Cloudy and a little humid.
I got up this morning, saw there was baseball on and planned to go back to sleep, but didn't. Surprise! I checked email instead.
I had a really quiet time at home today. I did a couple of loads of laundry mostly so I could say I did something!
I left for work around 5 pm. I was wearing a t-shirt and it was really cloudy so I was worried about rain, but it was fine. No problems. I didn't stop anywhere today, I went straight to my school.
The school was surprisingly warm for a non-sunny day. It was 29.7 degrees. Yuck. Using the fan and the AC I was able to cool it down quite a bit. I got ready for my class. I was mostly ready, but I had a few last minute things to do. When the students came we had a pretty good time. I'm not sure that they really "got" the target, but next week we go over it again so it should be okay.
After class I finished my paperwork and then called Fumihiko. I got his voice-mail. I c-mailed him. No answer. Then I even tried phoning our apartment phone. No answer. I left a message. Finally around 9 pm he called me. His new phone's battery was dead. Hmm. I'm worried at that because he killed two batteries in his old phone, so he's already close to doing that with his new one? Oh no.
He picked me up and we had dinner in Cocos. I had taco salad tonight and it was quite good. I also tried the special tea of the month. It was Ocean Summer Tea and was a lovely greeny-blue. If I read the ingredients right it had lime and lemon verbena in it. It was quite nice.
We came home via the grocery store. I'm going to cook tomorrow night after work. We'll have coro-coro steak, zucchini something and probably shu-mei, with salad.
The last few hours at home we've just been kicking back and relaxing. Fumihiko is translating my holiday letter for me to give to my students. I like to give them lots of notice that I'm going to go away.
So that's it. My day. It was nice and quiet.
Talk to you tomorrow most likely, night night!
Showing posts with label July 2008. Show all posts
Showing posts with label July 2008. Show all posts
July 30, 2008 - Wednesday
Hot and sunny, a little humid.
I had a pretty good day, even though I didn't go out! I got up and tried to watch the news. As usual, it wasn't on. I did get to see Ichiro make his 3000th career hit, but to quote Rhett Butler, "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn." Yawn. I ended up napping on the couch for a while.
When I woke up I checked email and then did a search for cucumber soup. I found a recipe that I had the ingredients for (or that I could easily fake). I spent the next few hours in the kitchen creating my soup. Even the unfinished product was mighty tasty, so I looked forward to dinner this evening. I was quite busy. I had to peel the cucumbers, then slice them. I had to sweat part of an onion and some chopped garlic, add the cucumber slices and some stock, simmer with some curry powder and then whirr in the blender for a bit. That got to chill in the fridge for a while.
I had a quiet day at home apart from that. I did a bit of school work, I wrote a letter about my holidays for Fumihiko to translate, and also took some advice columns off the net for an upcoming class. I watched a lot of the TV that was on as well, including repeats of Grey's Anatomy, The Unit ( my first time to see this one) and Criminal Minds.
Fumihiko came home around 6. I was showering at the time. He popped out again to pick up his bike and to take my very old bike back to the bike shop. I haven't used it in years.
We had a good chat for a while and then Fumihiko promptly fell asleep for a couple of hours. I finished up the soup. I had to add the yogurt, chopped mint and some cubed cucumbers to it. As he wasn't ready to eat yet, I put it all back in the fridge. Finally, after 9 pm I woke him up and made him come and eat.
I ladled the soup out into chilled bowls. It had quite a kick to it with the curry. I may have used a little too much, but honestly, I like curry so I didn't mind. After we'd eaten the soup, I baked a pizza in the toaster oven. We had the small pizza with some salad. It made a nice dinner all in all.
Fumihiko was still so sleepy that I let him off the dishes. Basically he's spent the remainder of the evening sleeping on the chesterfield. Every time he wakes up I tell him he should go to bed, he nods sleepily and then goes back to sleep!
Anyway, that was my day. I discovered how to make a new dish, and I didn't spend any money today. What an amazing thing!
Tomorrow I have only one evening class, so I'm not sure what I'm going to do with myself for the rest of the time. Wish me luck! Night night.
I had a pretty good day, even though I didn't go out! I got up and tried to watch the news. As usual, it wasn't on. I did get to see Ichiro make his 3000th career hit, but to quote Rhett Butler, "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn." Yawn. I ended up napping on the couch for a while.
When I woke up I checked email and then did a search for cucumber soup. I found a recipe that I had the ingredients for (or that I could easily fake). I spent the next few hours in the kitchen creating my soup. Even the unfinished product was mighty tasty, so I looked forward to dinner this evening. I was quite busy. I had to peel the cucumbers, then slice them. I had to sweat part of an onion and some chopped garlic, add the cucumber slices and some stock, simmer with some curry powder and then whirr in the blender for a bit. That got to chill in the fridge for a while.
I had a quiet day at home apart from that. I did a bit of school work, I wrote a letter about my holidays for Fumihiko to translate, and also took some advice columns off the net for an upcoming class. I watched a lot of the TV that was on as well, including repeats of Grey's Anatomy, The Unit ( my first time to see this one) and Criminal Minds.
Fumihiko came home around 6. I was showering at the time. He popped out again to pick up his bike and to take my very old bike back to the bike shop. I haven't used it in years.
We had a good chat for a while and then Fumihiko promptly fell asleep for a couple of hours. I finished up the soup. I had to add the yogurt, chopped mint and some cubed cucumbers to it. As he wasn't ready to eat yet, I put it all back in the fridge. Finally, after 9 pm I woke him up and made him come and eat.
I ladled the soup out into chilled bowls. It had quite a kick to it with the curry. I may have used a little too much, but honestly, I like curry so I didn't mind. After we'd eaten the soup, I baked a pizza in the toaster oven. We had the small pizza with some salad. It made a nice dinner all in all.
Fumihiko was still so sleepy that I let him off the dishes. Basically he's spent the remainder of the evening sleeping on the chesterfield. Every time he wakes up I tell him he should go to bed, he nods sleepily and then goes back to sleep!
Anyway, that was my day. I discovered how to make a new dish, and I didn't spend any money today. What an amazing thing!
Tomorrow I have only one evening class, so I'm not sure what I'm going to do with myself for the rest of the time. Wish me luck! Night night.
July 29, 2008 - Tuesday
Cloudy with a little bit of rain most of the day.
Today was an okay day today. I got up early, but couldn't watch the news as it wasn't on of course! Fumihiko had taken the morning off, but had gone off to do his business stuff quite early. I was alone for a while, so I showered and then did my computer stuff. The nice thing about today is that even though it was a little rainy outside, it wasn't humid or hot. I didn't have to use the air conditioner at all in the daytime.
When Fumihiko came home, we went out for brunch. We had planned to go to Bronco, but when we got there were horrified to find out that it had closed. Oh no! It was a place that I liked going after work if Fumihiko wasn't with me. The food was good, not great, but quite cheap and the service was quite decent.
We had lunch in Gusto and then Fumihiko dropped me off home. I had a quiet afternoon by myself.
I went off to work before 4 and picked up a sandwich on the way there. At school it was a little warm, but really not too bad. I finished prepping for my classes and then taught my students today. Both classes went quite well. I won't be seeing either student for a while as they are going on holiday...not together though!
Afterwards, I did my clean up and then I got ready to leave. When I called Fumihiko I got a strange message on his machine before I got through to him. He was washing his hair of all things. He came to get me a few minutes later.
Tonight's dinner was courtesy of M's Dining. Mine was mostly vegetarian! I had pasta with vegetables. It was okay, but not great. I didn't really like the sauce. It was a variant of Japanese sauce I think.
We did a quick grocery run for dinner ingredients for tomorrow, then came home. Fumihiko wanted to watch a video, but I said it was too late. He watched some weird telly and then I found Forest Whitaker on The Actor's Studio. It was quite interesting.
Basically that was it. I'm now sitting at my computer listening to Virgin Radio from Britain. It's nice to hear radio in English again. I really should do it more often.
I'll catch you tomorrow night. Talk to you then. Night.
Today was an okay day today. I got up early, but couldn't watch the news as it wasn't on of course! Fumihiko had taken the morning off, but had gone off to do his business stuff quite early. I was alone for a while, so I showered and then did my computer stuff. The nice thing about today is that even though it was a little rainy outside, it wasn't humid or hot. I didn't have to use the air conditioner at all in the daytime.
When Fumihiko came home, we went out for brunch. We had planned to go to Bronco, but when we got there were horrified to find out that it had closed. Oh no! It was a place that I liked going after work if Fumihiko wasn't with me. The food was good, not great, but quite cheap and the service was quite decent.
We had lunch in Gusto and then Fumihiko dropped me off home. I had a quiet afternoon by myself.
I went off to work before 4 and picked up a sandwich on the way there. At school it was a little warm, but really not too bad. I finished prepping for my classes and then taught my students today. Both classes went quite well. I won't be seeing either student for a while as they are going on holiday...not together though!
Afterwards, I did my clean up and then I got ready to leave. When I called Fumihiko I got a strange message on his machine before I got through to him. He was washing his hair of all things. He came to get me a few minutes later.
Tonight's dinner was courtesy of M's Dining. Mine was mostly vegetarian! I had pasta with vegetables. It was okay, but not great. I didn't really like the sauce. It was a variant of Japanese sauce I think.
We did a quick grocery run for dinner ingredients for tomorrow, then came home. Fumihiko wanted to watch a video, but I said it was too late. He watched some weird telly and then I found Forest Whitaker on The Actor's Studio. It was quite interesting.
Basically that was it. I'm now sitting at my computer listening to Virgin Radio from Britain. It's nice to hear radio in English again. I really should do it more often.
I'll catch you tomorrow night. Talk to you then. Night.
July 28, 2008 - Monday
Rainy and humid. Horrid weather!
I got up reasonably early today, checked the news and then planned to go back to bed. I never quite got there! I decided to check email, which I did, then did something else, then on to something else. Before I knew it, it was 11 am and I had to get busy!
I made the bed and then I made some salad for tonight's dinner. I made cucumber yogurt salad. It wasn't difficult, just a little labor intensive chopping up the cucumber. Fumihiko's boss had given him some cucumbers the other day and I am trying to use them up.
I watched some of the weekend's TV and then after a while I changed and went out. I was a woman with a mission. I wanted to go to the post office and order my travellers cheques for my trip. It's been my experience that the local post office has to order Canadian travellers cheques for me. I went in, took my numbered slip of paper, and then waited. I had written a note asking for my travellers cheques, and I asked verbally too in my horrid Japanese. I was really surprised when the lady told me she had them and would get them for me. Thankfully I had taken the money with me.
Buying the cheques took a long time, but honestly I can say that I don't have any complaints. I know the clerk didn't really know what she was doing as she was using a manual to help her, but things went well. What a difference from the first time I bought traveller cheques there!
When I left the post office it was raining so I put on my rain coat and then I biked off. I stopped at a lovely little stationery store on the way home for some green whiteboard markers.
At home I cooled off and then Fumihiko came home. After a while I started on dinner. Tonight was pork stirfry with cucumber yogurt salad on the side. It was really good.
We had a quiet evening in. We watched Medium and then part of 300 before turning over to watch The Pink Panther. Much better than 300!
That was my day. Tomorrow Fumihiko has part of the day off, but will be busy, and I go back to work. Wish me luck! Night night.
I got up reasonably early today, checked the news and then planned to go back to bed. I never quite got there! I decided to check email, which I did, then did something else, then on to something else. Before I knew it, it was 11 am and I had to get busy!
I made the bed and then I made some salad for tonight's dinner. I made cucumber yogurt salad. It wasn't difficult, just a little labor intensive chopping up the cucumber. Fumihiko's boss had given him some cucumbers the other day and I am trying to use them up.
I watched some of the weekend's TV and then after a while I changed and went out. I was a woman with a mission. I wanted to go to the post office and order my travellers cheques for my trip. It's been my experience that the local post office has to order Canadian travellers cheques for me. I went in, took my numbered slip of paper, and then waited. I had written a note asking for my travellers cheques, and I asked verbally too in my horrid Japanese. I was really surprised when the lady told me she had them and would get them for me. Thankfully I had taken the money with me.
Buying the cheques took a long time, but honestly I can say that I don't have any complaints. I know the clerk didn't really know what she was doing as she was using a manual to help her, but things went well. What a difference from the first time I bought traveller cheques there!
When I left the post office it was raining so I put on my rain coat and then I biked off. I stopped at a lovely little stationery store on the way home for some green whiteboard markers.
At home I cooled off and then Fumihiko came home. After a while I started on dinner. Tonight was pork stirfry with cucumber yogurt salad on the side. It was really good.
We had a quiet evening in. We watched Medium and then part of 300 before turning over to watch The Pink Panther. Much better than 300!
That was my day. Tomorrow Fumihiko has part of the day off, but will be busy, and I go back to work. Wish me luck! Night night.
July 27, 2008 - Sunday
Hot and sunny, rainy with strong thunder and lightning later on.
Today was a pretty good day but I didn't sleep that well. My husband didn't sleep well at all, and spent a lot of the night tossing and turning. He got up early, I didn't. I was having a very cool dream, when I was awakened again. Sigh. I did get up, and had some of the very nice coffee that we had bought locally a couple of weeks ago. It was a little ironic for me. Fumihiko woke me up, so I got up and got dressed, but he was sitting around the house in his skivvies!
We spent a lot of time on our computers and at one point I was surprised to discover that Fumihiko had booked my tickets from our local airport to Haneda and back for my holiday. He had not only booked them, but paid for them too. Wow! I in turn booked a hotel for the night I come back from Canada. While I might be able to clear immigration, and customs quickly, there's no guarantee, and I might not be able to catch the last plane home from Haneda. I'd have to change airports after all. I think just knowing that I don't have to rush off will take a lot of pressure off me and I can enjoy the trip home more.
In the afternoon we went out for lunch. We had a lovely lunch at Moku-Moku. It was cold pasta today. I've never really had cold pasta before I came to Japan, but it's not bad. I wouldn't usually eat it in winter though, although I did once by accident!
After lunch, we hit a hardware store so that I could get some things for my school. I was running low on things like TP, multi-purpose cleaner, and printer ink, so I picked some up. We did a quick trip home to drop off some stuff and then drop off my shopping at the school, then we headed off to AU.
AU is the company that makes our cell phones, so we decided to go and upgrade them today. Mine was fine, but Fumihiko is on his second battery and his camera part doesn't take good pictures anymore. Since we both had the same model I thought we should both change at the same time. We went to the office and asked the woman which cell phones are bilingual, so she made me a list. Fumihiko and I looked all over the store but there weren't any that I really liked. I don't need a cell phone with a tv in it, I hate Japanese TV. I don't need one with a music player, I have an iPod. I don't need one with relaxing multi-coloured lights, I just need one that takes good pictures, is bilingual and is pink. Preferably metallic pink like my old cell phone. They didn't have any. Oh, they had metallic pink ones, but they weren't bilingual, they had a camera one with a cell phone in it, but it wasn't bilingual, and they had waterproof ones, but I never go swimming anyway, so bleck. I searched around the store and finally found one that I could live with. It was black, easy to read the buttons and didn't seem to be very expensive. When we went and talked to the lady again, oh my gosh though. The phone would cost me over 30,000 yen right now, and I don't know how much every month. I basically wanted to know how much more I'd have to pay every month, but I didn't get an answer that I could believe. At that point, I just said no. There's nothing wrong with MY cell phone, so I'm going to keep it. I had taken off my cute little pink strap from Hong Kong and taken out the photo disc, but I put the strap back on and put the memory disc back in. I'm not getting a new phone right now. If I had loved the new phone I would maybe have gone for it, but I didn't. My current phone is great, does all that I need, so I'm sticking with it.
Fumihiko, on the other hand, got himself a new phone. He got the one that I was drooling over, the camera with a built in cell phone. It looks gorgeous, but was very expensive. Still, an actual camera would be quite expensive so I think it works out okay. He's still in the process of learning how to use it. It's not bilingual, so that's why I didn't think about getting it.
When we finished at the phone company we went to the bike shop to pick up Fumihiko's bike. He's having it fixed up. Next month is the fireworks in our city, and we're going to go. There's no parking so the easiest way to get there is to go by bicycle. He hasn't used his bike in ages, in fact, I think I used it last! The bike store man wasn't there, so he couldn't get his bike yet. Maybe tomorrow night.
Tonight we had a lovely dinner at our favourite restaurant, Bistro Des Points. Our main course was Shonai pork, but we also had two kinds of fish, salad and cold pumpkin soup. Our dessert was peach melba with yogurt ice cream and coffee. It was so good. The one bad thing about the evening was a man in the corner of the restaurant was berating two young boys very loudly. Fumihiko was rather more upset about it than I was. After it turned out that it was the boy's sumo coach, but still, seemed inappropriate for a public restaurant...and an expensive one at that.
We came home and had a quiet evening. I watched Zodiac. Fumihiko tried, but fell asleep on it. Unfortunately, the thunderstorm came up during the movie and our TV reception died out in spots so I don't know what happened there, but over all, I think I'm glad I didn't see it in the theatre.
That, rather long windedly, was my day. Oh, one memory, I have to remember, it was just too funny. When we turned down the road to my school, there were two old Japanese ladies side by side, pulling weeds just off the road. They were heads down and very much bums up facing the road. I got a good chuckle out of that, but Fumihiko didn't even notice!
Got to go. Night night!
Today was a pretty good day but I didn't sleep that well. My husband didn't sleep well at all, and spent a lot of the night tossing and turning. He got up early, I didn't. I was having a very cool dream, when I was awakened again. Sigh. I did get up, and had some of the very nice coffee that we had bought locally a couple of weeks ago. It was a little ironic for me. Fumihiko woke me up, so I got up and got dressed, but he was sitting around the house in his skivvies!
We spent a lot of time on our computers and at one point I was surprised to discover that Fumihiko had booked my tickets from our local airport to Haneda and back for my holiday. He had not only booked them, but paid for them too. Wow! I in turn booked a hotel for the night I come back from Canada. While I might be able to clear immigration, and customs quickly, there's no guarantee, and I might not be able to catch the last plane home from Haneda. I'd have to change airports after all. I think just knowing that I don't have to rush off will take a lot of pressure off me and I can enjoy the trip home more.
In the afternoon we went out for lunch. We had a lovely lunch at Moku-Moku. It was cold pasta today. I've never really had cold pasta before I came to Japan, but it's not bad. I wouldn't usually eat it in winter though, although I did once by accident!
After lunch, we hit a hardware store so that I could get some things for my school. I was running low on things like TP, multi-purpose cleaner, and printer ink, so I picked some up. We did a quick trip home to drop off some stuff and then drop off my shopping at the school, then we headed off to AU.
AU is the company that makes our cell phones, so we decided to go and upgrade them today. Mine was fine, but Fumihiko is on his second battery and his camera part doesn't take good pictures anymore. Since we both had the same model I thought we should both change at the same time. We went to the office and asked the woman which cell phones are bilingual, so she made me a list. Fumihiko and I looked all over the store but there weren't any that I really liked. I don't need a cell phone with a tv in it, I hate Japanese TV. I don't need one with a music player, I have an iPod. I don't need one with relaxing multi-coloured lights, I just need one that takes good pictures, is bilingual and is pink. Preferably metallic pink like my old cell phone. They didn't have any. Oh, they had metallic pink ones, but they weren't bilingual, they had a camera one with a cell phone in it, but it wasn't bilingual, and they had waterproof ones, but I never go swimming anyway, so bleck. I searched around the store and finally found one that I could live with. It was black, easy to read the buttons and didn't seem to be very expensive. When we went and talked to the lady again, oh my gosh though. The phone would cost me over 30,000 yen right now, and I don't know how much every month. I basically wanted to know how much more I'd have to pay every month, but I didn't get an answer that I could believe. At that point, I just said no. There's nothing wrong with MY cell phone, so I'm going to keep it. I had taken off my cute little pink strap from Hong Kong and taken out the photo disc, but I put the strap back on and put the memory disc back in. I'm not getting a new phone right now. If I had loved the new phone I would maybe have gone for it, but I didn't. My current phone is great, does all that I need, so I'm sticking with it.
Fumihiko, on the other hand, got himself a new phone. He got the one that I was drooling over, the camera with a built in cell phone. It looks gorgeous, but was very expensive. Still, an actual camera would be quite expensive so I think it works out okay. He's still in the process of learning how to use it. It's not bilingual, so that's why I didn't think about getting it.
When we finished at the phone company we went to the bike shop to pick up Fumihiko's bike. He's having it fixed up. Next month is the fireworks in our city, and we're going to go. There's no parking so the easiest way to get there is to go by bicycle. He hasn't used his bike in ages, in fact, I think I used it last! The bike store man wasn't there, so he couldn't get his bike yet. Maybe tomorrow night.
Tonight we had a lovely dinner at our favourite restaurant, Bistro Des Points. Our main course was Shonai pork, but we also had two kinds of fish, salad and cold pumpkin soup. Our dessert was peach melba with yogurt ice cream and coffee. It was so good. The one bad thing about the evening was a man in the corner of the restaurant was berating two young boys very loudly. Fumihiko was rather more upset about it than I was. After it turned out that it was the boy's sumo coach, but still, seemed inappropriate for a public restaurant...and an expensive one at that.
We came home and had a quiet evening. I watched Zodiac. Fumihiko tried, but fell asleep on it. Unfortunately, the thunderstorm came up during the movie and our TV reception died out in spots so I don't know what happened there, but over all, I think I'm glad I didn't see it in the theatre.
That, rather long windedly, was my day. Oh, one memory, I have to remember, it was just too funny. When we turned down the road to my school, there were two old Japanese ladies side by side, pulling weeds just off the road. They were heads down and very much bums up facing the road. I got a good chuckle out of that, but Fumihiko didn't even notice!
Got to go. Night night!
July 26, 2008 - Saturday
Warm and sunny. Lovely day.
I had a pretty decent day today. I got up on time, showered and then watched Medium. It was probably the best acted episode that I've seen so far. Alison woke up as someone else and Joe (Jake Weber) had to deal with her and the children. He was really good, and surprisingly, so was Patricia Arquette.
Fumihiko and I did a quick stop by my school before brunch to turn on the AC, then had an okay meal in Gusto. He dropped me off afterwards at my school again.
I had quite a good day, with a really long break in between classes. My first class went very well and we had fun as always. After her class I did paperwork, and a bit of prep for next week. I went out to get something to eat and came back and read more of my Marie Claire and then I got started on my newest Dick Francis. My second class of the day, was the student's first class with me. It went okay. I think next time will be a little better.
After work, Fumihiko came to pick me up and we came home for a brief stop. We decided to go and see a movie at Mikawa and to have dinner over there too. We drove out and shared a pizza. We both had salad on the side too. It was fine. Then, the movie. We went to see The Happening. It was interesting. I'm still not sure if I liked it or not. Some of it was quite disturbing, but some of it was oddly intriguing.
We came home and had a quiet evening. Just before 1 am, Heroes came on, so I watched that. I enjoyed it. Fumihiko doesn't really get it I'm afraid. Either that or he's so tired he doesn't care about it.
So, basically, that was my day. I hope that tomorrow will be good too. Catch me tomorrow night and find out all about it! Night night.
I had a pretty decent day today. I got up on time, showered and then watched Medium. It was probably the best acted episode that I've seen so far. Alison woke up as someone else and Joe (Jake Weber) had to deal with her and the children. He was really good, and surprisingly, so was Patricia Arquette.
Fumihiko and I did a quick stop by my school before brunch to turn on the AC, then had an okay meal in Gusto. He dropped me off afterwards at my school again.
I had quite a good day, with a really long break in between classes. My first class went very well and we had fun as always. After her class I did paperwork, and a bit of prep for next week. I went out to get something to eat and came back and read more of my Marie Claire and then I got started on my newest Dick Francis. My second class of the day, was the student's first class with me. It went okay. I think next time will be a little better.
After work, Fumihiko came to pick me up and we came home for a brief stop. We decided to go and see a movie at Mikawa and to have dinner over there too. We drove out and shared a pizza. We both had salad on the side too. It was fine. Then, the movie. We went to see The Happening. It was interesting. I'm still not sure if I liked it or not. Some of it was quite disturbing, but some of it was oddly intriguing.
We came home and had a quiet evening. Just before 1 am, Heroes came on, so I watched that. I enjoyed it. Fumihiko doesn't really get it I'm afraid. Either that or he's so tired he doesn't care about it.
So, basically, that was my day. I hope that tomorrow will be good too. Catch me tomorrow night and find out all about it! Night night.
July 25, 2008 - Friday
Nice day. Muggy in the evening, sunny in the daytime.
I realized this morning that I am not a princess. I woke up hearing soft music. I was lying on my cell phone, and the alarm was ringing. I got up just in time to see Charles Gibson say "And we hope you have a good evening." Ack! I missed the news. The one day this week that it was on and I missed it.
I hung up my clothes in our drying room. Last night I had set the washing machine to come on in the morning with a load of my clothes in it. I set another load going and took a nap. When I got up again, I did more clothes and while I waited for them, vacuumed the apartment. In the process, I found Fumihiko's missing car keys, so yay for me!
After all that physical exercise, I had to work on my computer for a bit. I did a lot of email stuff, some moderating for one of my groups and also some work for my school. So, all in all, a busier sort of day for me. There was another nice thing about today, it wasn't terribly humid. I kept the windows open in the apartment and didn't need the air conditioner at all.
Around 4 today I made my omelette and started to get ready for school. I ate and then headed off to my school at 5. Usually I have to be earlier on a Friday but my first student had a school event today. I opened up the school and went in. I got everything ready.
When the time came for my student, she didn't. Oh dear. I gave her 10 minutes and then called her. She called me back within a couple of minutes and said that she was working and couldn't come. I felt sorry for her, so we scheduled her next class and rang off. I called Fumihiko and asked him to come and get me.
We had a nice dinner tonight in Jiro, our favourite pork saute with garlicky onions. Yum. Afterwards we came home and relaxed. It's nice to have Fumihiko home, but last night was fun too.
Anyway, that's my day. I quite liked it. And now, I'm off to bed. Night night!
I realized this morning that I am not a princess. I woke up hearing soft music. I was lying on my cell phone, and the alarm was ringing. I got up just in time to see Charles Gibson say "And we hope you have a good evening." Ack! I missed the news. The one day this week that it was on and I missed it.
I hung up my clothes in our drying room. Last night I had set the washing machine to come on in the morning with a load of my clothes in it. I set another load going and took a nap. When I got up again, I did more clothes and while I waited for them, vacuumed the apartment. In the process, I found Fumihiko's missing car keys, so yay for me!
After all that physical exercise, I had to work on my computer for a bit. I did a lot of email stuff, some moderating for one of my groups and also some work for my school. So, all in all, a busier sort of day for me. There was another nice thing about today, it wasn't terribly humid. I kept the windows open in the apartment and didn't need the air conditioner at all.
Around 4 today I made my omelette and started to get ready for school. I ate and then headed off to my school at 5. Usually I have to be earlier on a Friday but my first student had a school event today. I opened up the school and went in. I got everything ready.
When the time came for my student, she didn't. Oh dear. I gave her 10 minutes and then called her. She called me back within a couple of minutes and said that she was working and couldn't come. I felt sorry for her, so we scheduled her next class and rang off. I called Fumihiko and asked him to come and get me.
We had a nice dinner tonight in Jiro, our favourite pork saute with garlicky onions. Yum. Afterwards we came home and relaxed. It's nice to have Fumihiko home, but last night was fun too.
Anyway, that's my day. I quite liked it. And now, I'm off to bed. Night night!
July 24, 2008 - Thursday
Cloudy and muggy all day, rainy at night.
Today was an okay day, except I kept getting woken up! Around 6 am my husband's boss called him regarding the earthquake, then at 7 something when my husband was supposed to leave for work, he couldn't find his keys. He doesn't believe in looking for them quietly. Sigh.
After he left I looked for news on the TV and actually found some. Then, baseball started so I went back to bed. And stayed there for a while. My side of the bed is just under the window so it gets any breezes going. It was almost comfortable.
I got up and had a quiet day around the house. It was rather nice. There wasn't much on TV so I watched last night's Hustle. It was a really fun one.
Around 5 I left for my school and detoured through the drugstore to get some sweetener. I got to my school and started up the air conditioner. It wasn't too bad today, it was a warm 28 degrees in there. It wasn't sunny today, that's probably why it wasn't too hot.
My classes tonight went well and we had a good time. Fumihiko called me after 9 from a pay phone. Where he is tonight there isn't any cell phone reception. We got cut off because he didn't have enough coins!
When I finished up at the school and left for home, it was raining of course. Not too bad though. I got on my bike and headed off. I got to the grocery store, picked up some stuff for my dinner and then started to bag it up. I looked outside and noticed that it was pouring outside. Oh no! I put my raincape back on and set off. I made it home and only got a little wet.
At home, I changed into dry clothes and ate my dinner. I had some tempura and some sushi. It was yummy and I enjoyed it.
The last few hours I've spent watching TV, sending email and relaxing with some decaf tea. I rarely get evenings like these to myself so I tend to cherish them when I do.
Talk to you tomorrow. Night night!
Today was an okay day, except I kept getting woken up! Around 6 am my husband's boss called him regarding the earthquake, then at 7 something when my husband was supposed to leave for work, he couldn't find his keys. He doesn't believe in looking for them quietly. Sigh.
After he left I looked for news on the TV and actually found some. Then, baseball started so I went back to bed. And stayed there for a while. My side of the bed is just under the window so it gets any breezes going. It was almost comfortable.
I got up and had a quiet day around the house. It was rather nice. There wasn't much on TV so I watched last night's Hustle. It was a really fun one.
Around 5 I left for my school and detoured through the drugstore to get some sweetener. I got to my school and started up the air conditioner. It wasn't too bad today, it was a warm 28 degrees in there. It wasn't sunny today, that's probably why it wasn't too hot.
My classes tonight went well and we had a good time. Fumihiko called me after 9 from a pay phone. Where he is tonight there isn't any cell phone reception. We got cut off because he didn't have enough coins!
When I finished up at the school and left for home, it was raining of course. Not too bad though. I got on my bike and headed off. I got to the grocery store, picked up some stuff for my dinner and then started to bag it up. I looked outside and noticed that it was pouring outside. Oh no! I put my raincape back on and set off. I made it home and only got a little wet.
At home, I changed into dry clothes and ate my dinner. I had some tempura and some sushi. It was yummy and I enjoyed it.
The last few hours I've spent watching TV, sending email and relaxing with some decaf tea. I rarely get evenings like these to myself so I tend to cherish them when I do.
Talk to you tomorrow. Night night!
July 23, 2008 - Wednesday
Hot and muggy, bits of rain.
The biggest excitement of the evening was the earthquake. It happened at 12:26, so technically July 24th, but before my sleep. It was a level 4 here in Shonai, and seemed to last for a really long time. We're fine, and it doesn't seem to have done any damage here. In Iwate, where it seemed to be centered, it was a level 6 plus. I haven't heard about injuries or anything yet.
Today was an oddball day. Fumihiko didn't work today, but did some things over at city hall. He spent quite a lot of the day out of the house.
He came back to the apartment around 4. I made myself an omelette (I did offer to make one for him too) and then ate it. He made himself ramen, then took himself off to bed for a while.
I left for my school around 5. I got there in good time and got busy. I had a lot to do. I dusted, even getting the top of one of the cabinets that I am too short to reach. Then, I vacuumed. After all that, I got dressed and made sure that my school was presentable. When I had finished, I got out my receipts and did up my June book-keeping. Hurray for me!
Fumihiko phoned me to ask where I was, then came over. He brought "gifts." He brought some ice treats, some drinks and stuff that I really didn't think I needed! Still, it was a nice gesture so I tried to be thankful about it. However, he hadn't shaved and was wearing jeans. I really wasn't too happy. I made him take everything out of his breast pocket so he looked a little more presentable.
The visitors came on time and things went quite well. It looks like I'll have a new student starting later this week. I'm not sure yet whether she'll be short term or long term, but it's quite nice for me.
Afterwards, Fumihiko and I had a big hug and then relaxed a bit. We had a drink in the school, and I tidied up. We went off to have dinner at M's Dining. We both had the same thing, beef fajitas. They were nice. We came home via the grocery store to buy milk.
At home, we decided to watch a movie, so Fumihiko made me some of the microwave popcorn that we bought a couple of weeks ago, and we settled in on the couch to watch Ghostbusters. Fumihiko had just reached in for a snuggle when I noticed that the room was moving, it wasn't just the movie.
And that's about it. I'm watching the updates on the TV but I can't really understand them. They seem to be saying the same things over and over again.
So, I'm off now. Hopefully tomorrow will be a little more stable and the apartment won't shake all over the place! Got to go. Night night.
The biggest excitement of the evening was the earthquake. It happened at 12:26, so technically July 24th, but before my sleep. It was a level 4 here in Shonai, and seemed to last for a really long time. We're fine, and it doesn't seem to have done any damage here. In Iwate, where it seemed to be centered, it was a level 6 plus. I haven't heard about injuries or anything yet.
Today was an oddball day. Fumihiko didn't work today, but did some things over at city hall. He spent quite a lot of the day out of the house.
He came back to the apartment around 4. I made myself an omelette (I did offer to make one for him too) and then ate it. He made himself ramen, then took himself off to bed for a while.
I left for my school around 5. I got there in good time and got busy. I had a lot to do. I dusted, even getting the top of one of the cabinets that I am too short to reach. Then, I vacuumed. After all that, I got dressed and made sure that my school was presentable. When I had finished, I got out my receipts and did up my June book-keeping. Hurray for me!
Fumihiko phoned me to ask where I was, then came over. He brought "gifts." He brought some ice treats, some drinks and stuff that I really didn't think I needed! Still, it was a nice gesture so I tried to be thankful about it. However, he hadn't shaved and was wearing jeans. I really wasn't too happy. I made him take everything out of his breast pocket so he looked a little more presentable.
The visitors came on time and things went quite well. It looks like I'll have a new student starting later this week. I'm not sure yet whether she'll be short term or long term, but it's quite nice for me.
Afterwards, Fumihiko and I had a big hug and then relaxed a bit. We had a drink in the school, and I tidied up. We went off to have dinner at M's Dining. We both had the same thing, beef fajitas. They were nice. We came home via the grocery store to buy milk.
At home, we decided to watch a movie, so Fumihiko made me some of the microwave popcorn that we bought a couple of weeks ago, and we settled in on the couch to watch Ghostbusters. Fumihiko had just reached in for a snuggle when I noticed that the room was moving, it wasn't just the movie.
And that's about it. I'm watching the updates on the TV but I can't really understand them. They seem to be saying the same things over and over again.
So, I'm off now. Hopefully tomorrow will be a little more stable and the apartment won't shake all over the place! Got to go. Night night.
Earthquake!
We had an earthquake about 90 minutes ago...it was a level 4 here in Shonai, but a level 6.8 at the center.
Fumihiko and I are fine....I hope all my readers in Japan are too.
Fumihiko and I are fine....I hope all my readers in Japan are too.
July 22, 2008 - Tuesday
Hot and muggy, a bit of sun in the afternoon.
A kind of odd day really. I got up and checked to see if news was on this morning, but it wasn't. Sigh. I had a long nap instead. I finally got up, made the bed and showered later.
My day passed fairly well, I read email, sent some too. When 3 pm rolled around I made my lunch and packed my backpack for work. Today I was carrying some apples and juice for my school, as they were props for my kids class.
A few minutes before 4, I left the apartment and went to the bike shelter. Where my bike usually lives, there was a big gap. And a lot of cobwebs. What gives? Flashback with me if you will. Saturday morning, after Fumihiko came back from the doctor, I asked him if he'd taken my bicycle out of his car's trunk. He assured me that he had. Somehow, I just knew what had happened. He'd forgotten to get my bike out of his car. What the heck should I do? I started to walk, but realized that if I did walk I'd be hot, and extremely sweaty from it, plus, my back pack was a little heavier than usual. And, instead of arriving within 10 minutes, I'd likely not arrive for another 20-30 minutes. I decided to take a taxi. I didn't have much choice. I walked to the local taxi-stand and asked for a cab.
I got to work very quickly and paid off the driver. I also got a receipt so I could get the money back from my husband. I sent him a text letting him know what had happened. He did have the good grace to call me and apologize.
After all that, classes went well. My first was fun. We talked about the apple....things like washing it, cutting it and eating it. The boy seems to pick things up very quickly. My second class of the day also went well. We didn't finish our topic, but it was okay. We'll finish up on Thursday.
After work, I finished up at my school, prepared for an interview tomorrow, and called Fumihiko. He came to get me and we hit the grocery store to get our mixed vegetable set. We bumped into hubby's sister while we were there. I like her, but was mentally miles away, so tried to get him to talk to her. And the store, didn't have any of the veggie mix today. Sigh.
We tried another grocery store. No joy.
I asked Fumihiko if we should just go out for dinner tonight and save the home cooked dinner for tomorrow night. So, that's what we did. We stopped at home for Fumihiko to change out of his work clothes, AND REALLY UNLOAD MY BIKE. Then we had a nice pasta dinner at Grado, and came home.
We watched Monk which was pretty good, and then Fumihiko popped in the tape I'd made him of Cyborg 2. It was on WOWOW last night and was not terribly good. It was a very early Angelina Jolie film. I think I'll be taping over it real soon.
Now that it's 2 am, Fumihiko is searching all over the apartment for something. It's rather annoying. He's off work tomorrow too. He has to go to city hall or something. Honestly. He gets to take a lot of days off work! It's not fair. If I take days off, I don't get paid. Oh well. I guess I shouldn't complain.
That was my day. Not my usual one, but finally okay. Night night.
A kind of odd day really. I got up and checked to see if news was on this morning, but it wasn't. Sigh. I had a long nap instead. I finally got up, made the bed and showered later.
My day passed fairly well, I read email, sent some too. When 3 pm rolled around I made my lunch and packed my backpack for work. Today I was carrying some apples and juice for my school, as they were props for my kids class.
A few minutes before 4, I left the apartment and went to the bike shelter. Where my bike usually lives, there was a big gap. And a lot of cobwebs. What gives? Flashback with me if you will. Saturday morning, after Fumihiko came back from the doctor, I asked him if he'd taken my bicycle out of his car's trunk. He assured me that he had. Somehow, I just knew what had happened. He'd forgotten to get my bike out of his car. What the heck should I do? I started to walk, but realized that if I did walk I'd be hot, and extremely sweaty from it, plus, my back pack was a little heavier than usual. And, instead of arriving within 10 minutes, I'd likely not arrive for another 20-30 minutes. I decided to take a taxi. I didn't have much choice. I walked to the local taxi-stand and asked for a cab.
I got to work very quickly and paid off the driver. I also got a receipt so I could get the money back from my husband. I sent him a text letting him know what had happened. He did have the good grace to call me and apologize.
After all that, classes went well. My first was fun. We talked about the apple....things like washing it, cutting it and eating it. The boy seems to pick things up very quickly. My second class of the day also went well. We didn't finish our topic, but it was okay. We'll finish up on Thursday.
After work, I finished up at my school, prepared for an interview tomorrow, and called Fumihiko. He came to get me and we hit the grocery store to get our mixed vegetable set. We bumped into hubby's sister while we were there. I like her, but was mentally miles away, so tried to get him to talk to her. And the store, didn't have any of the veggie mix today. Sigh.
We tried another grocery store. No joy.
I asked Fumihiko if we should just go out for dinner tonight and save the home cooked dinner for tomorrow night. So, that's what we did. We stopped at home for Fumihiko to change out of his work clothes, AND REALLY UNLOAD MY BIKE. Then we had a nice pasta dinner at Grado, and came home.
We watched Monk which was pretty good, and then Fumihiko popped in the tape I'd made him of Cyborg 2. It was on WOWOW last night and was not terribly good. It was a very early Angelina Jolie film. I think I'll be taping over it real soon.
Now that it's 2 am, Fumihiko is searching all over the apartment for something. It's rather annoying. He's off work tomorrow too. He has to go to city hall or something. Honestly. He gets to take a lot of days off work! It's not fair. If I take days off, I don't get paid. Oh well. I guess I shouldn't complain.
That was my day. Not my usual one, but finally okay. Night night.
July 21, 2008 - Monday
Rainy in Sendai, hot and sunny in Tsuruoka.
We're back. We had a great time in Sendai, did a bit of shopping and came home late this afternoon.
Last night we stayed at the Holiday Inn in Sendai. We checked in early and then went shopping for a bit. I bought some magazines at the bookstore and we also picked up some foreign foods at the train station shop. We dropped everything off at our hotel and then went out again to have dinner.
We had the speciality of Sendai, gyutan, or in English, grilled beef tongue. It was very nice. The restaurant is one that we always try to go to, it's in the train station, in the gourmet section underneath. Very yummy.
We had a quiet evening in the hotel. Fumihiko fell asleep fairly early, I stayed up a bit and read and took a bath.
This morning, we had breakfast and then checked out of the hotel. I had asked Fumihiko if we could go to the new Aeon mall in Sendai but he didn't know where it was. He asked at the front desk and then he put the information into the bossy driving computer in the car. It got us there. It was further away than I thought, but a really nice mall. It was bigger than our local Aeon, and it was attached to a train station. If I'm in Sendai alone I suppose I could get there by train. Yay. It was really crowded today. Everywhere we went there were tons of people. I did buy a few things in the mall. I got a water bottle. It's one that you can freeze so it keeps the water really cold. I usually buy a bottle of water or tea when we go somewhere, but I'm trying to be a little more environmentally friendly, so I thought I'd get one to take with me. We got a dvd and I got a cd, then some stuff for our kitchen. We decided that as it was lunchtime and we were hungry, we'd leave the mall. However, I wasn't too sure about our ability to find a decent restaurant quickly, so I bought us some sandwiches. We went back to the car and feasted.
We found a restaurant remarkably quickly after that! Of course. It was just a Milky Way, but we don't have them in Tsuruoka, so it's a treat for me. I was happy to have the salad bar.
We started out on the drive home. Fumihiko was supposed to stop so that we could buy something to drink on the way (seeing as how we didn't have a chance to wash/freeze our new bottles yet), but didn't. I fell asleep on the way home, and when I woke up we were halfway home and at the Sagae rest stop! We took a break there. We had an ice cream cone and got some coffee and water.
Fumihiko didn't want to go home right away, so he suggested that we do something else. I countered by suggesting going to my school. I'd gotten a note from the management ON SATURDAY that someone was coming ON MONDAY to install smoke detectors. Now, I am sincerely glad that we now have smoke detectors there, but am not sure about the wisdom of only giving 2 days notice about it...and the 2 days being on a long weekend. Whatever.
My school was hot, and I'm glad. Fumihiko got to see that I'm not talking out my hat when I complain about the heat there. I started the fan, opened the window and while it didn't cool down, it did become manageable. The guy came in the appointed time slot, and installed the smoke detector.
We had dinner at the sushi restaurant and it was nice. We had to wait for a while, but there was still lots of fish on the conveyor belt. We bought a few groceries after dinner and then came home.
I spent about 3 hours tonight reading email and blog reading. We didn't talk very much, but it was nice and friendly.
That was my day. It was a really nice weekend and we both had a good time. Hurray for that. Tomorrow, back to work and real life. Sigh!
Night night.
We're back. We had a great time in Sendai, did a bit of shopping and came home late this afternoon.
Last night we stayed at the Holiday Inn in Sendai. We checked in early and then went shopping for a bit. I bought some magazines at the bookstore and we also picked up some foreign foods at the train station shop. We dropped everything off at our hotel and then went out again to have dinner.
We had the speciality of Sendai, gyutan, or in English, grilled beef tongue. It was very nice. The restaurant is one that we always try to go to, it's in the train station, in the gourmet section underneath. Very yummy.
We had a quiet evening in the hotel. Fumihiko fell asleep fairly early, I stayed up a bit and read and took a bath.
This morning, we had breakfast and then checked out of the hotel. I had asked Fumihiko if we could go to the new Aeon mall in Sendai but he didn't know where it was. He asked at the front desk and then he put the information into the bossy driving computer in the car. It got us there. It was further away than I thought, but a really nice mall. It was bigger than our local Aeon, and it was attached to a train station. If I'm in Sendai alone I suppose I could get there by train. Yay. It was really crowded today. Everywhere we went there were tons of people. I did buy a few things in the mall. I got a water bottle. It's one that you can freeze so it keeps the water really cold. I usually buy a bottle of water or tea when we go somewhere, but I'm trying to be a little more environmentally friendly, so I thought I'd get one to take with me. We got a dvd and I got a cd, then some stuff for our kitchen. We decided that as it was lunchtime and we were hungry, we'd leave the mall. However, I wasn't too sure about our ability to find a decent restaurant quickly, so I bought us some sandwiches. We went back to the car and feasted.
We found a restaurant remarkably quickly after that! Of course. It was just a Milky Way, but we don't have them in Tsuruoka, so it's a treat for me. I was happy to have the salad bar.
We started out on the drive home. Fumihiko was supposed to stop so that we could buy something to drink on the way (seeing as how we didn't have a chance to wash/freeze our new bottles yet), but didn't. I fell asleep on the way home, and when I woke up we were halfway home and at the Sagae rest stop! We took a break there. We had an ice cream cone and got some coffee and water.
Fumihiko didn't want to go home right away, so he suggested that we do something else. I countered by suggesting going to my school. I'd gotten a note from the management ON SATURDAY that someone was coming ON MONDAY to install smoke detectors. Now, I am sincerely glad that we now have smoke detectors there, but am not sure about the wisdom of only giving 2 days notice about it...and the 2 days being on a long weekend. Whatever.
My school was hot, and I'm glad. Fumihiko got to see that I'm not talking out my hat when I complain about the heat there. I started the fan, opened the window and while it didn't cool down, it did become manageable. The guy came in the appointed time slot, and installed the smoke detector.
We had dinner at the sushi restaurant and it was nice. We had to wait for a while, but there was still lots of fish on the conveyor belt. We bought a few groceries after dinner and then came home.
I spent about 3 hours tonight reading email and blog reading. We didn't talk very much, but it was nice and friendly.
That was my day. It was a really nice weekend and we both had a good time. Hurray for that. Tomorrow, back to work and real life. Sigh!
Night night.
International Shopper?
From Sendai. Night!
July 18, 2008 - Friday
Humid and hot. Very cloudy.
Today was an okay day. I woke up in a panic this morning, I'm not sure why! I thought I was running late, but of course I wasn't. I watched the news, and spent a bit of time at my computer. I decided to finally take the plunge. I booked tickets home for myself in September. Wahoo.
It was a horrible day weather-wise. Even before I took my shower, my hair was damp. I didn't want to run the AC, but I really didn't have a lot of choice. It was the AC or take to my bed with a cold water bottle and a couple of strawberry daiquiris!
In the afternoon I watched today's Re: Genesis. How come I like that show so much? Oh yes, it doesn't talk down to it's audience. I've heard, and I'm a bit fearful about it, that it's going to be remade as a network US show, rather than an indie/Canadian one. I think that will wreck it. Apart from being subversive, some of the topics that they cover just wouldn't work on regular networks. And, would they keep the same cast? Probably not. Sigh.
I had a lovely omelette today while I watched CSI: New York. I know I've seen them all already, but they're quite enjoyable.
I took off for my school right on time, and got there a few minutes after 4. I started up the air conditioner there too. It was 29 degrees in the school today. Not as hot as yesterday, but not pleasant either. I got ready for my first class. I had a little paperwork to prepare before class.
My class went well, but the student had a listening test during the class. Despite doing very well, he started to cry afterwards. I'm not sure why. I certainly didn't get angry at him. He didn't get 100% so maybe that's why? We finished up, and then we played a bit of a card game until he seemed better.
In the break between my classes I did some paperwork and got ready for my next class. Except, the student called me a few minutes before my class to say she couldn't come! Oh dear. However, she did book in another class tomorrow afternoon, so hopefully I'll see her then.
I called Fumihiko and asked him to come and pick me up. He came and we drove home. After a few minutes of checking email, I started cooking dinner. Fumihiko put himself in charge of heating up the shu mei. I cooked the ginger pork and a few sausages too. We had salad as well. It was a nice dinner.
We really had a quiet evening. Fumihiko is already in bed. It's not even 2 yet and I'm feeling like I should be toddling off too. It's so hot and humid, and it doesn't cool down very much. It's only July, I'm a bit worried about August's weather. Hopefully I'll adjust soon.
That's it for me. I'll be leaving here tomorrow afternoon for Sendai. It's a long weekend in Japan so we're running off for a bit of shopping and fun. Catch you on Monday when we get back. Gotta go! Night.
Today was an okay day. I woke up in a panic this morning, I'm not sure why! I thought I was running late, but of course I wasn't. I watched the news, and spent a bit of time at my computer. I decided to finally take the plunge. I booked tickets home for myself in September. Wahoo.
It was a horrible day weather-wise. Even before I took my shower, my hair was damp. I didn't want to run the AC, but I really didn't have a lot of choice. It was the AC or take to my bed with a cold water bottle and a couple of strawberry daiquiris!
In the afternoon I watched today's Re: Genesis. How come I like that show so much? Oh yes, it doesn't talk down to it's audience. I've heard, and I'm a bit fearful about it, that it's going to be remade as a network US show, rather than an indie/Canadian one. I think that will wreck it. Apart from being subversive, some of the topics that they cover just wouldn't work on regular networks. And, would they keep the same cast? Probably not. Sigh.
I had a lovely omelette today while I watched CSI: New York. I know I've seen them all already, but they're quite enjoyable.
I took off for my school right on time, and got there a few minutes after 4. I started up the air conditioner there too. It was 29 degrees in the school today. Not as hot as yesterday, but not pleasant either. I got ready for my first class. I had a little paperwork to prepare before class.
My class went well, but the student had a listening test during the class. Despite doing very well, he started to cry afterwards. I'm not sure why. I certainly didn't get angry at him. He didn't get 100% so maybe that's why? We finished up, and then we played a bit of a card game until he seemed better.
In the break between my classes I did some paperwork and got ready for my next class. Except, the student called me a few minutes before my class to say she couldn't come! Oh dear. However, she did book in another class tomorrow afternoon, so hopefully I'll see her then.
I called Fumihiko and asked him to come and pick me up. He came and we drove home. After a few minutes of checking email, I started cooking dinner. Fumihiko put himself in charge of heating up the shu mei. I cooked the ginger pork and a few sausages too. We had salad as well. It was a nice dinner.
We really had a quiet evening. Fumihiko is already in bed. It's not even 2 yet and I'm feeling like I should be toddling off too. It's so hot and humid, and it doesn't cool down very much. It's only July, I'm a bit worried about August's weather. Hopefully I'll adjust soon.
That's it for me. I'll be leaving here tomorrow afternoon for Sendai. It's a long weekend in Japan so we're running off for a bit of shopping and fun. Catch you on Monday when we get back. Gotta go! Night.
July 17, 2008 - Thursday
Hot, humid and sunny. Showers at night.
Today was a pretty good day. I got up quite early for me and watched English news, the kind from England. Then, after 9 I got to watch news from America, so that was a bonus for me! At 10 there was a documentary about the Alberta Tar Sands, but I'd seen it before so I didn't pay a lot of attention. Obviously, there was NO baseball today. Hurray.
I had a strange day around the house. In the morning some men started chopping down trees and shrubbery (but they weren't the Knights that say "Ni") in front of my apartment. It was noisy and the cut grass smell was coming in the windows so I closed them and turned on the air conditioner. I usually don't run it all day, but they seemed to be working out there most of the day. I did laundry too. I tried to turn off the air conditioner as much as possible, so that I wouldn't run up our bill too much.
I left for work around 5 pm. I stopped at the drug store to pick up my echinacea and some other things, then made it to the school. It was a hot 33 degrees in there. Argh. I just hate it quite honestly.
My classes went quite well today. I think the students enjoyed them. I did. After work, Fumihiko called me at 9:20. It was too early. My last student often stays for a chat so I hadn't had time to do all the things I need to do, plus, I'd prefer to call him when I'm ready. Sometimes I think my dear husband doesn't realize that I can't just teach off the top of my head. The Tape Fairy doesn't come into my classroom and cue all the tapes for me. I wouldn't mind if she did though!
When I did call him, he picked me up and we went to M's Dining. We had Mexican food tonight, or the Japanese version of it. Fumihiko had jambalaya, which is actually not Mexican (thanks dictionary) and I had beef fajitas. They weren't very authentic, but actually tasted very good. I really liked them.
We came home via the grocery store where we bought some stuff for dinner tomorrow night. We're going away this weekend, so I didn't want to go for too many nights without a home cooked meal. I sometimes get tired of restaurant food.
And that was it. When we got home, Fumihiko plunked himself down in front of his computer and watched a boxing match between Mike Tyson and Bob Sapp. I'm not sure why. It was a little annoying.
Anyway, that was my day. Tomorrow I have an earlier day at the school, but hopefully things will go well. Wish me luck, and cooler weather!
Night night.
Today was a pretty good day. I got up quite early for me and watched English news, the kind from England. Then, after 9 I got to watch news from America, so that was a bonus for me! At 10 there was a documentary about the Alberta Tar Sands, but I'd seen it before so I didn't pay a lot of attention. Obviously, there was NO baseball today. Hurray.
I had a strange day around the house. In the morning some men started chopping down trees and shrubbery (but they weren't the Knights that say "Ni") in front of my apartment. It was noisy and the cut grass smell was coming in the windows so I closed them and turned on the air conditioner. I usually don't run it all day, but they seemed to be working out there most of the day. I did laundry too. I tried to turn off the air conditioner as much as possible, so that I wouldn't run up our bill too much.
I left for work around 5 pm. I stopped at the drug store to pick up my echinacea and some other things, then made it to the school. It was a hot 33 degrees in there. Argh. I just hate it quite honestly.
My classes went quite well today. I think the students enjoyed them. I did. After work, Fumihiko called me at 9:20. It was too early. My last student often stays for a chat so I hadn't had time to do all the things I need to do, plus, I'd prefer to call him when I'm ready. Sometimes I think my dear husband doesn't realize that I can't just teach off the top of my head. The Tape Fairy doesn't come into my classroom and cue all the tapes for me. I wouldn't mind if she did though!
When I did call him, he picked me up and we went to M's Dining. We had Mexican food tonight, or the Japanese version of it. Fumihiko had jambalaya, which is actually not Mexican (thanks dictionary) and I had beef fajitas. They weren't very authentic, but actually tasted very good. I really liked them.
We came home via the grocery store where we bought some stuff for dinner tomorrow night. We're going away this weekend, so I didn't want to go for too many nights without a home cooked meal. I sometimes get tired of restaurant food.
And that was it. When we got home, Fumihiko plunked himself down in front of his computer and watched a boxing match between Mike Tyson and Bob Sapp. I'm not sure why. It was a little annoying.
Anyway, that was my day. Tomorrow I have an earlier day at the school, but hopefully things will go well. Wish me luck, and cooler weather!
Night night.
July 16, 2008 - Wednesday
Hot and muggy.
Although I had originally planned to go out today, I didn't. Nope. Stayed in all day. I got up early enough to check the news, or as it was today, the lack thereof. Sigh. Some "All Star Game". Right. Chalk me up as a non baseball person please!
I went back to sleep quite honestly. I got dressed after a while and did a few things around the house, but not much. It was so hot and humid I just didn't feel like moving much. I kept postponing going out, and then I decided not to bother at all.
A bit before Fumihiko came home I took a shower. Trust me, it was necessary!
When Fumihiko came home we had some iced coffee and he got ready for his meeting. He was quite nervous about it. Basically, this is the year that "we" are in charge of the apartment building. As my Japanese is pitiful and I have a really snarky attitude about the whole thing, Fumihiko gets to do all of the work. That's what all of the printing has been for. To complicate things more for my dear hubby, this is also the year that the prefecture in its wisdom (or not) has decided to charge its tenants a fee for parking. Poor ol' Fumihiko has been stressing out about how to work it out fairly. In an 8 family apartment building, there are 12 parking spaces and 14 cars. Hmm. We only have one because I'm a bicycle rider (although we do have 4 bicycles between us...three are mine...shhh-don't tell anyone.) One other family has one car, but the rest all have two. That means that 2 families have to pay for two parking spaces...Don't quote me on the math here. I'm getting dizzy just thinking about it.
It took almost an hour for this meeting and when it was over, my hubby came back in. He was sweating and mosquito bitten. They'd had the meeting outside!
I cooked dinner, which was okay tonight. We had chicken wings with blue cheese dressing dip, onion salad, spaghetti with broccoli cheese sauce as a side dish, plus coffee. It was all quite nice. Not one of my best efforts really, but good.
Fumihiko went over to his mother's after dinner. He took one of my bicycles to store over there. Now we're down to 3 here. What a relief! When he came back, he did the dishes. (He told me not to do them, honest.)
We had a nice quiet evening at home. Fumihiko is now snoozing on the couch, but it's quite late. I really should get him moving off to bed.
Tomorrow I'm back to work, and I'm thinking that if it's really hot, I might go over to the school a bit early and start the air conditioner on a lower power. I probably won't though as I'm sure I'd rather stay here.
That's it for my day. Interesting but quiet. I'll talk to you tomorrow night. I'm off to bed. Night!
Although I had originally planned to go out today, I didn't. Nope. Stayed in all day. I got up early enough to check the news, or as it was today, the lack thereof. Sigh. Some "All Star Game". Right. Chalk me up as a non baseball person please!
I went back to sleep quite honestly. I got dressed after a while and did a few things around the house, but not much. It was so hot and humid I just didn't feel like moving much. I kept postponing going out, and then I decided not to bother at all.
A bit before Fumihiko came home I took a shower. Trust me, it was necessary!
When Fumihiko came home we had some iced coffee and he got ready for his meeting. He was quite nervous about it. Basically, this is the year that "we" are in charge of the apartment building. As my Japanese is pitiful and I have a really snarky attitude about the whole thing, Fumihiko gets to do all of the work. That's what all of the printing has been for. To complicate things more for my dear hubby, this is also the year that the prefecture in its wisdom (or not) has decided to charge its tenants a fee for parking. Poor ol' Fumihiko has been stressing out about how to work it out fairly. In an 8 family apartment building, there are 12 parking spaces and 14 cars. Hmm. We only have one because I'm a bicycle rider (although we do have 4 bicycles between us...three are mine...shhh-don't tell anyone.) One other family has one car, but the rest all have two. That means that 2 families have to pay for two parking spaces...Don't quote me on the math here. I'm getting dizzy just thinking about it.
It took almost an hour for this meeting and when it was over, my hubby came back in. He was sweating and mosquito bitten. They'd had the meeting outside!
I cooked dinner, which was okay tonight. We had chicken wings with blue cheese dressing dip, onion salad, spaghetti with broccoli cheese sauce as a side dish, plus coffee. It was all quite nice. Not one of my best efforts really, but good.
Fumihiko went over to his mother's after dinner. He took one of my bicycles to store over there. Now we're down to 3 here. What a relief! When he came back, he did the dishes. (He told me not to do them, honest.)
We had a nice quiet evening at home. Fumihiko is now snoozing on the couch, but it's quite late. I really should get him moving off to bed.
Tomorrow I'm back to work, and I'm thinking that if it's really hot, I might go over to the school a bit early and start the air conditioner on a lower power. I probably won't though as I'm sure I'd rather stay here.
That's it for my day. Interesting but quiet. I'll talk to you tomorrow night. I'm off to bed. Night!
July 15, 2008 - Tuesday
Sunny and very hot.
Today was a good day. I got up, watched news, played around on my computer, drank coffee, showered..that kind of stuff. I also watched Hard Candy which was a very strange little movie starring Ellen Page of Juno fame.
I made scrambled eggs again for brunch, with ham and cheese in them. They were good. During the day I also made some coffee for iced coffee, so I had to cool it down as well.
I left a little late to get over to the school. When I got there it was a roasting 32 degrees. Sigh. I had to run the air conditioner on high, and the fan to try to get it cooled down. The temperature came down slowly.
My classes today went quite well. After my second class, my student took my picture to show her homestay family when she goes to the US next month!
Fumihiko picked me up when I finished and we went to dinner. Our first plan didn't work out, so we went to Marumatsu. We had an okay dinner there, then bought some groceries for tomorrow's dinner.
We came home where I had to do some more printing for my husband. Today he'd sent me the stuff in an email. The subject header was, "please please help me!I love you so much!" How could I resist? I printed it out for him and he was happy.
The rest of the evening was quite quiet. We watched Monk, drank some iced coffee and relaxed. Yay.
Tomorrow I'm off work, so I'm not sure what I'm going to do. I might go and hang out in the mall, or I might just hang out at home. I'm thinking to go to the mall though. I told Fumihiko I'd pick something up for him if I had time.
Anyway, I'm done. Have a good evening. Night night.
Today was a good day. I got up, watched news, played around on my computer, drank coffee, showered..that kind of stuff. I also watched Hard Candy which was a very strange little movie starring Ellen Page of Juno fame.
I made scrambled eggs again for brunch, with ham and cheese in them. They were good. During the day I also made some coffee for iced coffee, so I had to cool it down as well.
I left a little late to get over to the school. When I got there it was a roasting 32 degrees. Sigh. I had to run the air conditioner on high, and the fan to try to get it cooled down. The temperature came down slowly.
My classes today went quite well. After my second class, my student took my picture to show her homestay family when she goes to the US next month!
Fumihiko picked me up when I finished and we went to dinner. Our first plan didn't work out, so we went to Marumatsu. We had an okay dinner there, then bought some groceries for tomorrow's dinner.
We came home where I had to do some more printing for my husband. Today he'd sent me the stuff in an email. The subject header was, "please please help me!I love you so much!" How could I resist? I printed it out for him and he was happy.
The rest of the evening was quite quiet. We watched Monk, drank some iced coffee and relaxed. Yay.
Tomorrow I'm off work, so I'm not sure what I'm going to do. I might go and hang out in the mall, or I might just hang out at home. I'm thinking to go to the mall though. I told Fumihiko I'd pick something up for him if I had time.
Anyway, I'm done. Have a good evening. Night night.
July 14, 2008 - Monday
Happy Bastille Day!
Muggy and rainy, clearing at night.
Not a great day really. But mostly my fault for that.
I went to bed late last night and slept okay. Fumihiko was up at his usual time and left, then I got up. It was only 8 am. Pretty unusual for me. I checked the news, there was some on, but my Chinese/Arabic/Korean is non-existant, so I ended up going back to bed. I did set my alarm, but overslept so got up very late.
I had a quiet day at home. The weather wasn't good, so I didn't go out. I watched my weekend's TV, it was okay. The new Cold Case season just started here. I liked it. Lily Rush has a beau!
I made myself some lunch...I had scrambled eggs for a change. Usually I do an omelette, but just didn't feel like one today. It was nice. I also had some of the gorgeous bread I bought at the bakery on Saturday. So yummy.
Fumihiko had sent me a message during the day, which is his way of apologizing without really apologizing. When he came home he did have the grace to apologize for yesterday though. Then I had to do another blooming printout for him. Luckily it didn't take long. When he'd gotten it, he went to the bedroom and went to sleep. He was out like a light. I napped on the couch for a bit, joined him on the bed for a while and then woke up around 8:30. I tried to wake him to go out, but he didn't wake up. I fell back asleep on the couch and woke up again just before 10 pm. I managed to wake him up this time and we went out for dinner.
We went to the new pasta restaurant near our apartment and had a nice meal. I had carbonara, he had ginger pork. There was one little problem though. The restaurant brought us two servings of the pork. We'd only ordered one. Sigh. They took it back. It looked good, but the carbonara was really filling.
We came home, and were a whole lot friendlier to each other. Fumihiko made coffee and we watched Medium. I thought he liked the program, but tonight he told me he didn't. However, he doesn't make stupid comments all through it like he does for regular detective shows, so I don't mind watching it with him around.
So, that was my day. Lots of sleep involved, so I didn't really do anything. Goodness. Tomorrow I'm back to work, so please wish me luck. Got to go. Night.
Muggy and rainy, clearing at night.
Not a great day really. But mostly my fault for that.
I went to bed late last night and slept okay. Fumihiko was up at his usual time and left, then I got up. It was only 8 am. Pretty unusual for me. I checked the news, there was some on, but my Chinese/Arabic/Korean is non-existant, so I ended up going back to bed. I did set my alarm, but overslept so got up very late.
I had a quiet day at home. The weather wasn't good, so I didn't go out. I watched my weekend's TV, it was okay. The new Cold Case season just started here. I liked it. Lily Rush has a beau!
I made myself some lunch...I had scrambled eggs for a change. Usually I do an omelette, but just didn't feel like one today. It was nice. I also had some of the gorgeous bread I bought at the bakery on Saturday. So yummy.
Fumihiko had sent me a message during the day, which is his way of apologizing without really apologizing. When he came home he did have the grace to apologize for yesterday though. Then I had to do another blooming printout for him. Luckily it didn't take long. When he'd gotten it, he went to the bedroom and went to sleep. He was out like a light. I napped on the couch for a bit, joined him on the bed for a while and then woke up around 8:30. I tried to wake him to go out, but he didn't wake up. I fell back asleep on the couch and woke up again just before 10 pm. I managed to wake him up this time and we went out for dinner.
We went to the new pasta restaurant near our apartment and had a nice meal. I had carbonara, he had ginger pork. There was one little problem though. The restaurant brought us two servings of the pork. We'd only ordered one. Sigh. They took it back. It looked good, but the carbonara was really filling.
We came home, and were a whole lot friendlier to each other. Fumihiko made coffee and we watched Medium. I thought he liked the program, but tonight he told me he didn't. However, he doesn't make stupid comments all through it like he does for regular detective shows, so I don't mind watching it with him around.
So, that was my day. Lots of sleep involved, so I didn't really do anything. Goodness. Tomorrow I'm back to work, so please wish me luck. Got to go. Night.
July 13, 2008 - Sunday
Hot and sunny.
Today was mostly okay. It's in the process of ending badly, but we won't talk about that will we?
This afternoon we went to the Grand El Sun for lunch. I had pasta today and it was very nice. I had zucchini and panchetta in a genovase sauce. There were toasted pine nuts in it too. I've never been a big fan, but they were okay today.
We did some shopping at Yamaya and then at the hardware store. I got something that I've thought about getting for a while. I picked up a shredder. It's more for home than for the school, but not completely. Sometimes I have papers that have way too much information on them to just put in the garbage, so I'm going to shred them first.
We didn't have much planned for today, so we went to karaoke after that. We stayed for a bit over 2 hours. It was fun, but not as much as it should have been. We didn't get the good sound system today. Oh well.
On what I thought was the way home, Fumihiko started driving out to the mall. I asked him where he was going but he didn't know. We didn't go to the mall thankfully, but we ended up going along the coast. There wasn't much point from my way of thinking because it was dark, and we couldn't see anything.
We had an okay dinner at Gusto. Neither of us was very hungry so it was a good place to go I think.
We came home and once again I had to do more printing for my husband. Honestly, I think if you don't know how to use a computer you shouldn't be allowed to operate one. I'm not perfect, but this thing of him getting me to do his printing is so annoying. Of course, it can never be done when I'm ready, it's got to be done RIGHT NOW and if it isn't done correctly THE WORLD WILL COME TO AN END.
At one point I tried to make a joke and was told to stop talking so I did.
Anyway, tomorrow I don't have a lot of plans. I'm probably going to go out if I have time. I have a few hours of TV that I've taped and I'd like to watch them. Things that I can't watch when my husband is around.
Talk to you tomorrow night. Got to go! Night.
Today was mostly okay. It's in the process of ending badly, but we won't talk about that will we?
This afternoon we went to the Grand El Sun for lunch. I had pasta today and it was very nice. I had zucchini and panchetta in a genovase sauce. There were toasted pine nuts in it too. I've never been a big fan, but they were okay today.
We did some shopping at Yamaya and then at the hardware store. I got something that I've thought about getting for a while. I picked up a shredder. It's more for home than for the school, but not completely. Sometimes I have papers that have way too much information on them to just put in the garbage, so I'm going to shred them first.
We didn't have much planned for today, so we went to karaoke after that. We stayed for a bit over 2 hours. It was fun, but not as much as it should have been. We didn't get the good sound system today. Oh well.
On what I thought was the way home, Fumihiko started driving out to the mall. I asked him where he was going but he didn't know. We didn't go to the mall thankfully, but we ended up going along the coast. There wasn't much point from my way of thinking because it was dark, and we couldn't see anything.
We had an okay dinner at Gusto. Neither of us was very hungry so it was a good place to go I think.
We came home and once again I had to do more printing for my husband. Honestly, I think if you don't know how to use a computer you shouldn't be allowed to operate one. I'm not perfect, but this thing of him getting me to do his printing is so annoying. Of course, it can never be done when I'm ready, it's got to be done RIGHT NOW and if it isn't done correctly THE WORLD WILL COME TO AN END.
At one point I tried to make a joke and was told to stop talking so I did.
Anyway, tomorrow I don't have a lot of plans. I'm probably going to go out if I have time. I have a few hours of TV that I've taped and I'd like to watch them. Things that I can't watch when my husband is around.
Talk to you tomorrow night. Got to go! Night.
July 12, 2008 - Saturday
Sunny and hot.
I had a good day today. Fumihiko was up and out early this morning, while I slept until my alarm went off. He went to his doctor and also to see his mother. It's the local Obon time, so she had a few errands for him to do. He came back in time to take me to breakfast. Yay. I also put him to work for me, after he dropped me off at the school.
I only had one class today, which went quite well. We both seemed to enjoy ourselves. Afterwards, I cleaned, set up for Tuesday and then called my husband.
Fumihiko picked me up and we decided to go for coffee. Then, we decided to try a different place. I didn't know if the place was a coffee shop or just a shop where we could buy coffee. Turns out, it was the latter. A man has opened a shop in Tsuruoka where he roasts coffee and sells it. We bought some today. We haven't tried it yet, but will soon. While he was roasting and grinding the coffee for us, we went to Mr. Donut for some cafe au lait.
Fumihiko dropped me off at home and went to run another errand for his mother. I hacked around on my computer. When he came back he wanted to go out for dinner and then over to the mall.
We had okonomiyaki again and it was good. The restaurant was a bit busy tonight, but not as much as the last time we went. We split our okonomiyakis...each of us had a different kind so we shared. It was nice.
We got to the mall quite a bit early tonight. We got our tickets right away, but took a bit of time to window shop in the stores. Didn't get anything though. When there were just a few minutes left, we went back to the theater and I got the drinks and popcorn.
Tonight we saw Speed Racer and I thought it was fun. It was not the most cerebral of films, but was a fairly decent family movie. Some parents might not like some of the scenes, but over all I thought Speed Racer was much better than it ought to be.
After the movie we came home and I made some tea. Around 1 I made Fumihiko watch Heroes with me. He still doesn't get it. Poor thing. It's fun though.
That was about it for my day. We have no plans for tomorrow. I'm not sure if Fumihiko will be needed by his mother or not. I don't mind as long as I get to see him too! Got to go. Night night!
I had a good day today. Fumihiko was up and out early this morning, while I slept until my alarm went off. He went to his doctor and also to see his mother. It's the local Obon time, so she had a few errands for him to do. He came back in time to take me to breakfast. Yay. I also put him to work for me, after he dropped me off at the school.
I only had one class today, which went quite well. We both seemed to enjoy ourselves. Afterwards, I cleaned, set up for Tuesday and then called my husband.
Fumihiko picked me up and we decided to go for coffee. Then, we decided to try a different place. I didn't know if the place was a coffee shop or just a shop where we could buy coffee. Turns out, it was the latter. A man has opened a shop in Tsuruoka where he roasts coffee and sells it. We bought some today. We haven't tried it yet, but will soon. While he was roasting and grinding the coffee for us, we went to Mr. Donut for some cafe au lait.
Fumihiko dropped me off at home and went to run another errand for his mother. I hacked around on my computer. When he came back he wanted to go out for dinner and then over to the mall.
We had okonomiyaki again and it was good. The restaurant was a bit busy tonight, but not as much as the last time we went. We split our okonomiyakis...each of us had a different kind so we shared. It was nice.
We got to the mall quite a bit early tonight. We got our tickets right away, but took a bit of time to window shop in the stores. Didn't get anything though. When there were just a few minutes left, we went back to the theater and I got the drinks and popcorn.
Tonight we saw Speed Racer and I thought it was fun. It was not the most cerebral of films, but was a fairly decent family movie. Some parents might not like some of the scenes, but over all I thought Speed Racer was much better than it ought to be.
After the movie we came home and I made some tea. Around 1 I made Fumihiko watch Heroes with me. He still doesn't get it. Poor thing. It's fun though.
That was about it for my day. We have no plans for tomorrow. I'm not sure if Fumihiko will be needed by his mother or not. I don't mind as long as I get to see him too! Got to go. Night night!
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