Remind me not to ride any roller coasters in Japan.
Japanese class last night was ok. The teacher isn't the best in my opinion, she moves too fast for some folks new to learning Japanese and she skips all around like she doesn't really have a plan. For me, since I learned a little Japanese 10 years ago in college, it was a little basic. If it weren't for not knowing all the hiragana I probably could have skipped to the next level. Anyway, the class is free so not complaining. We are learning something.
My laptop is back from repair! Hard drive rebuilt and Windows reinstalled. Just trying to reorganize all my folders and documents from the last 3 weeks!
Kenn sent me a sneak peak of the new Mac OS. I have to say it looks pretty amazing. And after my laptop issues recently I am actually considering buying a Mac laptop for my personal computer. I never thought I would but it just seems to make sense. Less problems, no viruses, easy to use, and the new OS looks so cool...
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Potato croquettes, custard dessert...expensive fruit
Tuesday night Japanase cooking lesson #2 - potato croquettes, japanese cole slaw, miso soup, lotus root side dish, and custard with caramel sauce. All from scratch of course. Pic from the cooking studio website:
Pic of the meal I made:
This one had less hard to find ingredients and slightly easier to make than the last class. Except for the fact that you have to deep fry the croquetts which is always a big pain. Everything was really good, wasn't really a ran of the miso soup- it had ume plum in it. The custard was surprisingly easy to make so I imagine using my new found cooking techniques someday.
On another note, do you know how expensive fruit can get in Japan? Some fruit can get really pricey including these melons (Amy took this pic at my local grocery store):
3000 yen is $25! They get even higher like 10,000 yen! Not all fruit is expensive but a lot are and my coworker told me it's because they are grown carefully and meticulously at farms in Japan. When I searched online for explanations I found some of the same - they are "grown with a great deal of attentive care in a well-controlled greenhouse". It's mostly these types of melons that I see most expensive. But strawberries are sometimes around $1 each. I don't why anyone would pay these prices for fruit.
This random guy's blog I found also has some more pics of expensive fruit in Japan. Ridiculous.
Pic of the meal I made:
This one had less hard to find ingredients and slightly easier to make than the last class. Except for the fact that you have to deep fry the croquetts which is always a big pain. Everything was really good, wasn't really a ran of the miso soup- it had ume plum in it. The custard was surprisingly easy to make so I imagine using my new found cooking techniques someday.
On another note, do you know how expensive fruit can get in Japan? Some fruit can get really pricey including these melons (Amy took this pic at my local grocery store):
3000 yen is $25! They get even higher like 10,000 yen! Not all fruit is expensive but a lot are and my coworker told me it's because they are grown carefully and meticulously at farms in Japan. When I searched online for explanations I found some of the same - they are "grown with a great deal of attentive care in a well-controlled greenhouse". It's mostly these types of melons that I see most expensive. But strawberries are sometimes around $1 each. I don't why anyone would pay these prices for fruit.
This random guy's blog I found also has some more pics of expensive fruit in Japan. Ridiculous.
Monday, May 28, 2007
Memorial Day
Kenn and I did remember our fallen troops during the US Memorial Day holiday... Many truly brave soldiers that deserve to be honored.
In celebration of the unofficial start of the summer & barbeques aspect, we went out for burgers. Instead of our usual spot for home-tasting burgers, TGI Friday's, we tried Outback Steakhouse. It was even better the TGIFs, the burgers had grilled onions. We might have found our new spot. Check out how big the draft Kirin beer mug was!
The mug is as big as Kenn's head.
I had good ol' American budweiser (tho probably brewed here). We had a long discussion about if the hamburgers from TGIFs and Outback actually tasted good or if we just haven't had an american burger in so long that any thing similar tastes good. Hard to say.
Hope everyone had a nice long weekend!
(by the way, my computer is still in repair but Kenn's is back!)
In celebration of the unofficial start of the summer & barbeques aspect, we went out for burgers. Instead of our usual spot for home-tasting burgers, TGI Friday's, we tried Outback Steakhouse. It was even better the TGIFs, the burgers had grilled onions. We might have found our new spot. Check out how big the draft Kirin beer mug was!
The mug is as big as Kenn's head.
I had good ol' American budweiser (tho probably brewed here). We had a long discussion about if the hamburgers from TGIFs and Outback actually tasted good or if we just haven't had an american burger in so long that any thing similar tastes good. Hard to say.
Hope everyone had a nice long weekend!
(by the way, my computer is still in repair but Kenn's is back!)
Hamburg steak w/ teriaki sauce...
... vegetable miso soup and ume plum jelly dessert...
Looks pretty close to the website pic I think!
My camera phone kinda makes it look dark and burnt but it wasn't. Very yummy. There were 4 people in the class. It was pretty easy to make but required a lot of ingredients so I didn't make it for Kenn over the weekend but will sometime. Everything was made from scratch including the teriaki sauce. Hamburg steak is actually just a ball of meatloaf to be honest. My next class is Tuesday and we are making potato croquettes.
We took it slow this weekend, watched the finales of Lost and Grey's. We went to the Design Festa which was cool and bought a lot of original postcards and posters from artists/designers. I met up with an old church sunday school teacher who is in Tokyo for work for lunch and church service. We did a bit of shopping. I found out that I am a size large at the Gap in Japan. How depressing, they have mostly S, XS, and XXS here.
Looks pretty close to the website pic I think!
My camera phone kinda makes it look dark and burnt but it wasn't. Very yummy. There were 4 people in the class. It was pretty easy to make but required a lot of ingredients so I didn't make it for Kenn over the weekend but will sometime. Everything was made from scratch including the teriaki sauce. Hamburg steak is actually just a ball of meatloaf to be honest. My next class is Tuesday and we are making potato croquettes.
We took it slow this weekend, watched the finales of Lost and Grey's. We went to the Design Festa which was cool and bought a lot of original postcards and posters from artists/designers. I met up with an old church sunday school teacher who is in Tokyo for work for lunch and church service. We did a bit of shopping. I found out that I am a size large at the Gap in Japan. How depressing, they have mostly S, XS, and XXS here.
Friday, May 25, 2007
Keeping busy
Besides both of us working (Kenn's still freelancing steadily), Kenn and I are settled into some nice routines now including going to the gym regularly. We have Japanese class once a week and studying to do for that. I don't think I mentioned that I ended up changing my Japanese cooking class from bread to actual Japanese cooking. Thought it would be more useful and that I should take more advantage of being emersed in the culture. I go to my first class tonight and we're making this:
Not sure what it is because the site doesn't have English. But all lessons include a simple meal, appetizer and dessert. Then I'll practice it on Kenn this weekend.
Kenn is maybe interested in trying a martial arts class. We also have lots of travelling within Japan to do while whether is good - Hakone, Kyoto, Kobe, Osaka, Okinawa are all on our list.
And it looks like we will get to go to Thailand in July. I will be going to Bangkok for a conference so we plan to stick around a few extra days to see another city too.
We're living busy lives and still finding time for watching the Buffy DVD series (thanks Kent) and reading whatever stash of English magazines we have (thanks Amy) and books (thanks Amy and Jenn - right now I am reading Jenn's book, Sula).
Of course this is all on top of usual weekend activities in Tokyo. This week's being the Design Festa (same as I went to last fall, it's twice a year).
Not sure what it is because the site doesn't have English. But all lessons include a simple meal, appetizer and dessert. Then I'll practice it on Kenn this weekend.
Kenn is maybe interested in trying a martial arts class. We also have lots of travelling within Japan to do while whether is good - Hakone, Kyoto, Kobe, Osaka, Okinawa are all on our list.
And it looks like we will get to go to Thailand in July. I will be going to Bangkok for a conference so we plan to stick around a few extra days to see another city too.
We're living busy lives and still finding time for watching the Buffy DVD series (thanks Kent) and reading whatever stash of English magazines we have (thanks Amy) and books (thanks Amy and Jenn - right now I am reading Jenn's book, Sula).
Of course this is all on top of usual weekend activities in Tokyo. This week's being the Design Festa (same as I went to last fall, it's twice a year).
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Ramen & Language Class
If you haven't had ramen in Japan, you have never had ramen. Last night Kenn and I had a sober ramen eating experience. It was at a place in our neighborhood that actually Kenn went with Charles when he was visiting. I had never been and we were looking for a quick place to eat after Japanese class that wouldn't be too harsh on the stomach - Kenn had a bout of some food poisoning or something this week. (not surprising in my opinion with all the weird stuff he tries to eat here).
Anyway, the ramen was delicious! Might be our new ramen place and it's a bit closer to home than the other one we go to. The one we had had this wonderful thick soup, not sure if you can tell from the pic. mmmmmmmm.....
On another note, Japanese class #2 was good. Again it focused on hiragana which Kenn and I are stuggling to memorize. His computer has been at the repair shop all week though so he has been a good boy studying at home. We rather be learning to speak more Japanese but we do feel like we are learning something and I can make out quite a few words now when in context. We are supposed to learn Katakana on our own as homework and I think next week we'll move on to other things.
FYI, so you get a sense of the complexity here: Hiragana is a Japanese syllabary, one component of the Japanese writing system, along with katakana and kanji (chinese characters). Hiragana and katakana are both kana systems, in which each symbol represents one unit of sound. Each kana is either a vowel, a consonant followed by a vowel, or a nasal sonorant (which, depending on the context, sounds either like English m, n, or ng). Hiragana are used for words for which there are no kanji, including particles and suffixes. Hiragana are also used in words for which the kanji form is not known to the writer. Katakana is primarily used for borrowed English words.
Take a look at what we are trying to memorize:
Hiragana
Katakana
Anyway, the ramen was delicious! Might be our new ramen place and it's a bit closer to home than the other one we go to. The one we had had this wonderful thick soup, not sure if you can tell from the pic. mmmmmmmm.....
On another note, Japanese class #2 was good. Again it focused on hiragana which Kenn and I are stuggling to memorize. His computer has been at the repair shop all week though so he has been a good boy studying at home. We rather be learning to speak more Japanese but we do feel like we are learning something and I can make out quite a few words now when in context. We are supposed to learn Katakana on our own as homework and I think next week we'll move on to other things.
FYI, so you get a sense of the complexity here: Hiragana is a Japanese syllabary, one component of the Japanese writing system, along with katakana and kanji (chinese characters). Hiragana and katakana are both kana systems, in which each symbol represents one unit of sound. Each kana is either a vowel, a consonant followed by a vowel, or a nasal sonorant (which, depending on the context, sounds either like English m, n, or ng). Hiragana are used for words for which there are no kanji, including particles and suffixes. Hiragana are also used in words for which the kanji form is not known to the writer. Katakana is primarily used for borrowed English words.
Take a look at what we are trying to memorize:
Hiragana
Katakana
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Steamed bun burger
Last Friday Kenn and I tried out R Burger - a sort of fast food burger joint with "healthy" gourmet-ish burgers. They come with steamed buns - like the Chinese buns! So delicious. Check out the 'R' branded on it:
We tried the tuna burger and tofu burger. The tofu one was better, very tasty. It has some kinda of miso or vinegar sauce while the tuna burger had a wasabi mayo. They are pretty small, one can definitely eat two pretty easily. If you order a set (combo) you get a drink and choice of fries or tofu nuggets. It may sound kinda of funky but the tofu nuggets were really good! They looked like chicken nuggets but the consistency was rather soft. They were fried so tasted yummy.
On another note, I have a conversation this week about whether or not my stay in Japan will be extended through the end of this year. It's looking pretty likely. Kenn and I have decided whichever way it goes, we would be happy. There are many pros and cons but an experience like being out here seems to outweigh the cons. Lucky for all you wannabe visitors!
We tried the tuna burger and tofu burger. The tofu one was better, very tasty. It has some kinda of miso or vinegar sauce while the tuna burger had a wasabi mayo. They are pretty small, one can definitely eat two pretty easily. If you order a set (combo) you get a drink and choice of fries or tofu nuggets. It may sound kinda of funky but the tofu nuggets were really good! They looked like chicken nuggets but the consistency was rather soft. They were fried so tasted yummy.
On another note, I have a conversation this week about whether or not my stay in Japan will be extended through the end of this year. It's looking pretty likely. Kenn and I have decided whichever way it goes, we would be happy. There are many pros and cons but an experience like being out here seems to outweigh the cons. Lucky for all you wannabe visitors!
Monday, May 21, 2007
Festivals, festivals, festivals
So last weekend, Kenn and I had the wrong weekend - we are idiots. Although we did stumble upon a small festival and had fun it was not THE Sanja Festival (Sanja Matsuri) which is the biggest of Tokyo's three great festivals. During the annual festival millions of frenzied devotees gather for traditional portable shrine processions, ancient ritual music and dancing, and other festivities. The processions are in honour of the three resident deities of the Asakusa Shrine, who are paraded through the streets in huge, elaborately decorated mikoshi or portable shrines carried on the shoulders of dozens of strong men dressed in traditional festival clothing, and surrounded by chanting worshippers. Up to 100 other mikoshi are carried around in processions meant to bring blessings and good luck to the area and its inhabitants.
These days women participate in carrying the shrines too. We did witness something digusting though. Some guys were walking around with huge swollen welts on their shoulders from the weight of all the bouncing up and down of the shrines. I'm talking like the size of golf balls if not bigger! Ick! They were proud of it though.
Even the monchichi's are dressed in festival gear:
Festivals come with tons of food vendors which is always fun. Kenn can't help but try anything octopus, squid or even in this case clams:
These days women participate in carrying the shrines too. We did witness something digusting though. Some guys were walking around with huge swollen welts on their shoulders from the weight of all the bouncing up and down of the shrines. I'm talking like the size of golf balls if not bigger! Ick! They were proud of it though.
Even the monchichi's are dressed in festival gear:
Festivals come with tons of food vendors which is always fun. Kenn can't help but try anything octopus, squid or even in this case clams:
But he doesn't always luck out. He ordered something we thought was squid but it tasted completely disgusting. He made me smell it and I almost puked. Curiousity may actual kill Kenn.
We went to the Sanja Matsuri with Meeghan on Saturday and to a Reggae Festival with Meeghan and Cate on Sunday at Yoyogi Park (Cate is Brandon from upstair's friend). It was a free festival and really crowded (surprise surprise). Very cool and kind of a rave-like feel but without any drugs or rowdyness or anything like that. Friends get together, set up their blue tarps (very japanese thing to do) and bring food and drinks:
Here's our set up (I am relaxing and soaking up the beautiful weather):
We were far from the stage where bands and dj's were supposedly playing reggae. We couldn't make sense of it but it seemed like they were playing hip hop and pop but not reggae. Maybe they don't know what true reggae is in Japan? Who knows. Maybe we were just too far to hear it well. One thing is for sure- it may be the only Reggae Fest in the world where no one smokes pot - haha! Only in Japan could that happen. And I kept thinking that outdoor festivals or concerts like this don't really happen in the US anymore and could probably not ever fly in a place like NYC. Public drinking, music and large crowds? Just look at what happened at Woodstock 99. I mean they do exist but usually are accompanied with lots of trash, pollution, drunken fights, etc. Americans just cannot behave themselves to be treated to such wonderful events as these.
Here is a link to all pics from last week and this week's festival festivities. I made lots of captions and if you scroll through the pics it will give you a real feel for what matsuris are like. We ran out of memory space so there's not much from reggae fest but we did bring our video camera so hope to post videos sometime.
Friday, May 18, 2007
The Medical Check
Boy am I glad I went for that just so I could experience a little of what their health clinics are like here and report back to everyone. First off, the little urine bottle: so I successfully got the urine in the disposble paper cup but it was a little tough sucking the liquid into the little bottle, you had to do it in one shot and there was a line on the bottle which I assume is how much I needed to fill it. After a few tries, I finally got it with not too much of a mess...
Before agreeing to this medical check, I asked if there would be a doctor that spoke English and they told me yes. Which I suppose isn't a total lie but pretty much all of the exam was conducted by a nurse who didn't speak any English. My coworkers also scared me into thinking I was going to have to drink this gross liquid isotope for a stomach xray but I didn't end up having to. Another foreign girl here thinks that it's because Japanese natives are prone to stomach/intestine cancer because of their high sodium, high smoked foods diet. That goodness I skated that one, I was planning on refusing it. Isotope is radioactive.
Anyway, here is the step by step: Upon checking in, I was given a sweatshirt type thing and slippers to change into, pants kept on but no socks and no necklace.
First exam was a chest xray. In this dinky sterile looking old room. I've never had a chest xray so seeing my chest film was cool. Everything looked normal. Next exam was vision and hearing. It was different versions of the E shape so I had to say up, down, right, or left. The nurse spoke no English so she kept flipping through this paper booklet which had English translations of phrases on it. And she would point to phrases like "now I am going to conduct a hearing test". Hilarious. The thing you had to put to yuor ear looked to me a little dirty and kinda like they didn't wipe it down between patients. Gross.
Now the rooms in this place are all small and close together. Each exam was a separate room but I believe the walls didn't go all the way to the ceiling so you could kinda hear what they were saying in the other rooms. So weird to me because in the US they are super careful about medical privacy. In Japan apparently not.
So my next room was I think an EKG machine. They suction the wires to your chest. I've never had an EKG test either so that was cool. My heart's electrical activity was also normal.
Next up, weight, blood pressure, and blood test. Now the blood test was a little disturbing to me. First of all I do not like getting blood drawn. But I have never had any problems with the nurse finding a vein because I have a pretty big visible vein on both arms. For some reason, this nurse seemed a little nervous and unsure. She first started tapping on my left arm vein and didn't seem so sure so we moved to my right arm instead. Then she tapped around again in a very uncertain manner which made me very nervous. In the end she got it ok though. Whew. All of the needles, disposal bin, and even the vials of blood were sitting on the table which kinda grossed me out. I think the vials were even labelled with patient's names. Again, something that would never occur in the US.
As I waited for the final exam and meeting with the doctor, I was thinking about how most clinics and doctor office in the US are generally so clean and how they try to make you comfortable. I think maybe we are somewhat baby-ed (babied?) in America. I guess I don't really know because I've never gone to a public clinic in a bad area or have never tested the health care systems in other countries either sooo...
The last stop was with the doctor, he spoke decent English, checked my eyes and heart beat and gave me the summary that everything looked ok. I guess I will get my blood and urine test results back sometime in the next few weeks.
I braved it!
Before agreeing to this medical check, I asked if there would be a doctor that spoke English and they told me yes. Which I suppose isn't a total lie but pretty much all of the exam was conducted by a nurse who didn't speak any English. My coworkers also scared me into thinking I was going to have to drink this gross liquid isotope for a stomach xray but I didn't end up having to. Another foreign girl here thinks that it's because Japanese natives are prone to stomach/intestine cancer because of their high sodium, high smoked foods diet. That goodness I skated that one, I was planning on refusing it. Isotope is radioactive.
Anyway, here is the step by step: Upon checking in, I was given a sweatshirt type thing and slippers to change into, pants kept on but no socks and no necklace.
First exam was a chest xray. In this dinky sterile looking old room. I've never had a chest xray so seeing my chest film was cool. Everything looked normal. Next exam was vision and hearing. It was different versions of the E shape so I had to say up, down, right, or left. The nurse spoke no English so she kept flipping through this paper booklet which had English translations of phrases on it. And she would point to phrases like "now I am going to conduct a hearing test". Hilarious. The thing you had to put to yuor ear looked to me a little dirty and kinda like they didn't wipe it down between patients. Gross.
Now the rooms in this place are all small and close together. Each exam was a separate room but I believe the walls didn't go all the way to the ceiling so you could kinda hear what they were saying in the other rooms. So weird to me because in the US they are super careful about medical privacy. In Japan apparently not.
So my next room was I think an EKG machine. They suction the wires to your chest. I've never had an EKG test either so that was cool. My heart's electrical activity was also normal.
Next up, weight, blood pressure, and blood test. Now the blood test was a little disturbing to me. First of all I do not like getting blood drawn. But I have never had any problems with the nurse finding a vein because I have a pretty big visible vein on both arms. For some reason, this nurse seemed a little nervous and unsure. She first started tapping on my left arm vein and didn't seem so sure so we moved to my right arm instead. Then she tapped around again in a very uncertain manner which made me very nervous. In the end she got it ok though. Whew. All of the needles, disposal bin, and even the vials of blood were sitting on the table which kinda grossed me out. I think the vials were even labelled with patient's names. Again, something that would never occur in the US.
As I waited for the final exam and meeting with the doctor, I was thinking about how most clinics and doctor office in the US are generally so clean and how they try to make you comfortable. I think maybe we are somewhat baby-ed (babied?) in America. I guess I don't really know because I've never gone to a public clinic in a bad area or have never tested the health care systems in other countries either sooo...
The last stop was with the doctor, he spoke decent English, checked my eyes and heart beat and gave me the summary that everything looked ok. I guess I will get my blood and urine test results back sometime in the next few weeks.
I braved it!
Thursday, May 17, 2007
First day of class
ジェニファー エング - that's my name in Katakana (not sure if it shows up?)
So Kenn and I attended our first Japanese language class last night. Meeghan sent us the info on this community center that offers lessons for just the cost of the textbook. We actually didn't have to pay anything for last night's session. Not sure why but we think it was because we didn't have to buy the textbook yet. The class was first broken up into all different sub-classes of various levels. We were in the super basic beginner class. To be honest, it was a little basic for me (I guess I have learned something in 9 months!), but hopefully the coming weeks will be useful. We mostly covered greetings and learned some body parts. We were taught the hiragana characters, speaking and writing them. It is so hard to memorize reading them, I am going to have to study that big time. I was hoping for more of the lesson to be on speaking but maybe in the future lessons. It is only Wednesdays for 2 hours for about 2 months. This first class had 17 people at the beginner level but maybe some will drop out and class size will get smaller.
Progress is being made! :)
So Kenn and I attended our first Japanese language class last night. Meeghan sent us the info on this community center that offers lessons for just the cost of the textbook. We actually didn't have to pay anything for last night's session. Not sure why but we think it was because we didn't have to buy the textbook yet. The class was first broken up into all different sub-classes of various levels. We were in the super basic beginner class. To be honest, it was a little basic for me (I guess I have learned something in 9 months!), but hopefully the coming weeks will be useful. We mostly covered greetings and learned some body parts. We were taught the hiragana characters, speaking and writing them. It is so hard to memorize reading them, I am going to have to study that big time. I was hoping for more of the lesson to be on speaking but maybe in the future lessons. It is only Wednesdays for 2 hours for about 2 months. This first class had 17 people at the beginner level but maybe some will drop out and class size will get smaller.
Progress is being made! :)
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Medical check
Ok, so in Japan they have what is called annual medical checks here. All employees go for a physical, which I believe is paid for by their health insurance or by the company. I obviously dont't have national health insurance here but my host company here said they would pay for it so figured what the heck, I'll go get checked out. I am scheduled for Friday and received an envelope with instructions (dont't eat 4 hours before), brief health questionnaire, and the tiny little bottle pictured above. I took a picture of it next to my business card so you can see how small it is. My assumption is that the bottle is for urine. At first I was like how the heck am I gonna pee in that? Then thought maybe I am supposed to suck up the urine from the toilet?... Finally I saw this other folded up paper thing and another paper with what looks like instructions (in Japanese of course):
After inspecting the pic and playing with the folded thing, I figured out it folds into a disposable cup. This I assume is what I am supposed to urinate in and then suck up with the mini bottle... interesting.
Supposedly they scheduled me with an English speaking doctor. Will let you know how it goes! Wish me luck.
Monday, May 14, 2007
9 month mark
Just passed the 9 month mark of my stay in Japan. Wow. I've said it before and I'll say it again- time goes by fast here!
So Friday night, we had a group of new friends/expats/visitors for dinner and drinks. We had Meeghan (Kenn's friend of friend from Vermont who is here for 3 months), Rupa (my friend Amy's friend from NY who is where for 9 months), a friend of Rupa's friend who just moved here permanently - Nichola?, Dylan (neighbor next door who just moved here last month), and Casey (my coworker's gf's friend who is just visiting for 2 weeks). Real mix and we managed to luckily find a place to eat for dinner that could accomodate us. Afterwards Kenji met up with us (our new Japanese friend we met through Brandon) and we went to the bar that Brandon dj's at (Brandon lives upstairs from us). A fun Friday evening that of course ended with early morning ramen.
When I woke up on Saturday, my calves were killing me, they were sooo sore. I couldn't figure out why at first - standing too much? dancing? It didn't make sense until I remembered that we had evacuation training Friday afternoon in my office building. We are on the 30th floor and had to walk down 30 flights. It took 7 minutes which I think is pretty long but would have taken even longer if there were even more people in the stairwell. At the bottom, there were stations like CPR training and practicing shooting the fire hose. I got to try the fire hose which was kinda fun. Very powerful flow of water. Anyway the 30 flights down is why my calves hurt.
Sunday Kenn and I went to the festival in Asakusa. We think we found it at least... Groups of people carry portable shrines around and drums. And near a main shrine are food stalls and game stalls. We enjoyed the afternoon eating and drinking and watching the festivities:
So Friday night, we had a group of new friends/expats/visitors for dinner and drinks. We had Meeghan (Kenn's friend of friend from Vermont who is here for 3 months), Rupa (my friend Amy's friend from NY who is where for 9 months), a friend of Rupa's friend who just moved here permanently - Nichola?, Dylan (neighbor next door who just moved here last month), and Casey (my coworker's gf's friend who is just visiting for 2 weeks). Real mix and we managed to luckily find a place to eat for dinner that could accomodate us. Afterwards Kenji met up with us (our new Japanese friend we met through Brandon) and we went to the bar that Brandon dj's at (Brandon lives upstairs from us). A fun Friday evening that of course ended with early morning ramen.
When I woke up on Saturday, my calves were killing me, they were sooo sore. I couldn't figure out why at first - standing too much? dancing? It didn't make sense until I remembered that we had evacuation training Friday afternoon in my office building. We are on the 30th floor and had to walk down 30 flights. It took 7 minutes which I think is pretty long but would have taken even longer if there were even more people in the stairwell. At the bottom, there were stations like CPR training and practicing shooting the fire hose. I got to try the fire hose which was kinda fun. Very powerful flow of water. Anyway the 30 flights down is why my calves hurt.
Sunday Kenn and I went to the festival in Asakusa. We think we found it at least... Groups of people carry portable shrines around and drums. And near a main shrine are food stalls and game stalls. We enjoyed the afternoon eating and drinking and watching the festivities:
Friday, May 11, 2007
Filet-O Ebi
All week I've been walking by the McDonald's in my office building and sort of craving it. Finally today I figured why not, it's a Friday treat. The McD's here has a Filet-O Ebi sandwich. It is kinda like a filet-o-fish, thought I'd give it a try. In case you don't know ebi means shrimp. So basically it's a shrimp patty sandwich - kinda like crab cake consistency with bits of bigger shrimp pieces in it and of course fried I guess. It was actually really good, I would definitely have it again. It is on a sesame seed bun with lettuce and a sauce that seemed to me very similar to the big mac sauce. Oh so interesting.
It has gotten nice out lately, been pretty warm. I decided to sit outside a little while before going back to work. There were plenty interesting people to watch. Moms pushing strollers, business man in suit on his laptop, coworkers eating lunch on benches together, pet owners walking their tiny little well-dressed dogs, and one poor guy's job was to just stand with a sign in a suit. The sign was directing people to some store I think. I've noticed there are a lot of jobs like that one in Japan. I wonder what these human signs get paid...
It has gotten nice out lately, been pretty warm. I decided to sit outside a little while before going back to work. There were plenty interesting people to watch. Moms pushing strollers, business man in suit on his laptop, coworkers eating lunch on benches together, pet owners walking their tiny little well-dressed dogs, and one poor guy's job was to just stand with a sign in a suit. The sign was directing people to some store I think. I've noticed there are a lot of jobs like that one in Japan. I wonder what these human signs get paid...
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Work post
I was talking to my dad last night and he mentioned I haven't really written about work lately, just our personal outings. Nothing wrong with that of course but thought I'd throw one in here. :)
Work is not too eventful I guess these days. The Japan office hired someone new for me to train. He started a few weeks ago so have been training him a bit. We have a few projects going on right now regionally and in Japan so been working on those too. Occassionally we meet with new clients to introduce them to our research. I've also been talking to the Hong Kong and Beijing offices about training and getting new clients.
Looks like I will get the chance to go to Hong Kong for about a week to train our office there and meet with some clients. That would be cool and Kenn would come along and explore the city since he's never been (free hotel room). I also got invited to lead a workshop at a conference in Bangkok. Would love to go there but have to first see if the conference is worth it.
I am still enjoying what I do here, it's interesting and I actually like teaching and training. I do get bored with it though because most of the time I am not learning anything really new in the industry. Although training and learning about new markets is in itself valuable to me professionally.
So there you have it. Now, here is a fun pic. It's from outside a restaurant we went to on Amy's last night here. Our friend Kenji works there. Holy moly, I look like a giant!! haha...
Work is not too eventful I guess these days. The Japan office hired someone new for me to train. He started a few weeks ago so have been training him a bit. We have a few projects going on right now regionally and in Japan so been working on those too. Occassionally we meet with new clients to introduce them to our research. I've also been talking to the Hong Kong and Beijing offices about training and getting new clients.
Looks like I will get the chance to go to Hong Kong for about a week to train our office there and meet with some clients. That would be cool and Kenn would come along and explore the city since he's never been (free hotel room). I also got invited to lead a workshop at a conference in Bangkok. Would love to go there but have to first see if the conference is worth it.
I am still enjoying what I do here, it's interesting and I actually like teaching and training. I do get bored with it though because most of the time I am not learning anything really new in the industry. Although training and learning about new markets is in itself valuable to me professionally.
So there you have it. Now, here is a fun pic. It's from outside a restaurant we went to on Amy's last night here. Our friend Kenji works there. Holy moly, I look like a giant!! haha...
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Dinner and earthquakes at home
Tofu and veggies on udon noodles- yum.
With so many days off last week and Amy in town, we ate out so much. Now Kenn and I are getting back on track with our home cooked easy meals and gym in the morning for me.
Last night Kenn and I were sitting on the couch watching episodes of Arrested Development on dvd and we both felt a rocking movement. We both looked at each other thinking the other person was moving around but then realized it was a small earthquake. Kenn pointed to the glass of water on the table that had water swaying in it. I hope we are back in the US before the big one hits. Earthquakes are a really weird feeling.
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Dead computer
One of the worst things that can ever happen--- my computer has died. Well, it might not actually be dead but it appears Windows is corrupt and I can't access anything. I feel naked. I feel lost. I feel frustrated. My life is my computer (ok, I'm being a little dramatic). I'm upset mostly that my Outlook has all of my folders with emails filed, my contacts, my calendar. Also I had recent work files and my important urls bookmarked. What really sucks is I downloaded the latest Grey's episode and haven't watched it yet! iTunes doesnt let you download to multiple places so I'm going to have to go on a hunt online for it.
Now I'm stuck with my work's crappy webmail service and finding a loaner laptop in the office here. They all have restricted access so I can't use things like IM.
Booo.... this whole computer thing sucks.
Now I'm stuck with my work's crappy webmail service and finding a loaner laptop in the office here. They all have restricted access so I can't use things like IM.
Booo.... this whole computer thing sucks.
Friday, May 04, 2007
Ueno Park, Shinjuku, Nikko
I think I mentioned it's Golden Week in Japan so Thursday and Friday are public holidays. We went with Amy and Meeghan to Ueno Park. Checked out some temples and shrines in the park and checked out the Panda Ling Ling at the zoo. It was a gorgeous day to walk around. The zoo was pretty good actually although kinda sad the panda is in this small cage. :(
On Friday, Amy, Kenn and I walked around Shinjuku and took in the view of the city for free from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Offices towers:
Saturday we (Kenn, Amy, Rupa, and friend of friend also visiting Tokyo, Casey) went on a day trip to Nikko. Another gorgeous day out and a great trip. It's 2 hours away from the city but I thought it was worth it. The shrines and temples there were amazing, really ornate and detailed. We took plenty of pics so will post those soon.
The time off this week was well spent sightseeing in and around Tokyo. We even found a great new Chinese restaurant really close by that was pretty authentic. And Kenn tried out another dj gig at a local bar but the place wasn't his style.
On Friday, Amy, Kenn and I walked around Shinjuku and took in the view of the city for free from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Offices towers:
Saturday we (Kenn, Amy, Rupa, and friend of friend also visiting Tokyo, Casey) went on a day trip to Nikko. Another gorgeous day out and a great trip. It's 2 hours away from the city but I thought it was worth it. The shrines and temples there were amazing, really ornate and detailed. We took plenty of pics so will post those soon.
The time off this week was well spent sightseeing in and around Tokyo. We even found a great new Chinese restaurant really close by that was pretty authentic. And Kenn tried out another dj gig at a local bar but the place wasn't his style.
DJ Kentaro and The Pharcyde
I'm a little behind on my blog posting. On Wed night, Kenn and I and our new Japanese friend Kenji went to the DJ Kentaro concert. DJ Kentaro is a hip hop DJ and turntablist and he's won the DMC World Championship. The Pharcyde opened for him and they were awesome! Old school hip hop group known for hits "Ya Mama" and "Passing Me By". It was hilarious because they would try to work the crowd but Japanese are so reserved and also I felt like they didn't really understand the English. Anyway, DJ Kentaro was absolutely amazing. He plays the turntables like a musical instrument and he scratches so fast you have no idea how it's even possible to do it. That is pure talent. No matter how much you practice, you can never get that good without those natural skills. After the show, one of the Pharcyde guys was out in the bar area meeting people. We got his autograph, chatted with him a little and took this pic with my camera phone:
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Shabu Shabu
The other night, we went out for Shabu Shabu - all you can eat! Delicious!
Gotta love the camera phone:
For those that don't know, Shabu Shabu is a Japanese variant of hot pot. The dish is traditionally made with thinly sliced beef. Shabu-shabu is usually served with tofu and vegetables. The dish is prepared by submerging a very thin slice of meat or a piece of vegetable in a pot of boiling water and swishing it back and forth several times. (The familiar swishing sound is where the dish gets its name. Shabu-shabu roughly translates to "swish-swish".) Cooked meat and vegetables are usually dipped in ponzu or "goma" (sesame seed) sauce before eating with a bowl of steamed white rice. Once the meat and vegetables have been eaten, leftover water from the pot is customarily combined with the remaining rice, and the resulting soup is usually eaten last:
Gotta love the camera phone:
For those that don't know, Shabu Shabu is a Japanese variant of hot pot. The dish is traditionally made with thinly sliced beef. Shabu-shabu is usually served with tofu and vegetables. The dish is prepared by submerging a very thin slice of meat or a piece of vegetable in a pot of boiling water and swishing it back and forth several times. (The familiar swishing sound is where the dish gets its name. Shabu-shabu roughly translates to "swish-swish".) Cooked meat and vegetables are usually dipped in ponzu or "goma" (sesame seed) sauce before eating with a bowl of steamed white rice. Once the meat and vegetables have been eaten, leftover water from the pot is customarily combined with the remaining rice, and the resulting soup is usually eaten last:
DJ Kula Part 2
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
DJ Kula
Kenn rocked it Saturday night! It was a blast and his dj skills were in full effect. A bunch of our friends and even my coworker and his sister came out (they live 45 minutes away and drove in!). People were dancing, the owner absolutely loved Kenn's music and asked him if he wanted his own night. Not sure yet if we'll make it a weekly regular but he'll definitely be back. Pic of Rupa, Amy & Meeghan:
Summary of the night: great music, lots of drinks, our friend got a cute guy's number, later I had to take her home because she had a little too much, the night ended up with 4 of us left and of course we went for ramen. Here's an amusing story that I think is a testament to Kenn's skills: guy comes over to our table, chats with us, flirts with me (apparently doesn't notice my rings), I entertain myself by asking him what he thinks of the dj, he says the dj is awesome and is playing some really good house, electro and great mash-ups. (I think hmmm, this guys actually knows what he's talking about) I say "good, glad you think so because he's my husband". Anyway, you had to be there, it was funny. Turns out the guy's a house head, former raver back in the day in Seattle. Obviously good taste in music and women. haha. This guy exchanged info with Kenn (he's starting some nightlife website in Japan) and may hook up Kenn with another dj gig an another bar in Roppongi too! Go superstar DJ Kula!
Some write-ups on Propaganda:
World's best bars
Metropolis
It's even on a page on Wikitravel.
The rest of the weekend: Saturday day we walked around the Asakusa area. Here's Kenn trying wasabi ice cream, sounds weird but it was actually really good!
We took a tour boat down the Sumida river which took us to Hama Rikyu Park. Never made it to Imperial Palace Gardens (Amy made it on Sunday) but walked around Ginza and Tokyo Midtown. Sunday Kenn and I slept and relaxed, had dinner with Amy in Roppongi Hills. Monday Amy was off to Kyoto and Kenn and I went to Yokohama - Japan's second largest city and has a port and a Chinatown. (Livia, we never made it to the Ramen museum though - next time!) Pic of us on the Cosmo Clock (giant ferris wheel):
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