House Hunt Continues

Another house that is large and awesome, and it's also up-hill from a train station!  Too far for us.  DARN!  I LOVED this house!

I loved coming through the front gate.  Very nice.  There's even a black pine tree.  Best part?  It is on a bluff, and the view is of Yokohama and the bay.  The night lights must also be incredible.  And the best, best part?  It's across from a playground.  It had a slide, and swings... and about as far away as our play area was at our house.  I could see it clearly from the kitchen and master bedroom.  The people had moved out on Friday, so we were the first ones to get a peek at it.

I jokingly said one of the closets would be perfect for William.  I was amazed how much storage was under the eaves.  At another house, the interpreter said, "NOT for William."  It was a room about the size of a sauna and would have been great for playing in!

They were so nice to me that I'm dreading having to say that it's not perfect.  It really is a gorgeous house.  I also got to see a few houses that I would have no problem saying no to.

The interesting thing is that when we go to pay for the house we choose, we'll have to bring cash for first month's rent (@ $3,300.00 USD) damage deposit, realtor's fees (same as 1 month rent), payment to the owner (same as 1 month's rent... helps them with the fact that you only have to give them 10 day warning you're moving out).  That is a lot of money.  No checks, no credit cards, CASH.  Same goes for buying used cars, which we're attempting to do.

Yesterday was a rainy day, so I bought an umbrella that is obnoxiously pink.  I am loud and proud and visible to the drivers around here!  :)  I guess it's my version of rose colored glasses when living in a place where it's rainy often.  It's rainy, then nice for 2 days, rainy, then nice for a few days...  it's the spring pattern here.

William is better, and bouncing around on the beds again.  I was worried when he had a fever.  Now I'm just annoyed by him.  Isn't that the loving concern of a parent?  :)

This weekend William had a fever, so we stayed in.  Saturday was such a beautiful day that it was hard to stay indoors, but he had a cough and a fever.

Tim ventured out on the great car hunt.  The directions he got from a friend had him getting off at the station before the one he should have gotten off at.  So...  Tim walked, and walked, and walked.  Tim was happy to stay in with William on Sunday!

He took this picture because the ladder hooks to the lines!  

The lines have to be typhoon ready, so I guess they're sturdy enough!

Okay, it was a boring weekend, but William woke up well today.  Woo hoo!  

Ready, Set, Go!

Tim's dad used to play 'Go.'  Go (click here) is a Japanese game.  Tim remembers being about 7 when he played with his dad, but quickly lost interest because his dad always won.

There is a Go Club here, and Tim went to it the other night.  He has renewed his interest in playing.  So, this morning, William wanted to play.  Tim told him the rules, gave him a five stone handicap, and counseled him on his moves.  Of course, William won.

Tim had fun at the Go Club, where he won a game, and was encouraged by them appreciating his strategies.  The Japanese nationals speak a little English, and were impressed by one of his moves.  While the Americans were saying, "oooooohhh (as in that move's gonna cost you), within a few moves the Japanese instructor saw what Tim was doing, which would win him the game and said, "Ah... sacrifice!"

I'm told the rules are simple, but it's a strategy game, therefore extremely difficult.

Modern Mom

I was out with the 'girls.'  Their kids are either grown, or in high school.  I will change the names to protect the very guilty.  :)

We met at HoshiYen (yes, you guessed it: Starbucks and yes, they have them over here).  One of the high school boys, Dannon, came to get money from the mom.  It was a very nice day, and with all the blooms, allergy season is in high gear.  He was angling to get out of school by saying he wasn't feeling well.  The mom, L.L. Bean, told him that he wasn't getting out of school, he wasn't REALLY sick.

As we were driving to our destination (a re-sale shop), another one of the mom's, Kohlshopper's, phone rang.  Her son, Jakers, is a friend of Dannon's.  This is what I hear:

"Hello? ....  Yeah, uh huh, ooohhh...  You're just going to have to suck it up, Buddy, I'm out with the girls right now. ....... Well, then I want you to have Dannon take a picture of you spewing, and send it to me, otherwise you're going to have to stick it out."

I was HOWLING.   If your teenagers insist on needing a cell phone, use it to your advantage!

Co-Op Pickup

We get to pick up William at Co-op Preschool. 

Where's Waldo?

I chose this picture because of the beautiful trees beginning to bloom, William loves riding the buses, and if you look really closely, Tim has gotten off the bus at the last bus stop, and is walking towards us.  He is in a tie beyond the car you see.  So, I have a picture of Tim!

We're getting more into daily life.  We are still looking for houses, but it is a well-known fact that May is the big move month around here.  Some are moving now, but it gets crazier later!

We are hearing of houses... open in May, after people move out!

Tim has gone to a 'Go' club meeting tonight.  Go is a Japanese board game where you use white and black stones in squares to capture land.  If you surround an area, it's all yours.  The person with the most amount of their colored stones in squares, wins.  He used to play with his dad a lot.  Something fun to do.

William and I went to a play group today.  William was hesitant to play until he knew the rules.  He did love the parachute games.  Fun!  We walked to lunch and I let him run around at a small park area, and then back on the bus.  Yes, there are other pictures, but how many close-up pics of blossoms do you really want to see? 

We are agonizing over whether we should put William into Japanese kindergarten.  Their school year starts in April (very soon).  They get 6 weeks off at the end of July and August, and resume in September.  I think it would be great for him, but a mom I met today at the play group says the first three months is really hard because they don't understand anything.  Her daughter (would be in William's age group) speaks Japanese really well now, but for the first three months, cried every morning before going.  She'd always come home happy, but going was hard.  It's funny to see a little blondie speaking Japanese with confidence.

William can be soooo silly, I don't know if I want to inflict him on the Japanese peoples.  Like tonight, as we're walking back from dinner, he starts singing, "If you're happy and you know it, slap your butt..."  That song (normal words) was sung today at the tot play group, and he's changed the words for his own enjoyment.  Of course, I have to scold him for saying such things, but it does crack me up.

Tim said the nice part about American school, is that our holidays are on off-Japanese holidays, and therefore we can go to Disneyland on those days.  Hmmm... He does have a point.  Ah, what to do?  :)

One of the arguments for him going that has me about sold (but how William will manage the stress has me still on the edge) is that since we'll be living amongst other Japanese, he will be able to go play with the local kids if he learns enough Japanese to negotiate play.  He won't be isolated, or need me to interpret.

Some Japanese words are easy, like cheeks are hoho.  Easy to remember.  If you eat a lot of Ho-Hos, you'll have fat cheeks.  But some are so similar sounding to me.  I am learning a bit of slang.  I try to catch what the Japanese say to the driver as they get off the bus.  Older folks say different things than the younger ones, but I'm not sure of all the nuances.

We've been enjoying sunny days, and it sure helps posting pretty pictures!  William got to run outside a lot tonight, and learned how to climb a chain ladder up to a wooden landing.  An older child was using her wheeled shoes to go really fast down the steep slide.  You know the type of tennis shoes all the kids have, with the wheels in the heels, so you can roller skate a bit, or walk on your toes.  William wanted to know when he would get his wheeled shoes.  I can't keep up with him now with regular shoes...  no, he's not getting any!  And, no, Aunt Diane, I won't tell you his shoe size!!!  :)

House Hunt

Finally, I got to go talk to a real estate agent, and she took William and I to go see the house.  William found his room.  Problem is, it is too far from a train station.  Darn.  I REALLY loved this house!  4 bedrooms and 1 storage room upstairs (enough room to have a place for friends when they're over) and a shower.  Rarely do you find just a shower in a house.

It had hardwood floors or tatami mats.  A skylight in the kitchen, recessed lighting, plenty of storage already built in, I could go on and on by what it had.  The best, was a beautiful Japanese garden.  Great for adult zen, but I'm afraid William wouldn't be the best for it.

It was across from a middle school, so you have fewer neighbors to deal with.  

We'd be closer to Ikego, which is where there is a K-3 school for military kids.  Many of the teachers who teach there live in this neighborhood.

It had 6-8 plug ins in each room, cable pre-wired into rooms, remote controls for lighting, etc., a security system, and more square footage than our house in the states.  

The light in the house was beautiful.  You face south, but you're near a top of a hill, so you get good light.  

The price was right, too.  Right now, the yen is really strong against the dollar.  So, even though the government is helping to subsidize housing (it's so much more costlier than at home), they only give so much American dollars.  So, if the dollar declines too much more, we can afford less.

Did I mention this place was near a large park?

BUT, it is 45 minutes uphill walk from a train station.  

After the real estate agent dropped us off, William and I went to a function at a co-workers of Tim's place.  Ben will be 4 in a short while.  He and William played well until William became low on calories.  It was such a set-up.  He had a snack before getting there (almost lunch) and then his friend Ben snuck snacks for them, which he ate.  So, when lunch (noodles) rolled around, he wasn't hungry.  William LOVED one of the toys, and when Ben and little sister Mary (OMG what a cute kid!) were also trying to help him play... well, a time out ensued.  Poor guy.  He finally ate some cheese, and then they were best buddies again.

Well, let me explain that.  They both are smart, willful, train loving children.

It was nice having a child-friendly home with toys to play with!

Rainy Days and Mondays

Okay, I'm having blog clog issues.  I spent 5 hours of computer time to upload the Easter Egg Mosh Pit video.  Kinda funny, 'cause you see William picking up and passing on eggs that aren't blue.  He only got two, but that meant he was a winner!  However, the computer hiccuped, and I lost the entire upload.  

Gmail's blogspot is free, or I would be complaining about some of the issues with it.  But, free is free, and that makes me happy!

Today was a rainy day.  We have to walk back from preschool, as the next bus is 35 minutes after pick-up time.  Our shortcut that we found had a major mud puddle.  William splashed through it with glee.  Back and forth, back and forth.  He had a dub dub when we got back, and I washed his clothes and tennis shoes.

We went downstairs and played in the play room.  William had fun playing 'chef.'  He kept bringing the fake food to me. Of course I was full by the time I was done.

Tomorrow I finally have a chance to go see a house!  It's large, but off the beaten path.  We need to be close to a train station.  But, I am getting anxious to start viewing homes so I can make a decision!

 

Blooming

The trees are starting to bloom here in Yokosuka.  After the incredible windy stormy days, it was a beautiful day yesterday.

I went into town solo while Tim did the taxes and hung out with William.  

I had promised someone I would show him the resale shops I had been shown.  Think St. Vincent de Paul.  Some items are awesome, some are kinda icky.  But, there are treasures to be found, for sure!  I had to explain that I had no house, and therefore can't buy some of the pottery and plates, yet. 

We had heard about a magazine for used cars.  I had to ask for one in a convenience store.  First, I was thinking they'd be free, like the Nickel.  And, I wasn't looking for the right kind of thing.  I didn't realize it would be the size of an old Sears catalogue!  Wow!  We were using our dictionary, our Hirigana and Katakana tables, etc. to decipher what was being said.  I even went down the hallway and asked a friend who speaks a lot of Japanese, and she helped on how old the cars are (Japanese year is Hasei 20, so we want a car Hasei 14 or more).  She gave us the hint of looking for the area code for which ones are in our area (since we can't read the Kanji for the city names).  Then Tim said, "Ah, it says there's an internet site for this magazine in English."  Ahh.... MUCH easier!  It was worth the $2.50 and the back ache from carrying it all the way back to here just for that!  

I did have my first official Japanese meal... at Denny's.  They don't serve American stuff there, it's just Japanese stuff.  I do want to report that I used my chopsticks very well.  And for the record, all the Japanese were using forks!!!  

On the way back, I bought strawberries for William.  The strawberries are so fresh and sweet here.  NUMMY!

When I got back, I had to do laundry. Tim finished the taxes, and then went and picked up our food.  Pretty mundane stuff.

Easter Egg Scramble

Yesterday was still windy.  The walk back from preschool wasn't too bad, as we were amongst housing.  We did find the short cut.  I asked a boy about 12 years old, because I knew there had to be a short way through the houses.  He walked us through it to the point where you get back on the road.  Nice boy.  When we got back on surface streets, we were in the lee of a hill.  

I was carrying William's paper made Easter basket from school.  It was clutched tightly to my side to avoid the wind.  When we got to the intersection that is exposed to the gale force winds, it was ripped out of my hands, and all eggs went sailing.  

Panic!  You should have seen William.  These were his hard-earned 5 eggs filled with candy, and 2 real hard boiled, colored eggs.  The good news is that the hard boiled ones were really easy to peel after they were cracked by the fall, and rolled along the road...   

The plastic ones rolled far down the road and across the intersection before they stopped against the curb.  I was in disaster management mode, trying to get William to the curb, in case a car came along.  Speed limit is 15 mph, so they'd see us before hitting us, but you never know.  William managed to grab 3 eggs before they blew away.  I got him to the corner, and I chased down the rest.

In order to secure our precious cargo, I had to use both hands, so William was mom-handless.  He couldn't walk into the wind it was so forceful.  So, I had him walk behind me.  It was a struggle to get that last block walked to the Navy Lodge.  But the eggs made it!

William ate all the candy out of the eggs.  I've never seen him eat candy like this before.  He usually only eats a couple, and then stops.  

Okay, on to the professional Easter Egg Hunts this weekend!  

Stir-Kaze

Today's Japanese word of the day is:  Kaze (Kaw-zay).  It means wind.

Yesterday I stayed indoors and let the gale force winds howl outside.  I wanted earplugs last night it was so loud!  The sea spray has coated all the cars outside the Navy Lodge.  

I am watching birds struggling to keep up in the wind, their wings flapping a million miles an hour and not going anywhere.  Kinda funny to watch.  The crows keep low to the ground and seem to get places pretty quickly.

I used the Japanese Holiday time (first day of Spring, time to clean the graves, and therefore no Realtors available) to sort, file and toss.  I feel so much more on-top of it today.  William helped with shredding, and received his first paper cut.

William and I didn't make it out of our PJs.  I am going a bit stir crazy from being in two hotel rooms for a day, but it was a nice break and re-energizing time.  We've been on the go to get everything done for months now, that we haven't had time to just veg.

Tim was brave (and dressed) so he was volunteered to walk to chili's to get our dinner.  It's only about 25 yards away from our door, but he came back soaked.  Dinner was good.  Eating in the restaurant would have been fun, because the waves were crashing against the windows.  

Tim got his cell phone from work yesterday, so he spent the evening reading the manual.  It is a nice one.  At least his comes with a manual you can read.  My phone comes only with a two page cheat sheet in English.  The manual in Japanese is, well... in Japanese.  BTW:  Tim is on page 272 right now, and it FINALLY is talking about voice mail!  You think that would be first!  Tim says there are a hundred or so warnings like, "Don't put it in a microwave or pressure cooker,"  (page 13). "Do not put the cell phone on the dashboard as a problem may occur due to airbag inflation."  These goodies are from page 14:  "If you have a heart problem, take caution when setting the vibrator or ring volume as it may affect your weak heart."  "CAUTION:  Do not swing the phone by strap or other parts.  The phone terminal may strike you or others around you, resulting in body injury, malfunction, or damage to the phone or other property."  It's a wonder anyone survives without reading the manual.

Tim says there is some Engrish.  For example:  "The battery pack is consumable."  Obviously, it means that it can be replaced, not eaten.

The inside joke for us is that Tim always reads the manuals.  I press buttons!  I successfully turned off my ringer (by accident).  I guess I missed a few calls.  You don't want to miss calls here because you are only charged for calls you make.  Receiving, even on a cell phone, costs you nothing.  So the person calling pays for your talking time.  Tim has set his to ring up to 30 seconds before going to voice mail.  That way he'll get it detached from his belt, answer it, etc.  He's doing his part to save the government money.

The fashion over here is to have a bit of 'bling' on your cell phone.  They sell them everywhere!  They are little doo-hickies like Disney characters on little short leashes, which attach to the phone.  We'll see what we end up with.  I didn't see a spot on my phone to attach one.  The other phones I've seen do have these.  A couple ladies here have these free phones they got with their phone plans.  They are pink with a bit of quilting.  They look like lady maxi pads.  I started calling them their iPads.  :)  I wonder if their phones are consumable?  

Gale Force Winds

Last night it started, and there are gale force winds going on.  Pretty cool to see the white caps out on the bay.  Because of the air conditioner/heater units being window ones, it's pretty noisy in our rooms.

Yesterday I got my license to drive in Japan!  Now I can rent a car.  We could buy one right now, but we are told not to purchase a car until you know the size of your parking spot.  This will probably be the only time my license says I weigh 120.  Remember, they're on the metric system here, so you can do the math!

Currently, it is car tax time in Japan.  If we are smart, we will wait until that has passed before we buy one, just so we don't have the hassle. 

William and I have started playing 'bus roulette.'  There are a few places where the bus stop is on a mini loop, so the shelter is the same for either way around the base (clock-wise or counter clock-wise).  Depending on where you're going, you are either on the bus for a very LONG time, or a short time.  We've gotten into taking the next bus and seeing how long it takes to get where we're going.  

Since it is so nasty out, this is probably William's circuit training today.  We have had comments from folks saying that this is their 'virgin blog experience.'  We are pretty new at this, ourselves!  But, I thought this would show you our digs, and William's little routine. 

Land of the Rising Sun

This is the view from our hotel room.  If I had a better lens filter, it would look like the Japanese flag, an orange orb in the sky.

Spring in Japan is beautiful.  William played a lot yesterday in the sun.  Some ladies in McDonald's introduced themselves and William started running with their kids.  One lady's kid, Justin, 22 months, was the master escape artist.  And FAST, too!  He kept getting out of the gate at McDonald's and heading down the grass.  There are a whole bunch of cherry trees ready to pop open and bloom there.

Wow.  We have a singing group of navy personnel jogging by.  To be honest, I don't think they're as loud as the crows are here in the mornings!  William is FINALLY sleeping in!!!  

I ended up at a Spouses group last night.  Ugh.  I'm so not into that group thing.  But, the extra monies (not used to support the spouses) goes to a battered women's shelter, and I believe it to be a very good cause.  I can't change the world, but I can change my backyard, and my backyard right now is in Japan, and I can support those women who need the help to get out because they don't have a lot of options.  Besides, I get to hang out with others from our Bremerton group.  There is common knowledge sharing, as well.  One dude was telling us how to do the Japanese licensing when it comes due here shortly, and how to avoid the lines.  He's the spouse, and he's been here awhile.  Good insider info.

Of course, I had to make the crack that I think the Ombudsman is the one who brings beer.  Truly, I said I thought I knew what they do, but would they explain.  This lady is the red tape cutter for us.  And she looks like she can do it, too!  :)

William has been asking us what his new babysitters are going to look like.  He has been spoiled with Katie and Kristen.  They are twins and were exceptional at watching him and mentoring him through the frustrations of being four.  He is missing them already.

We've been told that finding babysitters here can be tough.  Most Japanese don't do it (I guess that's what the parent's are for?) and the older kids are always cramming for their exams, so they don't have time.  Hopefully we will get into a neighborhood with several American families.  There is a nice family here with 2 daughters who are 'hungry for money.'  Hallelujiah!

They were at chili's last night at dinner, so he got to meet them.  They told him they had a hamster named Freddy.  He told them he has a dog named Bernie.

For some reason, William decided that my niece's dog, Bernie, is his dog.  He's only been around her 4 times in his life, and loves her.  She is a golden lab, smaller stature than some of the brutes I see bred now.  She has great manners, and is an awesome dog.  Tim and I think it's great having a dog that is being fed, vet bills handled, poop scooped, etc. all by someone else!!  :)  I think William just needs bragging rights. 

BTW, for those of you who bugged me about my email address... who is the original cputaansuu?  Well, the name is Chris Putaansuu from Texas, and we got an email yesterday saying, "Um, I have these emails from you.... who are YOU?"  I guess Tim didn't get the 2 hit before the shift @ button a few times.  So, now you know!  :) 

Preschool First Day & Immunizations

William went to his first day of preschool today.  He loved riding the bus there.  He was so cute with his huge backpack on his back!  His teacher's name is Miss Linda.  They have some REALLY COOL manipulatives and their class pets are fish.  William will fit right in.

W2W:  Get your orders early so you can apply for the co-op preschool before coming.  There is a long waiting list, but with some folks transferring out, sometimes you can get in!

chili's is the closest place to eat around here.  We eat there often, and William loves the menu.  I do, too.  I think it will be a goal to have eaten every item on their menu at least once.  

I got my first lesson in oopsies.  I had packed his favorite, a peanut butter and blackberry seedless jam sandwich.  A little note came home with an advisory that there are kids in his class who are highly allergic.  We went and bought turkey. 

 

We had gone and signed up at the Navy Hospital here.  Basically, pre-registering.  One of the things we had to get done was getting William the TB test.  He baulked, and actually cried (this is unusual).  When it was all done, and it didn't hurt, I made him apologize.  

Word to the Wise:  The Japanese Encephalitis shots that they say you are required to get?  Well, the preschool said it's not a part of their requirement (even though it is ON THEIR FORMS) and the hospital said that it isn't in this area, so they don't give it to kids.  I had tried getting it before coming because it was on the form!

Chutes and Ladders

I called getting all the ID and stuff, 'Chutes and Ladders.'  You think you're doing well, and then you back-slide.  All the people here were really good about telling us how to get it done.  Fingerprinting was painless, as it is a computer scan.  I was really stoked to get my ID so I could go to the commissary.  It's really no biggee, but it was a first for me to be able to go in one!  It is a grocery store, plain and simple.  

We took a few taxis.  Yes, it's money, but it just makes things go quicker.  The bus is slow, and on a 40 minute interval.  Sometimes you get lucky, but sometimes you don't.

Word to the wise:  Get the driver's manual early, so you can study it during the week so can do well on the test. 

MAC Flight

Word to the wise:  Get there as early as they tell you, because the plane may be leaving an hour and a half earlier!

They'll weigh all your bags together, and ask your weight.  They didn't baulk at us having two huge bags per person, and one carry on and one personal item to take with us in the plane's cabin.  

The flight was a non-stop ATA DC 10 with adequate food.  Everyone was polite, and orderly while getting on.

The movies on the plane were all recent releases.  We were saved by William having his portable DVD player.  We ended up having our mini movie theatre on aisle 27.  One kid's parents forgot her DVD player, and another left his DVD's behind by accident.  So, we lent out some DVDs, and extra earphones, and the kids sat and watched.  

De-planing was by rank, and where folks were going.  Many were going on to Okinawa.

There's a brief that's hard to hear because all the kids are cranky.  The little ones haven't had any naps, either.  One little boy was having a fit.  Mom was traveling solo, so I held the sleeping baby, so she could comfort and address the older kids needs.  

Then, you go single file to be processed.  

We got our bags, and got in the van to get to Yokosuka.  There are plenty of buses ready and waiting, as well.  

Downtown Tokyo was beautiful from the freeway.  When you're on trains, you're often underground and see nothing.  We saw Tokyo Tower, got to do the Rainbow bridge and Yokohama's big bridge on the way down.  It was a pleasant drive.

We had a basket of goodies waiting for us here.  Gloria Church has been doing a great job making these up for everyone coming in from the Bremerton area.  It was so nice, we ate pot pies because we were so exhausted, we didn't even want to leave the room.