Tsukuba Diving with Dan in Japan

Still MORE things to be happy about!

2010-06-03T09:55:00.000+09:00

My good friend Jason, his wife Nobuko and their son Jotaro have just added a fourth member to their happy family. Her name is Eimi and she'll be a happy girl because she's a lucky girl. Jason, Nobuko and Jotaro are very nice people.

Jason is also a partner in a winery in California. I'm a lover of their wines and despite the extra effort it takes to get them from there to here they are well worth it.

You can find out more about them at this address:

http://www.barrel27.com/winenotes.htm

I'm also happy to tell you that Jason has asked me to represent Barrel 27 in Japan. Doing that will be a pleasure. Jason has been in the wine trade since leaving Japan 10 years ago. While in Japan we tasted many bottles together and he tasted a lot more without me. He kept every label and made copious notes on every bottle he opened, a truly amazing book by now.

Thanks Jason and Congratulations Eimi!

Welcome to Japan!

2010-05-11T21:57:00.000+09:00

Welcome!

I LOVE spiders, always have. In Japan they make summer - Summer. There are billions and billions of them everywhere but those whom I love the best live in my zone. We share. When living in Azuma I had a family of spiders that regenerated in my furo-beya for 8 years! That was about as close to "skinship" as I came to it in Japan before I met Mako.
Today I had the opportunity to welcome the first spiders of the year in my genkan. They, like all the others before them, will be Hinkey and Dinkey - and they are beautiful!

The New School Year

2010-04-12T22:54:00.000+09:00

So, it has begun! First classes last Tuesday at Nichi-dai. First classes today at Iba-dai.

Looks like another great year. Bright and beautiful, interested and interesting, ready to have a good time with English students!

These first days are always wonderful and the days that follow are too … but toward the end their pressure builds (so much other stuff to do) that the heads begin to nod and my commutes demand a stop at a service area or a deep nod on the train.

Night classes will be starting late this year and that's not bad. As my Tuesday classes finish my night classes will begin so I'll not have to skip from the train to the classroom.

Thanks to the Universe for that - and still it all makes me Happy!

iPad

2010-03-03T00:36:00.002+09:00

I'll get 2 within a week of the device being available. I'll give one to my wife and she'll think I'm crazy for a few hours. I know by looking at it that it will change the way I /she / we do our work.

I've never been wrong about an Apple product and my first was in 1987. I've never been right with any other computing technology or product - but then I haven't tried many. I've left that to the guys who suck Zunes and the like.

Toyota Recall and Ancient Wisdom

2010-02-27T00:26:00.001+09:00

Watching the drama unfold from this side of the Pacific has been interesting and continues to be. I don't watch any of the US news channels and feel better for it - better, and better informed. Still it was heart breaking to see Mr. Toyoda in tears as he addressed his workers, etc.

I also have the impression that the issues are very complex. Toyota must certainly pay a lot of taxes in the US and the Toyota payroll might be supporting several states as the US economy heads in the circular swirl of the flush. That means the men and women who are asking the questions in the hearings have to think twice or thrice about being really tough or demanding. Toyota could afford to set up shop in Mexico or Canada or … Liberia and leave the US. Still, those elected officials need to get their pie holes on TV and look like they have brains. There is also the value of drawing out the sitch to get the real disasters out of the lime light. We don't really want to think about a bankrupt economy, a sick population that is uninsured and people living in storage containers - do we. Naw …

The bottom line for me comes to this, a lesson from Jack G. when I was learning to drive in his green and white Edsel station wagon at the time I had accrued 13 years on the planet:

When you have a runaway car (and there were occasionally such things in the 20th Century) turn the ignition key to the "Off" position and you will stop pretty quickly, more quickly if you apply the brakes at the same time. Power brakes will continue to be powered by the various spinning systems. You can still listen to the radio while rolling to a stop.

Nothing works faster to disable the forward or reverse motion value of an automobile as disconnecting the power source. You can simulate it with any appliance by unplugging it. Simple. Try it with a computer or an electric shaver - or a cell phone. They all work in a way that is similar to the way a car's battery and ignition system do. When you take the battery out of your cell phone you can't make calls!

I have no sympathy for those who might have left this mortal realm for knowing less. I have less sympathy still and, perhaps even regret the failure in departing, for those who intend to profit from their own stupidity in doing less than turning off the fucking engine.

Details, Details, Details

2010-02-25T01:23:00.000+09:00

I had the pleasure of going to Sendai yesterday with my "boss" in the wedding business.

The Shinkansen ride was brilliant. I'd not been on a Shink in almost 10 years. They leave Tokyo more frequently than #8 busses leave Ala Moana Center in Honolulu. They are also clean. The busses aren't.

We got there so quickly and smoothly that I was awakened during the ride by the ambient noise at the only station at which we stopped, Omiya. I had the sensation there that we were moving - when actually moving I had no sensation of motion at all. The Shinkansen works very well. The cars were nearly full, the seats were as comfortable as those in Business class on my last international flight and the whole shebang was on time coming and going!

In the title of this post I alluded to details and two come immediately to mind, but there are many others.

Spotlessly clean is a detail, certainly, but I was particularly impressed that the girl/lady who sold things exited with a bow to those in the car she was exiting. Good manners never fail! She also gave me instructions about heating my box lunch with the heating device included. The grilled tongue lunch was hot and delicious!

When we'd arrived at our eventual destination there were familiar faces from the Tsukuba branch of the same company. They had come up to Sendai by bus, had been dressed and coiffed and were the "guests" at the wedding I was to perform. They were having a great time! After the ceremony they would be the guests at the banquet! I had to go home - with a burger from Loteria to quell my hunger pangs.

No matter - the next incident shows the beauty of Japan in small and close. On achieving Tsukuba I'd intended to visit my favorite bar, meeting Mako there for dinner. Just before boarding the I met the owner of that bar and we rode to Tsukuba together. Mako picked me up at the station and we proceeded to the bar where I drank too much but ate sparingly. Mako ate too much and didn't drink … part, a huge part, of our synchronisity!

More Going and Coming

2010-02-22T17:05:00.001+09:00

We met friends for lunch yesterday to discuss a combination of Mako's Dance and an artist's exhibition at a restaurant whose owner is a long time friend. In the course of conversation the owner mentioned my name and from behind me I heard, "Dan sensei!". It turned out to be a lady whom I had taught in junior high some 15 years ago. She was in the restaurant with her father and her two beautiful children. She told me, in English much to my delight, that the lessons she'd had in junior high had given her an interest in English that continues today. She sought work that would require her to use English!

One step further - her father is a long time friend of the Chair of the Board of Education here in Tsukuba. When we came back from Hawaii we stopped by there to congratulate him. Both he and his sister have been friends of mine for years. I was stopped/blocked from access by the then Department Head in the office I had left. Very disappointed in not being able to meet my friend but there was no way I'd get around Mr. Pickles (a pun on his family name). The father will, I'm sure, relate that incident to my friend. Bet on it!

Going Around and Coming Around

2010-02-21T00:35:00.000+09:00

Today was a banner day in that I had the pleasure of performing the marriage ceremony for a long ago former student, meeting many other former students among her wedding guests and discovering that two MORE people with whom I work are former students! That's pretty exciting for me and makes my "work" all the more enjoyable.

I can't fail to note that the talented and drop dead gorgeous pianist with whom I often work and with whom I had the exquisite pleasure of working today is also a former student!

To top all that off the day was warm and sunny with brilliant clear skies that gave every hope of Spring's coming.

All of those "exciting" things (and the d/d gorgeous pianist's inquiry into my blog status) have given me a kick in the butt to get this going again.

Way, way back in 2000 - that IS a way, way back! - I was blogging and pretty regular about it. In 2002 we moved to Toyota and by then I I was posting daily and had readers around the world. I wrote then about life in Japan and the way it was for me - bitter and sweet.

When I moved back to Hawaii I was much too busy, and the internet connection much too poor to continue. I broke the habit. On returning I made a feeble attempt to restart the flow of creative juice but the flow of other juices were an impediment - and I was busy working, etc., etc., etc.

Well, now I'm busy - I'll be working 7 days a week next year - but those days are really only half days and I've got stuff to say!

Back in the early blog days I was hesitant about my love affair with Japan. Now I'm not, and I think I can write about that.

Dan's New Face

2008-05-26T20:26:00.000+09:00

I've moved part of my "presence" over to my own domain

dan-sensei.com

You'll not find a blog there but it is chock full of stuff for my students to talk about.

The New School Year

2008-04-20T22:39:00.000+09:00

"Hell's a Poppin". When I was a very young boy I remember that my mother loved that movie series. I thought it was funny and now I understand better the meaning of the phrase. It was a Poppin' last week. I was suddenly off of the sofa (or would have been if we had one) and back to WORK! Ahhh, but it is work that I love so I was and am very happy to be going where I go and doing what I do.

Monday and Wednesday mornings are spent with about 70 eager beavers in Mito. I teach 2 hour and a half long classes after a 40 minute drive on a very pleasant expressway. I get home in plenty of time to hand the car over to Mako if she needs it for her work. On Tuesday I take the beautiful TX into Akihabara and then either walk or ride another stop to Ochanomizu. There I teach 4 classes of about 33 students each in 50 minute classes. I'm off on Thursday and on Friday afternoon I drive to Tsuchiura, where I have 2 hour and a half long classes. I'm a happy man!

Mito and Tsuchiura will continue through the year and Ochanomizu is a half year course. About the time Ochanomizu breaks I'll be collecting Social Security! Who could ask for more?

A Strange Twist

2007-12-24T12:16:00.000+09:00

Life's paths take strange twists and that's part of the fun!
Long ago I was involved with a truly excellent band. That band played all over the mid-west and made two years of my college life very exciting. The band continued and I continued along a different road. The leader of the band, Patrick Hazel, has continued in music and become a force. He's still giving his gift to the people of the mid-west and in recent years the world. The band, Mother Blues, has been inducted into the Iowa Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

For years I carried tapes of the band in all my globe trotting adventures. Thinking that they needed a safer home I sent them to Pat and we've been corresponding since. Some day those old tapes may find a new audience.

And now, the twist:

Anniversary 2007 - Number 6

2007-09-17T15:01:00.000+09:00

Thanks to Mako for six of the best years of my life. I count her as the luckiest thing that ever happened to me. Life continues wonderful ... with her.

Here we are at the Central Park in Tsukuba. Note our new rides. Mine came a month ago when I'd raked my shin one time too many on the Bianchi. Hers came yesterday, a week after I'd persuaded her that she needed a good bike.

Both are Bridgestone belt drive one-speed Veltros. I had to special order them as they are a bit unusual and not stocked in stores. We also ordered low baskets, pipe carriers, solar tail lights and center stands. Mako's is smoke beige, with the original Apple Computer rainbow decal. Mine is dark blue with the white Apple decal. The high bars and hub generator powered LED head lamps are stock.

Autumn 2007

2007-09-16T11:00:00.000+09:00

All the wonderful signs of Japanese Autumn are beginning to unfold. We went shopping yesterday afternoon and there were specials on salmon in the market. Two weeks ago other Autumnal fish began to appear, cheap and delicious. Our vegetable people, a group called Jinenjo Club has doubled our delivery schedule for the past month and our ¥1000 contribution has gotten us nearly twice as much as it did through summer. (We love buying from them because it is organic produce, they are a a home for Downs Syndrome adults, they use seed stock from the old type vegetables and raise their own seed.)

The weather has changed dramatically as well. Days are still hot but evenings are cool and nights are even a bit chilly. We have the hot water on for showers now. Sunsets are spectacular this time of year. Leaves are beginning to turn and even fall. The rice is being harvested and the crop is in around the Pink House, Mako's mother's home.

The calendar is beginning to fill up with dance events. Mako danced at the Tsukuba Museum of Art last weekend (see our Flickr and Picassa pages). She's been asked to dance at several other events before the end of the year. We'll go to Osaka next weekend to see a performance by a group of handicapped dancers, reminding me already of Can Do Co. - a group I saw a few years ago and still remember with chicken skin effects.

My brother Jay may be coming to Japan next month or in November. My old pal Jason should be arriving around the end of the month for a long visit with his wife's family.

Our neighborhood continues to change. One of the most interesting landmarks is nearly down. It was a building with a huge Red Snapper in gorgeous tile on the side of the building. It is now down to two floors and will be gone by the end of next week.

For posterity, this is what it looked like before demolition began.

Every time I see a building go down I think of Dobie and Maynard buzzing off to watch them tear down the Old Endicott Building ... This demolition was particularly interesting for me as it involved a 30 ton Cat taking the place down starting on the roof!

We had another special event earlier in the month when we were featured in a local newspaper that is drawing attention to lesser known areas of Tsukuba. Aside from being in a two page spread we had a wonderful time with a charming reporter. Tsukuba has so much to offer and "neighborhoods" are among the best of its features. This area is at the foot of Tsukuba-san and is ancient but as vibrant today as it was 200 years ago!

Happy Autumn!

A Long Time In The Making

2007-06-28T16:49:00.000+09:00

Work began in September last year - finished in March this year. It goes on sale tomorrow in Japan. It was a lot of work and a lot of fun. Plenty of both. The best parts are that I met a handful of really good writers and working with my friend/boss, Nino-san at ICCNC, was/is a pleasure.

I'm no Perry White.

2007-05-12T22:34:00.000+09:00

Hot dog!

The book I worked on late last year and well into the first part of this year has cleared at the publisher! I got a copy of the galley sheets yesterday to look for last minute corrections. I think it can or will go to print very soon! It is a book that looks at interesting blog entries by American bloggers from a cross section of locations and occupations. The intended purpose of the book is to teach Japanese readers everyday American English. My first job with it was to find those interesting bloggers.

Sounds easy. It wasn't. I looked at, and read, several thousand blogs to come up with those that will go in the book. I was reading blogs for hours every day and every night - luckily I didn't have anything else to fill my time then - and believe me ... there isn't that much going on in the blogosphere that is likely to be interesting to the Japanese reader, or useful in developing language skills.

After many hundreds of hours of tortuous reading I struck gold - human interest stories by real people. On having a eureka moment I'd write the author (many do not list a contact or access address) and then wait for a reply. There was another lesson in that exercise - not many people reply to an email that begins, "Request to use your ...". I figure several hundred requests got caught in spam filters, and several hundred more were smacked by the delete key. But, I had to persist. There was a publisher, a friend and my pride to satisfy!

In the end I got 27 replies from excellent writers and all the others were just exercises in persistence. The 27 that chose to answer me and approve my request were, and are, those I might have chosen if I had been given a list of people applying to be published! No regret for the time, effort, disappointments, frustration, anger, boredom ... but I do have one deep regret. I got 27 positive replies, and those all involved exchanges of email that was sometimes personal. My regret? The publisher filled the page count quota with 26 of "my" authors. One of my choices had to be omitted.

Thankfully, they did not leave that decision to me.

I'll let you know what the title is and where you can find it at Amazon.co.jp when it is in print!

Already Spring and It's Almost Gone!

2007-05-06T18:10:00.000+09:00

I've just realized that it has been a long time since I've written much. That's because I've been doing much! Spring has been very, very busy and we've both been enjoying what we're doing (and doing what we enjoy), so I don't feel guilty.

Among those things that are new for me are part-time teaching positions at a National University and the Dental College of a very well regarded private university. One takes me to Tokyo once a week and the other to Mito twice a week. I've also been fortunate in having some excellent private students with whom an hour long lesson is a pleasure. My weekends have been full with wedding services and I find myself enjoying them more and more. I have something constructive to do every day and still have the luxury of free time every day as well. Tsukuba continues to delight me as a walking stage and I manage to get in my 10 or more kilometers a day, time to smell the flowers.

Mako has been busy teaching, rehearsing and is taking lessons again. It is a pleasure for me to watch her move back to dance as our time in Hawaii was virtually dance less - a sad thing for both of us. She's also teaching light stretching and fitness workouts to older (than me!) people in her mother's circle of friends, working with a Pilates class, teaching ballet to a group of aspiring Olympic divers and working with children at an after school recreation center. She'll begin teaching organized classes of dance/fitness classes for young people next month. Those will be scheduled after her lectures at a university in Tokyo. She's also performed "spontaneously" at two recent installation art events - one of which I had to miss, damn! - the other is on our flickr and Picasa pages.

We've also been able to go to watch dance and listen to music lately, much more than in previous versions of our life together. The convenience of a high speed train line departing from a station just 15 minutes from our apartment has made a significant difference in what is easily available for us to do, without having to consider transportation. Tokyo is now a very comfortable 45 minutes away!

Life continues to be wonderful!

About Time!

2007-03-23T09:19:00.000+09:00

I came to Japan on March 23, 1989. Throughout my long stay I renewed my visa annually, going to Tokyo to do it. A few years ago I was pleased to have gotten a three year visa, thus avoiding the long wait in the Tokyo Immigration office.

When Mako and I moved back in 2005 I had to re-apply for a visa and chose the "Spouse Visa". A very nice lady at the Mito Immigration office suggested that I apply for Permanent Residence. Until she mentioned it I'd not considered myself a permanent resident ... but I am. I applied. I got it.

On March 22, 2007 I went to Mito to have the Permanent Resident Visa stamp affixed to my US passport.

It felt REALLY, REALLY good!

O Sho Gatsu 2007

2007-01-04T18:47:00.000+09:00

Another wonderful New Year celebration at the Pink House with the whole family in attendance! I LOVE it!

Christmas 2006 - Come and Gone

2006-12-25T22:25:00.000+09:00

Who could ask for more? The weather was good. The food was good. The parties were good. The work was good. The play was good. It was beautiful!

Mako's Christmas Present.

Merry Chirstmas 2006!

Another Moment of Fame

2006-12-13T23:19:00.000+09:00

I'm quickly approaching my full 15 minutes. In 1998 I was in a movie - that was about 9 ninutes of screen time (and a lot of fun). The commercials I did in Hawaii might have added up to a total of more than 15 but they don't count - I was young, almost handsome and surfed when I wasn't working. I don't know how appearing in my universiy's catalog factors into the 15, as it will only be in print for a year. However, the university had photograpers in my classroom again last week to take photos for next year's catalog. That, at least, means I'll have classes to teach for another year!

Wedding Palace

2006-12-07T08:28:00.000+09:00

An adobe church in the middle of clustered fast food restaurants and used car dealers. The high wall and wrought iron gates mark the end of one world and the beginning of another. Flag stones wind a path through a small manicured garden. White pebbles and white sand around neatly trimmed bushes and stunted, gnarled old trees. Time and place slowly fade with each step toward the towering wooden doors hung on massive black iron hinges. Inside the sun shines through stained glass making colored reflections on white marble floors. Neat rows of beige wooden pews along the central aisle with a comfortable cushion to mark where each celebrant will stand or sit. No one will kneel, this is not a church it is a wedding palace.

They come in separately, some in blue jeans and gym shoes. Others in what they wore last night, home too late to change. They chat and chatter as they roll up their jeans or tug on black stockings up to their knees. They fuss about their hair or remove their make up as they don their black habits. In fifteen minutes they are transformed from cabaret dolls and secretaries to severe and serene nuns. They begin to warm their voices, the organ is playing "Nearer My God To Thee." The flute flutters and trills.

The bride and groom are at the door. They are ready to be rehearsed. The nuns take charge with all the disciplined practice of elementary school teachers. Each step is precisely defined, each move is explained delicately and with the most respectful of polite high language.

In thirty minutes the show will begin.

A Sunday Stroll

2006-11-27T10:48:00.000+09:00

Mako and I have been busy enough recently in our separate lives - Mako preparing for her lectures and Dan working on the book, teaching at the MOJ, etc., etc., etc. - that we haven't had the time we'd enjoyed walking together before "success" snuck into our lives. Yesterday found me free of wedding ceremonies and Mako needing to go to the library to do some research. We were able to walk together, have lunch at our favorite bakery and enjoy what is left of the color explosion in Fall. It was lovely. Along the way we met a mother and son combo taking snaps of each other, offered to take a duo-shot and then remembered our own camera to ask for the same!

Traffic Jam at Sunset

2006-11-27T10:46:00.000+09:00

This is a Tsukuba Traffic Jam - nothing to complain about! I walk most of the time and to most of the places I go so traffic means next to nothing to me. This is a far cry from a little over a year ago when we were commuting 14 miles or so from our Hawaiian Acres "Avalon Farm" location to take Mako to work in the early morning and bring her home from work in the late afternoon. Then the view on the left, going into town, was Mauna Kea and it was gorgeous. It was almost so pretty as to make one forget about the long string of cars standing at idle while the procession moved the multitude slowly down the highway and into Hilo town. Coming home then the bottleneck began at the KTA intersection and wound up the mountain. Getting in line a few minutes earlier or a few minutes later was significant. The part of these movements that had Mako and me most on edge was the level of testosterone in the lines of cars. People were angrily in a hurry and made no pretense of hiding it. The Aloha Spirit seemed to evaporate once people got behind the wheel of their car. Happily, Mako's and mine didn't.

Tsukuba Center

2006-11-24T22:26:00.000+09:00

Tsukuba Center is architect Arata Isozaki's masterpiece.

You can find out all about it by following these links:

http://web.clas.ufl.edu/users/jmurphy/Lombardifile/
ARCHfile.04/Tsukubafile/schizophrenia.html

and:

http://www.alientimes.org/Main/
TsukubasEmptyCenterOctober2001

What isn't told in that description shows in the photos I managed to snap on the way home from my stroll today. Clearly, the design of the main building in the Center cluster, a hotel on the left and Nova Hall on the right, was done to frame the sunsets. For as long as I've been walking past that area I'd never noticed the square "frame" set onto the elevated protion of the central building. Today I did and it was absolutely there to frame the sunset - beautifully reflected off the silver tile facade. Genius!

Some Autumn Highlights

2006-11-22T14:38:00.000+09:00

I find Tsukuba beautiful year 'round but Autumn offers some particular spectacles. The 11/5 moon has been special in Japan for centuries. Mako and I were out for a sunset stroll and were treated to this view while leaving home.

And this view while returning.

Just a few days later Tsukuba-san had accumulated a cap of clouds.

Halloween #3

2006-11-01T17:04:00.000+09:00

We had a Halloween in Hawaii but were so deep in the country that nobody came. We ate all the crap ourselves and gave what was left to our neighbor's daughter the following day.

When we came back last year we were pleased to find that one of my child burdened friends had arranged for all his child burdened friends to gather their offspring into a gaggle and haul them from house to house - willing foreigners' houses - for the fun and cavities. There are many foreigners in Tsukuba but the number of children among them is not overwhelming. The number of Japanese children who Trick of Treat is exactly ZERO for the whole country, a particularly alarming number if you name is Mars, Peter Paul or Nestle.

Well, to make a short story shorter, the kids came to our place while I was still on the road returning from performing a wedding. Had I been just 12 minutes faster on the highway I'd have had the pleasure of passing out the goodies with Mako. The big disappointment for me wasn't in missing the dispersal of treats but the opportunity to test the credulity of young children who have never been really tricked. I had a container of spoiled oysters and a jar of instant coffee that I'd intended to trick them with first - proffering half an oyster to each, then on rejection a spoonful of instant coffee. Following that certain rejection I'd intended to offer a single M&M by way of a long tong skillfully handled. Of course, we'd eventually get to the real goodies - which I'd bought in plenty. Damn! I hate to miss a chance to practical joke with the unsuspecting that only Halloween can offer!

Well, when I got home Mako was beaming. She'd gotten as far with my plan as taking the oysters out of the refrigerator and had the spoon by the coffee but couldn't make the final steps. I can not fault her for failing to finish, at least she got out of the gate and that in itself is a triumph!

Next year we'll get a big bag of saw dust and tell the kids that we're giving them kitty litter to put in their gardens!

Busy Autumn

2006-10-17T09:11:00.000+09:00

This is the best time of the year in Japan. The sky is usually clear, the air is cool, the leaves are beginning to change color ... not much different from almost any place else on a similar latitude.

It always used to cause me to twitch when Japanese would boast of having four seasons. It took years to realize that they were omitting ABRUPT in that statement. The seasons change quickly here, almost overnight! Mako and I are now wearing light jackets, but my plan it to continue wearing shorts through the winter as I did last year. If anything, I'm even tougher this year!

We enjoyed the presence of and the presents from our good Hawaiian neighbor Junko McDonald. Unfortunately, we were unable to meet. She was kept very busy with her family and friends. We were busy untangling the loose ends that characterize our exciting lives. Before coming Junko and her husband Darrin asked what we might like from Hawaii. I thought immediately of red and black licorice and got three packs of each, making me the licoice king of Japan temmporarily. I also needed terragon for the kitchen as I had been rationing the little supply I had brought back when we moved home to Japan after selling Avalon Farm. Mako had neither wants or wishes so she got a Hokaido souvenir, butter potatoes. The licorice calls me nightly and will ge gone soon. The potatoes were delicious and went with the first oysters of the season. The terragon is safe in our freezer. Thanks Junko and Darrin!

Anniversaries

2006-09-11T21:26:00.000+09:00

We've passed the "One Year Back" anniversary - that came and went a little over a month ago.

We approach our 5th wedding anniversary. That will come on the 16th, 17th and 18th of this month.

Might be a good moment for me to reflect on a few things, but I'm not a very reflective guy these days. I mostly just either like it or don't and ...

I LIKE being back in Japan A LOT! The past year has been excellent! I LIKE being married (to Mako) A LOT! The past five years have been excellent!

I wrote to the Bro in HI a few days ago that I'm enjoying life today about as much as, and in the same way that, I enjoyed life when we were kids growing up in Winter Park, FLA. Those were great good times. I had (thanks to my Dad) just about everything I wanted and all that I needed - and I didn't need (or want) much. Simple days and simple childhood pleasures.

From Our Garden

2006-08-07T10:08:00.000+09:00

In Hawaii the veranda is called a lanai. We have a nice one here in Tsukuba. It faces south and is about a meter wide and maybe 6 meters long. We wanted a garden, a little green and a project, so we used planters to put in peppers, basil, rosemary, mini-tomatoes, lavender, Japanese mint and some salad things. It really is quite nice, gives us both a sense of daily accomplishment, makes the apartment smell good ... and we've gotten some fresh vegetables for the effort of picking! The red and yellow peppers have been beautiful to look at and two days ago Mako picked one of each to use in dinner. She's become an excellent cook!

One week after zero reset

2006-07-14T23:46:00.000+09:00

A week later and I'm 60 and a week. No other differences noted. I haven't stopped smoking and I still quench my thirst with alcoholic beverages. About the only radical thing I've done in the short span of my 60th is to purge my computer of shareware I haven't paid for and the remnants of smut that came in email. My conscience has been reset to zero.

Born Again

2006-07-03T17:25:00.000+09:00

The clock is ticking and I'll, according to Japanese thought, be born again on Friday this week. Turning 60 in Japan resets one's counter to Zero. I like that idea. Gives me a chance to do it all over again ... without the big mistakes and regrettable little errors. Might be a good time to stop smoking - I didn't do that when I was born the first time. Might be a good time to review my thirst quenching habits. Might be a good time to start doing a lot of things I would have done had I not been so busy doing what I was expected to do. I need to give this matter some thought but on the face of it, it seems like a pretty good opportunity.

Dance-Dance

2006-06-28T11:03:00.000+09:00

Dance-Dance

Recently Mako's mom (an artist/author/critic) has been using Mako (a dancer/choreographer/teacher) more and more as a model. This painting is a new color direction for us all.

Grow Your Own

2006-06-25T23:13:00.000+09:00

We live in an apartment - a lovely apartment that is a little bigger than the house we built - we pay no property taxes, ascessments, loan service ... etc. We pay rent - straight and easy. BUT we do like to garden. I don't like to cut grass. I did that for a "living" when I was a kid and do not regard it as a "hobby" for myself as an adult.

We have a few planter boxes on the lanai (veranda to you non-Hawaiians) and in them we grow what we can't buy from the farmer down the road. You see ... in Japan you can get stuff for the table that the neighbors grew. It doesn't all come from Mexico or California. His pals pick it, bag it, weigh it, consider what their time is worth and then we buy it for that. Not a bad idea.

In Hawaii we had three acres to grow stuff on and I could hear the wild pigs waiting in the woods for all the "cash crops"to get big enought to eat.

Now I barter an hour (or a fraction of one) of my time to the gardening set to bring home a bag of fresh, organic vegetables.

The lanai garden will give us peppers, mini-tomatoes, basil, thyme and smiles for as long as the growing season lasts. When the cooler days come we can move some of the things inside to stretch their pleasure giving time and make our inside as fresh as the outside.

So, crucify me!

2006-06-25T21:12:00.000+09:00

So, crucify me!.JPG
Originally uploaded by Tsukuba Divers.

The work is clean, rarely dangerous and pays better than teaching (in Hawaii) but not as well as plumbing - what does except Urology.

One of the better (maybe best!) parts of living in Japan is the absence of Christians, and thus a void in the "Hypocite Dimension" of Japanese society beyond that necessitated by polite social interaction.

When asked by my mother in law (then to be) what church I went to I answered "Dan-kyo". It is similar to "Thank You" in that it means one should be grateful for all the good things and not complain too much about the bad things and work like an ant to get what you want.

After having spent all of my elementary school/middle school/high school life in church ... I prefer to sleep in on Sunday mornings and honor my belief in Geology.

Mile Stone

2006-06-25T20:34:00.000+09:00

We passed a mile stone this month when, for the first time since returning to Japan, we failed to have a negative cash flow! Damn it feels good to acutally make money (a little) instead of dipping into the poor box every time I go to church.

And ... the fact that I have been going to church regularly is why we broke even. I did a pant-load of weddings last month! The month's end total was 17, a good number of nuptuals by any standard short of the Moonies masses.

Today I topped off the June Bride's business by doing a "Wedding Fair", a kind of a show wedding. One of the prime differences between this one and a "real" wedding is that the "bride" wasn't pregnant. She was, in fact, a very attractive model. Another difference is that in this show the "groom" was smart enought o recognize his chance and take it. He was, of course, a model as well and when the Kiss the Bride part came he really did! Most real couples have already done too much kissing and are expecting to do less within a few weeks when the offspring arrive. This guy knew he'd probably never get to jump this chance again. He surprised her and me ... and all the other players.

「ながみね」で水中ウォーキング

2006-05-17T00:04:00.000+09:00

先週の木曜日から、母と母の友達を水中ウォーキングに誘ってシルバーセンター（お年寄りでなくても利用可能）の「ながみね」に通い始めた。

　「ながみね」は、小さなプールとお風呂が利用できて、たったの300円！！母たちは、体重が増えてしまっているので、陸上でのウォーキングよりもプールでの水中ウォーキングの方が、負担が軽く全身運動ができるので、俄然よいみたい。
　先週は、初めてだったこともあり、更衣室では100円玉がコインロッカーにひっかかってしまい、「呼出し」ブザーを押して施設の方を呼んだら「緊急の時以外は押さないで下さい！」と怒られてしまって、100円玉もなかなか戻ってこず、てんやわんやで20分程経ってしまった。さらに、10分程ウォーキングをすると、「ピピーーーーッ！！」と10分間の休憩に入ってしまい、結局すぐにお風呂に入りに行こうということで、陸での軽い体操と10分間のウォーキングだけに終わってしまった。
　TVなどで話題の「メタボリック症候群」女性はウエスト90cm以上は危険性が高いとのこと、母はナント「108cm」だった・・・。これは、ホントにマズイ。以前は、「身体がしびれて起きれない」と言っていたこともあり、糖尿病初期にみられる頸骨靭帯骨化症かもしれないという心配もある。
　体内の脂肪を燃やすには、20〜30分以上は運動を続けないといけない。7:50から10分間の休憩に入ってしまうので、それまでにある程度の時間ウォーキングをできないと。などと、いろいろ考えながら、今日はやる気まんまんだった。
　7:00からプールサイドで軽い体操をして、7:10~7:20 水中にあるマシーンでウォーキング。7:20~7:45前歩き、横歩き、後ろ歩き、7:45~7:55水中にあるバーにつかまって、バーエクササイズ。身体の疲れはあまりないけれど、45分間の運動ができた。その後、バブルなどにあたって、お風呂に入った。

　家から帰ってくると、食前、食後に母は犬のタカの散歩に自発的に出かけていった。いつもは「○○〜タカの散歩お願〜い」と言って、自分ではあまり歩きたがらないのに。二度も！！ダンいはく、「プールで運動して、アドレナリンが出て気持ちいいんじゃない？」と。先週の木曜日から、ウエストはー1cm、体重はー1kg。まだまだ道程は長いけれど、糖尿病が悪化しないよう健康維持できるといいのだけど・・・
母の友人は、旦那様の看病で、看病疲れが出ていると聞いたけれど、大分リフレッシュできたみたいで、こちらもよかった。

ベランダでレタスできたよ〜♪

2006-05-16T00:38:00.000+09:00

4月にプランターに植えたレタスが、ずいぶん大きくなってきて、サンドイッチなどに使えるようになりました。
今日のお昼は、ベランダのレタスを数枚頂戴して、ツナサンドにしました。

はじめは小さかったので、一つのプランターに6個のレタスを植えましたが、今ではもう所狭しといった感じ。

数枚の外側の葉っぱを頂戴しました。店で買うレタスよりも歯ごたえがあって、少々アクも強いかな。でも、緑が濃くて栄養ありそう！

（久しぶりに買った）バケットをスライスして、ちぎったレタスとツナ缶のマヨネーズ和え、トマトをのせて出来上がり〜♪
いっただっきま〜〜〜す。

新たに、トマトと、カラーピーマン、ししとうを植えました。収穫が今から楽しみだわ〜。

Golden

2006-05-08T12:28:00.000+09:00

Golden Week is behind us and it was - Golden!

I made a pant load of ¥¥¥ performing weddings, five in total, over the weekend. Hopefully that will be enough to pay for the new transmission for our wonderful little Suzuki Wagon R. We're using a loaner while our regular ride is in the shop. The loaner is a very mini Suzuki. I'd wanted to buy one when they were first introduced. I realize now that it is a little too small. I fit perfectly - better headroom than in a HI friend's GM SUV - but there is no room to carry more than a few bags of groceries. Fun to drive, though, and a boon to have as a loaner!

Mako's sister's family came to Tsukuba for Golden Week. We dined and played and dined some more. We went to an excellent bar-b-que, watched some scratch softball and generally had a very good time. Next year I want to organize a rice planting expedition. Planting rice, helping the country relatives to do it, is the real reason for Golden Week!

This year we are satisfied to have our own little "Lanai Garden" started.

2006-04-28T00:04:00.000+09:00

It is interesting to note that when the University of Iowa days photo below was taken, somewhere around 1969, Mako still had six years to wait TO BE BORN! When she first saw it, just a few minutes ago, she was amazed that my hair looked dark (it was, in fact, auburn brown). She's only known me with grey hair. She's seen me in a beard (also grey) but never a moustache only. I also do not wear my shirt open any more, nor do I (or will I) pose seductively with a cat. It was a different world then and poses were different too. The poster in the background was sem-psychadelic. I drew it for a band I promoted and managed, mostly for the girls and the free drinks at the bars where they played and I schmoozed. My hair was long but got a lot longer - much to my mother's chagrin and I became the man you see in this photo - a Brooks Brothers Hippy Promoter.

Winter Dance Four Years Ago

2006-04-27T23:36:00.000+09:00

Not quite tripping the light fantastic today - I sprained my knee walking at the speed of a bicycle to get half way across town last week. The knee is better - the fluid extracted will run the doctor's dune buggy for a week. My knee will heal. I'll walk without limp again some day. We'll take another picture like this next year. This the original of the one below - this one inspired that one - this one was taken about four years ago in the same studio. Ain't life grand!

Small World

2006-04-27T23:30:00.000+09:00

The photo on the right is Dan in his college days. I weigh about 10 pounds more today - but look a hell of a lot older!

I am a graduate of the University of Iowa's school of hard knocks. It's a special place where those of us who, for one reason or another, couldn't do it on schedule. I let more than 20 years pass between my last regular classroom instruction and getting my degree. Thanks to the U of I!

Today I got my monthly issue of their email newsletter and read it with interest as I always do. This issue was featuring the opening of the Capitol building in Iowa City after a total restoration. I was impressed. I wrote to tell them how impressed I was - especially because I lived across the street from the Capitol building when I was a student. I also reminisced.

Within moments of sending my email I had a reply from a home town friend of my sister and her husband and an acquaintance of mine who shared some of the excellent memories I had of Iowa City, Iowa in the Golden years of the late '60s and early '70s. She, the friend, is the lady whose responsible for that newsletter and a whole lot more.

True enough, we live in a wonderful era - but they all are. Back then we wrote letters and made phone calls at the same time - to disrupt the communication system. We flushed at the same time to ... it was a different day. Things have changed and my special thanks tonight go to all the fairies who carry our messages around the world on the system called the internet.

Another Health Care Story

2006-04-25T12:07:00.000+09:00

In previous incarnations of this blog I wrote about the health care system in Japan. I have another occasion to write today.

A few days ago I sprained my knee. I was walking too fast and did just a bit of hyper-extension. It got really big and really painful but I was too busy to attend to it other than using a crutch and sitting whenever possible.

Today Mako drove me to the hospital. We waited about 10 minutes while my insurance was being processed. The doctor saw me and sent me down the hall for an x-ray. We were back in his office within five minutes and he was draining 70 ml of fluid that had collected in my knee. Having done that he gave about 10 minutes of counseling and advice. We went to the cashier and I gritted my teeth waiting for the damage. The charge brought a big smile to my face! In dollar terms - about 15. That for a diagnosis, an x-ray, a procedure and a consultation. $15

We also got prescriptions for 3 medications and compresses to cool the knee. I gritted my teeth waiting for the damage. The charge brought a big smile to my face! In dollar terms - about 7. That for a week's supply of an anti-inflamatory, an anti-infection and something to ease the tummy through the others , and the compresses (change twice a day for a week). $7

I love Japan. We pay about $120 a month to insure the two of us under the National Health Insurance program. I visit the dentist monthly and never pay more than US $6. When I broke my shoulder, three ribs and collapsed my lung a few years ago I paid something line $300 on exiting the hospital after a five day stay. I went through four months of rehabilitation at $6 per visit.

I love Japan. People matter here.

Winter Dance

2006-04-19T14:40:00.000+09:00

MKDANce
Originally uploaded by Tsukuba Divers.

Mako and I went to see her mom at an art event. Behind us (the colorful ones) are a number of paintings Mitusko had done featuring Mako - the Dancer. We have a similar photo (our favorite) taken a few years ago in the same gallery. Might do this anually to see how old I/we look compared to the year before!

Welcome!

2006-04-19T14:14:00.000+09:00

I've / we've had / done / dropped so many blogs our heads spin! This one is going to be a cooperative blog that Mako and I will write together. She'll probably post in Japanese and I'll definitely post in English. Since we do most of what we do toghether ... this makes a lot of sense .