Seattle: October 2008

Well, I'm about set to leave Seattle, 8:15 AM flight tomorrow morning. This has been my fifth or sixth, maybe even my seventh time here. It's a good city, maybe even a great city, although I'm really not fond of the prevalence of precipitation that the Pacific Northwest gets. Still, Seattle has a lot going for it. Two things that make it a far more attractive place to me than some of the other places I've lived: first, the landscape has a lot of hills and trees, and second, it has character in its neighborhoods, its abundance of independent coffee shops, restaurants, and retailers. The people are rather progressive as well (yes, you can probably read that as "liberal"), or at my friend's friends are. It's got a lot to offer, including a lot of rain, but I do like the town...could even see moving here for a stint some time in the future.

Got in Sunday, tired, but the weather was sunny and clear and it was just a good day to be reunited with one of my oldest, best friends, Cat. I won't kill anyone with too many details (as I'm sure I've done in the past), but Cat did manage to take off some additional time from work (she just got back to work after having surgery for breast cancer). We hung out with her friends, went to a pumpkin carving party, walked around the Seattle Art Museum Sculpture Park, had coffee and breakfast in eclectic, interesting joints. It was great. Great weather, great places, great sights, but most of all: great company.

Just for a little background: Cat has been my friend since our junior year of high school (graduated the same year, but from different high schools). We've kept in touch, but not well the last few years. The last time I saw her was probably 2002. A L-O-N-G time ago. Too long.





Earlier this evening, my last, we went over to one of her friend's homes for dinner. A very nice, very good, very simple dinner was made: salmon, salad, couscous, bread. Then, when dinner was finished, we watched Obama's 30 minute infomercial, which was surprisingly good, I thought, although the music was overdone. (I hope he wins. If he doesn't, I may never return from Japan.)

Tomorrow I head back to Hawaii. A week there, then back to the job. What a great job, that I can take time like this to hang out with old friends and family.

Aloha.

Riding in Japan

So, I covered some of this in my post entitled "FINALLY," but I thought I'd share a bit more about riding in Japan.

I've now gotten mostly used to the Japanese signs, stuff painted on the roads, weird placement of traffic lights (occasionally hanging over the oncoming lanes of traffic, initially giving me the impulse to move over to the right lanes), etc. I've even adapted quite handily to the prevalence of motorcyclists and scooterists (I made that word up) to squeeze down between lanes at traffic lights to get to the front. I'm sure my renowned impatience is partly to credit for my quick adaptation, but I've also had to fight my desire to avoid tickets. I'm not sure I'd get a ticket, since 99% of bikers do this, but I'm not sure it's technically legal. (In my defense, I'm not sure it's ILLEGAL either, since my "Rules of the Road" book says, riders "should not" ride between lanes, but not that they "may not.")

Getting used to riding on the left is a done deal. I think I'll be able to slip back into right lane driving without a problem, but I guess we'll see when I get back to the US.

As for navigating semi-long distances, I've found that it's not that bad. The minutiae are harder, the finding of a small road (almost none of which are named or even designated by number) or small building (again, not numbered in sequence). I've got a road atlas for this area, but as with anything, it's a compromise between size and detail. I'm pleased with what I have, as it's been sufficent for me to visit my friend in the countryside of western Hyogo prefecture, as well as getting around the city. So far, so good. I think having driving across the US a few times has helped, as I've gotten the hand of plotting a route out in my mind, remembering major road numbers and turns and landmarks, and then going.

The ride back on Tuesday was pretty bad, in the rain the whole way, and a bit of traffic at the end. In addition, I was taking an alternate route to try to find a cheaper way of going, but I didn't quite understand the instructions I'd been given and didn't manage to get off the expressway and ride parallel to it, so I ended up paying two more tolls than I should have. Oh well...I'll have to figure it out next time, as it would take a bit longer but save me about $15 each way.

The weather is perfect right now for riding: cool and dry. Right now, for the next straight week we're forecasted for SUNNY in the low 70s. PERFECT. If that holds, I may go for a ride next Tuesday and/or Wednesday.

Finally, I also bought a second helmet so I can take passengers around. This is technically illegal, since they've given me this ridiculous rating where I'm not quite at the one year mark of having a license....this is all tied to the snafu I had in exchanging my Hawaii license in Virginia, where they didn't notice my motorcycle classification. Anyway, I've been riding long enough, have packed people around without problem before on bikes a lot bigger, so I think I'll be fine. And it'll be fun!

10 days to my trip to Seattle and Hawaii! Looking forward to it.

Rant: Costco in Japan

It's an unexplainable phenomenon, but the Japanese become completely different people when they enter Costco. Or most of them, anyway. Usually, they are--in appearance and behavior at least--the soul of manners, of consideration, a model of being polite. But when they walk through the doors of that warehouse, a transformation of unknown cause occurs, and suddenly they are boorish. I don't know any other way to explain how it is that there and only there have I encountered Japanese people who seem to have nearly no consideration for the other shoppers around them. They take their huge carts, walk down the center of the aisles, stop anywhere they want, their carts helter-skelter, as if there were no one else around.

For those of you who've been to a Costco (most of you, I think), you know how big the aisles are, so you know that if carts are stopped along either side, another can pass easily through the middle. And there are usually two major "thoroughfares" leading from the from to the back, which can proabably accomodate four carts abreast. Along these larger aisles, they often set up food sampling stations, no big deal if you pull your cart into an aisle and go back for the food...but here, no, let's just stop and get ours NOW. And a big F-YOU to everyone who's behind me.

It's almost like, in this small, magical world that could, really, be called "Little America" (it's laid out just like Costcos back home and even the signs are in English), the Japanese who visit become not Americans, but what they think Americans are like at their worst. Or something. I don't mean to disparage Japanese people, who, as I've already said, are usually the most polite people you'll meet. But I've never encountered anything like this at the eight or so Costcos I've been to in the US.

More to come.

FINALLY

I FINALLY passed my motorcycle license test! Talk about major, MAJOR relief. After I failed for the fourth time, I knew that I was just doing something wrong. I couldn't blame the bike anymore, since I'd had my bike, which was the same model as the test bike, for over a week. I thought a lot about what I'd done when I rolled off that little platform, and I realized that I'd been looking down at it. Well, in the safety class I took, the instructor told us, "Look down, fall down," and that's what I was doing alright. Well, I didn't fall down, but sure enough, I rolled right off that dang platform. So, for the next week, I practiced: I found a small street right next to the train tracks, put my bike on the white line, kept my eyes straight, and practiced. It's amazing how simple it is to start and go straight, even slowly, when you're not trying to do that. Try and suddenly it seems ten times harder.Anyway, after a week of practicing, I went in, got over that bridge, and the rest was easy.

I was so elated that the next thing that happened didn't get me down, although on any other day I probably would have been incensed. I finished my test at 10 AM, was told to wait by a window. After 20 minutes, they brought us in, gave us yet another eye test (as if my eyesight might have deteriorated in the preceding seven days), then were told to go to another window...but not until 12:45. Luckily, I'd brought a book. So I go to a sushi place, have lunch, read, read, read. Then, at 12:45, I go the window, get a piece of paper, the gist of which is that I can now come back at 3 PM to take my picture. Why in the world I couldn't have my picture taken at 1 PM is a mystery no one, anywhere on the planet can solve. So, another two hours, I get my picture, then another 30 minutes waiting to get the license. All told, I was there for 8 hours. Unbelievable. But I've got it, and rode to work for the next three days, and yesterday, after the kids program, I rode here, to my friend's house in western Hyogo prefecture, about 80 miles from Osaka. It was a bit cold, but a nice ride once I got out of the city area.

In other news, I'm taking a trip back to the US at the end of this month. I'll start with a short four-day trip to Seattle to visit my friend Cat, who's having surgery to remove cancer next week. I've not seen her in FAR too many years, one of my best friends from my high school years...she went to UH Lab, in Manoa, and I used to cut school sometimes to go visit her, and we'd walk over to the Pizza Hut (when it was still there) and have lunch. Anyway, I'll stay with her from October 26th to 30th, then head to Hawaii for a week. It's going to be awesome.

"How can he do this?" you ask? Well, 10/27, 11/1, and 11/3 are holidays for me, and as I have class only on Monday, Friday, and Saturday, that means that if I reschedule classes for 10/31, I get 12 days off. SWEET!!! So, I'm taking it and running. Well worth the hassle of rescheduling and of busting ass to make sure I have lessons planned for the days right after I return.

I've been a bit swamped with work lately, as things are still settling down and I'm getting used to being back at work, which is why I'm only just now posting about passing that test. I think by the week after next, I'll be fine. This promises to be a fun semester, with guests coming in November and December, my trip to the US, and some kind of trip for the winter break, though I'm not sure where yet.

I hope you're all doing well.

Aloha!

School begins...ugh

Well, here I am, back in the grind.

School got rolling again on Friday, a full day for me with three classes, and a short lunch meeting. But it was followed, inauspiciously, by the kiddies on Saturday morning. I'll start there, since you'll want me to get my complaining out of the way first.

We've changed up the program, so it's a lot different now. Whereas before I was stuck with the lowest level kids all day, now I get each of the three groups for one 50 minute period. The rotation means I don't get stuck with the same kids all day, which is great, but the change in schedule and the rotation of kids makes for a stressful day. I'm sure it'll ease up soon, when things become more familiar, but it's tiresome all the same.

My university classes, on the other hand, are looking to be the most promising so far. I was slated for two, but picked up another when I was asked by a colleague if I'd teach a small group of exchange students from Korea and Taiwan. I agreed and am glad I did, since they are all really motivated and try really hard. It adds to my workload a bit and takes time in my schedule, but I've still got four days off a week, so a little extra work isn't so bad. I hope to take these students on a few field trips (in lieu of class time).

My other two classes seem to have good students and aren't so big as to prove terribly difficult to manage. I predict a busy but not so tough semester, where my university classes are concerned.

This fall is looking busy, though, in a fun way. I've got two visitors on the agenda, friends from Virginia, one coming in late November and the other coming in mid-December. That'll keep me well entertained! Possibly another friend from Hawaii might visit in January.

Sooner than all that, however, is a rather suddenly planned trip to Seattle and Hawaii at the end of this month! As my schedule has worked out, with Monday and Friday classes and the kids on Saturdays, at the end of October and the first week of November, I have two Monday holidays in a row and a Saturday off from the kids. That means that rescheduling one day of Friday classes gives me 12 days off. I'm taking it and running! I leave Japan on October 26, arrive the same day in Seattle, where I'll visit my friend who's going fighting breast cancer. (Her tumor has a name, and she's kicking it's ass.)

My friend, however, already had plans to go to San Francisco for the Halloween weekend, so I looked into flights and found (through a bit of research), that there was no difference at all in staying in Seattle for four days and returning directly to Japan (in which case, because of the date change, I'd still miss work that Friday), or flying from Seattle to Hawaii to stay for an extra six days. So, heck, I decided to hit Hawaii for a while! I'll stay there from the 30th until the 5th, arrive back in Japan on the 6th, and be back to work on the 7th. Sounds like a great plan to me!

That's it for now! Hope all is well with you!

Aloha,
chip

Motorcycle!

Friday afternoon I got the call from the bike shop letting me know that my bike was ready for pick up the next day. Unfortunately, I already had commitments at work for the next morning, so I couldn't go straight there as I would have liked. Instead, I went in the afternoon, arriving in the heat of the day, around 2:30. Bike looks as I remembered, it started right up, and the mechanic/salesman gives me the tour which was, 90%, unneeded. However, I did learn that what I thought was a lock for a side panel actually allows the seat to be taken off to find a (tiny) storage space...might be big enough for my rain gear... Anyway, I mounted up, illegally, since I've still not got that damn license here, and started the ride home.

My first comment, and the most important, is that I need to get used to riding a sports bike. The power band for these bikes is in much high revs than I'm used to. To give you some idea, the tachometer redlines at about 12,000 rpms, whereas most regular bikes, if they had a tach, would redline around 6 or 7000. So, when I was shifting by sound, it was too early for this bike, and it didn't have the kick I wanted to accelerate, but if I waited a bit longer, until the revs were around 3500 or 4000, damn, 400ccs felt fast. Those four cylinders are going to be a lot of fun to let out when I get to a nice empty country road.

Second comment: It's a different experience driving down these major roads than it is walking along them. There are so many more signs to pay attention to, many unfamiliar, and the roads themselves are unfamiliar. The signage along the buildings is colorful and plentiful, and I'd never realized that they are really meant to be seen from the road, as I suddenly felt assaulted by the plethora of signs. Crazy.

Third comment: It took me about an hour or more (not exactly sure) to drive about 15 miles because of traffic lights and such. Yet I made it nearly home before I got a little lost. Not bad for having only looked at a map of the area and been told which route numbers to take (which are not always so easily visible).

Fourth comment: It was hot.

Fifth (and final) comment: Damn, I love riding. I'm going to resist taking the bike out for long rides until I have my license, but that's all I'm thinking about now: going off into the countryside, maybe around Lake Biwa, finding the smaller, not so busy roads. I can hardly wait.

I was going to wait a while to post pictures of me with the bike, but in the middle of writing correspondence, I needed a break, so I decided to go take the following pictures. By the way, the jacket is new, bought just for riding this bike...I like it a lot, though: it's a warm-weather jacket with a liner that zips in...hopefully will take me through November...

A little more vacation

Tomorrow I go in for my third, yes THIRD, attempt at the motorcycle test. I failed again last week. Terrible. Hit a cone in the first 30 seconds. I'm hoping tomorrow will be that "third time's the charm" thing, but if not, well, I'll wait two weeks before going again.

Two weeks? you ask. Yes. Because, you see, I've bought a bike, which I'll get my hands on this weekend or next Monday or so. Then I can actually PRACTICE riding, on the same bike they give the test on as it happens.




It's a 400cc four cylinder engine: the Honda CB400 Super Four. I'm really, really, REALLY looking forward to getting it, taking it out for practice rides (not very far, I don't want any police problems), then getting my license...then going for some long rides.

The reason I don't have it yet is that in Japan after you buy the bike, it has to go through an involved inspection which takes a while to get done, apparently, so I put money down last Thursday, and I think I'll get it this Saturday or early next week.

This past weekend I went to an aikido training camp. We practiced for about four hours Saturday afternoon, then another two or three Sunday morning, then took our "tests" for rank (assuming I passed, which I think I did, I'm now third rank, two below the first degree black belt...not a big accomplishment, but then I'm not studying aikido for ranking either). After the tests, we practiced for another hour or so. This all took place on a short weekend trip to Fukui, which was where I visited back in January. It was considerably cooler there than in Osaka, which made practicing much more enjoyable, though I was still sweating profusely.

Picture of a student taking her test.


Now I'm back in Osaka, with another two weeks to go. I'm still climbing a lot..in fact, I think I'll head up there now...

Adios. Aloha. さようなら。

Motorcycle test

After getting back to Japan last week Monday, I went to the Japanese DMV (called something else), inconveniently located about an hour and a half by three different trains and a nice 20 minute walk. I signed up to get my motorcycle license, scheduling my riding test for today. Just for the record: I already have my license in the US, but they make you take an abbreviated test here in Japan anyway.

Well, I failed spectacularly. Ok, not spectacularly, but I failed, dammit. For those who don't know, in the US, the test is fairly simple: you demonstrate the ability to do things like weave between cones, get up to a certain speed and then brake within a certain distance, ride properly through a turn, etc. In Japan, the test is much harder. For one, it depends on what size bike you want: you can get licenses for 1) mopeds, 2) up to 125cc bikes, 3) up to 400cc bikes, and 4) unlimited. Not only do you ride different bikes for the test, but you do a different route (don't ask me why; seems to me like you should do the same course just on different size bikes). Well, I'm an ego-maniac, so I thought I'd just go for the unlimited license. The test is a bit harder than the others, but this way I can get any bike I want, though I plan to stay in the 400 cc range. The course includes a cone weave, a fifty-foot ride across a one-foot wide platform raised about two inches (and stay on for a certain amount of time), an S-curve and two-right angles, as well as a thirty-foot ride over these metal bumps about three inches high which I think are supposed to replicate rail-road tracks, though I've seen any tracks raised like that. The funny thing is I failed on what I thought would be the easiest part: the raised platform. Rode right off the damned thing about five feet into it.

Frustrating as all hell, because I now have to wait a week to take the test again. In the meantime, I have no way to practice, which is really the worst part. It's not just that I need to practice these skills, but I need to get used to doing them while also practicing road rules, like looking and signaling, because unlike the US motorcycle tests, Japan also tests those things as well.

Well, I don't feel too bad: out of about 12 guys, only one passed. And I was one of about five guys to go off the platform. Cest la vie. I think I'll do better next time, if only because I won't be so damned nervous.

Other than that, I've been rock climbing a bit, going in for a few hours a couple of times in the last week. I live about 10 minutes from the gym by bike now, which is so much better than the 45 minutes or so it used to take, walking and riding the train. I probably ride my bike a few miles a day right now, going to the station, market, etc. I need to make sure that I don't get lazy when I get a motorcycle.

Hope all is well...Aloha.

Back in Japan!

Five weeks went by snap-quick. I had delusions of grandeur that I could blog weekly while I was home. . .just like I thought I’d really put some hours in studying Japanese and rock climbing. Didn’t do much of either, and I didn’t even get out hiking except for a short little one. And yet, I don’t feel like I missed out. I spent a lot of my time with family, hanging out with my dad or brother or niece, or some combination thereof, and this last week I was on Kauai with just the family. No, I may not have done a lot when people think of Hawaii, but for me, it was plenty.

I’ll briefly outline some of what happened. In early August I went to the Big Island with my dad, where we rented Harleys (as those are the only bikes for rent; I would have preferred Hondas, or anything Japanese for that matter). We rode from Kona up the coast to Kohala and Hawi, then over the Saddle Road to Hilo. We got up to Kilauea to see where all the vog (smoke from the volcano) is spewing from, then rode up the Hamakua coast to Honoka`a and Waimea, got caught in some pretty heavy rain, and then finally back to Kona. All in all a good trip, a nice opportunity to spend some time with my dad.

Back on Oahu, I continued my quest to buy lots of stuff. I bought what is probably 15 or 20 pounds of used paperbacks to get me through the year ahead. I got a toaster oven (less than half the cost of one in Japan) as well as hot water pot and a new motorcycle helmet. The new helmet will go with the bike I plan to buy sometime in September, as soon as I have my license in Japan.

I got spend time with my brother, too, getting schooled in ways to train/exercise, and finding out how not-so-great-shape I’m in, although I keep up alright with him running. I also got to bond with my niece. Ava is a little darling, soon to have a younger sister sometime around the new year. Although I’m the last person on the totem pole in the family—the list is usually: Mommy, Daddy, Grandma, Papa, and then, maybe, Uncle Chip. And while that list didn’t change much while I was back, I did finally get to the point where she stopped saying “I don’t like Uncle” and actually came to me voluntarily and wanted to play. Of course, that was only on the second to last and last day, but still, it’s something.

Kauai is country. It’s a small place, but it’s fantastic. My dad and step-mom have a house in Kapa`a, maybe a mile from the ocean, just a short drive to Anahola beach. I love going there and just relaxing. If I could find a good job there, I might consider moving. . .

I’ve got another five weeks or so until classes start up again. I plan to do a lot of rock climbing, reading, exercising, and getting that motorcycle license and buying a bike. Be sure I’ll post about getting a bike when that happens. These five weeks will disappear soon, too, I know, and I’ll be in my second year in Japan.

I hope all of you are having a good summer. Aloha.

Back Home

Well, it's Friday night, or the wee hours of Saturday morning, to be accurate. Just got in from hanging out with some old, good friends, the best kind of friends, the ones who know you and have known you since far enough back to understand who you are now and how you came to be that person. Lea, her husband Mike, and Andrew. I've known them about half my life.

I got back here Tuesday morning, arriving at 8 AM, which was a little Twilight Zone-ish, since I left Osaka on Tuesday morning at 8 AM. Of course, that was before I crossed the international date line and all, but still. Didn't do much for the first three days, just sitting around the house, hanging out, trying to 1) recuperate from my jet-lag, and 2) readjust to not drinking coffee. Maybe I shouldn't have done both at the same time, but I think that now, after three days, I'm doing ok.

I've seen a lot of my family, and of course my niece! She's as adorable as ever, and thanks to Skype, she recognizes me and isn't so timid about being around me. She takes a while to warm up, of course, and still prefers her mom, dad, grandma, and grandpa to me, but I can accept that. The little tyke is amazingly cute, though!

Today I went out, did some shopping, trying to buy some fun/throw-away reading material for Japan. Paperbacks there run $10-15, so I'm hitting the used bookstores like a maniac. I'll give them another run through before I depart.

Haven't hit any beaches yet, but will do so next week for sure...and try to get on some real rock for some rock climbing exercise.