Wandering Through Wonderland

There's No Place Like Home: II

2008-02-27T14:00:00.009+09:00

Okay, let's get started...

The first time this many of us have been in the same place in quite some time. No doors were ripped off any hinges, so we are making some real progress.

The first of two trips up to Michigan Paradise, Robinson Lake. Thank you Theresa for letting us stay at your place!!!

Z and I supervising the dock fixing. Drinking on job strongly advised.

Celebrating a successful day of doing nothing. I love you guys so much!

The day we left, Frankie took us to shooting. I had never shot before, so this was literally a dream come true. Frank, you rock!

For the record, the target with no holes on it is NOT mine (ahem, Lacy)

Now for those dive bars I promised. Seriously, Oshkosh never looked so good. I've heard it said that you can never go back, but I don't know. It sure felt like the good ole days to me.

Aw, kissies from Trishie. Congratulations on being the only Tritt cousin to make an appearance in my blog. The Bloom Crew really is running this show...there are sort of camera hogs I guess.

There's No Place Like Home: I

2008-01-12T10:23:00.000+09:00

You know, I really hate flying. I also hate crying babies. You know what I hate most? Flying, crying babies. I am brilliantly poetic. Anyway, so I did make it back to the States. Thank you Baldwin Street for the best Welcome Home party in the history of time. As you can see, I am writing this almost six months later - but I still remember that night as one of the happiest in my life. Some people might think that's sad - but I am oh-so-lucky. Andrew, Martha, Dad, Lois, Lacy, Melissa, Dale, the ex-Baldwin roomies - you guys rock. FedEx me some guacamole.

So after a short attempted recuperation in Madison, it was back to Winneconne. Due to my secret intense passion for waitressing, it was pretty important that I check out where my baby sis was serving burgers:

With the help of the fabulous service provided by Martha and her bff Karie, Winneconne patrons can enjoy their lunch in between bouts of target practice. That's Wisco, yo.

After spending some time in Milwaukee, Andrew and I hauled half the Bloom Crew with us to MadTown.

Me and my three favorite guys on the planet.

Stay tuned for fixing docks, dive bars, and funny faces. I promise a thrilling ride.

Notes Before Returning to One's Homeland

2007-11-12T18:35:00.000+09:00

Things to do before you get on the plane:

1.) Eat some lamb.

2.) Find someone to cuddle with your kitty at night.

3.) Find someone to play with aforementioned cat during waking hours.

4.) Learn some earthquake preparation methods for when you return.

5.) Take a rest. You've had a long day.

Hey, I'm comin' home!

Narita - Where All Your Dreams Come True.

2007-11-12T10:44:00.000+09:00

So, let's make this quick. I'm way behind. End of May I found a cat. I did some stuff that I don't remember. Then I hung out with these two awesome chicks that I know before heading back to the States. Enjoy.

This is Kumo. I found him on the train tracks. And that's 蜘蛛, not 雲. I don't care who you are - stop trying to argue with me about this.

Surprise! There's a matsuri in your back yard!

Hey, we're cute. We should like, do something...or something.

Rose and Celine - you've seen them before. They are pretty fine.

Alli: Is my apron straight?
Rose: Come hither.
Celine: Let me show you guys this AWESOME place, just down the street.

Yes, this is exactly what I had in mind.

Girl, you're crazy.

Totally.

Yeah, that was our night out in Narita, where Celine lives. I don't if you remember the Nabe Party, but that was in Rose's area. You know what that means...I'm next. Stay tuned for that...

Wait, what's that? You want another matsuri? Hang on, let me see what I can do...

Hey, I think I found something...

SWEET!

Hakone Can Be Hell

2007-09-12T16:53:00.000+09:00

You wouldn't think so, right? "Looks all right to me!" you're thinking - not bad for a paid business conference! But you know what they say about some of the best-laid plans...(btw, still May here).

Here's my temporary roomie and I. I don't know - she like, peed on herself or something. Actually, it may have been someone else's pee. Either way, I'm not one to hold that sort of thing against a sister.

And there's the rest of the crew. We've got one Panda Superstar, a self-proclaimed Midwestern Playboy, fellow Witte A 2000 alum, Random Dude Who's Only Significantly Annoying, and a man put on this earth to infuriate me by the mere thought of his breath (and the fact that he tried to order me into oncoming traffic). I'll let you figure out who's who.

Here are some boats. We road the pirate ship on the left. That's what most people do on teaching conferences, cruise on pirate ships, right? There were a lot of children on the boat, and we all know how I feel about that crap.

Ah, and here we have the carpet outside my room. Classy joint, eh?

Okay, so you're probably thinking that didn't look so bad. You pretty much couldn't be more wrong. The weather was craptastic, our "fearless" "leader" had/has questionable sanity, and I think the inn we were at gave me TB. P and I are lucky we survived. Word.

Monet in May

2007-09-08T15:29:00.000+09:00

I'm baaaaaaaaack...and I brought beer!

Yeah, this picture was taken a long time ago...like late April. I'm working on getting caught up. This is at a cafe in Shimokitazawa.

Okay, so I suppose the next "interesting" thing I did was go check out Tokyo Midtown in Roppongi. Here I am getting ready to go say hello to the Monet exhibit:

Hi Monet!

Pictures from Midtown....

And pictures of...ya know, whatever...

Okaaay, I guess that is it for now...I'm trying to get caught up with this thing. Which, by the way, does anyone read?? If not, that's cool. It's just an online photo album for myself anyway. But if you DO, leave a freaking comment or I might just start actually printing OFF my pictures. Well...maybe...

PS: I know my format is totally whack. I'm too lazy to care.

Quad Century and Still Goin' Strong

2007-07-17T01:32:00.000+09:00

Okay, so my camera sort of crapped out on me during my birthday celebration, agreeing to function at several key moments though not consistently throughout the night. I know some other people took pics, so hopefully I can update the past couple posts at a later date.

The day started out with shopping, and I bought an apron that you will see eventually. But not now. I have to keep my reader (me) coming back for something. Anywho, I met some friends for dinner at Loco's Table Mahana in Ginza.

And here we all are...I think I'm somewhere in there...

Celine and Tatsuto

Michael and I

Rose and I are hot.

Abbey and Andrew lookin' fine.

Celine and Abbey. I think they are getting drunk and talking about France...though I can't be sure. I was quite red in the face by this point, if I recall correctly (scroll up).

Okay, so then we went to this bar where all of the drinks were 300円, but you couldn't sit down. Whatever, that's cool. This is one of the many points at which my camera took a time-out, but I did manage to get a picture of Keiko and I just in time:

And that's good, because we are very cute.

After that we headed to Harlem in Shibuya. No cameras allowed! Although I did manage to get a shot of this girl passed out at the coin lockers just outside the club. Words cannot express how happy it makes me that she had the foresight to pass out beneath a magazine entitled, "Get Up!" Indeed she should have, because she was definitely in my way.

So that puts us at about 5:30 am or so I'm guessing. You'd think it would be time to call it a night (or day), but you'd be wrong. What it is time for, is sushi.

So off to Tsukiji we went...

That the market is closed on Sunday is neither here nor there. Who doesn't want a plate of raw fish after a night of drinking? That's what I thought!!

And so ends the celebration of me making it to a quarter of a century. Thanks to all of those who made my first birthday in Japan more special and memorable than I could've possibly hoped for. Also, thanks to those who remembered despite the distance that separates us. I love all of you.

The World of Golden Eggs

2007-07-15T12:30:00.000+09:00

Click that picture. Seriously, just shut up and do it.

April, Comin' Atcha!

2007-07-12T15:21:00.000+09:00

Okay, so the most exciting part of April was getting to see Abbey and Andrew! It had been well over a year since we hit 'em up style in NYC (and uh, since my last haircut). Here they are, checking out the local pachinko parlor. This was also my first experience actually INSIDE a pachinko parlor as well. It was very loud.

Welcome to Japan, guys!

Okay, so on to my birthday. The lovely ladies of the English Speaking Society through me a very nice little celebration, which included baked cheesecake, croissants, and best of all, helicopter candles.

Damn, I got caught giving the peace sign. What a dork I am.

So there you have my little cake. To your right you will see my birthday sign. That is Ms. Maruta, another English teacher in the picture with me. She is interesting...I'll leave it at that.

So yeah, I wasn't joking when I said I hadn't had a haircut since I saw Abbey in New York. So after some delicious sushi and free teacups, she cleaned me up a bit. The best bday present I could've asked for. I LOVE YOU ABBEY!

On Friday I met the dynamic duo in Shibuya, where we had some drinks...

...and hit up some karaoke! Woohoo! So I now present to you, the many faces of Gaijin Karaoke

I just called to say I love you, Stevie!

Now, I would have put up way more pictures of me looking like a freak as well, except that they are NOT ON MY CAMERA...*hint hint...are you guys out there?*

So the next night was my big night birthday celebration. I will have to keep you waiting on that for a bit. One love, ya'll...

One last thing: I find this article interesting.

Passin' the Time

2007-05-23T23:16:00.000+09:00

So there are a lot of things one can do to ease the pain of a wife's departure. One could choose to drink themselves into a bloody stupor, for example. Perhaps rent a slew of Will Ferrell movies and refuse to get out of bed for a couple of weeks. Me? I chose to take some pictures and go to the zoo. I am so PG-rated!

Okay, so first we have the sakura. I didn't get to "hanami" it up, but these babies still lit up my life, I gotta admit.

The weekend after Lacy left, I finally made it to the Ueno Zoo. It was a ton 'o fun. However, I gotta say - that panda is totally over-rated. You can't even take pictures of the lazy beast!

麒麟

亀

犀

　象　

野牛

河馬

猿

And since this is my blog, here's me taking my pictures:

Okaaaaay, sorry if I have bored ya'll. Coming up we've got the dynamic duo coming straight to you (or rather me) from Brooklyn - Abbey and Andrew! - as well as my birthday...and you KNOW that'll be exciting.

For now, I'm out. Still lovin' and missin' all of you, as per usual.

AnLDT: The Climactic Conclusion

2007-04-30T17:22:00.000+09:00

So I didn't take many pictures in Harajuku, which is where we headed on Tuesday. However, I think the one instance that I did get my camera out was totally worth it, don't you?

On Wednesday, in honor of Lacy's last night, we had sushi right around the corner from my house. This is the master himself. He has dreams that he is smoking cigarettes while making nigiri, and he is my hero. Also, his wife gave me, Abby, and Andrew free tea cups on my birthday. But I'm getting WAY ahead of myself.

Me, Lacy, and Keiko after enjoying some delicious sushi...

Can you believe it's time for her to go home already? BOO! Oh well, all good things must come to an end, right? I love ya Lacers, the best wife a girl could ask for! I had so much fun with you, and Japan and I miss you already!

AnLDT: Deux

2007-04-12T19:01:00.000+09:00

Ya'll ready for this?

Okay, so after terrorizing Asakusa and Ueno, and a quick costume-change, we made it out to Shibuya for dinner with Yuko (left), Irina, and Dori (right).

Then it was off to Shin-kiba to meet Rose at Ageha. The wind off the bay can be a real b!tch.

Here we have some free-stylin'(?) dude, us all holding up the line for the ladies' room, and finally the sunrise over Tokyo Bay. Aside from a lot of dancing, I think that sums up the night all right.

Aside from, of course, the aftermath. The train ride home may have just been the most entertaining part of the whole evening. We didn't even get lost, which is impressive by my personal standards. You won't see us again for a couple of days. Recovery, like the wind off the bay, is a pain in the arse. Peace out, loves.

A and L Do Tokyo: Part One Yo!

2007-04-12T01:09:00.000+09:00

I've been saying I would wait until Lacy got her pics developed so as to avoid wasting her flavor...but the lovely lady is taking a bit longer than planned, and I get impatient.

First things first: Scare the hell out of unsuspecting high school girls, followed by a surprisingly not-repulsive student-made lunch of spaghetti. They Daily Yomuiri crossword puzzle just wasn't as exciting after she left...I stopped doing it.

Come Saturday we were off to terrorize Asakusa. Our efforts were thwarted by a young mother and daughter duo, otherwise known as my host-mother and sister.

After some good ole fashion touristy touring, we had lunch and then headed to Ueno, where Lacy found a new boyfriend (see fishman below), and we wandered aimlessly through the streets. We finally ended up at a coffee shop that served a delicious banana juice and where Maiko seemed to develop a nervous twitch. All in all it was a good afternoon. In the end Lacy won them over, and they may actually like her better than me now. Dammit, there go my home-cooked meals.

Lacy, if you are reading this, fishman and his fish miss you very, very much.

If you thought you were getting the full trip all in one evening - well, you obviously don't know me as well as you think. Until next time, it's nothin' but love...

Some stuff I did...

2007-04-01T20:41:00.000+09:00

Sooo, let's see...On the 10th of March I trekked out into the deep, fertile Chiba countryside for all-you-can-drink. It was worth it. Here are some people that I know...

And let's see if we rewind a bit further, these next pics are from when I went out to the country-side to stay with my pal Rose, pictured above (the bigger picture). I guess that was back at the end of January...

We ate some delicious food...

And then sang some karaoke. Well actually, I did a lot of laughing as other people sang karaoke. Still worth the money though, definitely.

And now go WAY back to like, November or December...I just like this picture. Rose, Celine, and I out for ladies' night.

The next installment will involve a lot of animals, for those of you who are into that sort of thing. I will post my pics from Lacy's trip once she has a chance to get her pictures developed. I don't want to waste my wife's flavor or anything. So until next time, xo to all...

Taiwan - Day 6

2007-03-25T12:59:00.000+09:00

Holy crap, am I actually going to finish updating this trip? I think so! We didn't have all that much time before flying out, but we did hit up the National Palace Museum - most famously known for the jade cabbage and the meat-shaped stone...I don't really get it either.

No pictures inside of the museum, so some from outside will have to do.

view of the gate from the balcony of the museum

view of the museum from infront of the gate

view of men in suits (and Taipei) from the museum entrance

view of a poster with English written backwards - I think you might have to click on the image to make it bigger to tell

swans in the garden - we had to leave quickly as they were starting to make me nervous

hungry fishies that I did not pay a dollar to feed

Me! Good bye Taiwan! You were fun! If you zoom in you can see how excited I am to go to work the next day...seriously.

The trip really was great, and I have a few more pictures from my life that will hopefully go up within the next 2 months. If anyone still bothers to look at this blog, please check back periodically! Love and miss everyone...allison

Taiwan - Day 5

2007-03-25T12:16:00.000+09:00

Where's Day 4, you ask? Spent passed out on a bus to Hualien. So yeah, there was a bus, checking in at the hostel, wandering aimlessly, dinner, sleep. Real exciting. So anyway...

All of Day 5 was spent at Taroko Gorge. It was absolutely awesome. I am just going to throw all of the pictures up with minimal commentary, as most of them don't require any explaination except "here is a rock," or, "here is a cliff," and frankly, I don't have time for that. However, before we get started, you should be warned:

Now that you have been appropriately cautioned, it is time to go convince someone to rent you a car without a valid international driver's license. This really won't be all that difficult.

See!

Now for a ton of scenic pictures. At the visitor's center they recommend you bring a flashlight. Well, at that point it was a bit late as they don't SELL them. This made for quite the thrill, let me tell you.

To anyone who has crticized my driving in the past, screw off. I managed to navigate this without dieing, so I can't be all that bad...

Sidenote: definitely trespassing at this point.

Sidenote: definitely feeling like I am about to plummet to my death at this point.

In all seriousness, pictures cannot do this place justice. Plus there is so much to explore, so many trails - we probably only covered a quarter of the park. Definitely my favorite part of the trip. Anyway, so after all that it was time to hop back on a bus to Taipei. This was our last full day in Taiwan.

Taiwan - Day 3

2007-03-25T11:44:00.000+09:00

Haha, betcha thought I'd forgotten. No, I am just super lazy. It's cool. Well, now that my trip is what, 2.5 months past - let's try to finish up. Or at least make some progress to that end.

So, here is some art outside of the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall. It is a TV Christmas tree. Terrific.

That's the memorial hall, and of course, your beautiful tour guide (me).

This is the rather fabulous view from the top of the hall of some concert hall and a museum (I believe). We didn't go there, but they looked nice...

These guys will kick your butt if you do anything questionable. It's quite an elaborate changing of the guards.

So after that we wandered to an art museum and a history museum - no pictures as they were not allowed. After that we had dinner at the toilet restaurant.

Yummmmmm...

If I recall correctly, the evening ended with some drinking and socializing with the weirdos at our hostel. It was quite enjoyable.

Taiwan - Day 2

2007-01-10T19:56:00.000+09:00

With no real agenda, the most practical thing to do seemed to be to simply head towards the giant building on the horizon. So that was the, what I thought, easy plan.

However, after really irritating the ladies at the coffee shop, aforementioned giant inescapable building disappeared. (Note: That is my travel companion. It is quite commendable of me that he made it through the trip. JUST KIDDING...sort of...in that way where I am not kidding at all...)

But after a decent amount of wandering the city, we made it!

Taipei 101 is the tallest building in the world with, appropriately, 101 floors.
I don't think you can get to the top without selling your first-born child to the Taiwanese or something, but for a mere 300 NT$ you can go to the 91st floor - and you can go in the fastest elevator in the world.

...almost to the top(ish)...

Thou shall not surpass the 91st floor.

I am such a dork...

Everything looks really small from up here.

Shall we go have an intense and slightly nauseating look outside?

Yes, let's! Now I am very high up in the air.

But please beware!

Hmm, what's this? Just use the easy-to-read diagram, and you can figure out how it prevents the entire building from collapsing due to the fact that the building is not far from a major fault line.

On your way out, feel free to browse the merchandise, and so some shopping:

This building looked interesting from above, so I decided to check it out.

Welcome to the National Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall!

Please enjoy the gardens.

That night I headed down to the Shilin Night Market, which is a pretty big attraction. The food was great, but other than that it was sort of "Winneconne Carnival meets Sovereign State Days meets Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory on crack". But you know, that is pretty impressive.

That was the end of Day 2. In closing, I give you an excellent way to hold up traffic:

Whew! I am exhausted after all of that, and it's only the second day! A professional blogger I am not. If you love me enough to read all of this, that you will love me inspite of that fact. Good night, and until next time - miss you all!

Taiwan Day (Night) 1

2007-01-10T18:24:00.000+09:00

(I am going to do this in separate posts, just to make my own life easier. If you have a problem with that, please shut up :). )

For those of you that didn't know, I spent part of my self-proclaimed winter holiday in Taiwan. I had so much fun! I spent the first three-ish days in Taipei, then took a train to Hualien on the fourth day, and spent most of the fifth day at Taroko National Park before heading back to Taipei that night to fly out on day six. If you would like to retrace my steps geographically:
Keep your eyes on the top right corner. The font is a bit small.

So like any trip, I started out at the nearest international airport, which in this case is in Narita.
The folks at Narita International Airport had some encouraging advice as I prepared to embark on my journey:Unfortunately I couldn't find any peaple to communicate with. Such is life.

I flew China Airlines for the first time, because apparently I have a death wish....

Cheap tickets will make a girl do rash things. Luckily for myself, this is not the last image you were to see of me.

No, instead arrived safe and sound somewhere in Taipei. It was very late...so I went to bed. So ends an uneventful Day 1.

Merry Christmas Happy New Year Bon Voyage

2007-01-04T10:48:00.000+09:00

My how long it has been! My apologies to those (one) of you that I promised I would update before 2007. Things simply did not work out that way. I hope everyone had a great holiday season. I survived my first away from home with no permanent scarring. I spent Christmas day at work, but the weekend before with the Furuyamas. Also, Shiomi was in the city for a night, so I got to see her too. In a few hours I will be leaving for a week, so I am just going to throw these pictures up and hope for the best...or something.

My Christmas tree...well, not MINE, but the closest thing I got to one. Unless you count the night light that I got from my grandma, which upon second thought, I do. So this is the Furuyama Christmas tree.

Christmas feast...mmmm, beef...
Maiko and Reo getting their first fix of Wii, although certainly not their last.

The first Kispy Kreme in Japan opened in Shinjuku a few weeks ago. All I would have had to do is wait in line for a mere four hours and I too could have enjoyed some delicious donut treats. My camera couldn't capture all of the line, which wrapped around the building and across a bridge...but you get the idea.
Shiomi and I in Shibuya
To those of you who wanted pictures of Tokyo "as seen on TV", I give you the following...Shibuya

Shibuya
Shibuya
Christmas lights in Shinjuku
...and more Christmas lights in Shinjuku.

Okay, now it is time for Happy 2007!
Tokyo Tower

people on New Year's...
Woohoo! Happy New Year's!!!

And to close this all out I give you the most hideous rack of shoes I have ever seen in my life.

Okay, I am off to Taiwan. Love and miss you all!

From Youth Camp to Crazy Halloween Madness: a week in my life

2006-11-08T21:04:00.000+09:00

So the last week of October was pretty hectic for me. I'll just recap the things that may be of interest to anyone. I spent three days in Omigawa at a youth camp, teaching first-year students from Narita International High School. I was a bit pessemistic about it, but it turned out to be a really good time.

The view from my smoking area...why am I always the only smoker?

my students

All of the ALTs. Yes, I realize that I am the only one looking at MY camera. This is because I am so cool.

After I got back from that, there were some Halloween festivities going on at my friend Eri's place in Ebisu. Please enjoy the festivities. I enjoyed them so much (and was also a bit exhausted from the youth camp extravaganza) that I never made it out to the clubs. However, I did get to use the only pillow in the house. That's one of the benefits of passing out early.Let me apologize for the cleavage. I know this is supposed to be G-rated, so if there are any kiddies in the house, they should have covered their eyes.

And this is my host grandma wearing my Halloween costume. She totally looks better in it than I did. For those of you who hung out with me last year, yes, I was a spiderweb again.

Wow, I am really behind on this thing...

2006-10-30T19:20:00.000+09:00

Okay, I guess I'll have to dedicate this one to my father for passing on to me a remarkable power for procrastination. Haha, actually I love him too, so that's another reason. So I can't fully update you, because I think it might cause some of your computers to have heart attacks. I'll post the pictures from the youth camp and Halloween at a later date. Other than those two events, here is some of what I have been up to in October...
So yeah, I went to this with Yuko and Eri...it was cool. Lot's of good food.
The Furuyama's took me camping the first weekend in October. This is Maiko and her friend Ayaka torturing dragon flies. They are not Buddhists (the kids that is, no one thought to ask the flies)

Sun starting to set at the campsite...

The family heading down to the shore of Tokyo Bay

I met up with some of my friends for dinner in honor of Friday the 13th. Well, not really. It was simply a coincidence.
That's Eri, Yuko, and way too much frozen margarita for four girls.
A blurry John and Eri on the streets of Ginza.

So then Maiko and Reo had their sports festival on the 22nd I think it was.

Maiko and her friends...

Cheerleaders cheering...

Reo having some very deep thoughts...
This event is crazy. The kids who are riding the other three have either red or white tags on their foreheads (there are two teams). The kids on top try to grab someone else's tag before they get their own stolen. It is mass chaos.

The girl on the left is Maiko about to face off with some punk.
I didn't get any pictures from the end of the battle, but it was rough. However, in the end Maiko took that chick OUT. If I am ever in a rumble, I want her by my side, because she is totally badass.

On Monday the 24th, we made holiday wreaths with the English club. This was totally thrilling, for everyone involved. Busy work rules.
Actually, now that I look at this, Trevor seems really pumped about his wreath. I should ask him where he decided to display it at home...

And then the next day we carved pumpkins and had a birthday party - all in one day! I know, sounds exhausting, right? The girl with the birthday cake, well, it was her birthday. Everyone else helped carve the pumpkin. I got out of it by being the photographer. I am sneaky...

Okay, that's it for now... thanks to everyone who cares enough to look at my random pictures!

Shinagawa Aquarium

2006-10-12T20:03:00.000+09:00

This post is dedicated to Lacy and Dale, because without them my morning cup of coffee would be painfully dull. I must also dedicate it to FEJM (even though he doesn't read this) and JRBAN, because I took pictures for them at the aqarium. Heck let's throw Andrew and Martha in their too, as I also dedicate a couple of pictures to them.

This picture is for Jared. I was thinking you might want to start a project with the fish...HAHA, damn I'm funny.
This one is for FEJM. I was thinking maybe you were that fish. ZING, I am on fire tonight!
Here are Maiko and Yoshiharu, eagerly awaiting the start of the dophin show. Yoshiharu is at the edge of his seat, as you all can see.
This fish is really lazy. I think he is also very crabby, perhaps because he seems too fat to move.
This picture is dedicated to Dale and Lacy, because this is what we would look like hanging out if we were crabs. I am the one dancing in the background, and Lacy is the one trying to do a sommersault. Dale is pretending he doesn't know us.
This is another fish that doesn't move. In fact, I think it might have been dead.

This is what my bathroom floor looks like before I clean it. Also, that thing was really freakin' big.

These are of me, my stand-in siblings, and a lot of fish. They (the siblings, not the fish) are a lot like Andrew and Martha if they were to do a lot speed maybe, only a bit shorter and more Asian than I am used to. For those reasons, these pictures are dedicated to Bro and Sis (the real ones). I miss you guys.

My domicile

2006-10-11T20:48:00.000+09:00

This post is dedicated to the one, only, and always fabulous Constance Bloom. I am sorry if my apartment looks like a pig sty. After much shooting, cleaning, and shooting again I have come to the conclusion that my apartment is simply not photogenic. On that note...

Here we are entering my apartment, which lets you stare straight into the tatami room. This will be further explained later. For now, this is just what you see when you walk in the door.

Directly to your right you would find my washing machine, bathroom, and shower room:

So about that tatami room. Technically it's like a living room that you can't wear your shoes in. However, in my world it means, "my closet," as you can see...

Next we have the kitchen, which doubles as my "study." It looks cluttered. That's because it is. At least there is food in it.

Last but not least we have my bedroom, also known as, "the place where I sleep." It looks messy. It is.

And that's my pad. It's all connected - the bedroom has two doors, one into the tatami room and one into the kitchen. The tatami room also has a door into the kitchen. My apartment has a lot of doors.

So that's that! Welcome to my humble abode.

Dancing Queens

2006-09-21T21:53:00.000+09:00

Okay, here are some pictures of the dancing girls, as well as a few (rather low-quality, my apologies) videos.

I can't figure out how to get the youtube screen on my blog, or if it is even possible - anyone who knows more about this stuff than me should feel obligated to help. Until then use the links below. I would recommend maximizing the screen if you want to actually see anything. (Note to Grandma, dad, etc: If you click on the link a video will start to load. In the bottom right corner of the video screen - not the browser window - there will be two small squares. Click on the one furthest to the right.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDr0-PYoulI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z450-eXh-CM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaUW4a7gmAc

School Festival

2006-09-17T12:31:00.000+09:00

So the school festival was on Friday, the 15th and Saturday, the 16th. On Friday it was just the teachers and students, and on Saturday the general public was invited to attend. Aside from some incredibly lude (and poorly pronounced) comments by several alumni boys, I had a blast. Students and teachers kept asking me about the American equivalent to such an event, and I had to repeatedly tell them that we have none. Sad, but true. I don't think you could get American high school students to put forth so much effort for such an event. I was blown away by how hard everyone worked, and how much fun I had.

Every homeroom and many club activities set something up for the festival. This first set of photos are some of the homeroom activities.

This is one of the third-year homerooms. I think their theme was Hawaii, or something along those lines. They sold beef stew for lunch. I dined with my vice principal on the first day.

This is another third-year class that sold "dango" (I think that's what it was called). It's a traditional Japanese food - made out of rice I think? They are served on skewers and came with either sesame or soy sauce. The picture is of their cherry blossom tree they made, and the woman in the picture is my vice principal.

These are some of the first-year girls that I teach at their flea market.

I think this is a third-year class too, selling icecream. There are a lot of students to keep track of, and a lot of them don't actually use their own homerooms, which makes things quite confusing.

My English Club girls after Friday's scavenger hunt - that was our festival activity.

Two of my second-year students after participating in the English Club scavenger hunt.

Decorations for one of the third-year class's haunted house. I screamed the entire time.

Trevor (the other ALT) and I with the tea ceremony girls.

Some members of the music club, rockin' out. Yes, that is a towel around his head.

Some second-year students bobbing for water balloon yoyos.

Okay, that's what I have from the festival, aside from the Dance Club pictures which still need to be put on my computer. I will take care of that later today.

A Little Update

2006-08-28T20:07:00.000+09:00

So I didn't so much go take pictures around the city. After a looooong weekend, I pretty much slept/stumbled through the tail end of it and beginning of the week. However, I do have a few things, and a promise to Grandma Connie is a promise to Grandma Connie - I can't go letting the old bat down just because I'm thousands of miles away, now can I? I really wish I could show you pictures of my apartment, but I don't want you all thinking I live in my own filth, so I'll have to clean up my filth before the photo shoot. Let's aim for next week, shall we?

Okay, on with the (brief, and perhaps a bit boring) show.

This is the view from my bedroom window - nice if you like houses. Just kidding, it's actually a very cute neighborhood. Now if I could just get the baby next door to quit crying 24/7...

This is the road leading up to my school. I like that the school is in the middle of a forest, it's such a pleasant bike ride to work in the morning. Let's not think of what's to become of me when winter rolls around, okay?

Here's my school! There are about 950 students, 70 teachers, and 10 or so office ladies - I feel like I've met them all in the past two weeks. Obviously not, but that is a lot of faces to try to remember. Don't worry, I've give up already. I will be making a speech (in Japanese) in front of the whole crew come Friday. Here's to hoping I don't sound like an idiot. Don't worry, I won't.

This is where I spend a lot of my time - the English room. The desk on the right, behind the couch, is mine. Mostly I just read the newspaper, or my book, or talk to this cool English teacher about jazz music, or stare at the wall. No seriously, I do some work...sometimes.

This is food. My vice principal took me out for lunch on Friday. That's crab on the top there, as for the rest I really have no clue. She tried to explain it to me (in Japanese) but in all honesty, at that point I didn't really want to know.

Here is a picture of Brett Favre, up on the wall of some skeezy club in Tokyo. Why was I there? Don't ask...

Okay, so maybe that wasn't so short. Anywho, until next time...xoxo to you all!

Adventures at Mt. Fuji and Lake Saiko

2006-08-23T21:30:00.000+09:00

So on August 19th I went camping with the Furuyama family. I stayed with them for a few days the last time I was in Japan, and we've kept in touch over the past three years. The family consists of Yoshihar, the father; Megumi, the mother, Reo(9), the boy; and Maiko(10), the girl.

I had so much fun with them! On Saturday we drove up to the 5th Station, which is as far up the mountain as you can drive. After that it's a 6-9 hour hike to the peak. Not such a good idea with the kiddies, so we just hung out at the station. It was gorgeous up there! After that we hiked through one of the many caves created by a Fuji explosion. Embarrassingly enough, I was not aware that the volcanoe was still active. Luckily I'm far enough away where I would only be covered in volcanic ash, but with plenty of time to escape the sliding lava should it reach my area.

After that we checked into our cabin and made dinner. Then we walked down to the general area to light off some sparklers. That night Yoshiharu and I sat and talked on the porch. He dreams of the day he will move out of the city and have his own garden, so Dad is going to take some pictures of the garden for him. Also, they were amazed that Grandma and Grandpa Tritt have elk on their farm. They are excited to see pictures of that too. Maiko and Reo asked if I would bring them to the farm if they ever came to Wisconsin - they love the idea of a "real American farmhouse."

On Sunday after breakfast we went into town to pick blueberries. You just go into the garden and you have forty minutes to pick and eat what you can. It was great! Then we went to an alleged "bat cave," though I didn't see any signs of any bats. However, you have to admit that those are some pretty cool hats, right? Afterwards we just hung out down by the lake until it was time to go down to the bus station. We had dinner in town and then I caught a ride back to Tokyo Station. The others stayed at the lake another day, but I had to be back for a conference on Monday. I didn't want to leave! It was really nice to escape the suffocating heat of the city and just relax for a bit.

These people are the nicest family I've met here. They really try and do everything they can to make me feel safe living so far away from home. I've been giving every cell, home, work, and friend's number possible in case I ever need anything. Of course nothing is the same as having your own family to go to, but it's nice to know I have somewhere to go if I'm ever in need. I'm going to try to take some pictures of my apartment and the school tomorrow and post them over the weekend. So until next time, I love and miss you all!

The view of Lake Saiko

At the 5th St. - that's the peak behind us

There were horses everywhere up there

Up at the 5th Station

Coming out of one of the caves

Inside the bat cave

Lighting off sparklers Saturday night

Reo and Maiko in the kitchen after lighting of sparklers

Picking blueberries

Hanging out on the porch infront of our cabin

Maiko and Reo swimming in Lake Saiko

Blowing bubbles on Lake Saiko

All of us enjoying the view