Miscellaneous Pic's and... a FUN game

(Left) Game: Find Kenji                 (Right) Deryk and his friend

(Left) Both of our boys thought that this was a fat ride--I mean, obviously, by looking at their faces. (Right) Hony, I liked that necklace you got for me.

Another pose                                       

(Left) Due to my unfaithfulness, the little fern that Fay bought for me died. But on Valentines (a day that, for couples, many vows and commitments are re-established), Fay got me a rose, and after faithfully giving it sunlight and water, I am seeing the fruits of my labor.

John C. Maxwell

Former U.S. senator Sam Nunn said, “You have to pay the price. You will find that everything in life exacts a price, and you will have to decide whether the price is worth the prize.” To become a successful person, you will have to pay a price. You will have to give up other opportunities in order to lead. You will have to sacrifice some personal goals for the sake of others. You will have to get out of your comfort zone and do things you’ve never done before. You will have to keep learning and growing when you don’t feel like it. You will have to repeatedly put others ahead of yourself. And if you desire to be a really good leader, you will have to do these things without fanfare or complaint. But remember, as NFL legend George Halas said, “Nobody who ever gave their best ever regretted it.”—John C. Maxwell

Deryk's Birthday

Feb.24th--Happy Birthday, Deryk! You are 4 years old now.

Unfortunately, on the morning of Deryk's birthday, Kenji, Deryk and I were out cycling, and both Kenji and Deryk had a little accident. Kenji's shoe-lace got caught on one of the peddles and he hit his head on the cement. But after prayer and a little rest, he's much better now.

A Private Izakaya dining

This must have been at like 1 in the morning, after we got back from ballooning at the Izakaya's. All those times that I had to say no to beer when offered me even though I was so tempted to say yes; times when my mouth was parched from non-stop chitter-chatter to customers to avoid the uncomfortable silence, and seeing the golden chilled beer in mugs the size of pitchers--an untamed beer-addict would not say no. Finally... Yes, finally, I could enjoy a private Izakaya dining.

Trip to Ski-resort

Mr.O has been a very nice man these many months of knowing him. He has done many favors for us without expecting anything in return. 

           

This was on the way. We stopped to take some photo's

Among the diversity of his businesses, Mr.O is also a ski instructor. That (on the left) is what can be likened to a ski lobby on a very casual scale. Well, first of all, other than the structure, Mr.O built it himself. On top of that, his tuitions often come with a 2 or 3 day stay, and his students (sometimes up to 20 people) find warmth amidst the blistery cold weather in his little school. It is known to room those 20 people, though they squeeze in shoulder to shoulder.

That is a loft made for sleeping, that only has the height for crawling. The pain that these people inflict on themselves to do the sport they love. I am in no way ridiculing the way they live their lives. If anything, I admire the price they pay for something that they love doing.

It was a very nice and warm reception. There was a kindly old lady who was there to serve. She set out hot coffee, tea, and Teramisu cake, and was very hospitable. In cold weather there is almost nothing better than a warm heater, a hot cup of chocolate, and a warm reception.

On the way home, I thought I would be feeling tired, but oh boy, my mind was abuzz. And when I stopped to contemplate why, I reasoned that I had two cups of coffee earlier, and there in the photo above we stopped at an Osembe shop to eat some of the finest rice crackers in existence, and... two more cups of coffee. Well, they were serving them for free with an assortment of samples of every kind of cracker. I thought, why not pig out. Plus, they were selling softcreams that I couldn't resist. The combination is enough to make my mouth water.

Our spacious room

Ahh!... Space at last. If only I could post pics of our old room. The only reason I haven't is because the room was too small to take photo's in. You wouldn't be able to tell. But it sure is a nice and refreshing breather to have a big and spacious room.

Tidbits

These are some of the best chocolates I've tasted. Fay got them for valentines. But that's not the reason why I think that they melt in my mouth, come second after Swiss chocolate (maybe better), and that you will never find better tasting chocolate in a Japanese brand. I recommend them. And if want to know where they're found, call Fay.

 I know you're thinking, "what the heck is Yushi posting a pic of tweezers for?" Well, it's a hilarious story that goes something like this:

Deryk is happily playing with his lego's all alone and talking to himself like any level-headed 3-year-old would, and his eye catches mommy's tweezers. He picks it up and asks me in his baby voice, "Daddy, do you know what these are?"

I'm busy on my computer blogging, and I'm like, "No Deryk, I don't know what they are."

And he's like, "They're mommy's booger pinchers."

I tell you, as absorbed as I was in my computer screen, I cracked up laughing. And for a sec he was expressionless, like he didn't know what he'd said that was funny, but then as if fake (and he often does this), he cracked up laughing too. I thought it was hilarious.

The hard-cold truth is that, though mommy uses those tweezers for normal girl purposes, as far as it concerns Deryk, all she uses it for is to pick out his boogers. Because sometimes it does become a problem.

Fay and I are so proud of Kenji. This is the first time in my life that I've seen his finger nails grow out. Until I found out, I thought it was funny that I never saw him get his fingernails cut, like maybe they just grew really really slow. But look, they're growing out. Isn't that good?

Today was Family Day, and mommy cooked ramen for lunch. And I'm posting this because I thought that it looked restaurant-bought. Doesn't it?

I just took this photo like 3 seconds ago. I took like 10 minutes to put the above photo's on and to comment on each of them, and before I know it Fay brings up this feast. These brownies look crazy!

And to set the record straight, I did not fall in love with her food first then her. It's the other way around, alright?

Christmas

I know this is like Uper late. I'm sorry. But better late than never right?

Brothers

Kenji has been a very sweet older brother to Deryk. And though Deryk is sweet too, he often does pretty mean things to tick Kenji off. Perhaps to get his attention and to make him play with him, but not really the best motivater.

But they'll always be brothers and act like brothers, and it's natural for brothers to fight sometimes, right? It's no biggie. So long as they hug afterwards and make amends. Unfortunately Deryk is rarely the first to admit that he's wrong.

But then if both are stubborn and no one seems willing to make the first move, Kenji is always the one to step down. I love Kenji. He's taught Deryk a lot, and has been a very patient older brother.

November 15th--Kenji's Birthday

Awesome cake, isn't it?

Kenji wanted to be a soldier, and I don't know exactly what Deryk wanted to be

We went to Toys' R Us and Sushiro with Kengo. I had a miserable cold, but it was fun

Anniversary and Valentines

(Left) Jan.16' 2010: One year anniversary               (Right) Feb.14' 2010: Valentines Day

Bomb Blast right under our Nose

PUNE': Terror struck Pune' tonight as a powerful bomb ripped apart a popular bakery near a Jewish prayer house, killing nine people, including 5 women and a foreigner, and injuring 45 in the first major attack since 26/11 carnage. (The Times of India)

  Please pray for our teams' safety, as they left for Pune' on the 10th and will spend a month there.
  I know this area very well. When I lived in Pune', German bakery was where I used to peddle my bicycle to to buy my snack. That place swarms with foreigners, literally. It's surrounded by ashram's, beautiful parks, and guest houses. People walk around in red robes and long beards. It's difficult to make a distinction as to whether they are prophet's of doom or just weido's. And if they weren't bearded and robed or arrayed in sackcloth, they looked drugged or a little psychopathic.
  By this I don't mean to sound like I'm justifying this act of terror--by all means, no, of course not. I'm just reliving memories of my past, because German bakery was like my backyard and where I would go to almost everyday.

More Namba Photo's

It's interesting how some Izakaya's (Japanese bar/restaurant) will have a tank with alive fish inside, and when they need it they will fish one out and use it.

How does it feel like to be on TV

Famous Icons

This was a nice change for our boys--from life in the paddies to life in the city. Just one day brought them unforgettable experiences of famous icons that some people NEVER get to see. For example, the restaurant of the crab...

...Having tea with Spiderman

...The all famous (everyone knows him) "Guriko man..."       Hello Kitty the giant

...Once in a life-time ride on a real motorcycle...      A drummer man that they ask you to pay 1000 yen for one photograph. Of course I refused, because I wasn't a dumb tourist