So I made it back. No arrest, no accident, and our car is officially legal for the next two years. Still, what a stressful morning!
The on-base Vehicle Registration Office is incredibly helpful. Yesterday they gave me a good map and directions to the Yokohama office, and a breakdown of the fees I'd have to pay in yen cash. However, I misread the note and thought I'd need about six thousand yen. Missed a one there, though, and I actually needed thirteen thousand, plus tolls. So once I finally found the right offices, parked the car, got an inspection, navigated the bureaucracy, and got the new registration, I had about four hundred yen to my name.
That's about four dollars. Imagine finding yourself about ninety minutes from home with four dollars in your wallet, at lunchtime. Credit cards don't work, ATMs don't accept your card - ANNOYING! I counted out the coins for the tolls I'd face, and then used my 400 yen to buy a bottle of water and a couple onigiri to tide me over. And then I drove home and passed out for about an hour and a half.
This early retirement is making me soft, people. I still managed to have a coffee with Nadine this afternoon, which was lovely, play some borrowed Wii Fit (thanks Kelsey!) and make some zucchini strand spaghetti from, where else, Smitten Kitchen for dinner. And now I'm off to bed again, to prepare for another trying day of leisure.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Pro-crastinator!
That's right: I have broken out of the amateurs and am now a PROcrastinator. And because of that, tomorrow morning I have to skip yoga and drive to Yokohama to re-register the QE2.
Why do I do this? I found out in April that my registration would expire June 27th, but then life happened, dee dee dee, and I was busy eating pepperoni and throwing parties and getting heavier, so I let it go. I was actually even proud of myself for planning to go TODAY, that's one whole day early, until I realized I needed a base inspection and new insurance before I could get the new sticker. So two days lost, and I just hope it all goes well tomorrow.
If you don't hear from me for a couple days, don't worry. I'm probably just putting off calling Josh for bail money.
Why do I do this? I found out in April that my registration would expire June 27th, but then life happened, dee dee dee, and I was busy eating pepperoni and throwing parties and getting heavier, so I let it go. I was actually even proud of myself for planning to go TODAY, that's one whole day early, until I realized I needed a base inspection and new insurance before I could get the new sticker. So two days lost, and I just hope it all goes well tomorrow.
If you don't hear from me for a couple days, don't worry. I'm probably just putting off calling Josh for bail money.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
A couple updates
Y'all, it's been a crazy month. There was a pepperoni obsession (and the ensuing weight gain), there was nudity , gardening , a sleepover, and karaoke, even! And putting all those links in here is really annoying, so I'm going to stop.
Still, despite my best efforts to update this puppy, a few things have slipped through the cracks. Let's rectify that, shall we? Take the pepperoni: did I mention I made amazingly delicious pizza out of the last few dozen slices? Well I did, and boy. Did anyone tell me how good pepperoni pizza was during my unfortunate sabbatical from omnivoritude? Cause I don't think they did.
Of course I made a veggie pizza too, for my husband, who keeps checking my fingerprints to make sure I'm his real wife and not some meat-eating replacement.
A little later in the month, I made my first drive to and from Narita airport, as I mentioned, to send my knitting student Wendy and her family back off to the U.S. of A. What I didn't mention was that before she left, Wendy completed her first knitted garment! After several months of working together on lace, cables, and washcloth after washcloth, we bested most of the big hits of beginner knitting. Here she is with the inaugural Gomez Garment!
I miss my girl already! Oh, and when I returned the rental car I left my water bottle in it, and the rental company can't find it. Me and water bottles are like, uh, Klingons and Romulans. (That part was Josh's contribution).
So that's what you've missed in June. Can you believe it's almost July 2009? I can't. I'll be spending most of July on the old Left Coast of the U.S., visiting my sister Melanie and Josh's parents, so there will be significantly less dried octopus on this little corner of the Internets.
Still, despite my best efforts to update this puppy, a few things have slipped through the cracks. Let's rectify that, shall we? Take the pepperoni: did I mention I made amazingly delicious pizza out of the last few dozen slices? Well I did, and boy. Did anyone tell me how good pepperoni pizza was during my unfortunate sabbatical from omnivoritude? Cause I don't think they did.
Of course I made a veggie pizza too, for my husband, who keeps checking my fingerprints to make sure I'm his real wife and not some meat-eating replacement.A little later in the month, I made my first drive to and from Narita airport, as I mentioned, to send my knitting student Wendy and her family back off to the U.S. of A. What I didn't mention was that before she left, Wendy completed her first knitted garment! After several months of working together on lace, cables, and washcloth after washcloth, we bested most of the big hits of beginner knitting. Here she is with the inaugural Gomez Garment!
I miss my girl already! Oh, and when I returned the rental car I left my water bottle in it, and the rental company can't find it. Me and water bottles are like, uh, Klingons and Romulans. (That part was Josh's contribution).So that's what you've missed in June. Can you believe it's almost July 2009? I can't. I'll be spending most of July on the old Left Coast of the U.S., visiting my sister Melanie and Josh's parents, so there will be significantly less dried octopus on this little corner of the Internets.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Size
What's up with weight? I really don't understand it. I've been hovering at a particular weight - and I don't want to say what it is, so I'm going to call it 530lbs - since I started serious business travel around 2007. Traveling a lot meant no yoga, lots of french fries, and lots of fancy, buttery dinners out with donors on the corporate AmEx. So I put on a bit, which was fine, but my current early retirement was supposed to take that weight back off.
And it did! A few months of eating better, walking more, and regular yoga classes saw me back around my college weight - call that 520lbs. It was great! My thin pants fit perfectly again, and I felt great.
Then, inexplicably, I went back to 530. Last month, with no major changes in eating or exercise, I put those ten pounds right back on. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, people?
So now I'm trying to cut back on the ice cream, and add some light weightlifting and cardio in between weekly yoga classes. (I know, I know. I'd do more yoga if there was another class at my level that didn't happen at night, but I just can't exercise at dinner time.) We'll see how it works - I'm tired of my fat pants! Any suggestions?
And it did! A few months of eating better, walking more, and regular yoga classes saw me back around my college weight - call that 520lbs. It was great! My thin pants fit perfectly again, and I felt great.
Then, inexplicably, I went back to 530. Last month, with no major changes in eating or exercise, I put those ten pounds right back on. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, people?
So now I'm trying to cut back on the ice cream, and add some light weightlifting and cardio in between weekly yoga classes. (I know, I know. I'd do more yoga if there was another class at my level that didn't happen at night, but I just can't exercise at dinner time.) We'll see how it works - I'm tired of my fat pants! Any suggestions?
Saturday, June 20, 2009
No Freebird!
There are lots of things that are not better in Japan. Speed limits, lane widths, multiple alphabets, and french fries come immediately to mind. I won't mention the DUI rules (one sip!) or the utter unavailability of whole grains. But I am prepared to say with full-voiced enthusiasm, that karaoke is better in Japan.
And the sky is blue. I mean, you just knew it had to rock here, didn't you? But even after ten months in my host nation, I hadn't been out for karaoke. The language barrier is intimidating, and it's tough to plan evening activities with friends with toddlers, and when I mention karaoke to my husband, I get this face:
Click the picture to zoom in, and see that ferbissenah punim.
Still, thanks to the lovely excuse of Beth's birthday and the Ivy's impending return to the Texas motherland, a bunch of us got together for dinner and singin. Dinner was lovely, and we had Nadine, John, and Justine for that portion of the evening. Juju was in rare form - speaking of a punim! She had us all grinning for hours.
She gets cuter every day. She still has to go to bed at a decent hour though, so the Wylie/Theriault clan left us early and the rest of us - Beth and Alex, Andi and Chris, Josh and I - headed to Gogo Karaoke on Blue Street.
We headed in and confirmed the rumors that ice cream and coffee - and, randomly, cotton candy - were free with the karaoke. I navigated the broken English/terrible Japanese dance with the front desk staff, who explained that we could go to room six downstairs.
Room six?
Room six. We went downstairs to a small, private room with a flat panel TV, two mics, tambourines, and an electronic song-choice remote. There was a phone on the wall for ordering drinks and food from the menu, and comfortable couches all around. Our own private room with food service AND free ice cream...heaven. It took us probably ten minutes to figure out how to choose songs, and then we were off! What a great time. Alex and Chris stole the show, including Alex's rendition of "When a Man Loves a Woman" punctuated by passionate bites of chocolate ice cream:
and Chris and Alex's duet of "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling."
Swoon!
We even got Josh to sing along once or twice. Around nine fifteen we had to say goodnight so the parents could relieve the babysitter, and Josh and I headed home. But not before I bought a member card to Gogo Karaoke - I will most definitely be back.
*Thanks to Beth for the first three photos!
And the sky is blue. I mean, you just knew it had to rock here, didn't you? But even after ten months in my host nation, I hadn't been out for karaoke. The language barrier is intimidating, and it's tough to plan evening activities with friends with toddlers, and when I mention karaoke to my husband, I get this face:
Click the picture to zoom in, and see that ferbissenah punim.Still, thanks to the lovely excuse of Beth's birthday and the Ivy's impending return to the Texas motherland, a bunch of us got together for dinner and singin. Dinner was lovely, and we had Nadine, John, and Justine for that portion of the evening. Juju was in rare form - speaking of a punim! She had us all grinning for hours.
She gets cuter every day. She still has to go to bed at a decent hour though, so the Wylie/Theriault clan left us early and the rest of us - Beth and Alex, Andi and Chris, Josh and I - headed to Gogo Karaoke on Blue Street.We headed in and confirmed the rumors that ice cream and coffee - and, randomly, cotton candy - were free with the karaoke. I navigated the broken English/terrible Japanese dance with the front desk staff, who explained that we could go to room six downstairs.
Room six?
Room six. We went downstairs to a small, private room with a flat panel TV, two mics, tambourines, and an electronic song-choice remote. There was a phone on the wall for ordering drinks and food from the menu, and comfortable couches all around. Our own private room with food service AND free ice cream...heaven. It took us probably ten minutes to figure out how to choose songs, and then we were off! What a great time. Alex and Chris stole the show, including Alex's rendition of "When a Man Loves a Woman" punctuated by passionate bites of chocolate ice cream:
and Chris and Alex's duet of "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling."Swoon!
We even got Josh to sing along once or twice. Around nine fifteen we had to say goodnight so the parents could relieve the babysitter, and Josh and I headed home. But not before I bought a member card to Gogo Karaoke - I will most definitely be back.
*Thanks to Beth for the first three photos!
Thursday, June 18, 2009
We call that "Tuesday"
Kelsey took me to lunch today for ramen, which was only mildly successful. You can read more about it at her blog, from which I snagged this photo:
...which she snapped while we were at a stoplight. It's a children's clothing store, folks, but if Daddy's on Daddy in the Boomy Roomy, methinks the kids should've spent the night at Grandma's.
...which she snapped while we were at a stoplight. It's a children's clothing store, folks, but if Daddy's on Daddy in the Boomy Roomy, methinks the kids should've spent the night at Grandma's.
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