noa – Page 68 – d@vidb dot net

Friends in Canada part #1

We may be on vacation, but finding time (and a usb wire to get pictures off our camera) is proving to be way harder than it was in Chunan.

That being said, it seems as if we have angered the visitor-gods of this website. Once again there has been a request for more Noa pictures and less pictures/info about us. You are probably visiting davidandkiko.com, so what did you expect!!?? For those of you who visit davidandkikoandnoa.com, you have the right to request more Noa.

Anyways, to boost our popularity amongst the angries, enjoy this.

That is Noa sporting is ulta cool "Tuesday" bib, and Noa in his big boy clothes. That is not Kiko in her pyjamas holding him up. (I suspect that any of you that get to see this picture will be lucky as the not-Kiko-in-her-pyjamas might make me take it down.)

Now, I have said it before: Our main reason to come to Canada this time is to see friends and family. We have had been really lucky as we have been able to spend a lot of time with Mom, Dad, Goggy, Tray and Shane (on occasion. He is going to make it up to us this week.) Fortunately last week we were able to see some friends as well. It is hard for us to get out much, so we appreciate those of you who are able to make it down to Brampton. Hopefully this week we can make it out a bit more and see some of my good good friends in Toronto, Brampton and other places. For not enjoy the first few pictures:

It’s Chris and Leanne. Have a look at the excellent blanket Leanne made. (THANK YOU!!)

(although Noa looks slightly retarded in that picture. Am I allowed to say that?)

We also spent some good times with Trevor, another good friend who we haevn’t seen in ages.

Our good friends Mike and Lara also made it up for a little. We are hoping to get down to their house today.

Finally, we managed to get down to Toronto for a power lunch with Simon (who we haven’t seen in a few years and it was great to see. Thanks for the lunch, we are asses.)

Expect more pictures soon… and yes I am working on the new website. One of these days… emoticon

For all of you who we haven’t seen yet, call! Come to Brampton! Force us to come to Toronto! 8 days left.

David & Kiko emoticon

Noa’s family in Canada

Sorry for the lengthy time in between updates. I know you were all excited about the "right from the airplane" and "automatic timed" updates, but now it’s time for a Canada-update…

Kiko and Noa have decided that they prefer Japan time, and have only recently started getting over their jet lag. I am not sure Noa realizes he is in Canada, but he seems to enjoy the dog’s company. Chloe (maybe some of you don’t know Chloe… I’ll get some pictures up) often tries to include Noa in her games and looks a little hurt when he doesn’t participate.

Anyways, things here are going well. We haven’t really seen all of our friends yet (which is a priority!). Chris and Lianne mde it up to Brampton which was very sweet, and we also got to spend some quality time with Trevor. Still would like to see you all, so give me a call in Brampton and get your asses over here. If not I will try and make some Toronto trips starting next week… I am rambling. (On a side note, did you know that every time I swear in a post it prevents many people from visiting the webpage because those crazy censor-internet-blockers in Japan (and elsewhere) block the website… crazy!)

Where was I? Oh yeah… since Noa hasn’t gotten a chance to see many of our friends, we have concentrated on family. My family is absolutely thrilled (I think!) to meet Noa and Noa loves them. Here are a few pictures of Noa meeting his Canadian family. (I forgot the usb-wire to hook up our camera to my labtop!!! Fortunately we went to Tracy’s house where we were able to get a few pictures up. Thank you Tracy emoticon Tracy also has a kickass tablet pc which you can see here.)

Noa also got a chance to meet his aunts and uncles…

… and his good friend Livvy.

More to come…

Setsubun and stuff that I forgot!

This may just be one of the magical/mystical posts that I make while I am still in Japan (getting ready to leave for Canada) but which appears on the site a few days later… maybe. You decide.　 emoticon

Don’t get too excited. Oh oh oh! Before I forget… Ricky Gervais is my hero. Forget the US version of the Office, take a look at the original Office, Extras, and listen to the podcast. It is really quite funny and provides me with lots of entertainment. Take a look and let me know what you think!!

At any rate, here are a few pictures that I had knocking about. Of some importance is our pictures from Setsubun. What is setsubun? And I quote…

In Japan, Setsubun (節分) is the day before the beginning of each season. The name literally means "division of season". Usually the term refers to the Spring Setsubun, properly called Risshun (立春), celebrated yearly on February 3rd (associated with the Lunar New Year).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Setsubun

All I know is that Kiko made Noa and I put on scary masks and throw beans. emoticon

I think there is something about it here…

Spring Setsubun is traditionally celebrated by the head of the household throwing pan-heated soybeans out the door, while chanting "Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!" (鬼は外! 福は内!). The literal meaning of the words is "Demons out! Luck in!" — the beans are thought to symbolically purify the home. In the Heian era, a famous Buddhist monk was said to have driven away Oni (demons or evil spirits) by throwing beans.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Setsubun

Enough with the chit-chat, here is the picture.

That was a big build up for just one picture, eh?

Here are a few other pictures I had laying around including a visit by the Kato family (one of my homestay families back when I was in highschool in Japan), Noa and me hanging out, Noa hanging out with his chair, and Noa’s first stroller ride. Enjoy!

On our way to Canada…

Using the magic of my computer I have somehow managed to get this post to publish itself while we are in transit from Chunan to Canada. That’s right… I am writing this the night before we leave and it is going to magically appear on Tuesday night while we are in transit!

Am I worried about someone going to our house in Chunan to rob us? No. Someone asked me about that (with all of the details I leave on this website, they were a little concerned), but the fact of the matter is a) we have no stuff, b) i have a remote video monitoring system I made that films the house when something moves and .. umm.. shoots poision, c) and our good friend will be checking in on the house very regualrily. See… I’ve thought of everything! emoticon

At any rate… we are currently on route to Canada. It is going to be quite a long flight (through Chicago) and we are a little worried about Noa. Hopefully everything will go smoothly and we will report when we arrive.

In the meantime, here are a few pictures we took before we left.

Noa just sitting back, relaxing … (in his dog suit.)

This is his rockstar coat.

And finally… enjoy as Noa attempts to find the hidden supply of milk I have hidden in my breast.

and we are off!

This was supposed to be a picture showing you the small space Noa has to live for the next 14hrs. Turns out it was too small to even take a picture! We are just about to take off!

Take off!

Kappa?

I think I will let this picture speak for itself.

(On a side note, we are off to Canada tomorrow to take Noa to see the rest of his family. The site will be updated! And I am always on skype (davidbennett1979) if you want to chat!) Wish us luck!!

kappa?

A good week?

Hello!

Last week was a roller coaster. Lots of ups, and many more downs. Between my computer breaking, our Ipod Nano breaking, messing up a lot of translations, getting called on the messing up… the list goes on. Suffice it to say I was not pleased and I was kind of down.

On the other hand, I also had some very good things happen. Our MythTV box is back up and running (after a lot of work), I am still loving my job here in Chunan, and <drumroll>

I got the scholarship I applied for last year!!! emoticon Although I will be very sad to be leaving Chunan, from October of this year I will be attending Gakushuin University (known for the emperor’s family and politicians kids going there) through a very big government scholarship!! I am still in shock, but there are so many people I have to thank…. Kiko, Komuro-sensei, Arntzen-sensei, Ito-sensei, Jotaro, Ishikawa-sensei, Tracy, Shane, everyone else that helped me out with the application… THANK YOU!!

Like I said, it is going to be tough to leave Chunan, we really do love it here. But I am confident that this experience will help me move close to one day getting a job as a professor back in North America, so wish us luck!

Now since there were no pictures in our last post, Kiko has asked me to upload these family pictures we took in Tanegashima. I believe we promised to have them up earlier.. sorry! These are pictures from Noa’s omiyamairi, the blessing that Japanese children get after 30 days. We took family pictures after the ceremony.

We have also had quite a few visitors for Noa. Below are pictures with Liz (Jim’s girlfriend. In case you forgot, Jim is my good friend who bashed Noa’s head into the ceiling light.) Following that are many of my good friends here in Kagawa prefecture on the JET program, and finally Yoshiko Hirao. One of my most loyal and favourite students attending my town English classes. Enjoy!

emoticon

On being a new father…

I have finally gotten around to writing this entry … (again.) To be honest (well mostly honest) I had quite a large entry written up, but for some unknown reason it died. Ug.

Oh well… let’s try some recall here. I am writing this after getting back from a 2 day trip to Tokyo. Although it was only a 1 night stay, Thursday to Friday, it gave me a chance to reflect on a few important things.

What it is like to be a father
Mario Kart DS

I will begin with the first part. This is only a small point but I guess one of the biggest changes I have noticed is how much one looks forward to going home. Not that I didn’t before (Hi Kiko!), but it is quite amazing to go home after work and have Noa there and how he is clearly excited to see me. Especially now that he is smiling and attempting to fly, it really is quite a feeling. Corny? Maybe. But true.

So, suffice it to say I missed both Kiko and Noa a lot while away in Tokyo. How could you not miss this?

While we are still on the topic of choice around here (Noa!) have a look at some pictures from our new camera. I was a little skeptical about the quality of picture vs. the price of the camera, but since we got a really good deal on the Canon Kiss N (Rebel GT or something) we figured we would get it. I still am shooting on automatic (until I figure out the manual features) but the pictures are looking great! Have a look.

Another thing before I forget: Noa’s name.

In Japan after a baby is born the father is expected to write the baby’s full name on a piece of paper to signify that a name has been chosen (I made that explanation up.) Anyways, here is my attempt at Noa’s name. Not the greatest, but I went through 5 or 6 sheets of paper before coming up with this one. (A big thank you to Komuro-sensei and Arntzen-sensei.) I would be way better at writing Japanese if I were able to absorb all of their advice.

This is getting so long… exciting eh? Now on to some more exciting topics. Mario Kart DS

The new Mario Kart game for the Nintendo DS is amazing. Since it takes advzantage of the DS’s wireless abilities, you can play with up to 16 people at once (who have a DS around you.) Only one person needs a copy of the game. Even better is that if you have a wireless internet hookup, the DS will hook up the wireless internet and you can play with up to three other people from around Japan, or around the world! The game is amazing, makes use of the two screens very well, and the multiplayer is smooth. I don’t know if it is released in Canada yet, but when it does get online and let’s play.

My friend code is: (oops I don’t know it! e-mail me!!) Unfortunately I suck. Ok, that’s all for now.

I AM GETTING davidandkiko.com 2006 back on track as we speak. emoticon My other computer is still in parts but I found a partially saved backup of the work I had done before the crash. Wish me luck.

Miss you guys all. As does Kiko… Noa is doing well and we are looking forward to going back to Canada soon.
love, David, Kiko, & Noa. emoticon
ps. and just for good measure, here is a present for (from?) Tracy & Thomas: (THANK YOU!!)

dog suit and totoro bread

The title says it all.

Noa’s dog suit pyjamas and totoro bread.

… and you complain about no updates emoticon

Here is a picture of Noa looking at his favourite thing in the entire world. I mean that… he clearly loves it more than he loves us. His new mobile.

Kiko and I are having a heated discussion about who took that picture. I think it is too good for her to have taken. emoticon Clearly my work…