Mada and fada

Mada means "not yet", and is a fairly common expression in Japanese. The not yet that I refer to is our baby. Mika's due date is this Thursday (the 11th). I suspect that after she goes to see the doctor tomorrow, things will start moving pretty fast. Our current plan is for her to go and stay with her brother from Thursday until she goes into labour. Thursday is a public holiday, so it's an ideal time to go back into Kochi, whether the baby is ready to pop out or not.

Life here in Taisho is the same as usual, as we await the birth of our newest family member. My schedule is pretty full as I visit my regular schools as well as the odd infrequent appearance; such as tomorrow, when I will be teaching at Kageno shougakkou, about 40 mins from here -- past K-town.

Well, the Japan life stuff out of the way, I want to expand this entry to reference a few blogs and sites that I frequent. And by frequent, I mean when I get time to read my google reader feeds (hint: it's not every day). ;)

• Sentence First: A blog about our wonderful, intricate English language. Stan has posted a few comments to my blog in the past, as we exchanged thoughts; and I enjoy leaving comments on his posts from time to time.
  
• Stuff Christians Like: Jon Acuff is funny and insightful. I just wish I had the time to read his very frequent entries. It's almost as if he runs a pictureless webcomic. Classy stuff.
  
• The Kitchn: For all aspiring chefs out there, it is a great source of everything kitchenesque; from recipes to tips and tricks that you can use between the kitchen sink and the cupboard.
  
• Kotaku: My source of gaming news. And a lot of news there is.
  
• Lifehacker: A lot of great articles, from home improvement to invaluable computer resources.
  
• Japan Probe: So I can see more of this country within which I dwell. As if there wasn't enough excitement in Shimanto... -_-

Webcomics
Because I follow a few, I decided to list some notable ones under their own heading:

• Dominic Deegan: I have been following this since 2002. I think it's the only webcomic that I have read consistently for more than five years.
  
• Ctrl+Alt+Del: It is more of a drama these days with the occasional standalone bout of gaming hilarity. The sillies keep me coming back (especially Fail Druid!).
  
• Dark Legacy Comics: My favourite World of Warcraft comic.
  
• Looking for Group: For pony!
  
• Least I Could Do: I found this through LFG (same authors), and wish I had followed it from earlier on. I really dig the "Beginnings" strip that they post once a week.
  
• Out at Home: I only recently started reading this (within the last six months). I like the art style and the stories have been pretty good so far.
  
• Others: There are other webcomics that I follow, which I haven't mentioned. Some are gaming comics and others are mostly just dramas or short stories.

Timotheos