Hamsters

Today I went with a friend to the new Home Center downtown. There was a fantastic petland full of cute dogs and bunnies and fish and parakeets and guinea pigs and beetles and HAMSTERS.

They were absolutely adorable! The sign said not to put your hand in because they bite, but the lady working there didn't say anything when she saw me put my hand into the first hamster aquarium, so we went ahead and played with practically every hamster in the place. Some didn't seem to notice when we touched them, but this fat gray one turned its head around and glared at us, seeming to say "Leave me alone! Can't you see I'm busy burrowing??" It glared every time we touched it. If it weren't 3o bucks, I would have bought it on the spot. We must have spent more than an hour playing with hamsters.

I want a hamster. No, not one hamster. I want a whole bunch of hamsters. They're so cute!

But after asking the lady working about how many babies they pop out, it got a little scary. Apparently 2 hamsters can have about 30 babies a year. So in a few years, how many hamsters does that make?

Year One - 30 hamsters. Let's say 15 girls and 15 boys, and the next year they all have babies, too. And just for simplicity's sake, let's say the parents die after a year.

Year Two - 450 hamsters. Now that's a lot of hamsters in just a couple years. A few aquariums filled to the brim with hamsters?

Year Three - 6750 hamsters. I might need to convert one room into a hamster playroom.

Year Four - 101,250 hamsters. Not only have we grown way past infestation level, but the previous hamsters would be dying off and I'd need a shovel to pile them up in the backyard for burning.

Holy cow. Perhaps I don't want hamsters.

The photo

Just got a call from the Fukuoka Consulate saying the photos were too small. I got them done at a passport photo booth, but apparently the Japanese passport photo size is 0.5cm smaller than the American one. Hmm . . . wonder where I can get bigger photos done in a jiff . . .

Passport issues.

My passport expires in two weeks.

I filled out the passport renewal documents, paid a hundred bucks for a money order of $67 US dollars, assembled the self-addressed insured envelopes, attached two photos and sent the whole packet off to the Fukuoka Consulate today. Supposedly it then gets sent to America for processing, and I'm hoping that the whole procedure is completed within two weeks.

I had the forms filled out 3 weeks ago, so why did it take so long for me to get around to sending it all? Those darn pictures. I'm gonna have this passport for ten years, so of course I want a good picture. I waited until I could get a haircut. Then waited until I had time to get dressed up in a suit and make my way downtown to the photo booth. I figured a suit looks more professional, and less likely to get questioned in the customs lines while travelling (my current passport with the photo from my long hair & eyebrow ring days caused worrisome delays in Cambodia). I spent $20 on photos and thought I looked kinda weird in all of them, so decided to ask around to see which photo looked best. It took several days to collect a nice sample of opinions.

Everyone liked the non-smiling serious face. Which I didn't. So in the end it didn't even matter if I asked what everyone thought or not, because I went with the photo that most people said they DIDN'T like. But I'm smiling big, and that's why I chose it.

Does the renewal get processed in time? Will my current passport expire and make me an illegal alien? Oh, the possibilities. Nothing to do but sit back and see what happens.

9 months of memories

Rolls of film were piling up waiting to be developed and I finally got around to it. 168 photos on high quality photo paper cost about a hundred bucks. Yikes!

Looking through all these photos made me realize that I take pictures of friends, places, and events, but never of myself. I'm getting older . . . my face is changing . . . my hair goes through different phases . . . fashion evolves. What did I look like a few years ago? I know I looked younger, but how?

Then I started thinking about the collection of photos I do have. None from my childhood; none from high school. It's like I never existed until I became an adult.

But I didn't intend to suddenly get all sentimental. I started writing just now because I thought it'd be nice to spice up this blog with some of the photos I just got back. So . . . here are a couple from the Hot Spring Festival held back in March. There was a parade, lots of food stalls, singing, dancing, and all kinds of events throughout the city. Mostly it was just fun being part of a big crowd and running into friendly faces.

I was surprised to find one of my favorite students part of a group of guys hauling a portable shrine down the road. Yes, I know it's bad to have favorites, but what can I say, some are just more likeable than others.

Something's growing!

A few weeks ago I planted hundreds of seeds and some bulbs in a range of planters and pots. Unfortunately it then rained for several days straight and nothing came up, so I assumed that they all drowned. But something's growing!

Two planters have haphazardly sprouted a bunch of little green stems, which look suspiciously like weeds. The planters sown with carrot seeds have sprouted shoots in tightly arranged clusters. A promising sign!

Half of the 26 marigolds have started growing, and the gladiolus pots have stems peeping out from the dirt. I am now officially a gardener.

Cute Furry Creature

This afternoon when I looked out my window there was a cute furry creature moving through the garden. It looked like a tan-colored ferret. So cute! Its fur looked so soft. I hope it comes back.