happy birthday koki & yumi!
Originally uploaded by renfield.
night fighting
Madness in the markets this week. Dollar yen breaks through 100, credit spreads hit record wides, equities plummet across the board, and the Bank of Japan is rudderless as the opposition party blocks all attempts to appoint a governor.
So needless to say it has been interesting times on the trading desk. Not surprisingly I was unable to get off the floor during lunch to hit the dojo, so I went to the night class for the first time in forever.
Wow am I outta shape! 20 minutes of aerobic warm-up and then 40 minutes working the pads with Yamamoto. She hits hard and has endless stamina, but I was slamming the pad with fully pent-up market-stress-and-hip-driven left straights. Fun to work with someone who can keep the level up at required punishing levels. Also unlike a heavy bag, she hits back, thus keeping me literally on my toes and moving out of the way.
So needless to say it has been interesting times on the trading desk. Not surprisingly I was unable to get off the floor during lunch to hit the dojo, so I went to the night class for the first time in forever.
Wow am I outta shape! 20 minutes of aerobic warm-up and then 40 minutes working the pads with Yamamoto. She hits hard and has endless stamina, but I was slamming the pad with fully pent-up market-stress-and-hip-driven left straights. Fun to work with someone who can keep the level up at required punishing levels. Also unlike a heavy bag, she hits back, thus keeping me literally on my toes and moving out of the way.
Loituma - Levan Polka (the official video)
Finnish. Polka. There is, quite simply, nothing stronger.
food 'n conversation
Helped out at the cutting practice this afternoon (cut terribly, thanks for asking) and then met the ladies at Mitsukoshi. We bought up piles of food from various shops in the depachika and cabbed home for dinner. The Newman came over bearing desserts and a fine feast was had, along with stimulating conversation lacking all correlation and heavily skewered by my total lack of faith in modern politics and the ignorance of the fly-over states that compromise The Real America.
sleeping beauty
sleeping beauty
Originally uploaded by renfield.
Jenn and P went out for dinner so the Tonchabeast and I watched some TV. Actually I watched some TV and she screamed at me for 15 minutes, then passed out. I unceremoniously dumped her on the sofa next to me and she proceeded to sleep for a couple hours, waking up well after mom came home.
hiroo
08-03-08_12-57
Originally uploaded by renfield.
Jenn's in town again so we did some shopping in Hiroo and then Azabu Jyuban. I also upgraded my phone to the cool new N705i Amadana.
teach and learn
Finally made it to Honbu for this first time forever. Managed to get through teaching for two hours without stabbing myself in the foot or dropping my sword, so there is yet hope.
masa cooking done!
masa cooking done!
Originally uploaded by renfield.
she made chirashi sushi, grilled salmon, tempura and clam soup.
masa cooking
masa cooking
Originally uploaded by renfield.
Masa came over to show off her favorite pans and cook a bunch of supposedly complicated dishes, like tempura and grilled fish, qute easily.
chocolate oliver biscuits!
chocolate oliver biscuits!
Originally uploaded by renfield.
As I have blogged before, when I was a wee thing, if the timing was right my dad would go to the UK around the holiday season and and was therefore able to swing by Harrods and pick up some Chocolate Oliver Biscuits. These delightful childhood treats of mine have been out of production for a couple of decades, but now! Huntley & Palmers has revived this cookie.
Getting them shipped to Japan turned out to be non-trivial however. H&P, being a right and proper British operation had no way to process yen payments, let alone take orders from over teh internets.
Thus I was saved by the Angel Phillippa. I sent her a USD check, she wave'd her magic wand, and FedEx delivered two cases of tins to my Tokyo apartment. Thank you Phillippa!
The tins are now brown not red, and the cookies are a bit smaller, however the chocolate to biscuit ratio has increased significantly so net net it's a win.
Tonchan of course loved them.
I brought the first open tin to zazen practice and shared with everyone. One tin down, and now sadly only nineteen left...
tetsuya
Another great Japanese word. Written with the characters "to pierce, penetrate" and "night", it means to pull an all-nighter.
We had a new CB issue and made dinner reserves for 9:30. Pushed them back to 10. Then 10:30. Switched restaurants since the Oak Door closes the kitchen at 10:30, so made reserves at 11:30 at Cicada. Then pushed it back to 12. Then 12:30.
In the mean time everyone was starving so I went down to the Am/Pm and loaded up on Pringles, bagwiches, and onigiri just to keep us alive for the next few hours.
Finally left the office and got over to Cicada before 1, cracked open some wine and ordered a bunch of appetizers.
Got home at 3am and was useless in the morning which didn't really help P and Tonchan, since Tonchan's been launching bodily fluids out both ends all week. She's got her baby wisdom teeth coming in, which is not so pleasant, and she's picking up all the lovely virii at school, so she's been throwing up at night and having lovely diarrhea. Understandably not eating much and kinda grumpy, but no fever and loves walking around holding P's hand.
We had a new CB issue and made dinner reserves for 9:30. Pushed them back to 10. Then 10:30. Switched restaurants since the Oak Door closes the kitchen at 10:30, so made reserves at 11:30 at Cicada. Then pushed it back to 12. Then 12:30.
In the mean time everyone was starving so I went down to the Am/Pm and loaded up on Pringles, bagwiches, and onigiri just to keep us alive for the next few hours.
Finally left the office and got over to Cicada before 1, cracked open some wine and ordered a bunch of appetizers.
Got home at 3am and was useless in the morning which didn't really help P and Tonchan, since Tonchan's been launching bodily fluids out both ends all week. She's got her baby wisdom teeth coming in, which is not so pleasant, and she's picking up all the lovely virii at school, so she's been throwing up at night and having lovely diarrhea. Understandably not eating much and kinda grumpy, but no fever and loves walking around holding P's hand.
back atcha
Afternoon sessions at the dojo are getting more and more crowded! There were seven of us today (me still the only guy, besides Inoue-sensei), some of regulars and a couple of newbies. Actually with three people on each bag, doing two minute rounds, it's a good pace: two minutes on, 4 minutes off to get water, shadow with the mirror, etc.
Last ten minutes Sensei got inspired and decided it was time for some back work. We did slow lifts -- lying on your stomach lift your left leg and your right arm, turning your head and upper body to the right as much as you can, slowly lifting, holding, and lowering -- for a full five minutes. Then immediately did 250 superman bounces (still lying on your stomach lift both legs and arms and "bounce" rapidly 250 times.)
I suspect next time we'll be doing some similar torture for abs...
Last ten minutes Sensei got inspired and decided it was time for some back work. We did slow lifts -- lying on your stomach lift your left leg and your right arm, turning your head and upper body to the right as much as you can, slowly lifting, holding, and lowering -- for a full five minutes. Then immediately did 250 superman bounces (still lying on your stomach lift both legs and arms and "bounce" rapidly 250 times.)
I suspect next time we'll be doing some similar torture for abs...
instructing instructors
First things first: what the hell's up with these gale force winds? Think about how strong wind has to blow in order for it to screw up bullet train and commuter train schedules. Totally sucks. Plenty sunny and warm if it weren't for the wind.
So anyway I battled the wind and headed to Akiba to teach the instructors' seminar. Good turnout; over 30 instructors. We spent 3 hours going over all kinds of bits and bobs, what to look out for when teaching, basics, cause and effect, core muscle movements, distance and timing, etc. Slow is smooth and smooth is fast, look where to cut, cut where you look, yadda yadda yadda.
Was absolutely famished when done so headed home quick.
Tonchan had thrown up a bit; reckon either she's still sick and/or she had too much pork and sausage yesterday. But she was in a great mood and wanted to walk everywhere holding my hand. I took her into the spare room and put the freshly washed comforter cover on the comforter, spread it on the bed...and she puked on it. Ah, moments like this I just love being a dad!
So I took the freshly washed-and-puked-on cover off the comforter and threw it in the wash with the rest of her vomit victims.
Kids are good for building patience.
So anyway I battled the wind and headed to Akiba to teach the instructors' seminar. Good turnout; over 30 instructors. We spent 3 hours going over all kinds of bits and bobs, what to look out for when teaching, basics, cause and effect, core muscle movements, distance and timing, etc. Slow is smooth and smooth is fast, look where to cut, cut where you look, yadda yadda yadda.
Was absolutely famished when done so headed home quick.
Tonchan had thrown up a bit; reckon either she's still sick and/or she had too much pork and sausage yesterday. But she was in a great mood and wanted to walk everywhere holding my hand. I took her into the spare room and put the freshly washed comforter cover on the comforter, spread it on the bed...and she puked on it. Ah, moments like this I just love being a dad!
So I took the freshly washed-and-puked-on cover off the comforter and threw it in the wash with the rest of her vomit victims.
Kids are good for building patience.
USA vs. Japan
Having lived in Japan for 14 years straight now, I am often asked what the difference is between Japan and the USA.
Here's one simple example:
Young female anime fan dressing up like a cat
In America:
And in Japan:
Here's one simple example:
Young female anime fan dressing up like a cat
In America:
And in Japan:
chikage walks!
It walks freely! Now the beast will roam to all ends of the earth, causing mayhem, leaving a trail of carnage! All are DOOMED!
new suit
Went to Shinjuku to do the initial fitting for my new suit. Methinks it shan't suck. I was a little worried about the young salesman (I am used to an old Italian guy in Barney's who's been tailoring suits since before the war) but he is totally on the ball and even removed the right sleeve so that he could specify some seriously particular adjustments since he just did not like the way the right shoulder was aligned and pulling at the lapel. Suit will be all ready in another couple weeks.
P took a photo whilst Tonchan had a snack, totally uninterested in the finest of Italian 120's wool.
P took a photo whilst Tonchan had a snack, totally uninterested in the finest of Italian 120's wool.
happy birthday!
happy birthday!
Originally uploaded by renfield.
Big G + Maneaterz = Hawaii 5-0 Birthday Celebration. Much debauchery was had.
red red wine
I had forgotten how good la Bisboccia is. After work we headed across the street for a pre-dinner pint and I remembered again how much I dislike beer.
Then we headed out for dinner. The private room was half occupied by a bunch of MS bankers and Simon soon discovered that they lifted a whole case of the wrongly priced (aka cheap) 2004 wine. We had to settle for bottles of the 2003, and then made up for it by lifting several more bottles including some dessert wine and a bottle of jet fuel grappa.
Red wine makes me sleepy, yup. Managed to stumble home midnight-ish though.
Then we headed out for dinner. The private room was half occupied by a bunch of MS bankers and Simon soon discovered that they lifted a whole case of the wrongly priced (aka cheap) 2004 wine. We had to settle for bottles of the 2003, and then made up for it by lifting several more bottles including some dessert wine and a bottle of jet fuel grappa.
Red wine makes me sleepy, yup. Managed to stumble home midnight-ish though.
baba's new cut
baba's new cut
Originally uploaded by renfield.
P stayed home to rest so Tonchan and I took mama to UR in Harajuku to do something decent with her crazy hair. Mama get the quadruple wash, shoulder massage, multiple colorings, cut, and blowdry treatment whilst Ton and I wandered to backstreets of Urahara and checked out all the cool people.
chie has dessert
chie has dessert
Originally uploaded by renfield.
After zazen I got home just in time to help mama make a mountain of potato pancakes and cook a spiral ham. Chie came by and started cooking up a storm, too so again Newman ate well. Mama wasn't feeling great either and neither was P (this stomach virus is going around!) and Newman was sniffling all night, but we still ate well!
rei & tonchan
rei & tonchan
Originally uploaded by renfield.
Went to Suji's for brunch and dragged Rei and Newman along. I left early to get to zazen and P took Tonchan home early because she was grumping (still a bit sick) but mama and Newman and Rei hung out and had some eats.
the police @ tokyo dome
the police @ tokyo dome
Originally uploaded by renfield.
Just got back from Tokyo Dome. I love seeing concerts in Japan. Tickets say the show starts at 7:30, the show starts at 7:30. Encore, second encore, bow, 9:30 -- lights come up. Then they announce section by section and everyone leaves in an orderly fashion.
Oh yeah and The Police ABSOLUTELY. ROCKED. God damn that was a fine concert. And double oh yeah, we were arena floor, center, 7th row.
Also, we had The World's Most Awesome Babysitter. We left and Tonchan was crying for mom. We come home and Tonchan's asleep on the sofa, babysitter watching TV. I ask: "How was she?" Her reply: "After the bath she fell asleep, about 7:30."
Huh?! No fits of screaming? No tantrums and clothing tossing and crawling away and pillow kicking? She just FELL ASLEEP?! I need this woman to come babysit some night when I'm here so that I can see what she's doing and take notes!
fever
Tonchan had a gnarly fever yesterday; coughing, sniffling, body fluids coming out from all over the place. She was not very happy. P stayed home with her and mostly slept.
This morning the ladies woke up and were in much better spirits. Fever is basically gone, Tonchan ate some breakfast and was her generally bubbly, giggly, goofy self.
She's not 100% but she's much, much better.
This morning the ladies woke up and were in much better spirits. Fever is basically gone, Tonchan ate some breakfast and was her generally bubbly, giggly, goofy self.
She's not 100% but she's much, much better.
sayonara spike
Our little boy is all grown up! Seems just yesterday he was a new graddie with too much hair gel. Now his girl is almost 3 and he's off to Hong Kong. I was supposed to be in HK today but at the last minute my trip got cancelled so we headed out to Odaiba to say farewell. Amy and Maya and various others from the old gang were there so Tonchan had some fun with the older kids. I love taking the Yurikamome monorail at night across Rainbow Bridge; very slick view of the Tokyo skyline!
clap clap
R1010520.JPG
Originally uploaded by renfield.
Mama came back from Shanghai (best comment: "Chinese new year is...loud. All they do is light firecrackers 'til 3am!") and needed some eats. P and Tonchan and I were out in Shinjuku (Takashima Times Square) the day before checking out all the fools lined up for 3 hours in the cold rain for Krispy Kremes.
I ended up ordering a suit; nice Italian wool and it will be hand sewn by some old Japanese dude, so we'll see what happens.
Today we took a long walk and ended up at Mitsukoshi in Yebisu Garden Place. Finally (FINALLY!) found some decent shoes at Ecco; plain black seamless round-toes, nothing funky or pointy or capped or stitched. Just plain. black. shoes. Then we bought some munchies in the basement and headed home.
abe lunch
abe lunch
Originally uploaded by renfield.
Wow, this is a seriously excellent lunch for only ¥1365 -- and it's a One Star Michelin restaurant!
Japanese hi tek anti-leak
Japanese hi tek anti-leak
Originally uploaded by renfield.
The top of a plastic drink bottle taped to the ceiling and attached to hose. The labeled safety cone is a nice touch to ensure no one trips over the bucket.
measuring the train stop
measuring the train stop
Originally uploaded by renfield.
A mm ruler on the platform is used to verify how accurately the train is stopped in reference to the designated stopping mark. Every time the train stops the distance +/- the mark is checked and recorded by a man with a clipboard. Now that is what you call quality control!
smash hits
smash hits
Originally uploaded by renfield.
Everyone knows I only drink once a year, right around this time (bonus time.) This year I have made an exception; I will drink twice this year. I suspect it will the last time I make such an exception because I seriously doubt I will get promoted again for a long, long time.
The best part about the day wasn't the debauchery and beers at Ginza Lion, nor the atrocious singing and vodka fizzies (or whatever they're called) at Smash Hits. It wasn't even the unending stream of problems I am called upon to solve, nor the depth and breadth of interesting work I am challenged with on a daily basis. It wasn't the hand shakes and back-pats and "well done"s, nor even the minor torture at the hands of my bosses who basically had me convinced I did not get promoted until the end of the chat whereby I was informed that, due to a gross oversight on the part of senior management, I managed to slip in under the radar.
No actually, the best part is the fact that I have the privilege to work for and with the absolute best goddamn Credit team on the street, bar none, hands down, full stop. And all the capable and impressive folks on my team appreciate me and my wee attempts at being useful enough to want to see me promoted. The fact that I can command even the slightest respectful acknowledgment from these fine professionals is the real gift. Oh, and the chance to sing Sweet Home Alabama with a bunch of Brits. That's pretty keen, too.
And now I'm off to bed. I have an early Compliance meeting in which I am sure to be totally useless, assuming I even make it at all!
Added more photos.
under cover @ akiba
under cover @ akiba
Originally uploaded by renfield.
Piles of slush and driving snow could not deter us from the requisite pilgrimage to Akiba! A little Chinese food recharge and we were as good as new, though perhaps a bit moistened.
sankoen
Mama's back from Kyoto, etc. Had a great time.
Jenn and Pete in from the states, having a great time.
Spent the morning shopping @ National Azabu and then I took off for Zazen.
When I came back I helped Mama make some meatballs and bake a poppyseed cake, and then there was only one thing left to do: yakiniku for dinner!
Ah, meatfest II.
Jenn and Pete in from the states, having a great time.
Spent the morning shopping @ National Azabu and then I took off for Zazen.
When I came back I helped Mama make some meatballs and bake a poppyseed cake, and then there was only one thing left to do: yakiniku for dinner!
Ah, meatfest II.
outback
So your basic mad, mad Friday. On the one hand I certainly appreciate that I've finally convinced everyone at work that
But I digress. Managed to tear myself out of the office and met Todd for dinner and bonus-time chit chat. We checked out the German Sausage bar but it was packed with work people; no room to sit and even if we could, no room to gossip.
We also couldn't get into Gyukaku so we headed over to Outback for a proper meatfest. Themes of discussion: money. promotions. this industry kills people.
The usual stuff.
- I know what I'm doing and,
- I can help.
But I digress. Managed to tear myself out of the office and met Todd for dinner and bonus-time chit chat. We checked out the German Sausage bar but it was packed with work people; no room to sit and even if we could, no room to gossip.
We also couldn't get into Gyukaku so we headed over to Outback for a proper meatfest. Themes of discussion: money. promotions. this industry kills people.
The usual stuff.
winning numbers
Attention everyone who got a new year's card from me. You didn't already trash it did you? On the bottom right there is a six-digit number.
Check that number against this list. Numbers must match in order, from right to left.
So for example if the last two digits are 37 or 64, you win some stamps!
Any winners? Send the card back to me if it's something good we can split it.
Prizes this year include:
Check that number against this list. Numbers must match in order, from right to left.
So for example if the last two digits are 37 or 64, you win some stamps!
Any winners? Send the card back to me if it's something good we can split it.
Prizes this year include:
- 37" Aquos HD flat panel TV
- Mac Book Classic + iPod
- Japan Post Special Edition DS-lite
- Some stamps
- A Bike-to-work set (?)
- Cans of Soup from Imperial Hotel
naho shabu!
naho shabu!
Originally uploaded by renfield.
Naho is off to Singapore so we celebrated with...paper-thin sliced meats!
sankaiki
Got up early and took the expressway bus up to Ibaraki for grandpa's sankaiki (3rd funeral anniversary.)
We went to the Buddhist temple down the street in the village next to the cemetery, burned some incense and listened to some chanting by the elementary school teach - slash - priest, then did some more of the same at the gravestones in the cemetery.
Headed back to the house to rest and watch some Osaka Marathon on TV, then went out for lunch.
Tonchan ate a whole crab-shell gratin and had great fun stumbling all over the place, and Masa was downed by the stomach flu that's going around.
We headed home, Tonchan took a little nursing and napping break, and then about 3 we headed out to get the train home.
Finally got back to the apartment about 6; quick dinner and a bath and the ladies went to bed.
Long, long day!
We went to the Buddhist temple down the street in the village next to the cemetery, burned some incense and listened to some chanting by the elementary school teach - slash - priest, then did some more of the same at the gravestones in the cemetery.
Headed back to the house to rest and watch some Osaka Marathon on TV, then went out for lunch.
Tonchan ate a whole crab-shell gratin and had great fun stumbling all over the place, and Masa was downed by the stomach flu that's going around.
We headed home, Tonchan took a little nursing and napping break, and then about 3 we headed out to get the train home.
Finally got back to the apartment about 6; quick dinner and a bath and the ladies went to bed.
Long, long day!
70.1!
Is my weight in kilos. That's 11.04 stone for you Brits, and 154.5 pounds for the remaining unmetric heathens.
I think the last time I had this weight I was in high school.
So there is an upside to not eating for a couple of days because of a lovely stomach ailment.
I think the last time I had this weight I was in high school.
So there is an upside to not eating for a couple of days because of a lovely stomach ailment.
snow
snow
Originally uploaded by renfield.
Woke up this morning feeling like ass; joints hurt, stomach grumbling, head throbbing. Ah, the joys of the winter norovirus. I guess what Hiroko had last week has come full circle back to me (again.)
At least it was really cold and snowing this morning, making the walk to work a treacherous adventure is slipping and sliding.
@ midtown starbucks
@ midtown starbucks
Originally uploaded by renfield.
Met Newman and Roland at Suji's for some monster brunch and then headed up to Midtown to chill. Checked out the cool Muji and the Ritz-Carlton 45th floor lobby before rolling him. A proper lazy Sunday.
hi jen!
R1010320.JPG
Originally uploaded by renfield.
Jen's in town for a few days, hanging with the ladies and taking care of bidness.
farewell chahan
Chahan ended his 6-month run in Tokyo and is back home to London after a brief stopover in South America for some much needed beach time.
We started the evening with proper pub munchies at Finn McCools, and then ended up walking over to Nishi Azabu for Kenbokeh because Video-D and the Knitter needed some right proper curry action.
Got home about 1ish; a smallish night out.
We started the evening with proper pub munchies at Finn McCools, and then ended up walking over to Nishi Azabu for Kenbokeh because Video-D and the Knitter needed some right proper curry action.
Got home about 1ish; a smallish night out.
punching = sore legs
Not sure if this means I'm doing it right or wrong, but after an hour of 3 minute rounds consisting entirely of punch and recover combos against a heavy bag and pads...my left thigh is really, really sore...?
sick P
There is some gnarly stomach norovirus going around that seems to be The Sickness this winter. I had it a month ago (lost 4 kilos and still keeping it off!), Tonchan had a bit of a tummy ache last week and now P got slammed. She stayed home from work so I took Tonchan to school in the morning and then after lunch picked her up and took her home, then came home from work as quickly as I could to take of Ton with P in bed sick.
When I dropped of Ton in the morning she cried when the teacher took her out of my arms...and when I picked her up to go home in the afternoon she cried when I took her out of the teacher's arms! Make up your mind, kid!
Tonchan @ school
(In case you're wondering Tonchan is the Asian-looking kid on the right, not the blonde dude with monkey.)
When I dropped of Ton in the morning she cried when the teacher took her out of my arms...and when I picked her up to go home in the afternoon she cried when I took her out of the teacher's arms! Make up your mind, kid!
Tonchan @ school
(In case you're wondering Tonchan is the Asian-looking kid on the right, not the blonde dude with monkey.)
iai weekend
Three day weekend (Coming of Age Day on Monday) so did bunches of iai.
On Sunday we had the official First Practice of the Year. Upwards of 200 members showed up and Gosoke had me run the advanced group. We cranked through a few kata in excruciating detail, comparing how certain bits and bobs are the same no matter what direction you move nor what kata you do.
After practice we trundled down the street in the freezing wind and took over the back half of a local izakaya for several hours. We commandeered a bunch of tables and ate and drank for a while, getting progressively more silly.
The next day started early; got to Honbu before 9am, grabbed my gear, and walked down the street to help load the van for the cutting session. We drove down the street to the gym and unloaded, got set up and started about 10am. Most folks cut okay (only doing half targets though) and I did a couple decent cuts on full targets. Still way rusty -- need to get training more!
In the afternoon we headed back to Honbu for Kagamibiraki; the opening of the mochi. Basically an excuse to eat lots of rice paste and other stuff, drink a bunch, and be generally silly again.
P and Tonchan came by and of course got all the attention, leaving P a chance to eat for a couple hours.
On Sunday we had the official First Practice of the Year. Upwards of 200 members showed up and Gosoke had me run the advanced group. We cranked through a few kata in excruciating detail, comparing how certain bits and bobs are the same no matter what direction you move nor what kata you do.
After practice we trundled down the street in the freezing wind and took over the back half of a local izakaya for several hours. We commandeered a bunch of tables and ate and drank for a while, getting progressively more silly.
The next day started early; got to Honbu before 9am, grabbed my gear, and walked down the street to help load the van for the cutting session. We drove down the street to the gym and unloaded, got set up and started about 10am. Most folks cut okay (only doing half targets though) and I did a couple decent cuts on full targets. Still way rusty -- need to get training more!
In the afternoon we headed back to Honbu for Kagamibiraki; the opening of the mochi. Basically an excuse to eat lots of rice paste and other stuff, drink a bunch, and be generally silly again.
P and Tonchan came by and of course got all the attention, leaving P a chance to eat for a couple hours.
fighting (un)fitness
Finally got my lazy butt to the dojo for the first time in forever. Taking advantage of the fact that I had some nasty stomach virus a couple weeks ago and lost a ton of weight (down to less than 73 kilos!) I figured it would be easier for my outta shape body.
Oh, the glorious pain. Inoue-sensei was glad to see me and worked me through several 3 minute rounds on the heavy bag, for a solid hour, with one 2 minute water break. Now, the day after, I can barely lift my arms, my ass is sore, I have a blister on the ball of my left foot, and I weighed exactly 72.0 kilos this morning.
So to celebrate I had a HUGE shabu shabu lunch, with a second helping of rice and extra pork to go with the double-plate of beef.
I think this is the new schedule: Tues and Thur skip outta work just after the lunch rush and hit the 1-2pm DAGEKI class. If I also manage to get to Honbu Dojo on Wed nights to teach sword, I might actually get into some reasonable shape by the end of the year.
Oh, the glorious pain. Inoue-sensei was glad to see me and worked me through several 3 minute rounds on the heavy bag, for a solid hour, with one 2 minute water break. Now, the day after, I can barely lift my arms, my ass is sore, I have a blister on the ball of my left foot, and I weighed exactly 72.0 kilos this morning.
So to celebrate I had a HUGE shabu shabu lunch, with a second helping of rice and extra pork to go with the double-plate of beef.
I think this is the new schedule: Tues and Thur skip outta work just after the lunch rush and hit the 1-2pm DAGEKI class. If I also manage to get to Honbu Dojo on Wed nights to teach sword, I might actually get into some reasonable shape by the end of the year.
fire alarm!
fire alarm!
Originally uploaded by renfield.
Came out of the bath, put on my PJs, and heard the most horrendous racket. The fire alarm was sounding! Got P and Tonchan to get dressed and get outside whilst I ran the stairs checking the floors for smoke. Didn't see anything but called the fire department just in case after I called the maintenance company.
Outside we met our new upstairs neighbors who just moved in, literally. This mini firetruck arrived and about 10 firemen checked the building, then the security company dude arrived and turned off the alarm. As suspected it was a false alarm, possibly caused by the new neighbors turning on the heater for the first time in a while, though that seems pretty suspect.
Anyway it's an old building and good to know the fire alarm works!
ebt gang
The Stedt in town with family and the Spike posse leaving for HK soon, so we rallied the old EBT team for pizza and parenting.
librarian to the stars
Most awesomest guy you'll ever mean, and a veritable cornucopia of knowledge. The man, the myth, the legend: David Smith.
these boots are made for walkin'
R1010135.JPG
Originally uploaded by renfield.
Did some shopping in Shibuya and had lunch at Seibu. Ton loves riding the escalator and attempting to walk the stairs.
Algorithm March - Sony robot
What to do with the coolest, most advanced small robot in the world: put it on a kid's show doing the Alogrithm March dance.
old and new friends
R1010123
Originally uploaded by renfield.
The Man from LA came for a visit; haven't seen him in forever! Got some burgers at Midtown and then goofed of with Tonchan.
resolutions
And now it's time for the traditional new year's resolutions. In no particular order, and with little hope of making it to March let alone all year:
- Clean up my god damn English. Use more creative turns-o'-phrase and exercise the thesaurus to reduce swearing.
Hedge: reduce swearing, in the finance industry? - <70 kilos. Eat right, eat less, exercise more. Walk 10,000 steps a day (walk home from work, take the stairs if it's less than 4 floors away), get my lazy butt back into the dojo 3 times a week.
Hedge: latest health check said my ideal weight is 65 k. Yeah, if I was some skinny little Japanese dude. Alternatively, I could cut off a leg. - Sit every day.
Hedge: Nishijima-roshi says to sit twice a day. Does sitting and watching TV count?
happy new year!
2007-nengajyo5
Originally uploaded by renfield.
Slept in like the lazy bum I am, ate the traditional left overs breakfast (spaghetti and brussels sprouts this year), and headed out to Hikawa Jinja for the traditional first-shrine-visit of the year.
Then wandered up to Roppongi Hills, lost a glove, went back and found it, checked out some mediocre taiko drumming, and came home to play with my newly arrived digital camera.
end-of-year house cleaning
I took all the stuff I don't need/use and sold it at Sofmap in Akiba. Wasn't too crowded but still it took a couple of hours so I did some wandering and hit the Tully's to do some reading and drink a soy cocoa. When all was said and done I got nearly 50,000 points, so I headed off to the main Sofmap to pick out a new digital camera.
Both Daboo and Royborg rave about the Ricoh GR 2, and it has the one dorky feature I want: manually adjustable f-stop so I can do cool depth-of-field photos.
Of course Sofmap was all sold out of the GR 2 so I'll have to order it online.
Oh yeah, now would be a good time to actually learn what the hell f-stop means...
Both Daboo and Royborg rave about the Ricoh GR 2, and it has the one dorky feature I want: manually adjustable f-stop so I can do cool depth-of-field photos.
Of course Sofmap was all sold out of the GR 2 so I'll have to order it online.
Oh yeah, now would be a good time to actually learn what the hell f-stop means...
security theater
Patrick Smith does a perfect job summarizing the utter futility and stupidity of the TSA. I for one am ready and willing to join the revolution. In fact, I already have, with my wallet: given the choice I simply do not fly anywhere near the USA, though sadly the TSA's influence on security policy is nearly universal, and I still end up flying to the states on business anyway.
*sigh* Some day the world's leaders will be rational, reasonable people who make intelligent choices based on facts, wisdom, and keen insight. Until then, be a good citizen; stay scared and shut up.
*sigh* Some day the world's leaders will be rational, reasonable people who make intelligent choices based on facts, wisdom, and keen insight. Until then, be a good citizen; stay scared and shut up.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)