marukun
The somewhat mundane adventures of a guy who keeps ending up in Asia... and his random musings.
christmas It's been quite some time and a lot has happened, sufficed to say mostly good things. I'm sitting comfortably in my apartment with the heat on and a nice glass of Chu-hi by my side. My job, while mind-numbingly boring at it's worst, is very rewarding at it's best. My hair is growing out, and while I really don't like longer hair it seems to make everyone else happy. They say it's "cute".
Christmas in Japan is kind of disappointing. They don't really celebrate it all that well and it's looked upon as a "couples" holiday rather than a children's one. As a result there are lots of sexy girl Santa outfits (not of the pornographic variety, just form fitting) and ads for Christmas getaways. I do plan on doing a lot during my Winter Vacation, including a bit of a couples getaway, but that's for well after Christmas.
What am I planning on? Well, this weekend I am off to Kyoto to visit some Historical sites and
see my beloved. After that it's back to Osaka for a nice Christmas day, just me and my girl. So okay, I am treating it a little like a couples holiday, but all my family is in America and I have no kids! I don't have a choice but to treat it that way! I'm sure you can find it in your heart to forgive me.
Where was I... Ah yes, on the 27th I am going to Seoul to visit a good friend and celebrate New Years. I've never been a big fan of New Years in America so it will be nice to see how a different culture treats the occasion. The play Nanta is still going strong so I would like to see that, and Korean clothes tend to fit me better than Japanese ones, so a-shopping i shall go. I also plan on filling up on beef while on the mainland as I'm jonesin' for some good ol' fashion cow muscle. I have had some here on the island, and it's been good, but the Japanese have a bit of a strange hang up about beef...
You see, the Japanese think that it's not worth eating a piece of beef unless it is properly marbled. That sounds all well and good until you realize that "properly marbled" usually means almost 60% or more fat. I think it's too chewy and tastes crummy personally. It's also breathtakingly expensive, costing as much as 2,500 yen for a NY strip. I have found what the Japanese consider "lower cuts" at around 500 yen for a fair sized piece, maybe about 300 grams. This beef is very lean and it's the kind of steak I love to cook with. For Thanksgiving I made a nice butter steak with a sesame soy glaze. It turned out great if I do say so myself.
Anyways, I get back to Japan on January 2nd, but don't start work again until the 7th. In the meantime I will be spending the night at a yet undecided Japanese inn. I have been looking at several with outdoor baths, crab feasts and sake service. They are all nice so I guess it will come down to a combination of price and atmosphere, both of which are pretty reasonable in the Kansai area where I live.
On the 7th it's back to work as usual until Spring vacation in March. My brother says he will be paying me a visit then and my nephew might even come by to see my sometime in February when flight prices are at their lowest. I have a tentative plan to visit the USA during Spring break, even if it's just Hawaii. I want to drive dammit, and Hawaii will let me rent a car. I'm hoping Korea will as well, but I'm not holding my breath.
The last, yet most important thing I plan on doing this winter break is finally seeing a doctor and getting my insulin prescriptions. I have just enough medicine left to get me through 2007, so it's not like I'm dying or anything. I've just been at work so much I haven't had time to visit a real hospital to get this taken care of yet. If Winter Break wasn't just around the corner, I would have to call in sick one of these upcoming days so I could get this taken care of. I'm also proud of the fact that I haven't called in sick once yet, despite actually being sick last month.
So hopefully things will continue on this upward turn for awhile. I'll throw in a quick blurb here about my Japanese continuing to improve. I've started playing with Kanji, transcribing names of family and friends and such, and my spoken is getting better slowly day by day. I was pleasantly surprised recently when i was able to read an entire volume of Doraemon without need of a dictionary. I may even start scanning and translating stories with liner notes just for the hell of it, but I will need to get a scanner first.
I'll probably update with pictures by Christmas, and Korea has more internet than it knows what to do with, so I will update when I am out there too!
See ya's!
-Maru!
Christmas in Japan is kind of disappointing. They don't really celebrate it all that well and it's looked upon as a "couples" holiday rather than a children's one. As a result there are lots of sexy girl Santa outfits (not of the pornographic variety, just form fitting) and ads for Christmas getaways. I do plan on doing a lot during my Winter Vacation, including a bit of a couples getaway, but that's for well after Christmas.
What am I planning on? Well, this weekend I am off to Kyoto to visit some Historical sites and
see my beloved. After that it's back to Osaka for a nice Christmas day, just me and my girl. So okay, I am treating it a little like a couples holiday, but all my family is in America and I have no kids! I don't have a choice but to treat it that way! I'm sure you can find it in your heart to forgive me.
Where was I... Ah yes, on the 27th I am going to Seoul to visit a good friend and celebrate New Years. I've never been a big fan of New Years in America so it will be nice to see how a different culture treats the occasion. The play Nanta is still going strong so I would like to see that, and Korean clothes tend to fit me better than Japanese ones, so a-shopping i shall go. I also plan on filling up on beef while on the mainland as I'm jonesin' for some good ol' fashion cow muscle. I have had some here on the island, and it's been good, but the Japanese have a bit of a strange hang up about beef...
You see, the Japanese think that it's not worth eating a piece of beef unless it is properly marbled. That sounds all well and good until you realize that "properly marbled" usually means almost 60% or more fat. I think it's too chewy and tastes crummy personally. It's also breathtakingly expensive, costing as much as 2,500 yen for a NY strip. I have found what the Japanese consider "lower cuts" at around 500 yen for a fair sized piece, maybe about 300 grams. This beef is very lean and it's the kind of steak I love to cook with. For Thanksgiving I made a nice butter steak with a sesame soy glaze. It turned out great if I do say so myself.
Anyways, I get back to Japan on January 2nd, but don't start work again until the 7th. In the meantime I will be spending the night at a yet undecided Japanese inn. I have been looking at several with outdoor baths, crab feasts and sake service. They are all nice so I guess it will come down to a combination of price and atmosphere, both of which are pretty reasonable in the Kansai area where I live.
On the 7th it's back to work as usual until Spring vacation in March. My brother says he will be paying me a visit then and my nephew might even come by to see my sometime in February when flight prices are at their lowest. I have a tentative plan to visit the USA during Spring break, even if it's just Hawaii. I want to drive dammit, and Hawaii will let me rent a car. I'm hoping Korea will as well, but I'm not holding my breath.
The last, yet most important thing I plan on doing this winter break is finally seeing a doctor and getting my insulin prescriptions. I have just enough medicine left to get me through 2007, so it's not like I'm dying or anything. I've just been at work so much I haven't had time to visit a real hospital to get this taken care of yet. If Winter Break wasn't just around the corner, I would have to call in sick one of these upcoming days so I could get this taken care of. I'm also proud of the fact that I haven't called in sick once yet, despite actually being sick last month.
So hopefully things will continue on this upward turn for awhile. I'll throw in a quick blurb here about my Japanese continuing to improve. I've started playing with Kanji, transcribing names of family and friends and such, and my spoken is getting better slowly day by day. I was pleasantly surprised recently when i was able to read an entire volume of Doraemon without need of a dictionary. I may even start scanning and translating stories with liner notes just for the hell of it, but I will need to get a scanner first.
I'll probably update with pictures by Christmas, and Korea has more internet than it knows what to do with, so I will update when I am out there too!
See ya's!
-Maru!
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