Insta-Mitsu-gram

I've been meaning to update the layout of my blog for a while now and have been hoping for a clean, fresh, minimalistic, streamlined, easy-to-use and -look-at aesthetic, but sometimes that or parts of that description is code for "trendy" or "lazy." Not sure which is worse. I think I will be turning to a white background, at least, and then the real work is in making decisions about fonts and header. Any suggestions are welcome.

The latest place of web-social activity for me has been Instagram. I was kind of oblivious to it, but then Jenni pointed out to me that there were some cute, popular dogs there, like a Border Collie who lets its owner balance objects on his head, and a round, fluffy Shiba named "Maru." Lately, I've also been seeing some Shibas as models (on a can of Science Diet food, on the Target website for Halloween costumes), so I've decided if the opportunities for fame and fortune come by Mitsu, I will do like Usher's mom, Jessica Simpson's dad, Beyonce's dad, and become a "momager." My main concerns have been, how does a dog open up a bank account (Bridgeview gives away stuffed teddy bears!), and how can I convince airlines that Shibas should be carry-on dogs, not stow-away dogs. She would have been perfect for a cameo, especially in the second half, in this lovely dog friendly music video by Real Estate !

Here are some recent Insta-Mitsu-gram outtakes:

I've found that there's a simple way to get lots of "likes" aside from hashtagging pictures, and it's to follow other people and like their pictures. Sometimes I can't help but also comment, so I've been exercising my written Japanese (in addition to hiragana, katakana, and kanji, you need to know the proper [ab]use of emoticons, too). I guess that for the most part, I "think in English," but given the right context, it appears that I can channel my Japanese-ness pretty well, almost like a "real" native. So anyway, now my feed is overflowing with Shibas from what appear to be various parts of Japan (I love the rural-ish backgrounds, the black beach sand near Maru's home, playdates with other dogs, and stylish dog-apparel). I also search rather desperately for pictures of Yokohama (pictures of the Minato Mirai skyline do not count), particularly the Kannai and Totsuka area. So far, there's one picture of a man doing a handstand at the Totsuka station with the caption "Totsuka yabai," which may translate roughly to "Oh shit, Totsuka"...? Kannai searches produce photos of the New Grand Hotel, which I can't help but "like." As cheesy as it sounds, Instagram has been helping me feel less second-home-ish-place-sick.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Long Island Weekend

We took a quick weekend trip to Long Island to celebrate Mordecai's dad's X0th birthday. I basically ate and slept all weekend, which were kind of exhausting activities, but of course, in a good way. No matter how often I travel, and how far away or nearby I go, it appears that I never pack well. But at the last minute, I decided to take my DSLR (but forgot to remove the relatively compact but dense G9 from my suitcase), and this turned out to be a smart move because we visited the north shore after receiving only residual effects of the weird winter storm that passed through the east coast. I've decided that I need to either see a skyscraper or set foot into Target while I'm away from home; we didn't go to the city this time, but thankfully, Commack has Targets, and one of them even has Mordecai's giraffe-loving former substitute teacher browsing the cleaning product aisle!

In other news: I'm falling in love with the iPad2; baseball is over (farewell Tigers/baseball post on TBOB still planned); I'm waiting until I can drink ginger ale again with baseball award announcements; I don't know why it's so hard to come up with a prospectus; I'm inspired by Aoyama Thelma (in bed by 10PM) and Crystal Kay (in bed by 9:30PM!) to sleep and rise early; I ran into Dr. Chrucky, the reason why I am studying philosophy, and he is as eccentric as ever; and I'm looking forward to the holidays. But most of all, why is it so hard to come up with the prospectus, even when you're told you won't follow it?!