Home made Root Beer!

So after two prior failed attempts, last night I tried again to make a batch of homemade root beer. I don't know why I have been having such a hard time getting this stuff to work, I mean this stuff practically flows through my blood but, last night I think I nailed it. The good thing is if it works, I should be sippin' the good stuff within the week! The downside of it is, this was a brand and method I have never ever followed so, even if successful not sure if I can call it "Allred Rootbeer". Nevertheless, we are in for a treat.

So traditionally when we make this stuff with grandpa, we fill a big five gallon jug up with warm water. I think the problem with my first batch was no 5 gallon container. A few months after first getting to Japan I borrowed the biggest pot from the school kitchen taking it home only to find it was too small. I decided having had gone through all the trouble I would still go through with making it but only making half a batch. Somewhere in the process I guess I miscalculated the proportioning because in the end I think my rootbeer tasted more like yeasty water with a hint of rootbeer and not the rootbeer with a hint of yeast I was aiming for. Well, that batch went down the drain and thinking about it now, probably still have a half a container of extract in my cupboard somewhere!

My wife's dad loves root beer and in fact, whenever we are lucky enough to find it at an import shop usually buy a can or two just for him. Anyways, last summer (attempt 2) I told him I had the materials to make it and next time I went to visit him we would try to make a batch together. I don't do math but, he is pretty smart so I knew as far as calculating we would have no problems. We went out and bought a large bucket (I think the kind used to pickle vegetables). I think once we had all the ingredients in we were like an inch from the top. If my memory serves me correctly, to the best of my knowledge we followed the recipe exactly, no needing to cut back portions or anything however in the end, this batch too was missing something. I ended up finally getting to taste an unopened bottle about three weeks after making it (usually where it has the greatest kick). I don't remember much but, know it wasn't the action packed flavorful soda I was hoping it would be.

Well, last night was attempt three. This recipe came in a kit I got from my brother included in the family Christmas package. Without having to dig through my parents boxI could smell root beer somewhere from within the contents. This recipe was pretty straight forward however different from the stuff I am used to making. For example, this batch has a mysterious package containing "flavor crystals" (no idea what that is about) added at the same time as the extract. It also requires brown sugar where I have only used white and also required 45 minutes of sterilizing the containers and instruments we would be using in the procedure.

This recipe was used to make 1 gallon. We don't have gallons here in Japan and our biggest pot mysteriously burned our dinner the other night and now we can't get the crusty stuff off from the inside (we think the pot is done for). I got online and found that 1 US gallon is about 4 liters so, I used two old two liter water jugs. I was a little nervous because again I was afraid I would screw the portioning up but, this recipe had you mix the root beer extract, sugar, yeast etc. in a separate bowl and then add it to a half full container so, in spite of not having a gallon jug think it still worked out just fine- easy to say visually, I will have to update this blog after I have tasted the stuff.

Well, here I am 24 hours later, feeling the firmness of the jugs every few hours but, know they're still not ready. However, I am very anxious to see if this batch works. I can occasionally find root beer here (not in Isobe but, in big cities) but alas, nothing can compare with good old home brewed root beer.

Cheers to good root beer!

5:56 AM

So Hershey did what she does best and woke me up in the wee hours of the morning for food. I had a pretty early night last night so, in addition to being awoken at five this morning I couldn't fall back asleep so, I guess this is it. Last night was the year-end party for Suisan highschool. In addition to the the regular staff at school they had the entire ship crew there which alone is 22 crewmen. It was fun, I saw some crazy drunken sailors, ate sea creatures that I didn't particularly care eating and had a pretty good shot at wining a Japanese lottery ticket in bingo until I was distracted by a teacher I had never seen before decided to come and speak English with me. Its OK though. I figure the odds of me winning that bingo was like 1/85 then on top of that, the odds of me winning the lotto was like 1/1,000,000,000 so I am not too put off but, if I catch wind that one of those tickets won, I'll probably go hang myself.

Well, its Christmas time again. Last year I had to work and, surprise surprise, this year I do too. Its understandable though that a nation predominately Buddhist doesn't care to recognize a mainly Christian holiday. I didn't throw any fits in America when we weren't celebrating the Festival of Floating Bowls so why should it be any different now? Anyways, I do get today off for the Emperors birthday- a day which I will use to... now that I am awake my whole plan is off so, nuts to that. But, I am not going to pass up a free day off so, yay!

For New Years this year we are again going to be going to Gifu to spend it with my wife's family. Her little sister is home from college and with me there, will be the first time in five years that everyone will be there. I just hope I don't feel too much like, as my coworker phrased it the other day, the 500 pound gorilla in the room. Looking forward to going though.

Fauxhawk

So it has been a week since I first dabbled my toe into the big lake which we call HTML design. In the course of seven days, I really havn't done much. Well, I did a lot the first few days and then having nothing to make kind of stopped for a little while. It is test week at school so, a lot of time went towards making that.

Our tests here at Shima are pretty straight-forward. Each test is worth 100 points. 50 from reading/writing and 50 in the form of a listening test. This past semester we learned lessons on describing people (the tall man with long hair, etc.), weather, disasters, and a few others which I cannot remember. Well, we recorded a twenty minute disc with us going back and forth in conversations about the things we have learned about. Shouldn't be too hard- at least I wouldn't have any problem doing it.

On Saturday night we have our annual end of the year party with the English club. That should be pretty fun. We are doing white elephant gifts and then some karaoke. Also, that morning I am going to go out and chop my locks. My hair is pretty shaggy right now and after trying for a year and a half have decided that my bangs just don't grow so, maybe back to the fauxhawk? Only time will tell. I am pretty excited for the weekend though.

HTM-Hell

So back in the day, when I was a feshman in college. With my then fiance Ayumi I enrolled in a website design class at the University. Over the course of a semester Ayumi and I hammered out simple little websites which although fun were really hard to make. Well, the class ended and I had never though about nor hadn't had any interest in website design since then. The other night I downloaded a 30 day trial of Adobe Flash and following a tutorial started goofing around with that program and made some fun flash animations. That got me thinking back to my class and in my spare time I thought I would give another go at building a website.

After two days of tinkering around with HTML, ladies and gentlemen I present to you the one and only
www.kzombie.com- more zombie than you can shake a stick at. It's not much now but, over the next few days hopefully I will be able to add some fun things to it. Right now I invite you to enjoy the December 2008 calendar, look at my header and even follow a link to a current favorite website I have been frequently perusing.

I have a good friend here in Isobe who professionally designes websites and calling him up Wednesday night he came over for a few hours and helped jog my memory about how to do all this stuff. After a few minutes, I was able to piece things together. My only problem now is, what to put on that page.

Check back here and there for updates!

ABBA

It's 9:09 Friday night. I have absolutely nothing to do. I have looked at all my regular websites, I have played all my games, just not in much of a mood to do anything. I currently have ABBA Gold playing thus the name for this post. Things have been going pretty well lately. It is cold, and as a result I have pulled out my big thick winter jacket and wore it to school today. Upon entering the office today, the Vice Principal came over to me and (I think I caught a bit of sarcasm in his comment) you sure look warm. I had my big snowboarding jacket, a scarf and some fingerless gloves. Yes I was warm, yes I was comfortable and no I didn't feel dumb.

It is that time of the year. Our apartment must not have been made very well because in the summertime it gets uncomfortably hot and in the winter it gets uncomfortably cold. Actually I think a lot of that has to do with the lack of central heating/cooling in structures in this country. Our Summer/Winter ritual consists of heating/cooling the computer room and lounging in there only leaving to answer the call of nature, raid the fridge or get the door. Hershey loves winter because she gets to curl up next to the portable heater and steal a large percentage from ever reaching us. She just lays there for hours on end alternating every now and then from belly to back only getting up to use the bathroom and/or eat. Wait, that's what we do.

So in Japan the recycling laws are pretty strict. I have gotten used to them and since doing so see that they kind of make sense (like not wearing shoes in the house, showering before getting in the bathtub and washing hands after using the bathroom). Our little town has us separating our garbage I think into six different groups. On top of this after separation, you have to put the corresponding garbage into an appropriate bag and leave it down on the street the day of to be picked up. You are not suppose to put garbage down there any earlier and of course, if too late not picked up. Well the past six months or so, somebody has been totally ignoring this rule. It is not like one or two items but, things like couches, bikes, toys and most recently about twenty big bags of mixed garbage. When the garbage is picked up all this garbage is left aside with a note stuck on it reading, "we will not pick up this garbage." and states the recycling rules. I mean garbage is garbage but, when you've got and are used to a nice little organized system and a small, clean garbage disposal area you kind of get upset when the rules are not obeyed. I have included photos. The white bags do not belong.

November

So, a lot has happened in the past two and a half months since my last update. With the in frequencies of my writings I don't know if calling them updates is quite the appropriate terminology. Maybe I should refer to them as quarterly ramblings or something along those lines. Looking back at it all, not a lot really has happened out of the ordinary but, I will fill you all in nevertheless.

September brought about the return to school. I know I posted something during that month but, only commented on my current ailments at the time- which a lot like you read on this blog was me complaining about being sick. This season a funny cold seems to be going around. It starts with a scratch in your throat followed by runny/stuffy nose and a fever all ending up with a persistent cough that I have seen last for up to three weeks. In my case I think I had it all done and finished in about a week. Ayumi had it worse with a fever and sore throat for about two days. When we get sick, we tend to put on our warm pajamas and try to sweat the illness. Not rocket science but, even if it isn't doing us any good we sure are comfy.

The first week of October we had our school festival at Shima Highschool. For the past few months, about one time a week I had been meeting with my Vice Principal practicing some songs we intended to perform there. With the help of two additional teachers (one on drums and another on bass) we sang a total of five songs in front of all the students. We sang the Beatles' songs "Something", "Let It Be", The Mommas and the Poppas "California Dreaming", The Eagles "Hotel California" and another called "sora mo toberu hazu" by a Japanese band called Spitz. I have a DVD copy of the show but so far have been unable to rip it down to a format that I can send/post on the internet. I am going to see if I can track down the originals off the camera and send them in that format.

It was actually really fun and I think turned out great. The students had a great time and even sang along on some of the song parts they knew. Some kids at Suisan saw a copy of the video (via students in another band that played during the same festival) and word spread there that I have the voice of an angel. I don't know about that but, I have kids there that want to see the DVD. We'll see if we can arrange something.

Halloween came and went. For that we did a fun Halloween lesson where we watched a few Disney videos, learned about the holiday and got a special treat. For that we decorated up our classroom at school with some cheap things we bought at the dollar store and some great things Ayumi had made for her class. Tomorrow at school I will see if I can track down the video footage I made of that and post some of it here on the blog.

You know when you get sick and you just don't want to do anything? Today is one of those days. I am feeling pretty ill. So ill in fact that I called in to work today and took the day off. After hitting the snooze four times and dragging myself out of bed and into the shower I got ready. I was actually ready to go, and had even taken the garbage down to the street. I had the worse sore throat, it was so low and raspy that Barry White would have rolled in his grave had he heard it. I just knew I had to crawl back into bed so, calling the school and getting permission from my best friend the Vice Principal was soon snuggled next to Ayumi where I slept for the four hours.

Waking up, I still felt pretty crappy. My head pounded, my throat was parched and sore, my whole body throbbed but, somehow I managed to pull myself out of bed where now for the past six hours I honestly have no idea what I have been doing. I should study but, no energy nor will to do it. I could go back to bed... no interest. I don't even want to play video games. In fact, I jumped on this blog intent on writing a wonderful entry about a wizard and a unicorn but, even that sounds just too much for this frail boy. So for now, good bye and goodbye.

Well That Was a Bad Idea

Looking at the date of my last post, it has nearly been a week since I updated this thing. Comparatively speaking to how it has been in the past, I really am in no position to complain so, I will stop there. My reason for not writing however is two fold- both of which I will now explain.

Reason One- Last week, Ayumi and I had such a fun time at the beach with her family that we decided last Friday to head out again. Just she and I. I took the day off of work and the two of us left by bike around eight thirty. We knew before-hand that it would take about forty-five minutes to get there so, ended up getting to the beach somewhere between nine-thirty and ten. We had stopped by at the convenience store which is about the half-way marker, filling up our bag with goodies. Well, it was a wonderful day at the beach. We were there until about maybe one-thirty. The time spent running between our giant umbrella and the water. Realizing that whatever amount of sunscreen I had put on was probably not enough, it seems like most of the afternoon was spent constantly applying it only to have it be washed off every time we went into the water.

Now the beach is a pretty cool place. Not cool as in spiffy but, cool as in temperature. Sure the sand is hot but, being a beach there is a constant, cool wind blowing in from the sea. As a result, you really don't get too hot. When we got bored, and started thinking about the bike trip back (and the unforgiving sun over our head) we packed up and spent the bike ride home scrambling from shady spot to shady spot. I could literally feel my skin burning. Well, as is normal any time you get a sunburn, you don't realize the severity until the next day. We both woke up Saturday morning reed at beets. (Although my face, legs and arms are a delightful dark-brown hue :P ) In addition to being red, it seemed like the skin underneath was swollen. We spent the day indoors, trying not to move applying ointment to each other while moaning at the same time. It is now Tuesday and in spite of my belly and back being really itchy, today is pretty bearable.

That was reason one.

Reason Two- I am attempting to do the impossible. I am going to try and take the Japanese Language Proficiency Test level 1 (1 as in being the hardest). I am not hesitant to state that I am in no way prepared for this test, in any way, shape or form but heck, if that overrated swimmer can win 8 gold medals, why can't I do this? Well, I am sure he actually practices swimming but, that's besides the point. I have spent the last two (count 'em 1..2..) days, studying, and boy is my brain sore. Problem is though, the more I study the more I realize just how crappy my Japanese really is. I can hold up a conversation pretty well but, my reading/writing is pretty far off so, that is my goal between now and mid-December. Wish me luck.

I know you are asking yourselves, "So AJ, with such a tight schedule, how on earth is he finding the time to write in your blog?" The answer to which is... I'm taking a break so leave me alone!

I really want to watch Seinfield.

Son of a Beach

So, yesterday afternoon after writing in my blog I thought I would sit down and read some comics in Japanese. Well, I didn't get very far due to the fact that a)the batteries on my kanji dictionary ran out and, b)I was falling asleep on the big comfy couch we have in the school library. Ayumi who had told me earlier in the day that she was coming with her family who decided to drive her the whole way so, throughout the aftrernoon I kept texting her to find out where they were. Come three o'clock, they were just outside of town so, I took off the rest of the afternoon and met them on the way home.

We stopped by the apartment so Ayumi could drop off her things, I could change my clothes, potty break, etc. and before too long we were all in the car headed for the beach (which is where we were last Saturday). After spending about a half hour there, wading in the water, trying not to get too soaked we all got back into the car and headed home.

One the way, Ayumi's little sister and I were both pretty munchy so, we were taken to the largest supermarket in the area to get something to eat. There I also bought a couple of band-aids to put on my finger. I still have stitches in my finger (and no idea when or how I am going to get them out) but, no longer (feel like I) need to wrap it in the gauze that the doctor originally gave me so, I have moved onto something a little bit more comfortable. I wrap it in a band-aid and then have a finger sock I am putting over that. Looks pretty cool, like I am starting a new fashion or something.


Anyways... that was yesterday.

Marooned

So, I ran my burglar story through a couple of Japanese last night, just before I ran them through with my sword. Not really but, last night I taught my (now bi-) monthly English conversation class and after using my story as a listening activity the students there too thought the details of my experience were a bit odd and the vagrant most likely was not there just to be a "prospective" renter. I still feel a bit bad, but it is just the good AJ inside being a wimp. The evil AJ is still telling me I should have struck her down, kicked her a few times and then dragged her by her hair to the police station. Everyone I talk to seems to agrees with me.


I named the title of this post marooned. In fact, I just thought I would name it that as I started this paragraph. I have always like the idea of being marooned as long as it is a deserted island or a new planet, none of that leaving me in the parking lot of Walmart, forcing me to walk home crap. Just the idea of being alone, having to rely on yourself, building huts and finding your own food sounds fun. That is regarding the deserted island. For the foreign planet... don't know but, have read enough sci-fi to know what to do; being shoot first and ask questions later.

I once read a book by Ray Bradbury called the Martian Chronicles about man reaching and settling on Mars. Anyways, there are a few short stories in there about desolation on the planet which made the whole prospect sound pretty excitin'. Cool picture don't you think?

Can you tell I am bored?

So in December is the Japanese proficiency test which I would like to take again. Last year I took the level two test and this year I am going to aim for the level one. If I can pass the level one I can probably secure a good job here in this country if that so beith my wish- and start playing video games in English again.

Ayumi is on her way home today and as a little suprise decided to bring her whole family. I guess they want to see the beach (and I do too). No problem but, I can't honestly say that I left the house in "Lets bring over guests" condition. Both days I was alone, I was gone most of the day only to come home and park it in front of the computer. All I ate was two peaches and some toast so, I really don't think it is that bad. Not dirty but, messy. I guess you'll find out in tomorrows blog.

Nekkid Fireworks

Yesterday was an interesting day, but started out as normal as ever. Ayumi went to Gifu to spend some time with her little sister who is home for the week. I would have gone too but, was there two weeks ago. Not that I don't like going to Gifu or anything but, while there it was super-dooper hot, I was super-dooper bored and on top of that didn't want to put our cat through the trauma of going to and being there.

Ayumi's folks have a big dog. Neither the dog nor Hershey have any interest in becoming friend with each other so while they are in the same room it is just a staring contest between the two of them. During the cooler months Hershey is content staying upstairs and being by herself however, summer gets too hot so we need to put her in the air conditioned room with us- which happens to be the dogs favorite space. Well, when we do this, the dog cowers in the corner while Hershey stays in the other and hisses across the room. I am sure stressful to both.

Anyways, so Ayumi took off to Gifu yesterday morning and I went to school as usual. Around ten-ish I get a telephone call from a lady whose house we went to the other night for a party with our Vice Principal. She kind of cornered me into coming over and hanging out over there after school which kind of ruined my plans. When speaking Japanese I panic and can't say no. Anyways, originally I was planning on biking to the beach and seeing how long it would take on bike not dilly-dalling along the way.

With the afternoon now decided for me, four-fifteen came around and I found myself walking to the store to get cat food and then home. Being hot and humid I am usually soaked to the bone by the time I get inside any building after being outside. Well, after feeding the cat I decided to change my clothes before heading out and went into our room which faces the front of the apartment, which is where we keep our wardrobe. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see someone outside messing with our front window.

Now over the front windows on all the apartments is a metal railing which prevents anyone from getting in and out. Well, I don't know what this lady was trying to do but, she was pulling back the screen through the bars and reaching in. After watching for about ten seconds I call out to her asking if she needed help with anything. She immediately apologizes and makes a bee-line straight for the stairs. Very quickly I throw on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt and start to pursue her.

At this point I would like to note that we live on the fourth of six floors. By the time I got to her, she was just rounding the last flight and headed to the exit of the building. "Excuse me!" I yelled, she turned around and I asked "Why were you looking into my apartment?" She looked a little panicked and told me that she wanted to move into this complex and was wondering what the inside of the rooms looked like. I then told her where the managers apartment was and together we went over there and knocked on the door. While waiting, I asked her why she was up on the fourth floor and she told me that she had started on the top floor and was seeing if any rooms were open to look at. I wanted to believe her but, her clothes were really dirty and she looked more like a homeless person than someone searching for an apartment. I then asked her if she lived around here to which she replied she was living with a friend. I then asked her if her friend lived around here and she told me her friend was living near the mountains... which there aren't too many of around here.

I was pretty surprised and as you can guess had a little bit of adrenaline running through my blood- I kept my cool though and used the politest Japanese I could. I then told her in my country if a stranger starts opening your windows and reaching into your house that, that is pretty scary and normally you call the police. She told me not to call the police. I then asked her if she didn't think this situation wasn't a little funny which she shook her head yes. The whole time thought I thought she was acting funny and really felt like she was fibbing to me. After nobody came to the managers door she was like well, I am going to leave. I asked her for her name which she wouldn't give then asked me for mine. I refused as well (don't know if that was rude or not). Walking away she said something along the lines of "Well, I will see you if I can move here in September." To which I replied, "Please come and visit me..." where then if this is legit, I will apologize and give her a cookie.

Immediately after this happened I called Ayumi and told her what had happened. In fear that I had handled the situation wrong. Not only did she agree with me, after my phone call she called up the apartment managing company, relayed the story and they also thought it sounded a little weird. This week is a national holiday in Japan with a lot of people leaving home so, maybe if this lady was indeed a thief, she was checking out the place to see who was home.

So, the question I ask myself, "Should I have called the police?" the answer I have for myself is, this: If I wasn't a foreigner, probably. The whole story still stinks and maybe she was sincere in wanting to move in but, the situation was a bit weird.

That part ends there but, my day just kept going on!

Well, this whole epilogue took about ten minutes and looking at the clock I realized that I needed to go. I went back inside and (only after consulting Ayumi did I think to) closed and locked the windows. I hopped on my bike and suprisingly riding through the streets, I passed my burglar. She gave me the eye from under her black umbrella but, I just kept-on-a-riding. I arrived at my host's house and was welcomed into the living room where I met her kids. After sitting for a few minutes I was invited to stay for dinner which having nothing better to do- nor any way to decline accepted and was served a feast of fish, deer jerky and vegetables.

After we had eaten and talked for about an hour I was invited to go to the public bath with the older brother who had eaten with us. I tried to decline but, again they wouldn't take no for an answer. I tried to use the fact that "I have stitches in my finger and can't get it wet" as my excuse, only to have the old grandma pull out from a drawer a new surgical glove. It was only six-thirty so I couldn't use time as an excuse. Well, long story short me and this guy went to the public bath, which was actually quite nice. If the fact that I was white didn't make me stand out, it was the white surgical glove I wore on my left hand clinched shut with a rubber band around my wrist.

During the summer, each night at five to eight the amusement park does a short firework show. The outside bath apparently has a spectacular view being that this public bath is at a hotel ajacent to the park. Well, the fireworks start, and before you know it, I am standing naked in a mid-thigh deep bath tub silently watching these fireworks with about five other naked men. Kind of creepy, but the fireworks were nice.

This Tops Wearing my Heart on my Sleeve

One thing I hate is how quickly time passes. I can't believe how far into the month (and my summer vacation) it already is. I honestly feel like I just turned 27 the other day yet, that was nearly a month and a half ago. Before you know it I'll need to figure out what I am going to do with the rest of my life. I guess the good thing though is with this kind of attitude retirement really doesn't seem like its that far away.

Saturday Ayumi and I found ourselves at the beach... didn't take any pictures though. Having had a new group of English language teachers hit the area there was a big party on a local beach. By the time we had gone to the store, bought a giant umbrella to sit under and walked along the beach to find the party it was already 2:30, and the party had already started to wind down- which we were both fine with. Ayumi and I waded out to the water and spoke to people as they would mosey on out to us. People started to head out of there around five, and Ayumi and I caught the bus and then train getting us home around six-thirty.

Around seven, I received a text message on my phone from our good friends (the Sukeda family) telling us that a local store was having a killer sale and open until midnight. There I found this cool shirt that for about $2.65 I couldn't pass us.


and thus, the title of my blog. Note the bandage on my left hand... can't wait to take it off.



Ayumi took off for Gifu today to spend some time with her little sister in town for the week from college. Lets hope I am alive by the time she gets back!

Friday

So, I am zoning out here at school. It has been nearly three weeks since school ended and we have about three weeks still before it begins again. I am not anticipating it starting again by any means but, am a little tired of the ennui of being at school with nothing to do. Earlier this week I was really gung-ho to study a lot of Japanese but, injuring my finger has kind of put me off to wanting to do anything other than stare at the computer screen while absorbing the cool air from the conditioner.

Its funny how when its like 70 degrees outside you think about how hot and hellish 85 degrees is however, once the weather hits mid 90s setting the temp to 85 is quite heavenly. Just thinking out loud... not really but, how can I apply that saying to writing about it on a blog. Just thinking with my fingers? Just thinking with my eyes? Well, when I get it down I'll be sure to let everyone know it was me who coined the phrase.

I have no idea what to do the next six hours of today... Maybe I'll give studying another chance.

Mr. Picker in his Birthday Suit

This morning washing my face I forgot that I had an additional 1 inch of cotton appendage hooked onto the end of my finger and accidentally dragged it through the stream of flowing water. Yesterday the doctor forbade me from getting this finger wet so, I debated for a few minutes and tried to take the bandages off. They were not soaked but, wet enough that if kept on would probably add un-needed moisture to the suture.

I started taking off the layers of bandages (with the intent to have the school nurse re wrap them as soon as I got to school). First glance at the stitched finger tip made me queasy to the extent that I thought I was going to either pass out or puke... possibly both. I layed down for a minute until it passed. However, in my fading grasp of consciousness did manage to count six knots interweaving themselves in and out of my poor finger.

What caused the most trauma is trying to remove the last bit of gauze I found that it was stuck to one of the stitches (either by dried blood or just a snag) and not wanting to mess it up any more just decided to stick my finger under a hair dryer. Well, I wrapped my finger in a face towel and headed off to school. Getting here I met the school nurse in the hall who took me to the nurse station and re-dressed my finger. She asked me if the stitches were of the dissolving type. Looking back at yesterday, I can't remember anyone saying anything about stitch removal. Other than telling me not to get my finger wet the only other thing I can recall is that from today the entire office is on a two week vacation. Great timing to think of this eh?

Well, I know I need these stitches in my finger for at least a week or so, so feeling no rush to remove them am fine waiting. On Tuesday Ayumi and I were invited by the vice principal to go and have a barbecue with some of his friends tonight. I think his main goal was to get us there to sing Beatles songs and relax with his band. After cutting my finger (rendering myself unable to play) I was afraid to tell the v.p., afraid I would suddenly find myself uninvited. He saw me and first thing he said was, "I hear you cut your finger. I guess you can't play the guitar now."
"Yea, I'm really sorry and don't think I can play guitar at your party".
"It's OK, there are going to be like six of us there with guitars so, as long as you can sing Beatles songs, you should be OK." What a relief, tonight Ayumi and I are going to be treated to a feast (meat and sea-food BBQ) all in exchange of me singing a few Beatles tunes with experienced musicians. That is the life.

A few weeks ago, when my wife and I visited him in his home (click here for link) he was really excited that not only could I sing harmonies but could pronounce the lyrics too. He has told me a few times how much he liked singing with me. Well, I think he told his friends and I saw that he prepared a folder full of Beatles songs to sing tonight. Problem is, I know most of the Beatles songs (thanks to my upbringing) however, they want to sing a lot of ones I am not too familiar with, stuff like Dear Prudence, Mother Nature's Son, etc. Beatles' songs are short so, maybe I can cram some albums tonight when I get home before taking off. I'd hate for them to think they've wasted thier food on me.

I am sitting in the school library, typing with all 9 of my working fingers watching the school girls volley-ball team write thier yearlong goals on a giant flag. I have been here for about fourty-five minutes and more than anything have just seen a lot of goofing off. Its fun, as long as there is air conditioning.

Mr. Picker and the Future Gnarly Scar

Sounds like the title of an awesome book. Well, you'll soon find out that it is anything but that. Today I thought I would be crafty and using a box cutter, slice about twenty pages out of an old notebook I had lying in my drawer. Well, I set the everything up, laid the ruler down on the page to get a straight line to follow and then applied a little force. Before I knew it, the blade had missed the ruler and was now cutting a nice strip of my left index finger. I started screaming and just kept cutting, just like they do in the movies. Not really but, carved a nice strip about an inch long.


I am surprised how well I held myself together after this happened due to the fact that I don't like blood, let alone my own blood. I tucked the finger into my palm and calmly stood up telling my coworker I just sliced my finger and was going to the nurse. I don't think I freaked out or anything and, actually remember checking my hair in the mirror on the way down so, must not have been too shocked. By the time I reached the nurses office, I had a nice pool of blood in my palm which spilt out onto the floor as soon as I entered. I stuck my head in and probably pale-faced said, "Its been a while!" After telling them what I had done, I washed the wound and was told while applying pressure with the right hand to keep my hand held above my head.


After about thirty seconds, the phone in the nurses' office rang and in spite of her trying to end the conversation numerous times whoever she was talking to (concerned parent) wouldn't let her go for ten minutes. When she finally got off the phone and back to me, my arm was sorer than any puncture wound could have ever made it. In spite of having it had been raised it was still bleeding. She told me because of the depth of the wound and that it was still bleeding, I ought to head to the clinic.


Nobody was in the office that could drive me and this is a pretty small town, so I just decided to keep my finger above my heart and walk. I ran to the bank to get some cash and after a few minutes was on my way and in the clinic. As a side note it is 86 degrees (weather channel tells me it feels like 96 degrees and believe me it knows) with 74% humidity. I get to the clinic around eleven this morning, about an hour since I had cut it.

I had the doctor look at it, and in English he asked me what I had done, if it was hurting and your typical doctor-patient questions. He told me it was pretty deep and would need stitches. I kind of figured this due to the fact that after an hour it was still gushing blood. He gave me a few shots (most painful thing I had felt all day) and sutured me with what I am guessing was about 4-5 stitches. On top of that he hooked me up with some antibiotics and some pain killers and sent me on my merry way.

Well, here I am now three hours since the incision and my finger is really starting to throb. On the plus side, had this not had happened I wouldn't be able to say suture in Japanese nor that my finger hurts with the beating of my heart... sounds more like a love lyric than an actual symptom but, fun none-the-less.

Other than this blunder today, we have been busy in the past few weeks. For one my previous coworker from New Zealand has gone home and in her stead comes Nikki from Chicago. Last Saturday, we had a town festival where my band(?) which had been named "AJ and his Nutty Friends" played a 45 minute set. As the encore, we played Hotel California and my vice principal who had come along to watch us play came and played a guest guitar solo. Really turned out well and the 75 kids under ten along with their parents we were playing for had a fun time too. I knew we were a hit when I could see the wheelchair bound grandpa on the front row shaking his booty!

We have gone to Osaka, which I think Ayumi has maybe blogged on her site. We've been to Gifu which the entire trip can be summed up in one word; sweaty. I don't think we took any pictures but, if so and if OK magazine doesn't give me the $4,000,000 I asked for, you'll see them here first. My finger is throbbing so I am going to sign off but, maybe I'll update this blog with a picture of my finger.

In-and-Out of Retirement

So, in an e-mail to my mother the other day, I told her I was toying with the thought of retiring this blog. Well mom, if you are reading this now... I guess I can toy with this thing a little bit longer. Ladies and gentlemen, I am back... can't promise anything is going to change though. :)

So, school is officially, unofficially out for the summer. Come Friday, we have the closing ceremonies in both of my schools. Because Friday is typically a Suisan day and, because that night Ayumi and I are going to a party with some of the teachers there, I will head to that school. Pretty much, what goes on is all the students gather into the gymnasium where (this is what I imagine will happen) the vice principal will tell them the principal has an announcement. Next the principal will sit and tell them to have a good summer, use the time to relax and enjoy the time off... kind of weird because even though they don't have class 3/4 of the students will be at school doing their club activities and the mandatory homework assignments.

After the principal gets done, one teacher from the Japanese equivalent of the detention center will probably tell the kids not to screw around, not smoke cigarettes and how if any of them are caught he will insure to make whatever is left of their vacation a living hell! I am serious. The guy is really cool to me but, if I were a student, I would turn around and run if I saw him walking down the hall. I learned from a fellow teacher yesterday that he used to teach English long ago. He teaches something else now but, has a pretty good control of the English language.

So, I have been jamming with my vice-principal after school for the past few weeks. Someone in the community contacted the school looking for a school band to play at a local festival. Well, there is no school band right now so, the V.P. told this person that the English teacher was in a band and that we would maybe perform. Well, I was contacted, and yes I do kind of have a band so, we are going to perform at this festival on the second of August. The size of the participants is said to be around maybe four-hundred people... most of which will probably be little kids and their parents. Sounds fun none-the-less. If possible, will try to get some footage for the blog.

Ayumi and I decided to do some things to our blogs tonight so, I will see if I can find some things to spunk up this page.

A Little 'bit of Buttah

I don't know about you but, I think this blog needs a little bit of buttering up. To be honest, a blog this established deserves some serious TLC. I have over 1500 hits (Thanks mom!)

Video of the Preschool

Back to Preschool

This past week, Shelley and I had the opportunity to go and be special guests at the local preschool's international day- and by international day I mean the day every year where they have the two foreign English teachers from the high school come and play with the kids.

There were about fifty little kids and the teachers wanted us to take five minutes each and tell a little about ourselves and then dance with the kids for a little while. Well, about thirty seconds into my interview I told the kids my favorite color was blue and the next three minutes were all the little kids yelling to me thier favorite colors. I was impressed how many colors they knew in English.

Well, not much to tell about this place but enjoy some pictures.

Oh lately its so quiet!

It has started to rain a majority of the days the past few weeks. I have been told that the typhoon season starts around now and so, I suppose this is what we are to expect more often than not. I have always enjoyed the rain favorite weather is actually those overcast, windy days. Not having a car though kind of makes it a bummer where at times the rain acts as a prison warden trapping me in the house. Its not like I have anywhere to go anyways. I have been in the house the past two days and that attitude is probably coming out in this first paragraph.

With the summer approaching, the weather has started to change (for the worse). Although not the sweltering heat we had when I first got here last August, I have started feeling the heat and humidity in the mornings when I walk to school. The mornings are still cool but, I have a sweat on my brow upon arriving at school. I attribute this to the humidity- which will only get worse.

Since my last post, quite a few things have happened blog worthy however, I think photos of those events will probably appear on our sister site. Pictures of us at Spain Mura (the local amusement park) and shots of us in Gifu and all the adventures that always go hand-and-hand when that happens. No announcements yet but, either here or there, look for an update.

So right now I am finishing up the last book of the Lord of the Rings, the Return of the King. There is a character in the story named Legolas; a character who after hearing the cries of the seagulls becomes obsessed with traveling to the sea (which he has never seen) and kind of adopts the idea as his destiny. Not that that has anything to do with anything but, for the past few weeks, as the weather has become more and more appropriate, I have felt this strong urge to head to the beach. I am in a bad spot because the beach is close enough where I could and should be going to it however, it is far enough away that without a car, it is too hard to get to. It just sits there, day after day, calling me. Remember the pictures of the beaches that I posted at the beginning of my blog (which turns 1 next month)? It beckons to me.

I feel like I need to go on some kind of adventure. Maybe go hiking or something. Something big, I feel like I have been stagnant for a long time and need to do something exciting. Not to say I haven't done fun things or enjoyed myself but, I feel like I need a challenge or something to take my breath away. Sorry, I think I am just typing out my thoughts.

For about the past two months, I have been playing guitar pretty seriously. Although I am probably not much better than I was before I left, I can actually play a few fun songs. I meet once (sometimes twice) a week with some great friends I met through the community English class I help teach once a month who I meet with on Wednesday nights just to play guitar. I am by far the worse of the group however in spite of that, we manage to all have a good time. We are practicing a few Japanese folk songs from the 70's, and although I don't sing I thoroughly enjoy playing and singing the occasional harmony. I was lent a guitar last November and just recently Ayumi was lent a bass which she has been coming and playing bass for the songs which we are practicing.

My vice principal at my school is quite the musician as well. Through a conversation with him a few months ago, I learned that he was quite the Beatles fan and told me he could play all their songs. A few days later at school, he pulled me aside and asked if I had a few minutes. I told him yes and was led to a teachers lounge where he showed me he had two electric guitars and a bass (which apparently have always been there). There he sat and played guitar for me for about thirty minutes and not only did he know the Beatles, but could play them perfectly. He then went on the play some classic rock and blew my mind! Honestly the best guitar play that I have ever met.

About a week ago, he pulled me aside again and asked if I had some time. I told him yes; he got the two guitars, the bass and proceed to walk to the counseling center where he passed the bass to another teacher and led us to a small building on campus. In this old dusty room was two drum sets, four amps, two keyboards and a set of microphones. He had printed out some chord sheets and while me and this teacher followed them along, he sat and played the blues, jazz and some classic rock. The last song he wanted us to play the chords to was Hotel California which upon playing revealed that he knew the guitar solo at the end. We all sat there and jammed for about an hour and promised to meet again and practice something to play at the school festival in September. He and I have met two times since then, after school to practice Hotel California, and I am excited to see what we can muster up between now and September.

My one year mark is quickly approaching and with it, although still aways away, I need to start thinking about life after this job. I don't know what I am going to do but, one thing for sure, I need to get my Japanese up. I have had fun, and have been able to shoot the breeze no problem here but, I really need to get serious and get some real power in my speaking ability. Maybe I will spend the afternoon setting some goals- also need to find a way to get to the beach!

Raccoon Village

Today we took a school trip to a Raccoon Village. Look at the pictures for some explanations.


Why, what is this?

All this and I slept in until 10:30!

So, Saturday is usually my big lay around and do nothing day but today was something different. Let me start with last night. Every few months, the teachers at my school get together and have a big drinking party (as you have seen in a few of my other posts) well last night was yet another one of those big functions. They are a pain to go to but, in the end I always end up having a great time whenever I go. The school season in Japan ends in March and starts in April. As a result, as with any school anywhere I suppose, you lose some teachers and you gain some teachers. Well, what happened last night was they had all the teachers who had left, and all those new teachers gather with everyone else and well... to make a long story short, a lot of boring speeches. They sat us all down in front of a lot of really good looking sea food and passed the mic around. 46 minutes later (I timed it) we all tipped our wine glasses to the sky and toasted something... I quit paying attention on like the 11th teachers speech. Kind of weird raising an empty glass but, I wasn't alone.

Well, as the night goes on, and everyone has had a few minutes to drink what you do is you take a beer bottle over to someone you want to talk to and sit in front of them and talk, filling up their glass whenever it gets low. Kind of fun, kind of obligatory and kind of tiring at the same time too. Well, one such instance I decided to speak to my vice principal, who I thought was a pretty cool guy already. Come to find out, he plays guitar and bass, and has been doing so since about 17 yrs old. He is getting up there so, I guesstimate he has been playing the guitar for around 40 years? Well, anyways for the past 20, he has been getting together playing with a band he started every week which plays big band hits like Glen Miller and things like Sinatra and, Armstrong, Brubeck. Just a whole lot of fun, jazzy things. Well, we spoke for a while and then the party was moved to another room, the karaoke room. Well, he and I decided to do a duet so we set up a little Elvis and knocked it way out of the stadium. All I can say is I am glad I have a pretty fun personality and not afraid to meet to and talk to new people!



So, starting in Isobe there is a bike trail which if you follow, takes you along the beach, in the middle of nowhere and after a few hours you end up at a lighthouse which is pretty famous in this region. Well, we hopped on our bikes at around half past noon, thinking we would hit this place in like an hour... at least I did. It was a really warm day, warmest we have had all year so putting on light jackets we headed out armed only with our bikes, wallets and cellphones. After about forty five minutes on the road we stopped by a convienant store where we bought a few snacks and headed out onto the road again. Well, as it turns out, we arrived at this lighthouse about three hours after leaving home. It wasn't too bad of a trip but, just a lot of up and down, up and down. The weather was favorable and upon reaching our destination, a quick climb to the top provided a few choice shots. Too bad the quality is cell-phone quality but, not bad none-the-less. Well, at the end of the day, we found ourselves in a city we frequent often but, having our bikes gave us a reason to do a little bit of shopping. We went to lunch, bought a bunch of stuff for the house and for my class and finally made it home. Looking at the map below, you can see the route we followed. Ended up being around 35-40 kilometers. It was a really, really, really fun day.



Why... what is this?

Why, what is this?

Nothing special but, just playing around with my phone and computer.

Today I am at Suisan

Today I am at Suisan Highschool. The semester and school year are pretty much done and after a few weeks of school being off we will start again the second week of April. It has finally started warming up here and just as quickly as it had become cold in the fall, the same kind of transaction has happened here for spring; one day freezing cold, the next incredably warm. It has been pretty constant too. This week we have seen quite a lot of rain and wind. Yesterday, while walking home from the train station, the wind took my umbrella and turned the thing completly inside out. I knew it was bad when I heard snapping aluminum. The thing was shot, no chance of fixing it. I guess that is what you get when you pay around $2.50 for an umbrella.

Ayumi is in Gifu for the weekend. Her mom wanted some help learning how to use Microsoft Powerpoint and with her little sister being home for a few days from college she thought this would be a good time to go. I am home cat-sitting.

Our cat Hershey has started with the most obnoxious hobby lately. She likes to sleep and be lazy all day long but, as soon as it gets dark and we start winding down for bed she thinks she needs to run around and play. It wouldn't be so bad if we lived on the bottom floor but, I can only imagine the poor person benieth us. I am sure she is awoken by Hershey jumping off her kitty-condo and then chasing the mouse on the wooden floor. We shut her up as quickly as we can but, I guess we are lucky whoever is beneith us is really patient... or just deaf.

I went to the gym on Tuesday and my chest and arms still hurt. I guess that happens when you exercise only once every three months. :P

Raw Lobster

This blog is long overdue for a makeover. For the first time in a long time this past weekend I thought about my blog and the serious lack of anything going on with it. Winter has come and gone and with that being said, I can probably get rid of that 'winter button' I have on here. Pictures are a little out of date too.

This month marks the beginning of my eighth month here in Isobe. I got here in the middle of a humid summer and with Spring now just beginning, before too long will have experienced all four seasons. Ayumi has been working at a English school three times a week since the beginning of November which ends at the end of this month. We are both excited to have her home in the evenings but, now the inexcapable feeling of her needed to find something else comes back to haunt us. The extra money is nice but, with student loans and rent due every month, in spite of her working leaves us little to play with anyways.

This past Friday I had a company party which I attended. It was at an inn in a nearby town. We were given the choice to stay the night or just go for the food. I chose not to stay the night (price is a lot more expensive than I was willing to pay). It was pretty much all you can eat seafood and drink expensive alcohol. Me not being a drinker indulged myself in watching everyone get trashed, and knowing I was helping to pay for it in the end. Funny how alcohol brings out a different side of people you don't usually get to see.

One particular thing we ate which I thought was interesting was fresh lobster. We each had our own plate. So fresh indeed that it was still moving around when they brought it out. From what I could tell they had done was they had cut the lobster in half width-wise, they turned the now disembodied tail over, split it in two and pulled out all the meat and displayed it now in the split open tail. They threw all this back on the plate, both halves of the lobster, and brought it to me to eat raw. I get this lobster on my plate and can see all its legs are still moving, his eyeballs are still rolling around, his antlers are still feeling around. He wasn't going anywhere, probally due to the fact that his guts were being chewed in my mouth at that very moment. Well, I am not sure if he was dead or dying but, he sure tasted good- raw lobster!

So last week at school we had the all the students taking tests. With that all done and out of the way, we now have a few weeks of abolutley nothing going on at school. I could start to plan lessons but, don't know what I am facing for next year so until I do, am just making general use games.

I will try to spice up this blog!

Ayumi's new blog

http://www.iroha-123.blogspot.com/

Fotos From my Fone

So, I have some photos from my phone that I decided tonight is as good as any to upload to my blog. We were in Hokkaido last week for the wedding of Ayumi's cousin and because we didn't have a camera our father in law took lots of pictures for us. Until I get those uploaded, enjoy these random shots from my phone.

The International Interaction Society of Shima-Isobe

So a few weeks ago I was invited by a teacher who I work with at Suisan Highschool to teach a traditional American dish at an upcoming cooking seminar the above mentioned society was holding. With a little brainstorming Ayumi and I thought it would be fun to do Hawaiian Haystacks, Potato Salad and my mom's famous Jello with bananas and whipped cream. Here are a few photos of the activity! Enjoy!

Wednesday Night

So, I thought I was off to a great start with those two entries, and then logging on today to write a little something I find that it has been a week since I last wrote. Anyways, New Years has come and gone and come to think of it, right now is the first time that I think I have written the numbers 2008. What is weird is that I can remember it turning 1990 and thinking to myself, "Wow, only ten more years until 2000", that was 18 years ago. I can remember New Years 1998 being at my good friend Joey's house and playing Prince's 1999 on his Jukebox... actually, I don't know if I remember that or not and am just thinking it happened. Anyways, time flies.

So here we are back in Shima. Ayumi is off at work tonight leaving me alone and instead of coming home to an empty house (which indoubtadbly happens anyway) I decided to hang around school a bit longer and go watch some of the school clubs practicing. After that got old, and I got cold, I decided to head home. I got home around five and after checking my e-mail decided to go jogging and look for the local gym. I got my running clothes on and headed out. I had been to the gym once on my own (I have been driven there a few times for tennis) and that one time was in the day, on my bike and was the difficult, straight up hill route. It wasn't until a few weeks ago that I found that the gym had a back entrance which a less threatning road lead up to. Finding that road, and ultimatley the gym was my goal. Well, I took off and fifteen minutes later I arrived, sweat soaked and probally pretty stinky. All it costs to use the exercise facilities here is about a dollar. There were a few nice guys that I chatted with for a while and the gave me some pointers on how to use the machines thay had. Well, I ran home and am determined to try and be a little more fit this year so, lets see what happens.

Happy New Years II

So, here I am on Jan 2nd, writing my second post of the year. So far, so good. I wonder how many blogs are starting with something like that today... Anyways, we are home now in Shima, it was a nice week in Gifu with the in-laws but, as always nice to be home. While there we bought a few things much needed here at home. Up until now we haven't had an oven. In Japan, ovens like those we are accustomed to in the states are pretty expensive. Hard to find and even harder to find the space in your place to put one. We bought a microwave/oven unit about 1 1/2 times bigger than a standard microwave. We are excited to be able to bake cookies, cakes and other delicacies we have done without for the past few months.

Both a little tired so, I will do only this for today but, will write tomorrow!

-Thanks to all who read this!

Happy New Year

Another year has come and gone (I wonder how many blogs are going to start with something like that today) and it is hard to believe that I spent the latter part of this year over here in Japan. Time is flying but, we are enjoying every minute of it. We are at Ayumi's parents place for the holiday with plans of returning tomorrow afternoon. It has been nice to be able to step away from our life in Shima and be with family and able to relax with them. Although I don't have to be at work until next Monday we will be home for a few days where we can get a bit of New Years cleaning done and relax there before having to start the school rush again.

At the end of next month we will be heading up to Hokkaido for a few days for a wedding of Ayumi's cousin. I am excited to go up there and see my little sister-in-law whom I haven't seen in and to go and sight see up there. I really like Hokkaido mostly because it is where I served for two years as a missionary from 2000-2002. It has been over five years since I have been up there and leaving I honestly didn't think I would ever go back but, luck have it I married into this culture and am actually going back. Ayumi's little sister is in med-school in a city named Asahikawa which is relatively close to two cities I lived in combined for over a year (Takikawa and Iwamizawa). They are close enough that I think I will go and stick my heads in them and take a look around. Only been five years but, when I'm only twenty-six, it is like 1/5 of my life ago :). Hopefully I will be writing in my blog a little bit more earnestly then and will include pictures and updates when I get back... don't plan on taking my computer up there.

So New Years in Japan; its not like what I am used to back in the states, or at least what I saw on TV last night wasn't. They start a variety show on television from about six-thirty where they have music acts lined up back-to-back with a little bit of commentary until about eleven-thirty. Mostly Japanese pop (which mostly I don't care for) and Japanese traditional singing style named Enka. I would maybe compare it with something like Frank Sinatra or Country music. For an example click this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTa2QIMKq64
Beleive it or not, I actually have sung this song at karaoke. Well, at eleven-thirty they then do this Buddhist/Shinto (don't know which) where they ring these bells at temples 108 times. Apparently what it is is, for each ring you hear you are suppose to forget a bad thing you've done or ask for forgiveness or something like that. Well, from eleven-thirty to midnight, it just had all these live shots of all these old temples around Japan and the monks ringing the bells. People wait in line from who knows when until midnight waiting to be allowed to go ring a bell and pray to the gods. Interesting to note though, where in the States if it showed a bunch of people on New Years waiting for the countdown as soon as the camera was on them they would start to scream and yell yet, in Japan everyone was quiet and reserved waiting for the time to turn midnight. As soon as it did, people would go and pray at the shrine. Surprisingly the only people who did make silly faces and yell on the camera were foreigners who happened to be crowds they were filming.

I will write more tomorrow...

Happy New Year