HAPPY KIDS!!

There was more WW2 talk today in one of my advanced classes, but I don't want to bore you all. I shared with my mom and I had tears in my eyes when I talked with them today, but it isn't bad at all. It's just so sad. If you're DYING, I can tell you, but since you probably aren't, I WON'T BORE YOU.
Besides that, I'm working 2 business classes. One class I get to travel for, and it's in Inadakate city, which is a bit far to the west. And another one is in Aomori city, I just take a taxi. I'M NERVOUS!! I'll be doing these every week, and I'll end up missing a lot of my classes that I really enjoyed on these days.... so this had better be worth it. I hope it's fun... but let's all be honest with ourselves... Melissa is FAR  from professional. I don't have high expectations, let me put it THAT way.
My kids class was fun, I had the secretary explain to them that it was our last REAL class so I bought them Pop Rocks and Goldfish crackers. We learned a liiiiittle, but I told them that their last class with me on Monday will be a party class. Yume gave me Murasaki ONE LAST TIME. I have to think of some AWESOME pictures. SO, PLEASE, HELP ME THINK OF THAT!!!
Our class, drawn by Yume:

Kotaro being funny:

The 4 of us AND Murasaki (I'm holding him!!):

Merresa is looking fabulous today, isn't she?! :-D

Sayonara party!

So last night was our second teacher's going away party and the students came out in force to party it up. Here's a few shots:

They don't eat the eyes, but I didn't even wanna touch those shrimp.

More edible things here:

Natsuko and the Buddha head

Nini and me

Keiko helping me slurp noodles.... nearly died in the process!

Mutsumi wrote small Japanese words on my hands and I tried to read them... didn't go so well

Edo and me with our matching glasses

Tatsuya and the maracas at karaoke... those things are dangerous. I was shakin' it a little too hard and I literally shattered a glass... ice and glass went EVERYWHERE!

Tonight I cleaned all of my bathroom and tomorrow is laundry/grocery day. It's been getting warm during the day but the evening temps drop down pretty low, so that makes up for it. Now I gotta watch some soccer before bed!!! :)

A few new faces.

I really enjoy when people message me on Facebook and ask the all important question:
What time is it?
Sometimes I don't even get a 'hello.' Truly, I enjoy when people do this, and I especially like it when people I rarely talk to pop up and have this intense need to know the time in Japan.
Our new secretary is AWESOME. She knows English, which is a huge plus when wanting Melissa to like you, and she's smart at the job. She also worked at one of our company's schools in a town that has now been wiped off the map by the tsunami. She said the quake struck during a class with 2 little older ladies, so everyone had time to run to the mountain to survive. Her apartment was left standing but she lost many things due to the dirty water that came inside the building -- I am very thankful she is here now.
On a greater note, today this guy came into the school and said hello to me. I had no idea who he was - I thought he was having a level check. Turned out he was the copy man, who will (I guess?) help us with our copier and computer and that kind of stuff.... He knew a little English and I have never had such a cute guy talk to me in Japan. He gave me his business card, and his first question to me was:
'How old are you?'
WE'RE BOTH 25! SCORE!! And I didn't see a ring on it!! (hahaha oh, Beyonce) I'm seriously thinking of throwing the copier out of the fourth floor and calling him for help. I'll do whatever it takes.... although the new secretary doesn't seem in favor of that idea. I mean, the guy was wearing cologne... I just thank God I put on perfume today!

My little buddy, Ko the other day brought in this for me to see (I didn't get to drink it). I can name every player in the picture!:

Ko and Yu drew on the board and this week's competition took on a soccer theme (I wrote World Cup 2011 under their Japanese... says the same thing, the kids just can't spell that)

My student and her grandma brought me a souvenir: a sweet cookie made of........ powered eel. IT'S DELICIOUS!!! Seriously!!!!! 

An uncomfortable moment in class

Oh that's weird. I just started playing a song on my iTunes, and the ticking of my newly hung clock is ticking in rhythm to the song. How often does THAT happen?! You know, when you're driving, and you actually click the turn signal in time with the song you're listening to.... but the clicks are erratic and way too fast? Just thought I would share in this bizarre occasion.
Congrats! You all survived earthquake 2011!!!  -- Oh, you mean this WASN'T the earthquake of the year? Wow - the articles online sure make it sound that way. My friend Logan shared a link telling of the devestation... there really are no words to describe the horror that people went through: East Coast took on some serious damage!
Today was awkward in my first class because 2 of the ladies are like, 65 years old. And they were telling me about school lunches when they were growing up. One of the women lived in Toyko so she got soup and bread every day (Let's call her Ka), but the other woman lived in Goshogawara and got bread for lunch every day (Let's call her Mu). In the country, the schools could only afford bread and milk for lunches. And THEN IT HAPPENED. The topic I have dreaded most - it was because of the war. It was interesting to hear each of their views, but Mu, the woman who only had bread to eat really said something that struck me:
Back then, Americans can not imagine what our life was like after the war - how much suffering. Because you won, we lost.
I know people (back home) say that they bombed Pearl Harbor so they're at fault too... and that's true in a way. But America didn't suffer. Oh, people died, sure. But the entire country wasn't freezing and starving to death, unlike Japan.
I just sat there dumbfounded - what do you say to something like that? Finally I just muttered that I was really sorry. It took all three of the women 5 minutes to tell me it wasn't my responsibility, so I said I'm apologizing on behalf of my country and it seems Mu doesn't like me very much. I asked Ka, who had the soup and bread for school lunch if she still liked me:
Yes, I still very much like -- I VERY MUCH LOVE YOU!
In the grande scheme of things, both countries did bad things. And my ultimate goal, by coming to this country is to learn how to be a better person. They don't hate us, they don't want revenge. I would like to have that kind of compassion in my heart some day soon.
PS - Mu said she still liked me very much too.... and I still feel guilty.

Sleepy-bye night night time.

Very quick update!
Tonight after work my friend, Nini, was having a farewell party because she leaves for college tomorrow. As an 'old fart' I gave her lots and lots of wisdom that I learned a little more than half a decade ago (OMG I AM OLD!). Although I'm not sure how much of it applies to a college in Japan, but here's hoping it's just as fun. She took lots of pictures and some are pretty funny - I'll upload a few when she uploads them to Facebook.
And what else... I found out today that starting September 7th, I will teach business classes! And that means riding a train to Hirosaki, and then switching to ANOTHER train and riding to a small town... I think the travel time is like an hour or more? The classes don't seem so bad, but I HAVE to wear a suit (which blows) and lord knows I'm gonna get lost on at LEAST my first day. Joe said it's a pain in the winter because the trains don't like to run when it's super snowy, and walking from the station to the place takes a bit of time due to the fact that there aren't any sidewalks (Oh, I can hear my mom's worried voice already). That problem won't start until... meh, beginning of November.
THIS WEEK IS VERY BUSY AT WORK AND MELISSA REALLY DISLIKES IT.

Thanks for the box Mom and Dad!!!

I was laying on the couch a bit ago watching a cartoon on my laptop and a spider crawled on my screen and I thought 'Well, THAT'S odd! That spider doesn't fit into the story arc at ALL.' aaaand then I realized it was real and I kind of freaked and got a paper towel and had to wait for it to crawl on the other side of the screen so I didn't destroy my laptop's screen. Wow. Second spider in 4 months... I guess I can handle that? WINTER NEEDS TO HURRY UP!!!!!
But not so fast - earlier tonight I went shopping at Happy Drug to buy rubbing alcohol (which took me 5 minutes because there were TONS of clear liquid bottles... Finally I just looked up alcohol in Japanese and then matched the symbols) and I bought floss. There was one container of floss and it's Reach  and THAT'S AMERICAN!!!! It cost like, 5 bucks but that's worth it!! And on the way home, I passed 2 middle school girls feeding 2 kittens outside of their school yard. I can just TELL the kittens don't have a home and I was so upset, I rode by an hour after dinner and the girls were still there.
I could bring one home. Cats are quiet and easy to care for compared to Lexi, and my friend Katrina once told me that she was sure my parents would break and let me keep another animal - IF I JUST BROUGHT IT HOME. I haven't yet, and I'm sure I'll never see them out again but if I do.... just hope I don't see them alone.
And the highlight of the night was hammering in a screw with a screwdriver for my wall clock. DIYing all the time here! I need a HAMMER.
PS- The cats looked like normal American cats :)

1/3 of the way through!!

It's late but I feel like posting a little bit.
There really hasn't been ANYTHING new which is kind of depressing. Tonight I went shopping with my friend, Kiko, and we went to this store called Don Quijote which literally has EVERYTHING, EVERYWHERE. The store really isn't organized, and it's super tight so God help you if you are in the same aisle as someone else. Especially if both of you are holding baskets. I bought lots of great things.
After that we went to some restaurant that's maybe called Donkey's? It reminded me of restaurants back home - with the weird knick knacks everywhere. They served Japanese hamburgers, which is pretty much salisbury steak. Mine came with cheese (and mushrooms, Kiko kind of forget to mention THAT) in the middle. AND OMG. THERE WAS THIS SIDE DISH -- IT WAS CORN PUDDING. My mom makes that some times and it tasted EXACTLY LIKE IT! MOM!!!! I was nearly moved to tears!! And it wasn't because your cooking is horrible.... but because it was GREAT!! I can't wait till you can come and try it! Waaow. It made my night - too bad it was like, 3 fork-fulls :)

My Saturday kids always like to draw me and they were really excited because they knew how to write 'sensei' in English. So sweet!

Anyone ever try these Pringles? I've got 4 cans currently in my house.... Addiction? The Chock-o-bee's are good too!

CORN PUDDING!!! With peas... and a red pepper that I picked out:

My hamburger steak and fries :)

Happy 4 months, to me!

A big earthquake today.... IN PUBLIC!

I love how I was PRETTY SURE all of my bills were on automatic withdraw and here I've come to find out NONE OF THEM WERE. People, I came within 3 days of my water being shut off. So today while I was in the bank waiting for the secretary of the school to come and help me pay my bills, a notice came over the TV and it had a little ticker with lots of symbols and 2時36 running over and over. I finally figured out that meant the time. It was exactly 2:36. The building started to shake, they broke into the baseball game and I got to find out I was experiencing a magnitude 6.8 earthquake IN THE NATIONAL BANK OF AOMORI CITY. So I was sitting there like a FOOL, with my big pool ball eyes (thanks Kat, for that description) staring at the posters behind me that were swaying with intensity. And yes, people were staring at me because I started to get sea sick - and no matter how tight I closed my eyes, the nausea wouldn't go away. It's a terrible feeling because you just sit there and think, 'are we still moving?'
Then the Japan country map popped up and the familiar sight of flashing lines along the coast appeared which meant there was a tsunami warning. In the end, they cancelled the warning, but it was for 50 cm (and since me and math no longer 'hang' I had to find out what that was in AMERICAN on the internet). This wasn't nearly as scary as the earthquake 2 months ago that woke me up at 6:50 in the morning because today's wasn't violent. Just a constant, strong shake. But I still get an adrenaline rush and immediately run up to the first person who speaks English and yell:
"DID YOU FEEL THAT?!?!!???"
Wow I'm so cool . At least I didn't take PICTURES. So, in another week or two, whenever my parents can pencil me in their busy  schedules to chat (I'm just their only child, NO BIG DEAL)... I can tell them about it. But until then, feel honored that you know news before MY OWN PARENTS.

Talented kids back home!

I remember when I was around 12, Tamagotchi's were HUGE. And it was such a big deal to bring them to school because they were awake and pooping during teaching hours. So of course ANYONE who was cool brought theirs to school because God forbid that thing DIED while you were learning your division tables. But nowadays the 12 (and 13 and 14) year olds have Facebook. Right now I'm chatting to a really cool girl at my old school (Hi Bianca! I won't get this taken away from me, because I'm sitting on my couch hahah) and I think it is just hysterical and beyond talented that she can be on Facebook during class.
Back when I worked there, I was quite obviously the cool teacher because I didn't give a hoot if the kids cussed around me. I mean, I didn't ENCOURAGE it and I did get a bit upset if they dropped the 'F' bomb, but you can't expect them to censor themselves all the time (Teachers certainly don't - when the students are out of the room (Little teaching fact there)). But if you think about it - when I was a kid, we had desks. And Tamagotchi's were like... the size of a golf ball. Now, at least at my old job, they have tables - not desks. And cell phones are the size of... well, cell phones. And honestly, the teachers back at Wilson were WAYYYY more lenient than the teachers at CPS. Plus it was the 90's and I remember the biggest scandal that rocked our grade was a boy and a girl caught kissing under a coat on the play ground (ew. And I still remember who they were.... Evan and Jeanna). The scandals at CPS.... Well, I'm trying to keep this blog AGE APPROPRIATE.
Japan update - um, today was first day back to work since "summer vacation" and it was alright, it hasn't stopped raining in 48 hours and it's COLD. Like, 65 degrees. I almost want to turn on my heater, but that's retarded since 3 days ago it was 90. IN MY APARTMENT.
Here's MY 6/7th graders and their wish for the year:

Ah, just like the ones back home - but without the fighting. Or lewd behavior in class :)

That was a nice vacation :)

As an 'Old FART,' I ended out my summer vacation in style. I finished my laundry (I have never been caught up since moving here so this is a monumental achievement), cleaned my floors, rug and couch, did the dishes and COOKED. YEAH!!!
Second time in 4 months baby! It helped because today was non-stop rain, so I didn't feel like biking anywhere - even to get bread to make a sandwich. Plus it is COLD. This is the first day in weeks that the temperature in my apartment has gone below 79 degrees and currently it's 75. Nothing short of a miracle.
What else is new - we had an earthquake at 4:30 this morning! For some reason we tend to get hit in the early morning hours. I had juuuust started to drift off and I started shaking in my bed. I always get a little panicky the longer they last and this one was 2 minutes long. Not so much shaking, but I hate when they last a long time.

Pictures!! My cooking, starring pasta from Italy, Bertolli sauce (I miss LaRosa's sauce) and cheese:

I saw this at the store tonight and just had to buy it and take a picture for everyone. Pretty obvious WHY:

It's taken 2 MONTHS BUT I FINISHED MY GOLDEN RETRIEVER 3D PUZZLE!!!! Awwwww it's almost like 'Yittle Yexi.'

I don't wanna go back to work tomorrowwwww.

Missing my old students.

Ah today is a bittersweet day!! My old school starts a new year today and I don't know... I want to be there, because I want to see the kids. I remember this time last year I drove to work every day and listened to the album The Boy Who Knew Too Much by Mika. Ironically, I listened to it because Mika has such happy music and I was utterly depressed to be going back. And now that I'm listening to it tonight, I'm feeling a bit depressed - perhaps for what I'm missing this new school year (continuous hair loss, borderline starvation, disagreements with other workers, DAILY screaming, quietly hating my job, sharing with the 6th graders that I hate my job...) Okay that last one only happened after I knew I got my Japan job. Oh, but I miss those 6th graders. Although in all honesty, I never got to work with them other than some mini-lab thing, and their lunch - so I didn't see them often. And I miss a handful of my ex co-workers too. They know who they are.
I didn't like it there. But I don't like not being there. I'm even shedding a few tears over this miserable fact. See? Teachers still think about their students, even after they've gone. Good luck to them all - they need it! Especially those teachers :D

Pizza Hut and Conveyer Belts.

FINALLY HAD MORE AMERICAN FOOD!! Er, restaurant American food. A Pizza Hut opened at the beginning of this month 45 minutes away BY BIKE. And I met my friends there last night - I ordered a large 'cause I had been saving myself all day for it. And Fatty McPorker  here ate all but 3 little slices. I swear if I hadn't gotten thirsty I would have finished the entire pizza! My friends admitted to be impressed. YES! It was not as good as back home: less cheese and stuffed crust has mainly cheddar cheese. But whatever - it was greasy and nasty and DELICIOUS.
The other night I went out with my friends to a sushi bar. My second time eating at a sushi place and my first with THIS:

Very cool. They liked to make fun of me because I ordered so much food and didn't eat all of it. Couldn't help it! The food spun around on a conveyer belt (and I've ridden one before, when I worked at Target... the higher ups weren't so appreciative of my fun-loving antics back then) so it was enjoyable to grab all the fish I could!
And then when you wanted food that wasn't available on the conveyer belt - you ordered on the touch screen and it arrived via shinkansen (a really tiny one). So advanced, this country!!

I'm a little sun burned!

Today was beach day and I loved it so much I think I'm going back tomorrow!!
Riding on the train is pretty easy. Kiko talked me through buying a ticket and going to the right platform, and 2 stops later she got on the train with me. Anyway, we went to Asamushi and you cross through a lot of mountains (which means a tunnel!!) to get there. I hate the ocean so I only went in twice, I just laid out on my towel. It was interesting because I saw my first jellyfish(es)! There were like, 10 on the other side of the ocean wall. They just kind of float there... don't do much. But they were a pretty white and these guys apparently don't hurt when they sting you - still, I just liked to watch them :)
Here is the platform to get on the train in Aomori City.

The beach! It had a cool random mountain in the middle of the ocean!

Foot onsen. It was SO  hot omg it turned my skin bright red and I think it burned off too much skin because I had a huge blister where my sandal was rubbing that I've never had before -- OWWW. But those are my toes-ies hehe:

After the beach we went to a sushi place that had a conveyer belt and it was FUN!! I took a video, and of course my friends made fun of me for video taping it :P

I miss having parents here.

Today was fun!! I met Nini's parents and it's nice to have parents around once in a while. Her dad is Greek, so he loved my name and was telling me 'Meli' means honey and 'Sa' means bee. Thanks Mom and Dad for naming me 'honey bee.' What a lame name. But he was a really funny guy and he even brought out the family photo album (they have like, 9 kids or something) and was showing me everyone... and himself, back when he had more hair.
Nini's mom was grilling and they grilled all kinds of stuff - TONS OF MEAT/SEAFOOD! WOO!!! But lots of vegetables too (which I tried to eat). The highlight was the tomato in the salad - I ate like, 5 pieces (because they had SALT! that I could pour on them) and then I asked her mom for another whole tomato because Kiko got jealous and wouldn't let me finish the rest of the tomato. Then we ate tomato ice cream and that was just weird.
I hung out there all afternoon/evening and when it was dark a few of us went to the beach and just kind of sat around - No, they swam. I SAT AROUND watching people set off fireworks at the beach because I'm scared of the ocean. HOWEVER! The ocean has those protective nets around it, so they're assuring me that nothing other than really small fish can get in. Still.... scared.
It's been lots of fun but today made me realize how much I miss parents, even when they yell at you to be quiet. And I'd like to talk to my parents tonight BUT OF COURSE NO ONE IS HOME/AROUND. They have such a talent.
This is the view from Kiko's house (I stayed over one night and I took this during the sunrise), but both of them live in the suburbs and I MISS GRASS!

Vacation day ONE!

I don't know WHAT happened today but it reached a whopping 92 degrees in my apartment. Almost don't want to admit that because I can just hear my mom yelling in the background "BUY AN AIR CONDITIONER!" but it's hard since they have to install it and they need a window. Plus Fall will be here soon. Thankfully I left my apartment around 3 to go shopping with my friends Kristina (Nini) and Kiko. We went to a boatload of clothing stores and it was REFRESHING to hear that Kiko hates shopping as much as I do. I bought 4 polos (mainly long sleeved) for work and I bought a t-shirt that says: Ohio Valley Education. I mean, what were the odds of finding THAT here?!
There's these really cool photo machines in Japan that air brush you up and you can add really cool effects. Kristina's brother, Chris showed up and we crammed into some booths to take pictures. I love them because all of these 'air brushings' make your eyes larger. Here in Japan their eyes are a bit smaller.... my eyes are MASSIVE in these things. I look like a freaking alien. But it's hilarious.
Last night I went karaoke-ing with Chris and I didn't plan on being out all night, because I had worked that day and I was sooo tired. But we ending up staying until it closed (4 AM) and we walked out into the dawn of the city. So yeah, I went to sleep when the sun was up. I still can't get used to the sun rising SO early! Karaoke was fun - he likes metal songs so I'd try to scream along to some of the songs I knew. And because he knows Japanese, he found this really obscure song that I couldn't believe the place had... I freaked. In fact, I owe him 1,000 yen (like, 10 bucks) because I was certain this song wouldn't be in the directory.
Here are two of the pics we took. You can actually get the photo booth to e-mail you two that you picked. I picked the one of me with the peace sign and Kiko picked the ice cold turkey. Anyway, in order: Chris, Nini, Me and Kiko.

SO FUN!! Tomorrow is Nini's going away barbeque (she heads off to college in a month) and on Saturday we're all going to the beach. Should be a nice time -- thank goodness for my summer vacation!!

I need a vacation.

There is nothing interesting to write about tonight. Tomorrow night at 9:01 pm, my week long break starts!! And I don't have any major plans, so THAT'S great! It's still been really hot and maybe during my vacation I'll buy another fan. Hmm... I had a not-so-good day at work and I was in a bad mood for a while - at least until Aunt Jenni reminded me that I 'was pissed EVERY week at CPS.' Nice.
I'm not frustrated with any of my students, but it's frustrating the way work has turned lately. I'm working a lot of classes and I'm tired. And our secretaries are new and obviously don't know the ropes because tonight one of them scheduled a level check 15 minutes before my first class tomorrow. So I talked to the other teacher and he (more nicely than I did) told her that was cutting it too close. I just looked at her and told her I can't do that. And she replied 'just a quick level check!'
LIKE THAT'S POSSIBLE. (Oh I wish you all could have seen my expression! I know you miss that face - admit it!)
Just have to remember how frustrated I was 6 months ago. I hate how when you leave a job (or a situation/person) you seem to forget how utterly miserable you were and you think 'hey maybe I should go back!'
Please don't tell me I'm the only one who has a horrendous short term memory.
On a positive note - I've found a way to get the junior high students to listen to me... I make wads of paper out of candy wrappers and throw them at a kid if they won't stop speaking in Japanese. Teacher of the Year award, please?! Good thing those kids like me!

Last post of Nebuta related things.

The night I was with Miwa during Nebuta, there was this little girl and her older sister in front of us. We were behind this little railing, and they were right in front, sitting on the road. She kept looking back at me a lot during the parade and after it was over, I was sitting on a ledge and this little girl kind of sneaks around and sits next to me and says:
'Konban wa' (Good evening)
Her mom, sister and her grandma were all around watching her and laughing. So I laughed and said good evening and she just kind of sat there with a cute smile on her face. Finally I asked her what her name was (Onamae wa?) and she answered with her entire name and I didn't understand ANY OF IT. Her mom helped and said her name was Nono-chan so that was really sweet. I like that kids aren't really afraid to talk to me - but adults are. Unless they're wasted, then they're just obnoxious. So, here's a video - and you can see Nono-chan... can't miss her with that pink kimono and braided hair :)

Miwa and me are saying the word 'saiko' which is pronounced like 'psycho' in English. It means 'THE BEST'. So Miwa isn't calling me crazy, she's calling me the best! D'awww.
PS - I got the best "package" from Aunt Jenni. The minute I opened the Tina Fey card I started cracking up.... that's one of my favorite lines from 30 Rock :) THANK YOU AND I LOVE YOU!!!

Aomori's back to normal and I'm HAPPY ABOUT IT!

It's hot. And for whatever reason at night, it gets ugly humid outside so opening windows isn't a great relief. Tonight was the last night of Nebuta and I went to watch the fireworks with my friend Rosie. She works at another English teaching school. There were hundreds of thousands of people at ASPAM (think WEBN fireworks, but you're smack in the middle of it) and we kind of found an open patch of concrete (aka - wasn't claimed by a tarp) and we watched for about an hour before we were both like:
'eh, want to go eat?'
The fireworks were just like any other fireworks. They have different designs here like a butterfly and a weird spiral and other things I'm forgetting. But it's the same. They make the same sound. So we ate dinner and then biked around and talked about funny things. Too bad she's leaving in October :/
Here are the pictures I promised:

FINALLY MOM! It's English and Japanese writing - TOGETHER!!!

The boys were sleepy. Well, Ryuya was.

More blimp action! Had to take these pictures because Genbi kept pointing it out to me anytime it flew over head. 

Extra close up of a Nebuta float. Today they burned them and tore them up... a stupid tradition.

Our sushi snacks.

WOOOO!!! Miwa's mom, me, Miwa's husband and the famous Miwa. She got her hair did before the parade - so I look like poo compared to her. :(

By the way, got a really great card from Cheryll -- THE PICTURES OF THE APARTMENT ARE COMING!!! Just as soon as it cools down enough for me to clean without dying of heat exhaustion :)

The rich keep gettin' richer

There is so much to discuss on here, it just isn't even funny. First tonight was Nebuta's grand finale at night and I went with Miwa and her family. Miwa lent me a kimono and apparently I was dressed by an expert that she called in. It was fun, I ate some sushi (not very happily, however). When the parade was over, we were leaving and we walked upon this massive crowd gathered around a man laying on the pavement. I was holding hands with Miwa's 5 year old son, Genbi and I was wondering what was going on... then I noticed a massive opening in the back of the man's head and his blood stained clothes - I threw myself in front of Genbi so he wouldn't see it. He tried to get around me because he was curious and I ended up taking him away, telling him it was okay. I was mainly trying to tell myself that. Miwa, who is a good citizen was all up in the chaos - I think calling an ambulance. There were at least 75 people crowded around that scene.. Horrific.
ANYWAY! It took me some time to bounce back to happy Melissa, but we went to Miwa's bar. NICE. Want to know what drink was offered to me?

DOM PERIGNON. I know, Mom, it's alcohol and all that but do you have ANY idea how expensive this stuff is? Plus - this was served at Princess Diana's wedding. Word. ;)
Anyway, I impressed the crowd when I sang the song 'Shiroi Ryuu'. That is my best Japanese karaoke song and I was proud of myself for singing when I was so embarrassed and NOT a professional at all, but I guess it doesn't matter when you can sing every word correctly.
At the end of the night, I was showing one of Miwa's employees and Miwa's husband how to play Angry Birds and they were just awful at it. Then Miwa's husband shared with me his BLACK American Express CARD and really loved to tell me how he knows lots of famous Japanese people -- like Mai Kuraki (who is hugely popular here in Japan and I've listened to her songs for years now).
- I will post more pictures and a video tomorrow! Yaaaay.

Atsui. (It's hot)

I remember my dad telling me when he was little, his family didn't have air conditioning.

I know what it's like Dad. I don't like it. So you all back home, with you (MOM!) telling me it's SOOOooooOOoo hot - remember the luxury you have. But keep running the air because I want Lexi to keep cool. And you too, I guess :)

Nebuta x 2

Beyond thrilled I went to Nebuta tonight. I was thinking against it, but my buddy from England came in town to watch it so I went with him and his wife.
Me and Colin.

Shark week in Japan too!

Little girl couldn't handle the excitement.

Considered the ugliest dog in Japan.... they'd freak if they saw the ugliest American dogs.

Obviously this was the cute part of the parade :)

MY FAVORITE.

UNBELIEVABLE!!

Cute little dog :)

Even CUTER dog!!

For the people (like Mrs. Hatton) who wonder why everything is so mean.... a happy scene on a float :)

Tomorrow is the day with Miwa and we're doing it Miwa style ... reserved seats. Yep, that's right. You have to BUY those suckers, but it's apparently one of the best spots.... and I'll be wearing my hat again!! YAY!!!!