Here we grow. Process of Building a Mansion Up Close
Across the street from my house rest a vacant 2-story building that
has not been in operation for over 10 years. When I say across the
street, I really mean across the street. The distance from my side of
the house to the other side is about 50 feet. Why am I writing about
this furui (old) building? We were told that a company had purchased
this land and will be building an apartment here, hence the newly
built temporary gate in the distance. The gate was put up to deter
cars from parking in that lot. Myself included..
This building, when it was in operation, used to be a bank. It was
owned by Korean investors until the bank went belly-up. Ever since
then, it was just an empty lot. Why did it went out of business? Well,
let’s see. If I had to guess, I may say that this bank was in a
residential area on a side street away from the main street. I can’t
image anyone would be able to see this bank hidden inside a small
community.
I wished we had a say in this matter whether to build a new building
in our area or not, but we don’t. I am not too thrilled about this
either. For one, our town-house is practically covered by other
surrounding mansions. In turns, this mean we have few hours of sun
shining through our house. This new apartment will only decrease the
sun’s ray even more.
As if this is not even, our street will be a construction zone.
Delivery trucks, construction workers, generators blasting all day
long. To make matters worse, our house is in the front-line. I will
update the progress as time goes by. It will be interesting to see the
before, after, and anything in between progress.
July 1, 2010.
A temporary gate has been setup. This marks the beginning of what will
be a long phrase of constructing a new mansion in front of my
house.
July 29, 2010.
They've been at it for the past 2 days making a really deep hole. Any
time now, they will either strike oil or strike a Chinaman on the
head.
I do believe Japan has some of the best snacks (okashi)
around. Their taste is quite different compared to USA. If you have
tried them before, you know what I am talking about. Being a snack
junkie myself, I love them all. One of my favorite in particular, is a
drink call Ramune. This clear carbonated drink taste like Sprite cola.
I think it taste more like bubble gum to be exact. Ramune was not
originated from Japan. It derived from America in the form of lemonade
drink with the bottle coming from the United Kingdom. Japan than
packaged the product like so. 
Now it is enjoyed by young kids with a sweet
tooth all around. What distinguish this drink from the rest is its
glass bottle and a marble inside. The marble is actually the cap. To
open the bottle, you would just push down the marble with a plastic
tab included with the drink. I was very surprised that not all
Japanese knew there was a correct way of drinking it. If you noticed
near the top, there are two indentation. Those marks should be pointed
to your mouth. Why? If you drink from any other side, the marble will
block the opening; thus, not allowing the soda to pass through. Make
sense doesn’t it? This new version of the bottle was introduced in
2006, as many people trying for the first time had difficulty drinking
it. 
I finally got around to
installing 
Apparently any
US citizen living aboard must file IRS forms taxes
according to Uncle Sam. I don’t see the point since the foreign
income exclusion for 2009 was $91,400. This means a person can exclude
up to that amount from US taxation. I had the luxury to filed my
online income tax return this year from aboard. It was not fun, than
again filing taxes forms never are.