hanging out at the spa

Mom and I went to the spa today for a manicure and pedicure. It was nice and relaxing! The place mom goes to is really nice. They have special pedicure chairs with big foot baths at the bottom and the seats are leather massage chairs! It was heavenly. I just had a manicure and pedicure last week, but it was nice to get it done again!

I got my toes painted a bright coral colour. Last time I got a soft pink because I didn't want anything too bright. Then it seemed boring. So, now they jump out at you LOL. She did a really good job with my manicure too. I got french again, but I think it looks better than before. I also got a hand and foot massage with the manicure and pedicure so I was nice and relaxed.

Tonight I met up with my friend Jason for dinner and gabbing. It was nice to just gab about a whole bunch of topics... and relearn English. I find that I use an over-simplified vocabulary in Tokyo, so speaking with another intelligent adult (non-Tokyo resident because they have the same problem I do) helps me regain some of the English I have lost. Sad isn't it.

We went to East Side Marios for dinner and had a beer. Ahhh, Canadian beer! It tastes good :) Then we hung out at the student center at University of Waterloo and talked the evening away. He was also really nice and gave me cool presents. I of course didn't bring anyone presents so felt kinda stupid. Overall, it was a good visit though.

even more shopping

I slept in this morning until around noon. Then mom and I went over to the mall. We dropped in at the Bay and I bought two more t-shirts. Then we went to Addition-Elle as I was hoping they had the matching pants to my suit jacket in my size. They didn't have them though. So we walked around for a bit and I hit the book store to get some more magazines (Cosmo has sex secrets and naked men you know) and a book I wanted.

After that we went to Pennington's over in Cambridge. It is a really nice store and has a lot of nice clothing. Best of all, they had pants that fit me pretty well! The waist was not as big as it normally is and it was alterable - usually if I take in the waist the belt line above butt dips down to far. So mom got me two pairs of the pants and a cute pair of pyjamas as my birthday present. Thanks mom! She even sewed them up for me tonight.

Tonight, Lisa (my step-sister) and Kevin (her husband) came over for dinner. We had ribs, which were my birthday food request. They were super yum. Then mom and I went to the supermarket to buy some sauces and stuff I wanted and hit the DQ (Dairy Queen) on the way home. I haven't been to the DQ in ages. They have these absolutely ginormous sizes. I had a medium Blizzard and it was too much. They have an extra large sized one that is probably about a litre worth of ice cream! That's nuts! I mean DQ is good, but how can anyone eat that much?

visiting Grandpa

Today mom and I drove up to Owen Sound to visit my grandpa. It was a nice drive up. It was really sunny and I got a bit of sunburn just sitting in the car.

Grandpa isn't doing so well. It seems like he's had a stroke. He isn't very coordinate on his left side. Other than that he is still mentally alert though and doing ok. His new place at Hannah Walker is really nice. He has a bedroom and separate sitting room, so it is nicer than the usual retirement home.

He wanted to go to East Side Marios for lunch so we drove over there. He didn't want to have a beer but I convinced him to have a daquiri with me. It was so funny because he pretty much inhaled the thing. Guess he likes them! LOL I had to drink it slowly because I kept getting brain freeze!

After lunch we drove out to grandma's grave site and I put some flowers there. Then we went over to my grandma and grandpa's (dad's parents) graves at the other cemetary. We were driving around and around and around and couldn't find it. We finally stopped and I asked the gardeners if they could help me and one of them very nicely went into the office and pulled up the location on the computer. So we were able to find it in the end and I put some flowers there too. If there is some rain, the flowers might even last as both of them were hanging baskets.

Then we dropped grandpa back home and we drove back to Kitchener. We were back by early evening so I had the chance to do up my laundry and surf the net for a bit.

up to Kitchener

Dad and I left this morning at 6am. That is so early! There wasn't any traffic on the road though and we made good time up to Kitchener. We got to my mom's around 9 and she made breakfast for me. Then we sat around and gabbed until just before noon.

Mel had a doctor's appointment, so they dropped me off at teh mall in Cambridge. I got some more beauty things (that Dior in Windsor didn't have in stock), as well as a new watch for myself and one for Hirohsi, a new pair of shoes and some souvenirs for people. I even had time to relax for a bit in the food court and watch the ice skaters... yes, there is an ice rink there!

They picked me back up a few hours later and we went home for dinner. Mom even made shortcake with fresh strawberries for dessert. Now that is something I haven't had in years and years. Then we all piled in the car and went to the casino... only I lost all the money I had set aside to gamble with. No luck tonight!

quiet day

Today there was a big brunch, but I ended up hanging out in my room by myself because I was upset about some things and didn't want to ruin brunch for everyone. In the afternoon we all just hung out and watched television. It was actually pretty funny because Anderson's friend Alexis came over and out of all of us sitting on the couches, she was the only one who didn't fall asleep!

Dad is going up to Toronto tomorrow, so I'm going to catch a ride up to Kitchener with him. It will be nice to spend some time together.

Jen's wedding

Today started off with Jen and I going to get our hair and make-up done. I decided to get mine styled the same way as when they cut it the other day. Jen had hers up in rollers and was under the hair dryer (the "head cup") while I got my make-up done. Then they did my hair and her make-up. Then she came back to the hair station for the rollers to come out and to get her hair curled and flower-ized (I made that word up). Her hair actually looked really good just out of the rollers - it had a lot of body. It looked great all done up with the flowers too of course. The make-up seemed really dark for both of us. Neither of us wear make-up most of the time, so to have make-up dark enough for pictures is a big change!

Then we went home to put Jen's dress on and cover her tattoos with heavy make-up. We should have started the covering make-up earlier so it could dry and we could layer it on better. We were running low on time though! Getting Jen's dress on wasn't fun. It had to go over her head and she absolutely freaked that mom and I were messing up her hair. I think all of her stress from the past few days came out then. Man can she shreik! LOL But we did get the dress on and done up, her hair was fine and she looked beautiful.


By this time, the photographer had arrived so we all traipsed across the road to the river to take pictures by the fountain and among the flowers and stuff. It was so hot! Poor Jen had to just stand there and smile in that heavy dress! We had fun though joking about grabbing each others' butts.

After the pics we all drove to Essex. Jen was crammed into the front seat of the car - her crinoline (sp?) is huge! We went right into the sitting room in the changing room to relax and hide Jen from Mike's view. Soon it was time to go out and we all walked up outside and everything went smoothyly. The ceremony was short, but still made me teary eyed.

Then it was time for dinner, socializing and dancing. I lost it when I was giving my speech. Don't know why... just got choked up with emotion. It is all on videotape for eternity now too LOL. Anderson did a great job taking video at the wedding, so I'll be able to make up a good video for them later on.

I was able to chat with a bunch of people after dinner. I had a nice conversation with my grandma and grandpa (who I haven't seen in a really long time) and got to laugh at some people who got really drunk. By mid-evening my feet were absolutely killing though (I never wear heels!) so my shoes and jacket both came off for dancing.

All in all a beautiful wedding.

what did I do today?

I have no idea what I did today. I got a bit behind in the blog and didn't make notes for the last few days... so of course I have now forgotten what I did today. All I remember is that I picked up the fruit trays and cheese platter for brunch on Sunday. Other than that I think I just slept in and lazed around at home!

Beauty Day and Christmas Dinner

Today Jen and I went to get a manicure and pedicure done for the wedding. I also had a hair cut booked in. They did my nails while I was getting the highlights put in my hair. Talk about pampering!

I'm really happy with my cut. My hair looks awesome. Unfortunately, I highly doubt I will even be able to get it to look like this again! The cut is very glam - but it requires a lot of styling to get it to look like that. I don't do styling! I'm lazy in the morning. I did get a proper brush for styling in though, so maybe. I hope I am able to do it because I really like the style. And the highlights look quite natural, so I'm pleased with them too.

After our hair and nails we met up with mom and went to pick up our dresses. They all got piled into the back of the Jeep. In the parking garage at home, mine dropped out of the bag and onto the ground though! Thank heavens it didn't fall into an oil patch. I freaked out when I saw it falling.

Tonight was Christmas dinner because I wanted turkey. I haven't had it in four years! When we stepped off the elevator we could smell it cooking - it made the whole hallway smell. I wish I could bottle it! It smelled so good!

It tasted good too. We had the turkey, mashed potatos and gravy (mmm!), squash and pumpkin pie for dessert. I was in food heaven. I even snuck pieces of skin off the turkey when it was setting - those snuck bits are one of the best parts. I so wish I had an oven in Tokyo so I could make dinners like this.

more shopping

Mom and I went to the Bay today because they were supposed to have their Nygard clothing on sale for 50% off. When we got there it was only a few items in regular sized clothing though. Oh well. I wish they had plus stuff on sale too because I really like that line.

Instead we hung out at the Dior counter and spent oodles of money! I got some eye cream that prevents wrinkles. I figure since I am practically the only woman my age I know without the beginnings of crow feet showing, I should start taking better care of my skin. While I was there I ended up buying this moisturizer that makes my skin really radiant. It is awesome. I also got some more makeup and bought a lipstick for mom. She tried one on outside her normal colour group and was really unsure about it, so I got it for her cuz it looked nice.

Then we wandered over to Addition Elle and tried on lots of clothes there. I got a really nice jacket that has a different cut to it. I also picked up a summer blouse to match. And then that was the end of the shopping because I had spent too much money!

Oh, we had also dropped our rings off to be cleaned and shined at the mall with some guy mom knows. Holy cow! My rings look amazing! They are so shiny and sparkley! They look brand new. Actually, they look like totally different rings. Really happy I got that done!

A horseshoe up my...

So Jen (my sister) says I have a horseshoe up my ass because I always win at the casino. Well, I went today and won. Whehoo! That will pay for the airplane and the bridesmaid dress.

We went to pick up the dresses today and I just about had a heart attack when I went to pay the bill. Eighty bucks for alterations! And then another 80 bucks in tax on top of that! I sure hope I can wear this dress again sometime!

Tonight we hung out on the balcony and watched the sunset. It was really pretty. I can't believe how late it stays light here. In Tokyo, the sun is down around 7. At 10 it is still light out here! It's weird.

So feeling lucky and like I could win more, I went to the casino again tonight with dad. He won several hundred bucks and I just gave money back to them. I should know better. I need to go incognito all by myself. Otherwise I just throw money out the window!

shopping!

This morning I went for my matron of honour dress fitting. I was so worried that the hips would be too tight! Since the dress has a chiffon overlay, it would pull and look terrible if the hips were too tight. As it happened they had to take the dress in a bit! Obviously the waist had to come in (why is it that waists are always 6 inches too big on me?) but it was a pleasant surprise to have the hips taken in a bit as well. Let me tell you, that was a relief!

Overall, the dress is much better than I thought. I figured it would be more purple than it was... I was thinking that I'd look like a blueberry muffin! The colour was very pretty though. I didn't have my bra with me at the time so we had to go and quickly buy one so that they could do the fitting properly. We just zipped over to Walmart and got one. Then back to the dress shop for the fitting.

After getting the dress taken care of mom and I went to the outlet mall. I wanted to go to the Echo shoe store, but it closed. Oh well. Hopefully I'll find them elsewhere. We went to Addition-Elle while we were out there and I got some stuff. They had a great sale on! I also picked up a mortar and pestle for my co-worker who had asked me to pick one up for him.

Then, I dropped mom off at dad's car (she was driving it back home for him) and I was off to the mall to go to the Bay. They had amazing sales there! I got lots of t-shirts that are nice for summer. They'll replace all the crappy ones I just threw out! I also picked up some stuff at the Dior counter. And then I was shopped out!

Tonight dad cooked a good dinner. He made portobella mushrooms on spinach with feta cheese. Man they were good. We also had mussles and a beautiful fillet of salmon. Yum yum. After dinner of course, we all fell asleep watching tv!

dinner at Jen's

Today we all went to a barbeque at Jen's house. Mom and I picked up Anderson and then met dad at Jen's. We all sat around out back and enjoyed the sunshine. Mike cooked up steaks on the barbeque.

The steaks were absolutely amazing. Oh how I miss barbeque! I told Mike that he has to train Hiroshi when we move to Canada. I want barbeque every day!

Mom let me drive the jeep home. It was kinda funny because I drive like an old lady. I go just under the speed limit, stop before the line at stop signs (yes, not only do I not do a rolling stop, but I also actually stop the car on the line before inching forward!), give myself lots of time to make turns in case I misjudge the oncoming traffic. Feels weird to drive after three years!

Girl's night out

Mike was having his bachelor party tonight so Jen, her friend Nora, mom and I went out for dinner together. She didn't want to do anything much. We went to Mongolian grill. You put a bunch of stuff on your plate and they stir fry it all up together for you. Actually, the food wasn't so great, but I don't know if that was because my combination was bad, or because the food wasn't so good. We had a few drinks with dinner though and gabbed a lot, so that was nice.

After dinner mom, Jen and I came back home and we watched Hitch. Cute romantic comedy. Overall a pretty uneventful bachelorette party. It was really nice to go out for dinner though.

Off to Canada

I got everything all packed and everything done this morning. Phew! I even had a bit of time to relax before heading off to the airport. Then I got a cab pretty much right away, so was able to stand around for 10 minutes on the train platform waiting for the train. No stress!

So, you know you've been away from home a long time when you go to get money changed at the airport and they give you Canadian funds and you look at it and think "What the heck is that?". I didn't know that they had changed all the money in Canada! It looks funny LOL

I checked into the airport no problem. Wandered into duty free and picked up a face cleanser and a lip liner. Cheap there. Then off to the lounge. Varig was using Air France's lounge. It sucked. There was an unenclosed smoking area, no snacks and crap newspapers. Oh well. At least I was able to pick up some European newspapers for Hiroshi (he likes trying to read them).

The flight ended up being really good. Someone ended up sitting next to me, so I moved over onto an aisle seat in the center of the plane because the middle seat was free. More room for both of us then. And I didn't want to talk to the guy for the whole flight. They gave out little amenity kits that were nice. They have a scrumptious almond lip balm.

The food on the flight was awesome. The appetizer was asparagus wrapped in salmon, haddock and proscuitto (separately, not all together). I had the foie gras with beef tenderloin as my entre. It came with carrots and pumpkin. There was a nice fresh salad and hot rolls with lots of butter too. Dessert was strawberry mousse or cheese and fruit. Then they came around after dinner with chocolates. Oh, and this is the first flight I have ever been on where the wine was good! I had a very nice white.

The wine was just enough to put me to sleep for about five hours which was good. I woke up just before breakfast. Another yummy meal. There was a plate of sliced cheeses, ham and a piece of chicken loaf (which I didn't eat). There was also fresh bread and muffins (I had a delicious blueberry one), fresh fruit and a hot sandwich that they served which didn't sound all that great but was quite tasty.

We arrived in LA pretty much on time, but then had to sit on the tarmac waiting for a gate to open up for us. Let me off the plane! LOL Customs was absolutely nuts. I don't have a readable passport because I renewed mine at the embassy in Tokyo. Basically I got the lecture about getting a new one that is readable. I'm not paying a hundred bucks and then taking two days off week later on to change over my visas to stay in Japan. Too much hassle. I'll get it done next year.

I found the other terminal easily enough and had to stand in line for a bit to check in. They don't have a very good system there. After checking in, I had to stand in this huge line to get my baggage xrayed! Umm, shouldn't that be done before you check in? Very weird. I arrived at the counter to check in at around 2:30 - 1 hour before the earlier flight to Detroit. I asked if I could change to that flight but she said I wouldn't make it onto the plane, and that flying standby was not fun.

I was confused about the not making it onto the plane comment (1 hour before a domestic flight) until I saw the huge line to screen carry-on baggage. Wow. It was absolutely nuts. There were escalators leading up to that area and they had to block them off because people would get to the top and there was nowhere to go!

Of course, because of all the people, I missed the alleged signs that said to take your laptop out of your bag. This caused some trouble. In addition to that, I set off the beeper. It is so sensitive! I had to be patted down. I don't mind too much - I'd rather be secure. Getting the wand pressed up against your crotch in full public view isn't fun though. I think it was the clips on my bra that set the thing off too. Weird.

Then I had to deal with my bag. I had bought a tea set in Thailand for my parents and it was wall wrapped up in bubble packs. It looked like packs of drugs! She had to swab my entire bag down for residue (bomb or drugs I'm not sure) just because I had left my laptop inside it! Then I had to get the bag rescanned, and the laptop inspected and I was free to go. Phew!

The lounge for Northwest also sucked. I can't believe they don't have internet! That's bad. Then I boarded the plane and was disappointed. I was all excited about flying first class, and it was really cramped. Dinner was chicken south-west with salad and rice. It tasted pretty good, but what a difference from Varig! They did have a huge piece of chocolate cake for dessert though. I just had a bit of it. Despite the decline in seat space and quality of food, the flight attendant was very pleasant and nice.

That flight was uneventful and arrived on time. We were the only arrival in the airport, but we parked at the end of the terminal. There is usually a skytrain that operates to the baggage claim area - but not that late at night. So we all had to walk 3 skytrain stops. How weird is that? No one is in the terminal, and there were no other planes, why not let us park right up close?? Oh well.

Dad came in to meet me just as the baggage was coming off and I was home!

I still need to pack!

More time at the office tonight. I'm almost ready to leave in terms of work stuff being taken care of. In terms of packing... well, I haven't started yet! Yikes! Luckily I don't have to leave for the airport until the afternoon.

Last minute panic issues: non-readable passport and insurance. First, my insurance doesn't cover me in the States and I'm not sure if I can get coverage before I go. I'm only going to actually be in the US for about 30 minutes, but you never know right? I'll have a day in the States when I come back to Japan too, so will have to call them tomorrow.

The other worry is my non-readable passport. I have no idea what the rules are for enterring the US, but according to the government websites, non-readable passport holders need a visa! I hope this is not true for Canadians, otherwise I am screwed. Northwest's site says non-readable passports are ok until June 26. So I think I'm ok. Of course, I'll worry anyway. When I come back through on the way home, I might need one though.

Trying to get everything done

Was at the office until almost midnight tonight. Trying to get all my paperwork and other things done before I leave on Friday. There is so much to do! At least I got all my paperwork in for the month, so I'll be paid - although, with so few hours, it won't be much LOL.

It is raining and crappy out today. I think rainy season is here. All the hydrangeas are blooming. They're pretty. I wouldn't mind rainy season so much if it weren't for sideways rain. I'm not really sure what the point of bringing an umbrella with you is - the rain comes at you from all directions, so you end up being soaked anyway! At least I will be able to skip most of it and enjoy the (hopefully) sunny weather in Canada!

Narita Express Ticket

I checked the internet the other day for the train schedule to the airport. Unfortunately, it looked like there weren't any trains from Shinagawa in the afternoon. Shinagawa is my closest station - I can also get it from Tokyo, but it is such a hassle to drag a suitcase, carry-on etc on the busy Yamanote line. Usually I can just grab a cab from my house to Shinagawa station (walking 10 minutes with a heavy suitcase is not worth it - the 660 yen taxi is money well spent for me) and then jump on the train to the airport. So I wasn't looking forward to having to lug everything up to Tokyo station.

Anyway, I went to the ticket office tonight to get my ticket, and there are trains in the afternoon from Shinagawa! Whehoo! That makes life so much easier! I just have to enter the station, which has several escalators and elevators because it is also a shinkansen (bullet train) stop (many stations only have stairs which are no fun when you have a 70 lb suitcase).

So life is good and I am starting to get excited about coming home. Now if only I didn't have so much to work to do before I leave!!

Tribute for Dr. Henry Morgentaler Petition

University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario wants to give an honourary degree to Dr. Morgentaler. Some anti-choice groups in (rumoured to be American-based) are petitioning against giving him the degree. If you think Dr. Morgentaler did wonderful things for progressing women's reproductive rights, you may wish to sign this petition in support of granting him the degree.

Still in bed

Hmm, why am I so tired. Slept until 2 today, which is pretty much usual for a Sunday. Considering I've slept for the past two days though... guess I was tired! Seeing as I slept all day I have absolutely nothing interesting to write about!

Another day in bed

I had a class this morning and I still wasn't feeling well. This student regularly cancels, so I prayed and prayed that the phone would ring and that I could go back to bed. Fate was with me, because she did phone (and not at the last minute as she normally does!) so I could go and hide under the covers. I had to cancel my Japanese lesson as well, but I am hoping that I can reschedule that sometime next week.

Anyway, I spent the whole day in bed. Hiroshi's friend Yosuke came over and I hung out in the bedroom while they drank and gabbed in the kitchen. Such an inconsiderate host ;) Basically I've been sleeping with short periods (30 minutes) of being awake since yesterday morning. And I'm still tired! I guess the good thing about sleeping and having an upset stomach is I can't eat... so I'm "dieting". LOL

One week to Canada!

Is it really only a week away? I have so much to do! I had big plans to do a lot of that this afternoon; however, I spent most of the day in bed. Coming down with something. I taught one class this morning, and was back home and in bed by 10:30. I've slept the whole day long.

Cool Biz

This summer, government offices are going to set the thermostat to 28C - yes, 28C! This means that everyone can get rid of their suit and tie. Only problem? Japanese men don't know how to dress if you take away their blue or grey suit uniform.

This has resulted in several CEOs from companies in Japan giving fashion shows and tips on how to dress professionally but cooly during the summer. This should be very interesting to see. The blue uniform is engrained in Japanese society. Will people actually change?

I haven't seen any "Cool Biz" (the Japanese catch phrase) attire on the trains. Maybe it isn't hot enough yet. Somehow, I suspect that everyone will just suffer in their normal suit attire... thus making the rest of us suffer from the smell of excess BO.

Do I really have that many clothes??

Tonight I decided it was time to go thru my closet with a vengence and get rid of everything old and too small. I have kept one drawer of "lose weight" clothes. Everything else was put in a pile in the middle of the floor. Well, the pile, I kid you not, came up to my waist. Where did I put all those clothes??

Now I have a bit more space in my drawers and a lot more space in my closet. My next task is to clean out the top closet (where the futons go) and put away the heater etc. That will be for Friday though I think. I have to go to the gym now. I'm all tuckered out from lugging all that stuff down to the garbage room though!

250GB of harddrive goodness

I bought another harddrive today. After figuring out the salesman was trying to scam me out of 10,000 yen, I ended up buying a brand new 250GB drive. He was trying to get me to buy the Firewire 800 compatible one. Seeing as my iBook only supports Firewire 400, it really doesn't make any sense for me to pay 50% more for a harddrive with a speed I can't even get.

So, I'm in the process of doing a full back up of my harddrive. I no longer have space issues, so life is good. I'll also have plenty of room to manipulate the video from Jen's wedding (I'm going to do her wedding video as a gift).

Now I just need to while away the time while I back up 80GB of data. Needless to say it is going slowly. I'm at about 20GB I think after about an hour of backing up. This might take a while!

Eek! Taxes!

I got my municipal tax bill in the mail today, and all I can say is "Yikes!". Holy bat bill. I knew I made a lot of money last year, but come on. I didn't make twice as much, and yet my tax bill doubled. Clearly I need to do some research on the free programs and discounts my ward (city area) offers, because I should be taking advantage of them! Perhaps I should research at what point the tax rate doubles too - and make sure I don't go over that much income this year!

Swimming and cooking

Today was pretty uneventful. I went swimming and cooked some stuff to eat tomorrow so I don't eat junk. Hiroshi picked me up a new battery for my video camera - those things are expensive! I haven't used the camera in years, and the battery I have is dead. The Li-ion batteries supposedly only last a couple years. I do have a backup battery that still works, but I suspect the charge will die off soon. So, might as well get one now. I would have thought they'd have come down in price since I bought my camera 4 or 5 years ago though! They are still 10,000 yen a piece. Geesh.

Another day at the office

I had to go into the office today. So much for only working every other Saturday. It seems like I always have something to do even though I don't have an actual class.

I did meet up with Cal though who is back from NY. We went out to Saizeriya (the stand by) for dinner because neither of us could come up with an alternative. They took pistachio ice cream off the menu. Darn! Actually, I suppose that is good because I love pistachio ice cream. No ice cream means I'm not tempted by dessert.

Travel Board Meet Up

Tonight I met up with Leif, one of the people who posts on the travel board I read (Boots N All). We met in Shibuya because I figured it is an interesting place to see at night - and conveniently I was working there until 7:30ish. I actually finished work around 5:30 though due to a cancellation, so just hung out for a while.

I wandered over to Hachiko (dog statue) to meet Leif at the appointed time, and he had actually been in Shibuya for several hours walking around. He was actually pretty easy to spot, so that was good. As he had been there for a while, he had had a chance to see most of the area. I wanted to go to this nice bar that has Japanese style design but it was packed unfortunately. We went and wandered around for a bit more because the guy at the restaurant indicated there might be space available in an hour or so though.

While we were wandering around it started raining. Luckily we were near Don Quiote so I picked up another umbrella to add to my collection. At least it was only 300 yen instead of 1000. We had grabbed a drink before to have 'on the go' - Don Quiote has cheap everything! Love the open alcohol laws in Japan. Unfortunately, the bar I wanted to go to was still packed when we went back. (And what is up with the whacky rain? I think rainy season has come early - yuck).

So it was off to my local yaki-tori restaurant (grilled chicken) as a back-up plan. The owner was in fine form as usual - yelling and joking. I haven't been there for a while but everyone waved when I came in and shouted hello. For some reason we got pork stomach for free - I like the chicken meat comps better LOL. The stomach was ok though. A bit chewy. (They serve other things than just chicken). Then Leif had to rush back to the other side of the city because the place where he is staying has a curfew. Luckily someone was still there to let him in when he arrived a few minutes late.

So it was nice to finally meet someone from BNA. Erik doesn't count because I knew him from his blog rather than the BNA boards. And neither of us is a muderous lunatic, so that was good too ;)

Was I Imagining It?

So yesterday's earthquakes have not shown up on the earthquake site. Was I imagining them? Maybe it was Godzilla. The news here reported them as earthquakes though. How odd.

Anyway, apparently they were centered in Tokyo Bay so Tokyo just received a big jolt instead of a wave because we were close to the epicenter. Too close for the wave effect to be felt.

Three weird earthquakes

Tonight there were three very odd earthquakes. All of a sudden there was this big jolt and everything shifted. That was it. It was like someone jumped and made everything shake. Never felt anything like that before - and there were three of them (7:20, 7:40 and 10:00). I actually haven't felt any earthquakes in a while, so getting those three are good. Get rid of the pressure :)