Friday, May 09, 2008
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
I AM MACHO COOKING MAN
Before I left Japan, I asked Birendra to teach me how to make this Nepali chicken curry he cooked for us on a few occasions. It was so good, and so welcome considering we never got to eat Indian food in Japan, that I was almost moved to tears when I ate it. I got the recipe and watched him do it once. It seemed simple enough as long as I could get some of the exotic spice mixtures he was using (or at least a reasonable approximation--I think his mom sent him some supplies direct from Nepal.)
Fast forward to a couple months ago. Amanda works with a lady from India and got some intel on where she could get some garam masala. She purchased it for me, I did a test run and we had Billy and Jessica over. It turned out okay but not quite right. The recipe called for yogurt and there was a little too much sour yogurt flavor. Last week I tried it again, this time with the vegetarian Skallops instead of chicken. That attempt turned out pretty horrid--the vegemeat didn't have enough flavor or juices to approximate chicken, and just ended up being a big ol' mouthful of spices with nondescript chewy chunks.
Then the other day Amanda and I were shopping, and I spotted a can of coconut milk. Somehow I got a REVELATION that this might be the missing piece of the curry puzzle. I cooked some up yesterday, threw maybe 1/3 cup coconut milk in, and sure enough, that was the ticket. It was amazing. Amanda thought it was so good she went for seconds and paid the price later with an upset stomach. She had the gall to blame my cooking, but that only told me that it was indeed AWESOME. Not because it gave her an upset stomach, but because she surely knew that could happen if she ate too much but she ate it anyway. As for me, I totally had a flashback to Japan and got all verklempt.
I am a MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN.
Before I left Japan, I asked Birendra to teach me how to make this Nepali chicken curry he cooked for us on a few occasions. It was so good, and so welcome considering we never got to eat Indian food in Japan, that I was almost moved to tears when I ate it. I got the recipe and watched him do it once. It seemed simple enough as long as I could get some of the exotic spice mixtures he was using (or at least a reasonable approximation--I think his mom sent him some supplies direct from Nepal.)
Fast forward to a couple months ago. Amanda works with a lady from India and got some intel on where she could get some garam masala. She purchased it for me, I did a test run and we had Billy and Jessica over. It turned out okay but not quite right. The recipe called for yogurt and there was a little too much sour yogurt flavor. Last week I tried it again, this time with the vegetarian Skallops instead of chicken. That attempt turned out pretty horrid--the vegemeat didn't have enough flavor or juices to approximate chicken, and just ended up being a big ol' mouthful of spices with nondescript chewy chunks.
Then the other day Amanda and I were shopping, and I spotted a can of coconut milk. Somehow I got a REVELATION that this might be the missing piece of the curry puzzle. I cooked some up yesterday, threw maybe 1/3 cup coconut milk in, and sure enough, that was the ticket. It was amazing. Amanda thought it was so good she went for seconds and paid the price later with an upset stomach. She had the gall to blame my cooking, but that only told me that it was indeed AWESOME. Not because it gave her an upset stomach, but because she surely knew that could happen if she ate too much but she ate it anyway. As for me, I totally had a flashback to Japan and got all verklempt.
I am a MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN.
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
Your results:
You are Obi-Wan Kenobi
(This list displays the top 10 results out of a possible 21 characters)
Click here to take the "Which Star Wars character are you?" quiz...
You are Obi-Wan Kenobi
| You are civilized, calm, and have a good sense of humor, even when those around you don't. You can hold your own in a fight, but prefer it when things don't get too exciting.  |
(This list displays the top 10 results out of a possible 21 characters)
Click here to take the "Which Star Wars character are you?" quiz...
Monday, March 24, 2008
Saturday, March 22, 2008
I am starting to understand parenting...
...a very low-grade version of "understanding", but still. We let Chloe outside today. Our apartment has a semi-enclosed patio--it's open to the outdoors but has these high (3.5-4 feet high) walls. I don't think the cat can scale them quite yet. She may be able to, but probably wouldn't try. Anyway, we let her out a couple of days ago, and she poked her nose around, but seemed equal parts "scared" and "curious". Well, today it was a nice day again, so we let her outside.
This time, she was quite enthusiastic. She did scare herself when she thought her reflection was another cat invading her house. She wanted to stay out, but I wanted to take a nap and wasn't going to let her stay out there unsupervised. (I think that given enough time, she would get up on the wall, and then be free to wander anywhere she chose. And the front entrance of the apt. complex is right outside our window, complete with crazy speed-demons and harried UPS drivers.) So I made her come inside.
She's been pouting all afternoon. Ah, the perils of parenthood. I was good, though--I didn't succumb to the emotional manipulation! I AM YOUR FATHER, NOT YOUR FRIEND. Deal with it, kiddo.
Friday, March 21, 2008
UFC CAT COMETH
Chloe has taken to grabbing onto my arm and chewing on my wrist/hand. She does it playfully--she's not biting at full strength, just sort of nibbling. It is kind of weird, though. I in turn give her the IRON CLAW and push her face around. She's got quite the grab strength--like a Muay Thai clinch. And she does follow it up with low kicks too. Some sparring session photos:
MY FIRST ATTEMPT AT POETRY SINCE 6TH GRADE
I think the last time I sat down and wrote a poem (and didn't throw it out in horror) was at Loma Linda Elementary. For one entire quarter, we had to study all these styles of poetry and write poems. Things like cinquains, quatrains and haiku. And you can imagine what sort of output came out of that--a bunch of sixth-grade boys doing haiku. Oh yeah. Here's my tribute to that memorable time:
Guns and tanks and planes
Cobra wants to rule the world.
They can't shoot straight, though.
Now for real. I took a class this quarter that dealt with the Gospel of John. One of the best experiences of my academic life, really. If you're ever around La Sierra University and you see a class called "Contemporary Issues in NT Studies" taught by Dr. Kendra Haloviak, I recommend you take it. Even if you're not going for a Master's in religion. Yeah, take the class just for the heck of it. It'll do you good. Anyway, one of the class assignments was to produce some kind of creative interpretation of a passage of John. I was going to write a song, but I never got the words quite right, and the only tune that was coming into my head was a weird Celtic punk melody sort of reminiscent of The Pogues. Complete with mandolins and fiddles and Irish whistles--not good. What I ended up doing was writing a sort of communal liturgical prayer, something else I have no experience with, but after aborting the Celtic punk song I had to go with something. It's pretty long, but here's the third portion. No, it doesn't rhyme. And there's no meter either. What? It's poetry because...uh...because it's not prose.
Reveal yourself, Lord, that your church, your Body,
may be filled full by your Spirit
to fulfill your prophecy of greater things.
Reveal yourself, Lord, eternal light that enlightens every person,
against which no darkness can stand or overcome.
Reveal yourself, Lord, may our lives be a testimony,
may we witness to all--even ourselves--of you in us.
Hide yourself, Lord, lest we believe
that our rags of light shine brighter without you.
Hide yourself, Lord, lest we trade eating your flesh
for a taste of bread.
Hide yourself, Lord, lest we think
we have eternal life from you
rather than believe you have spoken eternal living in us.
Reveal yourself,
Hide yourself,
Reveal yourself,
Hide yourself,
Reveal yourself,
Reveal yourself, Lord!
Not exactly "good", but it did what I wanted to do, which was to push the boundaries of what I normally do and use a whole mess o' Johannine imagery.
I think the last time I sat down and wrote a poem (and didn't throw it out in horror) was at Loma Linda Elementary. For one entire quarter, we had to study all these styles of poetry and write poems. Things like cinquains, quatrains and haiku. And you can imagine what sort of output came out of that--a bunch of sixth-grade boys doing haiku. Oh yeah. Here's my tribute to that memorable time:
Guns and tanks and planes
Cobra wants to rule the world.
They can't shoot straight, though.
Now for real. I took a class this quarter that dealt with the Gospel of John. One of the best experiences of my academic life, really. If you're ever around La Sierra University and you see a class called "Contemporary Issues in NT Studies" taught by Dr. Kendra Haloviak, I recommend you take it. Even if you're not going for a Master's in religion. Yeah, take the class just for the heck of it. It'll do you good. Anyway, one of the class assignments was to produce some kind of creative interpretation of a passage of John. I was going to write a song, but I never got the words quite right, and the only tune that was coming into my head was a weird Celtic punk melody sort of reminiscent of The Pogues. Complete with mandolins and fiddles and Irish whistles--not good. What I ended up doing was writing a sort of communal liturgical prayer, something else I have no experience with, but after aborting the Celtic punk song I had to go with something. It's pretty long, but here's the third portion. No, it doesn't rhyme. And there's no meter either. What? It's poetry because...uh...because it's not prose.
Reveal yourself, Lord, that your church, your Body,
may be filled full by your Spirit
to fulfill your prophecy of greater things.
Reveal yourself, Lord, eternal light that enlightens every person,
against which no darkness can stand or overcome.
Reveal yourself, Lord, may our lives be a testimony,
may we witness to all--even ourselves--of you in us.
Hide yourself, Lord, lest we believe
that our rags of light shine brighter without you.
Hide yourself, Lord, lest we trade eating your flesh
for a taste of bread.
Hide yourself, Lord, lest we think
we have eternal life from you
rather than believe you have spoken eternal living in us.
Reveal yourself,
Hide yourself,
Reveal yourself,
Hide yourself,
Reveal yourself,
Reveal yourself, Lord!
Not exactly "good", but it did what I wanted to do, which was to push the boundaries of what I normally do and use a whole mess o' Johannine imagery.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
FIVE ALBUMS IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER WORTH A LISTEN IF YOU'RE LIKE ME RIGHT AT THIS MOMENT IN OUR RESPECTIVE LIVES
Tom Waits: Mule Variations "Why wasn't God watching? Why wasn't God listening? Why wasn't God there for Georgia Lee?"
Leonard Cohen: Various Positions "I needed so much to have nothing to touch. I've always been greedy that way."
U2: The Unforgettable Fire "If I could through myself set your spirit free..."
Kelly Hogan & the Pine Valley Cosmonauts: Beneath the Country Underdog "It's not the fall that hurts you at all--It's the sudden stop."
Johnny Cash: The Man Comes Around "Lift up the receiver, I'll make you a believer."
Tom Waits: Mule Variations "Why wasn't God watching? Why wasn't God listening? Why wasn't God there for Georgia Lee?"
Leonard Cohen: Various Positions "I needed so much to have nothing to touch. I've always been greedy that way."
U2: The Unforgettable Fire "If I could through myself set your spirit free..."
Kelly Hogan & the Pine Valley Cosmonauts: Beneath the Country Underdog "It's not the fall that hurts you at all--It's the sudden stop."
Johnny Cash: The Man Comes Around "Lift up the receiver, I'll make you a believer."
Monday, March 17, 2008
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
I RIP OFF THE ONION
So the fake news site "The Onion" has been running this new feature called "Random Rules", where they ask some celebrity or sort-of celebrity to put their mp3 players on Shuffle mode and comment on the first five songs that come up. Interesting idea that I thought I'd try out. Here are the first five songs that came up, and comments from me:
1. Lolly Lolly Lolly Get Your Adverbs Here (artist/s unknown): This is allegedly from some videos they show in middle school over in the US. I say "allegedly" because I never saw any of them, but my brother's class did. Just like that "Hell's Bells" video that tells kids how awful rock music is but only gets them thinking metal videos are really awesome because they tick off their parents. Anyway, this song: they try to make grammar learning "cool" by playing these cheery songs with lyrics about how great grammar is. This particular track sounds like the Beach Boys sucking helium in parts and kind of gets on my nerves, but it's worth it for one verse that starts out, I kid you not, "Suppose you want to go nut-gathering." I played this several times for my English students here in Japan. They liked it, but not as much as "Gangsta's Paradise".
2. American Jesus (Bad Religion): I think I went and downloaded this after seeing it on this one music-oriented blog. The entry was about how secular artists see Jesus. As for the song, I probably downloaded it and promptly forgot to listen to it, 'cause I don't remember ever seeing it. A good satirical take on "Christianity" in America, though. If I were ever to form a punk rock band, I'd totally name it "Bad Religion", except, you know, the name's already taken and I don't wanna get sued.
3. I'm Too Sexy--Spanish version (Right Said Fred): Flashback to teenage years in Walla Walla--there was this locally-owned pizza shop called "Pepe's Pizza" that ran some of the worst commercials I've ever seen on TV. I guess that's kind of harsh--they weren't so much "bad" as "jarringly amateur". This older gentleman, probably the owner of the place and the least-telegenic person in the Western hemisphere, sat in a booth and talked into what was probably the first camcorder ever made by Sony, sometimes with a young kid with him. The big selling point of Pepe's was that they "spread the toppings all the way to the edge" unlike those posers at Pizza Hut or Little Caesar's that had the GALL to sell you pizza with crust. One afternoon, Brenden, Lorin, Ronn and I decided to try this pizza with the toppings spread to the edge and we ventured to Pepe's. The pizza was good--not like nirvana or anything, but tasty, and the toppings did INDEED go all the way to the edge! There was this jukebox there and one of the songs was this Spanish version of "I'm Too Sexy", which was like a million gazillion times too HARDCORE for our teenage minds to comprehend. I don't remember if we even played it, but that became the most memorable thing of the outing. I think this was one of the first songs I ever downloaded off the interwebbie, and I may have even gotten this off the late, great Napster.
4. Feeling Gravitys Pull (R.E.M.): R.E.M. was my first favorite rock band. I think I got every R.E.M. album before I got any other music--maybe U2's "Joshua Tree" was sprinkled in there somewhere too. I've since moved on to other bands and other music, but I still love these guys, even their newer stuff that sounds REALLY weird and all the old-skool fans hate. This song is off their third album, Fables of the Reconstruction of the Fables, which is tied with with "Automatic For The People" as my #2 R.E.M. album (#1 is New Adventures in Hi-Fi.) I like this song because it's creepy and jangly at the same time, the soundtrack to when you're on Forrest Gump's Sweet Home Alabama estate the day after a nuclear holocaust.
5. Beast of Honor (Melissa Auf Der Maur): Don't know a lot about this song--it's a nice up-tempo pretty hard rock song. Melissa Auf Der Maur is a talented Canadian bass player who was in Hole with Courtney Love. I saw a Hole video and thought Auf Der Maur was the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen. In retrospect, it was probably just the fact that she was next to Courtney Love, who would make Barbara Bush I look like Tanith Belbin. Anyway, I got her album some way and rather like it, although it's not one of my favorites or anything.
So the fake news site "The Onion" has been running this new feature called "Random Rules", where they ask some celebrity or sort-of celebrity to put their mp3 players on Shuffle mode and comment on the first five songs that come up. Interesting idea that I thought I'd try out. Here are the first five songs that came up, and comments from me:
1. Lolly Lolly Lolly Get Your Adverbs Here (artist/s unknown): This is allegedly from some videos they show in middle school over in the US. I say "allegedly" because I never saw any of them, but my brother's class did. Just like that "Hell's Bells" video that tells kids how awful rock music is but only gets them thinking metal videos are really awesome because they tick off their parents. Anyway, this song: they try to make grammar learning "cool" by playing these cheery songs with lyrics about how great grammar is. This particular track sounds like the Beach Boys sucking helium in parts and kind of gets on my nerves, but it's worth it for one verse that starts out, I kid you not, "Suppose you want to go nut-gathering." I played this several times for my English students here in Japan. They liked it, but not as much as "Gangsta's Paradise".
2. American Jesus (Bad Religion): I think I went and downloaded this after seeing it on this one music-oriented blog. The entry was about how secular artists see Jesus. As for the song, I probably downloaded it and promptly forgot to listen to it, 'cause I don't remember ever seeing it. A good satirical take on "Christianity" in America, though. If I were ever to form a punk rock band, I'd totally name it "Bad Religion", except, you know, the name's already taken and I don't wanna get sued.
3. I'm Too Sexy--Spanish version (Right Said Fred): Flashback to teenage years in Walla Walla--there was this locally-owned pizza shop called "Pepe's Pizza" that ran some of the worst commercials I've ever seen on TV. I guess that's kind of harsh--they weren't so much "bad" as "jarringly amateur". This older gentleman, probably the owner of the place and the least-telegenic person in the Western hemisphere, sat in a booth and talked into what was probably the first camcorder ever made by Sony, sometimes with a young kid with him. The big selling point of Pepe's was that they "spread the toppings all the way to the edge" unlike those posers at Pizza Hut or Little Caesar's that had the GALL to sell you pizza with crust. One afternoon, Brenden, Lorin, Ronn and I decided to try this pizza with the toppings spread to the edge and we ventured to Pepe's. The pizza was good--not like nirvana or anything, but tasty, and the toppings did INDEED go all the way to the edge! There was this jukebox there and one of the songs was this Spanish version of "I'm Too Sexy", which was like a million gazillion times too HARDCORE for our teenage minds to comprehend. I don't remember if we even played it, but that became the most memorable thing of the outing. I think this was one of the first songs I ever downloaded off the interwebbie, and I may have even gotten this off the late, great Napster.
4. Feeling Gravitys Pull (R.E.M.): R.E.M. was my first favorite rock band. I think I got every R.E.M. album before I got any other music--maybe U2's "Joshua Tree" was sprinkled in there somewhere too. I've since moved on to other bands and other music, but I still love these guys, even their newer stuff that sounds REALLY weird and all the old-skool fans hate. This song is off their third album, Fables of the Reconstruction of the Fables, which is tied with with "Automatic For The People" as my #2 R.E.M. album (#1 is New Adventures in Hi-Fi.) I like this song because it's creepy and jangly at the same time, the soundtrack to when you're on Forrest Gump's Sweet Home Alabama estate the day after a nuclear holocaust.
5. Beast of Honor (Melissa Auf Der Maur): Don't know a lot about this song--it's a nice up-tempo pretty hard rock song. Melissa Auf Der Maur is a talented Canadian bass player who was in Hole with Courtney Love. I saw a Hole video and thought Auf Der Maur was the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen. In retrospect, it was probably just the fact that she was next to Courtney Love, who would make Barbara Bush I look like Tanith Belbin. Anyway, I got her album some way and rather like it, although it's not one of my favorites or anything.
Monday, February 13, 2006
Well, I have been tasked with a duty for the wedding/reception, and I've done work on it but have hit something of a wall. Amanda asked me to get music together for the wedding celebration--I think more for the reception than the actual ceremony. If it's the actual wedding...this will be one very interesting song list.
Anyway, I've got about 55 songs picked out--I won't be using all 55, of course. I'll have to trim that down but want to know if there are any others out there that I might have missed. I am calling on YOU, the maybe three people who still read this, to give me suggestions. Anyway, here's a partial list along with explanations so that you can get some idea of what I'm going for. I reserve the right to ignore suggestions like Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On", Vanilla Ice's "Ice Ice Baby", or anything from boy bands.
So for a sampling of what I'm looking for:
"All I Want Is You" (U2): One of my favorite bands ever, and this song pretty much captures why. The lyrics are pretty simple and straightforward but really pour on the passion and even desperation. Then at the end there's this long instrumental part that emphasizes those themes even more. And although it's totally unrelated to the music, the video that accompanies this song is at once baffling and moving, making it one of the best music videos ever in my opinion.
"Precious Lord" (Robin O'Herin): The words to this song are pretty much EXACTLY what I want to begin our marriage. And because of an arrangement done by the WWC choir, it will forever be associated with Martin Luther King Jr. in my mind.
"When You Say Nothing At All" (Alison Krauss + Union Station): Amanda might make me play the version by Ronan Keating, the one she knows better. But I really like the way Alison Krauss sings this and I LOVE LOVE LOVE this song--if I could enter to this in the wedding service itself, I would.
"Suteki da ne" (Final Fantasy X soundtrack): If there are any game nerds reading this you might remember this as the slow J-pop music that plays when Tidus and Yuna confess their love for each other in Final Fantasy X. The words are all in Japanese, and I don't know what they say beyond a couple of translations I got online. But since Amanda and I met in Japan I thought it'd be appropriate.
"Fields of Gold" (Eva Cassidy): A whole lot of people called this one of the best songs ever written, but I never understood it because I didn't really feel the song when Sting did it. Then I heard Eva Cassidy's and was nearly moved to tears.
"In This Life" (Israel Kamakawiwo'ole): Another song that's also sung by Ronan Keating. I don't have anything against the guy, I've just heard his songs sung by other people first. The lyrics to this could be applied equally to a precious love on earth or to God, a quality I really like for songs in general and wedding songs in particular. Combine that with IZ's voice and this might be the end song on the collection.
"Two Princes" (Spin Doctors): Because it's a fun upbeat song, but probably will end up as a surprise to many, and it's the SPIN DOCTORS for crying out loud. When Amanda said she would stand up and defend the honor of the Spin Doctors, I knew that she was a keeper.
"For Those About To Rock (We Salute You)" (AC/DC): Because AC/DC is Australian (and I couldn't think of any love songs by Midnight Oil), you'd never THINK about putting this on a wedding album, but yet it's a great song for the occasion when you think about it. The cannons shooting in the background are totally choice too.
"Oh My Love" (John Lennon); "When A Man Loves A Woman" (Percy Sledge); "Say You, Say Me" (Lionel Ritchie): But I like the sweet classic love songs too.
"Unchained Melody" (Righteous Brothers): Forever the absolute, untouchable, #1 pinnacle of "romantic songs" in my mind. I like the U2 version as well and may end up going with that one.
So beyond these...any suggestions? I think it'd be funny to get some rap tracks on there, but nothing is coming to my mind besides Tone Loc's "Funky Cold Medina", and I think Amanda might kill me if I did that.
Anyway, I've got about 55 songs picked out--I won't be using all 55, of course. I'll have to trim that down but want to know if there are any others out there that I might have missed. I am calling on YOU, the maybe three people who still read this, to give me suggestions. Anyway, here's a partial list along with explanations so that you can get some idea of what I'm going for. I reserve the right to ignore suggestions like Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On", Vanilla Ice's "Ice Ice Baby", or anything from boy bands.
So for a sampling of what I'm looking for:
"All I Want Is You" (U2): One of my favorite bands ever, and this song pretty much captures why. The lyrics are pretty simple and straightforward but really pour on the passion and even desperation. Then at the end there's this long instrumental part that emphasizes those themes even more. And although it's totally unrelated to the music, the video that accompanies this song is at once baffling and moving, making it one of the best music videos ever in my opinion.
"Precious Lord" (Robin O'Herin): The words to this song are pretty much EXACTLY what I want to begin our marriage. And because of an arrangement done by the WWC choir, it will forever be associated with Martin Luther King Jr. in my mind.
"When You Say Nothing At All" (Alison Krauss + Union Station): Amanda might make me play the version by Ronan Keating, the one she knows better. But I really like the way Alison Krauss sings this and I LOVE LOVE LOVE this song--if I could enter to this in the wedding service itself, I would.
"Suteki da ne" (Final Fantasy X soundtrack): If there are any game nerds reading this you might remember this as the slow J-pop music that plays when Tidus and Yuna confess their love for each other in Final Fantasy X. The words are all in Japanese, and I don't know what they say beyond a couple of translations I got online. But since Amanda and I met in Japan I thought it'd be appropriate.
"Fields of Gold" (Eva Cassidy): A whole lot of people called this one of the best songs ever written, but I never understood it because I didn't really feel the song when Sting did it. Then I heard Eva Cassidy's and was nearly moved to tears.
"In This Life" (Israel Kamakawiwo'ole): Another song that's also sung by Ronan Keating. I don't have anything against the guy, I've just heard his songs sung by other people first. The lyrics to this could be applied equally to a precious love on earth or to God, a quality I really like for songs in general and wedding songs in particular. Combine that with IZ's voice and this might be the end song on the collection.
"Two Princes" (Spin Doctors): Because it's a fun upbeat song, but probably will end up as a surprise to many, and it's the SPIN DOCTORS for crying out loud. When Amanda said she would stand up and defend the honor of the Spin Doctors, I knew that she was a keeper.
"For Those About To Rock (We Salute You)" (AC/DC): Because AC/DC is Australian (and I couldn't think of any love songs by Midnight Oil), you'd never THINK about putting this on a wedding album, but yet it's a great song for the occasion when you think about it. The cannons shooting in the background are totally choice too.
"Oh My Love" (John Lennon); "When A Man Loves A Woman" (Percy Sledge); "Say You, Say Me" (Lionel Ritchie): But I like the sweet classic love songs too.
"Unchained Melody" (Righteous Brothers): Forever the absolute, untouchable, #1 pinnacle of "romantic songs" in my mind. I like the U2 version as well and may end up going with that one.
So beyond these...any suggestions? I think it'd be funny to get some rap tracks on there, but nothing is coming to my mind besides Tone Loc's "Funky Cold Medina", and I think Amanda might kill me if I did that.
Sunday, February 05, 2006
Found this still in my "drafts" section from sometime last month. Just a few finishing touches and here is the report from our (Amanda and yours truly) trip to Kobe/Kyoto over New Year's!
Had a really good time in Kobe. The family we stayed with, the Nakagawas, are
all really nice. They treated us so well and we were never without food! It
was fun to experience an honest-to-goodness authentic Japanese New Year.
We ended up taking a one-day trip to Kyoto the first full day in Kansai. We
only saw a few things but I figured that'd be the case since you really need
more than one day to see everything. We did see the Golden temple, though, and
we got there late in the afternoon when the sun really lit the temple up. I got
some really good pictures. Really, everything turned out perfectly for a day
trip.
Then on Sabbath we went to the Kobe church in the morning and then did some
sightseeing around Kobe. There are some "foreigner's houses" that are
the famous landmarks in the city and they were pretty interesting. They had an
English house, a Dutch and Danish one, and a few others. The American house was
closed. We also got some famous Kobe desserts and they were amazing.
Then on New Year's day we had a special breakfast (fish, miso soup, mochi,
pickled vegetables) and everything was really good. The whole family took us
out to the airport and said good-bye. We really enjoyed our time with them and
they seemed to enjoy having us there, too. The parents don't speak much English
although the mother likes to try (and likes to talk in general.)
From there we went to Tokyo--were planning on only staying one night. There's this pretty nice hotel in the Asakusa district that Amanda found when her parents visited wayyyyy back in 2004. We've recommended this hotel whenever people have come from overseas (the Hotel Sunroute Asakusa--yeah, it's a pansy Western-style hotel, you wanna make something of it??) We stayed for an extra night in Tokyo because we were both too tired to go out shopping the first afternoon there. Got mostly everything that we needed even though a couple of our favorite shopping spots were closed. So it was a really fun time. We were both pretty tired out by the end, though.
So my recommendation is to go to Kyoto if you have the chance, but it's much better if you have a charming Japanese family to stay with. Apparently we made a good impression on the family, because they sent us a totally SWANK Japanese soup set. Yes, Mom, I sent a thank-you note home with Kaori.
Monday, January 30, 2006
Sunday, January 29, 2006
So it's been awhile and I have lots to report...
Like what Amanda and I did over Christmas/New Year's. OR all the snow we've gotten in the last couple of weeks. But I thought I'd start with the most recent stuff and go backwards. Maybe I'll report on the vacation stuff by the time of the wedding, at this rate...
Well, some really good news: A week ago, we had a double baptism at the church! Two nursing students, one first-year and one second-year, made the decision to be baptized. I actually know both of them so it was all very exciting. The second-year student is named Michiko (but goes by Michi) and worked with us as a CMC staff member before. She's been quite active in helping with worship stuff even after that, so it wasn't exactly a surprise to hear, but still really great. The first-year student's name is Mayumi and she's from Okinawa. I had a get-together with the Okinawan club here and she came. She's been threatening to make me eat natto but maybe she forgot about that over vacation. Anyway, very exciting and wonderful news all around.
The only thing: they did this baptism last week, in the dead of winter, with only an outdoor baptistry. I was a little worried about that, as they had a baptism last year around this time and it was cold. Not snowing or anything, but still pretty miserable if you ask me. But hey, this was the time they chose, and I suppose if you're going to do it no need to wait, right? So I woke up on Sabbath morning, all excited about the baptism, and this is what it looked like outside:
Oh yes. LOTS and LOTS of snow all over. Now, you might think that they'd call the whole thing off, but NO WAY. They plowed on ahead with it, the two young ladies biting the bullet and getting dunked in the freezing cold water. Later on I asked them if they were cold and they both said "yeah, but it wasn't so bad." I didn't believe them. I was vicariously freezing just watching the whole thing.
So yeah, baptisms are serious business here. The non-HARDCORE need not apply. While we were all watching this go down, I was thinking "I hope this remains a symbolic death and doesn't cross over into a literal one." I've seen the brand spanking-new disciples of Christ walking around on campus over the past week, and they don't seem any worse for wear. So that's definitely a good thing.
MORE TO COME! (I hope).
Like what Amanda and I did over Christmas/New Year's. OR all the snow we've gotten in the last couple of weeks. But I thought I'd start with the most recent stuff and go backwards. Maybe I'll report on the vacation stuff by the time of the wedding, at this rate...
Well, some really good news: A week ago, we had a double baptism at the church! Two nursing students, one first-year and one second-year, made the decision to be baptized. I actually know both of them so it was all very exciting. The second-year student is named Michiko (but goes by Michi) and worked with us as a CMC staff member before. She's been quite active in helping with worship stuff even after that, so it wasn't exactly a surprise to hear, but still really great. The first-year student's name is Mayumi and she's from Okinawa. I had a get-together with the Okinawan club here and she came. She's been threatening to make me eat natto but maybe she forgot about that over vacation. Anyway, very exciting and wonderful news all around.
The only thing: they did this baptism last week, in the dead of winter, with only an outdoor baptistry. I was a little worried about that, as they had a baptism last year around this time and it was cold. Not snowing or anything, but still pretty miserable if you ask me. But hey, this was the time they chose, and I suppose if you're going to do it no need to wait, right? So I woke up on Sabbath morning, all excited about the baptism, and this is what it looked like outside:
Oh yes. LOTS and LOTS of snow all over. Now, you might think that they'd call the whole thing off, but NO WAY. They plowed on ahead with it, the two young ladies biting the bullet and getting dunked in the freezing cold water. Later on I asked them if they were cold and they both said "yeah, but it wasn't so bad." I didn't believe them. I was vicariously freezing just watching the whole thing.
So yeah, baptisms are serious business here. The non-HARDCORE need not apply. While we were all watching this go down, I was thinking "I hope this remains a symbolic death and doesn't cross over into a literal one." I've seen the brand spanking-new disciples of Christ walking around on campus over the past week, and they don't seem any worse for wear. So that's definitely a good thing.
MORE TO COME! (I hope).
Monday, January 09, 2006
I haven't written anything for awhile, so I have lots to update...but will get to that probably tomorrow. Right now I'm going home to watch sumo.
But here are some pictures from our (Amanda and I) trip to Kyoto/Kobe over the New Year's holiday.
1: Me, in front of the famous Golden Pavilion, Kyoto
2: The Golden Pavilion at sunset
3: Amanda's favorite Kyoto temple, Kiyomizu, at night
4: Amanda and Kaori, our host student, at Toji temple
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
Saturday, October 29, 2005
10-29-2005
I'll wear a mask for you
Once again, the school had its annual costume day. And once again, it was a scene of beautiful CHAOS.
I indeed went as a Hawaiian Santa like I described last week. I've got a few pictures that I'll post a little later. But it turned out to be quite a hit. A bunch of students wanted to get their pictures taken with me and the faculty liked it when I walked into the morning staff meeting.
Highlights: Two of my favorite students, Kaori and Akane, made their own costumes--these really classy white dresses that took like 4 hours to make. One of the Loma Linda co-op course students came as a dangerously racy Catwoman, complete with whip. One of the guys I've gotten pretty close with made a rather distinguished lady, and there were a number of teams. The most memorable was a troop of about five Hawaiian hula dancers, and two students dressed like Doraemon (probably the longest-lasting Japanese cartoon character). And the pastors dressed like really cool tough-guy Yakuza.
Lowlights: One of the guy nursing students came as Batman, but was wearing these obscenely small white briefs that were just...not...right. Another guy came as the Japanese celebrity HARD GAY, and yes, it was as bad as it sounds. Google "HARD GAY" someday (probably not at work), and any page that comes up describing a Japanese celebrity will give you the 411. And one of the English department teachers came as a really elaborate, well-done, blushing bride, complete with a lush dress and soft veil. The catch? This teacher was a dude. A 50-something, balding, dude. WOW.
Well, enough talk...I'm off to post some pictures!
I'll wear a mask for you
Once again, the school had its annual costume day. And once again, it was a scene of beautiful CHAOS.
I indeed went as a Hawaiian Santa like I described last week. I've got a few pictures that I'll post a little later. But it turned out to be quite a hit. A bunch of students wanted to get their pictures taken with me and the faculty liked it when I walked into the morning staff meeting.
Highlights: Two of my favorite students, Kaori and Akane, made their own costumes--these really classy white dresses that took like 4 hours to make. One of the Loma Linda co-op course students came as a dangerously racy Catwoman, complete with whip. One of the guys I've gotten pretty close with made a rather distinguished lady, and there were a number of teams. The most memorable was a troop of about five Hawaiian hula dancers, and two students dressed like Doraemon (probably the longest-lasting Japanese cartoon character). And the pastors dressed like really cool tough-guy Yakuza.
Lowlights: One of the guy nursing students came as Batman, but was wearing these obscenely small white briefs that were just...not...right. Another guy came as the Japanese celebrity HARD GAY, and yes, it was as bad as it sounds. Google "HARD GAY" someday (probably not at work), and any page that comes up describing a Japanese celebrity will give you the 411. And one of the English department teachers came as a really elaborate, well-done, blushing bride, complete with a lush dress and soft veil. The catch? This teacher was a dude. A 50-something, balding, dude. WOW.
Well, enough talk...I'm off to post some pictures!
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