Zelda's Homecoming

It is so great to finally have Zelda home! She arrived last Monday in Tokyo and we drove down to pick her up. The drive was so long and grueling that I doubt we will ever attempt to drive so much in one day. We left at 7 am and returned at 2 am exhausted beyond expression. I was really proud of us because we didn't get lost using an old fashion map and directions from outdoor rec. It wasn't difficult and mainly just one highway that took us straight into Tokyo. On the way back we just backtracked and did just fine. So it's been proven we can survive without a GPS! The van we rented from outdoor rec did well and was a smooth drive. We've never appreciated rest stops so much before. It was really refreshing to just get out and stretch our legs. The rest stops were pretty nice and they had a variety of vending machines. A lot of them also had a store, food, and restrooms of course. Japanese bathrooms in every place seem to be so different. Each bathroom I visited had a different way to flush the toilet. The first rest stop I got worried because I only saw Japanese style bathrooms and then at the end there was luckily one western style bathroom. Some flush by a handle on the wall, others by a button on the ground and one other actually had the handle on the toilet. I'm sure by the time I leave Japan I will know how to work all their toilets! Well, I'll know how to flush all of them without looking around for a while for the magic handle or button. I'm not sure about operating all the extra features, because they have buttons for courtesy music, washer, spray, and I'm not sure what else. Anyway, Gas stations were every so kilometers and it was the first time we've been to a full service gas station! We pull up to a pump and the gas attendant asked us how much gas, what kind, and if we'd like our windows washed. It was pretty neat not having to get out! Oh, and it was a good thing our box from Amazon came in time because the Japanese phrase book came in handy for the gas attendants! We learned how to say fill it up please! The drive down was very beautiful and the view was mainly countryside. There were even underground tunnels that cut through the mountains. It was definitely more entertaining than driving on the straight FL turnpike! The mountains and hills up our way still had snow on them but the further we got away the snow disappeared. Up our way were also bear crossing signs which was surprising because we didn't even know they had bears around here. The speed limit was 80km, which is about 50 miles per hour. Quite slow for a major expressway and it makes sense why the Japanese seem to treat their speed limits as recommendations only. I could only imagine how long it would have taken to get to Tokyo going 50 miles per hour. Something I don't want to find out! Tokyo was very busy and from what we got to see, not very pretty during the day. It seemed like the highway for a good while was over water and there was land on the right and left. A mix of tall skyscraper buildings and small buildings like homes. Zelda didn't have to wait too long for us at the airport before we finally made it down there. I was under the impression we were going into the airport and I might have been lucky to grab some Starbucks inside. Not quite, our map lead us to the Cargo area. I had never seen anything like this Cargo area. I was thankful Gian was with me because if I had gone alone and saw that I would have wanted to scream. The best way to describe the area would be an angry bee's hives or ant's nest. There were so many cars, semi trucks, fork lifts, pedestrians and bicycles zipping around the buildings with no order. We couldn't figure our where it was ok to park so I told Gian to sit in the van while I try to get into Delta cargo to find out what to do. On foot I couldn't figure out how to get to the office I was supposed to be at, so I called their office and a woman came out and met me. She showed us where parking was and so we found Gian and lead him to the parking next to a big DHL semi being loaded. The woman gave us our paperwork and told us what we needed to do. Our to do list made me feel like we were a ping pong ball between the buildings. First we went to quarantine to drop off paperwork, then IACT to see Zelda, then back to quarantine with Zelda and her agent escort for her to get scanned for microchip, then back to quarantine to finish more paperwork, then back to IATC for I don't remember what, then to Customs building for paperwork and then finally back to IATC to pick Zelda up and get out of there! The paperwork was almost perfect except on one form her birth date was written incorrectly and it said she was 6 months, on another it had her correct birth date indicating she was a year and a half and on the health certificate it said she was two years old. We explained what was her correct birthday and luckily they didn't cause any problems and give her automatic quarantine for errors in paperwork. I organized the van and let Zelda out of the crate while Gian drove out of the airport. We hit Tokyo rush hour and moved slowly for an hour. Zelda would sit on my lap and put her paws up on the door and stare out the window looking out at Tokyo. She seemed so interested and entertained while she looked out the window. We watched the sun set as we drove slowly in rush hour and drove in the dark the whole way home. I was impressed with how much driving Gian did. I drove for four hours down to Tokyo and on the way back we switched but I only lasted for an hour or two. I was so tired and caffeine wasn't even working anymore. Driving at night was more boring and very dark so I think that made it hard. I tried to sleep since I had to be at work at 6 am but I was too worried about leaving Gian alone. The later it got and the more North we got cars just seemed to get scarce. I was never so happy to see snow because I knew that meant we were close to home. Zelda did really well during the drive and found a spot to hide under the back row of seats. She'd come out every so often and do a lap around the van and visit with us. She was pretty thirsty and arrived with an empty water bottle. I don't know if it spilled or she drank it all. So she drank int he van, but wasn't that interested in food. I was surprised she didn't pee in the van. When we finally got home I showed her where her little box was and we went to crash in bed. I had the worst sleep for about two hours and I was woken up by the door bell. For some reason our neighbor beat me to waking up this morning and couldn't get her van out of the driveway because our rented van was blocking her way. Whether she is a lousy driver and couldn't squeeze by or really couldn't get by, I don't know. I don't know how I was even functioning at work and of course it was a clean day so we had to clean really well. Tera offered to clean if I walked dogs and that worked out a lot better for me. After work Gian met me to help me vacuum out the van to return it at outdoor rec. Well we tried to return it at 9:30 AM and they wouldn't take it back cause they said they weren't open till 10 AM. So I returned later for them to tell me I had to get it washed, which we had every intention to but the car wash on base was closed. So they told me I needed to take it off base to wash it. So there I went and waited for it to get washed off base so I could return it. I was running on fumes and so tired I just wanted to go home so badly. But before I returned the van and went home, I went to the bank to exchange left over yen from the trip into dollars and to the BX to buy Zelda some benadryl since she was sneezing so much. When I got home I felt so tired that I couldn't sleep. It's an unpleasant and frustrated feeling. Eventually I was able to nap and then went to bed at 8 pm and slept till 5 am when my alarm went off to go to work. I felt much better. Zelda had a poor appetite and I couldn't get her to take benadryl so that had me worried. I went back and bought her the food she was eating at home because I bought her the same brand, but the diet version. Over the next couple days she started to eat more and sneezed less. Now she's eating pretty well and not sneezing anymore. Now a week later, she's doing well but has had jet lag. She sleeps all evening and is up bright and early at 6 am meowing and wanting to play. It'll be nice when she adjusts to our time but I remember for us it even took a while. She is spoiled rotten and I just love her to pieces. I've never been so attached to animal before. Gian and Nicole said maybe it's because I got her while Gian was away and so we bonded a lot. I think saving her life and providing her critical care for her also made me more attached. When I first saw her at the airport I was about to tear but I had to whip into getting her out mode. When they brought her into the room to scan her chip she was purring while I was sticking my fingers through the crate. She seemed to recognize and remember who we were right away.

On Tuesday I wasn't feeling well and caught a cold. Dayquil and Sudafed were not clearing up the congestion I had so I spent the next couple days just relaxing and trying to get better. Over the weekend was the Far East Bizarre and flower shop sale. The Bizarre was at one of the hangers and vendors from South Korea, India, China and Japan were selling all kinds of things. I was so excited about it and we had fun looking at all the neat things. The furniture was really nice, but really expensive. We got a pair of decorative Japanese swords, beautiful tea set, pair of jade fu dogs, wall art made from a plant, and a neat vase with beautiful fake flowers. Grandma loves dragons and they've been hard to come by since they're Chinese, not Japanese, but I found a silver dragon pendant at the bizarre for her. I also found a pretty rope/jade flower necklace. I can't wait for the next bizarre next month! This one is supposed to be an Asian bizarre, so I'm not sure what will be different. I'm hoping to see wood carvings from Bali, Indonesia.

The flower shop Satoko took us to had their sale this weekend and we found out way back no problem. I bought beautiful tulips and I put one on the kitchen table since it has 6 yellow flowers open already. But for outside I bought a tulip plant that's not quite open yet, and then three small ones with no flowers yet. Gian bought strawberry plants and we bought seeds for watermelon, green pepper, tomatoes, carrots, and sunflower. Today we planted the tulips, tomatoes and carrots. We bought our supplies at the hundred yen shop and they even had soil for vegetables and tulips so we bought some of that too. We didn't buy enough fencing though so our garden looks like a project just started. We're really excited about it though and hope the fruits and vegetables will be a success. It was so windy that a piece of wood got knocked over onto the strawberries and bent their stems, some are even snapped. Hopefully it will do well anyway. It was sunny and warm, but the wind was cold and there were random snowflakes. It better not snow now that we planted something! I took Zelda out for a couple minutes and she hated every minute of it. I thought she would, but Gian protested. After that she was weird for the rest of the afternoon and was hiding. She wants to hide in the bedroom but I don't want to leave her in there unattended considering her bad rep with the bed. So when I close off our room, the office and guest room she doesn't have anywhere to hide. I find her behind the coffee pot and behind the TV trying to hide. I tried to make a cabinet in the bathroom for her but she hasn't gone in it yet.
We subscribed to Netflix and I can't wait for the movies to get here! We get two at a time, but you can put up to six on your queue list. So we each picked three and I picked The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit, The Black Stallion and an IMAX whale special. Gian hasn't seen either of those movies and The Black Stallion is just such a classic! I wish they had International Velvet, that movie is getting harder to find. I'm not sure what else Gian picked out besides Changeling, but guess I'll see when I check the mail. It's supposed to take one buisness day in the states, so we'll see how long it takes to get here.
We ate at New Miyaki Chinese restaraunt and it was ok. I wasn't expecting it to be better than ok, but Gian really wanted to go there. I was actually craving some Yaki Soba from Cheese Roll. We also went bowling Saturday night with his coworkers and Tammy, who was one of his coworker's wives. (I'm so bad with remembering names) They couldn't believe I didn't bowl and just watched instead. I really hate bowling and it's hard for them to believe I have a good time watching, socializing and eating fried food! I had a good time chatting with all of them and even saw and chatted with Tera and one of my classmates from last semester.
Alright, I think that pretty much covers the last week!