Baby X

Phil just sent me the great news!

We now we have the cutest little baby boy to share with you all !

Born June 23 at 3:53 p.m.
Kanazawa, Japan
9 pounds !

After many hours of labor the baby did not move into the right position
so...J.J. had to have a C-Section... :-(

The surgery went off like clock work . J.J. and baby x (no name yet)
are
doing well.

I have attached some pictures for your viewing pleasure.

Sorry for the Mass E-Mail. But I have to get back to the clinic!

Phil& J.J.

The guys in Moab

Just a walk in the park

Haaah? Whaddda say?

I'm sure everyone has heard about the "audio-repeller" that was supposed to chase away teenagers... and how the kids rebelled by turning the sound into a ringtone only they can hear. Wicked smart. Well if not click here to read the article. I've finally found another site that host the sound files for what I believe is true 18MHz files. You can also find a cool site that lets you check your hearing based on a frequency scale. I can here the sound on the NPR site, but not the 18MHz files from the other site. Very cool.

HJ's new nails

...and she just loves them!

Around and about

Casey and I went for a quick ride downtown to run some errands. He's determined to get new pins for his guitar. I believe we were successful ordering some new rosewood pins for his beloved guitar. We even ran into four first year KTC students. On the way back, I spotted this cool heron-of-some-sort. We didn't see the festivities, but the Hyakuman Goku festival was this weekend. The TV footage looked exactly like last year's event. We'll most likely go again before we move from Japan, but we didn't miss much this year. Thankfully the weather held and it was a great weekend.

\(^o^)/

I used to be (-_-#) because I couldn't understand a lot of (^_^)'s. But I began to research (^_^)'s for my computer classes and realized that asian (^_^)'s are different than what I'm used to in the States. (-_-¤) Well, I found some websites that are very helpful interpreting the (@_@) of (^_^)'s that are out there. They can be very (o_O) if you don't know what they mean. I used to be (._.) whenever HJ would write me and I wouldn't know what she was (9_9) saying. So now I'm \m/>_<\m/ and having a (b~_^)b time with my new found understanding. Take care (n_n)

Cockaroach!

I dunno what Hyunjoo goes on about... me over-reacting. Look, when I see one of these critters... it's all out war in my opinion. They might be able to survive the next nuclear holocaust, but they ain't gettin' by me and my double-slinging termination techniques. I might just have found out my next calling... bug busters!

Chase and Cole Hikin'

The latest pix from Carter. I'm envious!

Alone in the Car

There are some things you'll never get used living in another county. Perhaps it's the food. Maybe it's the language or a particular custom. One thing for me, that always catches my attention are kids in cars.

I took these pictures while waiting in the parking lot. This little guy, like all children here sit in the front passenger seat. His mom left him alone in the car for about 15 minutes. It was funny to watch him quitely sit there for about 15 seconds trying to figure out what was going on. Then, curiosity got the better of him and he grabbed on to the steering wheel and began to pull on it back and forth. I could hear the car's gears grinding away as he probably yanked on the shifter based on cues he'd most likely seen watching his mom. I realized that he wasn't even wearing his seatbelt.

They are lucky here not to have to worry about kidnapping or accidents to the degree where people can just leave their kids "in the shotgun seat". Heh, he seemed to be having a grand ole time.

SPAM Musubi

Here's an interesting one: I found SPAM musubi at the neighborhood convenience store. Now, I don't know where the first SPAM musubi was created, but I doubt it was here in Japan. I was having them in Hawaii before I was in high school. Yeah, haha. All you haoles are laughin... and I ain't gotta defend SPAM to the likes of you! But to put SPAM into historical perspective, the soon-to-be Americans living in what you call paradise back in the 40's had to make do during the war in ways the rest of the country didn't. Lots of stuff had to get shipped to Hawaii and not at the top of the list was beef and poultry. So Hawaiians had to make do with the rations they had: SPAM and Vienna sausage. Those products became apart of the diet and might be regarded as a hotdog is at Fenway. So yeah, I eat SPAM and I'm proud of it. I might not eat it often, or even occasionally... you could call it a "once-in-a-blue-moon" treat that reminds me of a home in Hawaii. Until recently we had to make all of our own SPAM musubi, but looks like things have changed... a little for the better.

Aquarium R/C

Hyunjoo and I found this cool little submersible that's perfect for our fish tank. It has a 6-channel radio controller that smartly moves the little critter we've begun to call "Piranah" along all three axis. The submarine charges off the controller and will zip around the tank for about 5-10 minutes before it needs recharging. Our fish don't mind, they just think Piranah is another fish in their tank. I'm quickly discovering that our 15 gal. tank is too small now!

KIT BBQ

Hyunjoo's office had a welcome party for Casey and Chieko, KIT's two newest teachers. We had yakiniku out on the patio with a full spread of beef, veggies, squid, salad and even a bundle of yakisoba. I was stuffed to the gills!

Miki Cote

It's a late announcement, but my friends Travis and Ericka are very happy to introduce the newest member of the Cote family: Miki! She was born back in February and I'm sorry not to get these pix up earlier. Please click on the album to see a full-sized slideshow!

First Videoblog!

Springdoo.com rocks! I've been using their services for a couple of months now and I love it. Katya recommended me to them and I just found out that they offer video services too, so I've been happily sending off video emails now. So, here's and adaptation of their service to my blog. Check it out!

Show me da money!

I didn't pick the best day to send cash home, but we're looking at an OK time to send money to the states. I botched the withdrawl form and asked for an equivalent of $115,000. I didn't figure that one out until the teller pointed to my bank book. Of couse I didn't have that much in yen, but how could I tell? There are so many freakin' zeros! It's like Mexico 20 years ago... "4,000,000 pesos - sure! here's your burrito!" Japan should just lop off two zeros from their currency and get with the program! Oh well, I sure did feel rich while I had the cash.

Biking through the bamboo forest

Please click to listen to the audio slideshow
It was a perfect day to go for a bike ride. I went up to the local bamboo forest (JPN010) to get some exercise. There's some pretty steep terrain and I vowed to get to the top of the foothills on my rickety 3-speed without stopping. I just barely made it in the horrible shape I'm in. Once on top I took in the view and enjoyed some quiet time before dashing at breakneck speeds to the trailhead.

Soccer-man: Cole

Cole-dude playing soccer. Hey Cole, what position are you playing? Check out those beautiful Uinta Mountains in the background too!

New photos from Carter

Click to play or click on the album to see the large slideshow.

Happy Birthday Hyunjoo!

We had a really nice dinner at Chungju House (Korean) not far from our home. Hyunjoo lucked out with some really nice gifts from everyone! These are only a couple of pix I was able to snap off of some fireworks and a piece of artwork that she got as presents. Thanks to everyone for coming out to celebrate Hyunjoo's birthday with us!

Happy Birthday Cole!

Hi Cole!
Happy Birthday from Uncle Kent. I'm sorry my present was late. I hope you got it and like what I sent. I look forward to seeing you this summer! Have a great spring and keep sending me pictures!
Love, Uncle Kent

Kite Park

HJ and I went with Phil and Jessica to a new park JPN009 - Kite Park not too far from home. It being built off the new road behind our house. The park is perfect for kite flying as the hills catch winds coming off the city headed into the mountains. We flew a number of kites with various success. The big experiement was lauching his kite-camera to take pictures of the city. I attached my altimeter to the camera and found that it reached a height of 177 feet at its apex. Hopefully we'll get some good pix from the camera. We lost a bunch of exposures due to technical difficulties, but I'm confident we got at least one good shot.

Golden Week - Day 2

Another fantastic day. Two in a row and I am counting! We wasted no time getting out. Downtown, we bumped into Casey and Chieko in the Montbel store in Rifare. Then, minutes later Hyunjoo saw Ernesto and Emilene going up to the upper floors of Libro bookstore. Small town. We were all pretty hungry so we headed off to "Garlic, Garlic" for some dinner. That place puts out some good dishes. I've never had anything there I wasn't happy with.

I got my "sizing ring" in the mail today from Grannis Gallery. Unfortunately, I'll need a small size. The Japanese 18/US 9 ring is a bit too big. I think I'll have to order a JPN16 size to fit properly. I also got the sketches of the ring and I'm pretty happy with the custom design of the ring as well. It'll feature Mt. Mansfield, Camel's Hump, and Mt. Fuji set in an evening sky with a full and crescent moon.

Google'n with my Garmin

Where have I been you ask? (or may be not)... but in case your interested anyhow check out this link:
SAKURA - Picnic and Campsite
This is a local picnic ground up in the bamboo forest. We've gathered here a few times during good weather and I took these coordinates a couple of days ago when I went up there with Casey, Chieko, and Hyunjoo for some frisbee throwing.

I've combined Google's neat online mapping function with my basic GPS from Garmin to create a database of places around the world where I've been. Click on this link to check out more locations.

Spring finally feels like it's here

It's been too cold and rainy until recently to call the beginning of spring. This weekend broke that unfortunate streak and we celebrated. I went to Kanazawa Castle on Saturday to throw the frisbee around with Casey and Chieko. On Sunday, Casey and I biked about 12 km to the waterfront surrounding the terminus of the Sai River. With a bit of climbing we were able to make our way out on the massive concrete pier to check out the old breakwater. We even saw someone catch a "fugu" or blowfish.

Sakura by the river

This was just about the last sakura we could find in our neighborhood. Even though the season was later than expected, it was as spectacular as always.

Portable Boating

Alpacka Raft

Alpacka rafts are built tough with fabrics designed especially for us to meet adventure travelers’ extreme demands. All seams are butt welded for strength and durability. And they are designed and tested to survive all sorts of use and abuse. Inexpensiive pool-toy boats work fine for quiet lakes and ponds but as soon as you hit the river you need an Alpacka. Alpacka rafts stand up to season after season of adventure. And Alpacka users don’t worry about running out of patches before they run out of river.

Feathercraft

The wonder of a Feathercraft is not just that it folds into a backpack. It also lets you experience the nuances of the water surrounding you. The skin on frame kayak responds actively to the changing sea conditions. From the gentle undulation of a calm day to a storm’s fury, your Feathercraft kayak offers a sense of security, of being taken care of. Wave energy is absorbed, and the skin kayak flows through surges and swells, protecting you. You experience the fluid environment that surrounds you. You are not separate from the water, but joined.

Hanami 2006

The cherry blossoms have just begun here in Ishikawa. Looks like they'll be peaking sometime before next weekend.

Click on album to see a bigger version.

Welcome Casey and Chieko!

Casey and Chieko just moved from Tokyo. After a few shopping sprees, they bought a bunch of stuff for their apartment not too far from our place.

Click the "play" button to start the narrated slideshow!

Tokyo during the Spring break

Click the "play" button to start the narrated slideshow!

Rockin' little robots!

These little robots were made by Phil (and I helped him with a couple of the models). They are custom-made from parts found at a local electronics store and run on button batteries. Very cool!

Click the "play" button to start the narrated slideshow!

Earthquake Survival

Here's an interesting article that someone sent me about getting through an earthquake. I found it interesting since I'm living here in the land of quakes.

Simply stated, when buildings collapse, the weight of the ceilings falling upon the objects or furniture inside crushes these objects, leaving a space or void next to them. This space is what I call the" triangle of life". The larger the object, the stronger, the less it will compact. The less the object compacts, the larger the void, the greater the probability that the person who is using this void for safety will not be injured.

The next time you watch collapsed buildings, on television, count the "triangles" you see formed. They are everywhere. It is the most common shape, you will see, in a collapsed building. They are everywhere. I trained the Fire Department of Trujillo (population 750,000) in how to survive, take care of their families, and to rescue others in earthquakes.

Pain in the Bun!

You'd probably be surprised. It's hard to make a hamburger here in Japan. Buns for hamburgers are very rare in these parts and if you find them, they're often mixed in with other types of buns or have weird things in them. We got lucky!

Demolition

The Japanese move fast to tear stuff down around here.

Preparing wedding invitations

Casey and Chieko in Town

Casey and Chieko stayed the night this weekend to check out some apartments. The found one only about 15 minutes walk from where we live. I believe they'll be moving in next month!

Snowshoeing

I took off to the mountains today. Got cabin fever big time. So, I went up to the bamboo forest - about a 20 minute walk from my apartment.

Flying Pig to the rescue!

Here's a million dollar idea that I missed out on... taking Costco online for foreigners around Japan. These guys were thinking. You place an order through an ingeniously designed site that has you buying to fill up boxes to keep you shipping costs down. Then they go to Costco's and buy your stuff then ship it to your doorstep. It's not cheap, they don't have a huge selection of stuff, but they do offer a great service and it is a great convenience. Where else can you get 3 KG of spicy cheese sauce for your nachos?

Yakitori

Got lazy lastnight and decided it was time to go out for some yakitori!

2005 Darwin Awards

When his 38-caliber revolver failed to fire at his intended victim during a hold-up in Long Beach, California, would-be robber James Elliot did something that can only inspire wonder. He peered down the barrel and tried the trigger again. This time it worked.....

And now, the honorable mentions:

2. The chef at a hotel in Switzerland lost a finger in a meat-cutting machine and, after a little shopping around, submitted a claim to his insurance company. The company expecting negligence sent out one of its men to have a look for himself. He tried the machine and he also lost a finger. The chef's claim was approved.

3. A man who shoveled snow for an hour to clear a space for his car during a blizzard in Chicago returned with his vehicle to find a woman had taken the space. Understandably, he shot her.

4. After stopping for drinks at an illegal bar, a Zimbabwean bus driver found that the 20 mental patients he was supposed to be transporting from Harare to Bulawayo had escaped. Not wanting to admit his incompetence, the driver went to a nearby bus stop and offered everyone waiting there a free ride. He then delivered the passengers to the mental hospital, telling the staff that the patients were very excitable and prone to bizarre fantasies. The deception wasn't discovered for 3 days.

5. An American teenager was in the hospital recovering from serious head wounds received from an oncoming train. When asked how he received the injuries, the lad told police that he was simply trying to see how close he could get his head to a moving train before he was hit.

6. A man walked into a Louisiana Circle-K, put a $20 bill on the counter, and asked for change. When the clerk opened the cash drawer, the man pulled a gun and asked for all the cash in the register, which the clerk promptly provided. The man took the cash from the clerk and fled, leaving the $20 bill on the counter. The total amount of cash he got from the drawer...$15. (If someone points a gun at you and! gives you money, is a crime committed?)

7. Seems an Arkansas guy wanted some beer pretty badly. He decided that he'd just throw a cinderblock through a liquor store window, grab some booze, and run. So he lifted the cinderblock and heaved it over his head at the window. The cinderblock bounced back and hit the would-be thief on the head, knocking him unconscious. The liquor store window was made of Plexiglas. The whole event was caught on videotape.

8. As a female shopper exited a New York convenience store, a man grabbed her purse and ran. The clerk called 911 immediately, and the woman was able to give them a detailed description of the snatcher. Within minutes, the police apprehended the snatcher. They put him in the car and drove back to the store. The thief was then taken out of the car and told to stand there for a positive ID. To which he replied, "Yes, officer, that's her. That's the lady I stole the purse from."

9. The Ann Arbor News crime column reported that a man walked into a Burger King in Ypsilanti, Michigan, at 5 a.m., flashed a gun, and demanded cash. The clerk turned him down because he said he couldn't open the cash register without a food order. When the man ordered onion rings, the clerk said they weren't available for breakfast. The man, frustrated, walked away.

******A 5-STAR STUPIDITY AWARD WINNER*****

10. When a man attempted to siphon gasoline from a motor home parked on a Seattle street, he got much more than he bargained for. Police arrived at the scene to find a very sick man curled up next to a motor home near spilled sewage. A police spokesman said that the man admitted to trying to steal gasoline and plugged his siphon hose into the motor home's sewage tank by mistake. The owner of the vehicle declined to press charges, saying that it was the best laugh he'd ever had.

Happy New Year!

I got to celebrate New Year's Day in a typical Korean fashion. The Lee's celebrate New Year's on January 1st, along with about half of Seoul's residents, from what I could make out. Many folks still observe the Chinese calendar for the New Year.

Our day began with a formal ceremony in front of Hyun-joo's parents. Then we played a game called "Yut-nori" followed by "Go-Stop". There were meals through out the day. In fact I had to sit out the last meal because I just couldn't think of eating any more.



The formal ceremony required the children (and their significant others) to bow before their parents and wish them a Happy New Year, "Sehe-bok-mani-ba-duseyo". It took me about 20 practice run-thru's to get that line straight. Even then I could only say it like a four-year old when the time came. BUT I did it. Hyun-joo's father then said some blessings and gave each of us some money for the New Year!




The game "Yut-nori" was played with four sticks that were thrown to determine how many places game pieces could be moved on a circular game board. You could either move one, two, three, four, five, or back one space depending how the sticks fell. If one of the sticks fell out of the playing area (a towel on the floor), then you lost your turn - a very disgraceful outcome I came to learn. We played in three teams of two with two game pieces each. There was big money to be won - each game profited the winners with 30,000 won, about $30. An interesting thing about this game is that it is only played on New Year's Day.


"Go-stop" was equally profitable to the winners in much smaller increments. This game uses cards that are very similar to Japanese Hana-fuda, but played with different rules. I won't explain them, but it was complicated enough that I needed to rely on Hyun-joo for our winnings.



The rest of the day was spent hanging out with family, much like an American Christmas day with feasting that reminded me of Thanksgiving back home.

New Glasses!

First we got up "early" to go to lunch with Hyun-joo's family's friends. The parents live in Waikiki and their son lives in Philadelphia. Both families had lots to celebrate since their son has recently become engaged as well.



After that wonderful Japanese lunch, we took off to the jewelery store to get Hyun-joo's ring fixed. Unfortunately we had to wait 30 minutes for the jeweler to show up, but once he arrived the job only took him 2 minutes!



Then Hyun-joo and I took off to Namdaemun to look around for new glasses. I was interested in getting a second set because mine don't fit me that well. I love them, but I heard that you could find perscription lenses really inexpensively in Korea. And the rumors were right! I bought a new pair of Calvin Klein Titanium frames with lenses for only $200! Wassup?!!



Finally we swung by TGI Friday's for some chow and went to check out an old hang-out of Hyun-joo's: a sweet live Jazz club not far away. It was Funk night and the music was crankin'.

War Museum of Korea

After lunch with Na-young and Han-gyu, we all went over to the War Museum. It is located right next to Itaewon, not far from the Seoul Tower.



There are three distinct levels spread over a huge area. The lowest level covers neo-lithic until pre-Occupied Korean times. The second level covers recent history and the third level basically covers current deployment of the ROK.



We didn't really know how big the place was and ended up spending more time in the lowest level. Han-gyu and Na-young had to take off only a quarter of the way through the museum. Hyun-joo and I briskly walked through the rest of the exhibits.



Give yourselves at least three hours to go through the entire museum. The exhibits are pretty good with multimedia, replicas, and decommissioned samples from Korea's past conflicts.



The museum really gave the impression that out of 5000 years of successfully repelling foreign invaders, Japan's outrageous occupation of Korea is a very dark page in their history. Koizumi's gesturing at Yakusuni Shrine to appease the far right in Japan, not suprisingly offends the Korean sense of decency.



Click to view the slidehow for all the pictures from our trip so far

KONG

After hanging out with Ja-young in Insadong, Hyun-joo and I raced over two subway lines to get to the COEX Mall for our showtime. We picked up tickets earlier this week and we just barely made it to the start of the movie.



I though it was very entertaining, a little over the top (even for a movie like this), told the story well, and was casted very well. I can't wait to see what kind of project Peter Jackson takes on next!

Shopping at Insadong

Click to view slideshow
We went to Insadong today to buy some gifts and meet up with Ja-young. Insadong is a great market place for folks looking to buy traditional Korean gifts and handicrafts. There are good restaurants and street-side vendors as well. You won't be able to do much haggling, but I don't mind since I'm not a big fan of the whole process.

Lotte World

Click to view slideshow
Hyun-joo and I spent a FULL day at "Lotte World". It's an indoor/outdoor amusement park in downtown Seoul. I highly recommend the place. Here was our hitlist:

1. The Conquistador
2. Atlantis Rollercoaster
3. Gyro Drop
4. Gyro Spin
5. Drunken Teacups
6. The Flume Ride
7. The Pharos's Fury
8. Sinbad's (bad) Adventures
9. Bungie Drop (Hyun-joo only)
10. The Monorail

Kickn' it in Korea... Kristmas Style

I still can't believe it takes 12 hours to fly a few hundred miles. Seoul is so close to Kanazawa if you look at the map, but it seems that traveling anywhere from Kanazawa isn't easy. Well, the weather has been pretty crappy.



HJ and I left a little late. I drove HJ and the luggage to the local bus stop and planned to walk to the station since it's only a 10 min walk. The roads were horrible and I slid around on the street in my dress shoes. I was lucky not to fall in the slush.



The flight from Komatsu airport was delayed over an hour, but we were finally able to take off. It was great to be back in Seoul. I could smell the calbi, brugolgi, and other treats from around the city.



I practiced "anya-hasosa-yo" all the way home. I was determined to greet HJ's parents properly. You should have heard me. It was perfect Korean. Of course I blew it once I saw her parents. Man, I know how my students feel. My mouth totally froze. The pressure was too great. Talk about an affective filter. Thankfully her parents didn't seem to hold it against me. They're great.



We've been having a nice time. HJ's Dad already planned out a bunch of stuff for the week. Unfortunately the DMZ is off the schedule since we needed to apply 3 months in advance for permission to head up there. Oh well. Next time. There's a music concert planned. A day at the church for Christmas. Time with HJ's sisters and their significant others. I'm looking forward to the rest of my stay here.







I thought I would be a little more stressed out, but I feel very comfortable and they're making me feel right at home. I know my parents would kill to get a chance to eat like I've been eating. I even got to eat dolsot-bibimbap for lunch!



I gotta remember to take more pictures. It'll be relatively easy to get them on the web I think. I hope they have a USB cable here for me to use. I should have brought one myself. Speaking of which, I gotta remember to bring some Korean plug adapters as well. I forget that they use the round plugs here!



Merry Christmas... where ever you are!

New snow tires for everyone!

I tried out my new "snow tires" today: a brand new pair of rubber boots to keep my legs warm and dry as I march to school each morning. The slushy snow is a bitch, but much more tolerable now that I have my boots. I just throw on a pair of slippers when I get to my classes and all's well.



When I got home, I shoveled out in front of my car - out into the street. I didn't bother as much with the stuff around the car since my back has been bothering me a bit. It was slow going. I've been using this small plastic thing that Hannah and Tyson gave us when the left us with the car. When I finished with the shoveling, I went around back and grabbed my snow tires and chucked them into the back of the car. It was time to get them on the car. Unfortunately, I got stuck not more than six feet out of the driveway. I knew the worst snow would be there. Our road, like many in these parts, doesn't get plowed and no one dares to shovel the roads in front of our apartment. So the guy next door was nice enough to give me a hand and we got my car out after a few minutes. Then, I drove to Yellow Hat, a service center. They said they wouldn't change my tires since they were closing in 30 minutes. So, I ended up chaning my front tires right in their parking lot. It was a pain in the ass, but I finally finished. The new tires make all the difference. I hope to get chains too, but they're freaking expensive here. I'm looking at least a hundred dollars! That's like a third of the price I paid for the car! Oh, well.



We've been getting snow every day now for the past week. It's incredible. This is a totally different season than last year. I can't wait to go snowboarding!



Well, only a few more days of classes left and then off to the icebox of Korea. Boy, I'll be missing the chance to go diving this year. I guess there's next summer.

First Snow of the Season!

We got a bit of the white stuff yesterday afternoon. It kept falling all day today, mixed with rain of course. When I left school, there was a beautiful slushy whiteness covering the ground. Adam has been skiing and I'm seriously considering a season pass to Seymour Ski Area myself. Not too expensive from what I hear.

Lotta homework this weekend

Click to view

Man, seems like we did a lot of homework this weekend. Whew. We were at Hyun-joo's office until 9:30 on Friday night doing grading and preparation for the next week. HJ's been doing a killer job, but I worry about her sometimes.



Got the X-mas shopping done! Yahoo. Now I just gotta try to send it out before the holidays...



Great news! Casey and Chieko BOTH got hired at KIT! Gonna party soon! It'll be great to have them around to go hang with. Looks like the crew is coming back together.

TGIF

Made it to Friday. Whew. It was a longer day than usual. On top of six straight periods of classes, we had a 1.5 hour assembly right after school for the "Speech Contests". If we teachers didn't have a task - judge the speeches - I would have been asleep in 15 minutes.



I might be doing a lot of complaining today. We've been getting some butt-ugly weather recently. It's been hovering just a couple of degrees over the freezing point, so it's all been rain. Cold, windy, and rainy. It makes going out a real chore. Especially since I don't want to drive everywhere. Ah speaking of which... it's about time for the snow tires. They're kinda essential around here since there isn't any plowing to speak of in these parts. It can be a real problem with the amount of snow that's common to this area.



Whoa, negativity warning! Well now for some positive news. We have the weekend to ourselves and even though it won't be a vacation, we'll have time to do everything we need to and get some time to kick back and watch some movies that we're trying to catch up on.



Not much else to report on. Hopefully we'll hear good news from Chieko and Casey about their interviews from KIT. Until next time... Merry Christmas.

KTC Dinner

Went out after work tonight with the school. Kocho-sensei (our principal) threw a party to thank everyone for the hard work. Assumingly that's for everything folks did during the accreditation process and Robocon events. It was a nice gesture.

Casey's coming in tonight

HJ and I head to the station this evening to pick him up. He's got his interview with Lewis and Mamoru tomorrow at 11:30 am. We'll go grab a nice meal downtown and then head back for a good night's rest.



It's dumping today. Lots of hail and slushy rain. Cold too. Strange thing is we're getting thunder and lightning as well. I was told that these atmospheric conditions are rather rare. Whatever. We're just getting wet.

Chieko in town

Click for slideshow

Our old friend, Chieko, came into Kanazawa for the day to interview at KIT. After the interview we took her out for a yakitori dinner. We weren't that suprised when she took us for a second dinner to CoCo Curry. Man, that girl can eat. We ended up crashing at Starbucks around 10:30 pm. It was great to see her. It's been about a year now. And her boyfriend, another good friend of ours - Casey, will be coming in on Monday night!