UNDERCOVER in NIPPON: August 2005

Wednesday, August 31, 2005

I CAN'T STOP ....

Eating and eating ... even when i am full , i am able to kick my stomach into that third gear and put in more ... guess its because every food i touch i know it might be the last time i see it for another year or more!! Tonite's victim? leftover Popeyes chicken and rice, damn i couldnt resist, smell so good, yum ... guess that could be the reason also why i am at my heaviest weight ever ... i bit over 160 now ... time to go back to nippon where the food dont taste as good , that be my diet

Tuesday, August 30, 2005

good to see you off jimmy! have fun in the land down under!!!

p o p e y e s

DAMN GOOD CHICKEN!

Alright so we had to meet up with Jeff to do some paperwork for Ace, so why not meet up at a place like Popeye's chicken. I have been eyeing it ever since i got into town, its alot closer than the one down south, plus Seila loves it like a fat kid loves cake, and i dont think i have had the chance to get the real Popeye chicken taste because the last time i tried it i was in HK, and shit it was dry as sandpaper, i tell ya HK people cant cook chicken, but damn if ya got some brothers cooking up in there and going in there to order some of that chicken thats a damn good sign. So we went in and even though i was full as can be, food was calling. And as true as the signs were, the taste was evident that this Popeye was the real thing, damn so juicy and tender, and greasy. Ya know its good when you have to go to the bathroom later to wash all that grease off. Thanks Jeff!

damn good greasy Popeye's chicken

hey loooook there is amy

huge i tell ya

now there is a nutritious american meal, total? $2.50 baby!

normal (pic by art)

not normal (pic by art)

a-1 steak sauce and a fat tire beer (pic by art)

Monday, August 29, 2005

MMMMMM...THOUGHTS TO PONDER

Alright, lets see where we left off, Hempfest. Well in between that there has been a whole lot of poker. About 9 days straight to be exact and some of those days did carry on into the wee early mornings. Naoko and Tsuneki arrived in town for a true Japanese vacation. A 1.5 day stay, so a whirlwind tour it was for my buddies, didnt know how much you could really pack into a day, but most of Seattle was covered. As for longer stays you can never have too much time to cover everything, as i think Susanne only got to see part of Seattle.

Then there was also the Chu'ster to arrive in town, boy havent seen her since the cali days, always good to see you Chu, you always crack me up. Then to wrap up the week it was the grand finale of a bbq slash poker gone wild tournament at the grand opening of Amy and Brian's new home. Sure is tough to get out of this vacation mode as i am about to head back to japan, but damn i wouldnt change it for anything. Just catching up with friends, is a thing that i wouldnt trade anything in the world for, no dollar or yen or poker chip can be replaced. And yeah speaking of poker, we sure love playing it, everyone likes to win, we like money, we like talking trash with each other, we like competition, but i think we just do it, to be together. Poker is simple as that friends just hanging out together.

Clouds, back in japan i used to always look up at the clouds and enjoy how they always changed, but those clouds seemed to only change slightly every day. Day in and day out i could expect a certain type of look, a certain type of cloud shape. But when coming home when i looked at the clouds everyday i was presented with something different, a different color a different shape, they were never the same. Never paid much attention to certain things when i lived in Seattle before, guess coming back after a year or two away i come back to appreciate things more and more. Even the clouds, even the sunsets, even the friends and family. Amazing how much you can learn by sometimes taking a step back and tilting your head up to the sky. When i left Seattle i thought things were coming to a standstill and things weren't changing. But maybe it was me, and everything else was changing, or i wasn't looking elsewhere enough. Well i still dont know, but i know Seattle will always be home. Hope this next journey into Japan will be just as good as a home to me as Seattle. I am keeping my head up, looking at those clouds.

good friends

say peace

part of the poker crew

cant go wrong with homecourt advantage

jeff my financer

i won myself 20 one dollar make ya holla bills

action moves indoors

2 tables, 18 people !!

amy and brians house and a whole lotta cars

jimmy gets 9 in a big big way

outdoor seating

happy to cook some wieners

wow, big bird

the secret seasame street bag

no bbq wouldnt be complete without poker

the rib eye steak from outback steakhouse, mmmmmm goooooood!!!!

the sun is setting

another pic of the pike

a mirror shot inside the 1st starbucks

more fruit from the market

TOURIST

I have been taking so many pics of around town, seems like i am the tourist in my group of friends. Guess you take somethings for granted, even including the ole honey bucket, which would have been hella better than that hole in china.