9:33 am- I just rolled off Karin’s spare futon, and got up slowly and groggily. I helped myself to a glass of water. I cursed my hangover and my lack of foresight from the night before. I reached for my phone to check my email and Facebook.
Oh, wait, damn. Can’t do that. No internet today. I wrote this instead.
10:00 am- We’re all packed up in Jessica’s car, ready to head back to Iwamizawa for her church after the Higashikawa Easter event. I had a lot of fun. Too much fun, one might say. I don’t regret it. I am, however, wondering how I am going to amuse myself during the drive with no internet on my phone.
10:07 am- I can’t find my ipod. We have to go back, Jack!
10:13 am- oops, it was in a hidden pocket in my jacket all along. Sorry for making you late, Jessica! I know you have a 3 hour drive ahead of you and your church has already started and you want to be there by noon.
10:25 am- I wonder if any embarrassing photos from last night have surfaced on the internet yet. I should check. Oh wait...
10:35 am- maybe I will just take a nap. Leave the driving and k-pop to Jessica. Yes, that sounds like a good idea.
11:46 am- I wonder how close to Iwamizawa we are.
11:47 am- wow, only that far away? How did we get here that quickly?
11:48 am- Jessica, how fast are you going?
11:49 am- maybe I should just go back to sleep until we get there. Yes, that is a good idea.
12:05 pm- oh look, we’ve arrived at the LDS church in Iwamizawa.
12:07 pm- Jess left me the car keys so I can hang while she gets all holy or whatever she does in church. What should I do? No internet. No internet. No internet.
12:10 pm- I have no clue what to do. Maybe I will go for a walk, get some fresh air. And coffee. Lots of coffee. And water. Why does my head still hurt?
12:40 pm- That walk was lovely. This coffee is delicious. I can’t get over the fact that I’m wearing a sun dress without tights and my legs aren’t cold! Summer is coming! Summer is coming! I should tweet about this! Oh, wait...
12:45 pm- trying to play guitar in the back seat of a car is more difficult than I had anticipated. Maybe I will just put it away, and wait.
12:48 pm- this is boring.
1:00 pm- okay, where are Jess and Andromeda? Church ended a whole second ago!
1:10 pm- still not here.
1:15 pm- nope.
1:20 pm- oh look there they are! And they are bringing the elders with them! Yay! I get to meet them hung-over in my indecent sundress! Quick, I’d better zip it up!
1:30 pm- well that was fun. I think I made an okay impression!
2:00 pm- I’m finally home sweet home! No time to get to the cello concert, though. What should I do instead? Stream a show? Nope, can’t. Watch a movie online? Nope. Check facebook? Nope. Check my email? Nope. Hmm... I could read!
2:01 pm- my e-book is dead. Maybe I will take a shower!
2:15 pm- that was nice. Now what?
2:30 pm- ooh I’ll watch these DVDs I have had for ages and haven’t watched cuz I’ve had the internet!
4:24 pm- Totoro is strange.
4:26 pm- Dinner time! What should I make? I am lazy. Lazy lazy. Edamame from the freezer it is for now!
4:30 pm- maybe I’ll write in my journal a bit.
5:16 pm- that was nice :)
5:34 pm- ooh I’ll continue the DVDing with this rare and unseen footage Bowie DVD I have. Yes. So much yes.
5:45 pm- man David Bowie smokes a lot.
5:51 pm- he also acts a little bit like a giant asshole.
6:35 pm- right, now that I know more about Bowie than I ever needed to, what now? Ooh I still have Pleasantville on my computer!
7:35 pm- this movie is weird. Also I am super sleepy.
And that is the last thing I wrote before I fell asleep.
All in all, I think the internet-free day was a good idea! I think I will continue to adopt it every Sunday. It made me more productive, I did things I wouldn’t have done otherwise, like finally watching those films. I could get used to it.
Have you ever gone without internet or anything? Let me know :D
Monday, May 28, 2012
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Week 10: Get a Pixie Cut
I love playing with my hair. It has been long, short, medium length. It’s been curly and straight. It’s been blonde, brown, black, and red. There are few things I wouldn’t do to my head, just to wonder if it would look good, and the few things I wouldn’t do are only because I have a job where I need fairly conservative hair.
I also get bored easily, and when my hair has been one style for too long, I start to get antsy. I comb through websites with photos of different hairstyles, asking my friends how they’d look on me.
“No,” I think. “I need to grow my hair out. It needs to happen. I want long, beautiful flowing locks a la Zooey Deschanel.” And then I go against my thoughts and lumber down to the salon to chop it all off.
That is what happened a few weeks ago, when I decided rather suddenly to get the pixie cut I’d always dreamed of having, but stopped just short of achieving. I had cut my hair short before, but never Emma Watson short. And that is what I wanted.
I called up Jessica, eager to get her recommendation for a place to go. She had had her haircut in Japan twice, and always ended up looking super cute. Because of this, I went for a run to her place, and then we drove down to the salon together. As it turned out, I had been to karaoke on my birthday with my hairdresser! While her English was non-existent, she was super nice, and more importantly, very talented with a pair of scissors.
We talked back and forth in broken Japanese, and she asked how much I wanted taken off. I showed her the photo that I’d brought with me, and I swear, her eyes almost popped out of their sockets. “Really?!” she asked in Japanese. “So short!”
“Yes, I know. Get rid of it.” I replied in my amazing flawless Japanese.
And so she did. And I ended up looking like this:
I know you have all probably seen pictures of my hair by now and you’ve told me what you thought, but if this is new to you, what do you think? Should I stick with long hair or short? Have you ever done anything crazy to your hair? Let me know!
 |
| black. |
 |
| blonde. |
 |
| red. |
“No,” I think. “I need to grow my hair out. It needs to happen. I want long, beautiful flowing locks a la Zooey Deschanel.” And then I go against my thoughts and lumber down to the salon to chop it all off.
 |
| look. at. that. hair. |
That is what happened a few weeks ago, when I decided rather suddenly to get the pixie cut I’d always dreamed of having, but stopped just short of achieving. I had cut my hair short before, but never Emma Watson short. And that is what I wanted.
 |
| the before photo. right after my last haircut. |
I called up Jessica, eager to get her recommendation for a place to go. She had had her haircut in Japan twice, and always ended up looking super cute. Because of this, I went for a run to her place, and then we drove down to the salon together. As it turned out, I had been to karaoke on my birthday with my hairdresser! While her English was non-existent, she was super nice, and more importantly, very talented with a pair of scissors.
We talked back and forth in broken Japanese, and she asked how much I wanted taken off. I showed her the photo that I’d brought with me, and I swear, her eyes almost popped out of their sockets. “Really?!” she asked in Japanese. “So short!”
 |
| the photo i brought in. |
“Yes, I know. Get rid of it.” I replied in my amazing flawless Japanese.
And so she did. And I ended up looking like this:
I know you have all probably seen pictures of my hair by now and you’ve told me what you thought, but if this is new to you, what do you think? Should I stick with long hair or short? Have you ever done anything crazy to your hair? Let me know!
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Week 9: Go to a Chocolate Factory
I’m not sure if you are aware of this, but inside Sapporo, Japan’s fifth largest city, there exists a place called Shiroi Koibito Park. I’m not religious, so I may be a little confused on this front, but I am pretty sure it is heaven.
Why, you may ask? Because the park is composed of a giant chocolate factory and its grounds. You can tour the chocolate factory where they make Sapporo’s famous cookies, try making the cookies yourself, feast on some delicious chocolate in the tearoom, and run around the park for hours!
And that is exactly what I did one day. Armed with an empty stomach and a sense of adventure, I braved the cold Hokkaido winds and the Sapporo metro system to find my way to this little piece of paradise. And Cian came with me.
When I got there, I was instantly struck by how big the building was. I figured since I was in Japan and everything in here was tiny, the building would be as well. I was wrong. The grounds span for more than a kilometre, and the red-brick building instantly dwarfs everything around it. We walked up and into what we thought was the front entrance, eager to get out of the wind.
As it turns out, the entrance we walked into was not the actual entrance, so after some broken Japanese exchanged with the nice ladies at the souvenir shop, we walked out and into the actual entrance, where we purchased our tour guides, received a ‘chocolate passport’ and headed on our way. We were supposed to follow the prints on the ground as we went through the factory tour.
The first thing we saw was a lot of old chocolate related memorabilia. It was like being in a chocolate museum, but without any English to explain the artifacts, I was content to make up my own stories.
After this, we went up through the factory itself, where we watched factory workers and learned how the precious Shiroi Koibito cookies are made. From what I can tell, the chocolate is made, then melted, then cooled into sheets, then cut, then placed between cookies that underwent the same process. Everything is then packaged, and regular taste/quality inspections are conducted. It was all very interesting, but it was hard to get over the awkward Engrish on the factory signs.
From there, we went to the tea room, where we could look out the window and see the grounds and the city. I ordered the liquid chocolate and was promptly served some of the best hot chocolate that I have had in my life. Seriously, I think it was only surpassed by one cup I had in Argentina when I was 14 and maybe the hot chocolate at Juliette et Chocolat. I don’t think I will ever get over the tastiness.
After this, we wandered back down and ended up in a room filled with gramaphones. Why? I don’t know.
After THAT, we wandered a bit more, and ended up in a room full to the brim with old toys. WHY? I still don’t know.
Then, we braved the cold again and went back downtown.
All in all, I’d say it was a wonderful experience. I love chocolate, so any chance to get close to it is good for me. If you’re in Sapporo and have the time, I would definitely recommend that you check it out, because why not?
Why, you may ask? Because the park is composed of a giant chocolate factory and its grounds. You can tour the chocolate factory where they make Sapporo’s famous cookies, try making the cookies yourself, feast on some delicious chocolate in the tearoom, and run around the park for hours!
And that is exactly what I did one day. Armed with an empty stomach and a sense of adventure, I braved the cold Hokkaido winds and the Sapporo metro system to find my way to this little piece of paradise. And Cian came with me.
When I got there, I was instantly struck by how big the building was. I figured since I was in Japan and everything in here was tiny, the building would be as well. I was wrong. The grounds span for more than a kilometre, and the red-brick building instantly dwarfs everything around it. We walked up and into what we thought was the front entrance, eager to get out of the wind.
As it turns out, the entrance we walked into was not the actual entrance, so after some broken Japanese exchanged with the nice ladies at the souvenir shop, we walked out and into the actual entrance, where we purchased our tour guides, received a ‘chocolate passport’ and headed on our way. We were supposed to follow the prints on the ground as we went through the factory tour.
The first thing we saw was a lot of old chocolate related memorabilia. It was like being in a chocolate museum, but without any English to explain the artifacts, I was content to make up my own stories.
After this, we went up through the factory itself, where we watched factory workers and learned how the precious Shiroi Koibito cookies are made. From what I can tell, the chocolate is made, then melted, then cooled into sheets, then cut, then placed between cookies that underwent the same process. Everything is then packaged, and regular taste/quality inspections are conducted. It was all very interesting, but it was hard to get over the awkward Engrish on the factory signs.
From there, we went to the tea room, where we could look out the window and see the grounds and the city. I ordered the liquid chocolate and was promptly served some of the best hot chocolate that I have had in my life. Seriously, I think it was only surpassed by one cup I had in Argentina when I was 14 and maybe the hot chocolate at Juliette et Chocolat. I don’t think I will ever get over the tastiness.
After this, we wandered back down and ended up in a room filled with gramaphones. Why? I don’t know.
After THAT, we wandered a bit more, and ended up in a room full to the brim with old toys. WHY? I still don’t know.
Then, we braved the cold again and went back downtown.
All in all, I’d say it was a wonderful experience. I love chocolate, so any chance to get close to it is good for me. If you’re in Sapporo and have the time, I would definitely recommend that you check it out, because why not?
Week 8: Watch the Sun Set Over the Ocean
I have probably done this before, but I was really running out of ideas this week, so it seemed like as good an idea as any. It really doesn’t require much of a backstory, so without further ado, here is a picture of the sunset:
Disclaimer: this is not actually the sunset I saw, although it looked something like this. I was lame and forgot to snap a picture. Sorry guys.
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