This That and Whatever Comes to Mind

A quiet Friday afternoon

A gray day...quite warm with high humidity...a preview to the monsoon season which is forecast to start next week in the Kanto area where I live. Unfortunately the rains are very necessary to help the rice grow...at least, it's a warm rain, although some days can be a little chilly....will keep a fleece pullover out just in case.

Went to Zushi this afternoon...had to go to the banks, and I was surprised at how quiet it was around the station and the local shopping area. I mean, it's Friday which is usually not a good time to go to any bank, especially in the afternoon....long lines are a given. But today, I didn't have to wait at either of the banks I visited! Proof, perhaps, that the economy has not recovered as much as the government wants us to think....

Had lunch at Lapereau for the first time in 3 weeks...cabbage and potato pasta with anchovy sauce...trust me, it tastes oh so much better than it sounds with super crunchy garlic scattered throughout. A couple of older ladies were at the other end of the counter, and they talked and talked and talked the entire time I was there...I had to laugh as they bowed to me on my way out...their way of apologizing?

And of course, the big news today is the start of the 2010 World Cup...football to most of the world and soccer to those of us from the US. Not a fan, but still excited that it's all happening in Africa! Go, South Africa...you've done a great job so far, and I will be watching with the hopes that all goes well throughout the month. And may you go all the way to the top!!! Wouldn't that just be so wonderful?

Running out of new material to read...picked up Stranger In A Strange Land for the umpteenth time, but debating whether I really want to read it again. It's the only Heinlein I kept when I cleaned out my shelves some years back...I guess because it's the first of his works I read...back in 1967...when I lived in LA that year I took off from college. I can still remember how shocking it was to my 18 year old psyche and how it pales compared to the DH series of today, for example. Still a good read, though...yes, I think I will continue with it.

Ah, the sound of the ocean...one of the best things about this time of year is being able to sit with the window open on the beach side of my apartment. It's only a little after 9, but sitting here listening to the waves washing up on the shore is making me very sleepy. Guess I will take Zip home early tonight and go to bed myself....my next door neighbor's fox terrier comes over a few nights a week to sleep on my sheepskin for as long as I let him....more on him another time.

Come to think of it, my first lesson tomorrow is at 6:30...gads, what a way to start off my Saturdays! G'nite, world!!

Spring? What ? Where? Are you sure?

Up until last week, it looked like spring was here to stay...then March 21st...the first day of spring...suddenly we are back to cold winter rain! Reminds me of the PNW (sorry, sisters..^-^) And it looks like the weather is going to stay cold for the next few days...sigh...the forecast is for snow in parts of Tokyo tonight!!!

The cherry blossoms started blooming in the Kanto area on the 21st...a week earlier than usual...driving around today, the buds on most trees look like they're ready to burst any second...all we need is another warm day. At this rate, with the cold temperatures, the trees will be blooming right on schedule!

Took a short trip into Yokohama today to meet a new friend...we became aware of each other through the Art of Non-Conformity, Chris Guillebeau's blog. ET is also a coach and an expat...on the other side of the Pacific. It was interesting to compare our situations over lunch and coffee/tea. I look forward to getting to know her better through email, blogs and twitter.

As long as I was out and about, I went looking for a pair of Zumba shoes...I'm getting my DVDs back on Sunday and want to get started again next week. Of course, since Zumba isn't exactly well known here yet, I asked for something that would be good for aerobics...the store clerk spent quite a bit of time explaining the difference choices. Amazing how light the pair I purchased are...I'm trying to break them in by wearing them around for a few days, and so far they are really comfortable. Good ankle and heel support with flexibility in the front...not sure of the color, but there wasn't too much to choose from. Bring it on...I'm ready!!!

And on that note, I'm off to fix dinner...

A lazy day

Sundays and Mondays are my days off...yesterday my landlady invited me to a Hot Cake lunch with our mutual neighbors, MI Ha and Mo...Ha is 4 and Mo will be 2 soon. Mi is their mom...we had a great couple of hours gabbing and eating and chasing around...little kids have such an amazing amount of energy and an equally amazing talent for using that energy to come up with ways to get into trouble. The food was good, the conversation was enjoyable and I had a great time playing...no need to worry about what kids think of you cuz they come right out and tell you on the spot which is very refreshing! Laid down for a nap after I got home...slept for almost 2 hours!!

This morning turned out sunny...not exactly warm as there's a cold wind blowing...time to get the laundry done as the nice weather isn't supposed to last. Of course, about the time I got the last load out on the line to dry, the clouds starting rolling in...just my luck. Have been blogging and tweeting and facebooking...plus reading a little bit more of the DH Companion. I love how I can blog on Typepad and with just a couple of clicks, have the same post show up on Twitter and Facebook... the internet is truly awesome!

Debating whether to take a nap or make a cup of coffee...I think I will do the latter and get back to work on catching up with my Kiva loans. I have a world map up with pictures of my borrowers who are working hard to repay their loans. When they complete their payments, I move them out to the wall in the hallway...however, I've been slacking off since November...most of the people on the map are long done with their loans. 

So up and away to the kitchen!

Support not just people

Through Kiva.org, we can support people in developing countries.

Through this site, you can befriend and support a gorilla for just $1.

I befriended 3 gorillas today.

Clamp

A new friend....Clamp....2 months old, Shiba puppy...cute as a bug and about as big.

We got along really well....she sat in my lap for quite a while and seemed quite comfy. Suddenly she stood up with her paws on my chest as if she wanted to go somewhere....oh, yes, she had to go...all over my lap!! I needed to take a shower anyway...LOL

BTW, her owner is a dentist and uses lots of clamps during office hours....therefore the name....?

Sad and beautiful at the same time

The father of the owner of the townhouse I rent passed away on Friday. 92 years young, as my dad was fond of saying. A wonderful husband, he took his wife to Europe many times, and even to Morocco, to see the sunset over the Sahara. Talk about a romantic!

When I first moved in (he and his lovely wife live in the unit at the far end of the building), he spent a great deal of his time in his greenhouse, tending his orchids. He showed them at exhibitions often, and even named one of his originals after his wife! I did mention he was a romantic, didn't I? I remember he would lend me a pot or two when I had guests...not only did they look wonderful but the fragrance was amazing.

And he was a loving father, which I'm sure at times wasn't the easiest thing in the world as his older son is disabled. They would sit on the terrace as he trimmed his son's finger and toe nails, and I would often meet them walking together around sunset, stopping to greet all the local dogs. A major dog lover, to say the least....over the years, he owned many dogs, and to keep things simple, they were all named Bobby!

And talk about a story teller....we often had dinner at his home or coffee out on the terrace (we tenants of our 3 unit town house get along very well), and although he was usually a reserved quiet man, once we got him talking about the good old days, he would be on a roll. War stories....he spent time in Manchuria and got along wonderfully with the local Chinese...he drank many of them under the table! Living through the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923...he lived by the ocean then, too, and although he was only 6 at the time, he remembers his entire neighborhood gathering on the local train tracks which were the highest ground around, hoping to survive the tsunami that was expected. He showed us coins he had collected from the various countries he and his wife visited, handmade shoes that he had made decades ago and still wore....he would sit on the step outside his front door for hours polishing them.

Unfortunately, dementia started to set in a few years ago, and it has been hard for all of us to watch him slowly fade away. He had a bad fall about a month ago and broke a couple of ribs.....the last we saw of him was as he left for the hospital where he never came out of the coma he fell into.

At his funeral today, his picture....a beautiful smiling face surrounded by his pure white hair....was in the middle of a wall of flowers. I didn't notice at first, but when I realized that most of them were orchids, I almost lost it right then and there. I know he was thrilled, wherever he may be. And the last task of his family before they closed the casket for the last time was to take all the orchids and place them around him....I sit here with tears running down my face as I write this...he just looked so at peace. Truly lovely....truly sad and beautiful.

Now it will be our pleasure to take care of his wife...she took such good care of him, especially these last few years watching the lively mind of the man she loves slowly become that of a child...although he could still come up with a caustic remark whenever she teased him...even when he started to get hard of hearing, he could hear her across the table without any problem...reminding me of my parents and their selective hearing. (A story for another day...^-^)

To be 10 years old again

The other day, I had the opportunity to spend some time with a 10-year-old boy.

Kids are so amazing...they are just little people, with their own thoughts and agenda, and it's really refreshing to interact with them.

We spent the afternoon talking about the world:

• Kiva and how so many people in the world don't have the advantages we do, like running water, electricity, a home with windows, the right to an education
• From there, we got out my old atlas (the Soviet Union still exists!) to look for Togo, one of the countries I lend to....discovered how so many countries in Africa have really straight borders...how strange is that!
• My atlas starts with the universe and works up to our planet Earth...shows the various aspects of the world, such as physical (no borders), the ocean bottoms with all mountains and trenches...we discovered that the trench off the eastern coast of Japan is the same shape as the country. Were we to tip over, we would fit right in it! When we got to the Earth's timeline, he knew all the names of the various eras....typical boy!
• Then I showed him (and his mom and another good friend) Hungry  Planet: What The World Eats...you should have seen his face when we got to the refugee family in Chad. He just couldn't believe that that was all they had to eat for one week. Then his shock when we jumped to the Japanese family...so very much....!
• We looked at The Blue Run, a book all about the water of the world. His mom told me that he had studied in school how the water system in his town works..he listened very carefully when I showed him in The Trouble With Water how only half of 1% of all the water in the world is clean.

After our studies were over and we 3 adults sat talking over coffee, he lay on the sheepskin rug looking through The Hungry Planet for the longest time...it IS a fascinating book, with pictures not only of what different countries eat, but also of people's  lifestyles.

A very interesting afternoon...full of curiosity, to say the least, starting out with the question of whether to eat lunch first and then go to the beach or to go to the beach first and then lunch...this was at 11:20, and after a little thought, my little friend decided lunch came first...that way he could spend all the time he wanted afterwards playing on the beach! Which he did....^-^

Oh, and I really have no desire to be 10 again...I like my age...besides the teens come after that and I would much rather not venture there ever again!