mini: "hug someone today"

i got small portions of chocolate from Emi-chan yesterday, then i brought them for sharing with my co-workers today.

each portion was wrapped, but it had a little secret

***
for afternoon snack, i gave one portion to M-san, who sat next to me, & she said...

M-san: "what yours says? mine is 'remember your first crush'."
me: "what's that?"
M-san: "wrapping has a message, like fortune cookies."

mine was "hug someone today".

***
i haven't hugged someone since this afternoon (or more?), but i thought simply that meant to show appreciation to someone who i like :)

***
by the way, i stopped by a market on my way home. a casher guy smiled & gave me a shining 10 yen coin for changes, like "oh, i'll give you a very shining one!"

very small, but little lucky :D

bar & restaurant AOI-KE

i visited my friend's (Emi-cyan & her sweat husband Aoi-san) place in this weekend with my other friend A-san (actually, she visited with me?), & we stayed their guest room overnight. (see? their apartment has guest rooms. that's great, isn't it?)

anyway, they gave me some tips for new york before visited there, & i also borrowed a magazine about NY, so i brought it back.

***
A-san & I arrived their place before 4:00, & Aoi-san had already prepared dinner (yes, i should say it was "dinner") for us. see? dinner with a glass of sparking wine, so sweat. Emi-cyan & Aoi-san were great hosts, & Aoki-san was a really good chef, too.

& we could drink various kinds of alcohol!! i got points that who should be my good friends. enjoying drinking is one of essential for being my friends ;D

i kept drinking starting with sparkling wine, then:
+ beer,
+ cassis (with orange juice, but Emi-cyan's favorite was with grapefruits, though),
+ awamori (with ice rocks),
+ shoucyo (with ice rocks), &
+ mango liqueur (with orange juice)
+ finally, baileys irish cream (with ice rocks).

it seemed they have more than 20 or 30? kinds of alcohol, & i couldn't try all of them!!

***
oh, by the way, i showed them my pictures in NY, then great chef Aoki-san said to me, like...

"oh, i'm so disappointed what you did with your denial camera! you should store your data in RAW format!"

...i'm still in study phase for using digital cameras...so don't get angry for that...it's kidding :P but anyway, Aoki-san's suggestion was great & helpful me to develop my photo skills! thanks, Aoki-san & keep telling me how to use / deal with those cameras!

***
the photos are:
1: mango cocktail. looks like bar or club, right?
2: sleeping bags & a sweat. look what it says! it's, "she lets me cook i let her clean up". sounds very even.
3: cheese & beacon hamburger for lunch. so good, but big branch for me!

mini: "i'm sorry, buta it's for ladies."

before today's blog, i should say sorry for that Heath Ledger past away. he was found dead at his home in Manhattan:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7203797.stm

we have lost a great talented actor.

***
the title was what a water said to me when i asked a "lady's" lunch @a korean restaurant.

this lady's lunch includes a half size jan-men, a half bowl of rice, a pice of tempura, small salad & sweet. i didn't mean i wanted to have something "lady", but that amount of food was very proper for me. it was not too much, & just good enough...

me: "oh, but i asked before, & you guys served it for me!!"
water: "it should be a mistake, sorry."

***
after i ordered a ishiyaki bibimbap, a lady next to me said, "i know what you mean. a half size is really enough."

yeah, right.

the weekend traveler goes to NY :( part. 5 - things i couldn't do

those are what i couldn't do (this time, & i should do next time).

***
to have saturday / sunday branch:
i researched some cafes from my friend, but i couldn't go there. for example,
- Mayrose -- 920 Broadway (@21st st.)
- Island Burgers and Shakes -- 760 9th av. (51st st. & 52nd st.)
- (unknown cafe) -- next to hotel New York Helmsely

to browse around Meatpacking District (& Chelsea):
MPD is a new must-go area in NY, & a could of guide books introduce jeans shop "An Earbest Cut & Sew". also, there should be many galleries in Chelsea. i wanted to see them.

to see matinees or off-broadway musicals:
i wish i could see...
- Spring Awake (BW)
- Wicked (BW)
- Young Frankenstein (BW)
- Naked Boy Singing! (OB) (ad of the musical said, "so naked!!")

***
photo: brooklyn bridge -- left - people & right - bicycle :D

the weekend traveler goes to NY :O part. 4 - small talk

"it's all about lymph, you know."

***
that was a conversation with a lady next to me on a plane to NY. she was a former nurse, & she was with her daughter.

she found me tired. actually, i finished watching two movies, so i was having stiff shoulders. she allowed me to use her "青竹踏み". that was soooooo goooood to use it.

according to her, if people sit down for long time, normally blood flow becomes slow. if people try to massage or to make muscles move in oder blood flow to work, stiffing shoulder gets better.

thank you for letting me to use the "青竹踏み"!!

***
surprisingly, they took the same retuning flight to TKO! when i had coffee before boarding, the mother talked to me. we chatted until our boarding time. they were from nagoya, & the daughter was fan of the musical RENT, so they tried to see the musical, as same as me.

nice coincidence makes me happy :)

***
by the way, i should have a "青竹踏み" for next travel.

the weekend traveler goes to NY :] part. 3 - pictures

"to have fun for taking photos" was a mission, also. i took tons of photos, & those are photos about "new york with people". (i sneaked to take those, though.)

photo TL: people on a staten island ferry. they didn't care about tourinsts.
photo TR: people in the careteria at Guggenheim. they were staffs?
photo BM: people in a subway. so jeans!

***
i'm going to set a web album on flickr later :]

the weekend traveler goes to NY :) part. 2 - museums

another mission for the weekend traveler was "to visit world famous museums in NY, as much as he can". then, i visited three of them:

the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MET):
http://www.metmuseum.org/home.asp

the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA):
http://moma.org/

Guggenheim Museum (in New York):
http://www.guggenheim.org/new_york_index.shtml

***
Those three are really great museums in the world for sure, but at this time my best was MoMA. i guess because i hadn't been to MoMA before. i love its atmosphere in the museum, like very spacious & open entrance through the top-ceiling, modern but traditional interior sometimes, & quit unique or modern collections / selections. i should say it's not too modern, i think.

another thing was MoMA has my favorite art works, which are Henri Rousseau's "the Sleeping Gypsy" (photo TL) & "the Dream". i didn't know that MoMA has them, & i was really grad to find them in the museum.

***
photo TR: MET - 's Great Hall from the balcony.
photo BM: Guggenheim - it was also great, but only three floors opened at that day. the outside was under construction, but very arty.

the weekend traveler goes to NY :D part. 1 - musicals

during last weekend (from 1/11 to 1/16), i visited New York by myself. means alone.

***
the 2nd mission of the weekend traveler was "to see real musicals in NY, as much as he can".

i booked three musicals a month before, & i was thinking that i would try to get a discount ticket there. then i saw:
- Mamma Mia! (booked),
- The Phantom of the Opera (booked),
- RENT (discount) &
- Avenue Q (booked).
all four were so wonerful in different ways, but i should say my best one was "Avenue Q" actually.

***
Avenue Q is about losers who live on the avenue Q, NY.

main character is Princeton who just graduates from a university, but he is fired before he starts working. he is lost his "propose" of his life or something...by the way, Princeton this time was played by Jonathan Root. he seemed a understudy usually, but he was so cute! in the musical, i could watch his bed scene by the puppet (!?).

also, there is another character Kate Monster, who is a monster & works in a kindergarden. she has a dream to establish a monster only school or something. i liked her drunk scene. it was so real.

my favorite characters (besides Jonathan) were a pair of blue & yellow bears named "bad idea bears". they were whispering in people's ears & taking advantages on people's weaknesses. they were so bad, like they recommended "commit suicide".

***
my other favorite parts were songs in the musical. the best one for me was "everyone's a little bit racist".

Everyone's a little bit racist
It's true.
But everyone is just about
As racist as you!
If we all could just admit
That we are racist a little bit,
And everyone stopped being
So PC
Maybe we could live in -
Harmony!

(from "Everyone's A Little Bit Racist")

before i've been to canada, i though racism was what i shouldn't have, but i actually couldn't think about others without our races in there.

or because we have different races, we can try to understand others, something like that.

***
see more information:
http://www.avenueq.com/index.php
or
http://www.broadway.com/gen/general.aspx?ci=543629
or
http://allabout.co.jp/travel/travelusa/closeup/CU20041009A/index.htm

***
note: i will wrote about other musicals when i have time :D

my last pennies went to...

those things: "NEXT" by Michael Crichton & a travel nail care kit.

believe or not, i visited new york during last weekend, & i just got back to NRT this evening. at JFK airport, i decided to spend my last pennies (yes "pennies" exactly) on something, then i bought a prepare-back, aks a trash novel by aquiko-san, & this travel nail care kit (a nail clipper, glass file and tweezers) because my nails got grown, & i really wanted to cut them :D

***
actually, my really last pennies went to this:
http://www.unicef.or.jp/cooperate/coop_coin.html

unicef & ana (& jal) have a campaign called "change for good". it's to collect coins on planes to japan from people don't spend small money after their travels. those coins are going to be something for children needs, like vaccinations. one dollar could be vaccine shots for four children.

let's try to change for good :)

mini: they are alike

http://www.francoisbrunelle.com/

it's a canadian photographer Francois Brunelle's project, "I'M NOT A LOOK-ALIKE!". those models are not relatives, but they are so alike, like brothers & sisters.

this saturday nikkei introduced this photographer. i don't know why, but when i saw a picture of "Sarah & Alan", one of his models, i cried. the article in the nikkei said that most of those pairs can synchronize soon & easily.

***
by the way, today i went to get har cut. now i have short hair, but i didn't expect this short. when i saw my hair cut done, i said...

me: "it's short, isn't it?"
my hair stylist: "yep, it's short, & it fits you."

anyway, cold winter short hair :D

***
the photos are about cups of coffee i got these days, from blenz coffee (canada) & starbuck.

mini: movie review wrap up

i saw about 50 movies in 2007 (including on DVDs & on a plane). in last year, i saw only one movie i shouldn't see. that mean other 49 movies were basically good & interesting ones.

my 5 best movies in 2007 are:
- Little Miss Sunshine
- アヒルと鴨のコインロッカー
- A Good Year
- Volver
- Reign Over Me
(in order of i saw)

probably, i can see those 5 movies again & again. I hope to see good movies in 2008, too.

2008 - new year's resolutions

since 2008 has come, i has made new year's resolution for 2008.

it's "health"; keeping my good health is the only thing i should care about in 2008. & for that, i will try to:

- chew foods very very well
- eat fruits for breakfasts
- drink soy milk instead of milk
- drink water
- cook by myself as much as i can
- don't eat / drink too much

- sleep well
- laugh a lot

- keep doing regular sports, practically two or three times / a week
- keep life vs. work balance

le't try all of them if i can :D

***
by the way, i got started 2008 with my busy new year's day.

i got up around 7:00, then met my friend from ottawa, Mami-san. we went to 皇居 (!). we saw Masako-sama in a car unexpectedly (!!). after that we went to 明治神宮. i prayed for my family's health in this year. then we chatted @starbuck, then Mami-san visited my mom's place for having お雑煮. after she went back, i went to 新宿 for watching a movie since january 1st was a monthly movie day. i saw "グミ・チョコレート・パイン" (<- i will write about the movie later). then i got buck to my mom's place for having small supper with my mom & grand mom.

over our supper, my mom said like...
mom: "maybe you will be busy in this year, right?"
me: "oh, yeah. i had a busy day today, but listen, it was quiet around there & nothing disturbed me. that means i guess i will be busy, but i will be doing well / will survive."