Goodies from Japan and Ghibli Songbook for Ukulele

Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/125 sec, ISO1250
“Goodies from Japan” Cedar Park, 2019

こんばんは。How’s it going?

Today’s photos is of the omiyage that Mariko brought for me from her visit to her hometown of Osaka. It’s a bit of a mix this time, with a wash-cloth that I’ve been mentioning for a few months now, the big bottle of shochu that we’ll enjoy together, and the unexpected darumas (very cool style!).

But the pièce de résistance has to be the ukulele songbook of Ghibli tunes. It’s awesome! The first part of the book is finger-style solos, and the second part is chords and lyrics. I can’t sing, so you might think the second part is not useful, but to the contrary, having the chords right there will be great for referencing when I practice the finger-style versions. And speaking of the finger-style versions, they are the right level for me. The arrangement is not too simple and not too complex. However, I think there will be room to embellish a bit which is why the chords in the second half of the book will be useful. The songbook also includes a CD for reference. I’ve already started on ひこうき雲which is the heart-breaking (lyrics) 1973 song from Arai Yumi and used as the ending song in The Wind Rises. It’s kind of perfect for the movie. 😭

またね~

New-To-Me Kuru Toga Pencils

Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/125 sec, ISO5000
“Kuru Toga” Cedar Park, 2019

こんばんは。How’s it going?

Koa was moving his pens and pencils to a new pencil bag and decided that he didn’t want his Kuru Toga pencils anymore. He prefers writing with wooden pencils over mechanical (plus the mechanical pencils poke holes in the pencil bag) so he gave me the Kuru Togas. Score!

I already have (and love) a blue 0.5 mm Kuru Toga, but new-to-me is the Uni Alpha-Gel Kuru Toga Mechanical Pencil, minus the nose cover which has gone missing. The gel grip is super-comfy, though! I love it.

The Kuru Toga pencils are so cool because the lead automatically rotates a tiny bit every time you lift the pencil from the page. That way, the lead maintains a a consistent edge. It’s kind of amazing how it works, and also how they actually thought it was a worthwhile feature to develop. Innovation!

I hope you also had a good day. 😊

またね~

Lovely Seikos

Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2, 1/240 sec, ISO200
“Seikos” Austin, 2019

I saw these lovely Seikos in the case at Macy’s today. The blue watch in the front is kind of my dream watch. It’s a new “Save the Ocean” turtle. I love it! Maybe someday… but for now, I’ll continue to enjoy my SKX007. Speaking of the SKX, the big news is that Seiko has discontinued the model. It’s had a very long run, being introduced in 1996, but it’s finally time to move on. The replacement seems to be the new Seiko 5 Sports series of watches. The cases look just like the SKX, but they come in a variety of colors. However, they do not have the dive specification so they are a little less capable, but still not many actually take the dive watches scuba diving (dive computers are more useful).

If you haven’t seen it yet, I made a little time-lapse of my watches. 😆 Enjoy!

I hope you had a nice day!

またね~

Crazy Rich Asians Reading-Fest

Photo info: FUJIFILM X-T10, 35mm, f/2, 1/320 sec, ISO640
“Crazy Rich Library” Cedar Park, 2019

こんばんは。How’s it going?

Recently, I’ve been enjoying Kevin Kwan’s Crazy Rich Asians book trilogy, whose first book was the basis for the hit movie by the same name. I thought the book was great, so after finishing it I put a library hold on the second one, China Rich Girlfriend, and flew through it in just a few days. Immediately after finishing that, I put the third and final book, Rich People Problems on hold, and within the hour, it was available! I could continue the story without delay, which is perfect since it’s a long holiday weekend. It’s a true Crazy Rich Asians reading-fest. 😆

The books are super fun, and although the constant brand-name fashion references can seem a bit tedious at first, I soon enjoyed the over-the-topness of even those descriptions. The story is great and I love the characters, but what really makes it an exceptional series for me are the descriptions of all the delicious foods. The books make me so hungry!

I also like the fact that I can relate to the story through some of the settings (and dare I say brands?). In fact, one of the chapters in the first book is named Conduit Road, which is a street in Hong Kong. And a good friend of mine’s family has a flat there, which is where I stayed when I visited twice in the 90s. That kind of blew me away. The scenes in Shanghai also were familiar to me since we visited the city just last year. There are even some luxury brand watch references which I thought were great.

On the flip side, reading about Singapore, a city I have not yet traveled to, has given me a serious case of wanderlust! I’m definitely not alone in the fact that Crazy Rich Asians has really piqued my curiosity.

I am halfway through the final book and I am looking forward to seeing how it all concludes. By the way, the books are much better than the movie, IMHO.

I hope you had a great day!

またね~

😆