From time to time our friends give us odd gifts which we’re not always sure how to utilize or when the appropriate time to drink/eat them would be. We’ve had a few bottles of fine wine which we’ve been saving for a special moment but still feel they are too nice to open just yet. Sadly, this evening I think I made a joke that maybe wasn’t taken as inappropriate, but actually felt inappropriate to myself and in many more ways reminded me of something that has been concerning Waki and I lately. After a few glasses of wine and some talk about odd foods of the world, I stood up and pulled out a bottle of Myanmar whisky we had sitting on our shelf for the past year. Never daring to open it as it’s ranks up there with vintage wine from mainland China, I had almost forgotten we had it, and was rather excited to have remembered it at that moment. It got a rise out of everyone and I chuckled a little at this bottled oddity. Then it struck me that it wasn’t funny, and that our friend who gave it to us meant it as a funny joke for us at the time, but that friend is actually in Myanmar now. She works for an NGO there and left over a year ago to live there. We haven’t heard from her since then, and we’ve attempted to email her since the storm and haven’t heard anything. We’re hoping she is alright, or that she is already back in Japan, but we’re not sure as we don’t know anyone else who has contact with her. I still can’t imagine drinking Myanmar whisky, and I’m sure she had a good laugh giving it to us as a gift so long ago, but it’s turned from a gift into a reminder that our friend may still be there, and it’s a tragic mess over there right now.

Anisuru took this photo with my camera at Waki’s parents house last weekend. We had a family gathering and he cooked a fantastic curry dinner with my favorite sweet curry eggs again. I’m not sure if it was his intent, but the photo he took of this watermelon slice just feels so emotional to me. Those eyes, so intense… or maybe I’m the only one that sees a face in this watermelon??

Don’t you want someone to pick you up in one of these? While everyone stands there jaws dropping as this thing bounces up the street, you get to jump in for some good times with your yakuza pals. The hydralics made it bounce up and down as it cruised past Tokyu Hands one evening in Shibuya.

Glub! Glub! Glub!

Last weekend I spent way too much time in the giant Akihabara Yodobashi Camera shop playing around with gadgets and camera attachments. The shop staff noticed me messing around with one of the display models and smartly asked me what I like to take photos of. My dear readers know I took all too many photos of food, so I told the staff and he spent the next hour teaching me all about Macro lenses. He did such a good job that I went home and ordered myself a cheap one from Japan’s discount shopping site Kakaku.com. I run with a Nikon D80, so I ordered a Sigma 50mm 2.8 DG Macro lens with a Nikon mount. I couldn’t be happier.

Waki and I took a stroll through the Imperial Palace grounds to enjoy all the beautiful flowers in bloom now. I took my new lens out for a test drive and I’m VERY happy. It will take some practice and getting used to, as about 60% of my shots came out acceptable and the remaining 40% were fairly awful. The ones above were neat so I decided to post them here. Lots of interesting plants on the Imperial Palace grounds. Waki had a lot of fun too, she loves the bright pink flowers that are in full bloom now.

My sister Liz just made it into the Boston Phoenix “Editors Pick” section in the Best of 2008. The title is brilliant “Reason to Pay Attention To The Utility Poles in Allston”. You can view the article by clicking here.

I am SO proud. What a great photo too! Everyone please have a look at the article!

We met with Nathan, our wedding photographer, the other day and received our photos. He did a fantastic job, they are all beautiful photos. We’re going to spend some time now looking for a place to make the album in the US. We prefer the style of the albums from the US, there are more options for handmade books. I’ll share a few photos though in the meantime as I prepare an online photo gallery to show them all off. We’re still waiting for the DVD to be finished, but will send out copies once we receive it.