Earthquake

 I set myself a challenge to write a post every day this month.

I wanted to see if it was possible. My life gets to be rather boring but by challenging myself to write I have to do things or find things to write about.

After yesterday's post, I wasn't sure what I could write about today.  Another moan about the weather, which is still too hot, or a detailed account of how I'm avoiding packing, I've made that into an art form.

Yesterday afternoon I was sitting in the room that we use for teaching, thinking about the lessons I had to do and chatting with Christopher when the alarm on our phones went off.  This freaked me out. My phone was saying in English "There is an earthquake, please take precautions to protect yourself"  For a couple of seconds I couldn't figure out what was happening.  Christopher's phone was doing the same but in Japanese.  I looked at Christopher, he just said earthquake!

Where we are it wasn't that bad maybe a M2.  The house shook, but nothing fell off the shelves. For me it's the sounds that are scary, there's this rumbling sound that is very deep, then the building grinding, doors and windows rattling.  It was over very quickly and we haven't felt any aftershocks.

I was surprised to find that it measured M7.1 at the epicenter.  

The Japan Meteorological Agency issued a megaquake advisory.  This highlights the possibility of a mega-earthquake along the Nankai Trough.  The biggest possibility is within the next week. However, seismology is not an exact science.  The Nankai Trough has been talked about for years, some scientists say it could produce a mega-earthquake in the next couple of years, and others say it could be 30 to 40 years before it becomes unstable. 

This earthquake yesterday was a reminder that I need to check our emergency supplies and update what we would do if we have a very bad one. Where to meet, how to contact each other. The last time we had a big earthquake here was 8 years ago. Hannah was still in school, so we made a plan to meet at Hannah's school, as that is an evacuation place.  We need to sit and talk about this!

I think Hannah had the worst experience yesterday. She is volunteering at an old people's home, it's on the 6th floor! She said that most of the residents are so out of it they didn't notice the quake. Just one lady was panicking.  

I need to go to the other house soon. There are a few cracks on the outside walls that I want to check, I really hope they didn't get bigger or deeper!

This was the cat's reaction to the earthquake.

sleeping as usual

On My Own

 This morning it's just me and the cats here!

Mikey is teaching at some nurseries. David isn't back from work. Christopher has gone to meet his mate and Hannah is at the old people's home for the day!

It is so quiet! Even when everyone is at home they are usually in their own rooms.  We get together for meals and when I'm giving orders for cleaning!  Even so, I know that if I need help there is somebody around.

I'm going to have to used to this. This time next year, if all plans fall into place Mikey and Hannah will have their own places. David and Christopher will be living with me but working, so most days they will be out.  

I don't mind being by myself it just feels strange. I'm so used to having the kids around but it really is time they became independent.  Because of the economy, a lot of adult children stay at home.  David and I figured that with his income he could get a small apartment but after paying rent, utilities, a car loan, and food he would have nothing left to save or for emergencies.  Even paying the biennial vehicle test and car tax would be difficult.  A lot of adult kids get help from their parents if they live by themselves. My neighbor's son moved back home because he planned to get married but couldn't save money while he had his own place.

The cats are quiet! We separate them at night as the three older ones tend to fight!  3 have the corridors to wander around, the others are in the dining/living area. We put a small bookshelf in front of the door as Frodo and Fred can open the doors.  But they have managed to find a way to move the shelf.  Looks like finding something heavier!  Last night they got out and sent up camp outside my room and started a very demonstration. They wanted food, they'd been fed early in the evening but it sounded like we were starving them. Of course, they are all sleeping now.

It's a cat's life

Fluffy totally relaxed!

Missing The Local Supermarket

 A song came up in my YouTube feed, Big Yellow Taxi.

The chorus goes:

"Don't it always seem to go

That you don't what you've got 'til it's gone

They paved paradise and put up a parking lot."

That's how I feel about the local supermarket closing down.  I never realized just how much I relied on that store.

Most mornings David would stop by, as it was on his way back from work. If I needed anything I would send him a message or if I start cooking and find I'm low on something it was easy to send somebody to get it.

There is a drug store nearby, not a pharmacy, just over-the-counter medicines, supplements, beauty goods, etc. They have a lot of groceries, bread and milk are always cheaper there.  A lot of instant foods, condiments, snacks, drinks, etc but very little in the way of fresh food.  I use that place a lot but it doesn't replace the supermarket.

There are other supermarkets but you need a car to get to them, which is hard because of Mikey's work schedule.  When he is free I try to get to a store.

This morning I went shopping and was shocked at the price of things. Chicken breast used to be a cheap source of protein, the most expensive was usually 60 yen for 100 grams. This morning it was 117 yen for 70 grams.  I really wanted fruit and vegetables, small lettuce, maybe enough for one meal, was almost 300 yen, and grapes were over 1000 yen.  Just 3 small bags of food cost almost 9000 yen.  I know that growing our own vegetables will help.  I need to study what to plant, when, and where!

In the 100 yen shop, I was shocked to see that they are starting to put out Halloween goods.

It's still August!!!

And I think some companies should hire somebody to check their English.

where's the "be"?

 

Hair Adventures!

 I wanted to color my hair! I usually go to my hairdresser but she is semi-retired and only open 4 days a week. So I decided to buy a home coloring kit and do it myself.

I asked Hannah to go with me to find a good color, also to make sure that I get the right kind, one that covers white hair.

Of course, the first question was "Do you want purple hair?" 

There's a story behind that question. Hannah was only a year old but has heard this story many times!

When I went to England in 2003 I didn't have time to go to the hairdresser before we left so I decided to go to the hairdresser in England.  

I was shocked at how expensive it was! I just got a cut, which didn't turn out so well. I don't think the hairdresser listened to what I asked for!

I went to a store to buy a color. I can read English, I can find the perfect color! 

My Mom's friend offered to do the coloring for me. I sat in Mom's dining/kitchen, listening to Mom and her friend chatter.  Suddenly they started laughing, I asked "What, what?" to which they answered "Nothing" but kept laughing. Mom snapped a photo.

Purple hair!

I actually screamed when I saw it!

Very purple

After that experience, I always went to the hairdresser to get my hair colored, until this time.

Before, white hair

Hannah took this with a filter, I don't look that pale. My face is red because I sweat a lot and rub my face!

The product

I got a light brown color. 

The result

Not too bad. Bit more red than I would like but it looks okay. I need to get some cream for my face. I don't bother too much with creams, just a basic moisturizer but I need something for under my eyes.  That area gets sore easily, leaving me with puffy eyes!  I never look good in photos but this is me!!

Panic

 I was looking at Hannah's schedule that she has pinned over her desk.

I tried to get a photo but it's difficult to see. She has the next three months pinned to her wall, with different colors showing what she is doing and when.

 This week she has to volunteer at an old people's home!  I have no idea what taking care of elderly people has to do with being a teacher but it's part of her course!  Then she has to do more to her thesis, which has to be finished by December.  She has two weeks of teacher training for special needs, at the end of October.  She also has a test for graduate school in September, that she needs to study for. 

I was thinking poor Hannah, so busy. Then I looked again. The last page is October. Just two pages away, we are moving in November!  

I caught the end of a news report from America. The presidential election is in the first week of November, 91 days away! 

Seeing the months laid out and hearing how many days until November has really shaken me! I knew the moving day was close but in my mind, it felt far away.

Panic! Really panicked!  I thought we would be further along the cleaning of the other house and the packing and sorting of this house. At the beginning of the year, I imagined having empty shelves, drawers, and closets by now.  

I need to make a new determination, to do something every day, get the kids to pack up their rooms.  We need to have things in place to move quickly, I don't want to be going back and forth between houses once we move. I don't want to pay rent after November.  Even if it takes time to settle and organize the other house I want to finish with here by November.

Of course, the weather isn't helping, it's 38C but feels like 40C. Mikey is doing cotton candy in the next city, there's a big firework festival tonight. They are set up on the parking roof of the mall, they can take turns to go inside to cool down, which helps.

Cat photo for cuteness.

Frodo, if I fit, I sits!!

This And That

I had a plan for today but it didn't work out!

The first part of the day went smoothly enough. I got up at 5:30 and made breakfast for 4 of us (David was at work) and did French Toast because of another miscommunication!  I hadn't checked what David bought and sent Christopher to the local drugstore, which sells basic groceries, so we ended up with 5 packs of milk and 6 packs of bread!  I used some of the bread this morning, wondering what to do with the milk!

After that, Mikey dropped Hannah off for work.  The nursery she is working at held a special event this morning.  The kids learned some songs to do for their parents. Hannah said it was very cute!

After Mikey got back we loaded up the car with boxes that had been hanging around the house for a month or so. We drove to the other house to drop them off. We then went shopping. This is where things went south. It is so hot that just walking from the car to the store was hard.  From 8am it was 31C, by the time we had finished shopping it was about 33C.  I planned to make lunch but came back feeling awful, headache and so tired. I told everybody to find their own lunch, I put my air conditioner on and slept!

I planned to color my hair this afternoon, but that will have to wait.  Also, I wanted to sort out a few more things to take to the other house. We've taken a lot but it doesn't look like it.  Still a lot to do but I'm not sure that I have the energy to keep going!

We will get there, somehow!

This heat is really crazy!  I woke up at 1am and it was still 31C.  It only dropped to 29C, I feel that there is no real break from it!  One of our neighbors is having work done to the outside of the house, I feel so sorry for the workers!  They start early but the days are just too hot! I don't know how people who have to go out in this heat manage. Do you just get used to it?

Fred on Hannah

In this heat, the cats usually don't want to sit on our laps, even with the air conditioning! Last night, however, Fred decided that he wanted some love from Hannah.  He stayed for about half an hour.  

This morning we had a visitor!

Cicada

I don't like insects at all but while this was still and on the outside of the window I could take a photo. But then it started to move, and I took off!

Naivety

 Some of the Facebook groups I'm on are for people who want to travel to Japan or want to move here. It's interesting to see the various ideas that people have about Japan and life here.

A few themes that come up over and over again are how safe Japan is, how clean it is, and how polite the people are.

Most of the posts paint Japan as a paradise, and it's a nice place to live but not a perfect place to live.

Is Japan safe?  After the awful stabbings in England last week and the subsequent riots, I would have to say that compared to the UK, at the moment it is safer here. But it isn't crime-free.  There are crimes, petty theft, and shoplifting are on the increase.  Some elderly people who have no family, no money, and very little pension commit crimes so they can go to jail, there they will have a place to sleep, 3 meals a day, and medical care. They'll also have a community to help them.  It's a sad state of society when this happens.

Crimes such as murders seem to be very dramatic and make headline news for days and sometimes weeks.  The other year a young man came to the city where we live, he went to an elderly lady's house killed her, and then went to another prefecture. He had no connection to this city or this lady. he left no real forensic evidence. The police would never have caught him but he turned himself in. He was a young man in his 20s, studying to be a pharmacist. He had his whole life before him, I can't fathom these kinds of crimes. So senseless, the lady's family is destroyed but also the suspect has destroyed his life and his family as well.  There again even when there is some motive I don't understand the taking of life!

Is Japan clean?  Kind of.  I've seen litter, and I've even asked people to take home their obento packages that they left on the ground.  There are a lot of vending machines with small trash boxes that get over full very quickly.  I haven't seen fly-tipping which seems to be a big problem in parts of the UK.  It is difficult and expensive to get rid of trash.  We are still clearing out the other house and one problem is that our IDs are for another city and prefecture, even though it's only a 30-minute drive.  We can't take trash to the local incinerator until we register in that city.  For large items like the fridge and washing machine, we have to contact the city hall and pay for the items to be taken. One good system is that in some stores they will take your old machines or furniture for a small price.  We've had problems with old bikes, I had no idea how to get rid of them, one of my husband's friends told Mikey about a recycle scrap metal place that would take them and pay you.  We made a bit of money from metal things hanging around the houses and yards!

Are people polite?  Again not so straightforward as it seems. Japanese tend to divide others into groups, you are part of my group, on the inside, so I can use speech that is not so polite, and others who are outside my group, therefore I must be polite to you.  My mother-in-law was an expert at this, talking to people outside of her family she was polite and deferential, toward us she was demanding and talked to us in a very impolite way. She never used please or thank you toward family members. If you ask a Japanese person for help, for instance, by asking for directions, they will go out of their way to help as you are outside their group.  The typical Japanese person might also feel that they have to show the best side of Japan, as a representative of the country.  I'm not sure younger people feel this so keenly but middle age people seem to.

What has this to do with naivety?  When I read these posts of how safe, clean, and polite it is in Japan I want to go into keyboard warrior mode and correct these people. I feel they are so stupid for not realizing that there are problems here, maybe better hidden than in other countries but still problems.  One time I decided to look at the profiles of one person who was writing one of these posts.  He was very young and had a fresh outlook on life in general.  I realized that these posts are by younger people who see the best things in Japan.

This led me to remembering my first few years here. I had been in Japan for just over a year when I realized that I hadn't seen a police car. I mentioned this to Hisao. He told me that Japan was so safe that the police didn't have patrol cars, only bicycles!  I believed him until 3 years later I saw a police car!  My husband thought it was very funny that I believed him. This story also gives my kids a good laugh. I think we lose that sense of naivety as we grow older and experience more things. Is it a good thing to always see things clearly or is a sense of wonder and being a bit naive a less stressful way of living?

And of course, cats! This time Sam! He decided to lie in front of the TV. I don't mind but I was watching a travel video of a place near here that I would like to visit. the video was in Japanese with English subtitles. Sam was blocking the subtitles, so I had to try and understand what was being said. I think I understood about 80%.

Sam blocking the subtitles.