vintage_belle | (no subject)

Dear Everybody Who Has Compared the Nuclear Reactor Situation in Japan to Chernobyl;

STOP IT.

STOP IT RIGHT NOW.

Yes, it is worrying. Yes, there is some new piece of news about something going wrong everyday. Yes, I know you're saying that it's not actually Chernobyl yet. But that's getting lost in translation. Nuclear experts can't even agree about the extent of possible damage in a worst-case scenario. With the days passing a real threat becomes that much less likely. All you're doing is sending my mother into a panic.

I am now getting called at 4:30 in the morning with her telling me that she has a travel agent holding tickets for me on a plane that leaves TODAY. I can't leave today. In fact, I can't leave until the 25th without breaking my contract and getting fucked over for it, and I do not need calls at 4:30 every morning between now and then.

So stop it.

No love,
Me.

In other news, school started again today. At least for today and tomorrow we have a grand total of three periods (I even have class second and third), and then the kids will go home at 11:30. I will... sit here. And stare at my computer screen. Or something.

All the lights and heaters are off to save electricity in the wake of rolling blackouts. (Where I live we appear to be exempt from them. Either that or we're off the grid because every morning we're told they'll happen and every morning they don't.) The kids aren't allowed to use their actual classrooms because those are on the third floor and they're not allowed higher than the second.

It's better than sitting at home like we've been doing the past 3 days, though.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I don't know where your mother is, but here in NYC the coverage is much more negative than it seems to be in Japan.

I don't know who to believe, but I sincerely wish for the best.

She's in NYC, which is why she's calling me at odd hours and imploring me to come back, but it's really not that bad. NHK is keeping good tabs on it and it's not nearly so dire.

Honestly? The news is absolutely terrifying from this side of the ocean, but that's also the nature of American news coverage - the scarier, the better for ratings. They're so vague on specifics and so willy-nilly with "maybe" and "possibly" that it's hard to know what is fact and what is hypothetical...

Although I can imagine your frustration, I can also really feel for your mom and what she must be feeling at the thought of you being there while all of this is going on. I have been worried about you also, but I'm assuming/hoping that if you were in any sort of pressing danger, you would be aware of it.

The 25th isn't too far away, hon, I really hope that you can continue to stay safe (and that your poor mom can manage to hold onto her sanity through this whole mess) until then. *hugs*

That's why I wish my mother would stop watching the damn news. Japan takes threats of any kind with seriousness that borders on paranoia. One cow with mad cow and they stop all meat imports of any kind. A bomb sent from Yemen to America through a corporate account and Japan refuses to allow private citizens to send mail over 1lb there. If there were real concern the government would have ordered the entire country evacuated.

I know it's hard for my mom. I know that she'd like me home today, but I can't do that. I've told her why. I just wish she'd listen to me instead of the myraid of conflicting reports that don't help anyone.

I'm afraid that you're her baby so she's gonna freak out when there's even a chance of harm coming to you. Hell, my brother is 41 and my mom still has freak outs when something goes wrong for him and his issues are nowhere near as scary as earthquake/tsunami/possible nuclear fallout while being halfway around the world (which is probably the part that is freaking her out most)...that worrying is something subliminal that They put in the baby books for Moms to learn even before we're born. But hopefully she'll save her freak outs for a more reasonable hour of the day because nobody needs that at the ass-crack of dawn.

Hopefully the next 7 days bring a little good news and peacefulness to Japan and to poor frazzled you AND to your poor frazzled mom :-*

Also, that icon? Made me laugh out loud. That was perfect for that comment!

Toma makes very good 'why do I put up with you?' faces. XD

I'd be okay with the freaking out so long as it's done at a decent hour. I can at least fend it off when I'm awake. I just wish the news would stop making it worse.

...after seeing the news that the State Department is sending in planes to fetch Americans on Japan, I am guessing your mom's not calmed down any :-| I kind of wish your company would take into account the circimstances and release you from your contract early. It's not like you'd be leaving for no reason at all, that's a pretty viable reason, IMHO.

ARGH AMERICAN NEWS SUCKS HARDCORE AND IT PISSES ME OFF SO MUCH

FUCK

I'm glad you're back at school and doing things. And also that you seem to be exempt from the blackouts. <3

It really does. I know they have trouble getting people to care about the outside world, but this is beyond annoying. >( at them.

Thank you. I'm glad to be back to semi-normal. Sitting around in a weird extended vacation wasn't fun.

>:(((( (my icon represents Americans RN)

I bet. Let me tell you, it was really strange to be here, basically unaffected. Obviously I'm glad, but it was really weird that life in Kansai went on as usual. I may make an actual real post about this later which will, hopefully, make sense.

Again, glad you're alright.

Aunt Debbie (the skinny, dark-haired one) was under the impression it was horrible. I had to try to convince her that things are NOT as bad as the American news has reported and the US forces were backing away until they were certain what was going on. She kind of takes things too seriously at times though so I don't think she was really listening to me.

I think one of the biggest problems has been the fact that we use a different system to count radiation here vs. Japan. My nuclear medicine techs today were talking about it, and after converting it none of them were worried at all.

Tell Mom I've been exposed to more radiation in the past week with my CT and nuclear medicine test than you have in a year. *snugs*

Hear hear. I'm getting calls from my sister being all YOU MUST LEAVE FOR YOUR FUTURE CHILLINS. and I'm all no. I'm 400 miles away. I'm fine.

The US media is sensationalizing, as usual, and putting the ACTUAL devastation on the backburner. I suspect b/c nuclear things are something they can make people worry about, whereas the tsunami won't be hurting anyone in the US. But that's my jaded two cents.