Update and a Brilliant Idea!

In an attempt to not just write a blog about Japanese T.V. show I will give you a quick update on what is going on with us. The fourth and smallest member of the family should be entering the outside world any day now. Lizzy’s mom arrives on Thursday and part of Lizzy wants to baby to wait until Thursday to come but probably a bigger part of her wants baby boy to come yesterday!

Naomi is doing well with potty training. Potty training is the most up and down emotional experience ever. One moment we are cheering in the bathroom and giving out treats and an hour later we want to quit and keep her in diapers forever while mopping up an accident. Over the past four weeks we have had to routinely remind ourselves that if there are more successes than accidents then we are making progress.

Now, on to the good stuff; a lot of American T.V. is pretty worthless. Half of the T.V. shows that are exported to Asia make me ashamed. I always wonder what Asians think when they watch shows like Jerseylicious, Keeping Up with the Kardashians, Moment of Truth, and Cops episodes from the 1980’s. So, I think we should steal a brilliant T.V. show from Japan. I have no idea what the show is called because all the lettering on the show is in Japanese and the show is dubbed in Thai. Each episode they seem to have a competition between the contestants to complete an everyday task with extreme precision and speed. The first episode I saw was between chefs, and it was pretty similar to an “Iron Chef.” The second episode I saw was between several guys to see who could park a car the best! What a concept! A whole show based on reversing a car into a parking spot, albeit with an extreme twist. On each episode there are three rounds. Despite the language difficulties, here is what I believe the three rounds consisted of: In round one the contestants had to accelerate the car in reverse to about 30 mph, and as they entered the parking space, brake in time to land the rear bumper as close to the back of the parking space (made up of a tall stack of empty paint cans) as possible. Round two was a game of musical chairs. The cars drove around in a circle with four parking spaces, pointing in four different directions, in the middle. When the music stops, you have to back into a parking space about a foot wider than your car as fast as possible. Round three, very simple, the contestants had to park their car in a parking spot literally a mere 2-3 inches wider than the cars. Fastest time wins, but any contact with any part of the car is an immediate disqualification. What made this episode so exciting was the speed and precision with which these guys parked their cars. Absolutely incredible! Now, if you are a lady reading this (you may have given up at this point), then you are thinking, “I would never watch that show.” If you are a guy, though, you are probably thinking “that sounds amazing” and “I bet I would be great on that game show.” I don’t know what it is about guys, but we all think we are probably the best driver ever to grace the road. I know every time I park I always take a step back to check my handiwork. So there you go America, a new exciting game show!