look! Its Natalie and Edgardo!!! In Tokyo!!
Tag: david
Recently…
Other than yesterday’s exciting Jet Journal news, here are a few pictures of what we have been up to the past few days.
It has been very hot, and very busy, but our very good friends from California were in Japan, and we got together in Okayama to see them for a few days. Their kids are crazy cute.
One of Kiko’s best friends, Sanae, has some very good news and is up from Tokyo to visit her boyfriends family in Takamatsu. We were really happy to be able to see them (and Kouichi for the first time!)
Finally, a very nice family, the Yamauchis, had Kiko, myself and Greg over for a great BBQ and a magic show. Don’t get me started with the magic show, the kid is amazing. I have some on video and hopefully I will start getting video up on this site.
Anyways, e-mail me and post in the ugly shoutbox already. Don’t say I don’t love you.
Also, look at the pictures already.
Oh yeah… also had a Jamaican cooking class with semi-real Jamaican food and a real Jamaican. It was actually really good. Curry chicken, rice and peas and pepper jelly. nice. I know you’re jealous.
A few more pictures from Canada
I finally managed to pry a few more pictures off of my cellphone. This is Kiko, Chris, Franz & I celebrating Chris B’s birthday at a very good restaurant: Banzai sushi. I still owe him a present though… (not that seeing me wasn’t present enough mind you…) ps. Franz was kind of enough to treat Kiko and I to dinner. Thank you!! (my brain was not working, and I apologize, but upon reflection I could have used that as an opportunity to give Chris a birthday present and pay for his dinner. d’oh. chris, forgive me!)
The Sunflower Parade
I thought this post was going to be more exciting… (as you can see we have the first ever baby name poll happening to your right, SO VOTE!) but things have been pretty hectic. 
We are finally getting over our jetlag, and even though my school visits are over until September I am preparing for the arrival of the new JET‘s to Japan as a member of the Tokyo Orientation Committee and the Kagawa Orientation.
This Friday I also have a Jamaican Cooking day in my town. Apparently I am in charge so I am going to try and make something resembling Jamaican cooking. They also are trying to get me to sing some Bob Marley… umm… no.
Other than that, I am reading Harry Potter 6 (yeah!) and am getting ready for a busy summer:
- July 30th to August 3rd: Tokyo Orientation (in Tokyo)
- August 5th: Kagawa Orientation
- August (dunno): Interning at the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo (yeah!)
- August 25th: Kagawa Orientation #2
- Rest of my life: Baby.
My town is known for sunflowers (and frogs, and rice, and being a really small town) and their festival was actually a lot crazier than I thought it would be. Take a look! (click on the picture to go to a gallery.)
Here is a picture of me being a Japanese ninja archer from like 2 years ago. I ran into it on my computer a few days ago. I’m cool.
The Garden Update #3
… and of course I didn’t forget that you were just as excited as we were to see how the garden was doing.
Bask in the glory of our fruit and vegetables!!!
Summer in Canada 2005
We are back in Chunan!!! … and have begun the process to get rid of as much jetlag as possible. We both had a fantastic time back in Canada.
I had a scholarship interview that went fantastic 
(I’m gonna need something to do when my contract here ends in 2006/08 or 2007/08.) and we got to see a number of really good friends. That being said, we were completely strapped for time, and for everyone that we were able to see, there were 2 more people we would have loved to but couldn’t. Between my scholarship interview in the first week, my Dad’s operation in the second (he’s ok!) and the fact that we only had 10 days in Canada, we did our best.
For those that we did see: Thank you!!! We had an amazing time. 
For those we didn’t: Next year, February. 
We miss you all, and unfortunately because of the baby, this will be our only trip to Canada back this year. Next year we will be back with Baby Awesome (or whatever he/she is named at the time.)
In the meantime, here are a few sample pictures of what we did while back in Canada, and the full gallery can be seen by clicking here.
Vegetable Update
I bet you were hoping for something exciting… right? Too bad. I’ve been getting a lot of flak about being domesticated. What the hell does that mean? Well if it means "trapped in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by only farmland and rice paddies, having nothing else to do but make sweet sweet vegetables that you are all secertly jealous of" then yes… yes I am domesticated. As soon as I get the update to the website finished, you should see a lot of changes and (in theory) the website should be a lot more fun, and easier for me to update. Cuz’ I’m lazy. The keeners out there would note that the photo albums are being updated fairly regularily (go check them out!) and I have added a stats page and a poll booth. All in preperation for the new design! We also have a ton of news coming (from both Kiko and I) as well as a trip back to Canada this month. So stay tuned… in the meantime, bow down to my potatoes (and my new farming boots!), my tomatoes and my watermelon (which has now sprung to 7 watermelons!!!) (note the HUGE pictures)
Live from Tokyo…!
Live from Tokyo at 12 midnight in a McDonalds in Shinjuku, Tokyo …with Brian.
My conference is boring. You’re not missing much, don’t worry.
Cherry Blossom … a sneak peak
Now that my work is blocking access to this website, and taking in to account my retardedly slow Internet access as home, the promised Cherry blossom pictures will have to wait.
That being said, they were spectacular. The peak landed right on the weekend, and we managed to catch them on Saturday, before typhoon-like windows blew them away on Sunday. Japanese people wait all year for a few days of blossoms, but its ridiculous how many of these trees are in our town.
Here’s a look!
Below is a picture of a very cute baby who loves me. His name is Kousuke, and he is the baby of a good friend at work. NOT the son of my calligraphy teacher (whom I originally thought! … oops!). Below that is our very good friends Mike and Nikki. Nikki lives in Kotonami, the town beside mine.
White Day … and Shogi!
What the hell is White Day you ask? It is March 14th, one month after Valentines Day! You see, in Japan, on Valentines Day, Japanese girls give chocolate to the boys. Boyfriends, Husbands, Fathers, Male Employees…. everyone! (size depends on who is getting it. Not to mention a term they have for “pity chocolate” which is what they give to people they don’t want to give chocolate to… because they have to… because its Japan.)
Look what Kiko got me for Valentines Day!!!
At any rate, on White Day the boys are expected to return the favour with candy. Chocolate isn’t the right thing to give on White Day. No… on white day everyone that you got chocolate from has to get a special treat which is usually decided by the Japanese Confectionary Companies. This year it was marshmellow.
Also remember how I was telling you about Shogi???!! In case you don’t, its the Japanese equivalent of Chess only a thousand times better. Anyways I am also going to start playing Chu-shogi (middle shogi). Imagine Shogi, but with a thousand billion more pieces. Here is a game I setup but we didn’t play… because it took to long to setup… because there were too many pieces.
Now go look at the Shogi link, learn how to play, and I will buy you a set!!! (Mike, we are playing next time I see you!!!)