Of not much
Gerf	Location: Yoshitaka residence - my room	3/17/2005 7:03:41 AM
	Time keeps on slippin' into the future... Today it was kind of wet outside, so I didn't go anywhere. Just stayed inside, did homework, researched more stuff on the Internet, worked on websites. It's great to be able to stay in touch with folks back home and in different parts of the globe. You really need the contact sometimes. Bad backache today... I've had them before, but this one kind of persisted. I'll bet it's from laying on my bed all day and stuff, but there's not much I can do about it. The chair for my desk is too short to work at it comfortably, plus it's nice to be able to just close my eyes if I get tired. Speaking of tired, I'm kind of tired. I need... something. I need my parents to come over. ;) I can feel my brain shifting into the "Okay, I've had my fill. Let's go home now," mindset, but I don't want it to go there yet. I still have three months here, and whether my brain wants them or not right now is too bad because it's going to get 'em. There's so much I want to do, but when the time to do them presents itself, I just don't feel like it. I wish I could bottle up all that extra "inspired" time and release it now and then, because by golly there are some things I'd really like to do if I just had the motivation right now. Hmm. I'm not making much sense today. I think I should just... do something. Yeah, that sounds good.
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Of another walk
Gerf	Location: Yoshitaka residence - my room	3/18/2005 7:02:24 AM
	More of the same today. Went out at maybe 5:00 or something for a nice walk and a trip to the supermarket to get an apple (118 yen today... not too bad I guess) and some other snacks. Went some new ways, too, which was nice. I know my way around Higashimurayama a lot better thanks to these walks I've been taking... well, at least Noguchi-cho. *has to laugh* Suwa-cho is still pretty much unexplored. Maybe next week I'll walk in the opposite direction and see what there is to see over there. I found that place that reminds me of Kristin's house, too, which made me happy. There's this one spot that has this certain aroma to it, and whenever I pass by it I always think of Kristin. Eeee, makes me happy. Mama and I talked about lots of stuff during dinner today, which was cool. She was really surprised today with all the pollen in the air and remembered how she had seen it on everyone's suits today after I mentioned that I saw a van covered in pollen as I was walking today. *laughs* Almost everyone wears those white mask things these days when they walk outside. Normally I have allergies, but I guess I don't have allergies to Japanese pollen and stuff because my nose is perfectly fine. Excellent. Whoo, parents coming over soon. ^__^ Gotta start putting together things I'm going to want to send home with them! I've been reading up on PHP and mySQL and other open source web stuff like crazy this week, and I must say I'm seriously considering rewriting TheGerf.net in PHP and using mySQL as the database server backend. I'd have to pay $15 more per year to get mySQL support on my current webhost, unfortunately, so for now I think I'll keep everything local. However, I'm highly, highly considering switching over to a new webhost if I become proficient in PHP. Not only would I get four times as much webspace (which would be a Godsend for Dragon Films), but I would get more support for high-end features that my current host doesn't give me without me having to pay extra. All those analysts were right: when you don't release new software quickly, users start looking to alternatives. I never thought I'd move toward open source stuff, but this spring break has given me the time to research it more than I have before, and all this research has gotten me genuinely interested in it. I'm still looking forward to Longhorn, but I seriously hope Microsoft pulls through with it and doesn't deliver too little too late like it has in the past with a few other programs. Well, back to learning PHP. I think the future of TheGerf.net lies there.
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Of getting ready for a visit
Gerf	Location: Yoshitaka residence - my room	3/19/2005 6:39:35 AM
	Parents coming over tomorrow! Whoo! Actually, they're in the air now. Hope they have a safe trip! I did some "packing" and got together stuff I want to send hom with them, which should make my return trip a little easier. Now that I think of it, though, I should probably add more stuff to the pile... if I can possibly save myself the trouble of having to ship something home, I'll be in good shape. And after having said that, I went and packed up another big pile of stuff... which is good, because I probably wouldn't have otherwise. Good. I'm sure there's more I can send home... I'll just have to work at it. I'm quite a packrat... I always think I'm going to need everything, and it turns out I never do. Perhaps when I return to Case I'll take only the essentials of the essentials and see how far I can get... since I can always come back home if I need something. I've always operated under "You can always take off what you don't need, but you can't put on what you don't have." Dad taught me that. However, I've warped and twisted that into "Take everything you possibly might use, since you can always not use what you don't need but you can't use what you don't have." It just causes more problems than it's worth. I think I very well may start going through my huge collections of things and getting rid of things I just DON'T NEED, even if I think I may be able to use it sometime down the road. There's no need for my stuff to take up space if it's not going to be useful. Er, yeah. Soichiro graduated from middle school yesterday and had an overnight party somewhere. He came back today with a shaved head. *laughs* My parents are going to be surprised when they see him, I think! Kobayashi-san also came over for lunch, and we talked about stuff as usual. I recently realized how much I enjoy when the Kobayashis come over. Hopefully when I get married and move out with my wife, we'll have friends and family who we'll always be happy to invite over. Sharing time with the one you love is wonderful, but being able to share that love with even more people is wonderful, too. :) Papa and I talked about the week's plans over dinner, and it sounds like we'll be in good shape. Sunday Shibuya, Monday Higashimurayama, Tuesday Waseda and Asakusa, Wednesday Ibaraki, Thursday Tokyo and Kamakura, Friday home. Not exactly a "normal" Japan tour... but instead it's more of "my" Japan tour. You can go to Japan and hit the tourist traps any time. What you can't do is show your family where you've been, what you've eaten, where you've studied, and most importantly the people with whom you've made a living. There's going to be a serious communication barrier when my family is over, but gratitude and love need no language. Well, my next entry will involve my parents being in Japan. How cool. ^__^
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Of the family visit... day 1
Gerf	Location: Yoshitaka residence - my room	3/20/2005 8:52:53 AM
	Whoo, what a day. Started out going by going to Hayashiya-san's house again to spend some time with him and Osaku. We didn't do a bit of English discussion today... it was all stuff about history and Mr. Hayashiya going to China/Mongolia soon and him wanting to buy a new computer. *laughs* It's still fun nonetheless. Nice break from the "normal" Japanese-ness I'm used to here. Around noon-thirty Papa and I went off to Narita airport and got there at around 3:00. As it turns out, my family's plane was about 30 minutes ahead of schedule, so we only needed to wait for them for about 40 minutes as opposed to the hour we were kind of expecting. It's kind of strange... NONE of the Narita airport looked even remotely similar to the place I came into Japan at. I mean, it's the same place, but... I must have been at a completely different concourse or something because this place was very, very different. I had my camera out and was thinking of filming them as they walked through the doors, but Papa already had his digital video camera out and I said, "You know, I don't need to capture this moment forever. Yeah, Papa's recording it, but some things are best left in your heart and nowhere else." So I put my camera away... and thus was able to give everyone big hugs when they came through. First time I had given and/or received hugs in a long, long while. ^__^ It was really interesting to see my family after not having seen them for so long. I mean, back in college it was one thing... they were always at home, and I was only 30 or 40 minutes away from home and could go back whenever. But after not having seen them for, quite literally, over half a year, I almost had this feeling of, "Whoa, this is my family?" I'm sure my parents were also thinking, "Whoa, this is my son?" and Niche was thinking, "Who's this bum?" Very strange feeling. Yet, at the same time, it was extremely reassuring to see my parents again. I don't quite know how to explain it at the moment, but I have a feeling it has something to do with reverse-culture shock. Something tells me that I'm going to really, really feel that when I return home. Like, big-time. o_O; One of the things about life in Tokyo, though, is that you're always on the move. Papa was shuttling us around at high speeds, but my poor family who had just spent almost 20 hours on planes just couldn't keep up. Not that I blame them, either... not only were they numb from sitting so long, but they're not (yet) used to hundreds of Japanese people pushing by them all the time. It's a very, very different kind of life here than in Broadview Heights. I seriously can't remember how the heck I managed to get used to it. At least we managed to catch a nice express train from Narita to Nippori, complete with super-padded seats and nice scenic views out the windows. Got to really speak to my family for the first time then, though even then it was kind of muted because we were the only ones talking on this high-class train and it seemed rude for some reason. *laughs* Speaking of hundreds of people pushing by, my family seemed to be blown away when they stepped outside of Shibuya station and saw the titanic intersection there. Dad even said, "I was okay until we got to the Shibuya intersection." *laughs* But then, again, I can't blame them: seeing hundreds if not thousands of Japanese people moving at once in a place where all the (many) tall buildings have television screens built into the windows and walls kind of blew my mind the first time I saw it, too. Shibuya is nuts. Got to the hotel fine, though, and got everything situated over there. The already small room now has approximately zero free space since they put a third bed in there for Niche, but I think it'll do for them. I hope it does, anyway. Had to explain how the toilet worked, though. Japanese toilets... whoo, gotta watch out for those things. They'll squirt your butt if you're not careful. ;) Interesting thing I noticed in Ibaraki and had confirmed here: air conditioning doesn't always mean cool air here in Japan. During the summer, it's cool air... but during the winter, it's warm air. The room was quite toasty when my parents arrived, so they turned on the AC and tried to open the window... only to find it was locked. And then we all noticed it was just getting hotter in the room, and realized that the AC was pumping out hot air. Gah! So hopefully they won't liquify in there or anything. It wasn't that bad after we had the "AC" off for a while, and I'm sure at night it'll cool down even more. But yeah... keep that in mind all you potential Japan-goers! After they got situated for a bit, we went with Papa to a restaurant where they had their first real Japanese meal. I keep on forgetting that the Japanese customs are NOT things most Americans are familiar with off the bat: how to take off your shoes, how to use chopsticks, how to thank people for food, how to drink sake. But I guess if you have someone who can explain this stuff to you in your native tongue (me), it's a bit more bearable. *laughs* They got to taste some hot sake for the first time (in those tiny cups I started my "sake strengthening" with), plus experience how the Japanese eat meals: lots of small plates of different kinds of food. We didn't order a heck of a lot since they were full and were all messed up from flying; I had to repeatedly tell Papa that it was really okay not to order a ton of stuff because they were tired. *laughs* That's just not the way you do things in Japan... here you go all-out and you drink and drink. The main drink of choice tonight was water, though. And you know, water's like open source software: it's free, it's good for you, and anyone can make good use of it. ;) I was prepared to show people around Shibuya a bit (read: get lost with them and then find our way back to the hotel), but everyone just wanted to sleep (again, quite understandably) so I took a duffel bag of goodies with me (yumyum) and headed for home a little after 8:00. Drank a half-liter of OJ on the way back, too. Yes. Give me that OJ. Just bring it on. *laughs* And here's something amusing: on my ride back to Higashimurayama, I saw three kids (presumably in the same family) sitting next to each other on the train. One little boy was playing on a GameBoy... the little girl next to him was playing on a GameBoy Advance... and the girl next to her was playing on a Nintendo DS. I thought it was the most hilarious thing ever. Well, maybe not ever, but it was awesome. If the next person had a Sony PSP, that would have been even better I think... but the next guy over was apparently the dad, and he was alseep. *laughs* Though I also saw one of the cutest things ever: an advertisement that had this picture of three cute kitties sleeping on their backs underneath this blanket with a picture of a cat on it. It was so adorable; Kristin, you would have loved it. ^__^ I was going to take a photo of it, but the glare from the lights was awful... plus it's kinda rude to take pictures on a train. But yeah, it was great. ^__^ Tomorrow, my parents are going to come to Higashimurayama for the day. Should be cool! More new experiences to follow...
	Photos: The family visits... Shibuya!	1 reply

Of the family visit... day 2
Gerf	Location: Yoshitaka residence - my room	3/21/2005 12:01:45 PM
	Heh, I almost forgot that the trains don't run all the time here. I made the last train with maybe an hour to spare, but still, it was kind of close. Had to ride the local all the way home... though it didn't take quite as long as I thought it might have. But yeah... remember, don't miss the last train. ;) Anyway, today I went off to Shibuya at around 8:00 so I could be there to meet my parents a little after 9:00. I had washed my hair again so it would be nice when I met them, but it was so windy that my hair seriously floofed out everywhere and looked awful. *has to laugh* Long hair just really, really doesn't work on my head sometimes. ;) My parents had had a very nice rest and breakfast, though, so they were ready to go when we started to go. And that was pretty soon thereafter... since the tea ceremony was at 11:00 and we didn't want to be TOO late to it! I really wish I would have had more time to show the family around Higashimurayama, because it really is a very nice place. Unfortunately, our schedule was packed. When we arrived at the Yoshitakas' house, we were immediately whisked off to a nearby house where a woman showed us a traditional tea ceremony. Very, very neat. Japanese powdered green tea is so delicious, and the ceremony was great. I had to interpret a lot for everyone, but hey, I did that all day so I got used to it. The people were so happy to have us over... everyone always seems to be glad to have me over, especially when my family is with me. Don't know if it's just common courtesey, but I guess having an American family come to your house isn't really something you do very often! Immediately afterwards we went to the supermarket to pick up some chili fixin's. First time my parents had been in a Japanese supermarket... though, really, a supermarket is a supermarket, you know? The products and prices are just different in different parts of the world. We managed to find everything we needed... and actually, I walked right up to the section for the items we were looking for but failed to find the items. Funny... I knew EXACTLY where to go, but I just couldn't find the things. Heh... no clue. Had a big sushi lunch with the family, which was really cool. First time my parents had eaten like that before... well, heck, I should probably stop saying "first time" all the time, since most things they're experiencing are being experienced for the first time! *laughs* Gifts flew left and right... different types of alcohol, cakes, music CDs, books, all sorts of stuff. Niche went off to play catch with Soichiro afterward, and Mom and Dad watched the next door grandmother do some calligraphy and tried it themselves. Actually, it was more drawing from a book, but more or less the same thing... just with bamboo pictures and stuff. ;) The Onishis came and watched that for a while; it's nice they were able to come. They're so nice. Dad started cooking the chili after that, and then we headed off with Natsuko, Saki-chan, and the grandmother to the 100-yen shop to get assorted stuff. Mom and Dad got quite a few Japanese-style plates and such, and Niche got this EXCELLENT yellow caution sign that said "Under Cleaning" and some more amusing Engrish... excellent, excellent. Wasn't exactly 100 yen, but it was worth it. ;) We originally were going to meet with Hayashiya-san at some point during the day, but we had to cancel because everything was so crowded. However, we ended up seeing him at the 100-yen store by total random chance, so that was pretty cool! Came back and served everyone the chili alongside the already-prepared sashimi dinner. Mmm, that was good chili, Dad. Even in Japan with ingredients that may not have been exactly right, it was still great. Afterwards we headed over to the workshop next door where Dad went ga-ga over the awesome machinery down there, and then we went to the house above where both Mom and Dad went ga-ga over all the awesome artwork the grandmother had made (just about every earthenware anything in the house was made by the grandmother!). She even gave us some trays she made back in 1998... excellent. More easily-breakable treasures. ^__^ The Onishis came over afterward and Kazuki scarfed down a bowl of chili and then showed us all some of his excellent card magic. Sweet. Mrs. Onishi drove everyone back to the station afterwards (actually, Kazuki and I ran to his house and Mrs. Onishi picked me up there), and just kept on waving while we were going up the escalator... waving until it was impossible to see us anymore. She has got to be one of the sweetest, kindest ladies on the face of this planet. Even though I could understand both languages that were being spoken during the meals and such, it was kind of difficult to know what to translate and what to let fly when both English and Japanese were being spoken on both sides of the fence at the same time. Yikes! I did notice, though, that Soichiro and especially Natsuko perked up when I started translating into Japanese, and naturally my parents perked up when I started translating into English. Dad did a lot of the "loud and slow" English (like most Americans do to foreigners in the USA *laughs*), while the grandmother did a lot of fast Japanese... communication barriers left and right, but for the most part people were able to get over them without me having to intervene and break them down too much. Sorry this entry was rushed... I'm tired and don't really have the energy to type the big synopsis like I could have. But hey, a lot of stuff got captured on video, so it's somewhere. And it'll forever be in our hearts, and not just mine, either.
	Photos: The family visits... Higashimurayama!	3 replies

Of the family visit... day 3
Gerf	Location: Yoshitaka residence - my room	3/22/2005 11:47:14 AM
	Yikes, another get-back-home-late day. Whoo, tiring. o_O; Today was originally going to be Waseda and Asakusa day, but the Asakusa part didn't work out... too tired (delayed jet-lag?). However, what we did was more than sufficient. I took the family to Takadanobaba where we walked down Waseda-dori like I do every day for school. Mom got a little paperback book from a bookstore, Niche got some stuff from vending machines, Dad took video and pictures... it was nice. The weather could have been better, but eh, what are ya gonna do. It drizzles when I go to school sometimes, so it's just more like the real deal. *laughs* When we got to the SILS building, we met up with Mr. Campbell and talked for a while. He is such an awesome guy... he was talking to someone on his cell phone, but upon seeing us he immediately put it away and spent some time to chat with us. Awesome. Went into the building and showed them around a little bit, and also got my grade report from the main office: all As and a B in statistics! Whoo! That made me rather happy. That class was seriously driving me insane... and actually I'm quite surprised I ended up with a B. I was kind of expecting a D or something... maybe. I don't know. I don't need to worry about it ever again, though. Hopefully. ;) We also stopped into the Japan Study office and met up with Michiyo-san and Mr. Campbell again, and we talked for what ended up being a pretty good while. Everyone just seemed to feel at home with everyone else, and it was really cool. Another job offer came up, too. It looks like I'm going to have a rather busy future! Afterwards, I took them around the campus a bit and showed them the temple that was right across from my statistics building. It was interesting to be explaining all this stuff to people instead of being explained too as it normally goes. We were all kind of tired then, though, and didn't really go "all-out" looking around the awesome garden there. Actually, we kind of decided to go back and maybe even skip Asakusa altogether (which we did in the end). Stopped at the noodle shop under the train station bridge on the way back; yay for eating Japanese "fast food" with the family! We were so tired afterwards that we just went back to the (hot) hotel room and slept for, like, an hour or two or something. Before that, though, Niche and I got some shakes at McD's (I got a blueberry shake... very good, actually). Actually, I also ordered a smile, since it was listed as being zero yen. The clerk laughed, and Niche was like, "Wh--wha, you just ordered a smile from a guy?!" It was great. When we got back we toyed with the idea of going to Asakusa at night, but nobody really liked it much. Instead, we walked around Shibuya a bit and checked out some stores and shops, and ate dinner at the Watami restaurant we had gone to on Sunday with Papa. Like with showing around the temple, it was interesting being the leader and having to make sure everyone got food. Kind of a cool feeling, though just a little frustrating when asked too many questions at once. But then, I guess I do that to people sometimes, too. *laughs* And then for the first time since coming to Japan, I drank lemonade. *gasp* There was a burger shop on the way to the Watami, and on the menu I saw "Fresh Lemonade." I almost died. It wasn't very much more than lemons and water (there was a LITTLE sugar, but not much at all), but it was lemonade and it was good. There were so many leftover lemon pieces that Mom said, "Well, here... take this bag the cookie came in, throw the lemons in there, and take 'em to the hotel with you." So I did... and made some more lemonade at the room. *laughs* It wasn't actually all that great using sinkwater and all that, but you know, after not having what could quite possibly be my #2 favorite drink for over half a year... well, let's just say I was very, very happy. ;) Came back, watched some TV with the family, talked, headed home. Gosh, it's so late getting back anymore. I'm just too tired to write much in these journals! But, eh, most of those memories are captured in pictures and video, so I guess it's okay. I just wish my hair wasn't so nuts. It seriously wasn't like this five days ago. *laughs*
	Photos: The family visits... Waseda!	1 reply

Of the family visit... day 4
Gerf	Location: Yoshitaka residence - my room	3/23/2005 10:03:34 AM
	Yikes... I look like I was hit by a wrecking ball a few times. o_O; Today was a rainy, dreary day... unfortunately. It actually didn't start out too bad; we left Shibuya a little after 10, and at that time it was just cloudy. On the train to Nippori we ran into some guy who was really, really drunk and was trying to speak English to us. Very... odd. I'm not sure how Japanese people handle drunk folks, but we just talked with him until he randomly dashed off the train. Drunk, old, scruffy guys are... creepy. We got to the Arakawaoki station a little after noon... only then did it start to rain a little. There we met Ochi-san (it was nice to see him again) and went to a Chinese restaurant. What a neat way to break the ice as it were! *has to laugh* While we ate a delicious lunch, I acted as an interpreter and did a lot of "talking" with both my parents and Ochi-san. Niche didn't say much... but then, there was food to be eaten, after all. By the time we finished, though, the rain was really coming down, and when we got to the Daibutsu it was just miserable. Ochi-san dropped us off and said he'd come back in two hours, and had it been a nice day that would have been too short because I would have wanted to spend a good long time with the bunnies and squirrels again. However, with this crazy rain, not only were there almost no people there, but all the outdoor "attractions" were more or less closed off. Nonetheless, we went through the Daibutsu tour and had a pretty good time. We were just tired, and it was pretty obvious. Rain or shine, though, the staff at the Daibutsu made sure we had a good time there, which is awesome. And hey, now we can all say we've been inside the tallest statue in the world. ^__^ From the Daibutsu, Ochi-san brought us to Tsumura where we watched the video I had seen twice before and then went to look around the company itself. It was after-hours so most of the employees were gone, but the folks from the office came and helped set up and give us tea and stuff... it was like we were governmental representatives or something! It was very, very awesome of them to do that for us like that. They had completely changed around the dining system at the place and now served dinner, but since they only started that service the day before it was kind of still "in production," so when we ate dinner there we were kind of like guinea pigs. *laughs* Good food, if a little American. They even gave us silverware... I seriously felt awkward using a fork and knife! Just goes to show you how much Japan grows on you if you let it. o_O We talked with Ochi-san quite a bit today... actually, we talked to a lot of people quite a bit. And you know, I'm able to understand a great deal of what's being said, and I can communicate almost everything, too, even the oddball things Dad wasn't sure I'd ever be able to explain! It's certainly one thing to learn Japanese from a textbook, but such a different thing to learn it from talking with people. And for some odd reason, I can just speak better in Ibaraki... maybe because that place is just so cool. Not scenic by any means, but it's closer to home than I've been in a long time. Well, since the last time I was there a few weeks ago. ;) Messages from my family on the train: "Hi!" - Mom "We're alive and well, and Gerf hasn't killed us." - Dad "Dood yeah." - Niche Tomorrow we'll be going to Kamakura with the Onishis at around 10:00. Don't quite know what's there yet, but I'll get my camera batteries charged and be ready for whatever they throw our way. Hopefully it won't be too late when we return... everyone has to leave on Friday, after all. I'm not sure how that's going to work with luggage and all, especially since checkout is 11:00, but... we'll just have to see. Gosh, it's Thursday already. Well, I guess it's been quite a long while after all. Time just seems to have flown whenever you look at it in hindsight.
	Photos: The family visits... Ibaraki!	3 replies

Of the family visit... day 5
Gerf	Location: Tobu Hotel - room 736	3/24/2005 9:41:13 AM
	Well, I figured this time I'd just write out my journal entry at the hotel, so I can just get home, take a bath, and get some sleep. It's been very, very tiring for us all. Whoo. Today I met up with Kazuki at around 9:00 and hitched a ride to the hotel (read: took a train). From there we took a train that went straight to Kamakura, which was nice since it allowed us to just sit there and... well, sit. *laughs* Kamakura, I suppose, will be recorded as having been a replacement for Asakusa, since, well, it was kind of a similar experience! Not as ornate as Asakusa, but definitely tourist-y. There were lots of shops around, and we did quite a bit of browsing and purchasing: I actually broke down and bought four dragon keychain-like things that I'll be adding to the dragon sword thing I bought in Ibaraki. *laughs* Hey, I always wanted to collect silver/pewter dragon things, and by golly, I might as well just buy 'em. We all ate at a tempura shop for lunch; they had English menus and stuff, but Kazuki and I pretty much ran the show with our Japanese skills (well, his Japanese brain and my... uh, "skills"). First time they had eaten tempura... cool. I was the only poor soul who ordered something other than 天ざる ("tenzaru", or tempura and zarusoba/udon)... katsudon, of course. Kazuki reminded me that "katsu" is the verb "to win," and said that when sports teams win tournaments and stuff they all go out and eat katsudon. Hehe, excellent. We stopped at the temple afterwards, which was also cool. I keep on saying things are "cool" and "neat," but... I dunno, that's just what they are. Don't really know how else to say it! We all got mikuji, went to the main temple, and even went ga-ga over a tree that was about 1000 years old! There were also quite a few pigeons flying around, and they were selling food for the pigeons at a stand... so what did we do? Yes: get attacked by pigeons! Whoo, that was great. I got scratched up pretty badly from all the pigeons flying all over me and I probably contracted every disease known and unknown to man (as did Niche and Kazuki), but it was lots of fun. For some reason, I enjoy having little animals climbing over me to try and get food. If the weather would have cooperated yesterday, I would have been doing the same thing with the squirrels at the Daibutsu. *laughs* I know the pigeons/squirrels/rabbits are just in it for the food, but I just have this thing for cute fuzzy (or feathered) animals. I love 'em to bits. Plus, it's just something wonderful about having a bird fly to your arm or shoulder, for whatever reason. I once had a cockatoo climb onto my shoulder and nibble on my ear so much that it bled quite a bit (that and I got covered in white powder from its feathers), but I loved every minute of it. I wanted to have my family eat something kind of "weird" like natto or or whatnot at SOME point during their stay here, and Kazuki and I were on the lookout (secretly, of course, since we can just talk in Japanese!) for something odd. Finally, though, we found a たこ焼 ("takoyaki," a kind of octopus snack you get at festivals and stuff) stand, and now my family can't say they've never eaten octopus before. *laughs* We actually found natto afterwards, but by that time I didn't want to torture my folks any more. ;) Got back to the hotel at around 5:30 or so and napped until we went to eat dinner at around 7:00, which was at the "Freshness Burger" place we stopped at for lemonade before. It was nice to have a somewhat "traditional" American meal (just with Japanese sizes and prices), and actually it was quite yummy. They blew a fuse when we were finishing up eating and the place went dark for a little while, which was more funny than bothersome. Brought the folks to an arcade after that to show them what one was like, and Dad played some Pachinko for the heck of it. Niche and I also played the taiko game, which was interesting but kind of short. Aaaaand, now we're back up here, getting things packed up. They're going to be leaving tomorrow, which will be kind of sad and nice at the same time. Sad: they'll be leaving. Nice: soon we'll all be back where we belong... for the most part. I belong in Japan right now, but there's somewhere else I belong, too... and I really look forward to that. Kind of rushed entry again. Well... guess that's just what happens when too much happens in one day!
	Photos: The family visits... Kamakura!	1 reply

Of the family visit... day 6
Gerf	Location: Yoshitaka residence - my room	3/25/2005 7:30:43 AM
	This morning, Papa got a huge (and we're talking HUGE... almost as tall as I am!) box. During dinner, I found out that the flowers inside were a gift because he had gotten a promotion. Whoo, go Papa! ^__^ Today was the last day my parents would be in Japan, so by the time I got to the hotel they were all packed up. We put the luggage downstairs in the lobby and then headed off to the Meiji-jingu shrine, complete with Japan's tallest Torii gates and cypress trees about 1500 years old. After seeing the Kamakura shrine yesterday, it was nice to see this place as somewhere less crowded, quieter, and more serene. There was even a wedding procession near the end that passed through the main grounds, which was really neat to see. That's two weddings I've seen during my two trips to the shrine. ;) Took a taxi back to the hotel and ate at an Excelsior Cafe, where we had another American-ish meal. VanV would be happy to know that I got a cafe mocha as a drink... mmmm, coffee and chocolate together taste very, very yummy. We also picked up some onigiri from the nearby Family Mart to munch on as we headed back; Niche explicitly asked for one with salmon eggs inside, which I thought was rather brave and excellent. Dude yeah. Rode the trains for quite a while, then got to the airport and... well, airported. We had some time to kill so we browsed around a bit, and then we parted ways. And, well, now they're on their way home, and I'm back to "normal vacation" mode once again. One more week of vacation left to go. Whoo. Don't get me wrong: having my family come and visit was a very awesome, once-in-a-lifetime experience to go a long with my already once-in-a-lifetime experience here. It's nice to know they'll be back in their home soon, though, and that I'll be back in my (surrogate) home. It's just where we belong right now. ^__^ Amusing anecdotes: - When Papa asked what airline my family was taking last week, I told him "Continental." However, I didn't "translate" it into Japanese because I wasn't sure whether or not Continental was well-known in Japan. Well, apparently Papa didn't understand my pronunciation, because until he asked me what the name was again, he thought it was some tiny, no-name company with private jets or something! You pronounce it differently in Japan... more like "Kon-chi-nen-ta-ru..." and that was enough to obscure all meaning. Excellent. - Mama had no idea that Forget-Me-Not flowers existed in America and went by the same name. But then, I never knew they were in Japan under the same name, either. ;) - Dude yeah. Well, time to get back to normal here. I've got some homework to kind of wrap up, plus I want to go over all my kanji again and start studying my new book. Back to studyin'. Yup.
	Photos: The family visits... Shibuya again!	0 replies

Of the Juke Joint and sleeping
Gerf	Location: Yoshitaka residence - dining room	3/26/2005 7:34:08 AM
	Ah, feels almost like a normal weekend. A week of craziness, then a weekend of relaxation. Hehe, sounds like my kind of deal. *laughs* Less craziness during the week would be nice, but, of course, my parents don't come over all the time. ;) Papa and I went to the Juke Joint today for about an hour to listen to a band that had come in. There were three guys: a harmonica player, a pianist, and a guitarist, and they were quite good. Only seven guys were there including myself and the bartender, but it was still pretty fun. Being a musician has got to be one crazy-tough job, but people do notice your bravery and talent and really appreciate what you do. My hat goes off to all those guys and girls out there that put their necks on the line like that so others can have a good time. You guys rock hard. After that, I slept... and slept and slept, it seems, because by the time I was woken up by Mrs. Onishi calling and saying that she had other plans tonight, it was 7:30! Yikes! The family is gone right now (don't know where they are, but they did say they were going "somewhere"), so they left me a dinner and I've just been chilling. I think I'm going to swig the last of the OJ here and then walk off to the store to pick up some more for next week, and take a nice nighttime walk in the process. My parents sent up so many American snacks, and I'm finding that while I really want to snarf them down, I just can't. I eat some after-dinner mints or drink some hot chocolate or yoink some Twizzlers and my stomach goes "Blergh!" *laughs* I think that's one reason why Japanese are so dang skinny: they don't snack that much, and when they do, they don't snack on the stuff we do! I don't know what I'm going to do when I get home. I really don't. At least fruit's cheaper back home. ;) I'm so ready to start programming some websites with my newfound PHP knowledge, but for some reason I just can't get started. I have all these ideas, but I just need someone to prod me into action. Why can't I do it myself, I wonder? Well, off to the store. Yay for walking!
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