Chicken Sashimi (Raw chicken)

Well today Mia and I walked and walked and walked. Train to Shinjuku, walking. Train to Harajuku, walking. Walking down Takeshita doori, up Omotesando Doori, back to Shibuya walking and looking for restaurant. It took over an hour to find one that wasnt an hour wait...

And actually we walked past the Spanish asparagus restaurant that Mayu and I still talk about!!! 20 years ago we got sick there on a bottle of wine waiting for an hour for our food that turned out to be three pieces of asparagus for $20!!! I told Mia the story. We found a yakitori place finally and are eating now...

We walked for about eight hours today so the food is hitting the spot. And so is the wine...
I found a store that has tons of Chuck Taylors with the thick running insoles! Wow! Talk about a Chuckgasm!!!

Now we are having green tea ice cream and black sesame ice cream (Stefnee may recall this from our trip to Shirakawa-go). Mia loved the food.

Day two a success! Mission accomplished!

I love you!

Cam

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Wining With Mia (in Shinjuku)

It was raining all morning and afternoon so we stayed indoors. I did some work and Mia looked at her guidebook. We finally left for Shinjuku about 2:30 and headed into Shinjuku. I took Mia around, showing her Takashima-ya (luxury dept store), Tokyu Hands (afforable everything store) and such. Then we walked to Kinokuniya Books in Shinjuku Sanchome where she bought two Japanese cookbooks for her nephew and a bunch of postcards of places we will visiut but never be able to take such photos.

Then I took Mia through Kabukicho where she got a taste of the people beginning to get crowded. We saw violin shops, sex toy shops, yakitori restaurants, bars, restaurants and more. And now here we are sipping wine, enjoying cheese and having a great talk.

Next we will do some more walking to find a restaurant for dinner and then hopefully find a crowded train full of drunk Japanese salarymen for her to experience.

I love you!

Cam

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Harmaceutical's Tokyo

Yesterday on the way to the hospital (Yoyogi Stn) I ran into this fellow. He was asking me for a line to help him hit on the babe behind him.

I told him to ask her if she needs to be saved...

Matt lives in a weird city...

Cam

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Vigil for Mayu's Father

Today when I got the news that Mayu's dad had died this morning I lit the candles in my home. For Shinichi.

Farewell, Dad. I love you.

Cam

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Full Veggy Burger

Here's a real veggy burger for all you real vegetables out there! May I never have to sit beside you on a late train ride home after you have consumed this beast!

This burger consists solely of garbanzo beans, marofat (?) beans, and red kidney beans. The filler is oatmeal and no meat at all is used!

May you enjoy the subsequent gas that goes with oatmeal and beans as your body does its best to try to digest a food not made for humans!

The one great thing about Freshness Burger (and Stefnee will attest to this) although the burgers are expensive they are not production line things filled with teen boogers (at least that is how it seems...) Onion rings are great and the beer here was delicious too, right Stefnee?

I love you!!
Cam

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Our Mind, Our Life

A lot of the "New Age MumboJumbo Wackhead" stuff I mention talks about Ego and how it controls us. If you can free yourself from your ego, you can free yourself. Period.

It is not an easy thing to do, but with much practice and meditation that suits your lifestyle you can get there. Be it sitting and going "ommm omm ommm" until your legs go numb, praising God while farting into the corner of a wooden pew in a church, lighting a smudge in the trunk of your car to rid it of the bad spirits and finding that the carpet caught on fire, tripping over a root that seemed to leap up and grab your foot when you least expect it as you lose yourself in the beauty of a natural forest, holding your child's forehead as they vomit in the toilet while you do your best not to vomit all over their head from the smell and sound of retching, lying on the mats at the gym after a hard workout, after a good stretch, breathing deeply and focusing only on your breath only to find that the clock has mysteriously jumped forward by 30 minutes, sliding into that really sexy pair of skinny jeans only to find that somebody seemed to have moved the button and hole further apart than the last time you put them on, or breathing in the essence of coffee while sitting in a Starbucks and watching all the women in really short skirts and really high heels walk by as you accidentally pour your latte over the front of your shirt, you too can do it.

Buddha said it very well (probably while he was sitting and meditating as his legs went numb),

“Our life is shaped by our mind; we become what we think. Suffering follows an evil thought as the wheels of a cart follow the oxen that draws it. Our life is shaped by our mind; we become what we think. Joy follows a pure thought like a shadow that never leaves.”

Your thoughts create your life. Your thoughts create your future. Do you want to have a good life? Think good thoughts. Do you want to have a fucking fantastic life? Yeah... you get the picture.

As The Universe always says in his little messages to us, "Thoughts become things; choose the good ones."

I love you!

Cam

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The Big Idea — Signature Strengths

I have always believed that so much more comes from focusing on one's strengths and letting the weaknesses slide by rather than obsessing over the weaknesses. Of course I also believe that when you FIND a weakness (like my inability to live in big cities), and you can turn it into a strength (as I am working on daily, living in a big city), you double your goodness, double your "godness", and increase your signature strengths.

The difference can be sublime some times, as some may then ask, "So should I just ignore my weakpoints? Is that what you're saying, Cam?" The answer to that is a definite NO. But the difference lies in how you leverage it. Do you want to dwell on your weaknesses and think that they are holding you back? If you continue to focus on them that way, they will continue to hold you back. And the negative will become bigger than the positive. But by focusing on working on your weaknesses, overcoming your ego's VERY STRONG DESIRE to keep you mediocre, you can increase your signature strengths. (even though you may THINK that your ego isn't doing that... well, ego hates change, and improvement means changing habits to better habits, and that change is resisted by ego. Strongly).

Take my weakness for big cities all these years; it kept me thinking negative things about Tokyo, and kept me from enjoying the weekend outings Mayu and I had over the two decades together. Was that good? Of course not! So now, what I am doing is making the change to make that weakness a signature strength.

Here's something you can take to the bank, from Philospher's Notes...

As my lunch bag says, "Do one thing every day that scares you". Turn a weakness into a strength by changing it. That's pretty scary, but if you step into your fear, you are bound to become stronger, free yourself a little bit more from your ego's iron vice grip, and increase your compassion and love for those around you.

I love you! - Cam

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

“I do not believe that you should devote overly much effort to correcting your weaknesses. Rather, I believe that the highest success in living and the deepest emotional satisfaction comes from building and using your signature strengths.” ~ Martin Seligman from Authentic Happiness

There’s Martin Seligman’s brilliant book, Authentic Happiness, in a nutshell. (Have you taken his free signature strengths assessment yet?!? What’re you waiting for?!!? www.authentichappiness.com ! :) )

Another one of my favorite books on the science of happiness is by a guy amed Robert Sternberg. In Successful Intelligence, he introduced us to this idea that we shouldn’t spend too much time on our weaknesses. His research showed that the most successful among us aren’t those with the highest IQs or SAT’s or GPA’s. The most successful are those who know who they are, what they’re good at and they rock those strengths—spending just enough time to make sure their weaknesses didn’t kick their butt and the rest of the time developing their strengths. Powerful stuff.

Research speaks LOUDLY that we need to figure out what our strengths are and use them often.

So, what are your strengths? What are you great at? What do you most enjoy doing? (Good news is that they all usually go together. :)

Before you cruise over to the web site to take the “Signature Strengths” test at www.authentichappiness.com , let’s take a first pass at self-identifying your greatest strengths, shall we?!?

My greatest strengths are:

1. __________________________

2. __________________________

3. __________________________

4. __________________________

5. __________________________

“You could say that I worked every minute of my life, or you could say with equal justice that I never worked a day. I have always subscribed to the expression “Thank God it’s Friday,” because to me Friday means I can work for the next two days without interruption.” ~ John Hope Franklin

…

“The good life consists in deriving happiness by using your signature strengths every day in the main realms of living. The meaningful life adds one more component: using these same strengths to forward knowledge, power, or goodness. A life that does this is pregnant with meaning, and if God comes at the end, such a life is sacred.” ~ Martin Seligman from Authentic Happiness

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Night Time Sakura

I went out for a walk this afternoon... the day was nice but by late afternoon it had cood down and the sky was turning dark....

I went to UniQlo and bought two new silky dry undershirts. They feel soooo good... very sexy... After that I headed to the gyoumu-you supermarket near Mizue eki where I do my workouts. I stocked up on lots of frozen vegetables again. It really is amazing how much more I can get for so much less... I decided to try some pre-prepared chicken slices this time. Of course as we all know any food in the supermarket that has been processed is full of additives. And sure enough this chicken has a lot of stuff in it... I didnt like any of the beef that I tried there so skipped most meat.

After filling up my pack I walked back home in the cool night with raindrops starting to fall. As I didn't have an umbrella with me this time I was lucky to find a broken one in somebody's trash so I used that to bring me home. On the way I passed by a park and took these photos of the sakura at night. I took them on this keitai so they might not be so good... but I thought I'd give it a shot. Or four...

Thanks for the inspiration Matt & D.

Have a great Saturday you guys.

I love you!

Cam

See and download the full gallery on posterous

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Outdoor Lunch

It is Sooooooo nice to get outside and eat my lunch. Even though the wind nearly blew it off the bench, the simple pleasure of getting direct sunlight on my skin is heaven. Sure my hair is probably getting easier to style as the wind blows dirt particles into it, but easy styling is a good thing!

Sure the dust is attached to cedar pollen that will have my nose running and me sneezing all afternoon, but clearing out the nasal cavity is a good thing!

It is worth it.

I miss Fukui.

Apparently the sakura are likely to suddenly all blossom today and tomorrow so I imagine this weekend will be when everyone gets their best hanami drunk on under the trees about the city.

Tonight Im off to the gym, the bath, the katsu dinner and then I think I'll walk home instead of taking the train to my station. I did that Tusday and Wednesday and it was nice to be outside.

Enjoy YOUR spring and all the little pleasures that go with the season.

I love you!

Cam

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