That One Time in Japan
I was in Japan with my mom and my son. The country had recently opened up again to tourism and I took the opportunity to take my son on a trip we were supposed to take pre-pandemic that was cancelled due to a typhoon. My mom tagging along this time was a bonus. It is nice to be in a place that isn’t overrun with tourists. Which, like, I get it: I am a tourist. I am the very thing I’m compl...
Easing into the New Year
We’ve reached the perineum of the holidays and I’m enjoying some quiet time before the new year—a perfect time to reflect on the year just spent. Travel This year was a quiet year for air travel, perhaps even quieter than expected. I have been avoiding travel to the States, for the most part. That has meant not getting any status on United next year—the first year in probably 15 year...
Success
As a child of the 80s, I have distinct things that I associate with successful people. We’re talking the age of shows like Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, Dallas, and Dynasty. Sports like tennis, racquetball, golf, and sailing. People in their white short shorts, and polo shirts, with a headband. Having a briefcase was yet one more sign of success. As a teenager, I had a briefcase. Brass ...
Television is the Worst
It’s gotten to the point where I almost pathologically avoid television shows. Name a popular tv show from the last 20 years and there’s a good chance I haven’t seen it. Game of Thrones? Nope. Succession? Nope. Mr Robot? Nope. Breaking Bad? I saw the first two seasons and gave up. Strangers Things? Also gave up after two seasons. It’s been difficult for me to articulate exactly why I d...
Shiver With Antici-
Yup, the colder weather has arrived. My days of sitting on the balcony, basking in the warm sun, are tucked away for the year. They’ll return next year, for sure. The House After quickly getting the house cleaned out, I put it on the market. Less than two weeks later, I got an offer. I ended up selling for less than I wanted but a confluence of factors were at play. Before I listed my h...
Quick October Update
Life has been a bit hectic as of late. I don’t like the platform I have running my blog, which means I have a mental hill to get over before I can blog. Right now, I’m inside a coffee shop killing time waiting for a truck to show up and haul away a pile of junk I have in the garage. I decided to crack open the less than stellar editor to write this. Might as well make some use of my time—eve...
The End of Summer
My kid got moved into college. I originally typed “settled” but I think it’s going to take awhile before he feels settled. It’s a big change. A new school. A new city. It might be awhile before I feel settled, too. On the way down, I stopped in Toronto to try Michelin-starred Kaiseki Yu-zen Hashimoto Restaurant that sits in the Japanese Canadian Cultural Center. It was a lovely experi...
Recent Morsels
As I am on the cusp of considering another culinary quest, I’ve been wondering how I want to present the experience. I could do something similar to the Fifty site, which felt more documentary. Here’s where I was and this is what I ate. I had an Instagram account where I’d post photos of the food but their post format felt a bit constraining, being limited to 10 photos and a descript...