baby boy

Just a quick Sumi update. He is still doing well. I think he is still a bit underweight, but he is definitely growing longer. He can crawl out of his box now. As you can see he no longer needs me to feed him using a tube because he has his very own kitten bottle! He likes to grasp it with both hands as he sucks the milk down. He is walking around the apt more, screaming the whole way. Sometimes he’ll stand at the edge of the cushions and “roar” as loud as he can. He looks just like Simba from the Lion King. Of course Sumi is about the size of one lion’s tooth, and he sounds like a rusty door, but he tries. Sumi seems to be doing well. I’m happy! iiiiiii (Sumi’s typing) He loves to walk all over my brand new computer.
Oh and yes, Sumi is a boy, even though I was questioned about this fact by one of my friends, who shall remain unnamed, when he emailed me asking if I was sure Sumi was a boy because he saw nipples on him. I said, yes the vet was pretty sure, and then reminded him to take off his shirt and look at his own chest.

Tokyo Disney!

Back to my Tokyo trip! So the next thing Craig and I did was go to Tokyo Disneyland and Disney Sea. They are two separate parks, like Disneyland and California Adventure. We got a two-day pass to be sure we saw everything. We went to Tokyo Disney first. It is very similar to the Disneyland in LA except the skeleton at the Pirates ride and the narrator in the Haunted Mansion spoke Japanese. They are doing a special Hawaiian theme with Stitch right now, so you can see how everything has a hula feel. We also saw a hula performance at the shopping mall in between the two parks.
For the second day, we went to Disney Sea. It is the more romantic park for adults, which of course was wasted on Craig and me, but it was really fun anyway. It is pretty big, with rides I had not been on (except Indiana Jones). On one ride, the height limit was 195 cm, which is exactly how tall Craig is. They stopped him at the beginning of the line, and asked him how tall he is. I wasn’t sure at the time what he was in cm, so the 5 ft. tall girl picked a random beam to stand under to measure his height. Well, he had to slouch a little to fit under it, and we were let on. Right before we got on the roller coaster, we were asked once again about his height. I said it was fine and hopped in. Craig was a little worried, but it was fine. That ride was really slow and not scary at all. The best ride was the Tower of Terror. Neither of us had been on it before, and all the explanations were in Japanese of course, so we had no idea what to expect or what was going on. It was great! I haven’t been scared like that for a long time – at least since the last time dad chased me with a vacuum. We rode it 3 times.
The crowds were the same as in LA. I had expected worse. The food was a little different. They didn’t have the pretzels and ice cream cookie I always eat, but they did have a plethora of popcorn. And not just buttered – there was sea salt, caramel, chocolate, black pepper, and my favorites: curry and honey (not together).
Now I’ve been to Disneyland’s in 3 different countries!

Guess Who Opened His Eyes!

I won't be writing too much, but I wanted to post a few new pictures of Sumi. He opened his eyes fully today. All kittens have blue eyes, and will change to their true color in a few months. I hope they're green! He seems to be sleeping more and more lately. I have to wake him up to eat. He is sleeping in the crook of my arm while I type. He's a good boy. Or girl.

Sumi chan

I am trying to be cautiously optimistic about Sumi, but so far he/she seems to be doing well. I still feed him through a tube into his stomach, so he is eating every 2-3 hours. And pooping has not been a problem – at least for him! It’s a good thing he is so cute!! I apologize to those of you who are emailing me and not getting a response back. I have had my hands full. In my spare time I am looking up information on hand rearing kittens. I want to make sure that I am giving Sumi the best care I can. Even so, the chances of survival, after not being with his mom at such a young age, are not good. But I am savoring every moment with him. Oh yeah, I named him Sumi. In Japanese, Sumi is a black charcoal, famous in Wakayama. My middle name is Sumire, meaning violet, so I thought the name fit well. Good thing I’m not getting too attached huh!
There have been a few kids interested in taking Sumi, but nothing definite yet. Of course I have to admit, I’m not trying that hard either.
Sumi’s cut tongue seems to be healing up. He is very “genki” (full of energy) as the teachers at school say. He likes to speak up during the morning meeting. I have been very lucky that the staff is letting me bring Sumi to school everyday. I need to make sure he is warm and fed. The kids love peeking into his bag to see him. He has a strong set of lungs, which worry me a little since he’s not an allowable roommate in my apt. His eyes are still shut. He loves to climb! Especially up my shoulder and into my hair. I read that kittens don’t purr until they are about 3 weeks old, but when he is sitting on my shoulder, I swear I hear him purring while he nibbles on my hair.
He is difficult to photograph because he is so black. Hopefully when his eyes open up, there will be more detail in his face. I already have to use the “action” setting on my camera because he moves so much. He can’t even walk yet, so I think he’ll be a handful!

neko chan!!

Well, I think I am finally falling in love in Japan! This morning I walked into the teacher’s room and heard a high pitch squealing sound. I went to my desk and could still hear it. It sounded like a cat. All the teachers were sitting at their desks working, so I wandered up to the front where the vice-principal was standing. He was looking into a cardboard box. I peeked into it to see a very small black ball of fur surrounded by bloody tissues. It was a very small kitten. I asked what happened and he said that a student found it on the way to school today and brought it in. He also said that it may have been attacked by a crow. So I asked what they were going to do with it. Apparently no one knew what to do, that’s why it was sitting in the box crying. So I called my neighbor who works at City Hall and he found a vet nearby. Since I did not have 1st period, I took the little kitty to the vet on my bike. Luckily the girl at the front desk spoke a little English. The vet looked the kitten over, poked and prodded it, and made it cry. But I guess it’s healthy. It still had its umbilical cord and its eyes haven’t opened yet, so the vet thinks it’s about a week old. They gave me formula along with a tube that I must put down its throat to give it milk. It has a cut tongue, and was bleeding, so that’s why it needs the tube. After about a week, they said to bring it back in.
So I took the little kitty back to school and he sat in my hand while I taught 2nd and 3rd period English. He was very good, and only showed off a couple times to the screams of “kawaii!!” (cute) from both the girls and boys. One boy, who was drawing the entire class period, came up to me after class and handed me his drawing. It was of me holding the tiny kitten in my hands.
So here I am, taking in another animal I’m not supposed to have. I know I shouldn’t keep it because I am not even equipped to take care of a plant, much less a needy kitten. But he is so cute, and is snuggled up asleep right next to my heart, which makes me melt. All I know is that right now, he needs me to take care of him. I will ask around to see if anyone is interested in adopting him. The vet also said I can put a picture up there in the office.
Today I need to get a few things from the store to keep him safe and warm while I’m teaching. He will come to school with me, but I will keep him in the teacher’s room. Although the kids were nowhere near as distracted as I was in class with him.
It’s almost feeding time, and somebody is squeaking, so I better go!

Toyko part 2

For our next day trip, Craig and I headed to Nikko. It is a historical city outside of Tokyo. The train trip was about 2 ½ hours from Tokyo, but it was a beautiful ride. We also saw many people taking pictures of our train as it went by. I didn’t think it was that interesting. And when I say many, I mean about 20-30 people all along the way.
Since we were only there for the day, we just stayed in the main area with the temples. There are also waterfalls and scenic hikes, but we didn’t have time for that. I was surprised to see so many temples in one spot. The most famous one has carvings of three monkeys, one covering his eyes, one his ears, and one his mouth. I haven’t been able to figure out why it is such a big deal. The three monkeys are the symbol for Nikko. Pretty much all the explanations for everything was in Japanese, but the buildings and forested area were beautiful to look at. So not much to write about, just pictures to look at. Enjoy!

Lady

I received some sad news today, Lady, my dad and Georgie’s dog, was put to sleep. She has been sick for probably about a month, so it was not a surprise, but we are all still quite sad. She had many infections that medicine wasn’t able to cure. The vet said that she had inflammation from an infection on her spine, which caused calcium deposits and the swelling put pressure on the nerves. She couldn’t walk anymore. She couldn’t eat or drink on her own, but dad and Georgie still took great care of her by feeding her hamburger by hand and squirting syringes of water into her mouth. Despite their efforts, Lady was still quite dehydrated. She would have been 17 in September.
As most of you know about me, I love dogs more than anything. She was my absolute favorite in the world. She had the best smile, a cute pink nose, and was always so happy.
In January of 1991, Dad and Georgie went to the Humane Society in Hawaii to choose a new puppy. The decision could’ve been difficult with so many cute puppies to choose from, but Lady made it easy by promptly staking her claim and sitting on dad’s foot.
She loved everyone, never even barked except once on Halloween and a few times while chasing rabbits in her sleep. She was so patient, always letting me dress her up and put various things on her head.
Lady was a part of the family. So much so, that our names were interchangeable according to Dad. Every time I was in Hawaii, she slept in bed with me. She’d turn in about 3-5 circles, then plop down in a little furry ball at the end of my futon.
I couldn’t imagine a better pet. We will miss her greatly.

Tokyo day 1

Each year in Japan there is a week around April/May called Golden Week. There are 3 days off, and it is a popular time for Japanese people to travel. So, since I had vacation, my friend from college, Craig, came out to visit. We met in Tokyo for Golden Week. Everyone warned me about the crowds, but it really wasn’t too bad. I am absolutely amazed at how large Tokyo is. There are so many areas that are like little cities themselves, and each is quite distinct. I prefer to travel around in beautiful natural areas not so much the city. But I’m in Japan, and it is Tokyo, so I had to see it! Oh and of course I had to see Disneyland and Disney Sea!! So this will probably be another series of blog entries so I can put up lots of pictures.








After that we went to Mejii Shrine. It is a beautiful place with lots of greenery, gardens, and large wooden torii. The shrine sits on a large area with many gardens. We walked through the inner garden. There were two couples getting married that day. Craig made fun of me for taking pictures of strangers, but I liked the outfits.



















Then we walked through Harajuku where there are lots of shops and a small area where younger people like to dress a little differently. On a small bridge between the train station and the entrance to Mejii Shrine groups of tweens put on lots of makeup, wear outrageous clothes, and have funky hairstyles. Some looked pretty cool, a few silly, and one guy just danced for what seemed hours. The “maid” look seemed pretty popular for both the guys and girls. They were like a little tourist attraction with people stopping to take their picture and the kids graciously posing and looking as cute as can be.









For our last stop of the day (yes, still Sunday!), we went to Roppongi. There we went up to the top floor of the Tokyo City View building to look at the city. There was no line and it is even a little higher than Tokyo Tower. After we checked out the view, there was a museum that we stopped to look at. The exhibit was about humor, and as you can see by one of the advertisements for the exhibit, it was quite frightening and not really funny at all. Maybe the same people who think clowns are funny would have liked it.


We had dinner at The Outback, and some drinks at a bar nearby. Maybe we were delirious after such a full day (and a few drinks), but we somehow stumbled into a Russian escort bar. We quickly left, unescorted.
After a full day, we were absolutely exhausted, but somehow managed to wake up bright and early to head up to Nikko the next day.