Thursday, August 03, 2006

Chinese Thoughts

I recently discovered the website for the Official organ of the Chinese Communist party, The People`s Daily. Quite a fascinating read. Check out the forums too! Lots of interesting thoughts on the chaos in the middle east, among other things.

Tuesday, August 01, 2006

Happy Healthy

This weekend was very nice. K's friends came up from Osaka and we took them down to the Ise Shrine for another installment of lumber pulling. This time, teams of around 300 people hauled wood up the Isuzu River to the Inner Shrine (Naiku). I didn't get to play this time, but it was a lot of fun to watch. Hot though. Very hot.
After a day of stomping around in the blazing sun, K& I were understandably exhausted...nothing exciting except an early bedtime...around 9:30, actually.


K is in week two of the exciting 14 hr day 6 day a week purgatory that is summer vacation at a cram school. She is up at 6:30, out by 7:25, home around 11, and asleep by 12. Last week was miserable, but only 5 days...they gave her a (incredibly rare) 2 day weekend. This week will be a rocking 82 hours! Any wonder I want to take her away from all that? I do what I can to ease her burden, but in reality it is not much more than symbolic...washing her dishes, taking in her laundry, cooking up some food that she can freeze and eat on over the course of the week...making sure she goes to bed by 12...


Taking care of my own stuff too...I finally finished my paperwork and am officially enrolled in the Japanese National Health system. Feels good to be a pinko. It costs me roughly $250 per month, but is comprehensive medical and dental, hospitalization, rides in the ambulance, the works. It also covers a trip to the eye doctor, but not the actual glasses, should you need them. I consider it a bargain...beats the heck out of the half-assed HMO system that seems to be prevailing in the Land of the Idiot Son.

Thats all the news for now...next dentist appointment is friday! Yay!