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.
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.
3 generations @ aoyagi
3 generations @ aoyanagi
Originally uploaded by renfield.
Went to the Gyokufukai bonenkai in Takadanobaba and then took the JR line back to Harajuku and walked through Aoyama and Nishi Azabu. Down by Nishi Azabu crossing there is a traditional Japanese sweets place called Aoyagi, run by the Aoyagi family.
End of year is a busy time, with everyone ordering mochi so three generations were hard at work: grandpa was pounding rice into mochi with a machine straight out of the 1920's whilst his son and grandsons (the smallest in 3rd grade) formed the mochi into traditional year-end goodies, and grandma and mom minded the shop. I went in and bought some senbei and cookies, taking grandma's suggestion of course.
making mochi sweets
Originally uploaded by renfield.
@ mitsukoshi
@ mitsukoshi
Originally uploaded by renfield.
Did some wandering about Ginza and Shinbashi before we met Tai-kun and his parents for all-you-can-eat Italian at the restaurant in the Mandarin Oriental lobby.
Crowded! Everyone's shopping on Christmas Eve (or maybe celebrating the Emporer's birthday?)
xmas party
Went to the Yoshidas for their annual Christmas Party. Much good food and many fun times. Roy convinced me I need to upgrade my digital camera to a Ricoh, too.
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