Sinigang and Shrimp ala pobre

Tasted typical Philippino food this weekend~

Sinigang is a sour, delicious soup. The flavor is different from Japanese cuisine, but I love it. Shrimp ala pobre has a thick souse, which is really good eaten with white rice. It's so delicious that you can eat rice three times as much as you usually do.

"Beverly Hills Chihuahua"

A celebrity dog living in Beverly Hills, Chloe, gets lost in Mexico and meets a lot of dogs. The place was totally new to her and she was first desperate to go home. Former police dog helps her and they became friends.

Disney always produces very nice movies with animals. The mouthes of the dogs are computer graphics and so the dogs speak!

I just want to mention some reviews on this movie. Some people say that it patronizes the racial stereotypes; dirty Mexican dogs are waiting to be rescued by an LA lady and given a good bath. This comment shocked me but it really makes sense. This kind of story might grate on Mexican people. The message that Walt Disney wanted to deliver is that they strongly hope that every domestic animal has a loving home. But even good messages can offend some people.

"Marley and Me"

It is a story of a young couple, John and Jane, and a Labrador retriever, Marley. Marley is too an energetic dog and he never listens to the owners. He eats anything, destroys furniture, and runs to everything that interests him. As Marley becomes bigger, it gets more difficult to control him. John and Jane, trying to hold Marley, are so funny.

What impressed me is that both Jane and John dealt with all the problems in a positive way. Even though Jane was stressed out with taking care of her children and Marlie, she still said that this is Marley's home and he's not going to go anywhere no matter how tiring it is to keep him. John also told his friend that he would never leave Jane even when they had arguments every day. Considering the divorce rate in the states, which is 50%, this couple are strongly bonded.

After their three kids became elementary school students, Marley got older. It is so sad to lose a pet because it is a member of their family. It almost made me cry.

Very nice movie, worth watching many times.

"17 again"

I saw three movies last weekend and all of them were so nice! I saw 17 again, where a middle-aged man becomes 17 years old again. He and his wife were going to divorce because he was always complaining about his life and he thought it was his mistake that he got married instead of entering college.

After coming back to 17, though, he went to the same high school as his son and daughter, and realized how precious what he has is. He talked to his wife pretending to be a friend of his son and he got very close to her. Gradually he starts to feel sorry for being irresponsible and wants to start a new life again with his family...

Anybody can say or feel like "How I wish I could go back to teens. I would change my life totally." but if you could, maybe you would notice that what you have now is not that bad.

"Good" day for doing laundry

I washed my sheet today and hung it out as it became sunny after the loooong rainy season. And I went out... see what happened! While I was immersed in reading at the bookstore, it seemed to have rained. It was windy. When I came back, the sheet was on the ground!!! The strong wind blew the laundry poll and the sheet altogether. I ended up washing it again and hanging it in my room.. strange weather.

3-day holiday

I met my friend today, who was in our laboratory and now working as an assistant professor in another university. On his way to his parents' house, he dropped by in Usa city. It has been a while... but he didn't seem to have changed much. We talked a lot, about our new environment, his new research project, the company I'm working for....

We went out for lunch with my car and went to Usa jingu shrine by his car. His car was a normal one, not k-car... with powerful engine, spacious interior, and excellent car navigation! wow.. It's always nice to see good old friends.

And, to my surprise, I got transferred to the R&D division. I was in the quality control division for only four months and out of the blue my boss told me that I will be sent to the different place. I will be working in the laboratory (in the same building, though) from August 1st. It just surprised me but since I want to do some research, it's OK... I wonder what kind of research theme I will have.

球磨川下り

Turtle

It was very hot yesterday... and I saw a turtle crawling on a road!! It was about 30 cm long, quite big. When I caught it to help it go back to the rice paddy, it struggled to escape! It scratched me with the claws on its legs. I'll be hot today too and the turtle will stay underwater.

Take me home, country roads

Tokyo

飯田橋から見えたHosei tower！

Kitakyushu airport

Flew to Tokyo from Kitakyushu airport for the first time. The government has dispensed with the fee of many toll roads across Japan so it was rather crowded than usual on the way to the airport.