Is Everything Bigger in Japan?

Nope...Unless it's a SPIDER, SUMO WRESTLER, or a PEAR?! Oh and just in case any of you are ever on Jeopardy (my favorite TV show), Godzilla's name is Gojira. Not Godzilla. Gojira means half gorilla, and half whale (kujira), a nickname Ishiro Honda (the director) and colleagues used to described a press agent who was "oversized and tough-looking." The producer originally wanted Godzilla to be a giant fire-breathing ape. I'm starting a "If his momma named him Gojira, I'ma call him Gojira" campaign to make the world to respect original names. Maybe it's just me, but has anyone else ever wondered why the names of countries are different in different languages? This doesn't make any sense to me. We should call a country by what the nationals call it. Okay, so Israel/Palestine may need to combine the names. Take Japan for example. How in the world did the idiot westerners get Japan from Nihon/Nippon??? It's not like European explorers, missionaries, and cartographers didn't have the same sounds in their own languages. It's not even an adaptation, Japan is a completely different word from Nihon or Nippon!!! I'm just saying...

Enough of that seemingly endless rant...

That's the principal helping clean windows during cleaning time...I began nodding off at about 11:00 am! About 3:30, Just as I was all ready to go home (though I leave at 4:00) I flagged down one of the English teachers to let her know what I had planned for tomorrow's lesson and guess what she says..."There is a teacher's meeting this afternoon. It will start at 4:15 and may last more than an hour." NO! So, I said, "Sure I can stay." As I was walking around during cleaning time, the principal stops me and says, "After the meeting I would like to take you to Arao to introduce you to they're famous pears as a gift." Well, the meeting was BORING! One, I couldn't understand a word of what was going on. Here, meetings are just when everyone sits around to listen to someone else read from a paper. There's no discussion, no disagreement, no decision making. All that is done during casual conversations among the employees. Word gets back to the boss, the boss makes decisions, then dictates them to the employees. Well it pretty much works the same way in a school. So after snatching 5-10 minute naps I decided to pull out my crossword puzzle book and pretend to do puzzles. More sleep! I hope no one noticed. There was absolutely no point in my being there. Plus, had I known that there was going to be a meeting I would have brought something productive to do!

As aforementioned, the Principal and I went to Arao. I managed to stay awake in the car (thank God for conversation!). When we got to the orchard it was closed. So he drove a little more and there was another open orchard. So, we went there. The old man told us all about the pears and how they had to do things differently because of the hurricane that blew off most of the pears. He peeled and served us some pear then walked us through the orchard. He let me pick one and gave me 6 as a gift since it was my first time in a Japanese pear orchard. I didn't pick that one to the right. Didn't want any Sumo Booty on my pear! So of course I bowed a million times to show my gratitude. The pears....BIG ain't the word!


On the way to the station, Principal Maehara got to talking about Dementia again and I asked him if he meant Alzheimer's and he said yes. Then with the same sad distant stare that he does when he talks about his late parents, he told me his mother had Alzheimer's. I managed to change the subject and before I knew it we were at the station. When I got home, I cut up onions and green peppers, seasoned some ground beef, and julienned some Japanese sweet potatoes for the burger and fries I'm having for dinner tomorrow!!!

More pictures:
So, not everything is bigger here. However, everything is exponentially CUTER! Look at the weenie display at the grocery store. Elephants, lions, an otter, rabbits, flowers, etc. TOO CUTE!

Here's Saturday night's dinner. YAKINIKU! Your personal BBQ! Take that Personal Pan Pizza!

The older lady on the right is Naoko. She's Emily's (my upstairs neighbor) Shodo (Japanese calligraphy) teacher. Well, Maggie and I were talking about how we like green tea and Naoko made some traditional green tea for us...SO NICE! Look at me being all Japanese!




So apparently Predator and Alien's distant cousin also likes shopping in Tenjin!



I want one of these in the courtyard of my imaginary house. Talk about multi-functional. This clountain is a microcosm of Japan. Aesthetically pleasing and super functional!!!



Anyone wanna do some grocery shopping here? Didn't think so...

Real quick...

The Word of the day...Mitsuami or cornrow as in braid.

My hair went from twisted to untwisted last week...To braided back this week. So when I got to school I received the following questions:
1. Did you do that?
2. How did you do that?
3. Do you do that everyday?
4. How long did that take?
5. Your hair was bigger before, so where is your hair?
6. Was that your hair before?

Now a couple of these questions were asked by various people...But then there's the science teacher who asked all of the questions and in that order! Folks around here wear the same thing nearly everyday so it's almost unfathomable that someone (Me) could have a different hair style every week! God forbid that I show up in my weekend hair! I might cause an international crisis! Hmmmm...Perhaps I'll make the news...a woman at the photo shop was going nuts and talking to me in Japanese at 5,000 miles per hour about how she's a stylist and she had just come back from London to visit her daughter and there were a lot of people there with their hair like mine and she wanted to know who did it and oh she was glad that I understood Japanese, etc. etc. etc. That's just how the conversation went. The poor man behind the counter was trying to get a word in to give her a receipt and change!

The woman at the counter at the bus station cheated me out of about $20 today...We went back and forth for about 20 minutes about how she did/didn't owe me change...I had had a long boring day so I second guessed myself, said ok, and left. Well I got about 50 feet down the street (doing the math over and over the whole way) when I decided to go back and get my money. FUTILE! I went back explained over and over she came from behind the glass again and we had the same 20 minute conversation. Neither of us was making any progress so she called in two high school students from outside who said they spoke English. LIES! Well they understood English and were able to tell her what she already knew I was saying for another 20 minutes. Anyway long story short, it was getting dark and I was tired and I didn't have a jacket so I just gave up...Put on my "I'm gonna' cry now" face...And went home. The moral of the story is...Well there is none. I'll just buy my bus tickets from the bus driver from now on and not from the old lady who sits with her nasty little pooping bird behind the glass and steals money from unsuspecting foreigners!!!

This weekend...

Yesterday, we went rafting in Kumamoto. Here's a picture of the beginning of the course. It was really fun! It was much more tame than what you probably think of when someone says rafting. There were a few bumpy spots and we took turns sitting at the front when passing through the rough areas. I didn't have time to get a waterproof camera so I just took my disposable since it had a few shots left on it. I put it in a ziplock and put it in my shirt under my life jacket. So those pictures won't be available til I find a scanner. We made a couple stops to jump of a rock in the middle of the Kumagawa River and to swing like Tarzan from a rope in a tree and land in the water. From time to time we jumped/were pushed out of the boat to swim, do flips off the raft, or in other cases we yanked people out of other boats and threw them into the river or flipped their raft over with everyone still in it! It was fun. Then we went to an onsen (public bath) in a hotel...it was nowhere near as nice as the one I went to on Thursday! The tub was wooden and people soaked before they washed their skin. I only stayed in a second b/c the more I sat the more grossed out I became. When we got back here, most of us went to a Yakiniku (grilled meat) restaurant where you grill your own meat and veggies at the table...it was good too. I'm finding that nothing really taste bad here (aside from Natto, beer, and raw sea urchin which tastes funky)...I'm going to a potluck tonight so that should be fun.

Now for the foolishness:




This is a mannequin of some guy who wears a cheerleading outfit and advertises something....I don't know what! or why!

Billionaire Boys Club store...I wonder if there are any Billionaire Boys inside....? Justin's response, "No billionaire boyz inside...only ugly overpriced t shirts!"

What...Coach! Wow, thanks Justin. One question though...WHERE'S THE MONEY! Just kidding! Thank you soooo much!

This is officially the flyest dog in Japan and the dog knew it too. I was trying to take a picture of it from the front but this little Diva Dog would not let me. After walking all around it to get the perfect shot, I finally had to settle for a profile! You go girl...or boy?

Ok...so yes this is someone's crotch. Look at his jeans...these are popular here. It's like you're wearing two pairs of jeans. ummmm...ok.


Now what is this man reading on the train?!?!?!

Ukyo Junior High School...and the Onsen!

(That's my desk! No the computer doesn't work...)My first real day at Ukyo Junior High School was the weirdest ever. Tuesday, the two English teachers both introduced themselves and said they would talk to me later in the afternoon, meaning I sat in the teachers' room all day and did nothing, plus I don't have the Internet at my desk and most sites on the public computers are blocked. Everyone was dressed super casually i.e. t-shirts and jeans but colored denim not blue jeans (so 80s!) or athletic pants. The principal and vice principal had on shirts and ties. I gave my short self introduction in Japanese for the teachers and everyone (especially the Japanese teacher) went on and on about how great my Japanese is. I was sure to tell them that it's because I've done my intro a million times that it sounds so good...hahaha! Aside from doing nothing I pretended to listen during the days meetings while drinking my creamless, sugarless coffee thinking to myself, "Where in the world is the green tea! And what am I supposed to be doing?!" While I waited around the office I chatted with the Vice Principle (who doesn't speak English), a couple teachers, and a special needs student named Tomoko. The teachers asked me questions about Georgia and one asked about Jazz then went and printed off the info for Blue Note in Fukuoka...SO NICE OF HIM! And what do ya know MORE SNACKS! The Vice Principal printed out three name tags for my shoe cubby so that I could pick the one that I liked the best. So unnecessarily nice of him. There are three special needs students out of 182 students and there are also the "slow learners"...Tomoko and Yoshi came to my desk to introduce themselves, show me the mugs they had decorated, and chat a bit. I'm not sure what disabilities they have. Since Tuesday, Tomoko has made it a point to come over and talk. At about 3:30 music is played over the loud speaker and the students clean the school. So a group came in with brooms and rags to sweep and wipe down the teachers' room too. AMAZING! And they do this everyday...amazing but UNNECESSARY! One of the teachers showed me where the two coffee pots are. I asked if they were onaji (the same) and she said yes. I wanted to say "Yeah, onaji nasty!" Instead I smiled and thanked her. The worse coffee I’ve ever had in my life has been here...at the JHS and at the board of education...likes there's a contest for the most disgusting coffee...hehehe! So I got a big tub of Folgers while I was in Tokyo. It will have to do for now. Lunch at this school is nowhere near as good as the "school in heaven" and it’s almost twice as expensive. And yes I got more snacks today. I’m gonna keep the snack pictures to a minimum. I'll only post the interesting ones.… Today, I helped the principal. He asked me to proofread a presentation on Dementia that he translated into English. Two students and their teacher are going to a conference in Germany to present an initiative that they've created here in response to the high percentage of elderly people with dementia in the city. Then after school he introduced me to the teacher and she gave me a ride to the train station...SCORE! No 20 minute walk! I did my self-introduction lesson but this time I included a worksheet for the students to do in groups. And I think I have my first admirer...every time I came to his group another boy would count down from three then my admirer would say, "You are pretty!" But I completely ignored him every time. Michelle, I’ll be sure to wear turtlenecks! I think it’s interesting that there are so many unmarried women over the age of 35 around here. No, that had nothing to do with the last comment! I’m not suggesting that they marry fresh little junior high boys...hehehe!

I just came home from and onsen or bath house...OMG, It was soooo nice! (I'm fighting sleep now!) Once you get over the initial shock of being nekkid with strangers (and friends) it's the BEST! We were in the outdoor part...AMAZING! Sorry, no pictures! When you go in you pay a machine for a ticket...about $5...then you hand it to the lady at the desk...that's where the men and women part ways...you leave your clothes in the dressing room and you head to the room where you bathe...sitting on a stool, with a big bowl, soaps, and a detachable shower head...after you're clean you soak in the indoor or outdoor tubs...Something like that would cost a fortune in the states! There are vending machines and a restaurant in the lobby as well as massage chairs...and they close at 1 AM. All I could say was WOW!!! So now I can say that I've been there, done that, and I'm looking forward to doing it again. As the saying goes, "When in Rome...Take a bath!!!"

My photos won't load for some reason so I'll have to post the pictures of Tokyo foolishness later!

My Tokyo Getaway...

Numero Uno:
Thank you Jus for making my birthday weekend the BESTEST!!!

Friday morning woke up early, got extra cute for my trip, and loaded my luggage onto the back of my bike...YES, the back of my bike! I asked the postman to take this picture...He seemed a little confused at first. I wanted to say, "What, you never been asked by a vain American to take a picture before?!" Too bad he didn't get those fly gold heels in the picture...Oh well. Jus and I met in Harajuku/Shinjuku and had lunch at WOLFGANG PUCK EXPRESS! Yes, mom I do really like that restaurant, hehehe! The food was aight. It was nothing like the Wolfgang on 25th and Peachtree! So of course I had to tell Mr. Puck about it and he promised that he'd do what he can. Then we walked around the shopping district in an attempt to shop for Jus. We only found a belt from Benneton that matches a shirt that I had found for him in Fukuoka so it wasn't a lost cause. I got to open my B-day gifts when we got back to the house. Let me just say that it will be virtually impossible to top my Bday gifts. So I'm going to start looking for his ASAP!!!
My flight, a Bathing Ape t-shirt, another t-shirt from Himeji Castle, a pin from Hard Rock Cafe in Saipan, a Kanji book, a Sudoku book, the Jungle Book in Japanese (to practice reading), a Godiva birthday card, and a Coach bag! Yes, you read that correctly...And not an Osan, Korea knock-off either! That boy done good!!! That evening we went to Vanilla, which was cool.

Saturday Jus showed me around the base after the model fair. I got to see the ships (from the car) and we went to the NEX. That evening we met up with a friend of mine from my Alma Mater (HAHAHA, feels funny referring to college like that). We found an all you can eat pasta spot called Tabasa on Takeshita Street (famous teen pop culture/shopping area). Inside was like a hip hop Applebee's. The walls were covered with hip hop memorabilia and hip hop and R&B were blasting on the speakers. It was kinda like eating in a club!

Sunday, we got up at the butt crack of dawn. Meaning before the sun (that rises super early here), before the chickens, before anything! So I was dazed, confused, and delirious for the first few hours of the Friends and Family Cruise on the John S. McCain...Even after the super nasty coffee (that's the military for ya!) I was surprised to see so many Blacks and Latinos (plus Filipinos who look Latino). On the ship we toured a couple of areas, handled some steel (see me for pictures...teehee), ate, and watched an air show done by the planes on the Kitty Hawk. One of the jets broke the sound barrier but we missed it b/c we were on the bridge quietly laughing at people getting chewed out for being off course. There was also some kind of engine malfunction. I later found out that it was something that happened often and wasn't at all serious from one of the guys who fixed it. Later in the afternoon there was a cookout on the Helo Deck (I think). Hamburgers, bbq chicken, bratwurst, lobster tails. Earlier at lunch there was fried chicken, fried shrimp, and King crab legs. The navy does big things for company! I wanted to eat in the "messy deck" (as it was referred to by one of the little kids on the ship) with all the enlisted folks because it was quite stuffy and colorless in the officers' wardroom. The bbq got rained out though...Come to find out there was a typhoon approaching Fukuoka that I missed since I was in Tokyo. There were tree branches and debris on my balcony when I got home and the nearest big tree is across the street! Jus and I played Taboo for the remaining few hours of the cruise b/c he had already shown and explained the whole ship and there wasn't much else to do. After he got off work (early) on Monday, we took the train to the airport and parted ways, sadly...

I went to my second school today. When I got there it was pretty empty and principal was doing his daily jog. His English is great. He used to be in charge of the English teachers at my board of education! After showing me around the school, we sat in his office drinking orange juice and discussing the relation between culture, civilization, and technology (didn't know your girl was so deep did ya?!). Then he took me on very short tour of the city so that he could show me the inland Sea of Araki. This picture is in the middle of the city. Weird right? He said that when he was younger he used to sit on the beach and watch the ships disappear over the horizon, which led him to leave home for college...Well go to Tokyo. Then he came back to take care of his parents both of whom he lost just last year. Strange because traditionally it's the oldest son who takes care of the parents and he's the baby. It was kinda sad listening to him talk about it because he sounds really sad (as anyone would I'm sure). After my lil tour he dropped me off at the station...AT 11 AM!!! So I sent a text to my co-worker who's on his second year here to ask if folks usually go to the board of education if they finish school stuff early and his response was that he can keep a secret...So I went grocery shopping, got some lunch, and took my tail home to straighten up and take a nap. At about 7 pm I went to dinner party thrown by the woman whose class three of us taught at last month...I thought that it was going to be just us and her but when we got to the restaurant there were about 25 older people who take English for fun...Great, just when I thought I was going to have a peaceful dinner. Thanx to beer and shochu I had no such luck. After a few rounds those folks were all revved up and ready to chat. Even after cups and cups of tea (which I'm assuming had little to no caffeine in them) I'm exhausted! Tomorrow will be spent giving my self introduction over and over so at least it will be a no-brainer day. I'll post the foolishness (pictures) tomorrow after I figure out why they look a little blurred on my screen...how do they look on yours?

Off to Tokyo in the morning!

Perks of being the only one (foreign employee) in the office

1. You get all the snacks! (Yeah, snacks as a recurring theme on this Blog is a problem...And part of the reason that the RiCe BoOtY must be stopped!!!)

i.e. Today's treat...Anko Mochi given to me by the same guy who asked about my "Outkast family"...Now I almost feel bad for thinking he was an idiot! He was also adamant about showing me where the coffee and tea are so that I can help myself...I think he noticed the thermos that I always bring to work...

2. People talk to you...
I put on my orange Adidas jacket b/c I'm near the hall door and there's a breeze and another teacher (Japanese) told me it's a cool jacket and explained where the name Adidas came from. Just learned that the brand name Adidas came from someone's name...So I looked it up and this is what I found...
The Rudolph and Adolph Dassler founded a German sports shoe business called 'Dassler Brothers'...When they went their separate ways in 1949, two new brands were created. Rudolph founded Puma, while Adolph started Adidas -- a combination of his nickname, Adi, and the start of his last name, Das. The famous three stripes were introduced to the shoes in 1949...Es ist interessant, ja?! I, personally, am partial to the classic trefoil...Now that I think about it, I don't have anything but the classic stuff and Adidas and Puma are the only athletic apparel companies that I really like...I guess being born in Germany did leave me with more than bragging rights...hehe!

3. You learn new words...Setsuden...I got up to turn of the lights above my area at lunch b/c that's what they do everyday and someone thanked me...Then said "Setsuden, wakatta?"..."Do you know what 'setsuden' means?" I figured it meant "energy (electricity) conservation" so I said that in English...Yet 3 people still tried explaining it...And I was right all along. HA! Go me, go me!!!

Okay that's enough rambling!

Am I Grown Yet?

First, tidbits of randomness...

Yesterday's Lesson: If your gonna be nosy, at least make sense!!!
I spent yesterday in the office again (which I'll be doing until Thursday). I happened to be watching the video for Oukast's "Morris Brown" and one of the men who works here looks over my shoulder and says in Japanese, "Family?"

WHAT!!!



So, maybe he just caught a glimpse of brown-skinned people on my computer screen...And maybe he just wanted to find something to talk to me about...OR maybe he needs to mind his business!!! I'm sure that his family films don't look like music videos...Or maybe they do! Weirdo! Makes you wish people would think before they speak!

Today I saw a Japanese person blow his nose. It was the first time that I'd ever seen this. It's one of those things Japanese don't do with other people around...WOW!

If the fear of snakes is Ophidiophobia...And the fear of planes is Aviophobia...And for all intensive purposes (new favorite phrase) we'll call the fear of new movies Neocinemaphobia, then is fear of Snakes on a Plane Ophidioavioneocinemaphobia??? Just thought I'd put it back out there....
Not only was I on the phone in this section of the train, but I didn't fit any of requirements for priority seating...


I was not giving birth,
I was not a hungry fat man,
I was not stabbed in the leg with an oversized candy cane, nor was I wearing swirly striped socks while being administered a shot in my left thigh on the train. And why do these people get priority seating anyway??? What's that about???
This one's for Michelle and her love of misspelled and/or mispronounced words and phrases by the Japanese... Charlie's Angels perhaps?

It's illegal to talk on your cell phone while riding a bike. It's illegal to hold up an umbrella while riding a bike. I wonder if it's illegal to eat [Doritos] while riding a bike...If so, OOPS!
Speaking of Doritos...Look what I found on the back of a bag Taco flavored Doritos. Put them on a salad? 1/2 of me says "Oooh!"...The other 1/2 says "Eeew!" Then there's the half that says, "Hey you there's no such thing as 3 halves of a person!"

Yesterday after work I decided (completely on impulse) to go to Fukuoka to treat myself to some Jamaican food. As I got to my station it was just starting to rain so I missed the downpour by seconds! On the train I was magically lulled to sleep...The train stopped, everyone got off, a new set of folks got on, and as I was opening my eyes the train was pulling out of the station...IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION!!! The funny thing is that even had I been awake, there's a possibility that I would have stayed on the train anyway because I can't understand most of the announcements made over the P.A. system! So I got off at the next stop and waited 30 min for the next train headed to Fukuoka. The old man at the ticket window was soooo nice...There were a bunch of high school kids waiting there too and the old man gave everyone snacks...Bread, popsicles, candy. He let them all use the station phone. I'm assuming they were calling their parents to come and get them from their respective home stations since it was cold and raining. On the train, I stood on the way back to the station I'd come from in order to assure that I didn't fall asleep again. The high schoolers smelled like little goats so there really was no need to stand because (1) they're funk would have kept me awake and (2) hot air rises! The trip to Fukuoka is theoretically supposed to take 45 min-1 hour...Let's just say it took a little longer. When I got the to the restaurant (Xaymaca), I was greeted by the staff that I had met at Isla de Salsa and I ordered the Pepper Shrimp...Which turned out to be spicy shrimp fried rice. I was a little put off by the fact that it was fried rice and that Allen (the owner from NYC/Jamaica) wasn't there. The food was aight. Allen did eventually come and I met Allen's wife, an artist friend of theirs who used the other room of the restaurant as a studio, another English teacher, and his friends who were visiting from L.A. So, they all helped me celebrate my birthday...Justin too, via text messages that were all geared towards reiterating that it was not really my birthday yet! Good thing I left the restaurant when I did because "guess who" hopped on the wrong train!(That's her to the left, wishing that she was on the right train!) I ended up taking what I think was the last train headed in the direction that I needed, but it still stopped one city shy of where I needed to go and it's a $40ish cab ride from that city to home. Well, thank God for good ears because I was able to get on the Express train at the station that had tricked me before....And get this, it was going to my city! Usually a man walks up and down the train checking tickets so that if you didn't initially purchase the Express ticket you can pay the difference or you just pay the difference once you reach your destination. Well, no one checked the tickets and when I got to my station and handed the man my ticket he said, "Arigato Gozaimasu." So, I scurried along to my bike!
As of today, Michael Jordan and I are kindred spirits...No, I haven't forsworn my sports-hating ways...I'M 23!!! I would say that it's a hard job being 23 and looking 13 and that someone's gotta' do it but it's not, so I'll keep up the good work! This morning, I awoke to an itchy forehead...BLASTED MOSQUITO!!! It was a little gloomy outside...kinda chilly...But I was so thankful for another year of life that I put on some music and danced around the apartment while preparing for my day. Here's what I did for 8 hours of my birthday...Yes, I was bored at work ALL DAY!!!

I did find an article that showed a Palestinian folding a $20 bill so that it depicts the 911 attacks...So of course I tried it...WEIRD...You know you would have too! (Yeah I'm ballin' on a budget in two currencies!)

Let me just say that although I'm not easily fooled...I LOVE SURPRISES!!! I initially thought that just Maggie and I are going out to eat...So we headed to this nice Yakiniku (grilled meat) spot...As our luck would have it, it was raining and the place had been closed for three days...The third and last day being today! So I suggested grabbing some curry since it was next door but she was like, "No, no, you wanna get good food for your birthday...Let's go to Kyoko's restaurant! Are you up for it?" So I said yeah and we pressed on in the rain. Well...We walk in and guess who was in a room tucked away in the back...EVERYBODY! (Baltz, Lindsay, Brent, Cory, Ikuko, and Ayako!) SURPRISE! My hat goes off to Maggie Lee for playing an integral part in my first surprise party!!! Here are some photos...
I was sooooo surprised!




I call this one the "Prude Shot" because Maggie and I are the prudes of the bunch!
And then there's everyone else...


Gee what's this?

WOW! What a gift!!!



And I had 3...Count em...3 CAKES! One to myself and two ice cream cakes...One of which Baltz made! All good! And there was food for days...
Here are all my gifts...The super cool chair (we need these in the states!) from Ayako, beautiful preserved flowers from Ikuko, snacks and cards from them both, pastries from Kioko (the restaurant owner), and the cakes (already eaten before this picture was taken) from the whole crew!
Question: At what point in your life do you start referring to women your age (23, YAY!) as "this/that woman" instead of "this/that girl," huh??? I'll have to practice that...

I's awl grow'd up nah!!! Translation: I'm grown now!!!

Taming the Two-Toned Beast!

Wondering how I spent my Sunday?
I had a meeting with my hair...
Step One...Admitting you have a problem is the first step to recovery!

The 3-Step Program worked to get it under control...1. Admit the problem (i.e.comb out the na...ehem...comb through the complexity that is my hair's texture...hahaha) 2. Sit down 3. Twist...
Some things don't change no matter where you are...for me it's the Sunday night beauty sessions...

Did y'all hear about the woman who won $1million twice in 4 years playing the NY Lottery (or am I late with this news report too?)...OUT OF CONTROL...how does that happen???

Monday goodies at work

It might be a Manju...Whatever it's called, it's Macha (green tea) flavored inside...yum...oh yeah, did I mention that the RiCe BoOtY is inevitable! After I finish the rice, bread, and pasta that I already have in the house I'm going to try not to buy any more...we'll see how that goes...Last time (in 03) I magically dropped the excess baggage (i.e. junk in the trunk) automatically when I got back to the states...wonder if that'll work this time...after a year or two of...packing?

Instead of turning in where I usually do to go home, I decided to keep straight down the main road that runs through this city...I ended up biking to the next town...about 3 kilometers...and here's some of the stuff I saw. This whole area is surrounded by mountains...there are shrines tucked away everywhere...









And then there was this thing...I'm assuming it's a big ol' ceramic water jar thingy...i dunno, but I liked how it looked...and that car to the right...hmmm, do you think I could "Pimp" Woo Woo #2? No? Okay...

These structures are everywhere...this one is for baseball...like a batting cage...the others are for golf...I though it looked neat in the rice paddy with the sky in the background...