it's not life that matters but the journey...

ah - I haven't updated for a couple days now... and I have lots to say, which I will after I teach my next class...

meanwhile, I want to share some fun stuff I found while I was surfing online this morning (actually Masahiko found some of it, but that's beside the point)

first, I know this is old news, but I couldn't resist this nice parody (forgive me if you've already seen it):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0B5AMQ17b9k

and here is some proof that Japan isn't the weirdest country on the planet (though sometimes I do believe it is...) but beware the first one (if you have a weak stomach):

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/02/17/wfood17.xml&sSheet=/news/2006/02/17/ixnewstop.html

http://www.nbc4.tv/irresistible/7155803/detail.html

and for anyone who's seen the latest Wallace and Gromit movie, does this familiar?: (be sure to click on the image to enlarge it - that's the biggest damn bunny I've ever seen!!)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_4670000/newsid_4676900/4676904.stm

and finally, for your viewing pleasure, I thought I'd share with you another version of Spiderman, circa 1978, from those crazy Japanese:
(this is quite a long video and it took awhie to download, so give it some time - it will be worth the wait, I promise you!! - Oh, and I almost forgot: Pay attention to the subtitles!!! someone had some fun with this one!!!):

http://www.pistolwimp.com/media/40930/

Have a great day, and I'll be back again later with more lovely and interesting observations...

I got this quiz from dawnie1970 and I was rolling on the floor laughing because its too true:

<td align="center"> laura's Rejected Horoscope:

You will sell your soul to the devil in exchange for a haircut

'What is your rejected horoscope?' at QuizGalaxy.com</td>

today was a pretty busy day, which I like. Of course I spent time this morning on the internet, finding random tidbits of information to share with others (did everyone enjoy the big bunny and the japanese spiderman?)  the rest of my exciting day went as follows:

1. I taught a class at 1 p.m., and had more guilt about leaving Japan because Hiromi (my student) is such a super super sweet lady who really enjoys my stupid jokes and my teaching
2. I cut Masahiko's hair and did a really great job!  (he was happy with it which made me happy)
3. I prepared for my 5 p.m. class and taught those two super sweet kids, who I will also miss
4. after dinner I did some cleaning - because I'm the kind of super clean freak who can't go to bed without straightening the sofa cover and sweeping the dust off of the floor!
5. now I'm tired and I'm waiting for my husband to return from his run (good boy he's exercising, which is something I haven't done lately) so we can watch Spiderman 2 again (well I watched the first half but he hasn't), and go to bed...

Last night I had fun meeting my two friends named Naomi.  We had dinner at an Asian restaurant (thai, indonesian, chinese cuisine) in Shimizu - a town about 40 minutes away by car - and I ate some very spicy garlic chicken stir fry with rice - and for dessert a hot chai tea and tapioca pudding!  Yummy!  The Naomis have been friends since childhood, and I used to live next door to one of them when I lived in Kambara from 1998-2000 (Kambara is just about 30 minutes from where I live by car).  She is pregnant now and her baby is due in late April, so unfortunately I might not be here when its born.  Anyway, they are really nice girls (well they are the same age as me, but we are still girls right?), and I always have fun with them.  Of course our conversations are interesting because they are a mix of Japanese and English, with me usually trying very hard to figure out what they are talking about.  But somehow we manage to have some interesting conversations every time.  Last night we got onto the topic of "hentai" (perverts) because of course in Japan there has been a rash of child molestations and killings in the last year.  One of the girls told me that she had been "flashed" by a some young guy when she was just 9 years old.  She said that as she was walking home, this man asked her a question that she didn't understand.  Supposedly he  was asking her if she knew some brand of girls' underwear, but she didn't hear him and thought he was asking if she knew some family nearby.  When she asked him what he had said, he then asked her: "Well do you know this?" and pulled down his pants!   The funny thing is that she didn't tell anyone about it (which is typical I guess for Japan, they don't report these kinds of perverts like we would in the states), but she found out later that the guy was famous around Kambara for flashing his privates!    I could go on and on about the "hentai" that lurk in all corners of Japan.  I myself was flashed in the covered part of the train station in Kambara - a guy was just sitting on the floor, in the dark (it was the middle of the day, but the covered bike storage was dark) with his pants down and touching himself.  to this day, I'm not entirely sure of what I saw, but I'm pretty sure of what he was doing... blech!

anyway, being with the Naomis was fun, but it did make me very introspective regarding my life.  I told them that I was planning to move back to the U.S., and of course they are disappointed, but they are both very happy with their lives, so they can't relate to being in limbo, as I am.  The Naomi who is pregnant is happily married since last April, and expecting their first child.  Her husband is a sweetie, with a secure government job (customs) and they are very content.  The other Naomi is not married, but doesn't want to be.  She has a successful dog grooming business and takes care of her mother and sister (parents divorced a long time ago) and spends her free time with friends.  They both are so content.  I wish I could be.  It doesn't really depress me, it just makes me wonder what I can do to get to that point...  

and I'm going to reflect on that more later, because now I'm going to watch my movie...