this may be a bit random, but I really love the way Japanese somen noodles just melt into your pot the instant they touch boiling water. Much more user-friendly then the standard spagetti noodle mess that occurs while trying to fit the uncooked stiff ends into the pot without burning fingers or wrists! I suppose I should be using a bigger pot... 

So I guess I have photos now... still a bit confusing to use, but FREE!! Nothing else is free in Japan, so I will take what I can get.

(Ok... more confusing than I thought. Anyone else out there using "Hello" that can give me pointers on posting non-photo blog entries? Just checking...)

Yes, Japan is expensive. In fact, according to the Economist from a couple of weeks back, Tokyo is now the most expensive city in the world. I can't remember which city was number two: it was either Paris or New York. Anyone who finds it online gets a ....mmm... wink! ;) I'm really feeling the pinch this week- rent and assorted bills are all due and that would usually be enough to stress me out. On top of that, one of my good friends is getting married in Osaka next month. It will be my very first authentic Japanese wedding so I'm really excited. I'm not as excited about the Japanese tradition that you give cash (boring!) and lots of it (almost $300) for a wedding gift. As a double (and triple) whammy, I will be taking the shinkansen there which costs about $120, spending the night in the hotel (who knows, but probably another $100), attending an "after party" party (just got the invite-$65ish for women/$70ish for guys... must be all you can eat), then still have to get home. I had originally planned to spend Saturday night in Osaka then shinkansen back to Tokyo on Sunday... but after my mental calculator started smoking, I have gotten more creative. I'm taking an overnight bus Saturday night for a third of the shinkansen fare and then also saving myself the second night of hotel fare. Whew! That's a lot of yen, and I'm not even a bridesmaid! :( (I will be doing a speech though... it seems the tradition continues...hehehe). I can't wait to post the pictures, it should be a terrific weekend.

On top of THAT... the school out in Misato just last week finally asked me to pay for my trip with the 3rd grade to Kyoto- over $400 for 3 days/2 nights by BUS, sharing a room with 10 women?!! It's much cheaper than the $700 they first quoted me (*after* I'd already agreed to go, of course), so I grudgingly paid that one this afternoon.

And finally, I would like to take another online course- probably Macroeconomics since I took Micro this spring and ought to do the full set. At least that is what my MBA boyfriend is telling me (and you too, D!). That's another $500 roughly- before buying textbooks.

I shouldn't complain though, I've got it good here even if I'm broke. I am really enjoying my apartment though I had a moment this weekend when pacing would have really helped my mental state- and that is unfortunately not too possible in my two tiny rooms. I got 28- yes *28* new CDs from my little brother in the mail this weekend for my birthday. That practically doubles the size and depth of my music collection!

Volunteering is going well- looks like I may get to help Second Harvest (Tokyo) start a focused food-rescue program- which is the area I worked with in Chicago. I don't have a lot of experience with an actual program (since I was at the national office) but I have tons of energy to make up for it. More later...

And (sigh), being a travel agent is sort of growing on me. "Sort of" because I'm pretty much forcing myself to make the best of it because its easier than finding something else. Does that mean I'm selling out? I don't know. Here's the situation- the people I work with are great. I'm not teaching English anymore. I am getting a reasonable paycheck (though I'd love more... who wouldn't!?), and my weekends off. I speak Japanese all day long and am *learning* more every day- a first in a long time, actually. I call some pretty crazy places- today it was all over China and London. Friday I was calling New London, CT and Barcelona, Spain. I also call airline offices in Tokyo- which means I have to speak my very best Japanese to people who don't know me... and understand what they're telling me- over the phone. Its really tricky but incredible experience for me, linguistically. It has already made a difference in my confidence regarding my Japanese- and that's regardless of what the person on the other side of the phone thought of my speaking!

The two things I don't like about my job are 1) that once I become a non-temp employee in November there is a HIGH probability that I will have to work one Saturday every three and more disheartening- will have to start working the awful hours everyone else does. My co-workers regularly stay until 10pm or later (we start before 9am) without taking a break for lunch. I just don't think I am capable of working that long. 2) I cannot figure out how to make it meaningful to me. My wise father keeps telling me this is a non-requirement for Work. Just a paycheck, just a paycheck... I keep trying to learn the mantra... but so far I still cringe as I rack up the hours spent for a cause as silly as helping rich men fly to London from Tokyo for no less than $8000.

This is me, for those who have forgotten. Actually, this is an old photo-but I'm trying some new software... (><) 

I am still alive. Just caught up in and exhausted by creating my new Tokyo day to day. Parts of what I've got so far:
1) My job. I'm busy at work and have gotten to the point where I need to put up or shut up.. aka decide to go whole hog and embrace the position and everything that comes with it or find a new job. I enjoy it most of the time but my co-workers work crazy hours (10:00-11:00 pm with no stop for lunch) and I'm not sure if I can hack that. This week as part of my responsibilities I called the Grand Hyatt in Muscat, Oman (look at a map!), the Taj Mahal Hotel in Bombay, faxed the Savoy in London, made reservations at The Peninsulas both in New York and Hong Kong, and learned how to make invoices. ;) Those were just the things that made me stop and go... hm, that's interesting!

2) Second Harvest. I went and helped out at the food bank again today. We served ravioli covered in curry (apparently the traditional serving of ravioli with tomato sauce got complaints... ), with sides of lots of bread and crystal light packets to the tent city at Ueno Park this afternoon. Then we headed back to the warehouse and tackled addressing envelopes and data entry in preparation for the fundraising gala in a month. They are WAY behind schedule and totally dependent on volunteers (no paid staff), so though it didn't feel like we made much of a dent... every little bit counts.

3) Hashing. This one I don't know that I can explain. I've sort of joined Tom's running group, the Tokyo Ladies Hash House Harriers. They are a self-described "drinking club with a running problem", part of the worldwide network of Hash House Harriers (search- you'll probably find one in your town too!) Anyway- the basic idea is that every Wednesday night we meet at a different train station from which someone (on a rotating basis) sets a trail in chalk. No one but the person who sets the trail knows where its going to go- so the fun is running around through downtown Tokyo looking for chalked arrows. Sometimes these arrows lead to a deadend so then we need to look for the right ones, etc. Its really quite fun. AND- the hash runs (which have nothing to do with marijuana), are always followed by dinner and lots of beer (which kind of defeats the whole purpose of running but is really great after running around in 90 degree Tokyo heat!). Once you have run with the group (or any hash group) for a while, you get a "hash name" which all seem to be on the crude side... but whatever. You can bet I won't be sharing mine here when I get it. ;)

4) Tom- still having a blast living within 30 minutes of "want to watch a movie?".

5) Everything else- running on the river near here, going to church in English, grocery shopping at the 100 yen store, (still) figuring out the train/subway. Last weekend we explored the fall Matisse art exhibit at the National Museum of Western Art.

And now that I've been enjoying it for over a month... I'm getting out! Well, not for long, but if the weather stays dry Tom and I are going to celebrate the official start of fall (a national holiday on Monday here in Japan) by climbing Mt. Kumatori. Its name means "Cloud catcher" or something like that, so I'm doubtful there will be much of a view, but I'm looking forward to streching my legs and seeing some green.

Enjoy the weekend!!

Yes, I felt the earthquake tonight... No, it wasn't a biggie. It was actually a big deal down south in my first Japanese home- Wakayama. Up here in Tokyo we just felt like we were sitting on a wobbly peice of Jello. Felt like I was jet-lagged or something. I'm a bit paranoid now though- that's the third earthquake I've experienced in the month that I've been in Tokyo! I felt none the entire 2 years I was out in Nagano. And my building is officially OLD because I am REALLY feeling them. Yikes! There's also a volcano blowing up down south and this weekend is the second in a row that has been wiped out by a typhoon. Last weekend's was big enough to make CNN headlines for those of you who pay attention... I was on the other side of Japan (from the typhoon) and still got blown over by the wind. Scary stuff! I'm just glad it wasn't a garbage day. That would have been messy.

Here's something else that's scary: My apartment number is 501. Tom's apartment number is 501. AND I work in office room #501! I never have to think about what button to push on the elevator...

And happy September to you all! I am really quite pleased to have made it through this summer unscathed by the stress and insanity of moving. My job gets better every day, and I still love my neighborhood, apartment and boyfriend- so I'm a happy chick. (besides the aforementioned natural disasters). I even bought a kitchen table! Its really tiny and won't be delivered for another week, but it will get me off the floor... ;) (except when I go to sleep).

I had a quiet but good weekend- the highlight was volunteering for Food Bank Japan which brought back loads of Chicago memories... It was an interesting experience. About 20 of us passed out donated bread, cereal, fruit, soup, and juice to people in Ueno Park. We served about 360 individuals who were allowed to come back through for seconds- so by the end we had served over 800 servings. Almost all were to men, there were only 4 or so women... got me thinking of the sociology research I could do by talking with Food Bank clients in Tokyo versus Chicago. (note to self...)

Enjoy the rest of your weekends!