Hot Wheels R Us

William received a cool Hot Wheels gift, and he LOVES it. He's doing his little commentator routine. He is currently racing all the cars against each other. I'll let you know when we're at the play-offs!

Yes, his room is a total boy pit. He 'cleans up' by throwing everything under the bed. Problem is, it's a bunk bed style, and you can see everything under the bed.

Side note: Wm wanted to see Tim play volleyball last night, and there we were... and our team was going to have to forfeit because of lack of players. So I suited up! Sherry Grove (volleyball coach middle school through H.S.) is probably groaning somewhere, but I got a few over the net. Not all of them fell within the lines on the other side, but at least our team got to play. Sorry to tell you the news, but PSNS lost.

SUMO Fall Grand Tournament Tokyo

Our view may not have been ring side, but we enjoyed this last day of the Fall Grand Tournament in Tokyo. The tournament is 15 days long, and the final matches, and the winner was to be determined today.
Outside the Ryogoku Kokugikan are banners with different Sumo Wrestler's names on them. The tower is cool looking. I don't know if there's a symbolism, but there's supposed to be a drum beat coming out of it.
William and Tim in front of the mural.
Do Tim's eyes look tired? He stayed up all night on some emergent work. This guy besides him is the guy he was working alongside all night. They both look like toast. Tim was lucky to get away for 6 hours, so he ended up having to leave before the final big matches to catch the train back to work. But, he got to come and experience it and enjoy it.
William part way up to level 2. We were level 2 upper. I would come outside on the terrace to let William run a few times.
This is the south entrance, where the Sumo come in. Since the event starts at 8 a.m., they don't come until their matches are near. The mawashi (Sumo belts) are usually put on about an hour ahead of time. Look at their classic sumo public dress, and those Japanese lunch bags. It's like a large handkerchief that is used like a tablecloth.
We ended up going in the Sumo Service entrance. 20 Tea-house establishments have bags (for those who pre-ordered) with obento (lunch) boxes, seat tickets, souvenirs, and refreshments.
Yes, you can buy Tshirts. But the largest size is XL. Seems wrong that a Sumo couldn't buy one for himself.
Souvenir shop. A gentleman gave William a small wooden wish souvenir.
The obento boxes were about $12 american (a piece), but we ate traditional. Right out our entrance door, french fries and hamburgers. The people beside us were trying to determine what the meat was, and the burger in the bun, it was so small. :)
They have television coverage, and it goes live (and out in the halls on big screens) for people to watch. For $1 you can rent a small radio and earpieces to listen to it. I rented one, and found out the frequency. Now we can listen to it in English while we watch it on TV. It was rather jarring to have a guy with an East Coast accent much like the 'Car Talk' guys calling the game.

The ring-side seats are little boxes of square cushions to sit on the floor. At the end, everyone throws their cushions at the ring and the winner. These cushions were filled...
...by Prime Minister Hatoyama! He came in before the final bouts. The people went crazy for him. He is really admired by the Japanese people here.
Not only is there a gyoji (referee), there are also judges on all four sides. If there is to be a ruling, they all come up on the dohyo and settle it right then.
The different classes of wrestlers all do this before their matches. This is the Makuuchi wrestlers ceremonial entrance. They parade in, wearing their ceremonial aprons, face the crowd, then face each other and culminates in showing their hands. Then they troop back off the dohyo and go get ready.
William did some videotaping, and if I get the time, I'll edit a piece up. The fancy ceremonial aprons (kesho-mawashi) cost up to 2 million yen. If pearls or diamonds are used, even more. That's $20,000 USD.
If you click on this pic, you can enlarge it, and see the wrestlers throwing salt before the match. Salt is historically thought of as a purifier. They stamp around on the ring to stamp out evil spirits. That is from the cultural shinto dance and fights for a good harvest, that later became Sumo.
There are 82 winning techniques. If you can grab a belt, you can use it to lift your opponent and throw him, or push him out of the ring. The first to touch ground with anything other than his feet, or outside of the ring, is the loser.
Sumo matches are played under a shinto shrine style roof. The place was packed at the end. William called it 'flashy' as people used their flashes on their cameras.

Today's meet ended up with an additional match. If Asashoryu had won the first match, he would have been the winner. But, Hakuho did a quick slam on him, so they had to go one more match together. Asashoryu ended up winning. It was his 29th birthday. This made him the third most winningest sumo ever. Nice gift!

Here is the slam that required them to go another match:

Volleyball War Wound and Training

The Puget people started getting together to do volleyball on Tuesdays. Tim is in the red outfit in this picture.
Tim invited William to come see him play, and now it's what Wm wants to do when dad is playing. Tim has his own cheering section. "GO, DADDY, GO!"
What was funnest for William at these games, was he would 'shag the ball' which means run to get it, and pitch it back into play. He loved having that job! Of course, sometimes it meant he was running from the far side of the gym, but everyone humored him, as he was having so much fun.
Once they started getting good, they decided to do some intramural play, well you know how that goes... 'It's just for fun' ends up being frustration at not winning for some. Tim keeps it in good perspective and just goes to have fun.
This is Tim in blue, after their the last game. Tim was hustling for a ball, and came down hard on his ankle. He is on medication to reduce the swelling, but it still looks pretty gnarly.
William loves watching the games, and wants to learn. Tim started getting him to bump the volleyball a bit.

Tim is in white and yellow. The 'free for use' outfits were all gone that day. Tim now has a standby pair of shorts and T-shirt. I had encouraged him to use the free ones, as they do the laundry, and our machine is 1/3 to 1/2 size of an American laundry machine. And the dryer vents inside (HOT and HUMID! ...can you say 'dehumidifier?' I knew you could!) Tim has been really supportive of me now that I don't have a dishwasher (well, there's me and Tim...) or a big washer/dryer. Of course, he's able to sense my frustration at not having these luxury items when I whine about it. I rarely suffer in silence. :)

It's very cute watching Tim work with William on volleyball. William is getting the 'bump' down pretty well!

Jazz in Japan

For Tim's birthday, I wanted to take him to listen to some jazz. Well, Blue Note in Tokyo didn't have any acts I thought worthy of a long train ride, and sitter time. So, with the help of my student, Ryota, I got on-line in Japanese and looked for something more local. At Kanazawa Bunko (3 stops away if you go on the fast train), is a little jazz club called 'Blue Moon.'

The night we went, we got off the train, took the East exit, made a right, and another right into the most quaint, picturesque Japanese shopping street. The club was closed, so we went back to have dinner at a Yakitori restaurant. BTW, the chicken platter had gizzard, liver, the stuff that holds the gizzard (seriously, it is a delicacy), regular chicken, and chicken tails. At least there wasn't chicken cartilage on it (it was on the menu). Our favorite was a garlic chicken tempura type skewer. The garlic was whole, baked, and nummy.

Uh-oh! DOWNPOUR!!! And we had left umbrellas at home. I told Tim not to worry, and told the people as we were leaving, and they went and got us an umbrella! So many people forget umbrellas, that many establishments have some on-hand in case you need them. I have noticed that bars have more of a selection than most...

So, Tim and I shared an umbrella as we ran through the rain to the jazz club.

Beings it was a nasty night out, we were one of the few patrons there. Everyone spoke excellent English. Yoshiiki, the singer, was great. (Click his name for his website)The piano player this night is a piano teacher by day, and the bar owner is a jazz saxophonist. All the patrons that night spoke English, and were very welcoming. We really had a great time, and will go again! Look for it on the right, a small doorway going up to the intimate jazz room upstairs. They have instruments to jam on, if you're into that sort of thing. The acts change almost every night. There was a list of who and what on the internet. In Japanese. But P means Piano, and calendars are easy to interpret, so it's fairly simple to figure out.

Here's a sample, and Yoshiiki will be back there on October 3rd. Cover is usually ¥2,000 and up.

Star Wars Birthday Party

When William asked for a 'Star Wars' themed birthday party, I decided to have FUN with it. For invitations, I made small books with the story that 6 years ago a boy was born who was strong with the force. He was hidden away in the Milky Way Galaxy on a small planet called Earth. Now the Sith seek him. His Jedi training needs attended to. The Jedi council want us to 'pretend' this 'training' is a 'birthday party' so the Sith won't find out.
Each child got a training card for all the different skills needed with the Jedi Rebel logo and their name on it.
First of all, was old-school weapons training. Fran Solo (Han's older, and better looking brother) did the safety training on the BLASTERS (Nerf guns).
We encouraged kids to wear their Star Wars costumes (if they had any). The funny thing here, is we have 2 targets, Darth Vader, and a Storm Trooper. Vader (aka Kyle) and Trooper Megan are shooting at their likenesses!
They all took this really seriously, and then got stamps from the trainers or the staff for how well they did.
William 'sharp shooter' Putaansuu. Out of 13 total kids, there were 2 Williams, and 2 Zachary's. I had put 'William P' on William's cup, and 'the other blonde William's (as our William refers to him as) mom said, "Uh, our last name begins with P, too!"
Last year was a downpour. This year was the day after our typhoon passed us by. Usually, those are really clear and nice days. It was awesome to go outside and let the kids play with their 'training light sabers.'
Tim insisted on safety, so no foam sabers for us. So, I had to devise something that would work. I got some plastic plumbing piping, and some long balloons. I decorated the gray plastic up (with stickers for an on button, and colorful tape), and inserted the balloons. Nobody got hurt. EVERYONE got whacked a few times, I am here to witness!

Getting the pipe was a long, slightly funny story. I went to our local HOMES (think Home Depot with nice furniture offerings upstairs). I couldn't find the plumbing area. I could find toilets, and toilet fixings, metal piping, but no plastic. So I said in my most Japanese voice, "Doko wa POO-rah-su-tchi-ku PIE-poo desu ka?" Ah! POO ra su tchi ku PIE poo. Yes, it was understood, but as I wandered around with this older gentleman, I realized I really needed to know the Japanese word for 'plumbing.'

One of the worst things to happen, is for someone to try and HELP you when they really don't know what you need.

I finally extricated myself, and found a younger person. "Doko wa POO-rah-su-tchi-ku PIE-poo desu ka?" he told me to wait a second, went and asked, and took me to plumbing. I explained that my son is going to be 6 (basic Japanese) and SUE-TAH OO-wahs. When I picked out the pipe joint fitting (from one size, down to the next - to insert the balloon in), and the smaller pipe for the handle (for little kid sized hands), the guy's expression was of understanding, and he said, "RIE-toh Shi-Ay-buh!" Ah. He might have only spoken a little English, but he definitely spoke 'Star Wars!'
Whacking bubbles was an excellent way to work on light saber accuracy.
Then it was on to the obstacle course. A series of tubes, don't set off any of the jingles in the balloons as you dodge and weave...
...up a series of stools, jump and run to the end. I have to admit. It reminded me of those dog skills courses. The kids loved it.
Then, Tim showed them some fencing techniques, and it was light saber duel central!
Next was the 'Galaxy's Most Wanted' with a box with Sith, Vader, Storm Trooper holes for the bean bag toss.
Judges awarded points on accuracy, speed, getting better... yes, we were setting them all up to get the 5 points per unit allowed. Last year was too much crying if a kid didn't win.
Red Light, Green Light was "Darth Vader light saber" or "Yoda light saber."
The game I don't have on here, was 'hot potato.' In star wars, they have a thermal detonator, which is basically a timed explosive device. I bought cheap, 100 ¥ timers, and made foil balls, and they were awesome. PROBLEM: The foil ball muffled the beeps. That would be fine, but one of the younger siblings (about 14 months) was so excited, she kept screaming, and nobody could hear the timer go off, and therefore be out of the game. The kids took them outside later, and had a blast with them (forgive the pun). As they were yelling about their bombs, I kept worrying someone would call the police.
In Star Wars IV, A New Hope (the FIRST Star Wars film for those of us old enough to remember), Luke saves the day by using the 'force' to put his photon torpedo into the exhaust vent of the Death Star, thereby exploding it, and stopping the Death Star from killing another planet (where the rebels were).
This was no X-wing flying in a trench, but I made a trench with different tubes and configurations, and the last one was the target.
Tim pushed the kids past it, and they had 2 tries to get it in the correct one. All kids got it either in one, or the second try was at a pretty low speed.
I looked up, and there was Tim. I just cracked up. William had wanted to push...
...who knew Fran Solo would save the day!
Pod races were FUN. I used our big suitcases, which really aren't viable anymore since you can't take over 50 lbs. on a plane. I put the kids in two teams, with 2 pairs, each. Each Pre-Padawan learner had to pull to the end and back, then put on the helmet and be the 'rider' down and back. Then, the next pair did their turns.
It was a scream, and everyone had so much fun.
The kids weren't even putting the safety straps on, they were going to win!
Changing out was always fun. I had these weird glasses to go with the helmets, but only the older kids got it (looks more like the pod races on SW1).
The luggage would careen around, it was amazing nobody got hurt. In the background, you can see the blaster training targets, and the Galaxy's Most Wanted box (with the 3 year old invitee in it). The box got a lot of play time, too.
I collected all their qualification cards, and tallied them up while they hit the pinata. I bought a Darth Vader pinata, but never got a picture. This is the best I can do!
In all of the parties we've been to here, the pinata never breaks, and the parents end up tearing it to help get the goodies out. Not this party! All that light saber training made the kids very accurate and deadly. Didn't hurt that they had a HARD light saber to do some damage! Very cool! Vader killed Vader!

Their training resulted in them getting a Tshirt.
I used an old Japanese flag idea, with the Jedi/Rebel logo. Younglings are children who aren't training with a Master as a Padawan yet, and we're in Yokosuka. It was better than a certificate.
Kayla was super help. She would help the younger kids, or be the person retrieving the bean bags. I put this picture in, because I had made some posters for our training. In the background you see Yoda with "Yoda says: Do or not do, there is no TRY." To the right of it (off camera) is another that said, "YoMamma says: Win or not win, there is no CRY."
While we tried to find a way to light the candles, it was time to open presents!
We finally got a lighter, but it was empty. Thankfully my best friend lives in this building, and we got one that worked, after-all.
This cake was AWESOME!!! I saw some of the cakes a Facebook friend here in Mabori Kaigan had done, and thought, "This lady will do this better than I can!" And WOW!!! What a cake. All the kids eyes were huge. They all wanted a bit of the dome.

There is something magical about this type of cake. It just tastes better because it is so special!

I should add that our food all had signs I made using pictures I could get off the internet.

We had:

Padawan Pizza

Sandpeople Sandwiches on Bantha Buns

Chewy Chewbacca Wookie Cookies

Greedo Grapes

C3P0 CaRR0ts

Yoda Soda

Jawa Juice

Cantina Calpis (a white soda that is cream lemon in taste).

BTW, I was Mamma Leia. A la Star Wars, you can be Queen when you're young, but there ain't no PRINCESS in me, anymore!!

Here's some of the light saber ACTION: