Mutt in a Mug?

While walking home from dinner a few nights ago Winston and I spotted this dog sitting in a comically sized mug outside a pawn shop. Needless to say, the dog looked a little agitated. I'd be in a foul mood too if someone made me sit in a cup. We sat there for a few minutes, as I watched a few Japanese people pet the dog. I decided it was safe to pet him myself. Well, he didn't want ME to touch him, in fact he snubbed me. That's right, I was snubbed by a fluffy dog in a cup.

It was then that I decided that the dog wasn't cranky because he's in a cup. He's cranky because he has a bad perm, his master makes him wear silly sweaters, AND he's a grumpy racist.

It's occurred to me that when I'm in foreign countries language barriers leave me rather trapped in my own head. Then I do things like give dogs personality traits, emotions, AND accuse them of racist tendencies. Darn.

Hat? I think so....

People usually say that New York is "the city that never sleeps," but after a few weeks in Tokyo I'd have to disagree. If I had to use one word to describe Tokyo, it'd be busy. I don't think anyone in this city every just chills out. Everyone on the streets or on the trains looks like they're running late. I feel like the only person in Tokyo who strolls. If I ride my bike to work in the mornings I have to watch out for weaving cabs looking for their morning fares. If I take the train I have to wedge myself into a car, bury my face in a salary man's back, and wait for my station. I feel like the lazy bee in the hive, and it's like stress through osmosis. Between working 2 jobs my schedule is a delicate balance of working/eating/sleeping. Needless to say, my free time has become quite valuable, and since Fall is here there are a few things I can't seem to get enough of.

1. Dresses and Tights.

These ones are all green and patterned. Since I'd rather save than shop at the moment, tights are a nice, relatively inexpensive addiction.

2. Apples

I seriously eat 3-4 apples a day. I don't know what it is, but I can't get enough of them. Considering that apples are delicious and nutritious, this isn't a bad addiction either. At least I'm full of fiber. Winston thinks it's quite funny that I'm a black hole for all the fruit in the house.

3. Tea

I drink Green Tea in the mornings, Chai Tea in the afternoons, and Peppermint Tea after dinner. Maybe it's just because my lion mug is so darn cute, I really don't know. At least I'm hydrated.

4. Crocheting

When I was 19 my beautiful Grandmother taught me how to crochet. Since then, nearly everyone I know has received a scarf for Christmas/ other related holiday. My brother even got his own blanket a few years ago. Well, yesterday I managed to branch out, and make a hat. I was very proud that it not only looked like a hat, but the kind of hat you could buy in an actual store.

it's a hat!

granted, I made this one for Winston, but I just wanted you to see how cute it looks on! Now no one will be nervous when I ask them what color hat they'd like as a holiday gift.

5. Old Movies

Since Tokyo is a big expensive city, and Winston and I aren't really fans of big loud smoky over-priced clubs, when we want to do a little relaxing date night, we throw on an old movie. Lately Alfred Hitchcock has been our director of choice, but if you know your movies you'll see there's a Humphrey Bogart classic on the list as well. Here's a few of the movies we've watched the past few weeks:

1. Rear Window

2. Strangers on a Train

3. The Maltese Falcon

4. The Birds

5. Vertigo

Next on the list are:

1. The Ten Commandments

2. Dr. Zhivago

3. Cleopatra

4. Tokyo Joe

We don't consider ourselves boring, we consider ourselves indispensable wells of knowledge for bar trivia nights. That's just how we roll.

Okay, that's all for now- til I see another dog in a raincoat or a memorable Lolita girl.

Anniversary Pasta

Here's a little Erin/ Winston trivia. October 5th marked 2 years since our first date, which consisted of pizza, a lot of German Beer, and a Journey themed Karaoke contest. And while my new dietary restrictions (dairy doesn't sit so well) prevent me from enjoying normal pizza, Winston and I still enjoy German Beer and a good round of Karaoke. So, to celebrate making it to two years we decided to make each other dinner. And when I say "make each other dinner," I mean I chopped veggies for a salad and Winston spent the day making pasta sauce. Here's our 2nd Anniversary menu:

Beverage: Red Wine

Appetizer: Fresh Garden Salad

Main Course: Whole Wheat Pasta and Sauce made from scratch

Dessert: Really yummy dark chocolate

To get our ingredients, we decided to shop at a local organic shop near the Hole. The folks that work there are super sweet, and the place is just adorable.

So cute!

the boy in front of the organic shop.

GIANT PUMPKIN! I want to cut it up and make a giant pie....

fresh squeezed juices

yum!

These tomatoes were amazing. I could have eaten several plain.

It was difficult to limit ourselves and buy only what we needed to make dinner! Everything looked so delicious.

our salad.

our wine! This was actually a birthday gift from my friends Greg and Nicole. Thanks, guys!

Winston and I in our dark and dodgy kitchen of doom.

the final product, amazing pasta.

Winston spent all day on the pasta sauce. It was so delicious. He had it simmering all day, and progressively filled it with yummy seasonings. Since we don't eat meat, he loaded it with lentils as well. What a guy. Mind you, we're still looking for a new apartment so we are lacking a few key pieces of furniture.... like a table. So we used a box...

we opted not to use candles, considering the flammable nature of our furniture...

Tokyo Tofu Burger

So, as many of you know one of the things I've come to miss most whilst here in Japan are Veggie Burgers. Since I ate mostly fruits, vegetables, seafood, and grains in the States adjusting to food here in Japan wasn't a big issue for me. I'm not dying without Wendy's or Pop Tarts. I do however, miss Veggie Burgers like you wouldn't believe.

Since coming to Tokyo I feel like I've had to go through culture shock all over again, which is frustrating. I played the "culture shock" game a year ago, and I'm over it. Recognizing that I've been a little bummed lately, Winston decided to get me a little comfort food and take me out for a "date night". This is where the Tokyo Tofu Burger comes into the story.

Japan has a fast food chain called, "Freshness Burger." I'd say in terms of healthy eating it's on par more with Subway and less with McDonald's. Anyway, they have a "Tofu Veggie Burger" on the menu! Hooray for the little things in life I have to look forward to.

typical one armed couple date night picture.

our waters and my side salad.

the inside of the burger shop. It was all cute and decorated for Halloween.

THE TOFU VEGGIE BURGER OF GREATNESS. One word: Epic.

The French Fries were also full of freshness, not to mention potato goodness.

the taste test

I'd love to know who comes into work extra early to make these pretty chalk signs.

Again, I'd love to know who comes in EVEN EARLIER to make this little chalk sign. It's so colorful and intricate.

the view from the outside.

one of my favorite veggie burger scouts.

That's all, until our next round of Tokyo Tofu Burgers.

Yoyogi Park

Last weekend Winston and I went to Yoyogi park in Shibuya to go on a walk and soak up the last of the summer weather. Winston's the only one who's sad summer's over... I hate the humidity and the feeling that I'm breathing water. Summer in Japan makes me feel like a fish in a hot tub. So I welcome fall and all it's pretty colors and fresh apples.

Winston has an amazing camera and is a pretty good photographer, so I thought I'd post a few of the pictures he took.

Winston says this is his " favorite picture he's ever taken of me." Why? I have no idea, but he requested that I put it up.

the leaves changing

Rockabilly guys in Yoyogi Park. They go there and practice almost everyday. A lot of performing groups use Yoyogi park as a practice space, because it's big and free to be there.

Sock Hop Mama

Rockabilly babe

TIGHTS!!

This was a Hokkaido food festival

We saw this vintage car on our way back to the train station that night, seemed like a good picture to end on.

Happy October!

Typhoon?

It's been raining ALL WEEK here in Tokyo. As a Northwest native I'm pretty used to the rain, however this was something a little different. It wasn't just pouring, it was "Holy Noah I'd better build an Arc," pouring. Then I was reminded that it's actually Typhoon Season here in Tokyo. That explains why I've been seeing dogs in raincoats.

It's hard to catch a good picture of these fashionable dogs on my phone, considering that they're walking most of the time... so though this is blurry I think you get the idea.

It was so windy this morning I thought someone was knocking on my door... then I saw the rain blowing sideways. After a morning of that, it's 77 degrees and sunny. Typhoon season is bizarre.

The Hole

Moving Day: October 1st started out well. Winston and I had our lease signed by 9:30, the sun was shining, and we had ourselves a little cleaning party.

Winston and I at the station bright and early, on our way to sign the lease!

A typical morning at the station

Pre-game shrimp burger

cleaning....

After we finished packing and cleaning, Winston and I were pretty excited, mainly due to the fact that our new apartment has old school skeleton keys. Clearly we're easily excitable.

Then the movers arrived. Let it be known that these guys loaded our entire apartment into their truck IN 15 MINUTES! I timed them, for lack of anything better to do. I just stared at them in awe. I tried to take pictures of them in action, but they were seriously too fast for the shutter on my camera. They were the Olympians of moving. They were the Cat's Pajamas.

mover in action

moving van

teamwork

Then we got to our new apartment...and I cried... literally. We live above a grocery store and a karaoke club. This is not as wonderful as it sounds. The stairwell smells like salty peanut farts. THE WHOLE FLOOR shares a bathroom AND A SHOWER. No "little girls' room" or "little boys' room"... it's all co-ed, like the bathroom fro Ally McBeal, only dodgy. REALLY DODGY.


the urinal that's neighbors with the western style toilet and the squatter....yay

the peanut fart stairs.

here's the one shower on our floor....

here's the shower... I wear flip flops.

Upon seeing my reaction, Winston agreed completely that the place is a dump. So we named our new apartment "the hole." Why? Well...

it's not a black hole

it's not a pot hole

it's not a Hobbit hole (man, I wish it was)

it's a different kind of hole, the kind that is prefaced by a word worthy of a good soap rinse of the mouth that begins with an "S".... Get imaginative and you'll get the idea.

Now, The Hole does have it's strong points.

1. It has ample closet space (a hard thing to find)

2. It fits all our furniture and other stuff comfortably

3. There's hot water in the kitchen and Internet.

4. Once I organized, it was kinda cute (as long as your willing to ignore the fact that the wood looks rotten, the walls are stained, the screens on our windows mysteriously disappeared, the movers broke our desk, and the kitchen is a dark cave-like hallway).

this is what our futon looks like all folded up. it makes more space this way.

our bedroom

half of my closet.

the other half

our main room.

Our actual apartment isn't half bad now that we're about 3/4 of the way moved in, but the worst part is that we live right on a major highway. It's really loud, I think I got about 3 hours of sleep last night. Arg.

the view from our window.

Highway 2. the reason I get NO SLEEP here at our new apartment.

So, while the new apartment isn't 100% bad, it's definitely a hole. Since we have a month-to-month lease Winston and I are on the apartment hunt once again. We're going to take it slow, and make sure we work together to find the right place to live out the rest of our time here in Tokyo. We're both a little tired of all the moving around.

Until then, I'm going to ask my lovely and artistic cousin Julia to send me load of her artwork to decorate my bland walls. That way I can transform this hole into an art gallery.

Julia and her equally lovely sister Jenny made me this cute sign when I was home this summer. I think some artwork is just what the decorator doctor ordered.

I'm hoping the apartment grows on me, and the more we get settled in the less I want to cry. Then I take a shower in my flip flops in lukewarm water with zero water pressure and my will to move becomes ever stronger. I'll keep you posted...literally. I guess this is what I get for assuming any building with skeleton keys is cool. Lesson learned.