Tag: postaday

Reading and Watching

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"Deserted Library" Cedar Park, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/100 sec, ISO1600
 “Deserted Library” Cedar Park, 2017

こんばんは。

Today was the beginning of spring break here in Texas, but it was a grey, cold, and rainy day. Nice to spend it indoors. At least most of the day!

Movie Day

I watched two really good movies today: Kon-Tiki (2012), and The Kite Runner (2007). Both were fantastic.

I read The Kite Runner before, but never saw the movie. Happy to say the movie really matched what I read in the book almost perfectly. Amazing, but tragic, story.

I haven’t read Kon-Tiki, but after seeing the movie, the book is on my to-read list. The epic ocean journey is captured with breathtaking cinematography, which reminded me a lot of another favorite movie, Life of Pi.

By the way, I have kept a list of the movies watched/books ready for the past couple years here on my blog. Check out this year’s list, or access all the lists from the site navigation menu.

Library Visit

Today’s photo is one I took at one of my favorite places: the library. I borrowed both of the movies from here. They have a really nice selection. It’s great! Anyways, the photo makes it look like the library was deserted, but it was actually quite busy. I just happened to take the photo when no one was in the frame.

I hope you had a nice, warm Saturday!

またね～

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Old Camera

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"X-700" Cedar Park, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.8, 1/60 sec, ISO3200
 “X-700” Cedar Park, 2017

こんばんは。

Friday, and the weather was nice. It actually hit 82° F this afternoon! ☀

Ramen Lunch

A bunch of us went out to lunch today to say goodbye to a co-worker who is leaving the company. We ate at a nearby ramen shop called “Kanji Ramen”. 🍜 The food was ok. I’d say, though, that it was below par for a ramen restaurant, although better than a dressed up instant. I got the tonkotsu and the broth was nothing special, the portion was a bit small, and the pork was skimpy and over cooked. However, the restaurant is only a few minutes away from the office, there’s no wait, service is fast and friendly, and parking is easy. 🙂 If you want ramen in Austin, there are better places, but for convenience, Kanji Ramen is a viable option.

X-700

Tonight’s photo is of my Minolta X-700 film camera. 📷 This was (is?) my dad’s camera, but I borrowed it in ’88 for a photography class and kept it ever since! I’ve run a lot of film through it, got it CLA’d when I lived in Japan, and it has never let me down (apart from dead batteries). These days, I shoot 100% digital due to convenience, but I do love the old film cameras. Mostly just to look at. I can’t be bothered to get film developed anymore. 😏 Consequently I have been selling most of my old lenses, but I’ll always keep the Minolta!

I hope you had a nice day!

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Cloud Monster

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"Cloud Monster" Leander, 2017
Photo info: Motorola Moto G (4), 3.64mm, f/2, 1/4200 sec, ISO64
 “Cloud Monster” Leander, 2017

こんばんは。Tonight’s photo is one I took while I was waiting to pick up Bay from his school. I didn’t have my Fujifilm X100T with me, so I used my Moto G phone to capture this image.

To me, the cloud looks like some monster or spirit from a Ghibli movie. It could be those ghostly creatures beckoning Chihiro toward the food stalls in Spirited Away, or maybe that gigantic god from Princess Mononoke. At any rate, I thought it was a cool cloud.

I hope you had a nice day!

またね～

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New Kitchen Gadget

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"New Gadget" Cedar Park, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.6, 1/100 sec, ISO2500
 “New Gadget” Cedar Park, 2017

こんばんは。How’s it going?

Today is my “WAH” or “work-at-home” day, and that means I get to sleep in an extra 10 minutes! Woohoo! I get that extra time because I can delay my shower until later in the morning. 😄 Also, I could probably stay in my pajamas until that time, since when I drop off Koa at school, I don’t need to get out of the car. But I’m not that lazy!

New pasta attachment

Tonight, Mariko got to use her newest kitchen gadget which she received as a birthday gift: a pasta-making attachment for the Kitchen-Aid mixer. It’s a nice little gadget, with a dial so you can adjust the thickness of the pasta. But just looking at it in action, I get an unsettling feeling that I would get my finger stuck in it and I’d end up with a crushed finger. 😱

Thankfully, Mariko was the one making the pasta tonight, which turned out to be delicious ravioli. I think they turned out great and everything was gobbled up in no time. 🍴

Mariko uses the Kitchen-Aid mixer quite a bit for baking, and I also use it occasionally to make hamburger using our meat-grinder attachment. It’s such a versatile kitchen appliance, I’d recommend getting one if you are into cooking at all. Plus it looks so cool!

I hope you had a nice Wednesday.

おやすみ

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Tuesday Bento and Donburi

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"Lunchtime" Austin, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/6.4, 1/480 sec, ISO200
 “Lunchtime” Austin, 2017

こんばんは。How’s it going? Today was another beautiful day, although the weatherman said a cold front was coming through this morning and we might have some rain. I don’t know if 70° F is considered a cold front, but whatever!

A Rare Lunch

So for a year or so now I’ve been eating 1.5 meals per day instead of the common 3 meals per day tradition. I estimate 1.5 because I don’t eat breakfast, but will often have a small snack in the afternoon, and then have a normal dinner. Oftentimes I skip the snack and just have one meal.

This week, though, I’ve eaten lunch both Monday and Tuesday, which is extremely rare. But yesterday the Banh Mi food truck was outside the office and I couldn’t resist. And today I wanted to finish up my oyakodon leftovers so I packed a small bento (actually a plain glass food container) to enjoy at lunchtime. 🍱

It was such a nice day that I decided to eat in one of the office park’s many courtyards, but of course I chose the one that has a PokéStop! Not only did I get to enjoy my bento, but I stocked up on Poké Balls and other goodies, as well as caught several Pokémon, including a new type for me.

Even though I only spent half an hour outside, it was refreshing and I went back to work with a clear mind. 😀

Korean Donburi

Tonight Mariko had to work again, but she prepared an easy dish for me to cook for myself and the kids: a Korean-style Donburi. As you may know, donburi is basically a bowl of rice with some kind of topping. Tonight’s donburi was onion, carrots, and spicy Korean pork, which Mariko bought from the Korean market.

"Korean Donburi" Cedar Park, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.2, 1/100 sec, ISO2500
 “Korean Donburi” Cedar Park, 2017

We also enjoyed a fresh green salad, which went perfectly with the spicy pork. In fact, we wrapped the pork with lettuce just like we were at the Korean BBQ. おいしかった！

I hope you had a great Tuesday!

おやすみ

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Cloud photos

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"Sun Peeking" Cedar Park, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/6.4, 1/1600 sec, ISO200
 “Sun Peeking” Cedar Park, 2017

こんばんは How’s it going?

Today’s photo is of my favorite subject, and an easy one to photograph: clouds. Although I see them almost every day, they are still fascinating to me! Especially because they move so slowly that they appear stationary, but then a minute later, they actually have changed quite a bit. You notice this more if you are taking photos of them. 😃 If you aren’t quick with the camera, the moment that you wanted to capture will be gone… but don’t worry, there will always be more clouds “on the horizon”. 😃 ☁️

I hope you had a nice day!

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Making Oyakodon

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"Oyakodon" Cedar Park, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5.6, 1/45 sec, ISO3200
 “Oyakodon” Cedar Park, 2017

こんばんは。How’s it going?

Another gray-day here, but the temperatures are in the 70s.

• Oyakodon

Tonight I was in charge of dinner for myself and the kids. We could have gone to our favorite burger place, but Mariko mentioned that I should try to add to my list of dishes I could prepare. So, I got out my “Quick & Easy Donburi Dishes” book and tried my hand at my favorite meal: Oyakodon. I’ve posted about oyakodon before, and how much I love it, but this is my first time ever making it by myself!

The recipe I used was very simple, with only a few ingredients, and it’s very hard to screw up. I think you’ll be able to make a delicious meal even if mistakes are made. However, there is a little bit of finesse involved if you want to get the eggs just right, which I wasn’t able to do. Basically, I overcooked the eggs a bit. 😒

I have to say, it tasted pretty good, and the kids liked it, but I’d have to say there is some room for improvement. 6.5 out of 10. Next time I’ll do better! 😄

• Not 100%

So, the past few days, something has been going around and a lot of people have been sick. I must have caught the bug as well because I haven’t been feeling well all weekend. I have some achy muscles, a little dizziness sometimes, and a yucky sinus condition. But, it’s not serious and I am still able to work and do normal stuff. Just not 100%. Hopefully tomorrow I’ll be better!

I hope you had a nice day!

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