Sunday Run and Avengers: Endgame

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"Wildflowers" Cedar Park, 2019
Photo info: motorola moto g(6), 3.95mm, f/1.8, 1/1150 sec, ISO100
 “Wildflowers” Cedar Park, 2019

こんばんは。How’s it going?

Today the sun was shining brightly so I decided to head on out for a short run. I haven’t gone out running for a few weeks now, but it’s time to get back to it. Especially with summer coming up and vacations planned, I need to get my touring legs back in shape. 😄 On the run, I stopped and took a few photos of the wildflowers because there were so many of them. I always enjoy the running route, but that extra splash of color makes it even more special.

In the evening, we went and watched Avengers: Endgame. Maybe it was because of the excessive hype, but I didn’t think it lived up to my expectations. Yes, it was epic and the action scenes were really cool, but the supposedly emotional parts of the story had no effect on me. On the other hand, the teaser for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker that they showed before the Avengers movie had my heart pumping! Rey’s slow-motion jump over the tie-fighter that cuts to the epic music really struck a chord with me. Now that was moving! I guess it’s because I’ve been a huge fan of Star Wars ever since I was a kid that I have a lot of feelings tied to the franchise. Conversely, I’ve never been a huge fan of any superheroes or Marvel comics so I tend to view those stories from a distance. That’s just my theory.

"Avengers" Round Rock, 2019
Photo info: motorola moto g(6), 3.95mm, f/1.8, 1/20 sec, ISO1228
 “Avengers” Round Rock, 2019

I hope you had a nice day!

またね～

Decluttering the Garage of Hazardous Materials

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"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)

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"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

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"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

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"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～