Of course, our nest isn't completely empty - on Wednesday we've received that 2:00am phone call requesting $$ from Lo. Yup - nothing gets your heart pumping like when your only born is 5,000+ miles west and then the (Skype) phone rings. Plus she was unhappy - so an unhappy 2am phone call. That's NOT an empty nest. However, I verified the old ticker works (mine) - pumping blood like a well tuned machine at 2am, I tell ya! I reminded Lo she can always send an email when she needs $$ and I will get it before she even wakes up the next day and can have the funds in her bank. Glad we got that cleared up. Do not like calls at 2am - nope.
For lack of a better time to do this, here is a bit of housekeeping. Somewhere to your right --> I have added a widget so that (if you want) you will get an email when I post a new entry. This way I also won't be spamming your email with entries, you can just receive it if you feel like it. Feel free to add your email - or not. I'm just trying to get by while my gal is gone.
Other than the call for $$, our Skype (phone) has been met with a resounding silence. So not too much to say in this entry - so let me take this break in the action to take this moment to brag.
The weekend before Lauren left for Japan, Lauren, Ricki (Lauren's friend) and I went to SacAnime (an anime convention). An anime convention is where people who enjoy Japanese pop culture - from manga (japanese comic books) to anime (japanese cartoon movies) to video games (of all kinds) get together and cosplay (dress up like their favorite manga/anime/pop culture character - think Halloween, except at all hours and days and minus the candy), play video games, watch anime, swap and or buy stuff related to all the above, and party until they drop. Lauren, Ricki and I went there to sell Lauren's art in Artist's Alley (a mainstay of anime conventions) - she sells prints of her art, 2013 calendars filled with her art & bookmarks (if you have been living under a rock, you can see her art at ChocoChiyoko.DeviantArt.com). Anyway, while we were there, we met one Michael Son - a Korean/Japanese/American who attends UC Berkeley and is the Director, Content Development for Tapas Media Inc. a start-up comic book (graphic novel) site. Anyway, we got to talking and guess what?! Chiyoko and I ended up in his blog! You can read it here - apparently - I'm Parent of the Year! Yay! Thanks Michael! Read the blog here Chiyoko & I are the last subject mentioned - Tapas Blog - Sac Anime.
Anyway, back to our story -
We figure the resounding silence around our house is good and bad. It's good because we figure it means Chiyoko is getting along fine, navigating Japan, and having a good time and this is good. It confirms our theory (and is totally self-serving) that if we have done a good job at raising our daughter, then she won't have a need to contact us - meaning everything is copacetic in Japan. It is bad because in not checking in, we (meaning I, because John is a banker and I, in my heart of hearts don't think his heart - you know - operates like the normal human heart) start to worry about I don't even know what - boogiemen, things that go "bump" in the night, what (who) is under the bed, all kinds of things that could go wrong from 5,000 miles away. Plus I just plain old miss my baby. So after she got all kinds of upset on us last Wednesday, I got all kinds of upset with her. But after a brief flare-up of emotion we patched things up. Today we finally heard from her.
She's okay - having a GREAT time and conducting herself like a champ. There have been challenges - finding her way back to her new home alone from the subway/bus stop and not doing well on the Japanese placement test, for example. For #1 - (finding her way back to her new home) she soon figured it out, no easy task without a cell phone (she has one now), in the dark and one day and - snow (that stuck - being about as south as Los Angeles, snow normally doesn't stick in Fukuoka). And she now has a bike light - making us feel much better. Apparently the bike store didn't have helmets and according to Chiyoko, "no one" wears helmets in Japan. OK - nervous parents are dealing with it. Plus they drive on the left hand side of the street - great. Ok. For #2 (not doing well on her Japanese placement test even though she had - I don't know, a 16 hour plane flight to study - which she didn't) she talked the school administration into letting her take the test again which resulted in her getting bumped up a class. Yay! So she's navigating - she's finding her way - she's advocating for herself! Oh, and she's making a friend or two along the way! This, in the end, makes us so proud! Our baby is navigating Japan for herself - she's growin' up and she's finding out who she is without her parents! This is all wonderful and her parents (us) are so proud!
And now back to me - er - us. What have we been doing with all our "free" time? Well, I'm slowly getting back to running - after catching a terrible flu bug at the beginning at the of January (the kind of "gastric" flu bug - my doctor classified it as "acute" so - yeah - not so much fun) I'm doing 3 days on and 3 days off down from 6 days on, one day off and my mileage is down, but it will come back (God willing).
I've also been doing our taxes. Since Lauren is going to college next year, in order to qualify for financial aid, taxes must be DONE by Feb. 1. So I've been in a world of hurt. John has been helping - but we're down to the big push. So after February 1st, hopefully my life will open up and I can start to figure out who I am without kid. (God willing).
Oh, and I've been making origami cranes. One for each day Lauren/Chiyoko is gone. Origami is the art of Japanese paper folding; I've been doing it since I was a kid. In Japanese culture, the crane has been treasured as a symbol of honor and loyalty. The crane is used on many Japanese heraldic devices and is the theme of many works of art. The crane is a majestic bird that mates for life and is extremely loyal to its partner. It is thought the person who folds 1,000 cranes (a feat I achieved for my grandparent's 50th anniversary) will be granted a wish and have good luck. Okay, so I'm not folding 1,000 cranes in 150 days, but I am going to fold one for each day she's gone. It's something to do, anyway and (hopefully) we will at least have a modicum of good luck....
For lack of a better time to do this, here is a bit of housekeeping. Somewhere to your right --> I have added a widget so that (if you want) you will get an email when I post a new entry. This way I also won't be spamming your email with entries, you can just receive it if you feel like it. Feel free to add your email - or not. I'm just trying to get by while my gal is gone.
Other than the call for $$, our Skype (phone) has been met with a resounding silence. So not too much to say in this entry - so let me take this break in the action to take this moment to brag.
The weekend before Lauren left for Japan, Lauren, Ricki (Lauren's friend) and I went to SacAnime (an anime convention). An anime convention is where people who enjoy Japanese pop culture - from manga (japanese comic books) to anime (japanese cartoon movies) to video games (of all kinds) get together and cosplay (dress up like their favorite manga/anime/pop culture character - think Halloween, except at all hours and days and minus the candy), play video games, watch anime, swap and or buy stuff related to all the above, and party until they drop. Lauren, Ricki and I went there to sell Lauren's art in Artist's Alley (a mainstay of anime conventions) - she sells prints of her art, 2013 calendars filled with her art & bookmarks (if you have been living under a rock, you can see her art at ChocoChiyoko.DeviantArt.com). Anyway, while we were there, we met one Michael Son - a Korean/Japanese/American who attends UC Berkeley and is the Director, Content Development for Tapas Media Inc. a start-up comic book (graphic novel) site. Anyway, we got to talking and guess what?! Chiyoko and I ended up in his blog! You can read it here - apparently - I'm Parent of the Year! Yay! Thanks Michael! Read the blog here Chiyoko & I are the last subject mentioned - Tapas Blog - Sac Anime.
Anyway, back to our story -
We figure the resounding silence around our house is good and bad. It's good because we figure it means Chiyoko is getting along fine, navigating Japan, and having a good time and this is good. It confirms our theory (and is totally self-serving) that if we have done a good job at raising our daughter, then she won't have a need to contact us - meaning everything is copacetic in Japan. It is bad because in not checking in, we (meaning I, because John is a banker and I, in my heart of hearts don't think his heart - you know - operates like the normal human heart) start to worry about I don't even know what - boogiemen, things that go "bump" in the night, what (who) is under the bed, all kinds of things that could go wrong from 5,000 miles away. Plus I just plain old miss my baby. So after she got all kinds of upset on us last Wednesday, I got all kinds of upset with her. But after a brief flare-up of emotion we patched things up. Today we finally heard from her.
She's okay - having a GREAT time and conducting herself like a champ. There have been challenges - finding her way back to her new home alone from the subway/bus stop and not doing well on the Japanese placement test, for example. For #1 - (finding her way back to her new home) she soon figured it out, no easy task without a cell phone (she has one now), in the dark and one day and - snow (that stuck - being about as south as Los Angeles, snow normally doesn't stick in Fukuoka). And she now has a bike light - making us feel much better. Apparently the bike store didn't have helmets and according to Chiyoko, "no one" wears helmets in Japan. OK - nervous parents are dealing with it. Plus they drive on the left hand side of the street - great. Ok. For #2 (not doing well on her Japanese placement test even though she had - I don't know, a 16 hour plane flight to study - which she didn't) she talked the school administration into letting her take the test again which resulted in her getting bumped up a class. Yay! So she's navigating - she's finding her way - she's advocating for herself! Oh, and she's making a friend or two along the way! This, in the end, makes us so proud! Our baby is navigating Japan for herself - she's growin' up and she's finding out who she is without her parents! This is all wonderful and her parents (us) are so proud!
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| Chiyoko in Japan - My, you've changed so much already! |
I've also been doing our taxes. Since Lauren is going to college next year, in order to qualify for financial aid, taxes must be DONE by Feb. 1. So I've been in a world of hurt. John has been helping - but we're down to the big push. So after February 1st, hopefully my life will open up and I can start to figure out who I am without kid. (God willing).
Oh, and I've been making origami cranes. One for each day Lauren/Chiyoko is gone. Origami is the art of Japanese paper folding; I've been doing it since I was a kid. In Japanese culture, the crane has been treasured as a symbol of honor and loyalty. The crane is used on many Japanese heraldic devices and is the theme of many works of art. The crane is a majestic bird that mates for life and is extremely loyal to its partner. It is thought the person who folds 1,000 cranes (a feat I achieved for my grandparent's 50th anniversary) will be granted a wish and have good luck. Okay, so I'm not folding 1,000 cranes in 150 days, but I am going to fold one for each day she's gone. It's something to do, anyway and (hopefully) we will at least have a modicum of good luck....
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| Close up of cranes - they are made by 7x7cm origami paper |
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| For now the crane's home is a leaded crystal bowl Okay, well - enough procrastinating - back to taxes. I hope you enjoyed! |
I think the non-contact is just kids, that they don't think it important to call the parents just to check in. When Gina went to Costa Rica for her study-abroad quarter, it was the same thing. Derek was a little better with his study-abroad semester in Marseille, but not a whole lot.
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