Friday, June 29, 2007
Sunny Side Up
Now that summer is going strong, what better time for me to fly south to experience even hotter climates?
Yes, I'm here in Florida visiting my mother and her husband. Mom had a bit of surgery recently and is recovering nicely, I'm happy to say. I wanted to visit her not only for that reason, but seeing as how I'll be moving to Japan in less than one month's time, this will be my last opportunity to casually travel down here for the forseeable future. Of course, Mako had a wonderful time here in February so I'm sure we'll find a way to come visit again at some point. But I doubt that point will come before 2008, to be perfectly honest.
Speaking of Mako, she'll be in New York in less than two weeks. Some super-secret plans have come together this week, plans guaranteed to put a smile so wide on her face she'll crack a tooth. Sorry, no hints. Just trust me, things are going very, very well.
I'm relaxing right now, so I'll catch you folks next week sometime. Between Kobayashi and the Transformers, I'm sure something is going to get me all worked up to post again!
つづく... (Click here to read more)
Yes, I'm here in Florida visiting my mother and her husband. Mom had a bit of surgery recently and is recovering nicely, I'm happy to say. I wanted to visit her not only for that reason, but seeing as how I'll be moving to Japan in less than one month's time, this will be my last opportunity to casually travel down here for the forseeable future. Of course, Mako had a wonderful time here in February so I'm sure we'll find a way to come visit again at some point. But I doubt that point will come before 2008, to be perfectly honest.
Speaking of Mako, she'll be in New York in less than two weeks. Some super-secret plans have come together this week, plans guaranteed to put a smile so wide on her face she'll crack a tooth. Sorry, no hints. Just trust me, things are going very, very well.
I'm relaxing right now, so I'll catch you folks next week sometime. Between Kobayashi and the Transformers, I'm sure something is going to get me all worked up to post again!
つづく... (Click here to read more)
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Beating Back the Bulge
Has the tide turned in my favor?
For an unemployed, relatively lonely guy I've been quite busy as of late. Each morning I head over to the gym in a desperate attempt to reduce my waistline. Initially I was focusing solely on weight lifting, as my work out experiences from 2005 seemed to suggest that muscle-building would be the most effective way for me to lose weight. However, I neglected to take into account that in 2005, I spent weeks doing cardio workouts on the elliptical machine first, not to mention my diet was radically different than it is now. I had cut out most carbs, especially rice, and I was eating very lightly. These days I eat a hearty bowl of rice most every morning, which may or not be a problem (it wasn't in Japan, where I consistently lost weight without much exercise).
Evidently something wasn't working because after a week of working out my weight had gone up, not down. So I added a half-hour of cardio, which quickly turned into two half-hours (one before, one after the weight lifting). Still, my weight continued to inch higher and higher, rolling awfully close to the dreaded "deuce." I haven't weighed that much since September '05! Anxious, I decided to up the ante a bit and I stopped eating my usual breakfast. I switched to oatmeal or simply a banana on other days.
Well, I don't know if it was simply a matter of time or the dietary change, but today I finally saw the scale dip in the other direction. Let's hope this is the beginning of a continuous roll towards a healthier physique. Maybe I can eat my natto once a week? For lunch?
In the midst of all these weight issues, some family friends are in town and that means lots of eating out. I've tried to keep things under control during these excursions; i.e., I only ate half of a pastrami sandwich at the Carnegie Deli on Sunday. And when we all went out to see Curtains last night, I barely ate any dinner at all! Of course, that meant I was starving halfway through my second cardio routine today. You can't press the petal to the metal without some gas in the tank. The show was really wonderful though, and the first Broadway show I've seen in years. I should really pick something Mako might like and take her out next month.
Speaking of the Japanese, I got some great news on Saturday. First there was a lengthy orientation in midtown for my upcoming job. I suppose I learned a lot, but there were two incredible surprises. First, I learned that the vast majority of the participants had never been to Japan before. I had assumed that this program drew more applications from candidates with experience in such matters. Does this mean that I was an unusually-qualified applicant or that they purposely favor those without a background in Japanese? Whatever the reason, I took it as a good sign that I would be able to succeed in this job. The second surprise was running into two guys who I first met seven years ago when I began studying Japanese at the Japan Society. One was an alumnus who had gone to Japan just after those classes ended, while the other was a new participant like me.
Yet throughout the day I was somewhat irked to learn that many people had already received documents from their board of education in Japan and had contacted their predecessors, giving them much-needed insight in what was to come. Meanwhile, I spent the entire day wondering what level of school I would be teaching and what kind of environment I would be living in. Was I really bound for a rustic apartment in the sticks? Thankfully, I arrived home to discover that the package I had been waiting for had arrived that very day. If it had come even one day sooner, I could have prepared better questions to ask at the orientation, but no matter. The good news is that I will not be living in the countryside. In fact, I won't be living in Osaka at all but across the border in Kawanishi, Hyogo. It's a modest-sized city and my apartment is less than 100 meters from a train station. That means it's only a half-hour from my home to Mako! The bad news is that I'll have to commute to work everyday (at least an hour) but I'll take that trade-off.
This post is starting to get a little too long for its own good. I'd say that's enough news to cover for now.
つづく... (Click here to read more)
For an unemployed, relatively lonely guy I've been quite busy as of late. Each morning I head over to the gym in a desperate attempt to reduce my waistline. Initially I was focusing solely on weight lifting, as my work out experiences from 2005 seemed to suggest that muscle-building would be the most effective way for me to lose weight. However, I neglected to take into account that in 2005, I spent weeks doing cardio workouts on the elliptical machine first, not to mention my diet was radically different than it is now. I had cut out most carbs, especially rice, and I was eating very lightly. These days I eat a hearty bowl of rice most every morning, which may or not be a problem (it wasn't in Japan, where I consistently lost weight without much exercise).
Evidently something wasn't working because after a week of working out my weight had gone up, not down. So I added a half-hour of cardio, which quickly turned into two half-hours (one before, one after the weight lifting). Still, my weight continued to inch higher and higher, rolling awfully close to the dreaded "deuce." I haven't weighed that much since September '05! Anxious, I decided to up the ante a bit and I stopped eating my usual breakfast. I switched to oatmeal or simply a banana on other days.
Well, I don't know if it was simply a matter of time or the dietary change, but today I finally saw the scale dip in the other direction. Let's hope this is the beginning of a continuous roll towards a healthier physique. Maybe I can eat my natto once a week? For lunch?
In the midst of all these weight issues, some family friends are in town and that means lots of eating out. I've tried to keep things under control during these excursions; i.e., I only ate half of a pastrami sandwich at the Carnegie Deli on Sunday. And when we all went out to see Curtains last night, I barely ate any dinner at all! Of course, that meant I was starving halfway through my second cardio routine today. You can't press the petal to the metal without some gas in the tank. The show was really wonderful though, and the first Broadway show I've seen in years. I should really pick something Mako might like and take her out next month.
Speaking of the Japanese, I got some great news on Saturday. First there was a lengthy orientation in midtown for my upcoming job. I suppose I learned a lot, but there were two incredible surprises. First, I learned that the vast majority of the participants had never been to Japan before. I had assumed that this program drew more applications from candidates with experience in such matters. Does this mean that I was an unusually-qualified applicant or that they purposely favor those without a background in Japanese? Whatever the reason, I took it as a good sign that I would be able to succeed in this job. The second surprise was running into two guys who I first met seven years ago when I began studying Japanese at the Japan Society. One was an alumnus who had gone to Japan just after those classes ended, while the other was a new participant like me.
Yet throughout the day I was somewhat irked to learn that many people had already received documents from their board of education in Japan and had contacted their predecessors, giving them much-needed insight in what was to come. Meanwhile, I spent the entire day wondering what level of school I would be teaching and what kind of environment I would be living in. Was I really bound for a rustic apartment in the sticks? Thankfully, I arrived home to discover that the package I had been waiting for had arrived that very day. If it had come even one day sooner, I could have prepared better questions to ask at the orientation, but no matter. The good news is that I will not be living in the countryside. In fact, I won't be living in Osaka at all but across the border in Kawanishi, Hyogo. It's a modest-sized city and my apartment is less than 100 meters from a train station. That means it's only a half-hour from my home to Mako! The bad news is that I'll have to commute to work everyday (at least an hour) but I'll take that trade-off.
This post is starting to get a little too long for its own good. I'd say that's enough news to cover for now.
つづく... (Click here to read more)
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
The Pursuit of Knowledge
At last, my question concerning the erotic stimulation of whales has been answered.
This story takes us back to the infancy of this blog, September 2004. I attended an on-campus event where Chuck Palaniuk dropped by, read a passage from his (then) new book Haunted, answered some questions and signed lots of things. Long-time readers probably remember I wrote a summary of the evening right here.
Anyway, if you've read that story (go ahead, if you haven't already), that night he told a somewhat unsettling story about the fate of the real whale from Free Willy. Apparently the whale developed a fondness for masturbation, so much so that his keepers tried to satiate him by showing him pornography during the off-hours so that he might settle down when visitors were present. This sparked a burning question within me: What kind of porn would a whale watch? I asked Chuck later that night when it was my turn to receive a signature but he offered an exhausted shrug. At that point, due to the large turnout, he had been there for hours past the scheduled end time so I completely understood.
Flash forward to this year when I learned The Onion A.V. Club would be printing a Q&A session with Chuck where readers could ask him about anything except his work. I knew this my golden opportunity to ask Chuck again, presumably well-rested and eager to reveal this knowledge to the world. I submitted my question, waited, and today the results are out. Lucky me, my question was chosen! And Chuck's response was...well, it was a gag. But still, my question was selected out of hundreds and he offered an answer, albeit a humorous one. What more can a fan ask for?
By the way, I recently read his new novel, Rant, and I greatly enjoyed it. The ending is beyond description and certainly nothing I expected. I have since returned it and, as a follow-up, I took out one of his earliest books, Survivor. It came highly recommended and I look forward to exploring it.
PS: As of this writing, the video I uploaded yesterday is not yet online. This is an unusually long wait and I may have to re-upload it. Rest assured, I will get this clip up and running as soon as possible.
つづく... (Click here to read more)
This story takes us back to the infancy of this blog, September 2004. I attended an on-campus event where Chuck Palaniuk dropped by, read a passage from his (then) new book Haunted, answered some questions and signed lots of things. Long-time readers probably remember I wrote a summary of the evening right here.
Anyway, if you've read that story (go ahead, if you haven't already), that night he told a somewhat unsettling story about the fate of the real whale from Free Willy. Apparently the whale developed a fondness for masturbation, so much so that his keepers tried to satiate him by showing him pornography during the off-hours so that he might settle down when visitors were present. This sparked a burning question within me: What kind of porn would a whale watch? I asked Chuck later that night when it was my turn to receive a signature but he offered an exhausted shrug. At that point, due to the large turnout, he had been there for hours past the scheduled end time so I completely understood.
Flash forward to this year when I learned The Onion A.V. Club would be printing a Q&A session with Chuck where readers could ask him about anything except his work. I knew this my golden opportunity to ask Chuck again, presumably well-rested and eager to reveal this knowledge to the world. I submitted my question, waited, and today the results are out. Lucky me, my question was chosen! And Chuck's response was...well, it was a gag. But still, my question was selected out of hundreds and he offered an answer, albeit a humorous one. What more can a fan ask for?
By the way, I recently read his new novel, Rant, and I greatly enjoyed it. The ending is beyond description and certainly nothing I expected. I have since returned it and, as a follow-up, I took out one of his earliest books, Survivor. It came highly recommended and I look forward to exploring it.
PS: As of this writing, the video I uploaded yesterday is not yet online. This is an unusually long wait and I may have to re-upload it. Rest assured, I will get this clip up and running as soon as possible.
つづく... (Click here to read more)
Monday, June 11, 2007
Look What I Found
I literally spent years looking for this thing...
It was a relatively quiet weekend in that I didn't journey up to visit my friends. Rather, we all met at Mike's in Brooklyn for a quasi-party. Technically, Mike called it a "brain burst" because he asked us to help him with his new video idea. Sorry, it's top-secret for now, but when it's complete I'll be happy to link to it. Mike and I hung out again last night so we could watchthe Tonys Game 2 of the Finals. It was a rather one-sided, beat-down of a contest but still a good time.
Meanwhile, I tried and failed (again!) to see Knocked Up this weekend. My sister came down on Saturday and was interested in catching it but it seems the demand for this picture is showing no sign of slowing down. I would go see it by myself but I hate seeing comedies alone. Not that I enjoy other films by myself, but when it's a comedy it makes me feel especially lonely.
Tonight I finally got around to plugging my laptop into my dad's internet connection to perform some long-overdue maintenance and clean-up. I was especially keen on dumping all the pictures I've taken over the past month onto here from my camera. I'll leave you with a little clip of intense sports activity from my graduation party last month:
つづく... (Click here to read more)
It was a relatively quiet weekend in that I didn't journey up to visit my friends. Rather, we all met at Mike's in Brooklyn for a quasi-party. Technically, Mike called it a "brain burst" because he asked us to help him with his new video idea. Sorry, it's top-secret for now, but when it's complete I'll be happy to link to it. Mike and I hung out again last night so we could watch
Meanwhile, I tried and failed (again!) to see Knocked Up this weekend. My sister came down on Saturday and was interested in catching it but it seems the demand for this picture is showing no sign of slowing down. I would go see it by myself but I hate seeing comedies alone. Not that I enjoy other films by myself, but when it's a comedy it makes me feel especially lonely.
Tonight I finally got around to plugging my laptop into my dad's internet connection to perform some long-overdue maintenance and clean-up. I was especially keen on dumping all the pictures I've taken over the past month onto here from my camera. I'll leave you with a little clip of intense sports activity from my graduation party last month:
つづく... (Click here to read more)
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Hurts So Good
After an unhealthy absence I finally returned to the gym this afternoon.
The good news is that I remembered how everything works and my first workout in a long time felt great. Everything hurt afterwards in that rewarding way that only exercise can do. The bad news is that I weighed myself at the club. Wow. I am 15 pounds heavier than I was when I first returned from Japan last year! I may have to totally re-evaluate my diet if I want to lose those extra pounds, although I'm not dropping rice from the menu. I know from my experience in Japan that eating rice everyday is not incompatible with losing weight.
Naturally, some of Dad's friends came by and the four of us went out for a big, rich French dinner. Plus dessert. So much for that "re-evaluation" I dreamt of minutes ago! I'll find a middle ground somehow but for now, it seems I cannot resist the omnipresent temptation to indulge myself.
つづく... (Click here to read more)
The good news is that I remembered how everything works and my first workout in a long time felt great. Everything hurt afterwards in that rewarding way that only exercise can do. The bad news is that I weighed myself at the club. Wow. I am 15 pounds heavier than I was when I first returned from Japan last year! I may have to totally re-evaluate my diet if I want to lose those extra pounds, although I'm not dropping rice from the menu. I know from my experience in Japan that eating rice everyday is not incompatible with losing weight.
Naturally, some of Dad's friends came by and the four of us went out for a big, rich French dinner. Plus dessert. So much for that "re-evaluation" I dreamt of minutes ago! I'll find a middle ground somehow but for now, it seems I cannot resist the omnipresent temptation to indulge myself.
つづく... (Click here to read more)
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
June Swoon
Just like last summer, it looks like I won't be writing all that much while I kick it around the city. You'll forgive me, right? You know the action around here really gets going when I'm in Japan, after all.
At the very least I can offer you an overview of what I've been up to here in New York. My weekdays are pretty quiet, mostly dedicated to going through my things and occasionally eating out. Quite often I don't even leave the building, especially if it's raining. Compared to my life in Albany I am considerably more inert here, and I can see the difference in my waistline. I need to find a way to get back into shape because I am obviously gaining weight again. I'm not in danger of reverting back to my 2005-level, but I am definitely heading in the wrong direction.
Of course, part of that involves the food that I eat, and while I try pretty hard to take it easy I have been indulging myself over the weekend. Memorial Day Weekend featured two back-to-back BBQs with friends. The first was in Croton and I had the opportunity to hang with a number of high-school-era friends, some of whom I hadn't seen in years. There was kind of an odd dynamic with a great number of small children and dogs in attendance, but nobody snatched anything off my plate or knocked over my drink so I found the entire experience relaxing. Dylan was there and kind of offered to host an "after-BBQ" if I may coin a phrase. This one was much smaller in scale, of course, but it was wonderfully relaxing.
Strawberry Shortcake, sandwich-style. I'm sure Mako is envious right now.
BBQ after dark - No kids (or pets) allowed.
Last weekend featured no "official" BBQs but I certainly ate my share of rich food. Friday night was a legitimate "sausage party" (laugh if you must) with a variety of store-bought pork and chicken concoctions. I have no complaints, honestly, but I must point out that once you cook them it's pretty hard to tell which flavor is which. Then again, if everything is made of awesome what does it matter?
Saturday night I had hoped to catch that well-reviewed comedy Knocked Up but it didn't happen. We made it to the theater but the show sold out. Fortunately, we had a back-up plan. Friday night left us with an abundance of hot dog buns because most folks preferred their sausage sans-bread. I, practically as a lark, suggested that the only solution was to make lobster rolls. Funny thing is, Ben didn't laugh at my outrageous idea. We bought three live lobsters (!) at the supermarket and Ben singlehandedly boiled, shelled and prepared them.
Be honest. You can't tell the difference either.
Danger! The last thing I need is another scar.
After all that food I did take a jaunt out on Sunday to Central Park to attend the "first annual" Japan Day, an event organized by the Japan Society. Considering the event was held in Central Park, a gigantic space, I was disappointed by the cramped conditions. All of the booths and the stage and the crowds were squeezed into a small plaza that was tightly restricted with barricades and disinterested security guards. Compared to the festivals they used to hold down in Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza it was noisy and claustrophobic. There are frequent street fairs in this city on weekends where 10-15 blocks along 2nd or 3rd Avenue are closed; why on Earth can't one city block host an event like this?
In the meantime, today was one of busiest weekdays ever. I actually had to respond to a jury summons! For years, while I was working, I wanted very badly to participate in a jury. I never understood why people made a point of avoiding it. Maybe it was because anything that would have gotten me away from work would have been a welcome upgrade of my time. Sadly, they never wrote me until now, and by the time they get around to actually requesting my service I'll be in Japan. Their loss, frankly.
つづく... (Click here to read more)
At the very least I can offer you an overview of what I've been up to here in New York. My weekdays are pretty quiet, mostly dedicated to going through my things and occasionally eating out. Quite often I don't even leave the building, especially if it's raining. Compared to my life in Albany I am considerably more inert here, and I can see the difference in my waistline. I need to find a way to get back into shape because I am obviously gaining weight again. I'm not in danger of reverting back to my 2005-level, but I am definitely heading in the wrong direction.
Of course, part of that involves the food that I eat, and while I try pretty hard to take it easy I have been indulging myself over the weekend. Memorial Day Weekend featured two back-to-back BBQs with friends. The first was in Croton and I had the opportunity to hang with a number of high-school-era friends, some of whom I hadn't seen in years. There was kind of an odd dynamic with a great number of small children and dogs in attendance, but nobody snatched anything off my plate or knocked over my drink so I found the entire experience relaxing. Dylan was there and kind of offered to host an "after-BBQ" if I may coin a phrase. This one was much smaller in scale, of course, but it was wonderfully relaxing.
Strawberry Shortcake, sandwich-style. I'm sure Mako is envious right now.
BBQ after dark - No kids (or pets) allowed.
Last weekend featured no "official" BBQs but I certainly ate my share of rich food. Friday night was a legitimate "sausage party" (laugh if you must) with a variety of store-bought pork and chicken concoctions. I have no complaints, honestly, but I must point out that once you cook them it's pretty hard to tell which flavor is which. Then again, if everything is made of awesome what does it matter?
Saturday night I had hoped to catch that well-reviewed comedy Knocked Up but it didn't happen. We made it to the theater but the show sold out. Fortunately, we had a back-up plan. Friday night left us with an abundance of hot dog buns because most folks preferred their sausage sans-bread. I, practically as a lark, suggested that the only solution was to make lobster rolls. Funny thing is, Ben didn't laugh at my outrageous idea. We bought three live lobsters (!) at the supermarket and Ben singlehandedly boiled, shelled and prepared them.
Be honest. You can't tell the difference either.
Danger! The last thing I need is another scar.
After all that food I did take a jaunt out on Sunday to Central Park to attend the "first annual" Japan Day, an event organized by the Japan Society. Considering the event was held in Central Park, a gigantic space, I was disappointed by the cramped conditions. All of the booths and the stage and the crowds were squeezed into a small plaza that was tightly restricted with barricades and disinterested security guards. Compared to the festivals they used to hold down in Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza it was noisy and claustrophobic. There are frequent street fairs in this city on weekends where 10-15 blocks along 2nd or 3rd Avenue are closed; why on Earth can't one city block host an event like this?
In the meantime, today was one of busiest weekdays ever. I actually had to respond to a jury summons! For years, while I was working, I wanted very badly to participate in a jury. I never understood why people made a point of avoiding it. Maybe it was because anything that would have gotten me away from work would have been a welcome upgrade of my time. Sadly, they never wrote me until now, and by the time they get around to actually requesting my service I'll be in Japan. Their loss, frankly.
つづく... (Click here to read more)
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