Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Job update
I totally forgot cos as you can see I have been very busy. The company that pays me (I am a contractor contracted to the govt, no ones actual employee) lost the contract for my job. One of the largest American contracting firms won it, CSC. It looks like it will be a VERY good thing. If picked up, and it is looking good, I will be an employee and all that entails to a worldwide firm. I have no details but things are looking good yay!!
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Are we there yet? Oh hell no we are not to the present yet. We get back from Fuji and again I am young I do not need a break. Which is good because it is finals week for my first term of grad school and I have a ton of work to do at work. Somehow I get it all done and now hubbs wants to go to Yokohama. We went up to Chinatown in Yokohama and wanted around. We had a dim sum lunch and found out they love the pandas. Everything was Pandas so we shopped and took some pics and you can check those out.
Now we are up to the present which is good because it is late and I get up early. I hope to God I just get to do nothing and relax this weekend, maybe clean the house it needs it. I just want to sleep.
Now we are up to the present which is good because it is late and I get up early. I hope to God I just get to do nothing and relax this weekend, maybe clean the house it needs it. I just want to sleep.
Fuji-san
Well we are getting closer and closer to the present but we are not there just yet. So the day after Disney I am back at work upgrading the network with a guy sent in from HQ. It was cool I finally have a solid knowledge of how the crazy place is setup. Then if that wasn't enough or you know I am young no recuperation needed here. Saturday hubbs wanted to climb Fuji. ok well it was the last weekend we KNEW he would be home and available possibly the last weekend he would be available during climbing season ever, so away we went. And hey I got my new overnight pack from REI on monday so lets break it in by climbing a vertical mile. WOOHOO!!!
Ok the saying is "a wise man climbs Fuji once in their life, only a fool does it twice." Oh hell no! It was Hell!! The joy we get is to say not only did we do it but we made it to the summit. We left at 2am to drive 3+ hours. At a little before 6am we were dropped off at the 5th station at below 7841 elevation and reached the peak 7+ hours later at 12388 elevation. To say it was hell is an understatement. The only reason we made it is because i am so damn stubborn (I was in agony and barely able to move by the 8th station) and I did not want to be the reason we did not make it. We had to be at the top by 1:30pm or turn around no matter where you are and at 12:30pm we were sooooooo close. Well we made it with 15 whole minutes to spare. Bought some crap, cos that is what you do in japan and then we headed back down. At 5:30pm we hit the 5th station and stumbled onto the bus, nasty dirty sweaty, covered in ash and my big toe covered in one giant blister. Like I said it was hell. I wanted to do the overnight hike but now I am like hell no, it is too dangerous to climb in the dark, besides there was still snow which means it still gets very cold at night.
So after the fact I find out how dangerous it is. The area is known for suicides, people go there to die. Compasses do not work there because of other magnetism. Hypothermia is a common cause of death. An oh yeah the thing we saw as we left that really hit home was the rescue teams gearing up and the guy counting every person who came up to the 6th station. I also found out that most people's reactions are like mine, now why the hell they do not tell people I do not know. So here is my public service announcement - Climbing Mt Fuji is sheer HELL!!!
Of course the whole way up and down you have scantily clad Japanese men and women literally running up or down the mountain. Was I impressed? Hell yeah! BUT do I really care? uh no congrats you can run up a mountain, I'll just trudge along, i still made it to the summit.
Here are the pics :D
You have to go to the site and click through the big pics to really feel the enormity
Ok the saying is "a wise man climbs Fuji once in their life, only a fool does it twice." Oh hell no! It was Hell!! The joy we get is to say not only did we do it but we made it to the summit. We left at 2am to drive 3+ hours. At a little before 6am we were dropped off at the 5th station at below 7841 elevation and reached the peak 7+ hours later at 12388 elevation. To say it was hell is an understatement. The only reason we made it is because i am so damn stubborn (I was in agony and barely able to move by the 8th station) and I did not want to be the reason we did not make it. We had to be at the top by 1:30pm or turn around no matter where you are and at 12:30pm we were sooooooo close. Well we made it with 15 whole minutes to spare. Bought some crap, cos that is what you do in japan and then we headed back down. At 5:30pm we hit the 5th station and stumbled onto the bus, nasty dirty sweaty, covered in ash and my big toe covered in one giant blister. Like I said it was hell. I wanted to do the overnight hike but now I am like hell no, it is too dangerous to climb in the dark, besides there was still snow which means it still gets very cold at night.
So after the fact I find out how dangerous it is. The area is known for suicides, people go there to die. Compasses do not work there because of other magnetism. Hypothermia is a common cause of death. An oh yeah the thing we saw as we left that really hit home was the rescue teams gearing up and the guy counting every person who came up to the 6th station. I also found out that most people's reactions are like mine, now why the hell they do not tell people I do not know. So here is my public service announcement - Climbing Mt Fuji is sheer HELL!!!
Of course the whole way up and down you have scantily clad Japanese men and women literally running up or down the mountain. Was I impressed? Hell yeah! BUT do I really care? uh no congrats you can run up a mountain, I'll just trudge along, i still made it to the summit.
Here are the pics :D
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| Fuji 2008 |
You have to go to the site and click through the big pics to really feel the enormity
What do you want for your birthday?
I WANNA GO TO DISNEYLAND!!! And so we did. Hubbs was out the day before but had leave for my day through a few more and after bringing me konbini cake (gotta love 7-11) and flowers (that still looked great after being out of water for 3 days) we headed to the Tokyo Disney Resort for 3 days. We took the train up there and like Disney in CA having their own freeway exit, well Disney Tokyo has its own train station. Once there we went to Bon Voyage (the giant Disney store outside the park)went downstairs and gave them our bags. For 500Y (yes roughly $5) they took our bags and delivered them to the hotel. And off we went for a fun filled day at Disney Sea. It was awesome. I cannot describe how cool the place was. Between the two parks we took roughly 500 pics and 90% of them are keepers. The park is water based and each land has an aquatic theme. The rides ROCKED!!! Especially 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Journey to the center of the Earth. It was just a tone of fun and we were constantly moving. it was hotter than Hades but for the most part the park is planned for that, it is on the water so yeah 85 degree and 100% humidity WOOHOOO!!! We saw people walking around in Yukatas and jenpai and we thought they actually looked like they were dealing with the heat better. And the ones wearing geta on their feet and not limping by the end of the day got major respect from me. I spent most of the day just in awe and having the best time. It was so comfortable to be at a Disney park and although we did not understand much of what was said we knew the drill. We did decide though that it is not for a Disney novice who does not speak Japanese, that would have made the experience nerve-wracking I think. Of course from time to time we would meet someone who would drop into perfect English and even confuse us by having better English than some Americans we know.
So we were there from open to close then we went looking for the bus to the hotel. we found it. We get to the hotel and check in and show them our luggage ticket. Not only was our bag there (score!) but it was already delivered to our room and we were checked in, no worries and it was 11pm (DOUBLE SCORE!!). The Japanese have travelling down, seriously. So the luggage is delivered, the hotel has toothbrushes, combs, slippers, pajamas and all the stuff you expect, so you could show up with the clothes on your back and a change and be good to go. Of course considering you pay per person you should get something. Our room slept 4 and we only paid for 2.
Next day bright and early and off to Disneyland. It is very similar to Disneyland, CA but Thunder Railroad kicks CA Thunder's ass. It was just AWESOME!!! We went to the Mickey Mouse Revue which is the only one in the world. It opened at the opening of Disney World and then instead of being recreated in Japan it was shipped here in pieces and was here for the grand opening 25 years ago of Disneyland Tokyo. it was funny they tried to turn us away because it was all in Japanese. It is times like that i really wish we knew how to say something like "of course it is and it would be very rude for us to think otherwise" in Japanese. In truth the history of Mickey in Japanese is still obviously the history of Mickey and while the words are different the tunes to all the songs they sang are the same, no translation needed. It was just an awesome day and to top it off they had an Electrical Parade, that made me uber happy as the hubbs and I were at the last Main Street Electrical Parade in CA. Oh I loved it and we got a seat right in front of the ropes just like when I was a kid.
Ok the quick things, I had wanted to write this sooner before I forgot things but I have been sooooooooo busy as you will see from my posts.
A lot of people speak English very well, but not everywhere.
There are maps and schedules in English
The food and drinks are reasonably priced. 200Y for a bottle of water that is 150Y from a vending machine is good for me. And one of our counter lunches was 2500Y ($25) for the 2 of us. The buffet we hit was that each but it was all you can eat and hella good
All the art is in English, not Japanese (weird)
They only have 50-60% of the voice acting translated on the rides
All signs have 2 - 3 languages on them. Always English which is also usually bigger, clearer and listed first
Lines everywhere not just for what you expect but for the perfect picture spot too or to get a pic with a character.
The people are very polite, most of our character pics don't have us in them BUT we could have done it, every one took a turn.
Finding food that is not totally weird to us Americans was hard but doable (the English map helped ALOT), I just do not do corn or seafood on pizza.
A lot of the souvenirs were reasonably priced, yeah my 25th anniversary mickey in a yukata was 4000Y but the tin of cookies for people at work was only 1000Y and lots of other little things for 1000Y or less.
Ok my hands hurt from typing and I have fuji stuff too, oh yes there is more.
There are 4 galleries. DisneySea, Disneyland, Ikspiari (the mall area at the resort) and fun stuff like every flavor of popcorn we saw.
So we were there from open to close then we went looking for the bus to the hotel. we found it. We get to the hotel and check in and show them our luggage ticket. Not only was our bag there (score!) but it was already delivered to our room and we were checked in, no worries and it was 11pm (DOUBLE SCORE!!). The Japanese have travelling down, seriously. So the luggage is delivered, the hotel has toothbrushes, combs, slippers, pajamas and all the stuff you expect, so you could show up with the clothes on your back and a change and be good to go. Of course considering you pay per person you should get something. Our room slept 4 and we only paid for 2.
Next day bright and early and off to Disneyland. It is very similar to Disneyland, CA but Thunder Railroad kicks CA Thunder's ass. It was just AWESOME!!! We went to the Mickey Mouse Revue which is the only one in the world. It opened at the opening of Disney World and then instead of being recreated in Japan it was shipped here in pieces and was here for the grand opening 25 years ago of Disneyland Tokyo. it was funny they tried to turn us away because it was all in Japanese. It is times like that i really wish we knew how to say something like "of course it is and it would be very rude for us to think otherwise" in Japanese. In truth the history of Mickey in Japanese is still obviously the history of Mickey and while the words are different the tunes to all the songs they sang are the same, no translation needed. It was just an awesome day and to top it off they had an Electrical Parade, that made me uber happy as the hubbs and I were at the last Main Street Electrical Parade in CA. Oh I loved it and we got a seat right in front of the ropes just like when I was a kid.
Ok the quick things, I had wanted to write this sooner before I forgot things but I have been sooooooooo busy as you will see from my posts.
A lot of people speak English very well, but not everywhere.
There are maps and schedules in English
The food and drinks are reasonably priced. 200Y for a bottle of water that is 150Y from a vending machine is good for me. And one of our counter lunches was 2500Y ($25) for the 2 of us. The buffet we hit was that each but it was all you can eat and hella good
All the art is in English, not Japanese (weird)
They only have 50-60% of the voice acting translated on the rides
All signs have 2 - 3 languages on them. Always English which is also usually bigger, clearer and listed first
Lines everywhere not just for what you expect but for the perfect picture spot too or to get a pic with a character.
The people are very polite, most of our character pics don't have us in them BUT we could have done it, every one took a turn.
Finding food that is not totally weird to us Americans was hard but doable (the English map helped ALOT), I just do not do corn or seafood on pizza.
A lot of the souvenirs were reasonably priced, yeah my 25th anniversary mickey in a yukata was 4000Y but the tin of cookies for people at work was only 1000Y and lots of other little things for 1000Y or less.
Ok my hands hurt from typing and I have fuji stuff too, oh yes there is more.
There are 4 galleries. DisneySea, Disneyland, Ikspiari (the mall area at the resort) and fun stuff like every flavor of popcorn we saw.
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| Disneyland Tokyo July 2008 |
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| DisneySea July 2008 |
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| Disney Ikspiari July 2008 |
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| Disney Fun Stuff June 2008 |
Tanabata
Going back in time to the weekend of July 7th. I took a friend and her kids to the Tanabata festival in Shonan-Hiratsuka in the same prefecture we live in. Tanabata is a Chinese story of a Orihime, the princess who wove cloth for the gods, and Hikoboshi, the simple human farmer who loved her. Of course there was strife and they were seperated and the seventh day of the seventh month is the one day a year they can be together. Look it up it is a sweet story. Here are pictures:
My friend Katie also has some great pics on her blog (
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| Tanabata 2008 |
My friend Katie also has some great pics on her blog (
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
I am late but I have been very busy. I enrolled in Grad school and between classes, school wrapping up at work and hubbs being home I have been quite busy. I had midterms last week and turned in a 20 page term paper yesterday. I got As on the midterms W007!! I was really nervous about it.
Ok so last month the hubbs and I went to Nanadaru on the Izu Peninsula. It was beautiful, I honestly do not know what to compare it to. It is one of the wonderments of God and I posted a ton of pictures in my Picassa album because I cannot choose which ones to post. It was about a 3 hour drive but we took a tour, so it was a cozy bas ride. We went to Joren Falls first. Then on down to Nanadaru, which is seven waterfalls. It was breathtaking. Afterwards we relaxed in a hotspring.
Tons more pictures
More updates to come:
Yesterday I went to a Tanabata festival with a friend.
For my birthday we are going to Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea
Then the next weekend we climb Fuji-san.
Then we sleep. We are cramming a lot in because the man is about to head out again and we start the craziness over, it has been nice having him around.
Ok so last month the hubbs and I went to Nanadaru on the Izu Peninsula. It was beautiful, I honestly do not know what to compare it to. It is one of the wonderments of God and I posted a ton of pictures in my Picassa album because I cannot choose which ones to post. It was about a 3 hour drive but we took a tour, so it was a cozy bas ride. We went to Joren Falls first. Then on down to Nanadaru, which is seven waterfalls. It was breathtaking. Afterwards we relaxed in a hotspring.
Tons more pictures
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| Nanadaru June 7-2008 |
More updates to come:
Yesterday I went to a Tanabata festival with a friend.
For my birthday we are going to Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea
Then the next weekend we climb Fuji-san.
Then we sleep. We are cramming a lot in because the man is about to head out again and we start the craziness over, it has been nice having him around.
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