For a change...

Please stop raining on the weekends.
Literally, it is ruining my weekend plans.

Spring and autumn weather reminds me of myself. It is moody.

I noticed that Baltimore is a quite strange place.
I guess I don't get up early enough to see the sparkling sunrises or
days always start with an overcast sky.
When I face the brand new day and look through the windows,
the sky is almost always spiritless covered in gray.

I haven't seen the nice sunsets either for a few months:
however, I encountered a warm orange sky on the way back from Washington, DC. Of course, I captured the moment.
To my eyes, the sky looked like
I was looking down at the earth from space.
It was a mix of the orange and dark clouds.

Then once again, this pretty sky changed his mind so quickly.
Several minutes later rain started pouring down.

Hmm, yup. It's just like me.
So moody.

_____________________

最近気が付いた訳でもないが、Baltimoreは良く雨が降る。
毎週末計画を立てても、最近ではまともに計画どうりにいったためしがない。
一般的なのか、私のPOVだけなのか・・・春と秋の天気は気分屋さんだ。
誰かさんに似てるなぁ、とふと自分の事を考える。

朝起きても、太陽サンサン！っていう朝を迎える事は少ないし。
いつも、グレーのかかった曇り空。

アメリカは広いなぁと同時に思う。
アリゾナ州にすんで居た時は、雨が降らない日が１００日以上続いた。
メリーランド州は降りすぎと思うぐらい降る。

さてさて、別の話ですが・・・
Eの２番目の弟が今月大学を卒業しました。
メデタイ、メデタイ！おめでとう　：）
ペンシルベニアに向かう最中、ボルチモアの友達の所に一泊。
で、一緒にバーに行きました。
彼の事は高校生の時から知っているので、バーに居る姿を見るだけでも変な感じ。
相変わらず見た目は若いし（高校生がバーにいるみたいな感じだったよ）
・・・違和感ありまくり。楽しい一夜でした。

Sakura (Cherry Blossom) Festival 2008

Martial Arts Demonstration at Sakura Festival 2008 in Washington, DC

In April, everyone can experience a bit of Japanese culture throughout the Sakura (Cherry Blossom) Festival in Washington, DC. It is a day-long festivity where you can try Japanese food and buy materials from various vendors. You can also watch different types of traditional Japanese dances and martial arts.

We got there sort of late due to attending the Anonymous Protest on the same day.

In April, Sakura graces the cities in Japan. Wherever you go and see, it's all about seeing sceneries in pink. One of the things Japanese people love to do is "Hanami: 花見" in April. Hanami means "flower viewing" and is one of the traditional customs of Japanese spring. Sakura bloom all over Japan and everyone goes out to parks and enjoys the beauteousness of the flowers and drinks alcohol. Unfortunately, I was never around in Japan when I was of age and did Hanami. I could tell how fun it is from seeing my dad love it so much. It's not all about drinking, but it seems like these two things have a special relationship :P　

Oh yea, I almost forgot to mention that the festival is called "Sakura Matsuri (festival)," when you don't even see a single Sakura tree. The venue where you go is nowhere close to the trees... On the way back from Washington, DC, I asked myself "Did I see any Sakura?... Nope." I guess the timing to view cherry blossoms is also a tricky business since they bloom and last about a week or two. They can be gone quicker if there are many rainy days also.

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(Even though each entry on my blog is quite lengthy, I would love to write in both English and Japanese... so my mom can enjoy my gibberish also.) 今でも写真つきなので、私のブログは長めなのですが、今後は日本語でも書きたいと思います。

４月と言えば桜。Washington, DCでは４月に毎年恒例でやってる桜祭りと言うのがある。去年の今頃は何をして過ごしていたのか、あまり記憶が無い。今年はちゃんと桜祭りに行って来ました！桜祭りというのに桜の木は見事一本もみなかったけど、剣道のデモや色々お店があって楽しかった。伝統的な日本のダンスのパフォーマンスもありました。アメリカ人や、アメリカに住んでる日本人の方々、みんなちょっとでも日本の伝統、文化に触れられる一日です。

street gangsta!

Shoni thinks she's tough, despite the fact she weights less than 5 lbs fully grown. She is definitely smaller than any mature cats you will meet. Now, I remember why I used to call her "street gangsta." Within her small body, she has an enormous power and intimidating attitude. When she was still a kitten, I took her to my friend's. He sort of banned her from his house because she attempted to attack his beloved dog. That is who Shoni is.

Last Sunday, we took her to a nearby park to let her run wild. She is very spontaneous, so must be on a leash. People like to see a cat on a leash for sure. "You walk your cat?!" onlookers ask. "Yes I do," I smile and reply. "She loves being outside." People think she's a little innocent sweetie since she is small. Of course she is a cute thing, unless she starts hissing and trying to protect her territory. It's a public park, goddamnit. She thinks it's all hers from the moment she arrives. She stays hunched down and blends in with the grass. Bam! When people walk by, she does this surprise attacks and runs toward them with full force. It's really fun to watch her behavior in the park.

She tried to scare a dog which was at least 5 times bigger than herself. She ran toward the dog and hissed at it. Her tail got so bushy. I said, "SHONI STOP IT!" Of course, she won't listen. Her 2nd and 3rd attempts still followed after she was scolded. The dog was nice enough not to fight back. I don't know what kinda mind she has. I swear she thinks she is a huge creature like a bear.

Once she gets a taste of the smells and everything outside, she loves to beg me to walk her around my neighborhood. I'll take you to the park once again sometime next week :)

Photos are from the next day. She asked me to take her out. It's in back of my apartment.

This one is for my parents. This is how my place look now :)

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

I always have had the hots for Tim Burton movies.
Johnny Depp is one of the most amazing actors.
But who told me this movie was great?!

I was just surprised how musical this movie was. I didn't expect it to be.
The movie wasn't bad. As always, Tim Burton did an amazing job on this film. I liked the storyline. It was sort of a modern-time Shakespeare.

The beginning of it kind of reminded me of Burton's other movie, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I'm not a big fan of grotesque movies, but I've always liked Burton's since Beetle Juice.

The best part about his movies is that a lot of times he uses Depp as the main character. I'm sort of biased; therefore, I pick movies by who is starring in them.

I just wish the movie would completely get rid of the musical flavor all over it.

You are low-tech like me.

My beloved hand-cleaner passed away about a month ago. My housemate was nice enough to let me use his vacuum cleaner. However, it is OMG though. This very huge vacuum cleaner is so tough to use. For one reason, it's too big to manage the small turns. Not to mention, it took me about 30 minute to realize how it operates. I must say, it's as low-tech as it can ever get. I shouldn't complain, but who the heck would see this retro vacuum cleaner in this high-tech world? I bet I won't be able to buy something like this in Japan, not even 20 years ago. I often notice that the size of vacuum cleaners doesn't compare to how strong they are. It makes a great deal of noise, but leaves stuff on the floors and carpets. I was too used to use my little hand vacuum cleaner for a few years. This makes me sweat as I vacuum the rooms.

I don't know what is the point of this thread. I didn't mean to make fun of this pretty retro vacuum cleaner. I guess... stuff can last and work fine for a long time if you treat them right. Everyone tries to keep up with "new" looks and high-tech materials and easily throws away things which can be used for another few years or even more. Maybe that is why I like to call myself a low-tech person.

yum 2

01. Fajita

Cinco de Mayo (5th of May) ということもあって、今晩はFajitaにしてみた。 間違って、Fajita　Seasoningの代わりにTaco　Seasoningを使ってしまったが美味しく出来た。 メキシコ料理って味付けが似ているのかしら。 ケンタッキー州でよく行ったメキシコ料理屋さんはFajitaにトマトを入れてた。 それ以来、自分で作る時もトマトを入れるようになった。 ピーマン・玉葱は薄切りで、じっくり柔らかくなるまで炒めるのが私風。

Cinco de Mayoとは簡単に説明すると、メキシコの独立記念日。
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０２．Cod Kimuchi Soup　（鱈キムチスープ）　

写真じゃ分かりにくいが、鱈キムチスープを前日に作った。 H-martで鱈、購入。ホイル焼きにしようかと思ったが、キムチスープを作ってみた。 鱈は白身で、とてもあっさりした魚なのでキムチスープとも愛称があってた。 でもさ、鱈って本当に骨が多い！と文句を言いたくなる位骨が大量。 今回は、鱈の他に白菜・マッシュールーム・豆腐・刻み葱をいれてみた。

smoosh

smoosh!!

Girls band from Seattle, WA also played at Black Cat the night of TPC.

smoosh official website

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TOKYO POLICE CLUB, I LOVE YOU.

TPC's Dave Monks (Vocals, Bass) performs at Black Cat in Washington, DC [04.29.2008]

TOKYO POLICE CLUB!!

Ya ya, as usual it's been a week since we went to see the show at DC's night club, Black Cat. Finally, I pursed one of my dreams, to see my most sought after band of all my favorite bands on the earth. It was exciting! I screamed and danced along their music the whole time. I always find bands randomly, but I tell you... TPC is an amazing band. If you've never heard of their songs, you are definitely missing out on something.

Tokyo Police Club is a Canadian indie rock band from Newmarket, Ontario. It's not typical "rock" sounds. They use keyboards and percussion besides drum and guitars. I thought the name of the band was catchy since I'm originally from Japan.

It was a great night seeing their show for the first time. There were so many people there and unfortunately I wasn't able to see Greg Alsop (Drums, Percussion) and take some photos of him.

TPC Official Website

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Graham Wright - Keyboards and Vocals

Josh Monks - Vocals and Bass

Graham Wright

Josh Hook - Guitar and Percussion

I stole their logo!! and put it in my photo xD

P.S. DC's night club, Black Cat is a great place to go see indie bands. They always have amazing shows.