Back in Japan

I had it all on this vacation - in 10 days, I spent time in three major cities, managed breakfast, lunch, dinner and/or drinks with various friends and family, enjoyed an unseasonably warm winter, had a traditional Christmas dinner of turkey and stuffing with my brother's family. Here's my brother getting creative to keep the onions from buring his eyes:



We went back to Montreal the following day (Boxing Day), and I even got to drive back in a snow storm, proving that I had not, in fact, lost my winter driving skills!

I had a really great time, but as my mother said, it's always nice to get back home. After my very long flight and then 3.5 hour bus ride from Narita airport, I was very happy to stumble through the door into a hot bath and a nice bottle of Chardonnay with Brian.

Tomorrow, perhaps, I can see if I still have the strength to ride my single speed and to take some photos with my brand new lens from Brian.

Merry Christmas (and a report from Japan)

Merry Christmas! Well, at least it is still Christmas Day for our dear readers, although it is a few hours past here in Japan.

Christmas is Monday, and therefore a workday here, so the populace is going about its business as usual. The winter holiday here is from the 28th or so until a few days past new year's day, so it is really great to have time off earlier. I've been looking forward to the holidays, but...

as soon as I could relax after the long work year, I felt the flu-like queasies set in... the 23rd and 24th are a blur to me now, and the disrupted sleep schedule has me wide awake at 2:30 in the morning! On the plus side, I was able to talk / chat with family in the States in 'real time', and I haven't had to cook or wash dishes yet.

Being unaccustomed to slowing down, and having not ridden for a few days, I went out for a Christmas Day ride despite the crummy feeling. The warm and windless day drew me out, so I went slow and took several breaks, including this stop for a nap on a sunny slope:














(This shot was made possible using the 'GorillaPod', a small light tripod with grippy and flexible legs, as blogged previously.) That ride exhausted me, but as it is now raining, I'm glad I went!

My exclusive bike for almost two years has been a Gary Fisher Rig, in large size. While I love it, I have always known that a custom made bike would fit me so much better than the S,M,L offerings of big brands. I found a frame builder in the states, and last September arranged to have him make a steel single-speed 29'er for me. Tracy patiently took my measurements according to his instructions, and the build is now underway. Here is a teaser sent to me yesterday:














The completion date is still a while away, and in the meantime I'm considering color choices for the final paint. Right now I'm thinking claret red (RAL 4004) but it isn't decided yet.

I've heard from several co-workers that 'computer gaming' is a great way to spend rainy weekends and sleepless nights, so I wasn't too eager to try it. When I did get around to installing a game, last spring, it reported that I had to play in super slow, 'safe' mode, as my graphics card was 'too weak or nonexistent', in my notebook pc.

To keep up with anticipated photo editing, I have been setting up a new desktop pc at home, and the transition between it and my previous (notebook) pc has been gradual. I have Skype up and running now, and e-mail seems to be working too. I thought that I might try to 'game' again...

I waited until the holidays to install a real video / graphics card, as I wanted a project to keep me busy, and I didn't want to rush. I was surprised and then dismayed that the one I had bought (the cheapest) came with a disc of drivers in English. Sorting out things in Japanese is par for the course, and usually half the battle. Actually installing the card took mere moments, as it just plugged into the top empty slot:














That one, I now know, is called a PCI Express 16 x 1 slot. What that means, I still don't know. The card went in, and the case back together, so fast that I forgot to get an 'after' pic. (This one was taken with a flash diffuser consisting of a folded bunch of paper towel, about four layers thick, in my left hand.) So much for the 'project'... it took less than 15 minutes, start to finish.

I'll install a game and give it a try soon. Because I haven't played a computer game since Duke Nukem 3D (1997?), I'm sure I'll be easily impressed.

More to come!

Merry Christmas

After a day of rest yesterday and a bowl of my mom's homemade soup, I'm feeling pretty spry and we're off to Ottawa today to visit my brother and his family.

I haven't seen my niece or nephew in three years, so I'm a tad curious to see how they've changed (she's now 16, he's 13).

We'll be staying there just one night, and hopefully it will be a traffic-free (and snow-free) drive there and back.

Heal Thyself

As is evidenced by my frequent blogging, I've had a fairly active time here so far. I've had some pretty (and happily) packed days - dinner with friends, drinks with friends, brunches with aunts and uncles, regular beers with another uncle - all late nights and early mornings.

It's no wonder, then, that my cold has taken over. I am a mess of mucus living amidst a ton of tissue. So what am I going to do? Take a day of rest, of course. There is nothing more strenuous on the agenda today than a little shopping at the grocery store for soup fixings!

Royal Canadian Legion

My mother's place is just across the street from a branch of the Legion, where veterans often go for social events, to spend time with volunteer activities (such as visiting older hospitalized vets) and just to have a good beer. Lucky for me, then, that my old friend Isabel suggested meeting for a few drinks at the Legion (and easy walk home!).

I had a chance to catch up with all the people I used to know there, and even managed out-stay the crowd so I could have some good girl-talk with Isabel.

Thoughtful Gifts

With the stores crowded by desperate shoppers, people spending more time looking for gifts than with family, it is easy to be discouraged by the blatant commercialism of Christmas and feel that gift-giving has lost its soul. However, though the mass media and conglomerate of department stores would wish this on us all, it is possible to give and receive the perfect gift.

I had the pleasure of dinner with Bernicky and his family yesterday, and the warm atmosphere and Christmas tunes was a delightful respite. Check us out wearing our little paper hats that came in our Christmas crackers:


(Bernicky, his daughter, his long-time friend, his wife and his son)

The family also very clearly spent some time selecting appropriate and thoughtful gifts: chosen by Bernicky's wife, this lovely scarf and teddy bear promoting breast cancer awareness is also a donation to breast cancer research, which is meaningful to both the giver and the receiver. Denis also knows my PC tastes and picked up a 1GB flash drive, along with useful tips on using a portable browser and email program (I'll shortly be downloading Firefox Portable).

Self-Fulfilling Prophesy?

Before leaving Japan I was worried about catching a cold and being sick during my very busy time here in Montreal and New York. Though I managed to get here unscathed and to fully enjoy New York in perfect health, on the train ride back I started to get a runny nose and stuffy head. By this morning, I was feeling downright awful.

I was beginning to wonder if it was a self-fulfilling prophesy - if worrying about getting sick actually made me sick...but then I heard from Cheryl, who says she couldn't make it to work on Friday due to symptoms very similar to mine.

We are now blaming the man who sat behind us at Mama Mia and who coughed on Cheryl's hair.

Amtrak is no Shinkansen

We returned from New York on Thursday night at about 8:15 p.m. It was a very long train ride, with delays caused by a variety of happenings, including an "Exit Inspection" just before the Canadian border, and a prolonged customs inspection 12 kilometers later.

The scenery was good - but when you become accustomed to the excellent service and trains that always run on time in Japan, it was a bit hard to swallow.

Capsuoto Freres Restuarant Review

I don't pretend to be a connoisseur of fine wine, good food, or nice French restuarants. Yet, here I am writing a review of an excellent restaurant in Manhattan.

To cap off our trip to New York, Cheryl, my mother and I went out for a nice dinner tonight. At Cheryl's recommendation we went to Capsouto Freres on the lower east side. The building is a quaint, old fashioned affair with a very warm atmosphere. The service was superb - we were seated by one of the owners himself, who with exaggerated gestures and good humour led us to our seats. The waiter, with a very nice French accent, was equally warm, welcoming and friendly.

The food surpassed expectation - I (rather politically incorrectly) chose the veal, while my mother and Cheryl opted for steak, which we enjoyed with a good bottle of Merlot. For dessert, Cheryl and I each had our own chocolate souffle (the waiter warned us that terrible things had happened, including divorce, when someone thought they could actually share a souffle. To avoid disaster, we each got our own:-)

At the end of dinner, when we needed to get a cab home, Mr. Sam Capsouto himself walked us down the road to Hudson to help us get a taxi back to our hotel.

So - fine food, good wine, excellent service, warm atmosphere...what better way to complete our Taking of Manhattan?

So, another must do if you are in New York City - visit the Capsouto Freres!

Circle Line Tours

Our main plan today was to take a little two-hour cruise around Manhattan. We went with the Circle Line Tours company, and were very satisfied. There is no reservation required - so we simply turned up at Pier 83, at 42nd Street and 12th Avenue at 9:30 to buy tickets for the 10 a.m. tour.

As with most tours, there was a narrator for this one, detailing the history of various parts of New York city in general and Manhattan in particular, and it was very educational. For example, I learned about the rivalry between Jacob Rascomb of General Motors and Walter Chrysler (of Chrysler motors, of course). Apparently, Chrysler worked for and was fired by GM. Twenty years later, having become a successful car manufacturer in his own right, but never having forgotten his treatment at the hands of GM, Walter Chrysler entered into a "building competition" with Rascomb, who was then building the Empire State Building.

By adding the spire at the top, the Chrysler Building was for a brief time the tallest building in New York. Not to be outdone, Rascomb pushed the limits with the Empire State building. And though he was successful in out-doing Chrysler, there were too many floors to actually fill in the ESB, so Rascomb ended up losing an awful lot of money in the fight.

Very interesting little story.

On another note - on this tour I also caught my first sight of the very famous Statue of Liberty. Though I've been to NYC once before, I somehow missed this "must see" attraction. Here's a photo I caught from the boat:

Mama Mia on Broadway

Yesterday was our first full day in New York city, and we made sure to pack as much into the day as possible. This included a couple of hours of shopping at Macy's, Victoria's Secret and other shops. The highlight of the day, however, was seeing the Broadway show Mama Mia.

We'd heard of it and thought that it sounded pretty good, but knowing that it was such a big show we were pretty sure that we wouldn't be able to get tickets at the discount TKTS office - but we were wrong, and very happily so.

Mama Mia started at 8:00 pm last night, and we were there in some rather good seats in the Mezzanine. The three of us enjoyed every minute of the musical,which is a comedy that very appropriately incorporates ABBA songs. The storyline was funny and lighthearted, and he performers were fantastic. The stage-work and lighting were also very impressive. The next time you're in New York, Mama Mia is a must see!

My mom and Cheryl outside the theatre:


Mama Mia program guide:


My mom and Cheryl in Macy's:

Manhattan

My time so far in Montreal has been well-spent - I was able to meet some old Legion buddies, some family and other friends. I also took advantage of my jet lag to work on eradicating a nasty malware called "Error Safe" from my mother's pc, which filled up all those empty hours in the middle of the night.

Most of the folks I wanted to see are right here in Montreal, but one friend I couldn't miss is actually in New Jersey (I think). So - we've decided to meet in New York City to catch up on old times (mostly, our early days in Japan). Cheryl has visited me and my mother in Montreal a few times, so now my mother and I are packing for a few days in New York City, where we'll spend three nights in Manhattan.

We're taking the Amtrak Adirondack route, which is supposed to be a lovely, scenic train ride that passes some of the nicest places on the way to Penn station. Once we arrive, it will be a non-stop few days painting the town red!

Bernicky with Ribs on the side

I've been in Montreal for less than 48 hours, but I've already had a chance to catch up with lots of folks, including Denis (a.k.a. Bernicky).

We met for dinner last night at Scores restaurant in Dorval (about 20 minutes west of Montreal proper), and we had a chance to actually talk face-to-face while I remained amazed at how much his kids had grown. I'm actually frightened now to meet my own niece and nephew in a few days...

Bernicky in fine form:


My trip so far has been a gustatory extravaganza, so dinner at Scores restaurant last night was no different - chicken tenders (?) and a small rack of melt-in-your mouth ribs (once again, I am thankful that I never took up that whole trendy vegetarian thing!).

Poutine

I landed safely in Montreal last night, before 5 p.m. local time.

As I was driving my rental car along highway 20 toward Montreal Centre-Ville, and reminding myself, for the sake of all that is holy, to stay on the right-hand side of the road, I was also daydreaming of my first poutine in 3 years.

Poutine is, roughly, french fries with cheese and gravy; it's very famous in Quebec, and no other place can quite manage the same delicious quality of a true poutine, which must be made with only the best old potatoes and fresh cheese. To read the whole poutine story, read this wikipedia article.

Luckily, good poutine is easy to come by in Montreal, and shortly after arriving at my mother's place we ordered out for poutine - and it was great!

My "heart-attack-waiting-to-happen" dinner:

Have Blog, Will Travel

Or is it: Have Travel, Will Blog?

Either way - I'm off to Montreal today, flying out in a few hours. I'll try to blog while on the road, and hopefully Brian will create a few posts from Japan, too!

High-Speed Route at the Route Inn

I am working out of town for the next few days and spending tonight at a business hotel.

Outside, the night air is dark and cold; I hear the wind blowing outside my window, and rain pelting against the glass, sounding bereft.

And yet - I am warm and dry and totally connected with high-speed internet access! Woo hoo!

I am staying at a Route Inn, which is a good chain business hotel in Japan. There weren't any Route Inns when I first came here, and I am so glad that they're thriving now. They offer small but new and clean rooms, each of which has a small fridge, a TV, hot-water kettle, and more recently, high-speed internet access. Most Route Inn hotels have a large public bath (a mens' and a womens'), which is a very rare luxury in an affordable business hotel. Of course, there is also a shower in the room for the more modest users. You can visit their homepage here (Japanese only):

http://www.route-inn.co.jp/

I know having high-speed access is normal - but I remember not so very long ago NOT having such convenience. The world really IS my oyster!

Loreena McKennitt's New CD!

Wow - after several years of silence (about 7 years, I think, and following a personal tragedy), Loreena McKennitt, one of my favourite musical artists, has released a new album - An Ancient Muse.

Her ethereal voice and magical lyrics are enthralling - if you're into all that. More info on her newest release can be found here:

Loreena's Official Site

Xmas Reading

Thank you, diligent readers, for your astute suggestions. In fact, Herriot and Kipling are just the type of cozy stories I'm in the mood for. I've read a few of Kipling's (naturally, Kim being at the top of the list), and have watched about every episode of All Creatures Great And Small on PBS back in Canada. (a little aside here - PBS has some of the best quality programming ever and one of the few things I've ever donated money too).

I'm off to Amazon.co.jp to pick up a few books for the holidays!

Holiday Reading Recommendations??

I know it seems early, but I'm already preparing for the winter holidays - and I am fresh out of books and ideas for books to read on the planes, trains and sofas I'll be riding for a few weeks.

If anyone has any suggestions, or wants to share a list of favourite books, I would be delighted. In the meantime, I'm going to order a new copy of The Fountainhead (my current copy was too-well thumbed to be readable anymore) to get me started.

Chilly Ride

All work and no play - we all know the saying...so I've made sure to build some play into my schedule.

Though I had to put in a few hours at the office today (Saturday), I made sure to get out for a ride this morning. Brian joined me on our non-epic 40-minute journey up to Senpuku Gaoka and back down. It was good to feel the crisp winter-like air frosting our cheeks and to see the shimobashiriri (frost) grazing the fields.

Before long I'll be wearing winter gloves on my pre-dawn rides - but the fact that I actually can ride in relative warmth before 6 a.m is pretty awesome!

Homecoming

December is here already!

In preparation for a winter vacation, I am currently making travel plans to head back to Montreal later this month. This will be a solo trip – Brian has to work, and he also loathes Montreal in the winter. I think he’s happy about being left behind on this trip, and I’m looking forward to some quality time with my mother and some of my good friends (I’ll certainly be catching up with Denis, of www.bernicky.com fame, and even spending a few days in New York City with Cheryl (of um...no fame)).

Maturation is a funny thing. When I fled Montreal and Canada, I wanted little connection to it. And now - I don't know where home is. When I was talking to some friends here about my plans, I said I’d be home shortly after Christmas. The response was, “Oh, you’re not going to spend Christmas in Canada?”. Well, I am going to spend Christmas in Canada, and what I meant by home was, of course, here with Brian. So I suppose that I have now learned that home is not a place anymore -home is people.

This is a good thing - wherever we go, we'll be home!

Unfinished Business...

Or rather, unfinished personal projects.

I enjoy working on projects – like updating our website (japanrider.com), learning new computer skills, studying Japanese etc…Naturally, as you can see by visiting our website which hasn’t been updated since April (I think!), I don’t always get around to working on these projects.

It's not that I don't have time management skills, it just seems like something always comes up that demands my attention – work, riding, social activities; or worse - disinclination, disinterest, despair.

Well, not despair, really, but I liked the way it fit!

But someday I WILL dedicate a couple of cold and bleak weekends to those indoor aspirations! Stay tuned for new and exciting developments:-)

Gotemba Kogen - Winter Onsen!

You’ve heard us mention the Gotemba Kogen before – it is our favourite (and only!) local beer hall. It is a huge complex of restaurants, beer-stalls, a cheese shop, a hotel, two onsens, and a nice outdoor area for enjoying the locally brewed German beer.

Though last night was a bit too chilly to sit outdoors, we decided to drive the 10 km or so to the Kogen after work and just enjoy a hot bath and a nice dinner.

Since we rarely go out on weeknights anymore (I blame laziness!), this was a real treat. The fact that the Kogen was all lit up with their winter “Christmas” lights was just an unfortunate side-effect!

The Gorilla Pod

A few weeks ago, when we were enjoying the offerings of the big city of Fukuoka, we bought a cool little tripod called The Gorilla Pod. This tripod is made for portable digital cameras (it probably wouldn’t hold my D50), and with its flexible legs it can “stand” just about anywhere. For example, here is the Gorilla Pod wrapped around a banister in the woods:

It has been a boon to our photography – no longer will it always look like one or the other of us was totally alone on vacation, as we can now manage to get some photos of us actually together.

Here is the picture that Brian’s camera took from the above position:

Tanzawa: Half a Hike

We spent most of our sunny Saturday riding our Rigs, but Sunday dawned cold, dark and rainy. Weekends are too short, especially at this typically busy time of year, and we didn't want to spend the day sitting in front of the TV, so we packed our cameras, put on our hiking boots, and toward Tanzawa lake, about 30 or 40 kilometers from here.

Despite the gray skies and semi-constant drizzle, we enjoyed the lovely autumn colors and the brisk fresh mountain air.









It certainly was better than sitting inside all day!

Non-routine Routine

Although, as I age, I am becoming more reliant on and comfortable in a routine, I am still very capable of working outside of that routine.

As the sun rises later and the mornings are colder and job demands keep us working longer, we've been doing more night rides than morning ones, and the variety is good!

Everything looks different under the blanket of night - familiar trails become less-familiar challenges, and innocent shrines appear to be hiding forbidden secrets...

Wildlife abounds - Brian saw (and sort of chased) a wild hare in his most recent evening excursion, and we've both done some rustling around in the bushes, surrounded by darkness, sure that the trail is just in front of us but out of view...

With any luck, tonight we will be able to get out for another exhilarating night ride - which would be our first ride this week!

Santa Cruz Bullit - Sold!

Last week I put my downhill bike back up on the auction - and this time I got a buyer! The bike was in great condition, but since I hadn't ridden at all last summer, and won't be able to do downhilling again until at least late next spring, it was only depreciated sitting on the bike rack. So now it's gone and will hopefully be enjoyed by the person who bought it.

If we want to get back into downhilling, we will have to buy new bikes - but frankly, we are both so much into the 29" and Single Speed niches that we haven't wanted to waste valuable riding time on the heavy downhill bikes. So perhaps it is the end of an era after all.

Day of Rest

After a busy work week and a busier day of socializing on Saturday, we had been looking forward to getting out for a good long bike ride on Sunday, but when it dawned cold and rainy we simply decided to stay home and enjoy a quiet day in.

We got caught up on email and household tasks, did some groceries and cooked a nice healthy chicken taco soup, and then we tucked ourselves under the kotatsu for a few hours of TV watching.

With yet another very busy week ahead of us - maybe that was just what the doctor ordered.

Monkey Sighting

Though we technically live in a city (hence the name "Susono City"), it isn't much of a city at all, but rather more of an overgrown surrounded by mountains. As such, we are lucky enough to have great places to go biking and often to spot wildlife such as deer and monkeys (there are also a lot of wild boar around and maybe a bear or two, but we've never seen any).

Yesterday we were driving in Susono and not only did we see a monkey swinging on some power lines, we got a photo of him (or her?) before he got away.

Kotatsu Time Again

Later sunrises, earlier sunsets, and cooler weather - we knew winter was coming, but surely didn't realize that we'd be sitting under our kotatsu as soon as this.

There is something very nice, though, about spending a quiet Sunday afternoon tucked under the warmth of our heated table, sipping tea and spending some quality time online!

Learning Styles: Born to Read

There are many ways to categorize/label a learner's "learning style". For example, it could be tactile, visual or audio. It could be "learn by doing", or by watching, thinking or feeling.

I'd say all learners, whether it is languages or any other skill, learn through a combination of these styles, though one is often pre-dominant.

For me, it is visual/reading. When in Montreal, I lamented my poor French skills. I relied so much on the written word that I couldn't produce an intelligible word.

I was delighted to come to Japan - I figured that I'd finally learn to speak a language as there was no way I could read it.

Well, eight years later - I am very competent at doing various functional tasks that involve reading in Japanese (kanji); I shop online, I handle all kinds of funkiness when auctioning our goods or buying on the auction...I can barely speak a word, and can't pronounce the kanji I read!

Alas - changing a learning style may be harder than I thought!

We're Back!

The JALT conference was really good this year. Sometimes the presentations are hit or miss, but this year I saw more good presentations than not, so overall it was a great success.

We also got to see two new (for me) cities - Kita-kyushu and Fukuoka. The conference was in Kita-kyushu, and when each day was over we spent a few hours enjoying the city and its delights with our colleagues. One of the delights we enjoyed was the view from our hotel room:



On Sunday, when the conference was over, Brian and I headed to Fukuoka city where we spent the rest of Sunday and all of Monday. We enjoyed some great food and did some fun shopping. We pretty much found our way around Fukuoka within the first few hours - it's not such a big city, but it's a great city, and if it is your first time to Japan, I would highly recommend that you land at Fukuoka airport and enjoy a few days of the mildly bustling city .


This is a statue in Fukuoka "central" park:


And, unfortunately, we did not have time to get to enjoy a mud bath, for which Beppu is famous - with any luck, we'll be able to get out that way again and take advantage of everything the area has to offer.

Going to JALT in Kita-Kyushu

Time is going by uncontrollably fast, and it is already time for the annual JALT conference again. JALT, which stands for the Japan Association of Language Teachers, is one of the largest organizations of its kind. There are chapters throughout Japan, with member ranging from authors to university teachers. The chapters frequently have small presentations and events, but their biggest effort, however, is spent on the huge three-day annual conference, which brings together professional teachers from all over Japan, and even from other parts of the world. There are always some great presentations and workshops (and a few lame ones!), and usually some famous featured speakers. This year Jack C. Richards, who wrote the Interchange series, will be speaking; dry though I fear he is, I’m looking forward to seeing him.

Brian and I, as well as most of our co-workers, will be spending our long weekend at the conference enjoying some edifying speeches and even more edifying post-conference beer. Kita-Kyushu is a long (long!) way away, about five hours by super-express bullet train, so we’re leaving tonight straight from work and hope to arrive before midnight to check into our hotel.

I’ve never been to Kyushu, and as we’ve decided to take a couple of days off (Monday and Tuesday) we’ll have a chance to look around the area a bit more, maybe even stay in Fukuoka city for a night or two.

What all this means is that we may not be blogging for a few days…but hopefully will have some fun stories to share when we return.

Jigokudani Monkey Onsen and Winter Reveries

Welcome to November - with December and Christmas not far behind. Time moves more quickly here - we are a day ahead of you:-)

These cooler days with the promise of winter in the air made me feel nostalgic, so a (digitally) flipped through some old photos taken during Christmas 2004 (with our dear, departed Casio). That year, Brian and I drove to Nagano to visit the Jigokudani monkey park and to spend a couple of nights (Christmas Eve and Christmas Day) at a nearby traditional ryokan. Jigokudani is in the mountains of Nagano prefecture, not too far from Nagano city. There are no gates or cages (thankfully), and the monkeys just hang out wherever they feel like it – though within the park, there is an onsen bath just for the monkeys, and they love to take a hot bath in winter as much as we do!

Korakukan, the ryokan, is a great, rambling structure that sits just outside the park boundaries. Far away from any city “conveniences” (such as traffic and vending machines), and with well-prepared Japanese food, beer sold in the lobby, and natural hot spring baths that smell faintly of sulphur, it was a great choice of accommodation. But perhaps the best part was that monkeys were everywhere, not just confined to the borderless “park”, but playing on the roof and sharing the outdoor people bath at the ryokan (have you ever bathed with a monkey?).

Originally, the photos weren’t great – they were fogged from the onsen’s steam– but more experience with photo editing software has helped us improve the quality
somewhat:

This is one of my favourite experiences in Japan, and looking at the photos makes me long for a snowfall and monkeys on my roof...



Here are some monkeys enjoying the hot springs:

The Problem with Single Speeds and 29ers

Brian has had his Gary Fisher Rig for a year and eight months, while I’ve had mine for a year and two months. Since buying our Rigs, we’ve sold our other cross-country (fully geared, 26”) bikes, and are in the process of selling off our downhill bikes, too. We’ve become dedicated singlespeeders and 29” riders, and we love the little niche we’ve discovered. There is nothing more precious than the silence of a bike cutting through the mountains without shifters slipping and gears gnashing; nothing more beautiful than the simplicity of a handlebar uncluttered by shifter cables…

So then, what’s the problem? Well, since we’ve had our bikes, there’s really been nothing to buy for them. In the old days, we used to buy newer/better/lighter cranks, chain rings, rear cassettes, chains…all those things that suffer wear and tear from constant shifting. We would also frequently buy new tires, either because ours were worn out or the tires were on sale – now we are in such a small niche that 29” tires are a)rarely on sale, and b)hard to come by.

Our bikes are simply perfect. Simply. Perfect. There is nothing we need for them – our happy hours of browsing the bike shops has come to an end. My last purchase was a little bit of luxury – a Thomson Elite stem. Now, there is nothing I need. Nothing that Brian needs. Sometimes perfection can be painful. Brian has had his Gary Fisher Rig for a year and eight months, while I’ve had mine for a year and two months. Since buying our Rigs, we’ve sold our other cross-country (fully geared, 26”) bikes, and are in the process of selling off our downhill bikes, too. We’ve become dedicated singlespeeders and 29” riders, and we love the little niche we’ve discovered. There is nothing more precious than the silence of a bike cutting through the mountains without shifters slipping and gears gnashing; nothing more beautiful than the simplicity of a handlebar uncluttered by shifter cables…

So then, what’s the problem? Well, since we’ve had our bikes, there’s really been nothing to buy for them. In the old days, we used to buy newer/better/lighter cranks, chain rings, rear cassettes, chains…all those things that suffer wear and tear from constant shifting. We would also frequently buy new tires, either because ours were worn out or the tires were on sale – now we are in such a small niche that 29” tires are a)rarely on sale, and b)hard to come by.

Our bikes are simply perfect. Simply. Perfect. There is nothing we need for them – our happy hours of browsing the bike shops has come to an end. My last purchase was a little bit of luxury – a Thomson Elite stem. Now, there is nothing I need. Nothing that Brian needs. Sometimes perfection can be painful.

Better Blogging

Nearly a week has passed since our last post – we’ve been bad bloggers! Not that we have nothing to say, just too busy to say it.

And, um…ok, we also have nothing to say.

We’ve been extremely busy at work recently, while continuing to enjoy our remaining free time riding and going to the gym. I even found a new yoga studio just down the road from me (I’ve been once, and it’s pretty nice, though small).

We went for a great ride yesterday morning – the first and last ride of the weekend. We took our Rigs up to “the fireroad”, one of our favourite places to ride. The fireroad runs from Gotemba to Mishima along a ridge, horizontally between us and Hakone. It is not a main road at all; in fact, it’s not even much of a backroad. People going anywhere between Gotemba and Mishima (Susono is about mid-way) use any number of other, more direct and non-mountainous roads (the 246, the 394, etc). The fireroad has nothing to offer – no convenience stores, no gas stations, no towns, no homes, and a whole lot of curves. It’s very scenic, but it’s also the very long way around – so we very rarely see a car on this road.

To get there, we ride up the mountain until our “up the mountain” road meets with the fireroad; the ride up takes between 38 and 43 minutes usually, depending on our fitness that day. When we get to the top, we have the option of going left (toward Gotemba) or right (toward Mishima). With either choice, there are a lot of very fun options for coming back down to Susono, some of which are tricky trails complete with roots, rocks, slippery clay and over-large spiders.

Our ride yesterday was made more exciting by the bear warning sign that we rode past – the sign is new and looks temporary, so someone must have seen a bear around the area recently. The sign warned people to make noise, listen to their radios, and talk to each other a lot, and to contact the Susono City Hall if they saw a bear. Naturally, Brian and I remained whisper quiet on our single speeds, hoping for a sight of any wildlife at all. We were disappointed in such hopes, but we’ll venture into “bear country” again – maybe on a night ride this time!

Re-Reading Austen

I read. If it has letters, words - I voraciously digest it. Sometimes repeatedly.

I occasionally re-read several of my favourite books; but I regularly re-read two of my favourite authors - Ayn Rand and Jane Austen.

This week, I am spending my free minutes re-reading (for perhaps the 50th time), Pride and Prejudice. I made a purchase at Amazon.co.jp last week, and decided to throw into the order a new copy of the book, as the one that is sitting on my shelf is so well-thumbed as to be, well, unreadable!

Not that I am a traditionalist, but...I am a traditionalist. I haven't yet seen the 2005 movie (with Keira Knightly) of Pride and Prejudice; I may rent it sometime, but very few movie adaptations of my favourite novels have succeeded in my eyes (the BBC Pride and Prejudice I loved!).

Pride and Prejudice, as all of Austen's 6 full-length novels (which I also occasionally re-read), operates on many levels - social commentary, position of women in society, etc.; but when I re-read this favourite novel, I just love to laugh at the irony and to lose myself in the blissful ignorance of happy endings. I read the novel for the sheer pleasure of the story, and that is what I am enjoying now.

Well, back to the book - I wonder what's gonna happen next?

Shouben Kozou (小便小僧）

When you've been living somewhere for so long, you become acclimated - not just to the weather, of course, but to the environment as a whole. You cease to notice things sometimes...but every now and then, you DO notice, and life is good!

When we were riding the train through Hamamatsu-cho in Tokyo a few weeks ago, we just had to get a photo of the little "pissing boy" statue.



Apparently, the shouben kozou (pissing boy or cupid) is based on the famous statue in Brussels called the Manneken Pis. Either way, it's a pretty cute little statue and he turns up in unusual places...

Last weekend, on our way home from off-roading around Mt. Fuji, we had the good luck to make a wrong turn and find this tiny local fire-house, complete with a shouben kozou painted on the garage door:




I'm just thankful that the kozou is around to shouben on the fire!

Whose Space?

Space is really at a premium in Japan, where the cities (even a small one like Susono) are somewhat overcrowded and land is too costly to own. So it is really a little luxury to have a whole chunk of space just for oneself - and I am very happy to have it!

I've furnished "my space" with a little floor chair and small table, decorated with plants, and made it in all ways the perfect place to tune out the world and read a good book:

Autumn Driving

This weekend, we took my Mini exploring and off-roading around Mt. Fuji, before driving up to the Shin-Go-Go-Me (New Fifth Station), the trail head for climbing.

The Mini off-road:



Shizuoka prefecture, for the most part, is too mild to have the vibrant autumn colours. However, by driving a few hundred metres up the side of Mt. Fuji, we found some great coloration:

Autumn trees on Mt. Fuji:


Today, just a few hops from home, we also enjoyed the lovely scenes of harvested rice, drying in the autumn sun:

Photshop Elements 5.0

It’s here!

At the end of September, Adobe released its spiffy new Photoshop Elements version 5.0! I love my current version of Elements; I had tried using “big” Photoshop, which is the super powerful program used by professionals, but found it quite a bit over my head – so I spent most of my time with “little brother” PS Elements 4.0 instead. Elements has all the tools and creative capabilities that I need, and as I’ve become more familiar with it I’ve fallen more in love with this little powerhouse of a program. And now I’ve managed to get my very own copy of PSE 5.0!

I’ve only had about an hour of “play time” with it, but so far it rocks.

Some of the first differences I’ve noticed between version 4.0 and 5.0:

• The editing workspace seems to have more space dedicated to the photo and less to the toolbars – which is a real concern when you are working on a laptop!
• I also like that you can now drag a photo from the photo bin and place it into the active photo in the editing window, which is much handier if you are making a collage or pasting multiple photos into one document. This is especially useful for me, as I prefer to work in a single window and not the tiled layout.
• One of the more obvious differences is the wider range of creative options – like “themes” for photo layouts, which let the user make a very simple but elegant layout with just the click of the mouse.

Here is a little layout that I did in about two minutes:

• There are also more options for web galleries, and the ability to place your photos on a map.
  

I’m looking forward to spending more time getting to know my Elements five-point-oh!

BBQ Party

Monday’s BBQ was a great success! The day dawned warm and sunny with blue skies and a clear view of Mount Fuji. Our friends and neighbors gathered at Brian’s place to share beer and burgers and comfortable conversation. A nice way to wind up the long weekend, and a good substitute celebration for Thanksgiving (which was on Sunday in Canada).

A Week of Updates

We didn't do much last week except work and watch our auctions. Brian's Manitou fork sold well, but neither of our bikes received bids - so we're going to repost next week or so. Last week was a week of rain - every day, rain. Hard rain, soft rain, misty rain - always rain.

This weekend was a complete turnaround for the weather - clear skies and warm sunshine! We rode hard on Saturday, finally getting a view of the city and coast line (summer is too hazy for such a view):




We continued our ride, and investigated some trails we'd never tried before. Luckily, we were on bikes, not in an incapable van:



We did more riding on Sunday, checking out the progress of construction that destroyed one of our trails, and finding a way around it:




And the first clear view of Mt. Fuji in a while, too:




Apart from all the riding, we also caught up on household tasks and other things, including preparing for a BBQ party that's happening today!

Praying Mantis part deux

Just another update from the Beautiful Buggy Balcony of Brian and Tracy:



I luckily happened to catch this little Praydator late last night.

End of an Era - Farewell Downhill...

The downhill season has just about ended. Sad to say, neither Brian nor I have so much as tried on our downhill helmets or gear...

Busy weeks and busier weekends, combined with our desire to get our 29" single-speeds (our beautiful Gary Fisher Rigs) into the mountains left very little time to pack up our downhill gear and make the long (traffic-laden) trek Nagano.

So we made a difficult decision - we have just placed our downhill bikes (my red Santa Cruz Bullit (my Skype name) and Brian's GT DHi) on the Japan Yahoo Auction.

They're not exactly new bikes, but we hope to make a sale just the same.

Brian is also selling a Manitou Sherman Slider fork. Our auctions can be seen here:

My Santa Cruz Bullit:
http://page5.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/e62372415

Brian's GT DHi:
http://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/90802268

Brian's Fork:
http://page8.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/h40601688

With my newish interest in "digital scrapbooking"(an admittedly nerdy hobby) , I put this little memorial together:

Pajero Mini Update

Already two and a half months have passed since I became the proud owner of a new (for me) Pajero Mini. You may remember my initial excitement when I purchased the car back in July – well, that excitement has not faded!

The Mini is not sold outside Japan (which is too bad – it would have been perfect in Saipan!) – but it is VERY popular here. I see several vintages each day – and I am glad that I am driving one of my very own.

Because it is a very small “kei” car, it is much easier to navigate the narrow roads and alleys of Japan, and it’s also MUCH easier to park (I almost don’t even have to look!!

It also drives really well – I took it on the freeway and even with its tiny engine it performed fine. Of course, we’ve taken it off-road several times in four-wheel high and four-wheel low - what fun!

You'd never guess that this car was already 10 years old! The previous owner(s) must have loved the car as much as I do, and I can only hope that it keeps doing this well for another couple of years!

More on Maids

Since I've heard an interest in the maids...

Cosplay (Costume Play) is a whole subculture that has emerged, with Akihabara as its home base. Maid Cafes have sprung up in every nook and cranny, and they are frequented not only by those mega-nerds, the otaku, but by normal people too!

During our day in Akihabara we saw a lot of maids handing out flyers, etc. One flyer directed us to this "maid-san refresh" place http://www.maidrefle.net/index.html.

You can get a "hand refresh" (???) and foot bath for 2,000 yen for 15 minutes. And - coming up on October 8th is Original Costume Day (more than just maid outfits, I'm guessing).

Brian and I have yet to visit a maid cafe, but I hate to think that we're missing out on a whole pop-culture movement...maybe next time we'll just have to stop by a cafe!

The Unflushables: On Urination, Water Conservation and Female Sensibilities

For so many years now, when I’ve walked into a women’s public washroom, I could hear the melodious sounds of frequent flushing. A woman walks into the stall, and almost immediately the flushing begins.

Why all this flushing? To mask any “embarrassing” sounds – such as pee hitting water. So, women flush before/during and after – occasionally using as many as three flushes.

This is a trend that began, to my knowledge, more than five years ago, and one to which I’ve become so accustomed that I hardly even notice it anymore. And I probably wouldn’t be writing about it now, either, except that I’ve noticed certain gadgets that have turned up in the women’s washrooms over the past year or so – electronic noise makers.

With heightened awareness of and concern for water conservation, corporations and other places which offer public washroom facilities knew that they had to put a stop to the useless waste of water, and it would be pretty hard to monitor a “one flush” rule! The electronic sound makers - that actually make “flushing” sounds - seem to be working: I’ve been hearing fewer natural flushes of late:-)

Akihabara and Shinjuku

We spent Friday night in Tokyo, and got an early start in Akihabara on Saturday morning. As our main goal was just to check out the new and cool technology, and to do a little people watching, we didn't really buy much. We did find a great deal on 2GB high-speed SD cards, so we bought two for our cameras.

We also got to see some maids and other creatures of interest while we were in town:



We had a late lunch in Shinjuku, then went to an imported food shop where we filled two boxes to ship back home (the package should be arriving tonight!) before taking the very comfortable "Romance Car" back to Susono.

Picture from Shinjuku.

A Day in the Big Toe...

Brian and I have been busy most weekends, and resting on the weekends when we didn’t have to do something/be somewhere/meet someone. This weekend we are well-rested and have no other plans – so we’re heading off to Tokyo (the "Big Toe") for a day.

Tokyo isn’t that far from here, but traffic conditions pretty much prohibit driving, and expensive train fares prevent any over-riding desire to “just pop off to Tokyo” on a regular basis, so this is something of a rarity for us. In the past, long-long ago, before broadband and before we could navigate comfortably in Japanese, more frequent trips to Tokyo were necessary to procure little luxuries – English language books and magazines, and overseas food items (curry pastes and Kraft dinner!). Now – we get a wider variety of such items at cheaper prices, delivered to our door in less than a week. So what good is going to Tokyo?

While we would usually rather be riding our bikes in the mountains or drinking beer at our local beer hall than trekking around the megalopolis, since we haven’t been to the city in such a long time, we are both really looking forward to eating dinner at our favourite Mexican restaurant, sipping margaritas, and exploring what’s new in the strange and wonderful world of “Electric City”, Akihabara.

We’ll try to get some cool pics of the otaku and cosplay queens!!

Weekend Well Spent

I think we were both overdue for a long weekend. We haven't been camping or downhilling as much this year as last, but we're still keeping pretty busy on the weekends.

Sunday was "apartment cleaning day" - long, hot and tiring but certainly worth the effort.

After a morning bike ride (before the typhoon rains!), Monday was "projects" day; basically, Brian did more cleaning and organizing of bike parts, I played on my computer and did a few photo projects:

I created this effect in Photoshop Elements 4 - I'm still just learning my way around the program, but having fun doing it:



I also wanted to practice with lighting and my macro lense, so I bought these roses just to take pictures of them. They also made the room a little brighter - until they wilted and died!

Long Weekend

Monday is a national holiday - keiro no hi, which can be roughly translated as Respect for the Aged Day. There's nothing special going on that we know about - no festivities or anything. But we are certainly enjoying the extended weekend!

Our weekend began on Friday night, and we celebrated with dinner and a couple of beers at Ryoba, a chain izakaya in Numazu.




Yesterday we took advantage of the perfect late-summer weather with a long (grueling!) bike ride in the mountains, finishing the ride at the Gotemba Kogen Beer Hall. The Kogen brews its own beer, and has a large area where people can enjoy their beer outdoors. Yesterday was an extra special treat as the Kogen is having festivites and selling special beer for Oktoberfest.

We enjoyed the beer, and so did this giant wasp who insisted on having a peice of the action:

Shooting and Death at Dawson CEGEP

I'd like to post about my fabulous ride this morning, or the good time we had out at the izakaya tonight.

However, I am more interested in posting just a little about the shootings at Dawson CEGEP (a.k.a. college) in Montreal on Wednesday. An armed assailant opened fire at the CEGEP just before 1 p.m. local time. CEGEP, for those who don't know, is the two-year transition between high-school and University in Quebec. Most people go to CEGEP before moving on to the 3-year (not 4-year) University program. So, the kids at Dawson "college" really were just kids - all between the ages of 17 and 20, most likely. And one of them is now dead, the others forever changed.

I was much more (selfishly) concerned, however, about my mother, who uses the same metro station that serves Dawson CEGEP almost every day. This is a part of her emailed response to my query:

I am just fine. YES the shooting did affect me - I was in the crowd of thousands of people. I heard the shots,it was really awful. I never saw so many police with guns and police dogs.I had to run down St.Catherine [street] to St. Marc [street].I couldn"t even get a cab... Anyway I am fine.

My mind is full of the "what ifs", as it always is. But life isn't about "what if", it's about "what is". Don't waste your life worrying about loss; instead, seize the day and enjoy what you have while you have it.

By the Light of...

our new lamp!

I was out shopping the other day, and this lamp that I'd had my eye on for a while was actually in stock.




Until now, we'd been using a regular small reading lamp in the comfy TV room. It was ok, but the quality of light as well as the aesthetic appeal of this new Japanese lamp is simply more pleasing. It's also much more soothing - perhaps too soothing??

September

Wow, I finally slowed down a little at work, only to realize that it is already the 9th month. September here is traditionally the time to appreciate the moon, and people often organize 'moon viewing parties'. I haven't actually participated myself, as planned events have been scuttled due to cloud, rain or fog. Maybe this year?

This is Koson's Grasshopper Under a Full Moon:




















September's insects are abundant (and slower) as summer winds down. While out today (we are still appreciating the sun) I found a grasshopper:














While Tracy caught a resting dragonfly:




















The autumn abundance of dragonflies has been dear to the Japanese psyche since before cartographers could have recognized it, but that Japan's geographical shape resembles a dragonfly has been often noted. Can you see the resemblance?