Talking in your sleep...

So I am getting better at this two-a-day posting stuff, but a subject hit me last night while I was on the phone with my parents that they even said was "bloggable". This one's about my husband's sleeping habits and the hilarity that ensues on a normal basis.
First of all, Casey talks, and occasionally walks, in his sleep. Japan has been no exception- although he's done more talking than anything. Our tic-tac sized bed is really starting to get on my last nerve, and maybe also because I wake up so easily and it takes forever for me to go back to sleep. I just seem to always end up waking up because Casey has something to say. :)
Anyway, on to the good stuff. The first time I remember Casey talking in his sleep was once in college... he pulled an all-nighter at the lab, and came to my dorm room to nap until we would go to breakfast in the morning. Well he was apparently doing a homework problem in his head, because he started yelling out "524973..." and then "L over V! L over V!" which is apparently some type of equation or something he was doing. There was another time he said something about Bill Clinton and oranges.
The one time I have seen him walk in his sleep was right after we first got married. We had gone out with some friends that night and had had a little bit to drink. Casey got up around 4 a.m. and walked to the end of the bed. It looked like he was going to go to the bathroom or something so I asked him if he was okay, and he turned around and walked out into the hallway. I laid in bed expecting to hear him in the bathroom at some point, but after a few minutes I didn't hear anything. When I walked out and looked in the bathroom, he wasn't there. Turns out he was sitting up on our futon in the living room, with his legs and arms spread out. His head was back against the wall and his mouth was wide open. I walked over and touched his leg and asked if he was okay, and he sat straight up with his eyes open wide and just looked at me with this freaky look on his face- the light was coming through the window in this eerie way and I got a little freaked out so I started hitting him in the leg like, 'Casey.... Casey... are you okay?"... he just got up and walked back to the bedroom and then laid down at an angle on the bed so I had to try and move him over just to get in. He didn't remember the event at all.
More recently, he started talking about Lego Land and building a cable convertor or something... and he was telling me about taking electrons from Planet Earth and how it was too complicated to explain so I would have to look it up. That was was entertaining because he was rambling in his sleep... normally I don't get many explanations for what he's talking about.
This week, I have only heard him say "That is a bad answer". However the other night, I was asleep and I started dreaming that there was an earthquake.. then I woke up and the bed was shaking. I started freaking out, but then I realized that it was just Casey, having a 'puppy dream' (like Charley does when his legs start moving)... he was apparently dreaming about running because his feet were kicking thru the sheets and it was making the bed bounce around. I'm glad though- I really thought it was the Big One. :)
Surely there will be more to write about on this topic before I leave Japan. I'll add more later.

-Ash

Update about grunt-fest, etc.

Sorry about the last entry. I am a bit peeved for more reasons that I didn't get to add. I guess I'm a little put out that the lady who informed us that we were staying in the ancient housing facilities this year also asked, in the same e-mail, if I would bring back toys from Japan for her kids. She did offer to pay for them, however, I almost wanted to use it as a bribe. But no go... it's worthless now. And part of me says not to offer because I don't owe her anything, and another part of me is like, "Kiss her ass!" even though I don't think that it will get me anywhere. So, I'm stumped. I guess I can just be happy that the students will have housing this summer at all, right? I feel bad for my boss, though... he is really disappointed as well and was pretty much counting on us staying at the newer dorms this year again. They are basically across the street from the Engineering building, and the freaking dorm is made up of components that some of our students learn about thru the summer, like fuel cells and the conservation of energy. We begged to have that dorm last year and they granted it to us, saying we were the only group staying there. This year, it's almost like they have forgotten about us. So that's pretty much why I'm upset... and probably too much information all the way around.
I started this blog to talk about my time in Japan, so darn it, that's what I'll do. I'm going to go to the 100 Yen store today and get some items to wrap a gift for Tasaka-san and Yanagi-san for helping me learn to cook and also for all of their help so far since I've been here. I made both of them scarves and found out that the color I used means "Good Luck" so hopefully that'll be a nice surprise for them. It surprised me... I had no idea! Also, I want to give them the scarves now because soon it'll be Spring (THANK GOODNESS) and they won't be able to use them for awhile. Soooo... that's the plan.
Guess that's all for now. :) Thanks again for listening to my complaints about work.

-Ash

Time for a grunt-fest...

Alright, I need to vent. I am pissed off about a work situation that I can't really vent about to many people at work for fear of getting fired. I realize that writing this on here is a little risky, but please realize in advance that it's just venting. When I calm down I'm sure I'll see that things are okay, but I just need to write it out.
First of all, I am currently doing the most difficult job I have ever done. The first summer went fairly smoothly for someone who had no experience. I think that any issues that came up were worked out pretty well, esp. since I was a newbie and the most training I received was from researching previous paperwork from the last two coordinators of the program. One was extremely organized, and the other was not as much, so I had to pick up a few loose ends.
I wish there would have been a bit more fine print to read, though, because I am realizing that some of the other departments I work with are not holding up their end of the deal, or at least what I thought the deal was. I will simply say that one of the main components of our program is housing, and I thought I had inquired early enough about our housing situation that there would be no question this year. Well apparently we do not have enough priority within the system, even though our program is 9 years old, and they decided to put is in housing that was available when the program first started. Okay I'm done now I am just frustrated. Sorry. :)

-Ashley

Things are looking up...

I spent the last few days all down in the dumps about the laptop. You'd really think that my pet died or something- I would randomly remember things that were on there that I thought I would never get back again. I was pretty depressed, to tell you the truth.
However, almost an hour ago, Casey called to tell me that someone had fixed the computer and it was up and running again. He is currently backing up the information as I type this. WHAT A RELIEF! It's amazing to me how much trust I put into that machine, and how we *almost* lost everything. Other people are not so lucky, and I feel for them. I already went through most of the grieving process and had pretty much come to terms with never getting the information back again. Lesson learned!
So updating you on the last few days... Monday and Tuesday I spent mourning, doing wife-type stuff, and studying Japanese. Yesterday, I went to my Japanese lesson, and then Tasaka-san taught me how to make Tempura in the International Student office. I am excited to learn this, mainly because it was so easy! I look forward to making it for dinner sometime soon. I didn't realize that Tasaka-san would prepare so much food, though... we ate until we could barely move. It was fun... Yanagi-san helped as well so it was a little hectic in the kitchen with the three of us. I am also terrible about using kitchen chopsticks (a longer version of regular chopsticks) so I had trouble picking up the food and either flipping it over in the pan, or putting it on a plate. I got pretty frustrated with myself and started laughing and cussing under my breath (glad for the language barrier at that point)... I think they realized I was frustrated, though, so they put me on scooping duty and I got to scoop out the vegetables and the excess batter. I will be glad to do that in the privacy of my own kitchen so if I use a spoon or other utensil I won't feel so frustrated... I don't know if it's worth buying kitchen chopsticks- it's not worth the stress! :)
In other news, I went out with Tomoko, Kaneda-sensei's older daughter today. We went to Takarazuka, which is maybe 5 or 6 train stops away from where we live. It is a really pretty area, with many gardens and theaters. We went out for a nice Italian lunch- awesome pasta and the pizza wasn't too shabby, either! I felt a tad underdressed, though- it was a nice restaurant... it reminded me of a few places in San Francisco that we had gone to on our honeymoon. Anyway, we had a nice lunch, and then walked across the street to check out the park. They had a dog-run... there weren't too many dogs there today since it's chilly, but it made me think of Charley and how much fun he would have had there. We also went to a garden area that was very beautiful, despite the fact that many of the plants were not blooming yet. I really hope to take Casey there soon when the weather gets warmer. The Japanese really take pride in preserving nature... I think America has quite a few things to learn from this culture!
After the garden (and a quick trip to Babies R Us for a few things for Tomoko's son) we went to a temple where mothers go to pray for the health of their children. Tomoko has been there on New Years for the past several years, to pray for the health of her baby before and after he was born. It was neat to see the temple and know a bit of the history behind it. I didn't realize that each temple was a place to pray for different things- one temple she told me about was where people go to pray for fire safety in their kitchen! I understand praying about that, I just didn't realize they would have a temple dedicated to it! I have a lot to learn...
I'm not sure about plans for tomorrow yet, but Saturday night we were invited to go out with some of the people we met on New Years because a few of them are leaving to go back to Australia. We are going back to the same club we went to on New Years, actually... but I plan to do it much differently this time! No repeats of New Years Eve... I promise! Then on Sunday, we are going out with Tomoko and her husband for dinner (peppered steak, yay!!!). We didn't get to meet him last week because he was in China for a conference, so it will be nice to chat with him and hear about what it's like being a surgeon. I sort of hope they bring their son Haru as well... he is hilarious! (He's the one in the post from dinner with Kaneda-sensei from last week.)
Anyway, I should shut up now. I had coffee today so I'm actually chatty enough to annoy myself at this point. :) Write again later.

-Ashley

Mourning the laptop...

Last night, after Casey and I got home from an enjoyable day at the zoo, we found out that our laptop (the old one that Casey bought in Summer of 2004 before coming to Japan the first time) had crashed. Well, this just happened to be the computer I had been using for work, and it had all of our pictures from the last 1.5 years on it. There are still some on our computer at home, but these were all of our pictures from Japan so far. You can imagine (if you know me) that this was a pretty depressing moment in my life. Pictures are really important to me, and the only way to see any of them now is to check out my Yahoo! site. Unfortunately, they only post the smaller version of the picture, so I will probably not get the true version again. I really hope there is someone here who can help us. I just want to spare the pictures, and all of the work I had done since I got here in November. The irony of the thing is that I had written a note to myself yesterday to make back-up CDs on Monday. Well... the damn thing didn't even make it that long. Note to everyone who may be reading this- don't be a dumbass like me and wait- back your stuff up NOW. (Sigh...)
In other news, I went out with Natsuki-san today, which was nice. We had lunch at an organic restaurant, and then walked around downtown. I was trying to get ideas for Casey for Valentine's day... it's going to be here and I'm afraid that my creative side isn't kicking in yet. I think we will be going to Kobe for a nice dinner (Kobe beef!!) but other than that, I'm not sure. I guess I still have a little bit longer to think about that.
Not much else to write. I have pictures from the zoo yesterday and will post them as soon as I get the chance- probably tomorrow. I don't know what we are doing tonight- 3 students from Casey's laboratory were defending their dissertations today, so I don't know if anyone will be going out for dinner to celebrate or not. All I know is that I didn't go to the store, so I won't be cooking tonight. (I cooked 4 days last week so I think I'm ready for a break!) Japanese cooking is complicated sometimes!
That's all for me. I'll update again soon.

-Ash