and they say they saved some mead from December…excited

cupcakes are baked, pictures to come…tomorrow

there is plenty of snow on the ground and the rumble of ABS brakes under my feet is very satisfying despite white knuckles

it’s lung hurting cold in SK but warm inside

Yay for Lunar eclipse on February 21st! Perhaps I should stay in Saskatchewan for a few more days and increase my chances of clear skies?

Last night’s practice was a battle with my height. To start – running with one finger brushing the ground. Later learning that my feet should be closer together when in shikodachi, making it harder to squat down. Conclusion: it will be very very very difficult for me to have beautiful kata.

Three more slides where are you??!!

I’ll never be able to comprehend this time of year anywhere outside of Saskatchewan.

I think all I have are these photos. This was my day. I woke up, ate breakfast and coded, jogged, showered, went to the uni, coded, had a meeting, coded, went to a cafe, coded, went to karate, came home, coded. I’m in a groove.

I’m liking Python. 

Thursday is St. Nick’s day. Please leave cookies and oranges out for the people you live with. Or…make sure you leave your boots out on Wednesday night.

While waiting they sat me in a dimly lit room and I pulled out my book to read. Smiling, the receptionist turned on a light for me. Was that a test?

I’m reading “In Patagonia” because several recent events have ignited a small desire to travel Argentina and Chile.  The latest being receiving a postcard of the Perito Moreno Glacier from Sato Sensei, the head instructor at my home karate dojo, who recently came back from travels in South America. The book is interesting in that it portrays history, culture, and ways of living that I have no clue about. Still, I can’t say that it’s inspiring me to travel. Then I remember that I’m never inspired so much by words as I am by pictures. I will continue reading and at the same time do some research on Flickr.

Coffee is an “adult drink” by social standards but not by law. It is only somewhat…unacceptable (?) for children to drink, maybe because it changes body chemistry and has addictive properties. Luckily the flavour is not very agreeable with a typical child’s tastes…a built in protection mechanism. But still, there are a number of coffee-based beverages masking the bitterness with sugar and milk products and other flavours – how much do these appeal to children and which children get to drink them? If their parents deny a request for a vanilla latte, are they allowed to have other drinks containing caffeine? If denying a child coffee is not based on health concerns but simply because coffee is an “adult drink” what does this say about adult perceptions of drinking it?

I consider my own. My morning cup of coffee is a daily sign of independence and self-support. I am drinking my coffee to start a day in which I will take on life responsibilities. I also drink coffee as a reward for responsibilities taken. On a day off I might indulge in a late morning breakfast out…accompanied with coffee.

Today I drink a rare cup of afternoon coffee to give me a thesis-working boost. It helped get me started and it helped me notice the shape of these buds on the walk home. I saw them and was able to picture graphics inspired by their shape but before today, I never connected the graphics to a plant that actually existed. They seem so wonderfully cartoonish.

Coffee is not helping me now. My body is sore and tired. I want to sleep. I think I might have a short nap…need to get functional soon.

So when I find spiders (like this one at the train station) I try to watch and learn and not be so afraid.

Okonomiyaki fortunes are told. Hills and valley of egg show the variety of paths at a person’s disposal, fish flakes vibrate gently in accordance with the subject’s internal energy level, and the mayo, the mayo is the key to the heart and the heart’s future. The curves – the degree a heart feels settled, the light it reflects – a measure of passion and sometimes, subtle forms emerge giving a sign of a story to come.

There is an ancient karaoke machine in the restaurant. We don’t sing but I admire a cassette tape inside. I have always loved the look of a white cassette tape.

Only another few months in Japan. Today I feel closer to that reality. It is scary. But then – I am getting an Internet connection in my room on Friday. After all this time. I didn’t break down but, not being able to proxy through UBC to access papers online at work has been inconvenient. But an Internet connection – you do that when you move in. It’s an action of settling.

I am so far from settled.

But the new camera is almost named. It is a choice between two names and I had the idea of making it a vote but I think this one is personal and I need to decide myself.

I am searching for pictures on flickr and I wish that they had some filter for search results coming from one person who has taken 20 shots of the same thing.

Sorry – not too exciting but given my Internet access outside of the usual, I feel like I should be writing. It might also be because last night in my dream I had a few people tell me how great my blog was to read. Seriously!  Hahaha.

Oh geez. I think this whole browsing flickr thing is getting to me. Many personal photos with little explanation and people you don’t know. My mind goes on autopilot with the story making and now I have a wee bit of a headache.

Hope you are all having a good weekend. Despite working for most of it, I am. Sleeping is good ; )