Sushi

What you see here is the beginnings of a multicultural sushi party--part Iron Chef, part birthday party... Add a few bottles of sake, edamame hijiki salad, squid, miso soup, wasabi peas, ice cold Sapporo and a few good friends, and you've got a raucous dinner event.

It was absolutely intoxicating and I'm not even speaking of the fermented beverages. The sushi rolls last night were easily much better than any restaurant in the greater Oakland/Berkeley vicinity.

The multicultural aspect was represented by a few interesting rolls: Leslie's South of the Border Burrito roll, Lorrie's Kolohe roll, my Korean roll, Cappy's Chop Suey Roll, TA's S.E. Asia roll, and so on....

Other things:

-Though most of us couldn't feel our extremities, we managed to find things to keep us warm in South Lake Tahoe last weekend. Notably, we found solace in a drink called the "Toasted Drop" at a bar called 19 on the top floor of Harvey's casino. If you don't know what i'm talking about, or haven't been there, you should definitely check it out.

-I recently attended a JET (Japanese Exchange Teaching) Alumni Shinnenkai dinner for those ex-JETs in the Bay Area. Most of the ex-JETs were in their 20's--they either just returned or had been back in the States for a few years. The dinner was at a San Mateo restaurant called, Chika. They are known for, or should be known for their Japanese spaghetti, croquette, and seafood gratin. I can't wait to go back to Chika, preferably very soon.

When I was a JET in Fukushima-ken, it was before the time the internet was widely used. I talked to someone about how it would have been great to have had the technology that exists today. Rather than instantaneous emails, IM chats, and things like Skype, I actually hand wrote many letters and on occasion-- dragged the Board of Ed's waapuro home on my bike. For photos, I snapped them on my small shoe size Olympus camera. When the roll was shot, I walked it to a photo shop who then printed out my photos for me to collect a week later. When I wanted to speak to my family, we tried to shoot for once every other week.

I wouldn't say being technology insufficient was really that much of an inconvenience. I mean, would I have really taken advantage of all the things that I got into in my small town?

My town, Nozawa, could be best described as a one 7-11 town. When I got my paycheck--I trundled over to the local hardware/Target-like shop. I'd plunk down cash for rubber boots, and trivets that I didn't need. I spent hours volunteering at the local nursing home--which was probably better spent than surfing the internet and chatting with friends back home. I read books from cover to cover. I greeted elementary school students who'd show up at my door with Pocari Sweat, bags of chips and snacks, and coloring books. I spent time with my good friend Chieko at her bar, the AC Club. This restaurant/bar could have been in the middle of Osaka. They had a wonderful Italian menu and Guinness on top. To this day, I still miss the AC Club's special-- Spicy Italian seafood spaghetti. Perfectly cooked pasta, spicy shrimp, fish, and squid and a shared bottle of Beaujolais (an Aizu favorite) with Chieko afterwards...

I hope to visit Nozawa again at some point this year, or next. As for the sushi party, I'm thinking that should be a weekly event. OK, monthly.