it's only Tuesday
At the end of another busy night, Rikako and Yuri were leaving. "I'll see you Friday!" Rikako said, and Yuri was puzzled for a moment. "Oh, right. This is only Tuesday." She thought it was Friday, and I thought exactly like that. It was only Tuesday but we were swamped. There were no rice left at the end of the night.
I found out the source of misterious appearance of shiso leaves at my door. It was Luis, middle-aged Spanish man, who often come for dinner on Saturdays. "Did you like the cucumber, too?" There was a strange looking gigantic cucumber in the bag also. I didn't know what it was, and I didn't do anything with it. He said I can just slice and eat it. So I cut him some slices and also made a quick cucumber salad with shiso and yuzu. Today Thomas from Doveman brought me their newly recorded CD. I love it when people bring be things. Yesterday Seth brought me a bottle of Perrier. Don't ask me why. He also gave me a quarter because I listened to his personal concerns with his dear old friend. "You know, in "Peanuts," Charlie Brown gave Lucy a nickle after she listened to his problems. But it's not 1950s anymore so I give you a quarter."
Humidity is back. It was so hot for Sunday's half-marathon in the Central Park. I began to lose concentration only after 5 miles. It was just too humid. Drizzling rain didn't even help. How come this was almost always the worst race of the year?
on august 31, 2005 @ 12:30 am [link]
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soy diary
Super nice guy
It was so busy last night and by the time Yuri's boyfriend Taiga showed up we were really overwhelmed. Yuri was about to go out for a delivery, but thank god, he was here for our rescue. "Taiga, please go out for the delivery for me!" And of course the nicest young man who cannot say no, and his cute girlfriend asking for help at his favorite joint SOY, he was delighted to help. He went out for a few deliveries and almost refused to receive tips he made. He said "I'm making my debut in deliveries. This is fun!" I made sure he was fed well which he was so appreciative. Why couldn't I have a boyfriend like that?
on august 25, 2005 @ 12:42 am [link]
It was so busy last night and by the time Yuri's boyfriend Taiga showed up we were really overwhelmed. Yuri was about to go out for a delivery, but thank god, he was here for our rescue. "Taiga, please go out for the delivery for me!" And of course the nicest young man who cannot say no, and his cute girlfriend asking for help at his favorite joint SOY, he was delighted to help. He went out for a few deliveries and almost refused to receive tips he made. He said "I'm making my debut in deliveries. This is fun!" I made sure he was fed well which he was so appreciative. Why couldn't I have a boyfriend like that?
on august 25, 2005 @ 12:42 am [link]
There goes the neighborhood
The rumour was right. Starbucks is coming to the Lower East Side. Finally. At the corner of Allen and Delancey. We are becoming more and more like anytown USA. Maybe they'll build a shopping mall on south side of Delancey. I could certainly use Home Depot in the neighborhood.
on august 24, 2005 @ 12:51 am [link]
The rumour was right. Starbucks is coming to the Lower East Side. Finally. At the corner of Allen and Delancey. We are becoming more and more like anytown USA. Maybe they'll build a shopping mall on south side of Delancey. I could certainly use Home Depot in the neighborhood.
on august 24, 2005 @ 12:51 am [link]
Friday, Saturday, and Sunday
"Everyone is born with something to say." -Gabriel Garcia
Sudden heavy down pour Friday morning. It was actually beatiful to be in that rain. I saw a black man in a robe doing push-ups on the sidewalk near Delancey. Then down the street came a troop of little children dressed in uniform clear plastic bags covering their head and wearing make-shift ponchos of black garbage bags. All twenty of them. It was a cute and surreal picture.
On humid Saturday morning, I ran 5-mile race in the Central Park. The weather was really not so easy on us that our team's coach Tony was quite encouraging rather than doing his usual yelling, which also works. I went swimming afterwards and pretty much passed out when I got home. Before opening for dinner, I noticed that someone left me gigantic stalks of shiso plant in my gate. (I think they were from my faithful student Fern.) They were all wilted from the heat but when I put them in water they came alive. Our dinner was tuna bowl with shiso leaves. Yum!
I was still tired on Sunday morning. It was already 90 degrees out, so I decided to go for more swimming. I finally went to see Jim Jarmusch's new film Broken Flowers, which was pretty good. I must say that no matter what kind of film he makes he's still going to be my hero. My idol. I saw him once strolling down Delancey and I almost fainted. I dream of the day when he walks into SOY and have my Treasure Sacks.
on august 22, 2005 @ 12:23 am [link]
"Everyone is born with something to say." -Gabriel Garcia
Sudden heavy down pour Friday morning. It was actually beatiful to be in that rain. I saw a black man in a robe doing push-ups on the sidewalk near Delancey. Then down the street came a troop of little children dressed in uniform clear plastic bags covering their head and wearing make-shift ponchos of black garbage bags. All twenty of them. It was a cute and surreal picture.
On humid Saturday morning, I ran 5-mile race in the Central Park. The weather was really not so easy on us that our team's coach Tony was quite encouraging rather than doing his usual yelling, which also works. I went swimming afterwards and pretty much passed out when I got home. Before opening for dinner, I noticed that someone left me gigantic stalks of shiso plant in my gate. (I think they were from my faithful student Fern.) They were all wilted from the heat but when I put them in water they came alive. Our dinner was tuna bowl with shiso leaves. Yum!
I was still tired on Sunday morning. It was already 90 degrees out, so I decided to go for more swimming. I finally went to see Jim Jarmusch's new film Broken Flowers, which was pretty good. I must say that no matter what kind of film he makes he's still going to be my hero. My idol. I saw him once strolling down Delancey and I almost fainted. I dream of the day when he walks into SOY and have my Treasure Sacks.
on august 22, 2005 @ 12:23 am [link]
Sake Meetup invades SOY
Last night we were terrorized by The New York Sake Meetup GroupOccupying almost half of the restaurant, they drank all kinds of sake they brought over our wonderful Japanese home cooking. They actually didn't eat too much, but left us a nice fat tip so we forgave them to be loud and friendly. It was nice to see the place so lively.
on august 19, 2005 @ 12:36 am [link]
Last night we were terrorized by The New York Sake Meetup GroupOccupying almost half of the restaurant, they drank all kinds of sake they brought over our wonderful Japanese home cooking. They actually didn't eat too much, but left us a nice fat tip so we forgave them to be loud and friendly. It was nice to see the place so lively.
on august 19, 2005 @ 12:36 am [link]
we've rode the heat wave
What a relief in weather! A few days ago my neighbor Kathy came back from Provincetown she spent two summer months. She walked in, with a postcard she never sent me from there. "I had lots of adventures but... there's no place like SOY!" I've been battling with big red-eyed ugly flies in my apartment. Although I have practically no food here, I can't seem to get rid of them. My morning starts with me patrolling through my apartment with a yellow fly swatter in my hand. Then with my masterful swings I swat those creatures off the air one by one. This morning I killed about 5 or 6. Everyday I would kill more than a few. Some days a lot more. If there is a fly swatting championship, I'd make it to the finals.
on august 17, 2005 @ 12:27 am [link]
What a relief in weather! A few days ago my neighbor Kathy came back from Provincetown she spent two summer months. She walked in, with a postcard she never sent me from there. "I had lots of adventures but... there's no place like SOY!" I've been battling with big red-eyed ugly flies in my apartment. Although I have practically no food here, I can't seem to get rid of them. My morning starts with me patrolling through my apartment with a yellow fly swatter in my hand. Then with my masterful swings I swat those creatures off the air one by one. This morning I killed about 5 or 6. Everyday I would kill more than a few. Some days a lot more. If there is a fly swatting championship, I'd make it to the finals.
on august 17, 2005 @ 12:27 am [link]
weekend
It felt like the worst heat of this summer yesterday. It was already 90 degrees out when I ran out at 9 o'clock in the morning. This morning it was only eighty-something but it felt even worse again because I did 10 miles. I went to see new Wong War Kai movie 2046. I must say I was greatly disappointed. It was way too pretentious for me. After the lightenings and shower it finally cooled down a bit. It's 74 degrees right now. This injured pigeon is stuck above the doorway next door at the hair salon. They left the gate open for him obviously. It survived in the heat overnight, but still not coming down. I'm really worried if it survives another night in the humidity.
on august 15, 2005 @ 12:56 am [link]
It felt like the worst heat of this summer yesterday. It was already 90 degrees out when I ran out at 9 o'clock in the morning. This morning it was only eighty-something but it felt even worse again because I did 10 miles. I went to see new Wong War Kai movie 2046. I must say I was greatly disappointed. It was way too pretentious for me. After the lightenings and shower it finally cooled down a bit. It's 74 degrees right now. This injured pigeon is stuck above the doorway next door at the hair salon. They left the gate open for him obviously. It survived in the heat overnight, but still not coming down. I'm really worried if it survives another night in the humidity.
on august 15, 2005 @ 12:56 am [link]
Rockaway beach rocks
Sunday was the 'beach day' I was planning for weeks. I was picking up a Zip car, which was being returned 20 minutes late for my reservation when my friend Jose called. "Where are you? We are waiting in front of your store." "I'll be there in 5 minutes." But when I passed Essex on Stanton Street, a police car was behind me flashing lights. They told me to pull over. A mail man passing by in his truck asked me, "What did you do?" "I don't know." The officer walked over and told me the car is not registered. There is no license plate on this car! And there was a paper on the back window that said 'non-resident temporary' with expiration of July 19th, 2005. This car only had a temporary registration in New Jersey which expired over 10 days ago. The officer wrote me a ticket, and told me I couldn't drive the car. I called Zip car but they have no car available immediately. Having my previous beach day rained, I was determined to go to the beach. 
I screamed at the Zip car rep for 5 minutes and told him that I'm going to rent a car and I want to have it reimbursed. He said ok. After some phone calls and a subway trip to a car rental, we finally got to the beach, two hours behind the schedule. It was getting a little crowdy, but we were able to train for the world frisbee championship, as you can see in these dramatic action pictures. We drove to Astoria later and had a beer at this big beer garden. All was well.
on august 3, 2005 @ 05:15 pm [link]
Sunday was the 'beach day' I was planning for weeks. I was picking up a Zip car, which was being returned 20 minutes late for my reservation when my friend Jose called. "Where are you? We are waiting in front of your store." "I'll be there in 5 minutes." But when I passed Essex on Stanton Street, a police car was behind me flashing lights. They told me to pull over. A mail man passing by in his truck asked me, "What did you do?" "I don't know." The officer walked over and told me the car is not registered. There is no license plate on this car! And there was a paper on the back window that said 'non-resident temporary' with expiration of July 19th, 2005. This car only had a temporary registration in New Jersey which expired over 10 days ago. The officer wrote me a ticket, and told me I couldn't drive the car. I called Zip car but they have no car available immediately. Having my previous beach day rained, I was determined to go to the beach. I screamed at the Zip car rep for 5 minutes and told him that I'm going to rent a car and I want to have it reimbursed. He said ok. After some phone calls and a subway trip to a car rental, we finally got to the beach, two hours behind the schedule. It was getting a little crowdy, but we were able to train for the world frisbee championship, as you can see in these dramatic action pictures. We drove to Astoria later and had a beer at this big beer garden. All was well.
on august 3, 2005 @ 05:15 pm [link]