Saturday, February 25, 2006

photo albums

We recently learned how to add photo albums to our blog and wanted to point them out. Right here, on the side of the page under the photo albums title, are a few pictures from the two of us added just so you all can get a better mental picture of what we're up to in Japan. We've still got to take more pictures of our everyday lives, but these are a few of our adventures. Enjoy!

Thursday, February 16, 2006

Workin' 9 to 5

Well, it is more like 7 to 2:30, but you get the idea.

Since I arrived I've been hunting for work of my own. Something to keep me busy when Andy is working, to provide a pay check, and to provide a fabulous letter of recommendation for a future job back in the states. I joined the English Teachers' Networking Group and have been hoping to pick up a couple students in the afternoons. I submitted my paperwork to substitute teach here on the base. Heck, I even signed up with a modeling firm in Tokyo. (Even Andy came along and signed up for that one!)

Lately I'd been getting frustrated with unemployment. All the connections I'd been making weren't leading anywhere and I was worried that I'd be stuck not contributing to our savings. Then, all of a sudden, I recieved two calls from the modeling agency asking if I was available for a couple possible jobs coming up. Then, two days later, I got a call from the middle school here on base saying that my subbing paperwork had gone through and that they'd be calling me soon for help. Then, I got an interview with an English school in Yokohama. Woo hoo!! Things were looking up.

Finally today I have my first day of work! Yeah!! I'm subbing at the high school on what might just be the easiest day to sub ever! Yokosuka is hosting the Far West Wrestling tournament and has schools from Japan, Korea, and Guam in attendance. And, since it is such a big event, the teachers were all encouraged to take their classes over to cheer on their team. Basically, my day has consisted of taking attendance and then walking the group over to the gym. I'm sure that I'll be working much tougher days here, but this has been a fabulous first day back at work and I hope to be scheduled for more sub work next week.

Now that work has started coming my way I have my fingers crossed that it will continue with force.

Wake and Waddle

Blog thoughts for this here Thursday in a Japan: Which by the way, happens to be one of two scheduled trash days for our neighborhood. That’s right, we, like all of our pint sized new friends, each Monday and Thursday take part in a ritual that I have coined “the wake and waddle.” For on these days, regardless of your waking hour, you can blearily head to the street and watch people carrying many grocery sacks (of the plastic variety) to the trash drop. Which, mind you, looks much more like an oversized raccoon trap than a refuse receptacle. Until this sighting we were simply just filling Glad bags and hoping that someone would impart their waste knowledge upon us prior to our guestroom becoming over run. I would have thought one of the divers might grunt the garbage instructions in passing. However, clarity clubbed me and my fleeting grumbles on this topic as soon as I entered their guestrooms. So I promptly filled them in on what I had just discovered.
Now knowing not only when we could dump our adult sized monster accumulation of a trash, but also where and how, Maggie and I rushed into action. With a glance and a grin we were in action, transferring all of the trash from big to small bags. One became many. Then out the door we went, waddling with the best of them down our narrow lane toward the capybara trap turned trash cage. Unfortunately, getting it open required both of our brains and a secret knock.




CAPYBARA

The word capybara means “rat as big as pig”

Origin: Central & South America
Height: Up to 2 feet tall
Length: Up to 4 1/2 feet
Weighting up to 145 lbs the capy eats only veggies and, if offered, has a weakness for melon.

Capybaras are quite swift on their feet and will also have no problem swimming if they happen to fall into your pool. To take that image a bit further, if once in your pool, the capybara needs to take a capynap, it is able. For they have the ability to sleep in the water by keeping their nose above the waterline. Thus answering the “do capybaras float” question. The capybara’s lifespan is about 10 years in the wild and, like me, if they are threatened they would much rather dive in the water and hide rather then scuffle. Unfortunately for them (not me) one of their many natural predators is the anaconda.

If you have always had the desire to buy your kids an illustrated book on capybaras please don’t fret. “Capyboppy” by Bill Peet just happened to be my favorite childhood book and can be purchased by clicking on the following link:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0613100263/sr=82/qid
=1140085456/ref=pd_bbs_2/103-0398662-3858240?%5Fencoding=UTF8

Friday, February 3, 2006

The shakes

Just a couple nights ago, as we were sitting in bed watching back to back episodes of 24, we lived through our first Japanese earthquake. We heard today that it ranked 4.7 on the American scale. Basically it wasn't enough to scare us into running for the door frame, but we did look at eachother with big grins on our faces. It was kind of exciting!