Oh Henry!

My best friend delivered her first baby last weekend.

Henry Evan Holmes was born at 7:24pm on Saturday June 17th, 2006.
He is 18 3/4 long and 5 pounds 13 ounces.
His mom says, "He is sweet and smiley and very relaxed & good natured."

I talked to Sara today. Henry is home and doing great. He has had his first car ride, doctors appointment, and tomorrow will be his welcome to the world barbque! He loves eating, sleeping and smiling. As we were talking, I could hear him making noises asking for her attention back! Wow!

It's decided, I'm going home at Christmas. He will be 6 months old! I can't wait to meet Henry!

Stuff It!

stuff (stuf) n. [ OFr estoffe] 1 the material out of which anything is made 2 essence; character 3 matter in general 4 cloth, esp. woolen cloth 5 objects; things 6 worthless objects; junk 7 [Colloq.] ability, skill, etc. –vt. 1 to fill or pack; specif., a) dermy b) to fill (a turkey, etc.) with seasoning, bread crumbs, etc. before roasting 2 to fill too full; cram 3 to plug; block -vi. to eat too much

That is the definition of “stuff” according to Websters’s New World Dictionary. My definition is the picture below. That’s my stuff. And I have too much of it. To be exact, I have 33 boxes of stuff. I don’t even know what it is that I have anymore.

I’ve received the inventory list-- I’m not joking. My parents recently went through all my stuff and organized it into boxes, made a list, labeled it, took pictures and put it into storage. I’m too scared to look at the inventory list. I don’t really want to know what’s in those 33 boxes. I know I have baby stuff, school stuff, high school stuff, Muppet stuff, college stuff, India stuff, Namibia stuff, Saudi stuff, stuff my grandmothers left me, stuff my grandfather has made for me and stuff I’m sure I won’t remember at all. Thinking about this stuff doesn’t excite me at all. It terrifies me.

The thought of going through this stuff and consolidating it makes me sick to my stomach. I hate making those decisions about what is worthy of keeping and what isn’t. Right now I don’t remember what’s in those boxes, but as soon as I start going through them….the memories will come flooding back. Do I need to hold onto that stuff to keep the memories? Or will the memories always be there if I don’t have the stuff anymore?

Why is it that I have all this stuff and is it really important to my life? Does this stuff define me, or my future? Will this be the stuff that I fill my house with? Will I become a slave to this and even more stuff? How much more stuff will I be adding to this list when I move from Japan? I don’t imagine taking much stuff with me, that’s the beauty of my situation, I can leave most of my stuff here. But I’m sure I’ll get sentimental and decide that some of this stuff is worthy of exorbitant shipping costs.

Only recently I’ve been able to carry less stuff when I travel. But people still make fun of me. I always have stuff on my back, stuff in my car, stuff on my bike, stuff in my bag, etc. I’m always carrying stuff. I’m the queen of stuffing one more thing into my bag. I can make stuff fit, it just needs a bit more stuffing!

Stuff is comfort. Stuff protects. Stuff saves. Stuff is security.

But I want to live with less stuff.

My Stuff
Originally uploaded by Sistak.

Rice Report II

Saturday, June 17th, 2006


This is how exciting my life is these days. I'm sitting at home on a Saturday taking pictures of the rice for my study breaks!

What has the world come to?

Saturday, June 3rd, 2006

This sunset was too good to pass up. And look, the rice is getting so big. It's so beautiful!

Chocolate at the Chugakko

Today was another sports day. All my kids were off playing basketball, volleyball, soft tennis, table tennis, badminton, and soccer. But there are a few kids who don't join sports clubs. Their options include: brass band club, science club or home-making club. Sometimes I wonder what club I would have joined in junior high school if I'd known I'd have to do it EVERYDAY. I probably would have done basketball. Hmm?



Early in the day I visited the local gym to watch the boys basketball game...they won!! Yeah, my school is awesome! Plus their uniforms were the coolest on the court!

But the rest of the day I spent with the home-making club. I had been invited to eat lunch with the home-ec teacher. She made somen, cold noodles, and brought sesame tofu, japanese pickels, and bread. All delicious!

I added, what seems to be my speciality these days, dessert! There has been an on-going discussion with the ladies that sit near me about the possible uses for tofu. I keep telling them of all the exciting ways I use tofu, and they can't believe it! So today was the day to show off!

I made my new favorite recipe, chocolate tofu mousse! Admittedly it's not nearly as good as the real thing, but it's a great healthy alternative! And the texture is convincing!

Just in case the mousse wasn't a hit, I decided I better make an old stand-by--chocolate chip cookies! I roped some of the home-making students in to help me. They seemed to enjoy it. They stood by the oven and chanted the countdown...and the ate all the crumbs. I also served them up some of the mousse, they were licking the bowl! That was a good sign. The home-ec teacher decided we should charge the teachers for our treats! One item= 100Y, two item=150Y.

My two helpers delivered the cookies and chocolate mousse to the staff room and very politely demanded that each teacher pay up before taking anything! It was so cute! The teachers that hadn't overheard all the tofu discussions quickly went for the mousse. The teachers with the inside scoop grabbed up the cookies instead. But I didn't hear any complaints! And the one teacher that kept chanting "I can't imagine" at the thought of a tofu dessert admited it was delicious and said, "I can imagine now."

Overall, a successful day of internationalizing!

6 hours, 6 people, 6 desserts

The bakers and judges started arriving a little after 6pm to put the final touches on the delicacies, make the mousse and open the wine to give it plenty of time to breathe.

In preparation for the big event, we had all fasted. Watching the mousee being made and staring at all the desserts was almost unbearable.




The first course was Jimmy's famous chinese pork and mustard. As side dishes I made baked corn and asparagus sauteed with garlic. We also had some delicious P3 bread. And we started in on the wine, of course.

With 6 desserts to be tested and tried, we had to go light on the dinner course. But that didn't stop us from finishing everything!




The judges took their job very seriously and asked each baker questions about ingredients, recipes, quantities and what country they prefer to import their chocolate from.

The dessert list, in order of consumption:

• 
  Banana chocolate cake-Jimmy
• Choco Berry Tarts-Kirsten
• Triple Choco Brownies-Scott
• -BREAK-
• Cheesecake w/strawberry sauce-Jimmy
• Apple Triple Berry Crisp-Kirsten
• Chocolate Mousse-Scott
  
  

At break time, we took a walk. It was getting to be too much and we had to start getting the blood flowing again. After getting some fresh air and stretching our legs, we came back strong and finished the last three desserts.

Some recipes are public, some are top secret! Several include strange and secret ingredients that only participants and judges will ever know about. But all of them were absolutely incredible!!

This is what happens when you mix wine and sugar. Everyone goes a little crazy!

Toyama's "Who da best?" Bake-off

Toyama's best bakers will gather this weekend in Nyuzen for the year-end BAKE-OFF!

The bakers come from far and wide: Tonami, Toyama, & Niikawa. The judges are Niikawa's own culinary experts (names will be released after the event to ensure no pre-bake bribery).

The baked line-up is also top-secret!

Who are the bakers?

They've received marriage proposals, offers to be the private bakers for communist leaders and they each have a lifetime supply of free toothpicks for their refind skills in the kitchen. They've been baking since Regan was president. They first premiered together at Toyama's JET Fest, under less than perfect baking conditions. And this weekend, they make their second and final appearance together!

When each asked about their baking inspiration, they said:

"Sugar, it's a miracle drug. The chicks dig it."

"I'm in love with my oven mits. I'd wear them everyday but I can't open my staff room door with them on."

"D..d..d.ddddding! The sound of my timer sends chills down my spine. It's better than...."

WARNING: High caloric intake, gastro problems, and sugar-induced highs followed by low lows are a small price to pay for the delicacies that will be sampled this weekend.

Apologies in advance, tickets to this premier event have been sold out for months. Reserve now for next year!

My Giant OCR 3

Call me a copy cat, call me a follower, call me whatever you want...but I bought a new bike! And I can't wait to start riding it. The goal=to be a bike commuter! For the last two years I've driven to my schools. And really, it's ridiculous! They aren't that far! So, unless it's raining or there is snow on the ground, I'm gonna bike! Yippee!

But what's even more ridiculous is now I have 4 modes of transportation! I have one car, two bikes and a scooter. I'm looking to GIVE AWAY the scooter. So if anyones wants it...hollar! The other bike is a granny bike and serves it's granny purposes! And well, when you live in the rice paddies, a car comes in handy! But I'm gonna try to become less dependent on it!

Amy, you're my inspiration! Linea, please don't kick my butt!!

Okay, it's hard to see the bike. But it's on the top of Bertie. We strapped it down and drove it home. It's next adventure: a ferry to Hokkaido!! Let's GO!!!

If you wanna read about my bike/swim updates, visit my workout blog: Madduck

The places they've been... (Part III)

They are at home resting and recovering from their busy whirlwind trip through Japan and Korea! Here are a few more photos of their adventures in Sokcho, Korea!

Enjoying the fresh fish in the sashimi market

A traditional Korean lunch! Lots of fish and kimchee! Yummy!

Walking around the lake!

Teaching class with Kels! This is her young class!

Rice Report

Saturday May 27th, 2006

As I was down on the ground snapping photos, the farmer, my former semi-supervisor, rode up on his bicycle. He was very curious about my curiosity! And had a good laugh that I think rice is so interesting!

Saturday May 20th, 2006

Here is the first of hopefully several rice reports. I have rice paddies 30 feet from my front door. For those of you who don't see rice on a daily basis, maybe you're curious just what it looks like from start to finish!?!

These rice seedlings were planted 2-3 weeks ago.

Let's Watch the Rice Grow!

The places they've been... (Part II)

It was a very busy 10 days!! From their arrival in Narita, Japan to our farewell in Yangyang, Korea--we did and saw a lot!! And they maintained a great attitude and tried lots of new things--including natto!! Since arriving in Japan, they have taken approximately 22 trains, 2 ferries, 1 leisure boat, an 8 hour bus, several taxis and they have done lots of walking!

I just hope they have enough energy to make it through the next 7 days in Korea! Gambatte!

Thanks for visiting!!!

They traveled by JR Rail Pass--local trains, express trains, and the shinkansen!

On one of the trains we met JHS students (from Himi) going to Kyoto and Osaka. They had an English assignment to interview foreigners! So they chatted us up!

Dinner in Hiroshima! We ate the famous yakisoba-okonomiyaki!

We spent a morning on Miyajima island and visited the temples and feed the deer!

On Miyajima they ate a famous Hiroshima oyster! No thank you!

On the kimchee ferry! We left Shimonoseki, Japan at 7pm and arrived in Pusan, Korea at 5am. Unfortunately, we couldn't disembark until 8:30am!

Happy Birthday Dad! Let's enjoy eating kimchee!

The 4 of us! Together again (for 20 hours) after 17 months!

The places they've been...

Asakusa Temple in Tokyo with the Chimura Family

Kurobe Gorge in Toyama

Picnic in Unazuki

Nishi Nyuzen Junior High School

Advanced English Class

Tea Ceremony with Chica in Nyuzen

Visiting an elementary school!

Tulips in Nyuzen

Adult Conversation Class

Productivity

When I'm not sitting at my desk pretending to study Japanese or trying to think of an interesting game to teach some useless grammar point, I CAB BE really productive!

I'm home today! I have no plans except to study, clean, cook, study, eat, study, and clean!

It's noon. Here's what I've accomplished:

• I wrote a letter to my grandparents (4pages)
• I've burned all my car CD's on my computer (over 500 songs)
• I've cleaned my bathroom
• I've done 4 loads of laundry
• I've retired my gomi snowboard and turned it into a plant box of sorts
• I've pruned
• I've dusted all surfaces in 3 rooms

I still have at least 12 hours of the day! What else can I accomplish....update to come.

• I baked--vegan muffins and date bread
• I went household item shopping--laundry soap, vaccum bags, etc.
• I refilled bottles of cleaning products
• I fixed the window covering in my bedroom
• I sewed a button on a shirt
• I cleaned my bathroom
• I washed my front door
• I filled up my washing fluid in my car
• I scrubbed my sink to get the gold color off
• washed under my washing machine (as much as I could)
• I made dinner
• I finished a Unit and read a chapter
• I watched 1/2 of the latest Harry Potter

And now it's Sunday! And I have another full day ahead of me!!! Time to get some more reading/studying in. Hopefully a trip to the pool. And with any luck a lot more cleaning as well!

WHY? WHY? WHY? WHY? WHY? WHY? WHY? WHY? WHY? WHY?

Am I going crazy about cleaning?

The parents arrive Thursday!

日本 マスタース" 泳ぎ大会

富山市　４月１６日２００６

Toyama city hosted an all Japan Masters Swim Meet this weekend. There were over 1000 swimmers aged 18-100, from Hokkaido to Kyushu. There were college kids and grandparents like you've never seen before. I saw one lady with a walker walking around in her speedo and swim cap. I'm not sure what she swam, but that's one tough lady! There were a total of 3 foreigners-Linea, me and a guy living in Toyama-city. Apparently, our team, the Kurobe Masters Team, got a lot of comments from officials and other teams about how "international" they are. I think they were very proud of that status!

It was a long day. We met the team in Kurobe at 6:45 to carpool to Toyama. Someone on the team was really genki and got to the pool as soon as it opened. He claimed three tarps right on the pool deck! It was a perfect location to watch all the races. Other teams were allocated to the balcony upstairs or even in the entry lobby. There were so many people there! We had a prime location.

Warming-up at a meet is always a challenge. 10-20 swimmers in a lane at varying levels, swimming all the strokes. It's amazing there aren't more injuries or fights that break out. The water temp was REALLY cold though, so it kept people moving or out of the water. There was no gossiping and chatting at the end of the lanes. It was too fricking cold!

Organizing 1000 swimmers into age heats and their events must be an absolute nightmare. And it was a nightmare to read the line-up as well. It would be one thing if I knew Japanese, but adding kanji, hiragana and katakana makes it that much more challenging. But our team mates helped us out, although it even took them awhile to read the line-up! There were some nervous moments of "oh, no you're up next," "oh, wait, one more hour," "no, you go now," "pool A," "wait, pool B," etc. But in the end, Linea and I got to all our races and even finished all our races!

I swam my college event, the 100 breast. The first 50 felt great, but the last 50 felt tight! But I haven't exactly been practicing sprints! Something to work towards for the October meet. And I also tried the 100IM, an event we didn't have in college. But it was fun and I hope I can swim it again! I'm learning to really like fly and back! Lastly, I got to swim a 25 free in the 100 medley relay! That was fun and short!

I haven't a clue how our team did overall. They don't really publish team results that I know of. But our team broke several meet records. Including a relay team Linea was on! You go girl! And we took home 2 boxes full of medals! But, really, the medals don't mean all that much. I got a gold in my 100 brst because I was the first to finish in my age group. The catch is, I was the ONLY one in my age group to swim in the event. BUT, I was second overall!

It's kinda fun getting medals, even if they are worthless. But it got me thinking about how wasteful it is. I kinda wish we could just donate the money they spent on medals to a volunteer group. Or spend it on sponsering a special olympics athlete. Or something more useful!

The day ended with a big enkai! The other swimmers got loaded! Linea and I drank ginger ale, stuffed our bellies and then headed home, both with a splitting headache and totally exhausted!

It was so fun though! I'm already looking forward to October!