Don't Let it Bring You Down

A profound question here. Consider that this is a trash can though, and it takes on some kind of bitter, condescending tone, as if you're not just throwing away trash, but every prospect you've ever had of living a worthwhile life.


Chieko and I had a they day off today as it's National Foundation day here in Japan. Despite the fact that neither of us got out of the house before noon, we actually ended up getting a lot done. First stop was the gym, then lunch. After that we headed to Tokyo Interior, and giant home furnishing type of place, where I snapped the above picture.
Our next stop was the grocery store, where I had camera in hand. I was hoping to snap something special that wasn't in stock, but I'll be sure to feature it here sooner or later. While I'll keep that secret, I did get some other interesting stuff.
First up: jelly fish!! I heard it's crunchy, but I'll never know for sure.



Then there is this pleasant stuff. In America we'd call it chum. In Japan, I don't know what they call it, but that's not the point. I know the primary ingredient is squid, and that rather than use it to catch fish, they actually eat it. I'm not 100% averse to eating squid, but it has to look a lot less like puke than this does for me to indulge.



I've noticed two things about our new washer/drier. First, it talks and plays music. I don't know why I didn't notice before; perhaps Chieko tinkered with the settings, or maybe I just had bad timing. But when it's done with our laundry, it plays a little song, and then says something in Japanese which I take to mean 'Your laundry is done.' This leads to my second observation, which is that the new washer/drier wrinkles the hell out of our clothes.
And this is why, after our trip to the grocery store, we went to the 100 yen shop. It's the equivalent of a $1 shop in the States, with one massive difference: they actually sell useful things, unlike $1 shops, which stock all the random crap that couldn't be sold in other stores. Just looking around here at Summerge Four, some of the useful things we have picked up at the 100 yen shop include:

-vegetable peeler
-virtually all of our silverware/chopsticks/cutlery
-virtually all of our cups, glasses, and dishes
-sponges
-numerous storage devices
-hangers
-toilet paper
-several soap dishes

You get the idea. Nothing exciting, but things that actually serve a purpose. And sure it's not top quality stuff, but when it only costs 100 yen (less than $1), it's easy enough to replace. My purchase today was this bad boy:

Big Red here is my ticket to wrinkle-free shirts at work, as I will use it to spritz things up when I'm ironing. You know I'm pumped up about this.
The fun begins this week as pitchers and catchers report for spring training. Let the Matsuzaka Mania officially begin!!