Happy New Year.

Happy New Year.
あけましておめでとうございま. 今年もよろしくお願いします

RIP Ken Stevenson

I am saddened to have learned the passing of my good friend's father, Ken Stevenson. 
He passed away on New Year's Eve from a heart attack. Our thoughts and prayer are with the Stevenson family.


I've known him for as long as I've known his daughter (since Jr. High) and like many people I was terrified of him. He was this big mean looking guy who didn't talk much, but deep down he was softy.  Ah... so many memories. I'll miss his smart ass remarks. =)


Rest in peace Ken. 

RIP David

December 16th we received a frantic call that Dave had collapsed and wasn't breathing. Being 100 miles away and feeling helpless the only thing we could do was call 911. The paramedic arrived, we were told he was breathing and was rushed to the hospital. We felt a little relieved, but that feeling was short lived. He passed away that night. 


Even though he had some health problems, his passing was sudden and took us by surprise. We will miss him dearly, but know that he's no longer in pain and in a better place. 
We are so sad that our boys will grow up without him, but grateful that they had the chance to be with him and know him. We will do our best to make sure they remember him. 


Rest in peace dear brother. Til we all meet again. 

Merry Christmas!

   

Want to Help the Families and Earthquake Survivors in Japan? | Red Tricycle

Want to Help the Families and Earthquake Survivors in Japan? | Red Tricycle

I should be in Tokyo by now

I should be at my family's house in Tokyo Japan unpacking and getting settled right now. Instead I'm at home watching the news about the nuclear power plant closely. I postponed my trip by about a couple of weeks and now I'm schedule to fly out of here on March 28th. 

My aunt tells me Tokyo is fine, just dealing with rolling black outs and panic buying. Rice and toilet paper are sold out everywhere, but they have plenty of food. My cousins all went into work either by bicycle or car. They're all watching the problems with the power plant closely, but not too worried. I don't think they would risk their own children's health/lives if they thought Tokyo was in serious trouble. Plus they would tell me to change my plans and not to come at this time. But I am watching it closely since I would be traveling with my two boys and I'll decide late next week whether to change my plans again or not. 

Japan Earthquake and Tsunami

I was driving home from a friends house when I received a voicemail from an old coworker of mine asking me if I could read Japanese. Her daughter was in Tokyo when the big earthquake hit and she needed help locating the hotel her daughter was staying at.

"What earthquake?" I thought to myself. I immediately turned on the TV when I got home and it was bad. I tried calling my aunt and of course all the phone lines were down and I couldn't get through. As the hours went by I began to learn how bad it really was. Thankfully most of my family are in Tokyo, but then they started talking how bad Sendai and Ibaraki was. That's where one of my aunt and uncle on my mother's side are living.

Luckily I got a hold of my aunt and uncle (dad's side) in Tokyo and everyone there is fine. Very shaken up, but fine. My cousin who works in Odaiba (where the fire broke out in Tokyo) was fine too. But no one could get a hold of people in the Sendai and Ibaraki area. That night I went to sleep a bit relieved but a little worried about my other relatives in the harder hit areas.

The next day I watched/read the news about Japan all day. By 3pm (8am Japan time) I started to try to call my aunt in Ibaraki but no luck. My aunt from Tokyo called me to check back in and to let me know everyone was accounted for and fine. The family in Sendai were all ok. Thank goodness! We just couldn't get a hold of my other aunt in Ibaraki and she said she'd keep trying as well.

4pm - The phone to Ibaraki is finally ringing and I finally hear a familiar hello. Oh thank goodness!!! They were all fine. Their electricity was out all night/day and their phone lines were out for while. Other than that they are all fine, and she was able to get a hold of her siblings as well, so my uncle in Sendai was fine too. Yippee!

So now my plans to travel to Japan has been changed. I was suppose to leave this Wednesday, but pushed it out by a couple of weeks. I'm watching the nuclear power plant and the radiation scare closely. Depending on what happens with that, that'll determine whether me and kids go as planned or cancel the trip.