2006.10.31 *Not so scary

was hoping to have something exciting for Halloween. (it's my favorite holiday!) i guess i need to remember i am in Japan.

2006.10.30 *Out of the night

2006.10.29 *A little extra help

2006.10.28 *Nutcracker dress

2006.10.27 *Halloween is coming

2006.10.26 *Classic candy corn fangs

2006.10.25 *My view: Home, sick

stayed home again. my balcony was as far as i ventured out all day.

2006.10.24 *Back to work

went to work. shouldn't have. but i'm glad i did. this was my last day at this company that i've been teaching at for about two years.

2006.10.23 *Home, sick

stayed home sick. this is what i looked at all day long.

2006.10.22 *New van

this is my boyfriend's new van. this is the forth vehicle that he's bought in the year and a half that i've known him. (he has also sold three.) boys...!
in this picture it's locked up in a garage because it had to pass inspection before he could drive it.

2006.10.21 *Creeping in

2006.10.20 *The Meat Inspector

Yamagata beef is a very expensive treat that i would probably never have the pleasure of experiencing if it weren't for my generous student- The Meat Inspector. i guess he's got connections...
some excuse to have a party comes up about every three or four months. just right.


this is the owner of the restaurant where we always have the parties. She is incredibly sweet. The Meat Inspector comes here every week before my class and she always sends him with food for me.

2006.10.19 *Published

this is a student of mine holding her photography book that just got published. -she's shy.
her name is Mira Takahashi.

2006.10.18 *Unlucky numbers

this is a new parking lot across the street from my apartment building. (they recently tore down a building to make it.) they skipped the numbers four and nine. they are considered bad luck in Japan. the Japanese word for "4" and "death" are pronounced the same, "shi". and the Japanese words for "9" and "agony/pain" are both pronounced, "ku". so they are very unpopular numbers, especially for anything involving cars and also for hospital room number.

2006.10.17 *My view: Morning

every morning the first thing i do
is go out on my balcony to see my view.

2006.10.16 *Harvest time

not sure exactly how the whole process works, but something like this: lots of snow > bare brown dirt > fields are flooded, this is my favorite stage, the water reflects the blue sky and clouds > rows of rice > solid mass of long green rice > turns yellow > cut > stacked on poles to dry > fields are burned, this is a good stage too, it's my favorite smell in the whole world > then lots more snow.

2006.10.15 *Sunday

imoni party number 3.



stupid boys


cute girls

2006.10.14 *Nutcracker

my ballet school is putting on a big ol' production of The Nutcracker. these are the main dancers (mostly in high school). i'm in it too but only have a minor little role.

2006.10.13 *New machi

for the past year, at any one time, there are at least two or three buildings in our neighborhood (machi) that are in some stage of being torn down or rebuilt. the tear down just looks like a bomb hit. and for the building; scaffolding and giant tarp is put up to completely mask the building so you can't see anything that's going on. then one day the tarp comes down and there's a brand new building that wasn't there before.

2006.10.11 *George's nose

yes, i let my dog sleep with me. yes, i sleep on one of those cheap tri-fold foam futons. that's right, on the floor. it's comfortable.

2006.10.10 *Heading home

Train home from teaching at a company in Takahata.

2006.10.09 *Another Imoni Party

my cute little student.


my school's largest family of students. i either am teaching or have taught every one of these people.


on the left is Imoni (which i've described in an earlier post). unfortunatley at this party we didn't cook over an open fire. but it was still very good.

2006.10.08 *Branches & Birds

the tree lives in Momiji Koen (Maple Park). and the birds are on the way home.

2006.10.07 *Sensible shoes

it's a good pain...

2006.09.23 *Self portrait

i know it's out of order... i'm still trying to get the hang of this thing.

2006.10.06 *Neighbor

2006.10.05 *Expensive for a mushroom

these are Matsutake. here you can buy seven for 30,000 yen (over US$250). these mushrooms aren't just for the super elite fancy pants, you can find them at almost any super market.

2006.10.04 *Ikebana exhibition

Japanese flower arranging.

2006.10.01 *Imoni party

it's tradition in this part of Japan every fall to have an Imoni party. groups of friends, families, or companies get together, build a fire and cook soup. the key ingredient being sato imo (a type of potato) as well as beef, leek (as seen above), mushrooms, and konyaku. this party was organized by my school for the students.


Billy. and his mistress.

2006.09.27 *Bus ride to Tendo