Oil Change, Animal Crossing, and a Movie

"Maintenance Day" Cedar Park, 2018
Photo info: Motorola Moto G (4), 3.64mm, f/2, 1/30 sec, ISO320
“Maintenance Day” Cedar Park, 2018

こんばんは。How’s it going?

Today was a long day, but I did a lot of different things. First of all, was breakfast for the kids of Portuguese sausage, eggs, toast for Bay, and tortillas for Koa (actually breakfast tacos). I made do with just coffee as is my norm, and then it was off to Home Depot to buy some filters for our air conditioning vents.

After those were replaced, I took Koa to his band practice, and then I spent an hour changing the oil in my motorcycle. The procedure for my bike is not difficult, but it takes a long time because you have to take off some plastic parts, remove a metal bash plate, drain the oil from two locations, and replace the oil filter which is in a suboptimal location. But it all worked out with just a little bit of spillage on the garage floor. 😀 And it’s much cheaper than taking it to the motorcycle shop!

With that work done, it was time to play some Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp. I’m still having fun playing it, but I do have to deal with an annoying login issue, as shown in the photo below.

"Error" Cedar Park, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.8, 1/125 sec, ISO1000
“Error” Cedar Park, 2018

After maybe a dozen unsuccessful attempts at logging in, it will finally go through and I’ll be able to play. What a hassle! But once I am in, it’s a lot of fun crafting new items and arranging the camp. Very relaxing!

After a couple hours, it was time to pick up Koa, and then we decided to go out for dinner at an Asian buffet. It was actually pretty good, and I liked the fact that this restaurant had a Mongolian barbeque. Tasty! I used to eat a lot of Mongolian BBQ when I lived in Los Angeles, but in Austin I have only had it a few times. The BBQ at the buffet place wasn’t as good as a dedicated BBQ restaurant, but for the price, it was satisfying.

Later in the evening, I decided to go to the theater to see The Greatest Showman. I’m not really into musicals, but I just wanted to see something (using my Moviepass!) and since the theater is less than 10 minutes away, the last-minute decision was perfectly ok. As it turns out, I was pleasantly surprised with this movie! I didn’t think it was super, but it was entertaining and good to see on the big screen and with good sound.

And now as I type this, it’s past 1 am so I better get to bed.

I hope you had a nice Saturday!

おやすみ

Dinner Snapshots

"Potato Salad" Cedar Park, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2, 1/100 sec, ISO1000
“Potato Salad” Cedar Park, 2018
"Pork Donburi" Cedar Park, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2, 1/100 sec, ISO1000
“Pork Donburi” Cedar Park, 2018

こんばんは。Tonight’s post will just be a couple snapshots of our dinner. I like how the potato salad picture turned out, especially because it has a way-too-shallow depth of field. 😵

I hope you had a nice day!

またね~

Freezing and a Movie

"So Cold" Cedar Park, 2018
Photo info: SONY NEX-6, 16mm, f/3.5, 1/40 sec, ISO3200
“So Cold” Cedar Park, 2018

こんばんは。How’s it going?

Today was another cold one – in fact, this was the coldest morning here that we can remember! At 7am I took Koa to school and when we left the garage, the car’s outside temperature gauge was at 50° and we watched the number quickly drop all the way down to 17° when we arrived at the school. And by the time I reached back home, it was at 16°. Brrrr!

At least the sun came out today so it looked warm outside. 😂

In other news, my new Moviepass card arrived in the mail yesterday, so I’ve been eagerly anticipating using it. After dinner, I took care of my evening tasks (washing the dishes, feeding the cats, and cleaning the litter box) then told the family that I was going out to catch a movie. It turns out that Lady Bird is still in one theater nearby so I watched that, and it was excellent! I won’t be surprised if it takes home an Oscar or two.

I’m looking forward to watching a lot of movies this year because of Moviepass. I think it’s a great deal. Check it out if you like going to the cinema!

I hope you had a nice Wednesday.

おやすみ

Crispy Karaage

"Chicken Dinner" Cedar Park, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.2, 1/60 sec, ISO3200
“Chicken Dinner” Cedar Park, 2018

こんばんは。How’s it going?

Well, the freeze hit us overnight and the roads were treacherous so we all had a snow day today. I pretty much shut myself in the home-office with the doors closed which works out nicely because I have a portable heater that I like to use to keep that room warm like a sauna. Well, not that hot, but I tend to like it warmer than the rest of the family does. 😀

As you can see from today’s photo, we enjoyed a nice big serving of Japanese fried chicken, or karaage. We have a small Cuisinart deep-fryer, which is perfect for cooking up these small pieces of tender chicken. It doesn’t use too much cooking oil, and you can reuse the oil a few times before discarding it. It’s also pretty easy to clean. I highly recommend it.

I hope you bundled up and had a nice Tuesday!

またね~