College Hunt for Thor

These are pictures from the whole trip, visiting colleges and meeting some friends for dinner.

















Thor saw Babson, Endicott, BU and BC around Boston this week. Then UofM, Macalester, Gustavus, Chapman, Occidental and UCLA!

York River Boating with the Chases

It was a cloudy Saturday on the York River with Anne and Jared Chase, but it didn't stop us from a sunset cocktail cruise before taking Thor over to Portsmouth, NH for his first lobster.

What a view to wake up to...

...the York River in Maine.

Anton Graduates from High School

Anton graduated from Yokohama International School on 11 June 2009 with an International Baccalaureate degree. He packed up his robe in the morning, but left the YIS tassel in his room. Before the ceremony Anton, Thor, Naomi and I met up at Tatsu Sushi in Chinatown for something to eat. Naomi took Anton out and bought a Chinese good luck charm that looked pretty similar to a HS graduation tassel. One of a kind in all things! The ceremony was held in the gym and it was hot! Naomi wore her kimono - the only mother who did - and looked great, but she suffered from the heat. She's more used to wearing moisture wicking tennis wear!
The photo of the kids before the ceremony has Anton surrounded by his buddies, including his prom date Marie.

YIS Graduation Class of 2009 Sings Queen

Soba

Icons Nipponic

Trains and Rice

Beijing from my Westin suite

Family Dinner

Naomi and I had a short weekend in Izu. When we got back we took Anton and Thor to dinner at La Jolla in Hiroo. They love their nachos!

Great Cherry Blossoms this year

We made the pilgrimage to Yasukuni for a night of frivolity and flower viewing.

The Maldives

A week trip to the Maldives included some quality time with Norm Quinn and four days at the Sheraton Full Moon Resort. Lovely....

Properties of Tequila

It removes anguish
It makes you forget
“It loosens the sock”
It makes roughness go away
It gets friends closer
It makes you forget you’re hungry
It causes blushes
It tunes up your voice
It fosters romantic relationships
It makes godfathers
It closes business
It makes paths easier
It helps you celebrate the company
It increases happiness
It kills worms
And for those reasons and more…
It erases blame
It makes you talk
It takes you away from the office
It mends broken hearts
It is a good appetizer
It hastens outcomes
It eliminates shyness
It cheers you up
It gets you hot
It makes midwives
It opens doors
It shortens waits
It cures sadness
It improves digestion

The photo above is of a famous Australian race horse whose name I did not write down.

Ume Hanami in the back yard in the Jacuzzi

It's that time of year again. After the plum we wait for the magnolias to bloom and then boom! The cherry trees launch their attack on the blue tent covering us. They win for a week, but then we're back to the same old captivity...

Here's an interesting stone carving of Avalokitesvara

You usually see her on a lotus pedastal, but here it's some kind of bird.

Fish Tacos Tonight!

We couldn't find any tacos between Shimo Uma and Ito, so we bought genmai paper at Aoki in Ito. It's made from brown rice and a host of additives, but used in replacement for flour or rice paper for harumaki. It very tasty and served the purpose of wrapping bbq'd kinmeidai or my prawn/okra stir fry with pineapple/persimmon salsa and chopped new onion.

It must have been pretty appetizing judging from the smile on Naomi's face!

43 Things Quiz

I took the 43 Things Personality Quiz and found out I'm a

Lifelong Learning Traveling Extrovert

W Seoul and Barry's Seoul Memorial

The W in Seoul is quite a ways out of the center.  The rooms are retro.  But there is a 25m pool.  

I went into Kwangwhamun on Friday night to meet Ken and Hank for dinner at the new Kamchon to toast Barry.   Ya gotta have the suntubu chigae at the Kamchon.  

Shanghai Sheraton 2009

I got back on the road as soon as the New Year Weekend was over.  The first trip of the year was to Shanghai for meetings of our joint venture and with the Shanghai Stock Exchange.   Out with the old, in with the new!  I also had to pick up Naomi's tailoring at the fabric center.  I made a couple coats and trousers.  But it ain't Saville Row.  Should I do it again?  

Seeing in the New Year

Every year we go to the Yawatano Norizomeshik but the fun is going somewhere's after the ceremony.  This year we went to the Kawana Hotel to swing!  Just like in the old days.... This time with a class breakfast too.  Naomi was home in bed.