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.
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
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!
Sunday, January 22, 2006
Oscar
Saturday morning we woke up to the sound of children squeeling. It's a sound we're pretty used to by now seeing as the kids next door are very enthusiastic, to say the least. Andy got up, went to the window, and came back to report that it was snowing! Our first snow in Japan... We immediately bundled up and went for a drive over to the base. Our agenda was to make some calls and take a picture of our little car. There were a couple requests for a visual record of our little green monster, Oscar. The snow didn't last very long but even today as we drove across base there were a few snowmen hanging out in front yards fighting against the sun.
Monday, January 16, 2006
Sunday, January 15, 2006
Rainy day update
Hello hello,
It is a day full of clouds and periodic drips. Ah, Japan is a grab bag of quirks, and as it is with any new adventure, knees get skinned. We are doing pretty well. I have been here a little over a month, Maggs a bit under, and taking strides to make our icebox of a house homey. It is funny; we can get a cell phone that will double as a shaver, but still wake up in a fog of our own making. It seems that this island full of little people fail to value the need for insulation. Yesterday morning I checked our indoor thermometer and was taunted with a 38-degree greeting. Not the end of the world, but it does make it that much more difficult to get out of bed in the morning. We are taking Japanese classes once a week, and are also learning how to cook without an oven. We have a wok and a stovetop….we are yet to go hungry. For all of you who have lived on a base, or grew up in a military household, you know the perks of base life. The creature comforts of stateside life are all available at the commissary and usually at a fraction of the cost. We have a gym to work out in with an Olympic sized pool (oddly enough on the second floor), and a full weight room/machine room where you can sweat under watchful eyes coming out of your own flat screen. If woodworking is your thing we can use the base's tool room full of the newest line of Home Depot's finest. Maggie has already gone in with plans of furnishing our place with shelves and bookcases of her making. So when all of you come over for a visit, you will surely be wowed by her creations.
As for work, my diving career began in fifth gear. I pretty much climbed right off of the tarmac and onto our dive barge. We worked right through Christmas, diving mostly on battle ships. I have been in the water twice. Distilled down, I am an underwater janitor. You can check the PLU records, but I would say with an archer’s accuracy, that I am the first one to use my History degree in this way. The Navy contracts us to clean the props, routers and running gear. Occasionally we run what I call an underwater Zamboni over the hull to get rid of hard-shelled sea critters. But the Zamboni is not put in the water all that frequently due to the fact that it is a pain to move it around. The ships go into dry dock for all of their big maintenances. Because of this, it is important that the running gear is sparkly clean when these giants come out for all eyes to see. Our cleaning has practical purposes too. Clean running gear makes the ships that much more stealth-like for when they are out at sea. Truth be told, it is pretty awesome being under an 1100 foot boat. The Kitty Hawk has four 27-foot props with edges that you would not want to cuddle up to. Yes, the water is chilly, and no, the visibility is not so good. But I like the challenge, and it allows us to live abroad for a year or two.
Unfortunately though, our diving has gone from fifth to first. And yes, that’s been as jarring as it sounds. We were given 10 days off for working on Christmas. I would have been happy with the steak lunch that we barbequed in-between our morning and afternoon Christmas dive, but the vacation was nice too. Now we are working half days and waiting for the next ship to come into port. I am sure that a year from now I will welcome the short days. But now I am itching to keep busy.
All right, my fingers getting as tired as your eyes, so I will leave the rest for another blog blurb. I hope all of you are doing well…know you are missed. Do us a favor and turn up the heat in your homes a degree or two for us. Right now we are opening the fridge in order to warm our hands.
It is a day full of clouds and periodic drips. Ah, Japan is a grab bag of quirks, and as it is with any new adventure, knees get skinned. We are doing pretty well. I have been here a little over a month, Maggs a bit under, and taking strides to make our icebox of a house homey. It is funny; we can get a cell phone that will double as a shaver, but still wake up in a fog of our own making. It seems that this island full of little people fail to value the need for insulation. Yesterday morning I checked our indoor thermometer and was taunted with a 38-degree greeting. Not the end of the world, but it does make it that much more difficult to get out of bed in the morning. We are taking Japanese classes once a week, and are also learning how to cook without an oven. We have a wok and a stovetop….we are yet to go hungry. For all of you who have lived on a base, or grew up in a military household, you know the perks of base life. The creature comforts of stateside life are all available at the commissary and usually at a fraction of the cost. We have a gym to work out in with an Olympic sized pool (oddly enough on the second floor), and a full weight room/machine room where you can sweat under watchful eyes coming out of your own flat screen. If woodworking is your thing we can use the base's tool room full of the newest line of Home Depot's finest. Maggie has already gone in with plans of furnishing our place with shelves and bookcases of her making. So when all of you come over for a visit, you will surely be wowed by her creations.
As for work, my diving career began in fifth gear. I pretty much climbed right off of the tarmac and onto our dive barge. We worked right through Christmas, diving mostly on battle ships. I have been in the water twice. Distilled down, I am an underwater janitor. You can check the PLU records, but I would say with an archer’s accuracy, that I am the first one to use my History degree in this way. The Navy contracts us to clean the props, routers and running gear. Occasionally we run what I call an underwater Zamboni over the hull to get rid of hard-shelled sea critters. But the Zamboni is not put in the water all that frequently due to the fact that it is a pain to move it around. The ships go into dry dock for all of their big maintenances. Because of this, it is important that the running gear is sparkly clean when these giants come out for all eyes to see. Our cleaning has practical purposes too. Clean running gear makes the ships that much more stealth-like for when they are out at sea. Truth be told, it is pretty awesome being under an 1100 foot boat. The Kitty Hawk has four 27-foot props with edges that you would not want to cuddle up to. Yes, the water is chilly, and no, the visibility is not so good. But I like the challenge, and it allows us to live abroad for a year or two.
Unfortunately though, our diving has gone from fifth to first. And yes, that’s been as jarring as it sounds. We were given 10 days off for working on Christmas. I would have been happy with the steak lunch that we barbequed in-between our morning and afternoon Christmas dive, but the vacation was nice too. Now we are working half days and waiting for the next ship to come into port. I am sure that a year from now I will welcome the short days. But now I am itching to keep busy.
All right, my fingers getting as tired as your eyes, so I will leave the rest for another blog blurb. I hope all of you are doing well…know you are missed. Do us a favor and turn up the heat in your homes a degree or two for us. Right now we are opening the fridge in order to warm our hands.
Saturday, January 14, 2006
A hard day's work
Andy's dive barge moored along side the C-ville. If you look closely you will see him on the gunnel (above the #7).
Thursday, January 12, 2006
2 weeks and 6 days
It's been a pretty amazing start for our new adventure. We enjoyed a fantastic Japanese dinner on Christmas Eve at a restaurant where everything on the menu was written in characters instead of letters or pictures. Luckily we had gone with friends who know the language. Then on Christmas we invited one of the divers over to our apartment for holiday paninis and a game of scrabble. Andy had even got his first dive in as part of this team. AND it was on the Kitty Hawk which is one of the largest ships in the world. We got to enjoy a Japanese New Year and see the 20 year olds all dressed up for Come of Age day. For the New Year everyone has three days to go to temple, toss their lucky goyen (5 yen coin) into a box, ring the bell, and make a wish. Your three days begin at midnight on New Year's Eve and often there is a long line at the temple to make wishes at soon as the clock hits the new year. For Come of Age day anyone turning 20 years old in 2006 dresses up in traditional kimono and goes to the temple for a blessing and celebration. They tended to continue wearing their kimono for the rest of the day so you saw people all dressed up wherever you went. We've gone for sushi and have enjoyed sumo on tv. We've been off to visit Tokyo and see the amazing way people cross the street at intersections. The people watching is fabulous over here. So many of the young men look like they are straight out of an animae cartoon with their stylish clothes and funky hair. The other day we saw a guy that could have been David Bowie's Japanese twin! Another funny thing we've noticed is that the houses here aren't insulated. Everyone heats their home with a kerosene heater and/or has one of these great little tables with a built in heater underneath. They also make these table covers that help hold the heat in and keep the people sitting at the table warm. I'm sure we'll find a few other funny little things soon...
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