안녕하세요 (annyeonghaseyo)

I'm headed to Korea, Seoul to be specific, to sightsee.  I plan to steer clear of the DMZ, but enjoy some people watching, shopping (at much more reasonable prices than we have here in Tokyo) and eating out.  It should be a fun weekend with friends from work--let's just hope Kim Jong-un behaves himself!

While I can't say that I ever expected to visit South Korea, this little trip is part of the effort to make the most of my time here in Asia.  Along those same lines, I finally signed up to work with a one-on-one Japanese tutor.  She comes to our office, so it's about as convenient as humanly possible.  I met her for the first time today and she has a great personality and lots of energy.

When I get back I should have at least a few fun photos to share from Seoul and a few photos of the cherry blossoms that have made Tokyo a particularly beautiful place to live the last couple of weeks.  Life is good!

When Motherhood Never Happens

Somehow I missed this article when it made the rounds nearly a year ago, but I found it recently and... well, it's relevant. 

And once you fight tooth and nail to establish yourself with not just a job but a career, you're chastised: What, no kids?

Not having kids, having kids, letting life make the decision for you, regret, desire, the fucking Aniston headlines, it's a lot. They say the unexamined life is not worth living. I'd argue that on the other hand, the over-analyzed life is a suffocating wet blanket. Sometimes you have to just be.

How great would it be to have the time to take a break from worrying about it?

Out and About

It was a nice weekend here in Tokyo.  I kicked things off by meeting up with a high school friend who was in town on business.  I hadn't seen him since high school, but the great thing about childhood friends is the ability to pick up right where you left off.  We had soba for dinner and met up with another of his friends at a club in Shibuya, where, much to my amusement, we discovered this hair station for ladies right next to the main dance floor:

Hair touch-ups at the club!

Not pictured, the bank of coin lockers that seem to be a staple in clubs around here.  (Necessary when you go directly from the office to the club.)  We danced the night away (in suits!) and everyone made it home in one piece.  Success.

After sleeping in on Saturday I headed to the office by way of a quick shopping stop at Daimaru, a major department store.  There is a Tokyu Hands inside and I popped in for some cheap essentials, including shoe glue--my shoes are taking a beating thanks to all the walking I do here.  Once at the office, I settled in and finished up a few pro bono projects that have been sitting on my desk for too long.  I left the office at about 11pm.

This morning, I had brunch with some of my co-workers at Lauderdale in Roppongi Hills where I had a delicious mushroom and cheese souffle.  Now I'm finishing up laundry, getting organized for work tomorrow and baking some brownies.  It's been a good weekend.

Grocery Shopping Part I: Meat and Fish

When outside the US, I love to visit grocery stores to see what's different from back home.  Here are a few pictures from a recent grocery run to one of the more westernized grocery stores in my neighborhood:

I wonder what you use the fish head for... soup?

I've also seen octupus cut up in little to-go containers.

These squid don't compare to the super-sized squid
that were in the stores during the New Year holidays.

More fat than beef.