At Disney's

A friend of mine took me and Vimme to Tokyo Disneyland today. The weather was nice and sunny and the kid wasn't on his worst mood.

Keiyo Line had suspended the operation, thanks to a small fire at Tokyo Station early the same morning and that's why we decided to walk to Disney Resort from Shin-Kiba - which is at least an hour's walk. Vimme took a nap while we walked, which I thank-god-or-anything for.

Three hours at the park went fine, but after that both I and the kid got tired and then we headed back home. When I asked Vimme what had been the best, he said 'The Dancing', by which he ment the Parade. My kid is into parades! I wonder where that gene comes from.

Vimme/Benny/Daikon

Vimme is pretending to speak English. Of course it is his own personal version of the language and fully incomprehensible. That doesn't have any effect on the fact that it sounds terribly cute. When he speaks his English, his name is Benny.

His other recent alterego is the God of Daikon raddish from Miyazaki's film 'Spirited away'. While being the Daikon god, he doesn't speak at all.

I have started to buy things to bring home, like extra tubes of Wasabi and packages of Origami papers from 100 Yen shop and such. There are still some other things I will buy before leaving, but not a lot and nothing heavy.

Talking About a Product Without Mentioning What It Is - And All That For No Particular Reason

The kid got caught by the Ultraman today.

I should concider become supporter of this product - or I should have done that a long ago already: another friend of mine has praised the object and said that every woman should use it. But it seems I have to hear more than one recommendation before I believe thigs are the way they say things are.

I Said No

A guy in our yard wanted to interview me for a Japanese TV. I said politely no and told him I am shy - I am! - and he went to hunt for another gaijin for his needs. So, now I missed my 15 minutes of fame.

My Little Agneta

The kid spent all day watching and listening to ABBA. He danced and sang along when Agneta and Frida did their wonderful performances.

At some point he told me that: "You are her", pointing at Frida, " and I am her", pointing at Agneta. Well, hair colours do match. And who said that gender mattered anyway.

One Of These

Here is another one of these things. These are fun to do, godknows if anyone has patience to read them. But who cares - here we go!

Things that scare me.
1. all kinds of fundamentalism
2. religious fanatics
3. seeing my morning-face in a mirror

People who make me laugh.
1. my kid
2. my friends
3. anybody in a right situation

Things I hate most.
1. religious fanatics
2. racism
3. elbowing old ladies (an international phenomena)

Things I don't understand.
1. child abusers
2. wars
3. why can't I be Katharine Hebburn

Things I'm doing right now
1. house-wifing
2. getting ready for the big move back to Europe
3. letting my hair to have a life on its own

Things I want to do before I die.
1. finish my studies - should be easy
2. see my kid grown up
3. have a work I love, without being a workaholic... but I don't see that kind of -holism happening to me

Things I can do.
1. draw and paint
2. knit
3. leave my dignity home when I go to karaoke

Ways to describe my personality.
1. hysterical - in a "running from wall to wall and screaming" way
2. uptight - no patience at all
3. do I have a personality?

Things I can't do.
1. advanced yoga asanas
2. recognize expensive handbags - other than ugly LVs
3. drink a lot two days in row

Things I think you should listen to.
1. people who talk to me
2. my instincts
3. I beg your pardon?

Things you should never listen to.
1. people who think they know what is good for me
2. gossips
3. cheesy country music first thing in the morning

Things I'd like to learn.
1. to fly an airplane
2. japanese
3. to take it easy

Favorite foods.
1. sushi
2. sushi
3. sushi

Beverages I drink regularly.
1. coffee
2. water
3. beer

Shows I watched as a kid.
1. Charlie's Angels
2. Star Trek
3. Finnish stuff you wouldn't know anyway

Sumo Rocks!

Oh god. I have been born again: I love sumo!

Today we went to see sumo wrestling at Ryogoku Kokugikan (Tokyo's Sumo Stadium... or what ever it would be called in english - or in finglish... hmm, but finglish I can define myself, so let's say it's a stadium).

I already enjoyed watching sumo on TV - when we still had a TV long ago in Europe. Now I saw the whole spectacle live and I can say that if I had a chance I would be there watching the game every helluva day of the tournament.

Today I was there with M and the kid and our Japanese friends - a family with two small kids. Of course it's not as relaxing to watch the game with children as it would be without them, but kids aren't an obstacle either - nobody seemed to give another thought to kids being kids, which means, not sitting still and jumping on everything.

So, if you are living in Tokyo and you haven't seen sumo yet, then you better get your bones to Ryogoku at once and see it yourself. It's extreamly enjoyable.

Knock, Knock, Knock...

My friend left for Finland this morning. It's a cold and rainy day. I haven't gone out else than to get food from the closest convenience store. But none of that really matters or makes me sad or anything, because (happy, happy, joy, joy) - the kid hasn't got a tantrum today... yet.

Yes, I am frantically knocking on wood at the moment.

Stitch Report

Stitches have been removed from kid's head. I wish he won't get another stitch on his head ever again.

My friend went to Kamakura today and I stayed back home with the kid. When she came back, she told about a place I have missed on my visits there: a Fox God's Shrine on a forest hill. That's where I go on my next visit to Kamakura.

Foggy Nikko

Yesterday we went to Nikko. The kid stayed home with M and that way I had a chance to focus on enjoying what I saw.

Nikko's temples were beautiful and area's atmosphere was nice and peaceful, though the place was quite crowded. The air was good to breath and foggy weather didn't bother us at all. It was a nice trip.

On friday we went to Karaoke again. Boy, I love it. Now I can say: if I go to Karaoke I have to sing Ramone's Blitzkrieg Bop. I've done it every time so far.

How To Eat Sushi

Here's an informative video telling people how to eat sushi. My favourite part of it is when they tell what to say when you pour a drink or when you are holding a glass while someone is pouring a drink for you.

A Wednesday

Yesterday my friend spent a successfull shopping day at Shibuya on her own. She even bought a pair of glasses at a shop where no one spoke English. The eye sight test was a bit tricky though, they showed Japanese kanji letters and she was supposed to name them... maybe it was a language test. All the same, she came back home with a new look.

Me and the kid stayed at home and I scrubbed the washing basin, like that would solve the problem of world hunger and end all the wars. Maybe it does, maybe I should just scrub harder.

In the evening we went for a walk and I took this picture.

The kid is screaming - I better go.

Dinner at Tim's Place

Me and my Finnish friend went to Tim's place last night for a dinner ( Jo was there too and another friend of ours, plus - of course - Tim's Beast). It was a fun night and the day after (today that is) wasn't hang-over-wise as bad as I expected it to be. I was just very tired.

Tim prepared a lovely dinner: smooth veggie soup, salad, fried mushrooms and tasty crepes. We ate a lot and drank even more ( I had Pimms for the first time in my life). At that state of my drunkeness, where I usually start telling stupid, endless anecdotes and bad jokes to anybody who cares to listen, we went to karaoke. So this time, instead of making fool of myself by telling bad jokes and such, I did that by bellowing my lungs out in a karaoke booth. But boy it was fun!

A Stitch In Time Saves Nine?

The kid got stitches on his head again. This time he fell off an armchair and hit the back of his head on a table on his way down to the floor. The good thing is that he didn't get other more serious injuries on his head than a wound. He is carrying his clip-stiches with pride and he is fine. I am not so sure about myself.