Universal Studios Japan

Friday was the school trip to Universal Studios and they let me come along!!!! I had to wake up super early to catch the bus. But I managed to catch a little sleep on the way up. We got in around 10am which was just in time to see the parade with Hello Kitty!!! (yes hello kitty is at Universal Studios in Japan)

I went to see the Terminator show first with a group of teachers. After the show, it was time for lunch, but they wanted to leave the park and go to a Japanese restaurant around the street. There was no way that I was leaving the park to eat when I was surrounded by American food. We parted ways and I headed to the Spider man ride. The wait was 80min, but since I was alone now, I hopped into the single line and got on in about 5min. Then I headed over to the Italian restaurant and had a really great slice of New york style pizza!!!! No egg, no mayonnaise, no corn, just good old fashioned pepperoni and cheese!!!!

After I'd finished eating I made my way to the roller coaster. This one took a bit longer to get on, but it was well worth it. The seats have speakers in them, so you can choose which song you want to listen to while your riding. I settled on Eminem. The first drop was so long that I literally could not scream, I was trying, but nothing was coming out. It was a really fun ride.

There wasn't a lot of time left after I got off the roller coaster, so I headed over to ride ET. At the end of the ride ET says your name, and the whole ride was worth it, just to hear ET say Cotoni. There was a little bit of time left after I got off ET, so I walked around the park and took pictures with some of the characters. I couldn't find Hello Kitty, but I did manage to run into the Hello Kitty store and buy myself a pair of Hello Kitty ears. If you look closely at the picture, you'll see that I'm wearing them.

We had to pull out at 3pm and head back to Komatsushima. The played a movie on the way back and one of the students had them put on English subtitles for me (isn't that sweet!). We made it back around 5:30, and I said my goodbyes and biked over to Lawson's (a convenience store) and picked up some tasty tempura and an apple pie for dinner, then headed home.

"Fishing Trip"

So, last weekend I went on a "fishing trip" out into the mountains. I went with one of my JTEs (Japanese Teacher of English). I guess she teaches part time at an English school (schools were kids go after school or on weekends to learn English) and we were joining them for their camping outing.

The first activity was to catch fish with our bare hands. I was not so successful at this. Luckily the kids on my team were very very good (they caught 53 fish!!!). After we caught the fish we had to skewer them (I politely asked one of the fathers to do this for me) and then salt them and roast them. There was also a Malaysian family there, and they cooked Malaysian food. So there was quite a bit of tasty food for lunch.

After lunch there were some English games. My team won, and we all got candy!!! After the games, all of the 'foreigners' (there was also a man from Peru, a girl from Mexico, and a girl from Germany - so ironically I was the only native English speaker at the English "camp") were asked to sign autographs. I will definitely miss the "celebrity" part of being in Japan. I highly doubt people will stop me on the street to take photos or ask for my autograph when I go home.

Mikey's up on Stuff on my Cat!!!!!

Mikey's finally up on stuffonmycat.com

Click on the link!!!!It's not to be missed!!!

Take me there!

The Diaper Cake

So a friend of mine here in Japan is about to have a baby!!! So I decided to make this incredibly cute diaper cake as a gift. I'm super proud of it. It has 3 tiers of diapers rolled up. the bottom tier has socks and baby oil, the middle tier has a bib, and the top tier has a baby food container in the middle. There's also a pinwheel in the side to stabilize it. I put it all on a cute platter, then wrapped it in a nice clear bag with a bow. Hope they like it!!!!

The Scarf: Part I

So it turns out my circluar knitting needles were about twice as big a I thought they were. This means that my first version of the scarf was WAY too big. I made a lovely Harry Potter tube top. I ordered the correct size needles online and they're being shipped to me for free, YIPPIE!!!! Unfortunately I have to unravel hours and hours of work
:-(

The Harry Potter Scarf

Staying home from work did have an upside. It gave me some time to finally finish the Harry Potter scarf I promised to make Mamiko. It took quite a while to make because of its size. Now that I've finished this one, I'm going to start on another one using a different pattern. Unfortunately it's just as much work as the last one. Hopefully I'll finish it before I leave Japan (although I may not have enough yarn)

Update

I wish I had a more exciting update, but I've pretty much been sitting at home for the past 8 days. I went to the doctor (again) yesterday. He didn't want to see me, but luckily the teacher I was with made him. He decided that I need to have an endoscopy, but he can't fit me in until Thursday.

I'm a little unhappy with the lack of urgency in Japan. I'm not surprised that people keep dying in ambulances here, because they're being sent from hospital to hospital. I may have better health insurance, but that doesn't mean I have good health care.

Anyway, I'm doing my best to hold out till then. Thanks for all your prayers!

It's what's on the inside that counts

Ever wondered what I looked like on the inside? Well here it is.

I've been having a lot of abdomen pain lately, so the doctor decided to run a CAT scan today (among other things). They ran iodine through an IV to help with the contrast and I have to say, not too pleasant.

I spent about three hours at the hospital being tortured, and am not any closer to finding out what's causing the pain or how to get rid of it, but I do have this snazzy new photo of my insides.

Cat Eats Corn

Thought I'd share this amazing video that I saw while surfing my favorite website

www.stuffonmycat.com

The Great Cruise Debacle of 2008

So as you may or may not know, my Dad, my brother, and my brothers two friends went on a cruise for spring break. The cruise was horribly over priced for the week they went since it was spring break. Unfortunately, a crew member on board suffered some kind of miscarriage and the ship had to turn around and go back towards the US. Since the ship had to turn around, they could not go to Jamaica. My dad was upset that they would not refund part of the trip, since they should not have had a pregnant crew member on board in the first place. Anyway, long story short, he started a petition and so the captain had him, and the rest of his group, thrown off.

Here's the Fox News story on it if anyone is interested.


http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,347748,00.html

The Lorelei

"Flows the Rhine as flowing wine,

Bright in its unrest,

Sweet with odors of the vine;

Heaven in its breast."

So the boatman Hugo sung,

Long, long ago,

By the Lurley-berg that hung

In the sunset glow.

At that fateful rock, upraised

From its foamy base,

Suddenly the boatman gazed

With a stricken face.

On its summit, wondrous fair,

Shining angel-wise,

Sat a maid, with golden hair

And beseeching eyes.

From a shoulder's rosy sphere

All the robe that slid,

Ripple bright and water-clear,

Rather show'd than hid.

As her hair her fingers through

(Fingers pearly white)

Slowly pass'd, the diamond dew

Fell and broke in light.

But a gold harp from her feet

Lifted she ere long,

And its music, pulsing sweet,

Fed a wondrous song.

And the boatman, drifting fast,

Listen'd to his cost;

On the rocks before him cast!

In the whirlpool lost!

Then the Lorelei's luring form

Faded from the eye,

As a cloud fades, rosy warm,

In a purple sky.

http://www.mariner.org/women/myths/mermaids.htm