Last Day Of Spring Break :(

Today is the last day of Spring Break. Wil and I came back form Seattle on the 24^th and we were back to work the next day. It is so exhausting to travel 8 hours...I was in bed ready to go to sleep by 9:30 that day! I was going to work in the garden at Alumni House on Friday, but it rained out. Saturday, I didn't get up til late and cleaned out my closet, got a winter coat dry cleaned. Sunday, We took Wil's parents' dog Donnally for a walk. Tomorrow we are back to school and work!

Spring Break In Seattle (Pictures)

We took a bunch of amazing pictures while we were in Seattle.  Later on, I will try and get a write up of all the things we did.  For now, enjoy this gallery of selected images from our trip.  I don't have description on these yet but when I do the write up of our trip later this week I'll include as many as I can and talk about them.  The thumbnail to this post is the Seattle downtown and the Space Needle as viewed from Kerry Park.

Update Via Phone

Our second day in Seattle and the weather is still nice. We chose a good time to leave Arkansas and 8 inches of snow. Drove 30 miles north to an outlet mall this morning and now we are downtown. We visited the market, browsed, and had a beef and cheese piroshky. I really want another one.

Seattle...

Atsuko and I will be leaving for Seattle on Friday.  We plan on staying a few days there to look at different appartments in the area and hand out resumés.  We are hoping to talk a lot of pictures too so keep a look out next week for those!

Allergy season has come!

As Wil wrote on the previous post, it is getting warmer in Arkansas.  Plants are started to grow back again and some flowers are already blooming.  I am sure many people suffer this time of the year because of one reason...Allergies.  Fortunately, I do not have hay fever, but I developed a different kind of allergy this month. Tuned out, I have a latex allergy.

Starting Residency

Yesterday, Atsuko and I started working with a lawyer to fill out paper work for her residency in the United States.  Unfortunately, we have to get the names on her driver's license and social security cards changed before we can send anything off, but the paper work is already starting to pile up for what is needed on our end...

I Can't Believe This Weather!

As of  this post Weather.com says it is 68°F outside.  68!  Apparently starting tomorrow it is going to drop into the lower 50's/ upper 40's through the weekend.  I took the chance to walk around in this weather and collected some old flyers that my work had put up for a housing fair last week.  I didn't grab them all, but I surely would go if I knew where the rest of them were.  I can't believe how nice it is.  I plan on holding off on lunch so I can eat outside after I get out of work.

Spring is almost here!

Last week, I went to the garden at the Alumni House. I have been taken care of this garden since last summer. It has been so cold in Arkansas so I haven't been there over a month. When I was there, I saw Christmas roses blooming and tulip bulbs coming up to the ground. Spring is almost there! I cannot wait to start walking again and enjoy the weather.

Wil and I live in a north faced apartment, so it is almost impossible to grow plants here. My baby orchids and coffee trees are barely alive. Next apartment we find, It must have decent amount of sun coming in, and allow pets.

先週、ガーデンの手入れをしている同窓会団体に行ってきました。ここの管理は、去年の夏から受け持ってます。アーカンソーはずっと寒かったから１ヶ月以上手入れしてなかったけど、今回はクリスマスローズが咲いているのとチューリップを発見！春はもうすぐ。散歩を楽しめるまで待ちきれない！

私たちは、北に面している間パートに住んでるので、ここで植物を育てるのはほぼ不可能。小さな蘭とコーヒーの木はなんとか生き延びてるけれど。次に引っ越すアパートは、それなりの光が差し込んでいるのと、ペットを飼えるのが条件。

PS　日本語訳、すごくぎこちない。翻訳って難しい。

Shook Got Mary'd

I met Bryan Shook in 1996.  We took 8th grade algebra together.  We were both nerdy little kids, into video games, and interested in many of the same things.  I think Bryan talked to me because I was wearing an Illusion of Gaia t-shirt.  For 14 years I have been friends with Bryan. I've watched Bryan go through highs and lows, spent countless hours discussing matters that only had significance to the two of us, slaughtered virtual demons with him, and rolled dice while playing the table-top games of our youth together.  Now, I got to see one of my best friends get married.  A day that had one asked a few years back I wouldn't have thought would happen, but I am over joyed for my friend... my brother. I am happy I could be there on your special day.  To Bryan and Mary Shook I wish the best and hope for the happiest of lives.  You make each other better with each passing day.  Know that Atusko and I will always be there for the two of you as friends and as family. Love is a special gift, and the two of you found it through unusual circumstances but you have proven that it doesn't matter.

So not to clutter the front page, I posted a few more photos after the jump.

Change To Word Press

After deliberating, I decided this site would be better if done through WordPress.  Even though I feel I have more control of the site using Joomla, I just really didn't like the choices I had when it came to creating a well working blog.  I hope those that visit enjoy the site, and if you have any comments please post them here.

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The Beauty That Isn't Pop-Culture Japan

During my trip to Japan this past New Year I was given the chance to ride on the shinkansen.  A bullet train traveling at speeds up to 180mph.  As the scenery flew by I was given the opportunity to see the other side of the land of the rising sun.  Gone was the concrete jungle of Tokyo. Gone was the lights, the endless crowds.  Out the window of my train car sat the mountains and forests of central Honshu.  After spending a week and a half navigating Tokyo, I was making my way to Yamagata, a quaint prefecture some 180 miles north.

Video after the jump.