It’s so strange, we’ve been having the most beautiful- though chilly- spring days here in Tokyo after the earthquake. The sky is bluer than I ever remember seeing it. It’s like Mother Nature is trying to make up for what she’s done. Sorry Mother Nature, it’s going to take a lot more than that!
I went out yesterday to get some supplies and mail some packages. First I went to the post office to mail out some Etsy purchases from my shop. Nothing stops the glitter troll- rain, nor snow nor sleet nor tsunami. Shameless plug: 100% of profits from my Etsy shop for items sold in March and April (and possibly beyond) will be donated to earthquake/tsunami relief. I know it’s more efficient to donate the money directly, but this at least gives me some nails to paint, which is a welcome distraction.
Things looked pretty normal at the post office, they crabbed at me about my placement of stamps, as usual. There is one employee there I call Big Glasses who is a stickler for the rules- she actually makes me write the # of grams on each package. An estimate will not do, it has to be placed on the scale and then she makes me write the weight of the package. She always looks very satisfied, especially when she makes me fill out additional invoices or whatever postal hoop she can think up. I think she suspects I’m a drug runner. But Big Glasses wasn’t there yesterday.
From there, I ventured out to a nearby grocery store on foot, as I always do. I saw only old folks outside- it was weird. It was partly the time of day- mid afternoon, but I didn’t see anyone but old people. It was a bit odd. The grocery store had plenty of food, just no milk, bread, ramen, rice, water, or….booze. It was my first laugh-out-loud moment in a few days- everyone was buying tons of booze! I guess they figured if it all ended, they wanted to have one last rousing good party.
The US, UK, France and Australia have recommended leaving Tokyo as of yesterday but it looks like they’ve partially restored electric power to the Fukushima nuclear plant. Phew. Things are not stable yet by any means but that’s a good step. Some of the last ditch efforts they were trying (pumping seawater in the reactors, having helicopters drop water from above) were starting to seem comical. I mean, I was expecting them to start throwing ice cream cones at it to cool it down. Cute ice cream cones with sprinkles on them, cause that’s just how Japan rolls.
So that was the first good news we’ve had since the whole “Nuclear Incident” started. We’re not out of the woods yet but getting the power restored was definitely a start.
When this is over, I am taking a long vacation on the beach in either Thailand or Malaysia. I’m going to eat endless amounts of tropical fruit, snorkel with the fishes, and read all those books I’ve been meaning to catch up on.
Thanks to everyone for your well-wishes, thoughts and prayers. I really appreciate it and it means a lot. I’ll keep you guys updated here and let you know what’s going on as best as I can.
NeverTooMuchGlitter Nail Wonderland 
LOL! Sounds like all the young ones had the booze and were off somewhere living it up! Good to hear you’re doing OK 🙂
Thanks Nixxy. Yeah, I guess they figured they were not going to face the end sober- ya gotta hand it to the Japanese, they’re pretty practical if nothing else. As for me, I bought a bag of the best darn mandarin oranges they had. I usually buy the el-cheapo ones, but this time I went for the high-class ones.
When we watched them try and hose down the nuclear plants on tv- it was almost comical. They were completely missing and it just seemed.. odd.
Yeah, it’s bordering on the ridiculous. Helicopter water drops?! I mean, come on. Between the almost cartoonish plans they have to cool the reactor and the refusal to report the situation realistically, a LOT of people here are ready to spill some blood. The mayor of one of the towns near the power plant said, “They’re leaving us here to die.” For a Japanese person and the town mayor to say that, things must pretty dark. The mood here is calm on the surface but it seems a very fragile calm.
glad to hear you’re ok!!!!
Thank you for updating us. I had been worried about you since day 1 and glad to see you’re okay.
I look forward to your posts to see how you are doing, glad your in good spirits! I laughed out loud for real about the ice cream hehehe I read about the them working on trying to restore some of the power off Google news, which I thought was a figured it was a good thing. Bad part is there are some really crappy stories flying out, that should not even have made it to being “news”. Glad you got out for a bit I know I would have been climbing the walls hehe. Take care of yourself, and stay safe!
ugh sorry for the incoherent line. Lack of sleep >_< but I am sure you can figure it out. 😀
LOL no booze and cute ice cream cones! I can imagine them even throwing Hello Kitty ice cream bars or something equally as kawaii. Seriously though, you’re the only person I know of in Japan and I’m glad that you are doing alright. I hope that everything is over soon so that you can go and enjoy a relaxing, tropical vacation. 🙂
Yeah, I had a vision of a Japanese game show taking place on the Fukushima site, with cute celebrity girls trying to hurl Hello Kitty shaped ice-cream sandwiches into the reactor. But of course they’d miss, and pout in a kawaii manner while the patronizing announcer held up a big “No good!” sign. Then they’d get a famous baseball pitcher to throw a few ice creams in while the studio audience cheered.
Glad to hear that you weren’t cooped up inside today! I think it’s tragic that in the coastal towns, a lot of the population were the elderly, and it breaks my heart to see images and videos of the towns that have been completely wiped like Saito, or severely destroyed. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the elderly now were young children that lived during WWII, or even the 2 nuclear bombings. It amazes me how family orientated people in Japan are, and how people seemingly are less selfish there than they are here in the US. I think the Japanese are really strong and resilient people, and they will become even stronger now because of this. And yes, seeing the military drop seawater from the helicopters was rather comical, and it seemed like they missed more than actually had water hit the reactors & fuel rods.
I saw a video early yesterday morning that just made me bawl my eyes. It was a heartbreaking video, which you’ve might have seen, of a dog that was standing guard over another dog that was severely injured. Even the animals in Japan have a sense of loyalty. It made me immediately think of the pets that were affected by Hurricane Katrina. I’m sure there are tons of pets that have either perished, gone missing, or are lost from their owners.
Yes, I needed to get outside for my own sanity. I was alone in the apartment and it was driving me a little bonkers. I can’t stop thinking about the poor folks in the north, especially those who survived the earthquake and tsunami but died from exposure or because help couldn’t get there fast enough. It’s been a week and the remaining survivors in the ruined towns close to the power plant don’t know what’s going on there- they have no electricity. They just know they’ve been waiting a very long time for help. It really is a nightmare.
I have seen the video you mentioned, and in addition to humanitarian charities, I’m donating to some animal shelters in Japan which are taking in displaced and injured pets while the owners rebuild their lives and homes. At least they can focus on rebuilding and know their pets are in good hands until they are prepared to take them back. I think the pets will be a great source of comfort.
It sounds like things are going in a good direction, and I’m glad you got to get outside today!
I’m hoping things have taken a turn for the better! Heaven knows we need some good news!
I’m glad you’re safe and everything sounds alright. Are you going to get out of Tokyo in case of the spread of radiation?
PS. Pulau Redang or Tioman in Malaysia is an awesome place to dive/snorkel.
I’m leaving Tokyo if the #3 cooling pool with plutonium dries up and goes into critical failure. If things stay the way they are, I’m holding on here on advise of the US Embassy.
But I would loove to go to Malaysia- I spent a month travelling all over there in 2005 and it was just beautiful. I love it!
I was wondering if you were working? I think all people go for the basics and the liquor to forget or steady their nerves. I guess the ice cream is for all the people dieting and now don’t give a damn. I saw some of the misses that were made with the water. I hope they do a better job. Can you mail out your nail polish? It’s really frightening to think of leaving without all your stuff. I’m glad your humor is still about. I know I’d be a wreck. Take care sweetie.
Hi Lucy! Unfortunately, I’m not working as my office was shut down but I think I’d rather be working than sitting here alone in my apartment. I never thought I’d be bummed to get a holiday from work!
I’m afraid that some of the Japanese countermeasures are bordering on the comical. I had to stop watching because it seemed like a bad straight-to-video disaster movie. I never want to hear the words “Hail Mary measures” and “nuclear disaster” in the same sentence again.
I can mail some stuff back, but it’d have to be by sea-mail, given the insane cost of airmail. Airmail is so pricey that it’d be cheaper just to buy most everything again. I’ve had bad luck with things getting stolen out of sea-mail and I’m afraid the US might dump it in port, saying it’s radioactive or some dumb thing like that. But I confess: I’ve got my favorite polishes that can’t be bought again in a box, ready to go back by FedEx if need be.
Good plan, although I hope it doesn’t have to come down to that.