Year of the Dog

Happy New Year to all of our Chinese friends out there and welcome to the Year of the Dog, which happens to be my dad's Chinese year sign. Outside of China, what better place is there to go on Chinese New Year than Chinatown in Yokohama? Today, we went up to Chinatown with our friends, Andy and Maggie.

Today is New Year's Day, so we think we may have actually missed some of the festivities that occur on New Year's Eve, but we had a good time none-the-less. We were surprised that the crowds were smaller than we expected, but there were still quite a few people out and about, walking the streets of Chinatown, eating gyoza and other street vendor creations, and watching the occasional street performer. We got a few pictures of a guy doing a pretty good knife-juggling show. Afterwards, we headed towards the local temple and got a few pictures of people lighting incense and wishing for good health and prosperity in the new year.

Pictures from our day of fun are up in our Gallery under the date 01/29/2006, but here's one that I tweaked in Photoshop for the fun of it. Enjoy!

Just Breathe (Nicki)

Ah about my title, it got off to a rocky start today with me finding out that I had accidently put a blue crayon in the dryer (hidden in my apron pocket....yes, I wear an apron!). It turned all of the socks blue and left a blue ring around the rubber seal on the dryer door. We were already running late as I made the left hand turn off of our street. I saw some dust on the windshield and thought I would clean it off. As soon as I squirted the water onto the windshield, it froze. This would have been bad enough. However, not realizing what had happened, I proceeded to do it again. Poor Mike had to dig below the seats, retrieve the ice scraper and scrape off the frozen cleaning fluid. I was cranky this morning and the last thing that I wanted to do was go the gym. But, I did and it ended up being the best medicine for a bad morning. After 30 minutes of sweating it out, I was ready to start the day. I picked up Josh and stopped by the food court for a little treat for him and some coffee for me. We sat there as I finished my coffee. I spun quarters around the table for him. He loves this game and digs through my wallet just to get all the change for this purpose. I thought that the nastiness was over but, I remembered after thinking this that I should never underestimate a toddler. Josh hates dropping things. I don't know why. I have never over reacted when he makes a mess or drops anything. My theory is that it's his father's engineering side coming out in him. Anyway, as I was driving home he dropped one of his toys in the back seat. It was located somewhere I couldn't get to while I was at the wheel. He screamed and growled at me the whole way home. His faced was beat red with tears streaming down. This kid should get an Oscar for his performance. There I was driving in a foreign country with a screaming toddler in the back. "Just breathe" I told myself. I'm a sincere believer in the power of breathing technics far beyond the delivery room! We made it safely home sanity intact. As soon as I opened his door and picked up the toy, all was right in his world.

Not much has happened since my most recent blog. I've just been chuggin' away. Our neighborhood is highly populated with Americans/Westerners. Marcus and Masayo live next door. Marcus is from the States and Masayo is a Japanese national. They have 2 boys and Masayo, like myself, is a stay at home mom. Unfortunately, we've only said, "hi" and "bye" when crossing paths. Just the other day, I was venting to Marcus about how cold we've been. That night, they stopped by to give us one of their old kerosene heaters. We were totally surprised but even more thankful. That thing cooks! For once in a great while we were able to sit at the kitchen table without seeing our breath! Because of their generosity it made us feel doubley guilty that we hadn't gone out of our way to socialize more and that we didn't do the proper Japanese-good-new-neighbor thing and drop by with a gift. After they left and as soon as we closed the door, we both looked at each other and said "we NEED to get them something" The next day my first stop was the commissary to pick up the ingredients to make them a Bicardi Rum Bundt Cake. Even though I love to cook, I rarely bake, but this is one of my favorite recipes (1) because it has a total of 1 cup of Rum in it (2) because it's pretty easy to make if a little time consuming and (3) because it tastes really good. Anyway, I stopped by this afternoon to drop it off and Masayo seemed pretty happy to see me & Josh. I really hope that they enjoy the cake.

New Experiences in Japan

It's not very often in life that we experience things that would be completely normal in life as we know it, but unexpected when we are thrown into an entirely different place. Such was the case this weekend, not once, but twice.

First, I got an email at work on Friday afternoon letting me know that there was a chance of snow in Yokosuka. I knew that it snowed in Japan... there are mountains everywhere in this country, the temperature drops below freezing, and precipitation falls on a regular enough schedule that it was bound to occur. But for some reason, I just didn't believe that we'd actually see much snow. As it turns out, we woke up on Saturday morning to the sight of snowflakes falling from the heavens towards our little section of the Kanto Plain. The snow continued all day, but for some reason we saw no accumulation around our house. We decided to brave the rough weather and head into base, because (1) Nicki has never lived (or driven) in a place where snow actually falls, (2) we were getting cabin fever with little to do in our house and wanted to get out, and most importantly (3) we wanted to find a place that had insulation and heat so that we could keep warm.

During our drive to base, we noticed quite a few cars covered... and I mean covered... in snow, but we couldn't understand why because we didn't even have to scrape snow or ice off our windshield before driving. By the time we drove the 2 to 3 miles to base, we figured out why. The snow was accumulating everywhere! It was very pretty sight to see the blanket of pure white snow covering the buildings, trees, and sidewalks. It was also nice to enjoy the view from our heated car and the heated restaurant where we had lunch. But for some reason, it just didn't seem real to me, perhaps because I spent my previous eight winters in San Diego, where the average temperature was a bone-chilling 55 degrees Fahrenheit (approximately 13 degrees Celcius for all the non-US readers out there).

My second new experience occurred today - a Sunday afternoon. I experienced, yet again, something that I would not even think twice about in the States, but it caught me completely by surprise here. Our doorbell rang in the early afternoon, which is atypical because we rarely receive visitors at this point. So I checked it out and as I opened the door, I saw a very nicely dressed Japanese man carrying a small stack of papers. I motioned for him to enter our front gate and he thanked me in very good English. As it turns out, he was with the Jehovah's Witness religious organization. My point here isn't to speak one way or another about any particular religions, but I found it quite unexpected and peculiar to see a Japanese man doing Jehovah's Witness missionary work on my front doorstep in Yokosuka, Japan. The man was very polite and well-versed in the English language, so we talked for a few minutes before he finally continued along his way.

Anyway, just something I thought I would share because it never would have occured to me that I would experience snow and a Jehovah's Witness missionary in my neighborhood in the same weekend.

Go Carolina Panthers! (because they're from a fine state)
Go Pittsburgh Steelers! (because their coach, Bill Cowher, is a fellow NC State University alumnus)

Yokohama Mama (Nicki)

Ok, the title is just to get attention. It does relate to my weekend adventure with the ladies. Since, I've been here in Yokosuka, I've met a great group of friends. One of them, Aime is the leader of a group for military spouses. Her good friend ReyLynda also helps out with the group. This group also branches out to me as I'm a spouse for someone who works for the Navy. This weekend Aime put together a Train Day. It was a day trip designed for spouses who haven't had the chance to take the train route to the other 2 Navy bases close by. After learning the routes, we stopped for lunch & coffee. I also asked a new friend, Maggie, to join us on our adventure.

We were given a quick tutorial on how the ordering machine works at a Ramen restaurant. I had been looking forword to trying this. Basically, it's a machine outside of a restaurant. Before ordering, I deposit my money, choose what I want from the menu, and push the coinsiding button. I'm then given a ticket. From that point, I go into the Restaurant, hand the nice woman behind the counter my ticket, and in a matter of 30 seconds to a minute, I've got fresh hot Ramen, Curry, or what ever I've ordered right there on the counter for me.

From lunch & coffee, we ventured a couple more stops to Chinatown in Yokohama. Luckily, this was Aime and Rey's territory, so they showed us all of the fun shops that they frequent. It was great to go to Chinatown this time around with a bunch of women. The best was just being able to mosey around looking at everything. Because it was a Monday, most folks were at work so the crowds were minimal.

Along with showing us the base routes and the route to Chinatown, Aime and Rey also introduced us/me to a lot of other food & drink items that we/I hadn't tried yet or even heard of yet.

Speaking of food, I thought that I would put a small plug in for my new little recipe site that I've been working on. I love to cook which keeps my family pretty happy! This is as much a personal reference as it is for others to look at. Most of the recipes are those that I've picked up from my cookbooks or from magazines. I've figured out that it's much easier to blog it than it is to keep track of magazine cut outs. Right now, I've been going through a Nigella Lawson stage. But, things will get more interesting soon as I'm going to be working on cooking traditional Japanese. Wish me luck!

[Edit by Mike - for future reference, the recipe blog is also under our Links and is called Nicki's Kitchen]

Stellar Holiday Weekend

This weekend was a long one for me, since the U.S. Federal Government celebrated Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. day today (and the 3rd Monday in January every year) by giving federal employees the day off. Nicki made some plans with some girlfriends of hers, so I spent the day relaxing with Josh. I put away the camera and just focused on having a good daddy and son day, which was quite nice. We ran a couple of quick errands together, then had lunch, then went over to a playground so that Josh could run around and play on the slides, swings and other fun toys. It was the perfectly mellow ending to a rather eventful weekend.

On Saturday, we made plans to head up to Tokyo for an auto show. This was our first Japanese auto show and we didn't really know what to expect. Turns out that there were quite a few makes and models at the show... in both auto and female form. From what we saw, the auto makers did all they could to keep their vehicles looking great - constant cleaning, fresh paint jobs, and human models as hood ornaments! The lighting inside the auto salon wasn't great, which made getting photos a little tough. I also found out that I wasn't the only guy with a camera out there, which made getting photos especially tough especially near all of the best looking models (cars and women). Fortunately, I recently updated my computer with Photoshop, so I've done my best with my limited skills to manually adjust the lighting on the photos I took at the show.

Sunday, we made plans to see our first Mikoshi event in Enoshima. A mikoshi is, for all practical gaijin purposes, a portable shrine that is carried during certain Japanese festivals, parades, or other like-minded events. I won't admit to knowing much more than that, however, because as it turns out we missed the celebration. Nicki and Josh decided not to head out because the weather looked of rain, but I braved the dark clouds and headed over to Enoshima around 11am. Turns out that the train rides took longer than I thought, so I didn't arrive at the beach until about 12:40pm, as people appeared to be packing up what was left of the good time.

It was my first time in Enoshima, so I figured I would stick around and take a few photos. I got some good ones of the surfers and wind surfers on the water and beach, then headed back inland and found a beautiful temple/shrine area where I snapped quite a few photos. As it turns out, I was at Ryukoji Temple, where I got to see my first 5-story pagoda. There was also a shrine on the same (or possibly adjacent) grounds, so I was happy as a clam taking pictures of it all. It was beautiful and tranquil and I'd definitely like to take Nicki and Josh to see that place, too.

Another great thing about Sunday - something that often gets overlooked in my blogs - was the train ride itself. I had to take the Enoden line to get to Enoshima. The Enoden line runs along the coast between Kamakura and Enoshima stations, then heads north I believe. But the stretch between Kamakura and Enoshima is absolutely beautiful. It reminds me a lot of some of the small surf towns along Highway 1 in Southern California. I also found a spot along the way where there was beautiful surf. Long, slow-breaking swells that were shoulder-high to overhead in height. Stupid me, I left my surfboards in storage in San Diego. I do know a couple of guys out here that ride, so I may have to ask them for more info about how to get my hands on an inexpensive board.

Needless to say, it was a very good weekend and I'm worn out. I've put photos up (dated 01/16/2006) in our Gallery.

Getting up on My Soapbox (Nicki)

Today is a day that I am so enraged that I just can't stand it. So, I'm using this time I have away from Joshua to "Get up on my soapbox" and state my opinion about something that I heard/read the other day in our local Navy newspaper. A person wrote in to the editors complaining about having a midnight curfew for Navy personnel for the week following the murder of Yoshie Sato. Sato-san was brutally murdered at the hands of a U.S. sailor stationed at Yokosuka. The complaint writer, who happened to be another sailor, complained that the curfew is making everyone suffer because of the actions of the one murderous sailor. After hearing/reading this, I was fuming. Instead of this person blaming the criminal, he blamed Yokosuka base authorities. It just made me angry.

How about thinking about this criminal's lack of consideration of the ramifications of his actions and how his actions affected not only our small Yokosuka community, but more importantly Sato-san's family & friends, the Japanese people, and both the Japanese Government and US Government. The fact that the sailor who beat this woman to death didn't even need the money that he took, which was his excuse for confronting her in the first place. According to reports, he was just completely smashed. He had been out drinking all night and apparently the afternoon/evening before.

My Japanese neighbors, who usually have been very nice and have gone out of their way to try and speak to me & Josh in English, have not talked to me or looked at me for days. During the duration of this ordeal, even on a packed train, no one will sit beside my husband during his rush hour commute. Hopefully these small actions/behaviors will subside. It does show how saddened, angry and hurt many Japanese must feel. I can say, if the tables were turned, I would be behaving in the same manner. Many Americans reading this may think how unrational this behavior must sound. However, many of these behaviors are done in our country as well... sometimes not even consciously.

No, this alleged murderer did not take any of this into account. The curfew wasn't a punishment, it was a period of mourning and reflection for the victim, her family, and our Yokosuka-shi community. We are all part of the Yokosuka community and suffered a terrible, unfortunate, and unnecessary loss. The curfew was a tangible way for the base, as part of the community, to show that it's not just "business as usual" and that we are all affected by the murder. In my opinion, the service member who wrote in with that complaint has a serious problem if he can't handle not being able to go out and party for a few days. This blog isn't meant to "teach anyone a lesson". It's just a day when I needed to vent.

Thinking Inside the Box

Today, I went on my long awaited trip to Naval Air Facility (NAF) Atsugi. Although NAF Atsugi is only about 40 km (27 miles) from Yokosuka, it was an important trip because it was my first time driving on a toll road/highway here in Japan. For the most part, when someone in Japan wants to travel any moderate to large distance, it's best to take a train or other form of public transportation. But today, I took a government issued vehicle because I knew I'd have to carry documents and paperwork to and from, and it didn't seem like a practical idea to use public transportation.

I was a bit nervous about driving there on my own, mostly because it's hard enough to read Japanese street signs as it is with my limited language skills, but reading them at 80+ km/hour is an entirely different story, especially when gripping with the idea of having to pay a toll booth worker for the ride, too. When I got to the government vehicle supply office this morning, the first big thing I noticed is that my ride for the day was a Mitsubishi Town Box. Yes, I drove a box. And I can definitely tell how they came up with the name. Here are some pics that I was able to google up... not the exact vehicle that I drove, but one of its twin brothers.


Actually, it was a fun little ride. The engine was similar to some lawn mowers that I've used in the past, with just about the same horsepower. I even got a kick out of one of the "drink holder" slots on the dashboard, which could be lifted out of the vehicle so that you could add brake fluid. It made me wonder how many different vehicle maintenance lubricants actually could be injected into the car from the driver's seat. But the official hood area could not have been much bigger than about a 1-foot by 4-foot area, which doesn't leave much room to work on the outside. I was also amazed at how big and visible the window areas were... not one blind spot from the driver's seat, which made me feel pretty safe knowing that I could see all around me.

Anyway, I made it to and from Atsugi safely and in fairly respectable time. I'll probably have to go back several more times in the next couple of months, which is good because I hear that there's a barbecue restaurant on base that I'd like to try. And if I come to find out that it's North Carolina Style Barbecue, then I'll probably head back at least once a week. I do love me some pulled pork.

Kamakura (Mike)

Nicki had her chance to explain the delicious side of Kamakura over the weekend, now I figured I'd add my own tasty version. I have to agree, though, the grape treats at Hachimangu Shrine are incredible.

My goal for leaving the warm confines of home on such a cold day, though, was to take photos with the new 50mm lens that came in the mail last week. I got some great action shots along the pedestrian friendly street that leads to Hachimangu, as well as quite a few great shots on the shrine grounds. We were fortunate, because of New Year's there were decorations all around and the crowd was friendly. Also, I found out that today is Coming of Age Day, a Japanese National Holiday, which probably helped add to the crowd. Coming of Age Day is significant to 20 year olds in Japan, because it's the day when one becomes a legal adult and is able to drink, smoke, and do all kinds of fun adult things without having the Japanese police on alert.

The streets were very active, as Nicki mentioned, with vendors along both sides of the streets selling everything from potato ice cream to mochi, and from sushi to sausage. The lines for free samples were long, but the rest of the food wasn't too expensive, so we took advantage whenever we saw something tempting. At the sausage stand, the vendor got a kick out of my ordering technique. I asked for "Ni", which is the number "2", and pointed at a sausage. The problem is that the Japanese use quite a few different words for different counting situations, so I really wasn't using correct Japanese in my request. But she got a good laugh and then asked me something in Japanese, which she quickly figured out I didn't understand, because then she said "spicy or regular". Knowing that Japanese "spicy" is generally fairly tame, I went with spicy. Turns out that Josh liked the sausage a lot, so I had to go back and order another. This made the vendor laugh even more, because when I got back, I still used the same technique, but said "Ichi" (the number 1) then "spicy".

On the shrine grounds, we were amazed to see that the ponds had a thin layer of ice on them. I knew it was cold over the weekend, but I didn't think it was that cold! Quite a few decorations, flags, and paper prayer notes decorated the trees, grounds, and buildings. We even caught a group of four men dressed up in traditional warrior outfits, which I was lucky enough to photograph because Nicki hollered to me as they were passing by.

All in all it was a great time.

In other news, Nicki and I are ever so much warmer tonight. Laura and Louis sent us a Hanukkah package that arrived a few days past the end of the holiday (from the writing on the box, it looks like it may have been shipped several places before it got to us), but it was filled with goodies and clothing to help keep us warm in our house. This is a good thing, and is received with many thanks, considering that our most recent electric bill was over 35,000 Yen (about $300 US), and I can almost guarantee that 90% of the cost was attributed to our electric heaters and our precious kotatsu.

I've posted several pictures here, but there are other great ones in the Gallery under today's date, 01/09/2006. Off to bed now, goodnight!

Kamakura (Nicki)

This Sunday got off to a rough start but, ended up being a lot of fun. Mike wanted to go to Tokyo and snap some photos but we were both debating on whether or not we wanted to head out early, take the hour + long trip, stay for 2-3 hours then head back for Josh's nap time. We decided against it and instead did a shorter trip to Kamakura. We forgot however, that this Sunday was pretty much the last day that folks had to celebrate the New Year. It was packed but we braved the crowds and had a blast.

The vendors were out in full force which gave us an opportunity to try all kinds of new foods. Instead of stopping for lunch somewhere, we just bought small things from vendors as we fought our way to the shrine at the end of the street. We started by sampling some mochi (A Japanese confection most of the time consisting of sweet beans and rice paste. Click on the word if you want more info) then tried some sort of crispy pancake, followed by a sausage on a stick, BBQ teriyaki chicken on a stick, and some candied fruits. I especially loved the candied fruits and one of these days I will find a recipe for these. They have candied grapes. They are about the largest grapes that I've seen, dipped in a grape flavor candy coating. Because strawberries are in season here in Japan, they also had candied strawberries. I enjoyed these but I think that my favorite is the grapes. Sometimes the grape vendor is out and sometimes he's not. We got lucky this visit.

Japanese strawberries are some of the best strawberries that I've had in my life. They are smaller than Discoll's strawberries from the States but they are so much sweeter. When they are very ripe, they fill the whole refrigerator with their very frangrant smell. They don't make it very long in my refrigerator. In fact, most likely 2 days after I've picked them up at the market, they've been inhaled. No sugar needed for these puppies. Late January through late Februrary is peak season for Japanese strawberries. They grow them in doors. In fact, there's a place in Nagano where you can go to pick strawberries. Apparently, we pay I think about 1600 yen ($16.00 roughly) and we have 30 minutes to pick and eat as many strawberries as we can. On a popular strawberry farm webpage, they state that some people have been known to eat 100 strawberries in those 30 minutes. Anyway, it's something that Mike, Josh and I may try to experience!

I suppose by this post, you can tell I LOVE food. It may be my downfall....but I am thinking of adding a link to a site where I can post all the recipes that I've tried lately. Not only for viewers but mostly for my reference as it is easier to find a recipe that's been blogged than it would be to go searching for that magazine clipping. I've been using several recipes in a new book that I received for Christmas. Barbara and Clint, thank you again for the Nigella Lawson Cookbook "Nigella Bites". This is the first book that I own of hers and I'm loving it. I like her style of writing and have really enjoyed most of the recipies that I've tried. I heard of her several years back when I saw her show for the first time. I really enjoyed her personality. Then a year went by and I saw her on the Oprah show making Hot Choco Pots (I think that's the name of it) anyway, ever since I tried that recipe, it's become a staple dessert in our home. The recipe card that I have for it is very well "loved" with chocolate and grease spots on it. Most of her recipes are simple but Oh so good! Seems as though she's been a hit in the UK (where she's from) for a long time now.

29:20

This morning, Nicki and I took part in a New Year's 5K Run / 1 Mile Walk event hosted by the Navy's Wellness Center. We decided that Nicki would walk the 1-mile event with Josh and I would try the 5K. It's been a while since I last took part in a 5K, or any organized run for that matter... last time was probably the Coronado Bridge Run with a few coworkers back in San Diego. But as I mentioned in a previous post, my resolution this New Year's was to get my life into better shape, so today was a good kick-start to the "physical health" portion of my life.

As it turns out, the races did not start at the same time. After watching Nicki and Josh take off on their race, I went inside the Thew Gym (one of two gyms on base) to stay warm and to stretch. Inside, I ran into a couple that Nicki and I met recently here, Andy and Maggie. They've been in Japan less than a month, but similar to us, they seem to be the types that want to see and do a lot while they are here. In fact, they were running today as part of their training for the Kyoto Half Marathon that's coming up in late March.

During the run, I tried to keep up with Andy and Maggie and did a fairly good job until the last quarter-mile or so, when I started getting a cramp in my gut. I started walking, but only for a few steps before Andy and Maggie noticed that I wasn't keeping up and Maggie yelled back at me to get a move on. So I started jogging again and was able to make it to the finish line in 29 minutes and change. Not bad for my first 5K in a while. Hopefully, I'll stick to my guns and get into a good workout routine this coming week, so that I'll be even more prepared for the next few races around town.

After the race, we ate lunch and headed home to get Josh ready for his nap. After getting a shower, I went down our street to a place that I've been eyeballing for the past couple of months as a potential photo shooting spot. I was geared up with the Canon Digital Rebel and my new 50mm lens, which I've been dying to test out. I captured a few good pics and have added them to the Gallery at the left, under today's date.

Here's a sample.



Another newcomer to the Tokyo metropolitan area, Zack, was kind enough to add us to his blog's list of links. We've done the same for him on our list of links, but you can also check out his blog at http://zackintokyo.blogspot.com.

Meeting New Friends (Nicki)

I've noticed that it's been a while since I've posted something. So, I thought I should give it a go. I see from Mike's most recent post that he is reliving his NC State Alumni days. Mike used to be the NC State Alumni President for the San Diego chapter and after every NC State Football or Basketball game, he would send out an email to all of his fellow alumni recapping the game for everyone who was unable to catch it. He does a great job and he had a strong fan base back in San Diego.

We haven't had to many adventures lately, mostly because of the cold. It actually snowed here yesterday. A light dusting but it wasn't enough to stick. However, I've never lived anywhere where it snows! I've been busy trying to meet new people and my search seems to be going successfully. There are a ton of resources and activities to meet folks on base and I've really been taking advantage of them. Today I met 2 really great Moms over at Starbucks for coffee. I've tried to get out for coffee every Friday. Josh tags along and I bring a little case full of Thomas the Train& Friends that he can play with. We (Josh and I) have in depth discussions about Thomas and his friends (ie: "the color of the trains, how many wheels they have and what type of engines they are.") I get a childrens hot chocolate for him and we have a great time. It really gives me an opportunity to relax. Sometimes there is a group that meets there around the time that I try to make it there. Unfortunately, the first two times I attended, it didn't really work out and no one really showed. This time, there were 2 Moms that showed and it was great to finally broaden my horizons and discuss other topics besides Thomas the Train!

Besides Starbucks, I've also been trying to motivate myself to work out and get to the gym at least twice a week. I may have met a work out buddy who is training for a half marathon. This is definitely some motivation to get my butt in gear. We met the other day and had a great time chatting and pumpin' some iron at the same time. Hope to do it again.

All and all, my days haven't been too earth shattering but at the same time it's been great. I'm starting to get back to a semi-routine and at the same time experiencing little new things everyday. I'm looking forward to Springtime when people start to come out of hibernation.

Don't Mess with Texas

As most of you in the States already know, yesterday was the big day of the NCAA National Championship game between University of Southern California and University of Texas in the Rose Bowl. Both teams went into the game undefeated during the regular season, but USC appeared to have the advantage because of the bowl's location in Pasadena. As it turns out, both teams had very good offensive games and the scoring went back and forth throughout. With under a minute to go in the 4th, USC led 38-33. Texas had the ball and drove the length of the field to USC's 8-yard line with about 19 seconds on the clock remaining. Finally, they managed to find a hole in the Trojan defense and scored the decisive final touchdown of the game. After the two-point conversion was completed, the Longhorns came away with the 41-38 victory.

I have two buddies that have to be some of the biggest USC fans in the world. One went to school there for undergraduate and grad school; and the other guy grew up in LA. So for you guys (Charles and Oldskool Mike), it was a tough loss but an amazing game to listen to on the internet. The game was played between 10am and 2:30pm here, so although I was at work, I caught the audio feed from the internet.

In non-sports news, I ordered a new lens using some Christmas money. The lens is a Canon 50mm f/1.8 II that was recommended to me by SushiJeff. It's a very light, amazingly sharp lens that is constructed primarily out of plastic (hense, the lightness). I played around with it a bit tonight when I got home and thought I'd share a few shots to show you what it's capable of indoors. I can't wait to use it outdoors because I despise using the flash, but it's pretty much necessary indoors to get the sharp picture that I love so much. I should mention that the photos are not digitally edited in any way (other than resizing), so what you see is what came from my camera. Not bad for a very inexpensive lens. Enjoy!

Apology to Firefox (and Mac) Friends

It's the season of New Year's Resolutions and this year I resolved to get my life in better shape, so I have started the year right, by updating the computer. Ever since leaving the States, I've been concerned about Internet security and wondering if we are any more/less vulnerable to malicious computer attacks here in Japan. Also, I have been hearing that Mozilla Firefox is a pretty impressive not-so-new browser that provides better protection than we're accustomed to using the mother-of-all-browsers, Internet Explorer. So today, I did something about it. I downloaded Firefox and am immediately impressed with the improvements, though I am still getting used to some of the differences.

One thing that I immediately noticed when I checked out our blog using Firefox was that our left-hand column of options (Gallery, Archives, Links, etc.) was missing. As it turns out, I had created some notes in my html code that apparently Firefox didn't like, so it basically hid every bit of code between my sets of notes. I've since removed those notes, so hopefully now all of our friends who use Firefox can see what we've been talking about when we've told you about new pictures in our Gallery and new Links/Resources on our blog.

Sorry for any previous inconveniences! And welcome us to the world of the Firefox users! This picture is of a creature that was sitting in front of a store in downtown Yokosuka. If I had to guess what a Mozilla looks like, I'd guess this...