Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Family Registers and other fun errands

So, if all the moons and stars align, we will be moving this Saturday. It's been a harrowing few days playing "float the money" with our bank in the U.S. while we try and wire the funds to meet our closing on Friday.

I've spent yesterday and today trying to get everything ready for the closing. I had to change our family register to our new address so Kazuya can get our mortgage. Japan still has the same antiquated system that Joseph and Mary had 2007 years ago. My husband is the head of household and his place of domicile is registered in his hometown. If you want to do anything, you need a copy of your family register. Technically, you can't change your address until after you move, but you can't move until you close and you can't close unless you have a family register in your new address. Sound like a Catch-22? I just smiled and lied when the nice man behind the counter at City Hall asked me when the move took place. At least I'm not 9 months pregnant, riding on a donkey and heading to the backwoods of the promised land.

Everything in Japan requires forms. I filled out a ton of forms at City Hall to move our address. Oh wait, that's right, I moved my husband and sons' address. Since I'm a foreigner, I'm not on his family register. I had to fill out a separate form to move my Alien Card address. This is in addition to the forms I had to fill out to get copies of all the new registers. And I had to pay 1200 yen ($10) to get copies of the register and hanko registration.

Because I hadn't had my fill of filling out forms in Kanji (Chinese characters), I decided to go to the bank and transfer the contract money to the construction company. After filling out all the forms in Kanji along with the furigana (phonetic syllabary) reading for those Kanji, I got to take out the big hanko (seal) and spend 840 yen ($8) to transfer the money. I get to do the same thing on Friday, but I get to send a really large sum of money that hopefully is in our account since we are waiting for the wire to go through...

It will all be worth it to have a mosquito free condo with running hot water.

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Land Mine

I bought Tak a blue zipper vest at Sun Live (pronounced Sun Lee-bu). He looks like he's defusing land mines in it. Think Princess Di in Africa about a month before she met her maker, and that's the fashion statement my youngest is making.

The vest was my latest effort to combat the encroaching cold weather. After sweating through September and enjoying the nice weather of October, November has decided to turn cold. The in-laws broke out the kerosene heater and my mother-in-law tried to buy Tak a really ugly Winnie the Pooh vest to keep him warm. I ix-nayed that purchase and as a compromise, bought his flak vest.

I'm trying to convince the laws that they need to get rid of the kerosene stove that they use to heat their duplex. It smells, it's dangerous, and it's not that much cheaper than electricity. Problem is, they like to boil water in a kettle on top. Hmmm, nothing says "safety" than a steaming kettle of boiling water on top of a glowing red heater within arm's reach of your toddler. They've humored my overdeveloped sense of safety by turning it off and moving it out of reach when Tak is around, but that won't work in the depths of winter. I miss central heating.

At least the colder weather is slowing down the mosquitoes. I only killed four of them this morning. Three more weeks until we move from the hellhole...

Saturday, November 17, 2007

Why won't he just go to sleep...

I only have the four year-old with me this evening, since Grandma has adopted the one year-old and he's slept with her every night for the past week. I'm wishing I had the one year-old since the four year-old (hereafter referred to as FYO) is refusing to go to sleep. God knows he is tired, but he won't budge.

Have I mentioned the battles I'm having with him these days? I'm ignoring him at the moment in the hopes that he will give up and go to bed. I tried the positive parenting about 30 minutes ago. I read him books, I tucked him in bed (well, actually, in futon), and I left the door open a crack as he requested. When he popped out, I gave him a loving reminder that he doesn't have to sleep, he just has to stay on the futon.

Instead, he raided the Costco box and asked me what the big box of couscous was. I explained and led him back to his futon. He popped out again and I tried bribery and threats. "Daddy will bring you back a present from Germany if I tell him what a good sleeper you've been." When that didn't work, I told him that his present will go to his brother if he doesn't go to sleep. (Okay, not exactly one of the techniques recommended in "Siblings Without Rivalry" but I just wanted time to surf the web and get some things done.)

Neither bribe nor threat worked, so I'm now ignoring him. He's whined at me, taken off his pajama top, tried to rip up the fake lino floor, found a one yen coin and stuck it 3mms from my eye. I'm shocked he hasn't slapped the keyboard yet, but he has tapped my arm in a moderately threatening way. I'm determined to ignore him and open a beer soon.

I could cave and lie down with him, but sometimes I just need to prove that I have the stronger will. I have a friend who said it wasn't the terrible twos or even the threes that did her in, it was the f--king fours that she had to survive. Amen.

Friday, November 16, 2007

Pilgrimage to Costco

Just returned from a trip to Fukuoka and a pilgrimage to Costco. The gods of commerce demand a high price. I spent close to $300 and I'm not even sure what I bought. I love Costco. The non-materialist in me screams as I admit that, but there is something so relaxing about strolling the aisles of a warehouse. It would be more relaxing if I didn't have two small children with me, but at least Grandma and Grandpa were trying to keep tabs on them.

I admired the large snack selections, the American and Japanese sized clothing, the Belgian chocolates, and of course, the bakery items. I bought a pumpkin pie which we ate at my sister-in-law's house. I debated the frozen turkey, but since I don't have an oven, it was a moot point. I wanted to buy the six-foot tall artificial Christmas tree, but even my mother-in-law's mini-van would not hold it and all the crap that we lugged from Hikari to Fukuoka for a four day visit.

I'll end this here, while I munch on peanut butter filled pretzels and Disney animal crackers. My only regret is that I forgot to buy baby wipes. And maybe a box of chocolate...

Saturday, November 10, 2007

Contemplating my fuzzy navel

I shipped my husband off to Germany today. I thought I handled it rather well. I took the boys to the Child Baby Station at the Social Welfare center and they played for a couple of hours. We came back for a nice meal at Grandma and Grandpa's. The boys got bathed and then I left Tak with Grandma for the night while I took Kai home with me to the hellhole.

All is calm in my 3DK apartment and so I'm blogging and drinking a canned fuzzy navel. What's more zen than navel gazing? The 5% alcohol also helps too.

I'm still struggling with what my role is going to be for the next few years. I feel like Berlin after the wall fell. Giddy with new freedom, but scared sh-tless that I'll miss the tyranny of my former life. There is something to be said for the devil you know.

So, I'll keep on writing and set some new goals. I'll make some new friends and miss my old ones. I'll try to remember to parent positively when all I really want to do is yell horrible things at my 4 year-old. I'll apologize to the same 4 year-old when snarly mom appears and actually yells those things. I'll remind myself that it's the journey, not the destination, and smoother roads lie ahead. And when everything else fails, I'll remember that in 35 days I get to move to a brand new condo where I don't have to worry as much about the mosquitoes, cockroaches, sewer gas and lead paint.

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

My first blog

It was inevitable that I would start a blog. Considering that I've been writing in notebooks and sending emails for the last few years, it's the next step. First, let me explain Zenbei. It's a play on words. Most people know the concept of Zen. My life is hardly zen-like. Just ask my sister who watched me still trying to clear out my 2400 square foot house only hours before I got on the plane to Japan. It is my hope that relocating my family to rural Yamaguchi prefecture in Japan will be the start of a new enlightenment. Then there is the "Bei" part. Bei is the Kanji character for rice. It is one of the ironies of Japanese that the character that represents America is
rice.

So zen + bei = meditative American.

In case that is too clever, you should know that my first choice for a blog name was Squid on a Stick, but it was taken. There is also another part to the name. A senbei (not zenbei) is a rice cracker. Since I' m living in the Japanese equivalent of Georgia, I thought I should pay homage to all the crackers in my life.

I hope to post more soon.