A new kitchen favorite

Last night I made a new discovery of a wonderful product: French Press Coffee and Tea Maker.



I don't know how I have lived without one for so long. This thing is freakin' amazing. So easy to make good coffee and tea with this. All you have to do is firstly put in the coffee or tea in, and then pour the boiling hot water in, let it sit for a few minutes and then press it down, slowly. Voilà!
No electricity required. Especially great with tea, because you get to squeeze all the leaves out that way.
Well OK, I've got the Italian stovetop espresso maker that has served me great espresso all these years, but seriously the French Press Coffee and Tea Maker is so convenient to use - that I am now nominating it as one of my kitchen's best appliance.

What is it with the French and their kitchen appliances? All the great ones are indeed French made: Le Creuset pots and pans, French Press Coffee & Tea Maker...

I 'heart' my new French Press Coffee & Tea Maker. Mais oui!

Mind-boggling

I am reading this book at the moment. And a passage really got my mind going:

Then Plank spoke. 'The reason why there's no Plank in the lists is not because there's no Plank - there is - but because Plank is not spelled Plank. That is why.'

Von Igelfeld looked puzzled.

This was another English idiosyncrasy. How many ways were there of spelling Plank? Planc? Planque?

Plank appeared to be enjoying the guests' confusion. 'You may be aware', he said, 'that there are various English surnames which are spelled and pronounced in quite different ways. One of the best-known examples is Featherstonehaugh, which is pronounced Fanshawe. Then there is Cholmondeley, which is simply pronounced Chumley, and of course anybody called Beauchamps is usually Beecham.'

Von Igelfeld nodded.'I have noticed that,' he said. 'There was a Professor Chumley at a conference once and he pointed out that the spelling of his name was rather different. That would not happen in Germany.'

'No,' said Plank. 'I gather that German is spelled as you pronounce it. Curious, but there we are.'

'So how do you spell Plank?' asked Matthew Gurewitsch.

'Haughland,' said Plank.

Von Igelfeld could not conceal his astonishment. 'Haughland?'

'Indeed,' said Haughland (voce, Plank). 'It's an old family from the eastern fens somewhere. Virtually in the water.'

'But your humour remained dry,' observed Matthew Gurewitsch.

Ha! I am mind-boggled, to say the least.

Made me wonder how many transformations that the English language had to go through to reach the stature that it is now. As it is presently, I found pronouncing English words an endless guessing game.

Mind-boggling. Really.

Good things happen to those who are patient

In many unusual ways, my life seems to be falling into places this month. So many things happened in so little time.

It seems like a lot of things that I have been waiting for (some for years, some for weeks, some for days, some for eternity, some for hours) are fruiting themselves.

Professionally and personally.

In this reflective Ramadan, I am grateful for the many chance that I have to, well, ponder about things.

And witnessing that all the hardships are finally paying off gave me the euphoric feeling of contentment.

Alhamdulillahirrabbil'aalamiin.**

As well as that one phone call I made to the Turkish mosque yesterday, and I discovered that they started Ramadan on September 13 and will have the festive Eid Al-Fitr on October 12. My anxiety (for missing out the morning Eid prayer because I will have to work on October 13-14 weekend) had been banished with that one phone call. All is confirmed, this year I'm doing Ramadan and the Eid the Turkish way.

Hello, Fellow Celebrants, please come to my hut for the festive Eid celebration on October 12! Anyone is welcome, from 3 pm onwards.

And for this, my boss has already approved the day off, too!

As Simon and Garfunkel said it

"...
I'm dappled and drowsy and ready to sleep.
Let the morning time drop all its petals on me.
Life, I love you,
All is groovy!
..."

I made my mother laugh...

... by telling her about the new plant collection in my apartment.



She couldn't understand why anyone would want to display red chillies as a display ornament. To her chillies belong in the grounds, or in cooking.

Never mind to her that her 2nd daughter has got the most un-green thumb in the entire universe (remember the dying rosemary bushes?).

For her to hear that I am picking chillies from my display and using it for cooking was the funniest thing she's heard this year.

Glad to have made you laugh, Mama!

Ramadan 1428 Hijra' Mubarak

So I'm here and back again.

The 9 days I was away, a lot of things happened to a lot of places and people:

- The big earthquake in Bengkulu, Indonesia

My condolences.

Also, thanks for the many concerned e-mail and phone calls. My family and loved ones are fine. My hometown is Bandung, in Java. Bengkulu is in Sumatera. Two different islands.

- Ramadan kicked off on September 13, 2007

Ramadan mubarak!
After 7 years of doing it solo, it was so nice to get to start Ramadan with the family at home. Makes such a huge difference.

- Summer persisted at 30C in Tokyo (yikes!), 22C in Bandung (yeah!), and 33C in Singapore (BLECH!)

- A giant flying squirrel liked flying low and bumped his head on my brother's kneecap.

We are hoping sincerely that s/he didn't get a concussion.

- Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe resigned after 1 year of service. Veni, vedi, destroy! Very uninspiring.

- A plane crashed in Phuket, Thailand and killed 88 people.

My condolences.

... and many more.

It's good to be back!

For those who are fasting during Ramadan, "minal aidin wal faidzin, mohon maaf lahir dan bathin. Selamat menunaikan ibadah puasa di manapun anda berada."

Ding dong, the typhoon is gone!

Yeah, by 2 pm today, suddenly everything looks 10,000 times brighter.

Maybe it is because:
1) The cursed online research has finally wrapped. Now we just need to transcribe it.
2) My report for the research in Sapporo has been finalized at 2 pm on the dot.
3) The violent typhoon no. 9 has finally passed, and Tokyo is now blue-skied and dry

All I have got left is this one usability research over the weekend, but soon after that, come Monday I will be well on my way to I-N-D-O-N-E-S-I-A!
Le maman et le papa, I'm coming home for a week! Oui!
Oh, yes, my frérot is also going to be in town during that week, so I'm looking forward to see him then, too.

... on the topic of typhoon

Living in Japan you're definitely no strangers to some natural disasters like earthquakes, tsunamis, typhoons, and the likes. You get them quite frequently. Sometimes some are bigger than others (remember this?), sometimes it's just a mild variety of your day to day life.

Typhoon is one of those, too.
Basically the word 'typhoon' in Japanese means 'a big wind'. In reality, not only the wind is whirling violently, it also always comes together with rain.
For the two days typhoon #9 loomed over Tokyo, we had a very strange weather. For 10 minutes it was raining, and then sunny, and then the sky tore open and in came the storm. All the while, the wind was blowing violently. Around 11 pm last night the eye of the typhoon arrived. I was fast asleep by then only to be awaken by loud "CLANG!" out on my balcony. I looked outside and saw the big wind had swung my patio table over the small BBQ. Those things are not light, which is enough to explain just how powerful the wind was.

Come 11 am, suddenly stillness filled the air. The typhoon had passed Tokyo, on its way North to Hokkaido. Leaving Tokyo dry with stunning blue sky.

Always an interesting phenomenon, typhoon is. In fact, one of my favorite past time is to stay snuggled up indoors during a typhoon. Let the wind and the rain go mad, I am indoors drinking a cup of cocoa... or in last night's case, eating a slice of delicious mango.

Getting to know your friends

Well, Montchan tagged me. And from experience, I know I am much better off doing what she says. Besides I've been up for a while now. It is 6:28 am and I prefer doing this than worrying about the chronically disturbed online research that is supposed to go live in 5 hours.

So, let's get to the questions, shall we?

(Wow this is a lot of questions!!!!!)


1. What time did you get up this morning?
6:11 am

2. How do you like your steak?
medium rare

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema?
Oceans 13

4. What is your favorite TV show?
CSI Las Vegas, 24, and some sitcoms that are no longer airing (got all the DVDs though!)

5. What did you have for breakfast?
a cup of tea

6. What is your middle name?
Dewi

7. What is your favorite cuisine?
Thai, Indonesian, Japanese

8. What are your favorite chips?
Kettle sea salt and vinegar

9. What is your favorite CD at the moment?
I am going back and forth between Kodo and Save Ferris right now

10. What kind of car do you drive?
I always ask for Toyota Corolla Axio 1500 cc 4WD at the Nippon-Rent-A-Car.
(I live in Tokyo, having a car is a burden, rather than necessity)

11. What is your favorite sandwich?
I don't really like breads, thus ruling out sandwich altogether


12. What characteristics do you despise?
Liars. And people who won't admit their mistakes.

13. What are your favorite clothes?
cargo pants. I have like a dozen pair of them.

14. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation where would you go?
Tibet, Peru, Kenya, Botswana and Hokkaido all over

15. Favorite brand of clothing?
Well if we go with my cargo pants collection, that means Abercrombie & Fitch.
The rest will depend on whatever comes my way

16. Where would you want to retire?
Good question... I don't know yet. Maybe Bali?

17. Favorite time of day?
Morning. Especially a sunny morning.

18. Where were you born?
A city called Bandung, in Indonesia

19. What is your favorite sport to watch?
soccer

20. Who do you think will not do this meme?
You know I tagged a few people before and it wasn't very successful

21. Who do you expect to do this first?
Well, I've resolved to no sequential tagging, so... no one

22. Pepsi or Coke?
Not picky, either one is good. Better be Diet Pepsi Twist or Diet Coke.

23. Beavers or Ducks?
Ducks.

24. Morning or Nite Owl?
Morning, of course!

25. Pedicure or Manicure?
I play guitar, can't have a manicure.
Pedicure is heavenly, but haven't had a chance to get one since March.

26. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share?
Meeting Montchan, c-Gen and SML in Paris!!
Vacation to Indonesia next week!!
Free mangoes coming my way from N tonight!!

27. What did you want to be when you were little?
a fighter plane pilot

28. What is your best childhood memory?
careless free days in Bangkok

29. Ever been to Africa ?
not yet

30. Been in a car accident?
yupe, twice. not fun. Not only I almost killed myself, I also got scolded for wrecking mum's car.

31. Favorite day of the week?
Saturday morning (when I have Saturday off)

32. Favorite restaurant?
Esperia in Nishi Azabu, Tokyo
Fungo in Shinjuku, Tokyo
Au temps Jadis in Harajuku, Tokyo
Zorbas in Athens
Pak Chi Met in Bandung
Bakso Akung in Bandung


33. Favorite flower?
Lilies

34. Favorite ice cream?
Haagen Dazs green tea

35. Favorite fast food restaurant?
anything available, but a big fan of First Kitchen's "jagabata" fries!

36. How many times did you fail your driver's test?
never

37. From whom did you get your last email?
My sister

38. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card?
Apple store or Yodobashi Kamera

39. Bedtime?
try to be in bed by midnite

40. Who are you most curious about their responses to this?
I've got all my answers from Montchan, c-Gen and SML.
So anyone else in my left bar!

41. Last person you went out to dinner with
My bestfriend last night, taking her out for her birthday

42. What are you listening to right now?
Sounds of the street

43. What is your favorite color?
white, marine blue, orange, black, red

44. How many tattoos do you have?
None

45. How many are you sending this meme to?
None

46. Favorite magazine(s)?
travel mag, foods mag, national geographic, SELF, and (don't laugh) People

47. What time did you finish this meme?
6:50

48. How old were you when you got married?
still single, my friend...

49. How old do you want your kids to be when they get married?
gosh, I don't know, whenever they're ready, I suppose!

On Mr. Harry Potter...

Monday this week was a little bit somber. For several womanly reason (and by the way I am legally supported by the Japanese legal system to take my womanly day once a month) I decided to work from home. Heck, I had my PowerBook on me anyway and it had been declared 'personal information' free by the administrator, so off I went - working in my PJ with music blazing loud in the background.

After a wee bit, I decided to change the background scene. I put "Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire" on the DVD and started watching it (while working a little bit). Man, that's a good movie. Next thing I know, I re-watched all four Harry Potter DVDs in reverse order and kept on feeling petrified. Yeah, I'm a sucker for fantasy stories, and the Harry Potter series especially . Read the books a million times, and watched the movie also nearly as many times as I read the books.

Of all the characters, I adore Hermione Granger the most. She's mental, yeah, sure. She always behaves as if she knows-it-all, but the thing is, SHE DOES! And she always means well. And how cool is that to be going to school where the library has all the answer that you're looking for in the most complete book collection.

And... the Weasleys. Oh, they're fun and fab!!! Except Percy, of course, he's just plain weird and desperately pathetic. And look at Ginny!! She has grown to look prettier and prettier over the years. And Ron finally developed a strong character of his own.

And of course Albus Dumbledore just rocks. He's just awesome. The things he know! The things he can do!! I wonder why he's not married. To be very frank, I'm actually confused why all of the teachers at Hogwarts are unmarried. Surely it's not the requirement to become a teacher, right?

Of course I like Harry, but I just don't get it why he's always so mad. That kid is just darned bitter, I'm telling you. He was much more affectionate when he was only in his first year at Hogwarts.

And Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows will come out on July 21. I need to read that book and find some answers. Damn you, Snape! You traitor, traitor, traitor!!! But if Gandalf can come back and help Frodo destroy the ring, then I can't see why Dumbledore can't. After all, he is supposed to be the greatest wizard of all time.

I am waiting in anticipation for the new movie to come out on July 20. I am taking Divydoo to see that. Can't think of any better movie to take her to, since she's a fellow Harry Potter freak herself.

Yes, Harry Potter rocks.

Musings

OK, I effectively have 3 hours in the rat-hole today, all dark, no lights - with no reporting, my thoughts are free to wander. Fascinating what came to mind when you let your head goes loose like that.

1. Natsubate is a Japanese term for summer lethargy, summer weariness and summer discomfort.
It seems like my natsubate keeps on coming earlier every year. Usually it's around my birthday which is much later in July, but now June? Been feeling really blaaach since a week ago. It's really strange, you wake up and then you're just in bed for another hour, just completely energy less. There is not much that I like about summer, this is one of the major one.

2. A Japanese singer songwriter Izumi Sakai of 90s hit group ZARD died on May 27th, 2007. A cancer patient, but she died falling off the stairs. Suicide? Who knows. What I know is that her memorial service was today, in Aoyama. The Aoyama cemetery is right in front of my office. From my desk I saw 3 choppers flying around with cameramen. And there was a long trail of mourners. I am lucky to have come to the office by bicycle today, no need to impose myself to the inhuman line caused by this event at Nogizaka station.

3. Can't stop thinking about Montchan's unfortunate incident with the G-S couchsurfer. That is just awful. As a couchsurfer myself, I have been lucky that such situation never happened to me. In fact all of the people whom I met through couchsurfing have been great. One particular traveling circus girl in fact has become one of my closest friends. Fact is, I'm shuddering with the thought that this could easily happen to me, too. Why? Because I never ask for ID before. Yep, that's stupid, I know. Will definitely start asking for ID. No ID, I will direct you to Yoyogi Park.

4. I have not watched TV in almost 3 weeks now. It is quite amazing the amount of books I finished during these 3 weeks of TV celibacy, though. I admit that some of what I read have been ultimately brainless, but they provided simple pleasure. Right, I was reading the entire library of Sophie Kinsella (The Shopaholic series and 4 other books), completely brainless, but it's a pure enjoyment. Bliss.
And also my long awaited collection of Prof. Dr. Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld finally arrived. Also Mma Ramotswe's last rendition of No.1 Ladies Detective Agency: The Good Husband of Zebra Drive. Also 2 books my friend brought over from Indonesia. Also 5 other books that I bought randomly at the rainy-day 10% discount Aoyama Book Center. Also 55 outlines that need by July 13 for the Paris conference.
Yeah, that does it, I have no time for TV. Especially since I want to and have to (particularly for the outlines) read everything before Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows comes out on July 21.
Yes, I have no time for TV, or any other form of life in general. Well, better make time for guitar lessons. Oh, I have to practice taiko drumming, too. Oh, yes, must remember to go to work and keep the income coming so I can get more books. Yes, but that's about it.

5. Yay! My mid July project got postponed. I better go to Niigata and poke my nose in there. The beach is only 5 minutes walk from my J-fam's house. Better make a phone call. Maybe I could bring 3 books then, too. Yes. And it's a long weekend, too!

Wow, 3 hours passed really quickly. I can go home now.

Tootles!

Good grief, I got tagged! (a.k.a 8 random facts about myself)

Oh, no!!!! Montchan tagged me last week, and because I was on hiatus, I didn't get to answer this on a timely manner. I wonder what she'd do to me!!!
She can be very scary, you don't say no to Montchan. That I know for sure.

First, here are the rules:
1. I have to post these rules before I give you the facts.
2. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
3. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.
4. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
5. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.


Now, here are the "8 random facts about myself":

1. I hate mayonnaise. I really really do. I used to like it moderately growing up, but ever since I moved to Japan, I noticed that somehow they crept their way into my plate, in every food! Let me repeat it, I hate mayonnaise with a passion, I don't want it on my food, around my food, or anywhere near my food.

2. I am a sucker for packaging. Really, to me, packaging matters. I should know better, given the fact that I am working in marketing research, but nope, I would buy something that costs 500 yen more for the same content, solely for the packaging.

3. I am a musical instruments freak. I adore musical instruments and buy them on a whim, and very randomly. Throughout my life, from the age of 6, I have always had a musical instrument project going on. Some I will learn obsessively (at the moment classical guitar is making a comeback, alongside the taiko drums), some are on momentary lapse (I just purchased an ocarina, and still mulling over the way to master the principle behind it).

4. I prefer to cook alone. This is actually an improvement. I used to dislike it when people offer to help me in the kitchen, because 1) kitchens in Japan are small, 2) said helpers usually tend to make a mess in the kitchen and are messing up the general cooking procession, rather than actually helping, 3)I am a perfectionist.
I do realize that this sole fact has qualified me as an official freak, but I finally learnt to accept the beauty of people cooking for and/or with me during the month-long cooking disability. I am now moderately 'tamed' in accepting other people's presence in my kitchen.

5. I am terrified at horror stories, but love watching horror movies with friends.

6. My full first name is a modification from a masculine name, a sanskrit god name. My parents were dead sure I was going to be a boy, and on my birthday they were shocked that I turned up looking feminine. They then twisted the last syllable of my first name to make it sound feminine. To this day, I have never met anyone with my first name, those who started corresponding with me on e-mails and never having met me always address me as Mr. B. And when I googled it, I discover that my twisted full first name is, in fact, a prominent Russian last name.

7. I am slightly claustrophobic. Tokyo is so not the city for me indeed.

8. I prefer lakes to beaches, highland to lowland, winter to summer, spring to summer, autumn to summer. I came from a tropical country, but that really doesn't mean that I am fond of the tropics.

And I tag:

C-Genilimaa, because I miss her
Deenster, because two tag attacks from Montchan and myself might really revive her from her hibernation
Benx, because he always has something hilarious to say
Ovie, because I always love to hear from her, all the way from Cork!
Jean, because I'd love to to hear more about her
Femmy, because she's my oldest friend, back from the days when I was still only 1 meter tall, and she never ceases to surprise me

Delectable Books

On this fine Monday afternoon, I began my delicious daydreaming on foods. The trigger of it all was simply because I am supposed to be cooking for the Tuesdays tomorrow. The last time I had people over for dinner was in March (EEEKKK!), so it's time to pull my sleeves and dive into the kitchen!

While thinking of the menu, my mind kept on being transported back to the top of my kitchen cabinet, where I had some 20 cookbooks. Ah, the joy those books have brought me!

Yes, it is time. It is time for me to divulge the cookbooks that I simply cannot live without.

1. Jamie Oliver's "The Naked Chef"

You need to go to page 120 where he had his amazing roast chicken recipe. I have made this chicken so much over the years. The multiple herbs that are used for this dish brought out the best flavor from the chicken. If you can, try to always use sea salt in the mix, it brings out the best taste from the chicken.

Another thing that I began doing recently every time I cook this chicken:
put aside the chicken broth and oil that comes out after you roasted it for 1 hour

For an easy-to-prepare lunch: take 2 tbsp of this broth, heat it up, and then mixed some of the left over chicken and some chopped tomatoes.
Add in pre-cooked linguini/ spaghetti/ vermicelli/ capellini, anything rod and long, mix it well. Buon appetito! You got yourself a delicious lunch!

The other recipes here in this book are all equally simple and so easy to make. For muslims like Taiko Tari here, substitute all Miss Piggy related stuff with chicken, or for broth you can always use mushroom broth. I have no idea what pork/lard are supposed to taste like; but I can assure you replacing them with chicken/mushroom base are very very tasty! Really, really!

2. "Vegetarian" by Fiona Biggs

I found this book 50% off at Barnes & Nobles in San Diego back in 2003. I remembered at the time paying only $5.00 (or something ridiculously cheap like that) and was sincerely hoping that the book could somehow make my life easier. You see, at that time I was dating a very picky vegetarian who liked to eat quality food. This book had ultimately saved my kitchen and is solely responsible in expanding my horizon to vegetarian cooking and eating.
Now, said boyfriend is history, but the cookbook remained going strong in my kitchen. Over the years, I have gone through literally half of the cookbook of some 175+ recipes. This book has opened my way to hummus, vegetarian pâté, baked pie, baked pasta, tortilla hors d'oeuvres, turnip soup, potato soup, mexican omelet, desserts.
The sad news about this book is that I don't think it is anywhere in circulation anymore. Been wanting to give this book as presents to fellow food and cooking enthusiasts, but they are nowhere to be found. Kind of making me feel special for actually owning it and using it religiously.

3. "The Essential Asian Cookbook", by Whitecap Publications

This book is a lifesaver for me to be living overseas and wanting to cook the foods from home. Early in the days where my foods and ingredients vocabulary were limited to the Indonesian language, I was ever clueless each time I am looking for the stuff in Japanese. Heck, I didn't even know the words in English, and back in those days there was no good source for localizing it based on the local market availability. Enter came this book with the pictures of those odd "gallangal", or "coriander", or "cumin", or "bawang merah" (Thai pearl onion), etc - since then grocery shopping has become so much easier, I can actually strategize a substitute for the impossible ingredients. The book smartly divide the books based on the countries the recipes came from, makes thematic party planning so much easier!

4. Mi madre
Last but not least... if all roads failed, such as no books to refer to,
nothing online that is trustworthy and all attempt led to a dead-end: I will pick up the phone and call my mother. She always has the ultimate answer to all my culinary questions.

Ah.... and for tomorrow night, I've decided to finally use my paellera and make some paella, as well as some rotisserie chicken and some tomato caprese. Yeah, that'll do it.

On Pseudonymous, Pseudo and Poseidon

Today at a research briefing with a client a new word sprang up on me. Pseudonymous. That's a word you don't hear everyday, hey?

According to Merriam-Webster:

Main Entry: pseu·don·y·mous
Pronunciation: sü-'dä-n&-m&s
Function: adjective
Etymology: Greek pseudOnymos
: bearing or using a fictitious name (a pseudonymous report); also : being a pseudonym

This prompted another search...

Main Entry: pseu·do
Pronunciation: 'sü-(")dO
Function: adjective
Etymology: Middle English, from Late Latin pseudo-
: being apparently rather than actually as stated : SHAM, SPURIOUS (distinction between true and pseudo humanism -- K. F. Reinhardt)

So, this means the two words that I suspected were related, are in fact, not. One is derived from Greek etymology and the other is from Middle English (in other words, Latin). Interesting. But those Greeks always claim all words in the world are all originated from Greece. Ha!

This then reminded me of a myth I heard while strolling the ancient ruins of Acropolis last Fall. It was about the rivalry that Poseidon and Athena had in trying to become the patron god of the city Athens. In the competition, both Poseidon and Athena agreed to give a gift to the city and let the citizens choose which gift they prefer the best.
Poseidon sprung a fountain, which was not very useful because it was salty - thus no use for neither drinking nor bathing. Athena gave the city an olive tree, which in effect provided the city with wood, foods, oil and some type of greenery (although olive trees are very ugly). Athena was chosen to be the patron goddess of the city Athens. Poseidon got really cranky and mad and sent flood to the city and generally made Zeus very angry. All in all, Poseidon is not a very nice god. He seems to be pissing everybody off all the time. No wonder he got the sea, and not the sky.
Oh yes, Poseidon is normally known as Neptune.

There you go, three things to muse about that are apparently not related, but sounded somewhat similar.

Taiko Tari out.

Phenomenon

What a delicious day!

I woke up this morning at 8:30 am with the biggest smile on my face. The day was breezy, the birds were chirping and I made a decision right then that I am taking today off for a well-deserved break after a really tremulous week at work.

While thinking of what million things that I could do for this day, I looked at the stack of books on my night table and saw that it is a good time for me to start reading Alexander McCall Smith's "The Sunday Philosophy Club". With Yo-Yo Ma at the background, I recalled thinking, this is such a perfect day to stay home and relax.

After a couple of chapters, I decided to finally get up and do some activity. Looking at my VCR I was suddenly reminded that I got American Idol recorded for the Final 6 going to Final 4 (yeah, Japan is soooo delayed in airing this show, but love it still! Go Jordin Sparks!)So I sat for 2 hours watching this episode down to the result, ah the beauty of having this recorded, no need to put up wiht ProActiv's advertising and AKB48's annoying recap of the show - fast forwarded.
And then... finally I decided to continue my morning as a couch potato. I put "Eat drink man woman" on. Not only that movie was very well-made (kudos to Director Ang Lee), Master Chu's Sunday feast was extremely mouth watering and the topics in the movie were thought provoking. If you haven't seen it, do not let the title discourage you, it is worth your time and an excellent cultural exposure for the Chinese culture.

So at 2 pm I am left with the fulfilled feeling and was somewhat ready to embrace something more exciting for the day. Maybe a bit of a work out?
The easy pace I've adopted for the day discourage myself from jumping onto the bicycle to go to the gym, so the pilates video it is. Quoting Ellen Barrett, "Now I am ready to conquer the day!" I jumped into the shower and already thought about going to Ochanomizu's guitar street and get myself a guitar!

Going to Ochanomizu is one of my favorite past time. The music instruments sold on this street are mostly guitars, but the big shops like Shimokura or Kurosawa will always have a good selection of other instruments as well.
My first stop was Shimokura, the guy led me to the classical and accoustic guitar section. Yes, they had the Yamaha I was looking for, but the price seems to me a little higher than what I expected. But still, I wanted to give it a go and see if it had the sound that I wanted.

A very interesting phenomenon happened at that very moment. I was able to play again! Just out of nowhere, all old pieces that I learned some 15 years ago flew through my fingers again, as if it was only yesterday that I played those songs. It was very emotional, I nearly cried feeling very much at home holding and playing that guitar.
It made me think of a conversation I had with a friend of mine 3 years ago when I just bought the Takamine. I remembered that time completely puzzled why I feel distant from the guitar, not wanting to pick up the guitar at all times the way I used to, and why the songs just seemed to challenge me at every step of the way. I just could not understand why it was so hard doing something that I used to love so much.
My friend then said to me, "Don't worry, Tari, it will be like riding a bicycle, it will come back to you in no time."
That "no time" never arrived back to me, which resulted in me giving up trying to play the guitar again until last week. That was when I came to realization that maybe I haven't found the one! Today, that very moment when I held and played that classical guitar, I realized that I've come home at last. How silly, a classically trained guitarist trying to do the same thing on an accoustic! Of course it's not going to be the same thing.

I am not one to fret about prices when it comes to things that I feel I belong to. But somehow even after spending 20 minutes playing with the Yamaha, I still feel that something was missing.
So, I decided to leave the store to give it some thought and come back again later. I walked the entire guitar street, going into every single one of them, in search of the one. Much to my dismay, they don't have that many selections when it came to classical guitars. Until finally I went into Kurosawa's Dr. Sound. I know this shop is often recommended for their specialty in catering all custom-made string instruments, mostly violins and guitars. Thought they just might have the one. I was very pleased that they have an entire floor dedicated for the classical guitars. They have all brands that was not even mentioned in the other stores. I was hooked! I started with trying different models from Julian (reasonable), Juan Hernandez (EXPENSIVE!), Yamaha (reasonable), Antonio Lopez (EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE!), and finally Antonio Sanchez (from moderate to EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE!).
I spent nearly 30 minutes with one of the Antonio Sanchez's, and fell in love with the round and smooth tone that came out from the series. While I was trying the guitars, the shop guy was educating me on the differences from the wood made and proving the different vibrations that came from each wood could pro-create quite a different effect that could make such a huge difference in the sound production. And then he joined in and started jamming with me which was so much fun. I haven't jammed with anyone on the guitars in so long that it was like finding an oasis.
I finally hit home with one of the Studio models. Estudio-2 Cedar, to be very exact. Yeah, it's almost the cheapest in the collection. Heck, I haven't played regularly in nearly 15 years, I'm not about to spend an outrageous amount of money on something I bought on a whim! Maybe one day when I master the Spanish guitar skill!

Sunday musing: on movies, John Mayer and Ellen DeGeneres

It's 2:47 pm and it's dark,
It's dark because the room has no light,
Outside the day is bright and shining,
Alas, I have to stay in this darkness until 5 pm.

The life of a mole in a mole hole
This is my life.

Again, I can't complain. I do love this job.
However, as we are progressing in the final group and after 1 hour there seems to be no more new findings, I decided to muse over some more exciting things.

Such as what?
Such as the package from Amazon that just arrived last night in the mail. Thanks to C-Genilimaa's recommendation, I decided to enhance my DVD library with a few movies, mostly related to food and period drama. I am looking forward to watch "Eat drink man woman" and "The Wedding Banquet", as well as "Tortilla Soup" soon after I finish watching "Thank you for smoking".

Started watching "Thank you for smoking" last night. I like it. I've gone as far as 50 minutes into the movie, but was caught short because I fell asleep like a log afterwards. There is one thing that I don't get about this movie, however. The DVD box is marketing it as a hillarious movie, a comedy and hyped to be a funny one. Having spent 50 minutes with that movie, I don't recall laughing hysterically even once. I chuckled in different places, yes, but not yet laughing. Maybe I'm not there yet, maybe the best one is yet to come. What I can say, though, this movie is pointing out some really absurd, yet valid, points. It got you into thinking.
Later tonight after I get home I will watch the remaining of the movie and then I'll get back to Montchan's review at Chaos.

Also, I found out today that John Mayer writes in his blog regularly, too. He has a very interesting perspective on some unusual issues. Oh, and I like his music too.
Check out his "Ruminations on a treadmill" entry. Good stuff about Chris Rock and Elvis Costello.

Got me thinking of one of my favorite DVDs of all time. It is Ellen DeGeneres' stand-up show "Here and Now". Here she started talking about procrastinating and procrastination and the things that make her procrastinate and next thing you know she wraps everyone to join her in the procrastination process. Absolutely genius and HILLARIOUS. Gosh that woman is funny. I've listened to it like 3,000 times and I still laugh, and the beauty of is it does not matter where you start listening, because that is the point of procrastination.