Corn, corn everywhere…

06 Feb 2012 Leave a comment

by Birdie in Food Tags: , , , , ,

Those who know me well might be thinking, “Here comes a popcorn post!” after reading that title up above.  I LOVE popcorn, but we’ll leave that post for another day, another time.

I’m talking about whole yellow corn.

Let me back up a little bit.  Many times, it’s difficult for me to understand the surprise and shock people from other countries feel when they come to Japan for the first time.  Honestly, I envy it sometimes and wish I could crawl into their minds to see how THEY see this country.

So… back to whole corn… =)

One thing many people ask me is, “Why is there whole corn on EVERYTHING?”  It isn’t on every type of food you see in Japan, but some of the places/foods you find it on can be… odd, according to many.

(Oops… the cat stepped on the keyboard and “published” the post… continuing on…)

Let’s see, you can find whole corn on/in:

  • Pizza
  • Tossed salads
  • As a side to steaks, hamburger steaks, fried pork  (This is a rather “normal” one, perhaps.)
  • Potato salad
  • Sushi (“Gunkan maki” to be specific… it looks like a sushi roll standing upright.)
  • Ramen
  • Bread  (Literally “corn bread”, right?)  =)
  • Canned corn potage soup (or corn bisque)… may not sound very unusual, but this is a canned drink one can buy from a vending machine.  =)

I wish I had pictures to share with everyone.  (Something to add on later, maybe.)

To answer the question, “Why?”

Well, one point which is very important in the presentation of food in Japan is… color.  The yellow of the corn adds that bit of brightness like sunshine.  (Am trying to think if there are any other vegetables that are yellow… squash, maybe?  Can’t find squash down here where I live though.)

Another point could be the flavor and the “crunch”… the little bit of sweetness that fills your mouth when you bite down on a single piece.

It was completely by chance that the corn topic came up in one of my English classes tonight.  I was explaining to my students that finding corn on pizza is NOT a common thing in the States.  One student asked, “Why not?”

My thought exactly…  =)

The Magic of Invisible Designs Lab.

05 Feb 2012 2 Comments

by Birdie in Music Tags: , , , ,

I am privileged to have the chance to sing for jobs every once in a while and am blessed to work with some very, very, VERY talented people!

One studio I work at is Invisible Designs Lab. AKA Invisi Studios.  (The period after “Lab” is part of the company name, by the way.)  They are a group of guys who create and design sounds that are simply amazing!  (Yes, I am biased… but trust me, you’ll be amazed, too!)

Their motto:  “Using all aspects of sound, we turn images of the mind into reality.”

One project they did last year was for a web ad for the Japanese mobile phone company, docomo.  The phone company came out with a new cell which was wooden.  The Invisi guys and the others (who worked on the online commercial) put their blood, sweat and tears into it.  The responses were unbelievable!  There were online interviews from The New York Times and other publications Stateside, media coverage here in Japan and the highlight had to be getting three awards from the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity!!

Please judge for yourself… and if you like it, feel free to share the magic of Invisi Studios with your loved ones!  =)

Here’s “Xylophone in the Woods”…

Samantha speaks English?!!

04 Feb 2012 4 Comments

by Birdie in Culture Shock Tags: , , ,

Though I was born in the States, my missionary parents brought me back to Japan when I was just four months old.  (They had first come over in 1964 and I was what many missionary families referred to as a “furlough baby.”)

Hearing both Japanese and English all day, every day was normal growing up.  My parents and brothers spoke both languages in the house.  Media-wise, well, there was FEN (the Far East Network) which was for the military families living in the Kanto Area.  Other times, my mother listened to Japanese radio shows.  And the TV shows I watched were all in Japanese.

There were quite a few American TV shows on, too.  Let’s see, to make a short list of a few…

  • I Dream of Jeannie
  • Gilligan’s Island
  • Bewitched
  • Combat
  • Columbo
  • Kojak

And all these characters on TV, (Gilligan, Jeannie, Samantha, Columbo, etc.) they ALL spoke Japanese, just like us.

Then we had to go to the States for my parent’s furlough.  (I was all of four… I remember excitedly telling my friends in the neighborhood, “You know what?  We’re going to America!!”  After all, it was a foreign country to me.)

I recall sitting in front of the TV one day… my mom being the only other person at home and she was doing something in the kitchen.  A rerun of Bewitched came on.  Samantha appeared on the TV screen and she started talking to someone… IN ENGLISH!!  I turned to my mother.

Me – “It’s wrong.  Something’s wrong.”

Mom – “What’s wrong?”

Me – “Her voice is wrong.”

Mom – “Sweetie, this is what her REAL voice sounds like.  We’re in America, so they’re all speaking English… this is the original sound.”

Me – “But it’s WRONG!”

Poor Mom… what else could she say, right?  =)

Here’s a bit of what my world was like.  If you understand Japanese, enjoy!  Even if you don’t understand Japanese, it may be a little entertaining… or hope it is anyway!  =)

I Dream of Jeannie

Mr. Sandman is calling my name…

03 Feb 2012 Leave a comment

by Birdie in Uncategorized Tags: , , , ,

It’s almost 1am for me here in southern Japan.  Would have loved to have gotten home from walking the dog, brushed my teeth and gone straight to bed… instead, I got in the bed, turned on the computer and here I am!  =)

I’m not the best at keeping up when starting new things.  In Japan, I’m what people would call “mikka bouzu”.  Literally translated, it means to be a monk for three days.  In other words, one gives up on something as soon as there’s a bump in the road… or after three days.  =)

Getting in the bed, I glanced over at my laptop and debated for a moment.  It would be SO easy to just crawl under the covers and go straight to sleep, BUT the “mikka bouzu” part of me would win once again.  Even writing a few sentences would keep me in the “blogging everyday” game.

Apologies for the lack of content… Mr. Sandman really is calling my name and now the cats are gathering to find a warm spot for the night under the covers.

Last but not least, a big shout-out to all of you “mikka bouzus” out there.  Please don’t give up on new things you’ve started!  You can accomplish what you’ve started… trust me, if I can do it, you definitely can, too!!  =)

 

Snowy days and memories of Daddy…

02 Feb 2012 2 Comments

by Birdie in Family Tags: , ,

Writing a blog on a regular basis is an interesting thing.  (Okay, okay… I sound like I really know what I’m talking about and am only truly on Day #3!)

Anyway, as the day proceeds, things happen and you see various things around and think, “Oh, I could write about that!”  Today, the topic was going to be singing commercials for local businesses and/or writing about one local studio in particular or the snowy weather we’ve had in Fukuoka today.

Then I saw a particular post on Facebook… a friend’s father passed away today.  With that single and simple post, everything that had happened during the day vanished from my mind and one thought remained… I miss Dad!

My dad passed away suddenly in August of 2005.  He hadn’t had any particular health problems that anyone knew of.  My parents had just moved to a small city in Tennessee from the big city of Tampa, Florida.  (Dad was going to pastor a small country church there.)  They were there about a month and, one early Sunday morning, he was sitting on the couch, telling my mother he didn’t feel good.  She called an ambulance and less than two hours later, he was gone.

Being Daddy’s little girl, mere words are not enough to express the devastation and loss I felt when I heard the news.  The void in my heart is still very much there and I still miss him immensely… but we’ll talk about that at another time.

During the afternoon and evening, different memories of my dad passed through my mind.  Then while I walked the dog tonight, cold wind blowing, snow falling, I remembered a song my dad used to sing to get me to laugh.

He LOVED to make original jokes and to do play on words and change lyrics to songs.  So, in his beautiful baritone voice, he’d start to sing.  ♬♪ People… people who eat people… are the luckiest people… in the world ♫♩ (Of course, it’s actually “people who NEED people”.)  Yet, no matter how many times he’d sing that (and I knew exactly what word he was going to sing), I’d giggle incessantly!

So many years ago… and what I would do to hear that soothing voice again!

As I walked with the dog under the dark gray skies, both of us being bombarded by big, fluffy snowflakes, my dad’s voice was singing that line in my mind… and without really thinking about it, I giggled out loud.

Oh, how I miss him…

The quivering and quaking Earth…

01 Feb 2012 Leave a comment

by Birdie in Mother Nature Tags: , , , ,

The whole country seems to be gripped with worry lately.  The dreaded first anniversary of the Tohoku tsunami and earthquake is coming up in just over a month… and movements of this country (literal movements!) show no signs of stopping.

Several of the ladies in my class tonight were sharing their worries.  There are some of them who have parents, children and other relatives in the Kanto area.  (The Kanto area is a large area which encompasses a number of prefectures, including Tokyo, Kanagawa, Chiba, Saitama, etc.)  They were saying that there’s talk about the “big one” happening some time this year.

Of course, this whole country sits upon so many fault lines… the thing is, not ALL parts of the country have as many earthquakes as other parts.  Take where I live, for example.  Fukuoka has had two major earthquakes in the 20 years I’ve been here.  That’s practically nothing compared to the Kanto area.  (Which is where I grew up.)  But those two were quite frightening, to be honest.  It was the very first time for me to actually hear the Earth rumble!

There have been quakes near Mt. Fuji… a volcano which is dormant.  There was a rather large quake yesterday in Oita Prefecture, one prefecture over from where I am.  Today, there was one in Okinawa, another rarity.

Of course, there’s nothing to prevent disaster from happening.  There are few words which would provide comfort to those who are concerned about their family and friends.  All we can do is be prepared if something DOES happen and be ready to lend a helping hand to those who need it.

Another New Year…

31 Jan 2012 Leave a comment

by Birdie in Life Tags: , , ,

It’s hard to believe that 2012 has begun!  (Okay… more like, it’s hard to believe I haven’t done anything on here in over a year!!)

I can say, honestly, that one of my resolutions for last year did come true… the weight loss one.  The kilograms continue to fade away… slow at times, but the loss has been steady.  Would have to say that my mother seems to be the one who is elated about this fact.  (I saw her last fall and every time we’d see friends or relatives, she’d start with, “Look at Roberta!  Doesn’t she look good?”  Kinda feel bad for making her worry all those years…)

Anyway, the first month of the new year is coming to an end… already!!  And I am bound and determined to do better with this blog!  As far as topics, well, there’s a whole year’s worth to write about from 2011 and there are always fun things happening in and around this place.

So, here we go… here’s to 2012!  May it be full of more ups than downs, more smiles than frowns, more friends than foes and may love abound wherever the path goes!  =)

A New Year Has Begun!

02 Jan 2011 Leave a comment

by Birdie in Uncategorized

Akemashite omedetou! (As we would say here in Japan…)

There were so many things I wanted to write about around Christmas time, but I actually had plans for Christmas last year. (A very unusual thing for me in recent years.)

So, the Year of the Rabbit has begun… 2011 is here. Still haven’t decided on a resolution for this year yet. I wonder what would be good?

One year was to work on my weight, one year was to work on being conscious of thanking people and also saying, “You’re welcome.” One year was to work on being a bridge and connecting people.

I guess I could continue all of these year after year and keep adding another one.

Hmm… let’s see… I have so many dreams and ideas for things. (Writing a children’s book, starting an Internet business, creating a job where I could travel back and forth between Japan and the U.S. and the list goes on.)

So, for this year, I want to work hard to make one of those things reality. Not sure which it will be yet, but one of them at least. AND to stay happy and do my best to make others around me happy!!

Because life is all about love and joy and smiles… right? =)

The “scary” age

22 Dec 2010 4 Comments

by Birdie in Uncategorized

I’m watching the end of a “Sex and the City” episode. Carrie and Miranda were just talking to one another about the “scary” age… the age that they feel they need to have a child by. (BTW, one of them said 43 and the other said 45.)

I turned 40 this year.

Back when I was married, I thought I’d be the mother of a couple of kids by the time I was 40. We did want kids. Being the youngest siblings in both of our families, we had lots of brothers and sisters to advise us to wait for a few years after marriage… saying that we needed our time to be a couple before welcoming a new life into the family… since a child would be a BIG change and that would be the end of “couple time” for many years.

So, we talked about it and decided that we’d wait for about 5 years. We did that then started trying, only to find that my hormones were completely out of balance. Then the trips and treatments at the OB/GYN clinic started.

A lot of that time period is a BIG blur, thanks to a fun thing called depression. (I could write many, many entries on that topic alone!) As it turned out… after years of hormone shots and pokes and prodding… depression was the cause of the hormone imbalance.

Needless to say, the depression ended and so did the marriage.

Okay, back to the “scary” age.  I guess mine used to be 35. (My mom was around that age when she had me.) When I actually turned 35, it felt strange. At 35, my mom had four kids, had been married for almost 13 years, and was about to move back to Japan with my dad and the rest of us. At 35, I had a boyfriend that was going to be an ex-bf by the end of the year, had five cats, and was feeling restless and confused about what to do with my life.

So… fast forward to age 40.  My “scary” age has passed. I’m happier now than I’ve ever been before and recently came to this realization: If I never have a child, that’s okay. I have seven nephews and nieces… so many of my good friends have kids and/or are now having kids of their own. I’m down to four cats now and though you can’t teach them to read and write or do chores, they do talk back from time to time.

Life is good… and no “scary” age in sight. =)

Music in the mind…

13 Jan 2010 2 Comments

by Birdie in Uncategorized

Isn’t it amazing how a song can flood your mind with memories?

And from that one little song, the memories can be so vivid… like the smell of an old boyfriend’s sweatshirt which just came out of the drier… the warmth of the sun on your skin on a summer’s day… the driving rain falling, mixing with the tears streaming down your face… sharing a slow dance in the living room, lips meeting lips…

Music can remind you of people whom you haven’t thought of in years.  It can bring back feelings, strong raw feelings, from pure joy to deep sadness.

A song popped into my head the other day and then the same song played in a film I saw.  The song was A Bushel and A Peck from “Guys and Dolls.”  The moment it was in my mind, I could remember my dad singing it to me when I was small, sitting on the piano bench with me on his lap.  I could remember the smells coming from the kitchen while my mom cooked dinner.  I could remember how the light was coming in from outside, the afternoon glow shining through the windows.

Isn’t it mind-blowing?  Just one song and all these images from the past flood the brain!  Am SO thankful for music, which I couldn’t live without… and SO thankful for our minds and the ability to reflect on our lives.  No one can take those memories away from us… these are the treasures which help us to know ourselves and grow!  =)

(And it’s after 1am… time for bed… signing off for tonight.)

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