Volver

I saw the Pedro Almodovar's new film, "Volver," on the Christmas Day with my husband, my mother-in-law, brother-in-law (all Argentinean) and his girlfriend (Mexican). Despite the fact that I was the only one among them who had to follow the subtitles and sometimes delayed laughs, I loved the movie! Penelope Cruz glows in the movie. I told you! You shouldn't have been in the Holywood movies! This movie could be my third most favorite Almodovar movie. The first and the second are the title and the subtitle of this blog.

Ok, I'll blog tomorrow....as I don't have to work tomorrow! Yey!

Hello, Kacky

Hi, Kacky, one of my best friends in Japan. For my other friends' information, her real name is Rikako. She is a mother of two (a son and a daughter) and works as an advisor for a Japanese NGO which runs a domestic violence shelter. She used to work for a Japanese newspaper, where we met, and then for a NGO in northern Thailand. She is fluent in Thai. The NGO provided education for girls and kept them out from prostitution. She is the one who I drunk 8 big bottles (or more?) of Singha beer with....and we became a local legend:-p I saw her when I was visiting Japan two weeks ago and told her about this blog. We call each other "Kacky" and "Assy." So, ok, Kacky, this is my blog. I hope you can find time to visit once in a while....

I have been back

I came back from Japan on Dec. 3. It has been a little hectic to deal with a pile of work and to adjust to my DC life again....

Last Friday, I went for Happy Hour at Halo with Steven, Roberto, Darryl and his friend from NYC. Yeah, I really felt like being back in DC! As a result, I got a little drunk...yes, I never learn lessons. I thought I had two Cosmos, but according to others, it was at least three. Then we met Mike and had a dinner at Thaitanic. Yummy! It was my first time to go to the restaurant. I still believe that 4912 on Wisconsin Ave. is the best Thai restaurant in DC, but well, I'm not sure now...I was too drunk to remember the taste of Drunken noodle and Papaya salad....maybe I should go there again.

On Saturday, I had a little hangover in the morning. I had lots of Ukon tea, a miracle Japanese tea which eases hangover.....at least my hangover. Then I met Roberto, Mike and Atul at Alero Dupont Circle. We had margaritas and liquid cheese....I felt like being back in DC, again. Then we headed for a Christmas party at the apartment of Mike's friend's. The place was packed with Italian guys....actually I was the only woman there. I have always had something for Italian guys. So it was heaven...even though none of them were available.

Sunday night, I and my husband had the second Nabe, a Japanese hot-pot, of this year. Yummy, yummy. I cooked curry and Oden...a kind of Japanese stew?....to store for this week. My husband was in a festive mood after learning Pinochet's death. Well, he was a bastard, but it's not Japanese culture to cerebrate someone's death even if he/she was a devil.

I'm reading this book "Why the Japanese have no religion." The author said the Japanese DO have religion, but it's just not institutionalized religion like Christianity. We do have beliefs and rituals to honor ancestors and awe for power of nature and spirit. I agree. I'll continue reading.

Oh, one news. I'll start taking Tango lessons in January. Finally! I'm so excited.

Autumn in Japan

Beautiful Japanese garden at Koumyou Zen Ji, a Bhuddist temple in Dazaifu, Fukuoka, Japan.











My mom and dad.













Me.

I'm in heaven

Hello from Fukuoka, Japan. I left DC in the morning of 23rd, and after 14 hours of flight, arrived in Narita Airport of Tokyo on 24th. Then I took a connection flight from there to Fukuoka, my hometown. The flight from DC to Tokyo was OK....the airplane was new and not crowded. There were many Vietnamese Americans going to visit their relatives in Saigon around my seat....they just kept talking loudly....it was a little annoying. Well, very annoying. In-flight movie line-up was not very good. I saw "The Break-up" and "Nacho Libre." The first one was a waste of time, the second was just OK. Oh, I saw Pirates of Carribian: Dead Man's Chest. The movie reminded me how much I loved Johnny Depp. On the way back to DC, there will be "The Devil Wears Prada." I look forward to it.

I've been doing absolutely nothing here at home. Wake up, eat, chat with my parents, play with my nieces, eat, watch TV, drink, eat, take bath, and go to bed. It's great. I'm sure I will gain weight. I eat two bowls of rice with miso-soup and Japanese pickles for breakfast every morning. I just can't stop eating! My mom's cooking is so great, and rice taste so good. Last night we had a small birthday party for my niece, Namiho. She will be 9 on 28th. We got great carry-out sushi for a dinner. $60 for 7 people! I'm so amazed how inexpensive everything is here in Japan compared to DC. Believe me, Japan is not expensive. You can buy almost everything at 100-yen ($1) shop....T-shirts, watch, even DVDs. You can have very tasty lunch for $5, and you don't need to pay tips. A dinner with all-you-can-drink option can be $20.

Well, but I'm not sure if I can live in Japan again....I'll write about it later. My mom said dinner is ready. Today's menu seems to be Tonkatsu, deep fried breaded pork. Yummy.

My obsession is not only alcohol

Just a quick note. There are some movies I want to see. First of all, "Volver." I can't miss Pedro Almodovar's movies. Penelope Cruz is back to Pedro's movie. Good. I like her only in Pedro's movies. And "Babel." I like the director ("Amores Peros" and "21 grams"), and love Koji Yakusho, a Japanese actor (he was in original "Shall we dance?" and "Warm Water Under a Red Bridge") . Believe or not, I may want to see "Casino Royal." Well, most likely, I will wait for DVD for this. I haven't seen "Little Miss Sunshine." I want to see it. Maybe "Running With Scissors"? I'd rather read the book...Oh, and I want to see "Borat"!

Tomorrow, I'll go to see "Nightmare Before Christmas" 3-D version with Steven and Mike and maybe some others. I'm not sure if I'm eager to see the movie itself, but I'm interested in 3-D. And it's always fun to see a movie with friends.

Ok, now I need to go back to work....yeah, it's Saturday...but.....sigh.

Americanization....and farewell to Junko

This is a peaceful weekend after hectic busy weeks. Today I slept until around 11:00am, and then realized it was actually 10:00am. My very smart cell phone (actually it does have a brain. A little cell phone accessory with a photo of sliced brain, which I bought at "Body World" exhibition in Philadelphia, is attached) told me the daylight saving time was over. I remember I was so relieved to learn I had one more hour to read before a class in my first year at a graduate school. Now I don't have to read thousands of pages of academic papers filled with incomprehensible sentencesand gigantic words. Thank Buddha.

Instead, I spent the extra hour to read VOGUE magazine. Yes, I actually "read" the magazine. There was an interesting article about a do-it-yourself DNA kit that analyzes your genetic profile and prescribe nutritional and lifestyle solutions that would help you avoid aging and disease. The article also says some genetic analysis can tell you the possibilities you will develop breast cancer or Alzheimer's. The question is if you want to know the information since there is no cure found so far, for example, for Alzheimer's. I sometimes think abut what I would do if I were diagnosed with the last stage of cancer. I may go to visit countries I have wanted to go
and then go back to Japan to spend time with my family. Or I may go to Cambodia to launch some projects to help slum communities so that I can feel my life was a little helpful for the society (how Angelina of me it is!). Oh well, the chances are I probably will spend the rest of my life at a hospital to try to survive as long as possible. I am coward. So I don't want to know my genetic information. I'd rather live with the uncertainty.

At Steven's party, Bill, my friend who I hadn't seen for ages, said Americans are too obsessed with their appearances. And today when I was zapping TV, I found so many ads about new diet program which helps you lose weight, new exercise equipment, botox, etc. Hmm. Now I do care about my appearances more than I did when I was 20-something in Japan. I go to gym and take Pilates classes, which I'd never thought of before. I buy much more clothes and shoes than before. Ok, maybe it's just because I'm getting old and now have more time and money than I did when I was working in Japan. But there are other things. I speak louder than before. I express my emotion by gesture and expression more than before. I eat donuts. I'm OK with
Starbucks. I wear pumps with bare foot. I debate with my mother. (And I'm blogging in English). I can't help but wonder: am I Americanized? Is it good or bad for me?

Well, I wasn't a typical Japanese girl even before I came to US. Maybe my characteristics have just been enhanced by this American "free society." When I saw a Japanese couple just typing text-messages on their cell phone silently without talking each other in a Tokyo commuter train, I thought it weird. Few people think that is weird in Japan. I guess the Japanese society
has changed, too.

I've just received an e-mail from my high school friend. One of my classmates died from cancer. I hadn't seen her since we graduated, but I remember her smile. I heard that after she had graduated from a college, she changed her career objective and went to a medical school to be a doctor. And she made it. I admired her courage. According to my friend, she had just had a baby girl last year. How cruel a fate can be. I guess I'd better live a better life. Well, I had a very good day today. I'll try to do it tomorrow, too. I really hope my friend, Junko, is in peace now.

Hmm

This morning, at the gym, I found out that I lost 5 pounds. I don't know if it is because I stopped drkinking or because I haven't eaten much these days. Hmm.

Last night, I went to Steven's Pumpkin Carving Party. I didn't carve a pumpkin again this year, but the pary was fun. It was good to know that I could enjoy party without drinking alcohol. Hmm.

But still, I think I will eventually start drinking again. Why? Because I can. Because drinking is a part of my life. Seriously.

The photo is a bar/grill I dined in Newport RI.

I'm sleepy

It's almost 1:00am. I'm still working. It sucks. But tomorrow is Steven's Pumplin Carving Party! Thinking about something fun always helps. When I have tough time, I always tell myself: Everything has the end. Yeah. My husband will pick me up at the office. I love him.

Trip to New England

I visited Rhode Island and Connecticut from 15th to 18th. It was a business trip, but I had some good time. In Rhode Island, I stayed in Newport one night. It was a beautiful day, and Seafood Festival was being held at the ocean front area. Since I didn't have any appointments until the evening, I decided to have some drinks with lunch. I enjoyed Sunday Afternoon Margarita Newport Edition....alone. I text-messaged Roberto. He said he was cleaning. Boo-hoo!

I stayed at Jailhouse Inn, a cozy B&B , which used to be the old Newport County jailhouse. My room had two bedrooms with big windows. I had a late dinner at a bar/grill next door "A&O Fish." It was a find. Great martinis, sophisticated dishes, and cute chatty bartender. There even was a real fireplace. The bartender said the bar was the second oldest house in Newport.

Next day I stayed in Providence. My hotel choice was right this time too.The hotel "Dolce Villa" was located in the middle of Little Italy (the photo was taken in front of the hotel). I didn't know Rhode Island had such a large Italian community. I wish if I had more time to walk around there. The hotel was actually for a long stay, and all rooms were suits. My room had a living room with a full kitchen, a bedroom (with memory foam beds), sleep sofas also with memory foam, Jacuzzi(!), flat screen TVs, DVD, VCR, and CD players, free High Speed Internet, free popcorn, hot chocolate and biscotti (ok, enough advertisement. I promised the hotel manager I'd blog about his hotel). Rooms were all in white. It was cool. There was a cafe/restaurant/bar next door (Cafe Dolce Villa). The bar had excellent martinis. I also found a little Italian pastry shop nearby. It had a great Cappuccino and biscotti. We need that kind of a little cozy cafe with homemade sweets in DC.....

I didn't have much luck in Connecticut. I arrived at hotel around 10:30pm, exhausted from long driving in a heavy rain. After I checked in, I immediately asked concierge what time the bar would close. She said 11:00pm. I rushed to the room, closed the door, then, fire alarm started. All guests were kicked out from the hotel. We were allowed to go back around 10:50. I rushed to the bar, it was closed. Aghhhhhh!!!! I begged to the bartender: "I just arrived and the alarm started. I'm exhausted. I need drinks!" The bartender: "I'm sorry, mom. We've already closed the bar. And I don't have a key." I hated him.

There was some fun in Connecticut, too. I visited Pez factory. Yeah, there were tons of petz candies and various kinds of heads. I made friends with some British reporters. We'll hang out sometime after the midterm election. I had a dinner at a local diner, I don't even remember the name, somewhere in Wilton, CT, and the dinner was enormous. Three huge stuffed peppers, rice, broccoli, bread, and garden salad. It was just $9. It was amazing. I couldn't finish even half of it.

Ok, now you think I just enjoyed staying at nice hotels (FYI, all stays cost less than $130 per night), dining good food and drinking heavily. I DID work, too, but I can't write about something related to my job. I'm now in the process of organizing thoughts for my article. I love my job more if I don't have to write articles.....sigh.

Never say never

I'm testing to blog via e-mail. I hope it works.

My weekend was perfect until around 11:00pm on Saturday...according to Angel
Roberto, who kindly took care of this drunk puking idiot. I went to Ray and
Joey's house warming party in Arlington. The party was lots of fun. I had
ONLY three martinis but somehow got drunk miserably. I got sick in a merto
and puked to a garbage can at the Metro Center station, again, according to
Angel Roberto. I vaguely remember I puked and said "I....'m sooooorrryyyyy"
to Roberto. He called my husband and my husband picked me up outside of the
station.

Next morning, I realized my wallet was missing. Then I got a call from a
hotel near the metro station, saying someone found my wallet and brought it
to the hotel. It's a miracle! My wallet was returned with my driver's
licence and all credit cards! And they were not used! But just in case, I
cancelled all cards.

I promised to my husband I wouldn't drink until his birthday party in
January.

I'll NEVER drink that way again. NEVER!

I'll blog about my trip to Rhode Island and Connecticut later.

_________________________________________________________________
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Dear Vuboq

Dear VUBOQ:

You must have sexy British accent by now. I'm sure Bala Wala Shi loves it (ask her about her classroom embarrassment). Monday Afternoon Margarita Columbus Day Edition (MAM:CoDE) was a success. We had a lot of fun WITHOUT YOU. We were planning to meet at Alero Dupont Circle, but it was too gorgeous to stay inside, so we decided to change the location to Alero Cleveland Park. When I and Roberto were almost to finish the first pitcher, Roberto mentioned how different the neighborhood was from Adams Morgan. He said Cleveland Park looked mostly straight and conservative (I don't remember exact sentences...). Then I said "well, not really. I see two gay people walking down the street." Roberto looked at the direction and laughed. They were Mike and Darryl. Darryl's friend (?), 22-year-old (!) student, Jon (if I remember his name correctly) joined us. We had three pitchers of Margaritas (I think) and chatted until around 9:20pm (I think).

We talked a little about if we could have sex with someone without any emotional attachment. I have to say "yes." I tend to have emotional attachment to the person after having sex, but to be honest, not always. Mike said "well, but there is passion involved in sex." Maybe, but it doesn't have to be "passion for love." It could be "passion for a great sex." Well, I guess it depends on the person. For me, sex is sex. No less than that, no more than that.

I saw two movies during the weekend. "The last king of Scotland" and "Jesus Camp." I didn't like "The last..." very much, because while I know the movie is meant to be fiction, it confuses audience about the fact and the fiction. The actor Forest Whitaker did a great job to scare me out, though. "Jesus Camp" was very interesting. It's a must see movie to understand "ordinary" Christian right people and the reason why Bush won the second term.

Oh, and I had my first spinning class Monday morning. It was fun.

Better than nothing

I've just got back from Pilates. I've been taking 8 sessions of "Pilates Reformer" class which uses some equipments to build your core muscles. An instructor recommended me to take this class because I don't have some necessary muscle and if I keep doing Pilates without those muscles I may hurt my back. Well, she might just have wanted me to spend more money, but I've decided to take her advice because my back actually hurts after Pilates. I forewent buying a pair of shoes for this. I think it was a good decision. Class is 8AM every Saturday. It's not easy to get my ass up early in Saturday morning, especially after Happy Hour on Friday....but I can feel the day longer. So I'm blogging:-)

My company has imposed more strict regulations for employees' internet use at the office. So I can't update my blog as frequently as before....it sucks. I may also need to cut my internet shopping....this is good for me.

I remember one thing I need to note for my own record. "I don't like seafood salad at Alero." Ok, my SAM (Saturday Afternoon Margarita) comrades, please remind me this when I try to order it again. This is one reason why I need to blog. I don't remember many things. Last weekend, me, Steven, Roberto, Terry and Jake---Steven's friend who was visiting DC from NYC---had SAM at Alero Dupont Circle. I was going to order seafood salad. Steven: "Didn't you order it before?" Me: "Yeah, I think so...but I don't remember if I liked it or not...." I ordered it, and when it appeared in front of me, my memory suddenly flashed back.....I had it before, at the same Alero, at the same table, and I didn't like it!!! I guess I'm officially getting old.

I was talking to my mom in Japan on the phone the other day. She lamented how reckless and brutal Japanese, especially young people, have become these days. Teenagers or sometimes even primary school kids kill homeless people or elderly just for fun. Young parents abuse, neglect or kill their babies just because the babies "cry" or "poop." My mom said maybe a part of the reason is the fact that the majority of Japanese don' have any faith/religion. No moral values based on religion exists for them. Hmmm. Maybe. But how about Aum cult? They killed bunch of people with Salin gas for their faith. Certainly faith could sometimes be a brake to keep people away from some wrong doing. But it could also be a trigger for some fanatic act. It is true that Japanese don't have the core "value" they can originate with or they can use a guidance. Some conservatives are trying to find it in nationalism. In my opinion, that's very dangerous. Nationalism can lead Japanese into "state of denial." Denial of anything bad about us. I feel that "bad old days" are coming back to Japan.....well, maye not only in Japan.

BTW, my photo is on "Metroweekly." I'm famous! Woo hoo! We look so cute, don't we??

I bought this shoes . When you buy a pair, another pair goes to a child in Argentina. I get cool shoes, and an Argentine kid become a little happy. A little bit. I'm not that naive to believe that it can change something dramatically. But well, it's always better than nothing.

The photo is my spoiled and the cutest nieces.

Body and Mind

It's a beautiful day. I feel much better.

I've been reading this book (in Japanese), titled "disease Named Myself." I'm not sure if the translation is accurate. The author is a Japanese 47-year-old woman novelist. This book is a non-fiction about her 3-day trial experience of working as a sex-worker. She did it "to know if I'm still a sexually attractive woman men are willing to pay for."

.......I wrote the previous paragraph yesterday and then went for a lunch with my friend Y. The lunch was very good. Y took me to a small Peruvian-Mexican restaurant near Kst & Vermont. We ordered very tender grilled chicken with rice, beans and salad. Yummy. The price was less than $6.

We talked about the book I was reading (I finished it last night). The author said that many straight men misunderstood or justified themselves by believing that women wear mini-skirts or body-fitting outfits in order to seduce men. Not really, she said. Most women wear sexy outfits because they want to feel good about themselves or want other women to envy. I agree with her. I sometimes wear minis or sexy stilettoes because I want to feel good for myself. It's not for men, not even for my husband. I don't like my face, hair, big arms, small boobs, big thighs, big butt, but I like my legs. That's why I wear minis and stilettoes.

The author recollect when she was 20-something, an old man touched her thighs at a bar. She said "please stop." Then this man went, "why do you wear mini-skirt, then?" Those men use the same excuse when they rape women. Unfortunately, even some women blame rape victims for wearing "slutty outfits." That's wrong! It's a attacker who should be blamed. You can't rape women just because they wear sexy clothes.

Anyways, I've decided to take additional Pilates class starting this Saturday. From 8:00am. Gah. I was shocked to see my butt in a mirror in a fitting room of H&M the other day. I found cellulite! Aghhhhh! I know my face is not beautiful. I think it's fair to say my body is better than my face. Since I can't change my face (I don't want plastic surgery) , at least I want to try to improve my body line. I don't believe inner beauty changes appearance. Body and mind are two different things. I want to be a better person, but also want to be a better looking person. To feel better.

BTW, the Japanese new cabinet was formed yesterday. As conservative as Bush administration. Hmm. Maybe it's not time for me to go back to Japan.

The photo is a sunrise at the Virginia beach from a hotel room.

I'm cranky

It's 10pm on Monday. I'm still working. It sucks. My co-workers have gone for a dinner leaving me alone. It sucks more. I sipped a Japanese instant noodle soup while working. It was terrible.

I hope tomorrow will be a better day. I believe it will.

Lovely Friday

I had been busy and a little stressed out, so I couldn't blog. Well, it wasn't that serious. I just did some stupid things. Sometimes I wish if I could go back to the time, let's say, when I was 16 or 17, and do my life over again. Then I can avoid many stupid things I had done in my life and make better choices.....or can I?? Well, I think I will repeat the same mistakes and make the same stupid choices. I'm the same person, after all. I love my life as it is. Besides, I don't want to go through the crazy university entrance exam in Japan and write hundreds of job applications again. Plus, I don't' remember many of my mistakes in the past anymore. Aging is sometimes a good thing, huh?

BTW, I read this article in a Japanese magazine that a Japanese blogger who criticized the craziness of celebration of the new-born prince have got bunch of threatening postings. He apologized, then got more angry postings and e-mails. Scary. In Japan, some of the people "living in cyberspace" are almost kind of psychos who write racist remarks on the web and sometimes even post photo, cell-phone numbers and addresses of someone who they "target." Some of those people don't get out of their room for months, sometimes years. What problem of Japanese society have created these people?

Today I wear Kara Janx dress! I love it. But it's a little too cold for the dress. And I don't' have any Happy Hour plan to go in this dress. It sucks. I guess I'll just go home and watch Desperate Housewives DVD and Japanese porn videos. What a lovely Friday night!

How come this spell checker doesn't recognize words like "blog" or "blogger"?

Summer is officially over

Sigh. I hate Monday. Especially after a fun weekend on the beach. I still can hear the sound of big waves....

On Friday, I decided not to work after I had learned Roberto's Happy Hour plan. I left office around 6:00pm feeling my co-workers' cold eyes on my back. I met Steven, Roberto, Mike and Darryl at Halo. I think I had two watermelon margaritas and one bad martini....in an empty stomach. After Halo, I vaguely remember I ate pasta with tomato sauce and asparagus at somewhere in Dupont Circle...I don't remember what time I left there, but do remember sweet Roberto walked me to the metro station.

Saturday morning, I had a little hangover. I and my husband left home around 10:00am heading to the Virginia Beach. After 4 hours driving, we arrived at the beach around 2:00pm. Great weather! We grabbed some sandwithces and ate them on the beach. Everything was great except for the disturbing noise of jet fighters flying over from Norfolk Naval base. It seemed that there was Air Show going on. Ugh. Around 6:00pm, we were back to the hotel room, and relaxed in a heart-shaped Jacuzzi watching the ocean through the window. How romantic! But nothing romantic happened between us. I can't believe my husband is an Argentine. Or is it me who is the problem??

Anyways, then we walked along the beach and saw a big spooky red moon. We had a dinner at this nice and cozy restaurant Tautogs. On the way back to the hotel, we saw the moon just above the horizon and the beautiful path of moonlight on the ocean. How romantic! We saw some couples making out on the beach. It didn't happen to us. Huh. Well, but we walked holding hands each other like a high school couple. Cute.

Next morning, a beautiful sun rise on the horizon woke me up. I woke up my husband. It was really beautiful. After a breakfast on the beach, I went for Day Spa. I had massage and facial. In the middle of a mud facial pack and foot bath, I became to want to pee. Urgently. I tried to hang on, but then I couldn't relax. So finally I asked to the staff "excuse me, Um...." Except for that, it was great. I spent the rest of the day on the beach. We had a lunch at a beach side restaurant. I had a tuna (real fresh tuna) salad and margarita, and shared steamed shrimps with my husband. Yummy!

When we left the beach, I realized my summer was officially over. I felt a little sad. I still wear sandals today, though.

The photo is the dusk in Shennandoah. I took this photo last October.

Yey to Friday!

Today I wear a metallic-silver 80s vintage dress. I thought it might be inappropriate for the office, but today's Friday. I just avoided to match red stilettoes with it.

Yesterday I made a day trip to West Virginia to report about the Cold War era secret "bunker." It took four hours driving each way. On the half way to get there, I noticed my car was about to be out of gas. I kept driving trying to find a sign of gas station. 5 miles....10 miles....15 miles....no gas station. The alarm started blinking. Still no gas station. I was panicked. 20 miles....25 miles....It was literally in the middle of nowhere surrounded by mountains, and there were very few cars on the highway. Ahhhhh.....then finally I found a sign!! Thank Buddha!!I think there should be a sign something like "there will be no gas station 30 miles from this point."

I and my husband will go to Virginia Beach this weekend. Maybe I won't get into the water....I'm afraid of stingray.....or jelly fish. I just want to relax on the beach. We'll stay in a hotel we stayed last year. It's on the beach and has a heart-shaped Jacuzzi! I made an appointment for a Spa treatment there as well.

Yey to Friday! And Happy Hour!

ともきーと (I try if Japanese font works. Does it?)

My English

Your Linguistic Profile:

55% General American English

30% Yankee

10% Dixie

0% Midwestern

0% Upper Midwestern

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

I've got this from VUBOQ. Well, since there isn't "Japanese English" category, and I've been living in DC area for 7 years....

It's a boy! Whatever.

Yeah, it's a boy. Whatever. It's such a shame those princesses are judged mainly, if not only, by their ability to give birth a boy. As far as Princess Kiko is concerned, she willingly joined the Royal family and accepted her role as a traditional good wife/mother. So it may be OK. But in the case of Princess Masako, she gave up her career as a diplomat to get married with the first prince (under a lot of pressure). I think she could have been Japan's foreign minister or a prominent Japanese diplomat. What a waste! Now all people want from her is a boy!!

Princess Masako had a little hope to change the Japanese Royal family. She wanted to be an active princess who travels around the world for goodwill diplomacy and charity, just like Princess Diana. Now she suffers from depression. The first prince promised to protect her from everything when he proposed to her. He should keep his words. He could transfer his title as the first prince to his brother and get out of the royal family. And he and Masako can be some kind of goodwill ambassadors or something. It would be really romantic.

Well, whatever. I really don't care. A TV morning show was talking about Princess Kiko's baby and TomCat baby Suri in the same category. That was good. Both of them are just another baby, after all.

Piano Woman

It was a fun weekend. Friday night, I went for Happy Hour at Tapatinis with Steven, Mike and Darryl. Our strong will and courage for Martinis beat the tropical storm! I had 3 Martinis and 2 Margaritas (I think). It was fun:) Saturday morning, after Pilates and treadmill, some supernatural force dragged me into DSW. My regular gym is located just next to a gigantic DSW. How could I resist? I stepped into the store saying "well, I'll just look at them....just look....." Alas, they were just in the middle of 3 day-sale "extra 30% off already reduced price." Ahhhhh....well, I was strong enough to stop buying after two pairs. And they were total of 80% off!

Then I and my husband had a lunch at Pho 75, a Vietnamese noodle shop in Rockville, and dropped in a thrift shop. I bought a beautiful green suede trench coat for $10, and a $12 Burberry-like trench for my husband. And.....I bought a YAMAHA electronic piano!!!! It was $30! Its highest C-key is broken, but it really doesn't matter. It can make more than 100 different tones and about 30 different rhythm. I used to play piano until I was 18, and wanted to start playing it again. I'm so happy! I spent the rest of the afternoon playing with my piano. I've mastered so far "Piano Man," "Eleanor Rigby" and some classics. At night, we watched DVD a Japanese movie "Kamikaze Girls." It's a cute and bizarre movie.

On Saturday, Steven and Mike invited me for a picnic at Rock Creek Park. I picked up Steven and Mike, and Dennis, a Mike's friend, and his super-cute dog, Luna, joined. We played croquet. Mike won again. I improved a lot. I was the third. It was a lot of fun. At night, I and my husband played a dice game until 1:30 am. My husband didn't want to stop until he won more than I did.....finally I became sleepy and convinced him to go to bed. We played 12 games, I won 7 times and he won 5.

On Sunday, I and my husband went to Annapolis. I had never been to Annapolis. It was fun.

Tomorrow, Japan's princess Kiko will give birth to her third child by C-section. My mom e-mailed me to see if I wanted to bet on the sex of the baby. She thought it was a boy. Me too. So the bet couldn't be completed. It must be a boy. We'll never have Empress. Well, I don't care anyways.

Summer! Wait for me!!

It's cold and rainy! Ugh. I'm having the first hot chocolate for the season. Has the summer really gone already? Wait! I haven't enjoyed it enough! How many SAM (Saturday Afternoon Margarita, I'll explain it later) have we had this summer? NOT ENOUGH! Ahhhhhhh!

OK, I'll try to think some happy things. There is this joke about "the happiest (straight) man in the world." There are some variations, but usually he has a Japanese wife, a Chinese chef, an American house, a British butler, a German car and an Italian(? I'm not sure) lover. And the unhappiest man has a Japanese house, Chinese wage, an American wife, a British chef, and....I don't remember. So, I was thinking of "the happiest woman in the world." For me, an Argentine husband....no, I was just trying to be diplomatic....let me start over. For me, a Singaporean husband (Tony Leung is accepted here), a Beverly Hills house (OMG, my Japanese-English dictionary has vocabularies like "Beverly Hills 90210" and "Beverly Hills Cop"!!) , a Thai or Vietnamese chef, a British bartender and an Italian lover. Sigh. I have none of them.

How about you??

Seoul Man

I saw a doctor yesterday about my stomachache. He prescribed a medicine and told me to come in 3 weeks. I didn't have pain last night. I hope it's improving.....I have a "drinking appointment" tomorrow, and I'm not sure if I can resist the temptation while watching others drinking...

It seems that not only Japanese women but also women all over Asia are crazy about Korean men. According to today's Washington Post (a front page article), Korean male celebrities are huge in China, Vietnam, Taiwan and even in Mexico. The article also mentions that Daniel Dae Kim, the Korean-born actor from "Lost" was the only Asian chosen for People's magazine's "sexiest Men Alive" edition last year. A room of my 70-year-old aunt's house is like a museum of Korean soap opera actors with an extensive collection of posters, photos and videos. She now lives alone (she used to be a groovy "Modern Girl" in 60s and 70s. She gave me a lot of tailored 60s style clothes. She was one of the few Japanese traveled in Europe at that time) . Those hot Korean stars make her life lively. Actually, many Japanese middle-aged women are blessed by the Korean stars. On, gay men, too. According to the Post, in Shinjuku nichome (Tokyo's biggest gay area) there are increasing numbers of bars with names like "Seoul Man."

So, why Korean? I understand Japanese women are attracted to them because Japanese men never say "I love you." Generally speaking, Japanese men are not "romantic." Men with few words have been considered the best in Japan. Saying "I love you" could be very embarrassing. Correction. For Japanese middle-aged men it's embarrassing. For younger generations it may be a different story. Washington Post said Koreans are "the Italians of Asia." "....typically rich, kind men with coincidentally striking looks and a tendency to shower women with unconditional love" it explains. There is a quote from a director of a Korean star management company: "It's a type of character that doesn't exist much in Asian movies and television, and not it's what Asian women think Korean men are like." Ok, I got it. Korean men have Asian looks and Western style of sweetness. But this director also points that: "But to tell you the truth, I still haven't met a real one who fits that description." Hmmm. Ok, maybe it's just a fantasy.

But I remember my Korean teacher of a language class I took briefly like 10 years ago fits exactly that description. He is handsome and with a lot of sweets words for every woman. And he openly said "I love my wife." That kind of man barely exist in Japan. Really. Oh, did I mention those Korean stars usually have beautifully built body? Korea has two years mandatory military duty. Maybe it adds some attraction to them.

Having said all of these, I still think Singaporean boys are the cutest. Hong Kong actors are the second. I love Tony Leung!!

Miss Saigon

My new Karen Walker high waist jeans arrived yesterday. It's soooooo cute! And it fits me perfect. I'm so happy. I will match some 70s style shirts with this jeans.

It is nice to receive mails (real mails, not e-mails), especially air mails. My friend Roberto sent me a post card from Argentina. It was nice even though it arrived after he was back in town. I remember Steven sent me a card from somewhere, and Nida from Jordan . That made my heart really warm. Well, I should do it myself when I have chance to travel abroad next time.

I remember it was so troublesome to make an international calls in Saigon, Vietnam, back in the early 1990s. Since I was staying at $5 per night motel, there was no phone with international connection. I had to go to a post office. I explained to the clerk at the window I wanted to call may family in Japan and filled up a form. Then I was assigned to a booth, picked up a phone receiver, the clerk said "ok, now you talk." Internet connection was out of questions. Oh, and I remember when I tried to cash a traveler's check in a Laotian town, a bank teller told me he was going to charge 25% fee. 25%!!

Well, I heard Saigon has been transformed into a modern city, and it is now one of the favorite destinations of Japanese "OL" (office ladies....one of the Japanese English term). Good for local people as it brings a lot of money to the city. But I have to say I somehow miss the atmosphere of old Saigon. Waking up with voices of peddlers, chatting with locals at a street stall, sometimes having quarrels with cyclo drivers over the charge, taking a nap along the Saigon river watching boys swimming.....I really miss it.

Bad Education

It was a fun weekend. On Saturday, I and my husband were invited to a Japanese journalist's home BBQ party. Huge house with a big patio, which can have about 10 people, and a swimming pool! The party was fun. I met some new people (including bunch of Americans fluent in Japanese...It was a good reminder that some people in the metro or on the street may understand when I'm cursing in Japanese!) and friends who I hadn't seen for ages. Then we moved to another party, a farewell Karaoke party for a Japanese gov. official. We went home around midnight.

Sunday was a movie & cooking day. I and my husband watched "Inside Deep Throat" and "Brokeback Mountain" on DVD. I had seen Brokeback Mountain already, but he wanted to see it. I noticed when Enis found blood stained shirts in Jack's closet, Jack's shirt was hanged with Enis' shirt inside. But in the final scene, the shirts were hanged in Enis' closet next to a postcard of Brokeback Mountain---Enis' shirt now on the outside. I didn't notice this when I saw the movie in the theater (and I couldn't understand what Enis was saying at all....without subtitles). Does this shirt arrangement imply that Jack wanted to cuddle Enis and Enis wanted to protect Jack? And what did Enis mean by saying "Jack, I swear..."? Hmm...I guess these are too belated questions that may have already been discussed on-line a lot.

"Inside Deep Throat" was surprisingly a good documentary. But it seems that my husband thought it was a porn. Later I saw him secretly watching it again...but I pretended not to notice it. He learned some new vocabularies from the movie....like "clitoris" and "blow job" (these words will increace traffic to my blog) . Maybe I should buy a real porn to educate him. I haven't found any good porn video here, though. I sometimes watch porn video when I'm on a business trip...from curiosity (I've never charged it to my company's account! I swear!) . I found them boring. No story line, just sex, sex, huge boobs, sex, sex (more traffic to my blog)....

Anyways, yesterday I cooked for whole week as I usually don't have time to cook weekdays. I cooked nimono, a Japanese stew of vegetables with soy sause, chicken stew with tomato sause and chicken soup. I also cooked chirashi-zushi, a kind of easy sushi for a dinner. Yum.

The photo has nothing to do with this posting. This is a photo of a New Orleans hotel I stayed before Katrina.

Not very sweet hangover

I'm still recovering from a hangover....for two days. Now I have a heart burn/stomach pain. Ugh. I wonder which will be discovered first: a remedy for cancer, or a remedy for hangover. I think the former. I'm not sure if I can go for Happy Hour tonight....it sucks.

Why does this metro station escalator near my apartment still need repair after a year long "modernization project"?? The escalator works less than half of a year. This country can launch Space Shuttles and can't make escalators work? When I was visiting my hometown in Japan, I saw an escalator at a train station wasn't working. I thought, "huh, just like DC." When I approached the escalator, shweeenn.....it suddenly started moving! Yes, it had a sensor. It works only when people approach to save energy. Japan has some good stuff besides sex services.

It's Friday! Yey!

"Too stimulating" story

Ugh. Hangover.

"Tokyo subway officials have backed off on banning the publishers of Harper's Bazaar from displaying ads featuring a nude and pregnant Britney Spears, just a day after claiming the posters were 'too stimulating' for its young passengers" according to AP. Whaaaat? "Too stimulating"?? Then what about those Japanese businessmen openly reading magazines full of nude photos in a subway? Huh.

I believe the most advanced and creative industry in Japan is porn/sex industry. Japan is a "mentor" for other Asian countries in terms of sex services. There are too many variety....the most popular one is "soap land" where naked girls wash your body with their soap covered body. "No-pan (no-panty) Shabu-Shabu" was once very popular among high-ranking government officials. Girls in micro-mini skirts (and no-panty) serve you Shabu-Shabu, a type of hot pot. For some reason whiskey bottles are hanging from the ceiling. When you order whiskey, girls stand up and try to pour it in your glass...and suddenly wind comes from under the table.....Ahhhh...how stupid! And there are places like you can play as a groper in the world famous super crowded Tokyo commuter train. I saw this stripper who can chop vegetables with her vagina.

When I was traveling Cambodia in 1993, I visited a red-light district. The sex industry was blooming because of UNTAC peace keeping operation, and many Vietnamese prostitutes were working there. I was shocked when I heard the price. $10 for Europeans and Japanese, $2 for Cambodians. I was drinking beers with some girls when this girl, no more than 15 years old, asked me if I wanted to sleep with her. I laughed and said, "No way! I'm a woman!" Then this girl said "I can sleep with a woman, too. I'm good. $7 for you." She was very serious. I drank a lot more of beer. There was one girl who said not prostituting anymore because she was getting married with a UNTAC soldier from Ghana. I hope she really did and became happy. Really.

Back in the USSR

Last night, I had a dinner at Bacchus Restaurant with a Japanese government official and my friends Yasuko and Yoko. Yummy Lebanese food, a lot of laugh and the official's interesting adventure stories about Middle East and Africa. I had a good time.

I miss traveling. I used to travel a lot. My first travel abroad was to the former Soviet Union in 1989. I and my late friend, Yumiko, flew from Niigata Airport of Japan to Khabarovsk. We took the Siberian Express (not really an "express"...) from there to Irkutsuk, "Paris in Siberia" (um, yeah, kinda). It took 3 days. Then we flew from there to Moscow, where we walked around desperately looking for something edible.....and we suddenly found the shining big "M" sign...Woo hoo~! Vive capitalism!.....then it turned out to be a sign of a metro station. Yes, it was the pre-McDonald era of Moscow. We finally found a local restaurant filled with proletarian comrades. Yumiko actually fainted when she tasted a bowl of rice gruel there....I couldn't explain the real reason to the restaurant people (I spoke some Russian then)....she fainted because the food was so terrible.

Anyways, we kept going....from Moscow to Kiev (now the capitol of Ukraine), Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) , Murmansk (a port town in the Arctic Circle), Tbilisi (now the capitol of Georgia), Tashkent (now the capitol of Uzbekistan) and Samarkand. Samarkand is beautiful. Poets and historians called it "Rome of the East" or "The pearl of the Eastern Moslem World." It really is.

I made another trip to the Soviet Union in March of 1990 (I think). Thanks to the Glasnost policy promoted by Mikhail Gorbachev, I could visit my grandfather's grave in Ulan Ude, a small city near the lake Baikal. Nope, my grandfather was not Russian. He was captured by the Russians in northern China (he was deployed by the Imperial Japan) and sent to a labor camp. According to the available record, he died there from typhoid. He was 36. I also visited Yakutsuk to see a frozen mammoth.... and I was frozen there. It was -35F. Seriously. I also went to Sakhalin and Irkutsuk. I visited Russia again in 1999 with my parents. My dad wanted to see the grave of his father whom he barely remembered. I saw my dad crying for the first time.

Ok, other countries I've ever visited so far......Vietnam (5 times), Thailand (7 times), Cambodia (twice, one time for sightseeing another for internship), Laos, Bangladesh, China, Hong Kong (3 times), Singapore (I believe Singaporean boys are the cutest), Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Cuba. I may talk about those trips sometime.

BTW, the movie "Good Bye, Lenin!" is a great movie. I loved it.

Some statistics

I've found 3 categories of visitors to my blog:

1. my friends
2. visitors referred by VUBOQ (arigato!)
3. those who searched words "Asian big boobs" or "big boobs Japanese"

Apparently nobody searched the word "big nipples." Hmm. It seems that my theory about straight guys' preference of boobs is universal.

I've just found out my co-worker R thinks Kevin Federline a.k.a the Britney hubby is "very cute, handsome and cool." She also thinks John Mark Karr, the suspected JonBenet killer, is handsome. My another co-worker M said, "when I was a child, I thought women with acne and/or drooping boobs were beautiful." Hmmm. My another theory is confirmed.

7 years

I've just added a site meter. I found someone in Brazil visited my blog....interesting. How did she/he find my page?

It's Saturday. I'm working. It sucks. Well, not all day. Before coming to the office around 4:00pm, I had my second Pilates class and also tried "Step" class which is like aerobics using step. I saw myself in a mirror and....I looked pathetic. Very clumsy.

It somehow reminded me about my friend, Yumiko. She was beautiful, smart and....a bad dancer. Yes, "was." She passed away 7 years ago. She was my best friend from a college. We made a month long trip to the former Soviet Union. She was working on her Ph.D in Turkey when she had a heart attack. She was 30. She had a fiance. We all asked, "Why her??"

I've lived 7 years more since then. I can't help but wonder, have I used this precious 7 years meaningfully? Hmmm....maybe not.

BTW, I've just started reading "The Devil wears Prada." It's fun. I'm not sure if it's "meaningful"......well, sometimes you need some fun:)

A Woman Under the Influence

I've finally come up with a title. It's still tentative. I appreciate your opinions.

As some of you may notice, it's from the title of a Pedro Almodovar's movie "Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios (Women on the verge of a nervous breakdown)" (1988). I love, love his movies. I saw almost all of them. Subtitle is from my most favorite, "What have I done to deserve this?"(1984).

I also thought about "A Woman Under the Influence"(1974), one of my favorite from the movies of American New Cinemas.

I remember Steven suggested something when we were at Cafe Citron for Happy Hour last week....What was that? I don't remember....

Ok, I'm really busy today. Gotta go.

Am I too old for this?

I'm too busy to blog today....

I'm thinking of buying a Kara Janx (from Project Runway season 2) Kimono dress....ok, I admit I've alreay ordered it.

I can still wear this dress, can't I? These days I have to ask myself twice : "Am I too old for this?" Sad. But I don't want to look a 37 year- old woman trying to look 20-something girl. But I love funky clothes. I at least try not to dress down too much. It makes me look miserable.

NO to flip-flops! NEVER!

No offense, flip-floppers, but I just don't wear them with dresses or business suits. That's just.....not right. Plus, as an Asian, I don't think we should make our legs look shorter.

Oh, I blogged.

Big boobs, small boobs and my scar-faced yakuza boob

According to an article in a Japanese magazine, Iranian women do nose jobs to make them smaller. And Iranian men think small boobs are sexier. I'm sooooo going to Iran once the government abandon nukes! Yes, I have teeny tiny boobs as all Japanese women used to. These days, those pin-up girls on Japanese men's magazines all have huge boobs...and they are teenagers, sometimes even 13 years old! Japanese straight men have kind of obsession with those "innocent" girls with big boobs (and no big nipples are accepted). Or is it universal?

Ahem, this post is getting a little inappropriate. What I wanted to say was that the definition of beauty could vary in different cultures. One day, in a lady's room in my office building, this woman from an office on the same floor told me "oh, we were talking about you today. You look like Sandra Oh, the actress who appears in Gray's Anatomy." "Um, well, I'm not very happy about that," I replied. She looked surprised. "Why???? She's very attractive." Ok. I believe that from most Asian people's view, she is not very beautiful. Like Lucy Liu. All of my Japanese and Taiwanese friends say she is kind of ugly. So, please be careful to make compliments to someone from different culture. I should note that I did appreciate that woman's compliment. I'm in the U.S., where people consider Sandra Oh attractive, after all.

I remember this guy I dated briefly (very briefly) long time ago. On the second date, he said "You're beautiful." I said "I don't think so." Then he went, "well, the beauty is in the eye of the beholder." I immediately dumped him.

Oh, about my scar-faced yakuza boob. I had surgical biopsy called "wire localization biopsy" in July. Thank Buddha, it turned out to be benign. Girls, don't forget annual mammography. It saves your life. I know it's humiliated and a lot of pain. Nurses always exclaim "Oh, it's so difficult...because your breats are so small...oops, sorry." Huh. I hope someone eventually invents mammo equipment for small breasts. But seriously. 1 out of 8 women in the U.S is diagnosed with breast cancer. Studies show that Asian women living in the U.S. have almost the same level of risk.

Lovely, Lovely weekend and bad, bad usage of prepositions

It was a lovely weekend. Friday night, I went for Happy Hour at Cafe Citron with my friends, Steven, Roberto and Terry to try "the best Margarita in DC"--- claimed by Roberto. Margarita was good, but I like the one at Alero in Cleveland Park more....sorry, Roberto. I guess the difference is the atomosphere. At Alero, we usually have margaritas at patio (I still can't figure out the usage of prepositions...at, on, in or what???). It makes them taste better. When I drunk Singha beer at a riverside restaurant (or a stall) near Golden Triangle in Thailand, I thouhgt it was the best beer in the world....well, I still think it is, but it doesn't taste as good as it did back in Thailand.....I and my friend emptied 8 big bottles of Singha and became a local legend "Two Japanese girls drunk 800 bottles of Singha and the stall owner bought a Japanese TV."

Anyways, Friday night. We went on to have some drinks and then have a dinner at Straits of Malaya, joined by Mike. I ordered Gado Gado despite Roberto's warning. I should have listened to him. It was a beautiful night.

Saturday morning, I went to my first Pilates class. It was challenging. I still have some mustle pain....I guess it means good. I've realized how much I've cheated on working out. Then Steven called to ask if I want to go for a picnic. Steven and Mike picked me up at Dupont Circle and we went to Rockcreek Park. Steven prepared pita sandwitches and "the second best" pasta salad. Yum. OMG, it was chilly! We played croquet to warm ourselves up. Mike won. I was terrible.

On Sunday, I woke up late and prepared sandwitches for my husband working at a swimming pool as a lifeguard. Beautiful day. Oh, I gotta go. More to come later....maybe.

A drop of sake is a drop of your own blood

It's a busy Friday. Damn. I want be relaxed on Friday....But I'll go to happy hour with my friends after work. I should wrap up my works early and be ready for drinks, drinks and more drinks....

I love alcohol. Yey. All kind. My most favorite is "Awamori," an alcoholic beverage inidigenous and unique to Okinawa, Japan. It is distilled from rice, not brewed. Vintage Awamori, "Ku-su," is especially fantastic. My most memorable alchohol beverage is..."Lao-lao" which I tried in a mountainous village in Laos. It is distilled from sticky rice, and believed to be the origin of Awamori. No wonder I loved it. Some local women were making Lao-lao in an old oil drum....Another memorable one is home-made vodka some drunk workers offered me in the Trans-Siberian Express back in 80s when I was traveling across the former Soviet Union. Now you know how much I love alcohol.

Oh, I shouldn't forget Korean wine "Makkori." (I don't know how to spell in English) It is a kind of unrefined sake. I haven't had it for ages....I miss it.

My favorite Japanese proverb (or maybe my drunk college friend made it up). "A drop of sake is a drop of your own blood." So, you never waste any single drop of sake.

Now I feel drunk. I must go back to work.

house husbands

Last night, I had beer & dinner with a Japanese journalist who's been here for past 25 years. I was surprised to hear that he was planning to give up his career here and move back to Japan...for a woman he fell in love. I said, "wow." He may be ready to go back to Japan after 25 years living in a foreign soil. He has more than enough experience and talent to start new career in Japan. But still, you know, "love" has made him decide. And he looked very very happy.

I broke up boyfriends for my career in the past. And now I'm married to a guy who I don't have to give up my career and my own life for. Maybe I'm lucky. Or am I selfish? Maybe I've never loved anyone more than myself. Hmmm. Well, but I think he, a Japanese journalist, has made the decision for himself, too. Maybe he thought being with her would improve his life. It may not be a sacrifice (BTW, this movie "Sacrifice" is one of my most favorites. I admire Andrei Tarcovsky) . I'm officially confused.

According to the article I found recently in a Japanese magazine, there are about 80,000 "house husbands" in Japan. Impressive change of the Japanese society. This article also mentions the statistics in US...."house husbands" often have shorter lives than "working men," likely because of more stress. Huh.

BTW, the photo is a shoe I want now.

mermaid meat

Here's another reason why I've started this blog. I can't stop thinking about what will happen when I die. I consider myself a Buddhist, and want to believe in the life after death and the reincarnation. But I can't completely believe that. When I die.....there'll be nothing?? I will just vanish away? This thought scares me.

In a Japanese (or maybe originally Chinese) folklore/superstition, it is believed that if you eat mermaid meat, you will have eternal youth/immortality. I want it! Usually in falk tales, those who obtain eternal youth have to bear lonley miserable life forever. But I think I can enjoy it. I'm just afraid of death. Yes, I'm coward. Because I love my life!

Well, I don't know where I can get mermaid meat, besides, I don't want to kill them. So, I just thought maybe I should have something to prove my existence.....even after I.....

Bobby Hebb

I was listening to this song, "Sunny" by Bobby Hebb (1966) on my MP3 player (not iPod..."mobiBLUE") this morning. I instantly loved this song, when I first heard it in this movie "Monsieur Ibrahim." Then I tried to download the song...couldn't find it anywhere. I searched his CD on eBay and everywhere on the web....I finally found it in a CD sold in Argentina! It seems that he is now more popular in Europe and in Japan than here. I've found mostly Japanese and British websites talking about him. Hmm.

BTW, "Monseiur Ibrahim" is a beautiful movie.

to buy, or not to buy: that is the question

I bought a beautiful emerald green dress by Dolce & Gabbana at Filene's Basement last week. I have been thinking, thinking and thinking...if I should return this dress. It's soooo expensive. It's the most expensive clothes I've ever bought. $700!!! Well, the original price is $1,600. I tried it on and showed it to my friends asking their opinion. "It's f&$@ing gorgeous!" Steven said. I agree. "But you can buy fabulous dresses less than $10" Roberto said. I agree. Totally. I usually don't spend a lot of money for my clothes. I love cheap vintage clothes (especially from 60s and 70s). But there's something about Dolce & Gabbana. I have two pairs of D&G suits, each cost around $150....they make me look much much much better than I actually am. What should I do???

What a stupid first post for my blog. But I have to admit I love clothes. Oh, there's another stupid obsession I have now. Karen Walker high-waist jeans. I can't find them!

I'll try to write something more meaningful tomorrow. Or not.

Hello

I have felt guilty reading my friends' blogs and not having mine. I have hesitated to have a blog because I don't have exciting stories to tell...and my English is still shaky after living here in the U.S. for 7 years. Well, I'll give it a try. Let's see how it works...