Hero Material and I currently live in an apartment that's at least 25 years old, drafty and small (less than 60 m² or 645 ft²). It was okay when it was just the two of us, but with The Boy, the place is just too cramped. The really nice thing about our apartment, however, is the location. Hero Material's office is right across the street from our apartment, The Boy's daycare is less than 2 minutes away by bike, and my physio is 2 minutes on foot. And we're within 10-15 minutes on foot to the main train station, and 3-4 minutes from a major streetcar stop and a bus stop. (All this is very important since we don't have a car here.)

But we just have to move. So we started looking in April. New condos near where we live were outrageously priced. Anything approaching 80 m² (861 ft²) cost ¥60,000,000 ($765.5K). And we didn't want to pay that much for a smallish condo, especially given that the real estate in Japan does not appreciate. Homes depreciate like cars in this country. So it makes zero sense for us to drop over $750k on 861 ft² of space.

So we thought maybe we'd rent, except most are just as small as our current apartment, and some landlords were outright against renting to foreigners. (“Gaijin wa dame!”) So we considered building a home, but even that proved to be really expensive. During all this time, our realtor Mr. I's been very patient, explaining our options, etc.

Finally we found a “used” condo that we like. It's about 14 years old, about 870 ft² big (balcony extra), and in the most perfect location.

• Two major malls, grocery stores and gyms: 6 minutes by bike
• The Boy's daycare: 8 minutes by bike
• Hero Material's office: 10 minutes by bike
• A general clinic: 5-6 minutes by bike
• University research hospital and a major hospital full of specialists: 10-15 minutes by bike
• Night-time ER: 5 minutes by bike
• Pediatric ER: 13 minutes by taxi
• Parks — everywhere
• Riverside view: check

Mr. I agreed that the condo was excellent and reasonably priced, given what we've seen. (Some were outlandishly priced, and didn't even have a working elevator!!!!)

So Hero Material and I were all happy and returned to Mr. I's office to discuss the specifics of the transaction. And then it got really really weird because Mr. I said he couldn't represent us in the deal!!!!!

He explained that though he'd like to continue to help us, he had to hand us off to Mr. S, who is another agent from another company because of some strange corporate situation with his firm and the other firm (representing the seller). We were, of course, flabbergasted and somewhat nervous. Flabbergasted because we really liked our agent and wanted him to get the commission since he did all the work of showing us various properties and explaining the real estate market situation and financing options. (In Japan, buyers pay their own agent out of pocket: 3% of the home price plus ¥60,000 ($765)). Somewhat nervous since it's our first time buying in Japan, and things are different from America. We really wanted our own agent representing our interest.

Anyway, we met Mr. S, who is very nice and told us that he is actually our agent because the seller has this other agent who has no real experience (even though he's licensed, and yes, this gets even more Byzantine). But the seller wants this 3rd agent with no practical experience to draft the contract, etc. and so this mysterious 3rd agent is someone we may never meet, but is involved in the transaction somehow. So anyway we are to pay Mr. S as he will act as our agent. Trust me, I was listening to his explanation of this entirely too bizarre arrangement with my mouth slightly open. (Of course, I do have a cold at the moment…) And I don't think Mr. S was trying to blow smoke or anything as he works for a very large and well-established real estate firm with a good reputation (just like Mr. I, whose firm was just as big, well-established and reputable).

Mr. S and his assistant Mr. H gave us a few thoughts and opinions about our concerns and points of negotiation. He didn't think anything we asked for was outrageous or unreasonable. And he explained our options in more detail since we're about to plunk down a set amount of money for a very specific property.

Anyway, sometime later today or tomorrow, we'll know for sure if we'll be able to get the condo or not. The seller wants to show the place to one more prospective buyer before giving us his answer. Wish us luck!

P.S. I have to mention here how Mr. I and his professionalism and dedication to his clients touched me. He knew before we went to see the condo that he wouldn't be able to get a commission should we decide to buy that one. He could've easily told us that the place was in a bad building or that the seller was a jerk and unwilling to sell to foreigners or any number of perfectly plausible excuses to avoid showing it to us.

Instead, he never tried to discourage us or point out why we should buy some other condo that would've gotten him his commission. He even said he thought the condo we were most interested in was the best one for us given our wish list. And as we were saying farewell after his bombshell explanation about not being able to represent us, he still came all the way out of his building to bow us off (the proper and official ninety-degree bow!) and wish us luck.

I can't think of too many people in sales who would be willing to do the same. And trust me, when people want a referral for a realtor, he's going to be the one Hero Material and I talk about. (And should we ever decide to sell the condo or rent it out or whatever, he's going to be the first agent we talk to.)

Not too long ago, the city where we live sent out surveys to a bunch of foreign residents to see how they like living here. The whole survey was rather long and involved, but one of the best questions was: Do you feel discriminated against?

I thought the question was rather timely since Hero Material and I have been trying to find a bigger place to live for the past six months. Our apartment is currently about 600 sq-ft (slightly less than 60 sq-meters), and it's just not big enough for a family of three.

Anyway, in August (or was it July?) we went to a real estate agency to inquire about the availability of two rental homes advertised. They were in good locations, and the asking rent was reasonable. But the landlord (both were owned by the same guy) refused to even consider us because we were not Japanese! Never mind that Hero Material and The Boy have green cards (permanent residency), and I have a spouse visa. Never mind that we have sufficient income to pay the rent. Never mind that the language is no barrier.

Just the fact that we aren't Japanese was enough to get us rejected sight unseen by the landlord over the phone!

So of course we answered YES to the “Do you feel discriminated against?” question. Then we specified why (“When trying to rent a place to live”). I also wanted to check “I cannot describe when, but I feel discriminated against nonetheless” just because I've been feeling rather annoyed about the whole incident, but Hero Material decided that maybe it was too vague.

With the falling population in this country, you'd think that the government would encourage citizens to be more open-minded and welcoming to immigrants. But I guess they're happy with their shrinking serfs taxbase.

I cancelled my order from Toshiba. I won't be getting their custom made laptop due to their ridiculous phone order verification process for all orders. Even if I CALL to order, they have to do the phone verification “due to fraudulent orders.”

Firstly, why even have an online order page in that case? The whole point of buying stuff online is that I DON'T HAVE TO GO TO A PHYSICAL STORE OR TALK TO YOU ON THE PHONE.

Secondly, why have the phone order option available if you have to do the phone verification for phone orders too? I don't know anybody who wants to talk AGAIN to verify their order. It's beyond silly.

Thirdly, insisting that the phone verification system's purpose is to fight fraud is insulting. This assumes that all people who order computers from you are fraudsters. Besides, I can name several reputable online retailers who do NOT do this and still make money. (cough-Amazon-cough-Apple-cough-MegaEggs-cough-Victoria's-Secret-cough-Sephora-cough-wine.com-cough-Godiva-cough)

Finally, Toshiba's lack of customer service lost my loyalty and business forever. When I emailed their support center for the update on my order status (because it was still set to “shipping status to follow”), nobody responded for over 2 business days, despite the fact that their website CLEARLY STATES that they respond all order-related inquiries in 24 hours. When I asked the service rep why the order status wasn't set to “waiting for phone verification” she said, “I don't know.” When I said the custom-made laptop wouldn't arrive on time (since they so kindly screwed around for a week!), she said, “We can expedite the shipping IF YOU PAY EXTRA.”

Their rep insisted that their phone verification system is not only normal but standard for all orders, and that they did nothing wrong by not disclosing that on their website or explaining such an outlandish and cumbersome system (so that people who don't want to be bothered w/ such BS can go elsewhere and not waste their time), and that it was just too bad that they never responded to my email inquiry.

So I told the rep to cancel my order, and not even bother trying to sell me anything else on their website since they don't have anything I want to buy, not with their ridiculous “phone verification system.”

After hanging up with Toshiba's so-called customer support, I went to a company that truly values my business (and money) — Amazon — and bought a Samsung laptop for $120 less than what Toshiba wanted for theirs.

Angela James mentioned on Twitter that she quit drinking coffee, and that it made a big difference to her. I wasn't a coffee drinker until I was 27 or so, and up until I got hooked, I'd never really felt the need for it, though I'd occasionally indulged in green tea and Diet Coke.

So I timed my detox period around my vacation in May to Korea. I quit drinking coffee one week before my trip to Korea, then I didn't drink any while I was in Seoul, then voila, two weeks over! :)

I think it helped me fall asleep better. I used to lie in bed, wondering why the hell I wasn’t asleep yet! On the other hand, it's been terrible for me in the mornings when I didn't get to sleep very well, courtesy of The Boy. (I'm wondering if he's teething again — he's due to get his first molars soon — since he's awfully restless at night.)

One thing I'm trying to do is drink more water every day, though I haven't been too good about that. I have no idea why. When I was working my day job, I was drinking over a gallon a day. My coworkers used to joke about my “jug.” I don't think anything has changed that much between now and then. Maybe I'm just old and forgetful now. :oops:

Hello, everyone. Can you believe 2012 is more than half over?

June was a super productive month. Not because it was that special (it was the same old same old), but because I read The Power of Habits, and used some of the tips and tricks mentioned in the book. I highly recommend it to anybody trying to change any bad habits they may have. Best tip for me: before going to bed each night, make a list of what you’re going to do the next day. Then do it. Works wonders.

The sequel to The Last Slayer is with two betas right now, plus I received feedback on my other novel from Agent. As usual, she had some really good comments. :)

And I'm working on the final book in The Last Slayer trilogy since the second book sort of ends in a cliff hanger. So I don't want to have a long period between the second and third book release dates.

I have three main writing-related goals for the month of July:

1. Finish the first draft of Slayer #3 (untitled).
2. Revise the sequel to The Last Slayer per beta feedback.
3. Revise the other novel project per Agent's feedback.

On more personal front, The Boy is walking a bit more now. It's kinda cute. He's not super fast or anything, and his balance is still a bit wobbly, but he’s getting there. :)

And sometime this month, Hero Material is traveling to America on business, leaving me alone with The Boy for about six days. In Japan, you traditionally bring omiyage (souvenirs) for your friends, family, etc. after a trip outside the local prefecture. What should I ask him to bring? :)

Finally, I'm trying to read some really intensely romantic romance novels. If you have any recommendations, please comment and let me know! :)

It was his 1st time. He loved Nemo (clown fish). :D

(We were supposed to take a picture together, but he decided to stand up and block most of his mommy. I had to hold him so he didn't lose his balance and fall since the small wooden ledge around the tank was about 4 feet off the floor.)