philosophy of action

Weather was a bit cloudy and muggy, but with the wind it was alright. Went to Hongo Sanchome to sit with the Dogen Sangha group. Did some lovely zazen and then during the chat afterwards Peter told a really bad zen joke:
Zen monk walks into a bar and orders a 300 yen beer. He pays 500 yen, gets his beer, and asks the bartender for his change. To which the bartender replies: "Change comes from within."
[ba-dum tish!]

After zazen, the sky was a lovely blue and the sun was shining like an early summer day. Elvis and I got on the train to head back to chez Kuroda. When we got out of the station at Shirganetakanawa the rain was blowing in sideways. We sludged to Starbucks to wait for BalletGirl, and then braved the rain to get home.
In the basement dojo we had a most excellent cutting session, and then cleaned the dojo nicely.
Meanwhile, Hiroko ate an entire plate of french fries.

ask not for whom the bell tolls

Remember back in March, when I get my yearly drink on? One of the things I supposedly did was ring the bells at Mogambo's, thereby buying a shot for everyone in the bar.
Well, it's true (bottom left.)

ok bokujo


ok bokujo, originally uploaded by renfield.

Hiroko was out on a Girl's Night, so after practice I took Elvis for some eats. We were going to get some greasy Chinese food at the standard dive, but decided to try OK Bokujo (OK Corrall), a cosplay (dress up) all-you-can-eat yakiniku (Korean BBQ).
It was as cheesy as we had hoped. The meat was plentiful and the hour just flew by as the helpful staff (dressed up as a nurse, a leopard, a maid/cat, a couple of high school girls and china dresses, and giant pink panda-looking thing) and the drunk clientele keep things lively. And for a small extra fee, you can dress up in the costumes, too! I was frightened to find out that they had a china dress big enough for the drunk dude at the next table to fit into. Luckily, by the time he started to try it on, our time was up and we left.

happy mother's day

A shout out to all the great moms -- first of course to MY mom, who is, naturally the First and Ultimate mom, specifically for managing to raise me without resorting to infanticide.
Second is my other mom, Auntie Em, for often being the anti-mom; letting me stay up late and eat too much crap and spend my money unwisely. Third is Hiroko's mom, who has proven that whether Japanese from the rice fields or Jewish from
Brooklyn, all moms are really just moms.

And finally, happy mother's day to the new mother: Hiroko is 11 weeks pregnant. Dunno if it's a boy or a girl yet, so we've nicknamed the little alien Tonchan (ton is the kanji for piggy). Tonchan was recently spotted waving and breakdancing inside the womb, and Hiroko has serious cravings for broccoli and potatoes.
Anyone with any child-support paraphernalia (toys, clothes, wooden train sets, XBOX360, PS3, etc.) feel free to donate! Due date is December 6!

lunch @ ikea


lunch @ ikea, originally uploaded by renfield.