In case you thought you were dreaming when you saw the picture below, here it is again...
Friday, April 22, 2005
Thoughts on Marriage
The big day is slowly creeping up. Four more months and I will be a married man. To my surprise, I suddenly realized this week that I haven't dwelt too heavily on the impending destruction of my bachelorhood. Honestly, I have been too busy having a great time with Kotomi to worry about things like when I can go out drinking with the boys, drink milk from the carton, or sleep in till 2 pm.
But I had to seriously STOP and think about, lament even, the end of my swinging days when Kotomi asked me, in all seriousness, when I planned to stop playing video games. ME? STOP? I am almost thirty and almost a husband. Is it time to hang up the controllers, worn and weathered and grimy from all of the days, months, and years of furious, sweaty competition on over half a dozen gaming systems? I grew up with video games!! I was weaned on a daily diet of video games!! My very existence is documented with the help of video games (remember that hole I kicked in the wall after my cheap brother kept kicking my butt with Dhalsim?). Fellas c'mon, help me out here.... Honestly, what do you remember from Junior and Senior High, cuz all I remember is the 1000+ hours of STREET FIGHTER II we put in after school at my house!!!
Is this kind of thing common? Is this a frequent affliction for maturing Gen-Xers? Are other men approaching a similar crossroad? Is there a support group I can call? What about MY Dad? He was even younger than me when he married my Mom. Did he go through a similar crisis saying good bye to his bachelorhood??!!
.
.
.
.
.
I doubt it. If I remember right, at around my age, my Dad was booting around in his BMW convertible, busy with plans to build my Mom and me a new house. Kinda puts my ALT salary to shame, and my life into perspective... but I think I understand now. Problem solved.
So, although I accept my passing from this former care-free, debt-free, beer filled world into a higher plane of blissful existence, I do lament the comrades I leave behind. Sorry boys, its getting dark and my wife's calling. I gotta go home. I know it won't be the same without me, but I have a feeling you guys will be ok. Just look at all the cool stuff you get to play with! A DVD player in a mini beer-fridge??!! Maybe I can put this wedding off just a little longer?
But I had to seriously STOP and think about, lament even, the end of my swinging days when Kotomi asked me, in all seriousness, when I planned to stop playing video games. ME? STOP? I am almost thirty and almost a husband. Is it time to hang up the controllers, worn and weathered and grimy from all of the days, months, and years of furious, sweaty competition on over half a dozen gaming systems? I grew up with video games!! I was weaned on a daily diet of video games!! My very existence is documented with the help of video games (remember that hole I kicked in the wall after my cheap brother kept kicking my butt with Dhalsim?). Fellas c'mon, help me out here.... Honestly, what do you remember from Junior and Senior High, cuz all I remember is the 1000+ hours of STREET FIGHTER II we put in after school at my house!!!
Is this kind of thing common? Is this a frequent affliction for maturing Gen-Xers? Are other men approaching a similar crossroad? Is there a support group I can call? What about MY Dad? He was even younger than me when he married my Mom. Did he go through a similar crisis saying good bye to his bachelorhood??!!
.
.
.
.
.
I doubt it. If I remember right, at around my age, my Dad was booting around in his BMW convertible, busy with plans to build my Mom and me a new house. Kinda puts my ALT salary to shame, and my life into perspective... but I think I understand now. Problem solved.
So, although I accept my passing from this former care-free, debt-free, beer filled world into a higher plane of blissful existence, I do lament the comrades I leave behind. Sorry boys, its getting dark and my wife's calling. I gotta go home. I know it won't be the same without me, but I have a feeling you guys will be ok. Just look at all the cool stuff you get to play with! A DVD player in a mini beer-fridge??!! Maybe I can put this wedding off just a little longer?
Tuesday, April 05, 2005
Better than Hiroshima??
My first experience with Japanese Curry occured a number of years ago when my brother and my two best friends took a trip down to Hiroshima to check out the sights. We were lucky enough to grab tickets to a baseball game, drink 1.75 beers per inning, then stumble into the center of town for a bite. It was there that we fell into this tiny corner shop that specialized in curry of various styles to the 8 customers it was capable of serving at a time.
That is where I fell in love with the Katsu-Curry. If there is a culinary equivalent to dropping acid, this would be it. First of all, the practice of breading and deep frying a pork cutlet is something that is done FAR TOO SELDOM in Canada. There are still people in Canada who need to accept the universal truth in the following equation: Breaded Pork Cutlet + Deep Fry = Happiness.
On top of, or rather below, this deep-fried crispy slab of heaven is the Japanese curry. Not as outrageous as its Thai or Indian cousins, and with a more rebellious edge than its bland Beef Stew ancestry , Japanese curry typifies the innovative conformity that is Japan. Put more plainly, Japanese curry is gooooooooooood.....
That is where it started, Hiroshima. I mention this to you because I believe that I am hot on the trail of a curry EVEN BETTER than the Katsu-Curry I had all those years ago. It was our first time at Go Go Curry last sunday, and Kotomi and I felt a sense of urgency, from our stomachs as well as the 5 people cued behind us, to quickly select a lunchtime meal from the ticket vendor. I had the standard Katsu-curry, K-chan just the regular curry. At that time, we failed to see the MAJOR Curry. I will not make the same mistake again...
One Deep Fried Pork Cutlet,
One Deep Fried Chicken Cutlet,
Three Deep Fried Weiners,
One Deep Fried Shrimp,
One Hard Boiled Egg,
Grated Cabbage Side,
On a mountain of curry and rice,
Served on a foot-long silver platter.
Yes, all of this together. All of this at the same time. All of this for the price of 1000 yen (lunchtime special). You even get another topping FREE if Hideki Matsui hits a homerun. I think I just became a Yankees fan.
Chances are I will not brave the tiny little nook that serves this treasure again until I am with some serious back-up (sorry K-chan, but I literally do not think you have the stomach for it). When my team is assembled, I will report back here with pictures and a documented account of the action. Any volunteers?
www.gogocurry.com
That is where I fell in love with the Katsu-Curry. If there is a culinary equivalent to dropping acid, this would be it. First of all, the practice of breading and deep frying a pork cutlet is something that is done FAR TOO SELDOM in Canada. There are still people in Canada who need to accept the universal truth in the following equation: Breaded Pork Cutlet + Deep Fry = Happiness.
On top of, or rather below, this deep-fried crispy slab of heaven is the Japanese curry. Not as outrageous as its Thai or Indian cousins, and with a more rebellious edge than its bland Beef Stew ancestry , Japanese curry typifies the innovative conformity that is Japan. Put more plainly, Japanese curry is gooooooooooood.....
That is where it started, Hiroshima. I mention this to you because I believe that I am hot on the trail of a curry EVEN BETTER than the Katsu-Curry I had all those years ago. It was our first time at Go Go Curry last sunday, and Kotomi and I felt a sense of urgency, from our stomachs as well as the 5 people cued behind us, to quickly select a lunchtime meal from the ticket vendor. I had the standard Katsu-curry, K-chan just the regular curry. At that time, we failed to see the MAJOR Curry. I will not make the same mistake again...
One Deep Fried Pork Cutlet,
One Deep Fried Chicken Cutlet,
Three Deep Fried Weiners,
One Deep Fried Shrimp,
One Hard Boiled Egg,
Grated Cabbage Side,
On a mountain of curry and rice,
Served on a foot-long silver platter.
Yes, all of this together. All of this at the same time. All of this for the price of 1000 yen (lunchtime special). You even get another topping FREE if Hideki Matsui hits a homerun. I think I just became a Yankees fan.
Chances are I will not brave the tiny little nook that serves this treasure again until I am with some serious back-up (sorry K-chan, but I literally do not think you have the stomach for it). When my team is assembled, I will report back here with pictures and a documented account of the action. Any volunteers?
www.gogocurry.com
Sunday, April 03, 2005
What more could you want in a Sunday?
I dunno if its the city, the time of year, or the girl I am with, but often I have had days in Japan where everything just seems to go right...
On a particularly ordinary Sunday, Kotomi and I set off for downtown Tokyo. We ended up towering over the city, eating Godzilla's favorite curry, strolling through the Sakura, and watching Kabuki of the SUPER variety... Dang, what a great day. Check some of the pics above...
S
On a particularly ordinary Sunday, Kotomi and I set off for downtown Tokyo. We ended up towering over the city, eating Godzilla's favorite curry, strolling through the Sakura, and watching Kabuki of the SUPER variety... Dang, what a great day. Check some of the pics above...
S
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