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!