Talk About TEAM Work!

How many Japanese workers does it take to fix a loose shelf in your refrigerator?

4 or sometimes 5.

Nope this isn't a joke and I in no way mean to sound like I'm making fun. To see Japanese work ethic in action is actually pretty Awe Inspiring.

When we moved in, Mark had done the walk around with the building inspector, checking off any existing damage, etc....
The Inspector then said he would be back in 10 days to see if we noticed anything else.
Yesterday at 0800 (SHARP) he was back. The only thing we came up with was..... a floppy refrigerator shelf.

HE WAS ON IT! This morning at 0800 (SHARP) I had a maintenance team knocking on the door. They had with them at least five replacement shelves and a large tool box. Upon an inspection...and a group huddle conference, they concluded that the entire fridge would need to be replaced....
BACK IN FIVE MINUTES (seriously)....I had a new fridge.
They took everything out (with extreme care and respect and gently placed each item on the counter......and then just as carefully restocked it into the new fridge)

I had to take a picture. (sneaky....cause it would have been weird)
I had heard stories of how almost everything done is collaborative....but to see these efficient teams in action was really something.

P.S. This is probably a lame thing to blog about....but until my house is set up, I'm not getting out much.

How Lucky Are We?

It's kind of a pouty day.....
The sky is overcast, Mark didn't get home from work until 0800am, Tobias was up all night throwing up......and the kids are making me CRAZY...and it's only 0900.
I'm looking at empty boxes (just sitting and taking up all our floor space....) everywhere. Our house is still a disaster, and with it being the first week of summer break....it's slow going trying to piece it together.
For half a sec... I try to feel sorry for myself.....but then I look out the window.
Ocean front property makes it impossible to frown........Seriously? How lucky are we?
It reminds me of the views we had in Greece (at our very first $200/per month apartment)...then it reminded me of the views we had in Naples..........oh wait, then it reminded me of the views I enjoyed in Hawaii too...
Indeed, a perk of the Navy I enjoy the most is the Ocean front property. (The kind of views most have to pay thousands for).
This isn't the best picture yet........that will come......but it still makes me so happy to be here, even if the house is CRAZY.

Move 'In' Day

We should be sooooo excited, we've been counting down the days...... but for some reason I'm not feeling so excited today, I'm feeling OVERWHELMED.
Maybe it's because our living room looks like this
and the bedroom looks like this
and the dining room

I think I would rather just play with the kids.


In past moves I was soooooo ready to dive right in and full speed ahead unpack and organize the house. But maybe I'm getting older and change is getting harder..... or maybe because the kids are getting older and they make change harder, we're having a hard time getting things done. Real life continues and kid maintenance is a full time job, whether there is a house to unpack or not.
I guess I'll have to pace myself.........and enjoy the moment.
P.S. I really do love our new place. And the view we have of the Tokoyo Harbor is AWESOME! I'll post pictures when I have a lens that does it justice. And I'll also post the after pictures to these befores........ I'm bummed that the walls are 100% cement and the word is that shelves aren't possible.........but where there is a will there is a way and I REALLY LIKE MY SHELVES.... so it WILL happen.

Our Sweet Ride

Our 'Sweet' ride! Yes! I feel like we are taking steps towards normalcy....step one...
I've convinced myself it doesn't look like a mini-van....more of a big sporty hatch back?
And even if it did....it doesn't really count if your out of the country, right? I mean we have limited options as far as seating and hauling goes....trunk space is a luxury here....and there is no way you can fit two car seats plus one more into a Cube......
(I think it's the rational that movie stars use when shooting commercials overseas, but contractually guarantee that they won't be aired in America....lest people see that they've sold out to Timex).

I may have temporarily crossed over to the dark mini-van side.....but when I saw the vanity stickers I felt it was meant to be.

See Mark......the previous owner Manned it up!


P.S.
Check out this bad boy....

Yah...that's right I'm legal (and I've lost some serious respect for the Licensing Office because I have no business behind the wheel right now.)
On my trial runs to the grocery store I have to block everything out and say "Keep to the LEFT, keep to the LEFT, keep to the LEFT")
and this just in the parking lot!

Language Collision (or Confusion)

Check out Max......... He is signing along with a Spanish song while living in Japan! (No...I didn't misspell that....I meant sign language)

You can imagine my surprise upon realizing that he was placed in a Spanish Immersion classroom just three days after arrival. Normally I would have been excited by the challenge.....maybe at the beginning of the school year. But with just weeks to go....it's caused a bit of an ego blow for poor Max (who was honestly having enough trouble with English). And aside from the fact that Spanish in Japan wasn't making a lot of sense to me either...?
Oh well. On with the show! We attended the schools year end Spanish Celebration....


and again I get that Spanish is a very valuable language, but with the melting pot of ethnicity's at his school.....(mostly from Asian origins) Spanish may very well be one of the few languages not already spoken at home.... so are all the kids at an equal disadvantage? This is also the day I realized I need a new lens for my camera. The zoom capability is just not going to work.....I mean really..... I couldn't take years and years of pictures like this.
"Look Mom!....See that little dot right there...?..There I am!"

Keeping Lillian entertained was a chore... so as always, I break down and hand over the camera...

Join me on a tangent...
Am I the only one that over thinks this?
We are sitting in a very packed assembly room. And luckily we arrived early enough to get a chair. After five minutes or so....the place is packed and Lillian keeps hopping up and down...inching her way on the floor to all the other kids.
Leaving an open chair next to me. Some late straggler Dad claims it and sits down.........Fine.
But as I look around.... I'm thinking....Does it look like this guy is my husband? Probably. People that I don't know and have yet to meet will assume so.......And it bugged me!
I'm sure he's a nice enough guy, but I realized how much I enjoy it when Mark swoops in and my second half is introduced. Ya, Mark is crazy and loud and sometimes I shudder at what comes out of his mouth......but I do think he's awfully good-looking and has some serious muscles to appreciate......so call me shallow (or spoiled), but I get a little sensitive about just some random guy sitting so close. I married for love and looks I guess.