Happy Birthday!

My nephew Wylie turns 2 today!! Here are some pictures my Mom took on her recent visit to Calgary.








This is my friend Kathy's baby, Cameron. He and I are going to be roomies in Aug.

Mighty (Mutant) Mouse

This post is dedicated to Nathan because I know he especially enjoys my posts about amigurimi.

Meet my mutant mouse. He turned out wayyyy bigger than he should have been, but he's still cute!

I made another blanket

I finished this during Golden Week but haven't gotten around to photographing it till now. It's the perfect lap blanket. Doesn't it look smashing on the back of my little couch? Very 1978 I think.

Adventures in Amigurumi

This is my first amigurimi attempt. His name is Herb. He is completely wrong, and full of mistakes, but he's still cute.

My second attempt was much more successful. I don't know his name because Lena is his new mother. He is sporting a lovely scarf for the winter months.

He had a hard time controlling himself at Lena's party. Cheeky little octopus!

The best place to live in Canada

Well they figured out a way to measure the best place to live in Canada.

Go here to see if your town made the cut.

I will soon be living in #9, Calgary.

Go here to read about the winner and how the study/poll was conducted.

I've also lived in #37 Victoria, and #55 Powell River. Good taste ne?

Busy Janice

One of my university roommates (and good friend), Janice, is currently teaching in London. These pics are from her recent trip to Egypt. I just had to (steal) and post them cause I miss her so much!





I'm so jealous!

The great leap...backwards.

Japan passes measure to fingerprint foreigners

Japan's cabinet has given final approval to a plan to fingerprint and photograph all adult foreigners entering the country, six years after the country dropped a similar requirement because of privacy concerns.

Cabinet made the decision Wednesday, a day after its parliament's Upper House approved a bill toughening security measures.

Among other measures in the same bill:

-Japan's justice minister will be able to expel foreigners who are suspected of involvement in terrorist activities.

-Airlines and ship lines will have to provide passenger and crew lists before they arrive in Japan.

Japan's lower house approved the bill in March.

Now that it's been approved by cabinet, its measures are expected to take effect in November 2007.

After that date, in order to enter the country, those born outside Japan and aged 16 or older will have to agree to be photographed and have electronic images of their fingerprints taken.

The images will be checked against those in international crime and terrorism databases, as well as domestic crime records, and then stored for an unspecified time.

The only exceptions will be state guests, diplomats and permanent residents of Japan.

Fingerprints collected until 2000

Japan fingerprinted all arriving foreigners until 2000, when the requirement was dropped because of a public outcry over invasion of privacy.

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has been pressing for the measure to be resumed, claiming that it will decrease crime and protect the country from terrorist activity.

Japan believes it is a potential target for militants linked to al-Qaeda because it has troops in Iraq as part of the American-led coalition keeping order in the country.

Japan recorded about 7.5 million foreign visits in 2005.

The United States has also brought in security measures that require all arriving foreigners to be fingerprinted. Canadians and Mexicans are exempt from the requirement.

Source

So what do you think about this?

Me Me Me

4 Jobs I've Had in My Life:

Teacher
Gas station cashier
Camp Counselor
Cook

4 Movies I Could Watch Over and Over Again:

The Color Purple
Pretty Woman
A Christmas Story (well, at least every xmas)
Pretty in Pink

4 Places I Have Lived:

Beausejour, Man.
Victoria, B.C.
Powell River, B.C.
Gotsu, Shimane-ken

4 TV Shows I Love To Watch:

Survivor
America's Next Top Model
Big Brother
Project Runway

4 Websites I visit:

www.etsy.com
www.shimanejets.org
www.craftser.org
www.cnn.com

4 Places I have Been on Vacaction:

Varadero, Cuba
All over, Thailand
Beijing, China
Boracay, Philippines

4 Favourite Foods:

Feta cheese
Pesto anything
Greek pizza with dipping sauce from Pana
Grilled ham and cheese sandwich

4 Places I would rather be right now:

On a beautiful beach
Hinsdale, Mass.
My Gramma's house
In bed

4 Bands I Can Listen to over and over again:

Dave Matthews Band
Gorillaz
Buena Vista Social Club
Repeat After Me

4 Pet Peeves:

People who clip their nails in front of me (NASTY)
Snorting and sniffing instead of blowing your nose
Drivers who don't stop at crosswalks
People who try to be something they are not

4 People I am Tagging:

Lena-chan
Pop Bitch
Leif even though he won't do it
Carole-muffin

Only displayed once a year!!

My wonderful friend Yuki invited me over to her parent's home a few weeks ago to see her daughter's Girl's Day doll display

All for this little cutie, Megumi-chan...

Yuki with her son Kai-chan and Megumi-chan.

Want to take a guess at how much this display cost???

I'm not the only one...

MY eagles have made national news again.

I was watching religiously until Shimane BOE decided to block streaming media. Now I can only get my fix in the evenings and on weekends. If you haven't checked it out yet, go here.

How EVIL are you?

60%??? I find it really difficult to believe that I am more evil than Lena (52%) or Erin (54%). Maybe it's because I have had a few more years to be evil?

You Are 60% Evil

You are evil, but you haven't yet mastered the dark side. Fear not though - you are on your way to world domination.

How Evil Are You?

Coolest Blanket Ever??

Hell YEAH!!
I just bought this baby blanket for a friend. LOVE IT!



Purchased from One Lucky Baby

I know you're all so curious

When will Gotsugirl leave Gotsu forever??? Take a look at my countdown.

It's like crack for crafters

Do you like crafts?

I do.

Check out the great crafting forums at Craftster.

For buying and selling of crafts check out Etsy.

Many sellers on Etsy will ship to international addresses...always appreciated!

Opening up the video vault

First, Rebecca and Gemma discuss the longest place name in the world.


Katy shows how the taiko game is REALLY supposed to be played.


A little 80's dance fever takes over the Shimane orientation 2005.

Erin introduces the beauty of Nishinoshima

Repeat After Me...turn up your volume!!!

Water Polo 2006

Over spring break I was fortunate enough to travel with my school's water polo team to the Junior Olympic Cup in Chiba ken. Actual water polo players, Katy and Craig, came with us as well.

To read the story and see the pictures please go to the album.

Thankful

By some amazing stroke of luck I still have unlimited internet access at my desk. This year the Shimane BOE decided that it would be too dangerous for teachers to have internet access at their desks, or so I was told.

Each day may be my last day...
But for now, everything is fine....

*looks over shoulder*

Eagle Cam

This is a live webcam of an eagle's nest on Hornby Island, BC.
The eggs are going to hatch later this month.
It's excellent quality and a little bit addictive.

Too excited for words!!

Rumor has it that HE is going to sit somewhere else next year!!! (Next year begins in about a week).

This is the greatest news I've heard in a long time.

It's like having a paper doll

I heard about this on the radio.

Dress Kevin "I didn't know what to wear so I made a website"

He has pictures of his wardrobe, including socks and accessories, for you to choose from. So you create an outfit and other people vote. The winning outfit is the one he wears that day, or to the gym, or for lounging on the couch, whatever.

He has gotten a sickening amount of press about this...

I picked out an outfit for him, but I don't think it will win cause a lot of the things have been worn recently (it tells you when things were last worn).

Yes, I have no classes today.

Interesting Blogs

Here are the winners and nominees of this year's Bloggies Awards. I particularly like the craft blogs, for example:

Not Martha
Angry Chicken

This one wasn't nominated but I found it by checking out the others. I fell in love with the cute little projects she has available, free, for download. Check it out...if you like that sort of thing.

Wee Wonderfuls

I'm thinking of trying this project with my ESS club:

Pointy Kitty

Picture it with really nice Japanese fabric.

Another Reason to Avoid the Japanese Medical System....

This happened in MY town!!! In MY local hospital!!! Unbelievable!!!! He was the grandfather of one of my students, and a local Shinto priest. Why would anyone do such a thing??

Patient, 79, strangled at hospital in Shimane

The Yomiuri Shimbun

A 79-year-old patient was found dead, apparently after being strangled, at a hospital in Gotsu, Shimane Prefecture, late Saturday, police said.
According to the police, two nurses at Saiseikai Gotsu General Hospital found Michiaki Kono dead in his bed on the hospital's third floor at about 11:25 p.m. Saturday. Marks around Kono's neck indicated he had been strangled, but police said they would perform an autopsy Sunday to determine the cause of death.
Kono's clothes were not disheveled and the room had not been ransacked, police said. Nurses at the hospital check on patients every few hours, but they found nothing unusual when they checked Kono at 9:30 p.m.
(Mar. 20, 2006)

Source

It's a Girl!!!

Welcome Erika Marlene!!!!

Born March 13th, 9:10pm, 5lbs 14oz

Congratulations to my cousin Steve, his wife Tracy, and big sisters Larissa and Dayna.

Happy Paddy's Day!!

Look what arrived in the mail today...

Good timing Kathy!

On a snowy Monday morning, which may explain the tone...

An Open Letter to My Colleagues

Maybe it's because I have no classes today, maybe it's because I'm cold and cranky, or maybe it's because I only have 85 more days of school(!!!!!!!), but I need to inform you of a few things....

• The sink in the bathroom is THE perfect place to brush your teeth. So WHY do you do it while sitting at your desk?
• If you need to practice your pronunciation leave the room, find a quiet place, and practice. DO NOT practice in the silent staff room where people are trying to work in peace.
• Stop smoking you filthy disgusting people.
• If you're too hot, take off your coat, don't open the window while it's fucking snowing outside and there are other teachers wrapping themselves in blankets.
• Stop running everywhere, you look retarded.
• Keep your shit off my desk, keep your ass off my chair, and don't even think about taking my pen.

My Japanese Subculture

You Are a Kogyaru!

If it's cute, you'll wear it. Fake and bake, hair bleach, and bright makeup line your bathroom cabinet.As for clothes - anything that's short and cute ("kawaii!").You are the prize object of all sorts of men - but you are really looking for a rich foreign guy.He'll find you out hanging out in Shibuya shopping at the 109, text messaging and sending photos over your cellphone.

What's" Your Japanese Subculture?

I'm not like this at all!! What the hell?

Graduation

Friday was grad. It was such a sad day for me. 3-4 class were the kids who made me feel so welcome when I first arrived here, they made up the majority of my english club, and they were such cool kids. I made them an english yearbook in the western style with superlatives like best smile, favortie movie, etc. It doesn't compare to their real yearbook which is gorgeous, with full color glossy pages, but I hope they like it, and maybe actually read it.

I feel a little lost knowing that I won't ever see most of them again. Lot's of students talk about studying in Canada or just visiting, but who will actually do it?

I hope they keep in touch. I'm still in touch with several students who I have taught over the years. When I was a student teacher I became friends with a student named Lisa. I was also able to use her for a case study assignment. We have been writing to each other since before she could properly write a sentence. She's in grade 6 now. Students like her make all the bullshit involved in teaching worth it.

Anyway...enough of that. Here are some pictures from grad.


Atsuki, Asagi, and I.


This is Daiki. It was touch-and-go for a while as to whether or not he would graduate. But he did!!! He's a sweetie pie.


A lovely girl named Shoko. She has a very bright future ahead of her.


This is the whole 3-4 class with their homeroom teacher.


These are the "baseball boys".


These are the current and some graduating members of the english club. We bought the grads tulips and made cards.


Asagi and Miyuki showing off their diploma holders.

It's About Time!!

Japan FINALLY got a medal!!!

Poor little Miki. She gets my sympathy for being a high school student, not for falling.

Sasha:

You beeeyyyaaatch!!! Don't you know I'm America's Sweetheart of The Moment?? It's all your fault that I fell, YOUR FAULT!!!!!!!

Shizuka:

Why is this crazy white girl touching me? Why is she putting her arms around me? What am I supposed to do? Ehhhhhhhhhh????????

Been inspired today?

Do you ever have that "I can't do it" attitude?

Check out what my friend Janet just did.

Go here to read the day-by-day diary.