HAPPY NEW YEAR

気がついたら年が明けていた・・・　コレを読んでくれているみんなに「明けましておめでとうございます。今年も良い一年を！」

by the time I realized, it was already the year 2010... HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

妹と with my sister

早速、週末に妹と渋谷のハチ公前で待ち合わせ。１年ぶりの再会なんだけど、お互いあまり変化なしかな？おかしかったのが、待ち合わせ場所はいつものごとく込み合っていて、パッと見回しても妹の姿は見当たらず…　仕方なしにまだ不慣れな携帯を片手に、四苦八苦しながらメールを製作中にフト顔を上げると、真横に同じく携帯を片手に私にメール中の彼女と目があう。結局、ひと一人間にはさんで立ち止まったものの、間に立っていた人が退くまでお互いに気がつかなかったみたい。でもまさか、お互いよりに寄ってまったく同じ場所に立つとは…　笑える瞬間でした…

好み・発想が意外と一緒と確信したもう一つの出来事が、カメラ。購入したカメラケースが偶然にも全く同じと知ったのが２年前のこと。私の新しいカメラを見せるため、鞄から取り出すとともに、彼女の表情が固まる。なんと３日前に、同じモノを買ったそう…　偶然すぎでこわいかも。なんだかんだで、今回は仲良く色違いの新しいカメラケースを購入する事になりました〜

ブラついた後は、オーガニック・カフェ「Bio Cafe」で休憩。かわいいカフェでした。ちなみに私は「イカスミのシュークリーム」、妹は「イタリア塩のシュークリーム」。文字道理少し塩気があるんだけど、甘すぎずユニークな味がおいしかった。

I met up with my sister front of the Shibuya Hachi-ko this past weekend. As expected, the place was packed with people who were also waiting for others, and I wasn't able to spot her out from the crowd. As I lifted my head while I was texting to my sister, I noticed a set of eyes looking at me. It was my sister who was also about to text me. We were actually standing side by side but didn't notice each other until a person standing between us walked away. It was funny to realize we both decided to stand at the same spot to text each other... I guess we are related after all...

Another incident of thinking in the same way is that it turned out that we both just bought the same camera, too. Also it was only 2 years ago that we found out that we both have the exactly same camera case... What a coincidence!

The photos are from Bio Cafe, an organic cafe, in Shibuya. The cream puff I had had squid ink (in the puff, it's not chocolate.) and the one she had was named "cream puff with Italian salt". It indeed had a hint of salt, but very delicious!

departure day @DWT

As I sit at the corner of DWT, I finally started to feel nervous as the reality sets in. It reminds me of how I felt when I left Japan to move to the US almost 14 years ago. Not knowing what to expect in the new environment is such a scary thing. The ironic part of is that I'm going back to my home country where I was born and grown up. I should be more excited than being nervous and scared, especially since it's is my own decision unlike when I moved to the US.

People are surprised when I tell them that I feel more comfortable moving to a new city in the US than moving back to Japan. However, the reality is that I was just a kid when I left home and the longest I stayed there was only 3 weeks. Also I know how to live my own in the US, but not in Japan. In the recent years, I haven't been speaking Japanese on the regular base neither since I work and live with English natives. So my Japanese are getting rusty.

Knowing that I didn't speak English at all nor liked studying it, it's somewhat funny to me that now I have easier time with English than my native language. The time is such a powerful thing. As matter of the fact, this past Thanksgiving I caught myself talking to my father in English when I was a half sleep when I was taking a nap at their house. I wonder how my father felt about his daughter speaking English instead of Japanese at the subconscious level.

I guess it will be an interesting how things will be in Japan since I'm a Japanese, but not really... too Americanized. I'm expecting many reversed cultural shocks..

Japanese Invasion

Recently the US (to be precise, 7-Eleven) was invaded by another creature from Japan.　新たなる日本によるアメリカの侵略・・・


ちょうどハローウィン頃に心優しい友達が、セブンイレブンが全くないケンタッキーに住んでいる私たちの為に、わざわざ買い集めて来てくれた、どーもくんグッズ。かわいすぎる。日本でまだはもう流行っていなさそうだけど、こっちは去年のハローウィーンにターゲットがキャラグッズを売り出してから、結構アメリカじゃ人気。発売開始日から数日後には、なかなか手に入らないとか・・・

Around the Halloween, a very nice friend send us a full of Domo stuff that are only available at 7-Eleven. Unfortunately there is no 7-Eleven in Kentucky, so we weren't able to go get them. Not sure if Domo is still popular in Japan, but since Target had Domo stuff the last Halloween, he has been quite popular in the States side. Tommy who sent us had mentioned how it was hard to find these stuff later. Thanks Tommy!!

ended summer / 夏の終わり

I cannot believe it's almost October and how quickly cold it got. I'm feeling chilly working at the desk this week, and drinking hot tea to warm up!!

もう既に１０月。どうりで涼しいわけで、寒がりの私は仕事部屋で、膝掛けと暑いお茶が手放せません。今年は特に時間が経つのが早過ぎて、頭がついて行けない…　結局夏物の服全て出し切ってなかったので、そのまま来年の夏まで押し入れで待機かも。苦笑

バルコニーで発見、第１日目はアリさんが数匹群がってました。写真はこのとき撮ったもの。
The day one: I noticed the dead cicada on the balcony and decided to take photo of it. I saw a few ants on it.

第２日目。アリの軍隊が文字通り、お食事中。
DAY 2: An army of ants were going crazy at it.

第３日目には、ほどんど蝉自体が空っぽで、「から」と化した。
DAY 3: The cicada was almost empty and gutted out already!

第４日目には「から」さえ消えいていた…　おそるべし。
DAY 4: Even the empty shell of the cicada was missing from the balcony. I wonder if ants even ate it? Where did it go.

アリによって跡形もなくきれいに片付けられてしまった蝉。改めて何となく、感心…
I was pretty impressed by this incident how hard ants work...



今夏元気に育ってくれたバジルですが、寒くなって来たので、そろそろ終わりかな？嬉しい事に、すくすく育って、花が咲いて、いっぱいタネが出来てた。去年枯らしちゃったので、ここまでちゃんと育ってくれてなんか嬉しい☆　来年はタネから育ててみようかなあ。

My basil plant will probably will die soon since it's getting too cold for it :(
But this year, I did such a good job taking care of it, comparing to the previous year, the plant produced some seeds. I might try to grow basil from seeds next year??

rain rain rain ♪

雨降りだった一週間。窓から空模様をみる度に、日本の梅雨を連想させられる。来週は晴れるのかな〜。

It was a rainy week which reminded me of the monsoon season in Japan. I think I'm ready for sunny days next week...

うちに新しい仲間が増えました。羊さんです。友達がプレゼントしてくれたんだけど、ビンの中の羊さんの世界は、のぞいていると和やかな気分になっちゃうから不思議。癒してもらっています。

I got a new friend, and he is a sheep who lives in this moss green field. My friend gave it to us as our birthday present. Looking into his world inside of the glass jar gives me a sense of tranquility. I wish I have a way to escape into his world sometimes.

良い週末を〜　have a nice weekend, everyone!

findings in Seattle

シアトルで見つけたもの、色々。大都市ばかりの旅行先では、よく歩く。普段がドア・ツー・ドアの車生活なので、歩いて街の探索をするのは新鮮ですき。スローダウンすると道ばたにある色んな妙なモノのが、やたらと目につく。大抵の人は気にも留めないタグやストリートアートなど、発見したモノの写真を撮るのが楽しい。宝探しや「ウォーリーをさがせ」感覚で楽しんでます☆

These are things found in Seattle. Exploring cities on foot is more fun and it's a nice change of pace since I usually have to drive to get to places in Louisville. Also walking let you slowdown enough to notice things otherwise you'd never pay attention, such as street arts, tags and signage. This reminds me of Where is Waldo? which I got hooked on when I was kid, or almost a treasure hunt!

too pretty / 目がクラクラ

マーケットで写真を撮るのは楽しい。赤、黄色、オレンジ、緑と色とりどりの新鮮な果物や野菜、花だらけ。鮮やか過ぎて、いろいろあって目がクラクラ。マーケットと画材屋さんは、一歩足を踏み入れただけで、自然とハッピーな気分なる不思議な場所。旅行先だったため、結局なにも買えなく残念〜　シアトルのパイクマーケットにて。

Taking photos at farmers markets are so much fun. These places are full of vibrant colors, fresh vegetables, delicious fruits, and beautiful flowers. Usually stepping into a market or an art store makes me instantly happy. I wonder if the colorfulness of these places has some kind of power to change my mood?? I loved the Pike Market in Seattle but I was also sad that I couldn't buy anything to cook.

Mammoth Cave National Park / マンモスケーブ国立公園

テネシーとの州境近くにマンモスケーブという世界で一番長い洞窟があるんだけど、８月頭に遊びに来た両親と行って来た時の写真。外はお日様ぎらぎらの猛暑だというのに、洞窟の入り口付近についたとたん気温が１２度ほどイキナリ下がったのには、おどろき。当初あまり興味がなかったのにも関わらず、スケールの凄さにただ感動。ここの洞窟、予約制のハイキングツアーもあって、休日の月曜日に行ってきまーす。たった４マイル（約6.3キロ）のコースなのに、４時間半もかかるらしい。楽しみ〜♥

The photos are from the day I went to visit the Mammoth Cave National Park with my parents who were visiting. It's the world's longest cave system and the park is located in Kentucky. It was quite shocking when the temperature dropped significantly near the entrance of the cave. It was such a hot day with the temperature going up to 90's, but it felt like it was about 60 degrees or so at the entrance. It was crazy and it was so chilly that I had to borrow my mom's jacket! The scale of the cave was just fascinating, and it was very interesting to think that I was standing at where it used to be the bottom of the underground river.

They also offer tours to hike the cave system. We are going back there for it this Labor day to hike 4 mile-course which supposed to take about 4.5 hours to complete. It should be fun!

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洪水の被害 / flood damages

１０年近く乗っていた愛車は洪水の被害で、最悪な事に修理費が車の価値より高く、廃車に…　チ〜ン。写真でも分かる様に運転席が水に浸かってたくらいだから、多分エンジンまでやられちゃったんでしょう。故障もなく調子が良かったから後数年は安心して乗れると思っていただけに、すごく残念。もう一台もやっと今週末になってレッカー車に引張られて行きました。二台とも買替える羽目になる予感が…

My car of 10 years was totaled by the recent flood... As the photos show, the water was higher than the bottom of the front seats. So the water was probably in the engine. Since it only had about 75K miles on it and it was in the excellent condition, I was hoping to ride my car for a few more years. This is very upsetting!!! Another car was finally towed and we will find out the exact damage soon. We think that we most likely have to replace both cars... SIGH.

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やっとサイト更新 / new web site

なんだかんだで予想以上に遅れてしまったデザイン・ポートフォリオのサイトの更新が無事終了〜♪　CSSはまだまだ勉強中のため、本を片手に四苦八苦…　今回は日本語と英語のページも作った。色々助けてくれた友達に感謝です…　コメントや気がついた点などあったらメールください。感想とか嬉しいかなぁ

After all it ended up taking a lot longer to update my portfolio site. I finally finished it up and going live!! The development of the site definitely helped me to learn CSS. Thank you so much for everyone who helped me one way or other to finish this project! I welcome any comments and feedback.

ずっと前から欲しかったポスタをがんばった自分へのご褒美として購入。ドコに飾ろうかなぁ。

As a prize for myself for finally updating the web site, I got these posters I have been wanting a little while now. Now I need to find wall space for them...

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Flooded Louisville / ルイビルの大洪水

こんなのはじめて…今朝の雷雨でルイビルは洪水。　雨量が多過ぎて排水設備が着いていけず、３０分位でドンドン水位があがり、アパートの前に路駐してあった車はほとんど水没。裏の駐車場に止めてあった私たちの車もみごとやられました。20センチ程水が内部まで入り、しばらく保険会社と修理工場とのやり取りに追われそうな予感…　大豆ほどのヒョウも降ったのでそのダメージもありそうだぁ。水が引くまでドコにも行けなく、午後にまた雷雨の予報なので再び洪水になるの可能性大。今のところの飲み水には影響が出ていないのと、下水が逆流していないのが不幸中の幸い。けれど　はぁ〜　とため息がつきません。

Louisville is flooded!! Here in Old Louisville, all streets are under the water and most cars parked on the street submerged under the water. oh boy.... Our cars were parked in the back but a few inches of water got inside. So it looks like we have to deal with the insurance company depends on the damages to them. I'm just hoping that we don't have to buy new cars...


左が水位が最高の時で、右が雨がやんだ後の写真。The left photos are taken when the water was at the highest and the right photos are taken after the rain stopped.

ボートで行き来しているのんきな人も・・・

I have spotted out a few people floating on the street with their boats.

always next to me / いつも隣りで・・・

在宅で仕事している私。デスクで仕事をしている私の横にはいつもコーディーがお腹をポッコリ出して寝息を立てている・・・　17歳のおばあちゃんです。

Cody is always sleeping next to my desk when I'm working at home. Amazingly she is 17 years old!

食 food

ちょっと無気力気味のさぼっていた更新。いくら凹みぎみでもお腹は空くんですね〜。こんなもんを作ってみました。タイのレッドカレー、バイン・ミー (ベトナムのサンドイッチ）とラムバーガーサンドイッチ。こうやってみて見ると日本食作ってないじゃん…　

Unintentionally this blog is turning into my food journal showing how much I love to eat... Here are some of food I have made this month, Thai red curry, bánh mì (Vietnamese sandwich) and mini lamb burger sandwich.

左はアーミッシュ・ブレッド（味はパウンドケーキ風）というチェインメールの様な代物。誰かからケーキの「タネ」をもらい、常温発酵させて１０日目に小麦粉、砂糖、牛乳を混ぜてから４等分。分たタネを３人に配り,
残りのタネでケーキを焼くというもの。しかもタネをダメにしないためには１０日後に再び４等分して、配って、ケーキを焼いて…　延々と続く。　しかもさすがにアメリカ。出来るケーキの大きさが半端じゃないのでたべきれなく、２回目で断念。太るよ〜　まだケーキが冷凍庫に・・・　右は初めて作った肉まん。レシピはクックパッドから。

I got the batter for Amish bread (taste more like coffee cake) from a friend. It's a never-ending cake since continuously you have to bake the cake if you want to keep the batter to make the cake. I had to give up and stop baking after second time. It was too much for me to bake it every ten days. The photo on right is Chinese-style steamed bun (nikuman) I made from scratch for the first time.

IKEAといったらやっぱりシナモンロールでしょう！今回は今まで我慢していたドレッサーを購入。アパートの収納場所のなさに困る・・・

The cinnamon bans are the must at IKEA! This time, we got dressers for the bed room we have been wanting. The lack of closets in the bed room is very inconvenient, and hopefully the piles of clothe will disappear from the floor after this.

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successful year / うまくいった年

バジルを植木鉢で育てるのは今夏で２回目。今年はすごく元気で、気がついたらなんと花まで咲いてしまった！しかも始めて花が咲くと知りました…　とっても小さい白い可憐な花がてっぺんに咲くんだよ〜　マクロレンズで撮影。

This year I have learned that basil grows tiny white flowers! I have growing basil in a pot near the sunny window. This summer is my second time trying this, and unlike the previous year the basil is so healthy and getting really huge! yay!

Toast on Market

休みだった金曜日は（独立記念日が土曜日だから）献血を試みたあと、折角ダウンタウンにいるからとMarket StreetのあるToast on Marketでブランチ。ここのパンケーキはかなり美味しい。少し厚めでほんのり甘く、口の中でとけるかのようにふんわりしてて好きです。週末はいつもブランチ客で混んでるよ。美味しい証拠かな？古い建物をリフォームしたレストランなんで、昔ながらの細かい装飾などがオシャレ。

ちなみに献血は貧血気味らしくって、鉄分の取り方のトリセツをもらって返されてしまった。せっかく勇気をだして（血が大の苦手）行ったのに・・・　ちえっ。

This past Friday, we went to Toast on Market for brunch since we were already in downtown. (I went to Red Cross in downtown for blood donation but I was told to come back later since the red blood cells were too low...)

I like their pancakes which are slightly thicker and sweet, and they almost melt away when you eat... Their oatmeal is also delicious according to Beejay. Also what I like about this place is the interior of the older building which has unique characteristics you don't see with newer buildings.

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街中アート / hidden art

HighlandのBardstown Road沿いで発見。キャンバスってわざわざ描いてあるのがいい感じ。The "canvas" and the stenciled artwork were found in the Highlands. I liked the cat looked like it was hiding!

お店の壁の模様と一体化しているメーター。カメレオンみたい・・・コレもHighlandsのBardstown Roadで。The meter was painted to blend with the painted wall of the store. How neat!


サンフランシスコのジャパンタウン近くのお店の窓で発見。
Found them at the store near Japantown in San Francisco.

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