My birthday

It was my birthday last month which wasn't a very big deal. Usually everyone's busy entertaining family because my birthday happens to fall during the Obon holidays, which is when the souls of your dead ancestors cross over into this world to be with you. Most people spend the whole time at home, but Hanae and Yoko fulfilled their family obligations on the first day and had the whole rest of the vacation free.

The original plan was to go camping, but it was so rainy the whole time that we ended up staying at my place where we watched 12 hours of "So You Think You Can Dance." What a fantastic show. Thank you so much Speck for sending those tapes. We LOVED them. Not only were the dances great, we got totally into certain contestants and were crushed when Dimitri got cut. And I couldn't believe how professional they looked week after week from only practicing for 2-3 days. I wonder if they happen to have a compilation of the season's dances on a single DVD.

After being trapped indoors for a couple days we felt the need to do something outside. The only place we could think of that would be fun in rainy weather was the aquarium, which is usually $20 a person but half-price during the week of someone's birthday!

I hadn't been there since it opened and was a little disappointed to find some things gone. I was looking forward to seeing the Clione again and the dozen sea otters have somehow dwindled down to only one. Did they die? Those were actually my two favorite things about Umitamago. I found a picture of Clione in case you've never seen them before. They flap their wings back and forth, hovering vertically like sea angels.There were a few new things that were nice, like the mother and baby sloth in the birdhouse. And like the walrus that swam up to the glass and sucked himself while visitors gasped.I also liked the new snake-like fish that bobbed up and down from their holes in the sand. When something scared them they pulled back into their holes at lightening speed, then slowly peeped out again after a while. Hanae spent her time pounding on the glass to make them zoom into their holes, and I'm sure we would have been booted out of the place if anyone had seen her thumping her fist against the glass. She continued to do this for roughly ten minutes.

Then we went to see the poisonous frogs, and she did the same thing except the frog cases were made of a much weaker plastic. There was an enormous booming sound throughout the hall when her fist hit the case and the whole thing shuddered. I'm so relieved the case didn't shatter. She stopped pounding things after that.In the area with the pool of sea cucumbers and starfish, Hanae was the only one of us brave enough to reach in and pick one up. Apparently they're slippery and soft when you squeeze them.I never realized how beautiful pelicans were. At least I think these are pelicans.The clownfish are always a hit. Everyone stands around the tank calling them "Nemo" as if that's what they're really called. Retards.I love how the lights in the jellyfish tank change and make them glow.One thing I'm pretty sure you won't hear if you visit an aquarium back in the States is a bunch of people admiring the fish while shouting, "Oh! Delicious! I wanna eat that one!" It kind of grossed me out. I was having a nice enough time watching the beautiful fish glide through the water and skillfully avoid one another while swimming in such a small space, only to have my thoughts interrupted by someone behind me talking about which restaurants cook them up best. Cultural differences, I guess.

We stayed until closing time and went back to the big tank after everyone had left. It was nice having the whole place to ourselves and being able to enjoy the silence. It felt like we were underwater with the enormous manta rays and long-nosed sharks. And since we had the enormous room to ourselves, we pretended that we were on "So You Think You Can Dance" and leaped around, twirling in circles. There were even cushioned chairs that were great for jumping off of and using as dancing props.

I don't know what this creature is called. I'm pretty sure it's one of a kind.It was a really nice, relaxing 4-day birthday. We also drove over the mountain behind Beppu to Yufuin, but that's a story for another day.