sit, eat
Got up reasonably early, had some breakfast and hit the dry cleaners with mama -- that's one job she can take over from me when the baby comes.
If the afternoon I went to sit whilst mama and P wandered up to Miri's for lunch, hit Blue & White, and checked out Azabu Jyuban and Roppongi Hills.
For dinner we went to David's Deli and had a traditional Japanese feast.
If the afternoon I went to sit whilst mama and P wandered up to Miri's for lunch, hit Blue & White, and checked out Azabu Jyuban and Roppongi Hills.
For dinner we went to David's Deli and had a traditional Japanese feast.
the week
This week went something like this:
work gym work dojo mama work gym work work work work WORK WORK WORK rolled cabbage bacon soup raisin bread wheat bagels work work work.
Didn't get home from work last night until 1:30 -- had to finish a presentation for my boss to give at the offsite this weekend. An offsite I will not, by the way, be attending, as P is with child and just about ready to pop. Due date is Wed Dec 6!
work gym work dojo mama work gym work work work work WORK WORK WORK rolled cabbage bacon soup raisin bread wheat bagels work work work.
Didn't get home from work last night until 1:30 -- had to finish a presentation for my boss to give at the offsite this weekend. An offsite I will not, by the way, be attending, as P is with child and just about ready to pop. Due date is Wed Dec 6!
making itarian
Mitsukoshi had a Niigata Prefecture Festival, so of course there was lots of local food. Our target was "itarian", which is thick udon noodles cooked like yakisoba and then covered in spaghetti meat sauce. I don't have the faintest clue were this nightmare of Western and Japanese food came from, but it was damn tasty!
happy birthday nishijima-sensei
Went to Josui Kaikan for Nishijima-sensei's 88th birthday lunch. He's been sitting zazen and studying Buddhism for many a decade. He also translated some of the seminal works into modern Japanese and then into English. Today was also the launch party for his latest book, a modern Japanese translation of the Sanskrit Churon. Don't actually have any idea what it is, as I'm still slowly trudging my way through Shobogenzo.
zombies and babies
Counselor Kobayashi called me up and required brunch, so we headed to Miri's for a proper feed of Eggs Benedict and french toast. Then we headed to counselor's quarters to kill zombies on his xBox 360. Damn, the sickle is fun but pales in comparison to the chainsaw and the battle axe. Then again bouncing a soccer ball off multiple zombies is pretty cool too, though the propane tanks were also just begging to be shot or otherwise ignited.
After the slaughterfest I met P at the hospital to visit one of her friends from the soon-to-be-mom class who had her baby Yuika on Friday. Cutie! I got to hold her and we saw what's in store for us soon...whenever Tonchan decides to stop playing kick-the-organs and comes out into the world.
After the slaughterfest I met P at the hospital to visit one of her friends from the soon-to-be-mom class who had her baby Yuika on Friday. Cutie! I got to hold her and we saw what's in store for us soon...whenever Tonchan decides to stop playing kick-the-organs and comes out into the world.
surikomi
Finally got to the dojo and managed to train a bit. Did some iai for a few minutes and then Gosoke told us start kumitachi. Four of us, self included, so I paired up with Salty and got to work. One of the kata was surikomi, which involves sliding your sword down the enemy's blade so that he basically cuts his own right foot because his sword is driven back and down and pinned by your own. The trick is to not use strength, but to wrap up his sword with yours. It's more of a twisting thing. Really hard to explain, even harder to do. I've always been terrible at it, but as I was helping Gosoke teach, I dropped all three of their blades into their own foot, but none of them could make mine move at all. I smiled to myself, not amused by my own ability but remembering years ago when I was in their place and Gosoke kept slamming my sword into my own foot so many times I could barely walk. Ah, memories and progress. I still can't do it near as dangerously as Gosoke can, but at least I can assure these guys that if they practice for a few more years, they may get it a little bit.
After practice I went by Miri's for a burger for the first time in forever and there was JB and the girlfriend. Well I introduced him to the place, so I had every right to crash their date. Seriously though, a lovely girl...far too good for JB!
After practice I went by Miri's for a burger for the first time in forever and there was JB and the girlfriend. Well I introduced him to the place, so I had every right to crash their date. Seriously though, a lovely girl...far too good for JB!
eye of tonchan
AKA The Kicking Beastly. P has now experienced pregnancy quite enough, thank you. She prefers to move on to the motherhood part. ASAP.
Tonchan seems content to get bigger and more ornery, kicking and wiggling like a coyote on a leash. She's now just over 2500 grams -- right on schedule. Doesn't look like she'll be coming out particularly early, but you never know.
all u can eat dim sum
Brilliant weather (where is the winter?) so P and I took a wee walkabout the neighborhood. Walked up Sakuradadori to Azabujyuban, then walked up to Roppongi Hills, which was surprising empty for a Sunday. I guess it's not cool anymore? They had a display of BMW stuff -- motorcycles and cars, and a couple of fake F1 racecars with a big plasma screen in front of it with which you could try your hand at racing. I went for the yachting simulator: spin the big wheel to catch the wind, and sail around the buoy. Fun for about 5 minutes.
We went inside and checked out the not-so-cool wares on sale, then got hungry and had some all-you-can-eat dim sum. Now that was a quality feedin'! Never get between a pregnant woman and her shoronpo!
shizan
Cutting practice in the AM. Good turn out, and several of the beginners did quite well. Something about not knowing what you're doing means you simply do exactly what you're supposed to do, because you have no preconceived notions, no ideas of right and wrong; you just act.
In Japanese it's called shoshin, beginner's mind. And you spend your whole life trying to get that feeling back.
In Japanese it's called shoshin, beginner's mind. And you spend your whole life trying to get that feeling back.
name that baby
Week 36 and all systems go.
I have culled the name list from 60 to 14 to 5. Here are the finalists:
I have culled the name list from 60 to 14 to 5. Here are the finalists:
- ? (???) Azusa
- ? (???) Shiori
- ? (???) Shinobu
- ? (??) Sen
- ? (??) Yumi
flipped!
So the good news is Tonchan is flipped into the proper head-down position! This means that in a couple weeks, after she's done cookin', P will be up for having a regular old-fashioned birth. Hours of labor and pain -- sounds like fun!
I reckon all the Chinese voodoo magic needles and incense, plus the thrice-daily head-stands and yoga exercises finally paid off.
So I've cancelled my business trip to Boston in a couple weeks and now we're just in finish-cooking-and-wait mode!
I reckon all the Chinese voodoo magic needles and incense, plus the thrice-daily head-stands and yoga exercises finally paid off.
So I've cancelled my business trip to Boston in a couple weeks and now we're just in finish-cooking-and-wait mode!
london
London is a cool city. Similar to Tokyo with narrow roads and general city chaos (not like NYC's boring grid.) Nothing like Tokyo with old, old buildings and pubs and brick and double-decker buses and everyone is not English: Kiwi, South African, Romanian, Australian, German, Dutch, French...the hotel was cool and modern, in an old building of maddening design with the gym in the upper basement, down the carpeted, marble-lined staircase across from the wood-paneled pub.
I had me some fish & chips, some proper curry with kebab, Ribena, and some trendy Chinese food.
Grads were generally of higher quality, but also generally kind of boring and far too serious. Do all students these days desperate to work in The City or on The Street really spend years in college studying, with no binge drinking nor gratuitous hook-ups? Or maybe they figured that's not what impresses the recruiters. Sadly they're wrong. The first kid to stand up on the table with his shirt off whilst spitting 100 proof through a lit zippo and setting the curtains on fire gets the job.
I had me some fish & chips, some proper curry with kebab, Ribena, and some trendy Chinese food.
Grads were generally of higher quality, but also generally kind of boring and far too serious. Do all students these days desperate to work in The City or on The Street really spend years in college studying, with no binge drinking nor gratuitous hook-ups? Or maybe they figured that's not what impresses the recruiters. Sadly they're wrong. The first kid to stand up on the table with his shirt off whilst spitting 100 proof through a lit zippo and setting the curtains on fire gets the job.
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