House of Mystery

7 months. Not quite an anniversary but it is 7 months. As I laid down last night I couldn't help but reflect on the first few nights in my new apartment in Japan. It was just dreadful.

I love this apartment because of all the gadgetry and technology. And I hate this apartment with all this gadgetry and technology. The problem really isn't the gadgets, but rather the manuals, remotes and buttons that are all in Japanese and only in Japanese. So, as you would expect, just figuring out how to use everything was a big challenge.


1. The heater: I could only get it to blow COLD air.
2. The toilet: It shot water in my face.
3. The microwave/oven: My food wasn't getting warm.
4. The built in bathroom dryer: what are all these buttons for?
5. The TV remote: I just need to switch the voice-overs to English.
6. The bathtub: It literally talks to me but I don't know what it's saying!
7. The washing machine: Somebody get it to stop that beeping!

The intercom, the water heater, the delivery box, the automatic lights and even my cell phone. On and on it went for weeks.

But everything is gravy now. One day I gathered all my manuals and remote controls and took them work. It was a community effort and now my house of mystery isn't so mysterious anymore.