Conversations in Nippon, Shi: Alone Again, Naturally

Where'd the man go?

Back to the ship, muttering something about Operation Terminal Fury. This must be when everyone on the USS Blue Ridge dances to a tune called "Hawaii Time" and then they frown in unison and throw all their computers in the Pacific Ocean.

That sounds fun! Did the boy go with him?

No. The boy qualified for the Far East track meet so he flew to Okinawa yesterday morning. He gets to miss three days of school plus the Senior-Parent Appreciation Dinner and the Scholarship Assembly.

So poor Peevish has to go the dinner and assembly all by herself?

Oh, she'll be too busy cleaning our litter box and negotiating a senior dues refund to squeeze those events into her schedule.

Don't be so catty. It's unbecoming.

Say! Why don't you grab that ball of yarn to distract her so I can stick my head through that magic loop thing and pull the socks off the knitting needles?

Great idea. Maybe then she'll quit with the counting and get back to reading A Tree Grows in Brooklyn so we can find out what happens to Francie Nolan.

They're Here!

Kate had to fork over a mere $100 to purchase those official United Airlines pet carriers at the ticket counter in Dulles Airport. The crates the cats were in when Kate arrived at the ticket counter were pretty much exact replicas of the ones they made her buy.


The cats adjusted to the time change within minutes. The same cannot be said of their handler, pictured here at the Pepper Lunch counter the only time she's been awake during daylight hours.

On Why Your Christmas Card Might Arrive Postage Due

My social calendar does not permit a trip to Yokohama to converse with Dr. T this week but that doesn't mean I've managed to shake the Woody Allen persona.

My husband of 18 years -- thanks for remembering our anniversary, Sandy! -- rode his bike home from the ship the other day. I did a double take Woody would have appreciated when Mike came clomping through the door. "What's that thing attached to your helmet? A sideview mirror?" How fetching.

Yesterday I found myself standing in line at the post office three weeks before Christmas tucking a Power of Attorney for Cats into an express envelope addressed to my darling daughter. That's right: a Power of Attorney for Cats. That was strange enough but then the clerk only had 18 two-cent stamps when I needed 50 and, rather than just getting a page of stamps from the postal clerk standing three feet to his left, he suggested I go back to the end of the line three weeks before Christmas and try my luck with another clerk.

And I'm still scratching my head over Erin crediting me with playing a part in creating the whimsical Willy Wonka Meets Dr. Seuss gingerbread house. Erin has known me her entire life. I'm flattered she thinks me capable of drawing a straight line but, really, what was she thinking?

The sad fact is my teammates sent me on a spying mission simply to keep my mitts off our entry. When I reported back that Team #2 had crafted a nifty tree to accessorize their house, my teammates handed me a dixie cup and told me to have at. They had no intention of placing my tree anywhere near our house during the judging phase.

Gosh, today's calendar shows another holiday luncheon. There are bound to be crafts involved and no one will want me on their team. Usually this doesn't happen until December 15 but I seem to have outdone myself this year.

Sukiyabashi

I spotted a couple of gaijin gaping at the aquarium outside the Sony building at Sukiyabashi, a busy intersection in the Ginza, Tokyo's shopping district.
Inside the building, they continued to gawk. Rolly, the size and shape of an infant's football, was particularly noteworthy. This MP3 player rolls (hence the name), twirls, and wiggles its ears (speaker flaps) in time with the song that's playing while strips of light pulsate like a scene from Saturday Night Fever. I'm wondering how one might rationalize investing in one of these little devices. Perhaps a welcome home present for CC and Minerva when October rollies around? They would probably prefer the aquarium.

While many streets in Japan do not have names (or names that we can locate), major intersections in Tokyo carry unique identifiers. I am especially keen on remembering the name of this intersection (Sukiyabashi, Sukiyabashi, Sukiyabashi) because the Fuji-ya shop and restaurant is directly across the street from the Sony building. We exited the subway with our backs to that intersection and spent two hours wandering the Ginza in search of Peko-chan's flagship store. But I am not complaining still. We worked up healthy appetites by the time we tucked into our curry and pasta.