On Tuesday we were lucky enough to have the day off... And we were also lucky enough to have the Eckbergs + Brooke Babcock come to visit!
The 3 guys went to Himeji whilst Emma and Tiff chilled at our apartment in Akashi and (I can only assume) had tickle fights and tried on underwear for each other...
Then at night we all met up in Kobe for dinner and walking around! We ate at the Harborland Cafe.. I had a "Sasebo Jumbo Burger". It was huge and awesome! Burger, cheese, bacon, egg, lettuce, tomato, mayo... Good stuff!
I didn't have the camera with me in Himeji, but here are some pics from Kobe!
As soon as Eckberg posts the Himeji Castle pics, I'll link up to it... He'd better hurry up!! *shakes fist*
9.28.2007
"Baseball..." "F--- Yeah!"
Yesterday we went to our first Japanese baseball game!
We watched the (Kobe) Orix Buffaloes play the (say it with me) Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles... Just rolls off the tongue, doesn't it? Makes for good cheers...
The game was a great time! We all met at about 1:30 to have lunch and some beers, then rode the train to the ballpark... We got tickets for only 1500 yen ($12.96) and with some smuggled in tall boys (or "silos" if you're from Iowa (or "big cans of beer" if you're Sherbie)), we were set for a wonderful night!
The weather was awesome! FINALLY not humid and not hot... Good stuff!
Got a hot dog at the concession stand, it was smaller and more efficient then an American hot dog, but still really good... Not as spicy, but still had plenty of 'chup, 'tard, onions, and relish on it... Good stuff!
The pictures are here, and let me say they are awesome! Enjoy!
We watched the (Kobe) Orix Buffaloes play the (say it with me) Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles... Just rolls off the tongue, doesn't it? Makes for good cheers...
The game was a great time! We all met at about 1:30 to have lunch and some beers, then rode the train to the ballpark... We got tickets for only 1500 yen ($12.96) and with some smuggled in tall boys (or "silos" if you're from Iowa (or "big cans of beer" if you're Sherbie)), we were set for a wonderful night!
The weather was awesome! FINALLY not humid and not hot... Good stuff!
Got a hot dog at the concession stand, it was smaller and more efficient then an American hot dog, but still really good... Not as spicy, but still had plenty of 'chup, 'tard, onions, and relish on it... Good stuff!
The pictures are here, and let me say they are awesome! Enjoy!
9.19.2007
Football!
In case you didn't know, football (American Football) is not very popular here in Japan... In fact, I'd say it's not popular at all... Most of my students don't know what it is, or if they do, they think it's boring or they don't understand it...
So I was delighted today to have the chance to play some catch with a couple other NOVA teachers... There were supposed to be 6 or so, but only 3 of us showed up, so we played catch for a bit (which is a treat in itself, finding a football to buy or play catch in Japan with is like finding gold in the Boone River...) and then took turns QBin' and doing some one-on-one pass patterns...
Three things I learned...
1. Losing weight doesn't equate with being in shape...
2. Many parks in Japan are all gravel and dust...
3. Gripping, catching, and throwing a football that is covered in dust is difficult...
It was fun, but I look forward to trying to organize some more people playing so we can have an actual game... And maybe trying to find a place that is grass...
So I was delighted today to have the chance to play some catch with a couple other NOVA teachers... There were supposed to be 6 or so, but only 3 of us showed up, so we played catch for a bit (which is a treat in itself, finding a football to buy or play catch in Japan with is like finding gold in the Boone River...) and then took turns QBin' and doing some one-on-one pass patterns...
Three things I learned...
1. Losing weight doesn't equate with being in shape...
2. Many parks in Japan are all gravel and dust...
3. Gripping, catching, and throwing a football that is covered in dust is difficult...
It was fun, but I look forward to trying to organize some more people playing so we can have an actual game... And maybe trying to find a place that is grass...
Huge Package!
So yesterday there was a note from the post office that we had gotten a package! We didn't get it until after the post office closed, so we had to wait until today... Emma went and picked it up today... Good Lord was it huge!
It was sent by Stacy and Kendrick, and contained many delicious and awesome things...
I will entice you to click here for the pictures of the package by giving you this preview...
9.14.2007
Yakisoba!
Emma and I have been experimenting with making yakisoba ourselves...
Yakisoba is basically fried noodles... with meat... and cabbage.... and sauce.... and delicious...
So we bought some noodles, and some chicken, and some bacon, and some cabbage, and some yakisoba sauce.... and then we conveniently already had a metal pan and a metal grate through which compressed natural gas is pumped through and ignited and controlled through the combination of air...
So we combined all of the aforementioned ingredients (using the metal pan to contain everything, rather than trying to put the pan into the chicken... my dyslexic friend always does that! Whaa-waa!)
It turned out pretty damn good! Twice! Good stuff! Check out the pics!
I think next we will try to tackle okonomiyaki....
Yakisoba is basically fried noodles... with meat... and cabbage.... and sauce.... and delicious...
So we bought some noodles, and some chicken, and some bacon, and some cabbage, and some yakisoba sauce.... and then we conveniently already had a metal pan and a metal grate through which compressed natural gas is pumped through and ignited and controlled through the combination of air...
So we combined all of the aforementioned ingredients (using the metal pan to contain everything, rather than trying to put the pan into the chicken... my dyslexic friend always does that! Whaa-waa!)
It turned out pretty damn good! Twice! Good stuff! Check out the pics!
I think next we will try to tackle okonomiyaki....
9.10.2007
New furniture!
We got some new pieces of furniture! Check them out here!
New couch, new coffee table, and some new shelves and lamps!
Only paid for the coffee table, everything else was free! BANG!
New couch, new coffee table, and some new shelves and lamps!
Only paid for the coffee table, everything else was free! BANG!
YAKINIKU!!!
Last night Emma and I went to a Yakiniku restaurant...
What is yakiniku, you ask? Well, it's basically the greatest thing ever... Imagine a mini-grill in front of you, and unlimited amounts of small cuts of steak to place upon that grill... And all the while you are drinking as much beer as you want...
You have just imagined the greatest dinner experience ever...
If that doesn't sound like the greatest dinner experience ever, please stop reading my blog as we should not be friends anymore...
For the low, low price of 4,200 yen ($37.048 U.S. as of 9:00pm on 9/7/07 (according to my conversion widget)) we had all-you-can-eat meat and all-you-can-drink beer...
Holy lord did I eat a lot of beef... So much... Lungs and sinuses stuffed with beef... And it was good beef too! Not Kobe beef, but pretty damn good... and ridiculously fresh as you grill it in front of you!
And they had two different kinds of sauces for dippin'... And they give you a garlic paste and a hot sauce paste to mix into the sauce if you like...
We also had a ton of fresh scallops... I don't like them as much as Emma, but they were still good... There are pics here...
We will definitely be going again! So good! We give props to Toshi (our Japanese friend) for inviting us and helping us order!
What is yakiniku, you ask? Well, it's basically the greatest thing ever... Imagine a mini-grill in front of you, and unlimited amounts of small cuts of steak to place upon that grill... And all the while you are drinking as much beer as you want...
You have just imagined the greatest dinner experience ever...
If that doesn't sound like the greatest dinner experience ever, please stop reading my blog as we should not be friends anymore...
For the low, low price of 4,200 yen ($37.048 U.S. as of 9:00pm on 9/7/07 (according to my conversion widget)) we had all-you-can-eat meat and all-you-can-drink beer...
Holy lord did I eat a lot of beef... So much... Lungs and sinuses stuffed with beef... And it was good beef too! Not Kobe beef, but pretty damn good... and ridiculously fresh as you grill it in front of you!
And they had two different kinds of sauces for dippin'... And they give you a garlic paste and a hot sauce paste to mix into the sauce if you like...
We also had a ton of fresh scallops... I don't like them as much as Emma, but they were still good... There are pics here...
We will definitely be going again! So good! We give props to Toshi (our Japanese friend) for inviting us and helping us order!
9.08.2007
9.06.2007
Mac to the Muthagrabbin' MINI!!!
Our morning slumber was jarringly broken today by the sound of a piercing doorbell... but...
We could not have been more excited...
The doorbell heralded the arrival of our new (old) Mac Mini! Sweet!
It's a G4, 1.25 gHz with 512 RAM and a 40 GB HDD plus Airport (Wireless) Card and Bluetooth... For all you nerds out there...
The Mini (which I have dubbed "NanoMac") is out new Media Center/Entertainment device...
With the addition of a 500 GB external FW hard drive, some free software, (VLC Player, Nestopia, Emulator Enhancer and Transmission) a massive number of Nintendo ROMs I acquired from Eckberg, and a USB controller, we can watch all the English TV and Movies we can download, and I can play just about every Nintendo game ever released... BANG!
So here's some pics of it all set up...
Very excited...
A very special thanks to Emma's parents for picking up the Mini in Northfield and shipping it to us! It is awesome!
We could not have been more excited...
The doorbell heralded the arrival of our new (old) Mac Mini! Sweet!
It's a G4, 1.25 gHz with 512 RAM and a 40 GB HDD plus Airport (Wireless) Card and Bluetooth... For all you nerds out there...
The Mini (which I have dubbed "NanoMac") is out new Media Center/Entertainment device...
With the addition of a 500 GB external FW hard drive, some free software, (VLC Player, Nestopia, Emulator Enhancer and Transmission) a massive number of Nintendo ROMs I acquired from Eckberg, and a USB controller, we can watch all the English TV and Movies we can download, and I can play just about every Nintendo game ever released... BANG!
So here's some pics of it all set up...
Very excited...
A very special thanks to Emma's parents for picking up the Mini in Northfield and shipping it to us! It is awesome!
Package Pics!
I know you've all been waiting for more package pictures (get your head out of the gutter Sherbie)...
So here's some pics of a package I got from my buddy Jake... He came through with a massive amount of salsa!
We have been enjoying the salsa a lot! And we've got some avocados that are awaiting ripening to use with the guacamole mix!
Awesome!
So here's some pics of a package I got from my buddy Jake... He came through with a massive amount of salsa!
We have been enjoying the salsa a lot! And we've got some avocados that are awaiting ripening to use with the guacamole mix!
Awesome!
9.01.2007
Back from Omihachiman!
So if you read my earlier post about heading to "The O-mi" (say it like "The O.C." to make it sound super cool) you are probably expecting some juicy details about how fun the beach was, how delicious the tikka was, and possibly looking forward to a picture of Emma in a swimsuit (rowr!)... But alas...
It has been 90+ degrees for the past month...
I am not lying, exaggerating, or using the fabled hyperbole...
But, when we plan to go to a beach, what happens...?
It muthagrabbin' rains for two goshdarn days in a really row!
But it turned out OK... We chilled, drank beer, watched TV and movies... All in all a very enjoyable time!
We also decided to favor burgers, corn on the cob (or should that be corn?), and french fried potatoes... They were delectable... And I am not being sarcastic... I ate so much!
So we missed out on tikka, but something we did NOT miss out on was the yakiniku... Basically you buy raw meat (beef, chicken, pork) and then grill it on a grill in the middle of your table... Good stuff... We ordered some beef and pork... And, by accident, we also ordered (and ate, mind you).... wait for it...
...
Cow intestine!
Yum!
It looked like chicken on the menu... Whoops! When we cooked it, it was clear that it wasn't chicken... It wasn't too bad actually... Basically some beef fat connected to some chewy bits... :P
Anyways, all in a very enjoyable weekend! Joe and Tiff were excellent hosts! Unfortunately we didn't take any pictures! We were having too much fun relaxing and eating offal!
It has been 90+ degrees for the past month...
I am not lying, exaggerating, or using the fabled hyperbole...
But, when we plan to go to a beach, what happens...?
It muthagrabbin' rains for two goshdarn days in a really row!
But it turned out OK... We chilled, drank beer, watched TV and movies... All in all a very enjoyable time!
We also decided to favor burgers, corn on the cob (or should that be corn?), and french fried potatoes... They were delectable... And I am not being sarcastic... I ate so much!
So we missed out on tikka, but something we did NOT miss out on was the yakiniku... Basically you buy raw meat (beef, chicken, pork) and then grill it on a grill in the middle of your table... Good stuff... We ordered some beef and pork... And, by accident, we also ordered (and ate, mind you).... wait for it...
...
Cow intestine!
Yum!
It looked like chicken on the menu... Whoops! When we cooked it, it was clear that it wasn't chicken... It wasn't too bad actually... Basically some beef fat connected to some chewy bits... :P
Anyways, all in a very enjoyable weekend! Joe and Tiff were excellent hosts! Unfortunately we didn't take any pictures! We were having too much fun relaxing and eating offal!
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