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Inside this Issue:
- Look to the right.
(Or don't, I don't really mind either way. But
then you mightn't know what is on this page).
- Photos and words by Wendy
- How to Kill Time by Bradley
- Meet the Old Trainer/DOP:
Pete Rundell
- Special bonus section: Vaiku
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G'day Blokes and Sheilas,
At the meeting last Friday, people said a few
nice comments about the newsletter, saying that they enjoyed
reading it, etc
etc. Well, that really got me worried, people actually read
what I write?
Rats, I have to be careful from now on. No more thinly
disguised political and religious propaganda, no more racist
slurs
and no more mindless drivel that goes nowhere and contributes
nothing
to the collective knowledge of humankind. I decided to
play it safe this month, and let other people do most of the
writing.
Which,
I'm sure you'll all agree, is a very good thing. We have
a lot of words inside this issue, so or this intro, I am
keeping it simple.
Inspired by Larry's mention of top ten lists on Friday
in the meeting, I wrote a closer-to-home version. Here we go:
TOP
TEN REASONS YOU'fVE BEEN WITH FIA TOO LONG
10. You start
a sentence with "Remember Ken Mooresc"
9. You've been to every restaurant in Shizuoka city, and you
have an indexed file containing every one of their menus and
business
cards.
8. At FIA meetings, you say things like "When I joined FIA, the
internet didnft exist."
7. You taught a Japanese person in OJT, and now you also teach
their child in OJT (and the child has an MBA from Stanford).
6. You can recite all the Performance Goals, in order.
5. You have taught all the performance goals, in order.
4. When alone, you find yourself humming "Are you happy? Are
you happy?"
3. If a member asks you how old you are, you attack them with
a stick.
2. When you started in FIA, your hairstyle was like Tom Cruise's,
but now it is like that of a member of SMAP.
1. When you go home on vacations, you make your family practice
Rhythm Training.
So there you go. My attempt to oust Letterman from his lofty
heights of comedic genius. I had fun writing them, and I
invite anyone
else to try. I might even publish them! A final front-page
note goes out to Brian, congratulations on the promotion,
hope it all
goes well for you, and I look forward to seeing who
will become the new ADoP.
TTFN,
Chris
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The
new DoP, you decide?
or
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Returning
homec By Wendy
Well, as most of you know, I have been back in Australia
for a few months now and I just thought I would write
a few lines to fill you in with whatfs been
going on Down Under!
 I'll start with work. The Adventure School has been just
that, a real adventure, not only for the Yazaki workers
but for me. Stewart Moore
(previous DoS for you
new people!) helped me tremendously with getting started and lots of
useful advice. It has been great getting these Adventurers
over here and watching
their programs
develop but it has been very busy. It takes a bit to get some guys into
action whereas for others, it seems to come naturally. Every day presents
itself with
new challenges!!
Social wise, it was pretty tough being back at first, as
most of my university friends also got the traveling
bug and left town. I had to make a new circle
of friends and try to get to know more people. It's not as easy as when
you are at university. At least then, you got to see people everyday
whether you
wanted
to or not. Basically, in any free time I had, I threw myself into the
one thing I really enjoyed, mountain biking. (Sorry DEVO
lab, here I go again
talking about
MTBs.) I asked any friends who were around to let me know if they had
any MTB friends. I made a few contacts and went out for
a few rides on my own
to try
and make more. Before I knew it, I had so many people to ride with and
not enough time to do it all! I certainly have gotten a lot fitter over
the last few months.
As most of you may know, I donft react well to stress of
any kind especially if it is an exam or a race. Well,
with sheer determination to make as
many friends as I could, I decided to enter a few races just to be
social. My
first XC (cross
country) race here, I came dead last! YAH! I didnft let that beat
me, instead it encouraged me to train a little harder.
I donft expect to
win but when the
announcer at the race yells out gand in last place cWendy Jones!!!h
over the loud speaker, it gives you a little bit of motivation not
to come last again.
I
met another guy who actually was in my grade at the same high
school. Never knew him then but we have since become
good friends and riding
buddies. He has
introduced me to other riders and I now have a good circle of friends.
We entered a 12hour 3 man team race last month. 12hours didnft seem
so long before the
day, I thought between the 3 of us, it should be easy. Again, I was
just going there
to be social anyway. I tell you what, after 2 hours of running around
trying to get out of the race and a few hours of riding, when the
half way mark
came up, I was well and truly over the whole 12hour thing!!! Luckily,
by mid afternoon
I got my second (or third) wind and really enjoyed the whole day.
The night portion of the ride proved interesting with
many fatigued riders
and stubborn
kangaroos
blocking the tracks. What would you do when your lights stun a huge
male kangaroo sitting in your path? Race or no race, I wasn't going
to push
past him! 
Well
the racing season has come to an end but luckily I have met
enough people to go riding with. I have also managed
to score a few
places
by the last few
races and won some prizes. A pair of socks doesn't really feel
very rewarding after battling hills, rocks, logs and
dust for 2+hours!
But not having
the announcer call out my name as the last place certainly does!!!
Heaps
of bush fires aroundcor is he just going fast???
Actually, we went
on an easy 40km ride which turned into a 70km Epic due to
the many bush fires we are having. Roads got closed and we had
to find other ways to get home.
@
Aussie afternooncc
A view of sunset from Wendy's apartment. A nice place,
but the locals are a little strangec.
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Driverfs
test from Hell! by Bradley Anderson
 Yesterday
was one of the longest days of my life. Or so it seemed. I
spent seven hours at the driver's license
center
getting
my Japanese driver's license. It was worth the wait, however,
as I am now an officially licensed driver. "So what?" you
ask? Well, if you've been in Japan for less than a year and
are
driving with an International license, you are still okay.
But, if you have been here more than a year and haven't lived
outside of Japan for more than 3 months consecutively, you
are no longer able to use an International license. So, if
you are one of those people, you are essentially driving
without a license, and would have to pay the consequences
financially
or otherwise in the event you are stopped by the police.
I'm unsure, but would also guess that FIA, being our VISA
sponsor
and essentially responsible for us, might also have some
legal consequences. Herefs my story of what it takes to
get a driver's
license in Japan.
The first thing you need to do is get your valid
driver's license translated at JAF. Information here: http://www.jaf.or.jp/e/switch.htm It
costs 3000 yen and they can do it for you in a short time. You
need that translation, your license, a recent photo (smaller
than passport size), an official sheet from City Hall certifying
you're a gaijin and your address, any old passports you still
have, your current passport, and a book to read. The book
isn't actually required, but remember, you may be there for
a while.
The catch: Your valid license must have been issued before
you
came to Japan. It cannot have been issued while you have
lived in Japan unless it is a renewal. In that case, you
need either
your pre-renewal licenses or some kind of document stating
when you were first issued your license in your home country.
At both
the police station and the License Center, they thoroughly
check both your passports and your license documentation
to see exactly
when you were and were not in Japan to verify this.
Once you have all this stuff organized, you go to the nearest
"main" police station (in my case Numazu) and go to the
license application area. In Numazu it's straight in the
front door.
The staff there doesn't speak English that I'm aware of,
so take that into consideration if you plan to go it alone.
The office worker that helped me was very  patient and understanding.
After examining my old licenses and passports, she asked
me many questions about my travels outside of Japan and
the timing
of
those visits relating to my licenses. (I didn't realize
it, but the US customs hadn't stamped my passport upon
entry
a number
of times- strange.)
Now,
to make your police station visit complete, you should wait
just off to the side of the main windows where there
are some
chairs and couches. Instead of sitting down to watch
the TV, I pulled out my book, and sat directly across from
two guys
who were by no doubt in my mind, Yakuza. That's right,
mafia. The
mob. Wiseguys. How could I tell? Hmmmmc. Maybe it was
the
purple silk suit and slicked back haircut of the older
guy as he sat
with his legs spread wide open occupying more than half
of the bench. Maybe it was because of the younger guy
sporting the same
slicked back Corey Hart butch haircut while wearing his
"Risky
Business" style sunglasses inside the building. (That
was a great movie by the way.) I spent the good part of 10
minutes NOT looking
at my book propped in my lap, but checking out the two
Guido's sitting in front of me and trying to see if they
were carrying
any concealed weapons. Maybe they were there just paying
parking
tickets, who knows?
 Anyway, back to the story. So, after the police lady
confirms that you've got everything you need, and you
qualify, she
will take your information and fill out an application
and reserve
a spot and day for you to go and take your driver's
tests. (You didn't think that this was the end of it, did
you
really?) I
suggest you ask FIA in advance which days are okay
for you to take a personal day and make your reservation.
It will
take a
WHOLE day, and they can usually schedule you within
2-3
weeks. You have the choice of trying for a manual transmission
or
an automatic transmission car. Manual allows you to
drive both, so if you're comfortable with one, go for it.
So then you study. And you SHOULD study. JAF has a
convenient English "Rules of the Road" book for you
to study for
the written test. There are some questions on the
test which
could be considered
a little "tricky" so one or two times through the
book might be a good idea.
One question the police lady asked me was how I was
going to get to the License center. Good question
considering you probably
don't have a valid license to drive there ? DUH!
Actually, you probably could drive if you wanted
as the parking
lot is well
separate from the entrance to the Center, and nobody
would see you. (You didn't hear it from me though.)
Being
a big
chicken, I took the bus from Numazu North station.
To be continued next month...
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MEET THE
OLDish GUY: Pete Rundell
For
those of you who donft know him, start looking for a new job!
As we all know by now, Pete and family are returning to
Terra Australis
this winter to settle back into the sunny life. He hasnft
been interviewed for the FIA Mthly, so I thought I would take
this
chance before he
leaves us. Herefs what makes him tick...
Hobbies and Interests: @I
love spending time with Chiz and the girls, so not much time
for hobbies. However, I  am looking
forward to getting
my golf game back when we return to Australia
Best thing in Japan: There are lots of good things in Japan.
I particularly like beer vending machines.
Worst thing in Japan: Traffic Jams, Queues, Golf is too expensive.
Best restaurant in Japan: I like all food so they are all
good.
Best place in Japan. I have seen a lot of great
places in my 8 years here and I am sure there are many great
places
I havenft
seen. Everyone
should take a trip to Hiroshima. Kyoto is an all time favorite
and Kiyomizu temple is amazing.
Favorite Japanese word: Wakarimasen. It was the first word
I could say that people understood.
Favorite movie: The Princess Bride
Favorite music: I like a wide variety of music, no favorites.
Personal Goal: Make life as good as possible for my family
and myself.
One book to have on a deserted island: gHow to
get off a deserted islandh
 Most embarrassing moment in Japan: There have been many.
I can remember making a verbal slip when I met my future
mother
in law. In a conversation
I wanted to say I ate cereal for breakfast. Instead I said
I ate a certain part of the human body for breakfast. Sounds
like shiriaru,
just drop the aru.
Person I admire the most: I admire my wife. Ifll
admire anyone who treats the people around them with kindness,
honesty
and respect.
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VAIKU: Haiku by Van
Naturefs
Musical
Floating on the wind
The cloudsf slow dance with the sun
Semis sing along.
Work Commute
The heat rises up
Cooking my legs as I run
Nearly late again.
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Outtro: It's funny, I'm writing this before I write the intro.
I have a serious case of editor's block, and it is driving me nuts.
At least its not the heat driving me nuts this time. I've really
enjoyed the cooler weather recently, and this cool change has
inspired
someone to tell me that summer is basically over. Well, I'll
believe that when I see it, but at least I am not too disturbed
by the thought
of putting the tie back on this week. Did anyone receive any
comments when we ditched the ties? I got only one, and was just
wondering
if other people noticed, and didn't say anything, or didn't  notice
at all. Do tell! That's about it for another edition of the FIAMumfly,
I hope you found some good use for it. I personally frame mine,
and hang them in the loo with a sign that says "IN CASE OF EMERGENCY,
BREAK GLASS"
Cheers, Chris
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