lost in translation

In August of 2006, Drew and I took a trip to Japan. There were lots of amazing things to remember about that trip, but one that made it especially exciting was the language barrier.

Drew and I don't speak Japanese -- if you didn't know. I had no assumption that the Japanese people would speak English (and, for the most part, they didn't). Thankfully we were with a good friend, Chris Hainge, who spoke both Japanese and English.

He was crucial.

One of the more obvious things about the Japanese language is that it doesn't use the Roman alphabet. The funny thing that Chris explained to us is that since the Japanese language doesn't use our alphabet, Japanese people love the look of letters (opposed to characters). It's a novelty -- who doesn't love a novelty? Because of this, you see lots of stores with English names that don't reflect what they sell at all.

For instance, we saw this place

Which did not sell cakes made of dogs -- or cakes for dogs.

And this place

Which did not sell boo-bees.

We had to have lunch here.

If "Hamburger is my life" where else would I eat?

We bought some awesome kids shirts at a mall in Japan.

Not only are the shirts themselves great, but the tags are a hoot as well.

"All children are fine" Good to know.

Another hilarious language thing we noticed were the great translations of warning signs.

Personally, I'm glad we saw this one because I was seconds away from growing a hand in the fence.

And I also almost fed the birds, but then I realized how sad it would have made them.

And didn't.

I now consider Japanese my second language.

here we go

Here we go, Pittsburgh, here we go

Here we go, Pittsburgh, here we go

Here we go...

Here we go...

Pittsburgh's goin' to the Super Bowl!

baby, it's cold outside

Cleveland has experienced a deep freeze this week.

On Thursday, several school were closed and the warnings started:

Don't go outside for longer than you need to

Always wear gloves, a scarf, and a hat

Check on your elderly

It was approaching zero degrees and I was concerned.

Well, on the walk in to work (I have a 10 minute walk from where I park to my lab) I was surprised at how cold it wasn't. I thought people in Cleveland would be a little tougher -- this didn't seem so bad.

Then Friday came.

The warnings continued and more schools were closed.

It was -9 in the ambient air and -35 with the wind chill. I was skeptical again about the severity of things and left the house with confidence.

And my scarf.

And my gloves.

And my ear warmers.

And my boots, with 2 pairs of socks.

(The local news station might be fear mongering, but I wasn't going to take any chances)

It turns out they were right. There really wasn't any comparison between the days. It was FREEZING out there.

I was cold through my winter coat. I couldn't feel my legs.

Did I mention that it's only a 10 minute walk to work?

Fortunately I survived and things can only warm up from here.

Right?

I think that he might have been more comfortable here on Friday than I was.

favorite thing friday

I love photos.

And I love music.

Do you know what goes together really well?

That's right, photos and music.

Enter this week's Favorite Thing Friday, Animoto.

This fabulous website allows you to upload photos and music, then they make a video for you. The short videos (30 sec) are free, but anything longer costs $3.

For a special event it's a fun way to organize and share the memories.

Check out the video I made from this Christmas and New Year.

favorite thing friday

too funny

You have to read a post my sister, Erin, wrote on her blog today. It's all about her experiences while substitute teaching.

The little kids she's been teaching this week are too funny!

And maybe a little nauseous. Poor things.

I decided that my new goal in life is to love people like a 5 year old would.

I'm going to give more compliments to strangers and hug (or high five) people I've only met once.

Starting with you...great post, Mrs. Hairy!

wordless wednesday

encouraging

The other day I was in Target. This isn't impressive -- I'm in Target often. In fact, I probably go there at least every other week. I'm trying to cut this down to less than every 2 weeks as a way to save money. Do you ever notice that when you go into a store you almost always end up buying more than what is on the list? I do! This has to stop.

But, I digress.

So, anyway, I was in Target the other day. I'm in there often enough to feel like I am qualified to make a statement about the general behavior of people who are also there. For the most part, I've found that people who come to Target with their kids fall into 3 camps:

1) Those who rapidly give their kids everything they demand in an attempt to get out of the store without a meltdown

2) Those who completely ignore the screaming/hitting/running around that their kids have perfected

3) Those who acknowledge their children's screams and respond in kind with screams/hitting of their own

If only they could get their shrieks a little higher pitched, then only dogs could hear it and I wouldn't be so bothered.

Of course, there are those people with well-behaved children. I barely notice them because they are quietly going about their shopping, but I appreciate them.

Then there is the most rare of species:

The actively teaching parent.

This brings me to my story.

I was very encouraged in Target the other day when I happened upon a father teaching his son as they shopping. I was paused at the paper towels and along came this father and his 5-7 year old son.

Most of the time when I see men with children in Target they are in such a hurry it's little more than a blur.

But not this man. He stopped at the tissues and was checking out various boxes, talking to his son the whole time. It went something like this:

Now, you see, we can't just pick out any box. We have to check the price and the amount of tissues. We don't buy things just because we need them or want them. We have to take the price into consideration and make sure it's a good deal.

Here, look, this box costs $2.50 and has 75 tissues. This box costs $2.79, but has 100 tissues! It may cost a little bit more, but we get 25 extra tissues. This one is the best buy.

I don't know why, but I was very impressed with this. It touched my heart to see a man taking his time to talk and teach his son how to live well. The monetary aspect was a good teaching point, but I was mostly touched by how he talked to the boy. There was respect and love, as well as practicality, in his voice.

I'm sure this man had places to be and other things to do that day, but he seemed to understand that taking his time in the tissue aisle had value too.

I hope to be that kind of parent someday.

let it snow

Cleveland got its first major snow storm this weekend.

10" fell on our deck in 18 hours.

Drew and I decided to stay inside to ride out the storm, but we made 1 trip to Starbucks for some fresh air. On the walk back home Drew tried to push me into a snow drift, but I dodged him and he slipped and fell flat on his back into the snow.

He spent the rest of the night with the heat wrap on his back.

Karma comes full circle again.

favorite thing friday

For the past 9 years, I have worked in a lab in some capacity or another. I started while at Bucknell, doing research for Dr. Nyquist and have had several lab jobs since then as Drew and I moved around the country.

There are some good reasons why I keep coming back to the lab.

These reasons have earned The Research Lab top honors in this favorite thing Friday.

For instance, there are the lab coats and googles that come with the job.


They might be hot and cumbersome to wear, but at least they look attractive.

Parafilm.


This is a fabulous product that you really have to use to believe. It stretches and seals anything liquid-tight. If they sold it in stores I would definitely have some at home. As it is, I may steal a roll if I ever leave this job. I should have taken one from Pittsburgh, but my moral compass clicked in at the worst time.

Purity Wrap.

This may look like everyday plastic wrap, but the name alone suggests so much more.

The refreshing, spa-like comforts of the eye wash.


Who says you can't relax at work?

The thrill of facing, and overcoming, danger (cancer, radiation, and explosives) everyday.

Now I know what kept Ethan Hunt coming back for more and more.

Cryo-Babies and Tough Spots


As an organization junkie, being able to label even the tiniest of tubes is very satisfying.

The usefulness of tubes and racks for at-home applications.


How else was I going to get the last of the lotion out?

An awesome workspace.




What other job gives you 2 Biohazardous Sharps containers? Really.

My co-workers.

If you too would like a lab job, give me a call. You start with this job:

but it only gets better from there.

more awesome old photos

I can't believe how much fun this is. Here are some more great, old photos that I found!

Friends from 1st grade at my birthday party.

Nan Swift, Dan Seeling, Tanya Karney, Keith Campbell, and April Lyons

Kristen Eichensehr and I at the Outer Banks, 1998

Graduation from High School, 2000

Studying Organic Chemistry like crazy people.

me, Emily Thede, and Meghann Peace

Humanities Res College, Bucknell University 2000

Yea for old memories!

kickin' it old school

When Mom and Dad were visiting for Christmas they brought me a box of stuff that I had at their house. Apparently I'm out for good now.

In the box were all kinds of treasures that I forgot I had, including:

my High School diploma (it's always good to have proof)

a certificate declaring me to be a Junior Rotarian

National Honors Society awards

AND...

Photo albums.

Here are some of the treasures I pulled out of them.

Lycoming Christian Church, 1985. That's Karyn Tressler to my right!

Me with Miss Judy.

Erin and her sheep (+ Uncle Ken's sunglasses)

my 1st birthday, May 1983

wordless wednesday

back at it

The holidays are officially over. We are back at work.

I guess I should be sad by this, but, surprisingly, I'm not.

I like work (most of the time). Give me a day or 2.

Having to be at work can get old, but I do like the dependability that a daily schedule brings.

Don't get me wrong, I love having time off to relax and visit with my families.


I love trips into New York City and movies in the afternoon.

I love staying up late, sleeping in, having fabulous food and dessert after every meal.

But.

At the same time, I also desperately need like some regularity to my schedule and diet.

Oh well, a couple sleepy mornings that I drag myself out of bed and a sugar crash or 2 and I should be back in business.

The only reason I could really use a few more days off is to finish cleaning up after the holidays.


Maybe if I had these kinds of helpers I'd be in better shape.

a little competition

As it turns out, Dad has a little competition for Bright-Eyed of the Year in 2009.

We had a great dinner with the Ken & Joanne Wilkinson family on Friday night.

While taking photos of the cutie-pie babies I realized that Sebastian is going to give Dad a run for his money. Considering that Sebastian is only 6 months old he has what can only be called a natural gift for "bright-eyeness."

I'll let you be the judge.

I'm sure he'll thank his parents, Brant & Kari, when he wins next December. He should be talking by then, right?

Here are also some pictures of the adorable Madelyn (she's wonderful, Kim and Bryan!)

favorite thing friday

Favorite thing Friday this week is inspired by the recent New Year's holiday.

This isn't so much a "thing" as it is an experience. However, it's one of those experiences that everyone has once in awhile, especially around the holidays. And it just happens to be one of my favorite life experiences.

The Holiday Food Coma

Taste it and enjoy.

happy new year

Drew and I spent New Year's Eve having a wonderful dinner with his parents, Gene and Linda.

After dinner we watched the ball drop with Dick Clark (via ABC). He made it through another year.

Way to go, Dick.

2009 was welcomed in with a champagne toast and party hats.

On New Year's Day, we celebrated with monkey bread (and Matt and Ali).

Welcome to 2009!