Coffee, Books, and Running

"New Books" Cedar Park, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5.6, 1/50 sec, ISO3200
“New Books” Cedar Park, 2018

こんばんは。How’s it going?

My Sunday was a super-relaxing day, and much welcomed! The highlight was getting a coffee at a friend’s coffee house which I had never been to before. It’s actually Sa-Tén’s second location, and it’s in the old Komé location. So it wasn’t the first time I’ve ever been in the building, just not as a coffee house. Anyways, the drink was yummy as I knew it would be.

After that, I stopped at Kinokuniya and treated myself to a couple of books that I’ve been wanting for a while now. They are both very inspiring and as I am still searching for a style of artwork that I enjoy creating, it’s fun to try new things. And art books are a great way to study techniques and styles. Much better than online, in my opinion.

"Coffee Time" Austin, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5.6, 1/30 sec, ISO3200
“Coffee Time” Austin, 2018

After returning home, I went for a run around the neighborhood which was so stress-free. I mean, I had no time constraints, and I don’t push myself to keep running if I don’t feel like it. I just listen to my body, which mostly means paying attention to any kinds of aches or pains that might arise. But even if I am feeling good, I’ll walk for a while too since it’s a nice way to observe things around the neighborhood.

It’s funny to think about the different levels of interaction with the environment you can have while traveling. In a plane, you are pretty much cut off from the environment. In a train, you can see the land slipping past. In a car, you can go slower, and stop sometimes, but there’s still glass between you and the environment. On a motorcycle, you experience the sights more closely, the air and temperature changes, all the smells, plus the sound of the wind. On a bike, it’s similar but of course much slower so you can look around a lot more. Running is even slower and you concentrate more on your body condition. Then walking it when you are most connected to the environment and can observe things in a very calm time-frame. Like, you can see and hear everything, and when you watch that car going down the street, you know that the driver is insulated from the environment you are in. I know I am just rambling. But these are the types of things that go through my mind when I am running and walking. 🤷‍♂️

I hope you had a nice day, and thanks for sticking with this post until the end!

またね~

Saturday Drawing

こんばんは。How are you tonight?

As you can see, I worked on a new drawing today. I’m still in love with Eguchi Hisashi’s artwork and I refer to his books for inspiration. I just love the style.

For today’s drawing, I skipped the pencil and paper and jumped directly into Adobe Illustrator. I was worried that I might have forgotten some of the sketching-specific tools in Illustrator, but happily, it all came back to me instantly. 😀

"Saturday Drawing" Cedar Park, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.8, 1/125 sec, ISO400
“Saturday Drawing” Cedar Park, 2018

I hope you had a nice Saturday!

またね~

New Kala Soprano Ukulele

"Two Sopranos" Cedar Park, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/70 sec, ISO3200
“Two Sopranos” Cedar Park, 2018

こんばんは。How’s it going?

Today I received a new ukulele as an early birthday present (the one on the right in the above photo). It’s another soprano ukulele by Kala, just like my pineapple ukulele. Why did I get the same size instrument? Well, I want to put a low-g ukulele string on the new one so I can play a couple of songs that require it in the arrangement. I have a concert-size ukulele that is strung with a low-g, but I really love the soprano size. And I am impressed by the quality and value of my Kala pineapple ukulele, so I decided to get the same brand.

Although the new KAA-15S Kala ukulele is the same size as my old one and uses the same type of Aquila strings, it sounds a lot different – deeper and more resonant. But we’ll see how it sounds after I change out the string when it arrives separately.

As far as looks go, I definitely prefer the pineapple shape, and the color is nicer to my eye. And the cream-colored binding on the edge is beautiful. The new Kala is a dark mahogany with no special binding, but it does have a fancy etched rosette (which I am not too fond of). It still looks nice, but not particularly special to me. Maybe it will grow on me in time. 🤔

"Standard and Pineapple" Cedar Park, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/30 sec, ISO3200
“Standard and Pineapple” Cedar Park, 2018

I’ve tried videoing a couple practice sessions and it is so hard to get a good take! When the camera is on, everything changes… 🤣 Anyways, I’ll post a couple to my YouTube channel when I am happy with them. But it seems like a good experience to try to play while the camera is on. It’s a strange kind of “no-pressure” pressure situation if that makes any sense.

Well, I hope you had a nice Friday!

またね~

Burger Lunch

"American Lunch" Austin, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.5, 1/125 sec, ISO1000
“American Lunch” Austin, 2018

こんばんは。How’s it going? Today I met a friend for lunch for a burger and fries. We sometimes visit Hat Creek Burger Company on Thursdays because they have a special on the beer: only $1! Of course, since it’s a lunch break, I just have one, but it’s funny to see how groups of people who work nearby really load up on the beer!

Besides that, the burgers are pretty good, and I always enjoy meeting with my friend to talk about our respective families and band kids, and also camera gear and our latest travels. Fun times!

"Bench Seating" Austin, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.5, 1/280 sec, ISO200
“Bench Seating” Austin, 2018

I hope you had a nice day!

またね~