April, flowers, visitors

April was BUSY.  Busy because lots of people came to visit, and the weather got a littttle bit warmer so people here started coming out of their holes.  People and flowers.   It was like (mentally) getting dropped into a world of white-pink clouds.  If you ever have the chance to visit Japan in cherry blossom season, it’s not over-hyped.  And like sunsets, the pictures never quite do it justice – the fun and wonder really comes from just being there, surrounded by these things immediately and peripherally.  (And a good part of it comes from everyone else keeping them in the backs of their minds too).

It was great taking a little walk at lunch, and seeing a middle aged suit taking pictures with his phone.  Next to the punk stripey-socked girl also taking pictures with her phone.  Both of them looking at the screen, slightly shaking their heads, and looking back up with a little smile.

Some other highlights of the month include:

  • getting a ride through Tsukiji on a fish cart! With fish! (So cool I forgive people for making me get up to go w/ them)
  • hanami at yoyogi with assorted friends and friends-of
  • making pizza, yum.
  • having a trip to china cancelled

lowlights

  • discovering that friday-saturday-sunday counts as one 24 hour period in terms of atm cash withdrawal limits
  • being stuck at work ’til 11pm
  • being stuck at work ’til 1030pm
  • being stuck at work…

Oops

I have purchased another device.
Someone needs to disable my access from amazon.co.jp after 11pm.

On the upside, I am now equipped to make 1 L loaves of bread … and MOCHI. Fresh mochi from mochi rice.

Yeast + mochi = light, fluffy, mochi-ey deliciousness?
We shall see.

Mista Donuts better watch out. Assuming my good (not good for me) intentions ever get off the ground, that is.)

Kaichuu

A very weird yet cool thing happened at archery today. In addition to the usual abuse of my left arm, my first set of four shots all hit the target.

I get happy enough when I hit the target at all, let alone hitting it four consecutive times.

Maybe I am actually getting better at something. A nice feeling, that one. Doesn’t come around often enough.