It has been 6 months since the earthquake in Japan on 3/11/11 that killed more than 20,000 people. My life is completely different now. "Living in the moment" is my meditation for each day. "Expecting the best, but preparing for the worst", seems to be the way for me to deal with my fears of natural disasters. My wish is that people who experience life altering events be able to embrace the RESPECT that the Japanese people seem to have in most aspects of their lives even when under extreme stress like that of the 9.0 earthquake. I will continue to be in awe of the calmness, courage, and only taking what you need attitude that was displayed after this terrifiying event. I feel completely blessed in my life right now, being alive, aware, and full of Love.
I am extremely grateful to the following people that were involved in my Japan experience: Wayne, Mamiko, Jun, Jaclyn, David, Dee Dee, Lance, Lotta, Blanca, Cindy, Richard, Jenny, Irena, Jimmy, Sayuri, Luna, Yoko, and Lilly.
and last, but certainly not least...Adam, and Hannah Lee.
When I returned home to TN and was completely "shook up" from the earthquake these people came to my rescue and I would not be so happy today without their help:
www.synergywellnessspa.com, www.pangaeanashville.com, trendy pieces of Murfreesboro, TN, Bell Buckle Family Clinic , and all my family and friends for their hugs and compassion.
My time in Japan was a like no other I have ever experienced. Learning how people are different on the oposite side of the world from America was extremely interesting. I absolutly loved walking and riding my bicycle everywhere. I had more time to my myself for reading, napping, and exploring. The question now is: Will I give that to myself in Tennessee?
Adam has been relocated to work on a project for Nissan in Japan. We will be here July 2010 through July 2011. Hannah and I are excited to be able to go along for the adventure! CHANGE OF PLANS! Earthquake of 3/11/11 has sent Hannah and I home for good, and Adam will have to finish his project with business trips.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Friday, August 26, 2011
Last trip to Japan
After 4 months of Adam traveling back and forth to Japan to finish his project there, he is finally home for good!!! He was pleasantly surprised when Delta upgraded him to first class on his 14th trip to and from Japan in the past year. He was finally able to sleep 6 hours of the 24+ hour event that it takes to get from Tokyo, Japan to Murfreesboro, Tennesee. I am now able to sleep through the night now that I am not the only parent in the house! Hannah Lee and I are glad to see him in person every day, instead of only a few minutes of Skype.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
This is called humanity
200 plus old people in Japan are volunteering to clean up radiation in Japan. They know their life expectancy is almost over anyway, so they are sacrificing their lives instead of the younger people.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Nissan news from BBC
23 June 2011 (This was taken from BBC.com)
Nissan forecasts profits fall after earthquake
Nissan said it expects to sell 10% more cars than last year
Japanese carmaker Nissan has forecast a fall in profits this financial year, following March's massive earthquake and resulting tsunami.
It said net profit for the year to the end of March would be 270bn yen ($3.4bn; £2.1bn), a 15% fall on the 319bn yen the company made last year.
However, Nissan said sales would rise almost 10% to 9.4 trillion yen
Earlier this month, both Honda and Nissan said their profits would be hit hard by the earthquake.
Honda said profits would slump by 64% to 195bn yen, while Toyota said its profits would fall by a third to 280bn yen.'Continuous growth'
Nissan said it expected to sell 4.6 million vehicles this year, 10% more than last year.
Full production would return by October following disruptions caused by the earthquake, it added.
"Continuous growth in 2011 will bring Nissan a new record volume," said Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn.
"The unrelenting work ethic of Nissan employees is an inspiration - particularly after one of the worst natural disasters in modern history. The high level of motivation and performance of our Nissan team continues to be the foundation of our success."
The carmaker also plans to double dividend payments in 2011 to 20 yen per share.
The March earthquake and tsunami hit supply lines to companies across the world, but Japanese carmakers were among the worst hit.
As a direct result, Toyota is likely to lose its crown as the world's largest carmaker.
It expects to sell 7.24 million vehicles this financial year. Honda said it expected to sell 3.2 million vehicles.
end of article....
Adam has been completely consumed by his project in Japan. He has sacrificed his sleep, and his time with family to get this job done. He has not complained about it at all. It is wonderful to see acknowledgement for him and his colleagues in printed form. He should be home done traveling to Japan by middle of July.
Nissan forecasts profits fall after earthquake
Nissan said it expects to sell 10% more cars than last year
Japanese carmaker Nissan has forecast a fall in profits this financial year, following March's massive earthquake and resulting tsunami.
It said net profit for the year to the end of March would be 270bn yen ($3.4bn; £2.1bn), a 15% fall on the 319bn yen the company made last year.
However, Nissan said sales would rise almost 10% to 9.4 trillion yen
Earlier this month, both Honda and Nissan said their profits would be hit hard by the earthquake.
Honda said profits would slump by 64% to 195bn yen, while Toyota said its profits would fall by a third to 280bn yen.'Continuous growth'
Nissan said it expected to sell 4.6 million vehicles this year, 10% more than last year.
Full production would return by October following disruptions caused by the earthquake, it added.
"Continuous growth in 2011 will bring Nissan a new record volume," said Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn.
"The unrelenting work ethic of Nissan employees is an inspiration - particularly after one of the worst natural disasters in modern history. The high level of motivation and performance of our Nissan team continues to be the foundation of our success."
The carmaker also plans to double dividend payments in 2011 to 20 yen per share.
The March earthquake and tsunami hit supply lines to companies across the world, but Japanese carmakers were among the worst hit.
As a direct result, Toyota is likely to lose its crown as the world's largest carmaker.
It expects to sell 7.24 million vehicles this financial year. Honda said it expected to sell 3.2 million vehicles.
end of article....
Adam has been completely consumed by his project in Japan. He has sacrificed his sleep, and his time with family to get this job done. He has not complained about it at all. It is wonderful to see acknowledgement for him and his colleagues in printed form. He should be home done traveling to Japan by middle of July.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Bug out Bag
Immediately after the earthquake, it felt good to be able to pick up my earthquake survival backpack that was always sitting by the front door. This is a site that suggests always having a "bug out bag" for any disaster.
http://web.comporium.net/~klj2324/BOB-SurvivalKit.pdf
http://web.comporium.net/~klj2324/BOB-SurvivalKit.pdf
10 things to learn from Japan
This is an email that was forwarded to me.
1. THE CALM
Not a single visual of chest-beating or wild grief. Sorrow itself has been elevated.
2. THE DIGNITY
Disciplined queues for water and groceries. Not a rough word or a crude gesture.
3. THE ABILITY
The incredible architects, for instance. Buildings swayed but didn’t fall.
4. THE GRACE
People bought only what they needed for the present, so everybody could get something.
5. THE ORDER
No looting in shops. No honking and no overtaking on the roads. Just understanding.
6. THE SACRIFICE
Fifty workers stayed back to pump sea water in the N-reactors. How will they ever be repaid?
7. THE TENDERNESS
Restaurants cut prices. An unguarded ATM is left alone. The strong cared for the weak.
8. THE TRAINING
The old and the children, everyone knew exactly what to do. And they did just that.
9. THE MEDIA
They showed magnificent restraint in the bulletins. No silly reporters. Only calm reportage.
10. THE CONSCIENCE
When the power went off in a store, people put things back on the shelves and left quietly
1. THE CALM
Not a single visual of chest-beating or wild grief. Sorrow itself has been elevated.
2. THE DIGNITY
Disciplined queues for water and groceries. Not a rough word or a crude gesture.
3. THE ABILITY
The incredible architects, for instance. Buildings swayed but didn’t fall.
4. THE GRACE
People bought only what they needed for the present, so everybody could get something.
5. THE ORDER
No looting in shops. No honking and no overtaking on the roads. Just understanding.
6. THE SACRIFICE
Fifty workers stayed back to pump sea water in the N-reactors. How will they ever be repaid?
7. THE TENDERNESS
Restaurants cut prices. An unguarded ATM is left alone. The strong cared for the weak.
8. THE TRAINING
The old and the children, everyone knew exactly what to do. And they did just that.
9. THE MEDIA
They showed magnificent restraint in the bulletins. No silly reporters. Only calm reportage.
10. THE CONSCIENCE
When the power went off in a store, people put things back on the shelves and left quietly
Where to go during an Earthquake
Where to Go During an Earthquake
Remember that stuff about hiding under a table or standing in a doorway? Well, forget it! This is a real eye opener. It could save your life someday.
EXTRACT FROM DOUG COPP'S ARTICLE ON 'THE TRIANGLE OF LIFE'
My name is Doug Copp. I am the Rescue Chief and Disaster Manager of the American Rescue Team International (ARTI), the world's most experienced rescue team. The information in this article will save lives in an earthquake.
I have crawled inside 875 collapsed buildings, worked with rescue teams from 60 countries, founded rescue teams in several countries, and I am a member of many rescue teams from many countries. I was the United Nations expert in Disaster Mitigation for two years, and have worked at every major disaster in the world since 1985, except for simultaneous disasters.
The first building I ever crawled inside of was a school in Mexico City during the 1985 earthquake. Every child was under its desk. Every child was crushed to the thickness of their bones. They could have survived by lying down next to their desks in the aisles. It was obscene -- unnecessary.
Simply stated, when buildings collapse, the weight of the ceilings falling upon the objects or furniture inside crushes these objects, leaving a space or void next to them - NOT under them. This space is what I call the 'triangle of life'. The larger the object, the stronger, the less it will compact. The less the object compacts, the larger the void, the greater the probability th at the person who is using this void for safety will not be injured. The next time you watch collapsed buildings, on television, count the 'triangles' you see formed. They are everywhere. It is the most common shape, you will see, in a collapsed building.
TIPS FOR EARTHQUAKE SAFETY
1) Most everyone who simply 'ducks and covers' when building collapse are crushed to death. People who get under objects, like desks or cars, are crushed.
2) Cats, dogs and babies often naturally curl up in the fetal position. You should too in an earthquake. It is a natural safety/survival instinct. You can survive in a smaller void. Get next to an object, next to a sofa, next to a bed, next to a large bulky object that will compress slightly but leave a void next to it.
3) Wooden buildings are the safest type of construction to be in during an earthquake. Wood is flexible and moves with the force of the earthquake. If the wooden building does collapse, large survival voids are created. Also, the wooden building has less concentrated crushing weight. Brick buildings will break into individual bricks. Bricks will cause many injuries but less squashed bodies than concrete slabs.
4) If you are in bed during the night and an earthquake occurs, simply roll off the bed. A safe void will exist around the bed. Hotels can achieve a much greater survival rate in earthquakes, simply by posting a sign on the back of the door of every room telling occupants to lie down on the floor, next to the bottom of the bed during an earthquake.
5) If an earthquake happens and you cannot easily escape by getting out the door or window, then lie down and curl up in the fetal position next to a sofa or large chair.
6) Most everyone who gets under a doorway when buildings collapse is killed. How? If you stand under a doorway and the doorjamb falls forward or backward you will be crushed by the ceiling above. If the door jam falls sideways you will be cut in half by the doorway. In either case, you will be killed!
7) Never go to the stairs. The stairs have a different 'moment of frequency' (they swing separately from the main part of the building). The stairs and remainder of the building continuously bump into each other until structural failure of the stairs takes place. The people who get on stairs before they fail are chopped up by the stair treads - horribly mutilated. Even if the building doesn't collapse, stay away from the stairs. The stairs are a likely part of the building to be damaged. Even if the stairs are not collapsed by the earthquake, they may collapse later when overloaded by fleeing people. They should always be checked for safety, even when the rest of the building is not damaged.
8) Get near the outer walls of buildings or outside of them if possible - It is much better to be near the outside of the building rather than the interior. The farther inside you are from the outside perimeter of the building the greater the probability that your escape route will be blocked.
9) People inside of their vehicles are crushed when the road above falls in an earthquake and crushes their vehicles; which is exactly what happened with the slabs between the decks of the Nimitz Freeway. The victims of the San Francisco earthquake all stayed inside of their vehicles. They were all killed. They could have easily survived by getting out and sitting or lying next to their vehicles. Everyone killed would have survived if they had been able to get out of their cars and sit or lie next to them. All the crushed cars had voids 3 feet high next to them, except for the cars that had columns fall directly across them. 10) I discovered, while crawling inside of collapsed newspaper offices and other offices with a lot of paper, that paper does not compact. Large voids are found surrounding stacks of paper.
Spread the word and save someone's life.
The entire world is experiencing natural calamities so be prepared!
'We are but angels with one wing, it takes two to fly'
In 1996 we made a film, which proved my survival methodology to be correct. The Turkish Federal Government, City of Istanbul, University of Istanbul Case Productions and ARTI cooperated to film this practical, scientific test. We collapsed a school and a home with 20 mannequins inside. Ten mannequins did 'duck and cover,' and ten mannequins I used in my 'triangle of life' survival method. After the simulated earthquake collapse we crawled through the rubble and entered the building to film and document the results. The film, in which I practiced my survival techniques under directly observable scientific conditions, relevant to building collapse, showed there would have been zero percent survival for those doing duck and cover.
There would likely have been 100 percent survivability for people using my method of the 'triangle of life.' This film has been seen by millions of viewers on television in Turkey and the rest of Europe and it was seen in the USA , Canada and Latin America on the TV program Real TV.
Subject: Save your life with "The Triangle of Life""Triangle of Life":
Without listening or reading, simply by looking at the following self-explanatory photos, you can learn more than in a thousand words about how to protect yourself during a major earthquake...
Remember that stuff about hiding under a table or standing in a doorway? Well, forget it! This is a real eye opener. It could save your life someday.
EXTRACT FROM DOUG COPP'S ARTICLE ON 'THE TRIANGLE OF LIFE'
My name is Doug Copp. I am the Rescue Chief and Disaster Manager of the American Rescue Team International (ARTI), the world's most experienced rescue team. The information in this article will save lives in an earthquake.
I have crawled inside 875 collapsed buildings, worked with rescue teams from 60 countries, founded rescue teams in several countries, and I am a member of many rescue teams from many countries. I was the United Nations expert in Disaster Mitigation for two years, and have worked at every major disaster in the world since 1985, except for simultaneous disasters.
The first building I ever crawled inside of was a school in Mexico City during the 1985 earthquake. Every child was under its desk. Every child was crushed to the thickness of their bones. They could have survived by lying down next to their desks in the aisles. It was obscene -- unnecessary.
Simply stated, when buildings collapse, the weight of the ceilings falling upon the objects or furniture inside crushes these objects, leaving a space or void next to them - NOT under them. This space is what I call the 'triangle of life'. The larger the object, the stronger, the less it will compact. The less the object compacts, the larger the void, the greater the probability th at the person who is using this void for safety will not be injured. The next time you watch collapsed buildings, on television, count the 'triangles' you see formed. They are everywhere. It is the most common shape, you will see, in a collapsed building.
TIPS FOR EARTHQUAKE SAFETY
1) Most everyone who simply 'ducks and covers' when building collapse are crushed to death. People who get under objects, like desks or cars, are crushed.
2) Cats, dogs and babies often naturally curl up in the fetal position. You should too in an earthquake. It is a natural safety/survival instinct. You can survive in a smaller void. Get next to an object, next to a sofa, next to a bed, next to a large bulky object that will compress slightly but leave a void next to it.
3) Wooden buildings are the safest type of construction to be in during an earthquake. Wood is flexible and moves with the force of the earthquake. If the wooden building does collapse, large survival voids are created. Also, the wooden building has less concentrated crushing weight. Brick buildings will break into individual bricks. Bricks will cause many injuries but less squashed bodies than concrete slabs.
4) If you are in bed during the night and an earthquake occurs, simply roll off the bed. A safe void will exist around the bed. Hotels can achieve a much greater survival rate in earthquakes, simply by posting a sign on the back of the door of every room telling occupants to lie down on the floor, next to the bottom of the bed during an earthquake.
5) If an earthquake happens and you cannot easily escape by getting out the door or window, then lie down and curl up in the fetal position next to a sofa or large chair.
6) Most everyone who gets under a doorway when buildings collapse is killed. How? If you stand under a doorway and the doorjamb falls forward or backward you will be crushed by the ceiling above. If the door jam falls sideways you will be cut in half by the doorway. In either case, you will be killed!
7) Never go to the stairs. The stairs have a different 'moment of frequency' (they swing separately from the main part of the building). The stairs and remainder of the building continuously bump into each other until structural failure of the stairs takes place. The people who get on stairs before they fail are chopped up by the stair treads - horribly mutilated. Even if the building doesn't collapse, stay away from the stairs. The stairs are a likely part of the building to be damaged. Even if the stairs are not collapsed by the earthquake, they may collapse later when overloaded by fleeing people. They should always be checked for safety, even when the rest of the building is not damaged.
8) Get near the outer walls of buildings or outside of them if possible - It is much better to be near the outside of the building rather than the interior. The farther inside you are from the outside perimeter of the building the greater the probability that your escape route will be blocked.
9) People inside of their vehicles are crushed when the road above falls in an earthquake and crushes their vehicles; which is exactly what happened with the slabs between the decks of the Nimitz Freeway. The victims of the San Francisco earthquake all stayed inside of their vehicles. They were all killed. They could have easily survived by getting out and sitting or lying next to their vehicles. Everyone killed would have survived if they had been able to get out of their cars and sit or lie next to them. All the crushed cars had voids 3 feet high next to them, except for the cars that had columns fall directly across them. 10) I discovered, while crawling inside of collapsed newspaper offices and other offices with a lot of paper, that paper does not compact. Large voids are found surrounding stacks of paper.
Spread the word and save someone's life.
The entire world is experiencing natural calamities so be prepared!
'We are but angels with one wing, it takes two to fly'
In 1996 we made a film, which proved my survival methodology to be correct. The Turkish Federal Government, City of Istanbul, University of Istanbul Case Productions and ARTI cooperated to film this practical, scientific test. We collapsed a school and a home with 20 mannequins inside. Ten mannequins did 'duck and cover,' and ten mannequins I used in my 'triangle of life' survival method. After the simulated earthquake collapse we crawled through the rubble and entered the building to film and document the results. The film, in which I practiced my survival techniques under directly observable scientific conditions, relevant to building collapse, showed there would have been zero percent survival for those doing duck and cover.
There would likely have been 100 percent survivability for people using my method of the 'triangle of life.' This film has been seen by millions of viewers on television in Turkey and the rest of Europe and it was seen in the USA , Canada and Latin America on the TV program Real TV.
Subject: Save your life with "The Triangle of Life""Triangle of Life":
Without listening or reading, simply by looking at the following self-explanatory photos, you can learn more than in a thousand words about how to protect yourself during a major earthquake...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)