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by JamesSo humid itβs called swimming ππ»ββοΈ
4.0km
31.9min
33m climbed
171.7avg bpm
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The Week #163
by James- β°οΈ Friday was mountain day in Japan. We went and saw an evening showing ofΒ Elemental. I highly recommend it. It was perhaps a bit too long for Leo, as towards the end he said he wanted it to hurry up and end...but he sat through all of it.
I haven't seen a movie at night in a very long time, but I think they're so much better than the day. Mostly because you don't come home from being out all day just to have to cook dinner and wash dishes...
After the movie we had coffee and a cookie at Starbucks. The weather was perfect outside as well, increasing my enjoyment. Before Leo we used to go to the cafe at night on a regular basis and it was really good to do that again. - πΈ I had a good conversation with an old internet buddy (since I was in junior high / high school?), Brad. We were both into j-rock/j-dramas. Our chat got me reminiscing about the old sites and online communities we used to be a part of.
Ones like lomo.box.sk, bulletin board with news and user blogs, focused on photography with the lomo cameras. For the uninitiated, the lomos are small film cameras with minimal settings and no zoom. Their marketed as an artsy and fun camera. You "shoot from the hip". And for interesting effects you don't use photoshop or some digital filter, you use colored flashes or cross-process your film.
One of the main contributors to the site was based in Tokyo,Β so there always good photos of Shibuya at night. I spent many a night in the suburbs in Texas thinking about how lucky he was to live in Japan and be able to walk outside and have something interesting to shoot.
Part of me misses photography, not that I was ever good or serious. I should try to carve out some time one evening/early morning to go out and shoot. Here's a couple of photos from the early 2000's I took with lomo and cross-processed. People that have followed me online for a while will have seen these before.Yours truly (~18-ish years ago). Yellow color splash and cross-processed. Galveston, Texas at night. Cross-processed. - π Leo and I finally be the Divine Beast Vah Ruta, one of the first big quests. I feel a bit embarrassed that I didn't realize I could use regular arrows or Cryonis (the ability to turn water into ice and also break said ice) to destroy the ice cubes he throws at you for well over a month. As such I had been tried using nothing but shock arrows, which are rarer.
- π₯ We've got potatoes and onion overflowing in the house, so I made some roasted potatoes with a bit of olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, cumin, and garam masala. Standard flavors / spices (at least for me). I'm happy to report that Leo a) requested to eat them and b) asked that I make them again tomorrow. Yessir π«‘. The highest praise from this picky eater.
- π² Leo and I rode our bikes together to the grocery store for the first and second time. This was our first time riding bikes together that wasn't in front of the house. The entire time Leo kept repeating "This is so much fun!" (but in Japanese) and indeed it is a lot of fun to ride bikes together. I'm looking forward to when his legs are a bit stronger and he can climb the small hill on the way back from co-op and stronger still so we can go to the local Starbucks.Β
- πΆ I have two albums of the week this week. First is Black & White by Casey Bean. I really like Play it Cool, which he performed on a recent episode of The Beanpod, a podcast about life in Japan. The other is an album that I've probably recommended on here before... Original Pirate Material by The Streets. This one is recommended because I was in a bit of a funk...and had the lyrics to Who Got the Funk come to my head while walking the dog...and went for a run to get rid of it...lest I become a geezer.
- β°οΈ Friday was mountain day in Japan. We went and saw an evening showing ofΒ Elemental. I highly recommend it. It was perhaps a bit too long for Leo, as towards the end he said he wanted it to hurry up and end...but he sat through all of it.
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by JamesGet outta a funk run
So deep in Yokohama I saw a *&ump sticker. Ran with The Streets β Who got the funk?Β3.9km
30.5min
21.8m climbed
168.1avg bpm
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by JamesIntroducing the boy to the Smashing Pumpkins and Crash Test Dummies. The 90's are alive and well.
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Checkin to Sakuragicho Station (ζ‘ζ¨ηΊι§ )
The PokΓ©mon world championship is in town. Station is PokΓ©moned up. -
Checkin to Starbucks
Post movie coffee and a dessert with the fam. Feels so nice out tonight. -
The Week #162
by James- We went to the Odawara Hilton hotel with the big pool that we went to last year. It was a lot of fun though was muuch busier this time around what with covid restrictions being a thing of the past and the borders open again.I booked using my family discount, so it was a bit cheaper for the room...but then I realized it didn't include dinner or breakfast. And since it's a "resort", there's not anything across the street or even nearby. So we had to reserve when we checked in...which resulted in dinner at 7:30, which is a bit later for us than usual.
Thanks to that though, we got the kill some time spending money at places we usually wouldn't in the hotel β namely the "amusement center", which includes 8 lanes of bowling, air hockey, and some arcade games.
I love bowling. I took 2-semesters in college as my sport. So I was happy to be able to play a couple of games with Leo (bumpers down). He loved it. In his second game, he event managed to knock all the pins down. I'm greatly looking forward to going bowling again.
As for the main attraction at the hotel, the pool, it was as good as always. Leo's swimming has really improved. His front crawl is on point. We went both as soon as we arrived and for an hour in the morning before checkout. I think visiting the Hilton Odawara Spa and Resort may become an annual trip for our family.Looking down at Nebukawa station tracks. Nebukawa station doesn't have any station staff Watching the sun rise from our room - Until relatively recently, sun umbrellas were used almost exclusively by women. I've thought this was ridiculous for a while, but the only sun umbrellas they sold were all frilly, something I'd be embarrassed to carry by myself.
Recently though, they've been making more "mens" / unisex umbrellas. i.e. simple black or or gray ones (thank god men's version == camouflage patternsΒ isn't a thing here). And as such there's been a growing number of men carrying the umbrellas β enough for a dedicated word, ζ₯εη·ε (higasa-danshi) or "sun umbrella guy".Β I've become a ζ₯εη·ε.
My particular umbrella is collapsible. The top is gray and the inside is black, which is what allows it to block 100% of UV. The handle has a slight curve so it can hang on things. The stem is made a cheap alumni that feels like it will (and indeed it did) bend with a good gust of wind. It can be used in the rain as well.
As for the experience, it's so much cooler, like walking in the shade the entire time you're outdoors, even when there is none. I felt a bit sad for salarymen walking under the oppressive august sun without one. No sunglasses...no UV umbrellas...do theyΒ not teach about the sun in school?Where I trialed my UV umbrella. A toasty 34 degrees out.
- We went to the Odawara Hilton hotel with the big pool that we went to last year. It was a lot of fun though was muuch busier this time around what with covid restrictions being a thing of the past and the borders open again.I booked using my family discount, so it was a bit cheaper for the room...but then I realized it didn't include dinner or breakfast. And since it's a "resort", there's not anything across the street or even nearby. So we had to reserve when we checked in...which resulted in dinner at 7:30, which is a bit later for us than usual.
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Checkin to γγ«γγ³ε°η°ε γγ¦γͺγ³γ°ε ΄
Playing a game of bowling. Reminds me of college where I took two semesters. -
Checkin to Hilton Odawara Resort & Spa (γγ«γγ³ε°η°εγͺγΎγΌγ&γΉγ)
Enjoying the view from the lounge after swimming while we wait for our room. -
by JamesTwo things Iβd like to make in Tanzawa:
- Books - so I can track the books I read and collect blog posts / notes about them as I read
- While Trix is a good WYSIWYG editor, Β Markdown is also very nice. Being able to write a post in either or would be handy.Β
