Battleplan

So Ayumi is out of here on Tuesday (4 am) and that leaves me a lot of stuff to do in this house before taking off. First of all, I've got to get everything ready for the yard sale, not hard mentally but physically I've got to gather, clean and transport all the stuff. We've got a couch, a futon, coffee table, kitchen table, dressers, armour, computer tables, radios, televisions, the list goes on and on. We've got a lot of stuff so hopefully, when we sell it all we'll make a pretty penny which in turn we are going to use to help make the deposit and rent on our apartment in Japan (which I understand to be pretty expensive).

Still waiting for the destination.

Filling Out Forms

I don't know why, but filling out government forms are one of the most confusing things one can do ever. Think of a standard question, then think of the most awkward and ambiguous way to ask it and you've written yourself an official government question worthy for any required form.

When we were getting married and going through all the paperwork for Ayumi's green card there was an incredibly long form (or two) required for us to fill out. These papers made no sense at all. The government had a hot line which you could call and ask questions about the form for like three dollars a minute or if you wanted you could pay fifteen dollars for an explanation of any three pages from the application. There were like twenty pages and I think in the end we had paid to have the detailed explanation walk through for the entire process. In addition to the form, they wanted photos of us together, an essay explaining our courtship, billing statements from both of us. They wanted to make sure that Ayumi wasn't going to split as soon as granted permanent residency and make sure it was a legit marriage, not one ordered from a catalogue, etc.

What brings this all to mind is right now I am in the process of filling out my visa application form to enter Japan. There are a few weird questions on this form that I don't quite know how to answer. I'm reading forums and calling embassies but, still don't have a straight answer on many of the questions. To make things worse, this form reads as if it was originally written in Japanese and then translated into English by someone whose English isn't really that good. Here are a few samples of the hangups I'm dealing with.

-Route of present journey: Over the Pacific..? The embassy told me to write AA 169 (American Airlines flight number).
-Post or rank held at present: I am wondering if this is referring to my social status, i.e. student, employee, exotic dancer, etc. Not quite sure what to put.
-Principal former positions: First I read this and was wondering; Which Principle is that? Elementary school, Jr. High, High School..? The school I'll be at in Japan. I don't know, I suppose they were maybe students who maybe had a paper route or worked fast food. They were probably teachers before becoming a principle... On top of that I only had about five inches to write it all. I then looked up the word principal (thinking they had mistaken this spelling with the principle) only to find that the spelling principal has two meanings:
a)someone who is in charge of a school (which I thought the question was referring)
b)most important; MAIN (which makes a little more sense.)

Having distinguished the two, I still don't' know what to put.

Its Been a Rather Ordinary Day

Not much to comment on today. Not much happened nor do I have any tokens of wisdom that I really feel like I can share... not that I have any at all. I'm sure I'll find something to rant about.

5 minutes later: ...nothing

10 minutes later: ...nothing

15 minutes later: ...nothing

20 minutes later: So, I've got these cousins in Japan who live in Osaka. Not through my wife but through my uncle. Through e-mail Ayumi and I have been keeping contact with them on and off. using the word contact is being very generous. I'll send the occasional e-mail saying something like, "Hi, how are you guys? We are all good here" and about a week later I'll get a reply... "We're all doing good here. Say hi to everyone for us." I hope by going to Mie, and being as close as we are going to be (an hour best-case scenario) we'll be able to make some sort of contact. I told our oldest cousin Lisa (23 yrs?) I'm moving to Mie and she sounded really excited... or maybe I should say sounded rearry excited! I'm excited to see them. The only memory I have of them was in '95 at a family reunion. One of the girls mentioned that she can remember playing with us cousins and swimming in our aunts swimming pool. I've got a DVD that Nana and Poppy gave me a few years ago which I intend on copying to VHS and giving them. I think they would like to videos of thier dad when he was growing up. I'll update the blog as events with them unfold. Maybe one day I'll get a picture of us all together.

Today in my spare time (I hardly know where to find it these days) I made a wallet out of an old oreo wrapper and electrical tape. Looks pretty good... and shiny. The outside was the silver metallic wrapper on the inside of the box. You'll see on the inside (through the window where the drivers lisence shows) the oreo label. I'm suprised how good it looks...what a waste of two hours. (-_-,)

Lately strange things have been happening around here with our computer... we sold our desktop to Ayumi's friend so we've both been using the laptop the past couple of days.
Weird thing 1) Neither of us can change the homepage in our explorers. I know... weird huh?
Weird thing 2) My cell phone won't send pictures to my e-mail. Yea, I was thinking strange too!
Weird thing 3) Every morning when I wake up there is this weird patch of blood dripping down from the ceiling.

I hope to have more to write about tomorrow.

2 Malls, Ikea and a Bookstore...

Today marks the first anniversary of me going to the gym yesterday. To celebrate what else could I do but to go again. Me and Dad went there and did the exercise bike for thirty minutes. My legs have felt like meatballs for the rest of the day... which happened to be totally appropriate because we ended up going to Ikea later this afternoon (meatballs, Ikea... get it? Bad joke.) But, before that we had to take the cat in to the vet to get some forms signed in preparation for her flight tomorrow. You would normally think a veterinarian would be a friendly guy who tries to make the patients and their families feel calm and welcome but, this particular veterinarian isn't like that. As Ayumi says though, he seems to be very careful on what he is doing though and in our case wants to make sure every step has been followed. Well, after forty-five minutes there we took off to meet our friend Yuri for lunch and Ikea.

We were running a bit late due to the vet but met Yuri. We wanted to take her to a little restaurant Ayumi and I are quite fond of; Caputo's downtown. When we got there we saw a long line running about fifteen feet out of the door. We decided to pass on Caputo's and headed for the Gateway where we ate lunch at California Pizza and did a little bit of shopping. After Ikea we ended picking up Akio and the four of us headed over to Barnes and Noble where we sat for two hours talking and reading magazines.

Somewhere over the course of the day Ayumi mentioned to me that I should maybe consider surfing in Japan (if I am spot that would allocate it). If possible I think I'd like to try it. Reading those magazines today (mostly men's fitness and art magazines) I realized I really need to find a hobby. It would be nice if surfing (or something else I can take seriously) could become so. Looking at myself now the closest thing I have to a hobby would be singing every Sunday. The only other thing would be video games but, I'm kind of embarrassed to claim that as a hobby. Mainly because it should be classified as more of a waste of time more than anything. Still no news of where I am headed... keeping my fingers crossed for tomorrow.

I'm a doctor gym... not a pretzel!

Believe it or not, I actually went to the gym today. I tossed and turned all last night (can't remember what but know I saw some pretty tripped up dreams) and finally around five-thirty decided to drag myself out of bed. From the very moment I opened my eyes the constant heavy thought (depression) that I had started a new commitment today was on my mind and I knew I had to go to the gym or else I'd end up hating myself. After looking over a few "clubs" last night I decided this morning that I was just going to sign up at the community rec center's gym. That way I knew each time I went I wouldn't have to dodge some lame salesman trying to get me to invest in twelve months for low, low monthly fees. I bought a month membership for $29.00 which gives me unlimited access to the weight room but, later went back to upgrade it to the $40.00 package which allows me to attend the various weekly exercise classes (yoga, spinning, Pilate's, etc.) Ayumi and I are going to have a contest to see who can be in better shape next time we meet. I've got some way to go so, it'll be interesting to see where I end up in a month. Well, tomorrow is day two. Oh yea, dad is coming with me tomorrow.

So the other day at the library I checked out a book titled Stretching. From what I've read, the only two things that are going to fix my knee are stretching and weight training. Apparently Mie has some pretty nice beaches and I've actually gotten quite excited thinking about running up and down them. Won't turn out very well if I'm a cripple. Anyways, last night before I went to bed, I spent about twenty minutes and did a dozen or so different stretches for the legs, lower back and hips (the areas I need). After stretching and standing up, I felt like a new man! I couldn't believe how good (and loose) it felt. This morning, before heading off to the gym I did the recommend stretches for weight lifting. I'd like to think I lifted pretty hard today yet, don't feel as much pain as I had in the past (on day one). Not only that but, it felt really good to stretch. A new hobby..? Stretching..? I've always wanted to be flexible. We'll see how this develops.

Usually when I start exercising (with a goal in mind) I usually feel better instantly. Where last night I was depressed and upset about my health slipping from my hands, here I am a day later (only been to the gym once) and already I feel 100% better. Even though it was day one, I feel like I am doing something. Its a natural placebo. Just think how I'll feel if I keep this up for a month. A few years back I had a thought of how to balance the individual. There are three areas all which need constant care: Physical, Mental and Spiritual... and by spiritual I don't imply everyone needs to believe in the same thing I do but have a certain creed/way of life they choose to give them some direction. For one person that may be religion and for another it could be yoga or vegan ism. Physical is to be in good shape, eating right, exercising etc., and finally with mental one should always strive to challenge themselves mentally by studying, learning new language... sudoku, etc. I know it sounds hokey but, it sounded good then and it sounds good now. Well, enough blabbing today, lets keep our fingers crossed that I make it to the gym tomorrow.

The Wake Before the Storm

So, I started my exercise plan tonight. What did I do you ask? Well, I got online and printed out a free two week guest membership to Bally's Total Fitness (that's better than I had planned). At least it seems free. I am sure that the first time I get there, along with every other consecutive visit I'll have to dodge their sales-people and tell them that I am indeed not interested in joining. My scapegoat will be that I want to check other gyms and see what they have to offer. If the pressure gets too hot, I pull my emergency parachute and tell them I'm leaving the country in a few weeks (like I'm sure they've never heard that one before.) Says here that I need to "take club tour and presentation, and sign guest release to redeem pass". I have always had a hard time saying no but, this time my chiseled pecks will thank me.

The plan for the rest of the night is to read a book I borrowed from my dad's office Men's Health Training Guide 2006 (don't worry, you'll get it back) and figure out exactly what I'll be doing tomorrow. Regarding my fitness, I've always relied on running as my fall-back-on but since my knee is out of whack I've got to do something else... its not like I ran anyways when my knee was good but, knowing I can't do it hasn't helped much. My biggest fear of working out (and this will apply for tomorrow) is because I don't know how to lift weights, in fear of looking like a total noob (computer lingo for a beginner) I've never liked lifting weights. I pray I do better tomorrow.

Here is my checklist for the next month:
-Get in shape
-Get tan
-Read the new Harry Potter

Pretty sad isn't it...

A Series of Unfortunate Events

This evening, whilst I was turning off the sprinkler outside I looked yonder over my right shoulder to see sitting upon the eave of the shed, a small owl. My first impression was to duck (in fear it was going to swoop down at me and take my eyeballs) but, after I realized he was more interested in turning his head the full 360 degrees than attempt to blind an albino I was put at ease. I called Ayumi who brought the camera and we snagged these pictures before it was chased into a tree by a smaller, and very annoying bird. Look at those photos, quality comparable with those of a sketchy Bigfoot shot. In all honesty, it was the highlight of my day. Not that owls are cool but, its been a rather uneventful day.

You know how some mornings you wake up and just don't feel like doing anything all day? Now I know, you may be thinking to yourself, "Silly AJ, you don't do anything all day." Well, take a guy who does nothing all day and then add on top of that the feeling of not wanting to do anything and you've got a pretty lazy guy. Here I am at 9:50 p.m. feeling like I've wasted the complete afternoon. To make it worse, my wife had a list of things that needed to be done and I scarcely lifted a finger. That's all going to change next week.

I've got four weeks left. My goal, join four separate gyms using various 7-day "guest passes". I've already downloaded and printed out my 24 Hour Fitness pass for next week... the week after? Bally's, then Golds, then Exel. If the gym won't comply, I'll just take my business elsewhere! My abs are going to be so solid come Japan that we won't even need to buy a laundry machine... they didn't call me the washboard in high school for nothing!

"Like Sands Through the Hourglass, so are the Days of our Lives."

Last night, as I had retired to my comfy chair to read the paper, smoking my pipe and wearing my usual evening robe, my wife brings to my attention that she has a little over a week left before she takes off. I sat there, staring at the paper (something about the Queen being caught up in yet another scandal with the Prime Minister) the words became a jumble and for the first time, I think I realized how quickly this is all coming upon me.

Am I excited..? Yes. Am I anxious..? Yes. Am I sad to be leaving..? Of course. Do I still want to go..? More than ever. My wise Grandfather once told me, along with the history of my royal Norwegian heritage (quite a story that must be told in another blog... and something I intend to claim!) that when you leave somewhere "you can never really come home". I realize this and, to an extent it makes me sad. I realize even though I am not here, life here still goes on. Things will change and because of that, you never really can come home. However, I can remember before heading off to Japan the first time I was nervous... for the same reasons. Two years later I got home and things had changed (and the family had miraculously increased by one). Now, five years later here I am married myself. Are things different from how they were before initially leaving for two years? Yes, but they are so much better. Now, looking at the same mentality, am I sad and anxious? Yes. Like in the last example can I assume that in five years, even though things have changed they will be better..? Yes.

Reason I write on this topic is because I want people to know that yes I am excited but, yes too I am nervous. I know in our (my wife and myself) lives this is where we need to be going so, no regrets. I am in for one of the great life adventures! Now how long will we be gone? Like a blind man in a maze, I'll just have to feel my way out of this one. At least 2 years... but, like I've always said Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives.

Now that I've cleared my mind, its off to smoke my pipe and catch up on the news.

When all is said and done, at least the kitchen is clean!

In the unlikely event that someone reading this blog wants to buy an almost new slightly used microwave oven I'd go as far as to boast that you won't find a cleaner one than the one we have in our here kitchen. And you know what..? Its for sale! We've been spending the morning cleaning up the surfaces around the kitchen. After reading a few posts on the Internet on how to clean out a microwave I decided to try a few. First I put a teaspoon of baking soda in a cup of water and microwaved it expecting to find some magical results. Whoever posted that message claimed that after 30-45 seconds, the food would just wipe away. Not the case. Mostly smeared but, defiantly better than just warm water. Next I mixed two cups of water with half cup of vinegar and heated it for five minutes in the microwave. Apparently the concoction is suppose to make a little sauna in your microwave and clean while it deodorizes and moistens up the walls for easy removal. The buzzer rings, I burn myself of the scalding water and wipe the walls. Worked pretty good too. Long story short, in the end I used a Mr. Clean magic wipe and got the place looking pretty good. (Speaking of Mr. Clean, as a kid I always remember Mr. Clean looking like an Arabian Genie. Now he looks more like a creepy, white jail-bird. Am I wrong?)

Yesterday, I managed to get the contents of my two bags both each under 50 pounds, as any traveler would know not an easy task to do. I can pay an additional $25.00 per bag at the airport to get the weight limit up to 70 lbs per bag but, don't have the room to do so.

So, to my diligent reader out there... Have I captured your heart yet? I promise as soon as I get to Japan, this blog will probably get a bit more exciting.

Video of Train Going Through Mie

This is a video some people already working in Mie made for those of us wanting to know more of what to expect.

A Slight Case of Insomnia

Over the past few weeks I think I've developed a mild case of insomnia. I jump into bed around midnight and it seems that I toss and turn until around 2:30-3:00 before I finally doze off. The culprit..? I'm thinking its anxiety. The other day finding myself still awake and in bed at 3:30, I figured it would be easier to just get up and start with the day. I went over to the computer and played a game for an hour then around quarter to five, decided to go running in preperation to the local 5k on the 4th of July. The past few months I've been suffering from Iliotibial Band Syndrome (weak hip muscle putting strain on my knee) which makes running next to impossible. I thought I was cured but, about ten minutes into my run found out that it was indeed not the case. Well, I hobbled the rest of my route and waved the goal of running the 5k this year goodbye. The good news: sure enough come 11:00 pm, was ready for bed (and think I slept through the rest of the night). I figure if I can wake up early and exercise every day, maybe I can just beat this insomnia... easier said than done. With lack of motivation and an ever throbbing right knee I've still only made it out that one time.

Today and yesterday, Ayumi has been trying to fit all the stuff she is planning on taking with her to Japan into two big red suitcases which we had. I decided to give this a shot this morning with the two bags I intend on taking. While I watched the movie Airplane I tried to pack all my junk only to find that I need a larger suitcase or take less garbage. Now its getting to the point where we are forced to divide the necessities from the luxuries. It breaks my heart to see all the Ikea stuff which isn't making the cut. I guess when push comes to shove 2 years worth of underwear takes priority over a nifty swiss pen case.

T-Minus 38 days.

Following my mothers admonition, I have decided to document my life for the next little while. For those who don't know... (and if you don't know, I don't know how you have stumbled upon this gem of a website) I am headed to Japan at the end of July (thus the 38 day countdown) to live/work for the next couple of years with my wife... who happens to be Japanese. The program I am participating in is called the Jet Program and pretty much, I am going there to help teach English at Japanese high schools as a Japanese government employee. Its a one year contract that can be renewed up to four times and at the moment, we're feeling maybe 2-3 years (but, we'll see once we've tested the waters a little bit). The state I am heading to is called Mie however, as of now I still don't know the specific city. We're both excited but the past couple of weeks the days have been busy going through our stuff and trying to decide which is worth hanging onto and which we just want to get rid of. So far, we've compacted an apartment full of furniture and junk, into about half a dozen boxes we plan on hanging onto for future use, the rest..? To be given away to charity or sold at a yard sale. We're both excited, Ayumi is going to be taking off a few weeks before me to find us an apartment and look for a job (we only hope we know where we're going before she gets there). Now, in all honesty I can't imagine anything exciting being posted on this website at least until I get over there but, I'll do my best to keep those who occasionally look at this entertained and excited.

Here is a link about the Jet Program:
http://www.us.emb-japan.go.jp/JETProgram/homepage.html