So today my girl and I decided to do something good and get something out of it as well.

This is part of my RAoK (Random Acts of Kindness) of the month.

We had a fancy lunch at this BBQ restaurant (Rice, soup, salad, tofu, raw meat that you could cook on your own via the grill in the center of the table).

The price for this amazing lunch? about $15 each.



After that, we went shopping and then to Shinjuku (JR East side) to donated blood.

Donating blood in Shinjuku isn't difficult. In fact, you could see tons of young people waiting in line to donate blood.

Why? Well, because we have great hearts....and we would like to have free drinks and food at the same time.

The menu at the Red Cross Center was amazing. There were three vending machines that had at least 40 different kinds of drinks served either hot or cold.

I had 'Hot Lemon', 'Hot Corn Soup', and 'Hot Chocolate'. They were all served in standard paper cups.

I also had the chance to eat Haagen Dazs Ice Cream (your choice of chocolate, vanilla, or strawberry - though I think they had more flavors than that).

There were plenty of all-you-can-eat cookies, biscuits, and Japanese rice crackers (Sen-be).

On top of that, they also served hot dogs & buns, as well as donuts from Mr. Donuts. Mr. Donuts is my favorite donut shop in Tokyo --- See my Fukubukuro (Lucky Bag) entry for more info.

So My girl and I had a nice snack just before dinner. We both donated 200ml of blood each, and had a nice rest at Red Cross.

Btw, when you donate blood in Japan, you get to sit in this relaxing reclining chair that comes with a mini TV and VCR set. You can even select a short film to watch at the front desk before hand.



They have automatic/electronic monitoring systems that measure your blood pressure and the blood contents as you donate your blood.

All and all? Amazing technology that is worth a sight!! So give blood, eat free food, and relax in the chair - all in the heart of Shinjuku when you are tired from shopping and you don't want to pay to sit down at a cafe!

Okay, everyone. Please help if you have any experience or info about this situation.

I just got a call from my brother who is living in Vancouver, B.C., Canada. He told me that the basement of our parent's house is flooded. He lives alone and now water is seeping through the concrete walls and into the basement.

Recently, Vancouver has been hit with heavy rain and snow, so that is probably the reason for the flood.

Now, my parents have no money for such an emergency repair and my brother just graduated from University. My mother lost her job about 3 months ago, and my father is unemployed.

They count as a low-income family. So my questions are:

1) Can we get financial assistance from the government? If so, does anyone know where and how I can apply for such programs?

2) Can our home insurance policy cover the repair cost? Can we make a claim? Has this been done before?

3) Other tips? Finances?

It will be expensive, I am sure of that. So what can we do? Any advice will help a long way since it is our first time in this situation!!!