The art of punctuality

Do you ever get nervous when you are running late? I do. I think it was yet another thing that was ingrained in me during my time living in Japan. Also influenced by my family's chronic lateness for all important things: school, meetings, parties.
Today, being late MAKES ME NERVOUS. Like my heart jumps a little. And Mr. D, also known as my husband, is just sitting there so damned relaxed, driving along at 20 km/h, like nothing is happening at all. He's acting like all is well on the Earth and that really, no one will be hurt or even care that we are late. But I care! And I think that I take that caring for the both of us. &^%$.

Maybe I just need to relax a little bit. How do you feel about punctuality?

things I (contine to) miss about japan- part I

I thought that I would bring back the things I would miss about Japan, written back in 2007 on my former blog juliajima. Because, it just so happens that I continue to miss these things. Almost all the time. I lived there for 2 years, and it was pretty amasing.

Here is the first part of a 3-part series.


there are so many things that keep popping into my mind. thought i'd start to make a list.

1. juicy juicy kinkans: these tiny, bite-sized citrus fruits that look like minature oranges. only in japan, sour, and delicious. eaten whole, peel and all. loaded with vitamin C and great for colds. actually, they have natural enzymes that work as a cough suppressant. last night i went to my favorite hangout, to order my favorite drink- vodka, soda, halved kinkans, lemon liqueur and a dash of sweetness of some sort, complete with a tiny fork to nibble on the kinkans between sips. my friend the restaurant owner/bartender fumio-san lowered his eyes at my request. "juli-chan, the kinkans are finished. out of season. no more kinkans." SHOCK. devastation. disbelief. a tad dramatic you say? its just that i am in love with this fruit. and they don't exist anywhere else. i like the little things so much that i smuggled two bags first into the states, then into canada when i went in march. and we all know how the americans are serious sticklers when it comes to bringing fresh fruit into the country.

I've got a pang pang

When I lived in Japan, we were always karaoke-ing. I'd say that 9 times out of 10, when we would go out, we would inevitably end up at some kind of karaoke joint. We may have planned to go out for a fancy dinner and drinks, which we did, but at some point in the late night, we always seemed to end up singing drunken versions of Like a Virgin in some basement karaoke joint. I don't know if its because they were available everywhere, and were of course a ton of fun, or if it was some kind of repression that needed a release. I mean, you live in Japan for a few years and you learn ALL ABOUT repressing certain things. Like skin, and too many feelings, and any kind of in-your-face displeasure with anything. You learn to be A+ in politeness and even a tad bit hypocritical at times. Which is ironic, because if there's one thing that I try not to be, despite all of my flaws and imperfections, it's hypocritical. But anyways. Back to karaoke. So the moral of this whole story is that last Saturday night, for a friend's birthday, we ventured into karaoke land right here in Montreal. Also known as Pang Pang. And although it was a little less intimate than those underground karaoke rooms I was used to in Japan, it was pretty darn fun!

things i'm on the fence about.. part I

i realise that there needs to be another category. things that i am going to simultaneously miss and not miss. there are a few of such things.

1. the kids in my building. ok, again not things, but whatever. they are really cute, and they make me smile. but they are also incredibly irritating, and have scared the shit out of me on numerous occasions. either by throwing dead cockroaches at me, or by literally jumping in front of my car as i attempted to enter or exit the parking lot. (thank goodness for quick reflexes). at the same time though, they are pretty strange and pretty hilarious. and they let me pet their tiny kittens and puppies that seem to pop out of nowhere.

konichiwa tokyo!

tokyo is a big weird ocean of cement, lights and people with unique style. the population of 25 million is close to that of entire canada! we arrived last night at around 8 after a 24-hour trip, so slightly exhausted. we walked through the hotel's surrounding area and ended up at a japanese bar for dinner. very yummy and fun, with excellent japanese draft beer. although saying goodbye was very sad, i am happy to finally be here and am looking forward to meeting the okinawa crowd later today at our prefectural meetings. i miss everyone and hope you all are well and happy!... xx julia