oh! there is one more movie you should see.

it's "kinky boots":
http://www.movies.co.jp/kinkyboots/

kinky means "変態", & boots mean ,yes, "ブーツ". the story is about a grad queen helps a traditional but almost dead shoe factory in Northampton, UK. & surprisingly, it's based on a true story :O

what i like is ,i think, it's not just about gay / drag queen / transvestite things, it's about how people live, & how people survive or succeed their business, as professionals.

anyway, the movie gives me guts to fight :D

two year-end movies you should see

(you may know what happens in the ends of the movies.)
somehow, this december brought me crazy busy days.

i should wrap up my tasks for the year end, i had job interviews every week twice, i got a cold, i had a couple of year-end parties, etc... that was why i couldn't attend even one single boxing class.

however, somehow i saw a could of movies. yes, that's what a movie fan does :D

***
one was "reign over me" (japanese working title is "再会の街で")staring Adam Sandler & Don Cheadle:
http://www.sonypictures.jp/movies/reignoverme/

i'm totally not a big fan of Sandler. i've only seen: "50 First Dates", "Anger Management" & "Punch-Drunk Love", but in those movies he played a guy who was unusual or was in unusual situations. anyway, i've got very strange feelings (in a good way) from his movies.

in this movie, Sandler played a guy who lost his family (wife & three daughters) by 911, Charlie. it was totally non-fuction, but it might be there is someone like him in U.S.

Charlie was regretting last phone conversations with his family (before their plane was crushed into WTC), & the consequence made the guy difficult to communicate people around him. however, his college roommate (Cheadle as Alan) tried to help him.

japanese catch copy says, "there is a pain can be healed by talking with someone", something like that. that's very true, talking with someone can help people more than talking.

i like to see the movie again.

***
the other one was "my date with drew". in this case, drew was Drew Barrymor, & it was the funniest DOCUMENTARY i've ever seen!!

http://www.mydatewithdrew.com/index.html
(see the trailer, & see how the trailer was made in this documentary.)

it's basically a documentary, but what was doing is to meet Drew Barrymor within 30 days by only 1100 dollers!!

i can't explain more about the documentary, but the documentary tell us that whatever a dream is, the dream will come true if we don't give it up.

that's so true, again.

spaghetti all'arrabbiata christmas version

arrabbiata doesn't mean "arabian", it means "getting angry" in italian, i think, = spicy or hot :)

***
now, i'm having spaghetti all'arrabbiata christmas version, as my today's lunch.

why christmas version is is today i get leeks (green) & parmesan cheese (white). & originally, red chillies are in there, so the dish has three christmas colours: red, green & white.

it's quite spicy today, but spicy foods are good for winter, too :D &merry christmas!!

***
the photo isn't mine, unfortunately...

mini: my mom said, "japan should have a president!"

that was what my mom said to a TV (& me?).

***
last night, i visited my mom's place. i had supper & watched some TV programs, then suddenly my mom said,

"japan should have a president. don't you think so?"

the TV program was, i believe, 『世界ふしぎ発見！』, about Abraham Lincoln. lol. i was so impressed that i have a very political concerned mother!

actually she got a point. she explained a reason why she thought. that was... in the current japanese system, we can't choose the prime minister by ourselves, then even he (or she) is not doing well, we can't say anything for that.

also, the position of the prime minister could be resigned and be assumed someone else very very quickly. we have no idea how long he operates the government. she said that was why japan doesn't have a stable political situation...

muu, it's very true, & hope Mr. Fukuda won't be long in there.

***
anyway, have a merry christmas :) a little bit earlier though...

moo with me!

last night, i saw the musical "rent", live, with my co-worker aquiko-san, & i love that show. yes, it's musical, but show, live, whatever we call. it was so cool.

the musical is originally a play (i mean musical), then turned to the movie (i believe with original casts in ny), then came to japan for only 5 days or something, then it was great.

i tried to watch the movie on dvd, but at that time, i didn't recognized the movie, or i can sat the story of "rent", would be interesting for me. but now i know why; because the two main characters, roger & mark, were not my types, not at all. lol!

but, but the last "rent", both of them were pretty good; i mean "pretty good", especially mark to me. actually, our sheets were in the 3rd floor, means 6th floor of the building. so they were not seen very closely (of course!), buta i knew the guys were looking good, again especially mark. you know, he was waring classes with dark hair, something that kinds of guy.

anyway, live music is great, right? & if the singers can do well performance, or are very talented, the show would be more than great. last night was like that.

***
by the way, today's title is from one scene of the musical. one of main characters maureen is a performance artist. i'm not 100& sure that her performance is good if it's real, but her performance on the musical was something about productivities? nayway, let's check it out.

Over The Moon:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ML99I1c-iwA&feature=related

***
they are other songs i like, from the movie. i should try to see the movie, again :D

The Tango Maureen:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LcGnP3HY_A&feature=related

La Vie Boheme:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SPxtv3KW9A&feature=related

Seasons of Love:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hj7LRuusFqo

that was challenging

sometime, people can do whatever we want, even if we have difficulties or challenging. today, i realized that.

this evening, i went to my mother's place, & had supper. i was watching NHK TV news, then i was just surprised one of stories.

***
it was about "International Day of Disabled Persons 2007". December 3rd was the International Day of Disabled Persons. in NY, some of people with difficulties from the world played the piano in front of audience.

it was just amazing for me. they were really playing the piano beautifully even they have, like only one left hand or blind. it was just they are who they are.

i got impression that maybe they can have feeling that others don't or never feel. that's why they could play so beautifully. something like this.

my mom watched the news with me. then my mom said to me, like "Look! we should appreciate our health. we should do our bests & work more hard!! "

YES, i agree with my mom. we should.

***
by the way, one of my korean friends said before. she liked to call those disabled people "people with challenging." she explained to me that they were not "disabled" because they could do if they would want to do.

YES, i agree with her. they can.

***
to learn more:
http://www.un.org/disabilities/index.asp

new agenda; new me

since i have some schedules in the beginning of next year, i was looking for a agenda/schedule note.

for a good agenda for me, i have some points to want to have; such as:
- the size should be A5 (or B6?)
- should have two parts: monthly & weekly calendars
- monthly calendar should be "sunday - saturday" vs. "the 1st - 4th week" type, with memo space
- weekly parts should be one page one week, & each day has same space (some of schedules have small spaces for sat & sun. that's so sad!)
- weekly parts can be either vertical or horizontal
- days start from Nov or Dec/2007
- extra information could be very bonus

then, today i found one for next year (from today)

what i like about the agenda i found today is:
- basically, it has all of above points
- extra info includes mini-mini dictionary in 5 languages
- also, it has subway maps in major cities, like NY, Paris, etc.

and the most interesting point is actually what i need to know somehow @work, which is:
- there are the "day" for each day

... it's kind of hard to explain, but @work sometimes i need to know "the serial number of a day from January 1st". for example, December 2nd (today) is the 336th day. then the agenda has that numbers!!

anyway, my 2008 has started from today with the agenda :)

a scarecrow who doesn't have a brain

i went to the musical "WICKED - the untold story of the witches of OZ", with my friend Y-san, & i liked the musical.

***
the story is, as the subtitle says, a behind story of "the wonderful wizard of OZ": how a girl in green became to the Wicked Witch of the West, & a girl in blond became to the Good Witch of the North.

also, there are small hits what we don' t know "OZ". my favorite is how a guy became the scarecrow who doesn't have a brain.

according to a program & wiki, entire OZ stories referred to situations in the states, like early 1900's WEST farmers faces to brow money from EAST banks. then those banks just got gains without doing nothing.

also, Kansas city is located literally in the center of the united states, so girl Dorothy from there to find her own way to happiness, something like that.

***
from youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0m6sclZkH0&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWhLLiwTnpg
& "for good":
http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=IwpKB-sj7GI


also, a review of "Wicked" here:
http://www.broadway.com/gen/Show.aspx?si=30434

i'm so getting to go to the musical in NY!! (not sure to be able to see it, though...)

(to be continue to update?)

The Number 23

(it might NOT there is what happened in the end...)

i saw the movie "The Number 23"" on November 23. how coincident! actaully, not.

the movie is staring Jim Carrey. the director is Joel Schumacher, & the moview is Schumacher's 23rd movie. how coincident! actually not.

anyway, the story is about a man who finds himseld in a novel named "the Number 23". both the man & the man in the novel are getting obsessions of "23".

***
what I liked about the movie was it was a kind of a costume play movie.

i mean in the movie main characters played their another roles, like Carrey played the main character "Walter Sparrow" and the directive "Fingerling" in the novel. or Virginia Madsen played both Carrey's lovely wife "Agatha" & sexy girlfriend "Fabrizia" in the novel; Fabrizia was so hot (for men).

by the way, Jim Carrey is muscular & actaully good looking with cute eyes, right?

anyway, also Logan Lerman played as as his son "Robbin", & surprisingly Carrey & Lerman are very similar in terms of their body shapes, like their balance of face size & arms (or heights). Lerman will be good looking, too.

***
back to the move, it had many fun word-reword plays, like the author of the novel "23" was Topcy Krett, comes from "Top Secret", but i couldn't find all of them, but anyway i enjoyed the movie:
http://www.number23.jp/

i can't reach him.

it's not about a love life; it's about boxing.

last night, i had a boxing class as usual. but not "usual" was we did demo fighting with my boxing teacher, & he is a world ranker!

that means i couldn't reach him. no, not at all.

***
it was not really fight, & only a half round, which means 1 minute & 30 seconds. BUT, it was so hard to try to fight him, of course.

first, i basically couldn't follow him. i mean during a fight, boxers should move to reach the other & not to be reached the other. i tried to reach my teacher for hitting him, but i couldn't move as fast as my teacher did.

also, i realized that my fighting distance to my teacher was kind of far. i guess i was afraid to be close to him. but it was a kind of my point, too. i like to have certain distance with the other & hit him by using my arm length...but last nigh it didn't work well.

***
of course, all of my boxing class mantes couldn't reach my teacher, but i could say it was a good experience & actually so fun!

maybe next time i will be able to reach him :D

what's wrong with me!?

i was so embarrassed today @work...with my english ability...

***
FIRST, i received one e-mail from a person in english.

at glance, i thought this person was E-san in china, then i was concerned some issues on her. the e-mail said something about projects/management on the company's direction, or something.

however, i totally misunderstood what she said & actually who she was, & e-mailed this person, as E-san.

after a while, i still felt something, then i told that to my co-worker A-san, with forwarding the e-mail.

simply A-san told me like, "hey, the sender, she isn't the person you e-mailed to. she is N-san in another department..."

OH, NO!!

i called her (N-san) immediately, & explained i misunderstood & asked what she wanted...

***
NEXT, i didn't understand a word my boss used.

my boss called me & asked something. he exactly said, "how to retrieve the data?"

"(...'retrieve' the date? what he is talking about?)" <- that was in my mind.

my boss repeated, "how to retrieve the data?"

"(...retrieve? what did i do with the data??)" <- in still my mind like this.

my boss finally said, "HOW DID YOU GET THE DATA?"

"(OH!! I SEE!!)" <- of course, in my mind this.

i pretended nothing happened between my boss & me, then answered, like...

"yes, i asked an ID control department the data. basically i requested to get the data by e-mail blah-blah-blah..."

***
in my way home i bought "reader's digest" for pushing up my english...i was thinking my english is getting worse & worse.

or this morning i woke up one hour earlier than usual, so my poor brain already didn't work well by this after noon...

will we have a karaoke party?

this week, my co-worker A-san was quite busy, i think we both did good jobs & last night was friday night, so we had a quick drink. (also, i had a free coupon for one glass of italian wine :D)

then our conclusion was, "we will have a karaoke party!!"

***
we're getting to have a party season in this year (means december to january, right?), then our team would have a couple of parties (maybe?) with several combination of people.

one party could be a karaoke party :O & at our karaoke party i will try to sing english songs...maybe? actually through conversation with A-san, somehow we (means A-san & me?) will try to sing duet song(s) in ENGLISH.

if we sing, i like to sing "cursin''", from "duet" which i saw at the other day. in the movie huey lewis & gwyneth paltrow are daddy & his daughter, & they sang "cursin'". it was cool.

check it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5D-ZGrYSRBs

***
in return, A-san asked (?) me to sing with her "a whole new world" from aladdin! she is such a dreaming girl!

youtube told me this; they are so cute like in love:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pi_Ocd9IALc

***
of course, i've downloaded those two into my ipod :) let's practise!

i'm crazy about musical!?

the original title for today's blog was "i may have 100 friends in a company?", but i changed my mind.

originally today's blog was something like...believe or not, yesterday i have sent 100 e-mails to peope in my company, then i got overslept this morning. (by the way, thank you, Y-san. you made me awake this morning.)

but!! last night i got three e-ticket for musicals in NY, & i found a funny review of one of musicals i will see there:
http://www.broadway.com/gen/general.aspx?ci=543629

***
this review is in broadway.com. i've decided to see the musical "Avenue Q", but i wasn't sure that the musical would be worth. i was looking for new about broadway strike, then by chance i found it.

Avenue Q was the tony winer in 2004. the story about people who live in "Avenue Q", but they are basically loosers. actors & actresses play with their puppets, so it seems like a play for children, but it's not at all.

the show is also about real issues, like sex, drug, unemployment, gay, etc,. sounds interesting, isn't it? i'm looking forward to see it.

more information:
http://www.avenueq.com/

***
by the way, one of amateur reviewers, Vincent, is cure, you can check his profile in the website (click his name).

kiss has come to my place - part. 2

since i got my digital camera, i've been taking many photos. but somehow, i feel a kind of uncomfortable to use it. (but i guess i got some good pictures, anyway!)

then i thought that it was because of the lens i use. (maybe it was just matter of my camera skills...)

***
i've been using a sigma standard to zoom lens, but because the lens is for "standard", i can't be close to objects. i used to use a film camera with a macro lens so that i could take pictures of flower or food in hand-reached closely distance.

i'm so an everything-with-in-one-meter guy, i guess...

anyway, i asked a friend who uses a same CANON's one & love, i think, to use it about lens. i believe her husband answered that, but she recommended a macro (actually, it's marco-ish) lens by sigma.

***
then yesterday, i went to a bic camera in shinjuku to checked some macro (or macro-ish) lenses. then i chose a sigma one that my friend recommended, which is 17 - 70mm F2.8 - 4.4 macro.

i didn't know about camera at all, & now i know F4.4 means little bit darker than F2.8 or something.

"YES, I WILL."

「○○さん、怒ってるのっ！？」

that was the first thing my boss said to me before our small meeting. i didn't mean that, but i e-mailed my boss like that.

***
my boss & i had discussed several different issues via e-mails, & sometimes words in our e-mails were too dry (?) or too business-like. in other words, our e-mails were getting their sounds not so polite or something.

then, my boss ordered me to do something. it was understandable, but i was stressed out. then i said in one e-mail like,

"YES, I WILL." (<- look. they are all capitals.)

it sounded, 「分かってますからっ！！」(<- actually, my boss said that to me exactly in japanese!!) he, as a native english speaker, explained the sentence looked upset.

i used that twice, & in fact, i was upset at first. but the second one was kinds of joke :P

by the way, i brought him two portions of じゃがポテト when we had the meeting; potatoes are my boss's favorite. & of course, he was so happy to get them :D

***
today's conclusion is "a good communication makes a good relationship", right?

step back & straight

this evening, i went boxing practice since two weeks ago, & sooooo good to feel it.

***
sometime, i feel just annoyed or feeling dull to go there because of tiredness after work. then i skipped two boxing sessions.

however, i got stressful day today @work, so i really would like to puch (someone?).

today's theme was step back & something, like "step back & string" or "step back & one-two".

when i did mitt (means to punch teacher's mitts), actually, my teacher S-sensei said to me, "your punches have sharpness (in japanese, "kire") today. it's getting good!"

***
i've been feeling still soooooo good :D

season of vines

we've got the season of vines, which is november, i think.

***
after work, we (W-san, A-san & I) went to drink a couple glasses of wine to a sagafredo@our workplace.

now segafredo has a special wine fair, called "novello":
http://www.segafredo.jp/home/home/index.html

novello means new, & then turns to a festival of new/young wine in italy, like beaujolais nouveau. beaujolais is a specific area in france, right? but we can drink novello's wine (young wine) from all areas in italy.

this evening we got four kinds of wine, which were:
- novembre sicilia from sicilia
- ducale novello veneto from veneto
- valfieri novello monferrato from piemonte, &
- tini marche from marche.

unfortunately i don't know names of wine so well. but you know we can just enjoy drinking them :)

***
the photo is about a glass of wine, & caprese, olives & prosciutto.

i'm very very careless...somethimes?

usually, i pay attention things around me, like daly tasks or e-mails for other business people.

however, sometimes i don't think or i can't see things in front of me.

***
for example, this morning i brought amenities from he hotel in okinawa, as souvenirs for three of my coworkers. it was just because the amenities looked very nice & made in france.

the amenities were cleansing, face lotion & face creame or something. soooooo the items shouldn't work separately. but, but, i just gave each one for each coworker...

***
or in okinawa, when i picked up a phone, i realized that a cable of the phone was kind of short, then i dropped the phone...twice...even i knew the cable was short.

***
or this evening i realized that i bought monthly pass of which i didn't expect way. (i should buy "uchi mawari", but i bought "soto mawari", something like that.)

***
or what else? maybe to be continued...

fly to the island: weekend traveller - mission #1

weekend traveller:
a guy who loves traveling around the world on a weekend. his purpose of each travel should be very specific & intensive.
he doesn't forget enjoying en route, as well.

***
since my hobby would be traveling-on-a-weekend, i was planning to travel somewhere, especially out side of japan. however, my first destination was okinawa with three of my friends, T-san, D-san & Y san; that was so relaxing-nice.

***
the organizer & our tour guide:
Y-san, he has oprganized this travel for us. he is a jal mirage master. when he is on board, a flight attendant always comes to his seat & says "welcome to the flight, mr. XXX. please do not hesitate to let us know when you need anything." wow! i'm impressed :O

the flight: jal - class j
this time, Y-san reserved class j seats for us. i hadn't tried it before, actually i usually don't use jal. but, look! if we pay ¥1000 more, we could have this spacious seat. i was confutable on the plane.

the hotel: the busena terrace (http://www.terrace.co.jp/busena/index.php)
the hotel was located in busena cape, 90-min from naha airport by car. it was an open-air hotel & out side of daily life.

actually, the friends & i didn't have any special activities there. we just stayed there & relaxed, meant enjoying hotel file!

we took a walk in the hotel & sea side. we eat in the buffet; they served nice foods. in this morning, we went to a small aquarium (海底水族館) for watching fish under the sea.

it was nicely an unusual weekend for me :)

***
one more thing. we did sora-ben on the returning flight. i ate "juice makunouchi", which was a okinawa local food lunch box. a flight attendant said to us, "looks delicious."

an innocent could do anything he wants...

once my co-worker Aquiko-san pointed at my attitude of being innocent, then said like this. what exactly she said was, "無知って怖い。"

unfortunately today i did again.

***
starting by one e-mail from someone who sounded NOT so hight position. it was about a sort of "reports", & the someone said to me (<- not to my boss) directly, "please do this by november XXX" in his e-mail.

at that point, i didn't know who the someone was, & i thought he was one of engineers handling the issue. however, it was so wrong. in italian, we could say, "errato! errato!"

"he" was actually the vice president (or something) of our group (<- not "my company") in technical side.

what i was done to him was basically comparing bad-cordination of his organization...not exactly like that, but if i knew the person was in a very hight position, i could use more polite languages. i guess it was too casual to ask him.

***
then, i got phone calls from two of his sbuordintes, P-san & K-san, who were in charge on the issue.

"sorry! but i already did! & what i said to him was true in fact!"

i wish i could say so, but i really didn't say that. i just said, "i didn't know that... i'm so sorry."

***
the photo is about today's my lunch, unagi-ju & oinari-san. it was yummy :D

a name i have

recently, i had a conversation with a friend about "name". she has a quit unique name, so do i. & i like it.

***
it pronounces very normal, but my first name has three chinese characters. i think each chinese character is meaningful. they are: ocean, ambition, & respect (for people). it's quite nice, isn't it?

the charas sound like "big words", but since was born, i'm using the name, of course. that's why very comfortable to hear that, as my name.

***
actually, my family name is quite unique, as well, so usually, people call me by my family name.

But! if it's not in japan, people call me my first name normally, like "yoshi". one time when i introduced my name "yoshi", a boy (univ, student?) said to me,

"wow! you have a same name of the little dinosaur!"
it's yoshii in super mario :D

***
by the way, i also have an english name, which is "joe". my canadian grandma calls me, like this.

first, she called me joe, i didn't realized that. i though she said "yo(shi)" cause she had a low husky voice. but when my friend asked her what she actually said, she explained reason why she called me joe.

in jewish (yes, she is jewish), "y" & "j" switch each other their pronunciation in english, so "yos" turns "joe" somehow...

***
i like someone calls me "joe". it' sounds like joy, means delightful & fun, right?

a blue church behind jesus

a could of days ago in the morning, i was listening to j-wave as usual, then bessho-san said,

"wow! 16 billion pixels!? what the
hell is that?"

he sounded like this. i was wondering what he was talking about. about "last supper", which i saw in Chiesa di Santa Maria delle Grazie, milan.

***
"www.haltadefinizione.com" is operated by a italian digital design company HAL9000 (!!), & the website recently has uploaded a 16 billion pixels version of leonard's last supper. according to an internet news source, this super hight resolution pic of the masterpiece was taken by a nicon. humm, it's nicon...

anyway, because of super hight resolution, the pic catches something that people can never see by their eyes. that's a blue church, behind jesus.

***
as i said, i saw the real one, but i couldn't see the church of course. still i remember that i felt something from the "last supper", exactly it was a breathtaking moment. now we can see it on the internet 24/7...

i'm still looking for...

a hotel in NY :D finding a hotel is similar to finding an apartment, isn't it?

***
for an apartment, i would concern price, location, facilities (bath room), how spacious, what else? outside of a building - age.

for a hotel, maybe & simply cost performance, right? cheap means maybe low quality of service, or maybe inconvenient location.

***
about hotels in NY, i get feeling like less $600 - economy, over $850 - pretty good for me. then a hotel i choose, the roger smith hotel, is about $770 including breakfast, so it's not so expensive, i guess.

the hotel is very very close to broadway theaters, so i don't need taxes after musicals! rooms in the hotel look classical, simple & clean, which is nice. there are about 30 customer reviews, & average point for the hotel is 8.1 (out of 10) - friendly, comfortable, etc.,. it's excellent.

but, what i actually like about the hotel is maybe its artistic atmosphere. i feel it from photos on webs. maybe i'm wrong, but i hope my impression is right.

gwyneth movie marathon: part 1

gwyneth means gwyneth paltrow, & i like her as a cool-beauty.

this weekend, i seemed to catch a cold. also, we had a out-of-seaso typhoon, right? so i did "gwyneth movie marathon" :)

***
it happened from this; when i had lunch with my co-worker natsu-san who is a super translator, we talked about gwyneth paltrow.

actually, we were talking about jennifer aniston at first. like how aniston gets money even she hasn't been in any movies or tv shows recently. then we changed to about brad bitt's girl friends. then gwyneth paltrow came up.

i analyzed that gwyneth loves a sort of dame-o (sorry! i couldn't find a proper word for it). but brad pitt wasn't enough dame for her. i guess he was quite average for her in fact.

anyway, then i said gwyneth paltrow didn't have a good role in her movies, but natsu-san pointed at me that it was wrong. she listed some her movies, like "sliding door" or "shakespeare in love"...

it's embarrassing, but i haven't seen "shakespeare in love" yet. so i tied to see some gwyneth paltrow movies, including "shakespeare in love".

i got three movies for the marathon: "shakespeare in love", "possession", & "duets"

***
among the three, i could say that the best one was "shakespeare in love".

the movie got 7 academy wins: best film, best actress, best supporting actress, best screenplay, best music, best art & best costume design.

as i said, i haven't seen the movie by now, but a reason for that was i don't like joseph fiennes., as shakespeare. oh, i LIKE his brother ralph fiennes, thought.

anyway, "shakespeare in love" was very romantic & comical, i didn't say that now buta. what i love about this movie was the screenplay & camera-works (frame works?). the director knew how to attract people in front of a screen.

damn! difficult to write a movie review in english!!

to be continued...

15$ per night!?

i got e-mail from emi-chan, & she pointed at my choice for hotels, as "celebrity"!

NO WAY!

yes, this time i have chosen a kind of fancy hotel, but till 5 - 6 years ago, i always used economy hotels when i traveled. they were actually youth-hostels or YMCAs.

***
i don't remember exactly, but when i traveled across USA as my univ. graduation trip (almost 20-yo ago?) with my four friends, i stayed in hostels/YMCAs in:
- san francisco,
- los angels,
- hollywood,
- las vegas,
- denver (but it was a "hotel"),
- washington cd, &
- new york.
(wow! i didn't realized that.)

they were cheap, but kind of fan. for example, in san francisco, one backpacker guy (totally stranger , he seemed in his 50's?) introduced me other japanese young people in the hostel. even the guy didn't understand japanse at all.

or in hollywood, rental blanket was only one left, so we shared it. actually four of us wore our jackets, then we spelt.

***
again, they were so cheap, oops i should say economy, but because of that, when i travel anywhere now, most hotels are ok for me :)

i have more stories about cheap hostels, but maybe next time...

a city beginning with "N"

from now on, i try to use english as much as i can. if you have difficulties to read this damn blog or find mistakes in my english, just let me know!

***
a couple of weeks ago, i decided my hobby would be "traveling around the world", so i was checking hotels in new york.

yes, i have decided to travel to new york in coming january.

even though i don't like george w bush, i decided the first destination would be new york in USA because...
#1 - one of my friends traveled to NY recently & i feel to envy him.
#2 - NY must be cold in january, i mean i LVOE cold weather, &
#3 - i want to see real musicals in NY!

***
i asked one of my girl friends akiko-san, who traveled NY before, where i suppose to stay etc., then she suggested to ask her friend emi-chan about NY.

emi-chan has traveled to NY a lot, i guess. actually, she has a certification of advanced-level packing skills. anyway, emi-chan recommended some cozy (or not?) hotels in NY. thanks a lot, emi-chan!!

***
eventually, i picked up one B&B hotel in NY by booking.com (http://www.booking.com/). it's the roger smith hotel in mid town east: http://rogersmith.com/. the hotel seems to be clean & convenient to explore in NY. i don't know where is convenient, thought.

***
i booked air & hotel, so next i'm going to check out musical ticket!

【超・駄】セカンドフェイバリット

（今朝は普段より早起きだったため、全てがどーでもイイ時間に突入のため、セクシャル？な表現が含まれているかも知れませんヨ？）

社内のセカンドフェイバリット（直訳で「２番目のお気に入り」）は、同じフロア他部署のＡさんです。

お若い方とは思いますが、タイプとしては大森南朋さんをちょっとスリムにした感じ？大抵スーツっぽい服装です。

いやー、何がフェイバリットかって一度男性トイレでご一緒しちゃったんですよねー。緊張（←？）しました。その上、×××××を上げた後、×××の上から×××××んで位置を直していたし。って何を見てんだって、見てない、見てない。意味不明。

同僚Ａさんに話た所、、、「たれ目好き？」との事。そうかも。

＊＊＊
は〜、せめて挨拶くらいは出来る間柄になりたいです。

ちなみにファーストフェイバリット（直訳で「１番目のお気に入り」）は同部署、オフィスのロケーションが異なるNさん。目、タレてます。

【ミニ・イタリア語講座】今日の単語：errato!!

「エッラート」と読みます。イタリア語で「間違ってる」。

＊＊＊
同僚Ａさんは、今、イタリア語に夢中！なのですが、ランチの後でお茶を同僚Ａさんとしてたのですが、アメリカとの時差の話をしていて突然、彼女が叫び（？）ました。

"errato! errato!"

どうやらボクの話していた時差の計算が間違っている、と言いたかった様なのですが、突然 "errato!!" って言われても、こちらもキョトンとするしかありませんヨネ。。。

＊＊＊
彼女は最近、イタリア語の「巻き舌」をマスターしたらしく、その発音は見事なモノでした。てかイタリア語は、よく知りませんが、イタリア語っぽかったです。

どれくらいイタリア語ぽかったかと言うと、先日見た『オペラ座の怪人』のミニー・ドライヴァーくらいです。（意味不明かも？）

なんでも「rr」と r が重なる場合、r が文字の始めに来る場合は、舌を巻くそうですヨ。

『インベージョン』を見ました。

（ネタバレ）
この所、週末には必ず銀座、有楽町に行ってます。今週見た映画は『インベージョン』。
http://wwws.warnerbros.co.jp/theinvasion/

主演はニコール・キッドマンとダニエル・グレイグのSFホラー。小粒ですがスタイリッシュな感じで、その分、怖さはなかったかも。

＊＊＊
SFの古典『盗まれた街』の映画化作品で、ボクも知りませんでしたが４度目の映画化だそうです。ボクは７４年版は見た事があります。

平たく言うと、地球外生物が寝ている間に身体を乗っ取ってしまうって話です。７４年版は、眠ったら二度と目覚めないと言った恐怖や緊迫感、乗っ取られる人々が繭となって変わって行く様子など、正統派ホラーで、背筋が寒くなりました。

＊＊＊
今回は７４年版に比べると、単純なSFホラーって訳でもないです。

例えば、乗っ取られた人間達は、それを「同化」と言い、他人と同化する事で、争いのない世の中を作れると言います。物事に優先順位を付ける必要もなくなり、皆、平等になるのです。自分の他人が全く同じなら区別する必要はないのです。しかし「違う」存在は完全に排除が必要だ、とも。

結局は、ワクチンによって駆逐されるラストも今風だったかな。

＊＊＊
さて容姿だけで言うと、キッドマンの元夫を演じたジェレミー・ノーサムの方が好みなのですが、ダニエル・グレッグもなかなかチャーミングな男性を演じていました。

ダニエル・グレッグは新ジェームス・ボンドですが、前作『カジノ・ロワイヤル』は００７になる前のジェームス・ボンドなので「彼はごつごつしている。」と評されていました。でもその通りで、ごつごつしているボンドはショーン・コネリー以外認められていなかったそうですよ。

前述しましたが今回の彼はとてもチャーミングだと思いました♪

【金曜ミニ日記】official liar...?

直訳すると「正式に嘘を付く人」（←ホント？）。カナダ（アメリカかも？）では、テレビなどの天気予報をこう呼ぶそうですヨ（←ホント？）。

＊＊＊
今朝の事ですが、朝ご飯を食べつつ「お、今日もベッショさんは、のんびりだなー。」などとJ-Waveを聞いていました。すると、、、

「、、、午後から雨が降り出し、夕方には本降りになります。お出かけには、長い傘をお持ち下さい♪」
と、J-Waveのお姉さんが。

「そうかそうか。」と折りたたみでない傘を持って出社しました。（昨日より）寒くなるとも言っていたので、普段なら薄手のセーターのみの所を、パーカーを引っ掛けて出ましたが、既に地下鉄の駅に着いた頃には、軽く汗ばむ感じに。。。社内ではYシャツのみで過ごしましたネ。

＊＊＊
ランチを過ぎても、午後になっても、更に退社の時間になっても雨は降らず、「う〜、嘘つきだ〜。」と何となく傘をブラブラさせながら帰宅の途に付きました。

夕方、母から「ご飯を沢山炊いたから、来たらいいが。」と電話があった事もあり、ちょっと実家に寄ることにしたのですが、地下鉄の駅を出る頃にポツリポツリと降り出し、あれあれと思っているうちに、結構、本降りになりましたねー。

「長い傘」を持って出たので、濡れずに済みました♪

＊＊＊
今日の勤務中にあった他部署Mさんとの駄・会話。

Mさん：「○○さん、リクエストの内容を確認してもらえますか？リストに登録がないです。」
ボク：「エンジニアさんから連絡があって、新規のリクエストに更に追加のリクエストなんですけど、、、」

そして数分後。。。
Mさん：「登録ありました。ス、スイマセン、ボスが登録を忘れたみたいです。。。」
ボク：「あ”ぁっ！了解ですっ！！」

金曜日ですからネ。

ジェラルド・バトラー祭り

先日『オペラ座の怪人』を見たって事もあって、その後２本、主演ジェラルド・バトラーの映画をDVDで見ました。

＊＊＊
まずは『３００』。

お話は（多分）たった３００人で１００万のペルシア軍と戦ったスパルタ人の話です。ジェラルド・バトラーはスパルタの王レオニダス。

何でも「史実に忠実ではない」とか、「白人至上主義だ」とかなんとか言われたみたいですが、ま、マンガが原作ですからネ。そんなコトを言われましても、って感じです。

個人的な感想としては、「マッチョは嫌いじゃなけどお腹いっぱい」です。

どこまでがCGで、どこからが本物の腹筋だかは知りませんが、ジェラルド・バトラー様もそれなりにちゃんと鍛えたらしいですヨ。

＊＊＊
もう一本は『Dear フランキー』。

お話は、、、シングルマザーで難聴の息子フランキーを育てたリジーには秘密がありました。フランキーが外洋航海士の父親に毎月書ていた手紙は、実はリジーが父親に成り済まして返信をしていたのです。

ところがある日、リジーが「父親が乗っている」と説明していた本物のアクラ号が彼らの住む街に停泊する事に。父親の手紙はウソだったとは言えないリジーは、一日だけの約束で見ず知らずの男性（ジェラルド・バトラー）に父親役を頼みます。。。

てな感じですが、お気に入りのシーンはフランキーの初めての友達、いじめっ子のリッキー君が、フランキーのアパートの前で待っているシーン。ラッパーの真似をして待ってるんですが、かなりイイ味、出してます。

＊＊＊
しかし、こうして見るとジャラルド・バトラーは演技派だったんだなー、と思います。でもよく見ると悪人顔ですよね。。。

応援した人が勝つと嬉しいっ！！です。

今日はめでたい日でしたっ！！ボクのボクシングの先生、S選手の試合だったのですが、勝ちましたっ！おめでとうS先生っ！！です。

＊＊＊
S先生はなかなかの苦労人ですが、今日はハレの舞台です。なんと言っても後楽園ホールでメインで勝ったのです。

結果は５RＫ.Ｏ.です。パンチの瞬間を（一眼デジカメのレンズ越しに）見ていましたが、入ってましたね〜。

ボクシングスクールの生徒さん達も、お揃いの赤Tシャツで応援ですが、やっぱり応援した人が勝つと、我が事の様にとっても嬉しいものですネ。なんか興奮のまま拍手喝采でした。

＊＊＊
今日は同僚Ａさんを誘って試合に臨みましたが、、、Ａさんゴメン。撮影と試合とインターバルの間のmy favorite Tさんとの会話に忙しくて、全く相手が出来なかったよー。

しかしっ！絶対今日のS先生の勝利は、試合前の我々の駆けつけ生ビール一杯！！の結果ですよっ！

"the phantom of the opera is there, inside my mind"

今日はマッサージ＆映画デート（？）をして参りました。デート（？）のお相手は、エアロビ大好きYさんです♪

＊＊＊
（リバイバルなのでネタバレもありかな？と。）
まずは映画のお話から。

観たのは『オペラ座の怪人』リバイバル、オペラシアターリアルサウンド版。元々は２００４年の作品ですが、劇場のオペラサウンドって事で日比谷で期間限定での上映です。

出演は、ファントム役にジェラルド・バトラー、歌姫クリスティーヌにエミー・ロッサムと、クリスティーヌの恋人ラウルにパトリック・ウィルソン。いやー男前さんの出る映画ってイイですネ♪

実は以前DVDで見た事があるのですが、DVDでは今一つで「なんだかな〜」って感じでしたが、劇場の大スクリーンならきっと楽しめるだろーってことで、Yさんにおつきあい頂き、見てみることにしたのでしたー。

音はかなり良かったと思います。特にあの有名な「チャーン、チャチャチャチャーン」ってテーマをこの音響で聴けば、誰でも「おー！！」ってなるかな？と思います。（←意味不明な感想かも。）

ジェラルド・バトラーとエミー・ロッサムも歌がお上手だったし、映画トータルとしては「？？」な部分も多々あると思いますが、ま、映画館で観て良かったかな、と。

Yさんによれば舞台版（四季とか、ヅカとか）とはストーリーも若干違っていたみたいですね。映画版はラストはハッピーエンド＆ファントムは今も生きているって感じで、意外にも（？）感動しました。

映画の内容はちょっと置いておいて、監督のジョエル・シューマカーは確かカミングアウトしてたんじゃなかったかな？と思います。

なんでも『バットマン＆ロビン』の時には、バットスーツに乳首を付ける、付けないで映画会社と揉めたとか。もっとやり合って欲しいですね〜。最新作は『ナンバー２３』。主演はジム・キャリーです。

＊＊＊
さてもう一方のマッサージですが、全身アロマオイルマッサージでした〜。

「ぬぎぬぎしないといけないんですよ。」と施術前にYさんに聞いていましたが、何のことだか「？？」でした。しかし施術が始まってナットクです。

マッサージ用に上下着替えるんですが、まず上は背中から開く感じで、背中全面のマッサージの場合には全開です。＆下（短パン）は半ケツな感じで下ろされました。。。人前で恥ずかしくない下着でヨカッタ、ヨカッタ。

アロマですが６種類から選べて、ボクは”全身のバランスを取る”ってアロマを選んで見ました。お店のサイトを見る限り、Calmness Flowってのじゃないかな？と思いますがよく分かりません。。。

マッサージそのものですが、いやーゴリゴリ入ってましたー。いつもお願いするOさんとは施術の方法が全く違うのであれですが、ゴリゴリ入ってましたねー。ちょっと揉み返しが心配なくらいです。

実際木曜日のボクシング後なので、かなり背中は張っているとは思っていましたが、「乳酸溜まってんのかなー」ってくらい施術中にくすぐったかったです。

このお店はフェイシャルなんかもあるそうなので、今度はそちらを試してみますかね。

＊＊＊
さてデート（？）って事で、その他にランチをしたり、お茶を飲んだりしてもみましたヨ。

でー有楽町は昨日、ITOCiA（有楽町丸井ですね）もオープンしたって事で、中に入っているスタバでお茶をしました。

１階はエスカレータの待ち行列が出来るくらい、もの凄く混んでいたんですが、スタバの入った８階は案外空いていたかも。

帰りに地下にも寄ったんですが、illyが入っていました。illyはイタリアのエスプレッソのお店。今度はこっちにも行ってみたいです。

＊＊＊
日中、割と暖かかったため、Tシャツ＆パーカーで出ちゃったんですが、日が落ちるとかなり涼しいですねー。

昨日までタオルケットと掛けパットで寝ていましたが、羽毛布団を出しました。

"have a nice weekend!"

ある意味バラエティーに富んだ一週間が終了しつつあります。＆木・金もなんだかいろいろありました。

まずは木曜日、会社前にお友達のお見舞いへ。

＊＊＊
会社の同僚Nちゃん（女子。ワイン好き♪）がオフィス近くの病院に入院したって事で、出社前にお見舞いに行ってみました。

ちょっとゆっくり出社してＯＫな日だったので、１０時とか１１時に病院行ってみました。しかし面会受付で尋ねた所、、、

受付のお姉さん：「ご関係は？」
ボク：「（”ご関係”って？）、、、あー同僚です。」
受付のお姉さん：「（一応笑顔で）病棟に確認しますので、お掛けになってお待ち下さい。」

嘘でも「フィアンセです。」とか言った方が良かったのかな？？などとどうでもイイ心配をしていると、「確認が取れましたので、受付票をお持ちになって○○号室へどうぞ。」とお姉さん。病院の面会時間は午後の３時過ぎだったらしいです。。。

「看護婦さんが真剣な顔で”面会の方が、、、”って言ってたよ〜」と朝って事もあってスッピン（ま普段もほぼノーメイクですが）のNちゃん。

やっぱり病人っぽくなっていて、ちょっと心配。本人が言うには「おばあちゃん位の速度でしか歩けない。」とか。小一時間の面会でしたが、お見舞いのお花（ピンクで揃えてもらったブーケ風でしたヨ。）も喜んでもらえて、ヨカッタ、ヨカッタ。

しかし今日の夕方には「今、会計なの。今日退院するから〜。」と電話がありました。。。ダイジョウブなの？Nちゃん。

＊＊＊
さて、木曜日の夜にはボクシングもあったんです。

来週の月曜にウチの先生が試合の為、今回はピンチヒッターで代理のインストラクターが登場。役者もしているNさん。しかしキツかった！です。

今日のテーマは（多分）「踏み込んで、戻る」。

ジャブ、ジャブ＆ストレート、ストレートと難しいコンビネーションはないのですが、とにかく足を使うので、終いには踏み込んでも、戻れなくなってしまう始末です。。。う〜歳なのかも〜。と思いましたが、結構皆さんバテてる感じでした。ローテーションではロープ（縄跳びですね♪）もあったし。

しかし、たまには違った先生に習うのも、物の見方が変わって視野が広がりますネ。

＊＊＊
会社では相変わらず忙しいんですが、何だか「ゴメン。でも今日中。」って感じで頼まれる事が多かった気がします。

一つは、仕事上関係のある、あるチームにメールで返信をする事。しかし返信が、今日までだか、先週までで返信がないので今日中に返信して欲しいだか、みたいな依頼でした。

＊＊＊
そのチームとは、何人かのエンジニアさんとメールのやり取りをしているんですが、ある人（達）は「この人の仕事は、一体全体、何なんだ？」って感じのメールしかもらえません。『木で鼻をくくった』とは正にこの事です。

「返事したじゃないですか。メールを読んでますか？」と返信した所、、、「もらっていますが、明確な了承の文言（"acknowledgment" と言います）がありません。」とか。

「だからメールを読めってっ！！人は考えないとお馬鹿さんになっちゃうよっ！！」と返信をしたかったのですが、ボスから「何か言いたいとは思うけど、単に返信すれば良いから。」とのコメントが。

＊＊＊
しかしその一方で同じチームの別のエンジニアさんとは、、、

「了承の返信をしたいのですが、○○を実施するにももう少し確認したいんです。返信はちょっと待ってもらえますか？」とメールした所、、、「お話は十分理解出来ます。了承メールの意味としては、レポートを受け取った事への返信ですから、一応今日の所はメールを受け取った事のみ返信頂けますか？」って感じ。

その後「実施の際には、いろいろ質問も出ると思うんですよねー。」とメールすると、「その時は言って下さいね。」って感じで返信が。

メールのやり取りではありますが、てかメールのやり取りだからこそ、相手はちゃんと会話してくれてる（つもり）かどかは、その内容を読めば分かりますよねー。

＊＊＊
今日はPCを落とそうとした、正にその時、再度ボスから簡単な依頼が。

「確認してみますね」と返信をしたものの、肝心の確認相手が不在の為に確認出来ず。一応確認したい内容をメールし、返事を待ってみる事に。

「しょうがないね。ちょっと待ってみようか。」とボスからも連絡をもらったため無事、今日は（ほぼ）定時で退社出来ましたー。

最後にボスからは（メールでですが）"have a nice weekend!" と。

＊＊＊
「あ”〜、やっと終った〜。」って感じですかネ。今週もお疲れ様でした〜♪

「それは”解圧”と言います。」

今週は忙しいのです。なぜなら同僚Aさんが南の島にバカンスに行っているので。その為、一部ですが彼女のバックアップの業務をしています。

自分の持っている仕事も佳境に入ったってーのもあって，普段は仕事の合間にチェック出来る新聞サイトなども、なかなか覗く暇がありません。（←仕事しろって感じ？）

それに加え、今週から一部の仕事を新しい方々にお願いする事になりました。イワユルあうとそーしんぐってヤツです。

しかし「何処」にお願いするかがくせ者です。海の向こうの漢字の国です。今日初めて電話ミーティングをしてみたのですが、結構大変でした。

まずは全てを言葉で説明しないといけないにも関わらず、言葉の壁がある事。ある程度の日本語が出来る方々なのですが、やっぱり遠隔地コミュニケーションはなかなか難しいですネ。

昨日ZIPしたファイルを送って、「後日説明に使いますので、解凍しておいて下さいね。」をお願いをしていました。ところが今日になって、どーも解凍が上手く行っていない様子。。。

「ZIPに失敗しちゃったかな？使い方が分かってないのかな？」などなど考えつつ何とか説明は終了したのですが、後で確認すると「解凍」の意味が今ひとつ分かっていなかった様子です。

何でも「解凍」は中国語では「解圧」らしいですヨ♪

MONOCLE

MONOCLE（モノクル）：片眼鏡のことです。イギリス紳士が何かを覗く時に、そのポケットからおもむろに取り出すアレですね。

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今日は朝からカラッと爽やかなお天気で、洗濯をしながらのんびりとラジオなどを聞いていました。

１０月は衣替えのシーズンで、J-waveも今日から新しいパーソナリティさんが登場です。ボクのお気に入り、はなちゃんの番組は相変わらず続くのですが、新たなコーナーに、イギリスの月間雑誌 "MONOCLE" の編集長タイラー・ブリュレ氏が登場。

なんでも彼は文字通り世界を飛び回っていて、３日に一度は長距離の国際線に乗っているそうです。今日はデンマークのスムーシとか言うサンドイッチの話をしていました。

詳しくはこちら：
http://www.j-wave.co.jp/original/voicefromtheworld/

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で「"MONOCLE" って面白そうな雑誌だなー。」とちょっと出た次いでに洋書を結構取り扱っている大きな本屋さんで買ってみました。ブリュレ氏は、WALL PAPER* の編集にも携わっていたとか。MONOCLE もとてもスタイリッシュですね。

ビジネスマンだターゲットなのか、時計と金融関係の広告が多いのです（広告しか見てないので）が、ロシアの美人女性がなにかタスキ掛けで登場。「？？」と思ってチラッと内容を見ると、写真に登場の女性は、ロシアの「ミス原子力」。コラムの冒頭を読んだだけですが、彼女は何かのテロ防衛システムを設計したらしいです。。。

そうかと思えば日本の高校（と高校生）と外国人英語が登場。「おっ？日本の教育問題か？」と覗くと、その「二学期」と称された数ページはファッション。テーマは英語教師が着る秋物、みたいです。

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「旅行を趣味にしたい」と決意（って程じゃないけど）した矢先だったので、感化されちゃったのかも。まだパラパラ眺めた程度ですが、明日もお休みだしゴロゴロしながら読んでみたいです。

サイトはこちら：
http://www.monocle.com/

『大統領暗殺』を見ました。

（ネタはバラしません。）
とても良く出来ています。が、あまり気持ち良い内容の映画ではありません。

内容は「もしブッシュ大統領が暗殺されたら」。

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監督はイギリスのガブリエル・レンジ。インタビューと資料映像を組み合わせたドキュメンタリーの形を取っていますが、全くのフィクションです。

映画は２００７年１０月１９日、シカゴで演説を終えたアメリカ大統領ジョージ・Ｗ・ブッシュが暗殺される所から始まります。アメリカでは去年の公開ですが、日本では暗殺される１０月の公開になりました。

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予告編を見た時は、映画を見るつもりはありませんでした。しかし雑誌で監督のインタビューを読み、興味が沸きました。なんでもヒラリー・クリントンも「悪趣味」と発言したとか。

インタビューの中でレンジ監督は、一体ブッシュ政権は何をしたのか？を検証する為にドキュメンタリーの形を取ったと言っていました。アーカイブ映像でブッシュ大統領本人も出演している所から、とてもリアリティのある映画です。

チェイニー副大統領も、大統領暗殺後、大統領になる事から登場しますが、ふと安倍元首相が病気で不在だった時期に、政府は臨時の首相を置かなかった事を思い出しました。大変な危機管理能力の欠如ですよね。

暗殺の実行犯は誰か？って所もなかなか興味深かったです。（が、スートーリーとしては案外チープかも？）

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話はいきなり軽くなるのですが、次回見る映画の前売りをついでに窓口で購入して帰りました。で、窓口のお兄さんが沢村一樹をあっさりさせた感じでした。

窓口で購入の前売りなので、おまけのポストカードが付いていたのですが、「ポストカードが付きますヨ」と言っておきながら、くれないので、「あの、ポストカードは、、、」と指摘したところ「あっ！」みたいな。

男性にも「チャーミング」って使いたい感じで◎でしたネ♪

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映画に戻って、いろいろあって楽しいオフィシャルサイトです。「ブッシュ素！語録」が下らないです：
http://www.20071019.jp/

そう言えばブッシュ大統領は、子供（単数：childで、複数：children）の複数形をchislren"s"と発言したそうですヨ。

ガールズランチ

今日は同じ部のいろいろなチームの女性の皆さんに誘われ、ガールズランチ・バースデースペシャルに参加して来ました。

主役（誕生日）の女性はリーガルのTさん（美人さん）。場所は金曜日に皆さんが通う運河沿いのレストランです。

何となく解せないですが、黒一点です。

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本来なら、主役のTさんはとても恥ずかしがり屋さんなので、内緒の”サプライズ”バースデーランチになる予定だったのですが、、、事前にバラしてしまいました、、、ボクが。

と言うもの、普通のランチとしてTさんご自信からお誘いがあり、その後ホントウの幹事であるNさんから「Tさんのバースデーランチだけど、内緒でお願いネっ！」と口止めされていたのです。

ボスのJさんに話した所「いーなー、いーなー。」って感じでコメントされて、ついつい主役のTさんに「バースデーランチ楽しみにしてますねっ！」って感じでメールをしてしまったのです。。。幹事のNさん、ゴメンね。

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しかーし、特注のスイーツ盛り合わせの登場には、Tさんも十分に楽しんで＆驚いてくれましたー。

盛り合わせの内容は、、、
・NYチーズケーキ（しっとりです）、
・クリームブリュレ（なめらかです）、
・チョコレートブラウニー（バニラアイス＆生クリームと絶妙なマッチングです）

実は盛り合わせを頼んだ幹事のNさんが一番驚いていました。と言うものホントはTさんだけに一皿の盛り合わせをお願いしていたので。。。

しかし、結局、参加者全員でちょっとづつ頂きました〜。美味しかったです♪

【ミニ日記】カウンターでストレッチしました。

今日は夕方にちょっと用事があり渋谷へ寄り道しました。

よく行くマーラータン屋さんで軽く食べた後、寄り道の前にコーヒーが飲みたくなってタリーズへ。「夜だしデカフェがイイかな？」と思い、テイクアウトでオーダーをしたのですが、、、

店員さん：「フレンチプレスでの提供になってしまいますので、カップに移し替える事になりますがよろしいですか？」
ボク：「じゃお願いします。」
店員さん：「ちょっと割高になってしまいまして４５０円になりますが。。。」
ボク：「おぉ！？」

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と言う事でタリーズはあきらめスタバへ。

スタバの場合はデカフェをその場でドリップしてくれるので、ちょっと時間が掛かりましたが、通常の値段（ショート２８０円）でしたネ。

ドリップを待つ４〜５分、スタバのカウンターでちょっとストレッチしてみました。あのカウンターが掴まるのにちょうど良い高さなんです♪

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写真はタリーズのフレンチプレスコーヒーとブルーベリーケーキ（多分）。時間があればリッチに楽しみたいですネ。

【ミニ日記】メンズランチ

「Ａさん、ランチ行かない？」
とお昼前にメールが入り、今日はIT部のTさん（男子、資格ゲッター）と久しぶりにランチをしました。

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普段はオフィスビルの中でのランチなのですが、Tさんの提案によりちょっと離れたショッピングモールへ行く事に。ランチはビュッフェスタイルのハワイアンでした♪

何がハワイアンかと言えば、例えばその場でミニハンバーグと目玉焼きを焼いていてロコモコ丼を作ってくれたり、ハワイラーメン（？）を自分で茹でられたり。野菜関係も割と充実していたし、魚介類もマリネやら何やらあって楽しいランチでした。

デザート類も涼しげなゼリーから一口ケーキ＆シュークリームと豊富。見渡せば子供連れもお客さんには多く、ナットクですね。

と言う訳で写真は今日のデザート。Tさんも同等の組み合わせですが、とても３０代＆４０代のメンズのテーブルとは思えない雰囲気を醸し出しておりました。。。

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ちなみに場所は歩くと２０分以上職場のオフィスビルから離れています。腹ごなしに歩いて帰りましたが、自分たちの働くビルは見えていても全く近づかない感じ？

良い運動でしたー。