if you're lookin', you're not cookin'
...written on 2001-02-21, @ 02:17:00
Tales of Kim's Life in Japan
Tue February 20, 2001
Shall I tell you just how delicious it feels to be at home at a relatively normal hour and be able to satisfy my hunger with a yummy homemade tuna pasta salad? Usually I get home at almost 11 p.m. and am too tired to eat or don't like the idea of going to bed on a full stomach, but today, since we had a meeting at noon, I got to go home after my one and only class of the day (7-8:30pm).
So here I sit, under the kotatsu, with the heater on as well, a yummy dinner on my left, a coke on my right and you gentle reader, right in front of me.
HEAVEN!!
Chad just called me three times about the new rice cooker I bought for him. I got the same kind, but haven't used it yet. It's light lime green (or "reaf green" as the info pamphlet said) and about the size of a volleyball. A volleyball is much easier to use however. This cooker comes with an 11 page manual (in Japanese, of course).
Shoot, Chad got me so curious, that against my better judgement, I decided to go for a trial and error experiment with "Reaf". Thirty-two minutes later, I called Chad:
"Hey, Chad, it's Kim." I said, into the phone.
"Hey." said Chad.
"So, you cleaned up your rice mess yet?" I inquired, almost smugly.
"No, why, did you have a mess?" responded Chad.
"Uh, well, why uh, yes, I did. All sorts of water came out the back and spilled over." I said.
"Oh, mine didn't, but Fred came over for a quick minute and showed me how it worked." finished Chad.
"WHAT?!! NO FAIR", I wanted to scream. "You can't use a host national to help you decipher instructions on a trial and error experiment and make ME the only one to waste two cups (a very expensive two cups) of rice!" Ok, so I didn't say it. I kept it to myself after Chad said that his rice seasoning was turning his stomach.
I was on the phone with Lana when I heard "Reaf" start to bubble. When I intially put the rice in, I couldn't imagine that two cups of rice would even fit in there when fullly cooked. I imagined a scene, much like in The Brady Bunch, when one or two of the children put too much detergent in the washing machine and the inevitable overflow of bubbles ends up persistently creeping over the canned laughter. I kept telling myself that those loud gurgles from atop my half-size refrigerator were normal.
Much like the couple probably thought in this movie I remember seeing at a drive-in with my parents in New York. I was five or six at the time. It was a horror movie and the woman had left this roast on the stove. The pot started to shimmy and shake as if it were boiling. It finally threw the lid off and crashed to the floor where it then slithered off and grew and devoured the entire town or something like that.
I loved watching horror movies when I was younger. My dad and I would always stay up til late in Tucson, Arizona to watch "Chiller". I loved that show. There was a rival show on another channel with a guy named "Dr. Creep." We used to watch him every now and then too.
In fact, one day, my parents heard that Dr. Creep was making an appearance at a local car dealership and we all (my little brother, Mike, included) piled into our VW bug and went to see the local horror celebrity. They were also doing a live radio show from the dealership.
I was watching in awe as the DJ talked with Dr. Creep during the breaks from the music and the ads. They saw me, motioned for me to come over and they started interviewing me.
DJ: Well, Dr. Creep, looks like you've got a pretty little girl with you.
Dr. Creep: Yes, I do, indeed. What's your name little girl?
Me: Kim
Dr. Creep: How old are you and where do you go to school?
Me: I'm nine and I go to Lulu Walker.
DJ: So, Kim, do you like Dr. Creep's television show?
Me: Yes, but I like "Chiller" better.
(Laughter from the crowd as my parents cringe with embarrassment)
DJ: (laughing) What did she say, Dr. Creep?
Dr. Creep: She said it was chilly out here.
Me: (very insistently) I DID NOT!
DJ cuts to a commercial.
That was my nonglorious start in the media world other than a few pictures taken of me at a German dance practice pretending to be a boy dressed in a hat, and an outfit suggesting lederhosen with suspenders made out of lawn chair straps.
The lawn chair straps may have been my idea. Anything to keep my mother from having to sew. I remember my first dance recital in third grade and my mom being handed a bag full of material she was to use to make my can-can skirt. It was supposed to be black on top with red netting underneath. I remember my mom asking in a very unsure voice how she should put it together. I think she was 29 at the time and worked as a teller at a bank. It must have been a daunting task for her. I worried, as any little selfish eight year old would worry, that she would never get it finished, but she did.
Nor will I forget the time when my dad, brother and I were on a hill in Syracuse, NY. Dad had put together our first-ever kite and it wasn't going anywhere but down. After several failed attempts and growing pouts, another kite-flying dad came over, reworked the sticks in the kite, and got that sucker flying in no time. I remember feeling a little embarrassed for my father. I was about six years old then.
I think my parents did a wonderful job raising me and I love them dearly. I consider myself very fortunate to have had such a happy childhood. I cherish these memories and many more as sterling examples of their giving natures, guidance, and humanity.
Now, let me go see if CHAD'S guidance has made my SECOND batch of rice turn out the way it should. If not, anyone want a slightly used lime green volleyball with an electrical cord?
Oyasumi nasai,
Kimu