September and everything after....

September already! The sad thing is in Japan, I end up just trying to 'get through' August, it being the hottest month of the year. And most humid. Yuck!

It's tough to believe that so much of the year has gone by! It's been a pretty relaxed year as far as work is concerned. That's not necessarily a good thing. At this point last year I was busting my butt working on one-to-one lessons on top of a full night and day schedule. But for some reason this year the work just hasn't come in like previous years. It could be because of the state of the U.S. economy effecting the global companies, or it could just be an off season. I should have an upgrade in my status with my company soon which will make life a little better for me, but I can't really relax until my name is on that contract.

Anyway the real kicker is this time of year the fat bills are stacking. Here's Hamamatsu Life for you... I have three fat bills that need to get paid at this time- my Citizen's tax (around 180,000 yen), my Home owners tax (around 70 K) and my Medical insurance ( a whopping 220,000-- though it includes Ken's coverage). Luckily enough these bills are split up into payments so that we don't get hit all at once- Citizens Tax is about 35K in 4 payments (2 made so far)-- these are due every 2nd month, Home tax also over 4 payments (about 17K each) every second month (alternate month to the citizens tax- so that isn't too bad), and the Medical insurance tab every month for 8 months(28K a pop). Coupling that with low work yield makes it a bit stressful. That said, I am only feeling a small drain on the account each month and will catch up quickly with just a little more work.

On a lighter note... Ken is 9 months old now. That's crazy- just three hops to his 1 year birthday. He has slowed down on the progress. He still doesn't seem too interested in walking on his own, though the other day he was using this stool we have with wheels to walk around. A little dangerous, but cute (and What to Expect suggests that using walking devices for babies may slow down their independent walking development). He has sprouted some more teeth, 2 top incisors to match the bottom ones, and we could see another top tooth poking out now. Just yesterday he
figured out how to dismount the couch on his own. Before that he could do it using us as a climbing tool, but just yesterday he turned around and just backed off the couch just like that. I am going to try to document it in video soon!

Okay a bit of a ramble- just felt it was time for a Hama Life update...