2007 - Thanks for coming by...

Well, it is that time when we give the ol' pink slip to the dwindling year, and replace it with a totally new year - of course, in the spirit of the age-we-live-in, this year will be out-sourced (we found a cheaper alternative in the obsolete Julian Calender - the Gregorian one got just too darned expensive). I certainly hope that you all had a good past year, and that the upcoming one (cheap knock-off version, or not) builds upon on all that positive karma that you've been storing up. What can I say about 2007? Well, a full year of return-to-normalcy, interspersed with some good times, mixed in with some craziness (and a sprinkling of Red Sox magic) has put the past 364 days in the "Win" column in my book. "Cheers" to you all, and I look forward to seeing everybody in 2008!

The Red Sox Win!

I like to think that my grandmother saw last night's game and realized that 2004 wasn't a fluke - I hope you enjoyed last night's victory, VoVo - no matter where you may be!

Now, a word about all those who I have heard bemoaning that the Red Sox are no longer those lovable losers from yesteryear. Believe me, being a runner-up consistantly is overrated. I actually remember all those bad years - my dad gave up on the Sox years ago, because they broke his heart so many times. My grandmother felt that she had personally jinxed the team, and was reluctant to go to Fenway, lest she ruin their chances to win. I spent most of my youth cheering for an organization that managed to come close, but never quite clinch the big game. And it was frustrating. Believe me, Indians and Rockies fans, we know how it feels. Some pundits now try to tell us that it is a bad thing that Boston has regained some of the luster they showed at the begining of the Modern Era - I say that they are either:
A.) those sort of folks who can't see the big picture of baseball - that it is an incredibly diverse and on-going story; one where the teams who have been in the game for over a century, will continue to wax and wane according to the various fortunes of their communities and organizations.
or,
B.) just a lot of dejected Yankees fans who are entering another Winter of Discontent (much like the popular kid at shool who doesn't understand that the world changes after graduation, and that nerdy kid, who is going on to bigger and better things, is leaving them behind).

Last night's game had a differnt feel. When the Red Sox won, I felt a wave of happiness - not the disbelief of 2004, but a genuine appreciation for the victory itself. Our Sox really worked hard against a lot of quality clubs - true Red Sox Nation will not gloat over the Indians or Rockies: both teams played their hearts out to get to where they were, and their fans were just as expectant of bringing home the trophy. In the end, I watched a Red Sox team who genuinely enjoyed playing the game, being in the run for the Series, and fed off the power of their fans.

For the past few weeks, I, personally, have taken a lot of grief from an assortment of Yankees fans, Indian supporters, and general malcontents who despise the Nation. I have quietly endured and gently chided - so, today, when I go into work with my 75-style Red Sox cap, I will quietly enjoy the moment.

Oh, and VoVo, I will be sure to raise your Red Sox banner today: for you and the team!

White Castle

Being originally from New England, I never had the opportunity to sample White Castle. Now, being firmly ensconced in White Castle Country I can count the number of times I have visited the snowy battlements of the Chateau Blanc on three fingers. Each has been while traveling on the road, and while I can't boast as to have sampled the full menu (my meals have consisted on half a dozen sliders, a fry and drink), I feel that I have been immersed in the White Castle gastro-cultural experience. Call me a convert, although, strangely enough, the White Castle burger reminds me of the steamed beef paties served at my Elementary School (which gave me a pleasant natsukashi feeling - like reliving one of those positive childhood memories). I'll probably go to White Castle in another six months (that seems to be a safe time frame).

サボる サラダ

My apologies, faithful readers - it has been a very busy summer, and I have been amiss in updating you. Well, here is brief synopsis: the weather got really hot, work got really weird, and the Reserves got really intense. I got a Kentucky State driver's license, finally cutting the last of my official ties with Massachusetts (however, I have a bad feeling that MA won't give up so easily without a fight, and might still try to keep me on the tax rolls - I mean, once a Massachusetts citizen, always a citizen, right?). How else are they going to pay for all that mandatory health care in the Commonwealth? KY and MA do share a few things, though: they both love bureaucracy, and believe that customer service is for those other states (you know, the ones that return your phone calls?). I found that getting a driver's licence is an exercise in zen-like patience in both the Commonwealth of MA and KY (and that a lot of angry people get jobs at the respective Departments of Motor Vehicles, but I digress...). But now the deed has been done, and I am officially (for the first time in my life) not listed as a resident of MA. Hmmm... it is not much different (somehow I expected fireworks... even small ones). Anyhow, aside from that, the summer has been rather ho-hum: we had only two real thunderstorms (unlike last summer), and the only real excitement stems from my daily commute on 31W. I understand that Maru-chan has found a new home (did I mention that good ol' Maru-chan has been replaced?). Still, the New Life continues on, and I cannot complain (it is, T-plus one year and four months later, much better than it was when I first packed up and headed down here). May it continue!

Zou-san - and I thought I was the only one who knew you?

When I was living in Japan, I was introduced to Zou-san by some friends in Ibaraki-ken (there was a small store in Ushiku-eki that carried them). Needless to say, I found their nō-men expression and literal well-roundedness appealing, and several found their way into my マンション (often as gifts from like-minded friends). So, imagine my surprise when I found a website that is dedicated to the adventures of Zous. This is truly a good thing, and I plan on visiting this site often to see the continuing adventures of my peanut-loving pals.

Back in the PDRM!

As you might have garnered from my last post, I, Ushiku Person, have returned to Massachusetts, albeit, temporarily. So, what has been my impression, 1 year and 2 months to the day I said adios to the People's Republic? Well, the T has gotten rid of tokens and has instituted "Charlie Cards" - and jacked the price of admission to $2.00 (!). There seems to be a lot of construction and refurbishment going on in many places in and around town, and the locals seem to be their usual, overly-aggressive-behind-the-wheel selves. The trees and shrubbery look a lot fuller, like they have gotten a new hairstyle, and are using Breck or Prell to get a lusher, healthier foliage. The weather had been cool, but today has gotten mushi atsui, and it is best to hide downstairs in the basement with the dehumidifier. I return to Kentucky on Friday, and I have to admit that although I miss my family and friends here in MA, I also miss my little place in KY. In the meantime, we are having a cookout tomorrow night, and it will interesting to see who can make it on a Wednesday evening...

Wedding Par Exellence (Double Plus Plus Good)

Wow, Tall Asian Dude and SWFBJAA tied the knot in grand style this past Saturday - and it was everything that you would expect from two crazy kids, who are deeply in love; and share a fondness for food, friends, swing dancing and are engineers to the core! Everything was planned with precision ("... the groom's party will leave the hotel bar at 6:52 p.m. and 45 seconds, Eastern Standard Time, after all participants have imbibed 2.5 drinks, and then proceed, at a leisurely pace, in a northeasterly heading down Commonwealth Avenue towards the Boston Public Gardens..."). The ceremony was simple, funny, touching and perfectly Them. Then there was dancing, then a virtual mountain of incredibly delicious hors d'oeuvres, trucked out by an army of super-nice wait staff, and bars that served everything - but, especially note-worthy, they had real German hefeweizen (which was all Tall Asian Dude's doing, God bless him!). After wiping away the tears of joy (from the union of two wonderful people!), I had to rub my eyes in disbelief at the wonderful food and drinks - it was, as earlier surmised, a gastronmical event worthy of my friends. The groom's father gave a wonderfully funny and heart-felt speech, as did the bride's father - and a host of friend's gave testimonials as to the amazingly positive effect SWFBJAA had on Tall Asian Dude - not to mention, many food-related stories (as these two are the Gourmands of the Northeast...). All in all, it was a fitting and magnificent evening that exceeded all expectations (which were pretty high to begin with anyways...). May Tall Asian Dude and SWFBJAA be healthy, happy and near good restaurants for the rest of their days together - Cheers!!

Chillax

The bennies just keep coming with new job! Yesterday, my boss asked the office if anyone was interested in tickets to the local Triple A baseball team, the Louisville Bats - so, of course, everybody said "yeah" (and to boot, it is going to be "free cap night", too!). In the interest of fairness they put all of our names into a hat and let our training boss pull out the lucky recipient - which just happened to me, your own Ushiku Person - Horray! Now, I am basking in the warm afterglow of random-lottery victory, chilling at home. See, the new schedule calls for my team to work 4 days a week, 10 hours a day - this a new experience for me, and I must admit that it is addictively awesome. I mean, ten hours at work can be a little too much, but getting Fridays off (effectively, a three-day weekend for the forseeable perpetual future) is nice. Got the big mug-o-milk coffee, and looking outside at the warm damp greyness of a Kentucky morning.. This weather, though, is great for the foliage, as the grass around the apartment is growing at an astounding rate - in fact, one of our neighbors had allowed their lawn to get up to savannah levels. Which was threatening to engulf their dog's fenced-in compound - when they finally mowed it yesterday (and it was seriously choking thier lawn mower in the process) they still left the tall grass inside the dog's area - way to go guys! It is like some sort of contained duck blind, where you can only see the upper part of the dog's wagging tall as he scoots around in there during the day

Muggedliness

I stepped out of work this evening, and wow, it was humid - and now that I sit here at home, the darkness descends upon me with almost Duncan Hines-esque moistness (with that particular deep, dark, rich chocolately-brownie-of-the-soul type of foreboding ...). Yup, it feels like summer is approaching. From the dearth of comments, I fear that I have squandered my fan-base's good will. I might have to start blogging more to whip up the former frenzy of excitement that heralded this blog's begining... ONE YEAR AGO!! Whoohoo - that's right folks, yours truly, Ushiku Person, has been in down in Kentucky for one year, and the new life is proceeding along better than imagined! I wish to thank all of you who have stopped by to read along, and I hope to be able to continue in the upcoming year to let you in on the adventures of Another Life. Cheers!

May I? Yes you May!

Ah, May has come, which means that Spring is in full stride, and Summer will be here soon. It must be true, because yesterday we had a huge thunder storm, which sounded like it had parked right over our office building (in fact, as I was typing away on my computer and reaching for my Nalgene bottle full of water, I thought I presented a pretty good target for the lightning...). But, as you can see, we didn't get struck - hmmm... the storm gods must be saving something really special for us later on this summer.
Look to the skies!

Blue Blew Through

Our cold snap continues. On Good Friday it ominously grew dark, then suddenly we were engulfed in white-out conditions that coated the car like a sugar cookie. It grew colder on Saturday with occasional flurries. On Easter Sunday morning the snow on our grass was quickly zapped by the first rays of the sun, but it still stayed cold. And today? More of the same. Was it only a week ago that the weather was hot and muggy? Is it Fall already?

Hey, who turned off the heat?

Well, the good news is, I am posting again! The bad news is, I actually saw snow flakes - what the...? Sheesh, earlier this week it was absolutely balmy (in the American sense, meaning hot - not the British sense, meaning crazy-go-nuts). Then, Wednesday evening, a mighty storm front blew through, and then the temps plummeted 20 degrees in a matter of minutes. Now, Summer is a distant memory, and it is time to unpack the recently-stashed cold weather stuff (which was vacuum-packed, thanks to an ingenious bag that uses our home vacuum to suck out the air, leaving a flattened, moth-proofed, easily stored piece of clothing). Yes, obviously another sign of global warming - because everyone knows that when the earth heats up, temps drop... er, or something to do with..., well, anyhow, you know what I mean. In other news, My good friends, Tall Asian Dude, and his girlfriend, She Who Falls Between June and August (henceforth to known as SWFBJAA), will be tying the knot! These two wonderful people are back in Massachusetts - and I hope to head back there to see them actually do this (plus, I'm sure, the food will be memorable - those two appreciate good eats). One of the things I miss about MA is going to Boston's Chinatown and ordering amazing food with my friends. Ah, unfortunately Wing's Kitchen, and pork-as-big-as-your-head has no equivalent in Kentuckiana. The best we can do are the ubiquitous "Asian Buffet" (often just shortened to "Buffet" - which seems to be the generally understood local code for traditional American Polynesian/Chinese food - the likes of which have never been seen in either Polynesia or China... but I digress). Ironically, though, due to the proximity of Fort Knox, and its high concentration of Korean spouses, you can find some pretty darn authentic (not to mention tasty) Korean dishes served up in some very home-style restauraunts (and Kim-chi that will melt the plastic trim off the front of your pickup truck at 50 meters - whoohoo!).

Time... To Blog...

Hey ho there, people! Sheesh, my new life has cut considerably into my ability to document it (which is probably a good thing, as that means that I am actually out there living that new life...). Greetings from north central Kentuckiana - that's what they call the border region between Kentucky and Indiana (at least on this side of the border - I imagine up north they must call it something like "Inducky"). The new life is proceeding surprisingly well - in fact, it has moved well beyond any and all expectations (it is surprising that not quite yet a year has passed). The job has morphed into a new position - got a bit of a promotion a few months ago - just after the new year (yes, it has been a while since I updated this thing...). The Reserve-thing is starting to come together (been going to school one weekend a month since January), and I might just get all trained up by September. I wish I could tell you what I will be doing, but even I'm not entirely sure (which, if you had any experience dealing with the Government, you would know is Situation Normal). Oh, and it is really starting to feel like Spring out there (and it has to be Spring, because the Red Sox are being televised playing in Florida). As you probably know, the Sox shelled out the equivalent of Belgium's GNP for Daisuke Matsuzaka - the pitching phenom, formally of the Seibu Lions (of course I don't wish to appear to be suffering from Original Disciple Syndrome, but I remember when he first started playing for Japanese Professional Baseball way back in the day...). I have to admit, I had some initial trepidation about signing the Daisuke-man (couldn't we just buy the entire Hiroshima Carp Baseball Club - 広島東洋カープ - for that price?), but it is begining to look like Theo knows what he is doing (like usual). I will be returning to MA this summer to attend my good friend's wedding, and I will be sure to bring back VoVo's 2005 Red Sox Championship banner (would you believe that there is a very sizeable contingent of Red Sox Nation down here?). I will try to keep up on the blogging (make it more current, instead of the quarterly report it has become).