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A Small Elbow Kinda Thing
Even a small surgery makes me nervous and introspective. The last time I was in surgery (2016) my vein had just blown and I woke up on the operating table, early. I remember hearing people talking in loud voices over one another, before opening my eyes and seeing the blurry, busy scene. Someone shouted, “She’s…
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The Melon Princess and The Heavenly Demon
I’ve got quite a few subscribers to my blog who aren’t following me on other social media thingies, so I wanted to post a little update. Aside from my podcast (Uncanny Japan), I have this other side hustle I’m very passionate about. That is, digging up obscure Japanese folktales, translating, retelling/reimagining them, and then recording…
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Shhh. He Doesn’t Know He’s My Kinda My Guru
It’s been forever since I’ve blogged. I’ve been working full time for almost a year now and *insert-various-excuses-here*. But this is going to change, because… …let me introduce you to Patrick Sherriff. I first met Patrick back in 2011. I was new to Twitter and there was this really neat group of cool expat kids…
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2018-Happy New Year-Tumultuous Dragons and Affectionate Minnows
Well, hello there, 2018! You really snuck up on me. I just sat down and re-read last year’s New Year’s blog post and had a hearty chuckle. I might have grimaced and winced a couple times, probably wiped away a few tears. There I was sure that the previous year (2016) was so insanely tumultuous…
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November’s Been Good — Goro Awase
My November Uncanny Japan podcast was about goro awase (語呂合わせ), a kind of Japanese, number word play. I give a few examples there and thought I was done with the topic when yesterday during every single one of my classes I heard the elementary school students ask kids from other schools if they had been…
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What I’ve Been Up To With Bullet Points
Ever since I got back from the States in early September, it seems like I’ve refashioned myself into a kind of plate spinner, albeit a somewhat neurotic plate spinner. So as a reminder to myself and a heads up to anyone interested in what’s going on in my life, here is a bullet point list…
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Happy New Year–Drowning Mermaids and Things
When I was small I often went to the beach with my parents. I loved the ocean. Oh~, how I loved the ocean. I loved everything about it: water, sand, sun, and especially I loved bouncing around in the waves. Occasionally, however, all that silly fun would come to a sputtering end. Whether I was…
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How a Pair of Holey Jeans Saved My Life or My Experience With Deep Vein Thrombosis
The whole ordeal started (I guess) a year ago. After Clarion West I decided to get in shape. I began walking daily and paying attention to what I ate. By June I was walking two to three hours a day, stretching, lifting light weights, and eating pretty well. Without much effort at all I managed…
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That Time I Thought I Could Converse with the Crows
It’s kind of true. I go for an early morning walk roughly the same time every day. For a month or so now when I get to a certain point on that walk, I come across this crow sitting on top of a huge mound of dirt. Since I have nothing better to do, I…
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The Not-a-Rice Ball Rice Ball – Onigirazu
An onigiri is a rice ball. The verb nigiru meaning to shape or mould something in your hand(s), not unlike, um, a rice ball. It’s also important to note that rice balls are the standard, go-to, easy-peasy meal of choice all over Japan (what a peanut butter and jelly sandwich was to my generation when I…
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Pushing the Reset Button
Lewin’s Equation: B = f (P, E). Behavior is a function of a person and his/her environment. The way I figure it, Ol’ Kurt Lewin was trying to tell me that in order to change my behavior (being an all-out slacker about my writing), I needed to remove myself from my stale environment (um, where…
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A Watershed and an Existential Crisis
One year ago this month my son, Julyan, started his second year of university and moved out of the house. At the time I thought I was being clever by planning ahead, applying for a scholarship and a prestigious workshop, also picking up a few more part time jobs. Keeping busy would stave off empty…