Buckling Up and Down

My posting will be spottier over the next several days because a lot of freelance work has come my way this week. Every evening, I'm on the phone from 2.5 to 4.5 hours doing level tests and I got almost 100 reports (each is 4 pages long) to correct today. This is on top of my usual complement of private students.

Since the phone tests run until 10:30 pm, I had to arrange for meals for the 4 nights I'm doing them so I made a vat of chicken stir-fry last night. It's a bit like stocking up for a long, harsh winter. While the stir fry is tasty, I'm sure my husband and I will get rather sick of it after a few days and desire more variation. Given the way things have been going expense-wise for us though, it's just as well that I'm getting more work (as you'll see below).

Life as of late has been incredibly busy. It reminds me quite a lot of how we used to spend nearly every weekend when we lived in the U.S. running errands. This past weekend was full of little chores and tasks that ate up free time and generally made for a less relaxing time of it. The worst part of it was that so many of the things seemed like time and effort spent for no tangible results. Among others:

• My husband called and made an appointment for a health check-up and got one for the next day. Despite having an appointment, he had to wait a very long time to have his tests done and the doctor was woefully uninterested in really giving him a proper look. Japanese doctors never want to spend much time with patients because they get paid by the person. Even though my husband paid cash and it was not cheap (about $300) for his care, he was given very cursory treatment. My husband has to wait for test results now so he walked away no wiser than he walked in.
  
• We contacted Toshiba about repairing some problems with our oven. It's had a sticky time-setting knob for a very long time but it's gotten to the point where it's very frustrating and difficult to set the time for either baking or microwave cooking. The lower left hand corner of the door also was cracked and the glass in the front (it's got two panels of glass - one in front and one in back) is slipping down because of it. Toshiba sent someone over the next day but he said they couldn't fix it for sure and the attempt would cost 20,000 yen (about $180) and a new oven would cost about 35,000 yen. They claimed the knob problem was a circuit board issue but this doesn't explain why it turns more easily when it is warm. I can't help thinking a can of WD-40 would repair it but I've never seen it sold in Japan. We paid him about $30 for making the trip and nothing got fixed. We're probably going to have to buy a new oven at some point.
  
• In an attempt to further tempt fate regarding an upgrade to our internet connection (see my post on our brief and painful flirtation with cable internet if you don't know what I'm referring to), we contacted NTT about our ADSL connection. It turns out that our connection is not 1.5 Mbps as we thought. It's a 12 Mbps. connection. Upgrading to the maximum possible speed will take it to 49 Mbps though they don't guarantee the speed. We decided to opt for the upgrade because it'll only cost about $3 more per month than our current connection. NTT is going to mail us a new modem and I've got to install it myself on Monday, April 9. The switch in service is supposed to occur some time in the morning and I'll know when to swap modems because our old one will just stop working. Here's hoping it all goes smoothly.
• My husband is going to the U.S. to visit his family in late May and he contacted the travel agency about the documentation he needs to complete. They were supposed to send it via e-mail but he hadn't heard from them in over a week. They promised to send the necessary paperwork via snailmail, but, of course, they have not done so.

Sometimes you do your best to get on top of things and still end up feeling like a hamster on a wheel getting nowhere. This has been one of those weeks.

Mustard-Dill Burgers

I'd been holding off on posting this recipe until I made these burgers again and could use a picture in the post but I took ten pictures and they all pretty much turned out badly. My biggest problem with shots of food (because I have a consumer-level camera and am not an especially great photographer) is that the flash is so strong that it blows out all the detail rather easily.


With a burger which is relatively pale in color anyway because it is made with chicken, this can look like quite the wash-out. The picture above was the best of the shots and I had to try and burn in some details using Photoshop's adjustment features and tools (which is why the cheese looks an odd color) and it still didn't work very well. Photoshop is great but it can't bring out detail which isn't already there.

Anyway, try not to let the picture dissuade you from trying this recipe. If you like burgers with dill pickles and mustard, you will probably like this. As always, you should consider adjusting the spices to suit your preferences.

Mustard-Dill Burgers:

• 1 kg. or approximately 2 lbs. ground meat
• 1 tbsp. yellow or brown mustard
  
• 2 tbsp. sour cream
• 1 tbsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 tbsp. onion powder
• 2 tsp. dried dill
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 1 tsp. salt
• olive oil (small amount for frying) or cooking spray

Place the ground meat in a large bowl and add all the other ingredients. Use a large spoon to work everything together as evenly as possible. Working in the sour cream will be difficult though so you may want to put on food-handling gloves and mix it with your hands or you can soften the sour cream a bit in the microwave to aid in the mixing. I recommend gloves because the mustard may stain your hands and will definitely get under your nails. Shape the burgers into patties (I make 6 but it depends on the size of the burgers you prefer). Wrap each patty in plastic wrap and allow it to sit in the refrigerator. This will help them hold their shape better while cooking as well as allow the spices to work their way in. Fry the burgers, covered, in a large lightly-greased skillet until fully-cooked. Serve with cheese and mayonnaise if desired.

Phony Business

The news of the murder of a Nova teacher has inspired a lot more discussion about safety in Japan among everyone living here, foreigners and Japanese alike. My husband brought up the topic of the relative vulnerability of women in Tokyo to one of his long-time regular students. He asked her if she felt women were safe or not.

During this discussion, the student relayed a personal experience of hers which was rather interesting. She said that she received a phone call from a policeman from the Setagaya police station saying that a crime had occurred in her area and he wanted to come by her apartment and speak with her about it. Since she doesn't live in Setagaya and wasn't aware of witnessing any criminal activity, she asked the man what his name was and he said "Tanaka". In Japan, saying your name is "Tanaka" is equivalent to saying your name is "Smith" in the United States. The generic name made her even more suspicious and she asked the man to give her his station's telephone number so that she could call and verify his identity. At this point, the man hung up on her.

About a week later, a policeman arrived at her door and she asked him to give his name and station number so she could verify his identity. He did offer the information and she double-checked on his authenticity while he stood outside for five minutes or so and waited. It turned out that he was the real deal and she let him in. When she explained the situation to him, he said that, while he was inconvenienced, he felt that she did the right thing and her caution was prudent.

During the discussion with my husband, the student said that, while she felt Tokyo was generally safe, that she felt women should be diligent about potentially suspicious situations. One thing that this situation reinforced with me was a feeling I've had for quite some time that the Japanese feel less safe than foreigners do in Japan. I think part of the reason for this is that they are subjected to more suspicious behavior than we are, particularly in terms of telephone calls, as I've also had students who have complained of the being harassed by phone.

Another reason why I've felt that the Japanese feel less secure on the whole is that I've asked some of my female students what factored into their choice of teacher and have been told that the neighborhood and general set-up of the area between the station and the teacher's home has been pretty important. Important factors include not only the distance from the station but also whether or not the path has a lot of lighting and is in a well-trafficked area or is relatively isolated. In other words, the students aren't happy to walk along darker back streets which are off the beaten path.

Back when I was working at Nova and I told students what location I lived in, they would tell me they felt that my area was a relatively dangerous one. Though I've never felt it was especially dangerous, I've since read that my area is a high break-in area and my students must have been aware of crime statistics of which I was not aware.

When I talk to the Japanese people around me about security and safety in Japan, I get the feeling that foreigners experience a sort of 'reverse indoctrination' regarding the topic compared to the experience Japanese people have when going abroad. That is, they hear only about how dangerous other places are so they are very wary and we mainly hear about how safe Japan is so we blithely go about our business. Just as Japanese who travel abroad sometimes worry too much, we probably sometimes worry too little.

Happy Anniversary (to Me)

The only piece of jewelry I wear.

My husband and I actually celebrate two anniversaries and this one is the one other people recognize as valid but we tend to view as less significant. Today is our 18th wedding anniversary. Time does fly when you're having fun. :-)

Unlike most little girls, I never grew up dreaming of big, frothy wedding or wearing a frilly gown. In fact, I grew up thinking I'd never marry at all and generally having a negative impression of the institution. Even after falling in love with my husband (who I've stated on several occasions is so wonderful that he should qualify for living god-hood), I didn't really care if we made it legal or not. My husband, on the other hand, did want to get married though he probably wouldn't have resisted if I'd have had more serious objections.

Circumstances ended up dictating to some extent when we had to get married as we were planning on coming to Japan and we knew that the visa situation might be a problem if we weren't legally tethered and one of us failed to get a job which provided visa sponsorship. We chose April 1st because it fell within the window of opportunity before my husband planned to fly off (alone) to Japan and find a job and because it was a memorable date. This has the added bonus of adding some depth and meaning (at least to us) to what is surely one of the most moronic and juvenile holidays in the history of civilization.

Our wedding was very small with only about 20 people in attendance. It was held in my in-law's home. My mother-in-law made turkey lasagna and ordered a lovely strawberry sheet cake for us. My husband's late best friend Greg was the best man and Greg's mother, Diane, bought my dress and shoes as a wedding gift. She also served as my matron of honor. I wore a light pink dress and my husband wore a regular suit with Birkenstocks. Our gold rings were purchased at a discount through my husband's aunt. I believe she worked at Zales at the time. We chose our particular rings because they were neither plain nor fancy. To this day, we both still love the rings we decided upon.

We were married by a man who had gotten a license to wed people through some sort of mail order agency quite some time ago. It was important that our ceremony not be religious in any way since neither I nor my husband are a part of a particular religion so we were happy that we didn't have to enlist a church minister to do the job. We wrote our own vows but the non-denominational minister still tacked something about "God" on at the end much to my husband's annoyance at the time.

My husband chose a piece of classical music and we walked in together since neither he nor I was interested in fanfare or showcases. We wanted it to be special but we wanted it to be ours rather than follow a traditional style. The ceremony was short as was the "reception" which was essentially all of us enjoying the food my mother-in-law had prepared and arranged. We spent the first night of our honeymoon at a really wonderful hotel in Monterey and the next three days in Carmel. It was short because my husband had to fly off soon thereafter and we were going to have to go seriously into debt to set up our life in Japan and we didn't want to blow a lot of cash on an extended honeymoon.

Our entire wedding cost about $600 including the rings, dress, cake, and paying the minister. My father-in-law covered the costs since my family was too poor to do so and he was so generous. In fact,
my family couldn't afford to fly over and attend though it was such a little celebration that it didn't seem all that important that they make the effort anyway. The entire "event" was videotaped so at least they could watch what happened after the fact.

I wouldn't change a thing about our wedding if I could go back and do it all again. It was very special and memorable and reflected the type of people my husband and I are in every way.

Ear Serial

Back when I was a very young child, I used to watch old Tarzan movies on television. Bear in mind that I lived in a rural area with 4 channels available from the nearest city (Pittsburgh) and one of them couldn't reach our location. That's not to say that I didn't enjoy watching those old black and white Johnny Weismuller movies. Children don't exactly have the highest standards when it comes to entertainment. I'm guessing that's part of the reason parents give them rattles and play peek-a-boo with them as infants.

The Tarzan series starring Mr. Weismuller ran from the early 30's to the late 40's. I'm guessing that the zeitgeist changed or the story lost it's novelty at that point and people lost interest in the series. By today's standards, the "movies" that were made in these types of series would be considered lower quality than most modern television series. However, they do have one thing in common with a lot of modern T.V. shows, particularly those which are in the sci-fi or fantasy genre. That is, they have their own "universe" where things operate differently than they do in the real world and they have strong characters which the viewer comes to know and love (or hate). Regular viewers often come to have expectations of how these characters will behave and can be disillusioned (or angered) when those characters act outside the box.

Because modern film-making is so much more sophisticated and writing for television is so much better than movie serials back in the early days of movies, it's easy to think that what we are viewing today is light years ahead of the old Tarzan series type of entertainment. At it's core, it's really the same basic formula which hooks people in. Create an exotic universe which operates by certain rules to create limits the viewer understands and the characters act within then add a balance of easily-identifiable characters with a central "hero" character.

The main difference is that the sophistication of the audience has been boosted by massive exposure to a variety of education and entertainment sources such that we're not willing to buy the notion of a man raised by apes and living in the jungle without a whopping dollop of cynicism and a feeling that the concept is overdone and trite by now. We now need to find our alternate universes some place where we can suspend our disbelief in a way which we can accept intellectually or in which we can find greater novelty. Enter the Star Trek universe (or Stargate, Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, 24, Lost, Harry Potter or your fictional series of choice). While we might like to think our tastes are more sophisticated than those who watched corny old Buster Crabbe Flash Gordon serials but we're little different. We're mainly just more easily bored.

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Due to my 3-channel limitation, I never watched the original Star Trek much as a child and rarely as an adult until DVDs made it easier to access. That means the charm the characters and stories hold is still there for me. When I'm in the mood for some light entertainment and running around the apartment cleaning or cooking, I sometimes listen to a Star Trek audio book. I've still got ancient cassettes of books like "Spock's World" lying around somewhere. Recently, I listened to "Ashes of Eden" which is read by William Shatner. All of the original cast who narrate books on tape do quite a good job of it and Mr. Shatner is no exception. They inhabit each of the voices well (including the female ones) and get thoroughly into the spirit of the story as one might expect.

The story of "Ashes of Eden" is rather shockingly similar to "Star Trek: Insurrection" (the Next Generation movie) and I wonder if its coincidence or if the general framework of the book was pinched for the movie. Fortunately, "Ashes of Eden" as a story plays better than "Insurrection" did because the characters behave in a more credibly-motivated fashion. I won't spoil more of it than that in case any readers are interested in the book or audio except to say that the door to pushing the reset button on Kirk's death at the end of "Star Trek: Generations" is opened at the end of the story, as one might expect Mr. Shatner to do in case he ever wants to play an aging Kirk again.