Life in Japan

Some things we have learned in the past month we have been here in Japan:
-trains: They are ALWAYS on time, and if you are riding during commute hours no one talks...SERIOUSLY! Also, it's important to know which side of the door to stand on while waiting to embark, because one side always gets on faster than the other based on the direction people are exiting the station. The trains are also really clean, it's amazing. I love the trains here.
-vending machines: They are EVERYWHERE! If you are thirsty, fret not, you will pass a vending machine or 7/11 equivalent within a few feet. Mostly it's just drinks (Hot and cold) and occasionally there are cigarettes, but rarely any snack machines.
-bikes: If you lock your bike, you must be an American. Yep, they don't lock their bikes, and it's because there's super low crime here, people aren't going to steal your bike (unless you live on base, then most likely an American will steal your bike). My boss has had 3 bikes stolen from his children...3! He lives on base. The other time bikes are stolen is if you have a super nice expensive one. So best to just buy a cheap one.
-people's surprise/shock sounds: Our housing agent, Ashry, is by far the funniest person to listen to when it comes to being surprised. I can't spell out how it sounds, you just have to experience it, but it cracks me up. I love it! Now it's almost a game to see what shocking thing I can say to get a reaction out of her, or other Japanese people. They are so cute!
-driving: everything is your fault, if you are driving and something happens, more than likely you will be paying for it, even if it wasn't "your fault". In Japan, they also have magnets for new drivers, elderly drivers, and hearing impaired drivers, which I think should 100% be incorporated back in the states. How awesome would it be to see the magnet far off in the distance as you are approaching a car and KNOW to just "stay clear"?!? And once you reach a certain age, you have to put the elderly ones on your car. Brilliant!
-100 yen stores: similar to our Dollar Stores, but INFINITELY better. Better quality, better stuff, more to choose from, stuff you actually need, it's awesome!
-arcades/pachinko: the arcades here ROCK! Brad and I have found our home away from home. I think we should figure out how to bring these arcade games to America and open our own arcade with Japanese games, they are so fun! Pachinko is a different story, we haven't tried it yet, but it's basically gambling, except it's not, because gambling is illegal, so they work around that little rule by giving away "prizes" which you can then trade in for cash...tricky!
-restaurants: no tipping, very weird to get used to. However, you are still expected to tip on base.
-church: We go to church in what seems to be an office building. The church leases or rents the 3-7th floors. It's strange to ride an elevator to get to Primary or Relief Society after sacrament. The ward is small but good. Everyone seems very nice so far.
-sounds: every sound (even the usually annoying ones like emergency vehicles) are like video games' sounds here, it's much more pleasant. There are times that things sound suspiciously familiar, like they were probably in Final Fantasy...also, as a side note, people really do dress like they do in Video games. I had to resist taking pictures, but the young guys and girls I've seen, mostly in the bigger cities, look like they walked right off the screen of a video game.
-my only complaint thus far: nothing is open in the mornings. It's very odd. After working as a barista for a while, and having to be there by 5:30 or earlier to have everything open and ready by 6, it is very strange for me to walk down the street and not even the coffee shops are open until 7. I don't understand it, it's very odd. I bet if we opened a coffee shop and it opened at 6am we'd get lots of business, because we'd be the only place to get it. But I guess people can get their hot coffees from the vending machines if they really want it before the shops open. If there are spelling errors, I apologize. The normal Blogger compose area is not working, no spell check...and I know it's not pretty either. Maybe once we get our computer with our furniture in April...

2013 Year in Review - Highlights

January:

We rang in the new year with all the other crazy people in Times Square. Check that off the bucket list. It was worth it to stand out in the cold for 11+ hours defending our personal bubbles. Unfortunately there is not a bathroom facility and once you leave the fenced off section, and all the performers are really performing for the people watching on TV, but it was still fun to hear and see glimpses of the stars. Most of all it was awesome to see that famous ball drop!

February:

I ran in a Dirty Girl mud run in San Francisco at the 49ers candle stick park stadium with my mom and her friends. We were the 'Dirty Girl Scouts' and our patches were labelled with the initials of people in our lives who have both lost and won the fight against cancer.

March:

We added our newest family member, our spoiled little fur baby Gambit.

April:

My best friend Hayley came for a visit, we spent a day in SF and took a boat tour under the golden gate bridge, got some ice cream and hot chocolate and ghirardelli, ordered sourdough based lunches at Boudin, drove around Golden Gate Park and down Lombard Street, and even located the Full House house.

We also ventured to Santa Cruz and rode some rides on the Boardwalk and visited the famous Mystery Spot.

We also hung around and did the local stuff, aquarium, PG's Good Old Days, ate at Compagnos, etc. It was awesome! I always look forward to time spent with her!

May:

We ventured to Bridgeport, CA and took Gambit on his first camping experience. While we were in the area we visited a few natural hot springs, went to Mono Lake and Bodie ghost town. We also did some fishing at a couple different nearby lakes. 

The camping area we were at was an RV park with tent spots and allowed dogs, so Gambit made some new friends. We set up our tent near an electrical outlet and we were able to turn a small space heater on to keep it warm since the nights were still in the 20-30 degree range. No surprise this was also Gambit's first experience with snow.

June:

Erica came to visit. Another fabulous friend who I miss and love! We hung out with old coworkers and went to her favorite spots and restaurants. I also got to introduce her to our tradition of going to the rodeo. It was a very quick but fun weekend!

Gambit celebrated his half birthday.

Gambit also had his first road trip to Utah as Brad ran in the Ragnar again. We also organized for extended family pictures to be taken, which hadn't happened since 2007. Brad and I also got to meet our two new nieces that were born in December (2012) and February.

July:

The 4th of July is dull around here, so off to South Lake Tahoe we went. The tie rod broke as we pulled into town so we just stuck around for fireworks then limped the car to Carson City where we stayed.

The rest of the weekend (after the car was fixed) we ventured to a local rib cookoff in Carson City, learned about the wild west in Virginia City (where I bought a ridiculous amount of Christmas ornaments form the Christmas shop) and cooled off at Washoe Lake. Then my dear friend Jamie came to visit and stay the night with us, which was so awesome since we don't get to see each other often enough! 

On our way home we spent time splashing in Lake Tahoe, and fishing at random lakes as we drove towards my parent's home where we got to meet our new nephew.

July also gave me a chance to spend some one-on-one time with my 5 year old nephew. We first went to Great America with my parents.

 Then he spent the weekend with me. We went to the aquarium and sharpie tie-dyed shirts and checked out some tide pools then played countless hours with Gambit. It was good times. 

August:

Brad's parents and one niece and nephew were able to come out and vacation with us. We were so excited to have visitors! We went to the Boardwalk and to the Mystery Spot. The kids had such a great time playing in the ocean and doing the "odd" activities at the Mystery Spot.

We also went tide-pooling and walked on the beach searching for sand dollars.

It was so much fun spending time with Brad's parents and the kids!

Brad and I also had an amazing opportunity to volunteer at a couple very cool events with lots of very cool cars we might otherwise never get this close to.

September:

Our annual Dave Matthew's Band concert at The Shoreline in Mountain View. 

We also had a day trip up to Apple Hill with my family. The best fresh pressed cider! And the next day was Colten's Blessing day.

October:

We celebrated our anniversary at  Montrio Bistro in Monterey. It was one of the best meals I've had, so rich and delicious!

Top: Dessert (White Chocolate Brioche Bread Pudding and Strawberry Rhubarb Tart), decorative pumpkin, side of red pesto fried polenta
Middle:  appetizer (Truffle Tater Tots), us, "attitude adjustment"
Bottom: table doodles, Pesto rubbed Prime Sirloin, Local Corn Ravioli

Brad also surprised me with a beautiful anniversary gift, he was so thoughtful and generous, I had been looking at these sapphire earrings in the store and so excited when I opened them, they're absolutely stunning! 

Halloween was fun, we had a block party and we actually had some trick-or-treaters, more than last year anyway. I dressed up at work as Cinderella to go with my coworker who dressed as Snow White. 

Our church had a Halloween party the weekend prior and I dressed up as a cave woman and Gambit was a little t-rex dinosaur.

Brad and I carved our pumpkins on Halloween. I think they turned out wonderful!

November:

Thanksgiving was with my family this year, great times and great food as usual! We actually got to spend the day with both sides of my family. 

First lunch with my Dad's family, lots of food and puzzle making.

Followed by dinner with my Mom's family

My mom and I went black Friday shopping, it wasn't as bad this year as it has been in years past, we actually got 3 stores knocked out by 8 or 9 in the morning. I think since this was the first year some stores opened actually on Thanksgiving that the Friday morning crowd was less than usual.

December:

One of my favorite parts of the holidays is decorating the house. This year I tried out more than just lights on the outside.

Brad's work had their Christmas party at the Marriott on a Sunday...who picks a Sunday evening to have a party?!? The food was good, as usual, and the entertainment was the same comedian as last year, and only a few of the jokes were repeats. 

Gingerbread houses are always more fun to make with friends. We went out to Candy Cane Lane in PG first then created our masterpieces. So grateful for great friends and family who were able to come and play!

We have been and are truly blessed!

Happy 2014

This year:

a new skill I'd like to learn: 

to crochet

a person I hope to be more like: 

the extremely happy cashier at Beverly's, she's always in a good mood and doesn't care what people think

a good deed I'm going to do: 

pay for a meal/drink for a random stranger

a place I'd like to visit: 

mount fuji

a book I'd like to read: 

lean in by Sheryl Sandberg

a letter I'm going to write: 

to the person who has quietly made my life better without even knowing it, just by them saying hello and taking an interest in my life; they may not know it, but they have made a difference.

a new food I'm going to try: 

anything I have never tried before

overall I will try to be a better person, measured by my own feelings and metrics of what better might constitute.

Happy 2014!