Christmas Day Bagels

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"Bagels" Torrance, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.8, 1/125 sec, ISO400
 “Bagels” Torrance, 2018

こんばんは。How’s it going?

So last night we had our Jamaican feast, and today for breakfast we ate another traditional meal in our family: bagels, lox, cream cheese, pastrami, corned beef, roast beef, and pesto. Basically, it’s a build-your-own-bagel situation, with rye bread also thrown in the mix.

The photo above is a half-bagel, which has lox on one side, pastrami and pesto on the other. And the whole thing has cream cheese, red onion, and provolone on top. I was trying to taste everything, but not eat too much, so just half. 😄

"Peeking" Torrance, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.8, 1/125 sec, ISO640
 “Peeking” Torrance, 2018

After breakfast, we opened gifts, played new video games, a little mahjong, and finished a puzzle. Very relaxing!

"Cousins" Torrance, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.8, 1/125 sec, ISO3200
 “Cousins” Torrance, 2018
"Puzzler" Torrance, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.8, 1/125 sec, ISO2000
 “Puzzler” Torrance, 2018

Christmas Eve Eve

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"Jamaican Food" Torrance, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.6, 1/125 sec, ISO5000
 “Jamaican Food” Torrance, 2018

こんばんは。How’s it going?

One of our Christmas traditions is having nice big Jamaican food feast. Sometimes we enjoy it on Christmas Day, but this year it was Christmas Eve. Either way, it’s always delicious, with the main dish everyone is looking forward to being the curry crab. The sauce is my mom’s variant of Jamaican Run-down, with coconut milk, curry, and other magical spices and the crab legs go perfectly with it.

"Curry Crab Legs" Torrance, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.6, 1/40 sec, ISO6400
 “Curry Crab Legs” Torrance, 2018

Besides the crab, we also had stew peas, rice and peas, jerk-chicken, jerk pork, callaloo greens, macaroni/potato salad, and plantain. In addition, my mom prepared a dish we don’t often have: Escovitch fish. Super yummy!

"Escovich Fish" Torrance, 2018
Photo info: OLYMPUS E-PL9, 27mm, f/4.8, 1/100 sec, ISO6400
 “Escovich Fish” Torrance, 2018

After dinner, we played Mahjong, which is another family tradition of ours. Of course, we play anytime we can, not just Christmas Eve. 😊

"Mahjong" Torrance, 2018
Photo info: OLYMPUS E-PL9, 14mm, f/3.5, 1/80 sec, ISO6400
 “Mahjong” Torrance, 2018
"Mahjong" Torrance, 2018
Photo info: OLYMPUS E-PL9, 17mm, f/4, 1/250 sec, ISO6400
 “Mahjong” Torrance, 2018

I hope you had a nice day!

またね～

Christmas Eve Morning Run

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"Running Shoes" Torrance, 2018
Photo info: motorola moto g(6), 3.95mm, f/1.8, 1/30 sec, ISO361
 “Running Shoes” Torrance, 2018

Went for a 2-mile run/walk around my the neighborhood where I grew up. There have been a few changes over the years, such as stop signs replacing yield sign, but for the most part, the neighborhood is still the same. I ran around my old elementary school as well, and it still looks the same. The original buildings are there, and of course, there are the newer “temporary” classrooms that have been there for so long, they seem permanent.

Every year, I am happy to see that the rocket ship in the playground still survives. It has seen several modernization/safety upgrades over the years but it’s essentially the same. I hope they never get rid of it!

"Rocket" Torrance, 2018
Photo info: motorola moto g(6), 3.95mm, f/1.8, 1/120 sec, ISO177
 “Rocket” Torrance, 2018

Travel Day

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"Stowaway" Cedar Park, 2018
Photo info: motorola moto g(6), 3.95mm, f/1.8, 1/12 sec, ISO3425
 “Stowaway” Cedar Park, 2018

こんばんは。Today was a travel day, but I’m happy to report the flight from Austin to Long Beach went smoothly and we made it to my parents’ house in Torrance. Let the holidays begin!!!

"Over Texas" 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5, 1/100 sec, ISO250
 “Over Texas” 2018
"Snacks" 2018
Photo info: motorola moto g(6), 3.95mm, f/1.8, 1/20 sec, ISO462
 “Snacks” 2018

2018 Year in Books

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"Kindles" Cedar Park, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/100 sec, ISO1250
 “Kindles” Cedar Park, 2018

こんばんは。How’s it going?

This year I’ve been getting away from tracking data about myself, for instance using a Fitbit to count steps, and I quit logging how my interests were changing over time. But I still enjoy some automated data collection, specifically tracking my progress on books that I am reading.

I love reading books on my Kindle because I can sync progress between devices, but also because it is linked to my GoodReads account. This is cool because I can see what books I have on my shelves and also because GoodReads keeps track of the books I have finished each year. And since it is the end of 2018, GoodReads has compiled the personalized 2018 Year in Books pages for all its users.

Looking at my page for 2018 and all the previous years (you can just edit the URL with the desired year) I see that I had a kind of an average year for reading, with 9 books completed and a total of 2,877 pages read, which is an improvement from 2017, but not close to 2010 when I finished 22 books.

Still, I really enjoyed the books I read and am happy to have discovered some new favorite authors, such as Celeste Ng, Hiromi Kawakami, and Peter Hessler, whose other books are now on my “To Read” shelf. I’m looking forward to lots more reading in 2019!

I hope you had a nice Saturday.

– B Barron Fujimoto