Category: Slice of Life

Travel Birthday

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こんばんは。How’s it going?

Today was a busy day for Mariko and me, plus a milestone for my son Bay. For him, it was the first time that he drove alone – he took my car to school and then back home at the end of the day. And happily, it was an uneventful trip. I am hoping this is the beginning of a long and safe driving career. 😆

The reason that Bay took my car today was that Mariko and I flew to California in order to attend my brother’s wedding this weekend. We actually flew to LAX, where my parents came to meet us, and then we all drove down to Oceanside together, where my brother and his fiancée rented a beach house for the weekend. We’ll be having the wedding here, on the sand, with dinner to follow. It’s gonna be a blast!

"Wine and Cheese" Austin, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X-T10, 18mm, f/2.8, 1/90 sec, ISO400
 “Wine and Cheese” Austin, 2018

Earlier at the airport in Austin, Mariko and I splurged a bit on some wine and cheese at the Vino Volo wine bar. It was pretty good, but of course more expensive than normal being as though we were at the airport. Still, we enjoyed living the high-life for a little while before getting on the plane. Speaking of planes, we like Delta a lot these days. The Delta planes we’ve flown on the past few times have had a great entertainment system with plenty of Japanese and other international movies. I watched a little bit of a Chinese movie How Long Will I Love You but then decided to read my Kindle. I really enjoy flying (being on the plane) because I can concentrate on reading. I love it!

And when we arrived at the beach house in Oceanside, we had a little birthday celebration with cake and gifts. It was fun. 😊 (It’s 10/19!)

"Cake Time" Oceanside, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X-T10, 35mm, f/2.8, 1/60 sec, ISO1250
 “Cake Time” Oceanside, 2018

I hope you had a nice Friday!

またね～

"Night at the Beach" Oceanside, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X-T10, 35mm, f/2.5, 1/25 sec, ISO3200
 “Night at the Beach” Oceanside, 2018

Progressive Lenses

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"Lineup" Cedar Park, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4.5, 1/20 sec, ISO3200
 “Lineup” Cedar Park, 2018

こんばんは。How’s it going?

Today I received my new glasses in the mail, which was a nice surprise because they were scheduled to arrive on Saturday. Yay! In the photo above, they are the ones in the middle. 👓

I am pretty happy and excited because this is the first time for me to use glasses with progressive lenses. For the past year, I’ve been alternating between distance glasses and reading/computer glasses, which was ok, but a bit inconvenient. But now with these new progressive lenses, I shouldn’t have to keep switching! The big difference now is during driving. When I used to drive, I’d just use my distance glasses, but that meant the dashboard area was kind of blurry. But now the dash and center console is sharp and readable. It’s great! 😄

Even though the progressives are convenient, I am going to keep using my reading/computer glasses for when I am in front of the big monitors. That’s because the progressive lenses’ focus area is not large enough to cover a huge portion of the computer screen. However, I think I can retire my old distance glasses, or maybe keep them in the car just in case. 🤔

"New on Right" Cedar Park, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4.5, 1/20 sec, ISO3200
 “New on Right” Cedar Park, 2018

FYI, I have been buying my glasses from Eyebuydirect.com for a few years now. They are super inexpensive, but I’ve been very happy with the quality. If you want to give them a try, please use this link, which includes my referral code. 🙏

I hope you had a nice day!

またね～

Chicken and Health Check

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"JFC" Cedar Park, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4.5, 1/50 sec, ISO3200
 “JFC” Cedar Park, 2018

こんばんは。How’s it going?

Tonight we had everyone’s favorite meal: karaage (Japanese fried chicken). White rice, karaage, and miso soup are perfect for a cold day like today… it warms you up and lifts your spirits! 😊 The rain and chilly weather are such a shock since last week was so warm and nice. But I guess each day of bad weather means we’re a day closer to summer 2019. 😀

In other news, I went for my annual health screening at work. It’s a basic checkup, with a blood test to check on cholesterol, glucose, etc. And my health is actually improving for the most part! The bad cholesterol has gone down, the good cholesterol has gone up, and blood pressure is in a good range. In fact, everything was trending towards better health, with the exception of one measurement – I gained 1 pound. I blame the karaage. 😜

"Bandage" Austin, 2018
Photo info: Motorola Moto G (4), 3.64mm, f/2, 1/30 sec, ISO160
 “Bandage” Austin, 2018

I hope you had a nice day!

またね～

Chilly and Chili

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"Chilly Weather" Austin, 2018
Photo info: SONY NEX-6, 16mm, f/4, 1/60 sec, ISO2000
 “Chilly Weather” Austin, 2018

こんばんは。How’s it going?

Overnight the temperature here dropped about 45 degrees (F). Just yesterday I was running around the neighborhood in 90° F heat but today it was only 45° F! And the sunny sky has been replaced with clouds and rain. It’s a real bummer.

But, I cooked a big pot of chili the other day, so we warmed ourselves up with chili-dogs for dinner. 😆

"Chili Dog" Cedar Park, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.2, 1/125 sec, ISO2500
 “Chili Dog” Cedar Park, 2018

I hope you had a nice Monday!

またね～

Coffee, Books, and Running

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"New Books" Cedar Park, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5.6, 1/50 sec, ISO3200
 “New Books” Cedar Park, 2018

こんばんは。How’s it going?

My Sunday was a super-relaxing day, and much welcomed! The highlight was getting a coffee at a friend’s coffee house which I had never been to before. It’s actually Sa-Tén’s second location, and it’s in the old Komé location. So it wasn’t the first time I’ve ever been in the building, just not as a coffee house. Anyways, the drink was yummy as I knew it would be.

After that, I stopped at Kinokuniya and treated myself to a couple of books that I’ve been wanting for a while now. They are both very inspiring and as I am still searching for a style of artwork that I enjoy creating, it’s fun to try new things. And art books are a great way to study techniques and styles. Much better than online, in my opinion.

"Coffee Time" Austin, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5.6, 1/30 sec, ISO3200
 “Coffee Time” Austin, 2018

After returning home, I went for a run around the neighborhood which was so stress-free. I mean, I had no time constraints, and I don’t push myself to keep running if I don’t feel like it. I just listen to my body, which mostly means paying attention to any kinds of aches or pains that might arise. But even if I am feeling good, I’ll walk for a while too since it’s a nice way to observe things around the neighborhood.

It’s funny to think about the different levels of interaction with the environment you can have while traveling. In a plane, you are pretty much cut off from the environment. In a train, you can see the land slipping past. In a car, you can go slower, and stop sometimes, but there’s still glass between you and the environment. On a motorcycle, you experience the sights more closely, the air and temperature changes, all the smells, plus the sound of the wind. On a bike, it’s similar but of course much slower so you can look around a lot more. Running is even slower and you concentrate more on your body condition. Then walking it when you are most connected to the environment and can observe things in a very calm time-frame. Like, you can see and hear everything, and when you watch that car going down the street, you know that the driver is insulated from the environment you are in. I know I am just rambling. But these are the types of things that go through my mind when I am running and walking. 🤷‍♂️

I hope you had a nice day, and thanks for sticking with this post until the end!

またね～

Saturday Drawing

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こんばんは。How are you tonight?

As you can see, I worked on a new drawing today. I’m still in love with Eguchi Hisashi’s artwork and I refer to his books for inspiration. I just love the style.

For today’s drawing, I skipped the pencil and paper and jumped directly into Adobe Illustrator. I was worried that I might have forgotten some of the sketching-specific tools in Illustrator, but happily, it all came back to me instantly. 😀

"Saturday Drawing" Cedar Park, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.8, 1/125 sec, ISO400
 “Saturday Drawing” Cedar Park, 2018

I hope you had a nice Saturday!

またね～