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With windows thrown open
With windows thrown open to let in the spring breezes, I’m discovering that my neighborhood smells like food. This morning, tonari-sama is cooking sausage and eggs. The other evening, I smelled curry. My own kitchen is as bare as Old Mother Hubbard’s, so these scents are tantalizing. Oddly enough, I never smell Japanese foods, only…
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Outside our front door
Outside our front door is a tiny triangle of garden. When we moved in in October, it wasn’t terribly impressive–lots of unruly woody branches with green leaves. However, it evolved into a flowering wonderland this spring. First apple blossoms, then brilliant azaleas. Now we have huge red roses. The buds of pink spray roses are…
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Tsuyu, the rainy season,
Tsuyu, the rainy season, began in Okinawa two days ago. From the state of the weather in Tokyo, I think it’s begun here as well. Even though it isn’t really due here for another few weeks, the rain clouds rolled in and we suffered a classic tsuyu rain yesterday–slow, misty drizzle all day. This is…
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My short note to
My short note to the DigitalEve Japan mailing list asking about job placement firms elicited 10 responses, including a personal referral to a recruiter, an appointment with another, a request for my resume, and scads of information about where to look for job leads online and offline. With all this support and goodwill, maybe job…
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In theory this should
In theory this should be a breeze. Install FreeBSD Unix on an old computer, add a web server, a database and some other bells and whistles to get it running for DigitalEve Japan. We’ve done this before. In practice it’s turning out to be a major hassle. Not even counting that it took two days…
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I really, truly hate
I really, truly hate job hunting. After two years of freelancing, I’ve generated a decent body of work but I haven’t added much to the family coffers. On top of fiscal irresponsibility, my focus is beginning to drift; I spend days writing nothing at all. I think it’s time to return to the 9-5 world…
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NEWS FLASH Our nephew,
NEWS FLASH Our nephew, Seth Adams, was born at 1:26 pm on May 4th (Tod’s birthday, too). He weighs in at 8 lbs, 12 oz. Maureen and Seth are both doing fine.
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I’d never encountered a
I’d never encountered a massage chair until I came to Japan. In stores, the demonstration chairs are a good place to locate husbands who’ve strayed from the family shopping expedition. The basic format of a massage chair is a recliner with wheels inside that roll, tap and vibrate up and down your back. It sounds…
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I’m feeling weighed down
I’m feeling weighed down by all my possessions. Piles of books, papers and pamphlets that I’ve been saving for research are trash now. The detritus of several projects–spare brackets, hardware and boxes. Gone. Dust under the computer is about to be vacuumed away. I’m tempted to pull out drawers, throw away clothes, pitch everything that…
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The Communications Museum “TeiPaku”
The Communications Museum “TeiPaku” (theme park) is pretty unassuming from the outside. It’s in big building in the middle of the financial district, on a corner near Tod’s office. It’s signage is ugly. We’ve given it short shrift for three years. But yesterday, we decided to stop in after lunch. What a pleasant surprise. It…
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