nickles and cents

So Miriam got a note from school that her monetary counting skills are not up to turtle rock elementary school's high standards. The circled portion read "below average (needs to learn the identity and amount each coin is worth . . . and to learn how to count coins from the beginning)- daily (underlined 3x) practice is needed." I was sort of proud of her cluelessness about money, (except when she was giving it away to her friend who knew what it was worth) but I guess those days are over. So we spent some time counting coins and she paid me 23 cents for dinner.

On a related note, for the activity portion of FHE we played "Who's got the quarter?" or whatever you call it and it's funny to play with two kids, one of whom is totally without guile and the other who is not so much. Once when they raise their hands, Miriam forgets to close her hands and the quarter is in plain view. Bekah asks, "Gwyn, do you have the quarter?" She smiles like she can't keep a secret and nods her head. (She doesn't have it.)

bottom of the list

So, I was an advocate of the blogs listed by order of recent updates on the Palmer blog, since it seemed very user friendly. Now I realize, that when you are at the bottom of the list, it means you are the biggest blogslacker on there. My main excuse is no pictures. Let me think of some blogworthy news.

We are going to Hawaii for 10 days, from the 6th to 16th. I am very excited. I am going to try an help mom get her energy bill down. Should be a fun project. It would be nice to expand the solar water heater if possible, maybe swap some appliances for more efficient models, making sure all of the shower heads and lights low flow and fluorescent, respectively. I've thought installing rainbarrels would be good too. Her energy bill is insanely high, so stuff that wouldn't be cost effective for many people probably would for her. (Lots of people and Hawaii energy prices.) Any suggestions.

I am almost finished applying for jobs and actually kind of stoked to get working on my dissertation again. I mean, if I get a job, I'm going to need to have it finished this year, which seems doable, but I will be busy. I had my first phone interview. It went well, I thought.

We went kayaking again. We need to figure out some kid games, because they get pretty bored and don't like it anymore. I think we just need to give ourselves more time so we can stop, check out beaches, etc. We did see paddle out to a rock that we always seem from the beach, and realized that the back side is home to about 20 sea lions. They were all at home too. It was very cool.

We are going to Norcal for Thanksgiving to see Chris and Da, Sienna and Tony, Noel and Austin, and everyone else who I haven't seen in a long, long time. We are very excited. And, there is a BIG north swell due that weekend. Hopefully we will have picts to post soon. (We took some kayaking, but the are all out of focus for some reason.)

Not much happening

Or too much happening to blog about. So to keep up on some random threads I've started in case we haven't actually talked.

Xtracycle is temporarily out of commission since I almost got a ticket. A police guy pulled me over and lectured me on bike safety with ticket book in hand. Finally let me go so I could take M to school, which was great since we don't have that kind of money. M was a little traumatized; didn't want to be late. But luckily, we'd left early. Stuff like that encourages my libertarian leanings. Fortunately, the double bike seat I'm making just got it's third coat of varnish, and I just need to buy some webbing and screws to finish it.

I have biked to the beach twice and driven once or twice. Surf has still been pretty good, but I am getting a little tired of closeout barrels. But its been epic for here and I know it.

The Klepper has been great, but it is kind of a lot of work. We've gone on three trips, back bay, Corona Del Mar to Crystal cove, and Newport Harbor. Set up is 20 min and a bit, more if I put something in wrong and have to take it all apart and start over. (In German. Vorne = front, Hinter= back). If you waterlog the boat, the pieces take a while to dry. Everything needs to be dry before it can be packed away, so it all get strewn about the living room for a while. Luckily it is all wood and pretty. Hull needs some of the reinforcing strips glued down. Wood frame needs to be re-varnished at some point soon. Maybe Christmas break. But it is super fun. I love being out on the water with everyone. Especially in the evening, when the water is all golden. The kids are good sports, although they have been cold. I think the solution is not to get wet before we start. We are thinking of christening it the "blue seaweed princess" or something like that. We'll let you know when we finish the flag.

I am applying to jobs. I am actually really excited about some of them. There's a handful on the West coast that would be great. Some further East I am pretty excited about as well. It is a lot of work and kind of stressful and it's hard to imagine being someplace new longterm. Some of these places we could actually afford a house on a teacher's salary. Anyway, if you want to hear more about this, let's talk.

Xtracyle fun

It's now okay if we get rid of the car. Today I woke up at 6:30 and decided--I've been thinking about it for a bit--to ride to the beach to go surf on my bike. It was AWESOME. My estimate was that it would take me 45 minutes, being out of shape and all, but I got there in 40. It takes 20 to drive and 5-10 to find a parking space, so it only cost 30 minutes of surfing, but I got a free 20 mile bike ride (which I need, since my knee still needs help). I can just wake up 30 minutes earlier, right. Better yet, over half of it was along back bay drive, a small road/bike path that runs along a beautiful estuary with glistening purple and gold water, mist, and lots of birds. Here's a picture.
It actually looks like this. Way nicer than the freeway. Coming home took a little while longer, since our house is probably several hundred feet above sea level. Also, the xtracycle is pretty slow, so what I really need is a road bike with a surfboard rack, or better yet, salvage an old mountain bike and throw on some road tires. I may never drive to the beach again. The waves were pretty good too.

Why I need an epoxy board.

Happened Saturday morning at Newport Beach. Randomly, the guy who sold me the board (who lives in San Clemente) was on the beach watching, recognized his board, and came over to talk to me as I walked up the beach with the two halves.

Danke schon Herr Klepper

Or the saga of the tent kayak. (It's pretty long, but bear with me.)
So some of you may have heard some of this, but I just have to share the whole story, since I am pretty dang stoked about this right now.

So, I have been wanting a kayak for a while. It would be the perfect ocean sport for when the surf is flat and if I got a big double we could go as a family. Plus, there are a lot of places to go around here, back bay estuary, Crystal cove, laguna beach, and I have really wanted to do a kayak trip out on Catalina. We moved out here seven years ago and have never been. Plus, Big Sur is not too far and a kayak would be the perfect way to explore those inaccessible coves.

But, I kept trying garage sales or craigslist and I could never get one in our price range, which over time began to steadily creep up, as you will see. (There were even a few free ones that slipped by, or a $25 garage sale kayak we missed.) The other big problem, as Bekah was quick to point out, we don't really have any place to put one.

Then while in Japan I discovered folding kayaks, which are basically aluminum or wooden frames with a skin, like an eskimo kayak. I was immediately sold. That solved the storage problem easily. You could fit in the back of the car for long trips. You could even check it on a plane for neighbor island trips to Molokai, Hana, North Kohala, Na Pali, etc. (Our super fun trip with Enoch and Amy last summer made me want a kayak even more.) Plus they are very durable and can last for 20-30 years or more if properly cared for.

The only problem was that they are super expensive. Although there were cheaper singles, doubles ranged from $2,600 for the Folbots to over $6,000 for a Feathercraft. Since there are a lot of details, I will make a list to keep this straight.

1. Before I get back I find a used Folbot Kodiak on ebay in Auburn CA, pickup only, which means it will probably be cheaper. Yesenia agrees to go and get it for me. I put in a snipe, but cancel it at the last minute, because I think what I really want is a double. I might have won, since it sells for only 600. I decide I want a Greenland II, the Folbot double.

2. I see one for sale on craigslist, almost new, for only 1000. Turns out to be a total scam. He wants me to Western Union him the money. I google his e-mail address and find out he has scammed others and has all kinds of fake stuff on craigslist in widely different places. But it makes me want one more.

3. Folbots go on sale, for %15 off through Sept. So now it's ONLY 2,200, instead of 2,600. Plus free shipping.

4. I drive to San Clemente to try and get a cobra double for $200. Already sold. It was the first thing to go. They have a nice fiberglass single that would be perfect if I lived near the beach. But I hit a bunch of other garage sales and get some other cool stuff, a snowboard bag for $2, computer speakers, planters, wood from a dumpster by a house being remodeled.

5. Last day of the Folbot sale and I buy one. 2,300 with some extras. (More than our car.) Then I check on ebay and there are two used ones for sale. But I have been reading a lot on the forums and some of the older models had issues, which have since been fixed in the newer models, but I am not sure which years. I decide I really can't afford a new one and send an e-mail and cancel my purchase. Folbot has great customer service, plus there is a 30 return period, so it's okay.

This whole time I am obsessing about this, keep talking it up to Bekah, who is not sold on the idea, and basically talking about it to anyone who will listen. John, whose shopping motto is "What would Jesse buy?" is a little disillusioned. Adam calls it the tent kayak and just thinks I should get a plastic one. Christian notes that you never use these things as much as you think you will. True, but I still really want to do all of these trips. And we could have it for a long time. And I know I want one eventually, so the sooner we get it, the longer we can enjoy it.

6. So the next day, instead of writing my dissertation I start checking craigslists. In SF there is a 10 yr old Greenland II for 1,200. There are some older Folbots, non-folding, in Long beach and Oceanside. Then in the San Diego craiglist I discover a used Klepper double for $800.
Klepper is a German company and one of the oldest folding kayak makers in the business. People have paddled their boats across the Atlantic, to Antartica, from Germany to India. They generally acknowledged to be better quality than the Folbots, though more expensive, and they can last for a long time. Some people are still using boats 20-30 years old and they keep their value very well. A quick online search confirmed this was a very good price. It seems like the going price for a upper end, used plastic double was about 600 anyway.

Anyway, so I called the guy up, we drove down there this morning to check it out. The guy has taken this boat on a 10 week trip in Baja, to Alaska, etc. He was a super cool old dude who used to have a bunch of different folding kayaks, but was finally selling his last ones. (On the online forums, most of these guys have at least three.) Anyway, so what you see in those two bags is a 17 foot, double kayak. In his little yard, we took it apart, put it back together and took it apart again in less than and hour and half. With a little practice, I think it will come together in less than 20 minutes. Kayaking anyone?

Surfing with G

So now we are back in California, I really want to teach the girls to surf. Gwyn really wants to and Miriam is not so sure. Actually, although I guess the summer was not that great, it has been a pretty awesome September. Not awesome by Hawaii standards, but awesome for here (and Japan). We've had pretty fun, head high, if a little inconsistent waves most days ever since I've been here. Unfortunately, I've been pretty busy so I can only make it out a few times a week. Here is G and I on a little wave at campus point in Santa Barbara. Miriam didn't want to go, until after Gwyn had, then she wimped out before we got into the water. This is on the tiny kids longboard, so there's not really enough room for both of us.

Boulder, Colorado

So, last weekend I went to the Western Conference of the Association of Asian Studies in Boulder, Colorado. The conference was fun, but it was much more fun to hang out with everyone there, like Bekah's dad Merv, who lives in Denver, and Lance Crisler, and Joe and Leslie Marler. I stayed with Merv and rented a car to go drive to and from Boulder. Merv runs the International Institute for Indigenous Resource Management and so he know a lot about sustainable development, indigenous responses to modernity, climate change, and so it was a lot of fun to discuss all of this with him. Lance is studying Chinese literature at University of Colorado at Boulder, so it was really fun to have a friend who I could also talk about East Asian literature with. He knows a lot about the various professors and where they are and what they are doing, so it was good to get updated on that, since I am pretty oblivious to that aspect of the job. Finally, the Marlers are good friends with very cute kids. It was very fun to see so many old friends. Boulder is a cool little town and very beautiful in the summer. We drove into the mountains behind the town on Sunday and it was gorgeous, although I couldn't help but wonder what it looked like in the winter.

Nikko

So here's some picts and a synopsis from my final trip before I left Japan. It was nice to be reminded how beautiful Japan can be.
Day one. Took the train out. Hiked to Kirifuri Falls, which everyone sees, and about four more down in the valley, which no ones sees. Then hiked up to the top of the mountain and stealth camped in a clearing on a ridge. No danger of being discovered as there was a light rain all day and I only met one other hiker in the lower section.
Day two. Traversed the long ridge over four or five peaks. Started at six and hiked till five or so, although the last hour and a bit was on roads. Despite expensive rain gear, I was totally soaked a few hours in and stayed cold and wet all day. Since it was cloudy, there were no real views, but the ridge itself was reminiscent of the Koolau summit, except there was a trail and the mud was usually only 2-4 inches or so, instead of the summit 8-12. And there were pine trees. After all those hours my knees were killing me. The bad one because its weak, and the good one because it had to do twice as much work. Plus they don't believe in grading trails, so for a 800 meter vertical descent, the trail is maybe 900 meters long. Ouch. Luckily the day ended in Yumoto, which is full of natural hotsprings.
Day three. Hiked down through the main valley, around several lakes and along a stream, and through a wetlands, and past some waterfalls, ending at Kegon falls with lots of tourists again. Caught the train home again.

Ichinomiya, Ohara

So Friday night I am sitting around thinking, "I should really probably work tomorrow, since I can't really think of anything else to do and I have a lot to do before I go, but I don't really feel like it" when Bryan calls to invite me surfing. Well, that simplifies things considerably.

The wave of the day

So after I went in because I was cold, some really good sets start to come through. Bryan catches the wave of the day, except Dave is right in front of him. It's one thing to blow your friend's wave, but another to have it immortalized on film. Here's the sequence. (Bryan bails right after this.)

Dave's defense

Here is how Dave says that Bryan tells the story.

When I'm 4

Gwyn knows that she will be four sometime in the future and for her it has become the time when she will do all sorts of things she doesn't want to do now. For example, she has told me, at various times that when she's four she will,
eat all of her breakfast
walk instead of be carried or ride in the stroller
stay in her bed
be a big girl
wipe her own bum
touch the sky when she jumps
Although I appreciate how G is now, I am looking forward to her doing all of these things. This last one was overheard when she was having some conversation with her mom that involved breasts. I think it started about why she shouldn't climb, or jump on, or otherwise abuse her mom.
Gwyn, "When I'm four, I'm going to get some big ones."
I think I can wait on this one.

. . . these are all my fears.

When I was little, my teachers used to complain to my mom that I didn't say anything in school. My mom's response was something along the lines of, "How do you do it?" Miriam, I think, is kind of the same way. As shy as she is in school and with strangers, she's pretty loud at home. She also really likes to sing at the top of her lungs, at home, in the car, while she is supposed to be going to sleep. Lately, her favorites have been the Sandra Boynton CD, and lots of primary songs. Although her rendition of Snuggle Puppy is very cute, the primary songs are even better, especially for a couple where she sings them a little bit different.
For example, from the girl who is so sweet that she gets teased by her three year old sister, "If the Savior stood besides me, would you do the things you do?"
Or my favorite, from a Child's Prayer, "I see my mother kneeling, with our family each day. I hear the words she whispers, as she bows her head to pray, her prayers to the Father, these are all my fears" and then straight to the refrain, "I am thankful, love is spoken here." Yeah, me too.
Here's a random picture from our trip. Bus ride home.

More BSA in Japan, kayaking

So I planned this hike last weekend to some waterfalls I have been wanting to check out forever. It is finally so intensely hot and humid that life without waterfalls is unbearable. But, being from Laie, I unthinkingly chose the Saturday of the first three day weekend after school got out. It should have taken us maybe an hour and half to get there. Instead, after three and a half hours we were stuck in traffic halfway there and it was not going to get any better. So rather than take six hours to get there, we bailed and drove to the military base and rented kayaks and kayaked in the bay. I could portray it in one of two ways.
Here is the gritty industrial side.

And here is the beautiful natural side.

Why we love G.

As Mariko pointed out, Gwyn is a good explainer. The other morning when her oatmeal overflowed in the microwave she said,
"I hate when this happens. This is why we have to move."

M the Mermaid

So, on Miriam's penultimate day of school, they had a little water safety drill that involved getting into the pool wearing all of your clothes. The pool is not that deep, so I think it was about not panicking. But with Miriam, they needn't have worried.
She came home, we were talking about her day and Bekah, trying to have a teaching moment, asks, "So if you fell in deep water with all of your clothes, what would you do?"
"Well, first I would look down at my feet and see if I was a mermaid. If I was, then I would just swim down deep to where the mermaids are."

Valleys, Islands

This is a post from Dec. I never posted, since I think I wanted to find a picture. But I totally forgot about it, so here it is before I forget about it again.

So we finally were able to go out to pay back our friends for babysitting earlier for us. They live in Takao, which is at the far western edge of the Kanto basin, up against some smaller mountains. Anyway, they have three boys, 4, 7, and 9. They can be pretty wild, but they are good kids and were good for us. I took them hiking yesterday up to Jinba san, which is the tallest mountain nearby.
Although we didn't end up hiking as much as I'd liked, since we got kind lost at the beginning, it was very cool just to drive around the mountains. I really love these little houses and farms nestled in the valleys. There were lots of older, traditionally built houses, even a few with thatched roofs. Also, rock walls, stone stairs, terraced gardens. The persimmon trees were all loaded with fruit, but no leaves.
I think what I like about these valleys is similar to how I feel about islands. The natural constraints on space create a more intimate scale of interaction. Walking or bike rather than driving. Wendell Berry talks about how smaller scale, local farming and communities are essential because there is a natural limit to how much we can really care for, truly understand, work for, etc. Valleys and islands are nice because they force you to interact with the land on a more intimate scale. Driving around Oahu is obviously much more pointless than in California, or even Japan. You run out of places to go. But when you get out and walk you realize there is way more than you could ever experience on that scale. Even very close by.
It's like Laie falls. It isn't a spectacular hike, but I've been there so many times I realize how different it can be each time. I've been there before 7 in the morning, at 10, at 3, 5, right before it gets dark. I've even slept there. On bright clear days, drizzly, pouring rain, on cloudy still days when there was mist in the valley and over the pool. And it's always different. And so you realize that every place you've only been to once, to check off your list, you don't really know at all. But if you didn't know one place really well, you might never realize that.
Not that long ago, almost everyone had this kind of close relationship to a place. Now, many people don't and don't even realize what they've lost.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

Okay, I know this is lame. But I actually had a really long post about this, that I was halfway through with and I somehow lost. I may rewrite it as another post, but the gist of it is this. Very few of us actually choose what we want to do. To some extent, this is impossible, because to make a real choice you'd have to know about all the options and we just don't have that kind of time. If anything, there is too much freedom. So although I am mostly happy about my life so far, I wonder about some other possibilities, some roads not taken, or even seriously explored. As a kid I imagined myself doing something more active, outdoors, engaged. Although being a professor is not just desk work, research is. Although I have been much more successful lately, staying happily engaged by yourself for all day every day for weeks on end is a bit of a challenge. I am much more productive with more human interaction than I have been getting lately. Also, I want to be more directly engaged in current problems of the world. I firmly believe in the importance of literature and history, or understanding the past and other cultures. But I am not sure that I have to be the one laboriously searching out this esoteric knowledge. The main thing that has changed since I started graduate school is my concern for the environment has become much more concrete and urgent, since I have learned more about global warming and the crucial moment we are at now as a planet and civilization. So lately, my list of possibilities have been, not in any particular order, environmental architect, or designer, or builder, remodeler, environmental lifestyle consultant (like a cross between a general contractor and personal trainer), or some sort of environmental business, maybe even a bed and breakfast in a tropical location, environmental lawyer, or even if I were teaching I would almost want to be teaching a general education class which doesn't exist at most schools, like Applied Environmentalism 101, or something like that. I have also thought about being a politician, except ever since I lost the election for class treasurer in 3rd grade, that I thought I had in the bag, I have wondered about my electability. A lot of jobs that seem perfect are more science jobs, like Ephraim's or Christian's possible future job, but as much as the ideas of science interest me, I always enjoyed my humanities courses a lot more. Besides, I can't really see myself back in undergraduate science courses. So any suggestions? I am also very interested in hearing everyones thoughts. So if you read this, please post a response.

Yet another advantage of bikes

So, my bike has been making funny noises when I pedal for the last few months. At first, it was only when I went up really big hills, but then it got more and more common. So I checked Sheldon Brown's website and it looked like something might be loose. So, three weeks ago, I went to Shibuya and bought some tools and tightened everything down by the pedals, but it didn't help. So finally, I tried again with the bike in the living room, online looking at Sheldon Brown's site and checking up all the terms I didn't know. So it turns out it is probably the bottom bracket and I need yet a bunch more tools I don't have and maybe to replace something. So I decide just to take it to a shop. There is one kind of close by. Even though I am only going to be here two more months, I would feel bad selling a bike I knew had a problem. So I finally make it over there as they're closing. Anyway, long story short. He has to replace the bottom bracket and it cost $60. At first, I was thinking this was a lot. Then I thought about it in relation to a car. It costs $60 just to have them open the hood. If they pick up a screw driver, then add $20. I mean the bike only cost $400. Eventually, I plan on having all these tools and knowing how to do this, but for now, this is fine. And long term, I feel much more confident about the possibility of becoming a competent bike mechanic than ever knowing enough about cars. Especially since cars keep getting more complicated and the internal combustion engine will soon be obsolete. I hope.

Our Local Library

One way that Tokyo is different from Taiwan is the plentiful English language reading material. Initially, I bought books from Amazon or the occasional bookstore here and there, but then 4-5 months ago a Book Off opened down the street. They are a Japanese used book chain, but since our neighborhood is full of foreigners, it wasn't long before they had a sizeable English language section. Not as big as the English only bookstores, but generally newer books, more turnover, and much cheaper. Especially, for some reason, the English books, which I think the staff is not quite sure what to do with. Also, we soon discovered that one weekend a month the English books are half-off, (although the signs that advertise this are all in Japanese), which means that a lot of the paperbacks and kids books are only a dollar. So, for the first time, I started buying books as a consumption item. Anything you want to do in Tokyo costs. With transportation, food, admission fees, you're lucky if you can leave the house as a family for less than $30-$50. Movies cost $2o per person, or so I hear. Even hiking or going to the beach, usually considered free, will put you out $30 just getting there and back. So books seem like a great deal in comparison. Even if you are only going to read them once and then sell them back. It sort of feels like a pay library. Once I got a whole stack of kids books, so Miriam would have something to practice with. Although I have been the one who gets most of the practice. This is also how we have kept up with books to read Miriam at night. After all, we finish something every week or so, and so I have probably already read her 15-20 books. Anyway, so I went yesterday and here is my haul. The first four Harry Potter books, The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman, and By the Shores of Silver Lake by Laura Ingalls Wilder. I also go Tipping Point and Blink by Malcolm Gladwell, who writes for the New Yorker, which look interesting. All for $14. Last time I got Flow by Mihaly Czisentmihalyi, which I am now reading and enjoying. Other previous finds include Hiking and Hot Springs in the Pacific Northwest, Surfing Indonesia, and Fundamentals of Kayak Navigation for future adventures.

The Hobbit

I wasn't planning on reading it to her for a while, but then we read everything else. So I let her choose if she wanted to read The Hobbit or something else, and she chose The Hobbit. Although some of it is scary, like the Gollum part, and the Warg part we are coming up to, but she will love Beorn and his ponies. And for some one who has read it often as I have, I read all four books once a year or so from the end of elementary school through middle school, or so, I am really enjoying it. I am finding I am getting some stuff I probably missed, like the inter-personal dynamics and more subtle characterization. I am already several chapters ahead of Miriam, but have forced myself to stop, so we can enjoy it together.

Book of Mormon Survey

A friend of mine sent me this survey about attitudes towards the Book of Mormon. Always good to encourage scholarship about Mormonism. It is pretty interesting and only takes maybe 15 minutes.

http://nelsonseawright.bookofmormon.sgizmo.com/

You can test your knowledge of scriptures at the end, identify which standard work a passage comes from, or who the speaker of a certain passage is. Harder than you'd think.

Boy Scouts of America in Japan

So, I am 2nd counselor in the young men's presidency and one of four assistant scoutmasters for our stake wide troop. It is the exact same calling I had in California and I like it a lot. But there are some unique Japan challenges. They just sort of assume that you have things like a lake at your disposal. The swimming requirements assume you have things that I have yet to see in Tokyo, or anywhere nearby. A deep, uncrowded pool/lake to do lifesaving exercises. Someplace where you can demonstrate safe use of an axe. There are campsites in Japan, but usually they don't allow axes or open fires. And who has an axe or camp saw? Yesterday we went swimming to pass of some stuff for their second class rank so we could have our steak and cake party. First hassle was finding enough swim caps for everyone. We got two and just decided to share. (Our young men's president had a long discussion with the lifeguard about why the people not swimming would also need swim caps.) It's fun though. I am looking forward to summer and doing some more hiking and backpacking.

Tokyo University Library

Although I have been griping about the library here to many individuals, I thought I would vent my frustration in a more systematic way. Tokyo University is supposedly the top ranked university in Japan, but its library is totally medieval. By way of comparison, the labrynthine library in Name of the Rose is more rationally organized and accessible. Although the books are no longer actually chained to the desk, they might as well be. At UC Irvine, I can check out an unlimited number of books for an essentially unlimited amount of time. There are due dates, but I can renew all my books online with one click, until someone else needs a books and recalls it online. The main problem with the Tokyo University library is that it is so decentralized. Each library has its own esoteric organizational system, rules, location, etc. Let me go over the ones I use most.

The Main Library.
As with all libraries here, you need a card to get in, to keep the riffraff out. The books are on the third and fourth floor and the copy machines on the first. No free reshelving service here. If you want to copy a book, you have to go up and find it, take it down to the first floor, copy it and then take it back up yourself. Needless to say, a lot of the books are miss-shelved. They also have a plaster cast of Chopin's hand in a glass case. Creepy. I still haven't totally figured out the call numbers. Some books have two call numbers on the spine and are arranged according to both? Not sure. You can keep five books out for two weeks? If the book you are looking for starts with a letter instead of just numerals, it isn't on the third or fourth floor, it is in the closed stacks.

The Closed Stacks.
Back on the first floor, around the stairs, is the secret entrance to the closed stacks. You have to get your ID entered into the computer again. You also have to put all your stuff into a coin locker since you can only take a few papers and a pencil in the the Closed Stacks. These are not particularly valuable books, just anything older than maybe 10 years, bound periodicals, etc. If you want to copy anything you have to fill out a copy request form and put it in a box, and then copy your books. I was a bit amazed at this and tried to ask another student why and he seemed to think it was normal. I mean, since no one sees the copy request form until after you copy the books, what is the point? He said because you aren't supposed to copy entire journals or something due to copyright, but if you were doing something illegal, why would you write that down? The closed stacks have low ceiling and metal stairs. I think there are six floors to the libraries four. The basement seriously feels like the 7 and 1/2 floor in "Being John Malkovich," there are long sections where I can't walk upright. You can check out three books. So I can't get the entire four volume annotated edition of Ennin's Diary.

The Indian Philosophy Department
This is basically a graduate school department, with floor to ceiling bookshelves that have call numbers. The books are in the main office and one of the seminar rooms. It's almost like having the East Asian section of the library in your office and if someone needed something they had to come and get it from you. Hassle for you and them. To check something out you fill out a piece of paper with your information and ID no. It's just as well that it isn't computerized since I had one of their books out for several months past the due date. What happened was that I checked it out right before the semester ended and then everyone left on vacation without my realizing it. I tried to return the book five times, but no one was there for the next month and a half. Sometimes they are gone at lunch time too, or you can't get into one room or the other since they are having a seminar in there. Sometimes the rooms are open and anyone could just walk off with whatever they wanted. You can check books out for two weeks or a month depending on the configuration of the stars at the time you check out the book.

Religious Studies Department.
This is down the hall from the Indian Philosophy Dept. Basically the same set up, but there is a secretary who finds the books for you.

The Japanese Literature Department.
On the same floor as the above, but seems to mostly have bound periodicals. Of course, you aren't allowed to check them out, but you leave your ID there and go down to the basement and search for the copy room. It's all the way past the bins of rocks and skulls outside the archeology department. There you can copy the articles and bring them back and get your ID. Of course, every copy room requires a different copy card, so I now have at least four different copy cards.

The Japanese Literature and Culture Library
Sounds exactly like the other one right, and it is in the same building. But to get there you have to go out on the first floor, come in a different entrance and walk up the fourth floor. I am not sure how I found it in the first place. I have been there twice, but both times it turns out the books I needed were actually somewhere else. Needless to say, it has taken a lot of wandering around to find all of these places.

The East-West Research Center Library
This has a lot of the English books on East Asian studies which I need to look at, but unfortunately it has been under earthquake renovation since I came and the books are all in boxes. I walked over there once and there were workmen coming in and out.

Building No. 3 Library
This building is conveniently hidden, like many essential services at the University of Tokyo, underground. The entrance is across the courtyard from the main library. It is essentially an overflow library for some of the other libraries listed above. So each library has a few rows of shelves, each with their own call number system, plus some other random categories. You also have to put your bag in a locker and get in with your library card, but at least you can check things out for a month.

Historiographical Institute Library
Five stories of books, plus some cool old manuscripts, picture collections, scrolls, etc. Although I haven't had to use any of this, it is cool that they have it. This is in the same building as my office and I am affiliated, so I can have books out forever, or until they have to close the library for earthquake renovations and we get kicked out of our office, which is happening in any time now. Also, although I never had to return them, I couldn't really go anywhere with them either, since you aren't allowed to take them out of the building. So I had to read them there. Since I am only on campus once or twice a week, that is kind of a hassle.

Komaba General Education Campus Library
This library has a pretty good collection of English books and is a nice, new building. The only problem is that it is on a satellite campus that is on the other side of Tokyo. I have had to go there a few times and have a list of books I need to get from there now. Our friends actually live right behind the campus, but we are usually only there on a Sunday or holiday.

Finally, in all of the libraries except the main one, there is a system where when you take a book off the shelf, you put a little plastic book shaped marker as a place holder. In the spine, there is a place to put a special slip of paper where you write the title and call number and your name. In the age of computers, I have no idea why this is necessary. But it makes a lot of sense in the medieval ages. (At UCI, they plan on having some percentage of the books in circulation at any given time so that they have room for them all.) I am always forgetting to put them in and then on your way out the librarians ask, "Did you put the fake book thing in?" and then I have to go back and find the spot again, and fill out the paper, etc. Stupid foreigner.

There are many other libraries I haven't been too yet, like the History Dept., the Law Dept., which is notorious for their disdain for outside users, the Economics, etc, etc. You get the picture. Although I am pretty much a daytime user and this doesn't bother me, I also hear that the hours are really limited, more like the bank or post office than a library.
One of the reasons that Harvard is the best university in the US, is that they have the best library. They take that as a matter of course. In Japan, where they care more about Harvard than we do, you would expect there would be some similar form of accountability. I hear that at Waseda (the second best college in Japan), the library is easy to use. At least all the books are in one place. Hmmm.

Date with G.

So, Miriam has been needing one on one time with her mom, so I spent Saturday with my favorite littlest daughter, G. Although she was crying and screaming when Bekah and M left, (this is the girl whose whole point in life is not to be left out) and I even had to hold her in so she didn't rush out after them. Eventually, she did, but they heard her coming and took the stairs. Anyway, we went to the other salvation army we hadn't been too. Not as much stuff, but lots of clothes, kimonos, furoshiki, etc. I couldn't really size the kimonos without a real person, so although I spent a bunch of time looking through them, I just bought a bunch of furoshiki and some scraps of cool printed fabric. And a international adapter set for a mac laptop. On the way home we stopped at the park, which is G's favorite thing to do. She was literally jumping for joy as she ran between the slide, which was about twenty feet high and shaped like a rocket, and the swings, and climbing structures. When we got home, she admitted she had had a fun time. Here's some picts of the furoshiki. (If anyone wants a kimono, let me know, we could find you something pretty cool for under $50. I am not sure what the measurements are, but I could figure it out.)

Inamuragasaki 2

So I have been jonesing to surf, but my surf buddies are all busy for the next little bit. There was a little storm swell this week, so I decided to try taking the train out to Kamakura. I was checking the surf report all week and trying to figure out if the wind and swell direction were both going to be working anytime. I finally rediscovered the surf forecast site magic seaweed, which I highly recommend, especially for Japan, which is pretty tricky. The wind is often coming from either the north or south and the coast curves in and out and so different places will be onshore, or offshore, depending on which way they're facing. Anyway, it looked like the wind was going to be okay, but only till 9 or so. So I went to bed around 11, but didn't fall asleep until 12-1 sometime. Since I surf so seldom, I get all excited about going and can't sleep. Nowadays, the problem just feeds off itself and I stay up worrying about whether or not I am going to be able to fall asleep. I set the alarm for 4:50, but got up at 4:20. I couldn't go back to sleep so I just got up, check if there was an earlier train and left. I figure you're going to get one or two REM cycles and the rest it doesn't really matter if you're actually asleep. It was totally light outside and there were actually quite a few people out and about as I walked to the station. I got to the spot at 6:10 and saw some surfers heading home. Japanese surfers take advantage of the fact that there is no daylight savings. I overheard some saying that it was best at about 4:30. It was waist to chest high, and kind of a long time between sets, and weak. The fish is kind of good board for these conditions. A long board would be even better, but I couldn't have taken in on the train. It was a beautiful clear day. There were lots of hawks. The water and air were mid 60's. I surfed for a 2 hours and some. When the outside got unbearably inconsistent and small, I paddled over and surfed some shore break, which was fun. By the time I came in the waves were mostly gone and the onshore wind was just starting to pick up. I walked around the town a little bit afterwards, checked out a small temple from the 13th c. and got home by 11:15. Fun day.

Okutama

So I went camping with the boy scouts. We went back out to the area where Mt. Mitake is. We did a long hike along the river, but it was mostly high above the river and not really right next to it like I have hoped. On the way home, we stopped at an onsen on the way home, and drove up to check out some waterfalls. I wasn't expecting too much, but each one was totally neat and different. I forgot my camera, but someone had a cell phone and I will post the picts as soons as he sends them to me. Since we'd had some heavy rain earlier in the week, the waterfalls were gushing. If it hadn't been raining and cold, I would have gotten in. No one else had been there before, so everyone was pretty stoked to find something so cool so close to Tokyo.

Golden Week at Tanzawa, Choshi

So here is my version of this hike we went on. On Monday evening we all went out to Takao and spent the night. Early the next morning, we left and took a train and then a bus to the trailhead. The whole first day was uphill through sugi (japanese cedar?) but dry grass and leafless trees when we got higher. I was hoping it would be greener, but the snow had just melted a few weeks before and so it still looked like winter. The first summit, To no dake, was packed with people. Here is a picture of the hut.Then we kept hiking up and down to Mt. Tanzawa, where we spent the night. We got there at about three. It was also crowded, the most annoying group being a bunch of old guys smoking and drinking. The average age of hikers here is well over fifty, including a bunch of older women. Since you can stay in huts, and get meals, it makes it all way more accessible for old people and they have the most time. We hung out and read some mountaineering books by this guy who started doing it when climbing gear meant a rope and pocketful of rocks and string. Made our whole expedition seem a little wimpy. Dinner was surprisingly good, and it was lights out at 8:30, but I still didn't get a lot of sleep because of the snoring. Then we were up at four because of the bento making. So by five we just decided to start hiking and have breakfast on the trail. About and hour later found a little wood platform with a fantastic view of Fuji and ate breakfast there. This early morning was pretty magical, since there was no one else on the trail really, and it was cool and clear, and the views were great. Below are two pictures from the morning.



After the second peak, there was a long, gradual descent down a ridge. We reached the next little town, which was way less charming than I had hoped, but did have ice cream and a 700 year old sugi at the shrine. Officially designated as one of the hundred famous trees of Kanagawa prefecture. Kind of like the hundred famous trees of Oahu, or Orange County.

Walked down the river and took a look. I was very tempted to get in, except that the sign says "Dangerous, Do Not Enter" in characters about five feet high. Could it be because it was right below a dam? Still, the dam wasn't that big and they had a siren for when they were letting excess water through. (The dam looked like it had a couple really nice places to jump from as well, once you'd found a way past the barbed wire fence.)
Had to wait an hour for the bus, which we rode for five miles to another tiny village, and then wait another fifty minutes there for the next bus and then take a train back to Takao. Took about three hours for a 30 miles trip. Bus to go get the kids, get on the train back to Tokyo. All of these multiple transfers on public transportation add up and it's kind of a hassle, but mostly its pretty easy being carless in Tokyo. I did talk to another hiker and get some beta about some streams with multiple waterfalls and places to swim. It isn't really accessible by train, so I just need to convince some friends with cars to come with.
Then on Saturday morning we went surfing in Chiba. I found a glass ball on the beach. Just sitting there in a pile of seaweed on a pretty crowded beach. Mostly they were down farther, but they had all driven by. Everyone just drives and parks on the beach there. We drove by it and I saw it and had them stop the car and ran out and got it.
The waves were maybe head high to a few feet overhead on the sets. The wind died down a little and the tide came up, so by the time we had to leave it was a lot better. Mostly they closed out pretty quick but I caught a few that I was able to stay ahead for a while and one really nice one that I actually made it out the other end. So it's been a pretty fun golden week so far. Monday we have a barbecue at some ward members house. Tuesday there is straw crafts and taiko at the traditional house museum with a bunch of friends.

Kamakura, Ikego

So two week ends ago we went to Kamakura. A girl from the ward babysat for personal progress and so we were kid free. We got off at the north Kamakura station and wandered around. We found a couple little temples and a tunnel. The area is very hilly, but the rock is soft, so there were lots of cliffs and caves and tunnels. We found someone with a map and got some advice. The temple in the picture is Engaku-ji, which is a large temple complex with a bunch of temples, some really old and some new ones. Saw a few more temples, which were smaller but had nice graveyards/gardens in the back. Including the God of Happiness in a cave. You "walk this way" through the tunnel in the picture to another cave where you find the very happy guy pointing at you. The we hiked over to the big Buddha and took a detour to the money washing shrine on the way. To get in you go through a tunnel into a little valley. In the valley is a spring in a cave where you can wash money to make it double. Most people were washing change, but we tried a hundred, just in case. We met some girls from Hawaii. They are in med school at UH and knew Matt Taylor from Laie. Saw the great Buddha, wandered through some antique stores. Went to the beach and watched surfers on ankle high waves. Then we had dinner at a California/surf themed restaurant. The decor was like random garage sale mix. Old license plates, a wooden sled, and a huge smurfette doll in the bathroom. The main appeal was a great view of the water. The food was also pretty good, but the girls at the table near us were smoking.
This weekend I went to a camporee at camp Ikego, on the US navy base near Kamakura. I wasn't sure what to expect, but the campsite was in a little valley, so you couldn't see anything but trees. It was pouring all morning, but by the time we left that night, it was just drizzling. Brother Mason made peach cobbler in a big dutch oven for dessert. The next day I helped run the frisbee toss and then went over to archery and translated and helped teach it. It was BSA, Japan Scouts camporee, so each patrol was made up of half American and half Japanese scouts. At night we had a potluck with one of the Japanese patrols. We had a pot of gyozas and fried rice and dessert, but they had two long table filled with food, plus a a huge pot of udon. We stayed for the camp fire and elaborate order of the arrow ceremony, and sang the special closing song. (So many scout traditions and ceremonies that I had no idea existed.) When I finally got dropped off at home it was almost 11.

Not much happening

Okay, so I missed posting last week, and can't think of anything to post this week. We had youth conference last week. This weekend we went to the Tokyo National Museum at Ueno park. The park was packed with people there to see the cherry blossoms, but the museum was not too crowded. The most surprising thing about the museum was the trash cans outside and the benches everywhere. It felt like they were making an extra effort for the foreign visitors. The stuff inside was cool too. My favorite was probably the early Chinese stuff bronzes, and the Thai bronze age drums. Did you know that Thailand had a bronze age culture that no one knows a lot about? The samurai armor and weapons were pretty cool too. Miriam liked the exquisite traditional doll set, with lots of tiny lacquered boxes, a minuscule tea set and writing box, furniture, picture books, etc, and the kimonos.
The architecture throughout was very nice. Dissertation is coming along, but I am so easily distracted. I am feeling pretty uninspired and its not like I can just put in hours and it will get done. I have to actually engage and think and process or its pretty meaningless. I kind of wish I had something else to do that was less taxing to balance it out, but I don't really. But since I do want it all to be over at some point I had better get a bit more motivated soon.

Storm surfing

So I finally went surfing, for the first time in four months or so. We went to Chiba. It was stormy with rain and 30 mph winds, but we drove all the way down to Onjuku, where it was offshore and actually pretty hollow and nice. The waves were still kind of all over place, since it was sandbar, and there was a current, so it was hard to line up and catch anything. After an hour or so, my hands were so numb that I could barely duckdive. Mostly I just caught close out waves with a few close out barrels. Still it was really fun to go surfing. Hopefully, it won't be four more months before our next session. Btw, Christian, the 4/3 and booties are plenty warm. I didn't even use the hood.

Do Not Mail Campaign

I don't believe in forwarding e-mails to friends, but I think you all should sign this campaign, so I'm putting it here, since this is voluntary. It is to create a Do Not Mail registry like the Do Not Call registry, enabling you to eliminate all your junk mail once and for all. Here is the url. http://donotmail.org.
There are some pretty appalling statistics. US junk mail accounts for 1/3 of all mail sent in the world. Ouch. You can also fill out a form that they will use to help you reduce your junk mail now. There have been other articles about this, but they actually send the letters for you, so it is extra simple.

zotero

I have been working on putting in footnotes for these chapters and have finally gotten around to actually using this program I downloaded a while ago. It is basically a free firefox extension that enables you to get bibliographic information of the web very easily. Most library sites, amazon, jstor, projectmuse, etc, are all supported. It also organizes your bibliographies and you can attach files and notes. Anyway, if you need this kind of a tool, it is very, very nice. Download at http://www.zotero.org/ and enjoy.

Sport Utility Bicycle, aka. Extracycle

I found out about this while wasting time on grist, a new favorite way to waste time and not feel like it is a complete waste of time, because I find cool stuff. Anyway, I was so stoked about it, it is generating a mid week post. I know that these are a little pricey, but think of it in comparison to a car. Plus, you'd probably make it all back in saved gas over a couple years. This pict is not impressive, but you can haul surfboards, kayaks, camping gear, groceries, two kids, and more comfortably. Check out their website. Based in North San Juan (by Roger and Yakshi).

Dissertation

Sometimes people ask how work is going. . . So, do you want the long answer or the short answer. The short answer is, "fine." The long answer is maybe fifty pages, single-spaced, plus lots of notes. If you want that, let me know, since I'm always looking for comments. But to fill out the short answer a little, it's a bit hard to stay focused and I get sidetracked on all this stuff I really need to know, but really isn't going to make it in the dissertation. Already, the two chapters I have written have spawned another chapter each. Or rather, after writing half what I had planned, it was already too long, and I could see how the remaining half could be it's own chapter. Which is fine, except that my current time schedule doesn't really allow for a five hundred page monster. Anyway, these kind of meaningless logistical problems aside, is anyone beside me interested in Ennin's Record of Pilgrimage to the Tang in Search of the Law? Or its place in the journal tradition of East Asi? How it speaks to the question of the Japanese appropriation of Tang culture in the early Heian period? It seems like I already have a vision of the whole thing, and although that shifts slightly as I fill in the details, the actual dissertation writing is much more the sometimes interesting, sometimes tedious job of filling in all of the details. But there are so many details I don't have time to go after, so many questions I can't answer, so many things I should look up, but don't seem to have time to. Even if I do, I can hardly keep them straight in my mind. Anyway, let me know if you are interested in any more than this, and like I said, I can e-mail it to you.

Takao

So we went and watched the Cannell's three boys for the weekend again. They are great kids and get along with our kids well, so it was fun for all. I went on a short run and appreciated their scenery, which is way nicer than ours. There is a neat park in walking distance and we had some really fun games of never ending freeze tag, or kori oni (freeze demon). Never ending because Miriam didn't want to be able to be frozen, just unfreeze people. Got home Sunday morning and it is always nice to be home too. Now we get a weekend of babysitting sometime soon. Any suggestions. Other than freezing death march (uphill through ice and snow, both ways) in some wilderness, since I think have that one figured out, plus we already did one not that long ago.

Salvation Army Bazaar

We had a fun, low key Saturday. We watched Mia and Emi, so their parents could go to the temple. Then we went to the Salvation Army Bazaar. There is no regular shop, but it is open on Saturday from 9-2. We got there at 11 and I had to be somewhere else at 2, so we didn't get to see everything, but we got some cool stuff. The main mission, clothes for M, was successful. She got a dress and a few skirts and shirts. I got a few neat Japanese styles coats, and a hanging scroll. But I was most stoked about an old book I found. I had been looking for it online and there hadn't been any for sale, but here it was for $3. When I got home, I checked and in the interim, some had been listed on Amazon, but still they were $50, so I was pretty stoked. We had noodles and ice cream at the hospital cafeteria next door and then I realized I was going to be late for my conference, so we ran to the station. We didn't have time to see everything, so we're going to have to go back. I will add some pictures of our finds soon.

save the planet!

So, as some of you know, I have been on another environmental thing lately. I do these fairly regularly, usually when I am reading or have just finished a book about the environment, but since I since I try not to foist my views on too many people, you may not know that (although part of me wants to change that, since I think it is important that people begin having conversations about these things). The nice part about a blog is that if you are reading this, I assume it is voluntary.
Anyway, so I have been researching ways to make a home more energy efficient and found some great resources. Basically, to summarize the findings, heating and cooling are you home's biggest energy users, first air conditioners and heaters and then hot water heaters and refrigerators, all of which can be more efficient. Also, most large appliances use much more energy over their lifetimes than they cost to make, so it is usually better for the environment and cheaper to get a more efficient model, even though it might be more expensive initially. Some of the easiest changes are changing your light bulbs to CFL, if you haven't already, and washing your clothes in cold water (heating the water uses 95% of the electricity of a washer). There is some pretty easy math that you can do to figure all of this out, and the best site is here http://michaelbluejay.com/electricity/. . This site actually explains in detail everything I might want to say on the subject and he has some other cool guides as well about bike safety, buying a house, finding cheap airline tickets, vegetarianism, etc. I would definitely check it out. Especially if you live in Hawaii where electricity is twice as much as everywhere else., and so all of these changes will be that much more worth it financially.
Also, although the electricity use of a given appliance is listed on the appliance, that is the maximum amount that appliance would ever draw, so while it can be nice for comparative purposes, it won't tell you how much electricity you are actually using. There are several ways to do that, but the easiest is get an electric meter that you plug into the wall and then plug your appliance into, which you can buy here. There is one for $16, plus $5 shipping. I bought one and had it sent to my mom's house so you can play with it there, do the math, see if it is worth it upgrade your appliances.
There is a lot more I could say about this, but just go read check out the website. Also, possibly more than any of these changes would be to get a good bike and ride it instead of driving whenever possible. Oh, and I am thinking about becoming vegetarian. (The only hard thing about doing it here is that you can't get complex carbohydrates like brown rice or whole wheat.)

more snow

Anyway, we made a long weekend and went up and stayed at a cabin in the mountains. The first day we went to Nikko and saw a bunch of very cool temples and shrines. Then we went out to the cabins that night. Our friends came out that night, the Porters, Mylroies, and Otsujis. The next day the guys went snowboarding. I didn't injure myself, except financially, although I also didn't go off any jumps or go into the half pipe, although I was very, very tempted to. (It was a little hard to shell out to rent when I have three of everything at home.) The kids played in the snow. We went to a sledding park the next day. Gwyn went down the tubing chute by herself. She is fearless. Miriam went down with me and they were both very cute bundled up in borrowed snow gear. Anyway, we had a great weekend.

Natural Capitalism

I first heard of the book in a review in the New Yorker bio of Amory Lovins, one of the authors. I was interested, but figured that since I already agreed with everything he had to say, I didn't need to read it. But here in the land of few English reading materials, with a lapsed subscription to the New Yorker, and needing to something to unwind with after a day of Japanese, I decided to read it. And now I think everyone I know should as well. It is completely fascinating, an environmental book you can safely recommend to your libertarian friends and everyone in between (which I highly recommend, once you've finished reading it yourself). It bears the unlikely classification of "Business/Environment." Although I already agreed with the general gist of what he had to say, the greatest parts of the book are in the details. As it turns out, and we know in a sort of absolute way, that the whole dichotomy between business and environment is a false one. No one is going to be in business when we run out of usable natural resources. Our society is so much more wasteful than I had ever imagined. But the question is how do we get from here to there, how do we reconcile things current price with their actual cost to the planet, humanity, etc. ? And he has lots and lots of rational suggestions. Sometimes it seems more directed to CEO's or politicians, but I think there is something in there for everyone. A lot of his ideas, like how taxes should be set up, were totally novel to me, but make so much sense. If you have ever wondered what we need to do to get out of the mess we are in, and how you can be a part of it, you will be totally fascinated by this book. So buy the book (you can get it used on Amazon), read it, pass it on, those of you with students can find some pretense for making them read it, and so on. For those of you that live close to Palmer HQ in Laie, I already bought a copy and had it sent there. Then let me know what you think.