tv moving

Met Kev and Todd outside Will's place, Stevie showed up relatively on time, so they brought the car around back and we went up to Will's to get his TV. We had a dolly, but damn that's a heavy tv. Got it downstairs, into Stevie's car (damn that's a heavy TV) and packed everyone into the car, Sachiko on Will's lap, me jammed between Will and Todd. We got to my house and Stevie managed to get his car right up in front of the building. We carried the TV upstairs to my apartment, and damn that's a heavy TV. Hiroko's parents watched amusedly as we wrestled the widescreen beast upstairs and onto the TV stand. Then we brought my TV down, into the car, and off to Kevin's we went. Got to his place with only a wee bit of traffic and a long detour thanks to the car navi, got the TV into his place, and his TV into the car. Then off to Todd's. A wee more traffic, and then we lugged his TV up to Todd's building and into his apartment. Said hi to Amy and off to Roppongi we went. This time the car navi was giving Kevin problems, but Stevie redeemed his manliness by using the voice-recognition to plot a course to Roppongi Station. Those fools went to get food, I went home to have dinner with Hiroko and the in-laws, enjoying the huge, panoramic expanse of my newly acquired Toshiba.

fashion by blogger

Guess what I got in the mail today?

time for o.j.

No Akihabara practice today. Which is just as well because I was in a meeting that ended so late, by the time I got to practice it'd be over. So I checked some email and headed downstairs to buy the cash sales traders a round and listen to them abuse each other. Thoroughly entertaining, and some of the absolute smartest guys we've got in the company. Wicked fast wits, the lot of them, and they tell it like it is, whatever 'it' may be.
So I bought a round, got my orange juice in the next round, and listened in as they abused each other, each others' wives, the job, life, and anything else that popped up. With the stress those dudes are under every day trading and selling, I can see how several relaxing beverages can help unwind from a typical day in the market.

speaking of diabetes

I remember growing up in Munster, Indiana (see 'armpit of chicago' in the USA atlas) there was this kid around the street named D.J. which I think stood for Doug Johnson. I guess he was my brother's age, and as much as my brother was a misfit problem child (read: had more fun than I did), D.J. made my brother look like a cherub. He was also, as I recall, diabetic, and a real stupid one. I remember seeing him inject himself with insulin a couple of times, and I also remember him being really really mentally unstable, which I'm guessing was caused by his blood-sugar levels getting all out of whack, because as far as I recall he didn't do any of the things diabetics are supposed to do, specifically watch what he was eating.
I remember back in those days of Munster, the summer mosquitos as big as baseballs, whenever we screwed around my mom would scold us with a "don't be like D.J." so now it's my turn to give my mom the same advice!

mama

The good news is, she's not just lazy. The bad news is, she feels tired all the time because of Type II diabetes. The good news is, she is now really motivated to try the Atkins low-carb diet. The bad news is she has to go low-sugar diet, too.
The good news is she'll be hitting the gym and getting lots more exercise. The bad news is papa will gloat "I told you so" every chance he gets. (^^)

more gyoza photos

More photos from Brown Princess, Z.

kill bill

Finally saw Kill Bill with Todd and Will & Sachiko and Roland & Anthea. Loved it! Exactly what it was trying to be: a tribute to Saturday afternoon Kung Fu Theater. As Hiroko says: "It's a Top-of-the-line, big budget, B movie." I think most folks who didn't like it were expecting something more Tarantino-esque. I guess if some no-name Hong Kong director made this flick, it'd be accepted for what it is: ridiculous fountains of blood, melodramatic acting, cheesy dialog, lots of wirework.
Julie Dreyfus totally looks familiar, and of course is fluent in Japanese, which is a shame because my one major complaint is that Uma tried and Lucy Liu should've tried harder, but I was laughing along with the Japanese audience every time she opened her mouth. Reminds of Sean Connery in Rising Sun.
Chiaki Kuriyama was awesome, but she died too quickly! Man, she's got the Evil Eye like no one else has. I certainly hope she gets the chance to play more whacky/psycho roles, especially in Hollywood, because she's got some juice, and it's not just the school uniform. She was killer in Battle Royale, literally.
Next movies to see: Matrix: Revolutions and Lord of the Rings III. Have to try and see Lost in Translation when we're in the states in December. Even daboo said it was great.