Hey-zues it was hot today. Taught some classes, had fun with some kids, sweated my make up off.
Went to body combat tonight. Killed it, apart from getting a little delirious halfway through and not being able to piece together the combinations..but only for like a minute. Oh and two hugs tonight...hheeeyyy who was rockin it? Moi. Had to rest in my car afterwards, exercised so much I felt like I was gonna throw up...almost did....actually did a little. TMI? Deal. Sigh...it was a great workout, totally worth it, especially the hugs. Plural...hheeeyyy.
Big performance in August, so gotta get my practice on. I'm going to try and do 1 hour a day. By the commitment I've showed to this new series of posting every day I'm not super confident, however if i don't post a blog in time the only consequence is well i didn't post when i was supposed to, big whoop- just like Whoopie Goldberg, but for the performance I need to practice until the cows come home - and ima be calling those cows!
So, story of my life I'm on a diet. Need to get hot for summer. Today's pic is what I'm eating for dinner, every night that I am home.
Salad is good.
Quick, easy and pretty healthy. Lettuce, avocado, grilled eggplant with garlic and pan seared salmon with a roast sesame dressing. Delish. Let's hope I don't get sick of it!
A day spent with some fantastic people. Brunch at the Officers club, shopping and make up tutorials given by yours hopelessly in love (yours truly is so done) followed by late lunch at Chilis where I ate probably the best dessert ever. That's why it gets a whole square to itself. Words cannot describe. I'm probably glad I don't live in Tokyo, I would be huuuuuge if I did.
Peace with a straight posture and a salute if you please.
I know I'm still behind on posting, so let's bang it out tonight with a nail and a massive hammer.
Strawberry Mojito
This mojito was delicious. When I asked the waiter in English (and yes all the staff spoke English..further confirming my love affair with Tokyo) which drink he recommended, he said a classic mojito...I chose the strawberry. Gosh I'm defiant.
Nuff said. It was Saturday night, I was hungry, Tokyo was a bang'n and a drink was needed. Oh and the company was pretty amazing too.
Spent an absolutely fantastic weekend in Tokyo, so the next three posts (including this one) or last 3 days depending on how you look at it will be photographs from my love affair with the city that never sleeps, the neon concrete jungle that is 東京 (Tokyo).
Ma'a was our surprise guest.
My kapa haka group performed at a charity event in Tokyo raising money for kids affected by the earthquake/tsunami in northern Japan. We were told there would be a special guest seated at our table, and it turned out to be Ma'a Nonu - All Black. However he didn't stay at the table long, we arrived after performing and getting dressed as everyone was starting on dessert.
The event was a success, lots of money was raised, we ate good food and drank delicious New Zealand wine.
It's hot. Too hot. (not the Coolio song either). Third summer in Japan and I can safely say I hate it. Actually I could have honestly said that after the first one. It's not a nice hot, it's a sweaty, humid, no aircon anywhere kind of hot.
This is turning into a complaining post. Sorry. Actually not really. Deal.
Two pictures today.
Goodbye straight hair
Hello curly (all day, every day).
Even if I try, the humidity wins every time. sucky.
Let's get positive now. Things I like (dare I say love) about summer in Japan....
kids go on summer vacation, so I can take more time off and spend less time at school and more doing different things and starting work later and finishing earlier
beer gardens
summer fruit - peaches and watermelon
making homemade umeshu (plum wine)..expect a post about that soon
hopefully getting a tan of some description
That's kind of a sad list, hopefully by the end of this summer I'll have more fun things to add.
Jerry Curl and perm out.
(and no I didn't get a perm, curly is my natural).
Trying a new series, posting one pic a day that pretty much summed up me in that day. Something that moved me, something that excited me, something I liked, something that made me feel something. Let's try for 27 days. Why 27? It's my number.
Day um.
Gary.
I have named this little guy Gary. For the past few weeks, pretty much every night he's been on my window when I go to close the curtains. I have had a quite a few encounters with Gary (or members of his family) over the past year or so....enough to think that maybe it's a sign. He's (I'm going to refer to all the geckos I have encountered as Gary or him) been in my house, once on the tatami just chilling, the second time he ran under my couch, both times he was captured and put outside. He recently came for a ride with me to school, I opened the boot of my car and he jumped out and off into the grass...and he chills on my window almost every night. I'm beginning to think of him as a kind of kaitiaki (guardian for all of you in versed in the native tounge of Aotearoa) he's always around and he eats bugs and I can't stand me some bugs and I've stopped freaking out every time I see him.
Today's feeling..comfort. Knowing that he was there, hopefully looking out for me. Signs...all about the signs.
inspired. (not really). one day some guy is gonna quote that line about me, and I'll melt and think it's the most romantic thing ever. or he could sing it.
2nd outfit. Zara knit dress & black tights! So exciting.
Finally, I know! Another outfit post. And the purpose this was really for the hair! But i made a little bit of an effort with the outfit- kinda. So this was my second outfit of the day, the first was what I wore to work and well frankly that was not very stylish or blog worthy (my work outfits are so painfully boring and uninspired as to assimilate to my surrounds, although I still stick out like a sore thumb with big blue eyes and dyed hair - did I mention the only foreigner?!) so I changed into this for dinner with a friend. I love black. Obviously. Even though it's kinda boring it's such a comfy outfit, and the weather right now doesn't know what's up so it's a perfect in between! oh and I wore bangles with it!
So this is the real reason for this post....my hair! I watched Honey last night and I was inspired...it kinda worked, except my hair is naturally unruly and curly. It's the weather, it makes me lazy and not want to do my hair, and even when I do it never stays the same, urgh.
Gosh i love taking pics of myself, if you can't tell.
This was the look I was trying to copy, I kinda got it. I did have ties to the side like her, you just can't see them under all that hair - I also had big earring too.
This is stuck on reply right now.
Peace and inspiration.
I know i overkill that reference jus' a lil bit (see what i did there?), but it works oh so well.
A few things that I've loved this past week....
the gym (and my combat instructor, oohhhh hhheeeyyy that's another story)
sharing delicious meals with my wonderful friends
eating outside on the not so hot and humid early evenings, with bottles of fancy juice with fancy bottles (that end up as vases..post on that coming soon)
as bad ass as my students were last week, i still love the one liners they come up with or the things they do to make me smile, and making them smile makes me happy
drinking, enjoying, taking smack with new random people and letting self consciousness go (almost)
dancing up a hurricane (not a storm - it was much more then that!)
laughing so uncontrollably it hurts and you start crying (deb is bed backwards, really!)
talking shit and laughing
laughing
watching awesomely bad movies with lovelies, eating pizza and laughing uncontrollably
how good i felt after my weeks gym sessions even though i could hardly walk!
Not necessarily flashing, but light and play of light and reflections obsess me sometimes. My main photographic tool is my iphone, and it takes some amazing pictures. So these are a random collection of iphone shots thus far.
oh and i'm super behind on posting the things i want to...I'm making a concerted effort to post more. less jibber jabber and more of the pictures.
375 Lawson sunset.
early morning peace park haka
early evening train sunset
early blossoms
river side
Kure Port sunset from 8th floor @ the hospital
M squared hanami blossoms
spring city skies
Hiroshima City flashing lights
Sanyo highway sunset traffic
and my favourite Kanye song to finish, she don't believe in shooting stars, but she believe in shoes and cars.
