ShigaNewHome

I'm here, I swear!

I know it's been a shamefully long time since I've posted.  I kept meaning to write about Rachel's trip to Japan, but now it's been so long that I probably shouldn't bother.  And then I felt bad for not actually writing about it that I just didn't post anything else.
And to be perfectly honest, my life isn't so extremely exciting.  I'm working at the same schools as last year, but only until March (!!!!!!!!)!  Then Ume and I are moving in together (first time I'm announcing that).  Woohoo!  That's very exciting!  Otherwise, I just spend my time going to concerts or hanging out with Ume or Sarah or cooking.  I also keep a vegan food blog with Sarah that is more active.  If you're interested, please check it out.  Cutie Pi has been playing some awesome shows this year.  They just finished a week or so tour with the American band Streetlight Manifesto and Dan (who played solo, but is from Mu330).  That was awesome!  I don't have any of my pictures with me, but hopefully I can post some pictures in the near future.

Maybe some of you remember last year, I organized a vegan Thanksgiving-ish dinner for our friends and Ume's family.  We're doing it again this year, but it will be more of a Christmas dinner this time around.  The food is pretty much the same, but this year we are having it on December 13th, so it's closer to Christmas.  I just planned out the menu last night.  So hopefully that is another thing I will be posting about soon.

Only 3 weeks until winter break.  Ume and I are planning a trip to Shikoku, the home of the best udon in Japan!  I've been trying to get there for like 2 years now, but something always happens and it never ends up working out.

Anyway, just wanted to pop in, say hi and let you know I'm still here and doing well and will be posting more soon, hopefully.

I heart Kucinich

Please check out this short video of Dennis Kucinich's speech at the DNC.

I'm an American

As an American these days, there is little to be proud of it seems...

But as I've watched the coverage of the Democratic National Committee on Democracy Now! there was one aspect that made me proud.  People were protesting.  That is something, that I enjoy about America.  Living in Japan, possibly the most apathetic country in the world, it always brings tears to my eyes to watch and listen to the people on the streets trying to make their voices heard.  Whether or not you think this is effective is irrelovent, the fact that people are passionate about something enough to travel, put themselves at risk, and stand up for what they believe makes me proud.  And it is one of the few slivers of pseudo-democracy that we have left.  (Obviously, even the right to Free Speech is thereatened in America now, but I won't go into that.)  I wish I could be there.

The rest of Democracy Now!'s coverage was pretty dismal and didn't leave me feeling like there is any reason I should vote for Obama in November, but that's a post for another day.

Long Time

It's been awhile.  I haven't posted at all while I've been on summer break.  It went way too fast and was much busier than I anticipated.

Rachel was here for 2 weeks and there's lots I can and will say about that trip, but I just wanted to check in for now to let you all know I'll update soon.

I've put some of my pictures up on Facebook if you want to check them out on there.

The Reader

Do you guys know about Google reader?  Am I the only person on earth that doesn't?

So you just copy and paste the links of all the blogs you read, then you sign into Google reader and it tells you when they have been updated.  This saves me a lot of time, from just checking each blog I read each day.  I prefer to have each blog pop out to read it, but otherwise, this is a cool tool.  It's not as pretty to look at the google viewer and thus a little less motivating to read blogs all day at work.  But don't worry, I am!

Keep Out of Reach of Children

I guess it's been awhile since my last post.  I don't have anything in mind to talk about, just figured I'd give you all an update.

The school year is finally coming to an end.  Actually, it's not the year, that just started in April, so it's just the 1st term ending.  But anyway, it finishes on Friday and I CAN'T wait.  I'll have roughly 6 weeks off.  Rachel is arriving the 2nd of August and we'll travel around for a bit and then I have a few other things I want to get taken care of.  We'll see how much of it I get done.

This past weekend, one of Ume's bandmate's girlfriend had a birthday BBQ.  I sort of volunteered myself to do all the cooking to ensure that there would be vegan food.  I made ribz, sausages, vegetables and mock chicken kebabs, potatoe salad, and of course, birthday cake!  The cake was the vanilla cake and frosting from Eat, Drink, and Be Vegan.  Everything I've made from this book has been amazing.  I changed the recipes and double the cake, but it was so good.  The night was fun and a bit crazy.  When we arrived one member was naked in the lake.  Shortly after, there was much more nakedness.  Then there was lots of eating.  I wanted to eat more, but I just couldn't fit it in.  Our friend Jason made some awesome guacamole.  I have to get that recipe off him.  Everything seemed to be a hit and everyone was shocked at how 'meat-like' the mock meats were.  Then there were fireworks, which I think are just scary.  I can't believe anyone on the street can just buy fireworks.  There were lighting them off right near cars.  The most dangerous was, when one guy let someone light a firework on his head.  It burned a bunch of his hair off and seemed to hurt a lot, but he still let them do it a few times.  One time the firework fell off his head and shot straight at me and Ume, all the way across the BBQ.  I ducked and covered my head.  It was ok, but scared the shit out of me.  Good thing I have quick reflexes.  Tashi's dog was behind me and was super scared and I got tangled in his leash in the commotion.  It was lucky none of us got hurt.  But either way, it was still fun.  I'll hopefully, put some pictures up after I upload them.

I also learned how to skateboard recently.  I took a short lesson at the skate park.  It was fun and apparently, I'm much better than most 'girls' are when they start, says the owner.  But man, it was so hot and sweaty.  I hope to start going there more during my summer vacation.

I　haven't been doing much else.  Just cooking, hanging out with the boy, and sweating my ass off.

I'm so hardcore!

I never get any comments.  Is that cause no one reads this?  I'm boring?  My posts are too infrequent?  Let me know...seriously!

Now it's the rainy season in Japan and it's very humid.  Athough, it's gonna get much worse.  I have been going home from work and just collapsing.  I make dinner, maybe do a little prep, dishes, and that's it.  I have been listening to Vegan Freak Radio and going to bed early.

A few weekends ago, I went to a Volcom sponsored Skateboard event.  Cutie Pi played at the event.  It was freaking awesome, my pictures are mostly shit, but I'll try to post some when I can.  Ume entered the contest.  His broken tail bone seems mostly healed.  He was in the Beginner, Kids, and Girls group.  He did not place in the top 6.  I think he was 9th.  It was fun to watch and I've been really wanting to start skateboarding.  Seems like good exercise.  I really need to get off my butt, but lack the motivation to do anything.  I figure this is a fun sport and I can have Ume help me.  Before a show last weekend, a few of us were hanging out in a park, messing around with skateboards and I got on a board for the first time.  Within the first 10 minutes I could do almost a 180 turn.  It was more like 130.  But everyone said I was a natural.  I wiped out twice and damaged my new Sigg water bottle, but I had a blast.  Now that my confidence is over-inflated I'm ready to give it a try for real.  Next weekend, on Sunday, I'll be up by Ume's house and the skate park where the event was, is there, so I'll try.  For now, I'm just gonna use Ume's stuff.  If I don't seriously injure myself and still actually enjoy skating after like a week, I might invest in some of my own.  But apparently, all skaters break stuff.  I've never broken a bone so that sort of scares me.  I just don't want to break my leg or butt...That would suck!  And really a broken anything would ruin my summer vacation.  I'll be careful.

That reminds me, I have less than a month to summer vacation!!!  I can't wait.  A whole 6 weeks off!  My last day is July 18th.  Then Rachel arrives Aug. 2nd-13th, and then I'll start back sometime the end of August.  Perfect.

Rockin Out

As you already know, I go to a lot of concerts.  Last month, Sarah's roommate Kate, came to one of Cutie Pi's shows and took pictures.  She takes really awesome pictures, so I thought I'd share some of them here with you and to give you a better taste of the shows than my camera can.

This is Sarah and I getting ready for the show.

Ume often comes on stage first to get the audience going.

Ume playing.

The other horn line members; Cac on the right and Tashi on the left.

Yuji on drums, it was hard getting a good shot of him so far away and all...

Ume's hat doesn't usually last very long.  Here they are mid-show and pretty sweaty.

Cool shot of the audience.

Hero, the vocalist.

More Ume!  He's very photogenic...that and he was close to the front.

Hanging out after the show.  Yuji, Ume, and I were all wearing Less Than Jake shirts that day.

I know this picture isn't so clear, but it's funny.  Ume and I switched hats and I'm wearing his glasses.  If you click on this you can see it bigger and notice that our heads are of very different size.

Satoppe hamming it up for the camera.  Doesn't he look like he's twelve years old?

Sorry, I'm too tired to actually write more.  Just come over here and see their live show for yourself!

The end!

Golden Week Part 2

Our third and last day started in Ginza.  Ginza is famous for being an upscale neighborhood.  I mean Coach, Louis Vitton, Chanel, etc...big shops lining the street and the sidewalks filled with the type of people who enjoy this kind of shopping.  I am not one of them.  In fact, I was appalled most of the time, watching people.  But anyway, Ginza is also home to an Apple store and my iPod's wheel wasn't working.  So we waited and they got it fixed!  It then broke the night after I got back.  They said it'd be temporary and I'd need a new one soon, but I'd heard that before and it's been more than a year.  Guess I wasn't so lucky this time.  It stinks cuz iPods aren't cheap and I also can't live without one.  Keep in mind, I have no tv, no internet, and no computer at home.  Yeah, I thought you could agree then.  Hopefully, Ume and I will go somewhere to get one this weekend and then I won't be leaving the house much this month.  So anyway, we went there and then next door was a shop selling makeup, including Urban Decay, a line that is very vegan friendly.  I got some eyeshadow and eye glitter.  By this time we were pretty hungry.  We hoped on the train and rode for 45 minutes to find the Tsubu Tsubu Cafe.  By the time we arrived, lunch had finished and the menu was pretty small.  Sayaka and I got the veggie burgers and Sarah got a pizza that had an amazing sauce.

The place was super cool.  I didn't get any really good pictures inside.  But it was a lot of plants, a cooking studio space, a shop upstairs, and wood everything.  The power went out shortly after we got there.  I think it's solar powered and they got it back up pretty quickly.  The staff was a little absent minded.  So we were a little disappointed by this, but it's probably our our fault for missing lunch and being hungry and a little grumpy.  No worries, it was a good idea not to be so full since we wanted to squeeze in one more restaurant before heading back.  To kill time before dinner we walked from Azabu-juban to Roppongi Hills.  On the way, we found yet another natural grocery, I forget the name, but it's listed on Happy Cow. 

This is it from the outside.  Very cool design.  It's along a shopping street that connects Roppongi Hills and Azabu-juban.  Very quaint and changed my view of the super, foreign, pervy dude central that Roppongi turns into at night.  I'd definitely go back to this neighborhood.

 

Those are a collection of photos of us from up on the Hills.  It was super windy and getting cold when we decided to move on to dinner.

We arrived at Eat More Greens about 6.  Their menu was pretty big, especially for an almost entirely vegan place.  They also put a big emphasis on eating lots of vegetables and what's in season.  I wish I could have tried more.  I got the Genovese pasta with cabbage and cashews.  I thought a basket of their fresh baked rosemary and salt foccaccia and boy was I right.

We were so hungry and impressed by our food that I only took blurry pictures of Sarah's Coconut curry and Sayaka's Taco rice.  I tasted all of them and they were delicious!!!  Then Sayaka got the cheesecake for dessert, which was NOT vegan.  (And probably my only complaint about the restaurant.)  And Sarah got the chocolate cake.  If you heard her squeal when she tasted it...lol

Isn't it pretty?

This was where the trip got crazy.  Sarah and I being country bumkins didn't realize how long it takes to get from here to there in Tokyo.  We thought we could make it from the restaurant, back to Sayaka's to pick up our bags, and be in time to catch the last shinkansen.  Who knew the last shinkansen was at 830?!?!  Anyway, we did the math and realized there was no way we'd make it.  So, we finally decided Sarah and I would get off the train and just head straight to the shinkansen.  Sayaka was kind enough to offer to send our bags.  Luckily, Japan has a very, very good courier service and we got our bags in 48 hours for only $13.  Wish I'd bought all that heavy stuff I was eying at the grocery stores.  Then I mail Ume to tell him when our train is arriving and I get nothing.  We get off the train to find Yuji waiting for us, Ume's friend and Sarah's boy.  I'm a bit ticked at Ume for not managing to pick me up, but whatever.  Then we get in the car and Yuji tells me, Ume had a skate boarding accident and wasn't able to move and was laying up at home.  Then I felt guilty for being angry.    Anyway, we get back to Ume's and he definitely can't move and can barely talk.  But he's worried about me driving home (I needed to get home for work in the morning).  So Yuji and Sarah drive behind me and crash at mine.  What a way to end the trip.  Ume went to the doctor and he has fractured his tail bone.  They gave him some pain meds and said there's nothing they can do and he should just carry on as usual.  Poor boy!

Anyway, Tokyo was amazing!  I wish I could afford to go up there more often and splurge on all the great vegan and veggie restaurants there.  But at least this way, it's a special treat. 

Golden Week Part 1

Yet another delay in posting.  I hate starting all my posts apologizing, so I'll just leave it there.

On to the goods!

As you may know, my budget is tight!  I have to make one and stick to it and I've been pretty good at this since starting my new job.  However, I got the last 10% of my pension refund and couldn't resist the urge to buy a few things I've been eying.  I got some vegan t-shirts on Cafe Press, I got the new Anti-Flag and Goldfinger CD, some makeup from Arbonne, and crap loads of stuff from Vegan Essentials.  All of this my mom, will be sending me shortly, except the tees.  My golden week (a bunch of national holidays in a row) was looking to be me staying home and twiddling my thumbs.  Then Sarah suggested we go up to Tokyo.  I figured why not.  I made a budget of 500$ roughly for the trip and I even came home with extra!  We only stayed 3 days and we crashed at our friend Sayaka's apartment.  The shinkansen is expensive, so we spent about 250 of the budget just on that.

First, Cutie Pi was playing at a big show just outside Tokyo with 17 other ska bands.  We went to that and it was awesome.  I got to talk to a few band friends I haven't seen recently.  I also saw a few bands I've never seen before.  I also saw some really shit bands.  I HATE Japanese girl ska and listening to Yum!Yum!Orange made me want to off myself.  I couldn't even listen to a whole song.  I went back to the lobby to talk.  After the show we went back to Sayaka's and had some awesome girl talk!  Can't wait to do that again.

But the highlight of the trip and main reason for going was the vegan eats!  Tokyo has so many vegan restaurants.  We narrowed our list down to about 10 and headed up to Tokyo with the maps and figured we'd go from there.  And while we did our vegan tour of Tokyo we'd get some shopping down in between.

First we went to Deva Deva Cafe in Kichijoji.  We chose this restaurant because neither of us had been to this area of Tokyo before.  On the way to the restaurant, we stopped at Natural Mart, which is a chain of health food stores.  There was so much stuff to buy that wouldn't have fit in my suitcase.

Sarah's avocado burger.

Sarah's reaction to said burger.

Sayaka and I both got pizzas, I also had a sparkling lemonade.  Both were awesome!  The atmosphere was cool, the company was great, and the food was cruelty free...what more can you ask for?

Before chowing down.  After lunch, on our way back to the station, we stopped by Lush and got some animal fat-free (and god knows what else) soap and shampoo!

And no trip to Tokyo is complete without a trip to the world's busiest crosswalk in Shibuya.  We did a little shopping at an English book store and a few shoe shops, I unfortunately, didn't find anything that fancied me.  Well, I found some shoes, but learned that 8.5 or (25.5 in Japan) is monstrously huge and how dare I expect stores to carrying or even make shoes for such an ogre.  Then we took a break in Starbucks.

Then we tried to find Roots Tank, apparently a reggae themed veggie bar/restaurant.  When we finally found it, it was not open.  Lame!  But no need to worry, we were in Shibuya and just went to the next place on our list and boy are we glad we did.  It was called the Vegan Healing Cafe.  The restaurant was tiny, maybe enough for 10 people, but it was so cool.  There were a bunch of books on Veganism in both English and Japanese.

From the outside.

And my favorite feature!  I wonder if they kick anyone out who walks in wearing fur.  Now, you may be asking yourself, who the hell goes to a vegan restaurant wearing fur!?!?  I have the answer:  Japanese people!  Vegetarianism, especially macrobiotics are much more a fashion trend or a 'diet' here not a lifestyle.  I have been to vegan restaurants and witnessed large numbers of people with leather bags and fur lined boots.  I want to punch each and every one of them for ruining my meal.

There was also a big sign with a simple explanation of veganism.  This place was cool!  It really made no apologies for being more than a diet restaurant and I really respect that. 

The menu was a bit small, but so was the kitchen, so that's probably all it could handle.  I got tempeh sausages with a peanut sauce.  Very flavorful and delicious.  I started eating before taking this picture.  I was just too excited. 

This time we all got dessert.  It was tough pickings.  Sarah and I got the chocolate almond cake with soyatoo topping and Sayaka got the Frosted cake.  Man, these were so good!  Chocolate and almonds together are an amazing combination.

As we were leaving we posed next to the Peta truck parked out front.  Not because we like Peta (cuz we don't), but because Fur is Dead!

There was also some really cool graffiti outside the restaurant.

And that completes Days 1 and 2.