Well, at least it's SOMETHING....

Lizard Tales

In Taiwan on vacation....

A lizard who apparently lives in the car traveled the length of the island, and back, with us. It was a three-day trip. Said lizard, "Liz" for short, crawled up and rode on the hood for the last few kilometers, as if her lizard senses had somehow indicated that she was nearing her usual environment. That was weird. She even jumped around a bit, like she was glad to be back. Forgive me if I overindulge in anthropomorphizing. I think maybe swimming with the fish may have something to do with it. I am a fan of snorkeling now. But I digress. Welcome home, Liz.

Oh, and Liz? I wonder if it was a relative of yours who was trying to share my bed the other night. If so, tell him I'm sorry if it was my fault his tail fell off. I think we caught each other a bit off guard.

Going Native

March is ending, so in order to be able to say I have posted something every month, here is a post.

Tonight I went to the grocery store and used my newly acquired member's card to get "Pure Water" in a 3.8 liter bottle, along with probably way too much half-price food. (Shopping for half-price items at supermarket closing time is one of my hobbies/money-saving techniques. I know, it's an exciting life I lead.) Among the plethora of delectable goodies was this sushi, which normally doesn't appeal to me that much. I don't dislike it; I just don't get excited about it. Especially not as a main course.

But tonight it cried out, "Eat me! Eat me!" And so I obliged. Not only was it much better than I expected, but it filled my stomach as well. In over 7 years in Japan, I do believe this is a first. Wacky.

Reverse Culture Talk

This article is from 2007 but I read it again today and I think I identified with more list items this time around. Feel free to hazard a guess or add to the list.... ; )

Click on the title of this post or copy and paste to go here:

http://i.gadling.com/2007/09/18/big-in-japan-33-reasons-why-youve-been-in-japan-too-long/

(And don't forget to go to part 2 after finishing!)

Human Crayons

I was teaching a group of older ladies the other day and I asked, "What is the most significant news event of your lifetime?", in the context of new stories like the J.F.K. assassination, 9/11, etc. One of the less talkative students misunderstood slightly, and answered, "The death of my husband." I told her I thought that was a great answer and thanked her for it. Then I explained that I was referring to world news stories, and that I wanted to know how one particular event had impacted her individually. She still didn't get my meaning so she continued on the same track, saying, "Life has no color anymore."

Wow. Such a poignant statement from one with such a limited vocabulary, let alone grasp of the language itself.

iPhone Blogging on the Train about Nothing

Ian thinks I should blog and he's probably right. 2009: Yeah I pretty much hate you. Good riddance. Happy new year everyone! Going to Costco now to buy cheese.