Update

Olympics:
I am bound and determined NOT to miss tonight's skating event, so I am going to not depend on the VCR timer. Last time, I set the damn thing to start recording at 3 AM and when I woke up in the morning, there was NOTHING! I am so disappointed in missing everything I want to see. It seems like curling is always on at the right time when everyone in Japan is awake. Great planning, folks!!! We LOVE that curling.

MIL:
Haven't interacted with her since our last dramatic episode, but her name has come several times in arguments between me and Suk.
What do you have against my mom?
Why do you hate her?
What did she ever do to you?
You're just jealous of our relationship, aren't you?

Let's get this straight, buster, I do NOT hate your mom. I just want a little LESS of her and a little MORE of you!

He thinks I should make the first move and call her up to apologize or something like that. For, like, a minute, it crossed my mind to send her some flowers with a letter about how we are under a tremendous amount of stress lately and it is affecting our relationship - so sorry to have let it interfere with our precious MIL-DIL relationship. But, I decided that from a Japanese perspective, that might sound like a big, fat excuse. So, I chose to do nothing, for now.

Car:
Since Suk got his license last December, he is now keen on buying a car and can be spotted scouring brochures and car magazines in what little free time he has. He and his MOM and dad went car shopping one day when I was out of town. (Yeah, I was real happy about that, but I got over it. I told him to take some cars for a test drive with the salesmen, because that is what one would normally do when purchasing a car, but he is afraid to drive. I guess he'll have to bring his dad and let him do the test driving. Hmmm.

Condo:
We are moving to our new place at the end of March, and I am anxiously waiting to pack up all our stuff. The boxes will be arriving from the moving company this week. I have not been successful in convincing Suk to go through his stuff and purge a few things. I tell him we can't possibly fit everything into our new place. One thing I really hate is clutter, and for those of you who are familiar with Japanese people, they LOVE LOVE LOVE clutter. But, when I mention the topic, he becomes very violent and mean. He refuses to part with anything, and he is quick to point out all of my things that could be thrown out.

So, I took it upon myself to throw out some things I had been on the fence about, but was afraid he might get offended.

A small stuffed teddy bear given to me by Suk's dad for no reason whatsoever.
Justification #1: I hate stuffed animals.
Justification #2: Suk refuses to touch anything that is dusty. He considers all stuffed animals to be dusty the moment the plastic wrap is removed. (Note: this does not stop him from collecting various toys and stuffed animals, none of which he will touch, but he displays them proudly in our entrance area)
Justification #3: It has no special meaning to me. Not like the little stuffed sheep my mom gave me when I was a teenager and I still have.

A HUGE stuffed teddy bear given to me by Suk's dad for no reason whatsoever.
Justification #1: I hate stuffed animals, especially ones that take up a lot of room.
Justification #2: At first, I admit that I liked the thing because it made for a soft pillow while watching TV, but then it was considered "dusty" and therefore "untouchable" by Suk within one week of receiving it. I wasn't allowed to move it around because that would "stir up dust." It has been biding its time in the storage room ever since.
Justification #3: If I throw it out now, he will never even remember that it existed.

The bottom of our kotatsu blanket set
Justification #1: It is hard to clean, it bunches up and it is a PAIN IN THE ASS.
Justification #2: The kotatsu set is ugly. I did not choose it. I hate flowery things and for the longest time, I was sure that MIL had chosen the curtains and all other fluffy objects for our apartment before I moved here, because they all have one thing in common - BIG UGLY FLOWERS in COLORS I WOULDN'T WISH ON MY WORST ENEMY.
Justification #3: Somehow I convinced Suk to buy a hot carpet, so after we move, we will no longer need the bottom kotatsu thing.
Justification #4: As soon as the weather warms up, or as soon as we move, that top kotatsu blanket will get thrown out as well. Good riddance!

SUMMER VACATION:
Originally, I was planning to go home this summer to see my parent's new house, to go through some of my stored items, and to see some friends whom I could not visit with last time around. Then, the whole lack-money-thing got in the way. Our finances are stretched slightly thin this year, and I am afraid to leave the dog for such long time while it is still young and being trained. I don't want some idiot to come along and screw him up, so I best stay in Japan and spend my vacation with Max.

Now I am trying to convince Shannon to come and visit. We didn't get much alone time together this past Christmas, and every once in a while, I go through major Shannon-withdrawal. Other than her (if she agrees to this), I don't think anyone else is coming to visit this year.