Category Archives: Cub Scouts

Good Times

April 15, 2012 By in Chase, China, Cliff, Cub Scouts, Kathryn, Living in Tokyo Tags: , , Leave a comment

Stamped & Approved

VISA FOR CHINA

After 3 visits. Success! Last Thursday, at 8:15 am I assumed my position in front of the Chinese embassy (all documents in hand) and got my receipt! I pick up our visas on Tuesday. Cliff has booked the hotel and flights. We leave May 2nd and return May 6th. Of course, you all will get the play-by-play as we continue in this adventure we call life.

Friday was the Opening Day for Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat. The first performance was for 4th, 5th and 6th graders at 1:30pm. Because Cliff and Chase were going camping with Cub Scouts on Saturday at 5:30am, I attended the elementary performance and came home so we could all eat dinner and I could help Cliff and Chase pack. The performance went fine. I thought their last rehearsal was better, but at this point the quality standard deviation is probably 10%. I’m still incredulous that we ended up with such a decent show given how it was looking just 1 week ago.

Knowing Cliff and Chase were going to be gone this weekend, I was really torn as to what to do. I knew if I made plans to go out, as it got closer, I would end up wanting to bail. However, I also know if I stay home all day and night, all I will end up doing is eating junk food and watching Columbo or Korean dramas. So by Friday, I started inviting myself to other people’s plans.

Proud Scout

Saturday arrives and Cliff and Chase have managed to leave without getting me up (so nice). When I do get up, I realize it’s raining. Not just mist, but a steady pour. I feel badly for Cliff and Chase for about 2 seconds, and then start getting ready for my day.

One of my goals Saturday was to find a very unique tailor. Cliff somehow managed to create a tiny hole in the front of one of his suit pants. After taking it to my alterations lady, she told me this was beyond her realm of abilities. I needed a kakehagi specialist: Someone who specialized in invisible cloth repair (WTH?). Believe it or not, I ended up finding a boutique that has been around forever through the TAC member services. So after spin class, I took Cliff’s pants to the American Tailors shop, where ironically, there are no American Tailors, and no one speaks English. Estimated Cost: 5,000-6,000 yen.

By the time I start heading back to the apartment in the rain, Nghi and I have made plans to get together for dinner at 7:00pm.

SaturNight 6:50pm. I walk out of the apartment with my Tokyo Black leggings, knee-high boots and bustier. Cliff cracked me up once when he said, “So let me get this straight, you put your bra on to go to bed and take it off to go out !” Mmmhmm. That’s right. I expect my boobs to flop around when I’m dancing, not when I’m trying to sleep. At this point, Cliff has been sending me all kinds of pitiful photos of himself and Chase trying to camp in the rain:

Trying to dry his wet sleeping bag over the fire

I would send back pictures of me having fun:

Subject: What I'm Doing Right Now

I explained to Cliff that I was strictly going out because I couldn’t have a blog about living in Tokyo and not have a night out in Roppongi. Roppongi is known as the “party” district. Full of bars and clubs and stuff to get you in trouble. I go through Roppongi all the time during the day, so seeing it at night and partaking in its wild weekend scene was really fun. An interesting thing to note is Roppongi gets very “dark” at night. I mean this literally and figuratively. You hardly ever see black people during the day in Tokyo. And please, don’t misunderstand where I’m coming from. Black people do not bother me. I con’t have trucks with Dixie Flag stickers on them, I like their music, and sometimes their food (I say this all tongue in cheek of course) plus, I’m going to play the Atlanta card. However, when I say Roppongi gets “dark” at night, I’m talking Nigerian dark. According to sources in the know, these are people who are paid to bring customers into clubs/bars or sometimes they are pimps. Nghi and I had difficulty walking 2 blocks without coming across someone trying to “recruit” us. Michael already told us if we earned any money, we needed to give him 10%. After dinner, Nghi and I started looking for a place to have drinks. We checked out GasPanic but I had to leave. Felt too much like rehearsals. Lots of kids. I then remembered someone (over the age of 35) had recommended Motown as a fun place to go after dinner. There was a nice range of ages, and it is one of those places that plays great music and even though there isn’t a dance floor per se, people just get up and dance when the mood hits them. We had a GREAT time.

Drunk picture

By the time we were ready to leave, it was well into the wee hours of the night. The rain had stopped, the temperatures were pleasant and the streets were still packed! It was definitely a good time, but I don’t think my knees could handle doing this on a regular basis.

SUNDAY

I woke up feeling like I had a mouth full of cotton balls. I checked my phone and saw Cliff had emailed me already:

5:30AM and 28 degrees. Not the warmest place to be. We will or at least I will be doing nothing else today upon arrival.

Survived the Night

OK. He wins.

Until next time…

Kids Drool Pets Rule

January 16, 2012 By in Chase, Cub Scouts, Culture Shock, Daily Living, Family, Japan, Japanese Excursions, Kathryn, Living in Tokyo, Tokyo, Uncategorized, useful Tags: , , , , Leave a comment

According to experts, fewer births, people living alone and the cute factor are some of the inherent reasons for Japan’s dog obsession. In addition, some companies provide a pet allowance and allow for condolence leave for the death of a beloved pet. This is one of the many ironies of Japan. It is a culture of repressed feelings and very little public affection and display, and yet, you take the brawniest of men here and sooner or later you will see a small furry head peek out of his jacket. The first time I came to Tokyo, I remember marveling at these pupuccinos. They are so tiny and can sometimes fit in the palm of your hand! Chase and I have been begging Cliff to let us get one. This is no impulse purchase my friends. These teacup dogs can be VERY expensive and require microchips for security and then there is insurance.  This does not include the money for maintenance and coiffures.

Here are some random photos of pets I ran across since I have been here. It was much easier getting shots of pooches than people:

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On a completely different topic:

This past weekend, Chase and I had the opportunity to go skating for the first time with Chase’s Cub Scout group. It was really so much fun and even though, we both stumbled away black and blue, we had a great time.

After skating from 1:00pm to 4:30pm, we were exhausted and starving. Lucky for  us, the Yokohama Ramen Museum was just around the corner! If you are in the area and have a chance to go, PLEASE make an effort to visit this crazy museum. It is a 1:1 replication of an old town during Showa Japan (1950′s) and there are actual Ramen restaurants throughout representing the different styles of ramen in Japan. Another bit of advice: Go hungry and order the “Mini Size” bowls. This was you can sample more than one style. We were shooting for 3 bowls, but ended up stopping after 2 and going after some dessert. The funny thing is when we walked in, it was like going back in time. According to Chase, “This must be at least 1980′s mom!” The Den leader and I just looked at each other and shook our heads.

Chris, the Den leader and I , discussed the possibility of adding this to next year’s skate trip and inventing a “Ramen Badge”.  Even though I had initial concerns about Chase joining the scouts (lazy mom side showing), I must admit I am really glad that he was so enthusiastic about it. The scouts organization has given us some of the highlights of our stay here in Japan and provided us so much opportunity to do things together and meet some very special people.

Tomorrow, I am taking Chase and Nikita to Kidzania for the day since there’s no school. Between the international, Japanese, and Catholic holidays, I swear, they only go to school 3 days a week. As the name implies, should be another interesting if not zany day for everyone.

Until next time…

Culture Day, Game Night, Rain Guts.

November 6, 2011 By in bicycle, Chase, Cliff, Cub Scouts, Daily Living, Family, Girlfriends, Japan, Kathryn, Living in Tokyo, Picture of the Day, Tokyo, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , , Leave a comment

Given my last blog, I am compelled to write something happy and pretty. I am still stalking girls around Tokyo trying to take pictures of Japan Couture for all of you at home because I swear, you would not believe what a production it is to just get out the door here.

Thursday was one of those crazy Japanese holidays: Culture Day.  Chase was still going to school and Cliff told me at the last-minute that he was off, so we planned a lunch date in Omotesando. As soon as I had a chance to look around, I realized that Omotesando is the Paris of Tokyo. There are all kinds of fabulous French bistros with Al Fresco seating and wonderful people watching. All the high end boutiques and labels are represented. Roppongi has a reputation for being “nice” too, but having seen Omotesando, I realize that Roppongi may be the slutty sister of sophisticated sister Omotesando who mom and dad loved better anyway. It being Culture Day and all,  Cliff and I decided to lunch at Bulgari Il Cafe. Who knew Bulgari had a cafe? It was fantastic Mediteranean food. I have included some pictures, along with pictures of me on le cyc! Lunch was beautiful and delicious. I had a good time despite Cliff being my only company! I say this tongue in cheek, but frankly I wonder sometimes why some relationships seem to drift apart and become so formulaic while others stay cohesive and friendly. I’m not blaming Chase, but I do know after having a baby, SLEEP trumped SEX every time. Makes me think about the time change going on in the US now and I almost wish you could “fall back” 10 years.

Friday was my day to host Game Night. I know my friends back home are laughing, because you all know, to know me is to play Settlers of Catan at some point. I’m so addicted. That morning, I literally woke up Cliff and Chase by jumping out of bed and yelling “GAME NIGHT!!!!”  There is a downloadable iPad app and it is definitely worth having. You should absolutely buy the Seafarers Upgrade because it is very good at training you and teaching you strategies and I have been playing non-stop. Back to Game Night. I invited my usual lunch gang (Angela, Nghi, Lisa, Adonica) and a couple of girls from my tennis group (Izumi & Yuki). I ended up making a couple of dishes and buying the rest at Food Show in Shibuya. It is kind of like Fresh Market on steroids. Even though I don’t like having people in my home (I think I get stressed about having enough food, making things nice, people judging, yayaya…) everyone seemed very happy to be at the apartment. Izumi and Yuki showed a little later (but compensated with chocolate and champagne) and  ended up staying with Angela, Nghi and myself until close to midnight! Despite all the chatting, food and having a good time, a game was played! Regardless of my phobias about home entertaining, I have always felt that my life is so full of blessings and what is the point of it all if you can’t share with friends?

Saturday was Raingutter Regatta for the Cub Scouts. I had no idea what this would be like, but it turned out to be great fun and full of drama. They set up 2 lanes of rain gutters filled with water. A boy lines up alongside each of the gutters with his boat in the water. At “GO!” the boy then starts blowing on the sail to propel his boat forward. There was one little boy who just couldn’t win a race all morning and when his last race came up, unfortunately his opponent was finished before he was even 1/3 of the way done, but that little guy just kept blowing these sad little breaths on his sail with tears rolling down his face. I wish that little kid could understand just how awesome it was that he finished. I’ll confess, when I played tennis for my league, if I didn’t win my first set, everyone knew it was all over for me. I am also grateful that I was able to take pictures after Chase’s winning race and not after his losing ones. He ended up winning 1 heat and losing 2. Of course, it was all Dad’s fault. :)

Here are my POD’s for the last few days.

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Thank you all for showing your support for me and staying in touch. Just recently I heard from more friends in Atlanta and it made me so happy. I am so eager to see you all again one day,

Until next time…

Taste This! Pimping My Ride & Our Postman Only Rings Once

October 24, 2011 By in bicycle, Cub Scouts, Culture Shock, Daily Living, Girlfriends, Japan, Kathryn, Living in Tokyo, Tokyo, Transportation, Uncategorized, useful Tags: , , , , , , , , , 2 Comments

It is now time to address more lifestyle changes.

As I mentioned in my chart, I am taking cooking lessons now from Hema Parekh and she is opening my eyes to the wonderful world of Vegan cooking. Yes, I said vegan cooking. It really amazes me that there is such a plethora of dishes that are sans meat and so full of flavor. I am cooking with “exotic” ingredients like lotus root, burdock, miso, tofu and I really love it. Cliff and Chase are being as supportive as carnivores can be, and much to their chagrin, I have resumed “Vegetarian Thursday Dinner” night. I can’t promise they aren’t sneaking off to the convenience store for beef jerky after I go to bed, but hey, at least at dinner time I see a few mouthfuls.

My picture of the day (POD) consists of another lifestyle point and that is transportation. Lately I have been bemoaning the inconvenience of not having a car, but truth be told, I still enjoy the freedom. I just started listening to Fox News thanks to my TuneIn radio app, and I hear gas in the States is $3.50/gal. It used to bother me so much to hear such things as an SUV driver. Now I just feel bad for everyone back home. I also have to admit that I LOVE my ride. I had no idea bicycles came with such vast accoutrement. I am still thinking about adding a rearview mirror and maybe a cup holder (since the Soy Cafe has become almost a daily ritual). The other day at tennis, the other ladies were coveting my ride because it was without extra seating. Evidently, I had the “non-mommy” vehicle. Here are some pictures of different pimped out bikes you might see in Tokyo:

Back Seating

Front Seating

I think this is the biking world's SUV

I give it up for these ladies. Almost every bike also has the basket and sometimes the front and back basket. I really waited before I “broke down” and had one installed, but I tell you it was the best thing ever. Although, I really don’t understand how they are able to drive these vehicles with a child in the front or the back or BOTH! Sometimes, when I just have a bag of fruit in the front, it’s enough to throw my sense of balance off. I have trouble driving straight with that load, but I guess you have to be more careful with a child up front than a melon. I went to a bike shop called Le Cyc and they have an English speaker who is fantastic and if you buy the accessory there, they’ll install whatever.

These are images of my bike:

My Pimped out Bike

My "Dashboard"

Good times friends. This is literally how I roll.

Mailing Stuff: OK, so I finally got the hang of going to the apartment mailbox area and checking for packages and parcels. I don’t know why, but, I guess in the back of my mind, I thought, I had left EVERYTHING behind in the America including mail. One day I discovered that to send a letter, I could not just throw it into my mailbox. One you have to put the delivery address on the front and your address on the back. I was so excited to have the opportunity to use my oh-so-cute pre-printed address stickers, I slapped one on the front of an envelope only to have it mailed back to me. So that is addressing the envelope. A stamp is easily purchased at any convenience store (Kombini) and will cost 80 Yen ($1.04) for a single letter. Then you need to look for big red boxes like these:

This is where letters are posted. I don’t know why the postman can only deliver mail, but that is just the way it is.

One last thing, I keep forgetting to let you all know, but now that I am an iPhone user, I am finally getting to play all those fun app games. Right now I’m into Words with Friends (User ID User48366607). I haven’t figured out how to change that fantastic userID yet. But if you have any games you are playing that you like, let me know, always interested in something to do on the train.

Tomorrow I am running my first Cub Scout meeting. I am kind of nervous, because I don’t have a lot of patience for naughtiness and I enjoy disciplining young boys ;) but hopefully, I wont shatter too many young minds.

Until next time…

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