Catching Up or Not

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"The Cloud" Cedar Park, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/16, 1/250 sec, ISO200
 “The Cloud” Cedar Park, 2017

こんばんは。How’s it going?

Well, the two week vacation has altered my schedule a bit, as I try to play catch-up with my blog. I usually like to post something every day but while on vacation I didn’t have the time, nor energy, to do that. I did write outlines for each day, though, and have edited the photos so now I just need to fill the posts out. It’s fun, but takes time.

Progress has been made and I have finished up with my Morocco posts and am currently working on Spain. Besides the post-a-day blogging, I also have been posting to my 365 project, where I take a photo every day. Taking the photo is actually not a problem. But posting it to the Flickr group is something that I’ll need to do.

I guess I have something to keep myself busy with this weekend!

Today’s photo is of a cool cloud that was hovering over our house this afternoon.

I hope you had a nice Friday!

おやすみ

Birkenstock Sandals

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"Mocha Birkenstocks" Cedar Park, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/150 sec, ISO200
 “Mocha Birkenstocks” Cedar Park, 2017

こんばんは。How’s it going?

Behold, my new Birkenstock sandals! Yes, I finally bought a pair of hippie Jesus sandals. They are the common “Arizona” two-strap design, in suede Mocha. I really like them!

While traveling, I often wore my plain rubber flip-flops, but I wanted something with a little more style, even if that style is somewhat polarizing. 😛 In Morocco, I saw a few people wearing leather sandals, and they looked comfy, but I didn’t really shop for any… however, I have wanted Birkenstocks for a while now so I kind of had my heart set on a pair.

Back in Austin, I went to the InStep store and checked out all the colors and got fitted with a pair of size 39 regulars. The people who work at InStep are extremely knowledgeable (almost fanatical) about Birkenstocks, so the service was amazing. After I bought my sandals, the salesperson even said, “Welcome to Birkenstock”. So funny!

You aren’t supposed to wear these sandals for more than a couple hours a day after you first get them so that your feet get used to them (there’s even a warning sticker in the box), but apparently, after a couple weeks, they will turn into “the most comfortable shoes you ever owned”. We’ll see!

I hope you had a nice Thursday!

またね～

Pinball and Dinner

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"Pinball Action" Austin, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.5, 1/60 sec, ISO3200
 “Pinball Action” Austin, 2017

こんばんは。How’s it going?

Today I dropped off my wife and 15-year-old son at the airport for their month-long trip to Japan. Then, I worked the day at the office before meeting my visiting brother and 13-year-old son at Pinballz for some fun arcade games. It was great playing pinball and some old consoles like Tempest! Had a great time and enjoyed a nice beer as well.

After that, it was time for dinner and my brother wanted some southern food, so we went to Mouton’s Southern Bistro. I’ve wanted to try this restaurant for several years now, so this was a good chance. The food was delicious and the portions were generous as you can see below! So stuffed… ☺

"Chicken Fried Steak" Leander, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2, 1/150 sec, ISO200
 “Chicken Fried Steak” Leander, 2017
"Jambalaya & Etouffee" Leander, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2, 1/100 sec, ISO200
 “Jambalaya & Etouffee” Leander, 2017
"Po-Boy" Leander, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.2, 1/140 sec, ISO200
 “Po-Boy” Leander, 2017

I hope you had a great day!

またね～

Back on Schedule

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"Kitty kitty" Cedar Park, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2, 1/100 sec, ISO2000
 “Kitty kitty” Cedar Park, 2017

こんばんは。How’s it going?

Well, today it was “back to work” for me. Surprisingly, I only had about 250 emails to go through, although my work queue jumped to 25 new requests. 😨 It’s a challenge being the sole graphic designer in the company, but it’s good work, and pretty fun. And I get to manage a lot of contract work too. Good stuff!

Anyways, I’ve fallen behind on my daily posts due to our two-week vacation, however, I have the photos for each day processed, and outlines written for each day. So, I’ll post them to the corresponding date so it will keep my postaday effort going. 🙂

Today, please enjoy the photo of our two cats, who were happy to see us when we came home! 😻

またね～

BBQ with my Brother

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"Family Dinner" Austin, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2, 1/80 sec, ISO3200
 “Family Dinner” Austin, 2017

こんばんは。

Today we took it easy and slept in. We were pretty tired from yesterday’s travels, and my brother is still on West Coast time, so it worked out nicely. We pretty much just hung out at the house all day, watched the Dodger game, and then went out for a yummy dinner.

My brother wanted to sample some Austin Barbecue, so we headed to Freedmen’s for some brisket, ribs, pork belly, slaw, and potato salad. We also got salmon and pit-chili, and it was all so good! Austin has so many great BBQ places, but Freedmen’s flies a bit under the radar. However, it’s some of the best BBQ in town!

"BBQ Poses" Austin, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5.6, 1/550 sec, ISO200
 “BBQ Poses” Austin, 2017
"Big Rib and Brisket" Austin, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2, 1/60 sec, ISO3200
 “Big Rib and Brisket” Austin, 2017

I hope you had a nice day!

おやすみ

Returning Home

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"The Way Home" Casablanca, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5.6, 1/4000 sec, ISO800
 “The Way Home” Casablanca, 2017

Hello! This is the last day of our Eurafrica trip when we fly back home. 😞

Another long journey, today’s schedule takes us from Casablanca to Montreal, then on to Chicago and finally home to Austin. ✈

We opted to take a pre-arranged taxi from the hotel to the airport, which cost about $25 which was nice since the cab took us door-to-door. At the airport, Mariko finally found some Moroccan wine at the duty-free shop. I guess this was pretty much the only chance to buy some! Ever since she had some Moroccan wine at the Morocco area of EPCOT, she’s wanted a bottle or two. So I guess this was one of her quests for the trip!  And happily, the wine made it all the way back home safe and sound, even though they had to scan the wine in Montreal in some fancy contraption in customs.

By the way, for those traveling to the US, you actually pass through US customs at the Montreal airport. It was very convenient, and I was surprised to hear the Customs agent say, “Welcome home, Mr. Fujimoto,” while we were still in Canada! 🇨🇦 🇺🇸

Anyways, we arrived in Austin at about 22:00 and my brother was waiting at the gate for us. See, he had just flown in an hour earlier and would spend the next few days visiting us. It was nice to see him after the long journey!

Oh, when we were in O’Hare, Mariko had to get a Chicago Hot Dog. 🌭 It was pretty good! Welcome back to America, indeed!

"Chicago Airport Dog" Chicago, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2, 1/60 sec, ISO320
 “Chicago Airport Dog” Chicago, 2017