dj.yoshi

2009-11-01T19:42:00.000-08:00

halloween weekend

at first we didn't have any plans for halloween, but at the last moment we decide to take zuki to a pumpkin patch. it was my first time so it was all new to me.

pumpkin vandalism...

'hey zuki, did you pick out a pumpkin?'

'no no, don't throw it on the ground'

THUD!

RUN!

'oh great pumpkin, give me a sign'

mad dancin skillz
(i don't know what's she doing)

'what mom, a girl can't go walkin around with her zipper open?'

you done yet abusing the pumpkins?

later, we figured we since we did one halloween thing, we might as well go all the way. so we dug up zuki's bear PJ that auntie from japan gave her, throw it on, and go hit the mall for some candy. i kinda didn't want to take her 'trick or treatin' cuz i didn't want to be THAT parent who takes their infant child out, knocks on the door and says 'trick or treat' (cuz the kid can't even speak) and knowing full well that zuki doesn't even eat candy, it would be for me. i don't want to be THAT guy, but we just did it for the pics and to see what the mall scene is like on halloween.

ROAR!

we kinda got to the mall late and most of the stores ran out of candy. she did get 1 piece of candy, a sticker, and some temporary tattoos. its good that they gave away stickers and tattoos cuz we don't feed zuki sugars yet.

at work, i sit in an office (what used to be a conference room but was converted into an office) with 2 to 3 other people. since there's no walls or cubical dividers, things get pretty friendly.
last year we decided to decorate the office and all dress up.
the theme...super mario. i was yoshi.

i made the head out of paper mache, and the body is a disposable coverall i dyed green.

we won the costume and cubical decorating contest.
our whole office was 1 level of super mario.

this year we decided on 'alice in wonderland'.
i was the white rabbit.

i made another paper mache head, and the clothes are from goodwill.
i made my desk into the rabbit's house.

once again, we won the costume and cubical decorating contest.

here's just some random pics...

ya-hoo! ride 'em cowboys

don't get used to that pole dancin

zuki feedin herself

grandma wanted to see zuki walk, so this one's for you

2009-10-16T23:22:00.000-07:00

quick post...
its fourth quarter for my company, which means the busiest time of the year.
we're getting ready for black fridays and xmas sales so i've been quite busy.
working late and lots of last minute rushes. same thing every year.

here's some quick pics...

zuki getting something to read

mommy and zuki starting to dress alike

we have to go to my sister-in-law's wedding early next year, so zuki tried on a dress a friend gave to her. it made her look way too mature.

its not prom time yet. i haven't bought my gun.

silly o' zuki

2009-09-07T20:11:00.000-07:00

hi all,

sorry for the delay. we've had a few projects that was keeping me busy.

some family and friends came down for 'zuki's belated birthday. the girls went out for lunch and left the guys alone to tend to the kids.

we took the kids to the hotel's pool to kill time.
i think it took too much out of 'zuki.

its been quite hot down here lately, so i decided to try out our own apartment's pool. the water was ice cold and i need some sun.

'zuki had a good time floating around.
daddy's bits was freezing.

when its hot and we have nothing to do, we like to go to ikea and take advantage of their free air conditioning. with a bonus, i got a 1/2 rack of ribs for 8 bucks and the mrs. got the pasta special.

'zuki, look this way.

open wide.

'zuki likes to feed herself. but after a while, she gets bored and likes to play with the food. she enjoys taking it out of the bowl and putting it back in.

recently, 'zuki likes to sit in boxes. go figure.
kinda ironic since i work with cardboard.

i think she does her best reading in the box.
kinda like me on the toilet.

always actin silly

'zuki now can walk and she learned with a walker.
when she first started, she got so excited, she screams like a crazy woman.
(notice in the beginning of the clip, 'zuki swats my hand as to say "hey old man, i don't need any help")

2009-07-06T21:34:00.000-07:00

hey all, here's some random pics...

snug as a bug in a rug

'muuuhhaaaaa'

hooter girls love babies

rolly polly

wow, how fast they grow

2009-06-29T00:05:00.000-07:00

'zuki birthday weekend
its hard to imagine that 1 year ago today, after 30+ hours of labor, at 9:11 am, 'zuki was born. here's her weekend breakdown...

saturday...
we had 'parent and me' water fun at the local college's pool. its only her second class, but this time she had to wear a swimming cap and googles (i don't know why since she never got water on her head or her eyes). the cap does not do her justice.

happy baby before water...

...not so happy baby in water.

someone is not having a good time...
...prob cuz of the cap.

after swimming (and crying), we had lunch and decided to give 'zuki her birthday cake early since we were going to be busy on sunday. i think she was full from lunch cuz she didn't want to try the cake.

happy baby likes candle. not so sure about new food.

'that thing is not going in my mouth'

'i said, its not going in!'

it went in...and came back out.

later on at dinner time, we tried the cake again and she liked it. maybe she was full. also my wife tricked me and gave me a piece of the cake. after i had ate it, she told me she made it with her breastmilk. nice. maybe that's why it came back out of 'zuki.

later we took a stroll at the marina and watched some ships sail.

sunday...
happy birthday 'zuki!
you're 1 now.

good morning birthday girl

start your birthday morning with a bump to the head

we were invited to a combined birthday party of a 'mommy and me' group my wife goes to. of course it was kinda weird since the party wasn't for 'zuki (and it's actually her birthday on that day), and all the 'birthday kids' birthdays had passed or was coming up. the party was at gymboree, which is a whole new thing to me. its basically a play room and the employee there helps with physical activites for the kids.

princess for the day

daddy's litle princess

1 ball...

...2 balls...
...where'd the orange one go?

'watch where you stick that finger boy, or i'll bite it off'

after we were done, i think i was more tired than 'zuki. we went home and i took a nap.
'zuki was a trooper. after about one and a half hour into the party, the babies got tired and started to cry. but 'zuki didn't cry. she toughed it out to the very end. happy birthday 'zuki.

2009-05-31T22:05:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the long delay.
I was sick for a while, went to Japan, house hunting, and just busy with the fam.
I'll just post some pics until I have time to write about the Japan trip.
and here we go...

nice cheesy smile. maybe someone's got a present in their diaper.

'am i happy or am i going to cry? i don't know.'

mastermind at work thinking of a way to takeover the world.

'...i got it! kill them all with dirty stinky diapers!'

'i found a new talent...sticking out my tongue'

'uh huh, uh huh, uh huh....what did you say?'

'i don't know what i'm happy about'

'don't leave me alone. i have separation issues

'i can stand. but i can't dress myself'

'whaaat....'

'who woke me up?'

'what do you mean there's no more food left?'

'i'm a little dancer. now where's the floor?'

'i don't think i like hats'

'useless talent number 2...spit bubbles.
finishing with useless talent number 1, the tongue'

2009-02-23T22:22:00.000-08:00

quick update...

hi folks, sorry i haven't blogged recently.
'zuki has been sick, and she's also teething. a nice one two combo.
i'll just post some pics and give a quick update...

a couple of weekends ago, we woke up early and went to ikea for the $20 comforter sale. fortunately, ikea knows what they're doing when they put on a crazy sale (unlike walmart's 2008 black friday, which one person was killed). employees handed out coupons which guaranteed you a comforter till 1pm (we got 2 king size). and on top of that, they gave out free breakfast till 11am. the line was crazy long and snaked around, but we went through it pretty fast. i guess word got out about the free food so there were homeless people in line. much props to ikea, they know how to treat their peeps. the dinning room got so packed that we ended up eating breakfast at a kid's table.

'zuki's hair has gotten long enough that we can put hairclips and rubberbands in it. but from the looks of it, maybe we'll skip the ponytails.

here's zuki, happy as can be...until the camera is turned off.
(someone loves camera time)

and lastly, here's some pics of zuki just after taking a nap in the 'baby backpack'.

2009-02-08T22:17:00.000-08:00

quick posting

hi all,
not much going on.
wanted to leave a quick posting before i miss another week.

'zuki likes to see herself on the camcorder.
i flip the screen so she can see herself in front of the camera.

drama queen turns into 'i want the camera so i can stick it in my mouth'

2009-02-01T23:33:00.000-08:00

weekly update...

hey all,
sorry, its been a while since i last blogged. my sister-in-law was here from japan and my weekends were booked, (also she was staying in the spare room where the computer is at so it was hard to blog).

i bought a small 'flash camcorder' so i can record videos of 'zuki and post them on my blog. they're getting popular and its an easy way to record video and upload them on the 'net. video is recorded on a memory stick and can be uploaded to youtube or any other site with a push of a button. i thought i could also burn dvds and send them to my overseas in-laws (besides, what am i going to do with a shoe box full of video tapes which i'll only watch once).

Sony 'Webbie HD' MHS-CM1

originally i wanted the orange one and i was put on a waiting list since they're brand new (just announced at this year's CES). the orange one came in a few days but i wasn't sure of the quality, since they're so new, so i decided to wait (and let the one i had 'on hold' go). but it seems they're very popular, and reviews and video samples started to pop up on the 'net. for the price (w/my discount) and the quality, its a hard deal to beat. so i went back into the store to get the orange one but they were already sold out. and the sales person said there's a mistake with the price and it should be higher, but since its listed lower in the system, they would have to honor the lower price. the store did not know when the orange one would come in and the price could go higher any day, so my best bet would to buy one that day. so i ended up getting the purple one (dang, i wish i had the orange one).

too cute...

not being a proud father or anything, but 'zuki is pretty cute. when we go out grocery shopping or to the mall, we always get looks and comments on how cute she is. people (usually women) would come to us and talk to 'zuki and comment on how cute she is and how they love her hair.
when my sister-in-law was here, we went to the getty's museum. at times security, museum workers, and strangers would come up to us and tell us how cute she is and how they love her hair. when we were in the popular room with the van goughs and monets, a small crowd started surrounding us, talking to the baby and telling us how beautiful she is.
so we decided we better bank on this before she gets hit with the ugly stick. we're trying to look for a baby modeling agent so maybe 'zuki can get some photo work and buy daddy some new PS3 games...or i suppose some college money.

label chewer...

'zuki has 2 teeth and loves to stick things in her mouth. she loves to chew and suck on the labels on blankets, toys, etc.

so we found out that there is a company that makes toys and blankets with lots of labels sewn into them, so the baby can chew and suck to her hearts desire.

but wouldn't you know it, when we gave the ball with the tons labels to her, she went straight for the plain white manufacturing label, not the colorful ones that's intended to be sucked/chewed on. and after she was done sucking/drooling on the ball, the ball was soaked with baby spit, like a sponge...eww.

2009-01-19T23:54:00.000-08:00

weekend update

little tokyo mitsuwa is going out of business, so starting 1/19, everything is 50% off. doors opens at 9:30am but...
...when we got there, the line was already 1 1/2 blocks long. when we were driving to its parking structure, the streets was crowded with cars all going to mitsuwa. luckly we parked on the street a few blocks away and walked down. but when we got there, the line was hella long and snaked around. there was security there to let a certain amount of people in at a time (to avoid the walmart black friday incident). we waited in line for about 45 minutes until we decided that by the time we get in, there would be nothing left. we were hoping to get a small rice cooker but when i looked in the window, i saw all the applicances, produce, fish, and pretty much anything good, was gone. people probably waited till 7pm to get anything good.

when people left the store, i would see what they had bought so i would know what was left in the store. a few people came out with bags of rice, but i think those ran out quick and others was left with cups-o-noodles.

ah, that's enough for now.
here's some random video/pics...

when mizuki gets tired, she tends to laugh hysterically at anything.
here's an example.

how fast they grow...

um, did this one come with a gift receipt?

i think you kiss with lips, not with your whole face.

2009-01-01T23:42:00.000-08:00

2009 new years resolution

wow, its been about 3 years since my last blog so as a new years resolution, i've decided to start up again. i'll try to post at least once a week, when i have the time. if i don't have anything exciting to say, i'll just post up some random pics from my camera.

my other new years resolutions are to get a better job, buy a house, lose some weight (again), and to learn to play the ukulele.

for 2008 (starting from the begining)...

i entered into a company competition for weight lost and won, losing over 28 lbs and winning over $500 in prizes. it was hard work and i think i pushed myself too hard (really bad leg cramps), but in the end it was worth it.
me and my wife had a baby shower/family reunion and i saw lots of relatives i haven't seen in a long time.
after 3 years, finally made a S0NY employee.
on june 28, after over 30 hours of labor, my wife delivered our beautiful baby girl, mizuki.
waited outside of walmart for 2 hours in the morning and scored a Playstation 3 for $150.
helped a fellow apartment tenant from a date gone bad.
found out the hard way that lenscrafters suck.

...pretty much most of the year was spent on preparing for the delivery of the baby (lamaze and baby classes once a week), delivering the baby, and raising her.

well, enough about me. here's some random pics/videos...

baby + bear outfit = priceless

baby's first solid food (1st bite)

baby's first solid food (2nd bite)

2005-12-26T19:27:00.000-08:00

hey all,
sorry i haven't blogged in a while. my computer is on the fritz (hopefully a video card problem and not the whole cpu) and i'm using an ancient laptop that runs slow as a 486 (ah the good old days of green monitors). also my desktop has all my pics in it so i hope i can salvage my hard drive.

so here's the lowdown on what happened since my last blog...

i quit fedex and started temping at sony pictures.
my grandmother passed away and we had a funeral for her.
we went up north the weekend after the funeral for thanksgiving with the folks. had sukiyaki for dinner.
we went the weekend after that for our annual friends xmas party.
monitor/video card problem with desktop computer. its hard to troubleshoot if you don't have a extra video card or monitor to test on. luckly, i hooked up my laptop to my monitor and it turns out that my monitor is okay. now i'll have to see if its my video card or my motherboard.
i've worked 3 1-day temp assignments at sony pictures and now i'm working a longterm assignment in the home entertainment department for woman out on maternaty leave. i put in orders for the raw materials for the dvd packaging.
we spent the day before xmas at universal studios. not very crowded.
xmas came and gone and we spent it in LA. had sukiyaki again for dinner. (seems like we have the same thing for dinner for both thanksgiving and xmas. last year was the year of chicken dinners from boston market.

that seems to be about it. i would normally write out long detail descriptions about each event but i've forgotten some of it by now.

i've also been trying to get as much playstation 2 time as i can. right now i've been playing socom 3, grand thief auto vice city, and even a bit of kingdom hearts (until i start feeling motion sickness and have to stop). and i'm okay with playing grand thief auto vice city. no motion sickness with that game, unlike the first one. maybe i'm becoming immune to the camera motions and able to tolerate it more.

while only temping at sony, i'm not quite a sony employee yet. but after 440 hours of temping work, i can start getting sony discounts off of sony products. so in about 3 months, i'll be ready to charge up the visa card. so if any of you are eyeing a sony product and can wait a few more months, give me a holla and i'll hook you up.

well thats about it for now. hopefully soon i'll get my desktop up and running (thanks rick for the video card) and maybe i'll be able to chat again. catch ya later...

2005-11-16T11:26:00.000-08:00

another star sighting...
actually, i've seen this person twice (i forgot to put it in my previous blog). its ted raimi. brother of sam raimi (director of spiderman), and childhood friend of bruce campbell (evil dead series). ted raimi was in the tv show 'xena' and has cameos in most of sam raimi's movie, as does bruce campbell (i guess old friends help each other out). the last time i saw ted raimi, he was walking in front of my truck, crossing the street from the post office. this sighting, he was riding his bike meeting a friend of his. he was just riding around, yelling as he saw her. i guess he lives in the neighborhood since the two sightings were close to each other.

man, yesterday it was a hard day at work. why must the week before my vacations and my quittings must always be the hardest. i had so many packages, my handcart was stacked almost to the ceiling. ah, but i just took my time. i don't care if i'm late. what are they gonna do?...fire me.

hope you all are well. catch ya later.

2005-11-15T00:24:00.000-08:00

Yea!!!
so this is my last week at my old job. now i can move on in my life and do something worth while. i haven't told my customers that this is my last week. maybe i'll tell them tomorrow or wednesday, not like they really care since someone else will just pick up their packages. there are a few customers i will miss, but most of them probably don't even know my name. my few 'valued' customers sometimes offer me drinks or we just converse in idle talk (at least they acknowledge my existence). i hope this week goes by smoothly cuz its gonna be a busy month.

for the next 3 weekends, we're gonna be driving up and down cali. this weekend is my grandmother's funeral. next weekend is thanksgiving with my folks. and the weekend after that is the 'annual friends xmas party'. and learning from my last big phil incident, we're going to be renting cars for all the drives. this way if the car breaks down, we'll get a replacement and have a way back (less stress and worry for me). and enterprise is having a good weekend deal, so its cheaper than flying.

well if you haven't heard about my interview yet (with a temp company on the sony pictures lot), it seemed to be good. i haven't gotten a call back but i'm supposed to call them on thursday if i haven't heard anything yet. i think i can start working by next week (crossing fingers). there's also a permanent position that was offered but it was still up in the air whither i could apply to it or not. either way, i should be able to start working next week and get my foot in the door.

3 weeks ago i had an eye appointment for some new contact lens. i'm trying to get all my insurance things done before i lose it when i quit. they had to order a pair of contacts, then i wear them for a week, and then they order the rest of the lens. but i haven't heard back from them about the first pair coming in yet. and i'm wondering if i can get all my lenses in before my insurance expires. i have to call my insurance to see how long till my insurance expires. then i have to call the eye doc and see whats up. i'm gonna have to say 'hey, better hurry with those lens or you won't get paid'. and since i might be working full time next week, and i'm gonna be busy for the next 3 weekends, i don't know if i have time to pick up the new lens. i hope this works out.

well thats about it for now. busy busy busy. i'll try to get more bloggin in this week. catch ya later.

2005-11-11T12:08:00.000-08:00

changes...
today my grandmother had passed away. she was my only grandparent while i was growing up, as my other grandparents had passed away when i was very young, so i felt very close to her. we used to go to her house for all the holidays, where the rest of my relatives would all gather. she had lots of energy and liked to keep active, as she worked until she physically couldn't. when she got to the point where she could no longer take care of herself, she moved to my parent's house and my mom took care of her. my mom did the best that she could until she realized that she needed help, and resorted to placing her in a convalescent hospital. even after that, my mom visited my grandmother 3 times a day, and went far beyond what normal people would do. i think the other residents at the convalescent hospital might have gotten jealous from my mom's frequent visits.

i tried to visit as much as i could. at any chance i was in the area, i would make an effort just to drop in and say hi. i saw the changes my grandmother went through as she got older. at first she was able to leave her room and comprehend a conversation. but as time went on, she became bedridden, had a feeding tube placed in her stomach, and developed alzheimers. i think the only thing she could remember is my mother, cuz she visited every day. my grandmother even had forgotten her english (her second language), and would only talk in japanese in the end. at the end, her blood pressure was weak, she could not open her eyes, she had a fever, and her breathing was unregular. i think she still wanted to stay alive but her body had gotten too weak.

i remember my grandmother would say 'i think i can stay alive to see all my grandchildren graduate high school', which she did. after that she said 'i think i can stay alive till all my grandchildren graduate college', which she also did. then she would say, 'i think i can stay alive to see all my grandchildren get married', which was a bit of pressure as i was the last to get married (but funny though), but she lived to that but was unable to go the last couple of weddings (i had always wished i could have a small ceremony of our wedding at the convalescent hospital, just so she could be there). maybe she wanted to see all her greatgrandchildren, but i think that would still take a couple of more years.

another thing about my grandmother was she was always happy and cheerful. i've never seen her mad or angry at anyone. while at the convalescent hospital, she shared a room with two other ladies. one of the ladies would constantly ring her bell for the nurse's attention. the other would talk in italitan to my mom, but my mom couldn't understand. but my grandmother would just lie there, watch tv, never complaining. my mom would always asked my grandmother if was in pain, or if she needed anything, but my grandmother would mostly smile and say she's fine. i think the other ladies in the room had gotten jealous with my grandmother cuz my mom was always there and i don't think anyone ever visits the two other ladies. how sad it is to be put in a home with no visitors. i'm really thankful for my mom. i'm sure my grandmother really appreciated all that my mom did for her.

my grandmother had lived a long and full life. i wish her well as she now journeys to the afterlife. i will always remember her during the holidays, and all the gatherings we had at her house. now that all my cousins have their own families, its harder for us all to get together. i guess everything eventually changes, whither for good or for the worse. nothing can stay the same, its just the memories that we have to cherish the past.

may you rest in peace, helen hanaki. you will not be forgotten.

2005-11-10T00:06:00.000-08:00

just a quickie before i forget...

yesterday while working, i got 'the package'. 'the package' is a box of drugs, most likely marijuana. here's the story...

a while back, some other workers in my area were robbed. the first time, 'they' went up a co-worker's truck, and asked him if he had a certain package by its tracking number. he found it and 'they' asked for it without giving 'them' any trouble. when the company found out about this, they hired a security guard to be around the 'hut'.

the 'hut' is when i meet about 5/6 other co-workers and take their out-going east coast packages to the airport (since our area is the farthest from the station and sometimes the packages don't get on the airport shuttle in time).

the second robbery happened at the 'hut', with the guard there. the guard was helping a co-worker bring their outgoing packages to me. while the guard was away from the co-worker, 'they' went up to her and asked for the 'package' (by tracking number), saying "we don't want any trouble". not looking for trouble, she gave 'them' the package.

the company assumes 'they' are people who are working with the drug dealers, since they know exactly what package to ask for. 'they' know the tracking number and what the box looks like. and 'they' are following the person who picks up the 'package' since 'they' know what truck the 'package' is on.

after doing research, the company finds out that the 'packages' are being shipped from those 'mailbox etc' type of stores, being paid with cash. the address 'they' send it to is invalid, or has a release authorization on it. so the 'package' is either left at the invalid address, or delivered to their neighbors. the company also knows that the packages are being shipped from the same area and being delivered to the east coast (usually new york or florida).

after the second robbery, the company changed routes around and now has one person who does all the pickups from all the 'mailbox etc' with the guard riding with them the whole day. so when that person comes to the 'hut' and gives me their outgoing packages, i then have the 'package' in my truck, along with the guard who goes with me to the airport. sometimes undercover cops come with drug sniffing dogs and randomly check packages. a few times they found drugs and took the packages. but now i think they're trying to track the 'big man' behind the whole project, so they now track the 'package' and try to catch the recipient.

so yesterday a undercover cop came to the 'hut' and asked some questions. then he found the 'package' and took down some info. then i found out that i had the 'package' in my position. oh great, now my life is in danger, but i had the guard with me (who sometimes falls asleep on the ride to the airport). anyways, nothing happened but its scary to know that someone might be following my truck, waiting for the right moment. maybe i should pack some heat.

well thats it for now. catch ya later.

2005-11-09T13:18:00.000-08:00

i'm still here. don't go...

hey all,
sorry i haven't updated sooner. i've had quite a bit on my plate lately. here's what i'm serving up...

well if you didn't know, i gave my 2 weeks notice at my work last friday. now i can make my next move (the whole reason why i came back down here). when i gave my manager my resignation, he asked why i was leaving...cuz i don't want be 50, working here with blown out knees and back (duh). so i'm just down to my last week and a half. i have an interview tomorrow at a temp company so hopefully that'll work out and i'll get my foot in the door. then hopefully, i can land an intervew for a good position and get a regular job.

weekend update...
well we were supposed to go to steve sato's birthday party on saturday but...
well my wife wasn't feeling quite good. i think she might be coming down with a cold from the recent weather changes. but she said she was up for the party so we got dressed and was ready to go. but...i had misplaced my keys earlier and couldn't find them. i turned the apartment upside down trying to look for them. then after 30 minutes i found them. we got in the car, got some gas, and hit the freeway. on the freeway, we hit a major traffic jam and we were still in the valley (it was 7:30). so we decided that by the time we would get to the party, it would be past 8:30 (and the party ended at 9). so we turned around and went back home. maybe we can catch next years party.

proposition...what?
yesterday i voted on our california's proposition. i'm the kind of person with an open mind and i'll listen to opinions. so days before the voting, i was trying to catch as many shows as possible to get fully informed on all the props. i've seen all the tv ads and tried to read the booklet that comes in the mail. when i watched the presentations of the pros and cons of the propositions on tv, i would first say to the first presenter 'hey, thats sounds good. i think i know what to do'. then i would watch the second presenter and say 'hey, that sounds good too. oh wait, what was i going to vote for?'. i got so confused that i didn't know what to do. was the tv ads that say all the firemen/teachers/policemen who are against all 4 of the main propositions against arnold, or just against the propositions? why do all firemen/policemen really hate prop 74, when its a teacher issue? is it a 'union thing' and they all have to stick together and vote all the same on all the props? or are they just mad about one of the props and decided arnold sucks. either way, i examined all the props separately, made my choices, and voted. why couldn't they make this easier? have you tried to read the pamplet that comes in the mail? no one gives you the straight up answer, reasons, and effects of each props. i guess thats why everyone doesn't vote, cuz your head will be spinning trying to figure out what to do.

well thats about it for now. gotta drive in the rain to work. i'm still working on my pictorial blog of my japan trip. wish me luck on my interview. lates...

2005-11-02T10:51:00.000-08:00

phil says 'welcome back'

i didn't say this in my earlier blog cuz i was trying to keep the last blog just for the japan trip. phil visited me again last weekend...

while looking for change for the parking meter, i was sitting in the driver's seat in my car looking around when suddenly, crack...i broke my car's chair. the bar that holds the chair's back to the seat bottom had broken apart...and this is metal! so i had to pull myself up while driving back home, as not to break the other sides bar. so the next day i pulled out the seat, opened it up, and examined it. taking 5 inches from a broom handle and 10 yards of duct tape (i used the whole small roll), i mended it back together. it seems to hold just fine, i just wouldn't do any bouncing on it. ah, vacations over, now back to reality.

2005-11-02T10:45:00.000-08:00

japan trip update (cont.)

sup all. sorry i haven't updated earlier. the last few days in japan were hectic and coming back with jetlag (while working) is making me a zombie. so here's the rest of my japan trip. enjoy the ride...

thursday (women's shopping day)
we (me, my wife, and her father) went to visit my wife's grandparents (her father's side). her grandfather (90 something years old) takes care of her bed-ridden grandmother (80 something year old) with the aid of a nurse. her grandmother reminds me of my own grandmother, a tiny old japanese woman who smiles and talks japanese. her grandfather seems fine for his age. he walks and talks and is able to get around fine. after some tea and conversation, we left and my wife's father returns home.

we then meet up with my wife's sister and her mother in the osaka area. we have lunch at a little bistro, then on to the fashion district. the fashion district is pretty much like LA's fashion district, filled with outlets and maybe some knock-off stores. tons of shopping for the women. for me...i read a book. since i don't have a job that requires me to dress up, and i can get my clothes back in the states, i'll just wait till i get home.

while we were walking around, i caught my first sighting of a japanese fedex courier. i had seen some fedex/kinkos stores around, even some dhl drivers, not many fedex trucks. so i took a pic. he wore the same uniform but drove a small van, cuz the streets are so small. and he was still working around 6 pm! dang, they must stay out late and start late.

thats pretty much it for thursday. just shopping for the women, and me lugging around their stuff. at least i had my book (battle royale) to keep me company. its a good read if you liked the movie. i'm sucked into it.

friday
after taking a 45 minute train ride, we ended up in osaka at the pokemon center. this was one of the places i wanted to visit, as pokemon is dying out in america. it wasn't that big, about the size of 2 sanrio stores. it had a play area for small kids to run around it, and the rest was filled with pokemon goods. they had so many things, it took me a while to look around the shop and figure out what to get. they had everything from stuff pokemons, video games, and trading cards to ramen, clothes, and golf balls. i ended up getting a key chain, a cereal bowl, a small cup and rice bowl set, and a pen. too bad they didn't have any t-shirts in adult sizes. =P

after lunch, we walked around osaka and did some window shopping. we went to a store, kinda like the gap. they had some doraemon gift sets that included a clear doraemon bank and a t-shirt that was cool but the shirts only came in kid sizes. then we went to a mall, which i actually had been to on an previous kobe trip. we looked around in a snoopy shop but things were just way over priced in there. then we found an arcade where we played some amusement games, but didn't win anything.

after shopping, my wife left to get her hair cut by her friend's husband (did you get that?). i went with my wife's sister to do more shopping at a store called 'don quijote' (www.donki.com). its kinda like the store we have here called 'aahs', a novelty store with cards and gadgets. 'don quijote' also had electronics, clothing, jewelry, and pharmacy goods. i think i spent over an hour there going over their 4 floors of goods. at one point, i caught myself accidently wandering into their 'adult' section and quickly ran out before my wife's sister caught me in there. she probably would have thought "pervert" as i tried to explain that i accidently wandered in to there. whew...

after shopping, we met up with my wife at the hair salon. we met my wife's friend and husband as he finished up cutting my wife's hair. after the hair cut, my wife's sister went back home and me and my wife had dinner with my wife's friend (her husband had to stay back and close the salon). we had dinner at a little italian restaurant and had a 5 course dinner set. i forgot that the dinner had so many courses that i was almost full by the middle of it. the only annoying thing about dinner was the table of guys next to us who was smoking after their meal. the smoke drifted right to our table, which made me miss the no-smoking ban in california.

after dinner, we parted ways with my wife's friend, and made our way home. the weather started to get cold, so it made the long walk from the train station to the house a very long one.

saturday
today we went to another of my wife's friend's house. she lived quite a bit far from the train station so she had to pick us up by car. she has this cute little 3 year old son, who i think looks like the asian version of haley joel osment (the kid from 'the sixth sense' movie). she stopped at a small local mall for us to do a bit more last minute shopping. it had so much stuff that i think we spent 2 or 3 hours there. poor kid, had to wait for us while we looked around.

after shopping, we went to my wife's friend's house for lunch. it was a very new and nice house in a residental district. and the furnishings and decor inside was magazine picture perfect. a small tatami room one one side of the house, wood floors, nice kitchen, not to mention the large flat screen lcd/plasma tv. it would have made martha stewart cry. the little boy showed us his large 'anpanman' collection of mini figures and magnets. and we watched a 'little robots' dvd, while his mom made us lunch of cream chipped beef soup and fried chicken. after lunch, i still had jetlag, so i took a little nap while my wife and her friend caught up on times.

after several hours, my wife's friend's husband came home. and a few hours after that, her friend dropped us off at the train station. before we left, we hopped into a kinokunya book store to do some browsing. my wife got some books and i got a cool model 'hobby' mag, a thick, glossy mag with photos of toy models. its just like being back in 'toys r us'. then we caught the train back home, and ate sukiyaki with the family.

sunday
we started the morning packing all our stuff. we (or rather my wife =P ) bought so much stuff, that we actually brought back more stuff than we came with. so much stuff that we had to borrow a duffle bag from the family, just to get all our stuff on the plane. we took a break for lunch, delicious ramen, then back to packing. finally i got all of it packed in and ready to go.

after packing, i wanted to run to the local market one last time to grab a few goodies. on our way there, i saw a house that was styled after american houses (pic to come later). kinda wierd as it stood out amongst all the other japanese houses.

then after 1pm, the airport shuttle arrived (after getting lost and being late). then we packed up the shuttle, said our goodbyes, and boarded the shuttle. we had to pick up a few more passengers, so we didn't get to the airport till 2 hours later.

we checked in and got our tickets (also checked in all those heavy luggages). then we roamed around the airport, checking all the stores. they had free internet computers there, so we checked our emails and even wrote some. then we decided to wait in the waiting area to board.

while waiting, i noticed on the floor a piece of folded color paper. i pointed it out to my wife and we decided to investigate it. it was under a seat, so i carried my bag to the seat and we both sat down above it. i smoothly bent down, picked up the paper, and put it in my pocket. then i carefully examined the paper and it turned out to be...10000 yen! ($100!!!). someone must have dropped it and i found it. i suppose i could have asked out loud "hey, did anyone drop 10000 yen?" but then i think everyone there would have said 'yes'. and being the kind of person who doesn't want to cause mass hysteria and commotion, and thinking about the safety of the public, i decided i better keep this one to myself (just like that UFO incident).

so the plane flight was good (being 9 hours instead of the 12 hours to get there). we didn't have any friends that could 'block out' a row for us but we did end up getting a whole row to ourselves. at first we were sharing a row with some asian american guy (probably in his mid-30's and not too stylin). the plane wasn't even half full so there was a possibility of getting an empty seat next to you. so i think this guy asks the flight attendant about changing his seat and i think there's a good possibility but the flight attendant has to see if everyone is on board and has their own seats first. then the guy asks the flight attendant "where are you from?". me and my wife totally thinks he was trying to pick up on her but the idiot didn't look at her ring finger (not too bright). plus, she probably gets hit on a couple times during one flight (come on, this isn't the 70's). so the flight attendant finds an empty row but it has no window (next to the wing). i guess the guy didn't want that row, so he offers it to us. the row that we were in was the first row in economy class, which means the arm rest doesn't raise but you get lots of front leg room, and my wife likes to spraw all out while sleeping. so we take the no-window row and we end up having a whole row to ourselves...again.

on the trip back, i caught all the movies i didn't get to catch on the way there. this time i watched 'crash' (a good flick about racial tension and stereotypes), 'batman begins' (my second time watching it cuz i fell asleep during it the first time. too cluttered at the end), and then i caught a japanese movie about a modern army unit time traveling back to the samurai era and surviving/battling. whats funny is that on another channel, theres a different movie about the same thing (but was made in the early 80's). i guess japanese likes to see g.i. soldiers fight samurais.

after landing, i had some hassle going through immigration (i guess we're suppose to stay together but one sign said 'US citizens' and another sign said 'green card', so we went into different lines). then we got our bags, went through customs, and looked for the supershuttle.

when we got into a supershuttle, it was packed. it seems a group of people ,coming from arizona, wanted to go on the game show 'the price is right'. i used to pick up from the CBS studios, so i made some small talk with them and told them what was around that area. they were only going to be in town for 2 days, so i told them what they could do that was close to their hotel. wow, people are still fans of that show...much less watch that show?

after we got dropped off, we loaded our car, got some groceries, and went home. we showered up, cracked open the luggage, and went through all our stuff.

epilogue:
i'll try to put up a pictorial blog of my japan trip later, after i resize the pics and slim them down for easy loading. here are some things that i had thought about while being in japan....

jetlag + lactose intolerant = not good
before going to japan, i knew i was going to be eating lots of new foods. so before we left, i got some target-brand, ultra lactose pills to prepare for the worse. i usually can eat ice cream and maybe some cheese with no problem but i would rather be safe than sorry.

while in japan, i took the pills...just in case. sometimes, i would take 2, just to be sure. but wouldn't you know it...it didn't quite work. it was just more than an occasional brap. i had cramps and even...'the runs'. i'm not sure wether it was the cheap brand pills, or maybe the japanese process their milk differently...i had to stay away from dairy. i even got 'tagged' when i ate some peach 'milky' candy (a favorite of mine back in the days). i figured i was safe cuz it wouldn't be real milk, but i think it still got me. add this with having jetlag, and its no fun party. just think, a walking zombie, farting and cramping. good times.

1 ply toilet paper
i noticed not alot of places in japan use 2 ply toilet paper. i understand public bathrooms (to save on costs) but even personal bathrooms use 1 ply toilet paper. all the family and friend bathrooms i used, all had 1 ply toilet paper. in the states here, i use 2 ply. maybe it cuz there's not alot of trees in japan. go figure.

1:5 ratio of good looking women
when i was in japan before (the first time in 1992 and the last time around 1998), i noticed there wasn't too many 'good looking women'. what i mean by 'good looking women' are women who are up to fashion, who wear make up, and take that extra step just to go out shopping. this time i noticed alot more women taking care of themselves and doing the extra effort. is it cuz they're looking for guys, or its just a cultural thing. the last time i was in japan, i would say 1 out of 15 women took the extra effort to prim themselves up. this time, 1 out of 5 women on the street was 'made up', and this was on a normal work weekday. i would say in the big city (osaka) the ration was 1:5, and in the more smaller city (kobe) the ration would be 1:9. maybe its just a trend and more women are jumping on the bandwagon. the guys on the otherhand...they need to be slapped with a fashion magazine. the ration for good looking guys is probably 1:15. if you want to find a good looking woman, go to japan, but you have to know japanese first. sorry vince. =P

battle royale, good read
before leaving to japan, i knew there would be 'dead times' cuz i don't speak japanese. times where my wife would be visiting friends or shopping and i would have nothing to do. so i decided i would have to entertain myself during these times with a book. so i went to a bookstore, browsed around, and finally found a book to buy. i bought 'battle royale' by koushun takami. its set in a society of japan, where the government is like a communist country, where they control everything the people read and hear. people who rebel are sent to labor camps, and a 'program' was set up to 'thin out' the population. the 'program' takes a class of jr. high school students, puts them on a deserted island, puts monitoring/explosive collars on their necks, and let all of them kill each other leaving the last survivor the winner. the book was so popular that they made 2 movies out of it, and 2 manga series. i saw the first movie a while ago and it was good (i would buy it if i could get it cheap). then i read the reviews online and the readers said the book goes into more deeper details, with more action and backstory. so far, i'm almost done with the book, waiting to watch the first movie again to refresh my memory. the only down part of the book is that they use lots of japanese names for the students, so it gets kinda confusing on who's who. but if you like frantic survival stories, maybe give it a try.

cell phone mania
one thing i noticed while walking around or riding the train, is that everyone has and uses their cell phones. text messaging is big there. since there's nothing to do on the train, everyone whips out their cell phones and starts typing. its banned to talk on your cell phone while on the train (something about the signal missing up pacemakers), but text messaging is okay. they also use the internet on the cell phones alot. there were numerous times when my wife's sister would whip out her cell phone and surf the internet, just to look up an address or a definition/translation for a word. i thought it must have cost her a fortune to keep using the internet that much, but i guess using the net over there is cheaper than here.

flat, thin, widescreen tvs
one of the things i noticed in my wife's house was their tv. it wasn't a new tv, but the screen was in widescreen format. i guess all their tvs are in widescreen format, unlike here. also, when visiting other peoples houses, most people have the big, flat, thin, widescreen lcd/plasma tvs. i guess since their house is so small, they need to save as much room as possible. so i'm guessing the lcd/plasma tvs must cost a bit less than here, since they have a huge market for them, unlike here where its just starting to grow.

well that's about it for now. that'll leave you about a weeks worth of reading to d (unless you read fast). whew, i'm glad i finished cuz i'm starting to forget what i did each day. catch ya later and enjoy.

2005-10-19T03:46:00.000-07:00

update (warning, its a long one)

Sup all, sorry I haven’t updated earlier. Been kinda busy. All this touristy things takes up a lot of time and energy. so this update is gonna be long.

Monday...
(japan loves public bath houses, coming in second...West Hollywood and maybe san fran)
Woke up, ate brunch (oishii ramen), got ready and packed for a day stay at an onsen (hotel/public bath/spa). I don’t know why but Japanese love bathing with other people. Me being from America, I’m not quite comfortable being in a large pool naked with other naked men. Either its my insecurities (but I have big feet), or its just being afraid of eye contact while accidentally glancing around and catching an eyeful of something below the waist, I think I’ll pass on the skinny dipping.

So we did the 20 minute walk, up and down hills, to the local subway. Then after an hour of subway/train rides, we got to the bus station that will take us to the onsen. We met up with my wife’s uncle and aunt and all got on the bus for another 45 minute ride to the hotel. On the bus ride, we went over the world’s largest suspension bridge, which I only know of cuz I did a report on it for a jr. college project. When we finally got there, we took a small trolley down a hill to another station, which we caught the hotel’s shuttle to the hotel. After checking in, we all went to our rooms to drop our stuff off.

The hotels in japan are a bit upgraded than American ones (actually the hotel we were at was a Marriot). They have this dish by the front door of each room (pic to come later), where you put your hotel key in, and it activates the lights and air conditioning. When you take the key from the dish, the lights and air conditioning turn off automatically. This way, you don’t waste electricity when you’re not in the room. They also have a central control panel by the beds, that has control to all the lights, alarm clock, and radio system, which has speakers in all the rooms, even the bathroom. And the toilets are electrical and heated, with LEDs and controls for warmth.

And then there’s the bidet...
I’ve read about them in an article in a local newspaper and even seen them at mitsuwa, so I’ve always wanted to try a bidet. The article said how clean and healthy it was to use one, so I’ve always been curious to try it, but never had a chance to find one. If you don’t know what a bidet is, it’s a spout in a toilet that squirts water on your a-hole for cleaning after you’ve done your stuff. Remember all those times where you’ve wiped for hours, trying to get fully cleaned but end up being red and raw in the ‘end’. This would end all that chaffing. The first time I tried it, it tickled so much that my wife came over and asked ‘whats wrong?’. Then after a few times, the stream of warm water would make me question...which is cheaper, my wife or a bidet?

we went down stairs to wait for my wife's brother, his wife, and their new baby boy (my new nephew). after they came and passing the baby around, we had some cake at the hotel's cafe. and after a few hours, they left and we got ready for dinner. for dinner, it was japanese cuisine. lots of raw fish, some tempura, and some things i don't even know what it was. the price of the room included meal tickets and this is one of the restraunts that the fam wanted to try. it was good but my wife wasn't feeling good so she missed out on most of the meal. it was like a 7 course meal, so food kept coming. at the end, i think i busted a stitch in my pants.

after dinner, we headed towards to cultural fun center, where they had carnival games and activities for families and kids. i got to throw a real shuruken (ninja star) at a target and try to hit the bullseye. the ninja stars were dull (probably to keep the injuries down around that area) so it was hard to make them stick on the target. thank goodness i'm not a ninja cuz i would probably hitting my target's neighbor, instead of him. then i shot cork-gun but couldn't hit the target either. another reason why i'm not an assassin.

Then we headed to the hotel’s arcade to get in a few rounds of taiko master. I was stoked to find out that they had ‘love machine’ by morning musume and the theme to ‘ainori’ on it. Then my wife went to the public bath, while I just took a private bath in our own room. I would have taken a public bath if I could have gone to the women’s side, but definitely no on the men’s side. Before taking my bath, I caught ainori on tv. The show that they show in LA is a few months behind the ones in japan, so I only recognized one guy on the show.

Ainori is a reality show about 7 japanese college-aged kids (usually 3 girls, 4 guys), on a bus that travels through different parts of the world, while seeing if anyone of them hooks up with one another. If one person is interested in another, that person asks the bus driver for a pair of plane tixs back to japan. Then the guy/girl gives the person he/she is interested in the other plane tix. If the second person likes the first person, they accept the plane tix and they both go back to japan together. If the second person refuses, then the first person goes back to japan alone, and the second person returns back to the bus. Then a new person is added to replace the rejected person. This show has been going on for years and I just got into it a few months ago. i got hooked into it cuz these kids don’t act like American kids do. They’re more reserved and not so expressive of their emotions. So its hard for them to read each other and the outcome is not always as one expects.

While taking my Japanese bath (washing first, rinse, then soaking in a tub of hot water), my wife returned but went out to her parent’s room. She took the key, that was in the dish by the door (that controls the room’s lights, as mentioned before). So while I was sitting the bath resting, the lights went out and the room went dark. I was yelling for my wife but she already left the room. That ended my bath quickly as I blindly dried myself off and tried to make my way out of the bathroom. Just then, my wife returned but I just dried myself off and went to bed.

Tuesday...
Woke up super early cuz we were going to have an early brunch and my wife had to leave early to go renew her Japanese driver’s license. If she didn’t renew it, it would have costed her more to get one later on (even though she doesn’t drive in japan...go figure). So I threw on one of the spa outfits that you can wear around the hotel while bathing or just loafing around. i think they look like the jedi outfits in star wars 3 (pic to be posted later). Then we went to the cafe for our sandwich brunch.

The sandwich brunch had a spread of breads, meats, cheeses, toppings, soups, and drinks. And they don’t have just the regular sandwiches like we have in America. I made a sandwich of different mixes of ingredients. I had things from egg salad to curry chicken spread on my sandwich. There were so many things to try, I had 2 sandwiches. I think I tried almost everything that was out there. After my wife had left with her father to renew her driver’s license, I went back to my room to visit the bidet, relax in a bath, and try to catch a few winks (still had a bit of jet lag), before packing up and checking out. I didn’t get to take a nap but I did visit the bidet a couple more times.

After checking out, we caught the bus back to kobe and did a little grocery shopping for tonight’s dinner with my wife’s parents and her uncle and aunt. I still was tired from jet lag so when we got home, I took a nap till dinner time. After my nap, we had dinner and an hour later, my wife returned. My wife’s father and uncle were drinking and they both were sauced. After dinner, I took a quick shower and went to bed cuz I was still tired from jet lag.

Wednesday...
Woke up, ate breakfast (bread and left over croquette from last night dinner), and went to the local market to grab some snacks for our trip to Himeji for some castle viewing. While at the market, I got a pikachu keychain from one of those candy/toy that they sell at mitsuwa. Then we went back home, packed up the rental car, and drove an hour to Himeji.

We visited the Himeji castle of lord Akamatsu, who ruled the district. You can walk through it and look at architecture and the remains of that era. The steps inside are steep and hard to climb. And pretty much every level and outer building was made for defense against attacks. I tried my ninja skills to scale the walls of the castle but my sketchers weren’t made for rock climbing. After touring the seven levels of the castle, and its outer houses, we got back in our car and looked for somewhere to eat. We ended up at a sushi place for more dead fish. I had so many different kinds of sushi I can’t remember what I ate.

Japanese love tom cruise, and tom cruise loves manju...
Then we tried to go to the village where they shot ‘the last samurai’ but they were going to close in an hour and it wasn’t worth the admission and the 20 minute tram ride up the mountain. Instead, we went to a manju shop that was next to the parking lot. I guess tom cruise had visited this manju shop while shooting his movie, and he had bought 50 manjus while there. There were pictures of tom cruise while in the shop all around. And the shop owner told us that tom would take a helicopter from the parking lot up the mountain to the shooting set. What a rich son of a...

Then we headed back towards kobe. We stopped in a toys r us, while my wife’s parents went grocery shopping. Man, there was so much eye candy, I could have stayed there for a day. They had everything from hello kitty, pokemon, gundam, to ‘japanese only’ star wars stuff and miffy. But we only had 30 minutes, so I had to cut my visit short. I grabbed a pikachu cell phone strap and a keyring. Hopefully I can fit more time in for another visit cuz I barely glanced at all they have to offer. I think I felt a tear run down my cheek as I left the building. Parting ways is so sad.

Then we came back home and had dinner. Tomorrow we’re supposed to visit my wife’s grandparents (on her father’s side) and maybe some more shopping. Friday, my wife is supposed to get her haircut by her friend’s husband and maybe dinner with them. On Saturday, lunch with my wife’s other friend, finish up shopping, and start packing for our return trip home on Sunday. Hopefully I can update more frequently cuz all this writing takes a long time.

Well thats it for now. I’ll post pics when I get back. Till later, peace out...

2005-10-16T03:59:00.000-07:00

sup from da motha-land

hey all, i'm bloggin from across the world. i'll give you the break down on what happened so far (sorry, i can't post pics yet).

thursday...
woke up early, got ready, ran to target to pick up socom 3 (that was on sale.　yea!),　did some laundry at the local laundry mat, and ran home to get some playtime in before i had to start packing. after finalizing my packing, went to shoe pavilion to return some shoes with my wife. then returned home to get to bed early.

friday...
woke up early (too early in fact. like 5 am early and couldn't go back to sleep), got ready, packed the car, and drove to steve sato's house. steve let us leave our car at his place (cuz he lives close to lax) and we arranged a shuttle to pick us up at his house. we gave ourselves an hour and 15 minutes to get there but the traffic getting there was so bad, that we barely made it to steve's house just as the shuttle was driving up. so we got our bags from our car and ran into the shuttle (whew). we got to the airport 5 hours before our plane leaves so we had lots of dead time. when we checked in, my wife's co-worker has a connection with the people at the check in desk, so she was able to block a row for us. so we had 3 seats to ourselves and plenty of leg room.

while we were waiting to board, i saw a japanese girl wear a pink t-shirt with the words 'relax bitch' on it. i thought this was the funniest thing cuz i don't think she knows what it means, and its something that a japanese person would never say. man, i wished i took a picture, it was priceless. also, she was kinda dressed up with it (wearing jeans, high heels, and a jacket) on so it really didn't fit in. man, that made my day.

we were pretty much in the front of the economy class seats, so less noise from the engine. i started the flight with a beer, then another, and then another. 3 total from the flight. i also saw way too much movies. i started with 'war of the worlds' (a good remake and worth buying on dvd for the effects), then 'cinderella man' (a good heart warming flick, like rocky. but i don't know if i would buy the dvd), and finished it off with 'batman begins', which i need to watch again since i was falling asleep through out the flick (since it was like 9 pm already and 3 beers later). each seat has its own small lcd screen on the back of the seat in front of it, and a controller on the side of the arm rest. you can chose movies to watch, listen to music, and play really simple video games on it (worse than an atari 2600). when picking a movie, the movie runs constantly. so if you pick one during the middle of it, you have to wait till it ends for it to start at the begining. so i didn't get to see all the movies i wanted cuz i didn't want to start in the middle of them. i still have to watch 'crash' and a few japanese sci-fi's on the way back.

the food was okay. my wife had a bad dish but mine were fine. my wife also heard from a co-worker about a basket of snacks in the 51st row, so we made a grab at them. a couple of biscuits, japanese rice crackers, and m&m's. all i did　on the plane was watch tv and eat. good times.

after landing, we got our luggage, went through customs (which was easy when you're with someone who speaks japanese. not like last time when vince made me carry his maxim magazine and the security thought it was a playboy, which is forbidden in japan. thanks vince). then we caught a shuttle and made the hour ride to my wife's parents house, coming in around 8 pm (japan time). ate a light snack, then showered up and hit the bed.

sunday (cuz we lost a day from the flight)...
woke up early, ate some breakfast (never had salad for breakfast before), got ready, and walked to catch the train to go to my wife's uncle house for her grandfather's memorial service. only my wife's aunt spoke english, so i didn't do much talking. and the memorial service was buddist, which wasn't new to me since my grandfather's memorial service was buddist. the only problem i had was sitting in the kneeling position while my legs falling asleep. but i took karate in college, so i was used to it. and the monk chanted in japanese, which i thought would make a good sample for a rap song.

after the service we had lunch at a shabu shabu restraunt. man, i ate so much i almost busted my belt. the lunch was a set meal, so it had many courses, which i was not aware of and ate too much at the second course. after the shabu shabu, there was an udon course, then dessert. after eating all that, i almost broke out in an overeating sweat.

we were in the city of sannomiya (which is kinda like a shopping district of new york). we had planned to get some eye glasses made, since its so cheap to make here. its kinda like 'lens crafters' without the name brand frames, and the prices were low as $50 for the whole glasses. it was kinda wierd since we didn't need an appointment, and i'm not quite sure that the guy who checked out my eyes was a licenced eye doctor. but the place was packed, and my wife had gotten her glasses there before, so i figured it was ok. so i had to have my wife with me when i got my eyes examined since no one spoke english. and after the long translated eye examination, i picked out a nice frame (i found one for $50) and we waited an hour for them to be made. after getting the thin lens and the anti-scratch coating, my glasses came out to around $120 (with no insurance). i think thats the best price i ever got, even with my insurance.

then we walked around a bit and made our way back to the train. my feet was so tired from all the walking, and i think i have some new blisters down there too. then we just relaxed at home and now i'm writing this blog. tomorrow we're going to the onsen (hot springs) for a day to relax and take in the view.

hope you all are doing well. i probably will update in the next few days, since we'll be away from the house. catch ya later. ja mata (see ya later).

2005-10-14T07:25:00.000-07:00

so we're all packed and ready to go. got my tixs, my passport, gifts, and clothes. now we just have to fight the traffic to the airport, wait in the check in line, then wait some more in customs. ah good times.

sorry about not updating earlier. its been a very stressful couple of days. i've been running around trying to prepare and finalize everything. hopefully i'll be able to update while in japan. i can email to a certain address and my emails will be posted on my blogs (sorry, no pics). so check back and hopefully you can read about my doings in japan.

well that's it for now. got get ready and fight the traffic. catch ya all later.

2005-10-10T11:49:00.000-07:00

weekend update...

busy busy busy...
well, less than a week to go for our japan trip. i think we finally got all the gifts we need to bring. i washed all the clothes i'm going to wear. now i just have to throw all of it in our luggage. i'm kinda excited for the plane trip cuz they have individual tvs for each of the seats and they have tons of movies i wanna watch. i think i'm gonna watch 'war of the worlds' first, then maybe 'batman begins', and maybe end it up with 'cinderella man'. of course this will all be aided with the free alcoholic drinks i can drink. ah, now this sounds like a vacation.

man down!
aw man, socom 3 comes out tomorrow but...target has it on sale on thursday (for $39). so i bought the sunday newspaper to have the target ad and hopefully i can find a place that price matches so i can get it tomorrow. if not, i guess i'll just wait till thursday. ah well, i waited till now, i can wait a few more days. it just means less play time till the japan trip. man down...indeed. =(

the end of densha otoko
last night we caught the last episode of 'densha otoko'. we didn't know that it was a special hour show so luckly we turned on the tv in time. if you miss the beginning, don't worry, its just a recap of the whole show. it was a good show. too bad it has to end cuz now i only have one japanese show to watch (ainori). and for its replacement, its another shogun/samurai drama. ah well, maybe i can catch another modern/comedy drama later.

well, i better run to work. my last 3 days till my vacation starts. catch ya later.

2005-10-07T12:50:00.000-07:00

quick update...

phil slips me a quickie...
my mom ordered a gift for my wife's family, so she had it sent to us. well, we got a notice on wednesday that they had made a 1st attempt on delivery. i was supposed to have thursday off so i thought i can catch the UPS guy yesterday, but i missed him cuz i had to go in to work. so last night, i had them hold it at the station and i would have to pick it up there. i went there this morning, waited in line, and finally got the package. when i got back, the UPS truck was in front of our apartment building delivering a package to someone else in the complex. just my luck.

wow, just a few more days to go...
...till the release of socom 3! oh yeah, and our trip to japan. i suppose i can be excited for socom 3 since it does come before the japan trip. then after socom 3, i'll be excited for japan....maybe.

well, gotta run to work. lates...

2005-10-06T11:45:00.000-07:00

i have the day off!...

...well almost. it was supposed to be my day off but i got called into work. the girl who was supposed to cover me today, called in sick. no worries, i could use the money (its overtime). man, i can't remember the last time i had my day off. i've been working 6 days weeks since...i don't know when. its been so long that i don't know what to do if i did have a day off. ah wells, i go on vacation next week.

we've been getting ready for our big japan trip. today i did a big load of laundry of things we need to bring on our trip. while at the laundry mat, there was a tv showing mexican shows. i think it was showing a mexican 'jerry springer' type of show where there's a lot of shouting from guests and a host urging them on. man, after a while, it really got on my nerve. all that shouting gave me a head ache. who put the tv to this channel? and no one there was watching it. next time, i'm gonna bring a universal tv remote, program it, and changed the channel. and before i leave, i'm gonna leave the channel on a chinese station. how funny would that be.

well i better get ready for work...ON MY DAY OFF!!! catch ya all later. peace out.