brown bread ice cream

Farewell, Maria -- We'll Miss You

2006-07-22T04:32:00.000+09:00

It's been almost a month since we moved into our cozy little hotel room and, sadly, our stay is coming to an end: We finally found an apartment. Some might hate the transiency of it all, or feel that...

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Somewhat Unreal

2006-07-14T04:27:00.000+09:00

Sorry, sorry. Everyone now thinks I'm in San Francisco because of my last post and and then my lack of follow-up for weeks. Remember that evil editing project that was sucking the life out of me...

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Welcome to California

2006-07-12T09:18:00.000+09:00

Well, we made it to and through San Francisco International Airport, Edward and I. My husband headed out separately, commanded by the head of the US division of his company to go to New York, say...

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One Week to Go

2006-06-26T11:30:00.000+09:00

Looks like I won't be able to blog at length until I get to California, and it has nothing to do with being busy preparing for the move and everything to do with a cruel, unsympathetic colleague...

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2006-06-08T23:39:00.000+09:00

I promise that the next post will be about the move to California. Unfortunately, I'm going to be up yet again (see previous post) at 5am tomorrow, this time for an interview to get my American visa,...

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What Happened with the Barium

2006-06-08T21:28:00.000+09:00

I wanted to blog about what happened with the barium-drinking yesterday after I got home, but was totally monopolized by work. Okay, I was also monopolized by the couch for a while, because I'd woken...

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Rescue Me

2006-06-06T12:55:00.000+09:00

I'll be leaving Japan at the end of this month and living in California for a few years. Husband's getting transferred. Before anyone starts screaming "Why didn't you tell me before?"--we were only...

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I'm Soooo Over Air Supply. I Am!

2006-05-27T00:21:00.000+09:00

Oh dear bouncing baby Moses, would someone pul-leez take You Tube away from me? I've been repeatedly listening--and singing along!--to Goodbye by Air Supply, a band I thought I'd outgrown when I...

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Vietnam Photos: Halong Bay

2006-05-26T23:31:00.000+09:00

I finally got around to sorting through all 28,600 of the photos one of my camera-happy friends uploaded to Snapfish of our trip to Vietnam. Here are a few of Halong Bay, which is a three-hour drive...

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Maddened by Rain and Orange Blossoms

2006-05-19T18:39:00.000+09:00

Early this evening, a warm, gusty wind blew in out of nowhere and cleared away a patch of cloud canopy, and can I just say how damn good it felt to see that stretch of blue sky lit by the setting sun...

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Edward with Orange Blossom

2006-05-17T20:14:00.000+09:00

The rainy season began this week and will last about two months. And that's all I'm going to say about that because I've done more than enough complaining on this blog. One nice thing about these wet...

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What Was Eliot Going on About?

2006-05-15T20:57:00.000+09:00

Garlic and sapphires in the mud Clot the bedded axle-tree. -- TS Eliot, from Burnt Norton Back in high school, I hated English lit. The classics, and their characters, seemed constipated. Symbolism...

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Wedding Invitation (the One I Didn't Get)

2006-05-15T17:55:00.000+09:00

Sorry about the previous, overwrought post--though I do enjoy pounding those out, from time to time. I'm relieved to announce that the employment floodgates have opened and I'm now booked to my...

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I Just Need to Vent

2006-05-11T13:24:00.000+09:00

I don't know if other freelancers have this problem, but people seem to enjoy the assumption that my lack of commitment to one company means I instead exist to be at their beck and call, merely...

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Pineapple Tarts

2006-05-08T17:34:00.000+09:00

These are certainly not the most exquisite-looking pineapple tarts around, but it is this imperfection in form that, in fact, speaks in their favor. First of all, they're obviously homemade (not by...

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Hanoi, Morning

2006-04-27T21:13:00.000+09:00

This is the very first shot I took of Hanoi, our first morning there, just as we stepped out of our hotel. If it isn't clear, those are bundles of lilies loaded onto the back of the woman's bicycle. ...

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The End, Sort Of

2006-04-27T19:26:00.000+09:00

As I stepped off the very last train today, so my three-week-long journey finally came to an end. And as I tugged my trolley bag down the narrow road home, I was welcomed back with the scent of yaki...

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Still on Holiday

2006-04-20T18:25:00.000+09:00

I'm "in transit" in Singapore for a few days, before I fly back to Japan. Am feeling utterly relaxed right now, lulled by the delicious tropical air that my skin, funnily enough, always responds...

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Hanoi Report

2006-04-13T18:18:00.000+09:00

Our time in Vietnam, too soon, came to an end, but I'm happy to report that it was a near-perfect vacation: no fights, fuss, or puking. In a week, we visited Hanoi, Halong Bay, and Mai Chau, but my...

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First Night in Hanoi

2006-04-08T00:56:00.000+09:00

I'm in Hanoi and blogging... but maybe not for longer than a few more minutes, since it appears my hotel is closing down for the night. Well, it was nice enough of them to supply guests with a...

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In Training

2006-03-28T03:00:00.000+09:00

A while back, I officially put myself on a strict muscle-training program. For my bladder, that is. Yes, yes, I know I go on way too much about toilet-related subjects for someone who doesn't have a...

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Obi Hanging in Shop Window

2006-03-25T21:38:00.000+09:00

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A Bit Off

2006-03-23T01:57:00.000+09:00

I was saving my blog template when my computer went berzerk, and the next thing I knew, half my template had simply disappeared. So I've had to use an old backup version. This means that there might...

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Blood Orange Stink

2006-03-22T18:42:00.000+09:00

Is it just me or does anyone else think that blood oranges smell like verging-on-rotten regular oranges?

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Staying Perfectly Still

2006-03-18T13:25:00.000+09:00

There's a recurring conversation between my husband and myself that has become as familiar as a song, and which we sing with perhaps more levity than some might deem appropriate. And it always begins...

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