October 31, 2010

Thank you October

I realized today was the Halloween after I put a pumpkin pie in the oven.  And I also realized that I forgot to put a cup of heavy cream in the filling...  Ta da! A pumpkin pie from the scratch. 
オーブンに入れてから、今日がハローウィンだと気がついた。オーブンに入れてから生クリームを入れ忘れたことに気づいた。。。でも我ながらホッペが落ちる美味しさ!


お菓子作りの記憶と高校の記憶は同じところに格納されていて、片一方が刺激されて蘇ってきたらもう一方も蘇ってきた感じがします。とはいえ、土台もフィリングも混ぜて焼くだけなので、なんのテクニックも要らないのですが。強いて言えば、固いカボチャの皮を剥く根気?
こういう重いタルトは冷やしたほうが美味しい。冷蔵庫に保管して今週は楽しめます。レシピはクックパッドで見つけました。

I think my memories of high school years and my knowledge and experience in baking were stored in the same area in my brain.  Meeting a roomful of high school classmates brought me back "baking" too.

Today I bought a bouquet of flowers in the neighborhood (my favorite florist!) to celebrate the end of October.  I won't have to blog every day from tomorrow.  And I stayed very healthy.

Looking back, I got hospitalized twice in October, got sick in October and was hospitalized in December once.  It seems that I always become over-the-top excited in October and November that I tend to sacrifice my body.

When the air is cold, night sky high, and when telepathy can fly far and beyond, there are so many things to distract me and excite me, that I can hardly sleep at night.  It's probably from the nature of animals, that we get high before the hibernation.

近所のお気に入りのお花屋さんで、10月の終わりを祝うためのブーケを買いました。アンティークローズのような色のカーネーションや、シックなオレンジのバラ、買わなかったけど、秋色の深い橙の日本の菊(でもアナスタシアというそう)など、いつも珍しい花があるお店です。
10月が終わったのでもうブログを毎日書かなくてもいいし、それに健康に乗り切れました。いつも10月になると嬉しくてはしゃぎ過ぎるらしく、10月に入院したのが2回、10月末から体調を崩して12月に入院したのが1回。
空気がひんやり、夜空が高く、遠くまでテレパシーが飛んで行きそうな季節になると、やりたいことが山のように出てきて夜も眠れません。これって、動物の習性のような気がする。冬ごもりの準備に大忙し、みたいな。

Hooray!


I am done!  Finished this cardigan in 3 weeks, and I am very happy :)

Pattern: Hooray by veera, test knitting so the pattern has not been published yet
Yarn: Madelinetosh Tosh Merino DK, Denim, 4.5 skeins (about 1,025 yards)
Needles: 4.5mm and 4mm, US 6 & 7, circulars and DPNs

Mods: 
(1) I did I-cord BO all around the front, and the cuffs. 
 Coincidentally, other test-knitter Larisa has done the same, I did not realize until later.
(2) Added 3 stitches under arms.


The buttons are temporary.  I am looking for gold buttons, instead of silver.

So, I am happily went back to my previous almost-finishing project.  Now I am binding off the edges, and, for the first time, using "crocheted BO" technique.  It's interesting, easy, and quite fun.


The color is hard to capture.  It's actually russet red / brown and beautiful.

October 30, 2010

Favorite Movies of All Time

I have been meaning to write about my all-time favorite films.  It is so hard, you all know it.  I have no idea if these are my favorites, or if I want to watch them again.  I really don't know.
ずっとお気に入りの映画について書こうと思っていたのですが、選べない。。。トップ10なんて無理でした。ここに選んだのも本当に好きなのか分からないし、もう一度見たいかも分からない。

Goodwill Hunting グットウィル・ハンティング
What a great script.

l'Insoutenable légèreté de l'être 存在の耐えられない軽さ
I watched it just once.  I only remember the very last shot of the film.  But it was great.

Les Parapluies de Cherbourg シェルブールの雨傘
Jacque Demy is one of my favorite film director.  I love all his other films.

Superman I スーパーマンI
If you know me then you know how much I am in love with Superman.  Both old and new ones.

Pretty in Pink プリティ・イン・ピンク
This is a film from when we were all girly and dreamy.  You just can't miss this film.

Back to the future バック・トゥ・ザ・フューチャー
Who needs an explanation?  We all were in love with M.J.Fox... at least I was, when I was 11.  Madly in love.

Dead Man Walking デッド・マン・ウォーキング
Luokala Lokki (Seagul Diner?) かもめ食堂
A Japanese film.  It's about a Japanese woman who opened a diner in Finland. If you can find it somewhere, I highly recommend it.

Holiday ホリデイ
Love the houses, love the script, love the great actors.

You've Got Mail ユー・ガット・メール
I probably have watched this film more than any other films out there.

Before Sunset ビフォア・サンセット
I love everything about this one, too.

Infernal Affairs インフェナル・アフェアーズ
The original HK version is 10 times better than the Decaprio one.  Although I admire him and Martin Scorsese.

The Sliding Door スライディング・ドア
Neverland ネバーランド

007 Series
Especially non-Connery ones. sorry, but I LOVE him when he is over 50 years old.

Footloose フットルース

You may have noticed by now, the list is in no particular order.
If I am to add a few more, they would be: Pulp Fiction (John Travolta, yey!), Un Homme et Une Femme, Gangs of New York (Daniel Del Lewis is one of my heroes) and Seven Years in Tibet.  Or Audrey Hepburn films (all of them, except Always.  I hate Richard Dreyfuss.).

Actually Seven Years in Tibet and Joe Black could go into my top 15.

Celine

I love this new collection from Celine.
The photo is from Sartorialist blog, but I could not find a link to this particular post, so I slurped the picture from his site. Please go back a page or two to see his other photos from the Celine collection.
(c) Sartorialist blog

Kindle

Today I am thankful for my Kindle.  I didn't really use it today, but anyway.  I have been showing it off around all month, so I am also thankful for people who displayed excitements for me even when they couldn't care less.

But honestly, I am quite fascinated by it.  I haven't named it yet, though.  You know, my computer has a name.  I always choose black color for all my gadgets, so the names are usually male names.  This time, my Kindle is white, but why do you want to call your Kindle "Jane"?  It's got to be men's name.  Copernicus, maybe?

I have a tendency to feel incredibly attached to my things, like mobile phone.  It is always hard to let an old one go.  My iPhone 3G is 2+ years old, with an old camera and all, but I just don't have a heart to see him off and get a 4G.  It is just so cruel.

In case you are wondering, my mac is Alain, and my iPhone is Arsene.   How can you part with your Arsene Lupin?




On a last note, I love her singing, and I also completed a cardigan today.

今日は9月に買った新しいキンドルに感謝。そして、見せびらかす度に私の興奮に付き合ってくれた皆さんに。

Friday burger girls' night out


A bunch of us went out for a new burger shop in Kagurazaka called Martini Burger.  They have martini and burgers, NY style. (and cheese cake, and all that.)


The burger was really really good.  We all ate in like one breath.
I also had this chocolate soda, which is, according to the menu, a NY specialty.  It's kind of sour and chocolate, hard to say which.  It's not too bad, but not so great either.  I've been to NY many times but not once I have seen this.


A friend of my colleague was wearing this cool T-shirt.  I love it and I really want one for myself!  She kindly let me take a picture :)

Today I am thankful for the wonderful evening, plus for those very unique people in our office who gave us so much to talk about!

October 29, 2010

Blackbird

I skipped a day.  I feel defeated.

Yesterday, I heard on a radio (KCRW-music) Paul McCartney talking about the song "blackbird".  He said it was not about just anyone, but he meant it to be for black people. (I don't even know what is the politically correct term now... I personally think black is cool, much cooler than yellow.) Then he played the song in the studio.  The whole thing was from their 2002 archive.
Thank you, it was great.

The day started out weird.
An old man on the train told me to turn off my mobile because "they say so on stickers on the wall."  I looked up, there, on the wall behind the priority seats, there are stickers saying "turn off your mobile in this area".
If you go to other countries, people are eating, chatting, doing whatever they want on trains.  In Japan, you have to be quiet, cannot annoy others, cannot eat nor drink, and you are not allowed to talk on the phone.  They also demand you to turn off your mobile, which is, think about it, completely unrealistic and illogical.

I remember 10 years ago that they were asking us to switch off for those people with heart pace makers.  I get that.  Then I realized, they don't ask me to switch off my mobile in any hospitals these days.  I googled it, and found out that based on the Government's annual research, you have to put your mobile within 1cm of a heart pace maker to affect in any way. Come on, 1cm!

So of course, I wrote an email to the railway company to give me "the logical reason why they demand us to switch off."

****

In the afternoon, the metal thing covering my tooth came off, so I had to go to the dentist.

When I came home, the apartment elevator was out of order and under maintenance.  In my building, you can come down through exterior stairs, but you can't go in from outside.  So the elevator is the only way up.  I had to make a call and wait for 15 minutes at the entrance, empty stomached, when it was pouring outside, cold.

But then it was not a bad day.  Just so weird that everything happens in one day.

October 27, 2010

Regaining, restoring, repacking

今日は比較的近くに住んでいる高校時代のクラスメートが私の職場まで来てくれて、一緒にランチを食べました。とても楽しかった!もう殆ど忘れていた記憶が、最近色々と蘇ってきて、なんだか自分の抜け落ちていた部分が修復されているような、そんな感覚です。
クリーニングから冬物がど〜んと戻ってきて、クローゼットが満杯になりました。持っていたことを忘れた服ばかり、似たような服を持っていることを忘れてまたスカートを買ってしまいました。

Today, one of my old high school classmates came by to my office's neighborhood, and we had a great lunch together.  I have been seeing a lot of friends from high school these days, and the long-lost memories started to submerge from somewhere.  It's kind of like restoring an old painting - my memories and my self have been restored and I am seeing a clearer picture now.  For this, I am grateful today.

My winter clothes all came back from a dry cleaner in a bulk, and my closet is completely packed now.  The other day I bought another skirt, for I had forgotten about the other similar-looking one.


Above is a desert for lunch, matcha ice cream with red bean curd, 
on top of Japanese -style crispy waffle.  Yum!

October 26, 2010

A very ordinary great day

Today I am thankful for:
(1) Malcolm Gladwell - Outlier is awesome!
(2) My job - there is always something new.  I love learning and trying new things.
(3) My friend with whom I had dinner - it is fun talking to someone of your age, who has similar job issues and perspectives.
(4) That Amazon delivered me Grey's Anatomy season 5, and I just found out that Kevin McKidd is in it!!

NPS

突然仕事の話で失礼します。

顧客の視点に立ったサービス、という話題になるとき、自分の会社で必ず出てくるのがNPS(ネット・プロモーター・スコア)。何をやるにも「どうやって効果を測るのか?」という質問を避けて通れないカルチャー(弊害もある)なので仕方がないのですが、結構これが難しい。

ネットを色々検索してみても「NPSとはなにか?」といった記事は山のように出てきますが、具体的な実施例はほとんどありません。真剣に取り組んでいる人が日本にいるのでしょうか?(いや、いないらしい)

何が難しいって、質問(Q:あなたはこのブランド・商品を友人や家族にどの程度勧めたいですか?)を日本語にするとどうも意図が伝わらないらしく、とんちんかんな答えばかりが帰ってきてデータが当てにならないということです。 他の国では余り問題にならないらしいのですが。
参考になる議論がないか、色々と探索中です。

October 25, 2010

Today I am thankful for a day off.  I've had a terrible headache yesterday and this morning, and I took a sick leave. 

I just stayed home and watched Grey's Anatomy, season 4, which I bought a year ago but haven't watched.
I am also thankful for the series, that watching it makes my life look a lot better, less of a mess.
(It also helps me get used to the natural speaking speed at the same time.  Kills two birds with one shot.  I also have to add that Meredith and Derek came together at the end of the season 4, so I can sleep happily tonight.)


Photos from yesterday.  Look at the alan sweater dress!  
I can totally knit this.  Lovely.


There had been an opening of a film festival in my neighborhood, and I didn't know about it, watched it on the news in the evening.
Anyway, the Armani boutique has these fantastic dresses on their window now.  It's my 8-year-old-ish dream to one day wear that kind of dress for an occasion.  Just once.  I love the blue one.

 At a book store, the craft and architecture sections are on my regular route.  I found two new books by my favorite architect, but didn't buy them because my piles of books are growing and growing.
Among Japanese architects, Hiroshi Naito is one of my favorites.  He is a good educator and a good person too.  These books, his interviews with other architects and designers, should be really a great read.

October 24, 2010

Sick

Perhaps because of the weather, or perhaps I caught cold, I am not sure, but I am feeling sick today.
I will post more tomorrow.

October 23, 2010

Tarte Tatin - I peeled 12 apples today


English follows. Later.

今日は日本語から!という作戦で。これでバイリンガルを目指します。



思わず早起きしてしまったので散歩に出かけて、半分部屋着のままスタバでコーヒーとマフィンを頂き、編物をして朝を過ごしました。帰り道、広場で「信州物産展」なるものに遭遇。まあ小ちゃなファーマーズマーケットです。紅玉を一袋買いました。500円で9個くらい入っていた!
お店のおじさんに「何に使うの?」と聞かれ思わず「もちろん食べるんです」と答えそうになったところ、別な種類の甘いリンゴと一緒にジャムにすると美味しいと教えてもらいました。家に帰って早速皮むき。紅玉の煮えた匂いって、コーヒーの次くらいに良い匂いだと思います。




紅玉が思ったより熟していたこともあって、残りの5個も使ってしまうことにしました。



今では買い食いを極めるわたくしからは想像もつかないかもしれませんが、大学くらいまではほぼ毎日のようにお菓子やパンを焼いていました。今考えれば、母もよくあれだけバターや小麦粉を買ってくれたものだと思う。バターだって高いのに。
当時、秋といえば「紅玉でアップルタルト」が作れる季節。で、久しぶりにタルトタタンを作ろうと思い立ったものの、もう作り方が分からない!ネットで探して15年ぶりにタルトのクラストを作ってしまいました。

使ったのはこのレシピ。大好きなSmitten Kitchenを検索して見つけました。

クックパッドのレシピは冷凍パイ生地やホットケーキミックスを使ってお手軽に作るものばかりで、却下。(冷凍パイ生地は不味いです。)

リンゴを剥きすぎて手が疲れた。
ストウブの鍋を使い、鍋が深すぎたこともあって水分が蒸発せずリンゴがすぐに煮えてしまって、結果的にキャラメルっぽくならず。クラスト生地の上にリンゴのコンポートが載ったようなかたちになってしまいました。



でも!美味しい。。。。。。。

やっぱり砂糖はこれ以上入れられないので(今でも十分過ぎるくらい甘い。紅玉って砂糖入れなくても美味しいし)、焼き時間を次回は27分ではなくて35分くらいにしてみようかな。

美味しすぎる!ただ、バター200gと砂糖1カップ、小麦粉1.5カップを総て一人きりで消費するのかと思うと、非常に哀しいものがあります。だから一人暮らしって嫌なんですよね。

今日は早起きに感謝!かな〜。う〜ん。

友達に「美味しそう、あれ、カボチャじゃないの?」とメールで言われたので、次はカボチャに挑戦しようかなと闘志を燃やしているところ。

Farmers' Market, Japanese Style...
売っているものはファーマーズマーケットなのに、見た目がここまで違う。。


I happened to have a very early start this morning, against my will, so I really treated myself well.

After spending a few hours knitting at Starbucks, I found a small farmers' market in the neighborhood, and bought a bag of cooking apples.  It's my favorite kind of apple, called "Red Ball"(sort of).  In fact, I don't like any other kinds.
So anyway, a man at the apple stand told me how to make apple jam without adding any sugar - just add another sweeter apple.  So I was compelled to try that myself.



On returning home, I peeled 7 apples (I could not fit any more apples in my cooking pot), started an oven, then my room was filled with an amazing aroma of cooking apples. Hmmmmm!
Three big jars were now full.


While chopping up the apples, I noticed that some of them were rather soft.  Instead of saving them for eating, I decided to make a tartlet.  There is a fairly easy but great recipe on Smitten Kitchen, linked here.

The process was fairly easy.  The only issue was that, because I used Staub deep pot, the apples were cooked too soon and it became more saucy.  After baking it for about 27 minutes, it was not yet caramelized as it was supposed to be.  Next time I will try 35 minutes.



Anyway, though it looks like some apple comport on top of a crust, rather than Tart Tatin, it taste soooo delicious!  My god.

But if you imagine the 9 ounces of butter, 1 & 1/2 cup of flour, a cup of sugar, all destined to go into my belly, it makes you a little scared.  I hate living by myself.

Nevertheless.  Today I am thankful that I couldn't sleep in, that I had a wonderful start of the day, and ended up with a delicious tarte.

The best part is looking into the oven and breathing in the gorgeous smell.

Therapy


Yesterday was another difficult day, although, I felt stronger myself and felt it easier to endure.  Perhaps thanks to this dog, Bailey!  He is a therapy dog, owned by the Tyler Foundation, for those children with cancer.  People from the Foundation visited our company for a charity event.  They said they traveled all the way from Hamamatsu driving, because in Japan, therapy dogs are not allowed on public transportation.
Bailey is a very very calm and sweet dog... he won't hurt anyone at all.

I could not sleep well and am up before 6 AM...

Also yesterday, a friend of mine sent me this photo.  It was such a coincidence that I met him for the first time, exactly 10 years ago yesterday.
Hope it is alright to show to everyone, especially to Retta!
I am more of a dog person, but still, the kitten is so so cute.


Thank you, all!

October 22, 2010

Recovery Notice

すごいモノグサ太郎なので、なかなか日本語で書けずに済みません。。。(翻訳が面倒くさい)。
毎日ブログを書くって大変。もう10月が過ぎたら止めようと思います。
昨日落ち込んでアジのたたきを食べた話を書きましたが、今日はもう大丈夫!It's a new challenge!

全然どうでも良い話なのですが、夢で会社のトイレがすご~く広くって、個室や洗面台以外にソファやテーブルもあって、窓があって明るくって、なんか女性だけで秘密の無駄話をして盛り上がっている、なんていうシーンを見ました。夢に見るほど、会社で休憩場所が欲しいっていう意味なのか、考え込んでいます。。

I just wanted to tell you that I am completely, fully, wholeheartedly recovered this morning.  Thank you, fish!  I will come up with a new idea and plan B.  Yes!

A Shrine

As it turns out, my mother's father (never met him) came from a family that runs a shrine as a (shinto) priest from 1200 years ago.   We had been talking about visiting the place forever, so I imagined some distant place up on a high mountain.  As it turned out, it was just a town right next to my mom's home town.

It's called Ogura Shrine in Kusu, Oita Prefecture.  It's still very well-kept, although the family now live someplace else, and only come here for occasions.






It seems that the ceiling of the main building was covered with paintings, but now it had faded.


This is a very very old oak tree that belongs to the shrine (but I forgot how old it is).



I always thought that my mom does not have any sibling.  It turned out several years ago that she has several half siblings (she never really told us about them).  This time, I learned that she also had about 35 cousins, mostly on her father's side.  35 is now beyond my imagination.


And it is my mother's family that was up on a mountain.  This is her birth home, and it has been like this as long as I remember (there is a house inside the wooden fence).  My sister and I used to run up these stone steps, but the steps were too wide for us.  
There used to be a peach tree beside the steps, and I always wanted to eat some.  But it turned out to be a neighbor's tree, I just didn't know until now.

Looking down, there is a huge ginkgo tree, and beyond, it's just mountains after mountains.  It took my mom 1 hour one way to walk to her elementary school, 2 hours to a middle school.

October 21, 2010

Bloom True

My third and the last Squam class was a painting class called Bloom True.  We did acquilyc painting on huge 30" x 30" canvases.  We had 2 canvases to finish in 3 hours, which, in my case, was completely impossible.

Flora showed us how to start - sprinkle different colors of paints and just spread thinly across the canvas.





In the end, we do many many layers of colors, so that the original layer sometimes will be completely covered up.  Below is one of her work... so truly pretty.


I didn't get to finish neither of my paintings, and I didn't really have time to take photos of them.  Hopefully, I will finish them someday...

Mix It Up!


Since it's been a month passed after the Squam is over, I decided to hastily post some photos from my classes.

On my first day, I took a mixed media class taught by our lovely teacher, Sarah.


After a brief introduction, we went outside and did some sketch.  I took this photo too.

My sketch pad on the right.



Then, we played a little game.  With a prompt, we passed around a bunch of cards with instructions such as "use a stamp", "draw something with your eyes closed", "cut something from a book and paste onto your board".  A new card comes every 2 minutes, and boy, that was hard!!!!  I never imagined 2 minutes was that short.




I also made my name tag during the class.

Below is my second piece.  I created a theme around the photo I found in Sarah's stack.  The couple looked so happy, that I wanted a happy picture all around them.

In reality, we didn't really have any time to think, so I just put whatever came to my mind...

And then this one, the motif is from my sketch I'd done at the beginning of the class.  It's still half done.


It was fun!  I think Mix Media will become one of my things.