Friday, July 27, 2007

expanding set


Just a quick note to say I squeezed some more photos in the middle of the Bali set (I'm trying to keep them in date order). So look for them after (to the right of) this evening shot.


Monday, July 23, 2007

belly's better, butt is burned

We made it back to icky-humid rainy Tokyo without any major hitches. I had but a few cat naps on our 7-hour red eye last night. Note to self: never tell check-in agent "oh anywhere is fine" since being seated in the first row of the upper deck (read facing the toilets and cabin) is not ideal for a light sleeper such as moi.

So obviously I'm too wiped to post much now, though I have been able to function well enough to unpack, do laundry, play for hours with pupster and upload numerous photos (many more to come, I shot around 400...). I just wanted to say that we had a wonderful time despite both of us contracting Bali belly and therefore being limited to hotel-proximity on several occasions. This, as you will see, was pretty agreeable since all 3 of the places we stayed at were quite special.

We otherwise ran around Bali quite a bit—via one biking trip and several driven tours—and did some (unfortunately mediocre) snorkling in the last part of our trip, hence my cherry red posterior. I must here-on-in always remember to generously reapply sunblock after sitting on a damp towel or to simply cover my chalky bum with shorts.

I will try and travelogue it this week because there's much to tell. Must also get around to uploading the many videos I shot. Now it's off to my own mosquito-free bed and particularly my very-much-missed soba kawa (buckwheat grains) pillow.

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

working (comma) stiff

So yes, I've fallen behind in my blogging— as well as my e-mail, housecleaning, exercise, Japanese studies, etc.— since re-entering the workforce. The worst part's been the awful cramps in my shoulder/right side of my neck that the damn mouse has wrought on my unsuspecting (formerly happily unemployed) body.

But no, I complain not. Just 'splainin', Lucy. I thought I might give a sign of life to my waning audience and also say thanks for helping me break the 5000 views milestone on my Flickr pix. That is a lot of eyeballs, but I'm almost at 1000 photos so that's five peeps per, which is not unbelievable really.

Speakin' of pix, won't be long before a few more hundred are added from our Bali trip. Three more sleeps and then we'll be ensconced in the exotic atmosphere of Matahari Cottages! I'm this instant (as I futilely clutch my knotted shoulder muscle) SO looking forward to the very affordable Royal White Mandi Lulur massage.

So it's 8 p.m., the pooch is walked and I'm off to dredge up some dinner like a regular harried workhorse. Damn I was lucky...

Monday, July 02, 2007

art indignation

Normally I would appreciate Monet just as much as the next museum-goer. However, those who know me well might be familiar with my somewhat (ahem...) impatient streak and those who know me very well are perhaps aware that I have a slight (ahem...) dislike for large crowds. Particularly in maze-like enclosed spaces such as Gallery E of the Tokyo National Art Center.

Talk about a terribly uninspiring way to view art; milling about in no discernible direction, just trying desperately to catch a one-minute glimpse before the sea of Tokyoites begins nudging you from all sides, in an all-too-brightly lit (with what I daresay may have been fluorescents) and extremely narrow poor excuse for an exhibition space.

Thankfully we didn't pay for the tickets because Alain won them at work. And of course it serves us right since, while it is Monday and not a holiday here (Happy Canada Day, by the way), Alain informed me on our way to the museum that it was the last day of the exhibition. But okay, end of rant.

On a more personal note, I re-enter the workforce tomorrow, having signed a one-year contract last Thursday to take up the same part-time post I had a few months ago at the embassy. Also this week, I will be signing another shorter-term contract to work mornings in another section of the embassy. There goes my dream of a life outside of the fishbowl.

But alas, it's funny how I always seem to get a job as we are forking out $ on planning a vacation. Two more weeks before our departure for Bali. So excited! We're staying in three different parts of the island during our 9 days there and I have a feeling we're going to love it all: temples, rice paddies, craft galleries, coral reefs, volcanoes. We really are privileged beyond belief and try to remember and appreciate it every day. So don't hate us please...

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