My washing machine makes me laugh!

**Note to reader: I don't know why it says this blog is being posted on Friday, Aug. 22 at 11:11 p.m. because that's all wrong. It is definitely Monday evening, Aug. 25 as I write.**

Obviously, this is my washing machine. It looks fairly normal. But looks can be deceiving!

I admit that I'm easily amused.

But if you were here in my apartment right now--listening to the crazy sounds coming from my washing machine and watching me check on it every few seconds to make sure it isn't exploding water and clothes all over the place--you'd probably be cracking up, too!

It started out normal. Then all of a sudden, without warning, it sounded like someone was drilling something into my wall. The sound of pouring water soon accompanied the drilling noise. At this point, I ran to the laundry room, feeling sure that I would find a giant puddle to mop; fortunately, water had not spilled all over my floor. Not so much as a drop, in fact. After the drilling and the waterfall stopped, it sounded like a bunch of balloons popping one-by-one inside the machine. Next came the "helicopter-preparing-for-takeoff phase," followed by the helicopter soaring for a while, with its propellers moving at a rapid pace. Now it's sounding like there is a working blender inside tumbling around, instead of my chothes.

This was going to be a blog post about my weekend, not my washing machine. But it's hard to concentrate on writing about anything else with these kind of background noises. I just can't get over this crazy appliance!

Anyway...moving on now...

I went to a parade yesterday. It was pouring rain the entire time, but it was still fun. Fun until I was completely soaked and freezing, anway. I don't think I've written much about the weather, but for the last few days it's felt more like April than August! I've already been wearing my jacket since the air is cool. It's also been rainy/dreary, and I've been told that this is just the beginning of the rainy season. Great. (*sarcastic voice*)

The parade took place in Noda, where Jemma lives. So Mayla and I went to see Jemma participate in the parade with some of her co-workers. We were standing on the side of the road underneath our umbrellas, when a group in the parade motioned for me to join them! So I jumped right in and marched along for a while. :) There's going to be a festival in Kuji next month, and I'm going to be in that parade too, along with my City Hall co-workers. Hopefully it doesn't rain on our parade! haha.

On Saturday, I went for a 45-minute "wog" (walk/jog) in the morning and then came back to my apartment, where I made and devoured a batch of banana granola pancakes! In the afternoon, I sang karaoke with Mayla and Sean -- an ALT in Kuji who was home in Atlanta for his sister's wedding until just a few days ago. This was not my first time to go to a karaoke bar while in Japan. I went last week with some co-workers, but that's for another blog post! So stay tuned...

And by the way, my clothes are done now. They survived!!