United and I are reUnited...

I was on very very bad terms with United.... I flew with them three times in the course of three months and not one of the times was pleasant...On my first trip the last leg of the flight was delayed forever, maybe eight hours, and they played the "the plane will be here in 30 minutes" card. I could have rented a car and driven from San Fran faster, if they would be have been honest. They knew it wasn't arriving anytime soon. On the last two flights, my flight from Sac to San Francisco was completely cancelled....I wasn't that mad after the first cancellation, but after the second one, I was very ticked off....I wrote to their complaints department, totally played the 6 months pregnant card, having to move my luggage by myself with no help from the airport staff, almost missing my connecting flight to Japan from San Francisco, while mentioning that my previous two flights were messed up as well and that I was hoping to get the miles on my mileage account (ha ha-even though there is only a few for that short flight)...After a couple of rounds of emails and a few no responses, I found out that we were reimbursed $363 for my cancelled flights! I could not believe that I actually won....Usually, they shine me on, then they say they can't do anything, then David calls and gets his way....He says I am too emotional when I call...that is why I went the email route this time...Finally, some customer service...

Only in Japan...

Here are some funny pics....
Poor David did not get any picture chocolates for Valentine's Day, but Nile did....The fans go to great lengths for these guys.....


Why o why, did they not consult Bable Fish/Google Translator/Any other translation website/foreigner before printing out mass quantities of this???? You would think they could have asked 1 person who lived overseas or a foreigner on the street if "availalbe" was spelled right. You have no idea how common this is....Huge billboards with spelling mistakes like brended coffee, instead of blended....I have to laugh everytime and it makes me want to start an English consulting firm.....

Working Girl...

I decided to take the teaching job at the 'Y. I am not sure how they are working out the visa situation, since I am not really supposed to work on a dependent visa. I figure they know what they are doing. I had my first class last Saturday and it was so fun! I hadn't realized how much I enjoyed teaching, since I have been out of it for a while now. The girls are so smart, well-behaved, and eager to learn! I think the job will actually end up being fun... if I can make money, while having fun, then I am all for it. My last class will be on March 20th....Here's to hoping everything just continues to move along until then!

Update on International Baby Making: I don't know why I keep laughing about this story...well, actually I do....I forgot to mention in the last post that the lady was 37!!! At 37, she was still thinking that international sperm and eggs may not "match" up....I would expect it from maybe an 18 year old, but 37!!! Give me a break!!!! Her naivete is precious....yet, a little annoying.

32 Weeks...

32 Weeks!!! Yes, I wear the same type of outfit everytime I step out....There is only so much you can do to cover that thing up....

Baby P is moving right along. His/her weight is at 4 lbs 5 oz, which I guess is just a little ahead of schedule and his/her head is about 2 weeks a"head" of schedule....YIKES!!! Basically, everything is normal and fine (including my weight gain, yeah for baby and for me!) My stomach has a life of its own now. It just wiggles, twitches, hardens, softens, flops to one side, then to other, and bulges on it own accord. It looks like it is on the verge of having an earthquake. I can feel body parts sticking out and sometimes when I push in, I can feel the baby move or push back. There really is a little life in there. David's brother, Mike, suggested playing the "flashlight game" to see if the baby would react to the light. It is amazing how often the baby actually moves where the light is, when we shine it on my stomach. We like to do this, once we've gone to bed, romantic, huh? I am still moving along fine...slow and tired, but fine...I can only hope that the labor is as easy as the pregnancy has been...None of the horror stories that I have heard about pregnancy have been true so far, but I still have 8 weeks to go.

In other news... David's team won two more games this weekend! They are finally playing as a team, so things are looking up on this side of the ocean.

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

What I would give for a box of these right now.........

Hope everyone had a great day! Our day was filled with a few goodies, a basketball game, and Indian food.....our favorite.


Goodies


Dinner

2 months left...

Whoop whoop, 2 more months to go!

Basketball World

David's team won both games this weekend, which is wonderful!!! I think it is the first Sunday game that they have won since November, really, I am serious! They are now in 3rd place and are hoping to catch-up into second. David had a double-double in the first game and had 21 points and 5 rebounds in the second. And, his team just got a new "big" guy, which will help them out a lot. He is 6'10" or 11" and his chest is two of me. He is huge..... For the peeps, who are actually interested in his basketball, this post is for you!

As a side note, I just got an email from the YMCA asking if I could teach one Saturday class, which I did before, until March 13th. I am seriously thinking about doing it. My reply was "What time? How much money? What age are the kids?" The 3 most important things.....

International Baby Making

Another funny story.....One of my classmates asked if I was pregnant and I told her I was. She got so excited and preceded to tell me that her husband and she were trying for a baby. She was telling me that they have been trying for a while and she is not sure if they can have children because she is not sure if her egg (from Hong Kong) and his sperm (from Japan) will be able to match up because they are international. They are not from the same country, so she did not know if that was causing a problem. I wanted to laugh, right there, right then, but instead I said, "I think it is fine. Lots of people in America are not the same and they have babies." She said, "Oh, okay." I said, "Just keep trying." She really thought that the sperm and egg had to be from the same country!!!!!!!??????????

Mooner

First off, we all had a good laugh this weekend at David's expense. When I say "WE" let me clarify, who that includes: me, Megan, Dana, and all of the fans. Yes, the fans were present, when David graced us with his "nakedness". Dana, Megan, and I rode with two fans to the away game on Sunday. They wanted to wait by the bus for the players to see them off. We never do this because 1. we don't really care and 2. its really, really cold outside. So...we were randomly waiting by the bus when we see people inside the building next to us moving around near the window. Everyone starts looking and wondering if it is a player or a reporter or whoever. All of a sudden we realize that it is David (the Japanese players are not as tall as him, and the other guys who played, who would be changing, are African American), so we confirm that it is him. No worries at this point...Then he starts changing in front of the so-called "frosted" window. We can't see anything at first then he takes his underwear off and turns around, so basically he mooned everyone. All of the fans are dying, I am dying, and Megan and Dana are dying for me and David. They started laughing and pointing and looking at me. Let's just say I am SOOOO happy he didn't turn the other way.....When he came out of the building to get on the bus, everyone started laughing and making noises at him. It was hilarious.

Today is a good, good day...

Eureka!!! I found my decaf coffee and was able to enjoy a cup this morning.....It was everything I had hoped it would be....I have been looking forever at every store and there is none and most of the time the clerks don't know what I am talking about.

Second thing...Project Free TV= THE BOMB!!! Just watched my first episode back of Grey's Anatomy!!!! I may give birth right here, on the couch, through an episode of Grey's.....well...that is an exaggeration, but I may not leave this couch, until I go into labor. That really is the truth.

My last prenatal appointment went well. The doctor was impressed with my weight gain over the last two weeks. I felt like a proud kindergarten for drinking 3 liters of water a day and making healthier choices....Baby P is weighing in at about 3 pounds 12 oz. The doctor informed me that I would be able to birth a very large baby because of my height, so she is not worried at all about the baby's growth. I told her I wanted a 6 lber and she just laughed....David is going with me next time (hopefully) and I think they are excited to meet him. They keep talking about his height. That is all for now....Off to watch more Grey's....

Officially pregnant!!

30 weeks...

Well... I have been pregnant for what seems like forever now, but it seem official now, because I got my first comment/are you pregnant question this week. Two people in my Japanese class (student and teacher) asked me if I was pregnant and asked when I was due. So...strangers are asking and that makes it official....My teacher said that 2 weeks ago, she did not think I was pregnant and now my stomach is really showing. Looking back two weeks ago, my stomach was still huge....It is all in the outfit; however, at this point, I don't think any outfit will hide the bump...Baby P feels like he or she is crawling in there. He/she is always on my right side and seems to like reaching around my waist. It feels like his/her little hands are trying to tickle my sides :).

Five 5 second tidbits...

1. I am battling a cold and allergies :(... It sucks not being able to take medication.
2. I went to Kyoto on Monday with my new friend, Rebecca. It was raining and storming, which didn't help the cold, but we got to witness a real tea ceremony, done by real Geisha girls. And...we got to take a picture with them! I never got to do this the last time we lived here. The long train ride (we got on the wrong one and it took about 45 minutes longer than it should have), the flood (not really, but it was pouring-we were soaked), and trying to find the way there were totally worth the picture with the real Geisha girls!!!
3. We have started the 10 week count down!!! So close, so close!
4. I am going to my first away game this weekend. A fan is taking Dana, Megan, and I on Sunday.
5. David received so many nice gifts from the fans for his birthday. We are talking, $100, candy, cakes/desserts, AND the Osaka Monopoly game. Yes...his team is one of the places that you can buy. It is sooo cool! And, he just brought home a box of chocolate for Valentine's Day. Lucky, lucky man!


The Geisha Girls....



We look like giants. Rebecca is pretty tall too!