it feels like Christmas today

Today I emerged from my apartment and 7:30 pm only to walk to SATY (like a Japanese Target) to buy Sister Act 2. Came back home, made guacamole, watched the singing nuns (glorious) and went to sleep again.


I surprised myself last night when I referred to California as “California” and Japan as “home.”

jenni and katie sing the hits

diminishing decorum: a photo documentary

THE ARRIVAL

ONE A.M.

TWO A.M.

THREE A.M.

FOUR A.M.

FIVE A.M.






SIX A.M.











SEVEN A.M.

the answer to the weight problem in america

the american food pyramid
six groups:


the japanese food pyramid
five groups:


which group is missing? why, the one recommending fats, oils, and sweets, of course!

kego park christmas lights

i'm a sucker for christmas lights and fake snow. kego park offers an abundance of one of these things.

to see my family <3

I know I told a couple of people at home that my goal was to be on a Japanese game show. Well, this weekend I got one step closer. I was on some sort of TV show. All I did was stand there with my answer card…they gave me a packet of tissues as a gift.



The question: What do you want for Christmas?

Here’s what I really wanted to say, but couldn’t fit on the card:
1. Make a Japanese dinner for my family
2. Peach Towers party
3. Visit Indie
4. Bingo at the casino with Mike S
5. That Mexican restaurant Zamorah took me to for my birthday
6. Jet Rag Sunday sale/Fairfax flea market
7. The Italian place Mauro and I found in Silver Lake
8. Life Plaza with Laura
9. Snuggle with Zoe

hakozaki shrine

there's a flea market in front of this shrine once a month! i bought a present for my mother!

ikaaaa maniaaaa

went to Karatsu today for what turned out to be quite an interesting meal


first i got caught


then we took pictures of the scenery while waiting for our table


anna's super nice parents and i framed by worsening weather


a row of squid. i will never see so much squid as i did today.


market


a cartoon character spin-drying squid. naturally.


the sights. the tourist boats were shaped like squid, just in case anyone hadn't gathered what the main attraction was.


inside the famous ika (squid) restaurant. the squid live in the middle there.


the main attraction. my face says "oh shit, when this picture is finished i'm going to have to try this."


inside the boat you'll see strips of raw squid atop two live squid for decoration. one of them kept grabbing anna's chopsticks when she went in for the sashimi. there was something heart wrenching about his efforts to defend his fellow mollusk. those two guys were later made into tempura. R.I.P.


karatsu castle



200 years ago a prince beheld his kingdom from this very balcony


now it's just anna + me + a coin-operated viewfinder







tomorrow we go to the flea market!!!!!!

nomihodai in kurume...again

my saturday night:

i guess haruka and i had a photo sesh








i'm really sorry for posting this... but every time i see it i laugh. she's like a wild animal!!!



horrible quality but you just can't retake a photo and expect to capture the same enthusiasm

We regret to inform you that the C.A.C. cannot authorize your cover request at this time.

I'm listening to a Michael Buble sort cover Eleanor Rigby, syncopating it beyond recognition--and if that wasn't enough, there's also a sax solo.

I'd like to begin an organization called the Cover Appropriations Counsel in which musicians must apply for approval to record a cover of any given song. Live disasters will not concern us. Only those which can be played over and over in coffee shops and supermarkets.

Our creed:
We at the C.A.C. aim to improve the sonic conditions of our world by protecting the general public from inharmonious and generally deplorable cover music.

We will hand out magnets that say "We've got you covered" in front of supermarkets and shopping malls.

cocoa/winter/banjo/peanut butter

Woke up to someone's half-drunk hot cocoa peering at me from under my coffee table. Was displeased. Yes, that’s right—there's a hot/cold vending machine in my building, which dispenses hot cocoas at the exact temperature one would like hot cocoa to be. Jealousy's a disease.

Leaving work, I let out a great exhale and upon seeing that exhale in the air before me, I was let in on the news that winter is, in fact here. And I'm still without a proper coat.

I go through a great struggle each night as I leave work—to Sunny or not to Sunny. You see, this very convenient and well-stocked 24 hour grocer is just steps away from my building and if I'm lucky I'll find a lovely pumpkin salad. The trouble lies with the Christmas music—I'm relatively sure they loop exactly three Christmas songs—and the fact that I find myself humming one of these three choice Christmas songs when I return to my apartment. I feel it's worth mentioning that one of these songs is a banjo rendition of "O Come All Ye Faithful." And if that sounds cool, it's not.

Even the packaging is more polite here. The wrapper of my little peanut butter sandwich puffs (do not recommend) says, “This snack contains peanut butter made from peanuts of good quality. You can enjoy it as is or after toasting it light.” Why thank you!

self-actualization

Today I brought up Maslow's hierarchy of needs to explain to my friend why she should quit her job and I felt like such a tool afterwards.

Dyed my hair yesterday. I'll post a picture when I figure out a way to take a picture of my new hair without looking like a girl who takes photos of her new hair and posts them online.

foreign correspondence

Today my mother informed me that the local butcher reads my blog. So Nick, if you're reading this, I'm not really down for the meat but I would love to sample some o' dem gourmet cheeses you're hiding in the corner fridge. See you at Christmas.