Plain white walls

A common complaint amongst foreigners living in Japan is the boring white walls throughout ALL rental properties.  My last place had a few heavy duty hooks that could be moved along a track in one of the walls, allowing me to actually hang things from the wall.  Because heaven forbid you put holes in the wall - you will die a horrible death when your landlord finds them, or at least have large portions of your safety deposit withheld.

But plain white walls are boring when you've grown up with wallpaper (not that I want the pink flowers I chose as an 8 year old!) or coloured walls (nor do I want the oppressive dark navy walls and ceiling chosen for the basement bedroom by the teenage son of the previous owner of my dad's last house) or artwork and photographs hanging on the walls (although I must admit given the past year I'm not too keen on having glass hanging anywhere...).

But anyways...

White boring walls.

I don't remember where I first heard about wall stickers - I think it was another Japan blog but I can't remember... I do remember that I did a quick google search and found this design and knew it would would go perfectly in our living/dining area.  (It isn't particularly colourful, being in shades of browns and greys, but it is comforting and relaxing)  But I didn't order it right away.  U wasn't too sure about the whole idea of wall stickers and so I dragged my feet until one day I ordered it half because I simply wanted to close the browser tab with the store's website (that I had had open on my browser the entire time).

The package arrived in the mail and spent nearly a week unopened before I suddenly decided one afternoon, while I was chatting to a friend on Skype, that I wanted to put them up.  And I did.  Never one to stick to the 'way things are done' I didn't want to make the perfectly round tree shown on the website.  I freestyled it, and ended up with a design that I love and has gotten lots of compliments - most importantly from U!

Not long after I started getting really fed up with the boring white walls in our bedroom so I turned to google again.  We bought some brightly coloured fabric in Indonesia that I am hoping to some day turn into a bedspread/quilt for our bed, so I was looking for a very specific set of colours and design.  Surprisingly it didn't take me long to find exactly what I wanted - with a HUGE range of colours to chose from.  This time U was just as excited as I was and helped me put them up too!

our Indonesian fabric and the plain colours I've bought to make the bedspread...

Our new, colourful and fun bedroom! (the stickers are in orange, blue, and green, and match the fabric perfectly!)

No more plain boring walls for us!

Wordless Wednesday - Living room window

This is what our living room window has looked like pretty much since we moved in.


Today I finally got around to hemming the curtains.


And then I got creative...

Wordless Wednesday - Bathroom Before and Now

Before we moved in and now! The bath and sink / washing machine.

Keeping afloat

Work has been busy and stressful and settling into the new place has taken longer than I had expected. With the added stress of the aftershocks that just keep coming (nowhere near as bad as it must be up north, I realize, but still I find myself constantly seasick, wondering if that was another aftershock or if its just in my head...) Add in a few pro-bono translations that I keep forgetting about until I'm falling asleep at night, and it has all left me feeling like I'm only just managing to keep my head above water.

Our last furniture delivery arrived yesterday, however, and although we still have a few piles of boxes left to be sorted, things are just about all put away. Our new place is finally feeling like home and I love it. (and yes, pics are on their way!)

My new commute was, as expected, a welcome change in many ways. Fewer transfers and the chance to sit most of the way. I was very optimistic about all I was going to accomplish... I was going to zoom through knitting projects!! Read a whole library of school-related books! Catch up on all the magazines I have stacked up as yet unread! I was going to be Productive with a capital P!!! The first morning I got on the train for my new commute I was practically humming with all the productive energy flowing through my veins!! Then I got on the train, settled into my seat (we're at the first stop on the line) and fell sound asleep.

As I discovered that very first morning, my body was not amused about suddenly being awoken an hour earlier than normal. The simple solution would be to go to bed an hour earlier, of course, but seeing as I get home an hour later than I used to...

So the morning nap remains. Ah well.

After an initial slightly rocky start, U and I have settled into a routine. In the morning I get up and head to the shower, turning on the washing machine if needed. By the time I'm out and dressed U has staggered downstairs, made coffee, and passed out in front of the TV. I'll make & eat breakfast, do my make up, and as I'm heading out the door he'll finally fully wake up. When I get home the morning's laundry is drying on the rack and the breakfast dishes are washed. (and the days when his pjs are in a pile by the sofa and the disposable contact cases are sitting on a wad of damp kleenex on the coffee table are slowly decreasing). I make dinner, put away yesterday's laundry, and hope he comes home before I fall asleep.

Given the stereotype Japanese guy who doesn't do anything round the house I am super thrilled with the fact that so far it really has been an even sharing of things. Perhaps that'll change in a few weeks or months, who knows. I make sure to make an effort to thank him for what he does, and he has been very keen on his praise over my home cooked dinners.

Sickening, I'm sure! Give us a few months and there'll likely be piles of dirty dishes in the sink, dust elephants roaming the halls, and not a clean piece of laundry to be found! ;)

TILT

- naps on my morning commute
- early morning cuddles
- cherry blossoms and blue skies
- lamb chops and strawberry daiquiris
- FB birthday messages
- the new apartment

3 & 1

3

It has been over three weeks since the earthquake.

Yesterday my Girl Scout troop teamed up with the Boy Scout troop and went to the local train station with hand decorated posters and money boxes to collect for the Red Cross. It was cold. Me and my girls, in our skirts, were shivering in moments. But, to use a cliche, my heart was warmed time and time again.

The Japanese have the reputation of not donating to charity but a disaster of this scale so close has changed that. When we've collected money previously for other reasons we were lucky to collect maybe twenty thousand yen (really roughly $200). This time, however, even cutting out time by a third we raised nearly seventy thousand yen, and that doesn't even include what the Boy Scouts collected!

Whereas before primarily older women would stop and put a couple of coins in the box of each girl, this time people of all ages were giving, and most quietly folded a bill and slipped it in one box before thanking us and heading off to catch their train. There were seniors in wildly age inappropriate clothing (seriously do not need to see that much, or even ANY wrinkled cleavage!), couples with young children, young professionals, and even a group of junior high students in their soccer uniforms who teased each other as they opened their own wallets and gave us a few coins.

I don't know how long these types of donations will continue as there are boxes and baskets and bottles for donations in every store, restaurant, and business. But it does show that donations can and do happen here, and it is pretty impressive.

1

It has been a week since I handed in my keys and left the old apartment. The landlord's wife came by before I left and brought us a gift. She then asked when we were holding the ceremony... I paused for a second but gave in and just said we hadn't set a date yet, and thanked her for the gift.

The new place is still a mess of boxes since our new furniture has yet to be delivered. Our studies are covered in piles of books and papers, our bedroom has clean laundry piled everywhere, and the kitchen floor is being taken over by random stuff tossed aside as we search for something from one of the boxes.

On Sunday U picked me up from GS and we headed out to the newly reopened Ikea - us and everybody else, as it turned out! The parking lot was worse than the mall on Christmas Eve, we had to stalk a poor family to secure seats in the cafeteria restaurant, and there was a 10 minute line for carts in the warehouse. But we picked out a bed-frame and mattress, a dresser for me (no more plastic drawers!!), and various storage bits and bobs and then enjoyed super cheap soft ice cream to recharge.

We're learning how to live together too - U is (hopefully) learning how to be quieter when he goes to work on Saturday morning, and how to call or text so I have some idea of when he'll be home in the evening. I'm learning to give up nagging him to do something instead of "resting" (aka falling asleep in front of the TV) because as soon as I announce I'm going to bed he'll jump up and start doing whatever it is (and then wake me an hour later when he comes to bed).

I spent Friday night at home alone while U enjoyed himself at what I am sure was the first of many drinking parties, but on Sunday night it suddenly occurred to me that U wouldn't be heading back to Tsukuba, that he'd be coming home on Monday night after work, I was thrilled... until I realized that meant I was expected to cook dinner!

Long weekend

We've spent a good part of the last two days new-home shopping: couch, rug, dining set, kitchen unit, bed, dressers, desk, and a bunch of bookcases too for good measure - all the things that two academically minded people need when they move from a dorm room and a tiny apartment into an actual home. Not being glued to the TV (which is no longer all chanels all disaster reports 24/7) and facebook has done wonders for my mental state but I can't help but feel guilty - here we are setting up our new home when so many up north have lost theirs. So we order the special donation dish at the restaurant, put money in the collection boxes that adorn every cash register, and look into other ways to help.

Day-to-day life seems to be returning to normal in Tokyo. There are still lines round the block at the pumps and many of the flashy neon signs have been turned off to conserve energy, but most stores have toilet paper and bottled water in stock and U has to go back to work again tomorrow. Mentally, however, we're not recovered yet. The other day at the furniture store a window suddenly opened with a bang and a gust of wind rattled a display. We all jumped. A little girl looking at desks with her father grabbed his hand and cried "EARTHQUAKE!" U grabbed my hand tightly. The suave store employee helping us looked around wildly in fear while two others dashed about trying to figure out what was going on. It only lasted a few seconds and then we realized what had caused the sounds. We laughed nervously and swapped 3/11 stories. The 5th floor of the store shook wildly, U's lab had a large light fixture crash to the ground... We laughed nervously again and then gathered ourselves and moved on. The little girl became engrossed in picking a decorated desk top sticker - which of her favourite characters should she choose?

And so it goes. One day at a time.

While I know that many have lost everything reports are showing doctors visiting the emergency shelters. New homes are being planned, and existing housing being opened up. I have hope that things keep improving, one day at a time.