Do I have musical OCD? Because I have definitely listened to Kanye West's "Golddigger" about 320 times in a row. And I exagerrate not. There's just something about that beat. Even though I don't know if I even like West yet, I will give him props for his infamous "George Bush doesn't care about black people." line on national television. I've been listening to more of his music and he does have some talent. It's too bad he's so arrogant, cuz that makes me like it a little bit less.
Today my love for LOST was taken to a whole new level when I downloaded episodes from the second season. Yeah, this cave island on which I live doesn't get LOST so season 2 is all new to me. Ahh, another excuse not to studying. I am an intellectual disaster right now. My doctorate in Procrastination will get me NOWHERE. I seem to be constantly swinging back and forth between motivation and procrastination. I wonder why that is. I wonder what goes on in my brain to throw me into periods of intense concentration and drive one day, and then fail to help me do anything more than lie face-down on a rug the next.
Crucifixes and Croutons
Tonite I went to yoga, which is always fun and refreshing. Afterwards, Rie and I met up with Marie to get our Chirst on, at the Christon Cafe (pron. Chris-ton). It's a funky restaurant with gothic cathedral decor and a plethora of religious artifacts decorating the walls. Nothing says "first date material" than a crucifix on the wall, or a larger-than-life virgin Mary looming over your table! Even the candles on the table were in those red candle holders that are at the altars of churches. I totally felt like I was in the DeCaprio version of "Romeo and Juliet." It was so cool. The food was delicious- a big portions too! (for Japan) We split sashimi salad and sushi, and I had grilled toro salmon with sliced vegetables in a garlic soy sauce with grated daikon (J. radish) topping. I give the place A+ for atmosphere. Atmosphere in Japanese restaurants is something that irks me to no end. I rarely find eateries that have spent more than $50 on their decor, making me feel like I'm eating over at a friend's house in their parent's den half of the time. But in recent times I have been frequenting restaurants that get the decor and ensuing atmosphere down.
Snow. Interesting How People React When It's Not Just a Way of Life.
Oh! It snowed in Tokyo!! And what happened during and after the snow was completely weird to me. I am all for appreciating cultural differences, but I am classifying this year's snow experience under Weird. First of all, when I noticed it was snowing in the morning I, like any Canadian, thought, "Oh, snow." and then put on my scarf and gloves like regular and headed out the door. Normal enough, right? Well! I was the only one out (and believe me, a lot of people were out going to work/school) without an umbrella. Umbrellas?? In the snow?? How come Canadians didn't think of this ages ago????! It makes perfect sense. It keeps the snow off you, you stay warm and dry and don't have to worry about snowflakes in your mascara. From now on it's all about umbrellas in the snow for this cat.
But you will never catch me outside my front door shovelling the 1/2 cm of snow with my dustpan. No. Way.
The second thing I noticed was not only the complete absence of sand, gravel, salt, or any other traction control substance atop the sidewalks (on which now everyone does their best James Brown impression trying to get from pt. A to pt. B), but that people actually hose down the snow. Now, I have never been inside an elementary school science class in Japan, so I can't say if they just glaze over the part about water's properties and what happens to it when it gets cold outside, but clearly a large portion of the population is unaware. I'm sorry, but WHO in their right mind hoses snow?? In a matter of two days my walking commute to work has turned into a 500m skating rink of death. I wish I had some kind high heel crampons I could use to navigate around here. What kills me is that people actually bike on this shit. To be fair, I also biked in the winter when I first moved here... until I discovered that is a talent only Japanese people possess. And so I am content to never ever ever ever try to master it again.
The Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul
Brrr... I can't keep warm in my appt without 5 layers of clothes. And a mug of mint tea. Mint tea is my favorite kind of tea. And chai tea too. I wonder if anyone makes a chai mint tea. I wonder what would happen to me if I drank my two favorites at once. Maybe my sensory organs would shut down from overexcitement. Maybe chai and mint are meant to be enjoyed separately only. ...Ok, I just googled "chai mint tea" and "mint chai tea." I swear that blasted search engine has made me stupider because instead of actually thinking about something I just google it. I mean, why am I looking for anyone who makes mint chai tea? I could make mint chai. I could just pop a bag of each into the same mug. Honestly, Danielle! ...ewww I just found green tea mint chai. How many more ingredients could you cram into a mug?? Oooh, there's chocolate chai too... Ok, this is digging the bottom of the procrastination barrel here. I shall bid you adieu with a reminder of how lucky you are to have central heating.
Today my love for LOST was taken to a whole new level when I downloaded episodes from the second season. Yeah, this cave island on which I live doesn't get LOST so season 2 is all new to me. Ahh, another excuse not to studying. I am an intellectual disaster right now. My doctorate in Procrastination will get me NOWHERE. I seem to be constantly swinging back and forth between motivation and procrastination. I wonder why that is. I wonder what goes on in my brain to throw me into periods of intense concentration and drive one day, and then fail to help me do anything more than lie face-down on a rug the next.
Crucifixes and Croutons
Tonite I went to yoga, which is always fun and refreshing. Afterwards, Rie and I met up with Marie to get our Chirst on, at the Christon Cafe (pron. Chris-ton). It's a funky restaurant with gothic cathedral decor and a plethora of religious artifacts decorating the walls. Nothing says "first date material" than a crucifix on the wall, or a larger-than-life virgin Mary looming over your table! Even the candles on the table were in those red candle holders that are at the altars of churches. I totally felt like I was in the DeCaprio version of "Romeo and Juliet." It was so cool. The food was delicious- a big portions too! (for Japan) We split sashimi salad and sushi, and I had grilled toro salmon with sliced vegetables in a garlic soy sauce with grated daikon (J. radish) topping. I give the place A+ for atmosphere. Atmosphere in Japanese restaurants is something that irks me to no end. I rarely find eateries that have spent more than $50 on their decor, making me feel like I'm eating over at a friend's house in their parent's den half of the time. But in recent times I have been frequenting restaurants that get the decor and ensuing atmosphere down.
Snow. Interesting How People React When It's Not Just a Way of Life.
Oh! It snowed in Tokyo!! And what happened during and after the snow was completely weird to me. I am all for appreciating cultural differences, but I am classifying this year's snow experience under Weird. First of all, when I noticed it was snowing in the morning I, like any Canadian, thought, "Oh, snow." and then put on my scarf and gloves like regular and headed out the door. Normal enough, right? Well! I was the only one out (and believe me, a lot of people were out going to work/school) without an umbrella. Umbrellas?? In the snow?? How come Canadians didn't think of this ages ago????! It makes perfect sense. It keeps the snow off you, you stay warm and dry and don't have to worry about snowflakes in your mascara. From now on it's all about umbrellas in the snow for this cat.
But you will never catch me outside my front door shovelling the 1/2 cm of snow with my dustpan. No. Way.
The second thing I noticed was not only the complete absence of sand, gravel, salt, or any other traction control substance atop the sidewalks (on which now everyone does their best James Brown impression trying to get from pt. A to pt. B), but that people actually hose down the snow. Now, I have never been inside an elementary school science class in Japan, so I can't say if they just glaze over the part about water's properties and what happens to it when it gets cold outside, but clearly a large portion of the population is unaware. I'm sorry, but WHO in their right mind hoses snow?? In a matter of two days my walking commute to work has turned into a 500m skating rink of death. I wish I had some kind high heel crampons I could use to navigate around here. What kills me is that people actually bike on this shit. To be fair, I also biked in the winter when I first moved here... until I discovered that is a talent only Japanese people possess. And so I am content to never ever ever ever try to master it again.
The Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul
Brrr... I can't keep warm in my appt without 5 layers of clothes. And a mug of mint tea. Mint tea is my favorite kind of tea. And chai tea too. I wonder if anyone makes a chai mint tea. I wonder what would happen to me if I drank my two favorites at once. Maybe my sensory organs would shut down from overexcitement. Maybe chai and mint are meant to be enjoyed separately only. ...Ok, I just googled "chai mint tea" and "mint chai tea." I swear that blasted search engine has made me stupider because instead of actually thinking about something I just google it. I mean, why am I looking for anyone who makes mint chai tea? I could make mint chai. I could just pop a bag of each into the same mug. Honestly, Danielle! ...ewww I just found green tea mint chai. How many more ingredients could you cram into a mug?? Oooh, there's chocolate chai too... Ok, this is digging the bottom of the procrastination barrel here. I shall bid you adieu with a reminder of how lucky you are to have central heating.
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