I have been meaning to do this for ages; I've made countless sketches on various scraps of paper, mostly on long train and plane rides (when I'm not sleeping); I've made loads of "new and improved" versions and have been close to updating the whole thing on at least two occasions.

Then, my perfectionism and tendency to procrastinate (don't laugh!) got in the way and I thought that if I'd waited that long, surely I could come up with something better to make all the waiting worth it! It's a vicious circle I tell you!

I also have this strange habit of cutting off all forms of communication when I'm feeling frustrated with how things are going. I know that networking and communication is supposedly the way to find interesting things to do and stay upbeat about the whole thing, but I hate having to say that I have no idea what I'm doing - I also don't tend to do much that's noteworthy when I'm broke and bored and all that. Wow, that sounds really sad, doesn't it?

Well, true to form, now that I'm pretty sorted for the moment, I suddenly realized that it was silly for this perfectly good website to sit here doing nothing, so I sat down the day before yesterday, redid the whole thing from scratch, and here it is! I did do a lot of trimming and reorganizing, in an attempt to make it easier for you to navigate (and for me to keep up with!), so please take a look around. I have quite a bit of new content that I'm planning to put up in the new year, so please check back every now and then to see what I've done!

Thanks for your patience (:

NaomiKay
naomikayy at yahoo dot com

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OK, and now for my actual update!

Now there are lots of things that have happened since ... let's see ... since we bid a fond farewell to Fernie back in March 2003, so a proper update is an impossible, gargantuan task at this point. I will try to give you the highlights so you are able to read this in one sitting.

APRIL 2003 - MOVED TO VANCOUVER

We moved into our fabulous, big apartment in North Van, and then waited anxiously to find out if Jamie made it into his graduate program. He did, and started the first year of the Asia Pacific Management Co-op Program at the McRae Institute in September. During that time, I did some ESL tutoring, worked as a waitress at a family diner near our house, made lots of homemade soap, and after a couple of months, landed a great job as Marketing Director at Footprints Recruiting in Gastown, a company that helps ESL teachers looking to teach overseas find jobs.

DECEMBER 2003 - JULES AND ALEX VISIT

We spent a wonderful Christmas on Vancouver Island with John and Dodie (I got to help make and eat my very first goose and experience Dodie's famous "giant Christmas cracker" and ice box cake!). It was a wonderful visit, as usual. The day after Christmas, my little sister and her boyfriend came for a visit, and the four of us spent a fantastic week up in Whistler snowboarding, skiing and enjoying the plush cabin we got to stay at. Check out the "Sisters in Whistler" Album for all the photos.

APRIL 2004 - TRIP TO ISLA MUJERES, MEXICO

The most romantic week of my life! We flew off to this little paradise (you can drive around the whole island in a golf cart in about 3 hours!) and chilled out on the pristine beaches, ate fantastic food, met lots of really nice people and got serenaded by mariachi singing at the restaurant across from our hotel every night! For most of the trip we stayed at the Hotel Belmar, on this little pedestrian only street. This is the view from our balcony. On the last night Jamie surprised me by taking me to a posh resort and spoiling me rotten with a professional massage and dinner for two (all on the beach!). Here's a couple of photos to make you jealous. If you want to see more photos, go to the Isla Mujeres album.

The only part of the trip to Mexico that wasn't amazingly perfect was the flight home! We flew on this little discount charter owned by a rich guy in Vancouver that only had 3 or 4 planes and somehow our plane didn't arrive when it was supposed to. No one knew what was going on because there was no airline rep there, so we all hung around for 2 hours waiting to find out what the deal was. Finally someone came and loaded us up on busses, without explaining why. We ended up having to stay overnight in this horrible hotel where we had to wear red wrist bands to identify ourselves and we couldn't leave the grounds. The food was horrible, there were bugs in the sheets that bit my legs millions of times and everything was really grungy. We then flew out at 4am or something. We were not that happy about the whole thing and Jamie decided to write a letter to the company letting them know...

JUNE 2004 - VISIT TO TORONTO

A week or so later, we got a letter in the mail saying how bad the company felt ... and including free tickets anywhere they flew to be used in the next year! The one thing I was sorry about was that we weren't able to afford to visit my family in Toronto before going back to Japan, so this turned out to be perfect! We booked a flight and just managed to squeeze in a couple of days. It was great! Jules took the train in from Montreal, we had sushi hand rolls and my Mom's Dutch pancakes (at different meals),we went to Niagara Falls (Jamie's first time) and rode the Maid of the Mist, we went for dinner at a winery (see photo), we had barbeques on the deck, went on a shopping spree with my Mom and sister while Jamie and my Dad played golf, and had lots of LONG talks. We didn't get to do everything we wanted (that always happens), but it was really, really nice.

LATER IN JUNE 2004 - BACK TO JAPAN!

Jamie got a job in Tokyo for the second year of his program and at the last minute we decided to go over together (instead of me coming out a few months later). Two days before leaving, I got to compete in the Alcan Dragon Boat Festival with my team "Ready, JET, Go!" (obviously made up of people who have some connection with the JET Program) - it was fantastic!

Due to visa complications, I ended up going a few days earlier, and spent the week apartment hunting with my friend Mari and her terrific boyfriend. We found a tiny and (relatively) inexpensive place close to Jamie's office but then had to wait a couple of weeks to move in as they were renovating it. Renting an apartment in Japan is one of the more complicated things I have ever tried, and Mari and Sachiko were fantastic! Sachiko even managed to get us hot water in the little sink near the toilet, a few extra electric outlets, and a reduction in the "key money" (essentially a bribe to the landlord). I don't think we could have done it without her. THANK YOU!!

The summer was insanely hot this year and not really being city people, we got a little claustrophobic. Luckily we did manage to get out of the city a few times, thanks to our Aussie friend Margot, who we met the last time we were in Japan at the Earth Celebration on Sado Island. Jamie eventually got into the swing of things at work, getting trained in Japanese business manners, and IT among other things.

SEPTEMBER 2004 - IAIN AND CAMILLA'S WEDDING

In September, Jamie flew to England for his brother's wedding. Sadly I was unable to go and had to satisfy myself with looking at all the photos and video. It looked like something from a movie with the couple walking under crossed swords and everything! I wish I could have taken photos of all the women in their huge hats!!! We will be making Iain and Camilla a DVD as soon as I figure out how to use iMovie!

LATER ...

It took me quite a long time to get a job, but I finally managed it and am working at Keio University, about 30 minutes from home by train. It's a great job, I'm learning lots and I'm not teaching English!

I think that about catches things up for now, so I hope you have a Happy New Year, and I'll be in touch again soon. In Japan, everyone send out these traditional cards that the post office delivers, en masse, on January 1st. This is the card we sent out:

So, what have you been up to?!

NaomiKay
naomikayy at yahoo dot com

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So it's been an interesting week... Over the New Year holiday, Jamie and I took the train down to Naka Izu in Shizuoka Prefecture and stayed at Margot's house while she was in California, playing in the sun (and getting stitches, as it turned out). THANKS MARGOT!!!

We got to drive around in the snow, remember how much we love kerosene heaters, and got to go to lots of onsen and rotenburo (hotsprings, the latter being outside). It was a nice escape from the city and a chance to unwind in the countryside. January 1st was a gorgeous day and Mt. Fuji came out from the clouds for this photo!

When we got back, we went to the Kawanas' house in Kanagawa Prefecture (classmates of my Dad from waaaaay back) and had the most amazing, huge, gourmet Japanese family dinner ever. There was lots of laughing, eating, drinking, hugging, music and conversation. It's so nice to have family in Japan!

Last weekend our friend Tatsuya came over and we celebrated his birthday with Indian food, movies and lots of laughing. We love having him over as he is hilarious and whenever he comes over my Japanese improves like crazy because he doesn't speak a word of English. Tatsuya is a surfer and a chef we met in Iwate who is currently saving up to move to New Zealand and find himself a kiwi girlfriend! I will remember to take photos next time we see him - I think he said something about climbing a mountain?!?

Now we are both back at work and trying to get used to waking up at 6:30 again. Jamie has been studying IT Operating Systems and Networking over the past couple of months (all in Japanese!) and today he took the Microsoft Certified Associate exam for the thrid time (also all in Japanese) ... and PASSED!!!

We went to Sugamo to celebrate. This town is about a 15 minute walk from our place and is known as the Harajuku (a very trendy area in Tokyo where young people go to buy crazy Japanese fashions) ... for senior citizens!!! It has loads of traditional Japanese stuff, sidewalk sales and samples, and I always feel really tall when we go there. We wanted to try something different for lunch, so of course we went to the police station to ask for a restaurant recommendation. We ended up at this tiny noodle restaurant near a big temple and ordered (as the policeman suggested) "kare-udon" (big fat noodles in a curry soup). Fantastic - our friend Donna is visiting on Monday (national holiday) and I think we might go back there!

That's it for now.

NaomiKay
naomikayy at yahoo dot com

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Working at a university (the photo is of the east entrance at Keio's Mita campus) has some perks and my vacation was much longer than Jamie's. So a couple of weeks ago we met for lunch and instead of taking the train home, I decided to walk and wander around a bit. I very quickly got completely lost in the maze of tiny little streets off the main road, and actually found quite a few restaurants and interesting shops. Once I finally figured out where I was, I was convinced I'd never be able to find the area again (what with the lack of street signs or addresses or anything like that in Japan - oh, and my complete lack of anything resembling a sense of direction).

Every time I mention where we live to anyone under 50 I get this vacant stare until I mention that it's near the famous old ladies' part of town. There don't seem to be many restaurants, cool little shops or fun things to do close to our place, so when I mentioned that there might be something other than a convenience store, florist, drug store or dry cleaners within walking distance, Jamie thought we should go for a walk around the neighbourhood to see if we could find anything else interesting.

We soon discovered that one of the campuses of Toyo University is quite close to where we live, and after walking through the very ugly campus (all concrete), we took a little lane, walked under a midget-height bridge, and ended up at Hakusan shrine. From there we walked down another lane and ended up in this cool area with tons of little cafes, tiny pubs and funny shops, filled with students and other people closer to our age. Yay! I didn't have my camera on this little trip, but we will definitely be going back there and I will take some photos next time.

On another little foray into the neighbourhood, we found a little alley filled with farmers' markets and other cheap-ish produce. We also bumped into a "yaki-imo-man" (a guy who walks around the neighbourhood pushing a cart with a wood burning oven over which he cooks sweet potatoes). We both love them and they are really healthy, so we had to get one. I love the scale he uses to weigh the potatoes!

I'm sure we'll do some more exploring when it stops raining, and I have plans to visit a "horse park" about 40 minutes by train from my work to see if I can ride there for less than CAD$100 for 40 minutes!!!

Until then, stay warm and check out the new Isla Mujeres album ( :

NaomiKay
naomikayy at yahoo dot com

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Amazingly, Jamie and I just celebrated another anniversary - time passes so quickly! We went to the posh area of Tokyo called Ginza, and treated ourselves to tapas, paella and lots of sangria at a great little place called El Chateo. It was fantastic and I defintely recommend it!

As some of you know, while I was in Vancouver and spending a good part of each working day in front of a computer, I finally gave in and admitted that seeing the world as a warm, fuzzy place was not really ideal, especially when it meant having to deal with searing headaches. With lots of help (thanks Jeff), I got myself a snazzy set of Roots frames and voila, was able to see what I'd been missing. I walked around stunned for quite a few days, reading out signs just because I could, and no doubt annoying everyone around me. The reason I say that probably only some of you know that I have been wearing glasses for about a year now, is that I only tend to wear them when absolutely necessary (i.e. when looking at any kind of screen and when reading).

In Japan, where I am still only marginally literate, it is much harder to guess what signs say when you can only vaguely make out the shapes of the characters, and I'm sure squinting directly at ridiculously bright neon signs for long periods while trying to decipher them is not really good for you.

I decided last week that it would be a good idea to get contacts (now that I have a job and can actually pay for them!), and found a great optician who studied in Canada, speaks English and is generally fantastic. Although I'm sure they say this to everyone, I was happy to be told that I got over the fear of pinching the thin piece of plastic and pulling it out of my eye very quickly and looked like a pro after only a few attempts.

I am happy to say that I am now able to see (though not necessarily read, mind you), all the huge amounts of advertising and signage around Tokyo, and that my headaches have dwindled to a normal amount. Other than the fact that the heating in my office dries my eyes out more than before, I have adjusted well and am very happy about the whole thing.

I'm sure that news is thrilling for you, so I will move on.

Last weekend, Jamie's friend Donna, whom he met in the little sea urchin fishing village of Taneichi*, Iwate Prefecture, where he taught for a couple of years, came for a quick visit from California. *Taneichi and Ono towns will be joining together to form Hirono in April.

It can be kind of strange (in a nice way) to see people from the JET days, as in some ways it seems like it was all a dream. Donna's great and after two minutes it felt like it hadn't been more than two years since we'd seen her.

Unfortunately our favourite little udon restaurant that we'd planned to go to was closed, but we did take her to the old people's shrine where she and Jamie washed the statue that is supposed to relieve aches and pains (see photo), and to the "famous" ramen shop near our house (where, I must add, they seem to have hired a lot of cute waiters recently!). This place always has a long line up outside, but we miraculously only had to wait about 15 minutes to get a table.

Every day, on my walk from the station to work, I pass this fugu (blowfish) restaurant that has a big aquarium out front where you can see the freakish, poisonous and oddly fascinating fish swimming around, waiting to be eaten. On my way home the other day, I happened to pass by just when one of the waiters was out catching someone's order, and he graciously let me take a photo. Even though it's kind of fuzzy, I love this photo!

On a final note, I got an email from a lapidary in Bangkok today, asking me to remove any reference to their shop from my website (see my Southeast Asian Extravaganza Gallery) as my comments "destroy our reputation and good image for more the 40 years". I feel really popular!

Anyway, that's what's been going on here lately.

NaomiKay
naomikayy at yahoo dot com

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