New York newbie

Our Delta frequent flier miles were about to expire, so we cashed out and spent last weekend in New York. We zipped all over Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens in my first trip ever to NYC! It's taken about the entire week to recover from the minimal sleep and miles of walking, but the fatigue was worth it...

Play it safe

At the corner of Broadway and 6th...


Oh, I'm pretty sure those rigged up ladders are a perfectly safe alternative to scaffolding.

Lazy Sunday

Took the subway to the Hollywood Farmer's Market today. Either I really miss Japan or those Japanese tomatoes are hella tasty.

The bus doesn't have a monopoly on crazy riders. This one drunk guy said, "Just between you and me, I'm on parole now, but when I'm off parole I'm going straight to Vegas to choke out my cousin. I'm paranoid. In fact I already tried to kill her twice. The first time I passed out drunk on the wrong driveway. The second time the police picked me up and drove me away!"

Just between you and me, I'm bringing my headphones next time I take the Metro.

Portos call

The 17,715 square foot Portos in Downey that opened on Tuesday was packed today. I saw the unending lines for Cubano sandwiches and cakes and knew I wouldn't get back to work in a reasonable time. So I admired the mixed-color windows and drove away. Cities of Los Angeles County...if you want to pump up your tax base and revitalize your decomposing downtowns, start wooing the next Portos location.

Broadway snake

Every so often I witness a shell game happening on the sidewalks of Downtown Los Angeles. Dudes set up a cardboard box and folks (presumably plants to lure in suckers) throw down $100 bills to guess which of three Starbucks bottle caps hides the mystery ball.

Last Sunday I saw something new...caring parents pay a fellow to photograph their children posing with a monster snake. Look at the smile on that kid's face. Christmas will surely be a letdown after snaky.

Ikebukuro

I have a hard time with these Japanese keyboards, so I will have to forget about grammatical niceties such as contractions.

We are back "home" after a night out with our local friends Kumiko, Yuki, and Dave, who treated us to a tasty dinner at an Italian restaurant in Ikebukuro called Salvatore Cuomo and Bar. I am no Italian food expert, but that was some good eating. Thank again! Funny thing...we met up at the new Krispy Kreme near the train station.

I think the scary typhoon has passed, so unfortunately we are flying out of Japan tomorrow.

Tokyo Times

Tokyo!!!

Great day...browsing Tokyu Hands in Ikebukuro, pasta lunch, Harajuku/Omotesando/Aoyama/Shibuya strolling with our friend Kyoko, fantastic David Choe/James Jean art opening with free stuff, okonomiyaki dinner, tiny jazz bar in Shinjuku for drinks, and back at our cozy hotel.

Tomorrow is our last full day in Tokyo...gotta make it good!