It's another HOT one!

You know it's a HOT one when CFAY (Commander Fleet Activities Yokosuka) issues the black flag on Facebook! I've already had to change my clothes 2 times today because after both of my walks I looked like a drowned rat... not the best look for me! Although with all of this excessive sweating, my hair is wet (from the sweat on my face) and stays somewhat tame instead of my usual humidity frizz helmet!!!

Our dehumidifier is working it's ass off today trying to keep up. We have it right in the middle of our hallway so it can attack the humidity at all angles and we empty it 2-3 times a day (1 gallon of water each time)... there are little lights on the side that tell us if there is low, moderate, or high humidity in the air, and most days it stays RED for high humidity! We also keep the bathroom and kitchen fans on at all times to help keep it dry in here.

Of course on the hottest day I had to go to the complete opposite side of the base to take my driving test. They took 3 of us out at a time and of course while walking to the car, the driving instructor handed me the keys... I definitely did NOT want to go first! I was more nervous for this test than I was for my original license test (cough cough) 13 years ago... yikes! It was so incredibly strange to get in on the right side of the car and to adjust my mirrors the opposite way. It was a Toyota Prius which was so nice to drive (now I know why you love yours so much Debbie)! The person who goes first on the test drives the most.... grrrrrrrrrr.... and it was VERY difficult to keep it under the speed limit. I had to drive through the longest school zone ever... 20 kph... which is about 12 mph... I don't think I have ever driven so slow in my entire life! Then he had me back it into a spot (which I haven't done since Driver's Ed a million years ago), and all the cars here beep when you back up and every store you go to everyone backs into the spots... looks like I need to practice that one. I got a 96 on my test... probably because I put the windshield wipers on instead of my left blinker one time! I laughed, but my instructor did not find it funny... HAHAHA

Damian and I have a car, but we have to get it all registered in our name now that one of us has a license! First we have to make sure it starts as it hasn't been run in about 4 months!!! That is a project for this afternoon! It's a Nissan... not sure exactly what kind though. Most cars on base are Toyota, Nissan, or Mitsubishi! There is an occasional oddball BMW, but not very often. It was nice to be behind the wheel again, I kind of missed driving the past few weeks! I guess it is a good thing the speed limit is so low because it gives me plenty of time to remember which side of the road I am supposed to be on and how to turn my blinker on! Another adventure!

Yesterdays adventure was the Japanese supermarket... I don't even know if I can explain this experience enough so you can really get the picture. There is not enough Xanax in this world to keep me calm in crowds like this! It was a Thursday afternoon and you would of thought it was the day before Thanksgiving if you saw crowds like this in the U.S. Apparently, most of the Japanese shop everyday and get just a few things... that's not really how I roll... I like shopping once, maybe twice a week and I get everything I need to cook! I couldn't turn around without bumping into someone in this place... and the craziest thing was... it was dead quiet! The Japanese are very quiet, polite people... they don't say a word... and then there's me who talks ALL the time... usually about nothing! Anyway, the produce section was awesome... although there are still a lot of fruits/veggies that I don't know exactly what they are. The rest of the store is nice, but I can't read Kanji and have no idea what I am buying. I did buy some Inari (rice wrapped in sweet tofu) and some rice triangle things with some sort of fish inside (those were for Damian to figure out). So, we get into line and they ring you up so quickly and put everything back into your basket and hand you the bags... you move down the assembly line and bag your own groceries! Truly an adventure.

Fast forward to last night, I made a yummy stir-fry with carrots, snap peas, eggplant, zucchini, and broccoli marinated in a sesame/soy dressing on top of white rice! So yummy... the eggplant was out of this world!!!! Damian had the rice triangles and one had tuna in the middle and the other was a mystery but he liked them both and was really excited it wasn't a strictly vegetarian dinner like he's used to when I cook!

We're headed out tonight to experience a little Japanese night-life... I'm sure I will have some good stories/pictures to report back!

Japanese phrase of the day:
Chotto matte kudasai: One moment please