A Typhoon, Creatures, & a Weightloss Plan

Typhoon
The Dai Ichi Mama network was galvanized into action at 5:30 a.m. yesterday morning with an email that school was cancelled due to the incoming typhoon. There was no sitting around the radio awaiting the news bulletins as back in my days of elementary school. Typhoon Roke came in fast and furious. In four years of living in Japan, it was the roughest typhoon yet. Today's sunshine and blue sky highlighted the debris created by the storm. The Moose proudly dragged branches and sticks from all parts of the yard to add to his (stick) collection which is so tightly packed and interwoven that it moved nary a hair from it's place of depository. Apparently the electric went out in the local area and many dads were trapped in Tokyo because the trains weren't running. One friend's husband drank at a bar in Shinagawa train station for several hours awaiting the trains; he got home at 1:30 a.m.. Another friend's husband waited four hours for a taxi cab and then paid $250 to get home; he got home at 8:30 p.m. I laughed and asked my first friend about the bar bill- maybe that taxi ride wasn't so expensive after all.

At home, we blissfully rode out the storm playing computer games (musters), searching the internet for bathroom ideas (me), and working at the office (my husband). The view from my desk on the second story was a bit nerve wracking as all of the tree tops bent and swayed with the gusts of wind. At a friend's house today, she pointed out awnings that were ripped off of patios, three in a row. I noted yard work being attended to by many.


A Bug Thing
The biggest spider yet has made an appearance tonight. You hear it first. Creeping across the ceiling it makes a kind of tapping sound- I guess I would too if I had eight legs and walked upside down. I feel sick. I really do not like things that crawl especially the kind that are crunchy and black- no, we did not kill it, but we tried. We have had a giant roach hanging about of late as well. It has made an untimely appearance or two. On a recent afternoon the roach decided to come out during the day and was spotted by the Mule's friend who was standing in the doorway to inquire if the Mule could come and play. That was the day I decided to add "buy a roach trap" to my shopping list.

Japanese Roach Hotel

The "bug thing" goes so far as to prevent me from assembling a roach trap. I saved this duty for my husband. The roaches in Japan are big. The American roach traps aren't big enough so don't waste your money at the base buying them. You have to get the ones available out in town. Having purchased the roach trap, I had to wait until I could get five minutes with my husband (who works way too much- all tax payers should be delighted to know) to ask him to please assemble them. He was impressed with the roach "hotel" and brought it over to me for closer inspection- it has a "welcome" mat and a picture of a cute roach inviting the roaches to come in. He insisted that it is cleverly designed. Of this I don't doubt- the Japanese have great design instincts that highlight function and efficiency in my experience. I will have to ask the mamas about these giant spiders. I am not sure I can sleep with a spider running about my bedroom that is bigger than my hand. If I hear that thing crawling across the ceiling in my sleep... God help me, I am going to need something seriously strong to keep me from coming unglued.


A Weight Loss Program
My husband commented on my "honey bunny weight loss plan" tonight. I was trying to engage him in a discussion of house plans. I think I can sum up his thoughts with this, "Honey bunny, you don't know if we can do that. You worry about this and you worry about that. Wait until you have the measurements. You are like Prancer (our dead cat), she used to sit there and worry, worry. You are burning up all this energy and you don't even know what the actual measurements are of the room. No wonder you look so skinny. We just need to buy a house honey and you loose weight- you could market it- 'the honey bunny weight loss plan.' You look great though, really." I think I can add a sigh here. That boy (my husband) isn't much different from our son- I start off on one agenda and end up on another planet. I think they start demolition on our house on Monday. I hear the yard looks great. I guess I won't worry much, we'll figure it out eventually and besides I already spent my two thousand calories on it today.

Typhoon
The Dai Ichi Mama network was galvanized into action at 5:30 a.m. yesterday morning with an email that school was cancelled due to the incoming typhoon. There was no sitting around the radio awaiting the news bulletins as back in my days of elementary school. Typhoon Roke came in fast and furious. In four years of living in Japan, it was the roughest typhoon yet. Today's sunshine and blue sky highlighted the debris created by the storm. The Moose proudly dragged branches and sticks from all parts of the yard to add to his (stick) collection which is so tightly packed and interwoven that it moved nary a hair from it's place of depository. Apparently the electric went out in the local area and many dads were trapped in Tokyo because the trains weren't running. One friend's husband drank at a bar in Shinagawa train station for several hours awaiting the trains; he got home at 1:30 a.m.. Another friend's husband waited four hours for a taxi cab and then paid $250 to get home; he got home at 8:30 p.m. I laughed and asked my first friend about the bar bill- maybe that taxi ride wasn't so expensive after all.

At home, we blissfully rode out the storm playing computer games (musters), searching the internet for bathroom ideas (me), and working at the office (my husband). The view from my desk on the second story was a bit nerve wracking as all of the tree tops bent and swayed with the gusts of wind. At a friend's house today, she pointed out awnings that were ripped off of patios, three in a row. I noted yard work being attended to by many.


A Bug Thing
The biggest spider yet has made an appearance tonight. You hear it first. Creeping across the ceiling it makes a kind of tapping sound- I guess I would too if I had eight legs and walked upside down. I feel sick. I really do not like things that crawl especially the kind that are crunchy and black- no, we did not kill it, but we tried. We have had a giant roach hanging about of late as well. It has made an untimely appearance or two. On a recent afternoon the roach decided to come out during the day and was spotted by the Mule's friend who was standing in the doorway to inquire if the Mule could come and play. That was the day I decided to add "buy a roach trap" to my shopping list.

Japanese Roach Hotel

The "bug thing" goes so far as to prevent me from assembling a roach trap. I saved this duty for my husband. The roaches in Japan are big. The American roach traps aren't big enough so don't waste your money at the base buying them. You have to get the ones available out in town. Having purchased the roach trap, I had to wait until I could get five minutes with my husband (who works way too much- all tax payers should be delighted to know) to ask him to please assemble them. He was impressed with the roach "hotel" and brought it over to me for closer inspection- it has a "welcome" mat and a picture of a cute roach inviting the roaches to come in. He insisted that it is cleverly designed. Of this I don't doubt- the Japanese have great design instincts that highlight function and efficiency in my experience. I will have to ask the mamas about these giant spiders. I am not sure I can sleep with a spider running about my bedroom that is bigger than my hand. If I hear that thing crawling across the ceiling in my sleep... God help me, I am going to need something seriously strong to keep me from coming unglued.


A Weight Loss Program
My husband commented on my "honey bunny weight loss plan" tonight. I was trying to engage him in a discussion of house plans. I think I can sum up his thoughts with this, "Honey bunny, you don't know if we can do that. You worry about this and you worry about that. Wait until you have the measurements. You are like Prancer (our dead cat), she used to sit there and worry, worry. You are burning up all this energy and you don't even know what the actual measurements are of the room. No wonder you look so skinny. We just need to buy a house honey and you loose weight- you could market it- 'the honey bunny weight loss plan.' You look great though, really." I think I can add a sigh here. That boy (my husband) isn't much different from our son- I start off on one agenda and end up on another planet. I think they start demolition on our house on Monday. I hear the yard looks great. I guess I won't worry much, we'll figure it out eventually and besides I already spent my two thousand calories on it today.