Better, but busy!

This week is packed with a lot of things to do! But no packing or un-packing!
I still have boxes from our move in March that should be unpacked or thrown out. I was waiting for the Church Bazaar to get rid of some things but Church decided not to have one this year! Or at least, wait until Fall.
No packing of suitcases yet for our trip Stateside in August. I figure I'll do all three suitcases the first weekend of August and then we'll ship them to the airport to be there when we arrive. At least we know some friends who are going (by car) to Osaka on that day so we'll be able to ride along and not have to take the (two-three hour!) bus.

Tuesday was my last Agr. Coll. class for the summer. It was sooooo hot in the 3F classroom that I did 'speed teaching' (just the main points and not a lot of chalkboard writing) on three lessons (to end one chapter before the summer break) and let both classes out 30 mins. early. Doing this with the last class allowed me to catch an earlier train and was back home about 30-40 mins. earlier than usual. I even got my connecting train out of the big station right away, whereas I usually have to wait 10-15 mins. for the train going closest to my house. I was at the top of the stairs, making my way slowly down when one of the Station Masters said, 'This is Nagao. You want it?' and I said, 'Oh. Yes!' and hurried down the rest of the stairs to get on to the slightly-less-crowded-than-the-next-scheduled-train!

Do have two days of 'Summer Church School' to go to today and tomorrow. Today is 'Cooking in English'. We'll be making banana fritters (basically, hot cake mix with banana and fried like donuts). Tomorrow is a basic English class for kids. Doing a lot of the same things as the usual Friday class but more songs and ABC work and just words instead of any difficult sentences. The three boys who usually come on Fridays will be there, plus three or four other kids.

Hubby-Tak will not have dinner at home for two nights this week. He has a couple get-togethers associated with work. So it will just be a simple meal with the two boys and I. Pizza or cassarole or spaghetti or..... something like that.

It has been super, SUPER hot, hot, HOT! all over Japan. And very hot here too. (North of Tokyo is getting a lot of rain still.) It doesn't seem like the middle of summer, since the kids just got out of school (last day on July 18th) but compaired to summer in the States, ....it is the middle of their summer vacation! We will be leaving on the 6th if we don't melt here first! Airconditioners come on early in the afternoon and stay on (low) all night long. Pajamas get washed every day and we pulled the heavy winter blankets out and washed them last night too. Laundry dries in a couple of hours instead of taking all day long. Bedsheets will be in the wash over the weekend.

Good days and Bad days....

I didn't want to be so negative here. I'll write more upbeat stuff later on.... just not today.

This week is very hot, and humid. Most days I just want to take a cool shower and go back to bed. Instead I veg'ed in front of the TV for a couple hours before I could get even enough energy to wash the breakfast dishes! Most of it's due to the heat and PMS and Menopause and .... and.... and....! I've been re-adjusting my meds again, too so that throws me off the first few days.

Anyway, I'll write more later when I'm not dragging.

Not without a clue. Heights cont.

Tak knows that heights bother me, it isn't like he planned on us sitting in the highest seats he could find! We were just not accustomed to that auditorium and didn't know the layout of the seating. I know I was surprised to find myself on the 2F balcony that first time and got myself into a jittery, hyperventilating mess on my own. Those seats were perfectly fine later, especially compaired to the 3F balcony seats! You know how an auditorium is built so that even the seats on the first floor are sloped upwards near the back? The 2F seats seemed higher than a second story on a building and the 3F seats were higher than that! Especially when you end up looking 'down' at a very small stage. Like looking thru the wrong end of a telescope.

One other time, when I was pregnant with one of the boys (maybe the first---could explain his fear!), we had tickets to a comedy show (stand-ups plus a long skit) and our seats ended up being in the balcony! I didn't enjoy the show as much as I could have (it was all in Japanese anyway and I only 'got' half of the jokes) with my arms cramping up from holding on to the armrests so tightly the whole time. Another time I was with MIL and we saw a traditional Japanese Geisha performance from the balcony seats, but the theater was really small so it wasn't even like being a story high. And we were a row away from the edge, which usually helps.

I never liked riding in the car going up a mountain and being on the 'valley' side of the road! Rather be on the 'mountain' side. Remember Fire Watch Towers? US Forestry Service? My parents loved to drive up the mountains to those towers and go up, look around, talk to the Forest Ranger,.....! Totally scare me shitless even thinking about climbing all those stairs! I got hauled up there once on my dad's back when I was 8-10 years old (old enough to climb the stairs myself... which my 'year younger' brother demonstrated!) I was ok once I was up there and didn't look straight down or go too close to the edge. BUT was sure glad to go back down to the ground!

I've lived in tall apartment buildings before. The last one we were on the second of five floors. Which was just perfect for me. I could have dealt with living on the third floor even, but no higher. We often went up to the fifth floor of the neighboring building to watch fireworks during the summer but I usually stay away from the edge and stand with my back to a wall. There's a new apartment building just finished in our old neighborhood. Twenty-one stories high! I bet they can see all the way to the Harbor from there! Even tho the promotionals are all about seeing into the large park five blocks away!
I was in an 8th floor apartment (of a 9F building) for about a year and a half, but seldom went out on to the balcony. And especially never looked straight down. I did spend one weekend in an 11th floor apartment but couldn't sleep in the corner bedroom. I just had the strange feeling that the floor was sloped to the outside wall and I was going to slide off the bed into thin air! Didn't help matters that there was a grave yard right. below. the. window!!

I do think that the experience of the strange auditorium did something to my fear.... like put it in high gear. One of the escalators that I can ride with no problem (it's in a tall department store and is right next to a whole wall of windows that look out over the city) kind of gave me the shivers the other day. AND because it was evening and the sun was setting, the blinds had been pulled over the windows! So it wasn't like I was looking straight out over the city. Probably just not what I'm accustomed to, I guess. I'll have to visit all my 'Ok with it' tall places now and get used to them all over again.

Hate any movie with scenes looking down from tall buildings. (There is a Tom Selleck movie I'm thinking about.... Lots of robots and he's a policeman who has to fight the bad guys on the 42nd or 49th floor of a building under construction.... lots of open spaces!). http://www.starpulse.com/movie/Runaway/V42331/0/0/

Can ride in a outside elevator. Like the Space Needle in Seattle. But only if there are people between me and the windows and I shut my eyes and breath slowly.

And, why, why, WHY do builders put those clear panels in the floor of observation towers??!! You can look straight down thru them and they are (supposedly!!) strong enough to stand on! But you'll never find me near one of those! ((shudder))

Terror. Blind Fear.

The boys have been getting off from school early every day and my time at the computer has been limited to a few hours in the morning. After housework and stuff, of course.

It's been getting really hot recently now that Rainy Season is over for us (Tokyo and further north are still getting rained on today). Our weather report for the week are mostly just little sun symbols with the occasional cloud.

I had one class cancel on me this week so I spent yesterday at home in the morning and then went out on my bicycle to check out a couple stores in our old neighborhood. One drugstore I had to visit to change the mailing address for the postcard advertisements they send out every week or so. It was a nice ride, tho a bit long in the hot sun. Last Thursday I went out riding as well and got a little sunburned on my arms. The mosquito bites are finally healing. One area on my right arm looks like I've been mainlining drugs! But even those spots are healed now.
I only have two more classes this week, Friday and Saturday. Then next week is only Friday since the Elementary School is heading into summer vacation and is busy with Summer Trip Planning Meetings and the actual trip.

Now about the title.
I am terrified of heights. Have been for as long as I can remember. There are a few places I can stand now for short periods of time (escalators and stairwells) but there are some places I totally avoid. Balcony seats for one. A couple weeks ago, Tak, Masaki and I went to a Military Band Concert. It was great. We got seats on the first floor near the door and could see all the instruments. Then a week ago, Tak and I went to see some JHS Bands (including the one Masaki belongs to but didn't play in for that concert). There were 20-30 bands. They only had one song each so it was a lot of 'on stage/off stage' with a five minute piece in between. Tak and I went by car and first went to the same concert hall as the Military Bands, but found out it was in a different building down the street that we both have never been to a concert in before. When we finally got there, there were about three or four groups before Masaki's JHS Band so we went to one door and waited for the song to end (students at the doors wouldn't let anyone enter until then) and when the door finally opened I saw that it was the second floor balcony seat! I walked around behind Tak, staying as far away from the edge as I could but we didn't see any empty seats. I was kind of getting myself in a state anyway and pushed past a lot of students coming in so that we could get out of there. Next we waited outside of another door and as soon as it opened I realized that we were now looking at seats on the THIRD floor balcony!! How we got there I don't know. We had gone up and down a lot of stairs looking for another entrance into the auditorium. I just looked at Tak and said, 'I can't sit here! I can't. I can't.' 'What? Are you scared?' I ran out of there and went down as many stairs as I could with tears in my eyes and finally Tak caught up to me on the ground floor. We went in between songs and saw that most of the seats here were reserved for the JHS students after they had finished their song so they could see the other bands. We left that area and finally found two seats on the first floor balcony (about where we had started in the first place!) and I could sit down in the second row not right at the edge. There was a little girl (about 10) with her mother in front of me to the right and the girl would stand up and LOOK OVER THE EGDE!! A couple of times I wanted to pull her back and ask her to sit down! But mostly I just tried not to look at her, using my folding fan (it was hot in the auditorium and I keep it in my bag) to block her out of my line of sight. After one song finished, Tak could come in and join me, first sitting a couple seats away until the people saving the seats between us finally came and moved their bags. After two groups had played, my heart had finally settled down so that I could relax my fingers and toes and not grip the armrest and floor so hard! I was starting to get cramps in my arms and legs!!

I don't ride ferris wheels for the same reason. I don't mind the ride, but I hate that part where you are stuck at the very top while people are getting on or off of the seats exactly opposite yours. Ferris wheels in Japan are worse. They are not like rides where you go around and around about twenty times and then get off. They are HUGE wheels where ONE revolution takes between FIVE to TWENTY minutes!! All very slow so that you can see out as far as you can to enjoy the scenery..... Unless! You are scared out of your mind! I've only been on a few and have had to really gear myself up for it. The last one was a year, year and a half? ago. It was a small wheel on the top of a Bookstore near the harbor and it was a fine sunny day. So, Tak and I went up. I was ok until we got in and they shut the door of the little capsule,... Then I wanted OUT/OFF as soon as possible! It was about a ten minute ride and I spent most of it with my eyes shut imagining I'm sitting in a car or something on. the. ground. Tak has learned not to talk to me or try to get me to open my eyes during this time. As soon as the capsule reaches the apex (tip top) and is on it's way down, THEN I can open my eyes and enjoy the view. But it's that 'going up' feeling that I can't handle. I've ridden ferris wheels in the States during the summer and could finally open my eyes for the whole revolution if I made sure to look to the side and not at the center spokes of the wheel.

My mother is also scared of heights and has overcome most of it (along with her fear of horses) and Oldest Son, Shori is also scared of heights (looking out of windows in tall buildings). AND he's the one who wants to be a pilot!! Go figure.
Next time, I'll write about my fear of snakes and spiders.....! No, maybe not! We've had enough of bringing up bad memories here for the time being.

Fence Karma

(I've added some pictures of the outside of the house; front and back. Including the old back wall and new privacy fence)

Three months.
Three months ago, before we even moved in, they tore down the cement wall around our back area (not really big enough to be called a 'yard') and put up a metal privacy fence. I told you before that the guys who put it up did a terrible job and Hubby Tak was all upset because of the spaces between the poles and the top of the fence not even being level. Even I could see what a crappy job it was! So a different crew came out and fixed it up, but didn't check or change the depth of the anchoring poles and so the whole thing had to be dug up and re-anchored. That happened a month or two ago. (Scroll back to see exact dates) When they had finished, Tak still said that the spaces between the poles and the fence panels were too wide. So the crew came in again and tighted that up. After that, Tak went out again and looked around and took more pictures to send to his friend who works in the fencing office and they decided that there is too much space between the bricks and the bottom of the fencing!! I'm more of an opinion that 'Enough is enough already! Let it be.' but Tak and Fence Friend still say 'It's not done if it's not done right'. So I guess another guy or crew is going to come this morning and lay a few more bricks!

We've been having some very hot and humid days in between the rainy days. Hopefully, it will have rained enough during these last few weeks to fill up behind the dam (in another prefecture but our only main source of water for the city) so we won't have a lack of water during the summer. In our old apartment, one year we had water rationing (only using the water during a set time during the day) and stored some water in a big bucket in the kitchen (for washing, not drinking) but never ran out of water that was stored in a tank on the roof. In-laws had well water not city pipes so they didn't have to worry about it. You can still see signs outside of some houses (usually the ones with great gardens and lots of plants) that say 'Well Water'. But, I don't know about this house. We may have our water level (for the whole neighborhood) turned down so that water is not consumed at a high rate. We now have a shower and a bath and will probably be taking more showers in the summer. But I still like to fill the bath and have everyone use that water (only have to fire up the water heater once!) and the water is still warm in the morning for a quick dip. I sweat a lot at night, especially during the summer, and like to just jump into the tub to cool off and rinse off in the mornings.

Tak has also been asking if we need an air conditioner in the kitchen. We could probably get a window unit pretty easily. But I just say to hold off for this year, see how hot it is, and then get one for next year if we really need it. We are going to be gone for two weeks the first part of August anyway and do have a wall fan that works well enough right now. Even with the windows closed and no fans running, the middle rooms are fairly cool. Don't know how much of that will change once summer really starts, but for now it's fine.