Speed in!

There may not be any bottled water in the stores, but why would you want plain old water when you could have Vitamin Water - with SPEED!

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.

Normal?

It is bizarre how some things are completely normal, some facets of life are continuing without any appearance of disruptance, and others are still a complete mess. Electrical shortages and rolling blackouts mean that the trains aren't running or are running fewer trains. The museum is closed this week and we have been told to stay home - working from home if we can.

I have been torn between the Japanese coverage of the Fukushima nuclear plant and international coverage. My father has asked me to leave Tokyo and go to my host family in Kagoshima or, even better, head to Canada for a visit. But with our move in the process (yes, we were able to sign our rental agreement and pick up our keys last weekend!) I just don't feel like I can leave right now. So for the time being U has decided to also work from home and we are heading to Kanagawa prefecture. The new place isn't fully set up yet, but at least we are together and I feel much better with U (and his CAR) close at hand.

And yes, I promise photos soon!

Checking in

I'm sitting in my apartment watching the news and the destruction in northern Japan is horrific. The aerial shots of a wall of water engulfing farmers fields, the night shots of the fires and huge swathes of orange ablaze against the dark night, the huge numbers of people seeking refuge in temporary shelter...

I just can't wrap my mind around it all.

Yesterday when the quake hit I was at work. One of my coworkers freaked out as the quaking kept going and going and going and then got worse and so the three of us in the office went under our desks. The curators jumped up and ran upstairs to the exhibit space to make sure that the exhibits were safe - and found a few items had fallen over so they got out the camera and began taking pictures and documenting what had happened. The archival department checked on the archives and watched as an aftershock started sending the movable shelves up and down their tracks. Meanwhile the director of the museum went from room to room in the "backyard" to check on everybody and the reception staff went around the exhibit space and other public areas to check on all the visitors.

With aftershocks continuing to happen even today, the rest of the afternoon was a washout workwise, but most of us stuck around until 5pm. The train lines were all stopped, and many of my coworkers were thus stranded at the museum (they apparently made a run to a nearby convenience store and spend the evening munching on snacks, drinking, and chatting). I live close enough to walk, however, and it is a very straightforward route by road, so I set out. There were more people walking on the sidewalks than I have ever seen before. Salary men with briefcases, office ladies in their heels, harried looking moms holding tight to the hands of the kids beside them... everybody trying to make it home.

I kept walking. Buses were running but the roads were clogged and the lines at bus stops snaked half way down the block in many spots so despite the fact that I could have caught a bus for the last 2/3 of my walk, I decided to keep walking. That turned out to be the best choice because not one single bus on my route went by me. I actually caught up to and passed two of them - figuring I was moving faster than the traffic I might as well try for the next stop, and then just kept going. One of those buses ended up catching up to me, but by the time it did I would have been getting off two stops later anyways and I could walk a more direct route home than the bus route and avoid the somewhat lengthy walk from the bus stop...

So I kept walking. 2 1/2 hours after leaving the museum (with a few convenience store stops for snacks to keep me going) I reached home. A stuffed penguin had decided it could fly and jumped off the top of my bookcase, and a few other things on high shelves had fallen off, but they had landed on the soft pile of laundry waiting to be sorted and missing my laptop, so there was almost no damage in my apartment. Electricity and water were running normally and my landlord came round and showed me how to restart my gas. Eerily normal.

U lives in Tsukuba, north of Tokyo, and he experienced stronger quakes. His dorm room was a mess but beyond a desk lamp, nothing broken (one rather ugly less thing to move, and one more thing for me to "help" him pick out... he he!). His lab at work lost one of their machines but none of the scary scenarios my imagination was making up for why he hadn't yet texted me came true.

So we are both well. The highway between us, however, is still closed, so he is stuck there and I here. The real estate office is business as usual today so we are hoping to still be able to get out there and sign our contract and pick up our keys. If it doesn't happen, however, it doesn't happen.

Right from the first quake I've been on Facebook, posting updates to relieve my family and friends in Canada and elsewhere, and check in with friends in Japan. It was such a relief to be able to make those instant connections - to know that Umebossy and little O were fine, to check in with Achan and her kids... and it has been overwhelming to read all the comments and messages from my friends around the world expressing their worry and relief. Thank you.

My thoughts and prayers go to Sendai and the rest of northern Japan.

Things I love Thursday

- getting the apartment!!!!
- daydreaming about furniture shopping
- crossing things off my 'to do list'
- skyping my dad on my lunch hour
- my sempai smiling and chatting about a boy
- yogurt berry pancakes

Picture-less Wednesday

I went for lunch to a nearby Korean restaurant with a few coworkers today. Two of U's helped ourselves to a stick of the ubiquitous pink-wrapped stick of gum by the register. The same gum that is found in pretty much every Korean restaurant I've ever been to in Japan. My coworker popped his piece in his mouth right away. I put it in my pocket with my wallet and didn't remember about it until we were almost back to the museum.

I unwrapped the gum and asked my co-worker "does this gum normally have green breath freshened specks?" He sound surprised and confused, and replied in the negative.

My gum was full of mold. Not furry white mold on the surface from sitting somewhere damp but green dots of mold growing from within.

You learn something new everyday. I never knew gum could go moldy like that. I'm rather disappointed didn't think to take a picture until long after I had thrown it out. And my coworker? He gave himself a stomach ache worrying whether his gum had been moldy or not too... (a self-inflicted psychosis I had absolutely no part in creating... absolutely none... heh heh!)