I get hysterical when people answer my sleep-talk. I talk a lot supposedly, sometimes asking very clear questions. Tyler answered me last night, I screamed and threw a fit. It felt like mental rape, a knife of foreign consciousness tresspassing into my underlying mind.
I’ve heard from others not to answer people’s sleep-talk, because it messes […]

Tyler spoke about his walk in Japan (and about The Amazing Race & I Ran Iran) at a party hosted by the Tri-Valley Japanese-American Citizens League. I sang the American and Japanese national anthems.
A warm crowd of people cheered and smiled, listening to Tyler share his life stories. We answered questions, shook hands, joked, sold […]

From the balcony of his home, the 3-year-old gleefully shouted “hello black person!” The surprised passerby looked up and echoed “hello!”
I told his parents this; they laughed.
The older girl, now 5, has been learning about Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King at pre-school. She recites to me what she’s learnt, but I hesitate to comment. […]

“Ayumi-san, if you eat too much ice cream, your poo poo comes out cold”
“Really? Who told you that?”
“Riley. Can I eat yots and yots of ice cream so my poo poo is cold?”
“Well, how about you eat really, really cold veggies instead and see if that works?”
“Okay”.
(My victory for the day)

11 hours, 2.5 truck loads (yes, the fruit couch included), calf muscles working, boxes in hand, 14 17 steps up, 14 17 steps down, forehead glistening with sweat, running on happiness, leaping for joy, Tyler and I moved into our new home today.
I hadn’t seen much of what’s inside the boxes in 5 months, amazing […]

So much is on my mind I am not functioning well. At such times, I do the ‘16 adjectives’. This is how it works:
You list 16 adjectives. Then you take the 1st and 2nd adjectives and write down whatever comes to mind (doesn’t have to be an adjective). My example below is (1.Forgetful + 2.Somber […]

I used to loath meeting Japanese tourists abroad. Often in groups, they would take pictures and chitter-chatter with wild, curious eyes, overreacting to the foreigness of everything.
Well, my self-conscious “please don’t embarass me, I don’t want to be associated with you” years have passed, and again I meet Japanese tourists and I see them under […]

A man dreamt of eating a giant eclair.
.
.
.
In the morning, his pillow was gone.

(This is a painting by Danny Smythe. Amazing artist)

A friend called Yellow Cab from her home phone. Before she could speak, an automated voice responded “if you need pick up at 1234 Lobster steeet, apartment 109, please press 1″. A little surpised at the extraordinary convenience, she curiously pressed 1.
5 minutes later, she received a phone call from the same automated voice machine: […]

I must run earlier than scheduled to the home where the mother has fallen sick. My schedules vary, often depending on who’s sick (it’s unbelievable how often kids catch viruses from school). The mother works from home.
I have never had a nanny growing up. Not only could we not afford one, but the concept itself […]