Sparklyladybug.com.au

So far so good...

2007-09-08T19:57:00.000+09:00

Well, thankfully not too long after I wrote that last post, I found an apartment, yay! It is a nice sun-shiny 2 bedroom place. I have the biggest closet I have ever had, I can walk 3 steps into it! And my room is one of the biggest I have ever had too, it's pretty nice! My flatmate is from Greece to makes great moussaka. Life is good!

After finding a flat, I went out to scotland for a little bit to catch up with my family there. It was really nice for a visit and a good chance to relax for a bit. We went to the Lonnarch Highland Games and took in a little Scottish culture...only the scots would think of throwing objects such as telephone poles (aka a caber) and considering it a sport.

I started teaching last week...so far so good...I think the students like me! One asked how long i intended on staying (in those words too!)...they had 8 teachers last year in this subject so a fair question i guess. Another asked if she could "take me home"...apparently she needed a pet Canadian (don't we all!). So, a good start I would think...

And thats about it for now...so far so good...

Lost and Homeless in London!

2007-08-18T06:46:00.000+09:00

Well! I made it! I'm in London, how exciting is that! I got here about 4 days ago, some stories since then:

Day 1
My flight was delayed and by the time i got to my hotel is was 2:30. After a mostly sleepness night (love overnight flights!) I decided to walk for miles around the city and saw quite a bit which was great. Then I decided to go back to the hotel, which is never as easy as it seems. I got lost, and it was raining and 2 two hours later, after wandering in countless circles finally made it back to the hotel tired and very wet...I sure was happy to sleep!

Day 2
I got up early in hopes of finding a new home. I went out to Chelmsford, the town I'm going to live in. Visited 4 apartments, and this time got very lost on my way back to the train station, an hour later (should have taken me 10 mins) I finally found the station, and somehow, again it was raining...however, getting lost the day before must have done me some good cause this time I found my hotel a lot more quickly.

Day 3
I took a day off getting lost, a wise idea a think. I went to the Tate modern art gallery. Which was great, I needed a day of being dry inside...although it was quite nice outside. I did lots more walking too, saw the parliament buildings, walked over London bridge.

Day 4
I was back in Chelmsford seeing more apartments, the good part is, this time I didn't get lost, in fact, I was quite good at being unlost...which was encouraging! However, I'm still homeless. I'm looking at another apartment tomorrow, fingers crossed i'll find a home cause it is my last night of accomodation in the hotel, although i'm sure i could book for longer.

Anyhow, wish me luck tomorrow, and hopefully I'll have some good news!

Yay for Holidays!

2007-08-14T09:42:00.000+09:00

So, there are times when I think that I should give up blogging...for all my good intentions on writing and updating it, well, I would say they certainly are not evident. However, in my defense, this last month has been pretty insane.

It all started with packing up and leaving Australia...most of you who read this would know about that. I had a fairly smooth departure, for once in my life was not up till the wee hours of the morning packing and minus the 36 hour journey really had an easy trip.

After detouring through Sydney, Auckland and Los Angeles, I finally made it back to Toronto. Toronto was good, I spent almost a month with my family, and it was great to see them again. Caught up with the 4 roomies, friends, and more friends. It really was good to see so many people, and have some time just to hang out and enjoy it. I had a BBQ out at my parents place which really was fun...gotta love the pool and hot tub. And between my father and sister, there was no chance of any of us dying of thirst! Hopefully I'll some pictures up from that soon...

After some fun times in Toronto, I wandered out to Halifax in the East Coast of Canada to visit my other sister. She has been in Halifax for about 6 years now, and this was the first time that I have been to see her in Halifax as she usually comes to Toronto. Halifax was really great, we did a tour of the downtown area and shops, caught a few acts at the busker festival and went to a beer tasting festival.

We drove out of the city (not that it took much to get out of the city, almost as soon as you are on the highway you are surrounded by trees!) to Mahone Bay for an afternoon. Did a little kayaking and sightseeing which was quite fabulous. There are three churches that face onto the bay that look quite lovely, and I took a couple pictures of them, but for some reason they don't seem to be on my camera now...the mystery's of technology.

We also took a mini-roadtrip to Prince Edward Island. It was great! If anyone has every read or watched Anne of Green Gables, it is the island where the story takes place. It really is as gorgeous as the movie and book show it to be.

We went to see "Anne's House" (i'm the person in the red t-shirt in the photo although you can't see me so well!) , took a walk through the "Haunted Wood" and strolled down the infamous "lovers lane". We had hoped to go see "Anne of Green Gables the musical" but the timing just didn't work out for us, so next time. However, we did see a play called Salt-Water Moon, which was fabulous.

Tracy even got to try milking a cow!

After seeing Anne's House we ventured to some of the other sights and went to see "bottle houses"...they were pretty amazing...I was pretty impressed with the amount of drinking they would have had to do to make the houses, let alone they actual building! And i'm guessing those two things didn't happen at the same time!

One of the most interesting things about PEI are the red beaches and the red sand/soil. Apparently, there is heaps of iron in the soil, which gives it it's colour. It also makes it good for growing potatoes, apparently PEI grows 1/3 of Canada's potatoes! Which given the size of the island is quite impressive.

And lastly, we went to see a lighthouse. We climbed to the top which was pretty cool, then back down to the bottom where they had a restaurant and we ate dinner, the food was pretty good, but the service was super slow.

Getting out of the Toronto area was good for me I think...driving around Nova Scotia and PEI really reminded me about how beautiful Canada really is.

The Maritimers have long been known for throwing a good party. Traditionally, they would have what were known as "kitchen parties" and often involved fiddles, guitars and spoons for music. Needless to say, there would be lots of singing, dancing and drinking, and really what more could you ask for! This little kitchen party scene as made out of red PEI sand and then sprayed with glue and water to hopefully help it stay there for a little while.

Talk about an impressive sand castle! Modeled after the church in Charlottetown, PEI.

How Quickly I Forget...

2007-07-13T12:40:00.000+09:00

Today, I've been at LAX (Los Angeles airport) for a lot longer than i would like to have been. A few things have surprised me though...things that I once knew but had forgotten...

People really are bigger here, cliche i know, but being in America i can definitely see a difference with Australia
Tipping is mandatory again...i ate at a restaurant and filled out a credit card form and there was a line for me to add the tip
Snapple is back! (Snapple is a brand that does mostly iced tea and some juices)
Heinz ketchup is on the table...you don't have to ask for it and it is Ketchup, not tomato sauce!
The GingerAle is less gingery and more watery...I liked the Australian one better

Switzerland seems like the place to be...

2007-06-20T19:17:00.000+09:00

Apparently every year Mercer, an HR company, gathers heaps of information and does a survey on 143 cities around the world. They rank the cities on cost and quality of living. You can look at the lists here. A few cool things I noticed...

The top 5 cities in North America for quality of life were Canadian...interpret as you might but I think that is pretty sad for our little American neighbours...
I'm soon gonna be living very near the second most expensive city in the world
Despite the fact that Sex in the City would have me believe that New York is a very expensive place to live, it only came 15! I'm guessing they don't factor in increased access to expensively beautiful things which might up the cost of living
Calgary is the number 1 city! Well, for health and sanitation anyways....followed not too far behind by Ottawa...
If you want a good quality of life, go to Switzerland, Zurich and Geneva are at the top of the list for quality of life. (they ranked 7th and 9th for cost, guess you gotta pay for the good life somehow...)
Melbourne is a pretty unremarkable but good place to be...17th for quality of life, 43rd for health and sanitation and it doesn't even make the expensive city top 50.

Home for a Rest...

2007-06-03T11:12:00.000+09:00

The other night I was beading...a little too close to my computer I think. First a tiny bead just under the space bar...highly annoying. But the next day it was magically gone much to my relief. However now you may notice a distinct lack of comma's in this entry...I think my little bead has found a new home. So a big apology to all the grammar Nazis out there!

My flight home is booked...all done! I'll be back on the 12th of July...or maybe it's the 13...I leave here the 12th anyhow. I'm pretty happy...I'll be home for a good month of visiting and funness before moving on. I am sad to leave the cool Aussie kids but such is life. Anyhow...I know i'll be back for a visit...

And! It's summer...yay! It's been kinda cold here lately (I know all you Canadian Kids are laughing at me now)...it's been about 10 to 15 degrees in the day...nice in the sun but freezing when it's raining as it has been doing a lot of. I'm looking forward to warm weather and bbq's and summer stuff.

Speaking of home...and not that I follow sports much...but Ottawa is in for the Stanley Cup! Go Canada! So good luck to them...be nice to get our Stanley Cup back in the country! For those of you who don't know the Stanley Cup is for hockey (ice).

Interesting lesson learned a few times over here in Australia...when people talk about hockey they are talking about field hockey. The number of conversations where someone tells me they are going to play hockey or see a hockey game and I excitedly reply "Really? there is an ice rink around here?" to quickly learn that they in fact mean field hockey. Strange land here...

London Calling...

2007-05-19T22:44:00.000+09:00

It's true, London is calling. In fact, there have been a few calls in the past few days, too many to count really. But the exciting thing is, that they are calling me, and soon, in Sept to be more specific, I will be answering and going to London. Yup, it's true, London here I come!

It's all happened rather quickly, almost more quickly than I can process, in less than 72 hours I have gotten myself a teaching job, even better teaching Sociology and Psychology to senior high school students, just what I wanted...lesson learnt, apparently, a little patience and waiting does pay off, wait long enough and the job will come to you.

Now, the hard part starts...the planning, packing and relocating. Wish me luck...

All Checked In...

2007-04-08T10:23:00.000+09:00

Well, I'm off to Byron Bay tomorrow, yay for that! Oddly enough with this whole web check-in business, I'm already checked in for my flight, before my bags are even packed! Seems a little odd to me, but it's good...one less thing to worry about later and now I only have to get to the aiport 30 mins before my flight.

Last week, they had the best sale at my work. I'm currently working for a craft/homewares store in thier head offices (working in the payroll office of all places!). Last week, the craft party department had a sale and they had some gorgeous yarns. I've always wanted to learn how to knit, so I bought some of the yarns in anticipation. So, after looking at a few internet tutorials, I've done it! I can knit! When casting on, I get a nice neat row of stiches, however, I have yet to duplicate a really nice neat row, so I think I still have some refining to do with this skill, but i'm sure I will get there. If anyone has any tips (Julie?) I'd love to hear them.

I'm getting better at working with resin (it's kinda like a plastic) too...I'm working at making pendants for jewellery. So far, I have been working at making molds and pouring resin. I have successfully put a piece of japanese paper in between layers of blue and clear resin, and i'm liking it. I think with a little more work and some new dyes (currently can only do blue and white) I might be on to something. I have also been playing a little with powered pigment, when I have a good sample, I'll show ya;s. But, if anyone has any ideas of objects they would like to see embedded in resin, let me know and I will work at it. Here's a little picture of what i've done so far...

Anyhow, I think that is all the excitment for me for now...Time to go pack!

the crunch of leaves

2007-03-30T11:41:00.000+09:00

I was walking down the street yesterday and a leaf fell, right in front of me. The day before, walking to work there were about 7-8 leaves all together on the ground. They mystified me, they crunched a little, I was surprised. The past few days have been strange, even for Melbourne. Warm and sunny one minute, rainy and cold the next. I had to buy a new umbrella on Wednesday eve to go to my Spanish class. Todays high is only 18 degrees celcius. It's cold. It took me a few days to figure it out. It's almost April, my birthday, spring and time for tulips my favourite flowers. So why has the weather been so dissapointing? It's fall...thats what happens in the southern hemisphere, April equals Autumn. I think it might really be time to go back to the northern hemisphere, if not only for the winter...

The Waiting Game...

2007-03-26T21:59:00.000+09:00

Well, haven't blogged in a while, can't say this is a new trend for me. In fact, somehow, it seems this is just the way it goes.

Life is pretty much as it was a while ago, i'm working heaps, and waiting lots, and hoping soon I can start doing the things I want to. As most of you would know hate waiting for pretty much anything...i'd go as far as to say i'm a pretty impatient person when it comes to waiting for things. So needless to say it is a struggle, but i'm sure the results will be worthwhile.

To help me with my waiting, I have planned a new little vacation. Just after Easter I will be going to Byron Bay, Brisbane and Stradbroke Island. For those of you not so familiar with Australia, Byron Bay is apparently a really cool little hippy colony near or on the Sunshine Coast. I will be spending some time there, enjoying the sunshine (hopefully), doing some scuba diving and hanging out with my friend Alex (see picture a few posts down). From there we will go back to Bris for a bit, then off to Stradbroke Island (which is near Bris) for the weekend (more diving for me!). I'm excited.

And, then, back to waiting, or hopefully while i'm away the waiting can come to an end, that's what i'm going for. And if that is the case, well, I might find me back in the Northern Hemisphere in the near future...

I love NZ!

2007-02-07T22:24:00.000+09:00

So, as most of you already likely know, last week I was holidaying in New Zealand. Mostly, I went cause I needed to get a new visa and I had to leave the country to do it. But, any excuse for travel and a vacation will do! I spent most of my time in Auckland, NZ's biggest city, but it felt mostly like a really large town. I also went to the bay of islands and Rotorua but I'll tell you more about those places later. Cause I have so many pictures I think i'm gonna split this, NZ post by city.

Auckland, City of Sails

2007-02-07T21:02:00.000+09:00

Here's a bit of Auckland...

Auckland city and the sky tower at night, as taken from the balcony of Mayuko's apartment...she has a great view!

Hamish, Mayuko and I playing shadows at the harbour front.

Hamish with Auckland city by day in the background, for those of you who know him, he hasn't changed a bit! (take that as you will :)

Didn't even have to drive out to the countryside to see these guys, five mins out of the city, and there they were!

Hamish and Mayuko...enjoying the city of sails...

NZ was created cause lots of volcanoes errupted...the fun part about that is that there are so many gorgeous mountains. Behind me rangitoto one of the volcanic islands in the Haruaki Gulf.

Auckland is apparently the 2nd largest city in the world, but only for the amount of land it uses...the residents can take full advantage and have big houses and yards since not that many people live there! This does also mean there are lots of gorgeous green spaces in the city.

One of the highlights of my trip had to be seeing Varkekai by Cirque du Soleil...This is the third show of thiers I have seen, and it still amazes me! They are coming to Melbourne next and I am considering seeing them again!

Brisbane

2007-01-29T18:11:00.000+09:00

A little delayed, but a while back I got to catch up with Alex and Wilda (former flatmate/nova teachers) in Brisbane. A fun night was had by all i think, some great deserts, lots of chat and a nice walk! Anyhow, apparently, Bris is wishing it was Melbourne, but had to settle for naming a street after Melb, so there is a picture of me on Melbourne St in Brisbane. And, a picture of me and the lovely Alex...thanks w-ko for being the photographer extraordinaire!

Rooftop Cinema

2007-01-08T19:42:00.000+09:00

Cinema is Melbourne is amazing! Toronto can't even try to compete! Yesterday, I went to Rooftop Cinema. It is held on the rooftop of a 6 storey building. We saw Zoolander, classic funness!

The evening started shortly after 7 when I met up with a few friends, we then climbed flights of stairs which was generally excrutiating, but, once at the top was fully worth it. On the roof there was a bar and mini grill, so we grabbed some grub, and drinks and chilled for a bit. A few more drinks later it was finally dusk (9:15ish) and so the movie started.

Maybe just as exciting as being on a roof watching a movie was the fact that we got to sit in super comfy (but very difficult to get out of gracefully) lawnchairs on astroturf. It just doesn't get any cooler than that. Luckily the rooftop cinema kids knew it might get a little nippy at night, so warm fleecy blankets were available for borrowing, and only cost a $5 donation to the city mission, which anyone really could feel good about!

The only thing that was missing was the popcorn, but, I don't know that I blame them for that...cleaning off the astroturf would have to be difficult!

So, new business idea, maybe I should take this back to Toronto, only in the summer I know, but thats ok! Anyone know of any good rooftops?

Pictures, from top to bottom

1. The screen, with dusky clouds as a background!
2. The view from my lawnchair...the city and movie screen
3. The view from the bar
4. The rooftop bar
5. Lawnchairs, yay! And astroturf you can't really see...

2007

2007-01-07T09:56:00.000+09:00

Well, it is the new year, in fact, it is a whole week into the new year...seems appropriate for me to do a new year post a week in I think. Walking down the street the other day, it suddenly occured to me that I hadn't made a new years resolution. But the more I thought about it, the more I didn't like the idea, it is a good idea in theory, promising to do something to become a better person. And it's not that I don't think I could improve, because i'm pretty sure there are countless things I could do better. It's just that I have never been able to keep New Years resolutions and so making a promise so that in a month or two I can forget and give up doesn't seem like much good. So, no resolutions for me this year!
Last night, I watched Marie Antoinette...an interesting movie, though not entirely what I expected. I came out of it with very mixed feelings...I don't know much about MA but even the stuff I do know wasn't in there! It was a very pretty film though, and the shoes and dresses were so much fun! I wish they hadn't tried to throw the historical stuff in at the end, cause I think they missed most of the story that went with it. I could have really liked it as a self-indulgent pretty film based on very little reality. But, who knows, maybe it will spark historical interest and encourage people to find out a little more about her, just as i'm sure Baz Luhrmann did with his version of Romeo and Juliet.

River

2006-12-22T09:35:00.000+09:00

Its coming on christmas
Theyre cutting down trees
Theyre putting up reindeer
And singing songs of joy and peace
Oh I wish I had a river
I could skate away on
But it dont snow here
It stays pretty green
Im going to make a lot of money
Then i'm going to quit this crazy scene

Joni Mitchell - River

This song has been playing in my head for about the last week or two. I have always loved Joni Mitchell anyhow and although I haven't listened to her songs in a while, I guess this one just suits right now...a theme song of sorts I guess.

It's almost Christmas, but I would guess that you know that already. I didn't really grasp this till the other day, Christmas is such a funny thing. For most of the year it seems so far away, and then all of a sudden, it is right there in front of you.

The other evening I made a gingerbread house with Uta (my flatmate) it is looking very charming. I'm kinda surprised the icing hasn't melted...it's actually holding up very well...it's been pretty hot here the past few days, although at least there is a nice breeze today.

As much as I do love the sun, there is something about a white Christmas and staying inside where it is warm that I just think fits nicely with Christmas. But, I might be kinda biased on that....

The Jump

2006-12-22T09:27:00.000+09:00

Here are some pictures from skydiving, as promised! My dad went too...he loved it and is now looking for a new great adventure...if anyone has any great mid-life adventure/crisis suggestions, please pass them along, I would love to give him some new ideas!

On the road...

2006-11-22T17:43:00.000+09:00

Having my parents out here visiting has been an adventure in more ways than one! I few times I have been about ready to leave them and continue my travels solo, but it has definately been wonderful having them here all the same. We started in Melbourne and then flew to Cairns. From Cairns we have been working on driving to Brisbaine, currently we are in the Whitsunday Islands. Cairns was so much fun! We spent a day on the Great Barrier Reef, which was great for me...I've always wanted to go diving there (hopefully will squeeze another day of that in too!) and went skydiving! Skydiving was brilliant! My dad also loved it...mom stayed home and worried lots for us (especially my father, if she had anything to say about it he wouldn't have been going)! But, we had a great time...i'll post some pictures of that later. We are currently staying on Long Island and will be here until Friday when we head off again.

The driving itself is quite boring, mostly just sugarcane fields which really are not all that nice or interesting to look at. Its a bit of a longer drive than mom had originally anticipated...i had tried to warn her before when we were deciding what to do but she didn't believe me...i'm trying very hard not to say "i told you so"! That being said, it really isn't bad so far and I'm looking forward to some of the stops further on along the way!

Almost done...

2006-11-01T21:41:00.000+09:00

I can't believe it, in so many ways the past year seems to have taken forever to go by. It seems as if I have been living here, working at the cinema and studying this education degree forever...and started just yesterday in someways too. Either way, the crazy part is that I am now almost done, I had my last class today...3.5 more assignments left to do in the next week and a half and then that is it. The big question now is, what next? and if only I knew...

The email

2006-11-01T21:34:00.000+09:00

So, a few days ago i get an email...from my dad...he remarks that he has been looking up information about Cairns and noticed that we can go skydiving, and asks if i am up for it? Silly question, of course I am! More importantly, is he up for it I responded. Apparently, he says he is...so, currently the plan is to go skydiving! With my dad! Who'd have thunk it!

Tasmania!

2006-10-02T21:41:00.000+09:00

Funny, I can remember a time in the not so distant past where I thought that Tasmania might have been at the end of the earth or something. Not that it really was in any way, but my only knowledge of it was from Looney Tunes and the Tasmanian Devil...and in my might that was at the end of the earth. I don't the logic either, don't worry. More importantly though, here are some pictures...
The place we stayed at was really quaint...it was called the Old Bakery Inn, and really used to be a bakery! This is Kasumi (my travel buddy visiting from Japan!) standing in the lobbyish area.

We stayed in Launceston, a small town...I think they said it was a city but I don't believe it! Oddly enough, they had some Japanese Macquarie monkeys in the park...kinda random, but apparently they like to keep monkeys there. They were cute and fun to watch...

There wasn't a whole lot to do, though the city was nice and good for relaxing...took a bit of an adjustment for me as I am kinda a city kid...but Kasumi felt immediately at home! These are a few pictures of the park near our hotel. The rocks were kinda cool. And boats are always nice.

We lucked out and had a gorgeous sunny day to explore the Catarac Gorge...it was a great walk, and we had the most delicious lunch at a restaurant called Stillwater...highly reccommend it, a little expensive on a budget, but lunch is doable I think.

The next day we went on one of the best tours I have ever been on, just a day tour, with Tiger Wilderness Tours. We went into some caves and saw a rainforest and then went hiking at Cradle Rock National Park and saw a super old growth forest. It was all fully stunning! It was my first time going into caves, so I was pretty excited for that too to say the least!

...Our little tour group admiring the view at Cradle Rock and the mountain, or rock, itself

A little dissapointed there was no tasmanian devil on the sign, but this one was still pretty amusing...

Still working at it...

2006-10-02T21:19:00.000+09:00

Still working at blogging that is. I keep meaning to blog more, and I know I have said and promised that I would do better before...but i'm struggling. Everytime I think to write, I just can't think of anything to write! I'm not sure if it is bloggers block, or I just lead a really boring life. I've been recently very tempted to think the boring life option might be closer to the truth. Regardless, I need to thank my most wonderful Auntie Olga and W-Ko for inspiring this blog...I was looking at her blog and noticed a link to my own and thought it was very rude of me not to blog when she had a link to me and was sending readers my way!

On a more fun note though, last week I did a super cool course. I finally took a resin jewellry making course, something I have been meaning to do forever. I learnt enough that now I can start doing it on my own, which is exactly what I was hoping to do. Anyhow, will take a little time to work at getting some materials and starting to play, but it's in the works...yay for that! I like the idea of jewellery, but this stuff can also be used for making dishes, among other things, which I kinda think might be fun to try. Stay tuned, maybe have some new SparklyLadybug Creations in the somewhat not too far away future...

I started my last teaching placement today...I think I am gonna like it heaps...the school is great...i'm much relieved as needless to say, in typical me fashion, I spent last night not sleeping, and even a wonderfully large strong coffee (thanks roomies!) this morn couldn't quite get me to be as awake as I would have liked. In any event, survived the first day and looking forward to the next few weeks there. The even better news is after this placement I have 2 weeks left of uni and then i am done! The countdown is on...

IPOD vs. the Cassette Tape

2006-08-18T00:54:00.000+09:00

Check it out...I found this quite amusing...something to think about...

Irrational Fear

2006-08-07T22:46:00.000+09:00

I know it is irrational, i'm fully aware...but the worst part is, it doesn't make it any less scary...although it does make it about a million times more annoying.
Anyhow, this story goes back a few weeks, well almost over a month now really, but we'll go with a few weeks and ignore my not so successful efforts at being a good blogger.
So, a few weeks ago I was walking home from the train station to my apartment, it was later in the evening, so not so light out anymore. It is not a very far walk at all, about a 4 and a half minute walk, 5 if you walk slowly cause it is a beautifully sunny day and you are just happy to be outside. As a I was walking, I saw an animal walking along a branch in a tree, kinda thought to myself, "stupid cat, you keep walking up then you wont be able to get down and you are gonna start crying" (although i'm not sure if that really happens or it is just an excuse for firemen to be in movies?). A moment later, the animal jumps nimbly onto the power lines beside the tree. At which point i thought, "ha, braver than i thought", however as it kept walking i quickly realised it was indeed not a cat, it was a possum! I was thrilled, I finally saw my first Australian Possum! People kept telling me they were everywhere but i hadn't seen a real live one till now. But as I was walking on the sidewalk almost underneath it, I found myself thinking what if it falls, or even worse, what if it jumps down and attacks me, so I kinda skirted around it.
The next night, saw him again, or her, in the exact same place. And again I kinda skirted around his little spot on the wire. The night after that when I was walking with my roommate there he was yet again, however, this time he moved suddenly and scared me...I didn't see him till he jumped. Uta was quite amused at least.
Now, I am at the point where walking alone down a semi-dark street at night, I'm not scared of people, nor alien abductions, i'm scared of possums, jumping down from wires or trees and attacking me. So scared in fact that I now walk in the middle of the street (it is only small with one lane, so i can mostly do that) cause there are no wires there. Logically, i'm fully aware it is likely more scared of me, and it hasn't tried to attack me yet. I really have nothing personal against it, just an irrational fear.

Walking Advertisment

2006-07-30T09:38:00.000+09:00

Sorry for the lack of posts recently folks...I can't really give any good reason as to why...sometimes I just feel like hiding, and so hide i did. Anyhow i'm back with a little story for now...

Was working the other night, and instead of the normal uniform we had to wear t-shirts advertising an accomodation website...i'm not sure why, i'm pretty sure the website is paying our company lots of money to make us into walking advertisments as part of some promotion.

So, anyhow, it's breaktime and i was just going to a fast food place in the complex to grab some food, i had placed my order and was waiting for my food, when some random guy came up to me.

"Excuse me" he said, "My friend is visiting from Germany"...at this point i was thinking this is a great story buddy, but i'm not sure why this should interest me...and he continued, "and he is looking for some cheap student accomodation and i noticed your shirt said accomodation and was wondering if you could tell me if it might be suitable for him".

Now, I hadn't even read the back of my shirt, all I knew was the front said go stay, I had no idea what I was advertising, so i politely said, "I think the best idea is just to go to the website gostay and then you can have a look and see if it is what you are looking for". I was pretty proud of myself, I hadn't given away the fact i knew nothing...but he wasn't happy with that...he tried asking me some more questions, to which i finally replied, i'm sorry, i really have no idea...I was just asked to wear this shirt for work today.

People Who Aren't From Around Here

2006-05-13T23:05:00.000+09:00

Sitting on the tram...mostly embarassed cause a small group of Candians are being loud and obnoxious, but, I continued to sit silently thinking it's a good think no one knew I was from the same country. A few minutes later as I was getting off a man, who had been briefly helping them figure out a few things, remarked, "thing is about people who aren't from here is they don't know anything". I complacently smiled and laughed a little. I didn't see any real point in starting a discussion since I just wanted to get home...I just hoped he didn't say anything else, lest I actually have to answer and show that I am not from around here! But then he said, "you can tell them anything and they'll believe it", so I quickly said, hoping that if I spoke quickly he wouldn't hear the accent, "thats the fun of it!" and ran away...gotta watch out for people who aren't from around here I guess...

La droguerie

2006-05-08T20:16:00.000+09:00

I brought the jars to the counter just like the little signs said too. First 3 jars, then 2 more, then 2 more for a total of 7. The saleslady looked at me, a little unsure of what to do. I passed 2 jars over to her, these two are easy i said. I'll take one spoon of those and 5 of the silver stars. She set to work. Can I chose the other ones? I asked...She looked at me, a little unsure, and said ok hesitantly. So, I set to it...picking and counting each one individually.

As I was chosing, it brought back memories of my favourite bead store ever, in Harajuku (Tokyo, Japan). La Droguerie, originally from France, and the only store they have outside of France is in Harajuku. My trips there were always bemusing. A mixture of gestures and smiles and shock as to how so little could cost so much. However, they always told me to chose my own beads. In fact, they had special velvet boards so the beads didn't slide and you could see thier colours clearly and cute plastic hearts to put the chosen ones into. They would carefully separate each stlye and give them all individual bags. Once, I bought a book. The saleslady looked at me, opened the book and said, No Engrish, Japanese and Furensu pointing to the words. Ii desu I said, French is ok. She handed the book back to me with a look of relief.

The Perfect Night

2006-04-18T10:22:00.000+09:00

We set off right on time. Almost too perfectly on time. The train arrived just as we got to th station and we were on our way. On the train, dinner plans were made. Votes were for a noodle box of sorts...something fast and good. Weren't sure on a place, but, we figured we would get off the train and walk and find something. So we started wandering. Ajisen Ramen, said the sign with a little girl in pigtails and a cute red dress. Perfect! That would do...after a feed on some excellent ramen we made our way to our next destination, the comedy festival to see Dimitri Martin, someone so uncool he was definately cool. Got the tickets, got in line, got some seats and some beer. Had some good laughs and were on our way again. Where too now? We all looked at each other...we could all see the sparkle in each others eyes...yup we were all thinking the same thing, no words were needed...we had to go to Karaoke! It was happening! So, off we went...The room was a little sketchy, kinda hole in the wallish and slightly big for 3. The machine was ok. The songs were a little old and missing some favs...hello Cyberdam old friend...but also included some favs. 2 hours of rocking the mike, several beers and a couple of great friends...all equaled out to the perfect night.

Old

2006-04-14T22:38:00.000+09:00

New job training...yay...or not so much really. Sitting and chatting with all the other trainees...talking about life, what we do, and so on. Suddenly I realize, it's almost my bday yet again, and well, somehow, i think i am the oldest in the group. Not that any of them knew, maybe...lucky for me I look young, so hopefully I blend in...hopefully.

Chaos!

2006-04-04T16:10:00.000+09:00

Good day happy blog readers!
The last few weeks, my life has been reduced to chaos...insanity of sorts. I started teaching rounds for uni. It is good fun, i'm starting to settle in now and am almost feeling like "a real teacher"...whatever that may mean! Teaching year 11 psychology and sociology is kinda cool. I'm at a senior campus, so there are only year 11 and 12 kids and it is pretty relaxed...the teachers and kids use first names and there is a nice level of mutual respect. As much as I do enjoy it, I can't wait to get back to being a student again... Between teaching all day and planning lesons at night and working, I have had pretty much no time off! Anyhow, time for coffee yay! See ya's!

Pictures!

2006-03-04T08:54:00.000+09:00

Alrighty, well, here are some pictures. Just so you all know, it is my lovely sister Tracy to keeps making sure this thing gets updated, I can be pretty negligent till she says to me "don't you think you should update your blog again?". And so then i start to feel guilty and then i update it again...thanks Tracy!

So, the last few weeks have been pretty busy, had a friend visiting from Japan (hi Nana!) and Martine in all her fabulousness totally played tour guide extraordinaire and took us around to see all sorts of coolnesses! Thanks Martine! So, here are a few of the sights and stories...

We saw this guy on Phillip Island, if any of you come out here I recommend it, also where we saw the penguins and tried surfing!

Koala's have to be the laziest animals alive, but they are so cute! They sleep about 20 hours a day, how nice must that be! So, needless to say as we were watching and oggling them they were just sleeping...they sleep almost as well as i do! Signs around say they are not lazy, they are just conserving energy... that's what they say anyhow...

These are the Phillip Island penguins, how cute are they! It was moulting season, so the fat guy lying down was getting some new feathers. They moult once a year, but when they are moulting they loose thier waterproofness so they can't eat, so before they moult they double thier body weight cause they won't be able to swim and hunt for like 3 weeks. They are the tiniest penguins in the world, only about 30 centimetres tall.

Surfing (or attempting to) was great fun although I don't think I'm much good at it. I just couldn't convince myself that i really did want to try and stand up on a board while it was moving. Although the same weekend my sister tried curling and fell and got slightly damaged. I decided that falling in water is so much friendlier than falling on ice, so there are some good things about it forsure!

The weekend after our Phillip Island adventures we decide to go on a mini road trip to The Great Ocean Road...and we saw the 12 Apostles (among other things). They are large rocks that were formed because the water washed away rock around them, so they used to be part of the coastline. Recently, some of them have fallen down. They say that the water washes away 2 cm a year. Anyhow, there is a picture of Martine and I with some of the Apostles in the background.

This a a picture of the bush, also along The Great Ocean Rd, if you look really hard you can see ocean!

One of the reasons The Great Ocean Road is so stunning is cause while you are driving along all of a sudden you'll go round a bend and there is this great little beach or bay or perfect spot to camp out. The water was the most beautiful colour, and so clear! I can't wait to go back there and spend a little more time...

Apparently, a few years back, some tourists were out on a rock something like this one which was a bridge shape when it collapsed. Luckily, they weren't injured, but, they did get stranded and had to be rescued by helicopters! That so would have made the best story!

Anyhow, thats all for now folks...have a good one!

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

2006-02-23T09:12:00.000+09:00

So, I'm here in Australia! Well, actually I have been here for about 3 weeks now...time flies when you're having fun. Here are a few of the highlights...

Being met at the airport by some wonderful friends
17 trips to Ikea (well maybe not exactly, but almost!)
Realising i'm the one with the accent!
Moonlight Cinema (saw Ferris Bueller outside in the Botanical Gardens, how cool is that!)
Cafe's (there are so many great places to drink coffee and eat!)
Concert at the Espy
Penguin Parade (they are little mini penguins, and they are so cute!)
Koala's (lazy but adorable!)
Surfing (yup, gotta try it)

Fiji

2006-02-04T12:35:00.000+09:00

My Fiji trip didn't really go as I had anticipated. The brochures all showed beautiful sunny islands and beaches. I did some research before I went, and knew that I was going during the rainy season, but thought, well it won't rain while i'm there. I was kinda wrong on that part, cause rain it did!
I arrived at 5:00 am to overcast and drizzly rain. A couple hours later it was pouring. For the whole four days i was there it pretty much alternated between pouring and light rain and every now and again the rain let up for a bit and it continued being overcast. The rain did put a damper on diving...I could only go for one dive offshore, but since I hadn't been diving in 2 years it was a good refresher.
Rain or no rain, the resort I stayed at was fabulous! I was at Manta Ray Bay resort, on an island about 3 hours away from the Fiji mainland.

There really wasn't alot to do except relax and enjoy life...with the help of the staff there we made coconut bracelets...they cracked open the coconuts, removed the outside, sawed a nice bracelety piece and then handed it over to us. We sanded it with a stone and sand then cut out the coconut from the inside then rubbed a little babyoil on it to make it look pretty and voila! A new bracelet...it was pretty cool!

Pilar and Sarah hard at work sanding their bracelets in the rain (although it doesn't look too rainy in the picture)!

Enjoying drinks at the bar wearing our new coconut bracelets...yay us!

My last day on the island we took a little boat ride and went to another nearby island and visited a villiage which was pretty cool. It was pretty tiny but we walked around and went to the school, chuch and community center. The villiagers were super friendly and the kids at the school seemed really excited to have us visit. The younger kids, were especially excited, they had even practiced posing for pictures before we got there, so that when we showed up they ran into position and said "take a picture"!

If only the rules had been that clear and simple when I went to school...

As I was leaving, Fiji finally made an attempt at looking as it does in the brochures, I took this picture from the airplane, the rainbow was quite spectacular.

Farewells...

2006-02-04T10:36:00.000+09:00

As always, the problem with leaving is the goodbye part. Had a little gathering before I left, so here are some of the pictures...

Shiny happy smiley people...

A good time was had by all i hope, or at least I had a great time! It was great being back in Canadia for a bit to spend some time with all these wonderful people.

One person I didn't get to spend much time with unfortunately cause she lived pretty far away was Erin. Needless to say, when she surprised me and came out for the weekend, I was more than thrilled to see her! Thanks again Justin for helping her out with all that!

Rewind!

2006-02-04T10:24:00.000+09:00

This picture is from quite a while ago...maybe about a month ago, went skiing/snowboarding with some friends, here is a little picture of one of my fabulous Toronto roomies Jen-Mai and a great friend of the basement apartment girls, Ted...

Disapearances...

2006-01-27T00:24:00.000+09:00

Yesterday, my blog disapeared...it's true. The only thing i could see was the sparkly blue star background, nothing else. No pictures, no stories, no links, no title...for a moment i thought just cause i was going to Australia i would cease to exist. However, my blog is back today, and i feel much better about things.
Last night was my last evening in Canada...had a few friends over, relaxed outside in the hottub, chatted in the hallway (just like res) and said some good-byes. My time back in Canada has been great. Seeing friend again has made me realise that people change, but some things never change...the people who always were there for you will continue to be...i'm fortunate to have such great people in my life.
Today i'm finally leaving for Australia...oddly enough, i'm not excited, not sad, not anything really, it's been coming for so long it just seems to be whats happening...although i must say i'm looking forward to meeting new people, seeing some great friends again, going diving in Fiji and being in a new place...yay for that!

test

2006-01-26T15:15:00.000+09:00

where did my blog go?

Only 6 more sleeps!

2006-01-21T09:03:00.000+09:00

Everythings seeming almost ready, I got some glasses, more contacts, saying goodbyes :( planned a goodbye party, found a home for my fish, bought a ticket, got a hotel in Fiji (a brief stop along the way) and finished work...seems like all the basis have been covered. Well, except for packing, but it is still too early for that. My new least favourite question is, "So, are you ready?"...although i think i'm on top of it all, that question each time it is asked makes me think that i should be doing something more. But, in 6 more sleeps, it doesn't matter, i'm leaving either way! I'm going to visit some sharks, roos and koalas!

One more thing i can cross off the list

2006-01-14T15:52:00.000+09:00

I have a very long list of things I want to do. Really, I think everyone should have a list of things they want to do. Anyhow, this Jan 1, i finally did the polar bear dip! For those of you who dont know what it is, on Jan. 1, in Canada, and i'm sure in some other countries, to start the New Year, some people jump into a Lake or the Ocean. So, I joined some other Ontarians and jumped into Lake Ontario. With me were two friends, Kristell and Dave who also ran into the lake. We didn't stay in the water for long, in fact we were in and out in less than 2 mins! Luckily, we had a very mild Jan.1, so it wasn't too cold, although the water was pretty icy. But, once you were in the water for about 3 seconds, you lost all sense of feeling anyhow. After, we went back to my parents house and warmed up in the hot tub with a little Baileys (thanks Dad for bartending!).

What type of food are you?

2006-01-14T10:19:00.000+09:00

You Are Japanese Food

Strange yet delicious.
Contrary to popular belief, you're not always eaten raw.

What Kind of Food Are You?

Bonnie Scotland

2006-01-09T09:11:00.000+09:00

Ok, so back to blogging...it's been a little while since I have posted anything, December got really busy really quickly as Decembers tend to do...anyhow, going back a little, here are some pics from my trip to Scotland. I had a great time..stayed mostly in Aberdeen, but also wandered out to Glasgow and Edinburgh. The first day I arrived we started by getting my Aunt's place ready for Christmas. My Grandpa got his own tree to decorate so he didn't put "tack" on the main tree.

My Uncle Andy was in charge of the outside decorations, they had the most well lit house on George Street by the time he was done.

Next, I went out to visit my cousin in Stirling. Stirling Castle was pretty cool...quite big, not quite a cinderella castle, but impressive all the same. I went to Edinburgh to do all the touristy stuff, and then the next day I went to Glasgow. Edinburgh was a nice enough city, big with some beautiful buildings, but Glasgow fully charmed
me! The shopping was great, lots of people, lots of stuff...if you are planning on going to Scotland you should forsure go there. Anyhow, here is a little picture of Edinburgh which did look nice all lit up for the holidays.

At the end of my trip to wrap things up i got to meet up with a couple of wonderful friends from Japan! Kinda surreal to meet them in thier home country of Bonnie Scotland, but it sure was great to see them! Had some fun shopping, out for a few pints (and more!)...

Fear

2005-12-21T13:00:00.000+09:00

As if we didn't have enough to be scared of...something for a little amusement, especially for the other canucks out there...Reasons to fear Canada.

Smartie Points for Me!

2005-12-04T02:19:00.000+09:00

Look! Not only do I have a new template on my little blog, but now I have links! Yay! I have been meaning to do it for a while now, but, I was fully mystified by the world of html, anyhow, I finally figured it out...Smartie Points for me!

Scary...

2005-12-02T03:25:00.000+09:00

Today is December 1...i know my blogger date says the 2nd, but it is a little mixed up...scaryness. It amazes me to think that last year at this time i was still working in Japan, I hadn't even planned to come back to Canada yet at that time. Around Dec and Jan, it always seems that years go by quickly...a year always seems like such a big chunk of time, except at this time of year when I look back on it all...I wonder why that is. Maybe it's the upcoming holidays, they just make everything seem different, who knows...

Change

2005-12-02T03:03:00.000+09:00

I thought i would change things up on here just for fun...this background isn't one of the traditional blogger ones, but i'm liking it. It took a little manuvering for me to make it work on here, i actually had to cut and paste codes and upload stuff...didn't know i was even capable of it, but, after a little time and work, i got it working, yay! So, here it is...it's called retro, i think the colours are more ice-creamy than retro really, but it is very sparkly i think, and blue...what's not to like?

Guilty until proven innocent?

2005-11-24T11:26:00.000+09:00

On the streetcar this eve on my way home from work. Got to the corner of Roncesvalles and Queen and there is a little convenience store. A cop car is driving towards the intersection and the streetcar. A kid, who looks to be about 10 or so, wearing a red and hoody and jeans sees the cop car with it's lights and sirens, raises both hands in the air, looks at the car, takes a couple steps to run away, realizes the car isn't chasing him, stops and starts hanging out by the side of the road again. Guilty or Innocent? I'm not even sure the kid knows that himself...

What's up, buttercup?

2005-11-23T13:47:00.000+09:00

Saw Harry Potter tonight, it was great! Didn't like the new Dumbledore though, but the rest of it was fantastic! Highly reccommend it to all, but, as with the others, even moreso i think, this is not a kids movie...it is getting brilliantly darker and darker...
Booked a ticket to go to Scotland today. Just going for a wee visit before I head over to Aussie Land...I'm looking forward to catching up with some family and friends out in Aberdeen.
And thats about it for now...

Rules

2005-11-17T13:23:00.000+09:00

There have got to be rules! This is important! Some rules are meant to be broken, but not all rules, and people have to know where to draw the line. It's still November. One of the houses on my street today put up it's Christmas lights...it's not time for that yet...not till December. I think there should be an official rule, perhaps even a law that prohibits these things until December 1. If they need to put them up, well thats ok, but they just can't turn them on till Dec 1 is all...it really isn't that difficult a thing. Don't get me wrong, i'm not a Scrooge...I love Christmas Lights...but only at the right time...in December! Inside as decoration it is even ok to leave them up year round. However, we should not be allowed to "start" Christmas till December!

Anxiousness

2005-11-15T11:23:00.000+09:00

Losing sleep, feeling crabby, sleeping too much, a knot in my stomach...all because of one decision. A question of morals really, to do or not to do? Well, not to do might benefit me, keep me where i want to be for now, doing things i like...although it might screw others out in the process. Not to do would benefit others, but i might stand to loose all of the above. What if what if what if...the little what if monsters definately were playing in there too...they are crazy little scary creatures, serving no good purpose as i can find it yet. Anyhow, moral of the story, I did what needed to be done, and i'm feeling much better about the whole situation now...things are never as big as i make them out to be although i'm sure this is going to be one of my lifelong lessons...

Delinquent

2005-11-05T10:59:00.000+09:00

Sorry all, so, yet again, i have been horrible at posting on a regular basis. But, this time i have a reason...or at least an excuse! The past few weeks i have been very busy working away at home, working on making jewelery...in a week, i'm going to have a jewelery show! You can even see the pretty invitations i made. For those of you who live anywhere near here, if you are interested in coming, drop me a line, it's gonna be an open house...and for those of you too far away, i really wish i could see you and you could come...maybe consider flying in for the afternoon :)

Weapons of Mass Destruction

2005-10-30T14:39:00.000+09:00

Happy Halloween! Practicing dressing up with my roommate and a little procrastination, a little sillyness, a camera, a great costume and a little techonology and well this is what happens...

Christopholos the cute!

2005-10-12T09:33:00.000+09:00

In a one-time-only, guest-writer appearance comes a current roomie of the curious and infamous C-Lowe (but man, does she not like THAT name!)...
So here's a little story for all of you kidlets out there in cyber-land:
Once upon a time, a sparkly ladybug happened upon some nice brown shoes that perfectly matched a stunning brown and blue patterned skirt, hanging in the ladybug's closet. Although she was saving her magic for a trip across the globe, she couldn't resist the cuteness of the shoes and spent some of her valuable fairy-dust on them, only to ponder the rest of the evening if the purchase was justifiable. "I have to get them" she thought. "I can't wear black shoes with a brown skirt!"
Oh, to be a slave of fashion !!!!!
It's okay though, because she really wanted to get serious about the whole matter, so she just reminded herself that her wings were red and black shoes look better with red wings, regardless of the colour of the skirt. Then she took the shoes back for a full refund... and while she was back at the cute shoe mall, she came across the cutest little blue sparkle slippers...
True story.
CB.

Only In Scotland

2005-10-11T03:36:00.000+09:00

On thier last trip over to the old country, my parents found this:

Happy Turkey Weekend!

2005-10-09T01:31:00.000+09:00

Yay for thanksgiving! This weekend it is a 3 day weekend (only in Canadia) and to make it even better it is a weekend where we get to have a monster sized feast! On the menu is a full turkey dinner (i'm sure some of you are wondering why the vegetarian gets excited about a turkey dinner...but there are lots of other foods with no meat for me!) and in my house we also have stuffed tomatoes, maybe vine leaves (stuffed grape leaves), hummus...gotta love the Egyptian side of things! So, to all you Canadian kids out there...Happy Thanksgiving!

Green with Envy

2005-10-05T11:27:00.000+09:00

Decided i need to change things up a little, i liked the old blog, but it just got a little old, so, in with the new. Small problem, some of my posts can't be seen cause of the colour of the text, so, sorry...i changed some of them, should hopefully get to the rest eventually...thanks for the continued readerage...

The Zoo

2005-10-02T13:02:00.000+09:00

Went to the zoo the other day with some of my students and coworkers, so here are some pictures. Don't normally go to the zoo, don't so much like to see caged up animals, but, it was free so thought it might be worthwhile but was somewhat dissappointed as there didn't seem to be a whole lot to see. Had a good time anyhow, and got some fun pictures!

Silly rabbit, trix are for kids

2005-09-27T09:36:00.000+09:00

Went out, took a different route home, thought i might walk down the street behind mine, then through the little alleyway to my house, so i did. When i got to our house, i walked up the driveway, just about to open the gate to go to the side door which leads to our apartement when i saw a strange man there. Oops, I thought, I must have the wrong house...so i turned around walked down the driveway and half a block away realized it really was the right house all along...I really do have to learn not to doubt myself.

Bittersweet

2005-09-24T05:36:00.000+09:00

She said she cried at least once each day, not because she was sad but because the world was so beautiful and life was so short.

Today was sad...but a bittersweet kinda sad, i didn't cry, i was proud of myself for that. My first month teaching at my job here in Toronto is finished...we had a farewell lunch and graduation ceremony, this means alot of students are leaving. This month I taught an advanced reading and writing course, my students were fantastic...The standards were set high, but, with a lot of hard work, determination and effort on everyone's part they all passed! After spending 2 and a half hours together every afternoon for the past month needless to say everyone became quite attached...I'm gonna miss them alot...a few are continuing into the next level but most are going back to thier home countries...it's good to see them succeed, but sad to know it means i won't be teaching them anymore...bittersweet...

Proof

2005-09-11T02:49:00.000+09:00

I have recently been accused of not having any stories so not posting, but in fact the trouble is that i just am not good at the posting part with my stories so anyhow here is a little story from the other day just to show that i do indeed have more stories than i might have previously indicated on this blog...

Hello Teacher!

2005-09-11T02:42:00.000+09:00

So, some of my students greet me with a "Hello Teacher"...i'm not sure why, maybe they feel strange using first names or maybe they just don't bother to learn our names, but anyhow so one of my students, is always particularily smiley and happy as he greets me with a bouncy, "Hello Teacher!" so, i have taken to responding, "Hello Student!"...A couple of days later, i walk into class and he is wisely telling another student, "She doesn't like being called teacher, she likes to be called Christie"...point taken i guess! :)

Loving it!

2005-09-11T02:10:00.000+09:00

Walk five mins and i'm at the bank, 1 more min and i'm at a grocery store having passed 3 friut markets, a couple of coffee shops, several restaurants serving brunch, and quite a few fun stores, stop by one of the fruit markets on the way back. Come home to sun, a couple of fish, missing roommates (who should be back soon, yay!) and a reasonably big kitchen to cook bruch for some friends and roommies. Why would anyone want to live anywhere else?

Smartie?

2005-08-24T13:55:00.000+09:00

Well, I've done it...somehow i convinced the Uni of Melbourne kids that they should let me go to thier school, so on Feb 20, 2006 I shall officially start working on my Education Degree....yay me! So, provided I can find, borrow, beg and steal alot of money by next year, i'm off to OZ! Yay yay yay!

Soon

2005-08-19T14:09:00.000+09:00

Sept 1...yup, thats the magic date at the moment...the date i move, a new apt, in the city, out of my parents house...soon...

Astoundment

2005-08-18T12:10:00.000+09:00

TTC (Toronto Subway) announcement of the day after the doors try to close 3 times before succeeding..."Please do not push your children into closing doors. Thank you.". Gotta wonder how some people get to be parents and keep thier kids all at the same time!

Can't hide from fate...

2005-08-12T06:11:00.000+09:00

So, came back from Japan, thought that i liked people work, but wanted a change from teaching...just to try something new...applied for all sorts of jobs, pretty much almost anything and everything. Nothing, no luck, no jobs for me...so, i thought ok, i'll just put in my resume for a few teaching jobs, things that i didn't even have the technical qualifications they were asking for. But, somehow, less than 2 weeks later I now have a job and a few potential side jobs...funny how it works.
So, my next question is do we really chose our jobs or do they just somehow chose us? I mean maybe this is none of my doing...maybe the only field that really is hiring is education...however there really don't seem to be that many education jobs around. But ya...so, try as i might to change it, if i wanna work apparently teaching is what i get to do, good thing i like it...

Latest Project

2005-08-10T00:59:00.000+09:00

So, this is the table i have been working on...not quite half done it yet...there is a bottom level that i haven't even started and i still have to do a little deatiling on the top part. It's all made out of painted glass. The paints are baked on to mirror making them pretty much indestructable then i cut the glass into small pieces and play. I'm quite liking it, after this table I have another piece to do, not sure what kind of pattern/design i'm gonna do on it yet though.

2005-08-08T12:37:00.000+09:00

This guy was in our yard a couple of weeks ago...it was garbage day the next week, but once we (my father, neighbours and i) were out there he was too scared to climb out of his tree...good for pictures for me! Smart little creature he is...apparently the raccoons in Toronto migrate across the city during the week...they know which area has garbage day each day and so follow thier noses for more food...smarties!

The New Fish

2005-08-08T12:23:00.000+09:00

So, this is my new pet fish.
My sister kindly warned me before i got it, "Christie, i dont think this is a good idea. You need a tank and filter and stuff. It's gonna die you know" and the guys at the pet store seemed a little sceptical also...they didn't really want to sell me the plant, and wanted me to buy a fighting fish. Anyhow, i've had this fish for about 2 weeks now and all is well, despite thier doubts.
Currently working on finding him/her (not really sure which it is) a name. Can't really think of a name for a fish that beats Lorax...although, the current winner this time round is Sakana. But, as i found out, the actual word for goldfish in japanese is kingyo...but it doesn't sound as fun as sakana...still thinking on it anyhow....if you have any ideas let me know...

Multilingual....

2005-08-07T09:47:00.000+09:00

The other day, sitting on the train on my way home from the city in the early evening. The seats were in groups of 4, listening to the conversations in the 5 groups around me...one was french (quebecois), portugues, engish from around here, and another english from England and the last was japanese...i could even understand a little but couldn't hear them very well! Interesting...gotta love being able to hear so many languages all at once...

Sorry...Been a little negligent

2005-07-30T07:09:00.000+09:00

So, my sister kindly reminded me for the second time that i "really should post a new blog"...so, here it is...a new blog entry. But, what to say is the problem...I really have nothing exciting to write about. I have been working on a new table, mosaic glass...cutting glass is a little harder than i thought it would be, but i'm getting good at it...and I only have a few minor injuries...I figure i'm doing well. I'll try to post some pics when it's done. Anyhow, I have nothing else to write and I've stopped bleeding so i think i'll get back to work on the table...

Something to think about...

2005-07-02T06:49:00.000+09:00

Newspaper article (yup, i do actually read the paper on very rare occasions when there is something worth reading) in the Toronto Star today was talking about Ecological Footprints...average Canadian has a footprint of 8.8 global hectares. This number is representitive of how much land you need to maintain your lifestyle...it takes into account food production, shelter, mobility (stress on the land from car/transporation) and goods/services...although does not ask how much you shop! Anyhow, interesting, my life in Canada, my Ecological Footprint is 5.3 compared to when i was in Japan my lifestyle there got me a 2.9...interesting...something to think about forsure...anyhow, try it out, let me know how you do...http://www.ecofoot.org/

Officially Unemployed

2005-07-01T08:06:00.000+09:00

Right, so, last week finished tour guiding. I was working in Ottawa yet again...it was a nice relaxing last week...I was staying a Suite Hotel...in a 1 bedroom fully furnished apartment with a kitchen that had a dishwasher! and was bigger than my bedroom in japan, and wireless internet. it was a pretty sweet deal...wished i could have stayed longer. This week has been pretty relaxing, mostly taking it easy and finishing up work stuff...end of season party and such.
Which leads me to where i am now...officially unemployed...yup...and not really wanting to get another job either, that is the worst of it. Today, i was relaxing out by the pool reading, swimming and having a drink and trying to convince myself that i really do want to work...I dont think it's the best time to convince myself on that. Anyhow, thinking of going to visit my sister in Halifax in a few weeks...so might wait till after then to look into the whole job thing...
I just unpacked my suitcase, and put it away for the first time in 6 weeks...i'm kinda sad to put it away...it means i'm not going anywhere now...at least not for a few days....I'm gonna miss living out of my little siutcase.

The Infamous Christie Lowe

2005-06-21T09:51:00.000+09:00

So, to some of the people i'm working with now, this is how i'm known...kinda funny...being infamous is maybe the first step when trying to take over the world...and if thats the case, then well, i'm on the right track, yay me!
This week was a funnish one, i was in Ottawa, and working as a ground rep, this meant that i wasn't touring with kids, i was an in-city rep to help the other guides with trouble shooting and to chat up teachers and make sure all is going well. So, first night in the city, was meeting a group for dinner and to help them out a bit and went up to one of the teachers an introduced myself...and he said "ya, i remember you, you were our guide a couple years ago" and i thought oh, ok, maybe...didn't remember him at all though (I have the worst memory!). A little later i was introducing myself to another teacher, i got as far as to say, "I'm..." and he jumped in and said, "Christie, i remember you from 3 years ago". And i kinda did recognize him...funny funny though...it had been 3 years since i was a tour guide, i didn't think anyone would have remembered me!
This isn't the first time this has happened to me...I can't often remember faces, pretty much never names...but i'm still pretty bad at remembering people that i have only met once or in passing in general. Why is this? How does my memory not work so that i neglect to make connections and remember deatils! I'm always the first to admit that i have a horrible short term memory, i am a constant list maker and always have to have a whiteboard in my room to write things on, i dont count on myself to remember anything! My computer has this great little exterior harddrive...not much bigger than my hand and it stores and remembers all my music, why can't we make exterior hard drives...kinda like an attachmenty thingy to help your brain out...so gotta work on that!

Ghost

2005-06-14T12:16:00.000+09:00

Prepping for my ghost tour this week, I said to Adrienne, my parter in crime for the week, that it is funny, you'll never get as many blunt pick up lines as when you are in a ghost costume...it was her first ghost tour, and sure enough when we met after she too was astounded! My friend Cathia came and met up with us for a bit while we were waitin to start and she too was surprised. One guy even came up to us and said his buddies would buy us a round of drinks... We just couldn't figure it all out...i dont think i look particularily attractive with a super gross matted wig on...don't know if you guys can shed any light on it...

Montreal

2005-06-13T00:12:00.001+09:00

So, i've been in Montreal about 5 times in the last 7 weeks! So, here are a few pics of some of the things i usually see and do there...

The city of Montreal from the top of Mont Royal...way back in the day Mont Royal used to be an active volcano...now it just looks like a really big hill...it's got a beautiful park at the top though with a great lookout!

One of my favourite sights in Montreal is the Biodome...it's cool...they have 4 different ecosystems under one roof. My favourite animals there are the penguins...they are so much fun to watch! They also have a linx, sloths, kappiberra (these guys are funny, they kinda look like the rodents of unusual size (RUS) from the Princess Bride) and there are lots of other animals too!

Lastly, Space camp...it is so much fun, for the kids...they usually dont let me try anything! But, this one day my kids were all tired and boring and not want to try the simulators, so i got to...this one was meant to teach you how to keep cool under pressure and so there were 3 rings that moved in all different directions and i was strapped into a seat in the middle. The space camp leader would ask me questions like how to spell my name backwards while i was spinning around...i'm happy to say that i passed with flying colours...i can now go on to be an astronaut!

Coffee Making

2005-06-05T02:59:00.000+09:00

Ok, so, here i was, pretty proud of myself, during my time in japan, one of my acquired skills was learning how to make coffee...i kid you not, before i went to japan i didn't know how to make coffee...who needs to know how when there are always coffee shops nearby. So, i learnt how to use a filtery thing, a bodum, an electric coffee maker (the normal kind, not sure what to call it) and of course which ones to buy from vending machines. I thought i had the coffee thing figured out. Anyhow, sleeping over at a friends house (thanks Jen-Mai!) and making coffee this morning, she had this kind of bodum, but not the normal kind, i think it was like maybe a camping version. There was a cup at the bottom, a filtery thing that goes on top and a cup thing with holes that goes into the filter...so, i put coffee in the filter, boil some water, pour some water into the filter and figure it should work. I couldn't figure out what the cup thing with the holes was meant to do, so i just decided i didn't need it...bad idea! So, the water went through the filter in about 3 seconds and i got wattery coffee all over the kitchen...oops...maybe i dont really know how to make coffee afterall...

Anything you blog can and will be used against you

2005-06-02T03:43:00.000+09:00

Ok, so, conversation of a little while ago with my mother goes...

Mom: Christie, do you smoke?
Me: No, why?
Mom: Christie, do you smoke?
Me: No, i dont...why?
Mom: Christie, do you smoke?
My cousin: She doesn't smoke, why?
Mom: Christie, do you smoke?
Me: I don't smoke...and what does it matter if i do!
Mom: Christie, tell me the truth, do you smoke?
Dad: Why do you keep asking her she said she didn't, leave the poor girl alone!
Me: Well maybe I will start now! No I don't smoke...why do you keep asking me?

The whole interrogation took about 3 minutes, with my mom repeating only one question. Finally, the truth comes out, she was reading my blog, a post entitled "These are a few of my favourite things..." but she forgot to read the part about not all the opinions being mine...i love getting interrogated when people misunderstand cause they don't read the whole story!

My sister might go bald!

2005-05-31T11:27:00.000+09:00

True story! But not a sad one in the least! She has been challenged...she works for a children's hospital and they are doing it to raise money for breast cancer research. So, she is currently deciding if she should or shouldn't do it. Her hair would be made into a wig...how fun is that! Who knows, you could be walking down the street one day and be like, hey, thats my hair on that kid...ok, actually, i think that would just be freakish. However, I would be so proud of her for it, what a great cause and story! Anyhow, if you want to give her a little encouragment, leave her a note on her blog...and, if you want to sponsor her i'm sure she'd love that too!

The Red Shoe Diaries

2005-05-17T01:00:00.000+09:00

So, I bought another pair of red shoes, they are great! One can never have too many pairs of red shoes...I bought them in Montreal on one of my tours...there is a great shopping mall near space camp which is super convenient cause the kids are fully entertained and contained for 3 hours which means some quality shopping time and the teachers think i am the bestest tour guide ever when i take them shopping and for coffee without 55 kids following us! I've been in Montreal for the past 3 weeks and will be back there again this week. It's been good so far, one nightmare tour (a bus driver who knew no directions, but thought he did!...as well as having a jekell/hyde personality, life would be so much easier if they warned you about these things ahead of time...) and 2 good tours. Next weekend is a long weekend, yay! I'm going to Ottawa to visit a friend who is working out there for the summer, so, It'll be another week on the road for me...
And, that is about it for me...everytime i go to write i conclude that i live a very boring life as i can never think of anything good to say...i might have to start just making stuff up soon...

Pictures, pictures and even more pictures

2005-05-07T03:41:00.000+09:00

Ok, so i'm a little annoyed with blogger for not letting me organize all the pictures the way i want, they seem to think that just straight lines of pictures are ok! Anyhow, here are some pics from my last year in Japan (pretty much since i got a digital camera!)...lots from goodbyes and many from other funnesses...

pictures

2005-05-07T02:31:00.000+09:00

La Via Degli Angeli

2005-05-02T14:14:00.000+09:00

That was the movie title awarded to me 3 years ago by a company i worked with...ya...apparently i'm angelic...i wonder if 3 years later (aka now) i still get to keep that title...being an angel might be cool, although only if i could fly, without hitting the ground that is...

Ok, so recently sorting through some papers, and i find a job description of my current job that goes as follows...

"a skilled position that requires jumping through hoops, undying patience as students hurl objects and abuse at you for the duration of multiple hour drives, a glowing smile as your teachers decide to rearrange the entire itinerary on the spot, and unparalleled diplomacy as your bus driver complains about the hours on duty while also making advances on you!"

...and it's oh so true, thats the funny part! This week on the road was not such a good one...but next weeks gotta be better right? On a brighter note, i think the bus driver i worked with might be fired, after just one tour...there's always something...can anyone name what movie thats from? Lemony Snicket's An Unfortunate Series of Events...i just bought the DVD...it's good...i highly reccommend it, a little darker than most of the stuff i usualy like, but well amusing...definately worth a watch...i just need to carry a hair ribbon with me now, and learn to be an inventor...although, i think i would just rather decorate the world than invent it, so maybe i'll stick to that. i need a new project, the prob is i've already fully decorated my room here and i am not authorized to do anything in the rest of the house...that alone is almost motivation enough for me to move out...

My Room

2005-04-22T01:14:00.000+09:00

Ok, so, one of the things that suprised me the most when i got home was how pretty my room was, i had forgotten! It's kinda whimsicalish i think. Anyhow, so here are some pictures of where i live. The mirror, I made it before i went out to japan, some of you may recognize the colours, they kinda match a certain minidisc curtain...it was great fun breaking the glass for the mirror! As for the chair, it is my favourite napping spot in the world, everyone should have one! (as always click on the pictures to make them bigger)

These are a few of my favourite things...

2005-04-20T11:08:00.000+09:00

So, taking a train to the airport, kinda sad cause i was all by myself and leaving japan and bored too, needed a project and so, thought i would take a little poll to find out what your fav things about Japan are. Funny, when telling people i was leaving japan, the most common repsonse from other teachers was people telling me that they wish they were leaving too. So, i thought i would leave a reminder of some of the good things about japan so you can all remember why you do stay there! here are answers to the question "What do you like most about Japan?"...(the stuff in brackets are my additions to help clarify but otherwise they are direct answers!)

karaoke
matcha freeze
you can get red bean anything (i'm not sure i personally agree with that one!)
bags
dangly bits on keitais (aka cellphones/mobiles)...later updated to "ostentatious percieved style really...phone bits are a subset of this"
pocky
my life
shinks (aka shinkansens/bullet trains)
mountains
cheap fags (cigarettes)
nova usagi (i also might have to disagree with that!)
japanese castles
woodblock prints
the cheesy pasta that used to be in Italian Tomato (a restaurant in Fujinomiya Jusco)
collection of Engrish t-shirts
100 yen shop
that George Bush isn't president (that was from an American!)
food
sushi
tatami
food (again)
change of the seasons

Back in Canada!

2005-04-19T11:53:00.000+09:00

Well, i'm back in Canada now, as you might have figured from the title. I got in this evening...no real problems surprisingly...Air Canada is my new favourite airline, i had so much baggage, 4 carry-ons and 2 large heavyish suitcases and they didn't care! They so get bonus points for that! And, they gave us HagenDaaz ice cream for dessert...how cool are they! However, they have no Tv's of the backs of the seats, so i think they know they have been outdone and are trying to compensate...but it's ok, as it works well when your travelling with lots of stuff!
I haven't had time to go out yet, but it is wierd being in such a big house! I was watching TV sitting on a giant couch and watching a big screen tv, and it was cool but kinda felt a little strange too...quite different from my little apartment with bean bags and watching things on my laptop! Everything is big! Highways, cars, roads, couches, tv's, people! I forgot how big it all is...funny that! I'm sure in a few weeks i will think it's normal again...anyhow, enough babble for now, i'll write more later when i have stuff to say!

Neverending Packing...

2005-04-15T11:36:00.000+09:00

Well, i'm at 9 boxes now, and still not done! Although, the end is in sight...my goal, originally was 6 boxes has now been expanded, as i have found more stuff, to, 10...this number may change after i half fill this one...I believe fully in expanding goals as necessary...oh the joys of moving....Guess this really does mean i'm coming home though....The post office closes at 4:30 today, so, whatever I don't pack by then isn't coming. Tomorrow, a courier service is coming to pick up my suitcases and take them to the airport for me...this is the normal thing to do in Japan...And then that is the end of me! I'll be all packed and almost moved, just have to get on a plane after that...crazyish!

2005-04-14T17:39:00.000+09:00

One of my friends here made this for me, how fun is that!

Contrary to Popular Belief Denial is Good!

2005-04-14T00:56:00.000+09:00

Ok, so, the past two weeks have been good but super sad, as it gets closer and closer to Monday, i have to say more and more good-byes...and it all makes sense really, but that isn't making it any more fun! So, I have started to stop saying good-bye, my latest great trick..."i'm floating around this week, so i'm sure i'll see you again"...it seemed to work really well at the beginning of the week, but now people are starting to catch on...as i was reminded tonight, i only have 4 days left. So, just to inform you all, please don't take it personally, it's not that i don't want to say good-bye, it is just that well saying good-bye all the time is difficult and, it's much easier to figure on paths crossing later on...So, ya, maybe denial does seem to have it's purpose from time to time...

From Tea to Sake

2005-04-02T23:53:00.000+09:00

So, about 3 weeks ago i started taking a Japanese pottery class, well, i dont know that it is Japanese persay, but a pottery class none the less. It's been fun so far, but i dont think i'm very good at it! My first lesson i learnt how to kneed the clay...after my sensei (teacher) gave me his dough, i made a couple of mugs. I think he kinda gave up on my kneeding abilities and well, maybe there was good reason for that, while his clay looked like a sculptured organized lump, mine just looked like a big clump! The mugs might be ok actually, we'll see when they come out. The next lesson I made a vase and two teacups. I did a little better with the kneeding this time, i even got looks from my sensei sort of suggesting "there might be hope for you yet!", so i was pretty excited. Communication is quite limited, he has very little English and I have not much more Japanese. My last lesson, I sanded and glazed my mugs, i think the glazing might be my stronger point...we'll see when my mugs come out of the kiln. After that, it was time to work some more on the teacups. While they were on the potters wheel, i had to carve out the bottom into a nice japanese teacup bottom shape, so, sensei showed me how to do the first one, and then i tryed the second. It started out ok...but then all of a sudden it flew off the wheel and broke! So, now it is a sake (pronounced sa-k...it's japanese rice wine) cup (they look like tiny teacups)...but, on a brighter note, i made a pottery class friend cause another lady was glazing, and she wanted to copy me! I used three colours of glaze on my mugs and added stripes and stars...they may not be so japanesey looking, but she thought it was fun and did a similar design! Then, we were talking at the end of class (half broken japanese/half broken english) and she wanted to know when i was coming back! yay for pottery class friends!

It's just an Ordinary Day...

2005-03-18T16:23:00.000+09:00

Isn't it just! These past few weeks have been whirlwindish, to say the least...for the last while i have been planning to post some pics and stuff from my family's visit...and i will...later when i have some more time...but for now...well you get an update on where i'm at!
So, it's official...I'm coming back to Canada...for good, leaving Japan on April 18th...i'm still sorting it all out in my brain, i'm happy to be going to back, i've missed so many people and so many things...2 and a half years out here (not that i was counting!) but it is time to come back, so hopefully i will see lots of you soon! I bought my ticket today...
Aside from that, well, it's sunny out here, it's a beautiful spring day, the kind that makes life seem beautiful, no matter what else is happening...in a couple of hours i am going to go play pottery...there is a pottery workshop and for a sign up fee they give you some tools and you buy clay and you can go work and play...i'm gonna attempt to make some teacups, and well, who knows what else! We'll see how it goes...i'm looking forward to have something creative to do!
My fish died...i was pretty sad...poor little Lorax...i miss watching him swim around. I was thinking of getting another one, but, one of my roomies kindly reminded me she was planning on flushing him anyhow as soon as i left...he was a nice goldfish though, very cute! So, i'll have to find a new use for the fishbowl...let me know if you have any ideas...
I lost my wallet last week...boy was that ever an adventure! I dont think i will try it again anytime soon...involved entirely too much stress for my liking! The good news was that it was found and returned...the bad news is that the guy that returned it was a little strange to say the least and wanted to bring it to my house, and not the police. Luckily i have some wonderful Japanese staff at work who convinced him to turn it into the police 2 days later at his convenience, with promises i would tell the police there was no money in it and against his wishes...although he still knows where i live...he stole the money...at least there wasn't too much in there...but i got all my cards back, so life is good!
And other than that...well, i guess there really isn't too much else going on...things have been kinda crazyish lately, and i have been kinda sad about saying goodbyes, both cause i am leaving and others are leaving before me too, but, things are all feeling good again, yay! I think it's sun...i was once told i was solar powered and it seems to be true...

The Great Wall

2005-02-21T20:10:00.000+09:00

So, this is The Great Wall! It was pretty amazing...I was a little dissapointed I couldn't get better pictures, Beijing is highly polluted and so there was a big cloud of smog the whole time...not so good. But it was still pretty cool to see and climb for a bit...There were alot of stairs and it was pretty steep alot of the time...I can't imagine how they built it! Apparently, the wall was originally a series of small walls to protect individual cities and then eventually the government just said this is silly, we should just join them together, and so then they had the Great Wall.

I traveled in China with my parents. They came and met me in Japan and then we spent a few days in Tokyo before going to China. We we just in China for 4 days, so not very long at all but it was still great to be able to go. We did a good bit of sightseeing, several Temples and Palaces as well as go to the silk and pearl markets and of course The Great Wall. It was the end of the Chinese New Year, so many people were still on holiday. Near our hotel there was a festival of sorts, fireworks at night, lots of street vendors and interesting foods.

The temples in China are much more ornate than those in Japan. Many had gold roofs (to symbolize wealth). Red, Green and Blue were also known to symbolize weath and longevity so almost everything was decorated in those colours.

China!

2005-02-21T19:38:00.000+09:00

About to Embark on a New Adventure...

2005-02-10T01:11:00.000+09:00

Ya, so, thought about it, realized, i forgot to include something big on this Blog! I'm going to China, how cool is that! I leave for Beijing on Sunday (feb 13)...unfortunately, I will only be there for 4 days, but still really looking forward to it...My parents are arriving on Friday (feb. 11) i'll spend a couple days in Tokyo with them then we will go to China. After China I will come back to Japan and they will go to Thailand (too much time and money for me to go) and then about a week later we will meet up and travel to Hiroshima, Miyajima and Kyoto in Japan...I'm pretty excited...travel is good for me! Stay tuned for pictures...

30 Strange, Interesting and Curious things about Japan

2005-01-30T22:34:00.000+09:00

Ok, so, your right, this does promise to become a really long blog, but, i'm going to keep adding to it bit by bit, till i reach 101, so, keep checking!

1. People yell at you to be polite when you enter a store (they are actually welcoming you, but it doesn't sound like it at first!)
2. The Playboy Bunny logo is worn by anyone and everyone from babies to teens to grandma's...the bunny is cute so why not wear it!
3. Kids run around in bare feet in winter! I kid you not! and when they do wear shoes half of them don't wear socks!
4. Hello Kitty flip flops can be worn by females and males alike!
5. It is fully acceptable for men to go to the conbinie (convenience store) in thier slippers.
6. Good service means you use many more words to be polite...efficiency is irrelevant.
7. You can get rice makers that plug into the cigarette lighters in your car.
8. Unbrella's are ok to borrow from putlic racks if you need one, as long as you put it back later.
9. There are bags for wet umbrella's at almost all stores and restaurants so you don't get water on thier floors...the environment is not a concern...
10. Scarves magically reappear on tea bushes (read the story futher down in this blog).
11. Little old ladies will elbow you out of the way when they want to get off/on the train, be careful!
12. It's ok to put your feet on the seats on the train, just take of your shoes first to be polite.
13. It is extreamly rude to talk on a mobile phone on the train, the train crew will make you end your call.
14. It is fully acceptable to go out drinking and get very drunk with your boss/coworkers...in fact it's expected...but you better show up at work the next day!
15. You should never leave work before you boss...if you do you are considered a lazy employee...
16. Some of the things you can buy in vending machines (other than drinks)

half a dozen eggs
flowers
girls underwear

17. Unmarried men are not expected to know how to cook, if they don't live with thier families, they often eat food from the convenience store every night.

18. If a visitor is coming to your house for the first time it is custom to meet them at a train station or a landmark nearby and show then where you live...streets rarely have names and adresses are formed based on the area which you live in...Even Japanese people can't find thier way around!

19. You can drink beer from a bottle or can on the train at any time.

20. If you are sick you should wear a face mask so as not to pass on your germs, taking a day off work is unacceptable.

21. If you take a day off work or go on holiday, you must bring "omiyage", a souvenir/present, for your boss and office...we get alot of chocolate from students this way!

22. On Valentines Day only females give gifts. Women give chocolates to thier boss, those they are interestined in, or thier partner. They likely give chocolate to a few people. Men give nothing at this time. On March 14th it's White day and men should choose 1 women they like and give her some flowers or candy. We don't even get chocolate out of this...I personally feel cheated!

23. the banking system is one of the most backward in the world with a distinction between domestic and international visa cards and ATMs which don't clearly state the difference between them and the insanely high withdrawl fee and just ludicrious .00001% interest bearing account (submitted by The G In J).

24. Women must wear a hood to hide thier horns at thier wedding.

25. Numbers 4 and 9 are unlucky...13 is ok though, so most hotels have a 13th floor but no 4th floor (4 means death).

26. You only cross your chopsticks at a funeral, it is a sign of death.

27. You can only kill spiders at night, if you kill a spider in the morning it is bad luck.

28. If your bike gets impounded, you have to pay a fee to get it out, however, the pound workers will put air in your tires and even give you a new bike seat if needed!

29. A health system that charges mad money for routine colds 10000yen including medicine and 5000 yen for a friggin' doctors note without cracking even a smile (sent to me by The G In J)

30. If your train is delayed you can get a ryoshusho (reciept) that you can give your employer to prove it was the trains fault and not yours! But, you may have to stand in line for a while for it....

A Japanese Wedding Story...

2005-01-28T13:46:00.000+09:00

Last Fall, a Japanese friend of mine got married. She invited me to the wedding ceremony and reception. The ceremony was very traditional. First, we all got dressed, the Groom is on the left...i think he looks like a samurai! The bride wore a white wedding Kimono with a hood, legend has it that women have horns when they get married, so the hood is to hide the horns! After the ceremony, the Bride changes into a coloured Kimono (middle picture). The ceremony was held at a Buddist temple. We arrived at the temple and went into a backroom. There the monks explained to us what would happen in the ceremony. After, we went into the temple. The Bride and Groom sat in the middle of the room, the Bride's family sat facing them on the left and the Groom's facing them on the right. After a Prayer and meditation by the monks, the Bride and Groom each had to take 3 sips from 3 bowls of Sake (Japanese rice wine). Then, the bowls were brought around and the guests also took a sip. We said a final prayer and then it was finished! The ceremony was short, it only lasted about 20 mins. For the occasion I wore a Kimono (the bride lent it to me!) which was pretty exciting. The Kimono I wore has long sleeves...this means that I am unmarried...the Bride's white Kimono also has long sleeves, but her coloured one doesn't!

Robbie Burn's Day...

2005-01-25T01:25:00.000+09:00

Yup, Jan. 25th is Robbie Burn's day...know who he is? A famous Scottish poet...i think the Shakespear of Scotland might be a good description. Anyhow, on Robbie Burns day tradition says you eat Haggis, nips and tatties. So, goin to a Scottish friends house tomorrow night to celebrate...might be an international Robbie Burns day though...Australia Day is the 26th, so gonna have something Australian i think, and well, i'm contributing hummus, tatzaki and a trifle...oh the feast! It's great to have something to celebrate! Anyhow, a little grace my Dad just told me for the occasion...

Some have meat and canna eat
Some hae meat and want it
but we have maet and we can eat
and say the lord we thank it.

Happy Robbie Burn's Day!

Finders Keepers, Loosers Weepers...Except in Japan

2005-01-22T01:09:00.000+09:00

Ok, so, Story of the day...

I was going to the laundromat to do my laundry(it's only about a 5 min walk from my house)...we don't have a dryer and i needed to get things done quickly...so i thought i put my favourite red scarf on, but, after i went to the laundromat and was waiting for the train (was going to meet a friend for coffee) and noticed my scarf was missing! But, i figured that maybe i just forgot to put it on, so went out for coffee, did some groceries and on my way back to the apartment i looked for it, but didn't see it. Got home, did a few things, looked for the scarf, but still couldn't find it...i was beginning to worry now...my grandmother gave me the scarf...so, was going back to get my laundry, i took my bike this time...and at the end of my street, resting on some tea bushes (we have green tea fields across the street from my apt) was my scarf...Someone had folded it and put it on the bushes so it didn't get trampled and dirty...how sweet is that! Japan continues to amazes me...

Storytime...

2005-01-08T16:52:00.000+09:00

It all started with a bus ride, we left Shin-Shizuoka Station at 11:00pm. There were 14 of us...a large group, but good fun! At 6:00am we arrived at the hotel, a little earlier than expected...some people had slept on the bus, and others hadn't. Finding the hotel was a challenge, the bus dropped us off seemingly in the middle of nowhere, and it was snowing reasonably heavily...but the snow was enough of a novelty that we ignored the cold and had fun! About 20 mins later we found the hotel, the staff were super helpful and friendly and it was smooth sailing from here on out. 3 days and almost no sleep later we left our winter wonderland...below are some pictures and stories about what happened in the 3 days...

The Journey Begins...

2005-01-08T15:56:00.000+09:00

From the top: 1. The bus... 2. Love the monkey ears...wonder what they're talking about! 3. All geared up and nowhere to go... may as well have a beer! 4.Really, it's not cold! 5. Yet another group shot... 6. The Ski lodge...nice and toasty warm! 7. In front of the hotel...ready to conquer the slopes!

A Traditional New Year's Eve...

2005-01-07T16:07:00.000+09:00

So, the plan was to hang out at the hotel and have a somewhat quiet (although nothing's really quiet with 14 people!) New Year's Eve Party. So, we had a few drinks to celebrate with and were kicking back. Next thing we know, the Japanese hotel owners invite us in to join thier party. They offer us some Sake (japanese rice wine) and some Japanese munchies. Anyhow, we got talking with them, us in our best Japanese...we had about 43 words combined i would guess...and them in their best English, which far outdid our Japanese! A little later, it was almost midnight, they insisted that we go to the Temple with them, we tried to politely decline as we didn't want to crash thier party, but they would have none of that...so, off to the temple we went! At the temple we rang the bell and said a prayer, wished each other "Akemashite Omedeto Gozaimasu" (Happy New Year), drank more sake, and warmed ourselves by the bonfire. Definately a different, but good, kind of New Years...