LANDLORDING 101

Three weeks ago we posted our house for rent on the BYU housing webpage. We received no calls. Two days ago I stuck some signs in front of the house, at the corner and at a main crossroad, and the phone won't stop ringing. The signs were black with red writing, and came with a miniscule wooden stake affixed with double sided tape to its back. The stake was only slightly larger and more durable than a wooden ruler (the kind with the metal strip on one side that I used in elementary school). The double sided tape was not strong enough to keep Callan from ripping one of the stakes of the back of the sign, and the staples I used didn't hold up to the forty mile an hour gusts of wind that ripped through Provo yesterday. On my drive home yesterday I noticed the sign at the crossroad was tipped over and broken, and the sign in front of the house had blown completely off the two wooden stakes, which were still stuck erect in our front lawn.

However, despite the problems with the signs (which I was able to fix with some clear packing tape) we received several calls about the house and it looks like we'll have some renters selected by the weekend. The success of the signage has not come without problems though. In my eagerness to get the signs posted, I neglected to finalize the details of the rental agreement. Because we hadn't ironed out all the details about rent, deposit, pets, etc. Melissa wasn't able to answer questions when people called. On top of that, the house has been a disaster lately so we've had to show renters the house fully decorated with moving boxes, dirty dishes, and smelly laundry. While I've been at work all day Melissa has been trying to field questions about the house, draw up rental contracts, download renter applications, sign us up for health insurance, take care of Callan, cook, clean the house, clean up after Callan, pack up the house, find a storage unit, prepare for a church function she is planning, go grocery shopping, and try to get a shower in every day.

I stayed up late last night to clean the house and get some other things in order, so hopefully today will be less stressful for her. I'm on my way to the grocery store, then home, then off to job number two. When I get home Melissa will go to her church function and I will show the house to potential renters. And in Five weeks, we'll be on a plane to Japan, and someone else will be using our shower, weeding our garden, and Sleeping under our roof.

School

I just took my last final. Now all that lies between us and Japan is a little paperwork and a lot of packing. I told Melissa today that college has recently felt like speeding down the highway at sixty five miles per hour only to come up fast on an accident and be stuck in stop and go traffic for an hour. Prior to this January I had gone four 16 straight months without a break from school. Then in January I took the semester off and Melissa finished her last semester. She graduated in April with a bachelor's degree in humanities (art history emphasis) and I went back to school three days later. However six weeks into spring term ( three weeks ago) we found out we we're going to Japan so now school is on hold again after barely getting started. I only have 22 credits left so It'll only be a semester or so when I get back, but part of me would like to simply get it done. However, it will be nice to spend a year in Japan, eat some great food, get a lot of sight seeing in, brush up on my Japanese, pay down some student loans and enjoy spending a lot of time with Melissa and Callan.

Callan and Melissa @ Christmas time, 2004 

Seto Naikai Bridge, between Okayama and Sakaide 

View of Marugame courtesy of www.japan-photo.de/ marugame.htm  

Getting Close to Marugame,

I've never been to Marugame, though I've been quite close. The main train line that cross the seto-naikai runs through Sakaide, which is about thirty minutes from Marugame. It was on that train line that I road from Fukuyama to Takamatsu in April of 2001 on a transfer as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I remember the train that ran across the seto-naikai was large, clean and quiet. The walls where white, the windows were large, and the cushions and seats were soft, modern, and sleek (much different than the old, industrial feel that accompanies you on a ride on a local train).

I sat next to Toby Anderton on that train ride. We shared Pocky sticks, or melon bread, or some other Japanese treat and talked about Japan, our companions, and our new area. I was a new missionary on my first transfer, unsure of the language, and unsure of myself.

In a month and a half I will cross the seto-naikai again, this time with my wife and child, with a better understanding of the language, and a different mission to fulfill. Will it feel the same? Will the jungle-like foliage visible from the train window captivate me the way it did when I stared at them as a 19 year old missionary? Will I stare at the people on the train, and wonder about their lives, about their culture? Will my heart ache for the old man with bad teeth, who spends the entire train ride nursing a cup of sake and reading a comic book? How will I react to the tired eyes of the overworked salary men? What will I talk with them about? When I first came to Japan it seemed unnatural to talk with strangers on the train. Now going back, I fear it will feel unnatural NOT to talk with them.

As a missionary, your life is entirely focused on one thing, spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, talking about it with anyone, and everyone. Now I will be there as a father, and husband. I won't be there to convert souls, but to teach students, to soak in culture, to enjoy a country I love with the two people I love most.

Joey and Callan on a Hike in Price, Utah 

Pass Ports

Both Callan's and my passports finally came in the mail today, within the 8-10 business day timeframe I might add. I guess the 120+ dollars we spent on expediting the passports was worth it. I just found out that getting the certificate of eligibility from Japan (a piece of paper that says we have a job in japan that makes getting a visa much easier) will take 1-3 months! I don't know what we're going to do if we don't ge it sooner than that. We may have to go over as a tourist and apply for a change in visa status. I've been told that costs a lot of money (which the school would cover, but still.

Waiting

After calling Misha in Oregon and getting her to go to the Clackamas County recorders office to pick up a copy of our marriage certificate and then having her send it overnight to us in Utah, and then packing it all up and sending the certificate along with Melissa's passport to North Carolina to be amended, which cost us an extra 60$ to expedite shipping, we received an email from the HR person at our new job telling us to just send the un-amended passport along with the marriage certificate. So we waited a week to get the amended passport back and all the wonderful federal government had done was type a note on the back page explaining that Melissa's name had been changed.

We have since sent Melissa's passport, college diploma, and other info to Marugame to be looked over by the ministry of foreign affairs. Once they decide that Melissa can work in the country they'll send us a certificate of eligibility which we must then send to the Consulate office in Denver where we apply for visas. If the visas go through we'll be on a plane to Osaka International airport on July 26th. If something goes wrong, this blog may end faster than it started.

So we wait.