2009: A Look Back

* One of my favorite songs from the band Rage Against The Machine. Check it out if interested here.

2010 was uncorked four weeks ago and I have been letting last year settle a bit before trying to capture its essence through a photo collage. Last year was a tough year around the globe, but there were signs that things were improving. I’m taking that positive mindset forward to this year. And I can write without irony that any minor troubles  we experienced (mostly retrenchment financially due to the economy) were resoundingly trumped by the cumulative delight provided by Lady E. Well, most of the time. So here goes:

January

We once again visited the Hiroshima illumination festival that is held on the Peace Boulevard. The holiday lights filled the downtown core with a kaleidoscope of color and holiday spirit from December through early January.

February

Elena’s first crush. And Daddy’s not worried…yet.

March

Elena mounted a protest against continued diaper use. Or contemporary art?

(She kicked the diaper habit by May.)

April

We joined Elena’s new pre-K class at the local zoo. Fantastic weather!

May

Celebrating the coming summer at the beach in Hamada. In the words of Jimi Hendrix,  “kiss the sky.”

June

Our first “real” camping trip.

July

I just really like this picture of us.

August

A family shot during a party for Andy, Neila and family.

September

Rage! Don’t wanna go to school.

October

The school sports festival, where Elena’s class performed “Singing in the Rain.”

November

We took a weekend trip to Kurashiki. This lovely photo of my two special ladies resulted.

December

We took our now-annual trip to Setoda-cho in the Seto Inland Sea. What keeps us coming back? The Kousanji Temple and Mirai no Oka (Hill of Hope). They are two little-known gems set against the blue waters. Lady E. enjoyed the view.

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The New Rising Family™

This car sticker, an unusual Japanese English variant of Baby on Board, says it all:

We are ecstatic to announce that Naomi is expecting our second child, due in early May.

Everything is going well: the baby is developing wonderfully and Naomi’s tummy is growing cutely. Since this is the second time around for us, our hypothetical questions and concerns about impending parenthood are fewer. On the other hand, how to adapt to the addition of another little person in our family, logistics and financial issues, and embracing sleep deprivation again are subjects that will provide more navel-gazing fodder for this blog. There may even be some entertaining bits for you, dear Reader.

We do not know if the child will be a boy or girl yet. I initially thought that not knowing the sex of the baby would be fun and old-school, like we did with Lady E. However, we have decided to embrace technology and efficiency, so we’ll probably be made aware of the baby’s sex before he or she is born. Stay tuned.

And, yes, the title of this blog will change. I am considering “Rising Family™.” Any objections out there?

Lady E. Turns Three

I am Elena, Elena-I-am
This is our wee tribute to Green Eggs and Ham

They call me Lady E.,
and today I turned three
I am happy as can be
I ate lots of birthday cake, you see

Would I eat birthday cake in a boat? on a train? in a tree?
Yes, anywhere is fine, and I guarantee
I’ll finish the icing quickly

Could I eat more cake than my mommy or daddy?
I could today ‘cuz they let me

Cake is so good, and since it is free
I can eat it liberally
and it tastes better than rice, peas or abalone

But if eat too much cake, my belly gets achy
and too much sugar will make me antsy
so I can’t sit still long enough to go pee-pee

Still, I am happy to be
the ripe young age of three
three candles so teeny…
more to come in years filled with laughter and glee

Called “E-chan” most of the time, but on my birthday “madame”
three years old today, Elena-I-am.
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We wish all our family and friends everywhere happiness and peace in the new year!

More Rock n' Roll

About the rock…
In December 2009, at age 40, I became a rock star (in my own mind).
Backstory: I occasionally sing along to songs that are playing on my iPod as I stroll into the office, chipper-early-morning-guy that I am. Several months ago, a colleague, having heard my classic rock warblings, asked me to sing a few classic rock songs at the division’s year-end party with an ad-hoc band, called SKY-B, comprised of my workplace co-workers. I snapped that invite up before he could finish his sentence, already channeling my inner Elvis Costello.

Long story short, on December 18, I sang "Let It Be", "Summertime Blues" (The Who’s “Live at Leeds” version) and "Jumping Jack Flash", thoroughly relishing the experience. I’m not sure if the audience enjoyed the spectacle, but nobody threw fruit at me. And since I have no shame, here’s the picture:
...and the roll:
The Rising Family is thinking about buying a bigger car next summer. To test drive a likely candidate, we rented a Mazda3 compact for a half-day’s family fandango in the countryside outside Hiroshima. And that was a great idea, because Naomi, Elena and I all fell in love with the car. Comparing the Mazda3 to our current set of wheels, our beloved 660 cc Mazda Laputa minicar, is like the difference between a cheeseburger and a slice of white bread. The bread does everything it is supposed to do—plain, dependable and economical. But a cheeseburger is irresistible, savory and always satisfies even though you know it is bad for you. The Mazda3 is a double cheeseburger in the fun-to-drive category and has the cabin space we will need soon. I was excited and frequently grinning during the drive, and my lovely passengers were equally enthusiastic in their praise for the car.

We drove out into the countryside beyond Hiroshima, first heading up Highway 30 via Hatsukaichi to Yoshiwa. In city traffic, the 3 was good, if predictable. Soon there were was fewer cars clogging up the country roads in the rural hinterlands close to the Mominoki Forest Park. I could allow the 1.5L engine to growl a little more out here, and force the tires to grip the road a little tighter on the twisties that carved the way to the top of the small mountains.
It was gratifying to spend time in a car where the metal’s performance meets the glowing rhetoric. Specifically, I can say without hesitation that the Mazda3 is truly a fun-to-drive vehicle. On the return leg into the city, the ladies both fell asleep and I could thoroughly indulge myself, just grooving to the Doors’ “L.A. Woman”, a great driving album/CD of thrumming blues songs to match the highway motion. And, my friends, there is nothing like hugging the winding roads on a warm December day with the strains of Morrison crowding your thoughts and commanding your fingertips on the steering wheel.

It’s been a great winter vacation so far!

Classic Christmas

I think this year we firmly embedded some Rising Family Christmas™ traditions. We simply had a wonderful, family-centered day filled with laughter and the yuletide spirit.

Elena, fast approaching three years old, recognizes the importance of Christmas and Santa Claus. (You can’t escape it—in Hiroshima the merciless marketing starts in stores after Halloween). To give her exposure to the spiritual side of Christmas, we went to church on Christmas Eve. I also pitched December 25 as Jesus’ birthday, which seemed to work.

By early morn, presents had mysteriously appeared under the handsomely decorated mini-tree. We did a little shopping during the day, followed by a Christmas dinner feast. Nota bene: it isn’t easy getting gravy mix in Japan. In other words, I did my best to recreate the happy atmosphere I remember from my childhood in the Great White North. And recapture the excitement, warmth and some of the spirituality of Christmas for the Rising Daughter.

Morning: groggy-but-game Evening: ready for more opening action

And in the St. Nick of time (groan), my Mom and Dad’s HUGE package arrived on the evening of December 25. Talk about great timing! Thank you folks for your thoughtful gifts. Notice that the package (9.7 kgs) is only a bit lighter and smaller than Lady E. herself.

Merry Christmas to you all.

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Seven-Five-Three

Shichi-Go-San,which means “seven, five and three” in Japanese, is a traditional rite of passage in Japan for three and seven year-old girls and three and five year-old boys. It is held annually on November 15 (or observed on the closest weekend) and marked by families visiting Buddhist shrines to pray for the healthy growth of their children. Boys wear hakama jackets and traditional rigid pants, while girls dress up in beautiful kimono. Many kids apparently wear Western clothes, too. The shrine visit is intended to drive out evil spirits and pray for a long and healthy life. Many, many photos are taken. Here are two of ours.

One of Naomi’s relatives gave us this gorgeous kimono for Elena, who is fast approaching her third birthday.

Naomi and her Mom got the Rising Daughter all dressed up in her “Sunday best” and they went to our favorite local shrine. I really like this photo of her strolling under the torii gates. On another note...
Another holiday went by last week--Japan’s Labor Thanksgiving Day (November 23). So this public holiday fell around the same as American Thanksgiving. It got me to thinking: why hasn’t US-style Thanksgiving taken root in Japan? Halloween, Christmas and Valentine’s Day have become popular as secular events here. Why not Thanksgiving? The official Japanese version of the holiday marks an ancient rice harvest festival, so the basic idea is the same, i.e. giving thanks for a successful harvest and expressions of gratitude. But this national holiday seems to have been put no real contemporary use beyond taking a day off work. Hmm.

Then, the reason hit me: kitchen ovens. Most Japanese kitchens do not have enough space for an oven large enough to cook turkeys. And no such cooking tradition came about because there are no native fowl that Japanese people like to eat.

I would welcome this nation embracing Thanksgiving, with all the gustatory trimmings, if only to postpone Christmas decorations going up in malls in early November. And picture this:
“More gravy for your sushi?”
“Please pass the wasabi for my mashed potatoes.”

I really enjoy this whole cross-cultural fusion thing we’ve got going over here!

World Series Chumps

Damn Yankees
My apologies in advance for this post. I simply cannot contain my rage and, in the face of an oncoming tidal wave of New York Yankees propaganda that I’ll have to endure until spring training next March, I must vent. Stop reading now if you aren’t a part of the baseball Borg.

"The Yankees won. The world is right again," team president Randy Levine said after the Yankees clinched their 27th World Series victory over the Phillies a couple of days ago. What a boatload of dung. There are countless reasons to hate the Yankees, and that quote encapsulates why so many baseball fans have a natural enmity for pinstripes. There’s plenty more to be found in the fawning praise from the New York Times here. The world has been just fine since 2000, the last time the Evil Empire won.

The Yankees: Storied history and home team to celebrated players….blah blah blah—it’s all crap. The Yankees polarize baseball fans because they attempt to buy the #1 spot every year through obscene player salaries and smothering marketing. Unfortunately, they tend to succeed using that strategy. Most people can respect their healthy desire to be the best team, but there is an ingrained sense of entitlement wafting around that team that just repels me. Something stinks in the Bronx, even with a shiny new $1.5 billion stadium.

The problem is I cannot escape the Yankees mindshare onslaught even here in Japan. Hideki Matsui, who left the Japanese pro league to play for the Yanks in 2003, was the 2009 World Series MVP, with an admirable performance of six RBIs and many clutch hits. His public persona is that of a pleasant guy, ever polite and humble, attributes which resonate well with the Japanese character. He made his homeland proud with his tremendous play during the 2009 World Series and by becoming the first Japanese player to win the MVP.
But you know what? He’s still a bum because he wears pinstripes.

Damn Giants
The Yomiuri Giants are just as heinous as the Yankees. They are owned by a large media conglomerate; are ubiquitous throughout the country; use the same questionable business tactics to try and stay on top; and invoke the same binary love/hate gut reaction in baseball fans. The Giants are regarded as the natural cousins to the Yankees due to their dominance of Japanese baseball over the years, and even have been dubbed “Japan’s Team.” They may have won 21 Japan pro baseball championships (the last one in 2002), but they make me want to barf just as much as their Bronx-based elitist cousins.

And they just made my disagreeable situation —the Yankees as world champs— intolerable because they won the 2009 Japan series, winning in six games over the Nippon Ham Fighters.

What’s the link here? Matsui! First a Yomiuri Giant, then a NY Yankee, and both teams become league champions the same year, within days of each other. Coincidence, I think not.
A billboard featuring Matsui, shilling for canned coffee: “Strong body.”

I have no choice but to blame Hideki Matsui, one of the more talented and agreeable players in pro ball and a national hero, for this awful state of affairs. And now I have to endure the long, cold winter until spring training, when there will be renewed hope for more likable champions—on both sides of the Pacific.