Like it says.. 10 things that I now do after living in japan for 2 years… Eeeek!

1. Eating steak with chopsticks

2.Taking your shoes off before you enter a house( come on, it’s yucky if you think about it. )

3. Sitting in seiza position for up to 45 mins ( Thats sitting with your knees bent under you and your but resting on them). Definitely no more than 45 min or I start to think I’ll never move again.

4. Drinking ridiculous amounts of alcohol with my coworkers in a formal setting.

5. Train sleeping : The act of closing your eyes and hanging your head down in a completely relaxed motion as if your dead asleep until you reach your stop and out of nowhere jerk yourself completely awake. (Still need a little work on this. I often miss it)

6. Feeling lonely.

7. Having comprehensible conversations based solely on grunts and “ehhs”

8. Carrying a dainty hand towel to any bathroom to dry my hands. ( there are no paper towels!)

9. Having 7year olds tell me that my times running out and I better get married pronto and start churning out those babies because there isn’t much time left.

10. Bowing to everyone and everything. My awkwardness has found a new home…

Next week… Things I can’t accept! You can’t even imagine!

aku sebut tirani
kau cuma tersenyum
“aku tidak mengerti” bisikmu..
berbalik aku yang tersenyum
“nanti juga kau tau” kataku…

“… dan semoga tanpa air mata…” lirihku..
“kalau begitu, aku tidak akan pernah mau mengerti…” tatapmu dalam
kembali aku tertegun menatap matamu..

“lalu kenapa kita disini sekarang?” ungkap hatiku emosi
“entahlah…” datar suaramu…
“kita sama-sama enggan beranjak bukan?!” lanjut mu
“biar aku yang beranjak saat ini…” dan itu semua dengan air mataku..
genggam tanganmu masih kencang,tapi mulutmu tidak berkata-kata sedikitpun..
aku diam. menanti minimal satu kata dari mu..
NIHIL.

hanya genggaman mu yang ada…
tak pernah kau lepas.
namun aku merasa dingin dengan itu…

Entahlah…

harus dengan air mata lagi????

kind of an attitude for me..
i dont even know the reason and i just find my self YIELD to you
things either that i love to do and i am insisted by
i wish i am a curious-whore so i’ll find out the reason

i just like u.
the only-one-thing that i know

i just want to makes u smile and happy with me
the only-one-thing i wanna do

i just love to see u
the-only-one thing i wish everyday

i am YIELD now..
the-only-one way to get u back!

An international crackdown on the use of woods from the world’s rain forests to make musical instruments bubbled over to Music City on Tuesday with a federal raid on Gibson Guitar ’s manufacturing plant, but no arrests.

Assistant U.S. Attorney John Webb said the search warrant was obtained based on information in a sealed affidavit outlining the investigation.

Agents of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service made a midday appearance and served a search warrant on company officials at Gibson’s Massman Drive manufacturing plant, where it makes acoustic and electric guitars.

Some hardwoods traditionally used in making premium guitars, such as rosewood from the rain forests of Madagascar and Brazil, have been banned from commercial trade because of environmental concerns under a recently revised federal law.

Under the U.S. Lacey Act, trading in such banned woods is a federal offense, punishable by civil and criminal penalties or the seizure of property. Last year, the U.S. Congress amended a turn-of-the-century wildlife protection law (the Lacey Act) to extend its reach to endangered timber species and plants. See the next post Where Were You When Wood Became A Felony?

The following is a excerpt from the Classical Values Blog. It is very interesting and I highly recommend you read the entire article at http://www.classicalvalues.com/archives/2009/10/where_were_you_2.html

The 2008 Farm Bill (also known as the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, aka Public Law 110-246).

This amendment [to the Lacey Act] deals with illegal plants — the primary thrust being illegal wood. Henceforth, all wood is to be a federally regulated, suspect substance. Either raw wood, lumber, or anything made of wood, from tables and chairs, to flooring, siding, particle board, to handles on knives, baskets, chopsticks, or even toothpicks has to have a label naming the genus and species of the tree that it came from and the country of origin. Incorrect labeling becomes a federal felony, and the law does not just apply to wood newly entering the country, but any wood that is in interstate commerce within the country. Here are some excerpts from a summary:

The Lacey Act now makes it unlawful to import, export, transport, sell, receive, acquire, or purchase in interstate or foreign commerce any plant, with some limited exceptions, taken in violation of the laws of a U.S. State, or any foreign law that protects plants. The Lacey Act also makes it unlawful to make or submit any false record, account or label for, or any false identification of, any plant.

The definition of the term “plant” includes “any wild member of the plant kingdom, including roots, seeds, parts, and products thereof, and including trees from either natural or planted forest stands.”

[...]

Anyone who imports into the United States, or exports out of the United States, illegally harvested plants or products made from illegally harvested plants, including timber, as well as anyone who exports, transports, sells, receives, acquires or purchases such products in the United States, may be prosecuted. In any prosecution under the Lacey Act, the burden of proof of a violation rests on the government.

[...]

Violations of Lacey Act provisions for timber and other plant products, as well as fish and wildlife, may be prosecuted through either civil or criminal enforcement actions. Regardless of any prosecution, the tainted plants may be seized and forfeited.

Everyone means everyone, which includes every reader of this blog.

Obviously, this means that in the future, the Fish and Game guys will be able to accompany SWAT Team raiders to check all wood in homes and businesses for possible violations. Even if they’re wrong in their suspicions about the wood, it can still be confiscated. (Might that be a goal? To beef up employment at Fish and Game?)

Just think about the law enforcement possibilities alone. After kicking through and impounding your illegal wooden door, a federalized army of government termites could literally strip all wood paneling and flooring from every raided house as suspicious contraband, and haul away all the furniture, wood carvings, picture frames, tools, musical instruments! I can’t think of a better harassment tool. The list of potentially regulated items is mind-boggling:

the scope of products that will require a declaration under the Lacey Act is broad and includes certain live plants, plant parts, lumber, wood pulp, paper and paperboard, and products containing certain plant material or products, which may include certain furniture, tools, umbrellas, sporting goods, printed matter, musical instruments, products manufactured from plant-based resins, and textiles.

[...]

After September 30, 2009, based on experience with the implementation of the electronic system for declaration data collection, we will phase in enforcement of the declaration requirements for additional chapters containing plants and plant products covered by the Lacey Act, including (but not limited to) Ch. 12 (oil seeds, misc. grain, seed, fruit, plant, etc.), Ch. 13 (gums, lacs, resins, vegetable saps, extracts, etc.), Ch. 14 (vegetable plaiting materials and products not elsewhere specified or included), Ch. 45 (cork and articles of), Ch. 46 (basket ware and wickerwork), Ch. 66 (umbrellas, walking sticks, riding crops), Ch. 82 (tools), Ch. 93 (guns), Ch. 95 (toys, games and sporting equipment), Ch. 96 (brooms, pencils, and buttons), and Ch. 97 (works of art). We will announce a specific phase-in schedule for those chapters in a subsequent Federal Register notice.

Did they mention shipping pallets and cargo braces? Wood is not only in stuff, it’s in the stuff that the stuff comes in! Nearly everything is regulated.

Oh, and you firearm owners out there, let’s not forget gun handles!

Ch. 93 Headings (arms and ammunition).
9302 — Revolvers and pistols.
93051020 –Parts and accessories for revolvers and pistols.
Ch. 94 Headings (furniture, etc.).
940169 — Seats with wood frames.
Ch. 95 Headings (toys, games, & sporting equipment).
950420 — Articles and accessories for billiards.
Ch. 97 Headings (works of art).
9703 — Sculptures.

Glad I don’t own an art gallery, but my picture frames are not labeled, which means there are probably multiple potential felonies in progress in my home. (Perhaps I should be more careful about what I say.)

And while the NRA might not have noticed the impending crackdown on gun handles, at least IKEA is starting to speak up.

Between Wood Control and the Consumer Product Safety Nazis, I pity anyone in the secondhand business, including all Ebay and Craigslist sellers as well as people holding garage or yard sales.

In short, I pity the American people. This is not their fault, though, for no one has any control over what is going on. Not even the despicable fools we call “legislators” who cannot read the “laws” they pass because they are not meant to be read. As to the enforcers, they are only doing their job. They have to earn a living. And we are supposed to respect them, because they lay their lives on the line, “protecting” the public! From felonious wood!

Obviously, the full implications of this dramatic loss of freedom are beyond the capacity of a single post. After all, I am just one blogger, doing this by myself, without the kind of access to data that media organizations and think tanks might have. So, I cannot possibly hope to analyze everything. As things stand, I became exhausted last night just reading through the Lacey Act Amendment stuff pertaining to wood — and that was one mere fraction of an execrable, unreadable monstrosity. I don’t mean to whine, but slogging through such horrors is not exactly my idea of Saturday night fun. But who the hell else is going to do it? Flooring and furniture industry blogs? Who the hell reads them except people in the business? They’re all greedy tree haters and have no credibility. Besides, all big business is the enemy right now. We need to stand up not only against Big Cereal, but now Big Flooring! Big Siding! Big Furniture! (Is there such an industry as Big Chopstick?)

To read the entire article please go to: http://www.classicalvalues.com/archives/2009/10/where_were_you_2.html

dingin kita hadapi butiran itu..
menatapnya pun kita enggan
dingin ku sentuh ujung jarimu
mengajakku untuk urung menggenggamnya
tak hanya tatapnya yang berbeda
tawa itu tidak sama lagi

aku akan merubah segalanya
jadi seperti yang tidak pernah terpikirkan olehmu
karena kita tidak punya pilihan sama sekali

aku enggan peduli lagi dengan butir itu..
itu tidak pernah menyelesaikan masalah
aku pun enggan untuk peduli ttg HATI sekarang
hal itu tidak pernah ABADI adanya.

kimchi

I’ve tried about a million different things since I arrived in Korea and I haven’t had a bad meal yet.

I really  thought I was going to hate kimchi because I don’t really like cabbage and Sauerkraut is one of the most disgusting foods people eat in America.  But it’s actually really good.  I suppose it’s good that I like it considering that at every non-takeout place I’ve been to since I’ve been in Korea, even the places serving Japanese or Chinese food kimchi is served.

People keep asking me to describe it to them but kimchi tastes like kim chi and doesn’t really compare to anything out there.  It’s fairly spicy–the peppers kind of overwhelm the rest of the food.

It’s also the easiest food to eat with chopsticks I’ve ever come across.

Speaking of Kim chi the other day I had kim chichigae, a soup that puts kim chi in a red broth with pork and tofu.  It was delicious.  It will also blow your head off with how spicy it is.  I ate about half of a bowl of it and it was about all i could take for spices.

Koreans are incredibly proud of their food, even to the point of absurdity.  Many Koreans believe that kim chi cures diseases.  While it does appear to be quite healthy notions that it cures aids are even known to float around South Korea.  I know, it seems ridiculous to me too.

So, Yuki and I took a few days to visit some of the early temples and castles in the Kansai region of Japan. Most of the structures we saw date back to the 8th century and are truly amazing! Besides the structures there were also tons of great sculptures from the same time period. However, as you all know, this blog isn’t about architecture, it’s about food. This post is to let you know about the incredible Kaiseki we ate our last night in Nara at the Ryokan (traditional Japanese Inn) we stayed at, Yoshino.

Kaiseki is the classic multi-course meal that progresses through various cooking techniques using regional, seasonal ingredients. It’s the highest art form you can find in food anywhere in the world. Focus on the subtleties of each ingredient to draw out natural flavors and not cover then with heavy sauces (sorry Frenchies, but the Japanese have your asses kicked in food culture!).

It started with that dish in the middle of the picture above. From left to right was a little fish grilled in a sweet soy marinade, a roasted chestnut, ama ebi (sweet shrimp), some sort of seafood that had a jellyfish-like texture in a miso sauce (I have absolutely no idea what it was, but it sure tasted good!), then a three-colored fish cake.

After that they brought out this dish. It was obviously a shrimp, but I’m not quite sure what else there was. I think it was a gratin made with the roe of the shrimp. Also on the plate as a macaroni salad and some lettuce with a tomato.

Then we moved on to the sashimi plate. It had some fantastic Chu-Toro (tuna), Tai (snapper), and the star of the plate….Ika (squid). In the States when you order Ika it’s usually very thin and a little rubbery. Not these two slices. They were about a half centimeter thick, squid steaks! Rubbery? Hell no! Each chew and the squid literally melted away in our mouths. Hands down the best squid I’ve ever eaten.

Then they brought us a plate of steamed Ayu (sweet fish). It’s a river fish that eats moss attached to stones giving it a really fresh and clean taste. It was served with a light ginger sauce. The thing that makes Ayu special is that it’s eaten when the belly is full of fish roe. There isn’t much meat, so it’s like dipping chopsticks into a bowl of fresh water caviar.

Being the meatavore that I am, the next plate was what I was most looking forward to….Beef Tataki. Lightly seared beef to give a little texture to the soft raw meat laden with mouth-watering fat. The dipping sauce is a soy-dashi mix. You see the little mound of reddish gew on the side of the dish? That’s a mix of togarahsi (Japanese red pepper) and yuzu (a small citrus fruit). You mix that into the sauce like you would wasabi for sushi, along with thinly sliced chives. With the tataki there was a small dish of sliced cucumber and I think seaweed in a vinegar sauce that cleansed the palette from the fatty beef.

Then we ate the Shabu-shabu. Unfortunately I forgot to get a picture of the individual hotpots we used, but here’s the ingredients. The broth was a light sake base, in it we added cabbage, enoki mushrooms, and shimeji mushrooms. Once they were cooked, we sloshed the thinly sliced beef around to cook it and then dipped it all in a light soy with more of the togarashi yuzu and chives.

After that we got two different preparations of Unagi. To be honest, I have absolutely no clue what the difference was. One was served on top of rice, the other with rice on the side. All I can tell you is that you will never find eel of that quality anywhere in the States. It tasted like they just caught it that morning. Best eel ever! Both came with a little dish of Japanese pickles. They were probably damn good pickles, but I don’t like pickles so I let Yuki eat mine.

After the Unagi was a clear broth soup with an ingredient we couldn’t figure out. At first, we thought it was some sort of mushroom. It wasn’t. Then we thought it might be shiroko, fish sperm sack. It wasn’t that either. We finally found out that it was eel liver, probably from the Unagi we just ate. It had kind of a crunchy yet soft texture. Not something you’ll find on any old menu.

Finally, to finish things off was a plate with fresh persimmons and grapes. persimmons are in season right now and are everywhere while Japanese grapes are absolutely huge compared to what we get.

All in all this was my 5th Kaiseki. I wish I could afford to eat like this every night as there is always something unusual and strange to the western palette. If any of you get to Japan I highly recommend splurging at least once to experience the delicate yet sophisticated Japanese cuisine at it’s finest.

pdtnc © Photographer  | Agency: Dreamstime.com

Description:
Free Stock Photos: Old Japanese book from meiji period with chopsticks and Japanese maple leaf.

Keywords:
age, aged, background, binding, book, bound, broken, brown, chopsticks, cover, crease, dirt, dirty, fold, folded, folds, grunge, inside, jap, japan, japanese, kanji, layer, leaf, maple, meiji, mildew, mould, nihongo, old, overlay, page, paper, pdtnc, scan, scuffed, stitched, subtle, texture, thread, torn, wrinkles, writing

Madeline finished up her second day today at her new preschool. I can not say enough how happy I am with her new preschool! I was worried that Madeline would be sad about not going back to the old one, or that she would miss some of the kids but today when she hopped in the car after I picked her up she told me, “Mommy, I like my new preschool.” I didn’t even have to ask her any questions to get her to say that. I guess she just had so much fun that she wanted me to know how she felt.

When I dropped her off on Monday she had no problems going in to her classroom and didn’t seem apprehensive at all. Her teacher showed us around and helped us figure out what to do. Some of the parents came up and introduced their kids to Madeline and themselves to me. It felt so warm and welcoming, kind of the opposite of Madeline’s last preschool.

Her teachers have told me that Madeline has been doing great in her class and has fit right in with the kids. I’m sure it helps that Madeline already knew a couple of the girls from a gymnastics class.

This week the theme has been International week and they have been learning about different countries. Today when Madeline got in the car she started explaining to me how to say hello and goodbye in all sorts of different languages. Again, it was one of the first times she willingly told me about preschool without me having to pry it out of her. They also had the kids wear bathrobes and towels today to pretend that they were kimonos since they were learning about Japan. For their snack they had oranges and rice and used chopsticks to eat them. The chopsticks were a big hit with Madeline.

One of the biggest things I’ve heard about Madeline’s teacher is how organized she is, and I have to agree with everyone on that! The school has a website that she keeps updated with all of her lesson plans, song sheets with the lyrics to the songs they are learning, and photos that they have taken during class. It’s so much fun to be able to see the pictures of the kids and what they are doing, and it’s also great to know what they are talking about so I don’t have to rely on Madeline to give me that information. One of her favorite lines these days is “I can’t remember” which, when translated means, “stop asking me questions!”

Here are a few pictures of Madeline’s first week.

Here are the kids modeling their “kimono’s” and hats they made.

Eating with chopsticks

Madeline working on an art project.

Madeline playing (apparently having her eyes open in pictures is completely optional these days).

Playing a game.

Looks like she’s having fun, huh?

I am very happy we made the switch. I felt bad about it initially, but after only 2 days I know this is the right place for Madeline. I could go on and on about everything I love about the preschool, but I won’t bore those of you who don’t have kids and aren’t really interested in preschools. For those of you who do have kids, I highly recommend it! I can say that now, because we get to do early registration so I can recommend it to everyone and feel pretty secure with Madeline’s spot for next year

Lube sheep

They make lunch boxes too!

Submitted by: Todd Spencer via Engrish Funny Submissions

wut can u do wif sum forkz?

barusan mau doa n renungan but what evil did to me??
dia mengajak aku berfikir dan kembali ke dimensi aku yang jahat.

sebelum berdoa tadi di hatiku ada banyak yg akan aku ucapkan syukur. tapi sedetik sebelum aku mulai berdoa banyak yg terlintas di otak ku dan aku malah jadi memberontak dari rasa syukurku itu.

aku berusaha merasakan hadirat Tuhan dalam tiap penyembahanku tapi aku makin TIDAK BERSYUKUR!!!!

ada sesuatu yang menarikku ke keadaan dimana aku dikatakan BODOH karena aku tidak berjuang seperti manusia pada umumnya. dan itu sangat menekanku. aku mampu koq untuk jadi AKTUAL ketika aku berjuang dengan cara dunia ini. tapi itu tidak jadi pilihan hidupku karena aku mau hidup seperti yang Allah perintahkan.

berfikir seperti itu membuatku jadi ditarik kembali ke dimensi dimana aku hidup dari KASIH KARUNIA itu dan itu membuat aku kembali pada rasa syukurku.

tapiiiiiiiiiiiii…………
melihat kembali keadaanku, melihat sekelilingku bahkan berjuang untuk TIDAK MUNAFIK membuat aku muak.

dan aku mulai bersyukur kembali ketika Tuhan bilang amsal 1 : 28 – 33

dan aku ditarik lagi oleh pikiranku,keinginan hatiku dan ambisiku..

aakh.. cape bgt!!!
aku menunda doa ku dan menulis disini untuk mengusir segala ketidaknyamananku.

aku bertanya-tanya,dimana aku sekarang? pada relnya Tuhan atau pada rel yg dunia sedang tawarkan??

here is my logo work on chinese restaurant called “Çubuk” /Chopstick.

i started the work with making handmade letter “Ç” with ink on paper and i choose first one.

after decide on first one i tried it with fonts..

i combined “cubuk” with vector chopsticks and hand.

i thought “çubuk” will be good in a white chinese porcelain plate with chopsticks and i tried. But after than i decide make it with simple circle for giving sence of plate.

Time to get back to this blog and post some more photos and because I think I’m still under the influence of the trip I took to Japan the posted photo will illustrate that.

Following is a photo I took on sunny afternoon at Asakusa, Tokyo. Street merchants were selling lots of traditional rice sweets and or course chopsticks.

Japanese chopsticks cutting through the afternoon sunlight

Hai anak-anak, taatilah orang tuamu dalam segala hal, karena itulah yang indah di dalam Tuhan. (Kol 3:20)

sorry Lord… aku baru saja berfikir untuk jadi sama dengan teman-teman ku yang tidak taat akan kata-kata orang tua mereka tentang pasangan mereka.
sorry lord…

walau sebenarnya aku ingin sekali memberontak karena ini.

aku cemburu dengan mereka. mereka boleh bebas dengan keinginan daging mereka untuk bersama walau mereka dilarang. tapi kenapa aku malah terjebak dengan ‘kebenaran firman’ yang aku miliki??
kenapa aku tidak bisa seperti mereka??

atau sebenarnya aku ada di komunitas yang salah??
tapi mereka anak2 Tuhan???

bagaimana cara mereka membedakan hidup pribadi mereka dan hidup dari firman yang mereka kenal itu???

aku kecewa,Tuhan…
bagaimana aku harus berjuang saat ini?
apa yang harus aku perjuangkan sebenarnya?
keinginanku untuk bersama dia atau kebenaran firmanMu sampai nanti Kau memberi jawaban atas semua yang terjadi ini??

I have a confession to make.

I don’t–

Wait.  I should probably lay some groundwork.  I’ve got to build up to this.

I’m a pretty smart dude.  I’ve spent almost 85% of my years as a student.  I can do long division and F.O.I.L.¹ I also played sports as a kid.  I’ve already mentioned my basketball days, but I played baseball, too, so I’ve got great hand-eye coordination.  And I’ve even played a bunch of instruments — violin, trumpet, harmonica, guitar — so I’m not club-handed; I can display gentle, controlled energy with these fingers.  When it comes to brushing my teeth, I exert the proper amount of pressure — enough to lift stains, not so much that I erode enamel — every single time.  Yet, there’s a skill that evades my grasp.

I do not know how to use chopsticks.

It feels weird admitting that.  I feel like I just told you that I’m completely incapable of surviving in this society, like a never-nude born into a nudist colony, or like Snuffleupagus, a mammoth from a time long passed, out of his element in the multicultural modernity of city life on Sesame Street.

Okay.  Yes: that analogy was forced.  But man do I miss me some Snuffleupagus.²

The point: all this “refinement” and I’m still skewing, stabbing, spearing and spilling any Chinese, Thai or Burmese food I eat.  Don’t even get me started on the atrocity that is me eating Vietnamese food.

Perhaps the strangest thing is that I own a set of 10 chopsticks.  They’re in the house all the time.  And so you’d think, free from the judging gaze of eatersby at adjacent tables, I’d practice practice practice until I got it right.  But it’s like I’ve already given up.

I hope we can still be friends.

_____________

¹First, outer, inner, last (baby).  I even have the Urban Outfitters’ t-shirt to prove it.

²Did you ever know there’s a Disney World-like place for Sesame Street?  It’s Sesame Place.  It was amazing (and not just because it’s owned by Anheuser-Busch).

kita banyak bercerita,tapi kita tidak saling mengenal sama sekali..

‘diam’ tidak ada dalam kamusku tapi ketika aku terluka terlalu dalam aku cuma punya ‘diam’ sampai itu sembuh.

maaf..
aku kebingungan saat ini…
aku tidak mau membiarkannya tapi aku tetap membiarkannya.
aku tidak mau melepaskan tapi aku harus melepaskan..
aku tau Tuhan tidak pernah bosan,tapi aku sudah bosan bercerita ttg cerita yang sama dan keadaan yang sama. tidak berubah.

bon,maaf…
aku bingung…

OH YEAH

via Geek Stuff 4 U

the french designer most known for the light graffiti instrument : halo light, has several ‘handy’ designs that i am especially fond of . . . <best part: toothpicks are removable/changeable>

chopsticks AND toothpicks

also

spoon/chopstick +

wait for it

soy sauce dish!

though truth be told i like to use chopsticks as a compliment to my spoon when enjoying tasty noodle soups.  still – better than the spork.  aïssa logerot also designed this clever coffee table, which sows the weight of any objects resting on it

instable

plus – the individual wooden pieces can be removed + rotated to display a grey face – creating words, designs or chess boards.   love me some multifunctionality!

unstable