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No, we haven’t set off on another journey, that will be the week after next. In the meantime we’ve had the good fortune to talk to both of our families on Skype this weekend.
Until now, we’ve only been able to talk to my parents either in New York or in Florida, but this morning we managed to join a dinner party in progress with M’s family in Seattle as well. It’s amazing to live in a day and age where ideas developed in science fiction and cartoons portraying the future from more than forty years ago have become reality.
Star Trek communicators = cell phones
Jetson’s video phone = Skype
The Monkees = Countless Crappy Boy Bands
m notes: my husband = nerd.
Ok, so maybe the last one was unfair. The Monkees always get a bum rap.
m again notes: my husband = nerd.
Still, it’s great to think that you can talk to people around the world while seeing them face to face and for the moment not have to pay a penny for it. Sure it’s a little awkward right now, but for us to be so far apart, it makes the distance considerably smaller. Just to see all of their faces in addition to hearing their voices is truly special.
m notes: despite how he sounds, i swear he’s only 31. not 91.
He’s been holding out on me…I will admit he’s got a pretty good poker face.
It seems Gizmo has a new love in his life. It’s not his new dog walker.
Nor is it the socks that he steals from the laundry.
It’s an affection he didn’t really ever expect nor plan on admitting to.
It’s…well…he’s just…fallen…for…
His father.
It was rather unexpected.
And he was a little unsure of it at first.
He’s come to accept it though. I think they’ll be just fine.
He would still prefer I didn’t share this particular turn of events though…I think they’d like some privacy.
It’s common knowledge that my husband loves sports. Football, baseball, tennis, golf, rugby..etc. Honestly, the man would watch two roaches race up the wall if given the opportunity (which may have happened in our New York apartment). Needless to say, when we moved to Japan he immediately threw himself into finding a baseball team. Having never cheered for a winning team in his life, he of course stayed true to form in choosing the Yakult Swallows as the object of his affection
This may or may not be related to the fact that Mr. Met is on some of their stuff.
While they are not the worst team in Japan, they are second to last which is almost more entertaining. Why? The second to last team in the league is known as the ”Boobie” team. (The record will show that I selected the dragons as my team and they won the series last year and are doing well again this year.) Yes, it’s childish but it remains entertaining.
During our first year in Japan T managed to go to a handful of games, but this year hadn’t been to the ballpark even once. This was not for lack of trying, but schedules and mother nature had failed to cooperate since April. With the season winding down, T was starting to get a bit antsy with the prospect of going perhaps an entire season without watching a game in person. Understanding this, I encouraged T to go to the stadium last weekend to get tickets for this weekend in advance knowing that Giants games often sell out regardless of how poor…erm…well the Swallows are playing
Usually attending a Swallows game is…well a bit boring. The ball rarely comes into contact with anything besides the catchers mit and only occasionally leaves the infield. To be honest though, I didn’t go for the game, I went to watch the fans.
In comparison to the Japanese fans, american baseball fans are far less entertaining. Sure Mets fans are able to come up with some very creative and colorful language but they don’t have half the fun that the Japanese fans have.
They chant!
They cheer!
They dance with their umbrellas when a run is scored..Note: the umbrellas aren’t to protect from rain but rather serve as a prop.
As the beer people make their rounds in rather absurd outfits the crowd loosens up quickly.
The drunken fans really are the best part of the game. They sing, dance and fall over all at the same time. One man last night began dancing with his ice cream cone. It really is more entertaining then th actual baseball game.
Sadly, it started pouring in the seventh inning and we didn’t have any umbrellas with us.
It wasn’t all bad though…
Tomorrow I’ll be sharing the scandalous pictures that the two men in my life don’t want made public..proof they like each other.
Apologies for the absence, it’s been a bit of a crazy week.
So, Singapore. Having been to Singapore (or singers as people in our company tend to refer to it) I had a fair idea of what to expect for my quick trip this week. That said, I found it quite a bit more interesting this time around.
I left Tuesday morning in order to make it to my Wednesday meeting and ended up flying on the largest plane I’ve ever seen. I feel like a bumpkin saying that but this particular Airbus is one of the largest planes in the friendly skies these days and transports something around 700 people when full. Seriously, the plane had two full stories, a ‘’suites” class in which people were afforded their own beds and room for over 70 rows of economy seats. I will admit I took a minute to wonder if the thing would get off the ground…I never really was a fan of physics.
Well, clearly I made it. After a little wandering I managed to find a night market full of foodstalls and while eating in a south east asian foodstall can be a bit of an adventure, some of the best food can be found in the small side streets. It’s also typically pretty cheap…there are certain rules on food stalls (eat where the locals are eating, make sure the food is prepared in front of you verses eating food that may have been sitting there for a few years…etc) but with a little patience and common sense one can walk away with a good meal and a stomach that won’t rebel in 45 minutes.
That said, if traveling in Asia bottled water is your friend (T says it’s not a friend, it’s a must…even in Japan if you are newly landed),
The next day was full of meetings so I didn’t really get to see much aside from our Singapore office.
I know, not all that exciting..but still a nice break from the usual…
Oh and on the way back, I realized there’s one more skill I need to learn prior to leaving Japan: the ability to fall asleep immediately while sitting up. It’s a skill we’ve seen all over Japan, especially on the trains, and I have some serious envy as it would have been very helpful on the flight back.
Tomorrow: I take one for the team…
