Category: Slice of Life

Decluttering the Garage of Hazardous Materials

, Slice of LifeLeave a Comment on Decluttering the Garage of Hazardous Materials
"Ready for Disposal" Cedar Park, 2019
Photo info: motorola moto g(6), 3.95mm, f/1.8, 1/1000 sec, ISO100
 “Ready for Disposal” Cedar Park, 2019

One of the cool things about living in Cedar Park is that once a year, they offer to take your hazardous materials. They accept household paint, motor oil, cleaners, old tires, electronics, etc. I chatted with one of the workers, and as expected, most of the items were buckets of paint and cans of spray paint. That was pretty much the bulk of what I had to give them as well, but I also had some old automotive oil and fluids, caulk, and degreaser.

"Dropping Off" Cedar Park, 2019
Photo info: motorola moto g(6), 3.95mm, f/1.8, 1/1700 sec, ISO100
 “Dropping Off” Cedar Park, 2019

This year, the dropoff location was the neighborhood football stadium. When I arrived at 10 am, there was a super long line of cars… I was amazed! But it moved fairly quickly, and I was finished in about 35 minutes. I have to say it was very well organized and run, and there were plenty of workers and staff to help out.

Next year, I might just have a bunch of old cooking oil to drop off, but not much paint. It feels great to have all that stuff off of our shelves and out of the garage. I have a little more space now, so I can get some things off the ground, like toolboxes and tool bags. Slowly but surely, the garage is getting tidier!

I hope you had a good day.

またね〜

Omakase at Uroko (Soft Opening)

, , , , , Food, Photo Life, Slice of Life2 Comments on Omakase at Uroko (Soft Opening)
"Omakase" Austin, 2019
Photo info: Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 50mm, f/6.3, 1/40 sec, ISO1000
 “Omakase” Austin, 2019

Tonight we went to the soft opening of our friends’ new restaurant, Uroko. The restaurant has three distinct things: omakase dinner on the weekends, temaki hand roll sushi for lunch, and sushi classes on weekday evenings. The soft opening was omakase, and the sushi was wonderful! There were a total of 12 dishes served, and I enjoyed them all, but my favorite was the otoro – so buttery!

"Otoro" Austin, 2019
Photo info: Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 50mm, f/3.5, 1/50 sec, ISO640
 “Otoro” Austin, 2019

I actually help with their websites, and sometimes photography too, and tonight I took a lot of photos for the new website. It was actually somewhat difficult because I don’t have lighting equipment (nor the skill to actually use them) so the photos weren’t the greatest. Still, I think most of them came out ok. You can see a few more photos at the main website, or the reservation site.

If you are in Austin and want a great sushi experience, check out Uroko!

またね～

Koa’s Percussion Performances

, , Slice of LifeLeave a Comment on Koa’s Percussion Performances
"2018-19 VRHS Percussion" Cedar Park, 2019
Photo info: FUJIFILM X-T10, 32.9mm, f/5.6, 1/60 sec, ISO800
 “2018-19 VRHS Percussion” Cedar Park, 2019

こんばんは。This evening, Koa performed three pieces at his high school’s percussion concert: a solo, a duet, and ensemble. He sounded great!

Here are the recordings I made of the solo and duet. Please watch and listen!

Scared Dog, Texas Weather, and Oyakodon

, , Food, Slice of Life3 Comments on Scared Dog, Texas Weather, and Oyakodon
"Hiding Dog" Cedar Park, 2019
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.8, 1/40 sec, ISO3200
 “Hiding Dog” Cedar Park, 2019

A huge storm rolled through today, producing a lot of lightning and thunder. Our dog, Lani, was so scared, she hid under the desk next to me. Sad, but cute too!

By early evening, the clouds broke and the air was crystal clear. It was beautiful.

"Clearing Skies" Cedar Park, 2019
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5.6, 1/850 sec, ISO200
 “Clearing Skies” Cedar Park, 2019

And then we had my favorite meal, oyakodon. So it ended up being a good day. 😄

"Oyakodon" Cedar Park, 2019
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.6, 1/100 sec, ISO1600
 “Oyakodon” Cedar Park, 2019

I hope yours was nice as well!

またね～

Okko’s Inn (2018) – Movie Review

, , , , , I Like It, Reviews, Slice of LifeLeave a Comment on Okko’s Inn (2018) – Movie Review

こんばんは。How’s it going?

My friend and I went to a special showing (only two nights here!) of Okko’s Inn, a Japanese anime directed by Kitaro Kosaka (formerly of Studio Ghibli). The film was awesome! Both my friend and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

********* SPOILER ALERT *********

I had a special interest in the animation and character style, but the story itself blew me away. It was funny, sad, smart, uplifting, and engaging. I especially loved when the character Matsuki would pull out quotes from historical figures. Hilarious! 😆

There were so many elements of the film that I found interesting: the onsen town setting, kaiseki food, the supernatural, and traditional rituals. And the animation was so well-done. The scene where Okko slips on the tatami was great! If you’ve ever felt how slick a tatami mat can be, you’ll know what I mean. It was captured perfectly.

I also liked the fact that there were no overt antagonists in the story. I was expecting Okko’s grandmother or Matsuki to play that role. Although Matsuki started as a rival, she had noble intentions and wasn’t inherently nasty. The lack of any enemies reminded me of Kiki’s Delivery Service or My Neighbor Totoro in that respect. I really appreciate stories like that, especially if they can keep you engaged.

I enjoyed Okko’s Inn even more than some Ghibli movies, like Ponyo, Kaguya, and Arrietty. When I left the theater after seeing those, I felt that I had watched good movies but wasn’t overly excited, but after Okko’s Inn ended, I was pretty stoked, and thought that I’ll definitely need to own the Blu-ray version!

If you didn’t see Okko’s Inn during the special engagement, look for it on video later. It’ll be well worth your time.

My rating: 9/10