Hometown Day

Photo info: FUJIFILM X-E4, 27mm, f/2.8, 1/100 sec, ISO1250
“Comfort Food” Torrance, 2021

I spent the day working from my parents’ house in Torrance. It was fun to hang out in the kitchen of the old house and watch my mom make one of my favorite comfort foods: submarine sandwiches. I make them at home, but of course they don’t taste as good as when my mom makes them. It’s kind of a tradition that every time I visit their house, she makes subs for me. 😀

I also visited the nearby CVS to get my Moderna booster shot. I didn’t feel the needle at all, and my arm is just a little bit sore. The person administering the shot recommended some exercise to help with the soreness, which was surprising. I thought she would tell me to just rest and take it easy.

“Booster” Torrance, 2021

With that in mind, I went for a 3 mile run around the neighborhood after work. It was chilly but I really enjoyed looking at the old houses and even ran down some streets where old friends used to live. I suppose most of the houses have different families living there now, but it was still interesting to see how many memories it brought back.

Later that evening, we went out to eat at Ladybug Cafe, which is a Hawaiian restaurant formerly known as Bob’s Hawaiian Style Restaurant. The food was delicious! I had the grilled hamachi plate, and Koa had the Poké Bowl (with ogo in it!) and spam fried rice. Yum! The rest of the family had classics like kalbi, teriyaki chicken, teri salmon, etc. Good stuff!

Photo info: FUJIFILM X-E4, 27mm, f/2.8, 1/40 sec, ISO800
“Local Food” Gardena, 2021

It was a great day in my old hometown. Here’s one last photo from the kitchen which is pretty much unchanged since the 70s. 😄

Photo info: FUJIFILM X-E4, 27mm, f/4, 1/160 sec, ISO640
“Kitchen” Torrance, 2021

Curry Night

Photo info: FUJIFILM X-E4, 27mm, f/2.8, 1/55 sec, ISO800
“Beef Curry” Cedar Park, 2021

Tomorrow, Mariko is flying up to Indianapolis to watch Koa’s marching band perform in the Bands of America Grand Nationals. Since I’ll be home alone for a couple of nights, she made a big pot of beef curry so that I don’t starve. 😀

It’s so delicious! ❤🍛

Biergarten and Band

Photo info: FUJIFILM X-E4, 18mm, f/16, 1/25 sec, ISO1600
“Krause’s Café” New Braunfels, 2021

Today we went to see Koa’s marching band perform in the UIL Area competition with ~23 other schools. But before that, Mariko and I stopped at Krause’s Café and Biergarten for a late lunch with friends. The beer and food were great, and the atmosphere inside the beer hall was very nice. The weather was just perfect! It was so fun to hang out with new friends. We could have probably hung out for a few hours but we had to get to the band competition for the finals.

Photo info: Apple iPhone 12 mini, 4.2mm, f/1.6, 1/90 sec, ISO125
“Sausage Plate” New Braunfels, 2021

The stadium was about 30 minutes away from the biergarten and we arrived to find some good seats right on the 50-yard line and halfway up the stands. We’ve seen a few of the bands before, but many were new to us so it was interesting to see the different kinds of shows and music they performed. Texas certainly has an exceptional marching band culture, and we’re fortunate that Koa’s school is one of the best. But what I really think is cool about high school marching band is that all the kids support the other bands and many cross-band friendships are formed throughout the year.

Photo info: FUJIFILM X-E4, 18mm, f/3.2, 1/120 sec, ISO640
“Ranger Band” Converse, 2021

It was a long day, but very fun to hang out with friends and listen to lots of music. I hope you had a good day too! またね~

Birthday Run and Katsu Curry Dinner

Photo info: Apple iPhone 12 mini, 4.2mm, f/1.6, 1/1900 sec, ISO32
“Critter Tracks” Cedar Park, 2021

Today happens to be my birthday, and to celebrate, I took the day off from work. 😄 So with time on my hands, I was wondering what to do… maybe go for a ride on my motorcycle? Maybe go for a long bicycle ride? But after all, I decided to go running. I’ve discovered that I really love it!

I ended up running on Brushy Creek Regional Trail and I felt so good that I completed my half-marathon challenge on Strava. It’s a really good feeling to know that at 53, I can still increase my distances and get stronger. I hope I can stay healthy for a good long time!

I admit that part of my motivation for running so far today was because I knew that I was going to feast on pork katsu curry for dinner. Normally I request oyakodon for my birthday dinner but I’ve been craving curry for a while now!

Photo info: FUJIFILM X-E4, 27mm, f/2.8, 1/40 sec, ISO800
“Katsu Curry” Cedar Park, 2021

All in all, I had a very nice birthday. I’m looking forward to my next year!

Photo info: Apple iPhone 12 mini, 2.71mm, f/2.2, 1/900 sec, ISO25
“Let’s Run” Cedar Park, 2021