OJ did it.

23 oranges did it and they did it real good. After twisting my wrist fifty-six times tonight, it's only a matter of time before I am officially diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome.

Juicing is hard work. Sixty minutes hard work!

One hour plus fixty-six halves of oranges gave us just under a gallon.

And after all that hard work, guess who stopped by for a drink?! How's that fresh-squeezed OJ taste there, Farah? Pretty good, huh? And that's what makes it all worthwhile! But one thing is for sure--I won't be juicing again any time soon!!

Chinese New Year

Happy Chinese New Year, everybody! It's the year of the dog and Farah and I are celebrating by having some dog... I mean, friends and family over for a little party tonight. The house is decorated with dragons, lanterns, and lots of red. We'll be handing out red envelopes and are trying to stay as authentic as we can but the fact that I am making sushi doesn't really help our cause. Better sushi than hamburgers though, right! It's all about having a good time with your friends anyway! Well, I need to go start chopping vegetables in the kitchen so that we have food to serve our guests tonight, otherwise, they might be eating hamburgers!

Feeling Kind of Fruity

It's that time of year again. Grapefruit season! And how lucky we are to have scored a bunch of grapefruit--30 to be exact--from some guy who didn't want all of his grapefruit to go to waste. Before the ground beneath his grapefruit tree became completely covered with fruit that would never be eaten, and before you can say, "Man, what a waste that would be," I replied to his post on Craigslist under free stuff. He sent me his address and an invitation to pick fruit this afternoon and we were there in a flash. So it's time to bust out the juicer and shochu and make some Grapefruit Sour Cocktails（グレープフルーツサワー）, which are freshly-squeezed, do-it-yourself cocktails--one of my favorites from the days in Japan. It's a fun drink and looks like this (before you add it to the glass):


Free stuff is cool! Speaking of which, somebody gave us a car (yes, a real one) today!!! I'll post something about that later though. Things are looking up, I suppose. It just goes to show you that when all kinds of bad stuff is happening, you never know what is waiting for you around the corner. There just might be a bag of fruit and a car! ha

屎人

At approximately 12:34 in the morning I was reminded of the perfect word to describe the all too many unfortunate events that have cropped up lately. Sairan (屎人). It's a Taiwanese word comprised of two characters: shit (屎) and person (人). And the meaning is exactly that, shit person! This is a term used to describe a person who has "shit" happening to them all the time; hence, shit person. And I think that this is a pretty good word to describe me lately--the car window, cell phone incident, and now this door knob thing! Oh, that's what I have to explain to you.

So I got up for a quick trip to the bathroom at 12:34 last night (early this morning, actually) and I reached for the bedroom door and of all the unexpected things that could have happened, with no other explanation other than I am a sairan, the door knob fell off! Just like that, I turned the knob and it fell to the floor. It may not sound like a big deal but it is, because without it I was locked in the bedroom! I just wanted to go pee and get back to counting sheep. Why, oh, why does this shit happen to me?!

Without tools and a bladder that was ready to explode, my attempt to somehow reattach the knob was simply not working. Taking the hinges off the door with a pair of scissors, swiping a credit card through to somehow unjam the door, and trying everything else that one can think of doing in the middle of the night didn't move the door an inch. So to make a long story short, I had to climb out of my bedroom window in the rain--not a safe thing to do because it's pretty high up and all wet outside--and go over to the property manager's place--barefoot and in my PJ's. I did eventually get the door unlocked but not without a fight with the property manager. That, I will not talk about here. It was ugly and I am trying to forget that it even happened. A late night it was last night!

When they say that shit happens, they aren't kidding. I'm really tired of being a sairan. I could really use a stroke of luck here. Only so many bad things can happen before something good comes along, right? Now is the time for something good!!!

DISCLAIMER: (1) sairan is not a nice word so don't use it. (2) sorry for using so much harsh language tonight. (3) and, as self-deprecating as I may sound in this blog, that is not the case at all. Okay? So just laugh with me if you will! How about some knob jokes? Oh, and no animals were hurt in the creation of this blog! ha

Can You Hear Me Now?

Today's advice: be sure to check your pockets before you do a load of wash. You never know what might be hiding deep down inside! Yes, I did it. I washed my cell phone along with my shirts, pants, and underwear. All came clean and shine like never before but for some reason my phone doesn't seem to be working! I can't imagine why. So, folks, I will be without a cell phone for a short while. Fortunately, forty minutes submerged in soapy water wasn't enough to ruin the chip inside of my phone; so as soon as I get my hands on a new phone, I'll be able to plug it in and use it right away. In fact, I will be doing that from time to time with Farah's phone so that I can check my messages! It's amazing how this technology works. Anyway, if you need to reach me, you can either call me on Farah's phone or send me an email. And hey, if anybody has any old phones that can house my chip, I would love to talk with you about working something out! Friends, don't forget to check your pockets!!!

Fa la la la late!

Tuesday, January 10th, 9:12 P.M.

Is it just me or does it seem a little late in the season to have the tree still up at the Capitol Building? Either Arnold is really enjoying the view from his office, the tree guy is still on vacation, or they are really pushing this holiday tree thing!! Here's to a belated Happy Christmas!

(Thanks for the tripod, Eric. What a difference it makes to shoot steady!)

Ill Shooting

My brother gave me the nickname Ralph after I blew chunks at work the other day and had to come home early. Thank you, Ryan. Actually, I got a kick out of it when he asked our friend to greet me the following day with, "Ryan asked me to say hi to Ralph!" Good times!

So there I was, suffering on the couch with an upset stomach and a terrible headache, just waiting for the Advil to kick in or fall asleep, whichever came first. And in all of my pain and discomfort, I boiled up my all-time favorite bar snack, edamame, thinking that it would somehow help me feel better. Protein is good for you, right? Despite the fact that I was feeling pretty bad and not in the mood for anything but some peaceful shuteye, I brought out the camera to snap a couple quick shots of my protein fix.

I thought to myself, "Why is it that I am able to find the strength within to take a couple of quick shots of edamame while I am too sick to work?" And if you think this is bad, try remembering to take your camera with you on the way to the hospital to get your finger reattached! Yes, my finger fell to the floor after a freak accident a couple of years back while living in Japan. I kid you not. Did I panic? No, not really. I told myself that I needed to remain calm so that I could communicate with the EMT guys and the doctors so that I could handle this situation. So after putting my finger in a rice bowl full of ice, and thinking, “Holy sh*t. That’s my finger!,” I thought, "Never before was there a better Kodak moment in my life. I'm going to photograph this!" So I grabbed my camera with my still fully-intact hand and walked out the door with my finger on ice…. and in some serious pain too!


I don’t know if any of you want to see the images from that evening along with my recovery process but for those of you with tough tummies and enjoy stuff like this—I know you’re out there—go ahead and click on FINGER.

Also, there was the time that Farah and I climbed Mt. Fuji and although I hate to even admit it, I got a little sick just as we made it to the top of the mountain. It was a combination of being really out of shape and the fact that we hiked all night long that brought out the “Ralph” in me again. The Japanese say that you are wise to climb Fuji once and a fool to do it ever again, and at the top of the mountain it all made sense to me. I would never again set foot on this wretched mountain, but was I wise for doing it? I don’t know. But I would be damned to hike all the way up Mt. Fuji to not have photographs to prove it. I got my sorry ass up and shot the hell out of the morning sun as it rose above the clouds to greet us…. And then I collapsed! Haha

It was a perfectly clear day which made for a spectacular sunrise. It's a hit or miss with the weather and Fuji. They always tell you to take rain gear and prepare for the worst. Luckily for us, we could not have asked for better weather (It was freezing though)! Here are some pics:

So what was this blog all about anyway? Oh, yeah. I like taking pictures all of the time!