おいしいレストラン

今週の月曜日はマサと私の１年のAnniversaryなので火曜日にロマンチックなデートをしました。お台場でちょっと買い物して､レストランに行って、ゲームセンターに行きました。観覧車を乗りたかったが、雨で景色があまりなかったので、乗らなかったんでした。二人はスーツままにゲームセンターで卓球をした。ちょっと変でしょうね。スゴイ嬉しかったんですよ。

行ったレストランはおいしいイタリア料理ですよ。VenusFortの２階のマーノ マッジョ 【MANO MAGIO】です。時間があれば行ってください。



On Monday this week, Masa and I had our one year anniversary so we went on a romantic date. We went to Odaiba and did a bit of shopping, went out for dinner and went to a game center. It must have looked funny. We wanted to go on the ferris wheel but it was a rainy day so we wouldn't have been able to see anything. We played pingpong in suits. It was so much fun. The restaurant we went to was Mano Magio on the second floor of Venus Fort. You should go there sometime. It's a good Italian restaurant.

Kirsten

筍堀

今週の日曜日にマサの両親の家の近くで筍堀しました。スゴイ楽しかったんだ！
始めてので時間がかかったけど、マサのお父さんは速かったんだー。２，３回掘り返して、終わった。私は２０回位かかりました。その夜私は筍を茹でるつもりのために殻を引き剥がして、マサはそのこと見て、

「あれ！何をしてるんだの?］と言って、

「殻ままで茹でてよ！」

「えっ？ごめんね、どうする？」

「そのままに茹で見ましょう。」

まさのお母さんよりおいしけど、喜んでおいしくなったんだ。

On Sunday, Masa and I went digging for bamboo shoots near his parents' house. It was really fun. Because it was my first time, it took me a long time to dig one up. Masa's dad was amazing. He could dig one up with two or three digs. It took me about twenty. That night, I was going to boil them so I started husking them. Masa walked in to the room and exclaimed "What are you doing? You boil them with the skin on!" I replied "Sorry, what should we do?" He said we should try boiling them the way they are since I was almost finished husking them. Thankfully they turned out okay, albeit not as good as Masa's mother's ones.

Kirsten

交番はどこに行ったんだろう

昨日朝２時位マサと一緒に吉野家に行きながら、
近くの交番で変なことを見ました。
酔っ払い人はタクシードライバーを怒鳴りつけていた。
何を言ったかわからないが、すごい怒ってるんですよ。

交番はいなかった！！！！

突然に酔っ払い人はのかれ始まって、
タクシードライバーは酔っ払った人を追った。

交番はもういなかったんですよ。

どこにいたんだろう。

Masa and I were walking to Yoshinoya at about 2am yesterday morning.
At the local police box a drunken man was yelling at a taxi driver.
I couldn't catch what he said but he was really angry.
The police weren't there.
Suddenly the drunken man took of with the taxi driver in pursuit.
Still no police.
I wonder where they went...

Kirsten

Gray Days

最近は曇り日が多いね。そんな日に子供の時の曲を思い出す。
It's been kind of cloudy lately. On those kind of days I always remember a song from my childhood.

It's a rainy day, it's a rainy day
It's wet outside and I can't go out and play.
anyway...

「雨の日、雨の日
外はウェットで、遊びに行けない」
な感じです。

私の仕事の友達は最近子供が生まれたので毎日毎日
「なんとかの子供の曲を思い出すの？」
かわいいね。

One of the guys from work just had a baby and everyday he asks me if I remember different childrens' songs. It's kind of cute.

皆さん、自分の一番好きな子供の曲は何ですか。
What is your favorite childrens' song?

私のは
Mine is

Run, run as fast as you can
You can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man!

Kirsten

Maid blood donation clinics!?!?!?!?!?

メイド献血センターがあるんだ！

３月２４日のDaily　Yomiuri　Shimbunを読みながら、あきばのメイド献血センターを見つけました。 あそこでメイドさんは手のマッサージサービスをします。気もしわる意だね。メイドカフェはひどいけどメイド献血センターはちょっと非論理的だと思います。セックスと献血が混ざらないだと思います。理由があって、１９９３年に献血者は７２１万人だって、２００３年に５６２万人になりますた。日本は少子高年齢化で重大な問題けど献血者を増すのためにセックシーな事をするのはちょっと。。。

I was perusing the March 24th edition of The Daily Yomiuri Shimbun (Newspaper) when I came accross something that makes me question ethics. I don't know if you have heard of maid cafes in Akihabara in Tokyo. Here is a link to one of the websites. In maid cafes the waitresses are all young and cute and wearing french maid uniforms. They greet the customers as a husband who has just returned home. That itself is a little distubing to me. But a blood donation clinic in the tech-geek capital of Tokyo, Akihabara, has started having "maids" who give hand massages to encourage the tech geeks to donate blood. Should they be using sex to get blood for needy people? Imagine all the lewd looks the girls drawing blood get. One word DIRTY! They have a reason for doing so. In 1993 the number of blood donors was 7,210,000 but in 2003 the number had fallen to 5,620,000. In a rapidly aging society that is serious trouble. But using sex to encourage people to donate blood?!?!?!?

Kirsten

The Importance of Being Convenient

I was reading the Weekender (an English language magazine in Tokyo) and came accross an interesting articles about convenience stores in Japan. Here are some of my favorite quotes:

A joint venture between the large securities firm Nikko Cordial Securities and Lawson in July 2004 saw the convenience store operator open a branch inside
Nikko’s brokerage office. The branch distinguishes itself by featuring an impressive 13m2 screen shared by both businesses. The giant screen tracks investment programs and lists various stock and financial information, thus encouraging possibly risk-shy middle-aged and mature investors to seek financial advice in the non-threatening sales environment of the friendly combini.

...This also reflects a wider shift in Japan, with consumers reexamining
their personal definition of what’s valuable and worth their money. This new trend would find it logical to drive to a combini in a brand new European sports car to buy a 500yen ($5) bento lunch.

The peculiar mix of factors that is modern Japan may be the perfect environment for convenience stores to grow. The shortage of physical space, the lack of concern over customer satisfaction with government agencies such as the national post office (where you can’t even buy envelopes people, envelopes!), and the loneliness of a workaholic nation attracted to the warm, midnight glow of the combini make these stores the most highly tuned, rapidly evolving stores, possibly on the planet.

Kirsten

Ode to Chocokuro

You may be wondering what at "chocokuro" is. I will tell you. It is a chocolate filled croissant you can buy at St. Marc's Cafes in and around Tokyo. They keep them warm at the store so when you bite into them the chocolate is still soft and warm. It's like you've died and gone to heaven.

あなたたちはチョコクロは何だろうと思っているかもしれない。知らせてよ。チョコクロはチョコレートが入っているクロワッサンです。クロワッサンはフランスのペストリーです。サンマルクカフェで買えます。温かいままで売るので噛む時にチョコレートはやわらかくて、温かいですよ。天国にいるような感じですよ。

Kirsten

Sayonara ChitChat

I went to my favorite bar, ChitChat, for the last time last Thursday. I'll miss that place. It's a little far from my new place.

I love the music they play there. And I will never forget the bar tender Kentaro who is pure of heart. And the boss Rei-kun.

I'll miss you Chitchat...

この前最後に一番好きなバー行きました。そのバーに行けないことがさびしい。新しい家はちょっと遠いと思います。

聞いていた音楽はいつも楽しかったんです。けんたろうという店員とレイ君というボスも忘れない。

さびしいいなー。

Kirsten

Is it a warehouse or a house?

So anway...is this a house or a warehouse?

I just can't decide. Metal siding is typical for a warehouse but the wood finish near the door is really nice. Infact it may be the nicest door that I've seen in a long time. They just finished building it down the street from me. It doesn't fit into the neighborhood at all. Oh well, I hope the owners are satisfied. This shows my conservative side.

この建物は家か倉庫かどしらでしょうか？

私は分かりません。金属の壁は倉庫な感じだけど木の戸口はとてもきれいです。最近の見た戸口の中で一番素敵です。この建物は私のアパートの近くです。他の建物は全然違うので合わないです。

Kirsten

Masa's first trip to Costco

Masa's uncle took us to Costco yesterday and Masa was completely overwhelmed. He wanted to buy everything in sight. We ended up buying a spice rack for the new house. It's amazing how fast you can spend 10,000yen. Did you know you can buy a package of 96 granola bars? I wonder how long it'll take us to eat them...
私たちはマサの叔父さんとコストコに行きました。コストコとは卸で商品を売る店です。マサは商品がいっぱいあるでとても圧倒した！何でも何か買いたかったんだー！短い時間で１万円をつかったんですよ。グラノーラクッキーの９６個が入っている箱が買えるのが知っていますか。全部を食べるのはどれぐらいかかるんだろう。。。


We also went to an asainy store and picked up something for our new bathroom. We've decided to go with an asiany type style. Very cool. We bought dark wood furniture from friends who are leaving Japan. I wonder what we're going to put in this thing...
昨日アジア風の店に行って、新しいトイレの部屋におく商品を買いました。すべての部屋はアジア風を決まりました。カナダに買える友達から濃い色がある家具を買いました。左の方の商品は何を入った方がいいんだろう。。。

Kirsten

belly dancing

I've decided to take up belly dancing. I've just ordered a dvd from the Amazon Japan website. I think it's kind of sexy and it's supposed to be great for your abs. I like belly dancing music too. I think a varied workout is the best way to go. It'll be hear sometime after next week and then I'll be able to start.

ベリーダンスをし始まるつもりです。今日アマゾン二本のウェブサイトで注文しました。ベリーダンスはセクシーだと思います。音楽が好きです。いろいろな運動した方がいいだと思います。早くて来週からベリーダンスのDVDが来て、始まります。

Kirsten

I am a cat

I picked up I am a Cat by Natsume Souseki last week. The entire thing is written from the perspective of a cat. The cat just sits and observes humans all day adding it's comments here and there. What a fabulous idea. How did he think of it. The book is really thick, 638 pages in English. I have no idea how long it is in Japanese. It may be shorter because Japanese cultural things don't have to be expanded upon. I've only read thirty-six pages but I'm hooked.

先週夏目漱石の我輩は猫であるを買ったんです。猫の見るところで書かさせました。一日中人間のことを見て、批評します。それはとてもすばらしいです。どのように彼は考えたでしょうか。英語で厚さは６３８ページがあるが、日本語でページはどれくらがあるか知らないんです。多分日本人は日本の文化が分かるので日本語でより英語で方が厚いだと思います。３６ページ間しか読んでいないが、興味があります。

Kirsten

Take me home!!!!!!!

A couple songs went through my head today. The first one is a song I heard Great Big Sea sing on one of their cds. The line that keeps running through my head is:
"We arrived in December and London was cold...TAKE ME HOME!!"
I have absolutely no idea why this song has been going through my head.
This pic is soooo Canadian


Masa and I went to an Irish pub last night with Etsuko and Mr. Topless and we had a riot. It's been a long time since I've had immature fun. You know like when you douse your salad in tabasco sauce and dare each other to eat it. Or when you tell your friend to jam the lemon wedge into his Corona really fast and the foam explodes everywhere. And I was the only one under thirty.

One kind of weird thing we saw at the bar was a Japanese man in his sixties and a Japanese woman in her late forties making out. Yes people that age don't usually make out in public. But in Japan no one makes out in public. I thought it was weird but my Japanese friends were appalled saying it was really disgusting.

Kirsten

The placebo effect

I have always been interested in research methodologies and while I was preparing to teach a lesson about health I came accross an interesting article on the Science Daily website. It is about the placebo effect. A group of researcheｒs did a clinical trial that studied the placebo effect of sham pills versus sham acupuncture. People reported they felt more of an effect from the fake acupuncture compared with the fake pills. There is something even more interesting. Each participant in the study had to sign a waiver form that listed possible side effects of the treatment. 25 percent of sham accupuncture and 31 percent of placebo pill patients reported experiencing the side effects listed on the waiver form. The power of the mind is very interesting.
Check out the article if you have the chance: All Placebos Not Created Alike: In A Trial Of Sham Acupuncture Vs. Oral Placebo Pill, Patients Experienced Greater Pain Reduction From Sham Device

The article came from Harvard Medical School.

Kirsten

昔から研究の方法に興味があるんですね。今日レッスンの準備をしながら、Science Dailyのウェブサイトに面白い論文を見つけました。テーマはプラシーボ効果なんです。プラシーボ効果の説明はこちら。偽の鍼の効果と偽の錠剤の効果の違いを研究しました。偽の錠剤より偽の鍼の方が結果がよかったんです。もっと面白いポイントがあるんですよ。研究の前に参与者は可能な副作用がかいてある承諾書を読んで、サインしました。偽の鍼を取った人の２５パーセントとピルを飲んだ人の３１パーセントは可能な副作用を発生しました。でも両方のトリートメントもプラシーボなんだー。
興味があれば、読んでください。All Placebos Not Created Alike: In A Trial Of Sham Acupuncture Vs. Oral Placebo Pill, Patients Experienced Greater Pain Reduction From Sham Device

カーステン

Happy Birthday to Masa!!!!!!

Today is Masa's birthday!
Yesterday we went out for a quick dinner and drink at Mother in Shimokitazawa. It has an interesting interior and an eclectic menu. I had German spiced wine while Masa drank Jamacian beer. We dined on Pakisani and Japanese food. A nice little bar.
今日はマサの誕生日です！　昨日下北沢にあるマザーというバーで飲みました。雰囲気はよかったし、メニューもとてもかわっていました。
ドイツのホットワインとジャマイカンビールをそれぞれ飲みました。
ナシゴレンとアボカドパスタも食べました。　とてもナイスなバーでした。

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　カーステン








It snowed all day Yesterday. I was elated. I love the snow! I felt at home walking on the snow while others were slipping and sliding. Did I mention that I love snow?

昨日は一日中雪でした。私は雪が大好きです！沢山の人が転びそうになっていましたが、私はカナダにいたこと思い出していました。
私が雪が好きだってはなしましたっけ？

カーステン

Duke

下北にあるdukeというメキシカン料理 barにいってきました。
メキシカン料理好きの僕には最高でした。
グローリッシュというオランダのビールを飲みました。
ポップのきいた苦味がおいしかったですよ。 ＾＾


I went to a bar, that also serves mexican food, in Shimokitazawa called Duke. I love mexican food and it was really good. I drank Grolsch beer from the Netherlands. It had a bit of a bitterness to it that was really good.


でもいつも思うのですがなんで日本には　TACOBELLがないんでしょうね？？
I always wonder why there is no Taco Bell in Japan...

もしかしてありますか？？
Maybe there is...

Masa
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

Good Surfing pics

I was looking at Keison's website and found a link to the guy who takes most of his photographs. Buntaro Kato is the photographer's name. He's really good. I miss surfing. I'm too much of a cold wimp to surf in the winter. I was looking at surf blogs this morning and now I miss surfing even more. When is it going to be April again... Keison will also be appearing in The Green Room Festival that I mentioned in an earlier post. I'm really excited. He has a great voice.

Kirsten

Batting Center

本当に久しぶりにバッティングセンターにいってきました。
ここは一回(２０球)３００円でしたが１０００円で４回の回数券がありました。
二人で４回ずつやりました。
始めはあまりあたりませんでしたが、後半の２回は結構いいあたりしてました。
次の日は案の定筋肉痛でした。。（笑）　年ですかね。。でもカーステンもでしたが。。ｗ
まさ

I went to a batting center for the first time in ages.
You can buy one round(20 pitches) for 300yen or a four round card for 1000yen.
We each did four rounds.
In the begining I could not hit well, but I did pretty good during last two rounds.
The next day I had sore muscles. Am I getting old? But Kirsten did too.... ;-)

Masa

The Green Room is coming!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ayako and I have started talking about going to the The Green Room Festival this year. We went last year and it was great. It's a surfing culture festival. It has art, photography, a bit of fashion, video and of course music. It was sooooo good. We ran into the owner of our favorite bar. He's a music nut. It's the bar that I mentioned in my last post.
あやこちゃんとグリーンルームフェスタに行くつもりです。楽しくて、享年行きました。サーフィンカルチャーのフェスタです。アートとか、写真、映画、ファッション、と音楽があるフェスタです。とっても良かったですよ。

Onto Caravan. He plays the acoustic guitar and various other instruments. And he's pretty cute. Always an added bonus. I might be going to his show in February if there are any tickets left. I reccomend that you check him out. Masa and I listened to him on my ipod on our first date. It kind of reminds me of that date.


Kirsten

麺屋武蔵新宿店

いつも沢山のひとが並んでいるのでとおりすぎていました麺屋武蔵新宿店に先日行ってきました!! 　(念願の武蔵。^^)　死ぬまでに一度は行ってみたいとおもっていました。　ちょっと大げさですがＷ　　

予想していたより並んでいるひとは少なめでしたが、３０分並んでようやく写真のらーめんにたどりつけました。　はじめにまずスープからー、隠し味の柚がはいった魚系スープはなんともいえません。＾＾　　くずれそうにやわらかいチャーシュー、コシがありしっかりと固めの麺も最高でした。

またぜひいってみようとおもっていますー。　でも毎週とまでは。。月に一回ぐらいいけたらいいなーーー　

ではでは
まさ