CHESS 2006

To see the rest of the 180 pictures go here.

The POWER of a Blog

A Canadian man traded his way from a red paperclip to a free house.

Read the story here.

This is what happens when you pair a bored ALT with a bored exchange student

Tom started a blog!! Please check out Hamada Guy!!

and no, I didn't influence his name choice.

JAGS Hamada Exhibit

Tom and I visited the JET Art Group Shimane 2006 Changing Perspectives exhibit at the Hamada Children's Museum. Foreigners from all over Shimane submitted their art. I made a squid and an octopus, by far the most superior art in the show!! haha

My babies and I.

Tom admires Katy's gorgeous crocheted blanket.

Donna's crocheted tree made from used grocery bags.

Travis' paintings.

Nathan's mixed media.

Tom with my display. I set up a small draw box for whoever wanted to enter and win the octopus and squid.

Fun Times on the Gonogawa River

Who's a Naughty Girl?

I'm a naughty girl!!

I had my Imagestation account deactivated due to innapropriate images!!! I had no idea which images were offensive so I contacted them via chat and found out that my Naked Man Festival pictures were "offensive due to nudity".

So congratulations Shimane guys, your asses are so ugly they got me in trouble!!

It's all fixed now, but I had to delete the album.

I guess "cultural experience" counts for nothing if you have a big hairy gaijin ASS. They had no problem with my sumo wrestling album...but I guess those guys weren't grabbing each other!

The long wait is over!

I've FINALLY received information about my successor and I'm just so excited!!

I sent her an email and want her to write back NOW but I'm sure it's like 4 in the morning in the states. I have so much to tell her.

She sounds like a lovely person who will fit in nicely.

*leaves to check email again....*

My friend Kathy started a blog. Check it out and leave comments so that she is encouraged to write more.

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???