Random Winter Thoughts...

So, even though I love the smell of a fresh spruce in the house during Christmas time, I will pass at $410 (of course this is sold at National Azabu, the most expensive grocery store I have become immune to).  I think they import them from Oregon...but even the ones cut down in Japan are still 2/3 of the cost.  This has forced some to go the fake Costco route. Sorry, I will never, ever buy a fake tree.  Anyway, we will be in Dublin for Christmas so maybe Santa will give us a tree in our hotel room...

Another picture I attached are the strange floral/Christmas creations that the caretaker has been inserting into the pots in the front of the house. It started with a few golden ornaments, which have progressed to plastic grapes and  pomegranites. The American flag is my doing, stolen from the Obama victory party that we attended here when I felt very nationalistic. Perhaps these artistic creations are those an artist trapped in the body of an 80 yo cute Japanese man.

On a totally different tangent, I need to sound off on the ridiculous outfits on these poor little school boys. Apparently when you attend a very prestigious school here, boys are forced to wear short shorts in the middle of winter. So I see groups of 6 yr olds in their bowling hats, enormous leather backpacks, and shorts while their parents are in winter coats, scarves and pants. Can we do something about this please? Is this not some sort of neglect...I'm calling SSI.  On the SSI front, Japanese parents and Britney Spears (the old bipolar one) have something in common. They don't believe in child seats, and you often see children just sitting in the front in the passenger seat.  This used to shock me, that along with seeing gorgeous 5 year old girls walking home from school by themselves. You know that would never happen in America, or anywhere else in the world for that matter.

Onsen Action

Japan is famous for its onsen, natural hot springs.  Since my arrival, I have heard of nothing but these onsens, so finally I have experienced what everyone is talking about. We took the kids to an onsen hotel in Hakone this weekend. We decided to train it since Conor really loves riding the trains and I thought it would be less work, sit back and enjoy the scenery...MISTAKE. We had two squirmy little guys who would not sit still and wanted to run all over the train. At least in a car, they could be strapped in the back and maybe even fall asleep. Lesson for next time.  After we got off the first main train, we took a second local train that meandered up the mountains to the hot springs area. You know you have arrived when the smell of sulfur assaults your senses (smoking areas in the mountain pictures). 

Our hotel was very traditional yet very modern. Each room had a private tub off the balcony, so of course we all jumped in and had a very refreshing outdoor soak. Conor had an ongoing joke in the tub where he would take the wooden bucket and put it over Paddy's head and ask, "Is this a hat?..No, its a bucket." It gets old after the 10th time. After that, I asked Paddy about all the etiquette involved in the public onsen and ventured outside to explore, dressed in my yukata, slippers and bath basket that had a face towel and bath towel. There were written instructions about what one should and should not do with the face towel.  The so called face towel is actually the "private parts" towel that one discreetly covers with before sliding into the onsen. However it should never go into the water. Go figure, because your private parts are in the water...so what's the difference? Anyway, after being shown which one was the men and women's onsen (signs not so clear by the way), I timidly entered to find full on nudity walking around me in all ages, shapes and sizes. What happened to the so called face towel?? There are young women friends. There are grandmother friends. There are mothers and daughters. This strikes me as funny because Japanese people are so modest that you wouldn't think that they love onsen so much. The other funny thing is that there are quite a few boys running around with their mommies. Some are probably a little too old and should be with their daddies. This particular onsen had a misty room with many open stalls equipped with little stools and showers where one scrubbed before entering the onsen. There was both an indoor and an outdoor onsen, which had a protective roof for discretion so one was not actually looking at sky but there were natural rocks and waterfalls and maple trees to help you relax. I was definitely the oddball tiptoeing around with a towel wrapped around me before actually entering the water. Hey, it's my first time. 

After that we had an early dinner in the hotel in a traditional sunken table which winded up being another challenging time with the boys since no high chairs equals free for all to run around. They were the worst behaved children as far as I could see. Next to us were twins who looked 2yo who were quietly sitting eating their shabu shabu. Then to rub it in, one even fell asleep on his sitting pillow after he had eaten. Next to them in the next sunken booth, similarly well behaved Japanese children. Then there are the Hogan boys escaping into the hotel lobby foyer to run up and over the fake bridge again and again. We basically had to take turns eating. Then to top off the end of the night, Conor ran into the elevator and before I could rush in, the doors closed so there he was in there by himself, screaming. Since the hotel is only 5 floors, we found him in the hallway of the 5th floor, of course crying hysterically. Incidently we were staying on the 5th floor so I wonder if he knew to get off on that floor, but the 5th button was too high...so mystery remains.  He needed to do a few elevator rides to regain his confidence. 

The next morning we all took another outdoor bath and then headed to breakfast and again were shown to a sunken table (my heart sank, I was praying for a normal table), but luckily there was a sliding door where we could trap the kids inside. The Japanese breakfast is like a mystery food tour. I don't know what half the items are. There are all very small and pretty though. Most likely pickles and tofu, yummy. And lots of fish and egg. So of course, Conor ate nothing but Pringles for 24 hrs.  Tough to take that kid anywhere.

To end the trip, we went to the Open Air Museum on the way back, which I had gone with my sister and mother and Conor in September. With the leaves gone and the grass yellow and the air crisp and cool, it was a different experience.  Conor enjoyed running amidst all the sculptures.  Luckily, the boys were better behaved on the train back and we were back in Tokyo by 1p Sunday.  And straight to McDonalds for you know who!

Toddler Birthday Parties

For those of you with young children, you can relate to the craziness of the toddler birthday party. These parties just seem to get more creative; there has to be an activity to keep them occupied, then there is food, but with all the different allergies, you have to report them to the party mom or else have an Epipen ready. Then there is the goody bag and thank you cards that each child gets. I recently got a thank card with photos of us taken at the party.  The girls want princess theme parties (thankfully the boy don't get invited). The boys want ....actually I don't know what they want. For Conor's 2nd birthday, we did do a Madagascar theme because that was all he was watching then. Anyway, this gets back to the party that I dropped Conor off at on Friday for his classmate Aidan Lin. It was on the third floor rec room at his school. It was a Kung Fu Panda theme and conveniently, Aidan's uncle is a black belt in karate. Of course he is. So all the boys got dressed up in Chinese outfits and beat the crap out of each other. Conor, as most of you know, is a shy boy so kung fu is just perfect for him. He has a bestmate Leo, seen here literally holding his hand and dragging him to all the activities. Leo is already 4yo and is huge. I want Conor to eat what Leo's eating (minus the eggs, fish, and milk). I snuck away after 15minutes but actually saw Conor running up to the front to see what the big boxing gloves were all about. By the way, Aidan's uncle rocks, I wouldn't want to face him in a dark alley.  I  think I may have found a new activity to toughen our young lad up. 

Thanksgiving

Well, we certainly we have a lot to be grateful for this year...Paddy is still employed, we are in family expansion mode and we have our health and our family and friends are safe. The Mumbai attacks brought it home for me that the world is really unpredictable and becoming unsafer. At least in Tokyo, I feel that we are very safe from crime and terrorism.  

So, unlike other years when I have been on call for Thanksgiving and we eat at the bar at Gotham Bar and Grill, Paddy mentioned we were having guests over for Thursday, two of his work colleagues and their partners. They have been very welcoming to us since our arrival here.  Three of them are even American!  It doesn't feel like Thanksgiving here because there are no decorations up for it and the day doesn't start with the Macy's Tday Parade.  But we persevered. The mental process of cooking and planning is painful but actually doing it as long as you are organized is very relaxing, and there is nothing better than the smell of a turkey with four sticks of butter roasting in the oven. I went for the smallest one at the international store, which was 15lbs. I think we made a good dent in it, as evidenced by my before and after photos. Hope everybody had a wonderful day and didn't overstuff.

Bali

So it has been over a month since I last posted, wow, where has the time gone? We had a nice Halloween here and now it's straight into Christmas lights and blow up dwarves on the street corner. We thought we would sneak away from the cold and have a Thanksgiving trip somewhere warm, and that destination was Bali. Though there's a major credit crunch, we could be out of Asia next year and wouldn't we be so bummed if we hadn't done some travelling in this part of the world.  So, Bali, here we come...first of all, it's not as close as I thought. It's a seven hour flight from Tokyo, longer than to Hawaii from here. Close to Australia and Singapore. It's a strict kinda place. The sign at the airport as you are getting your VISA says, "DEATH to drug traffickers". And they are serious. I wanted to take a picture of that sign, but there was a no camera and cell phone sign. I interpret that as "DEATH to picture takers".  Security is tight on the island as the terrorists who orchestrated the bombing a few years ago that killed over 200 people, most Australians, at a night club were just executed.  On our entry into the gated Four Seasons Resort, the car (from the resort) had to turn off it's engine, pop the hood and trunk and two armed men along with a bomb sniffing dog circled the car.  I guess I was meant to feel safe after that. Also, note to self, try not to leave compound.

But actually we did leave one day on a guided tour of nearby villages that sell stone and wood sculptures, saw some traditional Barong dancing, and took the boys on a safari park ride.  But you can just literally do nothing but lounge around the beach and pool and feel quite contented. It's low season in November so the resort was quiet (and maybe credit crunch added to that as well). So it was honeymooners and us.  The boys absolutely loved the pools. We had a little plunge pool in our villa that they were very happy to pop into at 8am before breakfast.  Then it was off to the other pool near the Kids Club. Then as we got braver, we ventured to the adults pool at the top of the resort..the "quiet pool".  They looked very small paddling around this great big pool. Aidan fancied himself like Michael Phelps. He hadn't been in a deep pool before, but now armed with the floaties, he just jumped right in from the little ledge and kept wanting to do that over and over. He likes to stick his head under water oddly enough.  Conor became braver and was paddling around by himself, but doesn't have natural recklessness that Aidan has. All in all, it was a fantastic 4 days, we got a little sun burned and a few mosquitoes got through the netting, but we would definitely go back again.

Thank God for Sling Box

It took a while but I now have American TV via Sling Box...it's these little pleasures that make living abroad easier.  My laptop which is wired to some LA based location is then connected to the TV with some cables, and I have to manouver through 6 Japanese screens and voila, we have everything we did at home and more.  Most importantly, I have TEVO. And yes I am still watching Dancing with the Stars. I am rooting for Brooke "Fake Boobs" Burns...wasn't her ex husband Beverly Hills top plastic surgeon? More importantly (maybe), Paddy and I have been following the baseball. We spent the weekend mornings watching the Red Sox play the Rays.  There are many Red Sox fans here, walking around the hood of Hiroo.  I, like a dork, scream out "Go Red Sox" when I see a stranger is wearing a baseball cap of our beloved team.  It takes them a second to react since they think I am a meek Japanese housewife pushing the stroller around.  Good to surprise people once in awhile.

Shanghai (Not a) Surprise

For Paddy's 40th Birthday we went to Shanghai for a quick 36 hr trip without the kids. We flew out of the local airport here called Haneda which flies to Korea, HK and China. Upon arriving at Shanghai, we realized we had landed at their local airport as well, and not so bright and shiny. I had heard that from the international Shanghai airport, there is a train called the MagLev which magnetically levitates at its peak speed of 430km/hr, faster than the Shinkansen.  Cool, huh? Instead we got a shady taxi that literally drove up on the sidewalk, instead of the driveway, of the Fours Seasons. "Here" wasn't meant to be that literal. 

Paddy had been to Shanghai in 1996 before the construction boom and so the city was new to him as well in some ways. Back then there were two skyscrapers, now the tallest building in the world has just been finished (until Dubai finishes theirs).  We took a guided tour of the Old City, where even two Starbucks have managed to sneak in. In the Old City, there is a 3 acre walled garden that was very pretty, filled with koi fish. Shanghai is famous for its dumplings which we saw being assembly line produced with amazing speed. They had to with the line of people waiting to buy them.  

In the center of the city is a park called People's Park. In 8 months in 2001, the goverment relocated 5000 families from the center and built the park practically overnight. They say the quickest way to get rich is to wait for the government to move your home.  The sheer speed in which buildings go up shocked me. The tallest building (the one with the rectangle cut out at the top) was built in 1.5 years by Chinese that worked 24 hrs a day, 7 days a week.  There are no unions there I guess.

I was excited to have some authentic Chinese food and I have to say the soups are very good. Real wonton soup is quite delicious. The dim sum was also tasty but I have to say the Shanghai Noodles were a disappointment. They are thick and chewy and rather bland in their oily stir fry.  And still, the Chinese restaurants just don't seem to care about ambience. It's all about the food.

So all in all, it was an interesting experience. The city still feels like one that is under construction; they still have to deal with pollution. It has a good buzz, but calling it the Paris of the East may be a slight exaggeration.

Shoe Fettish

Slim Jim has been trying on a few new looks. Should we be worried?  Note a gigantic Pooh has arrived on the scene thanks to Uncle Jamie.

Happy Birthday Paddy!

I should have posted this yesterday but one day late isn't so bad...Happy 40th Birthday to Paddy. We are celebrating tonight with Jamie (Paddy's brother) who is in town for a few days. Here's to a fun and exciting year (and to not thinking about the markets)! Home made chocolate cake seen here not made by me...

Squeaky wheel always gets oiled

Our final weekend in Shimoda was a little cool and chilly so we went to the floating aquarium in town. There were gigantic turtles and some cool tanks with manta rays, which I can't help but think about that Australian animal lover who died after being freakishly pierced by one in the heart. Anyway, I digress.  There was a sea lion and dolphin show, and in typical form, Aidan was clapping hands and giggling while Conor was clinging on to Daddy for dear life. He asked to go pee about 5 times during the show as an escape route. Paddy does claim he was able to squirt out a little urine each time. I have noticed that this is his trick to leave any situation he doesn't like, knowing that his parents would never say no and risk the prospect of soiled undies.  So young yet so manipulative.  So Conor made and early exit from the dolphin show and found some small less scary fish...Nemos. And of course while I was in the ladies room at the gift shop, I emerged to find the largest Nemo sitting on his lap. Paddy the softy had agreed he could have it. I tried to bargain down to the smallest Nemo. Hey, there is a credit crisis going on and we cannot be buying the largest Nemo in the rip-off gift shop. Conor, like Congress, voted no and proudly carted off his Nemo. In the car riding home, it filled the space between the two car seats and Aidan could have cared less about the big orange fish. He's looking for some french fries.

First Few Weeks of School

I have been a bad mom and not posted any first day of school pictures but frankly, the whole time was stressful for not only the boys, but for me as well. Now that it has been a few weeks and they have settled into a groove, I can finally share the drama. The boys both attend Willowbrook International school, a 5 minute walk from our home. Conor goes 5 days a week from 8:30 to 2p (shockingly long for a 3yo, no?) and Aidan goes Tues/Thurs for half days.  At 17months, calling it school is a bit of a giggle. The first week I stayed with Aidan as part of transitioning for the young age group and was subjected to lots of silly songs. One particular song was called "Teddy Bear" and all the adults danced side to side like a drunk teddy bears. It's a prenap song, as all the teddy bears end up laying on the ground at the end.  I can handle hokey pokey but have to draw the line on "Teddy Bear". No fathers could have kept a straight face.  See what us moms are subjected to? This first week, since I was there, Aidan was like a cowboy in class..running everywhere,washing his hands constantly at the sink and  could have cared less about the singing (What clean up song?)... This week though, a different Aidan has emerged. At dropoff, I need to peel him off my body and hand him to the teacher as I run away. Five minutes later when I peak back after dropping Conor off, I find him still dramatically doing "fake"? heaves with his eyes still shut..no hysteria though. I am not worried about Aidan, he's a tough dude. Conor though is another story...

Since Conor has been here, his atopic dermatitis has acted up and he goes on fiendish missions of scratching, so I feared that the anxiety of school and teacher to student ratio (6:1) would leave poor old Conor in a corner scratching his knees and elbows all raw. And on top of that he is criminally shy and thus goes mute when around strangers.  So I expected the worse, and braced the teachers for such, and it was pretty painful the first week. He cried ALOT. Even when another student got close, he would cry. I even cried on the way home one day. I felt so bad making him go to school, the kid has had so many changes this past year. We moved 5 houses in 10months. He didn't see Paddy for 3 months. Now he is surrounded by a new language and dropped off with strangers for 6 hours a day. I feared the potty training would regress but thankfully, he has only had one poopy accident. I expected it would take a month but miraculously, with a lot of encouragement and Pooh stickers he just stopped crying at dropoff after a week and now, seems to almost rush into the school when we arrive. We get a daily newsletter with pictures of what the kids have done that day, and you could see in the beginning, Conor off in the corner looking out the window or seated on the teachers lap while the rest of the kids were on the floor listening to story time. They should have blacked out his eyes so I wouldn't realize that was my child being anti-social. And now, we see him playing with a hoola hoop or sitting on a chair by himself next to the kids on the floor (It seems Conor hates sitting on the floor!) He seems to be getting encouragement from the other older, more verbal children too. At home, he is singing clean up songs, "find a seat" song and another mysterious mealtime song which ends with Itadakimas! So, we are making progress and I will not be getting that stress ulcer.

"I Hate Shimoda"

It is said that when you move to such a different place,  you are bound to have those Love/Hate moments.  So far, I would say I have been enjoying Tokyo.  I miss my friends and family in America but overall, it has been an adventure and I have had a positive attitude....until this weekend...two scenarios reared their ugly heads in Shimoda.

On Friday when I picked up Paddy from the train station in Shimoda at 8pm, I wanted to try a local restaurant in the town.  Being a quaint fishing village, I thought we could bypass the nasty burger and fish and chips at the gaijin joints and have an authentic meal. We had a map of a fish restaurant printed out by Paddy's secretary and when we arrived, it was empty and the man profusely waved his hands in an X sign. We understood none of the Japanese but I got the X.  So we walked back to the first restaurant where we had asked for directions to the "X" restaurant, resigning ourselves to a bowl of noodles. The restaurant seemed full but again, the lady said something terse in Japanese and walked off. No effort to explain why they couldn't seat us.  Not that we would have understood.  Paddy then walked into a bar nearby and attempted to ask if there were any local sushi places; to which he got a few long thoughtful pauses from the men sitting around the counter and then, head shakes.  And they continued to speak Japanese at me as if understood.  I was getting a little annoyed at the whole situation now, namely because I couldn't understand anything despite the Japanese lessons and how could it be that we were at a beachside village and could not get any sushi? 

So we walked back to the car parked near the Aoki Supermarket, at which point I exclaimed, " I HATE SHIMODA." 

Paddy said, "No you don't."

Me, "Oh, yes I do."

Paddy, "Let's try one more place on this corner."

Me, wallowing in self misery now, "No, I don't want to.  What are we doing here?"

Paddy,"Let's look at the window here...and look, it's sushi"

So, it just so happened that we stumbled into a wonderful little sushi place where we had a variety of delicious new sushi, and I was made to swallow my, I HATE SHIMODA comment. Victory out of the jaws of defeat as Paddy would say....

Until Sunday came, when we decided to drive back to Tokyo at 3p. It was a long weekend in Japan so we figured people would be staying until Monday. Our best time has been just under 3 hours on Sunday evening at 8p. Our worse time has been 6 hours leaving midday using the coastal route(0n a map would seem the shortest distance- rookie error). We had promised ourselves we would leave at 8p but for some reason, since the boys looked sleepy, we decidedto have a brain fart and why not put them in the car and they can sleep. So, three hours later, the boys, all three, had indeed slept, and awoke to complete stand still traffic in the mountains, not even half way home yet. There were people getting out of their cars to stretch and change drivers. Pee in the bushes, you name it. I thought to myself, I better see a big nasty accident coming up.  Never did.  Frustrations ran high in the car...here are some choice words from Paddy,

"This is complete Bull*cks. I could stab myself in the wrist. We are so stupid to leave at this time." Ditto, for me, except I wouldn't stab myself in the wrist, eyeball was a better punishment. But then the boys would be orphaned, or maybe not, just left with mutilated parents.

"The Japanese expect this kind of traffic on the weekends, it's all part of their suffering mentality." Hmm, I doubt this is true in the cold light of day post traffic but it sounded reasonable at the time.

"We have moved 5K in two hours, at this rate we will be home tomorrow at 9p." We both contemplated scrapping the drive and turning around, but each time we did, the traffic moved to a 20Km/hr pace.

To end your painful journey reading this, we finally got on the Tomei Highway and hit another one hour delayed traffic. And on the sixth hour of sitting in that car, Conor said, "Need to poop"....Oh no you don't buddy. Please try to hold it in.  He gave me a worried, but understanding face.  A few minutes later, "Need to pee." Conor had a pull up on for long journeys but Paddy wondered if he could pee in a bottle. So there I was in the back seat, squashed between two huge carseats with Conor standing attempting to pee in a bottle, on the worse drive of my life. Could it get any worse? Laughable stuff. Of course, peeing in a bottle proved too nerve wracking for Conman, and so he dribbled a bit and went back to his carseat and fell asleep. When we finally pulled into the driveway 7 hrs after beginning our journey, I just had to think to myself, I HATE SHIMODA. Next time, train onegaishemas (please).

Tennis anyone?

Let's set the stage for this particular entry by recalling a sunny afternoon in East Hampton, Memorial Day weekend when Paddy had flown home for Conor's birthday. He had informed me that we were going to join the Tokyo Lawn and Tennis Club next to our new house and so he needed some gear.  So, in true Paddy style, he returned from Main Street with a new Prince bag and TWO rackets, and a few new outfits. The two rackets I thought meant one for me and one for him, but, no, for Paddy "Federer" Hogan, he needed two rackets just in case he broke a string on one of his serves. Feeling sheepish, he did go buy one for me and thus we were all set to strut our stuff on the courts. This is coming from two people who have played 5 times in the last ten years. So we are REALLY good.

So with that confidence, I had joined a ladies group that played Tuesdays and Wednesday mornings. I know what you are thinking...Lien, your life is like those housewives from OC. Hmm..maybe. One opponent in particular that I thought I would go easy on was a 60ish yo old Japanese woman who might actually be 80yo with lip implants, a bad facelift and kyphosis. My bad, I shouldn't age discriminate because this chic just kept returning everything you hit her until you make an unforced error.  I played her twice, again this week, she beat me.  I surrender.  Maybe she takes steroids.

Our most "humiliating" (direct quote from Paddy) moment came this week when we played our first round mixed doubles match in the club tournament.  I was actually feeling queasy from nerves prior to the match. We were playing a Japanese couple we never met before on Court 1. On first appearances, he was 65 and slightly chubby. She was small and skinny and in her 30s. And odd pair. Within a few minutes of warming up, I suspected we were toast, but Paddy is extremely competitive and in his mind, imagined we were playing in the US Open. Anyway, 40 minutes later, after a can of fresh WHOOP ASS had been open on us, we politely shook hands at 6-0, 6-0. We then had to have a drink with them in the club where Paddy sulked the whole time, still in a bit of shock that we had been demolished so fast. Ok, so I will take 70% of the blame for losing because of my unforced errors but "Federer" wasn't doing so hot either. They say it's not good to be doubles partner with your spouse, hmm...there is some logic behind that.

Paddy and I are looking for a few opponents with either one leg or in wheelchairs to play against to boost our confidence.

Loser Dog

Last week we met a really lovely Japanese lady named Yuki at a wine tasting party who had spent her high school years in Westchester. We were talking about life in Tokyo for the average Japanese and got on the topic of the dating scene. Yuki shed some light on this that I had never heard before.  Apparently it's cats and dogs out there in the meat (fish?) market.  If you are an unmarried lady at 24, you are called Christmas Eve, at 25, you are Christmas Day, and after 25, you are known as Christmas Cake. Old and stale. Nearing your 30s, you are called New Year's Eve. I expected the holiday analogy to continue, but after, 30 yo, I'm sorry......you are now a LOSER DOG!!  That is a pretty harsh term in my book.  Why couldn't we just transition to a Jan/Feb holiday?. Apparently this phrase was coined by an author, Junko Sakai ( I later learned on Google), in her book, HOWL of the LOSER DOG.  It is a Japanese version of Bridget Jones Diary and is meant to try to explain how the WINNER DOGs are cold and calculating and succeed at getting men.  These dogs are married with two kids in a prestigious preschool by their early 30s (Smug marrieds).  Although the term LOSER DOG sounds quite derogatory, it is meant to champion the cause of those independent, self made, still single and loving it 30-40 year olds.  Secretly though, it kind of sounds like they want to be the WINNER DOGS but have found a different path in life.  Japan's population is shrinking, and it is because more and more LOSER DOGS are quite happy with themselves and have no interest in marriage nor children. Back to our new friend, Yuki.  She had bought an apartment in Tokyo and had imagined herself growing old there into her 60s (+/- five cats and a few pigeons?) but those plans are not going to happen, because alas she is getting married this year to an American guy she meant recently.  WINNER DOG after all.

Atsui des! (It's hot)

Well, after a week of rain, I thought maybe we would be transitioning towards fall like weather, but I was wrong, because its ATSUI DES! all over again. Reliving July and August and those moments of endless backsweat.  This time, as noted on the picture, I am armed with a brow handkerchief that I keep to gently dab my forehead as the ladies do. My sister Lan, who is on her second week of visiting and already a local and claims to have "DONE" Tokyo, bought it for me as I was clearly not being Japanese enough. Curiously though, the ladies here don't seem to sweat.  I was reminded of some peculiar things that occur in this heat:

1.  Walking around with a small umbrella in bright sunshine. I have been guilty of carrying a green frog Karope umbrella that Ellena and Dennis gave Conor for Christmas on 100+ degrees days. It got a few giggles from the ladies at Starbucks. I'm in on cuteness factor here, anything that makes Japanese girls giggle must be a natural winner.

2.  Ladies Summer Fashion. Ladies wear full on makeup, fake eyelashes, nude stockings in this weather. Not to mention many layers of all black outfits as if it were December. And summer cashmere! These are accented with what I call leg warmers for arms. This, like the umbrella, is all meant to keep your skin white. Being tan equals peasant, like me.

3.  Towel heads. Guys, usually those that have to do more physical work, literally wrap a light towel around their heads to prevent sweat from dripping down their faces. It's just part of the outfit. Kind of like nude stockings. Now that's what I'd like to see on a head...hmm, possibly different scenario springs to mind.

4.  Advertising. Instead of flyers, people give out paper fans and tissue paper with logos on them. Much more useful.

5.  Anecdote on how hot it was- my large plastic pot, urn if you wish, from Ikea is lopsided because one half has melted in the sun.

6.  Another personal anecdote, I showered three times today.

I can't wait for fall...

Gumbusters!

A common sentiment about Tokyo is how darn clean it is for the amount of people that live here...the main reason is of course the Japanese citizen who is inherently respectful of their surroundings and just don't litter. The subway has fabric cushion seats and is immaculate. Imagine cloth seats in NYC? Right...The 20 second rule could possibly apply here for dropped food. But then you wouldn't be eating food or drinking your coffee on the Metro, it just isn't done. Once I had some Chicken McNuggets and was about to give them to Conor on the subway but decided not to get semi dirty stares.  Also, there are no trash cans on the road, thus one has to carry their trash from place to place. One day as we were having some coffee at an outdoor cafe, I discovered the reason why there are no gum marks on the sidewalks. Two men dressed in Gumbusters uniform were busy steaming the sidewalk and removing any remnants of chewing gum. They were gum busting for a long time and the work ethic of the Japanese really impressed me.  I mean let's face it, Gum Busting isn't a glamorous job, nor is pumping gasoline or being a grocery clerk, but people just don't seem to have a chip on their shoulder but instead, do their job respectfully.  I wouldn't mind importing that back to the sales staff at Babies R Us at Union Square in NYC.

Shibuya

For the past week, my sister and mother have been visiting and they have brought the rain! Usually the weather here is so predictable that the weatherman can tell you the exact date rainy season will end and summer will begin. I think this week of heavy rain is very unsual; but we managed to get out to see a few sites. One of them is Shibuya, which is sort of like Times Square and Lower East Side together. There are many teeny boppers, girls with teased blonde hair and fake eyelashes. There is an 8 story mall devoted to teeny bopper slasher wear called Shibuya 109; I think every store looks the same. My sister got tricked into buying a few overpriced T-shirts with weird writing and holes cut out in the back. This video of the six way crossing, which is insanely crowded yet also orderly, is courtesy of my sister from the vantage point of the second floor Starbucks. There is no jay walking here (except by me). How would you like to lose a child in this crosswalk?

Tokyo Tower

Last Friday, we went to City Hall to update Glenda's address on her ID card. Here in Japan, all residents have to register with city hall when they move into a new area. And even when you change residences within that area, it is your civic duty to report to city hall and update that information on your alien card.  All so strict..anyway, we lucked out on this field trip as City Hall is right next to Tokyo Towers. This is a red replica of the Eiffel Tower. It soars 330m in the air and on a clear day, one can see Mount Fuji from the observatory at 250m. We only made it to the 150m deck and it was still quite a view. One really appreciates the sprawling nature of Tokyo.  Conor enjoyed looking through the glass floor plate at the little cars down below.  In true Japanese style, we were greeted by the mascot, Noppon, a 2m 23cm tall pink THING.  He's actually a twin, but his brother was nowhere to be found that day. I'm not going to make any obvious comparisons to any male body parts nor am I going to comment on the fact that the PHALLUS twins may represent some repressed sexual undercurrent in this society. In any case, Conor wasn't thrilled to be photographed with THINGIE whereas Aidan reached out for a big high five.  To top off the morning, we were treated with a monkey street show at the foot of the tower.  Now that's a complete tourist experience. 

First Tremor

Today my Japanese teacher came over to the house for our twice weekly lessons and Conor was crawling all over me, demanding the pen and wanting to write all over my Nihon-go book.  Typical  toddler insanity, hardly an environment for learning, especially now that the language lessons are getting more difficult and I need every brain cell possible to remember all the conjugation forms. So I sent the kids packing to the park, stat. I could hear Conor screaming all the way down the driveway. Joy. Now, all peace and quiet as we dig into our books again, seated in the dining room.  A few second later we heard some rumbling upstairs. Odd,  I thought to myself, the kids aren't upstairs. I could have sworn they left. Then the china cabinet housing about 40 thousand (seldom used) wine glasses started to rattle. I looked at my sensei and asked, "Earthquake?" She nodded, "I think so." More rattling.  She motioned, "Let's get under the dining table, it could get worse" Yikes! So, there we were, huddled under that huge 8 foot slab of rosewood (which sensei noted later was very good for earthquake, which was not what I was thinking when I purchased it from Holly Hunt). So in that panicked moment (in reality 15 seconds, but thoughts fly quick when you are huddled in fetal position) I thought, Am I going to die right here under a table while learning the TA form of  TO SWIM (Oyoida, btw)? And where are the kids? Are they safe? It turns of course that while you are walking outside, one of course doesn't even feel a tremor of this size, but, believe me, I felt this one. So when it was all over, the sensei went right back to verbs, and I was sitting there, a little dazed. Hello, I just felt an EARTHQUAKE. I guess these things are not that uncommon, we do live on an island surrounded by volcanoes after all. Better pack my earthquake bag like a good mommy/citizen.

Little Aidy

Recently we were stuck in some really bad traffic on the Tomei heading to Shimoda, I mean total dead stop, fun stuff... so Glenda, our nanny, put a scrunchie into Aidan's hair for a laugh. She always says he is so pretty, he could be a girl.  Hmm, he could pass for an Adriana, I thought.  When I was pregnant with Aidan, I thought it would be so nice to have a girl. Boys are so physical, rough and loud. Wouldn't it be nice to have a little girl who sat there and listened, quietly combing her doll's hair?  This is probably my own fantasy as any girl I would ever have would probably tear the house down.  In any case, Aidan is here and I couldn't imagine it any other way.  He is just the sweetest little angel. He has a little impish smile that makes you want to bite his cheeks (there is plenty to bite).  He loves to hug you tight when you are cuddling him.  When he is placed in his crib at night, he turns over on his belly, does a few butt thrusts and crawls towards the corner to bury his head. His laughs are hearty and he has a playful spirit; I get a sense he is going to be a funny little dude.  It's true what they say- the second child sadly gets neglected and is not showered with all the fanfare of the first, but I am going to make every effort to get some Aidy quality time in there.

Missing Pooh

Lately, Conor has been obsessed with his little Winnie the Pooh that he took off the cover of an ABC book my sister had given him last year.  For a year, he didn't glance twice at that little yellow bear but since we have been here, it's been all Pooh, all the time.  Pooh goes to the bathroom with him, is set aside on the sink for pee and poo. Pooh goes to bed with us, Pooh comes on car trips, real ones and fake ones. The fake car trips were designed to get him to drink his new soy milk, which took some encouragement to say the least. For some reason, being in the car with Pooh made the milk seem delicious.  In the house, not so tasty.  Pooh was very helpful in these moments. The above picture is Pooh's last sighting captured on my Iphone, because, yes folks, sadly Pooh disappeared somewhere in our neighborhood during our afternoon stroll today.  I had this strange feeling when we headed out, as I saw Conor clutching Pooh and several other items, that he wasn't going to make it back. And when that moment became reality, I panicked for missing Pooh and left Conor with our nanny and circled the Hiroo neighborhood like a chicken with it's head cut off. No luck.... Conor has been asking for "Winnie the Poooooooh?" tonight so we found a new little substitute bear about the same size and cut off the present he was  attached to in attempts to make him look more like Winnie. We gave him a cute name, Toby the Teddy. Conor gave him a few kisses, and now he is laying on the floor abandoned.  Novelty over, he wants Winnie back.  I do too, may have to send out another search party tomorrow.

Shimoda

Just before we moved here, the boys and I spent the month of June in East Hampton. It was an idyllic time as June is a quiet month out there before the real rush of the summer. So to ease my transition here, Paddy decided to rent a summer house for us (through internet photos) from July to September at a beachside town called Shimoda. I was forewarned by Paddy that "this was not the Hamptons"....what, you mean no Tiffany on Main Street and Nick and Toni dinners?  So I really set the expectations bar low so not to be too disappointed. Our first weekend there we took the train which took about 3 hours. The boys loved the train, as did I, as you could look out the window and see the seaside towns nestled in at the foot of the mountains. We rented a car next to the train station and drove to the house, about 5km away (which funny enough was right next door to Paddy's old friends, Jane and Paddy Maloney, an Irish couple who had been living in Tokyo for 10 years).  The rest of the weekends we have driven to Shimoda and it is quite a drive of opposites taking about 4 hrs.  The first half is on a major highway called the Tomei Expressway and the second half is through the mountains and tunnels where, at times, literally only one car can fit on the narrow windy road.  At one point, there is a circular bridge which takes you down quickly into the valley.  This half of the drive I have dubbed the "underwear staining" portion and don't allow Paddy to drive that part yet.  By the way, I used to think the Midtown Tunnel was pricey, how about $37 for the Tomei (one way).

My first impression of the house was that it was, in it's hey day, a very cool Japanese pot smoking, party house. There were posters of Bob Marley everywhere, along with babyblue and beige 80s leather couches.  My second impression of the house was that it was the most child unfriendly house ever built (by pot smokers).  There is a professional grade oven that has gas valves on the front right side in bright yellow, screaming to be turned 90 degrees by a toddler. It requires a flame to light that is attached by rubber tubing on the left. (See death stove oven photo). Needless to say, we roped the kitchen area off immediately, but those monkeys keep finding their way in and make a beeline for that stove! The dining room has a low Japanese style table with a rectangular hole cut out for your feet, so perfect height for head injuries and then a hole to fall into.  Oh, and there is "stadium seating" of two levels built in all around the first floor glass windows (instant jumping jungle gym area).  Moving onto the second and third floors of the house, the toddler death trap continues. There are open air steep staircases that look down to the living room with gaps wide enough for a child (and stoned adult) to go right through. Think of the house like a Japanese ski lodge and you can get an idea of the layout. So again we had to barricade the upstairs railing but the initial open staircase is designed such that you can't really surround it.  At night, we all sleep together in one of the tatami rooms on futons because I am afraid Conor will go wandering around at night. Oh, and did I mention the deafening sound of crickets outside? I almost feel like they are going to invade and eat us.

Ok, so that's just the house and we haven't even made it to the beach.  I would call the area "rustic", like Japan meets Jamaica. The main beach, while it has a nice stretch of beautiful water, is barricaded off from the street by a 10 foot wall of concrete. A friend had said there was a little snack shack called Sunnyside right on the beach where you can eat and watch your kids so I imagined a place right on the beach, but sadly, it's on the other side of the barricade. On the beach, there are many surfers and boogie boarders and kids in tubes floating in the water, all packed into a small area where zealous lifeguards are constantly screaming into a speakerphones.  I am amazed at the size of the tents that the Japanese pitch up at the beach, one could host a small party underneath there. And lord knows what hour they start, because even when we hit the beach at 9am, it is already full of tents and umbrellas.  And while it is supposed to be cooler since we are away from Tokyo, the heat is still pretty intense and I wish I had SPF 100.

Last weekend, the boys and I and our nanny Glenda came down early on Friday and arrived at the beach at 6pm.  There were maybe 10 other people there and it was such a refreshing change from the weekend scene.  It was the first time that I actually thought it was kind of lovely.   Listen, it still isn't the Hamptons, but we'll keep coming back.  "Rustic" is growing on me.