Japan trip- Cute yukatas at the Hotel New Akao in Atami

The Hotel New Akao is known as resort in Japan and is famous for its hot springs and public bath house. While I didn't get a chance to enjoy the hot springs, I still enjoyed my time there.

They let men, women, and children wear yukatas, a sort of casual kimono that you can wear anywhere. The hotel provides the yukatas for guest to wear when using their hot springs. Guests aren't allowed to walk in with their clothes on, nor can they simply just walk in naked. I think that would offend people's sense of decorum. :P

I loved wearing my yukata, since it is probably the closest thing I will ever wear to a kimono. I felt so cultural.

The rooms were also like traditional Japanese rooms in that they are small (measured out by tatami mats) and multifunctional. They can be a living space and later a bedroom when the Shiki Futons are laid out.

The Shiki Futon and comforters are kept in the closet until they need to be laid out.

Next up...eating an egg that supposedly can add seven years to your life.

Mice, Skunks, and Exploding Soda Can Oh My!

Things have been pretty exciting in California. While the fire seems to be finally gone (you never know in this kind of weather!), the migration of animals to suburbia and the heat are still around.

My good ears heard little tapping feet squirming in the kitchen. Red beans doubled bagged in its original packaging and a 99 Ranch Market bag were broken into.

The mice problem should have been tipped off when we got back from Japan. Bags of peanuts, cashews, and almonds were chewed through. The remaining crumbs were intermingled with little black pellets. But the Chinese solution is to just double bag everything. No pest will work that hard to get food! Yet the dispersed beans proved that a more extreme measure had to be taken. Off to Home Depot.

Not too long after the mice problem, we were greeted with a more smelly problem. The scent of a skunk would seep into the house, most notably near my room. I've heard of skunks letting out its scent as a fear response, but...man...I could swear that this skunk was doing it to declare this house as its property. It was as if it was telling all the other animals nearby "Stay away from my territory." Turns out, one skunk had burrowed itself under the house and died. Unable to regulate when it will "fart" anymore, its scent lingers and roams freely and picks up whenever the wind blows.

And there was today. After being on the NBC lot for seven hours, I came back to my car and noticed the peacock feather I left on the passenger seat was stuck to the window on the driver's side. Glancing around, I quickly saw a deformed can. The carbonation trapped inside pushed the top of can to its breaking point. All I can say is...can of soda mixed with heat and direct sunlight do not make for a good combination.

Why I have ignored this blog...

This blog being created has been delayed in so many ways. Initially it was the fact that in a foreign country, internet access wasn't readily available. When I finally got ready to start the blog in another foreign country, I debated how to approach it. Past experiences of following people on Friendster, Xanga, and Facebook through their albums and "tagged" photos was enough for me to know that even random people would come across this blog and want to explore what happened in "Summer 2009."

But being that this is a blog, I knew all to well that it also had the power to change my future. Budding photographers post pictures, develop a so-called "word of mouth" following and end up becoming professional photographers. In other cases, the blog in of itself develops a life of its own and opens up new, unimaginable career opportunities. Julie and Julia, anyone?

With that in mind, I thought about what is it that I wanted this blog to express. Did I want this to blog to be merely about me, have a theme like traveling, or be an experiment for writing. Blog world what do you think?