settling in

Our house (or, apartment rather) is starting to feel like home. Today, we got the following essentials (some things more essential than others): duvet and cover and pillowcases (and pillow), salad spinner, corkscrew, can opener (I bought canned fruit to put on a salad the other night - it was a no go sans the opener), clip-on reading lights, garbage cans (2), and lunch to get us through a big big big Tokyo Ikea. We took the Tokyu Toyoko line and then the free shuttle bus to a suburb (or industry/big-shop-burb?) of Yokohama to take advantage of the lower prices, and eat some Swedish meatballs. It was less than two weeks ago that we were in an Ikea in Ottawa, getting the last needed things for the apartment we were to vacate in two days. Mrrr... it seems like luxury-ville, that apartment, with the complete kitchen, a closet full of towels, and all of our wedding gifts waiting for us. However - Gatineau vs Tokyo? I could never pass this up. We also bought cell phones today, or, as they call them - mobiles. So we're all set up with Softbank - apparently the most economical provider - with one black phone and one white phone. This means that Steve can text me when he's leaving the gym at 10:00, and I can re-heat dinner. They have been training like crazies - some of the stuff he's telling me that they've been doing? Eep - someone is whipping those boys (and Steve) into shape. Most of the guys on the team were born in the mid-80s, so he's a veritable old guy, sweating it out with young'uns.

I'm definitely going to have to write a blog more focused on groceries and shopping and the ridiculous price of cantaloupes ($12) and such, but I have just finished shopping a 56-page order-in catalogue for home-delivery of foodstuffs. I really like the idea - shopping at home (and good, necessary shopping), cheaper (or less expensive) food (most of it), and someone delivers the heavystuffs right to my door? Sure! My only qualm is this: meal planning an entire week in advance? Umm... I don't think so. I'm a max two-days ahead kind of planner, sooo I'll just - at least for now - be ordering the heavy stuff: water, juice, beer. Beverages. I'm ordering beverages. On that note, maybe I should review once more, and order some FOOD, so the coach (who is ordering for us) doesn't think Steve is on some liquid diet or something. Back to it...

aerobics, and an apartment tour

Japanese aerobics anyone? Suuuuure! Yup, I just got home from my first Japanese aerobics class. There I was, with about 35 other aerobicizers, most of whom were retirees, bobbing up and down and lefting and righting to the mega-serious-enthusiasm of our high-ponytailed teacher. I was seriously giggling to myself for the first five minutes at least - I'm here right now, doing this? The music, the enthusiasm, the Japanese, their shortness, my tallness, the awkwardness of aerobics class... it was all waaaay too funny. And then I realized, it was all completely normal and I was the oddball - I was really laughing at myself, for taking the "soft aerobics" class in the first place - Miss Tall and Odd I was. (It was also hilarious that, as I followed the rest of the class left and right and left and right, I went from pinhead skinny-pants to blobbo-cranium with Professor Sherman hips in the warped, carnival-esque mirrors... again, way too funny.) They have all sorts of classes - Beginner's Yoga, Balance Ball, Core Training, Variation Aerobics, Steps Burning Fat (sure!), Boxing and Regular Aerobics... so I'll have to check some other classes out. For 200 yen ($2.38), why not? It's a steal.

the walkway along the Meguro River - nice!

So yes, I found the gym. The public services here are amazing. Yesterday, I checked out the Meguro City Office Complex, home to the Foreign Residents Information Desk and MIFA, the Meguro International Friendship Association; both had lots of info on language classes and cultural courses - a few times a month there are flower arrangement classes, tea ceremonies and Japanese cooking sessions... cool, no? We'll have to check it out for sure. I also made my way along the Meguro River to the Meguro Citizen's Centre - home to the gym, an indoor and outdoor pool, a library, a museum, and much more. And so, this afternoon, for less that $3 I aerobicized and ran on the treadmill for 30 minutes, did some perfunctory shoulder exercises, and made for home. I've had a few emails back about jobs here, and am trying to get that ball rolling asap - something should transpire soon enough.

leaving for practice...

and for the gym...

And just in case you wanted to know what our apartment looks like, here's a short video. We live in a big big big apartment complex called Nakameguro Urban Heights (I think) - which is in a very nice part of town. Some things I love about our apartment so far: it's quiet, there is a balcony, there are trees!, we have a comfy sofa, a long bed, a cool tatami room, a gas stove, and an oven; there's a shower ROOM, we have internet and... we're close to a gym and within walking distance of the metro and grocery stores. What I don't like so much? Hmmm.... nothing really - the wallpaper is a bit ugs but ??? Who cares! There are still a few things missing (check the empty larder and spice cupboard), but we're getting by - note the Starbucks coffee Steve is drinking; it's feeling more and more like home every day!

the metro, and nakameguro

Getting around, from big picture to small picture, is going to be challenging - at least at first. Yesterday we decided to venture out and explore a bit with a short walk-around, and we couldn't even really figure out how to get out of our building. Urban Heights Nakameguro is huge: it has five (I think) different wings, and who knows how many entrances and exits. It takes up a large, misshapen block, and the exits can lead you in any number of ways - all of which are unknown to us - save for one. We managed to find the known exit, and somehow find our way to the (one) known street - bearings are being slowly found. We came across a nice park, a walkway along a canal, and then walked to and from the train station. We bought some hangers at a dollar store, and then picked up some dinner stuff at a busy and bustling grocery store. It was there that I may have already fulfilled the one photo request: get the ultimate tall-small pic - thoughts?


Anyways, so the medium picture is Meguro City, which is anything but medium... it's huge! With a population density of 17,757 people/square kilometre, the place is packed. There are tiny streets galore, pedestrian only streets, streets going every which way, and built up buildings everywhere, with every ounce of space used for living and parking and storing. So, it is overwhelming.

The big picture is Tokyo - and the only place I know where to start on this one is the metro. The city's subway and metro system is the most-used in the world, carrying close to 8 million people every day - !!! Unreal. We bought our Pasmos on Saturday, which are electronic cards that you touch to the gate when you enter and leave different stations - electronic money flies off the card here, or at any store that has a Pasmo system (to purchase groceries etc). We've only been on two lines of the map - the purple Hanzomon line, and the Tokyu Toyoku line, to get home from practice on Saturday. We live within walking distance of the Naka-meguro station (in the bottom left-hand corner of the map, below and to the left of Shibuya), and the station closest to the F.C. Tokyo gym is Sumiyoshi (where the purple and green lines intersect near the top right hand corner of the map) - it's a bit of a trek. So hopefully we'll get to know the system fairly quickly, and hopefully I'll be able to find work closer to home...

A few photos from yesterday's jaunt...

They have Curves here!

Parking garage

Bikes strewn willy nilly - none of them locked up...

A small but loooovely park - about 10 minutes away from our place

busy busy

I like candy and I like cheese - would I like Candy Cheese?

tired, and IN TOKYO!!

We are here! And we are tired, jet-lagged and still awake. We arrived yesterday to a full afternoon and evening, and have just – at 10pm – finished dinner after a late return from the gym. The 13-hour flight wasn’t too bad, thanks to a kind flight attendant; when he saw that we (or, rather, Steve) couldn’t fit into the economy seats, gave us ONE first class upgrade. We switched a few times, and shared one fancy meal, but couldn’t sit together. Oh well! Three guys from the club were there when we arrived, and took us through rush-hour-Tokyo to the gym – both of us fell asleep on the way. Sadly (and despite a few glasses of wine), I didn’t get many zzzzs on the plane. Anyways, long story short – we checked out the gym, met the team, made short impromptu speeches, met management and office staff (there was almost always clapping - I'm pretty sure I did nothing to deserve any of it) … and then made for our apartment in more traffic. We dropped off our bags and headed out almost immediately for the welcome party/dinner. In short: traditional stubby-leg table, tall, tired foreigners, kind and welcoming staff, delicious food (shabu shabu and udon), champagne, a toast, beer, speeches (from them: we have many expectations for you and for the team, we’re happy to have you here; from us: we are happy to be here, thank you thank you), kimono-clad servers... and probably more. Anyways, we were back home and in our long bed much later than we would have liked, but it meant that we were tired enough to sleep through the night.

And today. We hit the grocery store – three of the seven levels – for kitchen paraphernalia and groceries; it felt (and feels) weird to be doing this again so soon… setting up another kitchen, buying another lasagna pan. Anyways, it’s all sensory overload – the grocery store and the city – soooo many people and shops and goods and levels, everywhere and at every glance. We made it back home in time to stuff some food down our gullets and take off almost immediately for the gym, for practice. So, that being said, we left at 1:00 for a 2:30 training session, and got home… hmm… around 9:30… !!!!! The guys practiced for almost five hours (!!), and it took us a solid 45 minutes to get home on the subway and train. And so, we are very, very tired. The apartment is good – a tad far from the gym, but apparently the only thing available. The team's sponsor company owns the place, so we're paying considerably less for it than we would be for anything else - closer or farther from training. And guess how much we paid to get home from F.C. Tokyo’s training gym... 850 yen each! That’s $10 (each), one-way. This is going to be a very different year, in almost every way. We‘ll have to get used to the big city life, and all of the plusses and minuses that come with it. And that’s all I’ve got for now – some pics, so far, and hopefully a more energetic blog tomorrow!

shabu shabu! it was delicious...


shopping for another kitchen - sigh!


piggins sponges!

Halloween lives here too!

Instead of water at water breaks (there weren't many), there is cold tea...

The guys introduce themselves: each gave their first and last name, and the name they go by... try remembering that times 20!

On the subway, home from practice

it's 19 degrees and cloudy...

... in Tokyo! We are on our way. I'm pretty sure that I wrote this blog last year - waiting in the lounge in Toronto, on my way over a big water to a new place, new country, new adventure. The past few days (/weeks/months) have been very full - errands, unpacking, organizing, packing etc., you know the deal. We did some running around yesterday morning in Bowmanville and Oshawa, and by 4:00(ish) we were ready to stuff our two bags with stuff for the year. Eek. The team is unbelievably organized - not only were we given a schedule for the year already (unheard of!), we were given a schedule for the pick-up day: first, to the gym to meet the team, second, to the apartment (where there is an oven - yay!), and third, to the welcome party! After the (almost) 13 hour flight I'm not so sure I'll be ready to par-tay... but it's a must. I'm excited to get there and make a good first impression.

And so, it seems as though we're on the downsizing slide in terms of housing, and on the up-and-up in terms of cities and population. From Winnipeg to Gatineau to Tokyo, we've moved from a 2000-plus square foot home to a 1200 square foot condo to something that must be smaller - in a city much bigger than the rest. And by the rest, I mean most of the cities in the world. The city of Tokyo is home to 12.8 million residents, and the metropolitan area holds more than 32 million people! Crazy. Anyways, it's flight time - the next post, from far across the Pacific, will hopefully be made from our new home in Meguro... !

a day of much doing

What a day! What we have accomplished today... ugh! A list: bought a vacuum (actually, we were given a vacuum - thanks Bob and Marg!), connected and leveled appliances, picked up a Uhaul, moved out of storage and into a Uhaul, moved out of a Uhaul and into our new apartment, unpacked, organized and set up our stuff, went to the Brick to get a cleaning appointment (for the stained sofa, mrrrrrr...), hit up Costco - bought salad and take-and-bake pizza, made dinner (used our new stove for the first time!), bought soap and dish cloths, cleaned, vacuumed... and... more? It was a LOT! And our new place is starting to look like a home-to-be. It is QUITE unfortunate that we only get to really live in it for three days (or two?) before we head to Toronto before we fly away to Japan. Some pics:

The men in the TRUCK

a packed storage unit!!

on our last elevator ride!

action shot...

the most relaxing three seconds of my day...

On another note, the organization and honesty of the team in Japan is going to be above and beyond our best European experience (which, by the way, is Arona Tenerife Sur) - get this: Steve got an email this morning informing him that the bed they have for him/us is so special (2150mm by 1500mm - they gave him the measurements in millimetres - !) that we have to bring our own sheets. They don't sell sheets that big in Japan. It turns out to be an odd size (as wide as a queen, and as long as a California king - strange), but that just got all of us wondering - where did they get the bed? Much more on Japan to come, but for now... it's sleep-time. We're making our way to Ikea tomorrow, and it will surely be another very long day. Good night!

ughhhhh

Ugh - buying a home/apt/property is frustrating! We're jumping and crawling through hoops (and have been all week) to get things set up and organized and somewhat-sort-of done and ready for a move-in. We're none too sure if this will happen as scheduled (that would be tomorrow), and are just trying to keep stress levels low... and are, so far, not so successful on that front. Other news? In one week - we'll be in Tokyo! From one place to another, here we go again. We're both feeling that there will be some relief - a chance to breathe and know that everything has been taken care of (right?) - once we get on the plane. Toronto-Tokyo is a 14 hour flight, and at just over 10,000 kms (as the crow, or as the AC jetliner flies), it's roughly the same number of kilometres that I drove this summer... yikes. Other news, other things... I am fully and completely out of the loop as far as movies go (as per usual), but there is one that I am looking forward to hearing about, and to seeing: Where the Wild Things are. Will it disappoint? We saw a preview the other day and the costumes looked amazing - check out the trailer if you haven't seen it already. Spike Jonze and some of his buds have set up a photoshop contest at their website We Love You So - "Where the Wild Things Ought To Be", and there are some creative entries, such as the one below. How I love children's books! I gave in to temptation the other day and both The 20th Century Children's Book Treasury, and I love it; Amelia Bedelia, Good Night Moon, Sylvester and the Magic Pebble, Madeline, Frog and Toad, Miss Nelson (is Missing!!), and, of course, Where the Wild Things Are.

a great summer!

And so it seems... summer is over. The weather here has been beautiful and warm during the day, but the temperatures are laced with that autumn chill that gets heavier and colder at night (brrrr). We made it out to Gatineau Park yesterday, and it was beautiful. We forgot the camera (oops), but the colours and views were spectacular! We did a short walk up and around King Mountain (or King Hill?), which afforded some amazing views into the Ottawa Valley - and then made for Meech Lake, where Steve looked for lunkers and I read my book. The park and the proximity of lake and woods and nature is one of the things that I'm loving about living in Gatineau. I went for a run yesterday morning on one of the many bike/pedestrian trails, and after about 20 minutes was in a shady forest - no more city! How great is that? I'm excited to learn about all of the trails and paths, to get to know the park a little bit - and the city. Next summer... we are a tight time leash here, and our departure for Japan is coming up quickly. Anyways, so I thought I'd do a recap of the summer, and list some of the highlights... here goes...

1. The wedding! Marrying Steve was the best part of the summer - and a close runner-up was the entire event; having everyone there, all of our friends and family (and for multiple days!) was really the best. We are so lucky to have such great people in our lives! (cheeeeeeeeeese!)

2. New York and Boston with Jen - we had the best time! road tripping and tourist-ing, exploring new cities and meeting people... it was all so so soooo fun. Yay.

3. Traveling - okay, maybe the traveling part wasn't the highlight, but the traveling to and with people was: seeing Claire and Chris and Kim and Jesse in Calgary, Bill and Barb in Seattle, hanging with Jo and Barb and Sharms and Griff (long live Grosbergen!) in Kelowna, and Dan and Milka in Toronto, seeing Joyce and Zella and Duncan in Ottawa, Helen in Gananoque and Hugh and Michelle in B-ville, seeing and spending time with my parents and sisters in the West and with Steve's family in the East...

4. Complete relaxation in Lake Louise - our honeymoon! It was amazing... luxe room, luxe service and two full do-nothing days with my hubs... perfection!

There are more, but the main ones are here - the people, the time, the trips... what an incredible summer!!!

a few comments...

What is Christmas stuff doing up in the middle of September? If I'm still wearing flip flops, it's definitely too early for Christmas commercialism - is it out earlier this year? Maybe a September release is the current norm, and we've just always been on another continent by now. Not knowing... and not liking.


We are Ontarians again! Steve grew up in Bowmanville, I was born in London, and, apparently, our car lived here once too. The Manitoba plates are gone, we have Ontario health cards and I'm a new permanent resident with my new family on Maple Grove Road. I was subjected to a short interview when I crossed GO in Ontario, and passed: What is the only sport that matters? Hockey. What's the only team that matters? The Leafs. Where is the closest Starbucks? Tim Horton's. There was more, but you catch my drift.


Summer is over. It was down to 9 degrees last night, and it was CHILLS out this morning. I'm okay with the fact that fall is on its way - the leaves are already changing, and I love the medley of colours. (I also love that we won't have to rake anything.) Who knows what our place is going to be like in Tokyo... I mean, besides the street view (which you can see if you zoom in on the map that I posted the other day, I think), we're none too sure about what is going to be inside, and whether or not any of it will fit.

And, last thing: we're going to the Kings of Leon concert tonight in Ottawa! Yessss!

TIFFing in Toronto

We had a great weekend in Toronto, and felt like semi-famous people at the ET Canada rooftop party in Yorkville, all dressed up on the red carpet. TIFF was in full swing, and there were a few big-shot stars, some know-you-by-face-but-not-by-name celebs and lots (mobs) of star-hungry commoners with eyes a'bulge, on the prowl for celebrities. The parties were fun (and so well put together - Dan and Milka's doing) - Saturday night the fete was thrown in honour of Woody Harrelson's new movie, Defendor, so he made an appearance (our biggest star sighting), and Sunday night's slightly more mellow party was for Julianne Moore's new flick, Chloe. We had a chance to do some shopping, went out for breakfast (YUM), met up with Coops for coffee and ... hmm... there must be more. We've got lots going on this week - changing driver's licenses, health care, insurance, and all that fun stuff, getting things arranged/ordered/done for the new apartment, and figuring out particulars for Japan. And, on that note... I'd better go and get some of these to-dos DONE!

We're getting sick of living out of bags - besides our one month stint in Winnipeg in May/June, we've been doing this all summer...

TIFF! Crowds waiting outside the Yorkville Hotel to spot a celeb... it was a bit out of control!

At the ET Canada lounge - there was great deco, all white and shimmery...

Spot the celeb - Woody!

Again, on the red carpet!

Dan-o and Steve

Where the stars got their pics snapped upon arrival at the par-tay...

Dan and Milka hooked us up with a party gift bag - checking out the swag! There were so many good products!

Coops and Brinks - as awesome as they are tall!

An afternoon breakfast after a late night on Sunday at Fran's

and Quebec!

Sooo since we arrived last weekend, we've checked out a small handful of places (maybe 6 or 7?), and ... have had success! Today we signed papers and bought a new condo! Super exciting! It's really central in Gatineau - right across the street from a big green space home to several soccer fields, with two grocery stores within walking distance and a bike path framing a small collection of condos and apartment buildings. We went in this afternoon to take some measurements and, since the MLS listing doesn't really have any pics, took a short video...



Other big news? We're going to Japan! Steve got a contract playing in Tokyo for F.C. Tokyo, a soccer club with an up and coming volleyball team. So that is going to be a bit wild - we're right in Tokyo, and will be living in the Meguro Ward of the city come October. So we're on a bit of a timeline here, but the condo we bought was the model or show home for the development, so we can get in as fast as legal and other such things can get done. And so, like that! We have a new address in Canada and a new address overseas, one that we already know! EEP! And here it is, if you want to check out where we'll be living in Japan's capital - home to 12 million plus. I imagine that there will be no shortage of bloggable goods! We're off to Bowmanville and Toronto tomorrow for a few days; we'll spend the weekend in the city checking out a few film festival events (Steve's best man Dan (#2) is in charge of a few of the biggest social-night-life fêtes of the event), hanging out with the fam in B-ville and then getting a few to-dos crossed off our list early on next week. It should be good - the whirlwind continues!


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in Ontario!

SOLD!
moving men and the tetris-ed van

an empty house

What a weekend. We left Thursday afternoon, and made it to very full Thunder Bay after hmmm, eight hours or so - we were denied at three (or four?) hotels before landing a free upgrade deluxe king-size-bed-room at Travelodge. Friday we made it to Sault St Marie where we had some seriously average Italian food (did you know that The Sault has the most Italian restaurants, per capita, in Canada?), and Saturday we finished the slow-go uhaul to Ottawa... ugh.


The only moose we saw en route was this one

This was not the only bear we came across en route - not far from Thunder Bay we saw a mid-sized black bear pause... and then cross the highway - safely.

We weren't sick of each other but we sure were sick of driving. Steve somehow managed to fit the beast of a vehicle into my aunt Zella's driveway, and after a nice chat with first cousin once removed (or something like that) Val, passed OUT. (Val just got back from a kayaking trip in Greenland, and her pics were amazing... amazing!) Sunday morning we were back in the van, but only for the short trip to a Uhaul storage facility and again, four hours later, to a Uhaul parking lot to drop the thing off. Thankfully we had help unloading and hauling and packing the stuff, and Steve and I along with Fred and Shanti, got the business done pretty quickly. The most disappointing part of that day? Unloading our couch and finding a huge unknown stain on one of the sewn-in-sewn-on cushions... sooooo annoying. Anyways, we stuffed all the stuff into a small-ish storage unit and after a quick stop at Freddie's to drop off patio furniture and a bbq, left the Uhaul, left the key and left the moving weekend behind us. We were tired and frustrated... but glad that we had it all wrapped up and finished. It was back to Zella's for a cold beer, a shower, a lovely dinner, a yummmy bottle of wine and some great company... best part of the day for sure.

Zella making bruschetta in Grandma's apron - so good, so sweet!

Steve enjoying a cold one after a(nother) long day!

Soooo that was yesterday, Sunday. Today we were up and meeting with a realtor by 9:30, at a Second Cup in the Glebe; on our to-do list was to figure where we want to live - Ottawa or Gatineau, what neighborhood, and what our options are/were. And, based on our criteria, we came to a conclusion - for now, because we need to be close to the gym (after all, we did move here because of volleyball), Gatineau is our best bet. It's cheaper, easier and we're not planning on being here forever (and by here I mean Gatineau). So, that was gooooood - a good decision made. We made an appointment with a different realtor for tomorrow, for this side (Gat) of the water... and that was all of the business we could really do for the day. We drove around a bit - Steve showed me the new, half-built complex where the team will be training, and we checked out a few neighborhoods. From there we made our way back into Ottawa to take a look at what used to be my Grandpa and Grandma's house - the house my Pops grew up in. Sadly, the house at 41 Bedford was demolished and has been replaced with a huge megalith of a thing - a definite (ugly) neighborhood anomaly. We visited with Joyce (neighbor), and her son and his partner, and, over coffee talked about this that and the other. It was great to see Joyce - she's known me since I was a wee little bean, and over the years we've had some great visits. So that was a highlight of my day, as was our trip TO THE SPA this afternoon!!! We went to the Nordik Spa in Chelsea and it was amazing. It was so relaxing and so calming and so what we needed after (at least) five consecutive days of moving and packing and moving. And voila, that's it. And, now it's bedtime.

Me and Joyce!