Nothing like a trip to the salon. (美容院に行くより、何もない。)

Well, you know what they say about how a new hair-cut can give you a major confidence boost?

I have now amended that saying.

Instead, it should be:

A trip to a Japanese salon can make your entire day amazing, spectacular, and downright stupendous.

Also, it can make you really giddily happy, even when you're technically lost in the wilderness of Mie with only a vague idea of where you should be going.

And to think I went into all this so nervous I was actually shaking in my seat.

So.

Woke up this morning (a little late, I admit) and got ready for my day. Had some coffee, washed my face, surfed the internet, you know the drill.

Left the house around 11:50 for my 12:00 appointment. Because, literally, the place is five minutes away, and I didn't want to be that annoying customer who gets there way too early and bothers everyone by sitting and staring awkwardly.

...however, when I ran into traffic on the way (what the hell, Matusaka), I began to worry about being that annoying customer who gets there late and throws everyone's schedule off all day long.

Luckily, I got there in time, as my propensity for being everywhere early won out--my extra five minutes turned out to be the perfect amount of time, traffic and all.

I walked in, wielding the picture of my haircut and getting nervous because I am something of a chicken. Was greeted, of course, by a solid round of いらっしゃいませ's and walked up to the counter to tell the man that I had an appointment. Of course, at twelve, he replied, and offered to take my bag.

Really, so far, the only one freaking out about me being a gaijin was, well, me.

Which was why when they gave me a name card to fill out with my address, I was shaking quite badly and couldn't remember the kanji for 町. (Yea, that's pretty bad.) Stupidly couldn't remember 松阪 either, although that's been happening consistently since I've arrived, so no big surprise. I did remember 三重県, 　外五曲 and the first half of 前沖, luckily, although the ultimate fail was when I couldn't remember my house number. When T-san, my stylist, asked what was wrong, I had to inform him of this, and he said that it was all right. I suppose I'll fix it next time.

Luckily, that did not injure my image in his eyes too badly.

How do I know this?

Because, as I mentioned, I had marked the "I want to have a good time with my stylist" (loosely translated) button on the reservation page, and goodness me, T-san believed me and launched right in, getting into this that and the other thing after we had discussed my desired style in great detail. (There was a bit of concern about the length; my hair was so long as to make him worry a little that I didn't know what I was getting into with the cut I wanted. I think he got over that when I told him I hadn't had a cut in about three months though.)

And the best part? It was not at all your typical gaijin-Japanese person talk. We had a surprisingly deep conversation, touching on topics such as foreigner politics in Japan, gun laws in America, and the acceptance of outsiders in our respective cultures (to name a few.) We even commented on how "deep" our conversation was getting; I told him to let me know if I started bothering him, but he insisted it was fine.

We had some light talk as well, mainly about how Japanese and American tastes are different, comparing Japanese and American women, and then, of course, getting into what we each thought about Japanese vs. American aesthetics.

There was also some commentary (positive) on my personal appearance, but I don't like to brag.

By the end, we had built up quite a camaraderie (though one or two of my jokes fell rather flat, as I really need to learn that English sarcasm just does not translate at all) and were calling each other by our nicknames (which we had both asked for early on.)

And honestly, it was so nice to be treated like a regular person with deep thoughts. (I mentioned that we talked about treatment of foreigners in Japan, right? I love talking about that, and I loved even more that he was willing to discuss it with me at length.) Admittedly, it might have been all that service-industry-kindness doing the work, but at the same time, he didn't have to be so chatty. It wasn't always me bringing up new points of conversation, after all.

Needless to say, I left completely and totally thrilled with the experience.

I especially like that T-san and the receptionist who handled my bill came out and watched until I left. This happens at bars too, but I don't know where else. Regardless, a very nice extra little touch that may be completely fabricated, but feels nice regardless.

Not to mention that now I have my point/members card, and will get 20% off next time I go. Ah ha HA.

...I need to figure out if it's within 6 weeks or after 6 weeks, though. Probably within.

Anyway, I decided to try and find a used clothes store shop on the way home that I had looked up earlier, and thus took a strange road home.

And got lost.

But hey, I was in a good mood, so I just kept driving and turning when I thought it might be appropriate, and eventually got back onto the road that takes me to work. I then drove into work, turned around, and went back to the supermarket which was supposed to be my landmark for the used clothing shop.

Then I missed my turn.

Good thing I was in such a good mood, eh?

I pulled into the supermarket, pulled back out and went back, making the turn I had meant to, and heading towards the "Advance Mall."

Which really isn't Advanced.

And although I never found the used clothing shop, I did find Honeys, which is one of the shops that has (a) clothes I like and (b) clothes that fit me more often than not.

So of course I wandered in.

And found a sale.

And after I picked up something like five items, a shop-keeper came over and offered me a basket.

And started chatting me up. (In a shop-keeper way, not a hitting on way.)

She asked how long I had been there, commented on how good my Japanese was, etc. etc. Eventually I got around to asking her where I could find a shirt I wanted that I had seen on the website, but could not find in the shop. After a lot of confusion about which shirt it was, she finally understood and ran off to get it for me. Unfortunately, they had neither my color or size, but she quickly offered to order it in from another shop, no charge and no problem if I didn't like it.

Win.

I tried on the clothes I had, and wound up liking three items, though I had limited myself to two. I took everything up to the counter, and asked for two of the items, and then if they thought that the third would be around in a month. Winning once again at shopkeeper awesomeness, they said they would hold the third shirt for me.

Yes.

So I walked out with a skirt and shirt, and a shirt (now discounted unexpectedly) on the way, along with a ridiculously good chat boosting my mood.

Not to mention the left-over happiness from my haircut and T-san.

So. What do I have to say about my one day off this weekend?

Absolutely. Positively. Massively. Well spent.

Oh, yes.

This is Edo, signing off quite happy with life and feeling much warmer in general towards Matsusaka as a whole.

The real world is time-consuming. (本物の人生って、時間かかるで。)

Once again, I find myself posting late at night right before bed, rushing to get something out because I just know that I won't be in the mood for writing tomorrow morning before rushing off to work at 9-something in the am.

Early days are bad for blogging, dear readers.

I suppose if I regularly worked "early days," that would not be the case, but when you get set up on a certain schedule, those early days (no matter how regular they may be) always through you for a loop.

Luckily, I was smart and made myself some good bento-material today that had left-overs.

Kinpira Gobo? Good stuff. I recommend. Not particularly pretty though, so no picture for you.

(...yea, sure, that's why there's no picture.)

Even if I didn't use mirin... due to the fact that each of the three bottles of mirin scattered around my kitchen was expired to the umpteenth degree.

Apparently, the former inhabitants of my humble abode had the best mirin-centric intentions, and yet... no real follow through.

That's ok, though. Still tasted quite good, to my thinking. Can't go wrong with sesame oil.

(I also didn't use chili flakes, but hey. I considered using my shichimi, but didn't know if it would be an ok substitution to make, and in the end it tasted just fine without any spice addition, so I left well enough alone.)

In other news, I had my hair appointment confirmed!

Sunday afternoon, オシャレイケメン haircut paradise baby.

...

Good lord, that doesn't sound silly and shallow at all.

I shall blame it on the late hour and use it as an excuse to take my leave.

This is Edo, signing off and thinking that "burdock root" sounds a lot more intimidating than gobo.

EDIT- Ah, Melon's post reminded me... I did tell you that I wound up getting this guy, correct?

Ah, the Urbano Barone. ...Let's just say that I miss my old phone dearly.

Heck, I still use it as my alarm clock, because for some reason, the Urbano doesn't like to let you use regular ring tones to gently soothe you into consciousness every morning. No, it insists on buzzing and beeping.

How utterly crass.

But I still say that making me pay something around one thousand extra a month just for the privilege of using a phone I already owned is more than a little ridiculous.

If only I had some mad phone hacking skills...

Life, she goes on. (人生は続くんや。)

The first day of the work week is always the toughest. Have to gear yourself back up into "productive member of society" mode, and realize that sitting around in front of your computer all day simply is not going to happen.

... which is not to say I sat around in front of my computer all weekend. I got many an errand done, some of which have been recounted here for your reading pleasure. But still. It's the possibility of being a lazy bum that's so attractive to my horribly exhausted mind.

...and I'm not even exhausted, really. I just like sleeping. Or something.

Though I still am tired rather a lot.

...admittedly, that may be my Hashimoto's kicking in again. Oh, inherited thyroid conditions. What fun.

As more evidence of how absolutely fail-tastic my earthly form is, I was nearly incapacitated earlier today (oh, who am I kidding, I'm writing this bit after the post date, even) by a migraine. Luckily, I have absolutely amazing co-workers, and since the pain was worst during my two-hour prep time, I pulled myself together in time for my last four classes of the day (the first of which was graciously switched from a rambunctious group to a quiet single kid, thanks to my beautifully amazing head teacher.)

So, bad for my head, excellent for my work morale and feelings towards my co-workers.

And here I never thought I was a silver lining type of gal.

...Speaking of which, it started raining while I was hunched up in my chair with an ice pack pressed to my forehead. So that was quite lovely.

Theoretically, it's supposed to continue with the rainy theme today, due to a naughty typhoon whose course has changed dramatically. After so long of this heat... one can only hope. The rain was gloriously cool yesterday, even if it didn't last more than twenty minutes.

In other news, Melon is now in Japan (hooray!) and is the main cause of me not getting this post out on time, so you know who to cry to if you have your panties in a twist about scheduling.

...you know I say that, but really, I wasn't actually coming home last night with any bright ideas to finish this post up as it was, so. Ahem.

I have made an appointment to get my hair cut at a local place... which is apparently staffed entirely by オシャレ young men (ok, and one オシャレ young lady.) My original goal was to wait and go back to Kyoto for all my hair-cutting-needs, but a combination of ridiculously long and unkempt hair (my bangs are getting a little silly, and I'm sick of putting it up every day for work) and my discovery of this very Kyoto-esque place right in my back yard (truly, it's about seven minutes away)... well, let's just say that travel-three-hours-for-my-hair idea is getting put on hold.

Which is not, of course, to say I won't do it; during my search for a local hair salon, I also found out that the stylist I went to at my salon in Kyoto is still there, so of course I am eager to go back, say hi, and see if he remembers my crazy gaijin self who always started freaking out when he put the dye in my hair.

...although the service at that place is so good that even if he has no clue who I am, he will make sure that I think he remembers everything about me.

I do hope that my experience in Matsusaka is similar.

...then again, at present, I hope the reservation goes through.

I made it online, which is something of a first for me, and through a third-party site at that, which personally informed me that there's no guarantee of me actually getting the appointment that I requested, and that I have to wait now for the salon itself to contact me and confirm.

What a nerve-wracking way to set up a hair-cut.

Really, I probably should have just been a big girl and called them up myself, but... well. (a) I'm a coward and (b) I'm still sort of iffy with my Japanese phone skills. You non-language learner types, think for a minute--consider how hard it is occasionally to understand the person on the other line when he's speaking your language. Now put that into another language, with seriously jacked up polite speech and the possibility of confusion over your freaking name.

...ok, really, that last bit has never happened to me, but I cannot help but feel that there would be trouble when they asked for my name for their records and I wasn't there to just write it down.

And then again, everything might just be hunky-dory and I would leave the conversation feeling good about myself and my conversational skills.

...if I go back, I'll call, ok?

Geez.

Talk about pressure.

This is Edo, signing off and hoping she actually has a hair appointment for this Sunday.

Oh JUSCO, where would we be without you. (JUSCOがないと、どうするのかな。)

So, everyone who has ever been to Japan for more than a quick little touristy-tour has heard of JUSCO.

Anyone who has ever lived remotely far away from a big metropolis in Japan has been to JUSCO.

Anyone who has ever lived in the boonies of Japan relies on JUSCO as their one source of food, entertainment and socialization.

Yea. JUSCO.

Think American shopping mall meets Japanese shopping arcade meets.... everything your average boonies-prefecture-citizen could possibly need to get about their daily lives, and you have JUSCO.

Actually, you have AEON... but JUSCO is the important part here. I'm not getting into umbrella corporations and Japanese corporate life in my blog, all right?

Basically... clothes, groceries, lunch, drugstore...goods, everything you need, JUSCO is your one-stop shop.

And today I went and found the closest one and had an afternoon.

Seriously. Three+ hours, just in JUSCO. And I was making myself leave at the end, simply because it was pushing the end of daylight hours and... uh, well. I don't know why that's a valid reason to quit shopping, but it worked.

It may also have been because I am one cheap motor scooter, and desperately wanted to stop myself from spending money.

Which I didn't really do all that much of...

Anyway. I wanted to get some more floofy skirts, as they are the coolest thing to wear this time of year and I only have one.

Guess what I didn't buy.

Through no fault of my own, I might add; the only one I saw and liked was white, and I know better than to wear white clothes. ESPECIALLY white bottoms; that's just asking for problems when you're as spill-prone as I am.

Anyway. Was I discouraged by my lack of skirt-finding skills?

NO. NO I WAS NOT.

Instead I bought three pairs of socks (which I actually desperately needed), some very cheap undergarments that made me smile more than anything, a super-comfortable and very soft sweater-cardigan-thing that can be used for work or casual looks later in the year, two tupperware containers (which I also desperately neeed), a basket of snacks (which I.... did not desperately need, but toast is not a snack, despite my treating it as such) and two small croquettes to take home and snack on in the car.

A good day for staying within a single building, wouldn't you say?

On a side note: while shopping, especially in the grocery store downstairs, I was once again baffled by how young (or how young-looking) people marry and breed around here... Though I suppose that more than anything demonstrates my big-city mindset. Or my marriage-and-kids-not-so-much mindset. Or my goddamnit-I'm-still-single mindset. Or something.

But hey. That aside, a good day of shopping is... a good day of shopping.

One day, maybe I'll actually stop being so cheap and start to enjoy buying things properly!

...but probably not.

Oh, and you now what's great about the boonies?

After the initial shock of it (which some people even manage to completely ignore or hide well), people are very willing to believe that I speak Japanese and can understand what they're telling me to do. Thus, I get friendly service in the clothing stores, and am generally treated like you average human being.

...admittedly, most clothing stores are this way if you look to be in a buying mood. The good ones are, anyway.

Regardless, it's very nice not to be gawked at so often, and even nice to be treated the same as everyone else.

...damn, this is turning into a gaijin rant again. I'll stop, I'll stop!

...I'm probably going to make omuraisu for dinner again. Is that a bad thing?

This is Edo, signing off and wishing that her cheap potato chips didn't taste quite so cheap.

EDIT- Ah ha! Dinner was not omuraisu, it was this:

Which I made partially using the recipe here and partially using my own memories of a similar dish I made back home one Saturday afternoon.

Hence my addition of lemon juice at the end, and the cut little dump-the-peel-in-too trick that I've seen done on countless Italian cooking shows.

I left out the pine nuts and parsley because, well... (a) I was working with what I had and (b) I live in Japan on a budget, thank you very much.

I would splurge if it wasn't my basic meal-for-me-myself-and-I kinda situation; guests get fancy foods, I get what I need. 

Also, if you're thinking of trying the recipe, I would recommend basil instead of parsley, myself, as that's what I used on that Saturday, so long ago. Parsley seems a little strange, honestly... and then there's the fact that I don't much care for it to factor in, ah ha.

(... I probably should admit at this point that I only made pasta because I had foolishly forgotten to take the chicken out of the freezer for my omuraisu. As I have remedied that situation, my meal plans will be back on schedule tomorrow. Ah ha. Foiled by frozen fowl. Whoda thunk.)

...my hands smell yummy.

Thank you, COSMOS! (COSMOS, ありがとうよ！)

Seriously. That super-market is a wonder among wonders.

Not only did it provide my absolutely spectacular and inspiring lunch today, it also let me know that there are young and attractive men wandering the streets of Matsusaka.

...admittedly, they may all be married with children.

At the same time, though, it's a good thought to have.

Also, another man who appeared to be young and attractive through two layers of tinted windows turned to watch me go by on the drive home, so that's nice.

...admittedly, it may have been more "oh god gaijin!" than "check out that babe!," but I like to think that with my black hair and sunglasses, it's rather difficult to tell my race when I'm driving.... ergo, I can trick myself into believing the latter with a very reasonable amount of persuasion.

And although I write after my trip on Thursday, this will be my Saturday post. Because I can do that, and goodness gracious when I can write a post so far in advance, why not!

Anyway, as you may have guessed by the tags, I've decided to share my amazing lunch with you. Because, along with being simple, delicious and (I think) healthy, it is a dish you can make easily in either Japan OR America-land! How cool is that.

Edo's Spectacular Tuna Salad

Software:
Green-Leaf Lettuce
Balsamic Vinegar
Olive Oil
Canned Tuna (one small/medium can)
Black Olives
Lemon Juice

Hardware:
Salad Bowl
Small Bowl (for mixing dressing)
Fork (for eating and tossing; save dishes!)
Spoon

Notice how I didn't put any amounts up there, aside from the tuna. That's really because this is another one of those "taste" recipes. You need to either (a) experiment, (b) taste test, or (c) have a really good idea of how much of each of these flavors you generally like in a dish.

...look, I said it was simple, not that it was necessarily easy.

Tear up enough lettuce to either fill your salad bowl, or make what you think will be enough to fill you up for the meal ahead. You want a good amount, as it's sort of the only vegetable going into this salad, oddly enough.

Drain your tuna (I used the kind packed in oil, but water is fine too) and fork it on top of your lettuce, trying to separate it as much as possible.

If you, like me, love the flavor of balsamic, put equal amounts of balsamic and olive oil into your dressing bowl (I used about a teaspoon each) and mix well to get something of an emulsion going on. Don't worry if it's not too uniform; it will still taste just fine. Pour your dressing on top of your lettuce and tuna, and toss well to coat.

Slice up your olives, and toss a handful or so on; this is really up to you, and you can even leave them out if you, like my mom, are just not that into olives. You could also try adding capers, but man, capers are expensive, and I'm saving them for pasta.

Finally, after that's all tossed together, squeeze some lemon juice on top; I used half a lemon's worth, but I really like lemon. Of course, you can use the kind from a bottle, but... you know it just won't be as good.

Toss one more time for good measure.

 And voila! You have Edo's spectacular tuna salad, excellent alongside some nice french bread (which I had, thank you again, Cosmos) for a light lunch. Eat while watching a mid-day Japanese talk show for the full experience.

...a mid-day Japanese talk-show featuring Mizushima Hiro et al, or the cast of BECK.

Which I must see.

Because oh my goodness.

Two posts in a row of fan-tarded-ness... I should probably start cutting back.

This is Edo, signing out with a stomach full of salad and a mind full of beautiful Japanese men.

PS- For those of you interested, I have found something hip and happening to do in Matsusaka! Huzzah!

I... am going out this Saturday evening. All oshare-d up in my own rather punk-ish fashion and ready to dance my hiney off.

Hopefully all my dreams will be fulfilled and this will be the start of my new and exciting social life in Mie!

Wish me luck!

I'm running out of titles here. (タイトルがなくなってるで。)

I'm always intrigued when there's a linguistic difference between my Japanese and English titles... for example, in today's title, the grammar point is actually quite different and yet at the same time each is the best equivalent (in my mind) of the other.

Just a little thing called localization, baby.

...ok, ok, I'll either start a translation-geeks-anonymous blog or limit these little monologues to three paragraphs maximum, how's that?

...would anyone read that blog, I wonder.

Anyway, you're getting another point-by-point update today, simply because I have found it to be an easier way of telling you all about the amazing adventure that is my life in Mie.

...it's such a shame that you can't see irony on the internet.

(For those of you not in on the joke: there's not a whole lot of amazement or adventure happening in Mie... pretty much ever.)

1- Cosmos is a much better supermarket than either Max Value or my super-cheap place.

That said, it is quite a bit more expensive.

The question is, am I willing to pay more for the sake of wider aisles, more selection, and a better atmosphere in general.

...the answer is probably something along the lines of "yes, but I'll still go to the other two when my lists can be fulfilled within them."

But really, Kyoto spoiled me--I definitely want to do all of my shopping at Cosmos...

Thank goodness I'm horribly cheap, otherwise I'd have very difficult time saving money on my daily groceries.

... although sometimes I wonder if I'm a bit too cheap. I passed up on the balsamic vinegar I wanted yesterday, for example, simply because I "didn't need it right then."

...is that silly or frugal?

2- I need to find fun things to do in Mie.

Really. Because this aching-in-the-heart for Kyoto is sort of distracting.

It wouldn't be so hard if Mie wasn't so stinkin' boondocks-tastic.

I mean really, it's hard to go clubbing or what have you when you have to drive and therefore cannot drink.

And considering the fact that the current highlight of my weekend plans is hitting up the relatively-nearby JUSCO.... yeeaaa.

3- I bought the first three Harry Potter books in Japanese, hard-cover, a paper-back novel, and a special Kimutaku-MR. BRAIN issue of an an all for 750 yen this morning at Book-Off.

Oh, Book-Off. How I have missed you.

Funnily enough, the an an was the most expensive item: 350, whereas everything was was 150 each. I debated paying so much for a used magazine, but...

Then I saw the special Kimutaku photo-shoot.

Oh, yes.

Suffice it to say the issue landed in my basket within milliseconds.

I can't imagine who sold that magazine back, but to whoever did: thank you, thank you, thank you.

...goodness, that wasn't creepy or fan-tarded at all, was it?

4- I found another futon (mattress) in the downstairs closet and have added it to my pile of bedding. Tonight, I predict that I will have the most comfortable evening to date!

... er, when starting on August 12th, that is. Ahem.

5- I listened to some old BUCK-TICK albums on the way to and from Kyoto this weekend, and have found myself absolutely hooked on Mona Lisa Overdrive.

It is good stuff kids, and I definitely recommend it if you haven't yet had a listen.

Really got me pumped up for those two lives, let me tell you.

Oh well, that's enough for one night; some of us had a full day of work you know!

This is Edo, signing off and wondering why she never hears BUCK-TICK at dance clubs.

Alas, I'm home. (あら、帰っちゃった。)

Home again, home again, jiggity jig.

Except not, because good lord, Kyoto felt more like home than this does.

Not to mention the fact that the sheer convenience of everything there is simply mind-boggling in comparison.

Oh, and the improved fashion sense.

...and unfortunately the number of fat white tourists, but you take the good with the bad, eh?

But really, I say on my blog that I left my heart in Kyoto. It's the truth. I may find myself basing future job searches more on proximity to the old capital than my desired line of work... Oh dearie me.

My poor feet bear testament to my desire to get as much of my old haunts under my feet as possible. Oh dear indeed; good thing I don't work on my feet.

For those interested, my trip to visit my dear friend A mostly involved... eating. Eating lots of tasty, tasty food and wandering around Kyoto and generally having a good time for relatively little money. Funny; she's currently living there, and yet I was playing the local, pointing out all the spots to remember, where to get her hair done, where to go for foreign goods and the like.

And here I sit in Mie, not a clue about my new habitat and thoughts still stuck on Kyoto.

.... Mastusaka will grow on me?

Sigh.

Anyway, after a 3+ hour set of train rides (what I get for being cheap, what  can I say) we:

1) Went to a cake/pastry shop in 京都駅 (Kyoto eki, Kyoto station). A out おしゃれ'd me by a long way, which once again reminded me just how different our two new environments are.

....there's so little おしゃれ to be had in Matsusaka.

Sigh.

2) Took the subway back to her temporary place to put my bag away. Her new company is renting her a weekly apartment on their dime until her visa comes through (which was, coincidentally, today, but as the place is paid up for a while she's not moving quite yet), which is pretty damn nice of them, I think.

3) Popped over to her nearby supermarket to pick up food for dinner, etc. There I realize that, while the supermarket I have been frequenting is cheap... it is sorely, sorely lacking in so many essentials.

Thus, I must find a new one. Y has suggested Cosmos, so I shall try it next.

4) おしゃれ'd up (me, that is) and hit the town, aka Shijo-Sanjo-Kawaramachi area. Ooooh yea, now I was home, baby.

First we just wandered around a bit, heading for Kappa Sushi because we were in the mood for some super-cheap sushi times. After that we wandered a bit more, eventually leading to Lawson's for me to pick up the BUCK-TICK tickets I ordered online for the Nara gig (which turned out to be a pain in the butt due to a very picky Loppi machine, let me tell you). After that, we wandered around a bit more before stumbling onto Sex in the Moon, a bar I used to frequent back in my study abroad days. Unfortunately, it did not open for another hour or so, but A seemed interested in some cheap cocktails, so we wandered a bit more, scheduling a return trip.

We went to LOFT, which has been moved from its original side-street to lining Kawaramachi. What's up with that, I'd like to know. We dilly-dallied enough there to have time for a quick and cheap oolong-cha to split from the Lawson's before heading back to the bar, because everyone knows that drinking when thirty can only lead to horrible things.

We arrived at Sex on the Moon, only discover a bartender I didn't know working. No problem, but a little disappointing. We ordered a salad, some fried goodness, and two drinks to start. They would be followed by a kamikaze each (which I taught A is clearly the best value for one's money at such an establishment, as it is absolutely loaded with alcohol in comparison to, say, a cosmo), and me asking the bartender what his name was and why no one was there I knew.

Apparently, the entire crew I knew is long gone, and Yasushi-tenchou has been replaced by Shin-tenchou, who told us his name by pulling aside his shirt to show us the tattoo of his kanji on his left pectoral.

... have I mentioned how much I love Kyoto?

Unfortunately, Shin-tenchou was too busy chatting with the four loud, obnoxious girls at the counter to pay much attention to us (our fault, really; we should have sat there as well instead of at a table), and therefore I do not yet know if he can properly replace Yasushi-tenchou and his gang.

... considering I had a date with one of them, I highly doubt it.

After the bar, though, we gradually headed back home, as dinner proper was to be home-cooked, and our feet we killing us due to poor shoe choices.

We did pick up some knocked-down (due to the late hour) tofu donuts on the way, though. Yum yum.

5) We ate some mushroom risotto, and watched the first two episodes of Firefly together before curling up to chat late into the night. We hadn't seen each other physically in over a year, you know; we still have a lot of catching up to do, despite talking practically non-stop all weekend.

6) Woke up at a decent hour, and A made us her version of Eggs Benedict, which really only means less hollandaise (aka a reasonable amount) and the lack of English muffins that living in Japan brings. Very tasty, very rich, and a very good way to augment these weeks of jam and toast I've been suffering through living with.

7) Headed back out to the Shijo/Sanjo/Kawaramachi area for another day on the town, this time commencing with lunch at 一風堂, which makes the absolute best ramen I have ever eaten in my life.

Needless to say I had been craving it.

We then wandered, shopped, and wandered, eating a crepe, milk-tea boba, and a 抹茶カキ氷 (maccha kakigoori, matcha shaved ice) between us before heading back to her apartment once more. Though I had originally planned on leaving Tuesday morning before work, my paranoia got the better of me, and I was to set off on the last train Monday instead.

...I feel sort of sad about that now, as my housemate isn't even back from her weekend yet, and she stayed in Mie. Sigh.

Anyway, we watched some more things on her computer, she made me a salad, and then I was off to buy some おみやげ (omiyage, souvenirs) for my coworkers and an extremely cheap, extremely large eco-bag at the station before heading back to Mie.

Stupidly, I caught an early train out of Kyoto, not knowing that I would only get stuck further down the line when the boonies proved too powerfully remote to have more than one train an hour so late. So, due to my tendency to overestimate the amount of time I need to do things, and my general paranoia about being late, I left Kyoto and ended my weekend probably a good forty-five minutes before I had to.

... I suppose it's not much, in the grand scheme of things, but it matters when you're leaving on of your best friends and the geographical equivalent of the love of your life!

Sigh.

At least I have some good souvenirs... albeit in the shape of an eco bag, two moisturizers and advice from A on all manner of subjects.

Good souvenirs to me. I'll get おしゃれ things next time. You know, when I've had a paycheck.

Oh, and I did get the BUCK-TICK tickets, didn't I!

All in all, an excellent weekend which ended much, much too soon.

It was so very tough to make myself leave. Ultimately, I think it was that whole "I don't actually live here, and would therefore become a bum living under a bridge on the 鴨川 (Kamogawa, Kamo river)" thing that actually did it.

...a paying job and a place to live are nice, kids.

This is Edo, signing off and wishing Mie was just a bit closer to Kyoto after all.

Ah ha ha... (アハハ。。。)

Ok, so, this time, it's sort of my fault entirely.

But really, who thinks to make a blog post two days in advance? It's nigh unheard of!

...er. I think. Hope. Assume.

And you know what happens when we assume.

Oh dearie dearie me.

So, another brief rundown of my schedule, for all those of you desirous of being in the loop. For those not... well. Why on earth are you reading this?

1- As I write this on Saturday morning, I am blasting the crap out of my room with the AC (19 degrees, what on earth) so as to keep it cool for quite a long period of time (hopefully) after I turn it off and go to work. Why? Because clothes must be dried inside this time of year to prevent mildew due to the humidity. Not only does my AC keep it cool, it keeps it dry.

I probably should not have done laundry last night, admittedly, but I figured that the early shift would be matched up with today's, so evreything would be hunky dorey.

Admittedly, it might be just fine. It's mainly my jeans that have me worried at the moment.

2- As you read this on Sunday morning, I should be jetting off toward Kyoto on the kintetsu to visit my dear friend for some fun times. Mostly, we plan on eating and meandering, but... hey. I consider that to be super fun times, my friends.

If I take the 8:49 train, I only have to make one change-over! Huzzah! Definitely worth it, as the later trains are 8:50 and 9:06, requiring two and five changes respectively. I can wake up a scoche earlier for uninterrupted train time.

More likelihood of me dozing off during, eh? Just set my alarm and away we go.

3- As I write this now (something like fifteen hours later than that previous now), I just came back from an amazing welcome party, which really made me think that I made the right choice in coming to work with my school. Amazing feeling, amazing time, amazing people. You are all just amazing.

4- Melon and I are going to see BUCK-TICK. Twice. In Nara and Kyoto. How cool are we?

And that's quite enough for one day, I think. Details (maybe) on any and all of the above at a later time and date.

This is Edo, signing off and realizing that packing for a two-day trip isn't as easy as it seems.

EDIT- Yes, this has been back-posted; apparently, I left after hitting the wrong button. Oops indeed. 

Oh, well. (やれやれ。)

Well, dear readers, I have to apologize for this post.

It seems that a regular day of work (aka Edo gets home around 11) followed by an early day of work (aka Edo needs to leave the house at aroung 9:20 in the am after waking up far too early for her own discerning tastes) means that there is little time for posting in between.

Clearly, I should have foreseen this and written something before work yesterday.

But you know how it goes.

Or, well... maybe you don't.

But sometimes it goes so that I forget to write up a blog post. Because that's the way the world works.

Suffice it to say that I have early work today and tomorrow, and there's a welcome party for me and Y tomorrow evening at the restaurant connected to our school. I'll be fairly busy for the next to days, and thus a bit separated from the blogosphere, as it were.

In the meantime, please enjoy the new SMAP single, which I heard first on Music Station... two weeks ago, and then again on SMAPxSMAP this Monday evening.


This first bit is some sort of drawing for getting back-stage at the live, I believe... pulling numbers from the front of the singles received by the fanclub? This is neither of the shows I saw, and I don't have the time to pay close attention, so no clue whatsoever.

This is Edo, signing off raring to go to work with a bit of Kimutaku to get her going in the morning.

Food and other rarities. (食事と他の珍しいこと。)

Hey, sometimes, I find myself strapped for a title.You don't see me judging your blog when you're not feeling particularly creative that day, do you?

Sheesh.

Anyway, as promised in my title, I do have a little bit of food to share with you all.

Metaphorically, of course. I've already eaten it all. (Which may explain my ridiculously high weight as betrayed by the bathroom scale earlier this evening... good lord.)

オムライス (omuraisu, omelet rice)

Darn tootin' I made myself some omuraisu. And that's a picture from my cell phone, if you'll believe it. Talk about quality in a small package! (Even though I'm still bitter about not getting to use my old phone... mumble grumble.)

Usually, I tend to shy away from omuraisu due to its tendency for a high ketchup content--though the "rice" portion is meant to be "chicken rice," which is basically  version of fried rice based around the main ingredient of chicken, oftentimes it is replaced with "ketchup rice," which is more or less the same thing, only doused in ketchup.

And while I may be slowly getting myself to like tomatoes in my food, rice doused in ketchup is where I draw the line.

...anything doused in ketchup, actually, but that's not the point I'm trying to make now.

ANYWAY, though I really like the concept of omuraisu (eggs and fried rice, how can you go wrong?), due to the ketchup issue, I tend to dislike it in restaurants.

Thus, I said to myself, why not go for a home-made, sans-ketchup version?

You are indeed a genius, I replied.

... then quickly stopped speaking aloud lest someone have me committed.

Ahem.

Anyway, I would give you the recipe, but I basically followed the one from My Lunch Can Beat Up Your Lunch, and would rather direct you to that lovely site than blatantly plagiarize her work here.

However, as you may notice by looking closely at the above photograph, I replaced the mushrooms in her recipe with carrots. This was not, in fact, intentional; I had a nice bag of mushrooms from the grocery store I was all set to use, all for only 78 yen! However, when I started to clean them, I popped one into my mouth out of curiosity.

The thing taste bloody awful.

Thus, unwilling to put spoiled mushrooms (they were only 78 yen, I reasoned, and thus likely to have some flaw) in my masterpiece, I chunked the lot and chopped up a carrot (also purchased at the grocery store for a very reasonable price) as a replacement. Personally, I think it was a good choice, though the recipe would certainly not have minded a few mushrooms.

(I told Y about this, and she supposes that they're a type of mushroom--I couldn't remember the name--that simply needs to be cooked. I agreed that this may in fact be the case, and regretted chunking out half of my mushroom purchase. However, better safe than sorry, eh?)

...however, with this omuraisu I made last night, the leftover I made this afternoon to get rid of the other half of the chicken rice, and the egg sandwich I had yesterday for lunch to use up my almost-stale bread... I have had six eggs in the past two days alone. Closer to twelve in the past week, I'd wager.

... I love me some Japanese eggs, but I do wonder if this is healthy.

Y, appalled, said that she believes the upper limit is something around three a week.

...good lord, I hope not. For the sake of both my health and my tastebuds.

Because I love me some Japanese eggs. And now that I've figured out how to make such darn tasty omuraisu.... Oh goodness gracious me.

In other news, I have that same kids class that I neglected to discuss in detail last week tomorrow, along with another class right before it containing roughly the same age group.

Suffice it to say I am less than thrilled about the prospect of work tomorrow.

I really need to quit being such a negative person, don't I.

(I only just realized this now, but... you do realize that I tend to write these in advance, yes? So, I'm actually writing this on Tuesday night, though it's up on Wednesday. Thus, "last night" was Monday, and "tomorrow" is Wednesday. Yes, confusing, I know, but bear with me. I have a schedule to maintain.

Oh, dear. I've gone and forgotten to take out that salmon fillet for my dinner tomorrow again. Better do it before I forget.

This is Edo, signing off and wishing that having a working phone meant people would try to contact her more often.

EDIT- Hm... it appears as though I was hasty in judging myself overly porky. Apparently, my BMI is 21.7 ~ 22... though you wouldn't think it to look at my pooch, and I wouldn't think it the way I've been fitting into my pants lately. You live and learn, I suppose? Or perhaps I've just become so used to my svelte Japanese form that I think of anything larger as far too chunky... admittedly, most of that former svelte-ness was unhealthy and spawned from being under-fed by crazy okaa-san and having influenza for a week...

I still enjoyed it!