"How was Osaka?" "It was good. Well, I prefer Tokyo though," I replied. My mom's reaction to my response was a burst of laughter. She then followed with: I'm not surprised. Because we are Tokyo people. This conversation occurred more than two years ago. Bryce and I had just returned to my grandma's house in… Continue reading Osaka v. Tokyo
Sometimes I see the notifications comes into my email that I gained a new blog follower. "Oh, that's nice," I think to myself. Nice that someone out there is interested to subscribe to a blog that has been dormant for 12 months. How did this even happen? There are a few factors. The first half… Continue reading The last 12 months
You're probably tired of hearing people say it: The holidays will look different this year. They won't just "look" different, they will feel different. (It's felt different this entire month!) I'm home in Seattle for the holidays. Many people around the world cannot go home for the holidays. Better worded: They are making the smart… Continue reading Home for the holidays, but it feels different
Hi, there. I'm here to check in with you. It's weird because I feel like time is going both slow and fast during quarantine. I really don't know what I've been doing since I wrote my last post in September (!) I guess just work, a little running and tending to little Aki — who,… Continue reading Checking in
The West Coast is on fire. It's been more than a week of very smokey air in Seattle from all the wildfires. We're "lucky" since it's even worse in Oregon and California. I can't even begin to imagine what it would feel like to have to leave your house because you were in danger from… Continue reading A quarantine on top of quarantine
She came riding by on her horse with a little grey dog running alongside of them. "Wow, good for you! You're an athlete!" she exclaimed. I smiled through my mask and said "Hi" with a wave. "A monster athlete!" she followed up with. I have no idea who this woman was or what prompted her… Continue reading “You’re an athlete!”
I went on a run Friday morning. I have hardly been running these days, but that is not what I came to write about. As I shuffled my feet, I crossed paths with an older man walking with a camera that had a huge lens slung over his shoulder. He wore a utility vest and… Continue reading The little things
As my friend and I chatted, we kept referencing how this wasn't the summer anyone had planned for. She had planned to spend the entire month of August back here in Seattle. (She currently lives in Spain). Now she doesn't even know when her next trip back to visit her parents and friends will be.… Continue reading Not the summer we planned for
When we pulled up to the trail head, there were only two other cars. Not bad. We purposely took a day off mid-week in an attempt to avoid crowds on our hike. We also didn't pick a super popular hike to begin with. As we were getting situated and out of the car, another car… Continue reading Fresh air, sun, mountains — and masks
I had to go into the office to pick up my work badge the other day. It was my first time back in four months. It was weird because as much as I enjoy working from home (no commute, not having to wear real pants ...) I had a tinge of sadness as I walked… Continue reading An office stuck in time
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