Just finished an incredibly busy week. That's right, finished. Tomorrow (Friday) is a national holiday. Next week is full of them too, so I'm fortunately off to enjoy a week train trip up north with Tom and a tent. On the way here though, I feel like I've turned into Jello.

In an effort to de-chunk,?I joined the gym in my neighborhood this week. I joined for the beautiful pool, but am really excited about the yoga and kickboxing classes too. I need some spice in my work-out life to mix with my running.

On top of that, this week has been extra-tiring at school. Monday and Tuesday mornings we took our toddler (pre-pre schoolers) to the park again. Yesterday was Mommy and Me class- but we're up to 13 pairs of Mom/child from 4 at one point. It felt like a real circus. And then today. Today was the worst morning EVER to land at this little (albeit new) school. We had 12 kids for the first time in a long time... half were crying most of the time. The noise of the criers (3 were separated from their moms for the first time ever) wigged out the others. Normally only slightly obnoxious thumb-biter Yuuki not only hit me in the forehead with a green truck, but followed that (and a promise to be good) by head butting me full in the face. I almost cried it hurt so bad (have you ever been hit by a basketball in the nose? This was the same only with more like a bowling ball). I am developing a purple spot just above my lip. Nice! Who thought you could be abused by a 3 year old?! Almost simultaneously, a different kid hit his buddy in the head with a wooden hammer, and yet another kid caught a ball with his nose and bled all over the floor. It was crazy.

So I am exhausted and in sore need of my vacation. Timing is much appreciated. TGIF everyone!

I'm sorry I've been so quiet... I've been busy enjoying Spring! The Hanami (Flower viewing) photos are finally online. For those of you who didn't notice, Kyoto photos also went up a while ago. I hope you enjoy them.

The cherry blossoms here in Tokyo really made up for not seeing them in Kyoto- I can honesly say they were breath-taking. Awe-inspiring. Everything they are cracked up to be. I had been waiting most specifically for the cherry trees along the river near my place to open. The river hasn't been as charming since the leaves all dissappeared last fall. They were worth the wait though, every morning I would pedal my bike as slowly as possible- both to look down the river at the trees and to avoid hitting any of the other people trying to capture the scene on their cellphones. Over the weekend, I managed to do Hanami (lit. Flower watching) all three days: Friday we ran through several parks on our group hash run, then I spent Saturday afternoon volunteering with the Food Bank along the banks of the Sumida River in Asakusa, and then Tom and I spent an hour or so in Ueno Park with positively everyone else in Tokyo on Sunday. At that point, we had overdosed and were ready to run from the throngs of flower watchers that were packed so tightly park officials felt it neccesary to announce warnings over the loudspeakers ("please don't stop to take pictures without walking over to the side of the path- It's Dangerous!"). But for a bit, I felt like I was living in a snow-globe filled with pink flower petals instead of snow. Of course, it was short-lived... it took only about a week to go from open to fluffy to scruffy. Now they are just an ugly mix of old pink and new green.

All that spring-y-ness inspired me to do spring cleaning this weekend. I had all the doors (ok The Door) and windows (ahem... The-One-Window) open... and swept, scrubbed, and dusted till my arms were sore. I stuffed my winter clothing & skis into the back of the closet and pulled out my guitar instead. My theory is that if its in view perhaps I'll actually get around to playing it one of these days. Who knows. I'm very thankful my apartment is so tiny during such projects.

After all the cleaning how was I rewarded? I found a cockroach in my bathroom late last night and have been in a panic since. Gross!! After a night of tossing, turning and dreams of roaches, I headed straight to the store to pick up some spray and poison dispensers. I've strategically spread them throughout my kitchen and bathroom. Any advice on how to never ever see one again would be much appreciated... this place is way too small to share!

Mother Earth was my alarm clock this morning: CNN.com - Strong quake?rocks Tokyo - Apr 10, 2005. It's always more than a little startling to be jarred awake by a bouncing apartment... the sound of my windows rattling together really gets my heart pounding. This morning's quake was apparently only a 3 on the Japanese scale (which only goes up to 7, as opposed to the Richter scale that goes up to 10), but the epicenter was very near- close to Narita Airport. I'm guessing it had to have been a strong 3- closer to 4. Needless to say, I was up and out of my futon very quickly. The quake was long enough for me to get to my veranda and stand there in my pajamas until things stopped moving. As soon as I turned the TV on (again, from my veranda) and was assured everyone was still (more or less) standing... I managed to go back to sleep for another half hour. ;) !

There was another quake this afternoon while we were at school. Since they keep telling us there's going to be a big one anytime... each little shiver triggers a bit of panic. I'm glad we're still in one peice!!

We in Tokyo are enjoying the final moments of the annual pink explosion, aka cherry blossom season. Its been my first time to experience it in Tokyo- and despite the massive crowds, I've got to admit the trees were breathtaking. I apologize for getting behind on my blog, but in the next day or so I promise you both Kyoto and cherry blossom pictures!  

These guys got a unique view of the cherry blossoms on my river this morning... kayaking right through the fallen petals! Nice.