OBACHAN'S SCRIBBLES

My obachan (aunt) came to town today and I took her to several places. She wanted to buy a spring jacket and a skirt so we visited several shops including EAON Kochi. It was only her second time there and she seemed pretty excited in the shopping mall. (She said she would buy me something there so I got a small manometer. What’s wrong with buying a manometer? That’s what I wanted the most so I bought it. ;P) But she was definitely more excited when she grabbed my arm and dragged me into a Pachinko parlor. Yes, she loves pachinko, but I don’t. I didn’t let her stay there for more than 30 minutes because I couldn't stand the smoke and noise any longer than that.

Other than that pachinko break, we had a good time. We had sushi lunch and Chinese dinner, and she bought a nice jacket. I really respect those people who can go clothes shopping with someone else and manage to buy what they really want. That's something I can’t do. I always end up buying something I don’t like or not buying anything at all, feeling guilty about making the person wait while I try the clothes on.

My sleep pattern has been affected by the Olympic games on TV recently. The other day I fell asleep with the TV on, and when I awoke, pairs figure skating was going on. A Chinese pair was on the ice, just finishing their performance, and the announcer was repeating “They didn’t give up!” Later I learned that they tried throw quad salchow and the female skater could not land and hurt her knee. But they continued their performance and won a silver medal!

What a great story to wake up to. :) I’m sick of starting my day with news about accounting fraud by an IT company or falsified earthquake-resistance data.

Field Mustard

I forgot to post this picture before. This is the shot I took when I helped my mom with the tea-ceremony related event in my hometown. So it was the end of January. Field mustard (nanohana) is a popular spring flower all over Japan, but it’s rather rare to see it blooming in January, I think.