the first rule of daffodils . . .

daffodils in the morning sun. and why was i able to take such cheerful sunny photos this morning before the gym? because after the gym yesterday, i took two buses to go to Marina del Rey. and why Marina del Rey? to see Steve and his Starbucks. he manages a Starbucks kiosk inside a big grocery store. 6 days a week does not sound fun to me ... i will stick to doing whatever it is i do ("do? i'm doing what i do") when i go to work. i didn't buy any coffee. for some reason, i've always associated drinking coffee with being a "grown-up".... and that's just not me : ) i did buy something for a dear friend but no employee (or friend) discount. Steve seems to be good at being a Starbucks guy. a customer told me how nice he was and that she would definitely be back because of him. i could have gotten a ride home with Steve (or at least to his house as he would be in a hurry to pick up his kids from school) if i wanted to wait an hour. i choose to go for a walking adventure. i left Starbucks at 130p and around 6p i arrived at Manhattan Beach pier. most of my walk was barefoot and on the sand. i walked back up to PCH (Pacific Coast Highway) to catch the bus back home around 7p. i think i walked about 10 miles. of course, it was a nice and easy pace as i took many photos and stopped many times to enjoy being on the beach. so, back to why i didn't go to the gym around 7a as usual. i was tired when i finally got home last night and forgot i needed to do laundry again (no laundry, no workout clothes). and even though i was up before 6am, my apartment manager has a "no laundry before 8am" rule. i did figure out the problem with listening to The Vinyl Cafe but choose to record it for later. now you know the rest of the story. i took more daffodil photos and squirrel photos when i got back from the gym (14 out of the first 16 days of this new year). now it is time for lunch and some playoff football. and maybe a nap. oh, and i received Fight Club today from Netflix. my gym-friend Francisco told me it was one of his favorites. i don't think i ever saw it when it came out as i am not much of a fan of fights or clubs but upon his recommendation . . .

this beautiful version of a previously uploaded favorite song is very moving. right as i was wiping a tear away, Noriko called. her Mother wanted to talk with me. now, i have to wipe another tear or two away. まっています。

Fred Knittle of Young@Heart singing Coldplay's "Fix You"

Fred died January 1st, 2009.

while i was out . . .

The Arthur Awards were given out on today's Vinyl Cafe. another wonderful show. it was over at 8am and for some reason i didn't start my walk until 10am. perhaps i was a little tired from the past week of exercise and more exercise so today just a little walk . . . i left at 10am and returned at 6pm. nice walk, lots of photos, lots of sunshine. here are a some highlights from my walk and new camera. the battery died again but luckily i brought my old camera with fresh batteries. and i did find a place near the beach to re-charge my new camera's battery before arriving at the beach. that green color in the waves was there as the sun was on it's way to the ocean and backlighting the waves. well, those photos will be tomorrow.

just in case

just in case you didn't . . .

ride the bus today . . . it says Redondo.

find the spot today . . . "x" does mark it, you know

go to Mitsuwa Market today . . . i didn't get an egg but i did check on my next flight to Japan

cross over PCH (Pacific Coast Highway) tonite on your way back from the grocery store . . . i think i got about 8 miles of walking in today.

close to home and Suma too

a lazy weekend but productive one. not much exercise but i will start again tomorrow. finally got a little more organized. finally thru away some "things" "stuff" "this and that" that needed to be thrown away. and i still have more to do as well as taking a box or two of "stuff" to Good Will. i have too many photos. it is fun going thru them (not easy throwing them out) but time consuming. luckily i have time now. been watching some football and did you see Federer's shot? shinjerarenai! unbelievable! here are some images from my day at the beach in Suma a couple of weeks ago and also some recent local color.

Ai by Ai Otsuka

i really like this little video/slice of Life/song. it reminds me of a lazy late Summer day (weekend) with 大切な人 taisetsuna hito (people special to one's Life). and of course, Japan. when will i return. aki? ai means love and it is also the singer's first name. she is also the singer of Renai Shashin (photogrpahs of love) and i think that song is somewhere in my blog (Aug. 11th) along with the reference to one of my favorite movies, Tada, Kimi o Aishiteru.

it was the space shuttle

just a few minutes ago there was a very loud "boom boom". i joined several of my neighbors outside and we all looked toward the sky and wondered the cause of loud booms. hopefully nothing remotely similar to 8 years ago. it reminded me of my previous career waiting on the SR-71 to land in Okinawa so i (my shop) could do what we do. i thought perhaps it was a sonic boom. one neighbor had the tv on and was watching the space shuttle land. and now we know.

not an SR-71. not even close!

did you hear that "boom boom"? where's my nuts?

on my long walk back from the gym i took a few photos with my little Polaroid digital camera.

i did some shopping on the way. first new shorts for working out and swimming from SportsMart. and then thru Del Amo Shopping Mall. i didn't buy anything but it was much cooler inside than outside. and then for some this and that at Target. from there back to Hawthorne Blvd. to Silvio's Cameras. i talked with a nice salesman who told me to bring in my Canon dslr and he can check on my lack of "clearness" in my photos. also, checked on the new Panasonic Lumix but they don't have the one i saw in Japan. and then finally three hours after leaving the gym, i made it home. it is now almost 630p and i have yet to have lunch. time for dinner.

strange clouds to the west while there was blue sky to the east.

.

my friend Mike recently told me he picked up a dvd from red box. it took me a few seconds to understand what he meant. this red box is new at the 7-11 (not new) on my walk home. and if you are wondering what that thing to the right of the red box, it is a . . . public telephone : )

i told the car salesman i would take it (the car) if it came in green. he said "really?" i said i cannot drive a yellow car with a red ballon attached. if the ballon was green . . .

i saw this sign before on my walk home and something about it bothers me . . . a chicken grilling a chicken?

no, i did not stop in for a burger. actually i have never been to this one or the one in Minoo. and don't call me "Big Boy".

guess what happens next to Otosan. i saw what happened first on my last visit to Japan.

Noriko and i were a little confused and then we saw this (part 2). of course, you may be confused by the whole concept of this SoftBank cm (commercial) but i like them.

Hinamatsuri Day Walk

seems like only a year ago . . .

this kind blogger who lives in Kyoto took the time to explain the meaning Hinamatsuri Day. more about my walk later.  time for tonkatsu obento which i bought at Mitsuwa Market.  and the i will try my "hishi yokan" for dessert.  i also bought a special Hinamatsuri tin of my favorite Fugetsudo Gaufre from Kobe.  i will save that for a late night snack.

Fugetsudo Gaufre Hello Kitty 

today's walk was about 7 miles.  first i stopped by Best Buy to check on their digital SLR cameras.  and then a few miles later i was at the Torrance farmer's market. there was some steel drummer's drums set up near the food court area but no steel drum drummer.  i had a fish taco for lunch.  not bad, not great. from there i walked to Old Torrance and then finally arrived at Mitsuwa Market.  i checked on my EVA flight to KIX and on the cost of a Japan Rail Pass.  unfortunately the yen rate is about 95 yen to the dollar.  not good but しがたがない。 i found the Hinamatsuri display and took a few photos before buying some groceries in the market.  i checked at the video/dvd store for Okuribito but it will not be arriving for about 2 weeks.  hopefully i can see it in Osaka.  here are some photos from my walk.  the sun was shining but it was a little cool in the shade.

because it was there

perhaps i will see Nara next month or in April.  this photo was from about 5 or 6 years ago (pre-digital camera for me so this photo is a scanned image).  i think i went from Tokyo to Osaka to Nara to Okayama to Kurashiki and then back to Saitama... too many memories ago.

here is another "sakura" song.  this is the band i stood in line for 3 hours to hear in Tokushima. their name is Ikimono-gakari.  and if you remember the story i was in the front row of the concert and my photo was in the local newspaper the next day... i kind of stood out.  i love the singer's voice.