Searle(e) in Seattle

Oh, yeah. Happy 2012!

noreply@blogger.com (el) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 18:33:00 +0000

2011 was...good. Long. I still can't believe my knee injury happened almost one year ago. I can't believe how much of the year was spent recovering and rebuilding. The endless hours of physical therapy, indulgent visits from my sister that made us so much closer and great trips home to see family and friends, strengthening friendships, learning my way around the new job, and being okay with just staying put. I've come a long way from being culture shocked and physically damaged. It's much, much nicer to be on this side.

I'm really hoping that now that I've stabilized, 2012 can be about growth. Better at my job, better physical achievements, a better friend and family member, and travel without needing to uproot. I'm really happy with what Project 365 has already done for my photography skills. I've also starting a lifestyle habit challenge with some friends that is teaching me that I can, in fact, bring about deliberate, healthy changes when I set my mind to it. Old feelings of restlessness and not being fulfilled still play at the edges, but I'm focusing on keeping them in perspective. We'll see how it goes.

And with that, here's another batch of photos for your viewing pleasure. Er, ignore the fact they're not in chronological order. :)

Sunset from my balcony

Como Lake

Morning light on Boxing Day

Still life with Christmas tree ornament

New Years Eve self portrait

This may be the year of the elephant for me.

Niece upside down cake :)

No matter where I live, this will always be my favorite local coffee shop.

Surly Girl swims like a fish

noreply@blogger.com (el) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 18:18:00 +0000

Like a very small, young fish who can't swim very far, but is getting better every week. Despite taking swimming lessons as a kid and then again in grad school, I'm back at it again. When I hopped back in the pool a couple of months ago, I couldn't go more than 50 yards without stopping to catch my breath. This morning, after a couple months of weekly lessons, I've doubled that to 100 yards, with my eye on hitting 125 yards by next Wednesday. I feel stronger and more in control than I ever have in the water, and it's awesome.

This guppy-fication has come about for two reasons: 1) triathlon goals and 2) awesome fellow guppy, Fraxl. I've decided my summer triathlon schedule should be like olives in a martini - I want three, one for the beginning, middle, and end. The only way I can do this is if the swim doesn't terrify me. I was noodling on this when Fraxl said she wanted to start taking swim lessons and voila! Socializing, working out, and achieving goals. Really, I'm not sure there's a combination that makes me happier than that.

There's another pay off to this swimming. I've booked a February trip to Columbia to visit some people I both adore and admire. After some urban adventures in Bogota, I'm going to head to either Cartegena (of Romancing the Stone fame, although it looks a bit different than the movie would have you believe) or San Andres, and I want to snorkel while I'm there. Can't think of a better motivator that getting to swim among colorful fish and rays.

Take that, December

noreply@blogger.com (el) — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 03:19:00 +0000

I have always hated December in Seattle. It tends to be gray and rainy in a more miserable way than usual. Instead of feeling festive, it feels depressing. This year, I was determined to meet December head on. I had my Christmas tree up and decorated the day after Thanksgiving. Then I started making plans to go over the pass to find sunshine and snow. And I'll be damned if that isn't an excellent way to survive winter in Seattle. See below for the photos from JMo and my therapy session on a trail not far from Roslyn (famed filming site for Northern Exposure) .

Minnesotans: Imagine a world where you can keep snow nearby and go play in it, then head home. And never shovel. Yeah, it's as awesome as it sounds.

First visit to snow Dec 2011

More on that later

noreply@blogger.com (el) — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 17:25:00 +0000

So many posts that never make it from my mind to my keyboard. My trip to visit snow, resolution of that pesky communication issue at work (note to self: "I don't care about that" shouldn't be used when what you reallly mean is "That's not my top priority."), holiday parties and my cute Christmas tree, how my relationship with clothing is still adversarial (how can I have so few clothes, yet they take over my entire apartment?), and the fantastic thank you video I got from my niece for her birthday present. These are all worthwhile topics, and need to be written.

For now, however, I'm doing what can be squeezed in, which is posting more pics. I have some on my phone that also need to be added, but I guess that will have to be a New Year's resolution.

Finding inspiration and focus

noreply@blogger.com (el) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 19:44:00 +0000

Came across this article about 9 tips for the self-taught travel photographer on Google +, and thought it was worth sharing.

The tips I found the most useful are the first two:

1. Study photo books. Go to the public library or local book store and look at photo books while asking questions such as: “What makes this photo great?” “Why are these photos side by side?” “Why does this photographer only shoot B&W?” If you do this on a regular basis it can dramatically improve your photography and is enjoyable!

This one fits with my mantra of seeking out great works of anything. I find it very easy for me to get in a trap of only taking photos I already like, and not pushing myself to try new things. Sometimes I just can't think of what else I might like, and that's where consuming other people's photos comes in. (Which reminds me of the theory that "Great artist steal," and how trying to recreate greatest will push your limits. But that discussion gets ways murky when intellectual property and China are involved. Whole 'nuther post, that one.)

2. Take notes. Self learning can lack focus unless you take notes so you can follow up on questions and ideas. I started with a list of specific things I wanted to learn about photography. “What is White Balance and how do I use it?” “How slow can I hand hold the camera without getting a blurry photo?” “What is the rule of 1/3?” etc. Many years later I’m still adding new questions to this same piece of paper.

This one strikes me as a necessary step to make learning more active. Doing something a lot is the first step to getting better. (I discuss this here, using my favorite example.) But doing something right or focusing while doing it a lot is going to bring results much, much faster. The trick is finding a system that works, and I'm not a big fan of the Notes application on my iPhone. Anyone have an app they like for keeping track of ideas?

If any of the other photographers reading this have advice on how to get better that they've found useful, I'm all ears.

Playing catch up

noreply@blogger.com (el) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 19:10:00 +0000

So it turns out taking the pictures isn't that difficult, but curating them is. I have photos I've taken I like better, but I'm starting to embrace this as a photo journal more than a gallery of what is already good. So here are some more days of my life.

Running some errands at U Village. I like that this fountain isn't walled off or in a pond. Kids play in the water in summer. Go accessible art.

Playing around with light was really fun. Next goal: make the wires and light bulb disappear.

Oh, I remember this day. This was a rough day at work, and my coworker was thoughtful enough to drag me away from my desk to attend our (non-work sponsored) wine tasting. It made life better.

Yeah, didn't get around to taking this until late at night, hence the closet shot. Still, there's something I really like about this shot of my favorite jacket.

Much love to my friends who get me to go to concerts with them. Went with JW and her friend to see Feist at the Moore. I'd never even heard of Feist, but it was a great show. I highly recommend catching it if you can.

Balancing work and play

noreply@blogger.com (el) — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 20:56:00 +0000

It was an odd week, full of late nights at work, networking, swim lessons, two-stepping, excellent time with friends, and the true beginning of the dark, rainy days of winter. I think that taking pictures on rainy nights might make me like them more.

I give you my past six days.

Bendy and detoxified

noreply@blogger.com (el) — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 08:45:00 +0000

With the help of a couple of friends, I got away from it all this weekend. By that, I mean I spent 3 days and 3 nights on a yoga retreat at Doe Bay, located on Orcas Island. We meditated, ate insanely healthy vegan food, saunaed and did about a million downward dogs. And slept. Apparently, eating well and exercising all day means you want to crawl in bed around 9 pm and sleep until you have to get up at 6:30 am. The glass of wine we insisted on indulging in after we got back to our cabin probably had a little, although not much, to do with that. It was divine in lots of ways, and I can't thank AP enough for getting us to go, or SP and MK enough for being such great traveling companions. (AP, you were also a great traveling companion.)

We were also treated to amazing weather, which in turn meant amazing light for taking photos. I'm having the happy problem of deciding which photo to use for my daily photo.

The full album of the weekend is here:

Doe Bay 2011

And the daily shots are:

Click through for my witty captions, apparently.

Advice for tourists in Beijing

noreply@blogger.com (el) — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 07:15:00 +0000

I wrote this up for a friend traveling through Beijing for two nights. Putting out the call to current Beijingers to improve my advice. Also, some days I really, really miss it. Like today.

If you only have two days/nights in Beijing, and want to head towards the more interesting parts, here's what you do. Stick to the old area, between Yong He Gong (Lama Temple) and Nan Luo Gu Xiang. Those you should be able to find in any guide book. Also the Drum and Bell Towers close to NLGX. There are tons of alleys, known as hutongs, that are great to explore.

For lunch, see if you can find my favorite hole in the wall. From the Yong He Gong stop, head south to the next major intersection (bigger than an alley). You'll know you've found the right street if you pass the Confucius Temple and pass out through a big gate on to another big street. This next big street is Andingmen Nei. Keep going straight into what looks more like an alley. You're looking for a small chuar place, with about 6-8 tables. It should be the first or second place on your right as you enter the alley. They have a menu with pictures - get mutton, chicken wings, chicken hearts, whatever strikes your fancy. It's Xin Jiang food that is common with Uighurs, who are mostly Muslim. It's fantastic bbq with great seasoning, and it's cheap and some of the best food in Beijing. Also, I'd go with Yangjing instead of Tingdao for beer, but they're both so weak it doesn't really matter.

Back by Lama Temple is Gui Jie (Ghost Street). Best at night for dinner, when the red lanterns are all lit up. A friend I trust recommends 小渔山 (XiaoYuShan), 福惠龙 (FuHuiLong), 花家怡园 (HuaJiaYiYuan), although you'll do fairly well wandering into any of them that has a line out front. If you want to try hot pot, Little Sheep (Yang Yang) is really reliable.

I can't emphasize enough that you should just wander down random streets in this area. There are great unexpected places and sights everywhere. Hope for good afternoon light for the best pictures. Also between Yong He Gong and Andingmen Nei are some good bars, although they've gone heavily ex pat in the past year or so. This isn't always a bad thing, but may not be what you're looking for during such a short trip.

Another daytime place to explore are the Drum and Bell Towers, especially if it's clear. There's a great place called the Drum and Bell Bar right on the square, although it's more cozy and a good respite from how austere some other bars can be in winter. It's at its best in summer, as there's an awesome rooftop deck. It's right around the corner from Hou Hai, which is more commercial and should be skipped if you're short on time. If you have lots of time, it worth a look. Again, it's better in summer.

A better place to spend time is Nan Luo Gu Xiang. Several backpacker hostels are in this street, so you shouldn't have any problem finding it. Great street to wander down, strolling into shops and bars that look interesting. My local is all the way at the south end, 12 Sq Meters. Used to be run by Aussies, now by Americans. The new owners won't know me, but ask if Paul (Brit) or Jo (Kiwi, who also goes by Ruby and she writes for one of the best local music blogs) are around. In general, I'd trust any regular here to give you good recommendations for where to wander. Have them point you to Jianghu Bar, which is down another alley. There's almost always live music, and it'll be interesting to check out. Or have them send you to Mao Mao Chang's for cocktails, or Temple for more music and good beer.

Also visit www.thebeijinger.com to see what's going on that might be interesting. Not that you'll know any local bands, but there's always a ton of music on in Beijing. Yugong Yishan, Mao Livehouse, and Hot Cat Club are in the areas you'll be exploring and could be fun to check out, depending on the cost of cover.

Avoid Sanlitun, unless you're in the mood for malls and skanky bars. There are a few exceptions, but you have to deal with so much crap it's not worth it. (Or, as a friend rightly points out, you want to observe how the city is modernizing and embracing capitalism. It's important, but not necessarily the best way to spend time on a short trip. There's also a market if you want to buy things and fight about the price. Note this is much less enchanting that markets in Damascus.) With only two days, the areas I gave you should keep you busy, particularly if you throw in a visit to the Forbidden City, which you should. Oh, and if you're around Andingmen Nei in the early evening, head to Ditan Park (just north of the canal, by the subway stop) to watch people doing their evening exercises.

http://www.echinacities.com/beijing/city-life/beijing-s-best-kept-secrets-hutong-bars.html

http://www.echinacities.com/beijing/city-life/wudaoying-hutong-an-emerging-force-in-beijing-s-hutong.html

http://www.thebeijinger.com/newsletter

Hope this helps! Now I'm homesick for Beijing...

Wistful for Minnesota winter

noreply@blogger.com (el) — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 05:53:00 +0000

I like white fog rolling eerily off Lake Washington much better than gray, dreary rain. Despite the hassles of working on the eastside, I never tire of crossing the 520 bridge.*

*To be clear, I never mind the view on the bridge. I often hate the rest of 520.

It begins

noreply@blogger.com (el) — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 06:54:00 +0000

"It" is Project 365. I've wanted to do it since New Years Eve, and I finally felt like I was ready to tackle it. Halloween weekend seemed like a good, memorable time to start, with the added bonus of lots of photoworthy events. The goal is to take a photo every day. Posting every day is nice, but not required. It's about documenting your life and learning a lot about taking pictures. I'm guessing it's also about achieving a persistent, long term goal. It feels a little like tending to a garden - you have to wait for a long time to see what you'll get out of it.

It's almost midnight here, so I'm going to stop talking about start posting. With that, I give you my first three days.

Was that a rhetorical question?

noreply@blogger.com (el) — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 23:15:00 +0000

In the past couple of days, I've discovered a less than productive communication habit of mine. When I disagree with what someone is doing or thinking, I ask them what I'm thinking is a clarifying question. You know, questions like, "Do you really think that x will happen?" or "So you think that I'm supposed to do X, then Y, then Z?"

In my head, these seem reasonable ways to proceed with the conversation. Then you factor in my inevitable head tilt, piercing stare, and possibly fingers tapping on the table, and it probably comes across as slightly less reasonable than I had intended. In fact, pretty damn sure I'm just asking a rhetorical question with the subtext of "I think you're wrong." Which...less productive communication than I'd like.

Now that I know this, and knowing is half the battle, how do I go from rhetorical questions with aggressive subtext to being a truly reasonable coworker? I think it's time to revisit my active listening skills. (Thanks for those, Mom and Dad.) I guess the structure I need to adopt is more along the lines of, "It sounds to me like you believe X, and I'm not convinced X is going to happen. Why do you think X?" Or, as in the meeting I just had where I struggled to stay professional in front of someone else's lead, be more descriptive about what happened and why I disagree with it, instead of putting it as a question. So, instead of pouncing with, "So you're telling me that I wasn't supposed to do X, Y, then Z?" when the person didn't know the whole history, it would have been better to say, "This is how it unfolded, and you think I handled it poorly. I think I handled it correctly for that situation. What are you asking me to do differently going forward?" It's probably going to be a while before I can completely remove the head tilt and stare, but I figure stating my opinion first has got to be a better, more productive strategy than accusatory questions that seem like traps.

Here's to another day of trying to get wiser instead of just older.

On creativity (via Steve Jobs)

noreply@blogger.com (el) — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 19:12:00 +0000

“Design is a funny word. Some people think design means how it looks. But of course, if you dig deeper, it’s really how it works. The design of the Mac wasn’t what it looked like, although that was part of it. Primarily, it was how it worked. To design something really well, you have to get it. You have to really grok what it’s all about. It takes a passionate commitment to really thoroughly understand something, chew it up, not just quickly swallow it. Most people don’t take the time to do that.

“Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. That’s because they were able to connect experiences they’ve had and synthesize new things. And the reason they were able to do that was that they’ve had more experiences or they have thought more about their experiences than other people.

“Unfortunately, that’s too rare a commodity. A lot of people in our industry haven’t had very diverse experiences. So they don’t have enough dots to connect, and they end up with very linear solutions without a broad perspective on the problem. The broader one’s understanding of the human experience, the better design we will have." Steve Jobs [Wired, February 1996]

This is why I travel. This is why I crave being out of my comfort zone, even when the lived experience is harder than I expected. Staying put is hard because my brain feels lazy when I'm "at home." When I'm in a place I know well, there's less to process. But I think what I need to appreciate is that when I'm at home, I get to bring my creativity to more sustainable ventures. I get to connect dots others don't even know exist, and in my current role I can help make things better for millions of people. (Small changes, to be sure, but a wide reach.)

Perhaps my next goal should be to find a way to keep discovering new dots to connect while living at an address that matches my ID.

Watch this space

noreply@blogger.com (el) — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 17:56:00 +0000

I don't know why I've been quiet here. Part of it is that I have a very close friend who acts as a one-man audience for my daily thoughts. I send him pictures of everything I come across, and he loves it. In return, I get photos from his travels and crazy translations. Narrowcasting can be incredibly satisfying.

But I miss wanting to talk to a larger audience. I miss the feeling that interesting things are happening in my life. I somehow feel that if I'm not in an exotic location, I don't have stories people want to hear. But there's a chance that's not true. There's a chance that simply taking a few minutes each day to live an examined life is worth it. There's a chance that blogging about life in Seattle will make me realize I don't have to run off to a foreign country to be interesting.

Today's observation is that the view when crossing 520 makes working on the Eastside way more bearable.

Being an American woman is pretty awesome

noreply@blogger.com (el) — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 17:51:00 +0000

From In Focus

Here’s to the US Women’s National Team and their amazing effort against Japan and throughout the World Cup. Here’s to the female friends who watched with me (and texted with me during the game), all of whom are also athletes. And here’s to the men who were watching, those in my favorite soccer bar and around the world. I feel incredibly lucky that I am almost always surrounded by people who believe women not only can be strong, but that they should be.

Title IX turns 40 next year. A 2002 study showed that 81% of female executives played organized sports growing up. We’ve come a long way, baby.

Speaking of, I am celebrating six months with my new ACL. This post is long overdue and I think the reason I'm finally making time for it is that I'm finally back to doing sports. It's hard to believe all that's happened to me since surgery. I went from hardly being able to hobble around my apartment to being told I am now strong enough to start competing in triathlons. I'm not fit enough, but the fact that now the only thing stopping me is me feels fantastic. I'm celebrating by running 4 miles and hopefully doing a 40 mile bike ride this weekend. I've got a hiking date in a few weeks, and get to start passing soccer balls around. Only three more months until full contact soccer again. I'm so happy I glow.

Ways I've been amusing myself this summer

noreply@blogger.com (el) — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 19:45:00 +0000

I've managed a fair amount of short getaways this summer, which has been fantastic. One weekend was spent in Gold Bar, in a house situated directly on the Skykomish River in the Cascades. It took us all of an hour to get here. The ability to do short adventures like this is part of the reason I'm still sticking with Seattle. I love you, North Shore, but you're just really far away from big towns.

Double rainbows, amazing pork products, and bocce, oh my!

Happy Pride!

noreply@blogger.com (el) — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 05:28:00 +0000

Hard not to love a neighborhood inhabited by hard-partying blow-up rainbow unicorns. Nice going New York supporting gay marriage, and hope everyone had a great Pride weekend.

Dream visit

noreply@blogger.com (el) — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 16:45:00 +0000

Have I mentioned I have the best sister ever? At my request, she brought my adorable niece to visit me. We had a fantastic time hanging out together and meeting up with friends. Even more important, Big Sis got some quiet time to read and I got to take a nap with my niece. How awesome is that? :)

Highest praise

noreply@blogger.com (el) — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 06:51:00 +0000

Just received an email from someone who came up to me after I presented at a conference. The message included this paragraph:

I wanted to let you know that I've been working on my project on technology and human trafficking. I am writing a report about guidelines for technological interventions in the human trafficking space, one of which is inspired by your single question framework.

My research was inspiring! Best. birthday present. ever.

Revitalization

noreply@blogger.com (el) — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 20:05:00 +0000

I finally figured out how to post from my phone. Woot! Another friend had thrown up a few posts after a hiatus, which got me thinking about why I don't post anymore. Partly it's work. (Er, which I should really be doing right now.) It's the first time since I've started this blog that I have a Real Job. I find that having to be on the computer all day doing stuff for other people (as opposed to the rather self-indulgent computer time in grad school), means I don't do anything personal on my computer at home. Also, there's now the whole smart phone element in my life. It's freakish how much that has changed my computing habits. (The consuming vs producing battle wages on.) Throw in the the churn of friendships new enough to need nurturing and a body still needing lots of deliberate yet uninspiring exercise, and I wind up with a lot less time communing with the blog (and myself, really).

Something I do find time for is taking pictures and emailing friends. One particular friend gets a weekly dose of pictures. He always takes the time to respond and comment on every picture, and I love that. I'm curious to see what it will feel like to now post my mobile pictures here as well, now that I have an easy way to get them off my phone. I hope you'll like them. This also gives me faith that I can achieve my goal for 2012 of completing Project 365 (posting a photo a day).

I turn 36 in a week. I have to say, 35 didn't turn out how I thought it would and 2011 has not started the way I had hoped. Not bad, necessarily, but more focused on stabilization than I had hoped. Can't be helped with new jobs, re-entry to a city, and a damaged body part, I guess. We'll see what story year 36 has to tell in a year.

Take 3 at posting from my phone

noreply@blogger.com (el) — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 19:42:00 +0000

Dear Bloggr,

Love that I might be able to post from my phone. Much less love for the lack of feedback that tells me if stuff is posting or not.

Also, use either Bloggr or blogger when referring to yourself. Not both. It's driving me a bit nuts.

Love,
Surly Girl

Surly Girl visits the fish market

noreply@blogger.com (el) — Tue, 10 May 2011 07:02:00 +0000

Quick wording of warning - this is probably not the best viewing for vegetarians. And there's one shot of eels in bloody buckets. Putting that out there so no one is surprised. That said, the Tsukiji fish market was all kinds of awesome and everyone should go there. However, you should read the helpful advice from the tourism counsel BEFORE you enter the fish market. (Shown in photo 17 of 24.) Would have saved me a bit of time and a couple of near-death experiences with motorized vehicles.

These aren't my most glamorous photos, but the captions and the images tell a good story.

Japan, Mar 2011

Happy Tuesday.

Day 3 of Asian Adventure

noreply@blogger.com (el) — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 18:28:00 +0000

(See also Day 1 and Day 2.)

March 8, Tuesday

Back to Ueno Park! Oh, but first another slow morning, this time punctuated with conveyor-belt sushi. It wasn’t perfect, but a fun experience. I learned that Japanese people also enjoy tuna salad, sushi mixed with mayonnaise. Well sure, why not. I also failed miserably at getting wasabi from the belt to my plate, and wound up holding the spoon. Luckily, no one seemed to mind and Karl helped me get the spoon reunited with its container. That must happen all the time, right?

At Ueno, I tackled the National Museum. Covering numerous galleries and five building, I didn’t see all of it. The dim lights and glass cases were soothing. I was taken back to my last museum experience, at the Forbidden City with Dave. How arresting that museum visit had been to my senses. My time in China was arresting, so fully immersive, each new experience was a shock to my system. This time, it was a ripple in a continuous flow of small new stimuli. A much easier, pleasant experience, but I know I miss the whiplash of living in China.

Tokyo feels like a gigantic cosmopolitan city. It could be London or Istanbul for all I can tell. People are pretty and dressed well, the buildings are tall, everything is everywhere at all hours of the day. Such a contrast to Beijing, the international capital city that has missed out on also being cosmopolitan. Later in the week it dawns on me that Beijing is like Portland. The Northern Capital seems to lack a distinctive skyline. There’s no glow or newness to it. More people are downtrodden, because they can afford to be downtrodden and live there. But they fight back with brightly colored clothing and loud noises. Tokyo is like Seattle – shiny, metal, glass, new. Everyone is polished, and everyone wears black. No peasants anywhere, as OG said. It’s true. In Beijing, foreigners were novelties that provoked an emotional reaction from almost everyone. Here in Japan, we’re no more interesting than the ads they pass in subways. Tokyo, despite its huge numbers, has managed to cultivate a more sophisticated population. Even the face masks have different personalities. In Beijing, I was forever scarred by the sight of a SpongeBob Squarepants mask but I respect the wear’s desire to spice things up a bit. Here, all of them are white and surgical looking. The ease of Japan surprises me, but also makes me feel like I could happily and comfortably live here. I find myself wanting to learn how to be polite, bow, abstain from handing people money, and bathe.

Back to the museum. I learned about swords, and Nho costumes, and lacquer, and the Edo period (which was really quite recent). I did stop for a while to read on a couch, a concession to my limits. I’m glad I went, but I find modern Japan with its mange, anime, and cosplay more fascinating that shrines and warriors of old. The Path of the Buddha exhibit did enthrall me, though. I would never have said Buddha started in Pakistan. I have affection for the Buddhist images I see around town, and wonder if there is anyone out there who finds them oppressive, as I feel about the flowing haired images of God and Jesus. With over a billion people exposed to Buddhism, Occam’s razor says at least a few must feel that way, and I’d love to know what form that takes. I make my way to the Asian arts building and am fascinated by how people perceive the boundaries of Asia. Cambodia, Vietnam, and China are no surprise, but Laos doesn’t make the list. However, Iraq and Egypt get claimed as being continental neighbors. Is that a common perception here, or just a museum convention? Terribly curious about that.

I debated checking out another museum. However, like a coin-fed ride, my knee told me my four hours were up, so I headed back to Karl. I fall asleep during an episode of No Reservations, but blame Anthony Bourdain for picking such terrible topics as ordering a cocktail in Tokyo. (So. damn. expensive.) Street food didn’t come until later, and I had lost all patience and consciousness at that point. Is it just me, or is his success making him soft? Wandering around with Chef Morimoto (name could be wrong, but it’s the Iron Chef guy) isn’t exactly staying true to the idea of “no reservations.” We miss the old you, Tony. But I digress. And probably still want to read Nasty Bits.

When I awake, we rouse ourselves to head back to out. Tonight’s cuisine is to be okonomiyaki, a cabbage and egg concoction covered in oyster sauce and mayonnaise. We ate three of them. They were delicious. And my contentment at getting to spend time with Karl grows. Seriously, seriously love that guy and value his friendship. I love it when I make good decisions like that.

I have a couple of sticking points about this trip. In my quest for modern Japan, I want to visit a cat café and the Ghibli Museum (Ghibli Studios produce Miyazaki’s anime films, such as Princess Monoake, Spirited Away, and Kiki’s Delivery Service) . The Ghibli Museum involves getting tickets from a Lawson’s convenience store, yet another vending machine-type experience. I have been insistent about this, knowing any place that says you can only order tickets three months in advance and absolutely cannot buy them on site is probably pretty popular. Karl poo poos this idea until he realizes the only slot with tickets available for the next day is the 4 pm slot. Ha! But I had the tickets, so all was well and good. Bring on tomorrow!

At long last, some photos - Hiroshima

noreply@blogger.com (el) — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 16:02:00 +0000

From Hiroshima

Not posting has been driving me crazy. My struggle to balance consuming and producing wages on. I'm still consuming more than I want, and only starting to shift so that I'm consuming what I want. That includes indulging in Exit Through the Gift Shop and getting going on The Crying of Lot 49. I am slowly producing, with work picking up speed in a good (although sometimes overwhelming) way, and a semi-regular focus on setting and achieving life goals. Physical therapy continues to fascinate and annoy. My PT figures there must be a reason I've torn two ACLs, so I'm being more or less reassembled so that won't happen again. It's a very scary thing to do when your body has been mostly reliable your whole life.

These pictures aren't new, but I've been sitting on this album for a while because I wanted to add captions. But now I just want you to appreciate how beautiful the Peace Park is, and how amazing origami cranes are. The album starts here.

Happy Monday, y'all. Miss you.

Interlude

noreply@blogger.com (el) — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 09:17:00 +0000

I have trip write ups and photos that are long overdue to be posted. I'm not sure exactly what I've been dong since I've been back, but it appears that I've been keeping busy. Re-entry from an international trip is never easy for me, and I'm not sure I handle it well. I miss the adrenaline of traveling, the stimulus. But I don't miss the loneliness or the intense pressure to have everything be perfect every minute of the day. I do think I'm finally settling into Seattle and my life here, which quiets the siren song of expat life at least a little bit. Spring flowers and amazing skies help more than I thought possible.

So as the waves of re-entry settle down around me and I get myself organized enough to post stories of my favorite food and manga from Japan and my favorite people from China, I offer up some of my favorite iPhone shots.

Pork cutlet curry

Mt Fuji from a bullet train

The Atomic Bomb Dome in Hiroshima, Hipstamatic style

1000 paper cranes at the Student Memorial

Manga

Random beautiful temple in Kyoto