Yo por si acaso, me meto este maravilloso helado entre pecho y espalda por lo que pueda pasar.
Mira al pobre Michael Jackson, se nos ha muerto.
Va por él...
Mira al pobre Michael Jackson, se nos ha muerto.
Va por él...
Friday, June 26, 2009
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Osaka, onsens, yakuzas y el más guarro del lugar
Estoy en Osaka, he llegado aquí en un maravilloso tren bala que casi le falta volar, digo casi porque creo que ya vuela...
Como siempre, me las he apañado para ver los lugares más sórdidos y oscuros de Japón, en este caso de Osaka.
Como soy un cutre, me gasto una miseria en dormir y me alojo en un recóndito agujero en un fétido barrio de Osaka lleno de borrachos y vagabundos.
Por no haber no hay ni ducha, sin embargo tenemos un maravilloso onsen, baño de agua caliente con duchas que lo rodean, con sauna. Si será sórdido el lugar que hasta dejan entrar a japoneses tatuados, digo hasta porque en todo Japón no se permite la entrada en lugares públicos a ninguna persona con tatuajes, aunque sea el nombre de la novia yonki de tu hermano en letras minúsculas...
De hecho todas las noches veo a un tipo de aspecto yakuza dale que te pego a la esponja.
La gente en Japón se lava hasta hacerse sangre. Se sientan en su taburete y se empiezan a frotar a quemarropa con una esponja o una toallita y bien de jabón. Esto se hace antes de meterse en el baño de agua caliente que es comunal.
Parece un poco una competición de a ver quién es el último en dejarse de frotar, como si ésto significase que al ser el último eres más limpio que todos los que ya se han dejado de frotar antes, los muy cerdos.
Mira que yo soy relimpio, si hasta tengo la piel que se me cae a tiras de ducharme... Pues ni con esas puedo con esta peña, me siento como el gaijin (extranjero) cerdo. Se deben pensar que voy a dejar una mancha de grasa a la que me meta en el baño.
Y eso que me quedo un poco más de lo acostumbrado dale que dale al fregoteo para que no digan, pero nada, me jarto y ahí siguen, como si nada pasara.
El yakuza es el que más ímpetu pone el pobre, debe ser agotador estar todo el día asustando y extorsionando, que lástima, lo agusto que se le ve ahí con su esponjica.
Que se le va a hacer.
Hasta otra.
Como siempre, me las he apañado para ver los lugares más sórdidos y oscuros de Japón, en este caso de Osaka.
Como soy un cutre, me gasto una miseria en dormir y me alojo en un recóndito agujero en un fétido barrio de Osaka lleno de borrachos y vagabundos.
Por no haber no hay ni ducha, sin embargo tenemos un maravilloso onsen, baño de agua caliente con duchas que lo rodean, con sauna. Si será sórdido el lugar que hasta dejan entrar a japoneses tatuados, digo hasta porque en todo Japón no se permite la entrada en lugares públicos a ninguna persona con tatuajes, aunque sea el nombre de la novia yonki de tu hermano en letras minúsculas...
De hecho todas las noches veo a un tipo de aspecto yakuza dale que te pego a la esponja.
La gente en Japón se lava hasta hacerse sangre. Se sientan en su taburete y se empiezan a frotar a quemarropa con una esponja o una toallita y bien de jabón. Esto se hace antes de meterse en el baño de agua caliente que es comunal.
Parece un poco una competición de a ver quién es el último en dejarse de frotar, como si ésto significase que al ser el último eres más limpio que todos los que ya se han dejado de frotar antes, los muy cerdos.
Mira que yo soy relimpio, si hasta tengo la piel que se me cae a tiras de ducharme... Pues ni con esas puedo con esta peña, me siento como el gaijin (extranjero) cerdo. Se deben pensar que voy a dejar una mancha de grasa a la que me meta en el baño.
Y eso que me quedo un poco más de lo acostumbrado dale que dale al fregoteo para que no digan, pero nada, me jarto y ahí siguen, como si nada pasara.
El yakuza es el que más ímpetu pone el pobre, debe ser agotador estar todo el día asustando y extorsionando, que lástima, lo agusto que se le ve ahí con su esponjica.
Que se le va a hacer.
Hasta otra.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Canal de Isabel II privado
Me mandan este power point al mail:
Id dándole a la diapositiva y pasará a la siguiente.
Id dándole a la diapositiva y pasará a la siguiente.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Acariciando gatos en Tokio
Hay por la ciudad algunos lugares para acariciar gatos, sí, sí, el propósito de dichos lugares es el de que acaricies gatos.
¿Es o no es una maravilla?
¿Es o no es una maravilla?
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Friday, June 5, 2009
Tokyo Star Wars Pop Up
Ya estoy en Tokyo.
El caso es que ya llevo unos cuantos días por aquí...
Vovlví a Hong Kong unos días y desde allí pasé a Tokyo.
Casi no recordaba lo bestial que es esto. Y la comida...
Todo está bueno...
De momento solo subo este vídeo que grabamos de un libro “pop up” de Star Wars que vimos en una tienda de juguetes en Tokio.
Genial
El caso es que ya llevo unos cuantos días por aquí...
Vovlví a Hong Kong unos días y desde allí pasé a Tokyo.
Casi no recordaba lo bestial que es esto. Y la comida...
Todo está bueno...
De momento solo subo este vídeo que grabamos de un libro “pop up” de Star Wars que vimos en una tienda de juguetes en Tokio.
Genial
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Moab, continued
More fun in the sun...discovered Sand Dune Arch yesterday. It's a 0.2 mile hike partway between huge vertical slabs of sandstone and ending in an arch over a big hill of very soft sand. Lots of shade, more lizards and one small snake in the rock wall, and very pleasant. We hung out about an hour while the kids played and played in the sand. Like the beach without any water, more shade, less wind and of course the amazing huge slabs of sandstone representing eons of erosion.
Afterward we went out on a limb and did a 0.6 mile hike out to Broken Arch, which is not broken as far as I can tell. The prickly pear cacti were blooming, lots of different colors - yellow, pink, white - and many other flowers graced the trail in bright yellow and purple. There was more greenery than usual, I think because of the recent rains. We carried the kids part of the way but our plot to wear them out worked - again they took a very deep nap after lunch. Ahhh...
The quote of the day was Sam's - he reliably denies any questions about whether his diaper may be poopy. Bryan asked, "Sam, why do you always lie about having a poopy diaper?" and immediately Sam replied, "Becuzzz...I...WUV you!!"
The pool was not very warm our first couple days here, but they must have fixed it because last night it was very comfortable - MUCH warmer. We brought all our pool toys. Alex is really very independent in the water now - as long as she has her life vest - she likes to zoom all around on her own and jump in all by herself. The first time I saw her head go all the way under I thought, "Well, this should be interesting," but she came up grinning from ear to ear. She is ready for swimming lessons - wish I could teach her but I'd really like her to learn to swim. :-)
Sam is just getting used to floating on his own, but isn't as adept as Alex yet - he rolls in the life vest and his face goes right in the water. He does love holding on to his inflatable ring though, and gets mad if we try to hold on to him. Every day the pool is a highlight. There is sand in the bottom of it but I guess this is Moab, where people come off the trails and bring it in with them.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
fun in Moab
Vacation in Moab. FUN!
Will need to post pictures later - currently they are trapped in the camera in the same room as 2 sleeping kids.
I don't think we've been here since before Alex. We've enjoyed surprisingly mild temperatures (50's to 80's) and some equally surprising afternoon rain showers. Refreshing. This morning we took the kids on their first hike in Arches, exploring the Courthouse Wash. It's a soft sandy creekbed next to a canyon wall - shade and trees much of the way - and we really had a great time. Alex loved it, loved squishing the red mud between her toes, walking in her bare feet, chasing lizards and tadpoles and water striders, and playing in the mud and sand while telling me long, involved imaginary stories. She did not like the live crawdad Bryan picked up, though. Sam, suprisingly, was pretty squeamish about the mud and wanted to be carried a lot of the way. WTH? Since when does Sam care about getting his feet a little wet? Go figure.
Anyway, we also explored the Ranger Station where we got to imprint Play-Doh with animal tracks and play with various types of rubber animal poop. We even brought the plasma cars and ranger station has a nice patio perfect for zooming around on them. After all that sun and fun, Sam actually stayed in his seat during most of lunch. :-) We got pineapple sorbet and browsed the used bookstore, where, incredibly, I found a used hardback illustrated (animated comic-book style) story of the "Robin Hood of Korea." It's over the kids' heads now, but they will probably like it when they're older. The author grew up in Korea as the daughter of medical missionaries and studied Korean painting...what a find for Moab. We bought some other books and went back to the hotel room and both kids drifted away looking at their new books.
The pool here was advertised as "heated" but if it is, it's not very warm. Well, other than that we can't complain. The hotel serves us fresh baked cookies every afternoon and a continental breakfast every morning. So far, fabulous.
Will need to post pictures later - currently they are trapped in the camera in the same room as 2 sleeping kids.
I don't think we've been here since before Alex. We've enjoyed surprisingly mild temperatures (50's to 80's) and some equally surprising afternoon rain showers. Refreshing. This morning we took the kids on their first hike in Arches, exploring the Courthouse Wash. It's a soft sandy creekbed next to a canyon wall - shade and trees much of the way - and we really had a great time. Alex loved it, loved squishing the red mud between her toes, walking in her bare feet, chasing lizards and tadpoles and water striders, and playing in the mud and sand while telling me long, involved imaginary stories. She did not like the live crawdad Bryan picked up, though. Sam, suprisingly, was pretty squeamish about the mud and wanted to be carried a lot of the way. WTH? Since when does Sam care about getting his feet a little wet? Go figure.
Anyway, we also explored the Ranger Station where we got to imprint Play-Doh with animal tracks and play with various types of rubber animal poop. We even brought the plasma cars and ranger station has a nice patio perfect for zooming around on them. After all that sun and fun, Sam actually stayed in his seat during most of lunch. :-) We got pineapple sorbet and browsed the used bookstore, where, incredibly, I found a used hardback illustrated (animated comic-book style) story of the "Robin Hood of Korea." It's over the kids' heads now, but they will probably like it when they're older. The author grew up in Korea as the daughter of medical missionaries and studied Korean painting...what a find for Moab. We bought some other books and went back to the hotel room and both kids drifted away looking at their new books.
The pool here was advertised as "heated" but if it is, it's not very warm. Well, other than that we can't complain. The hotel serves us fresh baked cookies every afternoon and a continental breakfast every morning. So far, fabulous.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Friday, May 22, 2009
busy week, Sam's trip to the ER
This week and next are really busy because I'm working full time and am on call for 16 days straight, plus we have Buzz's medical school graduation this Saturday. Bryan's mom is here helping with the kids, my parents are here too (helping Buzz pack and move), and Pete and Grace are also visiting. Last night we had dinner with Pete and Grace, without kids - SO nice to see them and catch up. Peter and I found we have independently each developed similar interests in food, nutrition, and Macs :-) (we each bought our first one about 6 weeks ago) , despite not communicating regularly. I felt like I'd found my long-lost twin. :-) That has happened before with other siblings. We don't live in the same state and don't keep up as well as we would like, but when we visit we find we have been doing the same things, unknowingly. Once I visited Laura and saw we had bought the same coat - she in LA and I in SLC.
As if things weren't hectic enough, Wednesday Sam got into Mom's suitcase and took an estimated 600 mg of Tegretol and some adult multivitamins. We spent 6 hours in the ER under observation, and he surprisingly drank up all his activated charcoal with the promise of a popsicle reward. He got a little sleepy but did not slow down much. The nurse said his blood pressure was a little low for a while but it normalized over several hours. Thank goodness that was all there was to it. As I was driving him home from the ER, Cameo called and reminded me (thank goodness!) that I was supposed to take Alex to a birthday party that I had completely forgotten about. I dropped off Sam, put Alex in the car (in her pajamas, since that is what she was wearing), grabbed a gift bag after discovering that we had used all our birthday wrap and had only Christmas wrap, and made it to the party. After that we all had a picnic in the park.
Tomorrow morning, Buzz graduates and I will be the honored one to do the "hooding." I need to iron my old gown, figure out a way to attach the too-large cap to my head long enough to last through the ceremony, and find an outfit that can double for VA neurology rounds and graduation. I'm just hoping there will be no neurologic emergencies between 10 a.m. and noon tomorrow.
As if things weren't hectic enough, Wednesday Sam got into Mom's suitcase and took an estimated 600 mg of Tegretol and some adult multivitamins. We spent 6 hours in the ER under observation, and he surprisingly drank up all his activated charcoal with the promise of a popsicle reward. He got a little sleepy but did not slow down much. The nurse said his blood pressure was a little low for a while but it normalized over several hours. Thank goodness that was all there was to it. As I was driving him home from the ER, Cameo called and reminded me (thank goodness!) that I was supposed to take Alex to a birthday party that I had completely forgotten about. I dropped off Sam, put Alex in the car (in her pajamas, since that is what she was wearing), grabbed a gift bag after discovering that we had used all our birthday wrap and had only Christmas wrap, and made it to the party. After that we all had a picnic in the park.
Tomorrow morning, Buzz graduates and I will be the honored one to do the "hooding." I need to iron my old gown, figure out a way to attach the too-large cap to my head long enough to last through the ceremony, and find an outfit that can double for VA neurology rounds and graduation. I'm just hoping there will be no neurologic emergencies between 10 a.m. and noon tomorrow.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Mother's Day thoughts
Mother's Day ramble - thinking about all the significant moms in my life...
For my own mom, especially for all the ways she taught me how to love.
For my mother-in-law, who has "adopted" me and mothered me for nearly 18 years (!)
For each of my children's birth mothers, who gave them life and had to let them go. Without them, I wouldn't be a mother. Tears, when I think about that.
For their foster mothers, who gave from their hearts and asked nothing in return.
Finally, to Alex and Sam:
Not flesh of my flesh
Nor bone of my bone
Yet nevertheless
Still my own.
Never forget for a single minute
You didn't grow under my heart,
But in it.
-Author Unknown
For my own mom, especially for all the ways she taught me how to love.
For my mother-in-law, who has "adopted" me and mothered me for nearly 18 years (!)
For each of my children's birth mothers, who gave them life and had to let them go. Without them, I wouldn't be a mother. Tears, when I think about that.
For their foster mothers, who gave from their hearts and asked nothing in return.
Finally, to Alex and Sam:
Not flesh of my flesh
Nor bone of my bone
Yet nevertheless
Still my own.
Never forget for a single minute
You didn't grow under my heart,
But in it.
-Author Unknown
Times they are a changin'
Major changes have recently occured in my life, both personally and professionally. We're approaching five years since the inception of this blog, and going back to read the posts from May '04 is quite the experience. I suppose its what diaries and journals are for, the chance to go back and read out your thoughts and ideas from another time. Kind of like mental time travel.
One thing is for sure, I am not who I was then. In fact, I am not who I was last year or the year before that. I may have some (we shed and create a lot of cells frequently) of the bodily composition of that person but we are definitely on different wavelengths.
This whole blogging business started off as a documentation of odd and quirky ideas I might have. I had a lot of time on my hands back then, hence the frequency of the posts. With time, the posts have decreased in number but have also slightly sharpened in focus. They may still be random and don't generally adhere to one unified theme, but this thing was meant to be disjointed and arbitrary anyway.
I know blogging has pretty much gone out of style these days, but I never meant for this to be stylish. The more I read my old posts, the more I believe that continuing to write here if only to be able to re-read it later is worthwhile. These next few lines (in no particular order) are for future perusing:
- United are in the Champions league final against Barcelona for a shot at retaining the cup. I believe we are going to win. Did we? I hope it was a good game.
- You've just moved out of home and are currently adjusting to having your own family. Its terrifying and exciting all at once. Having more or less settled now, you have found that through all of this you've discovered that you have an affinity for furniture shopping. Who would've thunk it.
- You're starting studying for your MRCS part B soon. The plan is to pass it first time. I hope that reading this in the future, you remember how it felt to be looking ahead to that. I also hope that you passed.
- You have accumulated a bit of debt, but are confident of repaying it all very soon. I hope that when you re-read this, it will have been replaced by a good amount of savings.
- You are still basking in the glory of having had the best wedding of all time.
- One and a half years in your current job and counting. Still on track with the initial estimate of two to three years in Bahrain followed by training abroad. So, how did that work out then?
- 1st on call, sleepless nights at the hospital working a 1 in 4 rota. Not so bad, considering what you've been through. I hope that when you read this you have had a hell of a lot more experience in operating and are no longer at junior level.
A few more personal things I could've documented here, but I'd rather leave them out of the public arena. Have to run now, but I hope that list makes for interesting reading at some point down the line.
One thing is for sure, I am not who I was then. In fact, I am not who I was last year or the year before that. I may have some (we shed and create a lot of cells frequently) of the bodily composition of that person but we are definitely on different wavelengths.
This whole blogging business started off as a documentation of odd and quirky ideas I might have. I had a lot of time on my hands back then, hence the frequency of the posts. With time, the posts have decreased in number but have also slightly sharpened in focus. They may still be random and don't generally adhere to one unified theme, but this thing was meant to be disjointed and arbitrary anyway.
I know blogging has pretty much gone out of style these days, but I never meant for this to be stylish. The more I read my old posts, the more I believe that continuing to write here if only to be able to re-read it later is worthwhile. These next few lines (in no particular order) are for future perusing:
- United are in the Champions league final against Barcelona for a shot at retaining the cup. I believe we are going to win. Did we? I hope it was a good game.
- You've just moved out of home and are currently adjusting to having your own family. Its terrifying and exciting all at once. Having more or less settled now, you have found that through all of this you've discovered that you have an affinity for furniture shopping. Who would've thunk it.
- You're starting studying for your MRCS part B soon. The plan is to pass it first time. I hope that reading this in the future, you remember how it felt to be looking ahead to that. I also hope that you passed.
- You have accumulated a bit of debt, but are confident of repaying it all very soon. I hope that when you re-read this, it will have been replaced by a good amount of savings.
- You are still basking in the glory of having had the best wedding of all time.
- One and a half years in your current job and counting. Still on track with the initial estimate of two to three years in Bahrain followed by training abroad. So, how did that work out then?
- 1st on call, sleepless nights at the hospital working a 1 in 4 rota. Not so bad, considering what you've been through. I hope that when you read this you have had a hell of a lot more experience in operating and are no longer at junior level.
A few more personal things I could've documented here, but I'd rather leave them out of the public arena. Have to run now, but I hope that list makes for interesting reading at some point down the line.
Friday, May 8, 2009
Mother's Day laugh
Alex and Sam made me a sweet collection of things for Mother's Day at preschool. There were drawings, handprints, cards, and an adorable little picture frame. The best, though, was Alex's creation called "My Mom." On the front is a picture she drew of me, complete with long, stick-thin legs :-) and hands with about 15 fingers on them. Then, on the second page, is some information about me. According to Alex:
My mom is "75 years" old.
My mom has "blonde brown" colored hair.
My mom's favorite thing to do is: "painting"
My Mom likes to eat: "snow peas"
My favorite dinner that my mom makes me is: "cereal"
THis is how my Mom makes it: "She gets it from the cabinet. I eat it. My tummy gets so full and I can't eat it anymore."
I like to help my Mom: "do everything"
My mom is the best mom in the whole world because: "she's the boss!"
I am sooooooooooo thankful to have such a funny little girl who makes me laugh!
My mom is "75 years" old.
My mom has "blonde brown" colored hair.
My mom's favorite thing to do is: "painting"
My Mom likes to eat: "snow peas"
My favorite dinner that my mom makes me is: "cereal"
THis is how my Mom makes it: "She gets it from the cabinet. I eat it. My tummy gets so full and I can't eat it anymore."
I like to help my Mom: "do everything"
My mom is the best mom in the whole world because: "she's the boss!"
I am sooooooooooo thankful to have such a funny little girl who makes me laugh!
Sunday, May 3, 2009
battles
I am feeling discouraged after an extra long battle of wills with Alex tonight. Ugh. :-(
She is a tough kid sometimes. Today she told me, "I need help calming down because I don't calm down very well by myself." I think she's heard us talking about her! At least she's aware of her issues. :-) I'm open to suggestions if anyone knows how to teach a 4-year-old to calm herself down.
She is a tough kid sometimes. Today she told me, "I need help calming down because I don't calm down very well by myself." I think she's heard us talking about her! At least she's aware of her issues. :-) I'm open to suggestions if anyone knows how to teach a 4-year-old to calm herself down.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Mix.dj
Para l@s amantes de la música electrónica.
Si tienes una fiesta en casa y no tienes una gran selección de temas o no te apetece marcarte tus propias mezclas dale al ratón, elige lo que quieres escuchar y a bailar.
Si no estás registrado puedes escuchar una hora de temas premezclados.
A gozar...
Jackie Chang HQ, Hong Kong
Hace unos días estuve en la puerta del "cuartel general de Jackie Chan" en Hong Kong.
Tras buscar la dirección en Internet me puse manos a la obra y me dirigí para allá.
No tiene pérdida, es el 145 de Waterloo Road.
La parada de MTR es Kwoloon Tong, pero también se puede coger el bus 271.
Decidí quedarme un ratito sentado leyendo y escuchándo música por si tenía la suerte de que el mismísimo Jackie apareciese. No hubo suerte.
Hace algún tiempo esto estaba abierto al público, hasta que una fan Japonesa de Jackie decidió quitarse la visa dentro del HQ, desde entonces permanece cerrado a los curiosos.
Se puede ver una rueda gigante en la fachada que sospecho pertenecerá a su película de 1998 "Mr. Nice Guy" en la que al final arrasa la mansión de un narcotraficante conduciendo un camión gigante de obras.
El resto de la fachada luce cientos de baldosines decorados a manos por fans de todo el mundo.
Tras buscar la dirección en Internet me puse manos a la obra y me dirigí para allá.
No tiene pérdida, es el 145 de Waterloo Road.
La parada de MTR es Kwoloon Tong, pero también se puede coger el bus 271.
Decidí quedarme un ratito sentado leyendo y escuchándo música por si tenía la suerte de que el mismísimo Jackie apareciese. No hubo suerte.
Hace algún tiempo esto estaba abierto al público, hasta que una fan Japonesa de Jackie decidió quitarse la visa dentro del HQ, desde entonces permanece cerrado a los curiosos.
Se puede ver una rueda gigante en la fachada que sospecho pertenecerá a su película de 1998 "Mr. Nice Guy" en la que al final arrasa la mansión de un narcotraficante conduciendo un camión gigante de obras.
El resto de la fachada luce cientos de baldosines decorados a manos por fans de todo el mundo.
Map of Happiness
es un sitio donde se te pregunta si estás feliz o no. Dependiendo de tu votación y desde el lugar donde estés tu voto se añadirá a una lista de países con sus respectivos resultados para ir mostrando donde la gente es más feliz.