Farewell Sushi

Last week, I had some fantastic sushi at a farewell dinner. Pieces were served one by one, each perfectly seasoned. (I'm not sure if you can tell from the photo, but there is already some soy sauce in the rice in this piece.)

At one point (vegetarian readers, please avert your eyes) they emerged from the kitchen with a fish that was still flopping around on the plate. When the fish died, it's skin quickly changed color from dark gray to nearly white. The fish was flayed and we each had a beautiful piece of sushi on our plates in a matter of minutes.

This next picture shows the dining area. All of the food was prepared right in front of us. As you can imagine, the chef's knife skills were incredible. 

And the sake.... With each sake they brought out a tray with a selection of little cups made of different materials to choose from. They say the taste of the sake varies according to the vessel.

I love the American version of sushi, but I loved this too and know that this meal will never be topped. It was the perfect way to say goodbye!

For the restaurant's details, see this link.

Sephora

Sephora is looking for Senior Counsel to work in its San Francisco office. Sounds great, except they're looking for someone with 7-10 years of experience. Maybe one of you fit the bill?

Dog Days

B camping out on the couch.

National Dog Day?

Never heard of it, but was not disappointed when it took over my newsfeed. It was fun scrolling through the photos; and it reminded me that I'll be back under the same roof as C and B very soon!

Speaking of which, I've been spending a lot of time looking at places to live, pinning design inspiration, and getting excited about replacing some of my furniture. I've also been browsing dance class schedules, plotting running paths, and making lists of all the things I want to do once I'm moved in.

Life has picked up some positive momentum and I am excited about all of the great things slated to happen between now and the end of the year. Looking forward to sharing specifics soon. After all the doom and gloom lately, I hope it will be as nice for you to see things come together in a positive way as it has been for me to experience it.

Twelve Novels in 2014

Mobile bookstore at a Tokyo swap meet.

This seems anticlimactic after having just read Lag Liv's post about her awesome family adventure to Palo Duro Canyon, a Texas State Park, (if you are into hiking you must check out her post and pictures!), but I've reached my goal of reading twelve novels in 2014 and so it's time to post the list. Here they are, in the order they were read:

1. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
2. Persuasion by Jane Austen
3. White Fang by Jack London
4. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
5. The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
6. Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
7. Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
8. Divergent by Veronica Roth
9. Insurgent by Veronica Roth
10. Allegiant by Veronica Roth
11. The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
12. The Giver by Louis Lowry

(Thanks to Daisy's book club for suggesting books 5-7 and 11, which was also recommended by MC.)

I'm partial to non-fiction, but, when I set my 33x33 goals at the beginning of the year, I thought I should make room for novels too. Good call. It was a sweet relief to get lost in a book every now and again as my personal life turned into a nightmare over the summer.

I'm glad I brought my Kindle with me to Tokyo. You can log on to Amazon's US site from Japan and whispernet will deliver the title you've purchased to your Kindle just as if you're back home. Brick and mortar bookstores are alive and well in Tokyo and they do carry books written in English, but the selection is limited.

Divergent

Finished reading the Divergent trilogy by Veronica Roth. This Honest Trailer is on point:



The parallels to Hunger Games don't stop there--it's downhill after the first book.

Which faction would you choose?

(Balancing out the young adult fiction with some Margaret Atwood that I just downloaded to my Kindle.)

Cutting for Stone

For most of the last couple of months, I've felt distressed. It's like a fight or flight reaction that's been drawn out for weeks. It's taken a physical toll, but there are little reprieves: when I spend time with my dogs, go to the gym or get lost in a book.

In July, I read Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese at the suggestion of Daisy's book club. There is a lot of medical jargon here. That's what makes it just the book that the child of a physician, particularly an OBGYN, was raised to read. What others might see as tedium made me feel right at home--it was like sitting at our family dinner table.

At a time where I'm struggling to find the value in recent, difficult personal experiences... to find the the meaning... it was nice to read a novel that tied the bitter and the sweet together for its characters. The end of the book raised some questions that have been very much on my mind lately. Should our compassion have limits where malignant behavior is concerned? Does compassion enable an abuser? Are there some circumstances where forgiveness should be off the table?

Do you have any suggestions for summer reading? I'm working my way through the Divergence series now (yeah, one step away from Twilight, but a light read was in order), but will looking for something new soon.