It's coming up to another holiday/family oriented celebration time, and I have the usual blahs that come from being away from family.  It's Mother's day tomorrow (or, late tonight if I'm going to hit the day at the same time as Mum) and Dad's birthday on Monday.  Come September, the table will flip and Father's Day and Mum's birthday will be within a couple of days of each other. 

My family usually do something for birthdays.  Cake will be made, presents will be given, and a restaurant will see an influx of Youngs.  And I've never really gotten used to not being there to rib Dad about being old, or finding a nice card for Mum, or finding something "cool" for Mike.  (Discerning taste, my brother has.)  Mother's and Father's Days don't have the cake, but there are still presents.  And family.  And good times.  I've sent stuff home for the parents, but it's not me.  Too expensive to send me home.  And I don't think they have a big enough box at the post office.

I've sort of organised lunch at a restaurant here with Eugene's family to celebrate mother's day.  I found a gift for Eugene's mother (who announces herself as "Mrs. Huang" when she phones), and Eug and I bought it so it's ready to go.  But these events are always a little awkward because I almost always feel like an outsider, which, obviously, I am.  Quite obviously.  I like to think I'm pretty good in the company of friends or strangers - I'm kind of outgoing enough, bordering on "bubbly" at times... but I can't pull it out at family events.  I don't know why.  And it kills me.

It's part of my still floundering effort to "fit in" here.  Two years on, and I really don't have many friends.  The friends I do have I made through Eugene, or through work.  Now, the US and Australia can't be any more different that Japan and Australia, and I made friends there ok.  I still have friends there.  So why do I feel confronted by the "I don't know what to do" feeling over here?  I feel like more of an outsider here than I ever did in Japan.   I've never met our neighbours.  I've never even SEEN some of our neighbours.  Adults don't really play sport around here.  I know I have to get out there, but I don't know where there is.  And the longer this goes on, the harder it is to find the motivation to actually go out and about.  The last thing I want to do is become known as the neighbourhood weirdo.  I get the feeling most people around here like to mind their own business, and would prefer others did the same.

Eh.  I'll get there, I guess.  I'd still like to be playing sport semi-competitively though.

I recently (as in a couple of months ago, but then I don't update often) passed one of those major life milestones.  I bought a new car.  Yay me!

I was exceedingly thorough in my homework.  I compared miles (kilometres) per gallon (litre.)  I compared CO2 emissions on all the cars I was interested in.  I read reviews by Car and Driver magazine.  I took into consideration how far I would be driving each day, what I would be using the car for, and how often I would be carting around people and stuff.  I test drove the two finalists.  I refused to be swayed by gimmicks.  I was serious, damn it!

A while back, there was a Cadillac ad on tv, with a woman scoffing at survey results that said the thing most women looked for in a car was cup holders.  How many, and can they hold a double shot extra foam extra hot sugar free caramel soy latte.  Grande, if you don't mind.  Like the woman in the ad, I also scoffed.  Pfft, cup holders.  How does the car handle?  How safe is it?  In a crash with one of the SUV driving morons who speed and swerve through traffic on my way to work, will I be a) going to way of the dodo b) hobbling on crutches for a while or c) unscathed and left to laugh in their faces?

And then, last week, I had to eat my words.  And it wasn't the bloody cupholders that got me either.  (I have 2 on the drivers side, for what it is worth.)

The Yaris I ended up buying is a manual.  A little unusual around here, but hey.  I'm having fun.  It's red, two doors, with a very dark grey interior.  I believe Toyota calls it "charcoal."  I learned rather quickly that with all of the gear changing and pedal work going on, some of my work shoes tend to rub quite badly, leaving me with blisters.  So, to combat this (and to avoid any more situations where I needed to remove shoes at red lights) I wore sneakers while driving and then changed to dress shoes when I got to work.  Pretty smart, hey?  Yes indeedy.

Until the day I got to work, parked in my usual spot undercover, and realised that my black shoes were somewhere in the "charcoal" carpeted, "charcoal" upholstered, light deprived back seat.  I found one shoe, fishing around blindly with my right hand.  Then I found another shoe!  Unfortunately, it was not a partner to the first.  I found the partner to shoe number two!  Except they were flats, and I needed the other high heel.  I turned on the front map lights.  Goodoh, can see the front of the car and the significant absence of shoe.  I turned on the main light - only to find that my big head got in the way of the light, making it impossible to find anything.  Swallowing pride, I had to turn around, kneel on the drivers seat with bum in air and fish around frantically for the second shoe.  This appears to have amused the person who was parked next to me, and irritatingly not leaving their car.  I hope he enjoyed the show. 

So, I have learned my lesson.  Safety ratings are one thing.  Hitting potholes on a test drive while your friend is in the back seat to see if suspension is good (in that she is still comfy) or bad (in that she has just cracked her head on the roof and is quite upset at you) is another.  But next time I'm on a test drive I'm throwing a shoe on the backseat and timing how long it takes to find again.

Do you think car dealers will find it odd?

I attended a baby shower yesterday up in Connecticut for Eugene's cousin Epo.  It was a lovely afternoon, minor meltdown on the way there after I got lost aside, and it was nice catching up with the extended family's girls.  They're all a little older than me, and are really lovely.  It's kind of a shame I only see them a couple of times a year.

I did have to laugh though.  It always happens when I'm introduced to new people who pounce on the fact that I have an accent.

"Hello!  I'm [insert name]"

"Hello.  I'm Leticia, It's really nice to meet you."

"Leticia is from Australia!"

"Oh really?!  You actually look like Nicole Kidman!"

Everybody beams.

It happens bafflingly regularly.

Last updated 68 something weeks ago, livejournal tells me.  Hmm.

Well... where do we pick back up?  I'm living in the US... I work as a travel agent.  It keeps me pretty busy.  I've put on weight, which the "oh my god your so skinny!" crowd will take as good news but actually makes me very uncomfortable.  I miss Japan.  I miss Australia more.  I do like it here though.  

Um... I shall endeavour to update this bad boy more often.  Economic downturn means less people travelling for work, which means earlier arrival back home for me.  Woot...?!

Aaaaaaand, a very Happy Australia Day for all for yesterday!  I made lamingtons for the occassion and cooked Aussie lamb for dinner.  All in all, a good day.

Dear Jonny Wilkinson,


Ok.  So.  You are a fantastic rugby player.  Very talented.  I'm sure you are also a very nice person and all of that.

But for the love of all that is holy, this sneaking a defeat past us with your kicking has just GOT to STOP, damn it!

In the quarter final you beat us by two points - and all of England's points were penalities?

That's just obnoxious.


Damn you.  Guh.

I've come out of hibernation to say:

Go Wallabies Go!

91 - 3 in their first game in this year's World Cup, against Japan.  Awesome, awesome stuff!  I wish I was watching the game somewhere, but what can you do.  I had Mum online relaying what was happening in the game and keeping me posted on player's hairstyles and birthdays while I watched the score climb up and up and up online.  Good times.





Oh, ok, seeing as I'm here now I might as well drop some tidbits regarding what I've been up to lately.

I'll start out with immigration - the headaches with applications and approvals continue.  And I'll leave it at that before I get all worked up and grumpy.  I'm enjoying the rugby buzz too much.

I started applying for jobs not too long after we got married, thinking it would take ages to find something.  Three applications and two interviews later, and I was offered a killer position at JTB - a Japan-originated travel agency.  Whether I can accept it or not is up in the air at the moment, but fingers crossed.  If that doesn't work out, a place called The Little Gym has expressed a great deal of interest in finding a job for me.  They teach little kids non-competitive gymnastics and other sport and dance.  It sounds fun, so I might be back teaching chidlers again.

In exciting and slightly amusing news, I've been driving over here, and can proudly say that I've only ONCE turned on the windscreen wipers while trying to indicate a turn.  I will admit though that I have an embarrassing habit of walking to the wrong side of the car when I go to get in and drive off.  I'm gradually learning my way around, and while I'm not keen on driving on the really major roads at the moment, I've done it and I'll get used to it soon enough.

Not too long after our wedding I gave myself a huge fright.  I looked down at my wedding ring to find a gap where there was supposed to be a diamond.  Considering that the last place I'd been was over the bathroom basin washing my hands I thought it was a goner... miraculously, and proving that I can actually have ridiculous luck sometimes, the diamond (barely 2mm in diameter) had stuck to the side of the basin.  Phew!

Eugene and I headed out on a belated honeymoon road trip last month, and had a lot of fun.  We caught up with Dave and Megumi in Pittsburgh, did a little sightseeing in Chicago (might I recommend the Oak Park district for a day out if you ever get to the city?), rode the faaaaaaantastic roller coasters at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, were slightly disappointed by Cleveland but enjoyed its zoo, and had way too much chocolate exposure in Hershey.

Favourite parts of the trip?  The killer Greek food at Papaspiro's in Oak Park.  The coasters at Cedar Point, once we actually got on them.  Being nibbled by a stingray at the Metroparks Zoo in Cleveland - they're so cute!

I've now been to my first American Football game.  We headed off to watch Rutgers University (where Eugene graduated) play the Navy Academy last night.  It was fun, and kind of interesting.  Not rugby, though.  Haha

Most recently, I've been spending a lot of time at home, thinking of ways to keep myself occupied.  I've done some baking.  I've done some cleaning.  I'm going to think of a flower arrangement to go on our fireplace.  Then make it.  I'm playing Scrabble on Facebook.  I'm debating potential hobbies, after refusing to assemble some of Eugene's plastic models.  Any suggestions are more than welcome!

And now I'm off to do laundry, and keep and eye on the England vs US match.  The score right now?  6 - 3 to England.

I haven't updated much lately.  It's not that there's not a great deal going on, it's more that I have someone to actually talk to.  I'll see if I can get on here more regularly, though.  Toodles!

Aaaaaand... I come bearing photos!

The wedding went as well as major events planned with short notice can go, I think.  I barely noticed what was going on in the church once I got in there, and a lot of the night was a blur because I was tired and running around like crazy.

Everybody coming from a long way away arrived safely and without hassle... unless they were my parents, who got stuck in Chicago for several hours after not one, but TWO cancelled flights, and then turned up in the early hours of Friday morning... wait for it... without their luggage.  Way to go American Airlines!  Our friend John took best man duties to an entirely new level and took them out to the airport again on Friday night for a last ditch effort at tracking down their bags - success! 

The first dance song dilemma was solved with a nice little jazz number called Beautiful Thing by a Japanese group called Orange Pekoe.  In other little details that almost nobody else cares about, I'm still raving about my flowers that I just LOVED.  Damn they were beautiful.  Wine and Roses?  Top florists. 

Anyway... have at the photos!

Hoooooooooooooweeeeee!!  Only four more days and it is showtime!  The wedding is on Saturday and things (read: "me") are going batshit crazy.

My brother gets here on Wednesday.  My parents get back here again on Thursday.  It was lovely to have them here last time so we could catch up and hang out and shop and all that other awesome stuff.  There are dresses and suits to pick up.  There are DJs to consult with.  Cakes to check.  Place cards to print out.  Caterers to phone.  Restaurants to decorate.  Friends to coordinate.  Rehearsal dinner to plan and attend.  Church rehearsal to attend.  Songs to choose.  Flowers on their way.  Registries to manage.  Thank you cards to write.  Parties to attend.  Groomsmen gifts to buy.  Cars to book.  Arrival flights to remember.  Maps to print.  Gifts to collate and try not to open yet.  I guess we should eat and sleep in there some time too.

Weeeeeeeeee

It's going to be fun, but DAMN if it isn't going to be a crazy lead-up week.

Also, if anyone has suggestions for songs that absolutely MUST be played at a wedding or MUST be danced to, throw 'em at me.  First person to suggest the Chicken Dance wins my wrath!  Yeah!  Wooo!

Wish me luck!

My parents arrive today!

And so does a futon.

Whee!

I made it!  I'm now in Paramus, in the US.  It was sad leaving Japan - the last minute text messages on my phone before I cancelled it were sad, but sweet.  My last night in Japan with Athena and Shinichi was fun.  I predictably cried like a baby at the airport and during takeoff.  I was nervous going through immigration, even more so when the sent me to a second room for a "soft second."  And it was completely wonderful seeing Eugene again who had been waiting patiently at the arrivals gate for me to show up.  Jet lag knocked me around for several days after I arrived.

Paramus is nice, and I'm slowly learning where things are.  It's a little difficult, but I'll get there.  We're very busy with wedding planning which is coming together fairly well.  I was worried that we'd have too little time to do anything, and bakers and florists and whoever would already be booked, but so far so good.  I'm slowly meeting people, and will be really happy if I can find a sports team of some sort to join once my volleyball shoes get here.  I think there's a local mixed volleyball competition...

For now though, I need to book a hotel for my friends, phone Macy's who left a message last night saying something about phoning them or coming in to talk about the registry or something like that, and do my homework for the church - we have another session with the reverend tomorrow.  Busy busy busy...

But good.  :)

It has been an emotional couple of weeks, and the next few days aren't going to be much different.  There have been a whoooole lotta tears, quite a bit of laughter, heartfelt messages and sad, long hugs in a country where you don't really hug people.

I've been listening to quite a bit of music, too.  I've done a lot of driving lately, and I've been using youtube as entertainment seeing as how I've shut all of my CDs away in boxes.  Here's what's been keeping me going...

But first!  A message for some other readers...  ハロ～！私のつまらないブログへようこそ。（笑）　あまり日本語を使わないですが、日本人友達が読み始めて、たま～に日本語のメッセージを書きます。　　今日のエントリーは、最近気になった曲です。順番に：車の中で泣きながら大きい声で歌う曲（特に、バレーの送別会の後この曲がタイミングが悪くてipodに出た）、聞くと元気出せる笑わせる曲、と恥ずかしいけど聞くと踊りながら色んな準備をする時の曲です。

Here are the songs...  don't laugh. 

Interview outfit:  check

Train timetable and guide written out:  working on it

Nails painted:  check

Paperwork:  check, double check, triple check

DS Lite charged:  check

Phone charged:  check

Car full of petrol:  check

Alarm set for 4am:  check

Breakfast bars to eat on train:  check





Nerves:  nowhere near in check

Char has a bad habit of deciding that whenever I go to bed is the perfect time to run around the house meowing and demanding to be let outside.  After he gets a cuddle, of course.  Last night was not much different.  I snuggled down into bed, the cat came over to get a pat and chew my fingers, and then he jumped off the bed and wandered into the living room.

Expecting meowing and the fact that I'd have to get up to let him out, I was a bit surprised when he sat on the sofa looking at the top of one of the veranda doors.  Even more surprised when he started to climb the bloody thing.  Sure enough, he'd spotted something at the top of the door and wanted to investigate.  From the bed, all I could see was a long insect looking shape and figured it was a mantis.  No biggie.

What I found, on closer inspection, was a dirty great centipede, with it's back stingy end raised and directed at Char.  So I did the first thing that occurred to me - I freaked out.  I grabbed the cat in one arm, my monster can of bug spray (mostly used on spiders) and sprayed the shit out of the thing.  I ended up chucking the cat out into the hallway because he still wanted a piece of this fantastic many-legged plaything, and resorted to sucking the centipede up into the vacuum cleaner.  There was no way in hell I was going to touch it.

It took a while to get to sleep after that.  And then I had completely weird dreams.  Wheeeee.

I'm so tired... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Sorry isn't the hardest word.  Goodbye is.


Now that the visa interview is decided, and is next week, I have maybe two weeks, two and a half, and I'm gone, probably never to come back to Japan again.  A portion of that time I'll be in Hokkaido saying goodbye to my friends up there.  Tonight I went to volleyball training, and as I was walking into the gym, I realised that I won't see any of the team again after this.  It was my last training.  I knew my last night playing volleyball with these guys was coming up, but when it got here I wasn't really ready for it.

Once again when it comes to say goodbye to people, I'm kicking myself for all sorts of different things.  One of the guys on the volleyball team - Sode-chan - has made me laugh more than I ever thought I would when I first moved to Mashiko.  We only got around to exchanging email addresses tonight.  Better late then never, right?  I still don't know how to say "thank you" to the volleyball crew whose email addresses I do have.  Or how to do it in person when we have dinner together one last time next Tuesday.  "Thanks guys, it's been fun!  Um, yeah, bye!"  really doesn't cut it for people who've included me as a part of their group and as their friend for a year.  Sode-chan told me in an email after we all headed home (he wanted to make sure I had his address right) that he didn't think he'd have to say goodbye so soon, and that he wishes he done more for me and gotten to know me better.  I told him that he'd done a lot that I was thankful for, but that I had no idea how to say anything else I wanted to.  He told me he'd listen anyway, regardless of how convoluted and mixed up and grammatically odd what I had to say was.  Satsuki, Hirohisa and Yuriko... they're all the same, too.  Chiaki, Kaori, Yasuko and  Mariko in Hokkaido... they'd understand as well.  I'm lucky to have made such good friends, but sad that I've had so little time to spend with them.

Hahaha...  I'm going to be a bawling, blithering mess on the flight to New York.  And I'll probably renew the crying when I get there, but they'll be deliriously relieved and happy tears.

I cry way too much.

What if...



the Hokey Pokey really is what it's all about?

I phoned.  I faxed.  I fumed.  And the embassy people have changed my interview date to NEXT MONDAY!

I need a hair cut.  I need an "I'm respectable but really totally not taking this all too seriously or trying too hard" interview top.

I need to double and triple check that I have EVERYTHING they need.  I'm pretty sure I do.

I need to send all of our belongings SOON so I can get out of here ASAP.

I also still need to be at the embassy at 8:30 in the morning and have since had it confirmed (after the lady on the phone LIED) that I will indeed need to take a number and wait my turn, for as long as it takes.  I hope like hell I'm out of there by lunch time, or I'll have to start eating the envelopes I have all of my paperwork in.  I hope they have a vending machine...

I hope I pass the interview!

What.  The.  f***ing F***?!

An interview in June?  JUNE?!  What the...?!  NO.  That is NOT going to work.

At 8:30 in the f***ing morning?!  Do you not READ ANY of the information I've been sending you?!  I live in f***ing Tochigi!  If I'm going to get to the embassy in time for that interview, I need to catch a train at 5:39.  In the MORNING.  Which means I have to leave the house before 5am.  Which means, if I want to eat breakfast and make myself presentable, I have to be awake at 4 f***ing a.m.  At the LATEST.  NO.

And my name is not Ledicia.  LISTEN when I tell you how to spell it.  I've done it on the phone half a dozen times already, and you have it written, deep within the bowels of the department on half a dozen different forms.  F***!!

I am sick to DEATH of hitting the same robot ladies every time I phone you.  At 1500 yen a pop.  To find out basically NOTHING.  I am sick of going to FamilyMart to pay a ridiculous sum to fax you everything.  I am sick of having to phone my former boss all the time to ask if a fax has arrived for me because you will not email me any f***ing information despite the number of times I have told you that I do NOT have a f***ing fax machine.

I am SICK of waiting.  I am SICK of having to ask you to do your job.  I am SICK of being in this f***ing limbo.  I am SICK of being made to feel like this is my fault.

I'm f***ing angry, I'm VERY f***ing upset, and right now I think I'm going to throw up.

F***!!

I found the summer clothes I was looking for!

They were right down the bottom of......



this box.