Gaijin for Life

Lately Grace has been enjoying the Genki English CDs that I use for my classes at elementary schools. One of our favourite Genki English songs is "What Are You Doing?" I have know idea what the proper response to that question would be for Grace in the context of this photo. Perhaps she does. I'll have to ask her tomorrow. (I won't bother asking Faith since she is still more of a direct object than a verb in this relationship).

Tea Party with Baaba and Aunti Me-me

Grace Falling Asleep at the Dinner Table . . . Again.
(But whenever we give her a nap, we have trouble putting her to bed at 7:00)

This is Grace Playing "Blue Car"

"Blue Car" is our real car. It is a blue Toyota Vitz. Now, as I am not often around to observe Grace's day time activities I have had to consult my wife concerning technical information about this photo. Apparently Grace is driving. I don't know why she has the cart before the horse, but perhaps it is for the same reason that she puts her boots on the wrong feet. If you observe closely you will see some plastic rings under Kuma-don's rocking chair and a wooden boat under my (yes, my) rocking horse. Those are things that Grace has put in the "trunk" for the trip. She didn't say where she was going so we will have to train her to do so before we get her a bicycle.

Dressed Up for Girls' Day

MAP: Protestant Churches in Aomori（青森県のプロテスタント教会）地図・マップ

2009-02-18T08:03:00.007-05:00

View Larger Map・大きくする
In Order to Use This Map Effectively It Is Necessary To Open It in a New Tab or Window

There have been a number of projects taking up my free time lately. One of them is our bureaucratic marathon to get my wife's Canadian permanent residence visa. I will probably write a series of detailed posts on that, as it is probably of interest to people in situations similar to ours. Another project has been this google map of Protestant churches in Aomori Prefecture. My goal, of course, has been to account for all of them but I am sure that I have missed a few "yellow pin" churches. I originally began the project for Aomori JETs in JET Christian Fellowship since the JCF homepage's list of Aomori churches seemed to be pretty incomplete. I didn't realize just HOW incomplete, though, until I started looking up churches. This project has been very educational for me.

Anyway, a few administrative details . . . . I have tried to make this map as bilingual as possible. However, I haven't figured out an efficient way to indicate on the sidebar which churches have English services, English speaking pastors or missionaries, and/or language assistance for English speakers. That information must be obtained by clicking on individual pins. Clicking on a pin will bring up a bubble in which I have entered as much pertinent information as I could gather on the church it represents. Ideally this will include a photo of the building, the church's name and the denomination to which it belongs, links to the church's homepage (if it has one) and to the homepage of the denomination (if it has one), and the names of the pastors or missionaries who minister there.

My intention is to keep updating this map indefinitely. Hopefully it will be of use to others as well as to myself but, if not, at least the project will keep me well informed as to who and what is out there.

A final note: I should point out that there are churches on this map that, on the basis of my own theological convictions, I would never recommend to anyone. However, I hope that I have been able to provide enough information that people using this map will be able to make informed judgements of their own.

Yes, I Broke My Blog; Yes, I'll Probably Take the Time to Fix It . . .

2009-02-15T18:30:00.005-05:00

What happened is, I renamed all of my photo files to reflect the time and date of their creation and that broke all the html links. In the mean time, since in recent months (years?) this blog has become primarily a venue for posting our favourite photos from daily family life, I direct the reader to our web album links on the sidebar.

The primary purpose of this post is to re-evaluate the purpose for the existence of this blog, but since only very sophisticated and knowledgeable writers are qualified to operate photo-less blogs, I will stick a couple of photos in here. (After all, who would read the comics sections of the newspaper if there weren't any pictures? Likewise, what's the point of browsing through an amateur blog if there aren't any photos to look at?)

Image 1: This is a "Healthy Children at Play" scenario. Modest but clean living conditions; heavily used books scattered on the floor; napping station laid out with plenty of blankets . . . . Big sister is taking charge. She has Kuma-don strapped to her back with a primitive oburi-himo, she's getting ready to "nurse" Mo-chan, and pretty soon she will be putting her little sister to sleep for her morning nap. Once the little one is asleep, maybe the big one will do her a i u e o (Japanese alphabet) jigsaw puzzle . . . or maybe she will just go bug mommy--it depends on the day. If the latter, then mommy can read to her, have her help hang up the laundry, or maybe they will bake cookies together.

Image 2: This is your child (okay, I admit it, this is our child) on Chitty-Chitty Bang Bang. This is what happens when you bring Mr. TV in to "help" out. Big sister's brain is fried and little sister is left to eat Lego by herself. You see, my wife and I got ourselves committed to a rush translation job for some friends on a Friday afternoon so we needed some peace and quiet while we jabbed away at our laptops. After all, translation requires a great deal of focused mental energy. So we broke the glass cover, so to speak, pulled out an emergency DVD, plopped the girls down in front of the television set and told them to stay put. They were happy to do so, but it ruined their behaviour for the rest of the evening. It took at least half an hour of Mother Goose to get them back into any semblance of purposeful living. (Don't get me wrong, we love Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, but its important that we watch it and talk about it together as a family rather than just leave our daughters to wallow in the sights and sounds by themselves.)

Now, for the un-illustrated main body of this post. Before this blog became a sort of haphazzard photo-diary of our family life, it was a "JET blog." It was meant to give future JETs a window into the world they were getting themselves into. By personal experience I knew that JETs-in-waiting are just dying for information about what to expect. Unfortunately, things reached a point where I became integrated enough into the fabric of local life that anything interesting I had to say about it--and believe me, there is plenty of interesting and/or hilarious material--would constitute gossip. Dangerously political gossip. Every funny anecdote, every ironic observation, would be at the expense of somebody. And somebody might get mad.

Now, within the first few months of starting Gaijin for Life I realized that googling my village's name in romaji (Latin letters) would bring my blog up on the first page. Before my first year was up I found out that some people in the municipal office checked my blog (not just mine, mind you) everyday. They couldn't read it, but they enjoyed the pictures. Then I discovered that if a picture really interested them they would copy and paste the verbal portion of the post into an online translation engine. Now, for the benefit of monolingual readers who have never experienced computerized translation engines, I will try to demonstrate how this situation could have potentially led to social disaster. Take, for instance, this recklessly lighthearted description of the village's Superintendent of Education I wrote during my first month here:

It is perhaps impossible to convey here without the support of photographic evidence the unique environment in which I am spending my summer days. How can the uninitiated accurately imagine the figure the superintendent of the Board of Education cuts as he slouches in his enormous office in his sleeveless undershirt listlessly fanning himself. His style is that of benign neglect,

Now see how it reads after I use the Excite translation engine (click on the link to have some fun yourself) to translate that passage, first into Japanese, and then back into English:

Perhaps, it is impossible to tell here a unique environment on which I have spent the summer day without the support of the photographic evidence. Is inexperience imaginable accurately because it stoops in a huge office of the undershirt without his sleeve though fanned oneself dull and gloomy by him if it does very when figure is a supervisor of Board of the wound Education?His style is the one of the benign neglect.

Now, the original is bad enough. I was an arrogant, narcissist foreign pig from a big city, breezing into town and writing condescending descriptions of "the harmless local hicks" for the amusement (or so I fancied) of other people "like myself." However, anyone in my village who might have made the effort to try to figure out what I was writing about by using a translation engine would have been left with garbled gibberish putting the good name of one of their public officials in proximity with expressions like "dull," "gloomy," "inexperience" and "neglect." Now that I know so much more about what is actually going on around here (the gloom, the inexperience, the neglect etc.), it would be more dangerous than ever to touch on local issues of any substance--especially those things that amuse or disgust me. And due to privacy concerns, I no longer dare post too many photos of my students or talk too much about my schools.

So I guess what I am trying to say here is, this blog ceased to be a genuine "JET blog" a long time ago, and it would be unsafe for me to attempt to turn it back into one.

As this post has already become longer than reasonable for a blog entry, I will save further discussion of Gaijin for Life's identity crisis for another time.

2008-12-18T17:43:00.003-05:00

My Sister is a Pop Star

2008-12-01T19:27:00.004-05:00

Click on this Link to Listen to Sister #1's Contribution to the Album

If you are family, friend, or relative of the Japanese branch of the Elliot clan, you'll want to click on the above link and listen to Track 2: Song for Erin/Anna

Sister #1's former employers at Hummingbird English Academy started their own music studio where they teach music and produce CDs. This year they produced a CD with six moms singing songs that they wrote for their kids. Sister #1 was invited to write and sing the only English number in the album. You can even purchase a copy of the CD by clicking on this link to visit the Pauole Hauoli Music homepage.

My Niece Erin, Averting Her Face from a Scary Bowl of Raw Tuna

Radio Taiso Before Breakfast

2008-10-19T20:13:00.006-04:00

Every morning before breakfast we obediently submit to the instructions delivered in this video.

Like So . . . Although We Don't Seem to Be Very Coordinated about It

And Grace Sometimes Slacks Off . . . Slacker!

Usually She Puts Her Back Into It, But I Guess the Presence of a Camera Was Too Distracting

When I was a healthy little school kid in Japan I thought rajio taiso was pretty silly because it really didn't seem like much of a work out. Some people would say that it was never meant to be a work out--that it's primary purpose was to nurture herd behaviour and group think. Be that as it may, now that I'm a thirty-something ojisan, doing rajio taiso 1 & 2 makes my body crackle and creek like a barn on a windy day.

Faith Doesn't Do Radio Taiso Yet, But She's Getting Bigger

Kazamaura Report: Another Strange Food

2008-10-17T04:55:00.007-04:00

An Ostrich from an Aomori Ostrich Farm
(or should I say, "ex-ostrich")

I'm guessing that eating ostrich meat per se is not unheard of in the English speaking world. In fact, I understand that it is quite popular in some circles.

But What About Eating It Raw?

. . . At a Happy Little Ostrich Eating Party with Friends?

Not to Mention the Grilled Guts

Again, not a big deal in the English speaking world since eating animal offal has a long and (I suppose) noble history there (can you say "Rocky Mountain oyster," "head cheese" or "chitterlings"?). Nevertheless, I do not share in that tradition and, while I ate my fair share of raw ostrich, I took a pass on the intestines sizzling on the grill. Incidentally, if you are an ex-pat living in Japan, please take the time to explain to your Japanese friends and colleagues--in lengthy, vivid and nauseating detail--that the West has just as long and illustrious a history of eating animal guts and seafood as Japan does. I'm getting really sick of the phrase "only in Japan" (especially since in Toronto I often heard the phrase "only in Korea" applied to many of the exact same things). Yes, we might all eat our animal guts in slightly different ways, and perhaps with greater or lesser frequency as the case may be, but we're really not all that different after all. "If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh?"
I did not plant peppers this year, but there you are. All kinds of marvellous things sprung forth from my compost disposal area this year, and although I pulled most of the tomato, squash, pepper, and miscellaneous other plants along with the weeds, this one somehow escaped. I originally weeded out all of the spontaneous vegetable growth because I was given to understand that it wouldn't amount to anything, but there are at least four peppers on this plant and they have grown to quite a respectable size now.

Visit to Hokkaido Jiji and Hokkaido Baba (as Opposed to Aji-Jiji and Aji-Baba Whom We See More Often)

2008-10-17T04:17:00.004-04:00

Grace Loves Grapes, and Jiji Has Some Grape Vines

Enjoying Hokkaido Jiji's Roses

Enjoying a Late Night Barbecue
with Cousin Souki and Cousin Yua

Faith Meets Double-Baba
(a.k.a. Great Grandma Nakamura)

This Was the First Time that the Cousins Were Old Enough to Play Together in Reasonable Ways

Showing off Their Ponytails
(I Have a Question: is it correct to say "wearing her hair in two ponytails," or is there a special term for two ponytails?)

Meeting the Cows at Satoland （さとランド）

Quadricylce Ride

Cousin Yua is Going to Be a Big Sister Soon, so She Was Very Interested in Faith

Family Photo
(first one in a very long time)

September in Brief

2008-10-14T08:07:00.005-04:00

Yuko got a Nice Face Massage

Our Local Park was Rebuilt

We Had Some More Barbecues

Grace Rode a Bike for the First Time
(Sort of--Her Feet Can't Reach the Pedals Yet)

I Voted in the
2008 Canadian Federal Election

We Rode the Ferry to Hokkaido to Visit Yuko's Family
(but more on that in the next post)

Later in the Month We Went Down the Sai Coast for a Picnic and . . .

. . . to Take a Look at Some of the Beautiful Little Fishing Harbours
(Ushitaki, which can roughly be translated as
"Cattle Falls")

I'm Back . . . Again . . . .

2008-08-30T01:14:00.010-04:00

For the last several months, ever since my hopelessly cheep Averatec fried its electronic brain out, I've been stuck using my wife's 7-year-old PowerBook G4. It looks really cool, and its still great for surfing the Internet and watching DVDs, but it has proven itself absolutely useless when it comes to managing photos (tiny hard drive; absolete software). Thankfully, I had a surprise opportunity last week to pick up a departing JETs Dell Inspiron 8500 for a very reasonable price, so I am back in business. After messing around a couple of days with the Windows XP operating system it came with, I did the only logical thing and installed a flavour of the GNU/Linux Ubuntu operating system called Kubuntu. Ubuntu and Kubuntu have really come a long way since I last used them a year ago. The latest version is 8.04 (Hardy Heron) and with it I can play my cell phone video files and manage my iPod Shuffle no problem--everything just WORKS (after installing the usual extras, such as wine and win32codecs, of course).

Anyway, now that I have nearly finished organizing all of my photos using my new laptop, I finally feel motivated enough to finally provide another garden update. This is how my garden turned out this summer. At least, this is what it looked like last week. It looks a lot different now, but that is another story. The marigolds, the basil and a couple of other herbs (the names of which I can never remember) are my doing. The squash, the tomato plants, the pepper plants and some of the mint all sprung forth spontaneously from the compost I tilled into the earth this spring. Clearly I have been ignoring the composting maxim about not composting seeds. Anyway, the winner for this year is--SQUASH. I initially had about twenty squash plants growing uninvited in my neglected garden. I finally got around to pulling all but one of them (following the advice of my Uncle Lenny), but that ONE turned into the monster you now behold. So far it has produced five squash.

Harvesting Abalone (Awabi):
One of the Great Views from Our Back Yard

A Closeup of the Same

A More Artistic Rendering
(At Least By My Feeble Standards)

This month we had a spell of good weather for about a week, and Grace and I were able to sit out on our lawn chairs before breakfast. (The land mass accross the water is Hokkaido.)

Grace In A New Dress;
Faith In A New Diaper

Some differences between Grace and Faith:
1. Grace never threw up. Faith overeats and then throws up on a regular basis. What a Roman.
2. Grace never really needed to burp after a feeding. After a feeding, Faith usually needs to spend the next hour or two doing nothing but burping. Correction, she hiccoughs, too . . . oh, and breaks wind. If we could harness all the gas coming out of both ends of Faith, we would probably not need to buy any propane for our kitchen stove anymore.
3. Grace used to wake up several times a night and fuss to be fed at random times. We put Faith on a parent directed feeding schedule, and she usually only wakes up once a night.

Stop, Guys, That Tickles!

Our Resident Professional Sleeper at Work

Sadly, the weather took a turn for the worse last week and everyone got sick . . . especially Grace. What an evil place this is. It finally gets warm--not hot, mind you--around the last week of July, and by the last week of August the cold rains come and wash away all memory of an almost pleasant summer. Oddly enough, late September and most of October are usually pretty sunny and warm here, so at least we have that to look forward to.

Putting My New Backyard to Work

2008-08-03T20:29:00.003-04:00

Anna, Jun and Erin Watanabe

Over the weekend we (our family of four plus Yuko's mother) were joined by Yuko's father and by Sister #1 and her family. In practical terms, this meant a perfect opportunity for me to show off my new backyard campground and barbecue pit.

This photo (capturing the moment after the last of the beef, pork ribs, lamb and chicken were all consumed) manages to make my efforts look like a spectacular success. Sadly, the truth is that it was taken during a break in the clouds.

This photo is also deceptive, in that it attributes a blueish tint to what was in truth a dark, grey, gloomy sky . . .

. . . raining on our fun.

By nightfall it was raining so hard that we gave up on the idea of sleeping in the tent. All nine of us ended up sharing the floor space in our house.

The Morning After Everyone Left

The morning after everyone left, dawn smiled benevolently upon my abandoned campground.

The awabi boats bobbed merrily in the early morning sunshine as Hokkaido emerged from the haze.

Facing the other direction, our house and front yard were framed by blue skies.

Now We are Four: The World Meets Mia Faith Elliot

2008-07-28T22:29:00.006-04:00

Our Most Recent Family Photo

I will not even attempt to catch up on all the blog posts I have meant to write but haven't over the past couple of months . . . or at least I won't for now. And I will not simply leave everyone with a link to my online album of "The Birth of Faith" because Yuko still hasn't had a chance to censor it. So for now I will make a little effort (but not so much effort as to drown my motivation) to offer up for the benefit of our long suffering friends and relatives a compilation of select photos of our family's event of the year--with captions and commentary.

The handwritten portions of this sign attached to Faith's hospital bassinet declare, among other things, that the occupant of the bassinet is Mia-chan, that the protagonist of the event commemorated by the sign is Yuko Elliot, that the said event took place in the 20th year of Heisei, July 19, at 9:28 a.m., and that Mia-chan weighed 3,876 grams and measured 51 centimetres at that moment in history. It fails to mention anything about "Saturday," but I will throw that information in for free. Saturday babies are marginally more expensive than weekday babies. Oh, and the pink bunny-eared balloon in the top right corner says "girl-child." I have already explained Faith's name in a previous post, so I will take the short cut of providing a link to it rather than explaining it all over again.

美信 Faith, Approximately 32 Minutes after Being Born
(Click here to View for Comparison a similar Photo of 恵真 Grace taken exactly one year and one week before this photo.)

The very subject matter of photos taken in delivery rooms frequently renders them ill-suited for publication in blogs (although if you followed the link in the previous sentence, you probably realize that I was a lot more "daring" two years ago than I am now). Hence I begin the record of Faith's postnatal life 32 minutes after it actually started, even though I carefully videotaped the first half hour of it, not to mention the half hour leading up to the first half-hour (Yuko pointed out that it would be unfair for Faith not to have a "birthday video" since Grace has one).

After Getting Over Her Initial Shock, Grace Took a Great Interest in "Mee-chan"
I can only assume that up until this moment she thought that "Mee-chan" (diminutive of Mia) meant "big belly" or "bellybutton."

After temporarily getting over her fascination with Faith, Grace developed an equally keen interest in her mother's breakfast. One of Yuko's main complaints about giving birth to Grace was how HUNGRY it made her. For some reason, on that occasion the staff brought her breakfast into the pre-labour room just as she was going into labour and took it away just as Grace was born. Anticipating a similar tragedy, we came armed with power snacks so Yuko wasn't hungry at all. Ironically, this time the kitchen staff brought her breakfast right into the delivery room and left it there all morning.

Sisters

Don't ask me why everyone is resting on Yuko's hospital bed except for Yuko . . . after all, no one else in the family went through the hard work of giving birth (although I suppose Faith went through the hard work of being born). In Japan it is standard practise for even problem-free births to be followed up with a minimum of 5 days convalescence in the hospital or clinic (fully covered by insurance). No one believes us when we tell them that it is common for mothers in North America to go home the same day they give birth.

At the clinic of our choice (St. Cecilia Ladies' Clinic) a four course meal catered by a local hotel is a part of the deal. The doctor/owner himself comes around to congratulate each couple and pour them a glass of grapefruit juice. I'm pretty sure that that doesn't happen at Mutsu Public Hospital (which is where most people in our village travel to to give birth).

Oops, I guess this is our most recent family photo--taken the day we brought Faith home.

Grace Introduces Faith to Our Living Room
(During the two weeks leading up to Faith's birth, when I was waiting at home alone for a phone call from Yuko telling me her contractions had begun, I had brought Grace's little table into the living room so that I could eat curry and rice night after night while watching movie after movie. Not that I was being totally degenerate. I did try baking bread once--in a home bakery, that is--and I did get a descent day's work in every day. I just couldn't sleep at night, being a two-and-a-half hour drive away from my family).

Grace immediately set about rearranging the living room, including Faith's child seat.

Grace knows that both these chairs are hers, so she likes to use both of them, even though she can only actually sit in them one at a time.

Nap Time

Ditto

Growing: Three Months In the Life of Grace

2008-07-17T20:44:00.003-04:00

Dirty Face Smooching the Camera

Clean(er) Face Smooching the Sliding Glass Door

More of the Same

Why can I not help devoting fully 20% of this blog post to these blowfish photos?

Napping Freestyle

Oops, could somebody get that for me before the fish do?

The Traveller
(On the Oma-Hakodate ferry en route to Hokkaido)

Watching Maternal Jee-ji Burn Stuff in Hokkaido

Finishing a Healthy Fruit Slushy after a Visit to Mrs. Murphy

First Time Seeing the Natcchan Rera (Or is this the Natchhan World?) for the First Time

Rain in the Front Yard

Sunshine at the North Pole of Honshu
(a.k.a. Oma-zaki)

First Time Driving
(She Wanted to Drive the Red Car, But It Wasn't Working)

Free Rental Tricycle at the Sports Park in Mutsu
(Be advised that the kitty-cars cost ¥200 per 2 laps)

. . . which brings us to horseback riding in July

There's ever so much that I've skipped, and I don't know if I'll ever get around to posting about it.

Grace Masters the Tea Ceremony

2008-07-17T20:30:00.003-04:00

We usually get together with the Muraguchis about once a week. Sometimes Mrs. Muraguchi is away for the first half of our visit, either for dancing or tea ceremony lessons, and when she arrives home she is still overflowing with the artistic spirit. That's how Grace landed this tea ceremony lesson back in April (she was a year and nine months old at the time).

Mrs. Muraguchi has all the equipment at home . . . stuff the average tea drinker would have no idea what to do with.

So How Did I Do?

Once She Had Mastered the Art . . .

. . . She Was Ready To Formally Serve

Dated Garden Update

2008-07-17T19:18:00.003-04:00

This is what my unauthorized garden looked like in April. This year I dug up a much bigger swath of ground in the shape of an L to a depth of about 20cm. It was labour intensive to say the least since the ratio of rocks to soil by volume was about one to one. I piled most of the rocks behind the log bordering the bottom of the L but used the biggest ones to beef up the fire pit I made in my new clearing (featured in the previous two posts).

Someone Else's Garden in April

(This is the view from our dining room, but taken from a different angle)

Last year I retired Stinky, the store-bought composter, in favour of an elaborate apple box construction of my own. That apple box jumbo composter is what you saw burning in the previous post. This year, I have replaced it with a single upturned apple box embedded in my newly tilled garden plot--a stealth composter.

Closeup of the Stealth Composter

I have since removed the middle board all together and now use a heavy duty plastic apple box weighted with rocks as the lid. A lid is necessary to keep out the local crows, cats, tanuki, foxes and bears (okay, it wouldn't stop the bears, but . . . ).

Quarterly Update On My Clearing

2008-07-17T18:48:00.004-04:00

Yuko's Father Contributes to the Cause During a Visit to Kazamaura

Well, okay, this update will actually only bring us up to the end of April. The more recent photos of the fruit of my labour are all in the memory card of our other camera which is currently residing in Aomori City with Yuko (where she is awaiting the debut of our second daughter).

Grace Helped Out With the Clearing . . .

. . . While Daddy Tested It for "Enjoyability"

Before Burning the Brush Pile

The View at Sunrise

After Burning the Brush Pile

Liberating the Fence from Overgrowth Has Been Particularly Problematic

There Are Still (Now, In Mid-July) Chunks of Tree Embeded In the Wire Mesh

When the Principal's Away the ALTs Will Play, or, "Now You Know What We Did Last Weekend"

2008-04-15T02:32:00.006-04:00

Putting in Sod Inserts (Expropriated from the Junior High School's Decayed and Overgrown Grass Pile)

(I also plan to knock down those "plants" behind the fence in order to enhance the view of Hokkaido and the Tsugaru Strait)

We have one neighbour--the principal who "lives" in the principal's residence next door. He goes home to his real house in Mutsu most weekends, and that is when I wander over to his side of the property and ponder ways of "improving" it. This year my goal is to reclaim an overgrown corner tucked away behind the principal's house and the cell phone relay tower. It is a beautiful spot (as long as you keep your back facing the tower) overlooking the sea, with a magnificent view of Hokkaido. Facing the sea, there is a cedar grove to the left and lawn to the right. It is enclosed on three sides by a wire mesh fence, so is should be a good place for Grace to play and for our family to hang out on sunny weekends.

After
. . . As Usual I Failed to Get a "Before" Photo

But This Should Give a Fair Indication of How Much Brush and Undergrowth I Cleared

Will This Someday Become a Beautiful, Shaded Lawn Good for Barbecues and Croquet?

The Barbecue: I Took All the Exposed Stones and Made a Fire Pit with Them

Viewed from the Other Side
With the Backside of the Principal's Residence in the Foreground and the School Gymnasium Visible in the Distance

We Also Ate Some Freshness Burgers with Baaba in Aomori City

My Fleeting Career as the School Pianist

2008-04-06T21:59:00.005-04:00

"But Luke," those who know me might say, "you don't play. You can't even carry a tune!" To which I reply: "What matter if I don't know one note from another? Nothing is impossible!"

See?!

Ordinarily the task of playing the piano for school functions falls to a music teacher. However, there is a quirk in the system that can render a small school pianist-less. The thing is, music teachers cannot play at their own post-leaving (i.e. "departure") and inauguration ceremonies. That means that if the only music teacher leaves for another school at the end of the academic year and a new one transfers in, someone else must play the piano for those two ceremonies. I overheard the curriculum coordinator discussing this issue with some of the senior teachers, and at the time I thought: "not my problem." However, through circumstances that I will hereafter describe, it turned out to be my problem after all. I was destined to becom my junior high school's interim pianist!

Red (for ready), Blue (for bow and hold), Red (for return to the upright position)

Admittedly, there is only one piece that needs to be played at the post-leaving and inauguration ceremonies for departing and incoming teachers. They call it shuu rei--the ceremonial bow with which all school ceremonies open and close. It consists of two chords, one of them played twice. (I'm just bluffing here. I don't really understand what a "chord" is, at least not in the lofty way that a music teacher would). Anyway, immediately following the closing ceremony for the third trimester and approximately one hour before the post-leaving ceremony for outgoing teachers, a group of the senior teachers summoned me to the piano around which they were clustered. The curriculum coordinator said to me, "Luke-sensei, try pushing all these keys with the read stickers on them, then push the ones with the blue stickers, and then push the ones with the red stickers again." Like a fool, I gave it my best shot. "Resolved!" said the curriculum coordinator. "Luke-sensei will be our pianist for the post-leaving ceremony."

And I Was (Because I'm at the Bottom of the Teacher Totem Pole, and I Couldn't Say Boo About It)

Naturally, having successfully pressed me into service for the post-leaving ceremony, it was a simple matter for them to publish my name under "pianist" for the incoming teachers' inauguration ceremony a week later. I took these photos while practising my "piece" for the latter. Thank goodness the new music teacher is good and "inaugurated" now, and hopefully I will be "post-leaving" this school before she does.

A Taste of Sun Before the Gloom of Spring

2008-03-24T00:07:00.006-04:00

Interned

For most of the year Kazamaura's pathetic weather keeps us interned, confined to indoor activities. In the Yukon people often joked that there were only three seasons there: July, August and winter. Well, the temperature may seldom dip below zero here in Shimokita, but I think that a similar approach should be used for describing Kazamaura's seasons: August, September, and Gloom. The only nice time to be here is the tail-end of July through to the first bit of October. There are a few exceptions . . .

. . . like most of Holy Week and Resurrection Sunday this year. It was still cold enough that we needed our jackets most of the time, but the sky was blue and the sun was bright and warm for the first time in months and months. Easter Monday brought back the cold and gloom that is more usual fare for a month that is neither August or September.

No One Needs to Teach a One-and-a-Half Year Old How to Do This--It Comes Naturally

The Koi (Cyprinus Carpio) in Our Local Park:
The Objects of Grace's Interest

I often used to wonder how well young children can connect simplistic drawings of animals and every day objects with the corresponding real-life entities. Over the past half-year or so Grace has demonstrated that she has no problem connecting real-life cats and dogs and birds with the pictures in her books. However, misunderstandings do occur. I was a little taken aback the other day when Grace insisted that the cyprinus carpio in the pond in our local park were "jû" (pronounced "joo"). Then I remembered this page in Grace's "Counting with Miffy" book. Jû means ten. Since jû is the first word and sakana (meaning "fish") is the second word we say when reading this page to Grace, she must have thought that the little fishy pictures represented jû, even though I always point to the number 10 when I say "jû". I finally got her to pronounce "fish" (in English) a couple of times over the weekend, but whenever she actually sees a fish she still says "jû".

And if you have 49 seconds to blow . . .

. . . RooTube Continues to Satisfy the World's Unquenchable Appetite for Low Quality Video Footage Available for Free Over the Internet

Welcome to Japan! A Visit from Aunt Mary and Uncle Paul

2008-03-23T22:42:00.002-04:00

Go on, click the arrow in the centre of the slide show display area. Don't pretend that the slide show wasn't over before you figured out what was going on.
So What Do You Do When You Take a Whole Bunch of Group Photos and Not a Single One Turned Out Nicely? You Make a Slide Show.

It's not often that relatives can make it all the way over to Japan to visit the Elliot Clan of Aomori, so we really enjoyed and appreciated the time that Uncle Paul and Aunt Mary (my father's eldest sister) could spend with us in our native environment. Since they lost their camera in Kyoto (note to travellers: don't go to Kyoto, bad things are waiting to happen to you there--come to Aomori instead, where civilization is young and the tourists are few), so they asked us to share all the photos we took during their visit to northern Japan.

Unfortunately, I only took two pictures, and one of them wasn't that great.

Cousins at Play:
Sister #1 and Cousin W-1 (a.k.a. Anna and Erin) Came Down to My Parents' Place As Well

Grace Showing Baba that She Can Read Now

"The Night of the Abominable Snowplough" or "What in Tarnation Happened to My Lawn?"

2008-03-21T00:32:00.008-04:00

My Recently Declassified "Secret Garden"

If my memory serves me correctly, our local snowplough has, in previous winters, caused only minimal damage to our "yard". I'm not sure what the deal was this year but, as these photos demonstrate, the era of benevolent snow ploughing seems to be over in our neighbourhood. The place looks like it was landscaped by Orcs.

My Precious Playing Area for Backyard Croquet

On the Side Facing the Road

My Playing Field in Greener Days
(Last August)

The Other, Other Sport of Kings

Although it's difficult to tell from a distance in early spring, the property we live on is actually quite jungly at the micro level.

Like so . . .

. . . and so. Especially ever since the school janitor started driving the daycare bus and became too busy to tend to the yard work of the teacher housing developments. But one day, the junior high principle who lives next door suddenly began attacking the weed jungle with a weed whacker. He continued to attack it all day until . . .

. . . our front yard looked like a freshly mowed hayfield. I took it upon myself to gather up and dispose of the "hay", partly because I thought it was the least I could do to show my appreciation for and competitive spirit toward the principle's hard labour, and partly because I realized that nobody else was going to do it. Actually, I felt so bad watching the principle diligently trimming the whole field with a weed whacker (a task roughly equivalent to eating soup with a teaspoon) that I borrowed an American style lawnmower from the Aomori Christian Centre and took over lawn mowing duty for the summer. I think this interference on my part may have disappointed the principle, because he moved his weed whacking operation across the street and began tending to trimming the sidewalk that runs around the perimeter of the school grounds. I don't blame him. Weed whacking is wonderfully therapeutic.

Raked Hay Waiting to be Transported to My New Mulch Storage Facility

I gathered all of the cut grass into a giant pile out behind the principle's house, and hopefully it will make great mulch this spring.

Secret Garden 2007 Part I: A Dream Is Born

2008-03-20T22:35:00.004-04:00

Before this blog entered its period of cyber silence following the mushroom incident, I shared my new vision for working my own land through an apple-box gardening scheme. However, after clearing away the freshly mowed weeds from a neglected corner of the board of education property we live on, I got an itch to take a shovel and hoe to it. In essence, I was motivated to go back to moonlighting as a peasant, but this time through an unsanctioned squatter-gardening project.

After all, my apple box farm was going nowhere . . .

. . . with the exception of my store-bought basil plants.

So I developed an action plan in which I would discretely dig apple box-sized holes one at a time and backfill them with the precious contents of my apple boxes (i.e. a dirty cocktail of black soil and compost).

I would use the rocks unearthed in the process to build borders for my new little "flowerbeds".

I worked early mornings, before breakfast, and strategically positioned my apple box collection so as to block the view from teachers driving past on their way to the junior high school. The idea was that perfectly formed "flowerbeds" would suddenly and inconspicuously start popping into existence one at a time in the hidden corner behind the fire hydrant.

Of course, we couldn't keep the crows from finding out that we had started hiding our compost under the weed cuttings I had piled up between the wind fence and the "retired" telephone pole (lying on its side behind the fire hydrant). Eventually I moved the weed pile to a remote location at the back of the property behind the principle's house and used the space for a stone pile instead.

Secret Garden 2007 Part II: Glory Days

2008-03-20T22:15:00.006-04:00

Our garden's peak of glory spanned August and September. Our basil plants grew into the size of small bushes, our mint threatened to take over the "lawn", and the daikon survived in the bankrupt, rocky and garbage infested strip of soil that I had sifted by hand.

We intended to use the mint to flavour our drinking water and season our lamb chops, and the basil was slated to be turned into basil paste for use throughout the winter.

Unfortunately, the busyness of the season overtook us, and the only thing we ever used any of our herbs for was this pizza (and possibly a few salads).

Oh yeah, I even made an outdoor composter out of the old apple boxes once they were no longer needed to shield the basil plants from prying eyes and violent winds.

Secret Garden 2007 Part III: The End

2008-03-20T21:33:00.005-04:00

Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.

Or so said Robert Frost. According to my sources the world as we know it will unquestionably end in fire, but my Secret Garden 2007 perished in ice--thanks to an early cold spell starting 19 November.

I kept wondering aloud when I should harvest my daikon, and my green-thumbed neighbours (of "My Neighbours' Corn" fame, references here and here) kept telling me "Wait for it . . . " "Wait for it . . . " and I waited for it--and we all lost our daikon.

Close-up of a Cold Daikon

Technically these were still edible, but the window of opportunity was too narrow. I followed my neighbour's advice and individually wrapped each one in newspaper for storage, but they all spoiled within a month or two anyway. They have become fertilizer for this year's daikon.

What Happened to YouTube Remixer?

2008-03-10T01:29:00.002-04:00

I was planning to combine this video . . .

. . . with this video using YouTube Remixer as a test to see whether Remixer is up to the task of becoming the main video editing tool for the producers of Keitai Cinema and RooTube. Unfortunately, this online editing tool seemed to be out of service today. I hope that's just temporary, because I'm trying to move all of my video producing operations--including all of my video files stored on my external hard drive--into "the cloud" courtesy of YouTube. Doing so seems to be my only option since I'm currently stuck using a seven-year-old Mac with only a couple of GBs hard drive space left, and all of my keitai video files are in an obscure Microsoft ASF file format. My Windows Movie Maker days are over, and I need to look for new ways and means of maintaining my status as a bottom feeder in the vlogging food chain. If this venture proves successful, I will finally make good on my promise to produce Monkey Wars Episode 2: The Attack of the Clerks.

Things Wives Wish Their Husbands Wouldn't Allow to Happen to Their Children's Little Red Jackets

Girls' Day Was Yesterday

2008-03-04T03:46:00.003-05:00

Preparing the Girlfest

Grace Doing What She Does Best--Casually Helping Herself

(I Believe Someone Said it was Girls' Day?
My Day for Entitlement?)

Yuko Made Chirashi Zushi
(Literally "Scattered Sushi")

Peeling Oranges Is Serious Business

Choo Choo Po Po!
(The Little Girl Who Could)

Going Shopping

While Grace was Sleeping

"Pon!" Birth Plan II

2008-03-04T03:18:00.004-05:00

Two years ago I was proud to be the kind of guy who does maternity yoga with his wife. Now that Grace has been successfully "pon!"ed into the world I have to spend much of "Pon!" Birth Plan II on the sidelines policing her activities. Sometimes she gets all mature on us, though, and keeps mom company. If I try to join in like times of yore, she goes back to being fussy.

We Still Need to Teach Grace the Difference Between Left and Right

A Little Girl Can Only Be Good for So Long . . . .

2008-02-26T02:05:00.004-05:00

Formal Inventory

The family man, as a husband and father, has many responsibilities resting on his head. Not least among these is the care and protection of the family Legos. I know our Lego. I know exactly how many of which colour of which piece we have, and should any of them be missing when I lovingly place them in their Lego box for the night, I will know.

Grace's First True Lego Creation
(as opposed to a mere stack of bricks)

The most difficult thing about managing Lego is sharing. For example, let us say that I want to use all ten red 2 × 4 bricks in a bridge I am constructing. Chances are that Grace will decide that she wants to use red 2 × 4s too. Chances are even greater that she will knock down my Lego bridge for her own amusement before I even have a chance to lay the third red brick, let alone the tenth one. What is one to do?

Closeup of Grace's First Real Lego Creation

So Whatever Became of My CloudBook Mania?

2008-02-26T00:35:00.008-05:00

I Ended Up Building This Cheap Knock-off Instead

Is My Daughter a Computer Cracker?!

A Closeup of My CloudBook Replica

(I didn't have enough black blocks)

As I have indicated in previous posts, I was one of the first people in the world to put in a pre-order for the first ever Everex CloudBook. Last week saw a lot of CloudBook un-boxings going online in the United States and, had I not canceled my order, I probably would have received mine here in Japan at the end of this week. So WHY, you might ask, did someone so obsessed about becoming an early CloudBook owner CANCEL his order?! Well, the fact is that I was beginning to realize (during Everex's one-month delay in their product launch) that I am probably not very well suited for the role. The CloudBook still requires a lot of developing, and--unfortunately--at present I have neither the time nor the necessary knowledge to be a part of that process. What finally nudged me into backing out--for now--was the following email I received from ZaReason.com :

---quote---
We are nearly ready to ship the Cloudbooks. A few of the early orders (yours included) did not have the option to purchase the proper country-specific power cord since the non-US power cords were not yet available when we first opened up the preorders. We now have the power cords available. Please place your order for the proper type of power cord here. As soon as your order is complete, we can ship your Cloudbook with the proper power cord for your country.

Note that we can only ship your order when we have reassurance that you will be able to have a proper power supply in your country. If you would rather cancel your order, we will gladly give you a full refund. If you still want your Cloudbook, then please order the cord and we will gladly ship it to you.

Thank you,

[so-and-so] in Orders
www.zareason.com

---end quote---

I replied thusly:

---quote---
Ahh. I suppose I should have noticed that a power cord was not listed in the hardware specifications . . . . Anyway, I respect and appreciate your offer for a full refund and, as reluctant as I am to do so, I think I am going to have to accept that offer. An extra US$29 pushes the total cost beyond what would make sense for me, especially since it is already costing me so much to ship the CloudBook to Japan.

My records show that you charged US$462.20 to my wife's credit card ($399 for the CloudBook and $63.20 for shipping). My understanding is that the shipping cost will also be refunded as no shipping actually took place? Please let me know how the refunding actually works, as we used a Japanese credit card (which, of course, charges us in Japanese yen) and I'm not very experienced with refunds on credit card charges.

I still think ZaReason is a great company, and I will be taking my time to research and consider your other products . . . or maybe even a future version of the CloudBook.

Sincerely,
Luke Elliot
---end quote---

Sadly, I discovered later that refunds for credit card charges don't work very well at all . . . for the company that has to give them, that is (it worked out fine for us as we got all of our money back). A couple of days after asking for a refund, I began seeing the following message from ZaReason being quoted on CloudBook websites:

---quote---
Due to the amount of money we have lost granting refunds (due to bank transaction fees) we can no longer sell the Cloudbook. You may be able to find it through other vendors but we can not guarantee stock. We are refocusing our efforts on laptops and desktops that we build ourselves over which we have complete control and which we have never missed a product launch. Trustworthy delivery of Linux hardware is the core of our business.
---end quote--- (Reference)

Reading that made me feel a little guilty about my personal role in the financial woes of a company I have come to respect greatly. I was also saddened by the fact that if I do buy a future version of the CloudBook, I will not be able to take my business to ZaReason. Hopefully--if Everex ever gets its game together with the CloudBook--the two companies will kiss and make up. Well, okay, maybe not kiss, but at least make up. Or maybe ZaReason will come up with their own implementation of the CloudBook. In any case, I'm hoping that the CloudBook will mature as a product by the end of the year (with a 9" screen and a properly developed gOS).

From reading articles and comments on various websites devoted to the CloudBook I am getting the sense that a) CloudBook fans in general are not necessarily being turned off by the problems that have been identified in the first batch and b) although ZaReason lost money in the end due to pre-order cancellations (responsibility for this outcome rests with both Everex and ZaReason . . . oh yeah, and with me too), their involvement with the CloudBook generated a lot of positive publicity for them.

This is a great site for learning about the CloudBook http://www.cloudbooker.com/

And now, for something completely different:

Can You Spot the Difference?

Oh Yeah, Saint Valentine's Day . . .

2008-02-21T19:02:00.007-05:00

Baking Cookies with Mommy

For those of you who have never experienced a Valentine's Day in the Far East, it is the custom here to dedicate the day to enhancing shareholder value for the continent's sundry chocolate conglomerates (Lotte and Meiji come to mind). Contemporary culture dictates that women and girls buy valentine chocolates for men and boys. In many office environments this arrangement takes on an obligatory nature (the famous "giri-choco"). At the elementary and junior high school level girls give chocolates to whichever guys (yes, that's plural "guys" for each girl) they feel like giving them to in the confident knowledge that each of those boys will be obliged to return the favour in kind on White Day (March 14) in the form of cookies or white chocolate. Juvie chocolate giving usually kicks off around grade four. When I was in grade four, I received no chocolates. In grade five I received one. In grade six I again received one . . . from a different girl . . . a day late. I can only assume that this was "pity-choco." My best friend averaged about fourteen chocolates per Valentine's Day during those same two years. On the day before White Day when I was grade six, I ran into "pity-choco" girl in the local mom and pop shop just as I was preparing to buy her a White Day gift in return. She said: "just give me the money."

Ready for the Oven

While They were Baking

I Lego

Big Strawberry

. . . Two Days Later: Time to Put the Frosting On

Grace Approached the Task with a Can-Do Attitude . . .

. . . Not to Mention a "Help Yourself" Work Ethic

Ready for Delivery to Family Friends

The Christmas Photos I Never Posted

2008-02-20T21:11:00.006-05:00

Our Ultra-Portable Christmas Tree

This year I knew it was time to start having our own Christmas tree. But a prerequisite of having a Christmas tree is acquiring a tree. Should we go with real or fake; large or small. Real trees tend to shed. I hate that. And the larger they are, the more they seem to shed. Fake trees are fake, and I hate that even more. Looking back on the preceding sentences, I realize that perhaps "hate" is an inappropriate word to be throwing around, especially in relation to Christmas trees. Please feel free to replace all the "hate"s with "have feelings of hostility or animosity toward." Fortunately, while on a family grocery shopping trip, I came across this little ¥600 (about $6.00) potted plant. It's called a Golden something or other . . . I think. I can't remember; I threw the tag away. Anyway, after attaching a few little Christmas tree decorations that only cost slightly more than the tree (bush?) itself, we had ourselves a lovely little Christmas tree. I liked it so much that I didn't un-decorate it until early February. Now it is sitting naked on our china cabinet, and our friend who is a forester is of the opinion that we should give it more sun. I have grown very fond of our little Christmas tree, so if it needs more sun to survive until next year . . . why, I will find a way to give it more sun. I am so proud of our Christmas tree that I am now going to force you, the reader, to look at it . . .

. . . again . . .

. . . and again . . .

. . . and again.

Singing Christmas Carols by the Light of the Advent Candles

(We got this family tradition going two years ago)

Family Christmas--Early (i.e. 22 December)

(This is when I got . . . when Grace got her Lego set)

Our Latest Attempt at a Usable Family Photo

Christmas Dinner at Our Favorite
French Restaurant

(The only one within a hundred miles of us, I think)

The Two Moms

Oddly enough, this is the only picture I got of the grand-Elliot Christmas in Ajigasawa. Next year I should make a point of photographing the traditional Christmas sushi.

The Elliot-Ghent Christmas
at the Ghent "Warehouse"

Stay tuned for photos of New Year in Hokkaido . . . .

Dress Warm, It's Winter!

2008-02-20T19:33:00.004-05:00

Grace Modeling the Knit Wool Jumper that Her Great-(in-more-ways-than-one)-Aunt Jan Made for Her Birthday

When Grace was born, I was there . . . with a video camera. I held Yuko's hand in my left, and filmed the happy occasion with my right (from carefully considered angles, of course). Then I took a bunch of pictures. Hardly a week has gone by since in which Grace hasn't been photographed, and perhaps that is why she can't look a camera in the lens without posing.

Pose 1

Pose 2 ("We're still doing rocking chair photos, right Da[d]?")

Pose 3 (The Casual "This isn't a pose" pose)

I'm not sure what the fashions are in North America right now, so I will point out here that pants worn under short dresses are all the rage for little girls in Japanese kindergartens.

Pose 4
(Grace: "Okay Da[d], now give me the camera and let me take your picture."
Dad: "Just a minute Grace, daddy will go put on his Mouseketeer uniform to make it a worthwhile photo . . . which reminds me, I haven't checked those mouse traps IN OVER FOUR DAYS!")

Many thanks for the jumper, Great-Aunt Jan!

The Real Mouseketeer

2008-02-12T01:22:00.000-05:00

Setting Out On A Mouse Patrol

For the past couple of months we've been hearing scurrying sounds in the ceiling. Yesterday, I finally picked up a couple of mousetraps at the hardware store. Personally I like the good old fashioned North American spring traps that are cheap, small and remarkably lethal. Unfortunately for me, most Japanese retailers only sell the cage and goo varieties of anti-mouse devices. With the cage variety success means a new pet mouse. Success with the goo variety leaves you with a sticky conscious since the victim presumably suffers a long drawn out and harrowing death as it wriggles itself deeper and deeper into the goo and eventually dies of suffocation or exhaustion. I bought the goo variety.

A Canadian "Tunnel Rat" Prepares for Mouse Clearing Operations During a Peace Making Mission in Northern Japan

The reason I took a knife up there was to make the photo more interesting. The reason I took the camera up was so that I could stick it through the ceiling insulation and rafters and do some photo surveillance of the traps without going through the bother of forcing my head and shoulders through small spaces at awkward angles.

Trap 1 Clear!

Trap 2 Clear!

"Clear!" is not the result we were looking for. What is going on? They are mice, these are mousetraps. I even embedded crumbs of whole wheat bread and brown rice crispies in the goo! Or "what if," as my wife suggested in a dark voice, "What if it's not really mice in our ceiling? What if it's a snake?" Well, I am possessed of certain primeval prejudices and phobias which make that thought too terrible for me to contemplate, so tomorrow I will sprinkle fish flakes on the goo. If there are no mice in my mousetraps by Thursday, I will entertain the possibility that more serious threats than mice are a-slither, declare DEFCON 1, and prepare for total warfare.

Grace Reading L.L.Bean:Kids During a Diaper Change
(Perhaps It's Time for the Dawning of a New Age--
the Age of the Potty)

Hard at Work, As Usual

Introducing: "Help Me Fix My Laptop"

2008-02-12T00:19:00.000-05:00

This is my wife's old laptop: a six year-old "TiBook." It has been my interim computer ever since my not-so-trusty but still very serviceable Averatec died. Three more weeks to go before I get my CloudBook (I hope), but in the mean time I need to keep "Old Abi" going. The fact that it was sitting unused on a shelf for two years probably helps but, even so, some of the hardware is beginning to wear out. Last week I started having power supply issues . . .

. . . and I noticed that there was a lot of sparkling going on exactly where that dark spot at the base of the plug is.

So I cut the cord with my trusty Leatherman Wave's wire cutter . . .

. . . and discovered that one wire had burned right through. It was not only charred, but totally severed.

So I replaced the aesthetically pleasing but totally non-recyclable Mac plug with an ¥88 one I got at the hardware store.

It works great. I admit that this repair job is even less impressive and less interesting than the one I did on my Averatec a little over a year ago, and for that I apologize. I have wasted your time by sharing it with you.

Here is that self-same laptop a year later, and in need of more complex repairs. It has taken it's place on the floor of the spare bedroom, next to the box of old laptop parts and the remote controlled toy hovercraft I bought when I was a kid.

Maybe I will start a new series on this blog called: "Help Me Fix My Busted Laptop." We'll start with my old Averatec 3200.

Symptom: suddenly cuts out during the boot process (or, when I have it in BIOS mode, after a short period of time--the more times I try starting it in a row, the less time it takes to cut out).

Original Cause: I was defragging the hard drive--overheating may have been an issue.

If this laptop can be successfully repaired it will be donated to a good cause: replacing my father's eight year-old IBM that is still running Windows 2000.

A Reluctant Reference to My Least Favorite Institutions and, "Should I Pre-Register My Photo and Fingerprints the Next Time I Travel Outside Japan?"

2008-02-04T18:52:00.000-05:00

I am a child of the Cold War, and if there was one thing I really thought was foul about the Reds when I was a kid (besides their perceived habits of throwing Christians into gulags and controlling the lives of their citizens), it was their maniacal border controls. Well, like old soldiers, the commies just faded away during my teens, but as a well-traveled third culture kid (TCK) I quickly learned that all border and immigration agencies of all countries were my enemy--especially after I turned eighteen. It has always been my desire, though, to keep my own little cold war with the world's border agencies from turning hot. After all, I am just one bug among many bugs, and they are a legion of stomping jackboots. They gave me a lot of grief, but I tried not to let them change my travel habits.

However, the day came (on my Honeymoon Part II) when U.S. immigration photographed and fingerprinted my wife during a changeover on our flight to Canada (I had been unaware of the new U.S. policy that required all non-Canadian foreigners to be subject to biometric identification). I decided then and there that I would never again fly with an American airline and that I would never again take my family through an American airport . . . and I haven't. It's not that I think that being fingerprinted is the end of the world; I had to be fingerprinted as a registered alien in Japan when I turned sixteen, and also when I applied to join the auxiliary police in Ontario, Canada. It is just that the once exotic world of airports and air travel has gradually been morphing into a venue for personally degrading probings by the executive branches of governments. Frankly, I am much more afraid of earthquakes, governments and war than I am of terrorists. I'm not saying that terrorists aren't terrible or that I'm not afraid of them . . . I'm just more afraid of the other things, and I believe that I am perfectly justified in being so.

All of the above is merely an intro to the fact that I am extremely unhappy that Japan has opted for its own (and less sophisticated) application of biometrics to border control. I have generally tried to avoid discussing the issue because in the ex-pat community it usually degenerates into a flame war between the "Japan is a Den of Incompetent Xenophobes" camp and the "Japan is Uniquely Transcendent and, Besides, America Did It First" camp. But this affects my life, and while boycotting the United States is painful yet possible for me, boycotting Japan is utterly impossible in the context of my life.

So, rather than wading into the debate (if you can even call it a "debate" when the bad guys aren't listening anyway), I will make my contribution in the form of some received practical advice. The following is an exert from an email I received through a mailing list:

For your information, our family has all done the optional pre-registration for entry/departure from Japan. I think this is available only in the Tokyo area for right now. Here are the details in case you are interested. You will probably find it is more trouble than it is worth. Anyway, I have composed what I learned in a question & answer format so you will know in advance:

QUESTION:  Why on earth would anyone want to pre-register their fingerprints with immigration??

   ANSWER:  It may save you time standing in line upon re-entry, because you can use the automatic gate. And they are getting your fingerprints no matter what.

QUESTION:  Automatic gate? That sounds cool! So I don't have to give my passport to an immigration inspector or be fingerprinted?

   ANSWER:  On the contrary. If you are a foreigner, your "automatic gate" will still be manned by an inspector, and you still have to be fingerprinted and photographed.

QUESTION:  But just once, right?
   ANSWER:  No, every time you enter Japan you have to be photographed and fingerprinted if you are a foreigner.

QUESTION:  So what, if anything, is different about this "automatic gate"? It sounds the same as a regular immigration gate.
   ANSWER:  You get to scan your passport page yourself. Otherwise, it is almost the same. Except that the line should be shorter.

QUESTION:  Well, a shorter line sounds good...
   ANSWER:  Yes, but you still have to wait for your luggage...

QUESTION:  Who gets to use the automatic gates?
   ANSWER:  Only Japanese or foreigners who have pre-registered their photos and fingerprints before leaving Japan.

QUESTION:  So foreigners can go through the same gate as the Japanese?
   ANSWER:  No. There are separate automatic gates for Japanese and foreigners. But right now they only have a couple of gates installed.

QUESTION:  What do you do when you get to the automatic gate for foreigners?
   ANSWER:  Use the scanner to scan the photo page of your passport, then hand your passport to the inspector, allow him to take your photo, and fingerprints.

QUESTION:  That actually sounds like more steps than the regular line...
   ANSWER:  Is that a question?

QUESTION:  Well then why would anyone want to use the automatic gates?
   ANSWER:  It doesn't matter. There probably won't even be one in your arrival wing. When my wife got back from China they did not have one in her wing.

QUESTION:  Well where are they?!
   ANSWER:  Right now there is only 1 in Narita Terminal 1 South Wing (Lufthansa, Singapore, United, Asiana, and ANA) and Terminal 2 (JAL, Quantas, Air NZ).

QUESTION:  If there is not an automatic gate in my wing, what should I do?
   ANSWER:  There is now a special line for foreigners who have a re-entry permit. If you have one you can go there instead of the regular foreigner line.

QUESTION:  But I went through the Japanese line before. Can't I go through the Japanese line since I live here and have a gaijin card?
   ANSWER:  No. No more. Move away from the window please.

QUESTION:  But my wife is Japanese...
   ANSWER:  Move away from the window please.

QUESTION:  Well are there any disadvantages to using the automatic gate?

   ANSWER:  You need to know that they will NOT stamp your passport unless asked (arrival / departure info is recorded electronically for them, not you).

QUESTION:  Well why would I need my passport stamped?

   ANSWER:  You might need proof of being out of your home country or in Japan for taxes, etc. It is up to you to keep a record. [. . .].

QUESTION:  Well do I still have to fill out that stupid card? I always get confused about whether I am "embarking" or "disembarking."
   ANSWER:  Of course. You still have to fill out the card if you are a foreigner. Everything has to be done chanto.

QUESTION:  So you still have to be fingerprinted if you use the automatic gate?
   ANSWER:  Of course. In fact, you have to be fingerprinted an extra time just to pre-register.

QUESTION:  I am afraid to ask, but what kind of flaming hoops do I need to jump through to get "pre-registered for the automatic gate"??

   ANSWER:  If you have time, you can actually do it at Narita Airport on your day of departure. Otherwise you have to do it at the main immigration building in Shinagawa.

QUESTION:  NOT Shinagawa!

   ANSWER:  See? I am helping you to make informed decisions already.

QUESTION:  What do I need to take?

   ANSWER:  A valid re-entry permit in your passport. You fill out a form, give your fingerprints, and let them take your photo. They stamp your passport.

QUESTION:  Is it quick? Do I have to take a number?
   ANSWER:  There were very few people registering when we went. We did not have to wait long. For some reason, people are not flocking to this.

QUESTION:  Do I only have to do this registration once? And from then on I can use this high-tech automatic gate?
   ANSWER:  Are you joking? [. . .]. Your permission to use the automatic gate expires whenever your re-entry visa does.

QUESTION:  Do the people who work in immigration at Shinagawa who only work with foreigners all day long every day speak any English at all?
   ANSWER:  No. Of course not. I saw a Middle Eastern family trying in vain to talk to them. But they do have the application forms in English.

QUESTION:  Can I walk to Tokyo Immigration in Shinagawa from JR Shinagawa station?
   ANSWER:  No. Take a taxi. It is actually located on a kind of island so foreign detainees cannot escape. I am not making this up.

QUESTION:  Do I have to give my fingerprints every time even if I have already pre-registered them?
   ANSWER:  Yes. And let them take your photograph. Actually they have to do both several times it seems, until they get it right.

QUESTION:  If I change my mind and decide that I don't want to be "pre-registered" any more, can I cancel it?
   ANSWER:  Yes. You have to fill out some forms and it takes time. They will send you a letter when your registration is cancelled.

QUESTION:  Will they erase the electronic record of my fingerprints then?
   ANSWER:  If you believe them. But note that they also warn: 
   "Please understand that if we discover that you have broken any laws, we will not notify you, we will arrest you."

QUESTION:  Do they have to make it sound like those of us who bend over backwards to obey the law are practically criminal suspects?

   ANSWER:  You are. Enjoy your trip.

For those of you who have actually read this far, perhaps a comparison and contrast of these two government sponsored information videos will prove entertaining. This earlier one didn't go over so well.

http://nettv.gov-online.go.jp/prg/prg1203.html

So, they started from scratch again, and this time wisely left out the cameos of stupid, but suspicious, but compliant, but sometimes incorrigible foreigners. They also latched on to the public relations doctrine that if you want people to grudgingly submit to an idea they don't like, present it in a suave male voice with a BBC English accent (most other kinds of British accents won't do at all).

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=thV1T-wrBko

In practical terms, my biggest complaint with immigration procedures is that it requires international families to split up. We have been addressing, and will continue to address this issue by all lining up together in the lines for foreigners, whether we are entering Canada or Japan. Notice that the possibility of citizens attempting to go through the foreigners' lines is never addressed in any of the videos or literature. If we ever hit a brick wall when doing this, then we will become the t-word at heart, even though we would never do anything ungodly like hurt people. (An observation here--I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that the war on terror is the single biggest catalyst for turning non-terrorists into terrorists . . . but that is getting political and this is a family-oriented blog, not a political one).

Who's the Baby?

2008-02-03T01:53:00.000-05:00

Nobody knows. Yesterday, during its monthly photo-op, Baby #2 kept its back to us the whole time so we don't know yet whether we're looking at Jude or Faith.

Well, actually we were treated to a side view as well, but that wasn't much help either for purposes of gender ID. It would seem we were interrupting his/her midday prayers.

"What's all this, What's all this?!"

If only you knew, Grace, if only you knew. This is the (ultra)sound of your life changing . . . for the better, of course.

Soon you'll have somebody to play with.

Besides mommy and daddy, that is. Will the new baby like playing with Lego as much as daddy does? Usually, I spend my Lego time researching the perfect balance between efficiency and structural integrity in designing towers. Today, though, I was feeling reckless. The sky-pod three quarters of the way up is actually a separate unit and the only thing holding it in place is friction. My plan was to build a space elevator, not the CN Tower. (And yes, for those of you who were wondering, this experiment ended with the sky-pod crashing into Grace's head as soon as she began probing its defenses. . . just as one should expect when an eighteen-month-old and a Lego space elevator share a room).

Obsessed with CloudBook

2008-02-01T03:41:00.001-05:00

The other day my father asked me a valid question, which was whether Everex or ZaReason was going to issue me some leprechaun hands to go with the leprechaun-size laptop they are selling me. Well, being an impatient future owner of a CloudBook, I have been visiting ZaReason.com at least once a day even though I know perfectly well that the new release date for the CloudBook is set for no sooner than 15 February. Fortunately, ZaReason clearly understands the psychology of obsessive customers like me. Everyday they issue a new CloudBook update in their side-bar with tantalizing little tid-bits about things like how one of their guys already has one and it's really, really awesome. So this is the message they posted on 30 January, and I think it pretty much settles the issue raised by my father--at least for obsessive CloudBook customers like myself:

Size of the keyboard

We had one user email in asking if he would have a learning curve for his fairly large fingers as he began typing on his Cloudbook. We had several larger-than-average testers try it and while there was a brief few minutes of acclimation, the experience of typing on the Cloudbook keyboard was quite comfortable.

Note that we measured the board at 83% the size of the standard laptop keyboard. It's the perfect balancing point -- not significant enough to slow down typing, but enough to make it far more portable than a full bulky keyboard.

Clearly, people who can distinguish between the words "acclamation" and "acclimation" and even use the latter one correctly in a sentence can be trusted to sell me a really awesome ultra-portable laptop that comes preloaded with Linux. You can read the rest of their daily CloudBook update log here.

And here is a video review of the Easynote XS UMPC subnotebook which is basically a CloudBook that is made by a different company and which comes loaded with Windows instead of the Linux gOS:

Family Entertainment: Saturday Afternoons in the Winter

2008-01-26T07:17:00.000-05:00

We were only about ten minutes into this walk when we were driven back inside by a small blizzard. There, we struggled to find ways to entertain ourselves in order to combat cabin fever.

We've been practicing this one since Grace was about six months old.

Oops!

I'm not sure if this falls under "entertainment" . . .

. . . or "work." I suppose it's a matter of perspective.

This is work. Every now-and-then our rice bin runs low and I have to brave the freezing cold storeroom to refill it.

Family Tech: How To Have a New Laptop Shipped from the United States to Japan

2008-01-26T01:59:00.000-05:00

Yuko and I spend quite a bit of time in front of our laptops, and this is the result . . . well, one result, anyway. Lately, we've been doing all of our "computing" (if that isn't too lofty a term for what we actually do with our computers) when Grace is asleep, since the alternative is to become embroiled in asymmetrical warfare for control of the keyboard. The degree of digital destruction a toddler can accomplish with just a few keystrokes is truly amazing. Today Grace somehow opened my gmail account and almost sent an email to ". / /" (fortunately she didn't find the @ key . . . this time).

Cellphones. Sure it's cute when she's pretending to talk into an electronic dictionary, but she is all to often successful in gaining access to the real thing.

Today, after managing to "liberate" my cellphone (none other than the world famous Mobileman II) from the middle of the dining room table, she somehow ended up taking her first picture ever--a partial self-portrait. Usually, though, she inadvertently selects random entries in my "phone book," most commonly those of the elementary schools I work at. Once, she actually called my ex-mechanic at seven in the morning, which could have potentially been quite embarrassing if he had answered.

And now, for something completely different. This is the new laptop I have ordered, the ultra portable Everex CloudBook that comes pre-installed with a new Linux operating system called gOS (based on Ubuntu). It was supposed to become available at Walmart yesterday (January 25), but sadly its release has suddenly been delayed by about a month. I do not expect anyone to understand just how sad this makes me feel. I have spent weeks plotting the best way to import one of these things to Japan. At first I was going to purchase one online from Walmart.com because Walmart was the only listed distributor. Walmart doesn't ship outside the United States, so I was going to have them send my CloudBook to FBC (Foreign Buyers' Club) in California, and pay FBC to ship it to my doorstep in Kazamaura. My probable expenses were going to look something like this:

$399---------price of CloudBook
$29~$34----California sales tax (7.25~8.25%)
$24~$28----probable duty to be charged by Japanese customs (based on an informal estimate of 6~7% provided by an FBC employee)
$5------------approximate cost for shipping from Walmart to FBC
$29~$36----approximate cost for shipping from FBC to me, based on an arbitrary estimate that the package containing my 2lb CloudBook will weigh 3~8 pounds
$486~$502--grand total in U.S. currency (unless I got away without paying California's sales tax, in which case the total would be . . . , well . . . , $29~$34 less).

Based on today's exchange rate, that would be about ¥51'832~¥53'538

However, for the past couple of weeks I have been checking the Everex homepage several times per day, and yesterday I noticed that there was a new distributor listed--ZaReason.com. It turns out that ZaReason's slogan is: "building Linux hardware so you don't have to." Wow, and I thought I was going to have to do business with Walmart (grimace). Anyway, ZaReason was taking pre-orders (unlike Walmart) so I ordered right away:

Subtotal:	$399.00
Shipping cost:	$63.20

Total:	$462.20
including California Sales Tax 0.000%:	$0.00

Oh yeah, plus $24~$28----probable duty to be charged by Japanese customs (based on an informal estimate of 6~7% provided by an FBC employee)

$486~$490--probable grand total

So, based on today's exchange rate, that comes out to ¥51'832~¥52'258

Just in case Everex's delay in releasing the CloudBook was causing me to have second thoughts (it was), ZaReason kindly posted this encouraging note in the sidebar of their homepage:

---quote---

News

01/25/2008
The new anticipated delivery date for the Cloudbooks is mid to late February. Feel free to preorder and you'll be in the first shipment. As always, feel free to ask questions through our Contact form.

Why is the Cloudbook worth waiting for? Reason #1: Because it meets that delightful cross-section of extreme portability (the size of a paperback novel), extreme affordability, and great specs.
---end quote---

And now, for something completely different. Here is the answer to last week's Puzzle of the Day.

The Annual Kazamaura-Doshisha University Exchange Student Experience

2008-01-26T00:13:00.000-05:00

Every year, four exchange students from Doshisha University visit Kazamaura, and every year Kazamaura treats them to the "North Pole of Honshu" tour . . .

. . . so that young whipper snappers like these from the balmy south of Germany can get a taste of what life is like on the outer fringes of their planet. (Note: the gentleman on the left has his two month-old daughter tucked inside his jacket. The shocked locals were either awakened to the fact that human infants are actually much hardier than they had previously been aware of or, more likely, confirmed in their conviction that all foreigners are utterly insane).

Other than the North Pole of Honshu (which is actually in Oma, not Kazamaura), the awabi hatchery (awabi being Japanese for "abalone") is pretty much the only other stop on the official tour of Kazamaura. I get mixed up in this official village tour at least once a year, but I still learned something new this time.

These farm raised awabi are green (instead of reddish brown) because they are fed solely on something that looks like green dog food. Apparently the stuff is manufactured from kelp growing in regions inhabited by sea otters . . . .

As a special treat, the workers at the hatchery chopped up some of the more lively awabi so that the exchange students could put pieces of them into their mouths with disposable chopsticks . . . which they did with stoic determination. Predictably, one of the girls gagged, but I thought it would be rude to take a picture so instead I told her not to worry and that in all honesty I wasn't feeling that great either (I had to eat some, too, just to save face).

Oh Yeah, Birthday Day 1

2008-01-18T03:22:00.000-05:00

Something Has Come Up That Requires a Great Deal of Study on Grace's Part

I'm Not Sure If She Understands Yet the Full Implications of This Ultrasound

Birthday Day1 didn't make it into my birthday post because it was a Saturday and we had scheduled one of Yuko's regular maternity check-ups at St. Cecelia Ladies' Clinic for that day. It's a six hour round trip, so we postponed my birthday. It's still to early to know if we are expecting a boy or a girl, but we have a plan A and plan B in place for either eventuality.

Boy Plan A
English Name: Motoi Judah Elliot (will be known as Jude Elliot)
Japanese Name: エリオット基
Motoi means "foundation," and it is the first of two characters used to write "Christ" in kanji.

Boy Plan B
English Name: Hikari Josiah Elliot (will be known as Josiah Elliot)
Japanese Name: エリオット光
Hikari means "light." This name is more commonly read as Hikaru when used for boys, but we like Hikari better.

Girl Plan A
English Name: Mia Faith Elliot (will be known as Faith Elliot)
Japanese Name: エリオット美信（みあ--meaning "beautiful faith"）

Girl Plan B
English Name: Lina Maria Elliot (will be known as Maria Elliot)
Japanese Name: エリオット凛愛（りな--meaning "dignified love"）

Truth be told, none of these names have been very popular in any of the focus groups we have subjected them to, and the kanji readings for the two girls names are innovative and therefore wide open to criticism (though technically possible and backed by obscure historical precedence). Nevertheless, whichever three we don't use this time around will be back on the table for next time. We are stubborn with a sense of purpose.

Anyhoo, the tentative due date is 15 July, so if we're lucky maybe #2 will be born on Grace's birthday (12 July).

Grace gets bored easily during the daytime, and we've found (as no doubt countless other parents have before us) that having her assist Yuko in the kitchen helps to counter this whine-inducing tendency. The other day they made cookies together.

Which Cookie Do You Suppose Grace Made All by Herself?

"That's Mine, Thank You Very Much"

Interestingly, having helped mommy make the cookies, Grace has been extremely conscious of their presence in the house. (In case you were wondering what happened to our prejudice against refined cane sugar, these are bran cookies made with a modest quantity of raw sugar.)

Note: Grace has demonstrated a tendency to eat lumps of raw sugar when she thinks her mother isn't looking.

Grace's Birthday Present from Grandpa

My father made this rocking chair for Grace based on the design of a little rocking chair my Great Grandfather Pearson made for my grandmother. Grace actually tested out the original in Canada last spring (see our trip to Canada), and now she has her own. The outfit Grace is wearing in this slide show is from Great Grandpa and Great Grandma Elliot.

Puzzle of the DayWhat is this a photo of? Answer to be posted in next blog entry.

Birthday (Long) Weekend

2008-01-13T22:04:00.000-05:00

Birthday Day 2

Now that I am thirty-one I dispense with the pleasantries like candles, cutting, and sharing--I just dig in.

Just kidding. I share, because I have been blessed with a family to share with . . .

. . . not to mention my beautiful wife who made my birthday cake for me in the first place. (She says it is a double-chocolate fudge cake with Hershey's chocolate whip cream). This is a perfect time to reflect (as I do every birthday now) on all those cake-less, friendless, family-less birthdays that I spent homeless on the Alaska Highway or semi-frozen on winter army exercises, etc.

Birthday Day 3

Did I say I shared? Well, maybe a little with (my wife) Yuko. Hypocrite that I am, I don't let (our daughter) Grace eat food loaded with cane sugar, even though there is photographic evidence that I myself consumed inordinate amounts of chocolate cake on my very first birthday. I let her eat the strawberries, though, since my birthday is, after all, her half-birthday (and vise versa--January 12/July 12).

After my second go at my birthday cake, we went out for a walk so that Yuko could have some peace and quiet. Our house is the one on the left, and the shiny snowcapped mountains beyond the sea are part of the island of Hokkaido.

Upon returning to our front yard . . . .

Lately, Grace has taken to falling asleep in the sled. As one can see from the previous photo, it makes me look like I'm pulling around a dead body, which can be a little awkward when people drive by.

We Apologize for the Inconvenience

2008-01-09T00:40:00.000-05:00

The Mushroom

As the reader may readily discover by scrolling down to the previous entry, I have not updated this blog since July 17 of last year. By that time my entries were already few and far between due to my heavy workload of online seminary courses. Then the whole poison mushroom episode transpired and I am just now beginning to catch up with life. It happened thus:

On July 30 our close friends, a dear middle-aged couple who shall remain--for the purposes of this post--anonymous invited us over for mushroom stew. My wife Yuko had already read on Mr. Anonymous' blog that he had received, from a close relative, a suspicious-looking mushroom which the said relative insisted was not "suspicious" since he had harvested it from his own mushroom patch or mushroom farm or mushroom bed or whatever you call a mushroom growing operation. The blog entry included a photo of the said mushroom, which I have pirated and reposted here for the reader's edification (on the odd chance that anyone is still checking in on Gaijin for Life).

Anyway, when we got to their house the mushroom no longer looked so suspicious as it was chopped up and hidden in a nabe of chicken stew. It tasted suspiciously bitter, though, and was in consequence discreetly avoided by all present, but less so by me than by others (I'm not sure if I was being extremely polite or just ridiculously rash). Anyway, we went home and took a bath and Yuko started throwing up and then I started throwing up and we kept on throwing up in violently dramatic ways until Grace started throwing up in bed, at which point I loaded everyone in the car and drove to Oma hospital where we continued to throw up for an audience of doctors and nurses working the late night shift. Fortunately none of us had imbibed enough of the poison mushroom for it to be fatal. Grace, who being the youngest (exactly one year old) and therefore the most vulnerable, had only eaten a couple of pieces of chicken from the stew since our hostess had insisted that mushrooms aren't an appropriate food for babies. She therefore recovered just fine after throwing up twice. Yuko, who ate a single mouthful, ended up with an IV needle stuck in her arm. As for myself, I ate two whole pieces, refused all medical treatment, and I'm still not sure if I've fully recovered yet.

Around five in the morning we excused ourselves from the emergency room and drove three hours to Aomori Airport where we picked up Nozomu (the seven-year-old son of family friends who stayed with us for two weeks) and then went to Moya Camp to help with the Living English Seminar. It was weeks before we caught up on sleep, and I still feel tired from it. However, this is a new year, and I have resolved to update this blog--in consultation with my wife--once a week. Perhaps I will be able to slip in a couple of catch up posts as well, to project some online light into the cyber-darkness of our past six months.

P.S. My trusty laptop died on November 12 and I have been using Mac OS X version 10.2.8 on my wife's ancient TiBook (i.e. PowerBook G4). This seriously impedes my ability to work with my image and video files, but I will do my best. And by next summer I hope to purchase either a 15.4" 2.2 GHz MacBook Pro ($1,999 Canadian with student discount) or Everex's proposed sub $300 laptop that runs gOS and is supposed come out sometime this year.

An Aomorian Safari in Shimokita

2007-07-17T02:10:00.000-04:00

My Father Atop His Safari-Vehicle
(This is my dream pickup truck . . . I hope I can afford it someday)

My father comes to our house about once month in order to lead an evening worship service in our home for local Christians (and anyone else who wants to come). He can only make it for the evening because he preaches at Ajigasawa Church in the morning, and usually he needs to take off around lunch time the next day while I'm away at work. This past Monday was a holiday, though, so he stuck around and we took of on a safari adventure of Deepest Shimokita. Unfortunately I didn't take as many photos as I might have, so the humble slide show presented below is about all I have to show for it. We did see a few monkeys running down the road, but by the time I got my cell phone set to record video they had already disappeared into the bush. I'll remember that, next time the board of education sends me out with a BB gun on monkey patrol.

A Visit from the Relatives

2007-07-17T01:03:00.000-04:00

Shimokita is not always considered a viable holiday destination, so we felt very privileged to receive a visit from Yuko's grandparents, aunt and uncle, and cousin. Although it started raining the day they got off the ferry in Oma and didn't stop until they got back on two days later, we dined magnificently with them every evening.

They spent their second night at the Hiba House where they met our friends the Muraguchis, and Mr. Nioka (the sushi chef) played the shamisen for them.

On Friday we boarded the ferry for Hakodate with them and spent Saturday in the old wharf district.

Then it was back on the ferry . . .

. . . where Grace promptly fell asleep . . .

. . . until we woke her up . . .

. . . in order to take her to the Muraguchis for her joint birthday party with Mr. Nioka (the shamisen playing sushi chef, who was also born on 12 July).

RooTube is Back

2007-07-13T01:34:00.000-04:00

Grace is turning one year old and she must face the ancient Japanese birthday trial of shouldering the issho-mochi--2.3kg of pounded rice cakes . . .

RooTube Episode 10.1: Let the Milk Do the Walking

2 min 10 sec

Will Grace complete her training in time? Watch future episodes of RooTube to find out . . . .

RooTube is a subsidiary of Keitai Cinema
and produced by Gaijin for Life

Happy Birthday, Grace!

2007-07-12T04:28:00.000-04:00

Grace, On Her Birthday Morning
(Standby for the RooTube update on what is required of one-year-olds in Japan)

Today is perhaps a good time to reaffirm the traditional Christian blessing for newborns:

May the Almighty God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit bless you my child, for time and eternity, and may this blessing remain with you forever.

See my post "God's Gift of the Power and Authority to Bless" for the picture of the first time we blessed Grace with this blessing.

The Snazzy New Ferry for Aomori-Hakodate

2007-07-12T03:30:00.000-04:00

The Hakodate ferry terminal is getting a face lift, disproving, I hope, my former theory that Aomori-Hakodate ferry travel was doomed to grow old and die.

The Aomori-Hakodate route is also getting a snazzy new catamaran named Natchan Rera. "Natchan" is short for Natsumi, which is the name of the seven-year-old girl who designed the pictures painted on the side (see the above poster). "Rera" is Ainu for "wind." You can read all about the new ferry here on the website of Incat, the company that manufactured the Natchan Rera. Unfortunately, we will never see this ferry docked at the desolate Oma ferry terminal ten minutes' drive from our house. A pity, that, since it's twice as fast as a normal ferry.

According to the president of Incat, "The Ship will turn heads in Japan and revolutionize sea transport between the islands of Hokkaido and Honshu. The ship will also turn heads around the world, its entry into service will be widely reported and closely watched by European operators." I guess that means I should invest in a pair of binoculars so that I can watch it whizz by Shimokita during its maiden voyage scheduled for 1 September.

According to the Incat website the Natchan Rera is the first of their giant 112 metre catamarans and is designed to carry up to 1,500 passengers, but Higashi Nihon Ferry has opted for a deluxe interior design that only accommodates half that number.

The thing is HUGE compared to the dinky little Vayu that runs between Oma and Hakodate. I'm hoping that Higashi Nihon Ferry orders a mini-size catamaran to replace Vayu, but that is probably wishful thinking. (If they do get one maybe I can win the picture design contest and have it named Lukey Iomante or something ("Lukey" is long for "Luke," and "iomante" is the Ainu name for the Ainu bear festival).

Cave of the Kamoshika

2007-07-12T03:11:00.000-04:00

Yuko was the first to notice that whenever it rains, this little fellow always takes a break in this spot. . .

. . . under a concrete ledge designed to keep . . .

. . . this hill by the side of the road from sliding into the traffic on wet days such as this. The creature in question is a nihon kamoshika known to the English speaking world as the "Japanese Serow." This isn't the first time for me to mention them on this blog (I mentioned them here in January, 2005), but it's the first time this year.

Social Grace

2007-07-04T00:28:00.001-04:00

Grace is becoming very sociable. Generally she prefers other toddlers to adults, young people to old people, and women to men, but given enough time she will develop interest in just about anybody--as demonstrated in the photo above. It took her nearly a year to become friendly with Grandpa Elliot, but a few strategic peace offerings along the way such as the little wooden desk and chair set and the squeaky red ball helped to grease the social wheels.

At the beginning of this lesson Grace had no idea how this toy worked. At the end of the lesson she did. But she still prefers to just dismantle the plastic tower as fast as she can.

The Muraguchis' hobbies are almost as diverse as their friends. One regular visitor to the House of Hiba has been into Japanese-style hula dancing for about four years now, so when she made her way over from Hokkaido the other week it was hula dancing time for everyone.

We discovered that Grace really likes dressing-up, listening to music and dancing around. (Since this photo was taken, the Muraguchis' youngest daughter sewed a pink floral patterned hula dress for Grace, so more on that in a future post).

Beauty and the Beast

Reading Recipes with Kanako, the Muraguchis' Youngest Daughter
(Grace was very fond of her, but she left last week for a one-year working holiday in New Zealand)

Grace Wasn't too Sure about Her New Haircut

(It makes her look like Martin Luther or a 16th century Jesuit . . . or possibly the little girl in Grave of the Fireflies, but that's too sad to contemplate)

Dinner with Mr. Nioka
Grace always likes to scrutinize our guests very closely from across the table--but nothing gets her attention like a camera . . .

The "Beast" (from the "Beauty and the Beast" photo above) Teases Grace by Offering Her Raw Whale Meat which He Knows Her Parents Won't Allow Her to Eat

. . . with the possible exception of raw whale.

Still Being an Only Child at this Early Date, I'm Afraid that Grace Needs a Little More Training and Instruction in the Social Graces of Playing with Other Kids

Celebrating Two Years of Marriage

2007-07-03T21:36:00.000-04:00

The two years have gone by so fast. We often talk about how our wedding and honeymoons (we went on two, for good measure) seem like they were just the other day. On the other hand, our single lives (thankfully) seem like dim memories in the remote past. I often hear people talk about how they want to do this or that before they "get married and settle down." I did a lot of things and went to a lot of places before getting married at twenty-eight but, in retrospect, all that those experiences really amount to is a lot of interesting anecdotes that people may or may not believe. In many ways life didn't really begin until I got married, and it would have been nice if Yuko and I had been mature enough to fall in love with and marry each other the first time we met, back when we were teenagers at Word of Life Bible Institute. People like to say nowadays that one shouldn't be in too much of a hurry to grow up. That might be sound advice for a twelve year-old, but . . . certainly not for college students.

We Celebrated by Consuming (over Four Courses) All Manner of Beasts of the Field and Birds of the Air, and Many Plants and Minerals Besides

Of course, a Little Someone Came with Us . . .

. . . and Seemed to Enjoy Herself Thoroughly
(I didn't actually let her eat my dessert because sugar is bad for everyone except mommy and daddy; Grace was mostly fed brown rice and wild duck)

Pomodoro: Probably Our Favourite Restaurant in Shimokita

It's a French Restaurant Up on a Hill Overlooking Ominato Harbour and Mutsu Bay

Grace Goes Walking

2007-07-03T02:45:00.000-04:00

Taking a Walk on the Street Outside Our House
(Seen on the Left)

Actually, Grace has been walking for about a month now, but I think this is the first time I've gotten around to mentioning it. This outdoor auto-mobility demonstrated by Grace in the photo above encouraged us to take a day trip down the Sai coast a couple of Saturdays ago.

Gankake-iwa, roughly translated "Prayer-post Rock"
(the idea is that people use padlocks to hang written prayers on a chain-link cage set up between the two rocky outcrops)
These twin "peaks" are also known as meoto-gake which roughly means "Married Couple Cliff."
(I use this photo as my desktop wallpaper on my laptop now)

Gankake-iwa is about half-an-hour's drive from where we live. It is across the street from a campsite called Kevin House complete with rental cabins, bbq pits and a little park. The rocky beach is great for having impromptu campfires and bannock roasts.

Grace Didn't Seem to Enjoy Her First Time at the "Beach"
(To be fair, I should point out that this water is freezing cold, and I would never dream of sticking my own toes ino it)

Hotokegaura (i.e. "Buddha Rock Cove", as seen from the road) about another half-hour's drive down the coast from gankake-iwa. This was one of the filming locations for Operation Bearwatch: The Movie.

Yuko and Grace at Hotokegarura
This is My New Wallpaper for My Cell Phone's (a.k.a. Mobileman II's) Display Panel

Grace Trying Out the Boardwalk at Hotokegaura

Nuidoishiyama (another filming location for Operation Bearwatch) as Seen from the Intersection at Fuku-ura
(Note the old-school grandma walking to her garden with a watering can tied to her belt and a Japanese hoe slung over her shoulder)

The Sai Coast
(On a clear day you can see both Hokkaido and the Tsugaru Peninsual, and all the ferry boats sailing between Hakodate and Aomori glimmering in the sparkling water)

Fisherman Washing Their Nets at Sunset
(using a fire hose)

Fashion Model for a Day

2007-07-03T01:05:00.000-04:00

I Use this Photo as One of My kubuntu Desktop Images

Yuko is an avid reader of newspapers. She reads them from cover to cover. Knowing this, our local distributor gives Yuko leftover copies of the local Tonippo's evening edition even though we only subscribe to the nationally syndicated Asahi (the paper, not the beer). For about half a year now this special bonus has included Tonippo's monthly lifestyle magazine TOO Life. A regular feature in this magazine is a section called "Shining Room" (to translate it roughly). It's a "before and after" series sponsored by a hair salon in Aomori City. It encourages ordinary women readers who wear boring clothes and have unexciting hairstyles to apply. If selected, they get a free makeover. A photographer is on hand to record the transformation, and the resulting images are published together with a short bio of the "model" and the hairstylist's reflections on the experience. To make a long story short, Yuko emailed an application together with a couple of attached photos to prove how plain and simple her style is . . . and got accepted. If you can read Japanese or would just like to look at the pictures, click here for a peek at the August edition.

The Setting Chosen for Yuko's Transformation was the Hakkoda-maru, an old Aomori-Hokkaido renrakusen (railroad ferry)-turned-museum. If you look very closely, you can see Yuko and the photographer's crew on the compass platform above the bridge.

The Pampered Model

The hairstylist said that before her makeover Yuko had an "NHK style" about her. Clearly this was less than ideal. However, while Yuko's little foray into the modelling world was a fun day for the whole family, I think we will all be happy when she finally evolves back into an NHK lady. After all, we are at heart a plain and simple family.

Return to Lake Towada

2007-06-16T08:55:00.000-04:00

The Towada Fleet
During an early morning guided walking tour my father asked the guide how all these big cruise boats were brought to this small mountain lake. Obviously there are no lakeside shipyards. She had no idea.

Although my parents' thirtieth wedding anniversary was a couple of years ago, Yuko and I were pretty busy getting married ourselves and didn't really do much in the way of celebrating it. So this year we took them on an overnight trip to Lake Towada. Technically my parents' anniversary is 27 December, but we found that late May was altogether a more pleasant and convenient time to do something about it.

Grace in the Foothills of the Hakkoda Mountains Enjoying the Squeaky Red Ball Grandpa Elliot Bought for Her

The Hakkoda Gondola Station Viewed from the Road through a Powerful Camera Lens
(The Hakkoda Snow Monsters are Seen Here in the "Naked Green" Phase of Their Annual Cycle)

Some Pretty Waterfall in the Oirasse Gorge

Some Other Pretty Waterfall in the Oirasse Gorge

The Oirasse Gorge is One of Those Places that Makes Me Glad I Live in Aomori

Our House Upon a Hill

2007-06-16T08:10:00.000-04:00

Our House is on the Left

We live in a well ordered house on a well ordered hill, across the street from the junior high school. It is one of two teacher's residences owned by the board of education. If only they had been built sensibly, they would have both had living room windows overlooking the Tsugaru Strait with a beautiful view of Hokkaido and the sunrise. They were not built sensibly, though, so their are no windows with a view. We have one neighbour, but only on week days. He is the new principal. He spends his evenings making endless circuits around the driveway and weed infested parking lot with a weed-whacker, so it almost feels like we have a lawn. On the east side we are bordered by gardens and electrified monkey fences. On the west side is a ceder grove and an NTT cellular base station.

Our house is usually orderly on the inside as well, but we tend to have trouble keeping our shelf space apace with our book collection. Recently we purchased our eighth bookshelf and reorganized. For the moment, we're ahead of the game.

For the past few months Grace has been into "helping." When Yuko is shaking out the laundry and hanging it up to dry, Grace pulls an article out of the basket and flaps it up and down, too. When I am vacuuming, Grace follows me around, grabs the hose, and occasionally wraps the cord around herself. When we reorganized the shelves she policed the book-pile and flipped through pages looking for secret stashes of legal tender.

Taking Up Both Sides of the Bed

Confessions of a Disgraced Gardener

2007-06-15T22:12:00.000-04:00

My Compost Interim Storage Facility
(in other words, where I dumped my compost in the middle of the winter when my composter named Stinky needed a fresh start)

Last year I embarked on a new career as a gardener, full of good intentions. However, with Grace being born in the middle of the growing season, my first year ended in shame. By the time August rolled around, the junior high school's cleaning lady was doing most of my weeding for me. So this year, when she and the special ed teacher asked me how many rows I wanted set aside for my personal use, I said I would take the year off. They laughed.

I still had a gardening game plan, though. My idea was that a man can only truly be happy gardening if he is working his own land. Setting aside the question of the validity of my hypothesis, I thought I had a solution worked out. I would collect as many apple boxes as I could and fill them with the dirt I bought last year and the compost I accumulated over the winter. Then all the earth in the apple boxes would be my land. Granted, I would still have to put my land on top of the board of education's land that surrounds our house, technically making me (or my land, I'm not sure which) a squatter.

Anyway, I didn't have enough dirt and compost to fill all four apple boxes, so I tried to supplement the bottom tiers with freshly mowed grass from the space between our house and the principle's house. I guess I didn't put enough in, because, after settling, the boxes are only two-thirds full now.

The Scorched Earth where my Compost Interim Storage Facility used to Be

Anyway, to make a long story short, I never got around to planting anything in my apple boxes. I'm too busy. But I hate to give up . . . especially since I'm always telling people that I want to have a self-sustaining homestead someday. My current situation gives people very little incentive to believe me.

Norimaki 101

2007-06-15T21:46:00.000-04:00

Mr. Nioka is great. He has featured in previous posts as "the man with the knife" in The Night of the Tuna and as Yuko's fishing and deep-frying instructor in Aji (鰺). He is a sushi chef by day, but to me he is first and foremost my right-honourable mah jong instructor. Sometimes he comes over to our house to teach Yuko some of the secrets of his trade.

Grace and I have not signed up for cooking class, though, so while mom learns how to make professional quality seaweed rolls in the kitchen, Grace reads in the living room . . . and I play with blocks.

Seaweed Rolls

Golden Week: A Six Week Retrospection (a.k.a. A Report on Now Ancient History)

2007-06-15T21:14:00.000-04:00

Great Grandma Nakamura

Golden Week is the cluster of (Japanese) national holidays at the beginning of May, and we always spend it in Hokkaido with Yuko's folks. In the past Yuko and I would fit quite a bit of Sapporo city life into our visits but now, with three kids running around (including our niece and nephew), we spend most of our time hanging out in and around Yuko's parents' ki-no-shiro ("castle of wood") house. The last few years it has also become traditional for Yuko's brother and me to help my father-in-law plant oats in the back garden since Yuko's parents live in another town where her father works and they can't tend to their gardening properly.

Cousin Yua with Great Grandpa Nakamura
(who used to be a steam locomotive engineer with the old Japan National Railroad before he secretly switched to a desk job so that he could pursue his hobby of playing the violin)

Grace with Great Grandpa Nakamura

Grace Demonstrating that She is Not Interested in Petting Zoos (or Sheep in General)

Story Time with Grandma Takahashi
(I don't think Grace would even be sitting there if it weren't for the good example set by her older cousin, Souki)

The Birth of a Desk Jockey

2007-05-15T02:25:00.000-04:00

Grace Poses with Her New Desk and Chair

Some time ago Yuko saw a desk and chair set for toddlers in a magazine and expressed an opinion that perhaps it would be the right sort of thing to get for Grace. I was a little sceptical about such a purchase, but Grandpa Elliot stepped in and made a similar set for Grace out of cedar wood.

Grace Receives Instruction in Usage from the Maker . . .

. . . and then Gets Right Down to Business

Of course, when these photos were taken, Grace was only nine months old. Now she is ten months old and has moved on from reading newspapers to calculus and Latin. At least, that is what I assume she uses her desk for while I am away at work during the day.

And Many Happy Returns of the Day!

2007-05-15T01:38:00.000-04:00

Birthday Cookies for Yuko

Some people---a rare few---have a special gift for friendship. They never forget a birthday, always send letters, cards and emails at perfect moments, and frequently make long journeys for some face to face fellowship with friends. Lina has been such a friend to Yuko since our Bible institute days. This birthday Yuko received from her a surprise birthday basket of specially baked cookies and cakes with all of our names frosted onto them. Grace, having both a Japanese name and an English name, received a double portion of cookies, but in order to protect her from the sugar, I ate them.

Lina as a Bridesmaid at Our Wedding
(Conveniently Illuminated)
--Photo by Tom Gallione

Happy 31st Birthday!

Sadly, there are no nice restaurants or cafés near where we live, which is always a hard blow for Yuko when we celebrate special occasions. We need to travel at least forty-five minutes to reach the so-so restaurants and cafés of Mutsu, and two-and-a-half hours to reach the fairly decent ones in Aomori City. My goal for this year is to diligently study the art of organizing and throwing a proper birthday party at home, in preparation for Yuko's next birthday in the wilds of the Shimokita peninsula.

Funori

2007-05-11T01:11:00.000-04:00

Gloiopeltis

In my limited experience, I have found that often lifeforms are more likely to receive user-friendly names in languages spoken by people who eat them. For example, "pig," "moose," "popcorn," etc. Or, conversely, lifeforms that habitually eat people, like "shark," "mosquito," "tapeworm," etc. I suppose this must be because to name something is either an assertion of authority or an expression of awe. It follows then that what is conveniently referred to in Japanese as funori is, in the west, obscurely termed gloiopeltis because, with the exception of marine biologists, nobody there is inclined to assert any sort of authority over or demonstrate any kind of awe towards it. As for myself, I don't particularly enjoy chewing or swallowing the stuff, but I respect it for its pecuniary worth.

Elementary School Students Preparing to Assert Their Authority over the Gloiopeltis

In late April I once again followed the children of Snakeshore Elementary into the sea for their annual funori harvest. This year they sold their funori for about 320,000 yen (about $3,200). This is impressive when you consider that a) they only pick it during the morning and b) there are only 32 students in this school. True, teachers, parents, and grandparents helped, but even so . . . impressive! So you might well ask me why I don't go down to the shore myself every evening to make a few gloiopeltis bucks on the side. It is streng verboten! All maritime resources are under the strict control of the fishing union, and only union members may harvest the bounty of the sea--and only on specially designated days.

Brown Gold

Lately I have been trying to refrain from "borrowing" photos from other websites, but since I never got around to taking a closeup of the funori as I was tearing it off the tidal rocks with my bare hands, I pirated this very nice picture from some site I randomly accessed through google images.