Wacky Japanese

Sweetie and I were thinking back to our days in Japan last night.  I was telling him how I was always limited when purchasing kimono fabric because I need "extra large" kimono fabric (it is sold in rolls), which is longer than the usual.  This is the only way to make a kimono that fits me.  Anyway, I'm sure this is a problem all my non-Japanese readers are familiar with (not).  In fact, most of my Japanese readers won't be familiar with this either because they either a) Aren't massively oversized like I apparently am or b) Don't buy or wear kimonos.

Anyway, Sweetie remembered that when he was living in Tokyo, he had to go to some "Tall and Large" store in Aoyama to buy a suit jacket.  And, the suit jacket had buttons that said "Cornell University."  No joke.  I couldn't stop laughing.  This is just soooo typical of wacky Japanese usage of English.  Sweetie actually bought a jacket with Cornell University buttons ALL over it, because that's what was available for an oversized "gaijin" (foreigner).  

Sweetie actually STILL has the jacket and showed it to me.  TOO FUNNY!!!  

Possible future career for me
It is looking more and more like my return to the working world is not too far off.  So, I've been thinking about what I should do, since I am most definitely not going to be returning to my former career.   I thought perhaps I could be a cultural advisor to Japanese who are not familiar with Japanese traditional culture.  I can do such things as: teach them how to whip up a bowl of powdered green tea, how to properly fold a scrolls (this after seeing one so-rare-that-I-would- have- sold-one-of-my-limbs-for-it, seriously mangled because someone didn't roll it up properly), how to build a really good charcoal fire,
how to fill and empty an iron kettle, how to make azuki (sweet bean paste) from scratch, and other assorted tasks that are slowly dying out.

Another possibility is Random Household Crisis Management.  In the past two weeks, I have restored power to our home by fiddling with our sparking switchboard (Sweetie said, "You should do it.  You're good at it."  Ha ha); I eliminated a loud buzzing coming from the switchboard during an extended power outage (turned off our garden light timer); and today I was the brainchild behind the dramatic rescue of my Hebrew teacher's fancy new cell phone from a deep drainage trench covered by a narrow grate (I taped a plastic bag to the end of an umbrella and then she was able to flick it into the bag with the handle of my Swiffer).  All very exciting stuff.  I can see you 
are all riveted.