Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Medal Ceremony

I've never noticed this until this Olympics when I watched Men's Judo medal ceremony.

For almost six minutes the men tried to push, throw, and sit on each other.  They bled and sweated.  They couldn't breathe.  They looked like they were about to pass out.

Half an hour later, when they walked out for the medal ceremony, they were already cleaned up.  I mean, not just showers.  The faces were free of blood and sweat; the hair completely dry and styled, they were not panting anymore.  How was that possible?  They just fought to death!

Not just men's judo.  Women's weightlifting was the same.  Their faces were all puffy and red during the competition.  Soon afterwards they were all breathing normally for the medal ceremony.

So romance trashy novels were correct.  People could be almost dead in this chapter and the next chapter they were alive and kicking and ready to go.  I've always thought that was ridiculous.  I was wrong.  I apologize to all trashy romance novels that I dissed before.

Tokyo 2020 Olympics competitions

I watched so much muscled-men compete with each other that I got a headache 😜

Here's what to watch:

🛶 Canoe - What a surprise find.  I thought it was just a person sitting in a boat floating down the river.  No~ it was a person sitting in a canoe going through rapids while in an obstacle course.  Look at the men's arms!  The Spanish competitor even looked liked Henry Caville 😍

🤺 Fencing - as stated in the pervious post, fencers are supermodels!

🏐 Beach Volleyball - What's not to like, handsome men and beautiful women jumping around in skimpy outfits.  They have no belly fats when they sit down!  The competition even had a DJ playing music in the background.  At one point the DJ played I'm Sexy and I know It 😂

🏉 Rugby - I've never watched a rugby match even though my alma mater has a pretty good team.  So much muscled men running around beating each other up, bleeding.  I was mesmerized.  They also played hard music in the background for some reason.

🏊 Swimming - I watch swimming at every Olympics.  Look at the men's arms rising out of surface and then crashing down, splashing water everywhere.  The sun glistened on the flexed biceps 🤤

Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Men's Fencing, Saber, Final

It was Hungary vs. Italy.  The competitors walked out on stage with the music of Imperial March from Star Wars.  I laughed so hard that my belly hurt.  Why Imperial March for fencing?  Was it the lightsaber thing?

Then the final competition began.  It was no competition at all.  The referee said go; Hungary immediately slashed Italy for one point.  The referee said go again; Hungary immediately poked Italy for another point.  Every time the referee said go, Hungary got another point.  It was obvious Hungary was skills way above Italy. 🤺🤺🤺

I got to thinking.  This was for the gold.  If Hungary was this good, what happened to the previous rounds?  Did Hungary kill them all?

Oh My God! 😲 Was that why the Imperial March was playing?  Because Darth Vader was coming!!!

When Hungary won and he took off his helmet, I was stunned.  A sculpted face with deep-set eyes and mesmerizing smile.  He exuded confidence because he knew he was the best.  The man was so handsome he could've been a model.  I bet he has clothing line and/or shoe line in Hungary for sale.  I wouldn't mind supporting whatever he's selling 😀

29 July 2021 Update:  I watched women's team epee final.  As the competitors walked out, Imperial March still played in the background.  So they have decided Imperial March is the official music for fencing matches??!!  By the way, one of Estonia women's fencing team members looked like a supermodel, and she looked really mean, too.  I hope she got a movie deal!

I TAKE THEE

My story, I TAKE THEE, is available for sale on Amazon!

Free with Kindle Unlimited!

A centuries-old vampire, she wanted to marry him on the second date. When he said no, she found someone else. What should he do to win her back?

This is a paranormal romance set in the modern time period. There are a few curse words, but no explicit sex scenes.

The City of Stoneborough is loosely based on the City of Oceanside and the greater San Diego county in California, USA.  Every highway exit in San Diego county is a beach.  The ocean shines so blue, and the sunset off the Pacific Ocean is spectacular.

I lived there for two years and loved every minute of it.

I TAKE THEE

Hakone Day Trip

Hakone is a famous town at the foothills of Mount Fuji.  It's famous for hot springs, Lake Ashi, museums, and shrines.

Of all the museums in Hakone, the most famous is The Hakone Open-Air Museum.  However, they really need to add a word to the English name.  The Japanese name is Sculpture Museum.  For years I thought they were two different museums.  When we arrived, I was surprised to learn they were the same!

Ticket, ¥1,600/person

The Hakone Open-Air Museum

The most famous exhibit in this museum is the Picasso exhibit.  If I remembered correctly, this was in the 1980s when Japan had so much money, someone or some corporation bought a bunch of Picasso arts.  It was fascinating.  I learned Picasso not only did paintings but also pottery in his later life.

Picasso Pavilion

The sculptures in the museum are strategically placed among beautifully manicured garden.  There is one by Rodin!  That is a delightful discovery because Math Teacher really likes Rodin.

Me, on the other hand, took this picture only.  All Japanese people know the English word "chicken"; it's in their daily vocabulary.  The Japanese name of the sculpture is "Girl holding a Chicken".  So why do they translate the name to English as "Girl with Cock"?

Girl with Cock

Next we went to Kuzuryu Shrine (Nine Dragons Shrine).  It is a popular and sacred shrine by Lake Ashi.  It has a red torii gate by the water and a red torii gate in the water.  It is also part of the Hakone Shrine complex.  There are so many shrines and torii gates around Hakone; pilgrims spend their lives traveling from one to another.

Kuzuryu Shrine 1

Kuzuryu Shrine 2

Kuzuryu Shrine 3

Kuzuryu Shrine 4

九頭龍神社

Lastly we went to the large red torii gate by the water for Hakone Shrine; this one was called Peace Torii Gate.  My gosh, it was so popular with tourists that we had to get in line to take a picture.  The half moon was up; it was nice.

箱根神社

While waiting with other tourists to take a picture, we saw winding hiking trails along Lake Ashi.  Perhaps we will come back to Hakone and Lake Ashi to do some hiking and stay in a fancy hot spring resort.  Hakone is actually not easy to get to if one is not from downtown Tokyo.  All transportation around Hakone is built with Tokyo in mind.  So if one is from other cities, it takes a long time to make circuitous route to get to Hakone.

Kimono Competition

I accidentally participated in the kimono competition for Kanto Region and World event.  They were asking for foreign competitors in my Japanese class.  I noticed the application deadline had already passed, but they said it was fine.  So apparently they were desperate for any foreigners to participate in the competition.  I turned in the application, just for fun.

World competition is not the entire world.  It was really only Japan.

I was in the Foreigners Division.

I learned so much about dressing the furisode (long-sleeved kimono).  Furisode kimono is for young unmarried girls.  When the kimono teachers asked me what type of kimono I wanted to wear for the competition, and I answered furisode, the teachers were kinda taken aback.  In their minds, they were thinking, "How old is she?  She is not young or unmarried?"

Kimono World Competition 1

Kimono World Competition 2

Kimono World Competition ticket

For Kanto Region competition, there were four foreign competitors.  I came in no. 3 (trophy on the right).

For World competition, there were two foreign competitors.  I came in no. 2 (trophy on the left).

Trophies

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

This experience really helped me with my stories.

The kimono teachers know how to sew and mend kimono.  They also got up and close when they taught me how to tie all the ribbons around.  For my Redemption sequel, I'd like to have a seamstress character, and she got up and close to measure a man to make him clothes.

Two of the foreign women competitors married Japanese men.  I'd like to have this in The Wedding Vow series.  A man and a woman came from different countries.  She dressed in the traditional clothing of the man's country.  He was completely mesmerized by her beauty and stammered and couldn't say anything coherent to her.

Raspberry Cheesecake

Japan is the best place to buy cars.  They have all the classic colors such as black, white, grey, but they also have cars that come in every color in the rainbow.

Look at this!  Isn't this the cutest!  It's my neighbor's car.  Oh why wasn't this available when I was car shopping?

I shall dub thee "Raspberry Cheesecake"!

Raspberry Cheesecake

14 Feb 2022 Update:  It snowed last night.  So Raspberry Cheesecake got some icing!

Raspberry Cheesecake with Icing

Tomato & Cucumber Salad

Salad Ingredients:

• Tomatoes
• Cucumber
• Gnocchi

Dressing Ingredients:

• 3 tbspn olive oil
• 1 tbspn balsamic vinegar
• salt
• pepper
• garlic (minced or powder), optional
• herb, optional

Steps:

1. Mix the dressing into a jar and shake well.  I like to refrigerate it before drizzling it onto anything.
2. Cut up tomatoes and cucumber into the same size as the gnocchi.
3. Boil gnocchi.  Gnocchi cooks faster than dried pasta.  So keep an eye on it.
4. Drain gnocchi.
5. Put tomatoes, cucumber, and gnocchi together.  Drizzle the dressing over and serve.

Tomato & Cucumber Salad

I make this salad quite often, and with variations. Sometimes I use chickpeas instead of gnocchi.  Sometimes I put cheese.  Today I was hungry and craving something substantial, after enduring a virtual training class from midnight to 6am due to time zone difference.  So gnocchi! 😋

The dressing is very versatile too.  It's basically 3:1 oil to acid ratio.  Everything else is optional.  It goes great with any salad.  I think it's the easiest salad dressing recipe floating around on the interweb.

Pancakes

Ingredients:

1 cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

3/8 tsp salt

1 tbspn honey

1 egg

2/3 cup milk

1 tbspn unsalted butter

Steps:

1. Mix dry ingredients together.  I sift everything.  I don't know if sifting makes any difference, but that's what fancy cooking shows do.
2. Mix wet ingredients together.
3. Dump wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.  Mix well.  
4. If the batter feels too thick, add one tablespoon of milk at a time.  I've added between one tablespoon to three tablespoons on different occasions.
5. Put very little butter in a pan and start making pancakes!  Wait until air bubbles form on the top, then flip it over.
6. Serve with butter or jam or honey!!

Pancakes

I like using honey in the batter.  I think it's what gives that beautiful swirl in the picture.

Usually my first one is beautiful, and then it just progressively gets uglier and uglier.  In the picture I hid three ugly pancakes underneath the three beautiful ones.

This time I had leftover garlic butter from making the failed naans (see previous post).  So I used the garlic butter in the batter and in the pan.  OMG!!! 😋 The pancakes smelled wonderful!  The smell reminded me of honey and bacon!  I never had savory pancakes but now i want to try!

Mangoes

Mangoes made in Japan (top):  each individual one comes in a box with two layers of cushy protection.  ¥2,700/each.

Mangoes made in Taiwan (bottom):  no box with one layer of cushy protection.  ¥753/each.

How much is that box and that one extra layer of cushy protection worth?

Mangoes

Work Life, #1

The instruction at a work project was to select "random samples."  For some reason I did "judgmental samples."  And I didn't realize my mistake until one month later when I was talking to another coworker on the same project.  I had to apologize to two managers.  One manager was trying to be nice, but I could see in his eyes that, "Why, NaNaKo, why would you pull this shit".

This had never ever happened to me.  Random sample vs. judgmental sample, that was basic newbie training.  I also couldn't believe I saw it this late.

What happened to me?! 😱

13 July 2021 update:  I finally explained the entire project to the manager.  He had this WTF expression on his face.  Then he mumbled, "How is a newbie going to be able to follow along and do this?"  He was probably thinking of the new hire in another office.

I almost blurted out, "It's not that hard.  HQ's instructions are convoluted, but I took one day to do one step so it's doable."  Then I remembered my own fiasco about judgmental vs. random sampling.  Apparently I can't follow instructions either.  So I just kept quiet and let the manager think this project is soooo hard! 😜

Black Widow (2021)

I liked the movie a lot.  Great action, some comic relief.  The most important part was this movie was all about family relationship.  What makes up a family?  Who belongs in a family?  If not blood-related, can you still love the family?

SPOILER ALERT!  This is not Black Widow's origin story!  The storyline dropped right in the middle of the MCU.  I hope the movie does well in theaters so MCU will actually make a Black Widow origin story to explain how she got out of her former life and how she joined the Avengers.

Kamakura Day Trip

First, Kamakura Great Buddha.  The picture doesn't do it justice.  One needs to stand under it to be in awe of its heavy presence.  Entrance fee is ¥300/adult, but for additional ¥20, one could enter the Great Buddha and see it is empty inside.  It is held up by all kinds of bars (steel or bronze?  I don't remember.)  Personally I prefer the bronze lotus sculptures in front of the Buddha.

Tickets, front

Tickets, back

Then, Hasedera Temple (¥400/adult).  It's got a beautiful garden to walk around.  The most fun is the cave where they put some buddha statues inside.  It was dark, wet, and low.  One could easily trip and hit the head in there.

Ticket, front & back

We took the streetcar to Kamakura JR Train Station.  This is such a cute streetcar.

Enoden Streetcar

From Kamakura JR Station, we walked to Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine.  The name is a mouthful, but it's got two of my favorite things:  red bridges and lotus flower pond.  We wandered to an older smaller shrine called Inari Shrine.  Nobody was there, just us.  We walked through the red torii gates, and it rained on us.  We stood in front of the shrine with four fox stone sculptures as protectors.  We listened to the rain drops pa-da pa-da pa-da on the umbrella.  It felt serene, peaceful, and poetic.

鶴岡八幡宮

Kamakura is far; 2.5 hours train ride one way, with four transfers!  We recommend it, but ourselves will probably not go again.

Naan

It was a failure.  Don't be fooled by the beautiful burnt marks.  They were not fluffy and chewy like the ones in the restaurants.

This was my second attempt, and it was better than the first time.  I think it was because I didn't know how to control the heat.  We both also think it needed A LOT more garlic butter to make it delicious.

Naan, homemade, failure

19 July 2021 Update:  Today I used a whole stick of butter to pan fry nine pieces of naans, and it worked!  Not only the texture was chewy and 90% similar to restaurant quality, I even got air bubbles!  Looking at the air bubbles popped up, I was so proud! 😋

Mint Coffee

I learned this from Philz Coffee.  I never thought mint marinated in coffee could be this delicious.

Philz uses cream and sugar.  Even though I can customize it, it's still not good to drink it everyday.

So I created my own.  Just brew coffee over mint leaves.  I'm not a coffee connoisseur, but to me it tastes the same.

Philz Mint Mojito copycat coffee

BASEL ajirochaya, #1

Basel ajirochaya has the best dessert near Hachioji Train Station.  I've been here several times and was never disappointed.  The food used to be average, but now they added rice balls, and that was delicious!

Cherry Pie

They specifically stated these were American cherries.  American cherries are high-quality and expensive and prized here in Japan!

Showa Kinen Koen

Showa Kinen Koen is a beautiful park full of trees, flowers, and dragonflies!

The dragonflies here are blue with a tint of white.  They are absolutely beautiful.

On the other hand, for a park full of plants and animals, this park smelled of nothing.  We weren't sure if it was because of the season, but we couldn't smell any freshly-cut grass or newly-bloomed flowers.  It was eerie and strange.  We even tried the herb garden, but the thyme, rosemary, lavender, and mint had no fragrance whatsoever.

By the way, the Japanese garden was under maintenance.  They drained the pond completely.  They did a thorough job, because it had been raining, but the pond had no sign of water in it at all.

婚姻生活, #1

結婚會讓人變笨嗎❓
去年十二月才結婚
今年七月是我今生第一次遲繳房租
還被罰錢

怎麼家裡多了一個人就忙得忘記這麼重要的事