A little sketch I worked up whilst recovering from the Reception party.
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Monday, June 04, 2007
Hiro!
Just finally watched the final episode of Heroes...whew dogie. Fun 45 minutes, but left so much stuff spelled out for season two... Can't wait to see what kinda hijinks young Hiro gets up to in the early Edo period, tho.
Sunday, June 03, 2007
Just joined facebook the other day.
It really is a huge timesuck, but enjoyable all the same. I've managed to piss away my entire evening fiddling around with the thing. Yay.
It really is a huge timesuck, but enjoyable all the same. I've managed to piss away my entire evening fiddling around with the thing. Yay.
Meee wanteee!
Again....three intractable wants have been torturing me of late. Most recently,
the Fender Telecaster (American made, of course)
The second, easier to stave off, but still a dull ache of desire....a surfboard.
Last, but definitely not least... the beautiful steel framed hand lugged full touring bicycle.
If wishes were donuts...we'd all be fat.
the Fender Telecaster (American made, of course)
The second, easier to stave off, but still a dull ache of desire....a surfboard.
Last, but definitely not least... the beautiful steel framed hand lugged full touring bicycle.
If wishes were donuts...we'd all be fat.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Mission Accomplished!
Or rather fait accomplit if you prefer. In this long absence, K and I finally finished all the wdding rigamarole...the Hawaii experience, the Reception to end all receptions, the aftermath.
First - Hawaii
Hawaii was actually really nice, very different than I expected, but quite agreeable all the same. My first mistake in the runup to Hawaii was to watch the entire first season of Magnum PI...nothing like watching a 20 year old tv show to give you an accurate impression of a place. Did help me figure out what to pack though...cutoff jeans and aloha shirts baby.
Waikiki was a rude awakening... a tourist emporium the likes of which I personally have never seen, having never been to Vegas. Resort hotel after resort hotel, and exotic boutiques to fill the spaces in between, with throngs of half dressed people milling about ... put me in mind of Logan's Run, sans dome and palm crystals. Did see some folks in serious need of renewal, though.
The ceremony was full on church style...I kicked off the proceedings by taking the lords name in vain in the middle of the aisle, in front of the priest and my mother. Rock and Roll. We did a quick run through in about 5 minutes, and then it was time for the main event. K was absolutely beautiful...laughing during the dress rehersal and crying during the wedding, and beaming in all the photos. I was my awesome self, wearing a tuxedo that I had to trick her mother into letting me wear (she was pulling for a tux that can only be described as silver lame...I told her my choice was the same as the tuxes Hugh Grant always wears in the movies)...and the attendees were pleased indeed.
The following days played out at a frenetic pace...we had a wonderful afternoon on the beach and bbq with my parents and team america, a fantastic post ceremony dinner at a wine and tapas restaurant...and I got me some shoes. No trip to the US is complete without a shoeshopping junket...size 10.5 is mighty hard to come by here in the LotRS.
Second -- the Japanese Reception
Take every dream, every worry, every hassle, and every joy you can associate with a wedding reception, remove your parents, add a microphone toting play-by-play Master of Ceremonies and a sushi bar, throw in a pre-party earthquake, and you get the general idea. We really did have a rocking little earthquake about thirty minutes prior to the party...came as quite a shock to me, getting dressed as I was. I hiked up my britches and headed outside with the menfolk to scan the bay for tsunamis. No tidal waves were coming, and the party went ahead as scheduled. It was nice...K's grandfather was there...and a little out of it by the time someone passed the mic to him...he sang lullabies to her until someone gently took the mic away. It was very sweet.
The rest of the party was more or less par for the course...everyone ate enough and drank enough and went away happy.
We are finally more or less free of wedding obligations and are trying to settle down and figure out how this married thing is really supposed to work...its a bigger adjustment for us than I think we bargained for, but we're getting through as best we can. She's still adorable.
First - Hawaii
Hawaii was actually really nice, very different than I expected, but quite agreeable all the same. My first mistake in the runup to Hawaii was to watch the entire first season of Magnum PI...nothing like watching a 20 year old tv show to give you an accurate impression of a place. Did help me figure out what to pack though...cutoff jeans and aloha shirts baby.
Waikiki was a rude awakening... a tourist emporium the likes of which I personally have never seen, having never been to Vegas. Resort hotel after resort hotel, and exotic boutiques to fill the spaces in between, with throngs of half dressed people milling about ... put me in mind of Logan's Run, sans dome and palm crystals. Did see some folks in serious need of renewal, though.
The ceremony was full on church style...I kicked off the proceedings by taking the lords name in vain in the middle of the aisle, in front of the priest and my mother. Rock and Roll. We did a quick run through in about 5 minutes, and then it was time for the main event. K was absolutely beautiful...laughing during the dress rehersal and crying during the wedding, and beaming in all the photos. I was my awesome self, wearing a tuxedo that I had to trick her mother into letting me wear (she was pulling for a tux that can only be described as silver lame...I told her my choice was the same as the tuxes Hugh Grant always wears in the movies)...and the attendees were pleased indeed.
The following days played out at a frenetic pace...we had a wonderful afternoon on the beach and bbq with my parents and team america, a fantastic post ceremony dinner at a wine and tapas restaurant...and I got me some shoes. No trip to the US is complete without a shoeshopping junket...size 10.5 is mighty hard to come by here in the LotRS.
Second -- the Japanese Reception
Take every dream, every worry, every hassle, and every joy you can associate with a wedding reception, remove your parents, add a microphone toting play-by-play Master of Ceremonies and a sushi bar, throw in a pre-party earthquake, and you get the general idea. We really did have a rocking little earthquake about thirty minutes prior to the party...came as quite a shock to me, getting dressed as I was. I hiked up my britches and headed outside with the menfolk to scan the bay for tsunamis. No tidal waves were coming, and the party went ahead as scheduled. It was nice...K's grandfather was there...and a little out of it by the time someone passed the mic to him...he sang lullabies to her until someone gently took the mic away. It was very sweet.
The rest of the party was more or less par for the course...everyone ate enough and drank enough and went away happy.
We are finally more or less free of wedding obligations and are trying to settle down and figure out how this married thing is really supposed to work...its a bigger adjustment for us than I think we bargained for, but we're getting through as best we can. She's still adorable.
Monday, March 05, 2007
and the Beast...
We gots us a new refrigerator on Sunday...at the behest of K's mom. She did the shopping for us...basically we were told "You buy this one!!!!". We however could not afford the thing and were not sure our little kitchenette could house the thing. Mom would not be denied, however. She insisted, then she offered to pay, then she INSISTED on paying...and here it is. I swear...we could sleep in the damn thing...
Linux again
Its been a while since the last linux post, and with good reason. I have had nothing but good luck with the lastest distro I've tried...Ubuntu.
I killed windows last month and have been able to do everything I want to do with Ubuntu...iPod, photoshoppy stuff, wireless internet...it rules. So I got crazy. I installed an opensource firmware package on my ipod that allows me to play .ogg and flac type media files (not just mp3). Works great so far, and you can freely add and remove and transfer files without using itunes or an itunes clone (in linux...). The firmware is called Rockbox...
and it does indeed rock. I think I love open source....
I killed windows last month and have been able to do everything I want to do with Ubuntu...iPod, photoshoppy stuff, wireless internet...it rules. So I got crazy. I installed an opensource firmware package on my ipod that allows me to play .ogg and flac type media files (not just mp3). Works great so far, and you can freely add and remove and transfer files without using itunes or an itunes clone (in linux...). The firmware is called Rockbox...
and it does indeed rock. I think I love open source....
Saturday, March 03, 2007
How'd it go?
Skiing was great. No broken bones, and I only fell down about three times. A rousing success. In fact, I enjoyed it so much that we went again two weeks later!
The place we went both times was in Gifu Prefecture, about a four hour drive from here. We stayed at a traditional Japanese inn (ryokan) which had a natural volcanic hotspring bath system, and we spent the evenings lolling about in the outside bath with beers chilling in the snow . It was really great.
We also stopped by Takayama, a famous city in Gifu. Why it is famous, I'm not so sure...it is very old and it is a must see tourist destination for the Japanese themselves. Japanese tourist destinations resemble nothing as much as an old-timey themed outdoor shopping mall...souvenir and snack shops lined both sides of the streets, and were doing landoffice business both days we were there.
Watching other people spend money gets really old really quickly tho... so we hit the sake breweries. Turns out Takayama is famous for its sake, and in the tourist mall there were several sake shops and a brewery which you could tour for free. We toured. It wasn't a big operation, the explanations were all in Japanese, and it was COLD inside...but you got a free tasting at the end of the tour, and a souvenir sake cup. I have 6 souvenir cups now, and several litres of sake. Yay.
Since we got back, we've been busy with the day to day stuff...and we're getting a new refrigerator tomorrow. A new BIG refrigerator. Too big really....at the behest of K's mother...that'll be fun!
The place we went both times was in Gifu Prefecture, about a four hour drive from here. We stayed at a traditional Japanese inn (ryokan) which had a natural volcanic hotspring bath system, and we spent the evenings lolling about in the outside bath with beers chilling in the snow . It was really great.
We also stopped by Takayama, a famous city in Gifu. Why it is famous, I'm not so sure...it is very old and it is a must see tourist destination for the Japanese themselves. Japanese tourist destinations resemble nothing as much as an old-timey themed outdoor shopping mall...souvenir and snack shops lined both sides of the streets, and were doing landoffice business both days we were there.
Watching other people spend money gets really old really quickly tho... so we hit the sake breweries. Turns out Takayama is famous for its sake, and in the tourist mall there were several sake shops and a brewery which you could tour for free. We toured. It wasn't a big operation, the explanations were all in Japanese, and it was COLD inside...but you got a free tasting at the end of the tour, and a souvenir sake cup. I have 6 souvenir cups now, and several litres of sake. Yay.
Since we got back, we've been busy with the day to day stuff...and we're getting a new refrigerator tomorrow. A new BIG refrigerator. Too big really....at the behest of K's mother...that'll be fun!
Thursday, February 08, 2007
We've moved
K and I are finally cohabitating... we moved into our new apartment on friday last week and have spent the last week unpacking and shuffling shit around and trying our best not to get on each other's nerves. It's been exciting.
She quit her job last week, and has been on a full-time housewife jag. She gets up when I do and fixes me some breakfast and when I tell her she doesn't have to do that, she says "its my job". I'm not so sure i's into that...we'll see how it goes.
This weekend is the big ski trip, we're headed up to Gifu or Nagano or somewhere like that. I haven't been on skis in about 10 years, so it'll be interesting to see just how badly I hurt myself.
I'll let you know.
She quit her job last week, and has been on a full-time housewife jag. She gets up when I do and fixes me some breakfast and when I tell her she doesn't have to do that, she says "its my job". I'm not so sure i's into that...we'll see how it goes.
This weekend is the big ski trip, we're headed up to Gifu or Nagano or somewhere like that. I haven't been on skis in about 10 years, so it'll be interesting to see just how badly I hurt myself.
I'll let you know.
Friday, January 26, 2007
Merry Christmas, a Happy New Year, and heck, Happy Valentines Day too!
I add the Valentine wishes because it is now almost February...been a full two months with no news... Sorry about that.
Now news posts, I should say. There has been, on the contrary, quite a lot of news. Mom and Dad came over for Christmas, and we marched past more UNESCO World Heritage sites than you can actually name on your own, ate and ate and ate and ate....and drank.... Mom decided raw fish was objectionable in theory only, and devoured a small shoal worth of sashimi while here. Dad and I topped her though...we may indeed be responsible for the sudden upsurge in interest in protecting fish stocks among the Japanese.
Mom also decided that sake was damn fine stuff, something Dad and I also reconfirmed...for the umpteenth time. All in all, it was a wonderful Christmas holiday...tiring..but wonderful.
Speaking of Christmas...K and I officially tied the knot on Christmas Day. It was a beautiful 45 minutes of standing at a window at the city hall watching a flustered little old man try to decipher the forms needed to process a wedding to a foreigner....there were many phone calls and reference books and redundant questions... Romantic, eh?
The actual real wedding ceremony happens in April, in Waikiki. That little jaunt will also serve as the honeymoon. I'm looking forward to checking out Robin Master's estate, taking a ride with T.C. on the Island Hoppers chopper, and sipping a martini at Rick's Cafe. Maybe even take tea with Higgins and the Lads. I also want to listen to the Ventures song "Diamond Head" while sitting atop Diamond Head, and watch the waves come in on the North Shore...nice.
In the meantime, we will be REALLY busy I think. We are moving into our new apartment next weekend, so two months after packing up my old apartment, I get to repack my stuff and pack hers too. Yay. We ge to buy a new bed and sofa, though, and she hired movers who will bring a truck, load it up and unload it all for less than $300. Nice. I will leave for work from the old apartment on that friday, and come home to the new place. I'm excited.
K is also quitting her job. The 30th will be her last day at that monument to self abuse. 80 hour work week anyone? I thought not.
So we'll have the new place to contend with, Hawaii to prepare for, and god knows what other fun little incidentals will pop up along the way...
Oh, and on a geek note...my friend just got a new MacBook. I played with it for 30 minutes and fell deeply and hopelessly in lust. I WANT MAC. K said I could get one if I really wanted one, but I don't thing she really meant it. So enraptured was I that I went home that very evening and formatted my HD and installed ubuntu Linux. No halfway, no more MS anything. If Ubuntu cant do it , it doesnt get done. I'm appeased somewhat for the time being....but I can almost gaurantee there is a mac in my future...and maybe sooner than later.
Also, I bought a game for k's PS2. Medal of Honor: Europe...a WWII themed shooter that is really pretty good. I wanted a game where I could shoot aliens, but shooting Nazis is a fairly satisfying, cathartic undertaking as well. I also want a Nintendo Wii, maybe we'll get one as a housewarming present...
That's all for now, kids. I'll try to do better about this thing in the future...
Now news posts, I should say. There has been, on the contrary, quite a lot of news. Mom and Dad came over for Christmas, and we marched past more UNESCO World Heritage sites than you can actually name on your own, ate and ate and ate and ate....and drank.... Mom decided raw fish was objectionable in theory only, and devoured a small shoal worth of sashimi while here. Dad and I topped her though...we may indeed be responsible for the sudden upsurge in interest in protecting fish stocks among the Japanese.
Mom also decided that sake was damn fine stuff, something Dad and I also reconfirmed...for the umpteenth time. All in all, it was a wonderful Christmas holiday...tiring..but wonderful.
Speaking of Christmas...K and I officially tied the knot on Christmas Day. It was a beautiful 45 minutes of standing at a window at the city hall watching a flustered little old man try to decipher the forms needed to process a wedding to a foreigner....there were many phone calls and reference books and redundant questions... Romantic, eh?
The actual real wedding ceremony happens in April, in Waikiki. That little jaunt will also serve as the honeymoon. I'm looking forward to checking out Robin Master's estate, taking a ride with T.C. on the Island Hoppers chopper, and sipping a martini at Rick's Cafe. Maybe even take tea with Higgins and the Lads. I also want to listen to the Ventures song "Diamond Head" while sitting atop Diamond Head, and watch the waves come in on the North Shore...nice.
In the meantime, we will be REALLY busy I think. We are moving into our new apartment next weekend, so two months after packing up my old apartment, I get to repack my stuff and pack hers too. Yay. We ge to buy a new bed and sofa, though, and she hired movers who will bring a truck, load it up and unload it all for less than $300. Nice. I will leave for work from the old apartment on that friday, and come home to the new place. I'm excited.
K is also quitting her job. The 30th will be her last day at that monument to self abuse. 80 hour work week anyone? I thought not.
So we'll have the new place to contend with, Hawaii to prepare for, and god knows what other fun little incidentals will pop up along the way...
Oh, and on a geek note...my friend just got a new MacBook. I played with it for 30 minutes and fell deeply and hopelessly in lust. I WANT MAC. K said I could get one if I really wanted one, but I don't thing she really meant it. So enraptured was I that I went home that very evening and formatted my HD and installed ubuntu Linux. No halfway, no more MS anything. If Ubuntu cant do it , it doesnt get done. I'm appeased somewhat for the time being....but I can almost gaurantee there is a mac in my future...and maybe sooner than later.
Also, I bought a game for k's PS2. Medal of Honor: Europe...a WWII themed shooter that is really pretty good. I wanted a game where I could shoot aliens, but shooting Nazis is a fairly satisfying, cathartic undertaking as well. I also want a Nintendo Wii, maybe we'll get one as a housewarming present...
That's all for now, kids. I'll try to do better about this thing in the future...
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