Memoirs of a Gaijin

The Final Post

2007-03-15T23:41:00.000-07:00

Time for this photo-journal to come to an end. It's been a long, fun winter, but I'm looking forward to the flowers of spring and greener pastures, as it were. This summer I'll be heading to Israel, running the Leadville Marathon (which tops out at 13,200 feet; dear jesus), and flying away to Norway and Iceland. Should be a pretty good time, indeed. To top it all off, I need to go find a new home in Washington D.C. as I've just learned I'll be attending Georgetown University to gain my M.A. in English Literature next year; go Hoyas!

Focker, out!

blog gone crazy

2007-01-28T22:20:00.000-08:00

2007-01-28T22:19:00.000-08:00

2007-01-28T22:18:00.000-08:00

to aspen

2007-01-28T22:16:00.000-08:00

2007-01-01T22:27:00.000-08:00

and moving on to New Year' Eve! the boys decided to head to a local thrift-store to buy two-dollar tweed blazors to wear out; that's right, it only took 10 bucks to dress these dapper gents and obviously, it was worth every penny. and in honor and respect for alex, our buddy-in-florida-but-that-didn't-stop-us-from-partying-at-his-house buddy, we made sure to take a picture in front of the family portrait. you were there in spirit, you platinum-haired wild man!

2007-01-01T22:16:00.001-08:00

we made sure to look good...

2007-01-01T22:16:00.000-08:00

welcome to the beer/snow olympics 2006! this year's eve day, we donned 80's-style snow gear and headed to a local middle-school with about 50 beers; don't get the wrong idea now, school is still out and we brought cups to mask our carousal. the games included three-legged races and drinking beer; an egg-toss and drinking more beer; the carry-the-egg-on-a-spoon relay-race and drinking even more beer; sledding and drinking a lot of beer (the most dangerous event); and my personal favorite, the chug 'n tumble (aka yak and roll). this inauspicious event required athletes to chug a beer at the bottom of the sledding hill, run to the top, drink another, and roll down...what a day!

2007-01-01T22:08:00.001-08:00

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but finally, the sun came back

2007-01-01T22:07:00.001-08:00

the scene at night...

2007-01-01T22:07:00.000-08:00

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2007-01-01T22:06:00.000-08:00

we were hit with two pretty massive storms. the biggest problem was, and still is in some places, getting around.

2007-01-01T22:05:00.000-08:00

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2007-01-01T22:04:00.000-08:00

holy snow. as some of you may have heard, colorado's front range received a little snow recently; here is what the ol' neighborhood looked like...

Abu-Cho Immortalized in Print!

2006-12-12T11:13:00.000-08:00

And here is the photo in print!

2006-12-12T11:12:00.000-08:00

Here is the original picture I took last year on a stunning day along the coast in Abu-cho.

2006-12-02T21:40:00.000-08:00

the family once again congregated up in portland, or. for thanksgiving. the holiday was great, the food was great (thanks jay and bree), the company was great, but it was this little gal who stole the show. i give you ms. apple, an eight-week old golden doodle; she was just adorable. hope wherever you all are, american and non, you're having a nice holiday season!

2006-12-02T21:37:00.000-08:00

Abe and I and the goldens enjoying some of the last hiking that won't require snowshoes

2006-12-02T21:36:00.000-08:00

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2006-12-02T21:35:00.000-08:00

As winter has come on, Boulder has hosted a number of spectacular sunsets. I'm really beginning to miss Japan, but nights like these remind me of how much I love Colorado

2006-10-18T22:39:00.000-07:00

"...if there is a state where the soul can find a resting-place secure enough to establish itself and concentrate its entire being there, with no need to remember the past or reach into the future, where time is nothing to it, where the present runs on indefinitely but this duration goes unnoticed, with no sign of the passing time, and no other feeling of deprivation or enjoyment, pleasure or pain, desire or fear than the simple feeling of existence, a feeling that fills our soul entirely, as long as this state lasts, we can call ourselves happy, not with a poor, incomplete and relative happiness such as we find in the pleasures of life, but with a sufficient, complete and perfect happiness which leaves no emptiness to be filled in the soul. such is the state which i often experienced on . . . my solitary reveries, whether i lay in a boat and drifted where the water carried me, or sat by the shores of the stormy lake, or elsewhere, on the banks of a lovely river or a stream murmuring over the stones."
-- j.j. rousseau

2006-10-18T22:13:00.000-07:00

this leaf was a favorite. and now for a close up...

2006-10-18T22:11:00.000-07:00

check out the shadow of the aspen's trunk in the sun's suffusion of the falling snow; it makes for a really cool effect.

2006-10-18T22:08:00.000-07:00

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2006-10-18T22:06:00.000-07:00

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2006-10-18T22:03:00.000-07:00

my descriptions of the wedding would only undermine it; instead here are some more pictures i took outside from that fantastic weekend. congrats and all the best, jason and bree!!!!!

2006-10-18T21:58:00.001-07:00

the girls

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the boys

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ehhhh

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the happy couple and bride's parents

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the happy couple and groom's parents

2006-10-18T21:55:00.000-07:00

it was a beautiful place, a beautiful day, a beautiful ceremony!

2006-10-18T21:53:00.000-07:00

yeah, dad

2006-10-18T21:52:00.000-07:00

and before we knew it, the men were in one lodge drinking whiskey out of the bottle, the women were in their cabin preparing, and the ceremony was imminent! here we see dad wondering what is taking the nurosurgeon so long with the corsage

2006-10-18T21:49:00.000-07:00

soon the caravan was off paved roads entirely!

2006-10-18T21:47:00.000-07:00

from telluride, the wedding conclave packed into cars and soon we were strung out in a caravan on our way to the ceremony location of dunton, colorado. the drive was epic. you 'mericans might know that mountain to the right as the coors beer mountain. wilson peak, standing over 14,000 feet is a common sight in beer commercials.

2006-10-18T21:41:00.000-07:00

this pic comes on the day of the wedding; 7 inches the day before and now it looks like a small dusting of snow (down low at least)...

2006-10-18T21:39:00.000-07:00

bree's family enjoying some spa action. as you can see, the colorado sun has come out and is beginning to work its magic.

2006-10-18T21:37:00.000-07:00

of course, the biggest event to take place thus far, was my brother's wedding. here are jason and bree, a day before their wedding in telluride, colorado. now this was to be an outdoor wedding, and we got dumped with 7 inches of snow the day before!

2006-10-18T21:35:00.000-07:00

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and with the arrival of my favorite season, colorado turned gold

2006-10-18T21:31:00.000-07:00

it's incredible that it's already been two months since leaving nippon. it seems like such a long time ago some days, and like yesterday on others. graduate school applications have taken up most of my time since i've been here, but there have been some highlights as well. one of those has been the chance to get back into the mountains of my beloved colorado. and with a partner like ivy (those of you with a loop hikes book might recognize her!), i've had a great time revisiting some of my favorite areas in the state.

2006-10-03T22:11:00.001-07:00

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2006-10-03T22:11:00.000-07:00

and that does it for japan! i hope everyone, where ever you may be, is doing well! more on life back stateside coming soon...

2006-10-03T22:10:00.003-07:00

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2006-10-03T22:10:00.002-07:00

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i'll miss you japan, you and your awesome signs!

2006-10-03T22:10:00.000-07:00

...

2006-10-03T22:09:00.001-07:00

check out king-kong up on the building

2006-10-03T22:09:00.000-07:00

okay, and for the finale of the trip, we headed down to shikoku for the awa odori festival. it was a great finish; a festival full of color, dancing and carousal

2006-10-03T22:07:00.000-07:00

the japanese are able to organize mother nature herself!

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i thought they were worth the trip

2006-10-03T22:05:00.000-07:00

i forgot to mention i was also stung by a bee on okushiri; an amulet for disaster to be sure. from there we went inland in search of the lavender fields.

2006-10-03T22:03:00.000-07:00

looks nice, yes? i think i slept a total of 2 hours in there. i was actually awake to watch the fishing boats prepare and set out, and then come back in hours later!

2006-10-03T22:02:00.000-07:00

we made the best of a rough situation, though

2006-10-03T22:01:00.000-07:00

now, i was really excited to be in hokkaido for some camping and outdoor adventure; but all we found was the god-forsaken island of okushiri, some 60 clicks off the west side of hokkaido. don't let this picture fool you! if you want hiking and camping, this is not the place for you!

2006-10-03T21:54:00.000-07:00

then to hakodate to meet up with megan and kim's friend, nick. the squid festival was going on, but all in all, it was ma-ma experience. that is until we ate squid so fresh, its tentacles were still sucking on us as we began to chew.

2006-10-03T21:51:00.001-07:00

we sent tom off in fashion

2006-10-03T21:51:00.000-07:00

there also happened to be a beer-fest in town...i don't really remember much of sapporo come to think of it; except of course spending the night in mcdonalds

2006-10-03T21:49:00.000-07:00

they had a great nomi/tabi hodai (god, is that how you spell it?) with bibs. i'm not talking some wimpy lobster bib...you're looking at waist-level, catch all that lamb juice, beer and vomit bibs

2006-10-03T21:48:00.000-07:00

first order of business was the sapporo factory...

2006-10-03T21:47:00.000-07:00

from fuji-san, megan, kim and i whipped up to hokkaido to meet tom and victoria

2006-10-03T21:46:00.000-07:00

and alas, it was time for me to say goodbye to honshu, for who knows how long...

2006-10-03T21:45:00.000-07:00

it was crazy, the landscape was very barren, almost volcanic! imagine that

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at least we were able to enjoy some solitude on top

2006-10-03T21:44:00.000-07:00

...

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it was balmy on top

2006-10-03T21:43:00.000-07:00

but damn it, we fought the crowds and made the summit for sunrise! we got a few minutes of unadulterated views before the fog set back in

2006-10-03T21:41:00.000-07:00

but come three or four in the morning, all the tour guides which were asleep on the mountain, woke up...this chain of lights represents a human chain snaking up the mountain...dear god, you should see the video

2006-10-03T21:40:00.000-07:00

with cool signs to boot..

2006-10-03T21:39:00.000-07:00

i was very excited at first. despite the horrible rumors of millions of people, it felt like a popular 14er here in colorado on a big holiday

2006-10-03T21:38:00.000-07:00

from tokyo we cruised to fuji-san. look how genki we all look right at the start (maybe 8:00 pm).

2006-10-03T21:36:00.000-07:00

once polski found this store, it too us 2 and a half hours to get him out

2006-10-03T21:34:00.000-07:00

crazy place, this tokyo land. it was funny seeing all the new, jet-lagged JETs wandering around

2006-10-03T21:32:00.000-07:00

okay, i said goodbye to pops and then off to tokyo to meet up with polski, crystal, kim and megan

2006-10-03T21:31:00.000-07:00

dad enjoyed kyoto, but was much more impressed with the guch, i'm happy to report.

2006-10-03T21:30:00.001-07:00

and then to kyoto for all its nonsense...

2006-10-03T21:30:00.000-07:00

the food was a little too "native" even for me; my dad was a good sport, but wasn't exactly taken with the food in general

2006-10-03T21:29:00.000-07:00

we stayed at one of the best ryokan's in japan, ostensibly, complete with sweet, old oba-san serving us a huge dinner...

2006-10-03T21:28:00.000-07:00

...

2006-10-03T21:27:00.000-07:00

despite my wide, child-bearing hips and a slick of sweat slowing me down, i made it to enlightenment...

2006-10-03T21:26:00.001-07:00

and to nara for some more

2006-10-03T21:26:00.000-07:00

...

2006-10-03T21:25:00.001-07:00

then to himeji for some sight-seeing

2006-10-03T21:25:00.000-07:00

we didn't do very well

2006-10-03T21:24:00.000-07:00

dad also got to witness a lot of my goodbyes and even a final festival. one of my junior highs participated in a boat race (we made the boats ourselves). the teachers and me were team Pirates of the Caribbean.

2006-10-03T21:22:00.000-07:00

after spills won a ton of awesome stuffed animals and ramen at pachinko, my dad wanted to adopt him...

2006-10-03T21:20:00.001-07:00

seriously...

2006-10-03T21:20:00.000-07:00

we saw all the important places in yamaguchi

2006-10-03T21:19:00.000-07:00

okay, you asked for it, you got it. here is a look at what's happened since i left off...my dad came out for a two-week visit; it was great, we enjoyed a week in the guch and then had a week of traveling...

Memoirs of a Gaijin

The Final Post

blog gone crazy

more

to aspen

Abu-Cho Immortalized in Print!

More Posts?