random thoughts

I'm pretty sure I'm going to write my final paper for my film class on Ingmar Bergman. I'm working on a more coherent thesis, but I want to basically tie together the theme of repentance and silence, which goes into the lack of God (or perhaps silence from God) in several of his films.

Dan and I went and saw the Oscar Short Films at Kahala Theatre. I wasn't really into any of the live action shorts (except Time Freak, which has this trailer but it's really like only 5 minutes long).



The animated shorts were pretty alright. I really liked this one called Dimache/Sunday. It was about a young boy and his visits to his Grandmother's house on Sundays after church and sort of the world he sees. I really liked the animation in this the most; the other films seemed to all be computer rendered and this felt really authentic.



My neighbor grows a ton of cacti. They're are probably over a dozen types all around his house, decorating the walls. He spends a ton of time taking care of them. Kind of wonder what'll happen to them when he (eventually) dies.

akemashite omedetou!

FIRST. I want to say. I have maintained this blog (with some infrequency) for TWO YEARS as of TODAY-ish! Congrats to me! And to those of you that read this, well, I'm sorry that the content has varied and has sometimes been pretty awful or just confusing, but I guess that's what diaries are supposed to be, right? Thanks for reading, though. I hope it's mildly entertaining.


SECOND! I have never written a post about oshogatsu (お正月) or hatsumode (初詣). Which is really weird, because it's kind of a big deal around this time of year. I've participated in this tradition for as long as I can remember! (This is me in front of the shrine on Rivers St. in Honolulu, called Izumo Taisha Mission (出雲大社) making my first visit for the year!)

While almost anyone that is Japanese would have at least a faint inkling of what I'm talking about, New Years (we call it shogatsu) is a really big deal. Hatsumode is the first temple visit of the year, which you're supposed to do at midnight but any time during the first day of the year is acceptable.

But let's back it up! New Years traditions are pretty Shinto centered; that is, the things we do aren't really associated with Buddhism, like most people think. My family doesn't do any Buddhist rituals, like the New Years Eve visit to the temple, we just stick to the jinja (神社) or Shinto shrine.

There are a few in Hawaii but this one is my favorite. The wait is always really long on the first day of the year, but it's always worth it! First you go in, wash your hands and your mouth at the washing area. Then when you get to the top of the steps, you make your donation, ring the bell as loud as possible, bow twice, clap twice, make a wish/prayer/whateva! and then bow again! Then the priest says a little chant and you're off on your merry way!

Then you buy your good luck charms. While I'm sure that my year was filled with a mix of good and bad luck, I can honestly say that the years I wore around my omamori (御守) or charm have been far better than the years I didn't go out and get one! This year I got one for myself, the purple one, and one for Dan. I haven't decided where to attach mine, can't get it onto my cell phone so I might have to put it on my wallet.

In addition to the New Years shrine visit, there's just tons of eating. Osechi ryori (お節料理) is the traditional meal. My mom makes a super simple version of it, mostly because she doesn't know how to make a lot of the things and because we can't ever seem to finish it all in time. Traditionally, you eat osechi for about two to three days-- eating the same thing three times a day for two to three days can get a bit boring, so I don't really blame her.



So she makes chikuzen ni (or nishime, as many in Hawaii call it), which is like a root and vegetable stew. Then there's kuri kinton, which is sweet potatos and sweet chestnuts, and it's gold in color so it's supposed to bring you fortune! Then there's kazunoko, which is a salted herring roe, which is supposed to make you more fertile. Kuromame, which are black sweet soy beans, which are for good health. Then there's nishiki tamago, which is just a sweet egg dish. She usually makes tazukuri, which are sweet sardines and are supposed to symbolize great harvest, and konbu, which is just a hard seaweed that's supposed to symbolize joy. I think she just opted to not do those this year.

In addition! There is ozoni. Which everyone knows/loves. Most people in Hawaii call it mochi soup. Depending on what part of Japan your family originates alters the taste of the soup. Eastern Japanese use a clear broth, like my mom does, which is made with chicken and usually simple vegetables, like mizuna, komatsuna, or shiitake. Western Japanese use miso, which I think is where most people in Hawaii are from because they usually talk about it tasting like a fancy miso soup.



Also, and I know this order of food is a little backwards, but the day BEFORE the new year you eat toshikoshi soba! It literally means end the old and begin the new soba. But basically it's symbolism is that the next year will be filled with luck and strength and bring long life!



THIRD: Another New Years tradition is to watch Kohaku or the Red and White Song Festival. It's this long television special that happens on New Year Eve, and basically the top singers for that year are invited to compete in teams. It's usually men vs women, and I think the audience and some judges vote. But basically it's just a super long television program where people perform in crazy outfits. This year Lady Gaga got invited, which I think is weird, because not too often do people from other cultures get invited, but whatever.

Anyway, this post ended up being a lot longer than I had intended but I'm sure it's incredibly informative for those of you that are a little more curious about Japanese New Years culture!

backlog

Dinner with my dad and step mom. Banana splits to follow!



Dinner with my mom (impromptu) at Cafe Laufer. Salmon + Rye and their Chinese Chicken Salad. Won ton overload. I love that it's such a quaint cafe!

best day ever

...immediately followed by a pretty not-good day.

But before that, I'd like to announce that I totally kicked some flea ass and am bug-free!



Told ya they didn't know what was coming!



Yesterday was perfect! Slept in until past noon before getting breakfast at Soul. It was my first time! It was super awesome. Total itis food. Dan had this pretty sweet kalua pork sandwich that I didn't take a photo of. Here are my bbq spareribs! Sitting atop collard greens and some vegetarian chili.



I think my favorite part about soul was the cornbread, though. Holy jeebus, glorious cornbread. Then Dan and I went to the Humane Society. Kittens! So happy! Really wanted to adopt this one fuzz ball on the basis that I imagine he'd feel amazing sleeping on my face. Had to pass, though. Then we got my bike (which has been tuned up and rides AMAZINGLY!!) and rode to Waiola. Lihing & Lilikoi forever!

Then the sort of shitty part of the day. Watching Super-8, which was the biggest bullshit JJ has pulled to date. I mean, I should've figured it'd be some Shyamalan-esque venture with some super hyped monster thing and some endearing scenes cut throughout, not to mention some major continuity errors. Typical!

But anyway! Biked home. Ate pizza and drank beer and had mallow pop. Pretty perfect!

Today I laid around and was lazy all day. Napped more than I should. Babbled more than I should. Then accidentally ingested something that made me break out in hives. Now I'm laying in bed typing this because the hives are on my sunburn from the day before and everything is a giant swollen painful burning itching mess.

Oh well.

the itching continues...!

I have a pretty awesome (glow in the dark) boyfriend.



And a pretty cool cow-skinned cat.



And I seriously regret not buying this lovely pair.

ramen + muffins

I caught a cold again this past week and have been feeling like crap since. It's definitely gotten better, but I have long coughing spells that even cough drops can't cure.

I ate at Tenkaippin (which, by the way, is my second favorite ramen place of all time) because I figured hot soup and tons of garlic would help me out. I guess in a way it did. Gyoza was a bit soggy on this visit, but who cares. Kotteri forever!





(and for comparisons sake, a photo from my favorite ramen place, Nakamura Ramen)



Anyway, I wanted to bake muffins and Dan suggested cranberry orange so I made some. I found this amazing recipe from Bakingdom and they turned out amazing. The recipe is on that website if you wanted to make them yourself.



This is pre-glaze.



Post glaze with sugar topping. Funny thing about the topping-- I ran out of white sugar so I had to use brown. But it was refrigerated, so it was a little moist and dissolved a bit when I mixed it with the orange zest. Whoops! Still came out amazing though!

home stretch

So I'm a little less than a month away from the end of the spring semester and I couldn't be more elated. I quit caffeine on the 18th last month so I'm just four days shy of a month. So far, the only positive effect it's had on my life is that it's made my teeth look a little whiter. Cons? There are many. I feel more tired, moody, and forgetful than ever. I can't ever decide on a beverage since 99% of them have caffeine. I eat a ton more sugar and may be gaining weight as a result. I could go on and on.

I was thinking about celebrating my one month with a cup of coffee, but I'm being pressured to not give up the fight. It apparently takes a month or so to get caffeine completely out of your system. I'm still not feeling "normal."

Anyway, this post is really because I went to Little Village ages ago with Joe and have been staring at the photos on my phone. We need to go back ASAP!





The top was this crispy noodle thing. The bottom is a spicy noodle soup dish and chive/green onion pancake. Totally veg since Joe is still on Lent. I love Little Village!!

I'm going to make some pastries for my coworkers on Monday and have been struggling to decide what to make. Last time I made peanut butter cookies. I think I'm going to do chocolate chip muffins next!

aquarium + random!!

Went to the Waikiki Aquarium with Dan. Super bummed they got rid of the sea horse/leafy sea dragon exhibit. But for $6 as kama'aina it's still a pretty amazing bargain. Took some photos with my phone!









And to sum this post up and be a complete ass about it, salmon onion and spicy ahi from Genki Sushi (which I ate on a completely separate and unrelated day).

where is my mind?

I haven't updated at all lately and it's just out of pure laziness. I've been cooking a lot more at home lately and eating work food a lot more, too.



A few weeks ago I had dinner at my dad's house. He really likes deep fried things (and let's be honest, who doesn't?!) so he made me a breaded feast for at least ten people. We somehow managed to eat most of it among the three of us (my step-mom included).



He took a whole chicken and chopped it up into pieces. Most were hard to discern, the batter morphing them into similar shapes. The only ones easily identifiable were the drumstick and the wings, the rest were just a hodgepodge. The mushrooms were so hot after being deep fried, probably the moisture in them coming out via heat. So we had to cut them in half to have them cool down to a reasonable temperature. My dad learned this the hard way-- out of excitement he quickly bit into the mushroom and burnt his entire lower lip. Had to use a soda bottle from the fridge to get the swelling down. Hah!





Dad really likes the crispy breaded crumbs so he stacked the chicken like a tower to get to them. I have no idea if they managed to eat through the rest of that chicken. I'm sure it'd be easy, though. It was pretty amazing.

I've kind of been on a chicken fix as of late, though. There was this pretty amazing (and simple!) chicken and mushroom recipe on Food Wishes that I wanted to try out. It came out even better than I had anticipated. Paired it with some steamed rice and a simple mixed green salad.

my cat post

So for those of you who didn't know, my cat died on Thursday (03/03). He had been sick for a few months now, roughly four, with pancreatic cancer. It was particularly painful during the last few months, watching him become depressed and lethargic, his body slowly deteriorating. But I won't dwell on those memories. Instead I think I'm going to think of the better times.

I kind of always joked that my cat was my awesome boyfriend-cat. That's because he'd always be here when I got home, waiting to hang out with me. Always there to comfort me when I was in a bad mood, or when I was upset, or when I was sick. He'd eat french fries with me, watch TV with me, hide with me when it was cold. My favorite is when I'd wake up and he had plopped himself on my forehead and all I'd see is fur. I realize he's a pet or whatever but I still can't help but feel pretty bummed. Now all I come home to is my room, empty, furless, and quiet.

Anyway, here are some of my favorite photos of my cat. RIP Pooky. Miss you.

Developing film = Automatic blog post

My commute to work is pretty tranquil. So much so I decided to take a photo. The weather (up until late) has been beautiful-- perfect breeze and coolness while still being incredibly sunny. I can't even explain really how happy I feel when I ride down this particular stretch of Kapahulu. Sometimes nature is just really awesome.



I saw Matt and Kim with Dan and it was a pretty amazing show! I really love Aloha Tower-- it's a pretty surreal venue. Unlike the Cat Power show, this one was really hot and muggy. Probably because of all the kids dancing. I punched a guy in the face! T'was a good night!



Kaz moved to Japan so SRSS has a new guitarist. Their last show was on the 29th. Still torn that he's back in Kyoto. I definitely need to make a trip out there soon.



And then here are some not-film photos of food. Takoyaki and Unagi+Ikura Chirashi-don.



These are my favorite chocolates. Before, the ones that are green tea latte cream flavored were pancake flavored. I miss them. The rest are delicious, though!





These were tarts that were on sale at Nijiya. They were actually pretty good! I really liked the caramel almond flavored. The yuzu one was okay.

Then I went shopping at Safeway and discovered that they sell sourdough bread bowls. So I made myself manhattan clam chowder and a salad for a late night dinner. I didn't know what to do with all the bread I took out (for the soup), but discovered that the chinese actually deep fry bread and eat it for breakfast! Next time!

holy pic spam update

So I've been really preoccupied with school and work and have been neglecting the food aspect of this blog. I think apart of it, too, is that I've been waging a pretty serious food photo war and there is just too much mediocrity to upload. So here are some of my favorites over the past few weeks.

I love steak salad. Even more when feta cheese is involved.



Juvana and I get lunch almost every Monday and Wednesday. Govinda's is one of our favorite spots. Cauliflower curry.



Joe and I went to Kaka'ako for lunch/coffee/study sesh. We ate at Kua'aina Burgers where I got my favorite avocado burger, then stopped by Mocha Java for lunch.




Then Joe got trapped in a space-age massage chair that had a "zero gravity" setting.



Some days I make myself a fancy breakfast. Homemade yogurt! Really upset that mom ran out of bacteria to culture anymore. Need to find a place here in Hawaii that sells it! Tea press = divine.



Another fancy brunch!



(and I saw Cat Power! with Fred. It was sweet.)



I think that's more than enough for now.