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Banking online is a
Banking online is a brilliant idea. We do it all the time because it gives us ready access to our American accounts. We even have an account at a bank we’ve never been to in person. But it has its drawbacks. My banker is a web page (well, a whole bunch of web pages). And…
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There’s a new, huge
There’s a new, huge apartment building on the main drag in our neighborhood. It’s the largest building on the street–taking up an entire block and 20 stories. It’s a really posh place, called L’Age. For the last two months, the construction workers have been fixing up the sidewalks and the landscaping and it’s beginning to…
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I spent my high
I spent my high school years going to auctions with my mother, looking for vintage linens and clothing for her shop. Auctions were a lot of fun. I loved to bid on the boxes of odds n’ ends. LOT #46: pots, pans and assorted items. Minimum bid, $1. It was a thrill to win that…
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A double dose of
A double dose of holidays today. In America, it is Thanksgiving. Turkey dinner, football games and parades. In Japan, it is Labor Thanksgiving Day. No special traditions, though I suppose we should be thankful for our employment, perhaps celebrating by joining a labor union. No matter, it’s a day off for most people and they…
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Without maps I’d never
Without maps I’d never find my way in this city. Tokyo’s is so big and I get around it quite a bit, so it’s difficult for me to keep track of where things are even when I’ve been there a few times. “Meet you at TUC in Omotesando? OK, I know where that is.” And…
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The Prime Minister of
The Prime Minister of Japan, Yoshiro Mori, survived a vote of no-confidence last night. I’m rather surprised. Mori replaced PM Obuchi when Obuchi suffered a fatal stroke earlier this year. The selection was controversial at the time, as Mori had little experience in international diplomacy. His tenure as PM has been described by the press…
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When my sister and
When my sister and I were kids, we would rate the restrooms at every restaurant we visited. It kept us occupied while our parents enjoyed an after-dinner coffee. Soon this hobby spread to other public bathrooms and we even considered writing a book. (At the time that was a joke, but these days, it would…
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With the new year
With the new year approaching, we’re starting to see snakes everywhere. Not real snakes, but decorative snakes adorning everything from greeting cards to flower vases. In six weeks we will begin the Year of the Snake. Having often eaten in American Chinese restaurants, I’m pretty familiar with the animal years. Year of the Horse, that’s…
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We’re hosting an office
We’re hosting an office party in two weeks, so now I have incentive to find curtains for the living room and a place to store CDs. To that end, I went shopping yesterday. I came home with sheets and a calendar, not quite what was on my list. But that’s not all. I came home…
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My desk is a
My desk is a disaster of piles. Everything I use gets put on top of whatever else I’ve just used. An archeological dig (currently out of fashion in Japan after the revelation that a well-known archeologist faked the findings at two of his digs) of the pile to my left reveals: pen video camera remote…
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