A wee bit of shopping in Azabujyuban, and hiroko wanted oden. So we got oden.
On the way back we ran into Spike, taking his daughter home from the office.
oden
my muji bag
Went to the Bystedt's to get some kid and mom stuff before they move to Australia at the end of the month. Scored a stroller and some maternity clothes for Hiroko.
Barely made it in time for zazen, and then met Hiroko at the big Muji in Yurakucho to buy more maternity clothes and stuff. We spent enough money that I got a free bag, which as you can see I designed with my best Japlish.
jenn & zach
Jenn's in town once again, slummin' at the Hotel Kuroda. We met Zach and got some yummy almost-entirely veggie dinner at a cool soba place in Hiroo, right across the street from Aiiku Byoin, the hospital where in about 6 months Hiroko will give birth to Ton-chan: Ultimate Warrior.
(I have decided that until we figure out if the kid's a boy or a girl, I will refer to my child as Ton-chan: Ultimate Warrior. Got a nice ring to it, no?)
garreth rollin bannevans
He came into this world at 7 pounds, 14 ounces, and 21 inches long -- congrats Packy and Kelly!
back to basics
In Japanese, hisashiburi means "it's been a while!" Today I met Kiyo-kun for lunch at Miri's. Haven't seen him in a couple years. He's graduated (amazing!) and working at some company, training on his own with a small group. After lunch we went back to my house and goofed off in the dojo; always fun to play with him as he's such a budo-freak; worse than me. Also good to see that even though he's grown up a bit he's still fairly immature and dorky kid at heart!
Later in the evening I met up with Elvis and we headed down to Machida to do some proper cutting with Roger and the Toyama-ryu guys. Haven't seen many of them in a while and they're such a nice bunch of folk.
As expected, I cut like ass. I mean seriously, I have never cut that badly in all my life. Just couldn't even do the basics. And after three rounds and some pointers I was thinking "This is great! I'm always teaching and telling people this stuff, but now I'm lame and being told basic pointers like grip and angle and technique!" Feels so good to realize how much I suck, and to go back to the basics; forget all the crap I think I know and just let someone teach me and start all over learning from scratch! Will make an effort to motivate down there at least once a month!
Later in the evening I met up with Elvis and we headed down to Machida to do some proper cutting with Roger and the Toyama-ryu guys. Haven't seen many of them in a while and they're such a nice bunch of folk.
As expected, I cut like ass. I mean seriously, I have never cut that badly in all my life. Just couldn't even do the basics. And after three rounds and some pointers I was thinking "This is great! I'm always teaching and telling people this stuff, but now I'm lame and being told basic pointers like grip and angle and technique!" Feels so good to realize how much I suck, and to go back to the basics; forget all the crap I think I know and just let someone teach me and start all over learning from scratch! Will make an effort to motivate down there at least once a month!
crowded
Managed to make it to practice not too late and had a nice session working in the corner. Only a few folks on the floor, so I could zone out nicely and do my own thing. Last 30 minutes we did kumitachi as always, so Gosoke had me teach. *sigh* I think some folks are generally unclear on the concept and really need a good bonking on the head with a hard piece of wood. It may look and feel cool to rush quickly through a fancy sword-fighting pattern with your partner, but it certainly doesn't make for much practice when you just slop through the moves with no regard for what the other guy is doing.
Much better to get as fast as you realistically can and actually react to each other, i.e. evade/block/counter once you have been attacked. What generally happens is you know you do A, he attacks B, so you counter C. And so you do A and then C, and somewhere in between he's done B, and oh looky there what a neat kata! If you actually watch the other guy, wait until he's committed to burying his piece of wood into your soft skull, and then at the last possible moment evade and counter, you discover 1) You're not nearly as fast as you thought, and 2) you need alot more practice. Especially if the guy swinging for your head actually tries to hit you in the head instead of just putting the sword out there for you to duck under.
After practice I went by Miri's to get some dinner but the place was totally packed, and so after a quick PB&J I went home and straight to bed.
Much better to get as fast as you realistically can and actually react to each other, i.e. evade/block/counter once you have been attacked. What generally happens is you know you do A, he attacks B, so you counter C. And so you do A and then C, and somewhere in between he's done B, and oh looky there what a neat kata! If you actually watch the other guy, wait until he's committed to burying his piece of wood into your soft skull, and then at the last possible moment evade and counter, you discover 1) You're not nearly as fast as you thought, and 2) you need alot more practice. Especially if the guy swinging for your head actually tries to hit you in the head instead of just putting the sword out there for you to duck under.
After practice I went by Miri's to get some dinner but the place was totally packed, and so after a quick PB&J I went home and straight to bed.
ok bokujo 2
OK, now we're just getting silly! Went to OK Bokujo again with some guys from work. This place is just so camp it awesome. Stuffed ourselves silly with BBQ meat, many a beverage was consumed, and we were back on the street by 10:15. Still too early to call it a night, we headed over to a local grungy old-man bar, nursed bevvies and trash-talked work until closing.
A quality evening as can only be had in Tokyo!
A quality evening as can only be had in Tokyo!
akibabes
We cruised the main and backstreets looking for laptop bargains. Yodobashi Camera and Sofmap Mac both had the white Macbook (the black being totally sold out) but the cheapest was near 180,000yen. On a whim we ducked into Mouse Computer and there it was! A sweet 14.1 inch laptop with duocore processors, dvd writer, and all the trimmings for only 140,000yen.
We swung back through Yodobashi to get a laptop bag, and then on the way back to the station, we ran into the lovelies.
We swung back through Yodobashi to get a laptop bag, and then on the way back to the station, we ran into the lovelies.
turkey @ cravings
Met the Zacchinator at Temple U and headed directly to Miri's for some quality turkey sandwhiches, and then off to Akihabara!
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.
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
ok bokujo
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
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!
drunk salarymen
On the way to the train station from Honbu Dojo after class, with Urabebe and Mr. Medicine, and we encounter a stumbling drunk group of three salarymen. The worst of the three falls into the flower bushes, taking a bicycle with him. His two friends almost go down with him attempting to stand him back up. Ah, the cute, sweet innocence of public drunj!
karatsu day 2
After another massive breakfast and a lovely bath, we headed out into town. The weather was a bit sketchy, but we checked out the castle and then the various attractions around town, including the massive floats used every year for the festival. Finally we walked down "pottery lane" and checked out the various pottery and historical displays by the local artisans, and bought some cool stuff.
Finally walked back to the train station and checked out the local shops, got some lunch at the local pizza place (!), and got the train to the airport for the flight back to Tokyo.
Finally walked back to the train station and checked out the local shops, got some lunch at the local pizza place (!), and got the train to the airport for the flight back to Tokyo.
iki day 2
After a gut-busting breakfast, we got in the van with the Grandma who runs Hiryama Inn, picked up three of her grandkids, and headed for the glass-bottom boat to take us to an even smaller, unpopulated island.
In the afternoon we got on the big ferry and cruised over to Yobuko, ate some local seafood, and took the bus to Karatsu.
In the afternoon we got on the big ferry and cruised over to Yobuko, ate some local seafood, and took the bus to Karatsu.
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