I saw a friend and her husband post a video tour of their overseas apartment a year or two ago, and thought "How cool! I would so do that if we lived overseas". We moved overseas and I kept thinking I needed to copy their idea.
Well, I did!
Here's a little video tour of our apartment in Japan.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Friday, April 29, 2011
"This Ain't Your Gramma's Embroidery"
I've grown up in a crafty family. My grandma taught me how to crochet, and she left us bags and bags of yarn and half-completed projects to finish for her. My mom also crocheted, sewed, embroidered, and everything else you could think to do with yarn or thread. If I ever go through with my plan to buy a sewing machine and attempt to take up sewing again, she'll be on speed dial for questions like "how the hell do you use this pattern?!".
Anyways. I've got some free time on my hands and I wanted something to do with it. I've been dabbling in crochet a little, but it's not my favorite craft. I'm intrigued by sewing, but the cost of starting that up is discouraging. So I'm going to try the next best thing.
I just ordered the Ultimate Embroidery Kit from Sublime Stiching!
I'm decent at hand-sewing (I've been known to sew a patch onto Jeff's uniforms when he forgets to take them in), so I think I'll pick up embroidery quickly and enjoy doing it.
I wanted something fun to start with, so I picked this Pirates pattern and a small banner. There are so many patterns available. And I have a strong feeling I'll get hooked and start making my own designs at some point. But just look at the fun patterns they offer!
Sushi! I think I may need to do something with this since we're living in sushi central...
"Krazy Kitchen"
"Tattoo Alphabet"
Cute, right? (All the supplies and tools necessary are also available, it's a one stop shop!)
I'll let you know how my embroidery experience goes once the package gets here, just wanted to share!
Catch phrase in the post title, and all images, were taken from Sublime Stitching.
Anyways. I've got some free time on my hands and I wanted something to do with it. I've been dabbling in crochet a little, but it's not my favorite craft. I'm intrigued by sewing, but the cost of starting that up is discouraging. So I'm going to try the next best thing.
I just ordered the Ultimate Embroidery Kit from Sublime Stiching!
I'm decent at hand-sewing (I've been known to sew a patch onto Jeff's uniforms when he forgets to take them in), so I think I'll pick up embroidery quickly and enjoy doing it.
I wanted something fun to start with, so I picked this Pirates pattern and a small banner. There are so many patterns available. And I have a strong feeling I'll get hooked and start making my own designs at some point. But just look at the fun patterns they offer!
Sushi! I think I may need to do something with this since we're living in sushi central...
"Krazy Kitchen"
"Tattoo Alphabet"
Cute, right? (All the supplies and tools necessary are also available, it's a one stop shop!)
I'll let you know how my embroidery experience goes once the package gets here, just wanted to share!
Catch phrase in the post title, and all images, were taken from Sublime Stitching.
Mil-Spouse Friday Fill-In
I haven't done one of these in a while, partly because by the time I see them it's already Saturday in these parts! I'm on top of things today, and snagged the questions on Wife of a Sailor's Thursday Preview, because it IS Friday here.
This time difference stuff is tricky.
Okay, on to the questions!
1. Have you and your spouse agreed to live in separate locations (a geographical bachelor tour) knowing that the short-term inconvenience would have long-term benefits for your family? How did it work for you?
Not yet. We have talked about the circumstances where this would be better for us, but they're few and far between. For us, being together is more important than any of the inconveniences of say, living overseas. It hurts my options for starting any careers, it makes life a little more challenging, but being together wins out. That may not always be the case, but it is now.
2. What is your favorite thing about being a MilSpouse?
The opportunity to travel. I would have never gone to California and definitely not to Japan if I hadn't married Jeff and he hadn't been enlisted in the Navy. The experiences and opportunities I had in California changed my life, most specifically my degree and possible career paths, and I can only imagine what I'll come home learning from living in Japan. While we do miss home and the option to buy a home and settle in one place to start a family someday, traveling and living abroad wouldn't be possible for us without the military.
3. If you could still have your spouse/significant other and your family, but take the military life out of it…would you?
This is an oddly worded question. Would I still have my husband if he wasn't in the Navy? Of course I would. I didn't marry him for his enlisted record. Would we take the military out of the equation if we could right this second? No, not right now. We made this decision a few months back, and for us and for our future, it's the smartest move to stay in the military. That may not always be the case, but Teri's husband and the enlisted sailor are two different things; we can drop one without dropping the other.
4. What have your homecoming experiences been like after a year long tour of separation?
We have not gone through year long tours. We've been separated for a year at a time because of distance, but that was when we were dating. Since we've been married, Jeff's deployed for a year total, but in two chunks. The homecoming, as it is for everyone, is a mix of emotions. Elation and excitement that he will finally be back home where he belongs. Frustration and impatience at the adjustment period as you both figure out how to live together again. Lots of new love for the things you forgot he does or says when he was away. And a million other emotions all mixed in.
5. If you have a child(ren) why you chose their name(s)? If not, why you would name your child something?
We don't have kids. We talk occasionally about naming our kids, but we never agree on anything. I have a couple names I love, but they're not "the names" or anything. We've talked about naming kids after someone in our families, but we decided that didn't fit for us. I might become the crazy pregnant lady that has to look up the meaning of every name we debate, but it will probably end up that we pick a name we both can settle on. I don't really think a name has to mean anything before the kid is born; he or she will make it mean something as he or she grows up.
Join the party!
This time difference stuff is tricky.
Okay, on to the questions!
1. Have you and your spouse agreed to live in separate locations (a geographical bachelor tour) knowing that the short-term inconvenience would have long-term benefits for your family? How did it work for you?
Not yet. We have talked about the circumstances where this would be better for us, but they're few and far between. For us, being together is more important than any of the inconveniences of say, living overseas. It hurts my options for starting any careers, it makes life a little more challenging, but being together wins out. That may not always be the case, but it is now.
2. What is your favorite thing about being a MilSpouse?
The opportunity to travel. I would have never gone to California and definitely not to Japan if I hadn't married Jeff and he hadn't been enlisted in the Navy. The experiences and opportunities I had in California changed my life, most specifically my degree and possible career paths, and I can only imagine what I'll come home learning from living in Japan. While we do miss home and the option to buy a home and settle in one place to start a family someday, traveling and living abroad wouldn't be possible for us without the military.
3. If you could still have your spouse/significant other and your family, but take the military life out of it…would you?
This is an oddly worded question. Would I still have my husband if he wasn't in the Navy? Of course I would. I didn't marry him for his enlisted record. Would we take the military out of the equation if we could right this second? No, not right now. We made this decision a few months back, and for us and for our future, it's the smartest move to stay in the military. That may not always be the case, but Teri's husband and the enlisted sailor are two different things; we can drop one without dropping the other.
4. What have your homecoming experiences been like after a year long tour of separation?
We have not gone through year long tours. We've been separated for a year at a time because of distance, but that was when we were dating. Since we've been married, Jeff's deployed for a year total, but in two chunks. The homecoming, as it is for everyone, is a mix of emotions. Elation and excitement that he will finally be back home where he belongs. Frustration and impatience at the adjustment period as you both figure out how to live together again. Lots of new love for the things you forgot he does or says when he was away. And a million other emotions all mixed in.
5. If you have a child(ren) why you chose their name(s)? If not, why you would name your child something?
We don't have kids. We talk occasionally about naming our kids, but we never agree on anything. I have a couple names I love, but they're not "the names" or anything. We've talked about naming kids after someone in our families, but we decided that didn't fit for us. I might become the crazy pregnant lady that has to look up the meaning of every name we debate, but it will probably end up that we pick a name we both can settle on. I don't really think a name has to mean anything before the kid is born; he or she will make it mean something as he or she grows up.
Join the party!
Taking Out The Trash
Well, more like taking out the clutter. It never fails to surprise and disgust me to see how much clutter accumulates in our office. It doesn't help that I'm obsessive about my hatred for clutter and my husband tends to collect things crap we don't need. Okay, sometimes he has really cool collections, like his movies and his steins from Germany. But the other stuff...
Ready for the befores? God, they're ugly.
...
I have no explanation. Some of the wayward books and papers are a result of the massive and frequent earthquakes. But definitely not the whole room. And it had a semblance of order when we unpacked everything, I think. I don't know what happened, but somehow the room exploded.
I couldn't even walk in there without grimacing. Yuck.
So I stocked up on supplies:
Bouncy music and water. And got to cleaning.
I didn't take pictures of the whole process because I did one chunk in one day, then finished a week or two later. But the process went a little like this: Pile everything to one side of the room so I had some space to work with. Empty the bookshelves completely. Sort the books. (Jeff and I had a big disagreement about book organization, so to save constant bickering we divided our books. I organize mine alphabetically, aka normally, and he does...something else. I don't even know or understand, but his books have their own space now.) I also separated textbooks I don't care for, like Science and Math. Then piled all of my literature anthologies together, because I do care for those. And I'm known to flip through them now and then, so I like to keep them handy. I also separated my dad's books, which I've been meaning to mail back to him for about...a year. I should've done it when the distance, and price, was much cheaper in CA!
After I sorted, I threw them back up onto the bookshelves and out of the way. Then I started digging through the piles of junk. I separated all the military paperwork that was overtaking the piles and left them neatly in a box for my husband to go through and decide what's worth keeping. I never shred military stuff without his permission. But the rest of the stuff was free reign. So I shredded bills, credit card offers, and all the other useless junk we had laying around. I shredded so much I broke my shredder. Or jammed it trying to shove too much into it in my haste to clear the clutter. Either way, it's dead. I also threw out all the things we didn't care about. My theory: if we didn't use it in Lemoore and haven't unpacked it or missed it here---we don't need it. Period. Unless they're collectibles we have no place for (like my husband's chess sets), there's no need for extra stuff. Then I tried to organize the rest into like groupings and hid them away in bins, baskets, and crates. Military pins and patches, office supplies, thank you cards and other mail-related things, old pictures, etc. etc. It was a mess for a while there, but it's looking up now.
Would you like to see how much better it looks after a couple trips to the recycling and garbage bins?
Oh my goodness, I can breathe when I walk in this room now. Not that I need to walk in there too much. Besides grabbing a book or pen, this room has become Jeff's pseudo-man cave. I say pseudo because his dream man cave needs a lot more space and a lot more distance from me and my obsession with cleaning and clutter-eliminating. But since I don't need a desk or quiet space for my degree at the moment, I don't need an office. So it's his. Sort of, minus the books and girly stuff that will surely get sprinkled around.
It's amazing how much brighter the room looks when the eye isn't distracted by clutter. When I walk in, my eye immediately goes to the large window now. And this is the smallest amount of window space in a room! We lucked into some massive glass viewing space in this apartment, and I LOVE it. And I love that that gorgeous window can be appreciated now.
There are still some kinks to work out. The room is being threatened by chord chaos, but there's only so much we can do about that. With a desktop, external hard drive, router, and wireless router all trying to co-exist, it's a little challenging to hide the wires. We also have a desk chair in pieces. We go back and forth on whether to just put it together or to put it in our storage cage, but we have yet to do either. And my husband has that pile of papers to look through. But since I cleared a ton of space, I'm not in a rush.
I am wondering how long it will take us to stuff these bookshelves though. In Lemoore, we had one bookshelf jam-packed with books and files and who knows what else. We bought another shelf and assembled it once we unpacked here, but it's not looking so empty either. I'm just hoping we can last until we go back to the states and can buy another matching wire shelf from Wal*mart!
So that's our office, minus a few dozen pounds of clutter. So much better, right? Now if I can keep it that way. If not, Jeff just needs to keep the door closed at.all.times. I told him that was a must for his man cave. I've got command strips coming in the mail, so I may be adding a few touches to the walls here and there. I still love my wall collage in the living room, but the rest of the walls are looking pale in comparison...stay tuned!
Ready for the befores? God, they're ugly.
...
I have no explanation. Some of the wayward books and papers are a result of the massive and frequent earthquakes. But definitely not the whole room. And it had a semblance of order when we unpacked everything, I think. I don't know what happened, but somehow the room exploded.
I couldn't even walk in there without grimacing. Yuck.
So I stocked up on supplies:
Bouncy music and water. And got to cleaning.
I didn't take pictures of the whole process because I did one chunk in one day, then finished a week or two later. But the process went a little like this: Pile everything to one side of the room so I had some space to work with. Empty the bookshelves completely. Sort the books. (Jeff and I had a big disagreement about book organization, so to save constant bickering we divided our books. I organize mine alphabetically, aka normally, and he does...something else. I don't even know or understand, but his books have their own space now.) I also separated textbooks I don't care for, like Science and Math. Then piled all of my literature anthologies together, because I do care for those. And I'm known to flip through them now and then, so I like to keep them handy. I also separated my dad's books, which I've been meaning to mail back to him for about...a year. I should've done it when the distance, and price, was much cheaper in CA!
After I sorted, I threw them back up onto the bookshelves and out of the way. Then I started digging through the piles of junk. I separated all the military paperwork that was overtaking the piles and left them neatly in a box for my husband to go through and decide what's worth keeping. I never shred military stuff without his permission. But the rest of the stuff was free reign. So I shredded bills, credit card offers, and all the other useless junk we had laying around. I shredded so much I broke my shredder. Or jammed it trying to shove too much into it in my haste to clear the clutter. Either way, it's dead. I also threw out all the things we didn't care about. My theory: if we didn't use it in Lemoore and haven't unpacked it or missed it here---we don't need it. Period. Unless they're collectibles we have no place for (like my husband's chess sets), there's no need for extra stuff. Then I tried to organize the rest into like groupings and hid them away in bins, baskets, and crates. Military pins and patches, office supplies, thank you cards and other mail-related things, old pictures, etc. etc. It was a mess for a while there, but it's looking up now.
Would you like to see how much better it looks after a couple trips to the recycling and garbage bins?
Oh my goodness, I can breathe when I walk in this room now. Not that I need to walk in there too much. Besides grabbing a book or pen, this room has become Jeff's pseudo-man cave. I say pseudo because his dream man cave needs a lot more space and a lot more distance from me and my obsession with cleaning and clutter-eliminating. But since I don't need a desk or quiet space for my degree at the moment, I don't need an office. So it's his. Sort of, minus the books and girly stuff that will surely get sprinkled around.
It's amazing how much brighter the room looks when the eye isn't distracted by clutter. When I walk in, my eye immediately goes to the large window now. And this is the smallest amount of window space in a room! We lucked into some massive glass viewing space in this apartment, and I LOVE it. And I love that that gorgeous window can be appreciated now.
There are still some kinks to work out. The room is being threatened by chord chaos, but there's only so much we can do about that. With a desktop, external hard drive, router, and wireless router all trying to co-exist, it's a little challenging to hide the wires. We also have a desk chair in pieces. We go back and forth on whether to just put it together or to put it in our storage cage, but we have yet to do either. And my husband has that pile of papers to look through. But since I cleared a ton of space, I'm not in a rush.
I am wondering how long it will take us to stuff these bookshelves though. In Lemoore, we had one bookshelf jam-packed with books and files and who knows what else. We bought another shelf and assembled it once we unpacked here, but it's not looking so empty either. I'm just hoping we can last until we go back to the states and can buy another matching wire shelf from Wal*mart!
So that's our office, minus a few dozen pounds of clutter. So much better, right? Now if I can keep it that way. If not, Jeff just needs to keep the door closed at.all.times. I told him that was a must for his man cave. I've got command strips coming in the mail, so I may be adding a few touches to the walls here and there. I still love my wall collage in the living room, but the rest of the walls are looking pale in comparison...stay tuned!
Thursday, April 28, 2011
With a Cherry on Top
I am in love.
These little blossoms are popping up all over the place. I thought there were just cherry trees on the main side of base.
I was wrong, wrong, wrong.
I discovered these beauties right across the street from my apartment building. And there's even more! And now that the sun has come out to play, I may have to make another trek outside with my camera and love for cherry blossoms.
Because I am completely in love with them.
Can I please have a yard full of blossoming trees somewhere in my future?
Cherry blossoms preferred. These babies are gorgeous.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
My Daily Dose of Creepy
We just finished watching Season 6 of Desperate Housewives, so we were looking for a break from the gossip, drama, and sometimes ridiculousness of the housewives. So we started watching Dexter on Netflix.
I'm not a big suspense/action/thriller person. In real life, blood and vomit don't bother me much. But on TV, blood is never just blood. It's guts and stabs and punches and all the other things I'd be just fine without seeing. So I was a little hesitant trying a show all about a blood spatter expert and serial killer. Especially after my brother, who knows me well enough to accurately recommend movies and TV shows 100% of the time, told me it might be a little too graphic for my taste.
But we're in Japan and good TV is pretty much nonexistant, so we gave it a go. And got hooked, quickly. I still turn my head at the killing scenes and particularly graphic scenes. My husband is kind enough to narrate what's happening while I'm burying my head in the blanket or his shoulder. He used to make fun of me, now he just chuckles and narrates. He even tells me when it's okay to look up again. What a good guy, huh?
We stayed up late many a night rushing through Season 1. Some nights, we stayed up way too late watching, then I'd be too creeped out to sleep. Then my dear, loving husband would make fun of me. And try to scare me senseless by turning off all the lights and trying to grab me in the dark. Such a nice guy, huh? Apparently he has a limit for my wimpy, girly, frightened by fictional characters on TV personality. But as long as we don't stay up until the middle of the night, I'm okay to sleep!
We're more than halfway through Season 2 now. It's interesting enough to keep us watching. And it provides some fun commentary. I guessed the identity of the Ice Truck killer episodes before Jeff, and I won't let him live that oversight down.
So, that's my daily dose of blood, guts, and murder. The show creeps me out and makes me want to watch more. I just have to balance it with some light and fluffy TV the rest of the day ;)
I'm not a big suspense/action/thriller person. In real life, blood and vomit don't bother me much. But on TV, blood is never just blood. It's guts and stabs and punches and all the other things I'd be just fine without seeing. So I was a little hesitant trying a show all about a blood spatter expert and serial killer. Especially after my brother, who knows me well enough to accurately recommend movies and TV shows 100% of the time, told me it might be a little too graphic for my taste.
But we're in Japan and good TV is pretty much nonexistant, so we gave it a go. And got hooked, quickly. I still turn my head at the killing scenes and particularly graphic scenes. My husband is kind enough to narrate what's happening while I'm burying my head in the blanket or his shoulder. He used to make fun of me, now he just chuckles and narrates. He even tells me when it's okay to look up again. What a good guy, huh?
We stayed up late many a night rushing through Season 1. Some nights, we stayed up way too late watching, then I'd be too creeped out to sleep. Then my dear, loving husband would make fun of me. And try to scare me senseless by turning off all the lights and trying to grab me in the dark. Such a nice guy, huh? Apparently he has a limit for my wimpy, girly, frightened by fictional characters on TV personality. But as long as we don't stay up until the middle of the night, I'm okay to sleep!
We're more than halfway through Season 2 now. It's interesting enough to keep us watching. And it provides some fun commentary. I guessed the identity of the Ice Truck killer episodes before Jeff, and I won't let him live that oversight down.
So, that's my daily dose of blood, guts, and murder. The show creeps me out and makes me want to watch more. I just have to balance it with some light and fluffy TV the rest of the day ;)
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Why I'm Not Incessantly Posting About the "Disaster in Japan"
I started this blog to record all the adventures of my 3 years in Japan. And as everyone knows, a very big experience recently occurred in Japan. I blogged about my experience during the earthquake here, but otherwise, I've stayed pretty quiet.
Sure I could have posted updates every day. I posted frequent updates on Facebook, trying to keep my family as in the loop as possible, but I'm fairly sure every update said something along the lines of "not to worry, we're just fine here". The situation is still ongoing, and I could easily write until my fingers bleed trying to clarify the true situation in this neck of the woods as compared to what the lovely US media is conveying back home.
But I didn't post frequent updates. I didn't try to differentiate what was actually happening vs. what the news was constructing. I didn't blog extensively about my reactions, emotions, thoughts, and concerns.
Why?
Partly, because things were relatively quiet in these parts. The earthquake hit, but with minor damage on base. The personnel were quick to lend support to Misawa and neighboring communities that did receive damage, and are still doing so. Everything from high school students baking cupcakes for morale to big, burly men hefting shovels of rubble. And while a large part of this island is still trying to recover, base has felt like a bubble of normalcy in the midst of everything. Once power was completely restored after a few weeks, business resumed as normal. It was and still is pretty easy to forget the devastation when things are so normal here. Family and friends were frequently requesting updates, but for us, there just wasn't much to update on. We awaited the return of limited power, did everything we could to conserve until things got back to normal, then got back in the swing of things. Jeff worked long hours supporting Operation Tomodachi, and I did everything I could to support him when he came home tired and stressed from long and challenging days. Besides the long hours, life was surprisingly uneventful.
A bigger reason I didn't blog repeatedly about the events is that I couldn't stomach it. I explained in my original post that when the earthquake happened, we were oblivious to its extensive damage. We truly thought power was out on base and things a few hops away in Misawa were perfectly fine. We had no idea how bad the country was hit until days later. It was such a shock to the system to have endured something so devastating and far-reaching and not even know it until it was over.
Then the news stories started. The first time they showed coverage of areas to the south of us, I cried. The first time they showed an individual searching for pictures of her family amidst the rubble of a once bustling community, I had to leave the room. As soon as they introduced the stories of people looking for family members, I turned off the TV and left it off the rest of the day. I've always had an empathetic personality and will easily cry at movies, TV shows, commercials, stories, anything. But this hit me harder. These weren't stories. They were real. And for the first time, there was no distance. This coverage was hours from my home. Places my husband and I had planned to visit, places our friends have been. It was too close. I closely followed the base updates, but couldn't stomach anything else. My way of dealing has always been to distance myself, get away and try to ignore what's going on. I couldn't grieve for every story the news continued to show, it would tear me apart. And I couldn't keep immersing myself in the "disaster".
So in my every day life, and especially in what I talked about in my little corner of blogland and the internet, I wanted to escape. I didn't want to be reminded of something I was living through unharmed while others were still waiting to hear news of their missing family members. I wanted to talk about unimportant things like decorating and movies.
Because, even in our relatively undamaged and returned to normal area of Japan, things were still shaky. Literally. We were having earthquakes and aftershocks constantly. Although they've lessened considerably, we still are. Every single one made me tense up in anticipation of another large rumble and its aftermath, every time my stomach would clench with fear. Now don't get me wrong, I was never one of those people freaking out and acting like an idiot. I didn't call my husband frantically asking "What do I do?!?!" like he would have an answer, I didn't run to a doorway in fear of the building falling, I didn't have a panic attack. I would sit quietly on the couch or in bed or wherever I happened to be when things started shaking. But it was taxing. Feeling the shakes over and over and never knowing whether another big earthquake would hit or not. Things that I always thought were stable like buildings made of concrete were suddenly in a constant state of motion. I never knew when we'd lose power, if Jeff would be at work and unable to get home. I also never knew how bad it really was on the ground level, since we're on the 8th floor in buildings made to sway with the earthquakes instead of resist them (meaning we get a lot more sway up here than on floor 1 or 2).
It wasn't a state of fear that needed an audience. It was just a quiet little whisper of "what if it happens again" every time the ground would shake. It would wear me down, especially if a big one woke us up in the middle of the night. I chose not to evacuate with the voluntary departure, because I felt there was no real danger for me here. I don't regret that decision and think I've done more good keeping my husband's spirits up here than escaping some of my own anxiety. But even so, the situation was wearing.
And while I was learning to deal with everything, I didn't want to talk about it over and over and over. We tried to keep the family updated with the latest news even though there was often none, but otherwise I didn't want to talk. Jeff and I would watch movies and TV shows to escape for a little while. I'd bury my head in a book during the day, although that's always been my favorite escape and I'm prone to do that regardless. I wanted to get through and move on, not analyze every single feeling.
It feels like the experience is coming to a close now. The earthquakes are coming less and less, and most of the time they're so small we barely notice anymore. The voluntary departure has been lifted and all the dependents that left should be returning sometime soon. Most of the personnel that came from other bases to assist in Operation Tomodachi have since left Misawa (or at least as far as a little ol' dependent knows of, I really don't know squat about what's going on with that Operation!) So now that it's coming to a close, I'm letting everything out, I guess. I didn't want to leave this experience without writing out my reaction, but I'm not the type of person that could do that while it was going on. I don't think I'll ever be able to handle really watching all the personal stories of disaster and heartache the news has plastered all over. Maybe what I'm imagining in my head is worse, but I don't need the real pictures there forever.
It helps that Misawa Air Base has done so much for the relief efforts, helping make a difference here. I didn't do as much as others, and perhaps not as much as I should have done. But I knew my limitations, so I did what I could handle in both physical and mental capabilities. And what I didn't do directly, I did indirectly by helping my husband. He's a big believer that families are the life force behind the military, keeping the men and women up and going. I still get flustered when someone tells me this, or thanks me for my service. After all, I'm not the one deploying or facing danger. But he reminded me of this again when we were going through this experience, so I'm going to try to listen to my husband (for once, he would say!) and believe that my support and care for him helped the operation.
I hope this long-winded post makes sense, somehow. I'm pouring out my thoughts without really thinking about structure, so it may seem random, repetitive, or incomplete. But I wanted to get everything out. An explanation about why, even though I'm living in Japan, I've been so quiet about the earthquake and relief efforts when others have been so vocal. What I did experience during the recovery, even if it's not as newsworthy in my eyes.
It's starting to become spring here. The cherry blossoms are blooming and the annual Cherry Blossom Festival is going on (we're planning to visit a festival this weekend if things go as planned) through the first week of May. The signs of new life have hit me harder than usual this year. Partly because we just moved from the desert where spring didn't exist, so the green and warm weather are wonderfully new. But also because of all the devastation. With spring comes the sense that things are moving on and getting better. Japan's recovering, healing. The resiliency of its people is one of the most extraordinary parts of this whole experience, and it'll be one part that stays with me forever. Even during the darkest times and during devastation unlike anything before, Mother nature continues to bring new life and Japan embraces that unending cycle through its annual festivals and celebrations.
Sure I could have posted updates every day. I posted frequent updates on Facebook, trying to keep my family as in the loop as possible, but I'm fairly sure every update said something along the lines of "not to worry, we're just fine here". The situation is still ongoing, and I could easily write until my fingers bleed trying to clarify the true situation in this neck of the woods as compared to what the lovely US media is conveying back home.
But I didn't post frequent updates. I didn't try to differentiate what was actually happening vs. what the news was constructing. I didn't blog extensively about my reactions, emotions, thoughts, and concerns.
Why?
Partly, because things were relatively quiet in these parts. The earthquake hit, but with minor damage on base. The personnel were quick to lend support to Misawa and neighboring communities that did receive damage, and are still doing so. Everything from high school students baking cupcakes for morale to big, burly men hefting shovels of rubble. And while a large part of this island is still trying to recover, base has felt like a bubble of normalcy in the midst of everything. Once power was completely restored after a few weeks, business resumed as normal. It was and still is pretty easy to forget the devastation when things are so normal here. Family and friends were frequently requesting updates, but for us, there just wasn't much to update on. We awaited the return of limited power, did everything we could to conserve until things got back to normal, then got back in the swing of things. Jeff worked long hours supporting Operation Tomodachi, and I did everything I could to support him when he came home tired and stressed from long and challenging days. Besides the long hours, life was surprisingly uneventful.
A bigger reason I didn't blog repeatedly about the events is that I couldn't stomach it. I explained in my original post that when the earthquake happened, we were oblivious to its extensive damage. We truly thought power was out on base and things a few hops away in Misawa were perfectly fine. We had no idea how bad the country was hit until days later. It was such a shock to the system to have endured something so devastating and far-reaching and not even know it until it was over.
Then the news stories started. The first time they showed coverage of areas to the south of us, I cried. The first time they showed an individual searching for pictures of her family amidst the rubble of a once bustling community, I had to leave the room. As soon as they introduced the stories of people looking for family members, I turned off the TV and left it off the rest of the day. I've always had an empathetic personality and will easily cry at movies, TV shows, commercials, stories, anything. But this hit me harder. These weren't stories. They were real. And for the first time, there was no distance. This coverage was hours from my home. Places my husband and I had planned to visit, places our friends have been. It was too close. I closely followed the base updates, but couldn't stomach anything else. My way of dealing has always been to distance myself, get away and try to ignore what's going on. I couldn't grieve for every story the news continued to show, it would tear me apart. And I couldn't keep immersing myself in the "disaster".
So in my every day life, and especially in what I talked about in my little corner of blogland and the internet, I wanted to escape. I didn't want to be reminded of something I was living through unharmed while others were still waiting to hear news of their missing family members. I wanted to talk about unimportant things like decorating and movies.
Because, even in our relatively undamaged and returned to normal area of Japan, things were still shaky. Literally. We were having earthquakes and aftershocks constantly. Although they've lessened considerably, we still are. Every single one made me tense up in anticipation of another large rumble and its aftermath, every time my stomach would clench with fear. Now don't get me wrong, I was never one of those people freaking out and acting like an idiot. I didn't call my husband frantically asking "What do I do?!?!" like he would have an answer, I didn't run to a doorway in fear of the building falling, I didn't have a panic attack. I would sit quietly on the couch or in bed or wherever I happened to be when things started shaking. But it was taxing. Feeling the shakes over and over and never knowing whether another big earthquake would hit or not. Things that I always thought were stable like buildings made of concrete were suddenly in a constant state of motion. I never knew when we'd lose power, if Jeff would be at work and unable to get home. I also never knew how bad it really was on the ground level, since we're on the 8th floor in buildings made to sway with the earthquakes instead of resist them (meaning we get a lot more sway up here than on floor 1 or 2).
It wasn't a state of fear that needed an audience. It was just a quiet little whisper of "what if it happens again" every time the ground would shake. It would wear me down, especially if a big one woke us up in the middle of the night. I chose not to evacuate with the voluntary departure, because I felt there was no real danger for me here. I don't regret that decision and think I've done more good keeping my husband's spirits up here than escaping some of my own anxiety. But even so, the situation was wearing.
And while I was learning to deal with everything, I didn't want to talk about it over and over and over. We tried to keep the family updated with the latest news even though there was often none, but otherwise I didn't want to talk. Jeff and I would watch movies and TV shows to escape for a little while. I'd bury my head in a book during the day, although that's always been my favorite escape and I'm prone to do that regardless. I wanted to get through and move on, not analyze every single feeling.
It feels like the experience is coming to a close now. The earthquakes are coming less and less, and most of the time they're so small we barely notice anymore. The voluntary departure has been lifted and all the dependents that left should be returning sometime soon. Most of the personnel that came from other bases to assist in Operation Tomodachi have since left Misawa (or at least as far as a little ol' dependent knows of, I really don't know squat about what's going on with that Operation!) So now that it's coming to a close, I'm letting everything out, I guess. I didn't want to leave this experience without writing out my reaction, but I'm not the type of person that could do that while it was going on. I don't think I'll ever be able to handle really watching all the personal stories of disaster and heartache the news has plastered all over. Maybe what I'm imagining in my head is worse, but I don't need the real pictures there forever.
It helps that Misawa Air Base has done so much for the relief efforts, helping make a difference here. I didn't do as much as others, and perhaps not as much as I should have done. But I knew my limitations, so I did what I could handle in both physical and mental capabilities. And what I didn't do directly, I did indirectly by helping my husband. He's a big believer that families are the life force behind the military, keeping the men and women up and going. I still get flustered when someone tells me this, or thanks me for my service. After all, I'm not the one deploying or facing danger. But he reminded me of this again when we were going through this experience, so I'm going to try to listen to my husband (for once, he would say!) and believe that my support and care for him helped the operation.
I hope this long-winded post makes sense, somehow. I'm pouring out my thoughts without really thinking about structure, so it may seem random, repetitive, or incomplete. But I wanted to get everything out. An explanation about why, even though I'm living in Japan, I've been so quiet about the earthquake and relief efforts when others have been so vocal. What I did experience during the recovery, even if it's not as newsworthy in my eyes.
It's starting to become spring here. The cherry blossoms are blooming and the annual Cherry Blossom Festival is going on (we're planning to visit a festival this weekend if things go as planned) through the first week of May. The signs of new life have hit me harder than usual this year. Partly because we just moved from the desert where spring didn't exist, so the green and warm weather are wonderfully new. But also because of all the devastation. With spring comes the sense that things are moving on and getting better. Japan's recovering, healing. The resiliency of its people is one of the most extraordinary parts of this whole experience, and it'll be one part that stays with me forever. Even during the darkest times and during devastation unlike anything before, Mother nature continues to bring new life and Japan embraces that unending cycle through its annual festivals and celebrations.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Continuing My Cleaning Spree
Mondays are generally my cleaning days. We relax on the weekends, so dishes and laundry often pile up. I vacuum and dust about once a week, so since I'm picking things up and putting them away, I just do everything at once. Since I cooked like crazy yesterday (we have mashed potatoes for about 10 sitting in the fridge!), I had a whole counter full of dishes to get through, yuck.
I should have moved to the office once I finished all my regular cleaning to finish that room, but instead, I decided to do random deep cleaning things I don't normally do. Like scrubbing the sinks, shower, and tub with Comet.
Then I borrowed an idea from a friend and decided to clean the couch.
I bought our couch 2 years ago, and it's held up really well. But since I'm a total klutz, I often drop things, spill things, etc. And my husband does occasionally too. While we're quick to clean up things like spilled soda and bright red spaghetti sauce, the couch still had a sprinkling of spots and it bothered me.
So I followed my friend's advice and dug out the laundry detergent!
I diluted some water with some laundry detergent, then used a washcloth to scrub and soak the couch until all those stubborn stains disappeared. It took a little time because I basically scrubbed every inch of the couch, but it was so easy.
The couch is still drying in this picture, but it's clean! The washcloth I used to scrub the stains also picked up a disgusting amount of dirt. Gross, but it's good to know that's gone! The couch also smells pretty good now too ;)
Woo hoo, stains gone! I wonder if my husband will even notice when he gets home from work (I think if anything he'll notice the smell first). But, I'm happy with it and am planning on continuing to wash the couch every few months or so. Mainly to keep the dirt at bay and make it smell all fresh and clean again.
It's not the most astounding change ever, but it does make a difference!
Since we just moved in a few months ago, the rest of the place doesn't really need a deep clean. So that might be the end of my deep clean spree, but it feels good to have a sparkling bathroom and clean couch. At least until the next time I drop something on the couch. Which will probably be tonight since I just cleaned and that's how my klutziness works.
I should have moved to the office once I finished all my regular cleaning to finish that room, but instead, I decided to do random deep cleaning things I don't normally do. Like scrubbing the sinks, shower, and tub with Comet.
Then I borrowed an idea from a friend and decided to clean the couch.
I bought our couch 2 years ago, and it's held up really well. But since I'm a total klutz, I often drop things, spill things, etc. And my husband does occasionally too. While we're quick to clean up things like spilled soda and bright red spaghetti sauce, the couch still had a sprinkling of spots and it bothered me.
So I followed my friend's advice and dug out the laundry detergent!
I diluted some water with some laundry detergent, then used a washcloth to scrub and soak the couch until all those stubborn stains disappeared. It took a little time because I basically scrubbed every inch of the couch, but it was so easy.
The couch is still drying in this picture, but it's clean! The washcloth I used to scrub the stains also picked up a disgusting amount of dirt. Gross, but it's good to know that's gone! The couch also smells pretty good now too ;)
Woo hoo, stains gone! I wonder if my husband will even notice when he gets home from work (I think if anything he'll notice the smell first). But, I'm happy with it and am planning on continuing to wash the couch every few months or so. Mainly to keep the dirt at bay and make it smell all fresh and clean again.
It's not the most astounding change ever, but it does make a difference!
Since we just moved in a few months ago, the rest of the place doesn't really need a deep clean. So that might be the end of my deep clean spree, but it feels good to have a sparkling bathroom and clean couch. At least until the next time I drop something on the couch. Which will probably be tonight since I just cleaned and that's how my klutziness works.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Clutter Control
First off, Happy Easter! I cooked way too much food for two and gorged myself on all the deliciousness. I'm hoping my stomach will grow some more room for the cherry pie I've got cooling for dessert!
I have an Amazon cart full of baskets, bins, containers, and all the other million things you can buy to organize your home. But, not surprisingly, the price of all that quickly adds up to out of my budget. So I'm trying to work with what I have and find ways to keep the clutter from over-taking the place. I started with the kitchen a few posts back, but I haven't made it all the way to the office yet despite my blogging about starting it. It's in the midst of de-junking, so it looks even worse than when it started!
But the kitchen's looking good. I de-cluttered the pantry in that first post, and it's stayed relatively organized.The kitchen cabinets were pretty organized to begin with, I just moved some things around for more convenient reach. The only true clutter in the kitchen was the quintessential "junk drawer". It was full of scissors, batteries, pens, and all the other things we wanted handy but didn't have a place for. And plenty of things we did have a place for; they just never made it there.
After a lot of moving things back to where they should be, I stuck a small basket in the drawer to contain pens and lighters and all those loose objects. I put all our batteries in bags since we had literally 9 different containers of AA and AAA batteries. And kept some things handy, like the lighter and flashlight in case of another quake and power outage!
My loving husband bought me a spice rack this weekend, so that's also helping with the clutter-control. My box of random spices was overtaking a whole cabinet. While I'll still use them, now the most commonly used are within reach. And I got some spices I haven't been able to find at the commissary, like rosemary and red pepper flakes.
I'm not a huge coffee drinker when I'm not trying to squeeze 25 hours into 24, but I do like a nice, hot cup now and then. This morning I went to brew some, albeit not that fresh, coffee and got a weird bitter taste that shouldn't have been there. My brother told me to keep my coffee grounds in the freezer, and it does keep them fresh longer, but I needed something else. I cleaned my coffee maker with vinegar. And I purchased some new coffee and took the grounds out of the bag and into Ziploc containers.
Since they seal, I'm hoping they'll keep things nice and fresh so I can enjoy the coffee even if I don't inhale it right away. I'll let you know how it goes. For now they're hanging out in my freezer, with labels so my husband doesn't have to wonder what the heck I'm hiding in there. (I made a homemade sugar scrub and left the Ziploc container in the shower, and he was questioning why I needed to eat while I was showering. Uhhhhh...I got hungry?)
My last clutter controller of the day is a little crafty project I decided to do on a whim. I had a couple yards of burlap leftover after I used a piece or two in my living room wall collage, and I was itching to do something with it. I also had a pile of shoe boxes leftover from both my husband and I purchasing new gym shoes recently.
So I took this (imagine the box is for a Men's 12, not a Women's 7)...
And turned it into this! I covered the box in white paper first so the Asics design wouldn't peak through the burlap. Then I haphazardly taped and glued the burlap into place. I used tape where it wouldn't obviously show, then Mod Podged the edges and seams to try to keep it all in place. It looked like quite the disaster when I was working on it, but it turned out okay. The lid is a little tight to close and open because of the thickness, but it doesn't bother me all that much.
The best part is how much space I now have for some clutter! Turns out a box big enough to hold size 12 shoes is pretty spacey, so I have room and then some for all my computer cords and accessories. I had them all in a large makeup bag, but with my external harddrive and camera, it was overflowing and hard to dig out the cords I needed. This works much better, and the lid closes all the crazy cordage out of my sight.
It sits on our little make-shift laptop charging station. Jeff sits on the couch when he uses his laptop, but it charges and stays here when not in use. I let mine charge here too.
But when I want to use it, I generally pull it over to the kitchen table. Looking at a wall at a shaky folding table is just drab. But this way, I can watch TV or look outside when the blinds are open. Our windows face west, so that whole wall of windows gives us a great blinding view of the sun in the evening. But it's still a better view than the wall!
So that's my organization right now. Little changes that are my attempts to keep the clutter at bay. I have plans for what I'd love to do, but for now things are somewhat more contained and that's enough. The office will need some more clutter control work, but I'll get there. Hopefully this week. And some things we might have to fork out the cash for regardless. I already ordered more bookends for our growing collection, we're on the hunt for a larger fireproof safe (we bought one, but it's not big enough to fit my husband's service record. So it's holding other important documents, but we need something big enough to contain all those military documents!), and we may be moving some big pieces of furniture around sometime in the near future, which would give us a lot more storage space in that cluttered room (more on that later).
I think I'm going to go browsing around blogland for organization and de-cluttering ideas and see if I can get inspired to get back on the horse tomorrow and finish that office.
I have an Amazon cart full of baskets, bins, containers, and all the other million things you can buy to organize your home. But, not surprisingly, the price of all that quickly adds up to out of my budget. So I'm trying to work with what I have and find ways to keep the clutter from over-taking the place. I started with the kitchen a few posts back, but I haven't made it all the way to the office yet despite my blogging about starting it. It's in the midst of de-junking, so it looks even worse than when it started!
But the kitchen's looking good. I de-cluttered the pantry in that first post, and it's stayed relatively organized.The kitchen cabinets were pretty organized to begin with, I just moved some things around for more convenient reach. The only true clutter in the kitchen was the quintessential "junk drawer". It was full of scissors, batteries, pens, and all the other things we wanted handy but didn't have a place for. And plenty of things we did have a place for; they just never made it there.
After a lot of moving things back to where they should be, I stuck a small basket in the drawer to contain pens and lighters and all those loose objects. I put all our batteries in bags since we had literally 9 different containers of AA and AAA batteries. And kept some things handy, like the lighter and flashlight in case of another quake and power outage!
My loving husband bought me a spice rack this weekend, so that's also helping with the clutter-control. My box of random spices was overtaking a whole cabinet. While I'll still use them, now the most commonly used are within reach. And I got some spices I haven't been able to find at the commissary, like rosemary and red pepper flakes.
I'm not a huge coffee drinker when I'm not trying to squeeze 25 hours into 24, but I do like a nice, hot cup now and then. This morning I went to brew some, albeit not that fresh, coffee and got a weird bitter taste that shouldn't have been there. My brother told me to keep my coffee grounds in the freezer, and it does keep them fresh longer, but I needed something else. I cleaned my coffee maker with vinegar. And I purchased some new coffee and took the grounds out of the bag and into Ziploc containers.
Since they seal, I'm hoping they'll keep things nice and fresh so I can enjoy the coffee even if I don't inhale it right away. I'll let you know how it goes. For now they're hanging out in my freezer, with labels so my husband doesn't have to wonder what the heck I'm hiding in there. (I made a homemade sugar scrub and left the Ziploc container in the shower, and he was questioning why I needed to eat while I was showering. Uhhhhh...I got hungry?)
My last clutter controller of the day is a little crafty project I decided to do on a whim. I had a couple yards of burlap leftover after I used a piece or two in my living room wall collage, and I was itching to do something with it. I also had a pile of shoe boxes leftover from both my husband and I purchasing new gym shoes recently.
So I took this (imagine the box is for a Men's 12, not a Women's 7)...
And turned it into this! I covered the box in white paper first so the Asics design wouldn't peak through the burlap. Then I haphazardly taped and glued the burlap into place. I used tape where it wouldn't obviously show, then Mod Podged the edges and seams to try to keep it all in place. It looked like quite the disaster when I was working on it, but it turned out okay. The lid is a little tight to close and open because of the thickness, but it doesn't bother me all that much.
The best part is how much space I now have for some clutter! Turns out a box big enough to hold size 12 shoes is pretty spacey, so I have room and then some for all my computer cords and accessories. I had them all in a large makeup bag, but with my external harddrive and camera, it was overflowing and hard to dig out the cords I needed. This works much better, and the lid closes all the crazy cordage out of my sight.
It sits on our little make-shift laptop charging station. Jeff sits on the couch when he uses his laptop, but it charges and stays here when not in use. I let mine charge here too.
But when I want to use it, I generally pull it over to the kitchen table. Looking at a wall at a shaky folding table is just drab. But this way, I can watch TV or look outside when the blinds are open. Our windows face west, so that whole wall of windows gives us a great blinding view of the sun in the evening. But it's still a better view than the wall!
So that's my organization right now. Little changes that are my attempts to keep the clutter at bay. I have plans for what I'd love to do, but for now things are somewhat more contained and that's enough. The office will need some more clutter control work, but I'll get there. Hopefully this week. And some things we might have to fork out the cash for regardless. I already ordered more bookends for our growing collection, we're on the hunt for a larger fireproof safe (we bought one, but it's not big enough to fit my husband's service record. So it's holding other important documents, but we need something big enough to contain all those military documents!), and we may be moving some big pieces of furniture around sometime in the near future, which would give us a lot more storage space in that cluttered room (more on that later).
I think I'm going to go browsing around blogland for organization and de-cluttering ideas and see if I can get inspired to get back on the horse tomorrow and finish that office.
Friday, April 22, 2011
Let's Go Out For Sushi!
Let's start by explaining that before tonight, I've had sushi once in my entire life. I grew up avoiding seafood. My mom is allergic to seafood, so my dad only gets it when he's at a restaurant or at a party. Since I was no where near adventurous with food growing up, I tried fish a handful of times. At the most. And sushi was nowhere on my radar growing up in the Midwest where fish isn't always so fresh.
My brother, who also didn't try much seafood when we were growing up, has tried and grown to love a lot of seafood since he's moved to Arizona. He is a sushi fanatic. So when I went to visit him one spring, I tried it too. I honestly didn't know what to think. The taste, texture, smell, everything was so different than what I was accustomed to. Everyone I was with said that was normal - it takes a few tries to learn to love sushi.
I found out we were moving to Japan, and decided to just wait to try it again until we got here. I figured the freshness of fish here vs. the desert of CA was incomparable, and I may as well wait for the real stuff. I don't know why it's taken us so long to get out and try some, but we did tonight.
We went out for sushi at this place that may be called 105. We're not really sure, but it has turtles and the numbers 105 on the sign, so that's what we're calling it. Jeff had gone to this place repeatedly down in Southern Japan, so he knew what to expect.
We sat down at a table, and in the middle of the tables is a conveyor belt. This place puts all the food on the conveyor belt, and you grab what you want. So if you want a specific food, you grab it, and the plate color or design indicates the price you'll pay. I didn't see anything over 215 yen, which is roughly $2. Most things were about $1, and contained 2 pieces of sushi or similar foods. I was a little overwhelmed because I couldn't tell what anything was and am totally ignorant to the seafood world, but my husband tried to point out mild fish that he could recognize. We finally noticed the touch screen order screen had an English option, so we were able to guestimate what was what.
This was the second type of fish I tried. We both forgot what the first kind I tried was, and couldn't guestimate by pictures after the fact. I really liked the first, although the very edge was a little metallic and intimidating! This was the second kind I tried. Again, no idea what kind of fish. I'm no help. Jeff recommended it because he really likes it, and I did too. It has such a mild flavor it doesn't taste "fishy" at all, which is what I'm always afraid of. I also got a cucumber sushi I've tried and loved before, which is just seaweed, rice, and cucumber. Jeff tried swordfish and a tuna and green onion roll.
Even though I've only been to one sushi place in America, I could see a difference in the sushi offered in each country. Or each restaurant I tried would be a better guess, probably. I remember a lot of combinations and extras in Phoenix, like cream cheese and veggies and all sorts of extras. Here, it was basically just rice and fish. Sometimes there was a seaweed wrap but not usually. Sometimes there were little additions like green onions, but not generally. The vast majority was a little bit of rice and a small slice of what I would assume is very fresh fish. Maybe the more fanciful combinations are offered at more expensive restaurants, but I didn't mind their absence.
This 105 place (or whatever its actual name may be) is kind of like Japanese fast food. It's cheap and fast. We got 4 or 5 plates of sushi, a plate of soy beans, and 2 plates of New York Cheesecake, and paid maybe $15 American dollars. It was fantastic. We ate enough to be full without that annoying overstuffed feeling, we didn't have a huge pile of leftovers because we picked little plates until we were full, and it was fresh and mainly healthy (minus the cheesecake) choices. I think we'll definitely be going back there on a pretty regular basis.
Although it'll still be a while before I feel comfortable going anywhere without Jeff! When we walked in, the hostess started talking to us and apparently asking questions, but obviously neither of us can really catch what she's saying. Jeff knows enough to kind of gesture and guess his way through, but I get intimidated and freeze up. The same thing when we were paying. The hostess was very nicely counting up our plates for the total and reading off what each plate apparently was, but it was gibberish to me. At least the cash register tells you the total yen in digital numbers, I at least know how to pay!
So that was my "First Sushi in Japan" experience! Not all that exciting, but that's because it was low-key and tasty. I'm hoping I can continue to be adventurous and try different kinds of seafood here. We're also planning to attempt cooking fish at home...eventually. There's a large fish market in Hachinohe, which is about a 30-minute drive. We went there on a cultural tour (which I just realized I never blogged about, woops!) and it has every kind of fish, clam, seafood, etc. that you could ever want. If you can figure out what everything is, which we couldn't. So all we have to do is learn how to identify types of fish, then buy some and try to figure out how to cook it. It should be a fun experience I'll have to share when we try it!
Hachinohe was more severely damaged than Misawa during the earthquake, although I honestly don't know the extent of its damage. I know a lot of airmen and sailors went down to Hachinohe to help repair the docks. I honestly don't know the extent of damage in most places near us. We haven't ventured far in the past month since things have been on the mend. I decided to stay during the voluntary departure, but that didn't mean I wanted to be out exploring. We may not have been far this past month, but this summer we'll explore the Aomori prefecture at the very least.
My brother, who also didn't try much seafood when we were growing up, has tried and grown to love a lot of seafood since he's moved to Arizona. He is a sushi fanatic. So when I went to visit him one spring, I tried it too. I honestly didn't know what to think. The taste, texture, smell, everything was so different than what I was accustomed to. Everyone I was with said that was normal - it takes a few tries to learn to love sushi.
I found out we were moving to Japan, and decided to just wait to try it again until we got here. I figured the freshness of fish here vs. the desert of CA was incomparable, and I may as well wait for the real stuff. I don't know why it's taken us so long to get out and try some, but we did tonight.
We went out for sushi at this place that may be called 105. We're not really sure, but it has turtles and the numbers 105 on the sign, so that's what we're calling it. Jeff had gone to this place repeatedly down in Southern Japan, so he knew what to expect.
We sat down at a table, and in the middle of the tables is a conveyor belt. This place puts all the food on the conveyor belt, and you grab what you want. So if you want a specific food, you grab it, and the plate color or design indicates the price you'll pay. I didn't see anything over 215 yen, which is roughly $2. Most things were about $1, and contained 2 pieces of sushi or similar foods. I was a little overwhelmed because I couldn't tell what anything was and am totally ignorant to the seafood world, but my husband tried to point out mild fish that he could recognize. We finally noticed the touch screen order screen had an English option, so we were able to guestimate what was what.
This was the second type of fish I tried. We both forgot what the first kind I tried was, and couldn't guestimate by pictures after the fact. I really liked the first, although the very edge was a little metallic and intimidating! This was the second kind I tried. Again, no idea what kind of fish. I'm no help. Jeff recommended it because he really likes it, and I did too. It has such a mild flavor it doesn't taste "fishy" at all, which is what I'm always afraid of. I also got a cucumber sushi I've tried and loved before, which is just seaweed, rice, and cucumber. Jeff tried swordfish and a tuna and green onion roll.
Even though I've only been to one sushi place in America, I could see a difference in the sushi offered in each country. Or each restaurant I tried would be a better guess, probably. I remember a lot of combinations and extras in Phoenix, like cream cheese and veggies and all sorts of extras. Here, it was basically just rice and fish. Sometimes there was a seaweed wrap but not usually. Sometimes there were little additions like green onions, but not generally. The vast majority was a little bit of rice and a small slice of what I would assume is very fresh fish. Maybe the more fanciful combinations are offered at more expensive restaurants, but I didn't mind their absence.
This 105 place (or whatever its actual name may be) is kind of like Japanese fast food. It's cheap and fast. We got 4 or 5 plates of sushi, a plate of soy beans, and 2 plates of New York Cheesecake, and paid maybe $15 American dollars. It was fantastic. We ate enough to be full without that annoying overstuffed feeling, we didn't have a huge pile of leftovers because we picked little plates until we were full, and it was fresh and mainly healthy (minus the cheesecake) choices. I think we'll definitely be going back there on a pretty regular basis.
Although it'll still be a while before I feel comfortable going anywhere without Jeff! When we walked in, the hostess started talking to us and apparently asking questions, but obviously neither of us can really catch what she's saying. Jeff knows enough to kind of gesture and guess his way through, but I get intimidated and freeze up. The same thing when we were paying. The hostess was very nicely counting up our plates for the total and reading off what each plate apparently was, but it was gibberish to me. At least the cash register tells you the total yen in digital numbers, I at least know how to pay!
So that was my "First Sushi in Japan" experience! Not all that exciting, but that's because it was low-key and tasty. I'm hoping I can continue to be adventurous and try different kinds of seafood here. We're also planning to attempt cooking fish at home...eventually. There's a large fish market in Hachinohe, which is about a 30-minute drive. We went there on a cultural tour (which I just realized I never blogged about, woops!) and it has every kind of fish, clam, seafood, etc. that you could ever want. If you can figure out what everything is, which we couldn't. So all we have to do is learn how to identify types of fish, then buy some and try to figure out how to cook it. It should be a fun experience I'll have to share when we try it!
Hachinohe was more severely damaged than Misawa during the earthquake, although I honestly don't know the extent of its damage. I know a lot of airmen and sailors went down to Hachinohe to help repair the docks. I honestly don't know the extent of damage in most places near us. We haven't ventured far in the past month since things have been on the mend. I decided to stay during the voluntary departure, but that didn't mean I wanted to be out exploring. We may not have been far this past month, but this summer we'll explore the Aomori prefecture at the very least.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Overflowing with Paper
It's been an eyesore since we moved in and unpacked.
We moved a ton of stuff to all their proper places, but we still had piles and piles in the office. What did we do?
Shove it all to one side of the room and ignore it.
We knew we needed to work on it but every time Jeff went in the office, he'd get sucked into his computer games. And I just didn't go in there. We've designated it his man cave since I no longer need an office for classes, so all that I have in there is files and books.
Every time I would clean the house, I'd move from room to room and clean from top to bottom. And every single time, I'd skip over the office. I have a routine: I start with the bedrooms and finish with the kitchen. One end of the house to the other. That path hasn't hit the office yet.
So today I finally started to tackle the mess.
What a mess! After PCS'ing, we had so many papers collected in random piles from carrying in our suitcases and haphazardly packed in boxes and crates. We had copies upon copies of orders, health records, approval forms and specific forms for overseas assignments, pet records, etc. etc. etc. etc. And of course, scattered in and all around were useless papers like old bills, receipts, and random things that should have been thrown out months ago.
And then there were all the books and records that had been organized at some point. The big earthquake knocked a lot of our books off their shelves (especially since I had thrown them up without bookends or anything really holding them in place) so I had to reorganize those piles.
...
And as I was writing this post, my husband came home from work and tried to start organizing things his way. But my way isn't done yet, so he needs to stay out until it's all neat and organized! If you can't tell, we go about things in very different ways.
Anyways, I started the big office clean-up today and hope to finish it tomorrow. If I ever finish shredding all the useless paper we have laying around, and find places to put all the "stuff" we have laying around.
Lots of pictures to come!
We moved a ton of stuff to all their proper places, but we still had piles and piles in the office. What did we do?
Shove it all to one side of the room and ignore it.
We knew we needed to work on it but every time Jeff went in the office, he'd get sucked into his computer games. And I just didn't go in there. We've designated it his man cave since I no longer need an office for classes, so all that I have in there is files and books.
Every time I would clean the house, I'd move from room to room and clean from top to bottom. And every single time, I'd skip over the office. I have a routine: I start with the bedrooms and finish with the kitchen. One end of the house to the other. That path hasn't hit the office yet.
So today I finally started to tackle the mess.
What a mess! After PCS'ing, we had so many papers collected in random piles from carrying in our suitcases and haphazardly packed in boxes and crates. We had copies upon copies of orders, health records, approval forms and specific forms for overseas assignments, pet records, etc. etc. etc. etc. And of course, scattered in and all around were useless papers like old bills, receipts, and random things that should have been thrown out months ago.
And then there were all the books and records that had been organized at some point. The big earthquake knocked a lot of our books off their shelves (especially since I had thrown them up without bookends or anything really holding them in place) so I had to reorganize those piles.
...
And as I was writing this post, my husband came home from work and tried to start organizing things his way. But my way isn't done yet, so he needs to stay out until it's all neat and organized! If you can't tell, we go about things in very different ways.
Anyways, I started the big office clean-up today and hope to finish it tomorrow. If I ever finish shredding all the useless paper we have laying around, and find places to put all the "stuff" we have laying around.
Lots of pictures to come!
Monday, April 18, 2011
Getting Back on Track
I've been slacking off the past week or two with Weight Watchers and all the healthy lifestyle changes I've been working on. I got lazy, stopped tracking what I was eating, then ate more than I needed to because I wasn't going over in points since I wasn't tracking. Not good!
Yesterday I bought some new gym shoes, and it was just the kick I needed to get back into things. For one thing, I was excited to put them on and try them out...
I bought these shoes from the BX for much cheaper than the suggested retail price. I was just surprised and excited to find a supportive shoe in their minimal collection. With flat feet and a tendency to roll my feet to the sides, I need a shoe with lots of arch and heel support and something supportive enough to keep my feet in the right placement. These fit the bill.
I did a quick workout on the treadmill today and my feet have never felt so cushioned and supportive! I'm in love, and want go buy another 5 pairs just so I can always have supported feet!
Since the new shoes made my workout much more enjoyable, I'm getting back on track with tracking my food and activity. This week is off to a much better start. And speaking of staying on track, I'm getting close to hitting my 10% weight loss goal!
Just in time for summer right?
Yesterday I bought some new gym shoes, and it was just the kick I needed to get back into things. For one thing, I was excited to put them on and try them out...
I bought these shoes from the BX for much cheaper than the suggested retail price. I was just surprised and excited to find a supportive shoe in their minimal collection. With flat feet and a tendency to roll my feet to the sides, I need a shoe with lots of arch and heel support and something supportive enough to keep my feet in the right placement. These fit the bill.
I did a quick workout on the treadmill today and my feet have never felt so cushioned and supportive! I'm in love, and want go buy another 5 pairs just so I can always have supported feet!
Since the new shoes made my workout much more enjoyable, I'm getting back on track with tracking my food and activity. This week is off to a much better start. And speaking of staying on track, I'm getting close to hitting my 10% weight loss goal!
Just in time for summer right?
Saturday, April 16, 2011
"I Am No Bird; And No Net Ensnares Me"
I felt the need to change the layout around here this weekend. I think my spring de-cluttering and reorganizing kick has reached my laptop too? Although it still hasn't reached our office...I'll get there sometime this year!
In the meantime, I've been burying my head in books. That's nothing new. But since I've been plowing through books left and right, I finally took the plunge into all the free Kindle books I've downloaded and had stored on my Kindle for months. Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Charlotte Bronte, Edgar Allan Poe, all those classic authors I needed a break from after plowing through the last months of my degree.
Since there's no time like the present, I dug into one book I've had on my "to read" list for years. Jane Eyre. I'm 65% through according to my Kindle, and I'm loving it so far. It's a shift to turn from contemporary fluff to older novels, the pace is different, the word use is different, and the subjects are handled differently. But it's still worth reading and definitely worth enjoying!
My plan is to read one book from my "to read" list of classic authors and things I feel like I should know being a literature lover, then switch to one fluff or trashy romance book that gives me no new knowledge whatsoever but lots of escape from the world. That way, my husband won't complain too hard when I'm downloading new Kindle books ;)
Read anything good lately?
In the meantime, I've been burying my head in books. That's nothing new. But since I've been plowing through books left and right, I finally took the plunge into all the free Kindle books I've downloaded and had stored on my Kindle for months. Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Charlotte Bronte, Edgar Allan Poe, all those classic authors I needed a break from after plowing through the last months of my degree.
Since there's no time like the present, I dug into one book I've had on my "to read" list for years. Jane Eyre. I'm 65% through according to my Kindle, and I'm loving it so far. It's a shift to turn from contemporary fluff to older novels, the pace is different, the word use is different, and the subjects are handled differently. But it's still worth reading and definitely worth enjoying!
My plan is to read one book from my "to read" list of classic authors and things I feel like I should know being a literature lover, then switch to one fluff or trashy romance book that gives me no new knowledge whatsoever but lots of escape from the world. That way, my husband won't complain too hard when I'm downloading new Kindle books ;)
Read anything good lately?
Friday, April 15, 2011
My Pop/Soda Addiction
I grew up in the Midwest faithfully calling it "pop".
I argued for months in CA that it was most definitely "pop".
Then I went to a Taco Bell to order some nachos and a "pop", and she looked at me and said "what, you want pasta?"
I reluctantly starting calling it "soda" that day.
I haven't been able to kick that habit, even though now no one would know what I was saying no matter what I asked if I went to a local fast food place. (Note to self: find out what the word for that delicious carbonated beverage is in Japanese).
Whatever you call it, I'm addicted.
And as much as it hurt to see all those empty calories filling up my daily food intake, I couldn't and wouldn't kick my delicious addiction.
So I started making adjustments. My old favorite that will probably always be my first choice:
Got replaced with 0 calorie alternates that don't taste "diet", but still have the caffeine kick I adore.
If I switch them out occasionally, I don't really notice the taste difference from the good ol' regulars. Our current favorite in this household is Diet Cherry Coke. We love Cherry Coke Zero, but it's hard to find in the states, much less in the sadly stocked overseas Commissary. I saw the diet and cringed, but figured it was worth a shot. The cherry flavor overrides the diet flavor enough that it doesn't taste diet. And I don't feel guilty overindulging in my addiction!
Since we're grilling tonight, I'm pretty happy with my substitutes today. Nothing goes better with a grilled burger and corn on the cob than some ice cold soda/pop/delicious bubbly dark beverage.
I argued for months in CA that it was most definitely "pop".
Then I went to a Taco Bell to order some nachos and a "pop", and she looked at me and said "what, you want pasta?"
I reluctantly starting calling it "soda" that day.
I haven't been able to kick that habit, even though now no one would know what I was saying no matter what I asked if I went to a local fast food place. (Note to self: find out what the word for that delicious carbonated beverage is in Japanese).
Whatever you call it, I'm addicted.
And as much as it hurt to see all those empty calories filling up my daily food intake, I couldn't and wouldn't kick my delicious addiction.
So I started making adjustments. My old favorite that will probably always be my first choice:
Got replaced with 0 calorie alternates that don't taste "diet", but still have the caffeine kick I adore.
If I switch them out occasionally, I don't really notice the taste difference from the good ol' regulars. Our current favorite in this household is Diet Cherry Coke. We love Cherry Coke Zero, but it's hard to find in the states, much less in the sadly stocked overseas Commissary. I saw the diet and cringed, but figured it was worth a shot. The cherry flavor overrides the diet flavor enough that it doesn't taste diet. And I don't feel guilty overindulging in my addiction!
Since we're grilling tonight, I'm pretty happy with my substitutes today. Nothing goes better with a grilled burger and corn on the cob than some ice cold soda/pop/delicious bubbly dark beverage.
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