's apartment where Mako just napped while I did laundry. In packing for our vacation we realized that two weeks of clothing for two people was a very tall order, given that we had so many souvenirs in our suitcase, so we decided to only bring half that and just wash while in New York. In hindsight I think we could have managed to bring a few more clothes to cut down on the urgency of our laundry sessions but otherwise it was a welcome opportunity to simply talk to my family again and let Mako rest. I took a nap myself because I was still struggling with jet lag, an unusual problem for me.
I had reserved a karaoke room for the evening and invited as many people as I could, much like we did in March, but Mako wasn't up to singing and staying up late. My mother was also in town as of that afternoon and staying in our hotel, but she too was mysteriously tired and not interested in singing as she had originally hoped. We dropped in on her, brought her some soup and then ate a light dinner together (more pizza actually) before I went downtown to meet my friends. Karaoke was another rousing success, of course, because singing and drinking are incredibly fun no matter how poorly you perform either task. It was a great change of pace for me because most of my karaoke sessions are with my Japanese coworkers who do not respond as well to my knowledge of English-language 80's hits as Americans who grew up in the 80's do.
It was during karaoke that I received my first baby gift - Jason and his fiancee gave me a cute navy blue outfit that reads "Yankees Little Fan Club." Up until that point I really hadn't though much about raising the baby as a baseball fan, but I suppose my interest in the sport would inevitably rub off on my son or daughter in some way. Let's hope it doesn't work out like it did in Mako's house: her father loves the Yomiuri Giants while she loves the Hanshin Tigers. One family divided by a baseball rivalry; if my kid became a Red Sox fan I don't know what I would do. I'd rather he/she did crystal meth and got into porn, frankly.
Sunday was another quiet family day although not at all like Saturday. We went with my mother and my sister out to Staten Island to visit my extended family, including an uncle who has been sick and I haven't been able to see in a recent years. He couldn't make it to the party we had in March so he had never met Mako before. I must say that even though he looked much older than I remember him, when I spoke to him he seemed just the same. When he first saw Mako he was quick to point out how lucky I was to find someone so pretty, a fact that I may never fully appreciate no matter how much I think about it.
More shocking to me was the sight of my cousin's kids (second cousins? once removed maybe?) who are all fully sentient at this point. The oldest is in middle school and probably plays more video games than I do. The youngest is still pretty young but he's walking and talking and old enough to disobey his dad and run outside. The idea that I met all of these people (not adults, but people nonetheless) when they were infants is pretty hard to wrap my head around. It must not be as shocking when it's your own child who you raise and see every day, because looking at all those kids for the first time in years, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. If it is shocking no matter what, I may be unprepared for my own future.
There was a lot of food, of course, including more pizza which drew apologies from my cousin but I insisted that there was no such thing as too much pizza. Having spent months in Japan subsiding solely on their peculiar "interpretation" of pizza known as piza, a solid weekend of American slices was entirely welcome. There was also football on TV, another rare treat for me so I watched with renewed interest, even if it was only the Jets. Mako was very quiet and kind of tired too, but she was clearly feeling better. It seems a weekend of limited physical activity was just what she needed.
Coming up next: anniversary lobster rolls and non-stop shopping...
つづく... (Click here to read more)
My cross-country journey turned out to be excruciating because it turns out there's no longer free meals on domestic US flights. Full-fare airlines are now Jet Blue minus the savings - you get free TV but if you want a movie, a game or even a fucking sandwich you have to pay six or seven dollars. I put up with stuff like that when I used to fly to Florida to see my Mom because it was a short flight and I didn't pay much for the ticket. Plus, at the time it was easy to bring your own food and beverages on board to circumvent their inflated prices. Now they expect me to sit for six hours without a free meal or a free movie and I can't possibly bring anything substantial on board unless I buy it in the airport after I clear security, where it naturally costs nearly as much as they charge on the plane. I don't believe in conspiracies but this works out very nicely for the airlines, don't you think? At least the sandwich was pretty good.
Alright, I promise, no more in-flight belly-aching. We landed in New York on Thursday night which, in hindsight, is the best time to arrive anywhere. Landing in the morning, as we did in San Francisco, is simply too much of a hassle. You get off the plane and maybe you're hungry but you're definitely tired, and the idea of spending an entire day awake in order to adjust to local time is torturous. In New York, all we had to do was take the bus into Manhattan (nap time!) and then we had a few hours to spend before we could crash in our hotel bed.
Our midtown hotel allowed us to walk to my father's apartment with ease, although the unseasonably cold weather made that walk a little more trying than usual. It was only thirty-eight degrees when we arrived, about ten degrees cooler than the weather we had expected (and at least twenty degrees colder than San Francisco). Once we arrived though, we were able to enjoy the glory of heat which Japanese homes simply do not do very well. We spent some time with my father and sister, telling them pretty quickly that Mako was pregnant. Dad quipped "Who's the father?" much to Mako's amusement. Everyone started hugging and at least one person cried. It was a nice way to start a homecoming.
Friday we tried to head out and see some sights, spending an hour or two at MoMA and running into my friend Scott on the streets (I have a knack for that), but we ran into a problem. Our little fetus of joy was wearing poor Mako out. The biggest surprise of the pregnancy thus far has been Mako's continued and unpredictable fatigue. Some days she feels great and we can spent an entire day walking, eating, shopping, whatever. Other days she can barely manage to sit up and eat before collapsing onto our couch. I blame Hollywood for convincing me that women can lead completely normal lives without noticing they are pregnant until they throw up a lot or get fat. Mako hasn't been puking at all but each day is a toss up as to whether or not she can go outside.
In Friday's case, there were obviously a lot of mitigating circumstances. We had taken three plane flights in the previous three days and passed through two separate time zones. We were both having trouble sleeping at night as a result, so shortly after we ate lunch Mako simply couldn't go any further. We went back to hotel and she was done for the day. I was a little drowsy but otherwise feeling excited to be back in New York. She encouraged me to go out and see my friends but only I after I made sure to buy her a few things so she could eat dinner in the room if she got hungry again.
So Friday night turned into a hangout night where I got to spend an evening with most of my friends in Westchester. There was a massive amount of pizza, a chicken parm sandwich with my name on it (figuratively) and a cookie cake with my name on it (literally) to celebrate my recent birthday. Unfortunately, with so many people there I had a hell of a time getting to my big news, and I ended up having to force it in towards the end of the night just before I took the last train back to the city. There was much rejoicing and a group hug the likes of which I've never really experienced before.
Saturday was a very quiet day as Mako was still not doing so well. We spent most of the afternoon in my father's apartment where Mako just napped while I did laundry. In packing for our vacation we realized that two weeks of clothing for two people was a very tall order, given that we had so many souvenirs in our suitcase, so we decided to only bring half that and just wash while in New York. In hindsight I think we could have managed to bring a few more clothes to cut down on the urgency of our laundry sessions but otherwise it was a welcome opportunity to simply talk to my family again and let Mako rest. I took a nap myself because I was still struggling with jet lag, an unusual problem for me.
I had reserved a karaoke room for the evening and invited as many people as I could, much like we did in March, but Mako wasn't up to singing and staying up late. My mother was also in town as of that afternoon and staying in our hotel, but she too was mysteriously tired and not interested in singing as she had originally hoped. We dropped in on her, brought her some soup and then ate a light dinner together (more pizza actually) before I went downtown to meet my friends. Karaoke was another rousing success, of course, because singing and drinking are incredibly fun no matter how poorly you perform either task. It was a great change of pace for me because most of my karaoke sessions are with my Japanese coworkers who do not respond as well to my knowledge of English-language 80's hits as Americans who grew up in the 80's do.
It was during karaoke that I received my first baby gift - Jason and his fiancee gave me a cute navy blue outfit that reads "Yankees Little Fan Club." Up until that point I really hadn't though much about raising the baby as a baseball fan, but I suppose my interest in the sport would inevitably rub off on my son or daughter in some way. Let's hope it doesn't work out like it did in Mako's house: her father loves the Yomiuri Giants while she loves the Hanshin Tigers. One family divided by a baseball rivalry; if my kid became a Red Sox fan I don't know what I would do. I'd rather he/she did crystal meth and got into porn, frankly.
Sunday was another quiet family day although not at all like Saturday. We went with my mother and my sister out to Staten Island to visit my extended family, including an uncle who has been sick and I haven't been able to see in a recent years. He couldn't make it to the party we had in March so he had never met Mako before. I must say that even though he looked much older than I remember him, when I spoke to him he seemed just the same. When he first saw Mako he was quick to point out how lucky I was to find someone so pretty, a fact that I may never fully appreciate no matter how much I think about it.
More shocking to me was the sight of my cousin's kids (second cousins? once removed maybe?) who are all fully sentient at this point. The oldest is in middle school and probably plays more video games than I do. The youngest is still pretty young but he's walking and talking and old enough to disobey his dad and run outside. The idea that I met all of these people (not adults, but people nonetheless) when they were infants is pretty hard to wrap my head around. It must not be as shocking when it's your own child who you raise and see every day, because looking at all those kids for the first time in years, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. If it is shocking no matter what, I may be unprepared for my own future.
There was a lot of food, of course, including more pizza which drew apologies from my cousin but I insisted that there was no such thing as too much pizza. Having spent months in Japan subsiding solely on their peculiar "interpretation" of pizza known as piza, a solid weekend of American slices was entirely welcome. There was also football on TV, another rare treat for me so I watched with renewed interest, even if it was only the Jets. Mako was very quiet and kind of tired too, but she was clearly feeling better. It seems a weekend of limited physical activity was just what she needed.
Coming up next: anniversary lobster rolls and non-stop shopping...
つづく... (Click here to read more)
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
San Francisco: The City on the Way
When Mako and I first started laying out our vacation plans this summer, she was adamant about visiting someplace besides New York. Not instead of but in addition to. In the past three years five of the eight international flights she has taken landed in New York. We both love to travel but at this point she was really eager to see someplace else for a change, seeing as how that's largely the appeal of travel: change.
Knowing how important visiting my family and friends is to me, she proposed taking an extended layover somewhere out West before continuing on to New York. Although she expressed interest in Vegas and LA, in the end San Francisco won out because she had never been there before and I knew some friends in the area who generously offered to let us stay in their magnificent house. Mako assured me the two-part trip would not dramatically increase our expenses and indeed, the cost was actually lower than I would have expected to pay for a trans-Pacific flight. Factor in her decision to leave work, allowing us to take a much longer vacation than usual, and our trip looked absolutely Awesome.
Before I get on with the good, can I take a moment and ask what the hell happened to airline (or should I specify US airline) service? I know I'm living in Japan and I'm spoiled, blah blah blah, but I grew up enjoying American air travel (we rarely left the country) and I have many fond memories of flying. I don't expect American flight attendants to be as overly-respectful and fawning as their Asian counterparts, but do they have to be so outright contemptious? I can offer a few simple tips: when handing out food, drinks, cups, or whatever, try making eye contact with your customers. If you run out of an item, do not laugh at the person who had the temerity to ask you for apple juice. And if you skip someone when serving breakfast, say "I'm sorry" as opposed to saying "Awwwww" while making a face that says "poor baby, did you expect a meal?"
MEH - whatever - once we escaped the plane we found ourselves in San Francisco on my birthday (November 18th!) in the early morning, hours before we boarded our first plane in Osaka, thanks to the International Date Line. Neither Mako nor I slept much during the flight (I watched The Dark Knight twice, once in English and once in Japanese) but we didn't want to squander the day napping. My friend Diana picked us up from the airport and took us back to the house for a quick refresh before driving us downtown for an invigorating walk through the city. The outing was extremely nostalgic for me as we hit up all the spots I remembered from our past family visits: that one Chinese bakery with the massive pork buns, the Italian bakery with the knockout eclairs, and Ghiradhelli for unhealthy amounts of chocolate. We capped the afternoon off with a with - what else - a ride in a cable car. Mako was completely exhausted but she really enjoyed the cross-section of the city as a first-time visitor. She didn't eat much but everything she nibbled on was "delicious."
After a long nap we were ready for dinner which we ate at Fenton's, an amazing malt-shop-esque restaurant that was always our favorite in the area. Years ago, my father and his friends used to eat there while in law school - among those friends were Diana's parents and our families have always been close over the years, so whenever we came out to visit Fenton's was a regular stop. As a young boy I remember ordering towering ice cream sundaes and barely managing to eat them down to the rim of the glass. Actually finishing one was a fantasy, simply inconceivable, even if I skipped the meal and just ordered dessert. However, with the delicious variety of sandwiches available that would be a foolish sacrifice to make. On this occasion, I had an incredible crab melt sandwich that gloriously reminded me of what I love about American food. I've mentioned before that Japanese sandwiches are entirely edible but lacking in creativity or variety so they are largely unrewarding. Fenton's gave me crab salad and avacado covered in melted cheese between two slices of bread and it made my week. Hell, my month. Happy Birthday to me, indeed!
We were joined at Fenton's by Candace, another of my father's friends, so in between mouthfuls I was able to let them know what I'm up to in Japan and tell them the big news about the baby. I then had to swear them to secrecy, if only for a few days, so that they didn't call up my father to congratulate him on having grandkids. Once Mako found out she was pregnant we decided to tell everyone in person once we got to America, which means every encounter I had with my relatives and friends was a challenge for me - how can I best tell them of this life-changing news? In San Francisco, I believe I snuck it in after the food had arrived but before we got to dessert, late enough to allow us to talk about whatever beforehand but not too late so that they couldn't ask those usual baby questions.
We spent much of the next day in the car taking the scenic route around the bay towards the Golden Gate Bridge. Diana found a spot where we were able to look at the bridge as opposed to simply drive across it, which we eventually did as well. We also went up and down Lombard Street before walking around Pier 39 and Fisherman's Wharf, where Mako learned that she does not like sourdough bread. My steak sandwich, on the other hand, was tremendous. Don't worry, she ordered the chowder so she wasn't faced with an inedible meal. In fact, she thought the chowder was excellent. Dinner ended up being American Chinese food which I have sorely missed in Japan. Between my years as a filthy bachelor working for the post office and as a lonely college student, I have eaten an enormous amount of Chinese food and the Japanese variety is simply not the same. It's not even that I prefer the American-style, it's just that I cannot turn off the part of me that wants egg rolls and General Tso's Chicken, so every once in a while I simply need to scratch that itch.
Unfortunately, that was all the time we had to spend in San Francisco - two short days. Thursday morning we were up early and off to the airport to head to New York. I told her at the time but I cannot thank Diana enough for allowing us to stay with her as well as arranging her schedule so that she could spend the entire two days with us, driving us around and giving us a constant stream of information about where we were and what we were looking at. It's too bad we didn't have more time or else we probably would have been able to see her parents as well, but they were out of town during our sliver of a visit. Realistically, if we had made these plans knowing Mako would be pregnant we probably would have just gone straight to New York so I'm really happy that she was able to enjoy herself and I was able to spend time with some very nice people in a very pretty town.
つづく... (Click here to read more)
Knowing how important visiting my family and friends is to me, she proposed taking an extended layover somewhere out West before continuing on to New York. Although she expressed interest in Vegas and LA, in the end San Francisco won out because she had never been there before and I knew some friends in the area who generously offered to let us stay in their magnificent house. Mako assured me the two-part trip would not dramatically increase our expenses and indeed, the cost was actually lower than I would have expected to pay for a trans-Pacific flight. Factor in her decision to leave work, allowing us to take a much longer vacation than usual, and our trip looked absolutely Awesome.
Before I get on with the good, can I take a moment and ask what the hell happened to airline (or should I specify US airline) service? I know I'm living in Japan and I'm spoiled, blah blah blah, but I grew up enjoying American air travel (we rarely left the country) and I have many fond memories of flying. I don't expect American flight attendants to be as overly-respectful and fawning as their Asian counterparts, but do they have to be so outright contemptious? I can offer a few simple tips: when handing out food, drinks, cups, or whatever, try making eye contact with your customers. If you run out of an item, do not laugh at the person who had the temerity to ask you for apple juice. And if you skip someone when serving breakfast, say "I'm sorry" as opposed to saying "Awwwww" while making a face that says "poor baby, did you expect a meal?"
MEH - whatever - once we escaped the plane we found ourselves in San Francisco on my birthday (November 18th!) in the early morning, hours before we boarded our first plane in Osaka, thanks to the International Date Line. Neither Mako nor I slept much during the flight (I watched The Dark Knight twice, once in English and once in Japanese) but we didn't want to squander the day napping. My friend Diana picked us up from the airport and took us back to the house for a quick refresh before driving us downtown for an invigorating walk through the city. The outing was extremely nostalgic for me as we hit up all the spots I remembered from our past family visits: that one Chinese bakery with the massive pork buns, the Italian bakery with the knockout eclairs, and Ghiradhelli for unhealthy amounts of chocolate. We capped the afternoon off with a with - what else - a ride in a cable car. Mako was completely exhausted but she really enjoyed the cross-section of the city as a first-time visitor. She didn't eat much but everything she nibbled on was "delicious."
After a long nap we were ready for dinner which we ate at Fenton's, an amazing malt-shop-esque restaurant that was always our favorite in the area. Years ago, my father and his friends used to eat there while in law school - among those friends were Diana's parents and our families have always been close over the years, so whenever we came out to visit Fenton's was a regular stop. As a young boy I remember ordering towering ice cream sundaes and barely managing to eat them down to the rim of the glass. Actually finishing one was a fantasy, simply inconceivable, even if I skipped the meal and just ordered dessert. However, with the delicious variety of sandwiches available that would be a foolish sacrifice to make. On this occasion, I had an incredible crab melt sandwich that gloriously reminded me of what I love about American food. I've mentioned before that Japanese sandwiches are entirely edible but lacking in creativity or variety so they are largely unrewarding. Fenton's gave me crab salad and avacado covered in melted cheese between two slices of bread and it made my week. Hell, my month. Happy Birthday to me, indeed!
We were joined at Fenton's by Candace, another of my father's friends, so in between mouthfuls I was able to let them know what I'm up to in Japan and tell them the big news about the baby. I then had to swear them to secrecy, if only for a few days, so that they didn't call up my father to congratulate him on having grandkids. Once Mako found out she was pregnant we decided to tell everyone in person once we got to America, which means every encounter I had with my relatives and friends was a challenge for me - how can I best tell them of this life-changing news? In San Francisco, I believe I snuck it in after the food had arrived but before we got to dessert, late enough to allow us to talk about whatever beforehand but not too late so that they couldn't ask those usual baby questions.
We spent much of the next day in the car taking the scenic route around the bay towards the Golden Gate Bridge. Diana found a spot where we were able to look at the bridge as opposed to simply drive across it, which we eventually did as well. We also went up and down Lombard Street before walking around Pier 39 and Fisherman's Wharf, where Mako learned that she does not like sourdough bread. My steak sandwich, on the other hand, was tremendous. Don't worry, she ordered the chowder so she wasn't faced with an inedible meal. In fact, she thought the chowder was excellent. Dinner ended up being American Chinese food which I have sorely missed in Japan. Between my years as a filthy bachelor working for the post office and as a lonely college student, I have eaten an enormous amount of Chinese food and the Japanese variety is simply not the same. It's not even that I prefer the American-style, it's just that I cannot turn off the part of me that wants egg rolls and General Tso's Chicken, so every once in a while I simply need to scratch that itch.
Unfortunately, that was all the time we had to spend in San Francisco - two short days. Thursday morning we were up early and off to the airport to head to New York. I told her at the time but I cannot thank Diana enough for allowing us to stay with her as well as arranging her schedule so that she could spend the entire two days with us, driving us around and giving us a constant stream of information about where we were and what we were looking at. It's too bad we didn't have more time or else we probably would have been able to see her parents as well, but they were out of town during our sliver of a visit. Realistically, if we had made these plans knowing Mako would be pregnant we probably would have just gone straight to New York so I'm really happy that she was able to enjoy herself and I was able to spend time with some very nice people in a very pretty town.
つづく... (Click here to read more)
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Catching up on Catching Up
It would seem that I'm having a lot more trouble jumping back into the habit of writing everyday, as it's been nearly three weeks since I've returned from my Vacation of Awesome and I have yet to recount a single day of that two-week experience. In the meantime, I've also managed NOT to write about what I've been up to here at home. Perhaps I feel pressure to complete the former before starting the latter, but if the result is a long silence then I must abandon that basic concept of chronology and just get something down on "paper."
Things at work have been quite busy since I came back but not in a particularly stressful way. With the semester ending on Wednesday all of my classes were wrapping up, so most of my lessons were improvised review sessions peppered with whatever game I could come up with to play with my students. Still, all those classes did mean I was busy, so my goof-off/reading/writing free time was quite limited. Once classes end this week I'll go into complete "doldrums" mode for a few days of obligatory appearances at work (despite having no classes or responsibilities I am expected to show up) before a nice cozy week off to close out 2008. Yes, it seems some sane person decided to just close all the schools for a spell rather than insist the tired teachers and staff be forced to come in and do nothing (or burn their precious vacation days).
Besides the usual elementary school routine, there was also a JET Programme seminar a few days after I returned to Japan. Last year's affair was a real drag as all of the speeches and panels were aimed at teachers working in middle and high school English classes. For someone like me who teaches in elementary schools, my work environment is completely different so when choosing workshops this year I deliberately avoided anything resembling work-related topics and I had a much better experience as a result. Of course, the rousing jazz band performance that opened the seminar was a huge step in the right direction.
An even bigger and better step was my decision to go out each night after the meetings were over and socialize with my fellow ALTs. Last year's seminar fell in mid-November, right as Mako and I were preparing for our wedding ceremony, so I was in a big hurry to get home after my obligations were complete. This year, Mako has been spending most of her evenings resting on the couch, so I was free (with her blessing!) to hang around afterwards for food and drink. It may be a year late and I may still be uptight about it, but I'm slowly starting managing to eke out a social life here in Osaka. At this rate I might actually have a visitor come to my apartment by 2010!
Alright, with this out of the way I feel better about myself. Oh, I uploaded a couple photos from my Vacation on Facebook, take a look while I try to get back on the (writing) horse.
つづく... (Click here to read more)
Things at work have been quite busy since I came back but not in a particularly stressful way. With the semester ending on Wednesday all of my classes were wrapping up, so most of my lessons were improvised review sessions peppered with whatever game I could come up with to play with my students. Still, all those classes did mean I was busy, so my goof-off/reading/writing free time was quite limited. Once classes end this week I'll go into complete "doldrums" mode for a few days of obligatory appearances at work (despite having no classes or responsibilities I am expected to show up) before a nice cozy week off to close out 2008. Yes, it seems some sane person decided to just close all the schools for a spell rather than insist the tired teachers and staff be forced to come in and do nothing (or burn their precious vacation days).
Besides the usual elementary school routine, there was also a JET Programme seminar a few days after I returned to Japan. Last year's affair was a real drag as all of the speeches and panels were aimed at teachers working in middle and high school English classes. For someone like me who teaches in elementary schools, my work environment is completely different so when choosing workshops this year I deliberately avoided anything resembling work-related topics and I had a much better experience as a result. Of course, the rousing jazz band performance that opened the seminar was a huge step in the right direction.
An even bigger and better step was my decision to go out each night after the meetings were over and socialize with my fellow ALTs. Last year's seminar fell in mid-November, right as Mako and I were preparing for our wedding ceremony, so I was in a big hurry to get home after my obligations were complete. This year, Mako has been spending most of her evenings resting on the couch, so I was free (with her blessing!) to hang around afterwards for food and drink. It may be a year late and I may still be uptight about it, but I'm slowly starting managing to eke out a social life here in Osaka. At this rate I might actually have a visitor come to my apartment by 2010!
Alright, with this out of the way I feel better about myself. Oh, I uploaded a couple photos from my Vacation on Facebook, take a look while I try to get back on the (writing) horse.
つづく... (Click here to read more)
Thursday, December 04, 2008
Ancient Japanese Art of Jazz
つづく... (Click here to read more)
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
Feitclub: The Next Generation
How's that old joke go again? "I just flew in from the States and boy, is my ass tired."
Recapping, reviewing and reflecting on my two week Vacation of Awesome is going to take a long time, so I'm going to be brief. Yes, it was a wonderful trip and yes, I miss everyone already. But yes, it feels great to be home in Japan again. It will be a few days until we truly re-settle - the fridge is practically empty, our souvenirs are scattered around the apartment and I've got tons of TV shows, podcasts and web content to catch up with - but there was an undeniable satisfaction to our arrival late Monday night. It's always a pleasure to come home, even if "home" is 7000 miles from your family and friends.
Speaking of family, the big news that I've been sitting on for months can finally be shouted from the virtual mountaintops of the Internet: Mako is pregnant! You cannot imagine how much I've wanted to write about it and share all the thoughts, fears and amusing anecdotes that this has brought about, but in the interest of telling our loved ones face-to-face, Mako and I were forced to be patient. Now that we've broken the news to (nearly) everyone we know in America, the embargo has been lifted. Expect lots of jitters and baby namearguments discussion to come over the next six months as we approach the big day. Mako is due in June and no, we don't know yet whether she's having a boy or a girl. I'm fine with waiting until the actual delivery to find out but I'm not sure if Mako can stand the suspense.
Other than that, there's little more I can share at this time. I went straight back to work on Tuesday as well as today and I've felt very sluggish. I don't know why I seem to be suffering from such extreme jet lag, as I've spent the past two nights struggling to stay asleep. It's tougher for Mako, of course, but what's my excuse? I don't have a tiny person gestating inside me, no matter how many jokes Mako makes to that effect. Seriously, she loves patting my belly and addressing my absent fetus. Is it an offshoot of the Golden Rule in that she wants me to pat her belly more often? Or is she only now noticing my chubbiness? It's all in fun, of course, but her antics stood in stark contrast to the people who told me I'm looking thinner.
Well, I should get back to work. These episodes of House aren't going to watch themselves. I'll be back soon with tales of my travels and opinions on just about everything.
Feit...in (for the long haul)!!
つづく... (Click here to read more)
Recapping, reviewing and reflecting on my two week Vacation of Awesome is going to take a long time, so I'm going to be brief. Yes, it was a wonderful trip and yes, I miss everyone already. But yes, it feels great to be home in Japan again. It will be a few days until we truly re-settle - the fridge is practically empty, our souvenirs are scattered around the apartment and I've got tons of TV shows, podcasts and web content to catch up with - but there was an undeniable satisfaction to our arrival late Monday night. It's always a pleasure to come home, even if "home" is 7000 miles from your family and friends.
Speaking of family, the big news that I've been sitting on for months can finally be shouted from the virtual mountaintops of the Internet: Mako is pregnant! You cannot imagine how much I've wanted to write about it and share all the thoughts, fears and amusing anecdotes that this has brought about, but in the interest of telling our loved ones face-to-face, Mako and I were forced to be patient. Now that we've broken the news to (nearly) everyone we know in America, the embargo has been lifted. Expect lots of jitters and baby name
Other than that, there's little more I can share at this time. I went straight back to work on Tuesday as well as today and I've felt very sluggish. I don't know why I seem to be suffering from such extreme jet lag, as I've spent the past two nights struggling to stay asleep. It's tougher for Mako, of course, but what's my excuse? I don't have a tiny person gestating inside me, no matter how many jokes Mako makes to that effect. Seriously, she loves patting my belly and addressing my absent fetus. Is it an offshoot of the Golden Rule in that she wants me to pat her belly more often? Or is she only now noticing my chubbiness? It's all in fun, of course, but her antics stood in stark contrast to the people who told me I'm looking thinner.
Well, I should get back to work. These episodes of House aren't going to watch themselves. I'll be back soon with tales of my travels and opinions on just about everything.
Feit...in (for the long haul)!!
つづく... (Click here to read more)
