Napa and San Francisco Bay Area Construction

Rich Alkema Construction is a residential and commercial construction company based in Napa, California, covering the San Francisco bay area.

Visit their website at www.richalkemaconstruction.com.

Come Back Already, Stef

So, yeah. Panic attacks are very, very real. And they’re very unpleasant.

It’s nice to know that you aren’t having a heart attack, though. Gives you some control over the situation.

Thank goodness for friends–especially ones who have already experienced your trials.

Craaaaazy Weight Loss

So, three months ago I weighed 232 pounds. Now I weigh 214.

18 pounds in three months.

I went to see the doctor about a persistent cough (4+ weeks), and chest x-rays showed no problems. Afterward, the doctor alternated between the words “sutoresu” and “arerugi” (stress and allergy), repeating them in a slow, booming voice seemingly meant for someone with severe brain damage and/or hearing loss.

She didn’t offer any other words until I showed clear discomfort with the way she was speaking to me. I had already established in many previous visits (as well as the current one) that I speak and understand Japanese. I think I’m done with that hospital.

The Seaweed is Always Greener

Trying to have a positive outlook about Stef and the girls staying in America three weeks after I would return, I constantly talked about all the things I'd be able to accomplish with so much free time. I'd finally have time to study Japanese as much as I want. I'd actually get to play some video games, compose some music, hang out with Japanese friends and improve my slang, and probably lose some weight in the absence of Stef's wonderful cooking.

Five days into my solitary life in Japan, it's nowhere near as wonderful as I'd hoped. There's so much time, but so little to do. If I were a junior high school student, my Saturday of nothing-but-PlayStation and not even leaving the house would be a dream. Having tasted the sweet companionship of marriage and fatherhood, my free time feels more like detention.

Surely, I'm losing weight. I can't be bothered to cook or eat--it's just too much of a hassle when everything you eat tastes like cardboard. My already waning appetite withers to the point that I'm forcing myself to swallow an overripe banana for lunch at 2:45 PM, just so I don't go into a starvation-induced coma. I don't even dare attempt to compose music on my computer, given my minimal brain function. When I tried to make a full dinner of salad, spaghetti, and garlic bread, I had to settle for the latter two upon finding the greens I had bought just two days earlier covered in mold.

Oh, but there are no dirty dishes to act as the bane of your existence, you might say. Okay, so you might have a point there. But I'd much rather have a never-ending sink of filthy dishes from meals with my family.

What about all that talk about hanging out with Japanese friends? Hasn't happened yet--and I suppose that it might help if I actually had friends who were Japanese. I've still got two weeks to make something happen. Perhaps I'll play basketball on Thursday (it's currently Tuesday night and as I type, my friends are actually playing basketball). Thursdays are always easier than Tuesdays, since the Tuesday practices take place at Sakurai junior high school, a 30-minute bike ride. The 10-minute cruise from Minami junior high on Thursdays is much easier after three-man-weaving and crab-walking my life force into oblivion.

Perhaps one of the biggest causes of my current malaise is the fact that I just returned from America, where I can read everything, understand everything, and buy just about anything. I still have a valid drivers license in California, and being able to drive anywhere whenever I wanted was much more convenient than bicycle-only Japan.

I had a blast in California with Ryan, Stef, and all the Alkemas and Stouts. Ryan, Stef, Rich, Brittney and Bryce, Ashley, Andy, Sa and Zack, Matt and Anna, and Nate all accompanied me to an Oakland A's game. We sat in the third deck directly behind home plate, which despite being so far from the players actually provided a rather satisfying view of the game. Included in each ticket was 6 dollars' worth of food vouchers for the third-deck concession stand, which was essentially enough for a hot dog and half of a drink. I stuffed myself with a pulled pork sandwich, a drink, and an enormous paper tray of nachos, smothered with that deliciously nasty, artery-clogging processed nacho cheese.

The game itself was ultimately little more than a tease, given that the A's would give up a run or two in the top-half of an inning, then tie it up in the bottom-half, only to fall to the Angels in ten innings, never having led the game. The next game--which was the game I most wanted to attend--the A's won 15-2.

Regardless of the outcome of our game, we had a lot of fun. Few things in life are more enjoyable to me than acting like a fool at a sporting event with all my friends and family. Stef will attest to this.

I love America. I love grass. I love sprinklers. I love front yards, back yards, driveways, garages, couches, and carpet. Ah, carpet. Stef and I joked about making carpet and grass angels. Such a love for plush carpet and grass may seem strange, but try living in a country with next to no grass (sports are often played on dirt and astroturf in Japan) and tatami flooring, and you'll soon see what you're missing. Mia fell face-first off the couch in Napa, and she bounced off the carpet and walked away without shedding a single tear. No such thing would ever happen on tatami.

I love being able to go the grocery store and find so many dozens of aisles full of things that don't taste like fish. Hey--I love fish; sushi is wonderful. But I sometimes wonder how necessary it is to make all of your non-fish food taste like fish. Some of that stuff--seaweed (nori), in particular--has grown on me. Heck, Kelsey absolutely devours the stuff, along with pickled ginger and salmon roe. But the food in America is glorious. Pizza--scratch that--good pizza. Mexican food. In-N-Out. Snacks that don't taste like fish. There's so much food to love.

Mia seems to be thriving in America. She's so much more trusting, more bubbly, less needy. It's exciting to think about when the kids will both have more English-speaking friends to play with. Kelsey's doing pretty well too, but she's got a bit of adjusting to do. She's not used to having kids to play with--especially not kids who speak the same language. There are a lot of things to look forward to when we eventually return.

Don't get me wrong--there are still a lot of things that I love about Japan. It's just a lot harder to appreciate them when you're living alone. Once Stef and the girls are back out here, I'll get back into a routine, and I'll be just as content as ever. We've got just one more year here, after which we will gladly move back to America to continue the next chapter of life.

Before going back to the States to visit, I really had no desire to do so. While I love seeing family, I just wanted to do my time in Japan and return when it was all over. I've felt a lot of anxiety about finding a job after Japan, and have generally feared going back to such economic uncertainty.

My visit laid most of those fears to rest. I'm sure I'll still stress about finding a job, but I am much less afraid of going back. There's just so much to love. I'm sure we'll miss a lot about Japan when we eventually leave--the food, the people, the language (okay, so that one's just me), etc.--but I know we'll find ways to occasionally fulfill those needs. I'm sure we can find seaweed in America.