Hiromi Usagi!

レンコン大好き

hiromiusagi — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 05:05:58 +0000

ハーパーがアーガイル（ベトナム街）でお友達とフォーランチをした後、レンコンを買ってきてくれました！レンコン大好きなので、うれしくてさっそく、ゆるベジレシピ（あな吉さんの１０分ゆるベジ）を見てハッシュドれんこんを作ってみました。すごい簡単で、なかなかおいしかったです。

レンコンをフードプロセッサーでガーっとして、小麦粉をレンコンの１／４くらい入れて、ハンバーグ形にまとめてフライパンで焼くだけ、簡単でしょ？すりおろしてもオッケーとか。その場合はモッチリした仕上がりになります。

東京に住んでいた頃、マクロビのレシピでレンコン入りハンバーグをよく作ってました。レンコン、人参、たまねぎ、厚揚げをみじん切りにして、野菜をそれぞれ炒めて、厚揚げ、小麦粉を混ぜてハンバーグ形にまとめて焼くとおいしいベジバーグの出来上がりです。みじん切りが大変だけど、フードプロセッサーで作れば簡単そう、でも厚揚げがないから、レンコンだけのこのレシピにひかれて、作ってみました。一度、厚揚げを入れ忘れていまいちだったことがあったんです。

結果は、ハッシュブラウンみたいでおいしかったです。ハーパーもぱくぱく食べてました。

レンコンは肺にいいとかでアレルギーや粘膜弱い人にはいいらしいです。もう一本レンコンがあるので、きんぴらにしてみます。すこしピリ辛にするとさらにおいしい！

レンコン入りヌードルスープも作ってみたいし、レンコンチャーハンもいいし、迷っちゃいます。レンコン入りヌードルスープは菜菜ランチのレシピです。菜菜ランチのレシピ、かなりいいです。どれを作ってもおいしい！明日はこれかな？

今日は、ホットヨガにも行ってきたし、レンコンスナックも作ったし、映画(The Invention of Lie ←おすすめ！）も見てきたし、いい一日でした。ヨガは数ヶ月ぶりだったので、きつかった〜（笑）。運動不足と体がなまっているのを実感です。汗をたくさんかいてすっきりです。

ヨガは週一でもいいから通おう、と決めました。がんばります。

週末

hiromiusagi — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 03:58:21 +0000

かなり盛りだくさんな週末でした。ハーパーはとっても社交的なので、いつも予定がいっぱい。金曜日は夜遅いディナーの予定が入っていて、でも私はゆっくりしたくて、乗り気じゃなかったところ、夜遅いディナーは土曜日にスライドすることに。やったー、と喜んでいたら土曜日はハーパーのお友達で会社の同僚であり、夫婦で仲良くさせてもらっているディランの誕生日パーティー。生まれたばかりの男の子とすてきな家族を築いている彼らのパーティーをスキップするわけにはいかないので、ダブルヘッダーと見込んでいたら、クラブを経営するすてきなお姉様のクラウディアから、久しぶりに一杯やらない？というお誘いが。。。イベント３つを同じ日の夜はぜったい無理、なので２つに参加で、一杯だけ、はハーパーが代表で参加で許してもらうことになりました。

土曜日は鍼の日だったので、午後は骨抜き状態だったんだけど、がんばってお掃除お洗濯して、パーティーにもっていくアペタイザーまで作ってみました。張り切ったので疲れて、夜遅いディナー（９時半集合）はパスしてもいいよ、というハーパーのやさしい言葉に甘えて、誕生日パーティーだけ行ってきました。

４カップルで半分は子持ち、で年齢的にも同じ感じ（あっ、私がもちろん最年長ー汗）で楽しかったです。ワインを飲みながら、ピザをつまんでみんなでお話大会。私のためにチーズ無しピザを頼んでくれて感謝でした。ちなみにメンバーの半分はベジタリアンというのも、居心地がよかったのかも。

私の作ったアペタイザーは、タイ料理のフィッシュケーキ（さつま揚げみたいな？）のベジタリアンバージョン。根菜をフードプロセッサーで超みじん切りにして、パン粉を少しいれて丸めて揚げただけの簡単ベジ揚ボール。これが好評でした！配達で届いたカラフルな人参（紫、白、普通なオレンジの三色）とちょっぴり紫がかった小カプにしょうが、にんにく、セロリの葉が入ったとっても野菜三昧な内容だけど、揚げると外はカリッと中はふんわりで、おいしかったです。野菜がいっぱい食べれていいメニューでした。

それにしてもみんな話すこと話すこと。子育て話は結構目から鱗で、最近は赤ちゃんを仰向けで寝かせないんだそうです。ハイハイをはじめる筋肉をつけるのにうつぶせの方がいいとか。筋肉の発達は知能の発達にも影響するんだそうです。

ちなみに子育て真っ盛りの２カップルは自宅出産してます。すごい！私達（っていうか私だな）に出来るのか、どうか、でも家でってのはよさそう。なかなかいい刺激になりました。

ハーパーはもちろん３イベントすべて参加。でも、午前１時半には帰宅。これかなりびっくりな早い帰宅です。

今日は、シカゴ川に面する素敵なお家を買った若くて秀才で優秀なカップルの新居にお邪魔して来ました。シカゴ市内でこの大きさ（２階建てのベースメント付き）で、川沿い、とまあ夢のような素敵な条件。デッキからは川の眺め、お部屋からも川の眺め、暖炉が２カ所（一つはベッドルーム！）、家中にバキューム機能（コンセントのような差し込みがあって、ノズルを入れると瞬間掃除機になり、ゴミは地下の一カ所に集められるすごい機能）、そしてランドリーシューターで洗濯物を２回のパスルームから投げ込むと地下のランドリールームへ直行、とまあすごいのなんのって。うらやましいを通り越してしまいました（笑）。すごい！いつでも遊びに来てね！の言葉にゲスト全員、じゃあ、明日も来るよ！と即答でした。

本当に盛りだくさんな週末、でも掃除、洗濯、グロッサリーショッピング、全部やって、料理もして、パーティー２つとも参加したので、結構ご機嫌です。

来週末はのんびりしたいなあ、と思っているけど、どうなることやら。でも、なんだかんだいって結構楽しんでいるので、文句は言えません。

そろそろ、お友達をアパートに呼んでランチかディナーの会を開けるかも、です。ハーパーが家をあけることが多くなりそうなので、ガールズナイトアウトを企画するのにいいチャンス！

決まったら、報告します！

Contemporary Japanese Art and Cornell College

hiromiusagi — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 04:10:41 +0000

On the last weekend, Harper and I went to Iowa, and I gave a talk about Contemporary Japanese Art and Feminism for an ethnic studies class at Cornell College. My dearest professor kindly invited me to give a talk, and I was so excited and a little bit nervous.

I haven’t seen my professor since I graduated from Cornell, and the last time when I visited campus was right before I moved back to Japan, so I was very excited to see her and visit Cornell.

We first went to Des Moines and stayed at Harper’s friend’s place and they took us out to a nice restaurant, and I had a strong martini which gave me headache next day, but it was tasty!! That was Saturday, and on Sunday we drove to Cornell and checked in Brackett house which is a nice cute bed & breakfast on campus. We went to Iowa city and had a nice dinner with my professor and on Monday I gave a presentation about a Japanese artist named Mariko Mori.

I was nervous for a few minutes, –according to Harper, I ummed a lot… but after that, I decided to concentrate on what I wanted to tell the audience and then I became fine. There were a room full of people in the class room, but not so many, perhaps 30 people, so it was a good size. Compared to the symposium at Cornell I did during my undergraduate, it was much more relaxed. It was a part of my master’s thesis, so I really wanted people to understand my points.

I talked about how the artist creates layers to represent different worlds as one, and how her artworks evolved from criticism to integration using psychoanalysis and social/ traditional/ religious perspectives. I sort of explained why her artworks became pop-like/ fantasy-like artworks through the evolution.

Mariko Mori’s art (link), especially her later works are hard to understand because they look like fairy tale worlds. I think through my paper I wanted to explain why Japanese culture is unique, how traditional values and contemporary ideologies co-exist, and how that affects Japanese feminism.

It has been a few years since I completed my thesis, and this presentation reminded me of how hard I worked on my thesis, and how enjoyable it was because it was like a solving mystery problem.

I was once accepted in the phD program and the funding was canceled all of the sudden. It was hurtful and since then I simply cannot think about art history much. It became painful, but this time I truly enjoyed it. I felt good about talking about art history. Although my profession now is not art related, but I like what I do and I see how I can apply what I have learned through art history to my current work. This somehow creates a good balance in me.

Cornell College was really nice, and you know after you graduate from college, your college facilities get nicer. The art department moved to a different building and classrooms, gallery, and professors’ rooms are super nice. Students were being young and Harper and I were in reminiscent moments while working on campus. I spent a few hours in a library where you can now buy a cup of coffee, and I walked to a nice cute organic cafe for breakfast. We also went to a local book store in Iowa city and went to a coffee shop and hang out. It was a nice short trip for us.

This weekend, I decided to relax and not plan anything and not worry about chores. We had a nice hippy brunch in Roscoe village and bought a cute sock monkey which is actually a cat for my professor who loves cats. I hope she likes it.

I had a nice week and weekend.

「The Dancer from Khiva」を読んで

hiromiusagi — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 04:46:09 +0000

友達の誕生日プレゼントを買いにAndersonvilleのいつも行く本屋さんへ行ってみたら、気になる本があったのでさっそく購入！この本屋さんは大手の本屋さんとは違って小さいけど、私のツボにはまる本がいっぱいです。女性や子供にやさしいこの本屋さんで、チェックするのは料理の本とスタッフおすすめの本。女性の作家ものは、やっぱり読んでいてしっくり来ます。そして、移民や多文化についての本はとっても興味津々。最近のプチブームはイスラム圏の女性についてです。

お友達に買ったのはGirls of Riyadhと言って、サウジアラビアバーションのSex and Cityといったところなんだけど、結構内容はシリアス。でも、恋について悩むのって世界共通なんだなあ、って思ったりして一気に読んでしまいました。実話が元になっていて、しかもインターネットでのやりとりがあったりで、私的にはイスラム世界に興味をもつとっかかりになった本です。文化上、いろいろな決まりがあるんだけど、駆け引きがすごい！そして、男の子の心理ってものもやっぱり世界共通するところあるんだなあ、ってやけに関心しました。

そして今回手に取ったのはThe Dander from Khivaと言ってこちらもイスラム圏の女性の話なんだけど、ウズベキスタン人でロシアで移民として暮らしている女性の実話です。こちらはサウジのお金持ちリヤドっ子とは違って、お家が貧しく、家庭内暴力が日常茶飯事で自殺を考えてしまう女性のつらいお話しです。読んでいてまさに信じられないことだらけ。例えば、１６歳で集団レイプされて、翌日からは「あの子は処女じゃなかった」とうわさをたてまくられたり、ダンスに興味を示すとお兄さんにボコボコに殴られたり、あまりのつらさにロシアからの研究生にもらった住所をたよりにロシアのサントペテルスブルグに行けば、言葉がよくわからないのと、貧しいので身なりがよくないのもあって、まともにあいてにしてもらえず、食べるものにも困り、自殺を試みるけど不成功に終わったりと、つらいのなんのって。コンサバティブな田舎出身で違う国で言葉で苦労してきた同じ女性として感慨深いものがありました。もちろん、彼女の苦しみは想像を絶するものだけど。

この本を買ってすぐ、家に帰って読もうかな、と思ったんだけど、せっかくこのネーバーフッドにいることだし、前から気になっていたミドルイースタンなクレープ屋さんでお茶しながら、読んでみることにしました。クレープはやっぱり卵や乳製品をバリバリに使っているので、食べることが出来ず残念だったけど、ターキッシュコーヒーはおいしかったです。カルダモンがきいていて、甘さも選べて、小さなカップでちびちびいただきながら、時々、とっての長い小鍋からコーヒーを注いで満足満足。ちょっとイスラムな感じで、でも本の内容がすごくて、ぬくぬくとコーヒーショップで悲惨な女性の話を読んでいるなんて、とっても複雑な気分でした。

家に帰って来てからも、もくもくと読み続け、夜１２時には完読してしまいました。この本がアメリカで出版されたことで、ロシアに住む彼女の生活が少しでも楽になっていることを祈ってやみません。

シカゴにもイスラム圏中央アジアの国から来ている女性はいるのかもしれないなあ、と思ったり、前回、日本行きの飛行機でお願いしてあったベジミールが出てこなかったとき、マレーシアのイスラム教徒の親子が娘さんが食欲がないから、と言って特別な宗教用のベジミールをくれたり、遠かったイスラム文化が少し近くに感じます。

宗教のことは正直よくわからないし、一概に誰が悪いとかは言えないんだけど、とにかく一生懸命生きている人が信じているものが違うからとか、女性だからとか、いわゆるアートとかダンスとか堅くない分野に興味を持っているからというだけで、ひどい目に遭うのは理不尽だなって思いました。

淡々と書かれていて、そしていじわるなことをされても相手の立場を考えて理解してあげようとする彼女のやさしさと、強さ、どんなに大変でも教育の大切さを第一に考えている彼女の姿勢、宗教色が強くない国で暮らしていても、異文化で暮らしていなくても、同感できる部分が多いので、この本、お薦めです。

a new job

hiromiusagi — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 19:07:20 +0000

I’ve got a job, guys!! I just got this great news yesterday through my job agent, so I still need to sign a contract. It is a Japanese game company which made a pac-man. I will be an executive assistant for the president of the company. I am excited to start this job! Only the down side is that I have to commute about an hour each way. I definitely need a car. I used to commute by car everyday and I kind of liked it, so now I want to think about how to make it fun… a lot of music will do it, huh?…

It has been almost 3 months since I moved back to Chicago, so I am glad that I got a job, because I started getting tired and worried about not having a job. I had an interview last Thursday, and people seemed very friendly and the work environment seemed casual as well. Well, not like Skinny Corp, but I don’t have to wear suit, but I can’t wear jeans, I think.

I will start this job from the mid May, so Harper and I will go to Colorado to visit his family (now my family as well!) and buy a car from someone Harper’s parents know. It will be a fun trip!!

Now I am thinking how to enjoy the rest of my long vacation! fun!!

job hunting and more

hiromiusagi — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 16:44:20 +0000

It has been over 2 months since I moved back to Chicago, and three months since I quit my last job. I felt as if I had a long Winter vacation and am about to go back to school. I don’t want it to end, but at the same time I do want to start something new. I started getting tired of not having a job. I think it is a healthy sign, and I really want to start working.

I had a coffee with my friend who did an internship with me at the Art Institute of Chicago back in 2003. She is from Russia and has lived here for several years. She has been on a student visa and found a visa sponsored job at an art gallery!! and now works as a gallery manager. I am proud of her!! She is going back to school to obtain MBA. She gave me a lot of energy and hope. It was really nice to see her again.

After that coffee, I went to a nice store called, Paper Source, and saw my grad school friend, Melanie!! She is doing well as well, and moving to East village and excited about her new place. The store is so nice with a lot of beautiful paper, cards, and small toys. I had a great day seeing my old friends.

Beside having out with people I like, I enjoy walking, cooking and doing yoga, pretty much everyday! I love that there is a park near our place and several coffee shops and good grocery stores in our neighborhood. I want to explore my area and try a new yoga place or a facial salon or a sushi restaurant, and more.

I just joined I-Go car which is like a rental car but you share a car with other people. I might have a job interview coming up some time soon in suburb, so I think it will be handy to go to suburbs. There are several Japanese-related jobs available in suburb, and I want to go to an interview. I would rather not drive to work, but if I find something interesting, I would do it. I went to a job agency which is specialized in Japanese-related jobs, and they seem to have a lot of jobs. There is one position which seems very interesting, because it is a game company. An interview is not scheduled yet, but I hope it will. I will keep you guys updated.

So, I have been doing well, and I am excited about Spring weather!! My friend who went to Cornell College with me and Harper will stay at our place this weekend. It will be fun!!

Enjoy a beautiful day!

getting adjusted

hiromiusagi — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 06:30:02 +0000

It has been warmer and the temperature gap in between Chicago and Tokyo is getting less. In fact, it was 1 ℃ higher here (I use metric system…still) Interestingly, it has been snowing but warmer than when I arrived here. Yesterday, I hang out with Nana and Sayaka who did the same things as I did–married and live in Chicago—. We went to Blind Faith Cafe in Evanston. We always go there for lunch whenever I came to Chicago, because we, especially me, like the restaurant and it is easier for Nana who lives in suburb to come. It was fun to talk to them and we stayed there for a while. It was so cute that all of us bought some cup cakes for our husbands. They are doing well and talking to them gave me a lot of good energy.
I started writing my resume and looking for a job. I have to admit that finding a job is not easy, but I am excited to work in Chicago now. It is a good opportunity to rethink what I have done and what type of work is suitable for me. I hope I can find a nice job, and I decided not to rush myself.

It has been a lot of fun living in a new apartment with Harper. I cook almost everyday and enjoy making food and eating with Harper. I try to stay with macrobiotics, but I think I have eaten too much sweet. It is much easier to get vegan sweets here, and Harper gave me a nice vegan sweets cook book for my birthday (he also gave me a Blonde Redhead CD. we like them a lot…) I baked peanut butter cookies again which I baked last month in Japan. Caffeine is another weak point of mine, but I found a yummy grain coffee. I had carrot cake from Blind Faith with the coffee today. It was great!

Thank you, those who sent me a nice message on my b-day! Harper took me to Chicago Dinner and I had a great time with him.

I am in Chicago now!

hiromiusagi — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 21:58:29 +0000

Finally, I moved to Chicago and started living with Harper! I am so happy to be here, and the immigration process at O’hare wasn’t so difficult, but when I signed the form with my name in Japanese (I signed in Japanese on my passport, so I thought it would be good to sign it in the same way to avoid a trouble), an immigration woman said, “so you don’t know how to write English yet, huh?”

I decided not to care about this kind of comment. it would be waste of my time, right? Anyhow, I was so happy to see Harper, Dylan and Sarah at the airport after that. I felt welcomed for real. It was crazy cold during the first week of my stay, and now it is sort of normal winter weather. The temperature gap between here and Japan was 30 degree. unbelievable. We moved during the coldest time of the year. we felt bad for our movers though. Since I got here, all of us were packing, cleaning, and going to IKEA to prepare for the moving day, which was a day before Super bowl sunday.

Everything was fine, except a sofa we bought didn’t go through the staircase and we returned it and got a different sofa which came with smaller parts.

For the first few days right after I got here, all of us stayed at Hard rock hotel in downtown, which was great!! with Harper’s parents’ champagne surprise and Harper’s friend’s hookup. I wish we could have been able to hang out with Dylan and Sarah more doing fun things. They were big help for us, thanks guys!!

It had been so cold and tiring, I got sick..ahhh..I could not go out pretty much for a whole week. I started feeling better today and decided to update my blog. While I was in japan spending time with my parents, I was busy sorting things out after I moved from tokyo to my parents. I tried to get rid of as much stuff as possible and sent 5 boxes to the us by ship. It will take a few months. I brought 2 suite-cases with me. that was it.

so I have been moving a lot these days. Finally, when it is done, i got sick..sad.. well..I just needed to take a rest. Harper suggested me watching “Lost” since he has the 1st and 2nd seasons DVD sets. it is becoming too long.. it is pretty good though.

Harper has been taking good care of me since I got sick. He made me this yummy tuna sandwich last night. I kept him awake on Sat night because I was sick and couldn’t sleep. At least he went out for a party and bars. I am glad i didn’t ruin all of his sat night.

I can’t wait to get fully recovered and go exploring Chicago. Until then, I just keep enjoying staying warm…

new year II

hiromiusagi — Sun, 07 Jan 2007 14:10:02 +0000

The dinner with my relative was a big event for me, but it was a great opportunity for me to explain the details of my family matters to Harper. I was a little bit frustrated because this gathering reminded me of some of our family problems which my mom struggles with. However, everyone was happy and enjoyed the party and congratulated our marriage. They liked the chocolate Harper brought from Chicago. Some of them had no idea where Chicago is located. They were talking about how to visit me in the states and also go see major league baseball games. Everyone asked me about Harper’s parents, brother, and his wife, so I think the Reed family and me should come to Yamanashi together soon.
My grandma who has altzheimer’s disease could not come to the dinner party, but liked Harper a lot and talked to him in Japanese all the time. It was cute, and she seemed very happy. I wonder if she recognized him as an American or Japanese…curious.. I don’t think she remembers the meeting though.

Although it was quite nice to be in a country side with no internet!! (poor Harper…) we were ready to go back to Tokyo. I was so tired and started feeling sick, and I just wanted to go back to my comfortable apartment and chill out with Harper for a few days. whenever Harper and I don’t do anything particular and just hang out in my apartment, I feel as if we are spending our weekend together. I will get to do more soon!!

My friend in my hometown, Yurie took us to a nice inexpensive but great Italian restaurant right before we came back to Tokyo. Harper had homemade wild boar sausage as an appetizer, and we had a great pasta lunch. My health condition got really worse during the time with Yurie, and the last time when Harper and Steve hung out with her, we were exhausted because of our crammed schedule for our marriage and visa. I felt bad for her because I am always exhausted when I hang out with her. I will see her before I move back to Chicago, and I should be healthy then!

We were glad that we took a train with reserved seats, because they were comfortable and I was able to rest for a little while. As soon as we got back to our apartment in Tokyo, we went out to see my high school friend and her husband who both work for a music magazine in Tokyo. They gave him a T-shirt of popular comics about a death metal band (if I remember correctly). Harper was so happy, and Dai, my friend’s husband, and Harper were talking about death/ heavy metal things. My friend and I were chit-chatting. We started late because of us being late (sorry…), so it was a short amount of time. However, we had a great time with them as always. Some reasons, I got so drunk and Harper took care of me.

Next day, I was hang over and Harper was catching up with his internet matters and took care of payment or what not. We just chilled in my apartment and neighborhood. we went to mos burger AGAIN!! I took a nap and slept as if the nap did not happen..

And the next day was technically Harper’s last day because his flight was in the morning next day. We went to Omotesando/ hip fashion area and had organic buffet lunch and went to some stores Harper liked. We walked to Shibuya and got some books and went to a French style cafe which I used to go a lot several years ago. Coming to Tokyo 3 times and being able to get around in Tokyo, Harper started observing Japanese culture sharply and made a lot of interesting comments which I had never thought of/ aware of before. quite interesting..

In the night, we went to Shinagawa Prince hotel to see Matt Henry’s juggling show. It was a Las Vegas style with a magician and we enjoyed it. Matt has been juggling in Asia and happens to be in Tokyo around the time. He was really nice and a good performer.

There is a nice cozy Italian restaurant we both like, but I couldn’t get through it on the phone. We went there anyway and found that they were closed for new year. Instead, we went to a different Italian restaurant which was good, but we both like the other one better. We just went home after the dinner, and Harper started packing and I passed out early.

Harper’s flight was at 11 am, so we had to be at the airport by 9 which means we had to leave home around 7:30. It was pretty early for us. We got up 6:30 and headed to the airport early. I got sad to see him off even if I know I can see him soon. The airport is such an emotional place for me. A funny part is that Harper always has to hold his jeans after the security check before going downstairs. We say good bye and after the security, there is a spot where I can see him through a glass window. It could be romantic/ emotional…and here Harper comes holding his pants and putting his belt back on. I smiled, and I guess we have our own unique way of feeling romantic..ahhh

It was Saturday, and Harper gained a day back when he got back to Chicago.� I am leaving to Chicago on Feb 1st and will move my stuff to my parents on Jan 16th.� I have only 3 weeks before moving back to Chicago.. what do I want to do before I leave?� I will think about it..

Happy new year/ Akemashite Omedetou

hiromiusagi — Sat, 06 Jan 2007 07:27:49 +0000

This new year and year end were different and special for me, because Harper came and visit me and met my relatives for the first time. I took a day off to pick up Harper at the airport on Dec 25th, Christmas day, and after that, I worked until Dec 29th. I started the full-time position 6 months ago, so I didn’t have any paid holidays and was busy without my direct boss who was on vacation. As usual, whenever Harper visits me, I am busy at work, but this time was much better than the last time as far as scheduling goes.

The next day, Dec 26th was a sort of big day for me at work because there was my last bi-weekly meeting with other managers. It was 4 hour-long with light meal provided and a lot of presentation and discussion. I will miss the team and the challenges I faced. Anyhow, it was a really nice meeting and I received a lot of warm farewell from my colleagues and bosses.

While I was doing that, I hoped Harper could wonder around tokyo or take a rest and meet up with me in Shinjuku after work, later for dinner. I drew a nice map with the direction from my apartment to my work with a lot of details and landmarks. I thought I prepared everything he needed for the day. However, I forgot to give him the key….. I left my cell phone for him, and had a long meeting, and when I was finally able to call him, he told me that he hadn’t left the apartment yet. I felt so bad..and was going to go home first. However, I had 4 hours to go before getting off, so I decided to finish my work on time and go home as quickly as possible. I also told him it was ok for him to go out without locking the door for a little bit in my neighborhood. It is a pretty safe neighborhood, and he can get his favorite Mos Burger!! It was raining heavily as well.

To make up for it, I took him to a nice restaurant in Shinjuku. It is a macrobiotics restaurant and serves nice course dinners. Harper had a white fish and I had a scallop as main dish and we both had a wonderful appetizer and dessert.

Harper had no problem wondering around in Tokyo and has a pretty good sense of direction or he just doesn’t care?? He just needs books, gadgets, and a cell phone. He came to Shinjuku to have lunch with me everyday! He liked a pasta restaurant which serves spaghetti dishes with chopsticks. We had a lot of noodles this time.

On Dec 28, we had a party with my Japanese friends who went to Cornell and also Harper’s juggling friends who happened to perform in Japan. We went to a nice Izakaya/ Japanese pub and had a great meal and drinks. Those ladies gave us nice tea cups as our marriage celebration!!

Dec 29th was my last working day and also the last business day at my work. Beside myself, there were a few people got transferred or quit, so there was a farewell party at my work after the business hour. It started around 11 pm because our business hour is until 10:45 pm, and Harper got to meet them! We had cans of Chuhi (Shochu with juice) and beer and some pizza and snacks. After that we went to a hookah/ shisha bar with “all you can drink” deal with 3,000 yen (about $28?). Harper and I got so drunk and could not stay until the end. We left around 3am and took a cab home.

The next day, we were just hang over and wondered around my neighborhood to recharge our energy for our Yamanashi trip.� New year is a big family gathering time in Japan, just like Christmas in the US, so the train ticket was sold out quickly.� Luckily we got tickets for next day.

The early train tickets were sold out and we got later ones, so we were able to have a relaxing morning.� My dad picked us up at the local train station and drove us to my grandparents’ house where my grandparents don’t live any longer.� It is a typical farm house with bathroom separated from the main house, and the entrance floor is not covered, but soil exposed.� My parents had a new bathroom built inside of the house, but just toilet, so bathtub-bathroom is still outside in a separate hut.

There is no central heating at the house, but individual heaters in rooms, so it was pretty cold there.� We couldn’t leave Kotatsu/ heated table with a blanket covered and read some books or watched TV drinking a lot of hot tea.

We ate a lot of Sashimi and we are totally Sashimi-ed out…� New-year-eve noodles, homemade pickles, a lot of dishes..with a lot of drinks.

On the Jan 2, we went to a restaurant and had a dinner party with my relatives.� All of my uncles and their family came and met Harper for the first time.� Again, a lot of food and drink, and a lot of translation (just me) used up my energy..but I had a great time with them.� They didn’t know what they thought about Harper first because of language barrier, but sharing drinks and food and laugh, they just loved him!!� Harper learned some useful Japanese expressions at the party..

Okay, it’s getting long again, so I will write more in my next entry.