Happy New Year! It's snow flurrying out and looks pretty damn cold out there.

We went to our local temple to ring the bell at midnight. I was surprised that they actually started ringing the bell about 10 minutes before the hour. I tried counting to see which ring I ran. I think it was number 19. After that we stood by the little fire the monks had going and drank some sake. Brad got the real stuff -- nihonshu while I drank some amazake, a sweet malted non-alcoholic rice drink. I could only drink about a half a cup. The stuff is really strange tasting -- it's like a thick rice porridge with a cloying sweetness. Ran into a woman I know from CWAJ, Judy, and met her husband Paul, who happens to be the Charge d'Affairs for the Canadian Embassy. Judy's very nice and her husband seems like a nice fellow too. Oh, and by the way, the monks use a Macintosh computer. Brad spied a large Apple computer box behind the bell tower.

Well I'm going to go make our special New Year's Day breakfast: apple cobbler.

A day in the life . . .

While walking Taffy in the park we came across a film crew filming what looked to be a scene for a Japanese soap opera. There was a young girl sitting on a bench. She was dressed in a nurse's uniform. Next to her was an kindly old gentleman. As the camera rolled the young girl burst into a melodramatic speech to which the old man responded with calm concern. Several passersby stood by and watched the proceedings, as well as the production crew and other members of the cast -- so identified by their hospital garb.

After walking Taffy I headed off to run some errands:
• A stop at the post office to mail my nengajo. This is the third year in a row that I've made my own nengajo. I mail them out to the folks in Brad's office and I also mail one to Brad and one to Taffy and Ginger.
• A stop at Burdigala, our local boulangerie (French bakery). After marveling over all the tasty offerings, I chose some rolls to go with our dinner tonight (a big salad) and a salmon/tuna focaccia sandwich for myself for lunch.
• A stop at National Azabu, our local grocery store. The place was abuzz with activity as expats and Tokyoites alike shopped for the upcoming New Year's-related meals. As for myself I picked up most of the ingredients for our New Year's Eve meal (I'm making stuffed filet of sole, the very dish I made for the first New Year's Eve Brad and I spent together 12 years ago!), and for the New Year's Day meal that Brad will make (roast pork tenderloin and sauerkraut). Brad had requested spaetzle but I couldn't find any there, so will check at Nissin tomorrow. I'll shop for wine tomorrow at a nice little wine shop in Azabu Juban.

In between running these errands I've been doing laundry and futzing on the computer. I also just finished brushing Ginger and clipping his claws. Now it's time to take Taffy for her afternoon walk.

It was really cold today. As I was walking Taffy I noticed that the park is looking rather bleak. Save for the evergreens, all the trees have lost their leaves. Except for the Japanese maples. Just last week their delicate leaves had turned to shimmering shades of flame red and glowing orange. Now even those leaves have begun to fade and drop. Fall's last gasp.

Another Christmas in Tokyo and it was a merry one. I've been really busy this month and the time has just flown by. I can hardly believe that Christmas is almost over. At least in Tokyo.

We had quite a collection of presents under our little tree, and even our critters were remembered by Santa-san. Brad and I agreed that our big gift to each other would be a framed Ukiyo-e print, which we still need to shop for. But we also gave each other a couple of "little" gifts. Brad gave me a fantastic antique glass jar. We had seen them in an antique shop in Shimokitazawa and I fell in love with them. It has a wonderful globular shape and is made of hand blown glass. We found out these glass jars were used in senbei shops to hold the rice crackers that were for sale. Not sure what I will keep in my glass jar, but I'm sure I'll think of something. Brad also gave me a beautiful lacquer tray that I have been admiring every time we browse through Matsuzakaya dept. store. I gave Brad a wooden netsuke that is carved in the shape of a rat (his chinese zodiac sign) on top of a lucky gourd. I also gave him a new movie guide that he has been hankering for. After breakfast and gifts, we headed out to Kabuki-za and caught a one-act Kabuki dance/drama. It's the first time either of has been to a Kabuki performance, so this was a good introduction. Only one hour long and with dancing (sort of) and music. Rather melodramatic but I loved the costumes and even enjoyed the music, though must admit it was a bit strange. After Kabuki we browsed through some of the dept. stores looking at the elaborate Christmas decorations. We went out for dinner at Blue Sky, a Chinese restaurant on the 17th floor of the New Otani Hotel. It is one of those revolving restaurants and we enjoyed a fantastic view of the city as we dined on delicious Chinese fare. I'm really tired now and feel like crawling into bed but will wait up so we can make some calls to folks in Maryland, Florida and Ohio. We spoke earlier with Vince and Jody and they told us all about the gifts they gave to JL and Brenda, but I won't reveal any secrets here as Christmas has just begun back home.

Just got back from the park with Taffy. The snow has become very wet and heavy. You might be better off saying it is slushing rather than snowing. Taffy didn't much seem interested in playing in the snow -- she seemed much more interested in eating the snow. Forecasters predict the snow will turn to rain this afternoon and tomorrow the sun should come out. Oh well, we shall it enjoy this while it lasts.

It's snowing!! It's coming down in big fluffy flakes and doesn't seem like it will stop for hours! Such a rare occurrence for Tokyo. There's a bulbul out on our terrace making his odd warbly call. Brad said Taffy didn't much like the snow when he took her out this morning -- he guesses it's because she's so stiff and has so much trouble with her leg first thing in the morning. Maybe she'll perk up and rub her nose in it like she used to when I take her out later today.

It's cold and rainy today and my throat is sore. yuckkkk.

went to a DE-J workshop on OSX. What a fantastic operating system. Can't wait to get my new Mac . . . probably get one in the next few months. My only worry is whether my Quark will be functional anymore. what a drag if it isn't. I may need to make the switch to Adobe InDesign.

We had planned to go to a shrine sale today, but it rained. Shrine sales are always cancelled when it rains. We were going to go shopping instead but ran out of steam. Brad had a hankering for a burger so we went to Homework's in Hiroo for lunch. They always serve up good burgers and fries. After lunch we decided to stop in at Segafredo for latte. I grabbed a table upstairs and waited for Brad to come up with our order. And waited and waited. When he finally came upstairs he told me about the delay. He had been approached by a fellow from a computer repair shop in Ebisu about doing voice over for a commercial for their shop. They do computer repairs on all kinds of equipment and want to drum up business with the western community in Tokyo. They plan to air the commercial on CNN. Brad decided to do it. He won't get paid for his efforts, but they promised him a copy of the commercial on dvd and also dinner out. Never a dull moment in tokyo. After coffee he and the guy from the computer shop headed out to Ebisu and I went home. They said it would only take about a half hour. Three and a half hours later Brad finally returned home. He said the whole thing was a bit of a mess. The copy was so bad that Brad had to help them rewrite it. But they would only let him make minimal corrections for grammar. They would not budge on their bad style and approach. Brad says he's not sure he wants to show the dvd to anyone because the production was so amateurish and the script was just godawful! Personally, I can't wait to see it! :-)