Saturday May 5th

So yesterday I ran my first 10K "race". It was a hot and sweaty sunny 27 degrees and I nearly died Horatio! But actually I did not die and I did finish. My friend Ashley and I have a history of doing rather unpleasant things together and we categorize this as one of those more unpleasant things. But it was also really rather fun.. and after I'd had a cold shower and a good dinner, I began talking about "what's next?".

So this is me pre-race. 

Fun fact: apparently in 1678 Lady Godiva rode naked on a horse. 

Thanks for that Mom!

Me and Ashley.. not sure what we've gotten ourselves into. 

Looking at the finish line with hope.

Proof I ran.. And no I'm not the portly Japanese man.. 

but at the risk of sounding kind of cocky.. I did pass that guy :-)

Post Run - we're sweaty and we're happy

OK I may have mainly signed up to run for the shirt.. Is that so bad?

After the race we went home and got clean and napped and then met up for a celebratory dinner at our favourite place. It's an amazing Mexican restaurant (yes Mexican food in Japan) and it's high above the city with great food and an amazing view. A perfect way to end the day.

A very "healthy" pitcher of mojito. Check out all that minty goodness!

 We are almost positive he meant to do that!

View from our table. I love Tokyo!

Pancakes and Sake

Japanese food is pretty great! I have enjoyed almost all of the food I've tried and I do like the fact that I haven't once been sick from it. If you knew me when I lived in Indonesia you know how big a deal this is for me. One of my favourite things to eat in Japan is Okinomaki... aka Japanese pancakes. There is a fantastic place in Tokyo where I'll take you if you come to visit.

First of all you pick a bowl of ingredients and when it arrives you stir it up.

Now these are not normal pancake ingredients.. rather the bowl contains eggs and meat and vegetables and other interesting bits of wonder. So yes, once the bowl arrives you stir stir stir and then pour it onto the hot grill.

You let it cook on the grill for 5 minutes and then you flip it over for another five.

Once it's nice and cooked.. you cut it into pieces and eat!

Very simple and a nice thing to do when one has guests in town. Also, the waiters seem to pay extra attention to foreigners and so if they think you're about to burn your pancake or dinner, they'll rush to your aid. Win, win for everyone!

By the pancake place is a sake bar. Sake is Japanese Rice Wine. It's very... strong and so is usually enjoyed best in little glasses. Little sips. Sake is served hot and cold but I'm not a fan of drinking it hot. Hey, we all have our little quirks. It's a bit of an acquired taste and I've found that while some are almost delightful .. others should quickly be forgotten. At this little Sake Bar you're able to try a few different types and decide for yourself. I like how pretty this little tasting looks. And yes, the pink one was my favourite.

A Little Part of My Real Everyday Life

The entrance to Komazawa Park.

Tokyo is one of the most expensive cities in the world. We can have a long in-depth conversation about that sometime if you're interested. Anyway I do need to be careful here because as everyone knows.. money can just "slip through your fingers" rather easily. One money trap I decided to avoid this year is the dangerous one called Joining the Gym. I'm not much of a gym person anyway but have joined so many different ones over the years.. however, when everyone was jumping to join, I held strong and stayed away. Instead I decided to learn to run. It's practically free! I haven't ever been much of a runner but I started the Couch to 5K program and stuck to it. Then I did the Ease into 10K and finished that one too. Now I just run around and around. I am blessed to live less than 1km from a beautiful park with a 2km running track all through it. Not a bad way to start the day.

I wrote this for something else but thought I'd post it here too:

RUNNING FREAKS!

"So are you one of those running freaks now too?" my somewhat cynical but well-meaning friend asked me yesterday. She was referring to the fact that many of our mutual friends have taken up the activity and are now very much promoting their new sport in rather egocentric and irritating ways that take up most of our facebook newsfeeds.

"Only sort of," I replied, unsure of what was the actual correct response to such a question and starting to feel somewhat guilty for posting the latest nike ad. "I mean, I do run a lot now but it's more so I can eat cupcakes and less because I'm a.. freak."

"Well I can think of less painful ways to justify cupcakes," she said with an almost defensive smirk. She then went on to justify her anti-running angst, "It just seems like no one really likes running. I've never seen a runner smiling. It looks like absolutely no fun, yet everyone seems to somehow get addicted to it."

She makes a valid point. It's true. When I think about it, I don't like running. I don't think I smile when I run, unless something funny floats into my brain but it's definitely not because I'm running. I actually kind of hate running when it's happening, some days more than others.. yet I continue to do it... because I guess it IS rather addictive. But what a strange activity.. not the least bit enjoyable while it's going on but truly delightful when it's finished.

I started to think about why in the world I do such a thing when I hate it so much. I think it's largely due to being addicted to how I feel when it's over. I am addicted to the high I get from knowing I just ran further or faster than I ever have before. I'm addicted to how good it feels to stretch out sore legs. I'm addicted to that feeling of coming in the door after 45 minutes pounding the pavement and knowing that a hot shower and a cup of coffee are only moments away. I'm addicted to laying on the floor with my legs up against the wall and breathing a sigh of relief that it's done for another week. Again... how odd!

In a similar sort of conversation I was giving someone a hard time for falling off of his running plan. Yes I know.. smug much? I was saying some junk about how running is fun and he called me out and said it definitely wasn't fun and that it's the kind of thing that you hate for the whole time. I tried to argue that after the first 20 minutes it gets almost enjoyable but.. well that was a bit of a stretch. Well, I guess that part is a little bit true. Personally, once I get through the first 20 torturous minutes.. my body realizes that my brain is going to win this time and accepts the fact that it's in for at least 20-40 more minutes of torture and then somehow it does actually get a bit easier.. a bit ...but maybe that's just me... and promising someone that after 20 minutes of pure pain a certain less painful but still painful numbness will take over doesn't really pad my case that running is the way to go..

So I continue to ask.. why do I run? Why do I keep doing this totally painful, largely non-enjoyable activity?

Well...

I like how it works so much of my body.
I like how other than needing shoes and an iPod it's pretty much free!
I like how I can zone out and just listen to my music and move move move
I like how for me, it's not really weather dependent. I happen to have a nice rain jacket and highly waterproof skin.
I like how for me, being able to run is the definition of being fit. Never could I ever do this before.
I like how every day I get a little bit better at it. Progress is encouraging.
I like how it wakes me up in the morning better than any shower ever could.
I like how it feels when I get into a groove.
I like how I get to see the sun rise every morning when I'm out there.
I like that I can notice the change in seasons because.. there's not a lot else to notice.
I like what it's doing to my legs.
.. and the list goes on.

I would say that at the end of the day.. the point is that the good things associated and connected with running far outweigh the painful parts of it.

So while I would still hesitate to label myself as a hardcore "runner".. I think that maybe I am actually turning into one of those ... running freaks.

Anyway that's what I'm up to these days!

Back to Bali

My Happy Place happens to be Bali, Indonesia. When I used to live in Indo, Bali was the place I'd escape to. It was close enough that it didn't take much time or money to get to but it was different enough from Java that I was able to get a break from the regular chaos and polluted skies. Having not been there for nearly 4 years, when a few friends mentioned they wanted to go during Spring Break I was more than happy to join in the fun.

I was wondering if I would still like Bali now as much as I did then. I think when I lived in Jakarta I almost needed an escape and so Bali served that function. Now that I live in a cool city and have a fairly "Easy Asia" life.. I wasn't sure I'd appreciate it the way I used to in the past.

But it did feel like coming home and it was fun to visit my old haunts and see some familiar faces. Being with a different crew meant that I ended up changing up my regular Bali routine and exploring different parts of the island. What a beautiful place!

I do love an infinity pool. This one looked over Dreamland Beach.

It was a nice relaxing time. Great food, great weather, great beaches, great amounts of time to read, great people and an overall great experience!

Nothing like a Bali sunset

Tis the Season of Sakura

Why hello there! It's been a while and for that I somewhat apologize. Living in Japan is fantastic and I've been thoroughly enjoying life here. I've also been insanely busy but I do want to keep some record of life here and so I'll try to "catch up" a bit and post more often for the next little while.

Here I am wearing my "dedicated blogger" glasses. What a geek!

We just finished "Sakura Season" .. Sakura is the Japanese word for Cherry Blossom. Check me out! Anyway I had heard that "cherry blossom season" was lovely but I wasn't prepared for what a spectacular event it really was. Of course it's difficult to capture all of the beauty on my iPhone camera but I did try. Basically everyone comes out of hiding and heads to the parks and packs picnics and just enjoys the blossoms. Seeing as there are millions and millions of people here.. the parks were pretty crowded but everyone was polite and happy and enjoying the fact that spring has definitely arrived.

I was able to take one of my 7th grade classes outside to sit under the sakura and write haikus. Can't get much more Japanese than that! It was a fun activity and they came up with some lovely little haikus. It was one of those times that I really appreciated teaching just girls. Watching them quietly sitting under the trees in their little uniforms, writing down adjectives.. it was nice.

I had a friend, the lovely Miss Tina Post, come stay with me for a couple weeks and so we were able to enjoy the cherry blossoms in a more "grown up" fashion.. with pre-packaged glasses of wine and large hunks of meat on a stick. Not quite the poetic experience but enjoyable nonetheless.

Now the cherry blossoms have fallen and the season is over. But it's not all that sad because the trees are getting greener and it is getting all kinds of beautiful in the world again.

The early morning sun poking through the trees. This is one of the spots I see on my morning run. More on that later.. maybe.

A Peek into my Shoebox

Well... here is a little look into my little apartment. It's amazing how little space a person actually needs. This goes against my Canadian desire for space space space... But I digress... So here it is!

It's tiny but I like it. I don't have a maid anymore and took the photos as I was packing for Canada so um.. yeah.. excuse the clutter..
This is the view from the entrance...

 My itty bitty kitchen..

 My bookshelves.. secured at the top in case of earthquakes knocking them over..

 My little living room.. There is a small balcony out there too.

 My bedroom with the bed I put together myself. Perhaps my proudest accomplishment to date.

 Little eating area..

 Standing against the kitchen counter and looking at the bathroom sink. Two rooms on either side.

 To the right is the toilet room.. with the super duper high tech toilet..

 To the left is the shower room..

 Another view of the "kitchen/laundry" room

 A final shot..

I'm still working on decorating and trying to figure out what else I want to squeeze in there.. a desk? another couch? a piano?? but I'm pretty happy with how it's looking so far.

So there you have it!

I like to read.. hello? hello?

A friend of mine sent me the link to this and I absolutely loved it! I'm pretty sure it's been all over the interweb for a while and I'm probably quite late but that doesn't make it any less wonderful. So I'm putting it here because.. well you should love it too! It's by Rosemarie Urquico and it's all kinds of lovely.
  

Date a girl who reads. Date a girl who spends her money on books instead of clothes. She has problems with closet space because she has too many books. Date a girl who has a list of books she wants to read, who has had a library card since she was twelve. 

Find a girl who reads. You’ll know that she does because she will always have an unread book in her bag. She’s the one lovingly looking over the shelves in the bookstore, the one who quietly cries out when she finds the book she wants. You see the weird chick sniffing the pages of an old book in a second hand book shop? That’s the reader. They can never resist smelling the pages, especially when they are yellow.

She’s the girl reading while waiting in that coffee shop down the street. If you take a peek at her mug, the non-dairy creamer is floating on top because she’s kind of engrossed already. Lost in a world of the author’s making. Sit down. She might give you a glare, as most girls who read do not like to be interrupted. Ask her if she likes the book.

Buy her another cup of coffee.

Let her know what you really think of Murakami. See if she got through the first chapter of Fellowship. Understand that if she says she understood James Joyce’s Ulysses she’s just saying that to sound intelligent. Ask her if she loves Alice or she would like to be Alice.

It’s easy to date a girl who reads. Give her books for her birthday, for Christmas and for anniversaries. Give her the gift of words, in poetry, in song. Give her Neruda, Pound, Sexton, Cummings. Let her know that you understand that words are love. Understand that she knows the difference between books and reality but by god, she’s going to try to make her life a little like her favorite book. It will never be your fault if she does.

She has to give it a shot somehow.

Lie to her. If she understands syntax, she will understand your need to lie. Behind words are other things: motivation, value, nuance, dialogue. It will not be the end of the world.

Fail her. Because a girl who reads knows that failure always leads up to the climax. Because girls who understand that all things will come to end. That you can always write a sequel. That you can begin again and again and still be the hero. That life is meant to have a villain or two.

Why be frightened of everything that you are not? Girls who read understand that people, like characters, develop. Except in the Twilight series.

If you find a girl who reads, keep her close. When you find her up at 2 AM clutching a book to her chest and weeping, make her a cup of tea and hold her. You may lose her for a couple of hours but she will always come back to you. She’ll talk as if the characters in the book are real, because for a while, they always are.

You will propose on a hot air balloon. Or during a rock concert. Or very casually next time she’s sick. Over Skype.

You will smile so hard you will wonder why your heart hasn’t burst and bled out all over your chest yet. You will write the story of your lives, have kids with strange names and even stranger tastes. She will introduce your children to the Cat in the Hat and Aslan, maybe in the same day. You will walk the winters of your old age together and she will recite Keats under her breath while you shake the snow off your boots.

Date a girl who reads because you deserve it. You deserve a girl who can give you the most colorful life imaginable. If you can only give her monotony, and stale hours and half-baked proposals, then you’re better off alone. If you want the world and the worlds beyond it, date a girl who reads.

Or better yet, date a girl who writes.

– Rosemarie Urquico –

Just one teeny mistake..

One of the less lovely things about being a teacher is when it's that special time of year: Parent Teacher Conferences. They can go either way and while generally it's a fairly pleasant experience, they also are known to stress out even the most experienced of teachers.

Being in a new school and an unknown newbie.. I felt that I really needed to be on my game today. I was organized, I had made up a chart of the parents who were coming to visit, I had made somewhat detailed notes.. I was ready.

So the day began quite well and seemed to be going rather smoothly.

At 1:20 I was scheduled to see Tonya's parents. At 1:21 they showed up and sat down and we had a lovely little chat about Tonya and how she's doing in the class, what she needs to work on and how we can get her C grade higher. Then they left and Midori's parents came in. We discussed and so it continued.

Around 2pm Tonya was standing in the doorway and I asked her what she wanted. "I'm just showing my parents the room you're in," she replied. Didn't they know? Hadn't we already had a discussion about Tonya and her C? Then two other people came in the room. Tonya's real parents. I didn't really want to challenge their biological link to Tonya and so I just decided to go with it. It became clear, mainly because the dad looked just like her, that these were the real parents.

So I am not sure what really happened. Seeing as all my other appointments showed up I am still left wondering who in the world those first people were! I'm also feeling sorry for their daughter who is most likely getting in trouble for only achieving a C.

Oops!

Day Tripper!

Yesterday a group of us from school took a day trip up to a well known pottery village called Mashiko. It was a beautiful day to get out of Tokyo. Apparently the weather was forecast to be somewhat drizzling and horrible but the nuns supposedly prayed that way and so we were set!

One of the benefits of traveling with the art teacher is that she gave us a pretty detailed tour of the village and potters and the history of this particular kind of Japanese pottery. The bad thing about me being the one writing this blog is that unless I write it down.. I forget details pretty quickly. I like to think it's because there are so many much deeper thoughts milling around in my brain... but I digress. So instead of going on and on about it.. I shall show you the beauty that is Mashiko in November..

 This was where one of the most famous Japanese potters lived. It has since been turned into a museum.

 There's just something about a blue sky that thrills me. Maybe it's partly due to having lived in Indonesia and Drizzledorf.. 6 years of greyish skies can get a girl down.

 A lot of this was wrecked.. cracked.. damaged during the earthquake. I think there was a Do Not Touch sign but it was in Japanese..

 I like to experience all that a place has to offer.. this huge pot wasn't exactly thrilling.

 I love Japanese houses and these tatami rooms were beautiful.

 Just a light lunch... very important to keep one's strength up and seeing as there was an afternoon of shopping ahead.. well ..

 A shrine in the middle of the town. A nice break from shopping..

And so that was that. It was a great day and a nice place to visit. I was struck by the fact that I really do need to get out and experience more of this great and beautiful country!