Hello All- Coming to you all for a mid-week blog post. 
Just wanted to say a very happy 9th anniversary to my husband-

Happy Anniversary my love- So sorry I can not be there to kiss your cute face this morning but I will see you in 2 weeks.

How can it be 9 years....that we promised to love each other and give it all we had...It has not always been the easiest of times with all life throws at you sometimes but we have never said or thought we did not want to do this life without each other.  Thank you for loving me and believing in me...when you say you are "Proud of Me" my whole world melts....

Year 9- as usual came with curve balls- one of the toughest was loosing "You, me and the Dog"
(Great in my Apartment lobby crying now- they will officially think I am that crazy American)- It still seems so weird and I will be so glad when the day goes by when I can think of her and smile versus cry- I am not to the point I can talk so much about her because my heart is still broken into pieces.  Funny how I sit down to write a sweet anniversary post and it ends up being about Polly Girl- which is appropriate because in our first 8 years of marriage she was our constant...and she was truly the one that provided us unconditional love...so my love this year..I hope for a love as pure, true and unconditional as the one that Polly had for us.  I love you so and I will see you very soon- xoxo


                                  Her favorite place- Being with us....and being at the ocean
                                                                    Polly Gumm-Trial

 

 

                                       She was clearly not amused with my shenanigan's

              Happy 9 years to the love of my life- and who I am still thankful for each and everyday

 

 

 

 

Hello All:
Coming to you live on a Monday...I am technically off work- due to new emperor festivities but taking a little break from work emails to drop you guys some lines.  By the way who ever invented emails I kinda have a love/hate relationship with them.

So last week we actually had a holiday on Monday as well- "Sports day"- loving all the things they celebrate here maybe I should bring back to the U.S.

Sports day is a newer holiday it has only been around since 1966- it commemorates the Opening Ceremony of the Olympics in Tokyo- The purpose it to promote sports and a healthy lifestyle.  The schools celebrate by having an all day field day- Wish I would have known this I would have gone and watched...

However, I did go out to the most amazing French restaurant last week with a guy from work and his wife- He is another American in our office and so nice- We usually go and have Mexican at least once a week together!  This restaurant was in Roppongi- and it seats maybe 12-15..and one guy runs the whole show..cook...server...etc.  His food was so amazing- I had a pear and bacon salad, pork chop, butternut squash, and something else I was not sure what it was...oh and wine..alot of wine...haha!  I would put a link to the restaurant but it is all Japanese...and so was the menu...

Then on Tuesday I went out with my group from work-It was to a place that had dancing.  But we had a bento box for dinner....and not sure if you guys are familiar with bento boxes they are basically like an all seafood lunch box- cold.  However, there was some beef and pork...so it was like being at the lunch table in 2nd grade and I was asking to trade my food....Needless to say I was starving when I left and was talking to Jacqueline on the phone and said I am headed to McDonalds and you are not allowed to judge me!

We are also off tomorrow- There was supposed to be a parade for the new emperor, but due to the typhoon and still so many areas are struggling they have postponed.  I am very sorry to say but the death count from the typhoon ended up being close to 80 pp and many still a lot of cleanup.  Luckily I do not think we got as much rain as they were forecasting this weekend - it was a big concern here due to many cracks in the levies and severe flooding.

So I was kinda lazy this weekend and caught up on laundry, market, etc- and then even though we are off today and tomorrow I am going to catch up on some work at my coffee shop.

So some observations to share with everyone:
-It got to low 60's and the Japanese are dressing like it is the dead of winter...I am not sure as I think it is a mix for women of actually being cold but also accessorizing their outfit.  They really commit to fashion here!
-The Crime Section in the newspaper here in Japan is very different than the crime section in the US.  Literally in the last 2-3 weeks some of the top stories were about a police officer that they caught that was going around and stopping up women's toilets in convenience stores (Lawsons) and someone stole approximately $2.50 of yakitori (grilled meat on a stick) and then proceeded to run and then punch someone in the face when they tried to capture him.  Don't get me wrong they have some other horrible thing like child abuse but not at the rate that you read about in the U.S.
-There is a whole lot of carbs here- I mean rice is served at every meal and there is so many bakeries  bread....I have eaten more carbs in 4 months than I did all last year
-You really have not experienced Japan and been like a "local" unless you have eaten a couple meals from the convenience stores- Check that off the list for me!
-Being a woman in the work force in Japan is tough- we will leave it at that


My plans next weekend include going to Shibuya Crossing to see everyone dressed up for Halloween...I can not even begin to imagine how elaborate their costumes will be so be prepared for photo overload.  Also if you could all take a minute and send some positive thoughts to someone very near and dear to my heart- She has a big couple weeks in front of her...and I would just appreciate if you all could send good thoughts/prayers her way...

Much love to you all
K

If you want to learn more about sports day
https://www.bestlivingjapan.com/sports-day-october/


Out with my group- On a "Tuesday"

When I walk out of my apartment

Starbucks here in Japan is very big on always have themed drinks!

My dinner from the French Restaurant!

 

 

Walking out of my office building- I have done much better of not getting lost when I venture out!

Next weekend at my apartment- I think I will sign up and give it a try...stay tuned

Video at the end of the dancing

 

Typhoon- Hagibas

Hi Guys...
Seems like I am always on here letting you know I am safe and sound.  Well again I am safe and sound.  This weekend was pretty crazy- Saturday we had a typhoon, tornadoes, earthquake- 5.2 , and mudslides.  We got to leave work about 30 minutes early on Friday....and it was a mad house because they were shutting down the trains- which please refer to my last post to see how well that works out here- they cancelled all flights domestic and international on Saturday.  So mark off my list of feeling an earthquake in Japan:((

So I stopped by the market on Friday on my way home from work to pick up a couple more things (I had already picked some stuff up on Thursday- and thank goodness).  There was not a piece of sushi, fish, bread to be found in 5 markets I went to.

Funny story - They literally sell bread in packages of 2 pieces..Tc was so shocked by this when he came to visit and I informed him they like Just In Time Inventory in the kitchen unlike us in the U.S.
In the U.S. it is milk and bread....in Japan it is don't forget your sushi and Sake in an emergency..haha

So anyway- back to me prepping for the storm- Since there was no bread..I did the next best thing and got stuff to make myself a nice salad and cheese tray..I mean I don't need power to make these things.  And then decided what goes with a cheese tray but a nice bottle of red wine...I feel like this was the best thing I could do to mentally prepare me. However, then I bought too much and had to carry all of that home from the market in a freaking downpour with no less than 1 million people..sigh....
City Life...

So on to Saturday- I went out for a walk Saturday morning because it was not so bad outside and I was worried I might go stir crazy in my 376 sq. foot apartment all day.  Then I got home and hunkered down...it really did not get so bad until after 8pm (and by this time I had been eating all day long- clearly I was not rationing my food and wine)..the wind was something I have never experienced...our lights flickered on and off...and everything was just shaking.  For some reason I put on my tennis shoes..not sure why just thought in case anything happened I need to have them on (I was telling my friend this and she was like where were you going..I was like heck if I know it just seemed like a good idea)!  Not sure if I thought I could outrun something which sounds so absurd but at the time I was like oh I should have on shoes..great idea Karen!
So there I was sitting with my flashlight, cheese tray, wine, and my tennis shoes on watching a Hallmark series on Netflix...oh and my bathtub filled all the way up in case we lost water I could flush my toilet. 

It finally passed around 1am...and I started to be able to relax and finally fell asleep around 2am. 
When I woke up the next morning the sun was shining (very very windy) but hard to believe mother nature had been so evil the day before.  Over my morning coffee was reading lots of articles and some that were pretty interesting:

-The Rugby World Cup is here in Japan and they actually had to cancel the games on Saturday and some on Sunday
-They played some of the games on Sunday and Japan won their game which was so good after such devastation.  And also the game that was cancelled on Saturday was to be played in the prefecture that was basically knocked off the map in 2011 earthquake.  They had been working so hard to rebuild- definitely pulled at the heart strings for these people who are working so hard to rebuild their community.
-Canada match was cancelled but they all went out on Sunday to help with the cleanup from the mudslide in some areas...the things the Japanese were saying about them and how much it meant to them was truly heart warming

So I know I joke about all this but it was pretty scary and many people lost their lives so please say a prayer for them and their families...Typhoon season should be over by end of Oct. and hoping this is the last one I see.  Many people at work have been telling me that these past 2 were some of the worst to hit Tokyo in over 50 years...
But just let me tell you some of the ladies I work with- Have messaged me and made sure I was okay numerous times- Even sent me many emergency things in English.  They did not have to do this..but their compassion and care for others is something I will never forget in my lifetime- Just goes to show you their is still a lot of good in the world.  For some reason the bad is always pointed out more often...but please do not forget to focus on all the good people and small things that they do that make a huge impact.

Some Stats from an article I was reading
-37 people died- advising this number will go up
-17 still missing- and numbers expected to rise
-100 people injured
-19th typhoon of the season

Needing to get some work done but wanted to check in with you all as many of you have been messaging me because I guess this storm has now been covered on the US News.

Much love to you all
K

Some Photos


  Pictures from the empty market

 

 

Video from my apartment