tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41740334363198654292024-03-05T18:42:19.628-08:00Life as UchinanchuMemoirs of a Geisha.. I mean Gaijin.. I mean Haafu in Okinawa, JapanKenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05633534147933480439noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174033436319865429.post-44776960848137654372009-03-14T19:29:00.000-07:002009-03-15T02:22:10.134-07:00Ohisashiburi<div align="center"><br /></div><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSP6WUjS6P9Xjh-z4oANRl9LWyf_y4EoIpl5Z45sRvi4FjuA8vVFlv38YY6FXKi-DZvFue8etE39Ok680jpeT-tiVr75AFGnAwYsGqKgW0va4SgYMgYoB8h3kjWrYL2o5oBWOBAWFgOjs/s1600-h/March+2009+024.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313241490095708130" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSP6WUjS6P9Xjh-z4oANRl9LWyf_y4EoIpl5Z45sRvi4FjuA8vVFlv38YY6FXKi-DZvFue8etE39Ok680jpeT-tiVr75AFGnAwYsGqKgW0va4SgYMgYoB8h3kjWrYL2o5oBWOBAWFgOjs/s400/March+2009+024.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsq0lczbnoc2FzHuure8jzVcn-AXVPyaYTsSNS0VXOL2lvrI2416AdkZDLUvG9Ap_fVT43ejTCO6KDQgBk1DWg2Jrv1X4Zc4QaRGsiEuz2qV0A0jLKq7suhjrCmS0ccBxspMiXnRGYZOU/s1600-h/March+2009+024.jpg"></a>Hello out there! Sorry its been so long... I'm suddenly inspired this morning to write in this blog for the first time in over 6 months. I guess, yesterday was quite a special day for me and I felt I should share. Firstly, I witnessed my oldest daughter Audrey graduate from pre-school yesterday. She said her "aisatsu" loud and clear and bowed properly at all the right times. Much better than I could do it! I also participated in a Shishimai event in Koza next to a shoppers alley (Park Avenue - AKA BC Street) my mother used to always take me to when I was a seven year old kid in Okinawa. Park Avenue was the first place I ever really experienced in Okinawa since it was so close to my Aunt Hiroko's house. We would walk ten minutes from my aunts house to the shoppers alley 3 or 4 times a week and just walk around looking in various stores and finding a noodle shop to eat at. When I was twenty years old, I often left my mother with her sister and walked around these streets on my own. Coming back 23 years later (since 1986) to perform shishimai was quite a personal honor. </div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><br /><div align="left">Regarding Audrey's graduation, man the Japanese do a good job with their pre-schools. Although the school is not much to look at from the outside (looks like a remnant from the WWII era), the teachers and overall school activities have been really great. Emma is going to start there next month and Audrey will make her way to Kindergarden! Here's some photos from the ceremony and a video of Audrey receiving her diploma. Also all the kids had to make a small speech about which kindergarden they were heading off to and what they wanted to be when they grew up. Audrey said "When I grow up, I want to be like Mommy".</div><div align="center"></div><br /><div align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313239826322796850" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTofNu3IHgTKFhVWwrFnCpHn2yEmzYHQR_aH1dNuPdRaL0uY_lqcNr8ydmOz30a4KgdajDL1my9B_YwJoTij4m9zDgc9TfkX6zWli6OnBbEtt3FTl0o_r6zW0nNxb3Vd_jQzohBw-GHv8/s320/March+2009+045.jpg" border="0" /> <span style="font-size:78%;">(Audrey with her friend Yuuki)</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:78%;"></span> </div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313258214053786258" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZuf3Ovm6tcD6auKWKD0Lzvab4sG-pkGdWEQeuJMyriL25HbIHNDL8g3jXz489IQ-ck7KylZZSNsvDHf9zCOx3Mk16Cp1sPauztjZSG8sWVYdqkSaTU4ujrl2-OA2In8JsyAc8c6BONdY/s320/March+2009+041.jpg" border="0" /> <div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:78%;">(Audrey and boyfriends Mashu and Mahiro)</span></div><div align="center"> </div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313239816417491362" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqZc-UMFtL7R-Ox5EPQ3RhittVQ-6iHkb-4lwBeyOyVjDbzUo8fXSTq1QHp7PgpR7C-b89Fm15ZyiunrSxZ9BDTfpwblSEAMrpZvOt-1lO-_IpQlEnGiF9DBbsyNsfcX9Dz2MJ8QhqcIo/s320/March+2009+036.jpg" border="0" /> <span style="font-size:78%;">(Akemi, Audrey, Ken, Emma after the ceremony)</span> </div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"></div><div align="left">Shishimai as I probably mentioned can be roughly translated as the dance of the Shisa (or dragon-dog like creature that is an Okinawan figure of strength against demons and evil spirits). Most Okinawa houses have two shisa figures (one male one female) in the front of their house to ward against evil spirits. You can see a cute rendition of the shisa on the top o this blog. In any case, basically I am one of the lead shishi dancers now for the Koja Shishimai Troupe. Each shishi has two people inside. One at the front and one at the rear end. I'm at the head of the white shishi you see below. The front can be quite challenging as you have to swivel the shishi's head around with the strength of your arms. You also have to manuever you and your partner around with very low visibility. The back is also tough as you are basically blind and have to guess (through experience and knowledge) about how to act or move based on what you "feel" your partner is doing in front of you. Basic moves you typically see are the "roll-over" and the "standing high" move were the front man basically gets hoisted onto the rear man's shoulders or chest which makes the shishi stand 10 feet tall. </div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313240676265775090" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF8dZ07wmffjLzD4q4URI29teNMV7yDnUQZRkFmivvDALK5inNtIafZMQwmWCkC5zjfCg-FunCTNCa2fx6dM6ApdpVbpSIEGJYTIEWuTdH3jAcXwJAR70zO2x4SfvZQv4su2DitWzjRYI/s320/March+2009+050.jpg" border="0" /></div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:78%;">(That's me in the front of the white shishi with my partner in the rear. The taiko drummers and sanshin players are visible in the background)</span></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="left">My partner was quite tough on me for past few months since starting the group. I almost thought of quitting. You know, finally yesterday I'm feeling accepted by him and the rest of the group. I've been a clutch component to the group since joining because with the addition of myself they are able to perform with 2 shishi instead of just 1. And having 2 shishi out on the stage makes things more interesting for the spectators. The red shishi group is comprised of two brothers from the neighborhood. They were in the big Okinawa wide shishimai festival we held in October 2008. They're a blast to drink with! </div><div align="center"><br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313240681601146722" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq0DFLJKqDPre6wVqCtaTKhKZFDWMclF8soQF4OtPD40zZIBcg_eO6iGIBkCwF-PNmI5JEHT0goDNp8NJiCtrALjbww-_ipT7H7cXodKcOqxRNJklU8PjcDxuxifee9g1jVsl00tBRM84/s320/March+2009+054.jpg" border="0" /> <p align="center"> <span style="font-size:78%;">(The Enogawa brothers make up the red shishi team. They're veterens of the neighborhood)</span><span style="font-size:78%;"></span><br /></p><p align="left">Here's a few videos from the graduation ceremony and from the shishimai:</p><p align="left"><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwwXLkeGDNxT6G--C6L1AP8aZjyj5eDwUmDTtIHnZ1rdrK4O-kVPjTbIVFNnHQyvn04fgE6dp2yGOYVPQro7g' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></p><p align="left"></p><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxXVgpfuz9d_FBdU4kb4S8xD3mwH6umfsWcPaZoBGG7b1wJbJHxojEoJFWXFcekuNj7-6VdwifrWdxhAdnleg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>Kenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05633534147933480439noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174033436319865429.post-72321170373573548432008-09-22T17:29:00.001-07:002008-09-23T05:39:50.988-07:00Back to the Beach<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_Y0Iyb1jxgcfSJ-tHjEeBdpPsF7FPuYnfWVjPHDpHIYl4iB3D1Yc3M2dAClUIN5blhZO7B4yE0bVvs4KSpaUSMgzEAvJ82xKCQIZWk9CQndpTtTxCaQlliTmKTW8_Ne0aIB55BnNcGMQ/s1600-h/R0011021.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5249008011805198738" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_Y0Iyb1jxgcfSJ-tHjEeBdpPsF7FPuYnfWVjPHDpHIYl4iB3D1Yc3M2dAClUIN5blhZO7B4yE0bVvs4KSpaUSMgzEAvJ82xKCQIZWk9CQndpTtTxCaQlliTmKTW8_Ne0aIB55BnNcGMQ/s400/R0011021.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Well summers finally fading away and fall is almost upon us. That means its a perfect time to go to the beach in Okinawa since the weather is bearable and the water still warm from the summer. On Sunday, my coworker and friend Kiyo and I took Audrey and Emma to Hamahiga Beach. He took some really nice photos that I thought I should share...</div><br /><div><br /></div><br /><div></div><br /><div>I don't mean to rub it in (well, actually yes I do) but we are 20 minutes away from this very quaint and beautiful beach. The ocean is calm, clear and feels like luke warm bath water this time of year. Only thing is the sand is not so nice because of Okinawa's coral base so its quite course. </div><br /><div><br /></div><br /><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5249010367910948178" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ37VAYSRMS5fDUux3EMNBL7j63y_u5LuU59T5eCw_J_yOO9T8HO4kwd8CP8ZyHb5h9q-I8ZzyFLHSv8Oy4-fDqLZWz_CExKDg-f02ir7Cz9sK_kJXFJLyfF4vNzZ0PJNncxhKWq5Amwc/s320/R0010983.JPG" border="0" /><br /><br /><div>Of course Audrey and Emma enjoy the beach very much. Maybe next year its time to take them camping up north. I need to figure out how to balance my work life better. I'm not giving myself enough time on the weekends to enjoy my family. This is something my father was very good at. Balancing work life and personal leisure. Okay, I'm getting too philisophical, back to the photos.</div><br /><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5249010375327779858" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGS478z0hxajVlgXL26g5y_mHE7UcnBGGIB19waisWPS-9wNA8kMWi-D_U6RWZ8oQw5ylsvVlNJ5TFGcS9JjRacoM5PB3_ev11szwR2GsniheZHq4NBeiZrgNnGg1J7Xwr9-17EZV-RFw/s320/R0011005.JPG" border="0" /><br /><br /><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5249010390676389650" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9_3NTWhqZr6gTts93E9OLARYf3O4EcpgRdLXQEjd-Z-8OIMn-mcnuHtWZ7mR-_TWsLj6vb22If2KUqpkcwxG-5T154kviLYKYzcfTuAPml5f_CdASFIsJHxnT9LeoysKIXbfrciVFac0/s320/R0011006.JPG" border="0" /><br /><br /><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5249010386478122482" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxqYQSzwxB1oROCAgAQzkbY2CiX8oiUclp8R0zatkztZZWAGCrFTmzGCagdmDVoOmw8qDH7WOkMqYJ4d0hQi_8cMiUoXgBCbKUkNABdZVpZSrL4lNUxM00VAn9hj-ZNW-jOS08Tv_jO7A/s320/R0011008.JPG" border="0" /></div><br /><p></p><br /><p>Here's a video of Audrey swimming in the ocean. </p><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxhe73dM5FG9oUC_6qcKLkR0Px4OimHuZ-Ynb2zmCkC6qhC46VwjQhE9dgAwRXdAWTuvMVGCwBZBUBU8kYO6Q' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>Kenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05633534147933480439noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174033436319865429.post-27854198713488877902008-09-14T05:02:00.000-07:002008-09-14T06:03:20.453-07:00Eisa Matsuri<p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD5QoeY0pbKUP7zMYED-ZzyPrdMFYmnXvy3hHkmjKM1fuuoav8h0hIjNR9NOpW2U0h-uyuXHAkNQGMYC_AE26WTDTAOtMtlZ18RNZE1HIWJxeaKW1OrOqWCartOauw6v42vzzMIHz7GTs/s1600-h/Audreys+Natsu+Matsuri+061.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5245854940693409314" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD5QoeY0pbKUP7zMYED-ZzyPrdMFYmnXvy3hHkmjKM1fuuoav8h0hIjNR9NOpW2U0h-uyuXHAkNQGMYC_AE26WTDTAOtMtlZ18RNZE1HIWJxeaKW1OrOqWCartOauw6v42vzzMIHz7GTs/s320/Audreys+Natsu+Matsuri+061.jpg" border="0" /></a></p><div align="left">Well these days the fact that Audrey is no longer a baby is really hitting me in the face. She's only in pre-school I know, but she's talking a whole lot (bilingual now) and she has also started the phase in her life where she must wake up early in the morning and go be a member of the outside world. Welcome to real life baby, already... Damn that sucks. Recently her pre-school has her participating in the timeless Japanese tradition of Undoukai (Sports Festival) and the Okinawan revered Eisa Matsuri (Eisa Festival). I haven't downloaded the Undoukai photos yet so I'll just share some photos from the Uruma City Eisa Festival and from Audrey's first ever Eisa Matsuri debut with her pre-school classmates. </div><div align="center"><br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5245852464496639746" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsFlaQh7hleKW2O2kPQkBQ8pgkIMLUoIr_bE8fEsKMaN4ZYGN-48HFKxUGAeVQnOVDsQWrHRKwB_8OK0Y8b1LKYKDTGO4Y-1lJXDw6iGRCYXBNImfJssY-IYg3N-HCm4340CaWQkyQOhQ/s320/Koja+Matsuri+017.jpg" border="0" /> <p align="center"><span style="font-size:78%;">Local Koja Matsuri (Ken the flag bearer with his two daughters Audrey and Emma)</span><br /></p><br /><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5245852468671619330" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGgCUqWhXT1mnzMU9W1krRROQnj9dbQQS5CAyTIjpgSW4BaU0buMd9nlX2z4-UItbIt3BMsYIg7JN8BST5iVTpR37VB7lIxl6QHQL2HpHqCky2Hq0e30m_mnOl8Of7YptkhOUmqIeyjvc/s320/Audreys+Natsu+Matsuri+003.jpg" border="0" /></p><p align="center"><span style="font-size:78%;">Audrey climbing all over her Mom's beautiful red kimono</span></p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5245854940841621522" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhblEisEVFgutWxDY0UNdb5cgkdxbHN7H_LwplEm9g5lFMSN6EJK56zMXWg1pfL2-tc2yxJVorOYVtRos1uD0tpPlBS1ObJ6FZYCi6U1kADqoFshUWAroCfHcRePkb4QpRMNvGYw8dG8Oc/s320/Audreys+Natsu+Matsuri+015.jpg" border="0" /> <p align="center"><span style="font-size:78%;">Audrey and her Kirin Gumi Classmates (Giraffe Class)</span> </p><p align="left"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5245852471059647202" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglqXMpSirUzRD9MD5knCRdkKSRiqsM7NkPAD5QkYwIX3ojQbIlwgln7MP2bf55piVCAYn3cX6uhlyoYdzjjYRCYdOlG5Urbr_v85XkPCCbr0DaiDbJJBJwEm9thNLdCyAtWszZT-fawIs/s320/Audreys+Natsu+Matsuri+006.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5245852475362408194" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO8kRq4fjsV8T7Ouhxrfdc8XWEiOnEa93v-9ipXZFrdC-3ays5p24ti9r-kvdCKXyQXnfvwTet7W0lAyU5jxJ4bwdib1dfA0mNor-zhGtl417f-A9BQGS4vaHnlFbyyXbCo0Ql5QQOUvI/s320/Audreys+Natsu+Matsuri+059.jpg" border="0" />Akemi says that she's glad that as a Dad, I'm able to handle both the video camera (in my left hand) and the digital camera (in my right) all at the same time with Emma climbing on my back... She said she just wished that she had an extra camera to take a photo of me being a gung ho "Japanese Dad" as she called it at Audrey's pre-school events. She said that she didn't think that American men acted that way... <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5245854938383028882" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvJaRNq7az5v-08r3xfK3QA0W5Xad0PWLzsVPfhfPjlEp-elp6w8kQhINUeelLoitjM77tNpCTDzuKPzjwPNdDOJAyZcsDrIzmsOTjj4YT-l9TlXaxGmFSna24UlVgptGm7HOetgiCePI/s320/Audreys+Natsu+Matsuri+054.jpg" border="0" /> Also I'm contemplating doing some English lessons to Japanese students on the side for a little "stash away" cash. Because my wife has me on a measley weekly allowance, I have about 10 dollars of "fun" money all to myself per week. Therefore at 15 dollars per hour with 3 to 4 students a class at two classes a week, I may even be able to spend 100 dollars without my wife even having to know (or give me the evil beady eye). Do I have time to do this, probably not. But same as Shishimai, I'm just going to do it and see what happens later. Somehow, it will work out I'm sure. Here's a shot of me with a class I taught for the Japan Air Self Defense Force in Onna Village, Okinawa. Some of them went to place high in the JASDF annual English speech contest.<br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5245856508921826962" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdjXyxhwPEuY87D6U1f-2FFD7cadh-V6NEKqC1RStvUpahUqgVOHyo_cpQ8UPSvUIZWyw9PnAd8jM8F1yx_A-pMtz78yZRcJ9bdCnHRJr1VYPvsSrMDyqn73noSuWtrlWNxMB7Xjpbe6I/s320/2008+July+004.jpg" border="0" /> On a side note, life is quite busy for me these days. Okinawa living has really settled in my soul recently. I think I've become very normalized to this place and feel like I've lived here forever. Although still a constant source of stress is my maladaptive Japanese which gets me by just fine (in a humbling and ever so frustrating manner). I find myself really tiring of speaking in Japanese recently... I blunder with simple sentences these days it seems. I'm sure I've just arrived a low point in my life force curve and its bound to go up sooner or later. But who cares now that I have Audrey as my personal translator. She makes life easier around Grandma's house, that's for sure. Anyways, I'm rambling and its time for bed. Until next time!<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dy8BmDxFYh1MWwThBwGHJp0Dv_BoQI32SnWmCHNro8K9f4693VIc1tssDoG-x2sHZ-Ckpi6BI94CTbh0detgQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></p>Kenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05633534147933480439noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174033436319865429.post-75699336640365341302008-07-27T16:21:00.000-07:002008-12-10T08:55:00.308-08:00The Dance of the Shisa "Shishimai"<div align="center"></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzNgqyFBB6XoW2jAOWjW1JuKMgarYBFtY5KuPIkl1ThhxG3U6W4RUvigIibfJhD3dnMDvcVjl5z8koXHDR2neAO5U-1e1T6KMowLS-BNVufghXF1XXgJ5SwuzaamLqk7J_p8Nyk1oa-cI/s1600-h/2008+July+012.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5227846244165838002" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzNgqyFBB6XoW2jAOWjW1JuKMgarYBFtY5KuPIkl1ThhxG3U6W4RUvigIibfJhD3dnMDvcVjl5z8koXHDR2neAO5U-1e1T6KMowLS-BNVufghXF1XXgJ5SwuzaamLqk7J_p8Nyk1oa-cI/s400/2008+July+012.jpg" border="0" /> <p align="center"></a><strong>(Hey that's me!)</strong></p><p align="left">I have to admit, I've been feeling more and more guilty about not making entries into this blog as of late. It's the type of guilt one feels for eating that extra piece of cake or wasting an entire Sunday lazing around the house watching TV. It's a guilt that gets easier and easier to shrug off as the weeks go by. In fact, if it wasn't for my weird ability to get involved into things I have no business getting involved in, I might have thrown in the towel weeks ago. </p><p align="left">Out of boredom, I ever so often go visit the local "izakaya" or Japanese pub just down the street from my house. I know Mama-san there who is a very kind and easy-to-smile Okinawan women who after losing her husband to cancer, has been trying to succeed in running her own business. I get to talking to her about my interests in things Okinawan, and she suggests to me that I talk to the Koja (the name of my neighborhood) Community Center leader. Next time he comes in, I'll give you a call she says. So I meet up with him in about a weeks time and I get to drinking with this guy and I end up meeting the whole Shishimai or "Dragon Dance" troop in one of their monthly "Nomikai's" (basically, its a drinking party). I get to drinking and have a great time and go home. The next week, I find my name on the local list of Dragon Dance team members as a "Sanshin" (Okinawan banjo-type instrument) player. Wow, my cell phone number and home address are posted on that list and everything! How did that get there, I think to myself (no recollection whatsoever of telling ANYONE I would join their troop). Then I think, crap I guess I better go through with it. And that's how it all started. </p><p align="left"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5227846242888978210" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJsRaQ52iqczarCY0BuCYfDxW-8rYnh04h-CjJiMAYuzgi6kZm0DuaYcNJKcMwMKSyMw-u4hzA4k846B9IpIf2yRLEO-GcAdH1Hw7yDxX_wgpyNuJbfqtwd8tO4GsblJKX3tWVLFqllgc/s400/2008+July+018.jpg" border="0" /> </p><p align="center"><strong>(The Koja Shishimai Troop, Okinawa City, Okinawa Japan)</strong></p><p align="left">Turns out, the shishimai troop is the first troop to come out of Okinawa City in 30 some odd years. We are practicing hard every week for an upcoming Prefecture wide competition in September. Nevermind about my PE exam or my more than full time work schedule, and not to mention my two kids at home. Okay, I have no time for this but I simply can't resist!</p><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5227846251439748242" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHOFfCIe1Y2v744EOsQiii1Da7MDr13pVnVZiAgiRZ1ZXVjVsna7UmnottIMQBoLDeuQi2yMK_qpASJebGrVoXkh4HhkSmCZOJfbfPuzX9j2t-t8NIsEtzAsA-fg9nSiWPVP3NTRxEbd4/s400/2008+July+006.jpg" border="0" /> I actually don't know much about the Shishimai so I don't think I can do it justice but the basic premise is that its origins are from the Chinese "Dragon" dancing festival. You've all seen it, 10 chinese guys running down the street carrying a dragon costume along with various dancers and musicians. Looks interesting right? So the Okinawa's have something related but very different. First of all in Okinawa, its not a dragon. Its actually a "Shisa", which is kind of like a mystic creature (mix of a dog and dragon) which Okinawan's traditionally put in front of their houses to ward off bad spirits. You can see an example of contemporary and very cute shisa on the top of my blog page. These of course are cute little tourist trinkets and aren't the real thing. The shishimai troop is basically made up of 3 main groups, I think... You have the drummers or "taiko" group. You have 2 dragon dogs or "Shishi" which are each comprised of two men inside that shag carpet costume. Then you have the "sanshin" group with accompany the drums for a musical background to the performance. You also have misc people that blow seashell horns and bang on metal chimes. Apparently, the Okinawan Dance of the Dragon Dog is made to look very realistic, where the movements of the Shishi are imitated against the real movements of a canine or "dog" for the lay person. In contrary, the movements of the Chinese Dragon are more "unworldly" like a floating/flying mystical creature. </p><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5227846246057882194" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWTxQocmQIdcnqiVDZBToro-P117hrCP12rJ8eDS0kyyPxlBdNvYOhUUZELqPzWPHE0ClUXz3RihBAI1BLxUeEzLeTAXwjVaDXZKQSBg295lix1UzHAh0mX0yrOJZdvx_dBkXNHIl2qPM/s400/2008+July+016.jpg" border="0" /><br />I actually don't really know very much, but I'll figure it out as I go along I guess. Meetings with the Shishimai group are always an intersting mixture of half-understandings and blurred messages due to my ever-so-maladaptive Japanese skills. Anyways, I'll post more later after we perform in this local festival "Manta Matsuri" on the 10th of August. Its our first performance as a troop and is a vital practice for the real deal in September. Until next time, peace out. Oh, check out the kick-butt taiko drumming group on the video link below. The first time I saw these kids go at it, my eyes actually started to tear up.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5227846235844473586" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYK5BrxrR4YduajXIJikClYz05CU-ChPdvPUUAyugcOivjSgN0JYfg1PiX8V5rYIU5SC3NV2MstoILhiM6YQLkkkIVr13A8_yYMwTIX9d2MwUsYF2rBSuhAvE6yCLKVrgmPWWC0WPwUIg/s400/2008+July+005.jpg" border="0" /> </p><p></p><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwbmuobfg5ECoz_nfI4IQz5xtw4pqpeQWgY3Xf_Nf7csWRP72-vbRsQjQMblXTcMbO2hYkVED9ZhY6UVf50aQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>Kenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05633534147933480439noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174033436319865429.post-54419555361425507842008-06-28T01:34:00.000-07:002008-12-10T08:55:00.555-08:00Biker Chicks<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinqlQp84RrI6R_ncfAHTwC20283V9_XdwwDezPqw4_avYx861_yF6g2hHbz_5pSzgkF3z8A7Z8ZB9181QN6u56TenevPNbmIGY5nsSJ_D7jm0sBfyAR_NxTRYiqv0fZrszEIDdVHIcCUw/s1600-h/Audrey+on+her+bicycle+004.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5216851647986154818" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinqlQp84RrI6R_ncfAHTwC20283V9_XdwwDezPqw4_avYx861_yF6g2hHbz_5pSzgkF3z8A7Z8ZB9181QN6u56TenevPNbmIGY5nsSJ_D7jm0sBfyAR_NxTRYiqv0fZrszEIDdVHIcCUw/s400/Audrey+on+her+bicycle+004.jpg" border="0" /></a> So the most recent thing Audrey has gotten into these days is riding her princess bicycle (which Larry bought for her last year) around our neighborhood. Well when we moved to Okinawa that bike took a real beating, suffering extensive damage to the pedal cranks, training wheels and tires during its 2 month trip over California highways to LA port, then across the Pacific Ocean to Kobe, Japan then again across the Japanese seas to Okinawa. Well we had to replace some damaged parts for it but since the bike was American we had a real hard time finding the parts it needed in Japan. Luckily a bike shop just down the street was able to find us used parts over the internet and fixed it right up for us. We really wanted Audrey to use THAT bike, since it was a gift from her Uncle (who she affectionately refers to as her "best friend"). That's on good days anyways, on other days she'll say to him "You're fat, you're fat. Or maybe even, you're not the boss, I'M THE BOSS! But that Uncle Larry-Niece relationship is quite special, so we put in the effort to "save" that bicycle and have it be the one she uses in early childhood. We all have had and remember that childhood bicycle of our respective pasts. I remember my first real bike was red with white handle bar grips and I used it for years to get around the neighborhood on various childhood adventures.<br /><br /><div>Well then I started taking Audrey out to ride everyday right after work since there is usually an hour or two worth of daylight left when I get home. Emma of course could not be fooled for more than two days in a row. She insisted to be let outside to see what daddy and Audrey were up to and BAM, we were caught in the act! Emma was so upset that she didn't get to have her own bicycle to ride. So Akemi called around and was able to get a hand-me-down tricycle from her sister. So now we go out there and ride together most days. Audrey talks about her bicycle, and she brags to her friends. She gets competitive with Emma eventhough Emma can't even pedal on her own yet. She does pretty good and here's a little video of a ride we had the other day.</div><br /><p><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzaI-IDWUdZpb0za6iXlzRP5HYVGSH6JItie0pKc0lGfERXnvTFEdrjDJL0zC7764flBLVzMUlk8-U0S7cgWg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></p><p>The good thing is our neighborhood is located on a dead end street so we really don't have to worry about cars. There are about 10 houses in the area and there are kids ranging from 2 to 16. So I think this will be a really nice neighborhood for the girls for awhile. I'm still quite pleased with this house we got in Okinawa City. I feel like I can settle here. I just need to make sure I can continue to find and do work for somebody. But so far so good and I expect things will be okay. If not, I could go work as a civilian on one of the bases here. For now, its just fun watching my two girls grow up. </p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5216851316135728162" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOJzBX2j-A694HFKx04ODTgd7ixM2GOU4ZIMhoil37rV9ppdLVkCd_imWIjmz37hzws-Ws1fZWX5dkz2ch-LD2znifvhhrB6aG_bc4tEcZG7YYiAejZXfu42M99NJyCLyLZIyPT-EnJng/s400/Bicycling+002.jpg" border="0" />Kenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05633534147933480439noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174033436319865429.post-12401079239738171472008-06-11T05:11:00.000-07:002008-12-10T08:55:03.556-08:00Tadaima<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzi07UPYFAJiYRTF2FQG7B1ZRjlnTdP8YChjKbA0Yw98rqROBJrJycTWRLXrIZ7-sXoAqDHNmD9fRZn5mM0yA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />Here's a typical end of the work day, tired, worn down from dealing with the world all day, but excited to walk through the front door...<br /><p align="left">With all the kids being born in the Bull family these days (Big congradulations to Peter and Lara!! Good job and otsukare sama). Makes you realize what a treasure you really have in kids. Boy, they are frustrating - but make your short time in the world worthwhile. I say this now while my kids are still young and adore me. Just wait another 10 years when they refuse to sit at that same table as their Dad in a public place... Or does it come sooner than that? </p><div align="left">Other good news, Akemi's sister is pregnant! So Akemi is REALLY FREAKIN EXCITED. I'm happy for them and for Audrey and Emma. They will soon have a new cousin, playmate, someone younger with less experience and know how. Finally Emma will have the upper hand on somebody... You go girl! </div><div align="left"><br /></div><p align="left">Tired tonight, planning to go to sleep in ten minutes but before I do, I wanted to share with you all my girl's new hair styles. Emma's is pretty damn cute I have to say. I didn't think they'd look good with short hair and I resisted this change. But Akemi was right in insisting. It is hot and humid here in Okinawa. It's not fair, I'm a man and don't know how it feels to have to live with long hair she says... So I diplomatically conceeded. </p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5210601838237628706" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvpc353CsaFxRdSrOfEFux2nYcN5mObIkBzqRciGKwttxD3xPN9XoEZODB_-GD6RMCrM70FclW1A1wvwhWY9jlxzQlksyxxN_ehTZ8FGX-xI8doDFbZvP4A85uGGs0pFFL1_V5NRVE1F4/s320/2008+-+May+064.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5210601844016337714" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirNy8ppSydfdGjWiMiUMxkFvsreu1U4dAhvoMrJB-VnpT7wF7qjUVsC2O7KsGUuGhsxU0zJvSf_aVlHGpw_GOHbUqmbmBxwrtQXKa5uqJ59xz2-SI14izAfquMAtZbV_IfQLHYYmDdWSA/s320/2008+-+May+068.jpg" border="0" /><br /><p align="center">AUDREY FRONT AND SIDE SHOTS<br /></p><br /><p></p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5210601841500012290" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidmm7DMhvfvL8GpB8MCrzFVXQQWCcNMScAR0irqDh19NI9XwDxp4HqOaQ4rZ-3DLtSYdCMvNTXBg_Cw2MdobkYJT5nRCHZbSM_-rUd7ad4XzMXc_2p5Z1CoaTb_lH9K0KlDgJ-WU-gI9Q/s320/2008+-+May+060.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5210601855212693010" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9WWrFOqkAibEN9gIv-rrBHZFnUpEDYegsA__OIqrWaFYYCNPGYQ8L39dEk1mJUrFAArbz-EQu75e09WQ-ci5dR8XYIonE36KmtR8eGB84jcsoFexa-_B2_x_QP6rhWF_RMy73AnU2jf4/s320/2008+-+May+061.jpg" border="0" /><br /><p align="center">EMMA FRONT AND SIDE SHOTS</p><p>Well, that's all I've got people. I need to quit working so hard, I'm too tired by the time I get home... Until next time.</p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5210602456648868738" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0lKfjl9pUw7nn8ochdzU6e03pc4XXtd-PvsKwPQ7SgM7bkoo7PcVVN8vb_vRNi8WiXur77P4NueRWJKsQTuTJ4dxH-pOLgpbr8IkGG50aXuPvkvyO2ZZkneSaiNzLGsIWKO0b7dufu8g/s320/2008+-+May+072.jpg" border="0" />Kenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05633534147933480439noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174033436319865429.post-5390288920790109912008-05-24T16:27:00.000-07:002008-12-10T08:55:04.127-08:00Sisters<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_FzMu9uOzkZ_VZ9ATaEzQmU9TDP8xVzCzjLJC7uz0254uOVzIo-hCH59xIAhlB1jGstVpnjKDzxxd_qRyX0Fbo0c0sWCOK9CfI0OFZfboMMxUNadCKluAKoQ_yvl86m2H2Aa9ftqkLmo/s1600-h/2008+-+May+033.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5204101247912998866" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_FzMu9uOzkZ_VZ9ATaEzQmU9TDP8xVzCzjLJC7uz0254uOVzIo-hCH59xIAhlB1jGstVpnjKDzxxd_qRyX0Fbo0c0sWCOK9CfI0OFZfboMMxUNadCKluAKoQ_yvl86m2H2Aa9ftqkLmo/s400/2008+-+May+033.jpg" border="0" /></a> The kids are growing up man... Growing up fast. Little Emma can talk quite a bit now and Audrey, well, Audrey doesn't ever stop talking. Her Japanese is getting pretty damn good too. They fight all the freakin' time and I find myself losing my temper a lot. But I try to remind myself that thats what sisters are supposed to do right? Fight and cry and generally drive each other crazy. I sometimes view Audrey to be an evil tormentor who cleverly and hungrily finds poor little Emma's weak spots then exploits them to the full extent possible. There is no remorse, only the wicked satisfaction of retribution. The sweet revenge for all those time Emma took away the spot light, or got poor little Audrey in trouble for not sharing. But then from time to time I discover that Emma has been crying for no other reason than to bring big bad angry Dad's wrath down upon poor Audrey-chan. She uses me as a weapon to smite her bigger more powerful/smarter sister. I'm being cleverly manipulated by a two year old. They are both worthy advesaries of each other. Oh what a battle these two rage...<br /><br /><p align="left">But its not all fighting and psychological warfare... There are really nice childhood experiences abound. I'd like to illustrate this for you. For instance sometimes we all enjoy a really good game of hide and seek. Please click on the next freakin adorable video link:<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwleh-TDj5gmNKZGQmOYBnUMPMF6uP5GpHhjqThJ0L72HQEA4Hy3YRJJ6IHOlS9k2jnjjUA1J5xxBydsvbSlQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></p><p align="left">And here are the sisters dancing together to a "Wiggles" tune on the Disney Channel:<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzGhW2nP6s8ogkewzRuHU2EYPZ-kjnGsp411068DpnElZIbSMN4h0eM3R7BQCzqhryBXcg4bzUdDCO11U1nhg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></p>JUN-CHAN<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCKudlXYuTiTq0Z44FRSByMkxojsiaUt6d9ezBRdFvsjyR32STm6ukOSA-Q7QkwDt6DutPmQ2b6Xr-YKh5hTVFYdqofvdL2aMMROylf4kUtbx_k6B0QBTn8LEasWMVITVzLcINCxIm5NY/s1600-h/2008+-+May+024.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5204102252935346146" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCKudlXYuTiTq0Z44FRSByMkxojsiaUt6d9ezBRdFvsjyR32STm6ukOSA-Q7QkwDt6DutPmQ2b6Xr-YKh5hTVFYdqofvdL2aMMROylf4kUtbx_k6B0QBTn8LEasWMVITVzLcINCxIm5NY/s320/2008+-+May+024.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />HIKARI-CHAN<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizenoatMeFXPLWk5I46yj4fN5nkYMipeTSgV71x9Y-wZhaMSPTQ3UrRDhcvwsK1bD4_xPxIlySsbQCr_FduHZM5HKBvJtI1GSZDuJ-UR4vsB4LWL1-DJHC8LyY3Ip9S4cTbMnhjEISrIA/s1600-h/2008+-+May+009.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5204102257230313458" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizenoatMeFXPLWk5I46yj4fN5nkYMipeTSgV71x9Y-wZhaMSPTQ3UrRDhcvwsK1bD4_xPxIlySsbQCr_FduHZM5HKBvJtI1GSZDuJ-UR4vsB4LWL1-DJHC8LyY3Ip9S4cTbMnhjEISrIA/s320/2008+-+May+009.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><p align="left"></p><br /><br /><br /><p align="left"></p>Kenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05633534147933480439noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174033436319865429.post-60985327181999992612008-05-17T05:18:00.000-07:002008-12-10T08:55:04.848-08:00Working WIth The Japanese<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZUXxvER-Sz8rGi1P9B62nJH8NLdrOgAb4rD9KiekYkmIEw6QhGVEmQ1Tjp7phSRbSx9BlbA4GZ5Kqy8EN9bDiYmidvqMfDM2o4yPbji-gE8ntiph5hXO_7zMEMdWCEqFU_6cQ1FO_I98/s1600-h/05-02-08+001.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5201322575773791778" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZUXxvER-Sz8rGi1P9B62nJH8NLdrOgAb4rD9KiekYkmIEw6QhGVEmQ1Tjp7phSRbSx9BlbA4GZ5Kqy8EN9bDiYmidvqMfDM2o4yPbji-gE8ntiph5hXO_7zMEMdWCEqFU_6cQ1FO_I98/s400/05-02-08+001.jpg" border="0" /></a> Working in a foreign country can be interesting. Here you can see a typical morning at the construction site. Every morning the Japanese perform ritualized stretches and exercises to the same tune (song) they have heard for their entire lives every morning since kindergarten. This morning exercise has been around for god knows how many years. I've never seen any alteration of any kind to the recorded tune or to the type of stretch or alteration of the sequence of events. If I was a smart man, I could ponder on some deeper cultural meaning. To me, I just think its funny to see all these grown man doing their morning stretches. This next video was taken from inside my car capturing the morning warm-up exercise.<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dz5n9N3JAr-kd_LVxMJGitB9m2ct-M4Wcg1P5rvh4hKQU3VZTTS8gxzcgLbCFMpblOouuoG0DkR9ScDeFtvLQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br /><br />I know that most of you really want to just see more pictures of the kids. That is exactly why I am attaching two very fascinating action shots of me testing concrete building piles. Hey but this really is my life now. I performed a number of jobs in my life... I've delivered pizzas, I've drummed hazardous waste, I've bagged grocies and picked up golf balls on a golf range. I guess testing piles is just another one of those weird side jobs you find yourself doing so you can feed your family. I ask myself all the time how in the world I got myself to where I am. I really should be in the US eating the Sizzler all-you-can-eat on Tuesday nights and working a normal job.<br /><br />I know work is not incredibly fascinating. So I'll put in some shots of Audrey and Emma at the beach to help add some color.<br /><br /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5201324740437309026" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQzuMh2EZPS1V8N7T8zyYEATIgl-zrbvzZ7hJwf921Qy3ZExMVJ3x2uyGPkH8YWrNSDa54r1wwNyr8TTm_7ON83vNO92m__nNvsGe4vFQ92tYwi3fKPSRtyoSQlLKF-NDYiUvwYwi1JCs/s400/2008+May+008.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5201324697487636050" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmKGvq_I2F5yaYqbfddoyS9NaiB66Z7HSbtitZ9BBzdDSml6IPIDpY5uVJrKLSK2a6w7yJ_wK5gX7cWU9Wb_-3eGeKEFoaLvoGvj9XwRyV2Zp2kcGh92Zp03vmwF_jLKtxtS38Ii580Tw/s400/2008+May+012.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5201329396181857954" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPi3iwvaEfbCOOWzshMMQ40M-UqlaA3dLS6PbFScXPkbZibITbIolx6dlIAt7WK2bK1TQeGt2W-01RtxFLzPf1EuJlUBjhZD_b40PA2tVITe2n8Wk2PttwNDl4zBqHSogBcLOcUZdLr-0/s400/2008+May+027.jpg" border="0" />Kenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05633534147933480439noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174033436319865429.post-43506908873783678862008-05-04T21:38:00.000-07:002008-12-10T08:55:06.166-08:00Okinawan Shimi<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4St4PckbjT7_aCBFGIG63PfNNB1K00QbcVYgs6jKYZsp8Iac49ps6qEvS8mNRmDkYFZj9gw-GTe9kNe0V3xzqGIDTLwXuLeZW8uxiYHg-tfJspAPbv0vnGj9sOclHVHDvLwSCKWfdUpY/s1600-h/2008+-+April+May+039.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5196773269122167842" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4St4PckbjT7_aCBFGIG63PfNNB1K00QbcVYgs6jKYZsp8Iac49ps6qEvS8mNRmDkYFZj9gw-GTe9kNe0V3xzqGIDTLwXuLeZW8uxiYHg-tfJspAPbv0vnGj9sOclHVHDvLwSCKWfdUpY/s320/2008+-+April+May+039.jpg" border="0" /></a> This blog entry is about 3 weeks late... The month of April contains one of Okinawa's most sacred of observances. It is known by Okinawans as "Shimi" and it involves bringing family members together in front of the family tomb to have a meal together with the spirits of those family ancestors who have past away. In Okinawa, the tombs are like small stone houses. In the old days they used to hold the bones of those loved ones who had past away. They were also used extensively in WWII to provide shelter for Okinawans caught in the middle and trying to survive the "typhoon of steel", a combination of Japanese and US mortar shellings, bullets, grenades and shrapnel that killed so many in those days.<br /><div></div><div><br /></div><div>Today, the cremated remains of the entire family are stored together in the tomb. The tomb is generally inherited by the eldest boy of the family. The other siblings will either start their own tomb or be absorbed by their husbands family heritage. If we stay in Okinawa for the long term, I imagine I will invest in my own stone tomb and create the first Bull Family Tomb in Okinawa...</div><div></div><div></div><br /><div align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5196773286302037090" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2pWCro31jMBDxxvHfVFlxUrIiyMzgYyZBylTgDLjVIYQPm8rS-nJQe3cBfYoHPLjv_XeySo5EpeLfMGFUmcbsMh3WiiPtBL5W56VobvurxwokC5_D5IpvbR8vwXCjl73DfrZ7r3AXCf8/s320/2008+-+April+May+042.jpg" border="0" /><span style="font-size:78%;"> (Matsuda Family Tomb Engraved Head Stone)</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:78%;"></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:78%;"></span></div>In the second weekend of April, our family, the Matsuda's gathered near a small village in Northern Okinawa called Teima. This is the small village that my mother used to live in as a child. You should see this place. The ocean is just across the street from where the tomb sits. The ocean and its craggy coral shore is a beautiful sight to see. I love northern Okinawa as it is the one place left that the rapid urbanization of Okinawa has not swallowed whole. Its a very rural setting, the next size able city Nago being many many miles away. It is here that the Matsuda family was laid to rest many years ago. Nearby to the Matsuda tomb is a communal village tomb that those connected to the village collectively pray to before starting the annual feast to commemorate the dead. I believe that this tomb was created during WWII. A community tomb was made and used by the entire village to mourn their dead. The day of the Shimi, I met many people who are connected to Teima who have come to pray at this same tomb that me and my cousins pray too. In fact as I was walking, my Aunt Hiroko told me she just saw walking by an old and very dear friend to my mother. I probably should have talked to her. In any case I don't have much in depth knowledge of the customs of Shimi but I do know some main points.<br /><br /><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5196773277712102466" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzwSZ9y_XoR9vsoQ1jwobRVG2_nkI5_37CGuUIAvNFwZC8QQiZMUSlF5mhnrUbOa_YQBRwALQul7HbZEwSCYfU5wAbz5WUtTGfaSJVbk-IEAmL74CWx39Sy4fCdhQK-C_Y-rJ496QvR2g/s320/2008+-+April+May+040.jpg" border="0" /></p><p align="center"><span style="font-size:78%;">(The 2008 Matsuda Family Gathering)</span></p><p align="left">First, money is presented to the tomb and ceremonially burned as an offering to the deceased. Nowadays, real money is not used. They use special napkins that symbolize money. These napkins are burned as an offering to our ancestors. Then food and sake (usually the Okinawa spirit Awamori) is presented to the tomb and placed on an offering tray. Next to the food offering is a bowl of ash where incense is placed by each family member in attendance. One piece of incense is given to each family member, the incense is lit then placed in the bowl of ash. Prayers are then offered to the dead in which it is common to pray for protection from harm and a hope for future happiness for the family. The ancestors of the family are thought to be able to provide protection and guidance to the "living" family through supernatural means. In Okinawa, ancestors are worshipped in place of a God or Buddha. This form of ancestor worship probably has historic roots in China (I'm totally making an uneducated guess here) but is quite unique to Okinawa in terms of comparing it to the rest of Japan. The food is then distributed to the family in attendance who eat "together" with the ancestors. Many times, this same ritual is repeated in Okinawan households, especially during Shimi but also when relatives have come to visit who haven't been seen in quite sometime. For example, I remember them doing a ceremony for my mother and I when we visited Okinawa about 10 years ago. For them at the time, it was like reacquainting Yoshiko (my mother) to her deceased father, mother, and brother after all those years she had been away living in the US. <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5196773273417135154" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkvmrx4xLdGF1svHJxCEMgzF6GrTDyt-M5AA36Bz9QYBURkX3dXQZYSfYEtF5aZcodLmMvnklQ8rnB4zDu0zpiccndq2LFvfEhChXHFse_A7ajAohqb7_936plDKa153jafuQ2E0B53wc/s320/2008+-+April+May+037.jpg" border="0" /> <span style="font-size:78%;">(Eldest Living Son - Katsuya Matsuda leads the ceremony byburning the money offering)</span></p><p align="left">Well that's my shimi lesson for the day. You should really come to Okinawa and experience it first hand. In the month of July and August another way the Okinawa's praise their ancestors is evident in the local festivals. It's called Eisa Matsuri, and you can view it on the video bar to the right of the screen. Well, until next time!<br /></p><br /><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5196773282007069778" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpojWCWup6klPUG8CgOVJ4Ek0tgBqXCIWJyFsOPLd6zqLBDLRfzBjLM9zCNxFKV8BkJp_qTYOes1977KqyapIllMQ194SBb_-K0ykHbhwp9csb7tQz_Z86ijAyKkzUm5q6XIzcctXBfbE/s320/2008+-+April+May+052.jpg" border="0" /></p><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5196774166770332786" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmqk4QFQHXgbmI_U8XJuJR-ISC2oHkt3RgjyJOFdjehugcADxFNuxPj_j9OnVt35hC6gh2NL6BGj9JfJy6FGEV-bGLFeFlzswhBQo4v3YybraFv1FDR-KoSjKvw9zSnbyTtjnW5ruWEkE/s320/2008+-+April+May+048.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5196774175360267394" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJO4-8WqOz6xvGcIMSWA9qkryj-tg2ARHFZIoWB2W9DDsjLjTeNO9Yifw6s2JmxRIHZFZAdgHoyKdKCOIhtpPzNAQ98WBdLDe3O2d3_GhRJ0BqQZ9U6OVkW96w6ggtdDBEec1So9OtFfc/s320/2008+-+April+May+049.jpg" border="0" /></p>Kenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05633534147933480439noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174033436319865429.post-46254705613682946302008-04-11T16:45:00.001-07:002008-12-10T08:55:07.106-08:00Audrey Goes to School!<div align="right"><span style="font-size:85%;">(Audrey putting her shoes on and getting ready to leave for school!) </span></div><div align="right"><span style="font-size:85%;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmjxzAZtVOJY6pyPkGHOVl_1ZfAnPy5tdGsXZROmbnQoqwfF8DloRxQe5q9Iiuh0XL7kDKaJ33mFZAHbtwQpj7MX-yklYp2bGWHrYjp3EPNZHoQISrzwjsiDq9XV1IyxY8U9Lr0nidNB0/s1600-h/0804+-+April+019.jpg"><span style="font-size:100%;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5188145563618645826" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmjxzAZtVOJY6pyPkGHOVl_1ZfAnPy5tdGsXZROmbnQoqwfF8DloRxQe5q9Iiuh0XL7kDKaJ33mFZAHbtwQpj7MX-yklYp2bGWHrYjp3EPNZHoQISrzwjsiDq9XV1IyxY8U9Lr0nidNB0/s320/0804+-+April+019.jpg" border="0" /></span></a></div></span><span style="font-size:0;"><div align="left"></span><span style="font-size:0;"><span style="font-size:100%;"></span></span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-size:0;"><span style="font-size:100%;"></span></span></div><div align="left">Well I promised some more photos of Audrey so here you go. She's starting to get used to going to school everyday. She typically hesitates leaving the house, then hesitates steeping onto school grounds but then once she's in, she goes crazy with excitement and forgets herself. Today its Saturday and so I got to be the one to walk her to school.</div><div align="left"><br />Today she seemed okay throughout the entire walk which is unusual for her. Usually she's worrying about which teacher is going to come greet her that morning or worrying about nap time. Apparently, she loves her main teacher and if she sees her first thing in the morning, everything usually goes pretty smoothly.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibtfJFCjA0w8JXNR96ZxtfI5JBcNamHTfBtCrsiiLFVO7A3C-npI-UeacAKx9vx0ZTQOLwOyUs9mcVidXJoYayRJ31p7rb8054-TTJ2XGhDEv8KhLXvqn_7lGSrW_K6fPAaGtRp4S4ets/s1600-h/0804+-+April+024.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5188143755437414178" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibtfJFCjA0w8JXNR96ZxtfI5JBcNamHTfBtCrsiiLFVO7A3C-npI-UeacAKx9vx0ZTQOLwOyUs9mcVidXJoYayRJ31p7rb8054-TTJ2XGhDEv8KhLXvqn_7lGSrW_K6fPAaGtRp4S4ets/s320/0804+-+April+024.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><span style="font-size:85%;">(Contemplating the tough road ahead...)</span><br /><br /><div align="center"></div><br /><br /><div align="center"><br /></div><br /><br /><div align="center"><br /></div><br /><br /><div align="center"><br /></div><br /><br /><div align="center"></div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgekm3wvGBv54f6qTOqkW9B1QD5S78c27_uqteSBIEIHAcVxOzVlTjEgcrFoLbC3bwImifTf9uR-H9fQA3xtYt6FooWnAVakT6qAds6blqgcxuXjcsKiucDE9-ieRz-mDlxmcXbx5lDDhc/s1600-h/0804+-+April+025.jpg"><span style="font-size:85%;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5188144292308326194" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgekm3wvGBv54f6qTOqkW9B1QD5S78c27_uqteSBIEIHAcVxOzVlTjEgcrFoLbC3bwImifTf9uR-H9fQA3xtYt6FooWnAVakT6qAds6blqgcxuXjcsKiucDE9-ieRz-mDlxmcXbx5lDDhc/s320/0804+-+April+025.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><div align="right"></div><div align="right"><span style="font-size:85%;">(Action shot - Audrey dashes to school)</span></div><br /><div align="center"></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5188139250016720626" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7KS1HTM5tQ_4-5-pDWdBP85UUm3xyL6Z96gTJXTaV_s-_CIGfNDSsAPKk1OC7Nnv3bC_xqgJRg4faeAUp0ODLnH1hGx8H7hqvzGbikhnnr5_tohBD0Wk5SW2UKEDkglxTb_qFtks4DzQ/s400/0804+-+April+016.jpg" border="0" /> <p align="center"><span style="font-size:85%;">(In front of school - the day prior)<br /></span></p><p align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5188139245721753314" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW_e98EBSDjvV78NHza8oycSdPEHePxdtPYq5HaE1nFUcYB6WPgqyMaTpNIjx8UGNpyC0b4uHyD5jFLZ6Oszrf1iVp-5X2FYjNPaaYluESSlfsbsCnShe5oIOCBcMzadhRzpAO1Q2LdRc/s400/0804+-+April+029.jpg" border="0" /><span style="font-size:85%;">(Emma truly enjoying herself alone at home in her favorite chair)</span></p><p align="left">Here's a little video of today's walk to school -<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzeAp5HWXZ93Z9ExyEKLcKtYxSgE3gzRMFBze96EwEKw0Oes36du_QXCpV765zTuETvxtXFn7rdmtkVIME9Kw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></p><p align="left">Until next time!</p>Kenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05633534147933480439noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174033436319865429.post-14601489555899049512008-04-10T04:56:00.000-07:002008-12-10T08:55:07.115-08:00You Load 16 tons and what do you get?<div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2yoBNcmloK8PbWnbNyDlfm9pyLYVNYttWru_OASXzG-mbZdFbdrxzyE9GBtMsiiP-xAewkSv95-jwXRquQbGnd-_EB0bL_cHxJwPGfAJ2wpJIhgpNW7Yh8US1svbapq8XMWGUZZq78uo/s1600-h/04-10-08+003.jpg"></a><br /><br /><div align="left">Another day older and deeper in debt right? Well, I've been doing my fair share of work these days. But the good thing is, I'm really learning a lot everyday. Unfortunately for me, I'm all on my own. No teammates, no mentors... It's funny what that does to your mind. Well anyways that situation may change in a few weeks. A co-worker of mine out of the Tokyo office may come down and assist me with some of this testing work in a few short weeks. That will be somewhat of a relief having someone else around. It's really quite interesting this project. I don't think I'm at liberty to say too much but I will say that its been a strange roller coaster ride. But this project just might pave the way for me into future endeavors here in Okinawa. It seems that at the end of this I should have a pretty unique skill-set for this island. I guess we'll just wait and see how things pan out.</div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left">Well Audrey started pre-school about two weeks ago. She seems to like it okay but absolutely hates nap time. Oh what child of mine could hate nap time? She sometimes cries for Mommy during that 90 minutes of hellish boredom. But otherwise, she is making friends and learning Japanese. I'll have to post a photo of the school here maybe tomorrow. It's kinda of a relaxed, kinda WWII era-esk type place where kids run around with dirty feet and runny noses. But the teachers seem friendly and Audrey is playing with all kinds of kids her age. </div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left">That and Emma is in absolute heaven when Audrey is not around. She really enjoys having the house (and ALL THOSE TOYS) to herself with no one to answer to. Actually I think Emma has finally found the happiness she has been seeking this whole time... I feel happy for the both of them. You know, I need to take more photos to illustrate these things. I will work on that. </div><div align="left"></div><div align="left">As for now, I'm tired and ready for bed. Here I am turning in at 9 pm at night. Am I becoming an old fart already?</div></div>Kenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05633534147933480439noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174033436319865429.post-8721989063535193842008-03-22T02:48:00.001-07:002008-12-10T08:55:08.419-08:00Busy, busy, busy<div align="left">It's getting warm outside in Okinawa. You know what that means? It's time to go to the beach again!!!</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOLFNbw2pMeyR0fBNyQ-zh-swUssOKylSzmX9POBgxp66aQxDhLg7Fs6JfZUcnp0ybojYxzpmj-fIvpZgCD7IS8Q2_-acNcVFuy_jcN-ufLlXFET36wCHc8yRBaPzyH8pO5aIC_IIeD8o/s1600-h/February+Days+036.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5180505448370395314" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOLFNbw2pMeyR0fBNyQ-zh-swUssOKylSzmX9POBgxp66aQxDhLg7Fs6JfZUcnp0ybojYxzpmj-fIvpZgCD7IS8Q2_-acNcVFuy_jcN-ufLlXFET36wCHc8yRBaPzyH8pO5aIC_IIeD8o/s400/February+Days+036.jpg" border="0" /></a> It's been awhile since my last post and there is a perfectly good reason. I've been working too much and have had little time to myself. Good news is though, I've secured myself a relatively large scale 2-3 year project (I can say that with 99% certainty - not 100). Its big enough to cover my salary plus overhead and maybe even some profit on the side for the next few years. The main point is, the Okinawa office is making it and I feel secure. The Okinawa office is actually doing too well as I am working on 3 to 4 projects at one time. I currently have some people from Tokyo down here helping me out on my work load.<br />Enough about work though, right now life is too stressful and busy. But in just three weeks, I've managed to get used to my new environment and adapt to my new work requirements. Things should get easier from here (I'm hoping anyways). I told my boss that I can do this for awhile but I can't sacrifice my life over my job. Like I said, I think things will get more manageable once I finish a few little side projects that are taking up time that I don't have.<br /><br /><br /><div align="center">(Beautiful Little Hamahiga Beach - 20 minutes away by car)</div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5180505435485493378" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGL_0W4R9sYxBrIt8wG2mPgYwjBL10AKcEQo63AsPt_R_A9zfUGscOnT53YJns435WniuPz6iEIbwd6doNuS6pIgW8Ek6w-mC3gtfuvYlX3txQaXYSndAdZvzq9yf71MFrhQEDpl4bhHE/s400/February+Days+065.jpg" border="0" /><br />The kids and Akemi are doing well. We received our household goods finally from our move from California. So Akemi has been reunited with her valuable books and sewing equipment, Audrey and Emma with their numerous toys and princess tent, and me with my reclining chair (a gift from my father). We did manage to get ripped off by our international mover. Actual costs were about twice what they quoted us. We had to take care of all costs for transport within Japan. They avoided making any reinbursements despite the fact that I paid for "door-to-door" transport. The money isn't a big deal, I'm just happy all our stuff arrived and in one piece. Especially those items that have sentimental value like my Dad's blue Miyata road bike and all those photo albums.<br /><br /><div align="center">(Audrey, Emma, and new friend Ari at Manta Park)</div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5180505444075428002" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhee_EWeFyyAEE6YhBaRTn0kQA0IxpqiNn-M5xXrrEhxqrOF2v5d5xeuIExULKyRLN-Fn5u9DYIOv2V8Yh4F20EqwbW65B26kGwbSj7kiCcI3JqvG8dqu2WUu7mJmA0itgiN-dvr90usUk/s400/February+Days+005.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><p align="left"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5180507488479860946" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsz-eyH-CArjMRV2ExHJPD8paqKHZQAVs7nVA1mMVg8dr7oMeBnGNirgQJFuukWiPpnGmznqUjVYVjS7jVo9cXXVRWudM6sKPAu2YF0adssgP2WmMkbyQWZHu9qtra2cPrMCk9aG5_bwc/s400/February+Days+012.jpg" border="0" />Let's see what else. A lot has happened, too much to remember. All I know is I've been working like crazy and trying to get my company in a good place. So far, I think I'm suceeding. Audrey will be starting school in about two weeks. Her pre-school is a five minute walk from the house. She's very very excited. That and we recently met up with Aunt Hiroko and family. She was quite sick for a month or so but she feels better now. She invited us to come over and eat with the Matsuda Family. Audrey and Emma have a second cousin that's about Audrey's age named Kankichi. Here they are posing together. Kankichi and Audrey are exactly the same height. Every time we eat dinner at Hiroko's house, we mark their respective heights on the column you see behind them. </p><div align="center">(Kankichi, Emma, Audrey)</div><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5180507492774828258" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0m6LYpwl9GiV-bywUYdSS3eBwadXZWE26pO0GwZF2_nuKzbiFMRiKd7_TkI1UNev4qgAC1MZJHTSZrCsoKGkPvlvo2wb62HcC9YJptY_6DF_3KiGwrPlZRxNhMUTANsryE3pqJLTE0w0/s400/Hisashiburi+Hiroko+039.jpg" border="0" /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5180507492774828274" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiITSJvqkKOkqamOJP2Lyo9aP21mmIIZOq7L4G9M2MAk_jlM3tDhalVod0WMtC7TssTb6K3WA5Ng0ZoehXu9secjv4ovV9RnVqbD3hIOwGB-D7SSSLU9fd2CBHsVyhQKfbm_g_nC6PzPtQ/s400/Hisashiburi+Hiroko+042.jpg" border="0" /> </p><p>Well, I'll keep trying to post on this thing regularly. And I'll try to work on involving myself in something in life other than work. Until next time, sayonara and otsukare sama desu!</p>Kenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05633534147933480439noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174033436319865429.post-88087365681473799462008-02-26T03:01:00.000-08:002008-02-26T15:12:17.742-08:00The Sound of Okinawa (Kind of)This is a clip of me playing the sanshin (a traditional Okinawa banjo like instrument). I'm just learning this song called "Ume no Kaori" loosely translated to - The Smell of Plum (Tree?). This is a famous Eisa song that traditionally only women dance to. You can see the real Eisa dance at the video bar located on this website on the right side of the screen. The videos rotate every few days but its the one where the guy has a purple bandana on with a light blue vest. You can see a megaphone in the center top portion of the screen. Anyways, I'm a little embarrased by posting this but I thought it would give people an impression of what the Ryukyu Shamisen or "Sanshin" sounds like and also what I sound like too. Be advised, this video is kinda long so it will take some time to get through the initial video buffering. And its important that you let the buffering process finish or else the video gets screwed up forever and you can't play the whole thing. I hope you enjoy it!<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxWZIEciKT3PDSCE8yeh6UUYuX8Mstisoo9EP2uRrEq8m9C5FTV_tScnFCaolFCCkjqYZpum6gOd6U2F8Hqfg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><p>PS. Just FYI, I'm no weirdo. It is embarrassing to look at myself. </p>Kenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05633534147933480439noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174033436319865429.post-67275174049843825252008-02-21T05:31:00.001-08:002008-12-10T08:55:09.576-08:00Girl, you'll be a woman soon<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5169428262818529698" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG8qg_UGaMnk_AkLqd4HpPTt_snCPEt5qwBLoLv_LJLrWQfOZ1WvemWIkocpkm4rMTrccoreJwkLKNNUZiWF8qNfWrH-ZZcjmBQqawfx9jUtt3CtfE0DGnTw1Y37hgWXknYcrMVwK8cqc/s400/Emma+2nd+Bday+026.jpg" border="0" />So Emma turned two years old yesterday. It was actually the first time I ever attended a birthday party for Emma. Last year I was stuck in the middle of the jungle working like a Japanese salary-man slave. As a matter of fact, it was the first time Akemi's family was able to attend a birthday for any of our children. So it was very special. The only thing missing was Kristine and her family. Man I miss you guys more than you know! And Emma and Audrey <div><div>do too!</div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div>Here's Emma blowing the candles out on her birthday cake!</div><div></div><div><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyEKcz25t7HeqkSojX0Ne8ImpIS0SbHU92NKuEtfg37E1lw2lVEdodkY5QGM56adUw7EzRbXjEnE98GoRS_zw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /><div></div><div>Also, Audrey and Emma have been recently reunited with their cousin Takuma. I think Takuma was doing fine by himself, but Audrey is sure happy to have him around! Here's a picture of the two of them on the swings at a park in Akemi's neighborhood. The poor guy is going to have childhood emotion scars once my daughters are done with him. </div><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5169427558443893138" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjRTCBWutwAY3L8NpJkrTA5DCEYBibLf1KoQua4vbXQkKH7RvBhB2uMXrgWkN4SLhivUMBwjyWhgiEy2BSNdWaO1Ke9xegb2Vx1KlOASZCKKNL5cowe2XHfI_yYGa-b36_jUoyfwW1Y9M/s320/Emma+2nd+Bday+008.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div>It's great to see the kids together. They really have fun together. I never really had any brothers, sisters, or cousins that were close to my age growing up. I think I probably missed out on something that many people have experienced. I'm glad to see my kids able to grow up with together with their Okinawan relatives. It makes me feel like I made the right decision.</div><div></div></div>Kenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05633534147933480439noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174033436319865429.post-74399864351567367622008-02-15T20:45:00.000-08:002008-12-10T08:55:15.176-08:00The Most Awesome Freakin Slide in the World!!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3rwfywOVLFZ6Fab_dgCAC5m0_o9WZsjx3cgD0w_fUKijNzmaUggwv6qpWl82ZA_t3OV6aBusyCHeaZY8hdWDTYXq4_HUH27ES1lsdCRo0gPtLnrecZoQL8cQTVzCheWC8SL8QKBJO9TQ/s1600-h/Manta+Park+003.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5167551538203836786" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3rwfywOVLFZ6Fab_dgCAC5m0_o9WZsjx3cgD0w_fUKijNzmaUggwv6qpWl82ZA_t3OV6aBusyCHeaZY8hdWDTYXq4_HUH27ES1lsdCRo0gPtLnrecZoQL8cQTVzCheWC8SL8QKBJO9TQ/s400/Manta+Park+003.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Can you believe this freakin slide? Is it not the "S"!? Speaking of "S", the park' management asks that you please take home with you any pet excretions you might come across.<br /><div><div><div><br /><div>This is Manta Park and its down the street from our new place. I didn't even think about parks when we found our house, but you know it really does add to quality of life when you have little ones like we do. And did I mention it has a really cool slide? </div><div></div><br /><div>I'm not going to bore you with more dialogue about my overall sense of happiness with the place we got. I'll just put some videos and pictures up on this thing and then shut up.<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dygyETQD6O8_ExfPjgDSd1R5jrhDrP-WCm42rFUMja010V_l7A1W06_IlkOsi514IT8BUVfDx4UJaDKWazbmA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit9yNmLxx0v0qHP6ILJ3MbDJbB48ZxlMlVvAvm39oTbArug7TMXLNlbKevHcPrlZfwd5GhIGzYgDeaB_QoV4tqOmcTlTRx_UIrmXyGbCVPnQXwIyJ2Qzm6AVmsOD4fDpEIjuDoNnR0tFs/s1600-h/Manta+Park+004.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5167443992222744882" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit9yNmLxx0v0qHP6ILJ3MbDJbB48ZxlMlVvAvm39oTbArug7TMXLNlbKevHcPrlZfwd5GhIGzYgDeaB_QoV4tqOmcTlTRx_UIrmXyGbCVPnQXwIyJ2Qzm6AVmsOD4fDpEIjuDoNnR0tFs/s320/Manta+Park+004.jpg" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOVu4ZW_7Y5SOqh7Gmb78Qvs-rSLz-FStt4L-eM4Iq52xDUgxcbOzkXra93QDhTp18WE2Evx981B9vZnWZvoFNR82EyYfdNkEGqvTyYBUI3MbXRFpHA4bbGBXguGuJ3uWn2ysBhwrAst4/s1600-h/Manta+Park+006.jpg"></a><br /><br />The kids love this park. Audrey is starting to get a little more adventurous with the playground equipment and I'm glad to see that. She's always been very cautious. Emma on the other hand could care less. She shows an unhealthy lack of concern for the physical well being of her body. I respect her carefree courageousness but everyday I am filled with father<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm2JJ4fZ1E0RqoiaRWEnERd8KXjSZv9OnLC3PQ1MUhtcK_51kEmXADZk1Q68LcmpAE3cGgtfmPsNwy9pU0LUlXwMmXDtUM4Z-R3zfLWXFdcElt7D0WGj-wzFh5WGRWIERvnjKrjVRWfDw/s1600-h/Manta+Park+006.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5167444846921236818" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm2JJ4fZ1E0RqoiaRWEnERd8KXjSZv9OnLC3PQ1MUhtcK_51kEmXADZk1Q68LcmpAE3cGgtfmPsNwy9pU0LUlXwMmXDtUM4Z-R3zfLWXFdcElt7D0WGj-wzFh5WGRWIERvnjKrjVRWfDw/s320/Manta+Park+006.jpg" border="0" /></a>ly concern for her welfare. </div><div></div><br /><div>And for those fans of the video of Audrey and Emma dancing to Soldier Boy (by the way, I was amazed at your ability to detemine that song from their rambling dance - amazing baby talk skills you have!), I have attached another video of Emma after landing at Narita Airport. She's in a good mood and decides to dance to "Hey Baby (pronounced Hay Baybay)". Enjoy. </div><div> </div></div></div></div></div><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dy1rDWk7k3nuuTzsGfva3woaegLVdd3QtKjk--5yb08E7SGB_jlUbdpjS_lfC571KJ6Qp3VuWTxRVwoQ3lXdw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>Kenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05633534147933480439noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174033436319865429.post-77774785487267201592008-02-15T20:16:00.001-08:002008-12-10T08:55:15.494-08:00Anti-Base Sentiment<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5167427409354014914" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLc-1b1zsg1fs3ZLMXkhvbXmXL3T32PYRBRWePzriW3_vm5kiDdm6IbqZ7Jo3e5pAY8qgASIZ6j0RBCI7ehNUt90w0Xp2jvRCD8QUZN9ebohY8JjQFjpbKA8Zz0mZxWLMLsMiIwszPtoo/s400/okinawa_protesters.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br />So we screwed up again. A 38 year old Marine based at Camp Courtney allegedley attempted to rape a junior high school girl in Kitanaka City last Sunday night. Obviously, this is causing a big stir among the Okinawan people and causing some political strife in this poorest of Japan's prefectures. The Marine (whom I worked with at Camp Fuji a few years ago apparently) is saying that although he did force the girl to stay in his vehicle after she pleaded to get out, all he did was try to kiss her. The girl finally got out of the car and reported to the police.<br />What is interesting is that there is a lot of controversy right now regarding the relocation of US Marine Corps Air Station Futenma to northern Okinawa (which is much less populated) where they intend to build a large landing strip on top of the coral reef (a very sensitive ecosystem and one of the world's few refuges for the Dugong (looks like a Mantatee). This recent crime by a US Marine will strengthen the hand of those in Okinawa who oppose the relocation, I think, maybe. I don't know.<br />Everyday in the newspapers discussions about US base issues with the locals make the top spots. I see it on the news everyday. But nothings really changes I guess. Life still goes on as usual here in Okinawa. I'm trying to keep this business of mine surviving and the military are my one and only client. And lots of Okinawan people make a good living from base related work. So economically, its a very difficult and complicated issue for a lot of people. The best jobs on island are on base or relate to working for the base somehow.<br />But after suffering so much during the Battle of Okinawa during WWII, the Okinawan's have a VERY strong sense of the horrible costs of war. Those who actually remember those days really have some incredibly horrific stories to tell. So despite the economical benefits of the base, for a lot of Okinawans, the very fact of having such a large military presence in their midst is like harboring a great big evil machine. Many are pushing everyday, protesting and pushing to rid Okinawa of the powerful military presence. But this will not happen anytime soon. It will just keep going the way it has since 1945.<br />If you sit and think about it. I am a small but direct result of the events that led to WWII and to the following US occupation of Okinawa. Without the war, how else in the world would a poor Okinawan farm girl named Yoshiko meet a young GI named Joe Bull? It wouldn't have happened in a million years. Anyways, I'm rambling. The world isn't perfect. Sure we'd all love to sing songs of peace and put down our guns so to speak. But it is what it is and I'm here in Okinawwa with a job to do. But it is fascinating this clash of two cultures here. Both the good, bad and the ugly.<br /><br /><div></div>Kenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05633534147933480439noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174033436319865429.post-79512846097085314442008-02-02T21:50:00.000-08:002008-12-10T08:55:18.600-08:00Our House in Koja<div align="left">We are still trying to set up our internet and so I'm writing from what the Japanese call and "internet/comic book cafe". They charge a lot so I'm not going to write much now. I just want to show pictures of this house we found. Akemi and I are very happy with the location and the house itself. The area is central to most everything and its a very quiet street and low traffic street we live on. We feel very lucky to have found this place for as cheap as we did.<br /></div><div align="center"></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5162638244929545154" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTm7IeWuKe8682FAzl_zoMkiSasPPJSZR4cTsocKEEVGEFYRAmvakFJfmcmO6YKcgpBFfLfOaqcuRrIvBIXo8O46dnN_8mzyQLVQhsHHlvwsnEi8c96DNbWh1D1W9opwOGtG66D82a12o/s320/New+House+in+Koja+015.jpg" border="0" /> <p align="center"> The front of the house</p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5162638249224512466" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtdILwYTSHbGkJshFSIG9FPVjzOa-HDAKmX0dxun2ClSdI1k3WOEKvfVwp1KCl2hltUfyRtDBMdrM3TlJ0V701ukf85qG5A9zAzV4u0qNO_PFyWPCW9HzH6xxR9vX7IbsU1SO4dFGnKy0/s320/New+House+in+Koja+029.jpg" border="0" /> <p align="center"> The front door / entrance<br /><br /></p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5162638262109414386" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcyfT97pnufYb1odtzDw19cLrmypzULdMZgHwgYlt_ez-8wasTEvZQ3r0wjhLUGjqQrGO5M3M4QDmLGUcNDiUCYnPxcdwDa4Ee8lUKlrvybRgkU53vzh_XQzgst4abCzBoZeFT2n2tUU4/s320/New+House+in+Koja+034.jpg" border="0" /> Our living room and japanese style dining area. The tatami mats are raised from the floor<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5162638257814447074" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1z2HbgKdQlB9fUG3NI-BRFbe3JbCVC9L8_N1bwmxlzEpxHfgsPB_UWS80hKUjwVdmKvDFza1fsD-CptmidjbIOrKNtjmT-P51nwksm1k6ydMytHqw4ajRpFj-B_PnObBrGw6Y5OBsaX4/s320/New+House+in+Koja+020.jpg" border="0" /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4cM0FLdKnIq0rm-3bGd8Hhau2SqDMjBeIIoeA5825VRmLiKtx_YTEL5JV2-WgS5HrP4iSDXofHrHaVfj0cjG8_xc-GRKgvzHhKrjH1icwEVaAJqdxQwK3FSbEs1tqEdircCDeGwkgxYE/s1600-h/New+House+in+Koja+020.jpg"></a> <p align="center">View from the genkan entrance. To the far left is the kitchen and bathroom, to the right are the two spare bedrooms.</p><p align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5162639537714701330" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUnBHvnsh6fILgb3JEYhNejsVFp1TAEmBHCbiaJM4YXxwf0Z2LASIV56_eN8uCpeevy4EhTa76WVyUBLkbNETB2KEm0culFHJYJw5mPzk4L80eRJ4MZplJUEEZH8-gy0kUNE7tVHb1zU4/s320/New+House+in+Koja+018.jpg" border="0" /><br />The view from the living room.</p><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge7jDozncYp4CFHBYFK2JBoiwlxH7G2LgWhgtjTaifiB4Rm7a75MCoA1WYa1SAqj8WEtPhdy08GtB6VnGMYbQl40nSLU5Niaz-AOSs8pQqjUO_KCsj65Wg85VXLpzO_rbpPgy-TIAOlxE/s1600-h/New+House+in+Koja+024.jpg"></a></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5162638266404381698" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLGdWzDZwVNMEqE4I0oaHyt-GHpCsYZ3duZfzS1xw8StNvYPd-NPksY-IWsRPyChelNjWuxAFWpTgsWGsO6hcFz8bCGcXH-98A8Em3pY7oE2i41evk6t4kXwcbtpRtoiZZhZp90mEJzbc/s320/New+House+in+Koja+024.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div align="center">Kitchen area with my new kick ass washer in the background<br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF4hoTqrCtZ2TekWWLZghmTw-HuVjITSA0Qvrmgo0u4fi-tKDcXzFmUOd3mo2HO6WUav7K_WSqVDjST5MaVo0hKb1TkyijAK7__ZdIoy1DVBYKQ_lVo4UqTWFECEuTVMwzHd3OmEqalag/s1600-h/New+House+in+Koja+028.jpg"><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5162639546304635938" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV6trMWufRZ7JseIOhyphenhyphenTOuIEb0vqh8qDu2ZMtAezdW5Xx40oaBi2CH1CX6SPUcoK38T2Dr7a6Hv-eomm9Y9xxlQFYpLa7bTGrUe9zoIQ5IUchS1x6okCXfC1Ciq4WXW0hVrcSe4HIcklM/s320/New+House+in+Koja+028.jpg" border="0" /> <p align="center"> </a>Large Kitchen Counter area. My office room is in the background. </p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5162639589254308930" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2RZnAqmwkR5veE4wLT6y16OYN28xPIVs5qyubq1vOpDFL4it7h9aYpg-sFU9NtKzw8D_X6BdEBoG6TnV2ppbYeyq9qQDAhEPjBfUNdfGH7HBtnxJuFQfFxM0LdrfQkPdrjhH8MmIuBqo/s320/New+House+in+Koja+009.jpg" border="0" /><br />Our sleeping area. This is our one big bedroom. Japanese typically sleep on tatami mats that are put in the closet during the day. This tatami is also raised from the floor just like in the living room.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5162641006593516642" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgufedo5Q98TBtsYG6eYiKbxGpAxtqave6WormhA_x7exsn346KHziAV_C1P15-If4VhKIDjlkpVX9D9i56GpbXHXCJtX858vFqGCN5o_8KFBYx2wiOtDa3ZPF6wt4eeSwq4v-X7IUd8C0/s320/New+House+in+Koja+019.jpg" border="0" /><br /><p align="center">The bathroom. Did you notice the urinal? Me too! </p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5162639567779472434" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsORTtdKUzp-kao3Ij1GNGOogqbFmXY_WKyYd-WPzgx33nbX4X4PPFmKW2hGzpk3O7oBdPOrHLxqO1Laue_f021Uivn3Bq2FsII2JmiFw_amKvSBPoQhtnHyHSbxSmQgEie_aajOUILYQ/s320/New+House+in+Koja+026.jpg" border="0" />Doors to the two spare rooms. To the right is the entrance. Behind me is the living area and bathroom.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5162639688038556754" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSbuEurcfo0ABRa9A2JVFkkmtOzOME8u9VxPxSMNuli7mahlxrB4122X-6nkIL-qgV4JgS5ivsXWHHoDj7BVV8gOZQGr2xtzN87PZfp6CYNHi5AY-X6HHU6ZmGs_74KO7w_p9nofyR7-s/s320/New+House+in+Koja+030.jpg" border="0" /> <p align="center"> The beginnings of my Okinawa Environmental Science Office!<br /><br /></p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5162641036658287730" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPcd9leVJs_4hGA_gQNjeRnI1XVIeBTep5Y32UsHRVMu9U9s5C7Dc0lbYRhXgzY2HOnZXYditDIwNP3kBE2VcL2iusdVINmRSDm94btzWWW4C1UlygI64nU3Wa88IPWtgu4rIm9TBoCxE/s320/New+House+in+Koja+016.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div align="center">The washroom sink and my high tech washer again.<br /></div><p align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5162641045248222338" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz2NVfcw_a0XmRyRuaVdM9egQrdyT8KTcVRQTDQnayC5kNFGiks_1oxhIJtrN5XCnbbMFfjHtgdEa2t3DTzzYWdngs57BteHNUXFFDfB2G6dtMekEOcx_GNMh56ahdCo9jdua3B5yVdQ8/s320/New+House+in+Koja+017.jpg" border="0" />The shower/bath room </p><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5162641109672731794" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwTExheDbp6vMg1BdPkq9-sIH8cPEbrNw6rC41dtvBRHzla7T13hKLfaXVwvPraPYVw9KTmunUVMcKCUMCHinc0h2qI8hQzW3QF3mZKadEux8LpS5x7LMHXK77vJ9PJssWmegCkEi2UQk/s320/New+House+in+Koja+021.jpg" border="0" /><br />The shower / bath is its whole separate room in Japan. No toilet. So you can go absolutely crazy with spraying water everywhere. Its my absolute favorite thing about this country. </p>Kenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05633534147933480439noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174033436319865429.post-25111663305087848682008-01-25T12:44:00.000-08:002008-12-10T08:55:19.428-08:00Early Struggles<div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6_TJCSynlK3dssJLYXHceJYka1zONg-nXCCQHdxfaSGT8azZ3R1HpuOGBnfINdUVUBIvCPuhyuRwxNr7tULgBCHfNzUnaurdw7ga4p5Lr9YwXfLYFfBKMucjkmuJPbGiLYg2_QUUFvEg/s1600-h/f-16-990421-f-5009p-015.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5159523796639490658" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6_TJCSynlK3dssJLYXHceJYka1zONg-nXCCQHdxfaSGT8azZ3R1HpuOGBnfINdUVUBIvCPuhyuRwxNr7tULgBCHfNzUnaurdw7ga4p5Lr9YwXfLYFfBKMucjkmuJPbGiLYg2_QUUFvEg/s320/f-16-990421-f-5009p-015.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">(Taking off in our plane from San Francisco Airport. Sayonara USA!)</span> </div><div align="center"></div><p align="left">Well we got back from Seattle and I instantly fell into a coma like trance. I think I was subconsciously trying to prolong my stay in California by being lazy. But Akemi, being the ever diligent wife that she is, made sure that everything was packed and cleaned on schedule. Hey, I'm not that bad, I did help out quite a bit okay. My major responsibility was to get the moving truck to our apartment on time on Thursday afternoon. Thursday came, no truck. I called an complained. Friday came, the truck did not. WHAT! People we are leaving on Sunday night for SF and getting on a plane the next morning for Christsake!! Sunday night at 6pm, the truck came. Sweet Jesus, I can't believe we are going to make it. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin5itl0n7KZhmx1fjEjlcmm4Ke6FTVR_AG1l2bWx4d9HgQX7sKhYl50cRExkmCn5AIYy89BbCiOT0KO2HL9LllZXnTahFpV7LQbpox14VqDUNHyGd6HDIvecpYp4FPADRjuNfDdjj1smw/s1600-h/ç»å+002.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5159625767753032322" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin5itl0n7KZhmx1fjEjlcmm4Ke6FTVR_AG1l2bWx4d9HgQX7sKhYl50cRExkmCn5AIYy89BbCiOT0KO2HL9LllZXnTahFpV7LQbpox14VqDUNHyGd6HDIvecpYp4FPADRjuNfDdjj1smw/s320/%E7%94%BB%E5%83%8F+002.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Saying goodbyes at the airport was sad, but luckily we were such in the hectic state of mind that real contemplation of the meaning of this goodbye hadn't had a chance to settle in the forefront of our brains and so tears were not shed. As we rushed through the airport and settled into our seats I was immediately awe stricken by my wife's truly brilliant ticket purchases. She booked us slightly more expensive seats (which I complained about to her at the time) that resembled business class seats with tons of wiggle space, leg room and individual TVs!! I wanted to marry her all over again right there in the plane. Later when Emma threw up all over herself, she didn't even get a splash on one unlucky soul. Oh and while we are on the subject of Emma... It's been four days since we took that flight and I'm still holding a grudge with her. She was so stubbornly angry on that flight. Oh she had me clenching my teeth in absolute fury on the plane! But with all those people in close proximity, all I could do was try my best to appease her. Oh I just wante<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ71SdIdqg6jeKRZOXw7kcDzyxbLCGS1o5rYuIpD039610RVJaLZqjyH6VCpBp987VAAdevp7CBGfO3OyI3CBp4X6olqVWIQ7dDWlbXjA2MuA4zYErjeNGzdA9gGy6jCoX7xZEAUZZtak/s1600-h/ç»å+004.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5159626274559173282" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ71SdIdqg6jeKRZOXw7kcDzyxbLCGS1o5rYuIpD039610RVJaLZqjyH6VCpBp987VAAdevp7CBGfO3OyI3CBp4X6olqVWIQ7dDWlbXjA2MuA4zYErjeNGzdA9gGy6jCoX7xZEAUZZtak/s200/%E7%94%BB%E5%83%8F+004.jpg" border="0" /></a>d to let her cry and cry but no, not when every childless person on the plane is looking at you in scorn thinking to themselves "My God, can't you handle your children?" Audrey on the other hand, absolute angel the entire way. Didn't cry once!! I know you are supposed to love your children equally but that day my friends, I had a favorite child.<br /><br />Okay well we are in Okinawa and lots of good things are happening. I don't want this entry to be too long so I'll post more next time!</p><p><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxxBPRQF_I3jShX-UT7crJCxmre83K-go5IEhhtLCLfYpLPl-k1vjtJQLoTcaL2dkEAJO2-mCiKL-6W_3xWdg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></p><p><span style="font-size:85%;">(Finally arrived at Narita Airport - Emma and Audrey celebrate!)</span></p>Kenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05633534147933480439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174033436319865429.post-77468851682403970922008-01-14T08:01:00.000-08:002008-12-10T08:55:19.664-08:00Getting Ready for the Big Move<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1VvpQqp8dQhEtKcD74FwxXvRQFI_A9dSZNDd3QAmicAsXtR_3WojVZkIn2Unj4WHdXHb5KkAMhpteYpFkd8XPTrxS4grpLiLMQM9B75jnifS74WyD1lCS5mC5DDD7QWlyn56c5KRIxJw/s1600-h/Last+Days+in+USA+107.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5155373916374925490" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1VvpQqp8dQhEtKcD74FwxXvRQFI_A9dSZNDd3QAmicAsXtR_3WojVZkIn2Unj4WHdXHb5KkAMhpteYpFkd8XPTrxS4grpLiLMQM9B75jnifS74WyD1lCS5mC5DDD7QWlyn56c5KRIxJw/s320/Last+Days+in+USA+107.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>1 week exactly to the day we leave California. Lots to do this week before we say good bye to the good ole' US of A. In one sense that represents all the stress and physical strain of packing up of all our household belongings, cancelling insurance policies and closing phone accounts. But emotionally it means saying goodbye to loved ones and cherished places of our past. Moving is easy, saying goodbye... not so easy. </div><div> </div><div>Fortunately in our last week here we were very graciously given the opportunity to visit my family in the Northwest for a few days before we make our way back to the land of the rising sun. In Seattle, my daughter Audrey was very warmly received by her Bull cousins and to her father's suprise, took to the stage with them like she was born to perform! We were very pleased to see all the Bull children so healthly and HAPPY! You really made us feel welcome.</div><div> </div><div>Here we are at the Seattle Center with the Space Needle in the background joined by Leslie, Laurie, Debbie, Lara, Kimmo, Stevie, Chistopher, Ava, Thomas in a day of Seattle sightseeing. Thanks to all the Bull family for traveling so far to see us off! We will be seeing you in a few years I imagine. I hope this blog can serve to many as an easy way for you to see whats going on in our lives and stay connected from across the globe. And perhaps it may even inspire those who have never traveled to Japan, to give us a visit someday! </div><div> </div><div>Until next time...</div>Kenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05633534147933480439noreply@blogger.com4