:: My Urban Eyes ::
All that I see, and then some.
:: Monday, October 20, 2008 ::
Traditions
Some traditions have humble beginnings. So humble, in fact, that we don't notice they've become a tradition at all. Case in point:
Ken and I have a habit of buying three churros whenever we go to Safeway. We each eat one on the way home and save the last for a midnight snack. There's no real reason other than that we tried them one day and liked them. A sugary snack also gives the boost of energy we need to walk home with our heavy load. I usually finish mine before we're out of the (big) parking lot.Traditions don't have to be big. It can be as simple as visiting the same Wendy's before each hockey game or a cup of herbal tea shared at the kitchen table. (Yes, I'm big on food traditions, why do you ask?)
In Japan I'm looking forward to setting up new traditions that I can't do anywhere else. Maybe going to see the fireworks in Yokohama or wearing a yukata to a summer festival. Stopping by the supermarket after work to pick up ingredients for that night's dinner (again with the food). Maybe we'll be lucky enough to make a summer vacation or weekend getaway a regular occurrence. I'm sure whatever the traditions end up being they'll emerge before I even realize they're there. In a good way.
Photo by framboise
Labels: Life, San Francisco
:: Kazen @ Always Doing 5:06 PM [+] ::
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I REMEMBER THAT WENDY'S!
I remember Chinese Food and Anime nights.
::giggle:: yeah... food traditions are big.
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I remember Chinese Food and Anime nights.
::giggle:: yeah... food traditions are big.
:: Friday, August 22, 2008 ::
The Bridge
Today Ken and I finally went to the Golden Gate Bridge.
Part I: Signs
Ken: "You want to take a picture of this sign? Really??" Yup.
Issues with this sign:
1) Is a missile not an object?
2) Were they having so many missile problems that it deserved its own listing?
Part II: The View
Foggy in SF... go fig.
Part III: The Bridge
In case you ever wanted to know, the bridge is painted in International Orange. It's a color that goes well with the surroundings while remaining (more) visible in fog.
We had a great day, topped off with Ken's first In-N-Out burger. I got fries "animal style" for the first time--they add cheese, spread (kinda like thousand island dressing), and grilled onions... there's a reason they give you a fork with it. Really good.
The last shot is always the best.
Labels: Life, Photos, San Francisco
:: Kazen @ Always Doing 4:00 PM [+] ::
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:: Monday, August 18, 2008 ::
The Real Deal
Dim Sum on Clement--yum.
You know the place has got to be good when it's packed with Chinese people and you hear Mandarin every where you turn. I tried a bunch of stuff where I didn't even know what it was... and it didn't matter. It was all delicious.
Yan here was a tour guide of sorts, telling us what was in each dish. "Who wants chicken feet??"
"Um... we'll pass."
Leslie, Susan, and Cathy. Totally going to eat here again.
Labels: Life, Photos, San Francisco
:: Kazen @ Always Doing 11:43 AM [+] ::
:: ... 1 comments
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Awesome--great pictures! I will never forget "And that's how mommy met daddy". Good friends, good food---what a great way to spend a Sunday morning!
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:: Sunday, August 17, 2008 ::
A Golden Week
On Monday I never go to work
On Tuesday I stay at home
On Wednesday I never feel inclined
Work is the last thing on my mind...
- They Might Be Giants
Re-injuring your wrist sucks. But taking off a week with pay to heal it? I can do that. I'll be singing that song to myself all day Monday... yea San Francisco Sick Pay!
I do plan to do some non-wrist things during the week (along with my occupational therapy, natch). Ken and I would like to walk the Golden Gate Bridge (two years and I still have only driven over it... sad) and there are some walking tours I'd like to check out. What I'm looking forward to most, though, is getting enough sleep and keeping a more human-like schedule. No alarms at 3:30 am, no coming home at noon after eight hours of work, exhausted. I get to sleep in until 8, woo! -_^
Labels: Life, San Francisco
:: Kazen @ Always Doing 12:48 AM [+] ::
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:: Friday, July 25, 2008 ::
Karla Meets the Pacific Ocean
Pics courtesy of Susan.
Labels: Photos, San Francisco
:: Kazen @ Always Doing 7:11 PM [+] ::
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:: Saturday, May 24, 2008 ::
Moving - Thing - Park
Ken and I went to the 動物園 (literally to move - thing - park in Japanese) or zoo on Thursday. Some animals made fun of us:
While others posed for us:
And still others swam:
...and then there was just plain ol' cute.
The zoo was big and good enough, with lots of variety in animals. There weren't very many of any one thing, though. No monkey house teeming with monkeys. No groups of anything. Just a few gorillas over here, an ostrich over there, and a couple of lemurs hanging in that tree. That and we seemed to only hit the icky food stands/cafes. Even so Ken got some great pictures to use for drawing references and we both had a lot of fun on our "date", so it was totally a success.
Afterwards we thought we'd go and see the Pacific Ocean, a mere two blocks away. We should have known when we saw the drifting sand piling up on the sidewalk (we had to walk in the road for 15 feet, it was so messy and deep) that it would be a bad idea. The wind was howling right in our faces, blowing sand into our eyes, our teeth as we talked, and found its way into our shoes. It stuck to my face, which I had put sunscreen on four hours earlier. We crossed over the Great Highway, went yup, the ocean is there alright, and turned back to tamer land. I would have taken a picture but I was really afraid that the fast-as-a-bullet sand would scratch up my lens. Another day.
Labels: Life, Photos, San Francisco
:: Kazen @ Always Doing 8:26 PM [+] ::
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:: Thursday, May 08, 2008 ::
If It's Free, It Fits
Tuesday was a great day--free museum day! Two friends and I went out for some free culture. We started the day at the Conservatory of Flowers, which is like a greenhouse on steroids. They have different rooms for different climates--tropical, mountain highlands--that are brimming with flowers.
Their special exhibit was about butterflies, which is a yearly thing, apparently. The coolest thing is that they're not in cages--they just flutter around the room as they please. You can watch them feed from pretty flowers and feeders or just plain ol' hang out.
This guy might have been my favorite.
Then we went to the de Young Museum and went up it's observation tower to get a look at the city and the bay. Didn't go through the exhibits, though. We took our time walking about of the park, and found this lake while we were at it:
It was huge. There were people in rowboats and peddleboats enjoying the weather. Really neat. Then it was off to the Legion of Honor. We arrived about an hour before close and realized that the Annie Leibovitz exhibit was there. We only had to pay five dollars to get into the special exhibit and man, it was amazing. We spent most of that hour in awe. So cool. We bought our postcards in the museum shop and were greeted by this happy sculpture on our way out:
First of all, San Francisco is one of the few places you could have this thing outside. (There was another one inside.) Number two... how cool is that?
Labels: Life, Photos, San Francisco
:: Kazen @ Always Doing 7:48 PM [+] ::
:: ... 2 comments
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Free Museum Day rocks my socks so hard! I wasn't able to get out and enjoy it (stupid finals...), but I'm glad you did! Beautiful pictures, too. I love that Chihuley sculpture in front of the De Young museum, too!
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# posted by 
: 11:36 AM
: 11:36 AM:: Friday, November 23, 2007 ::
Dear Mom,
I went and I saw the clock at the Westin St. Francis Hotel that you saw on Samantha Brown's travel show and said I had to see. The clock you've been reminding me about for months, the clock that all the people meet at because it's so cool, the clock that survived the fire because, well, it wasn't there yet. The room was dark but I still managed to get a picture:
It is indeed a very nice clock. And now I've seen it... so you don't need to bug me about it any more. -_^
Love, Karla
PS. I finished your socks. ^_^
Rat Socks
Yarn: Knit Picks Felici, Firefighter, one skein
Needles: US size 1 dpns, set of five
Pattern: Basic toe up sock with gusset and heel flap, over 64 stitches
PPS. Karla's First Thanksgiving dinner was a success.
For the record, that's turkey (from a frozen tin thingie... still tasted great, though!), stuffing, mashed potatoes, corn, cranberry sauce, and sparkling apple juice. The biscuits made an appearance later. Along with being the first Thanksgiving dinner I cooked, it was also Ken's first Thanksgiving ever--he's been in the US for a couple of years but never had the whole dinner experience. He's a quick learner--he conked out immediately after dinner with the football game on, in truly American fashion. -_^
Labels: Knit, Life, San Francisco
:: Kazen @ Always Doing 7:01 PM [+] ::
:: ... 2 comments
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Awesome clock! Love the socks too!
Glad to know you HAD some type of Turkey for Thanksgiving!!
Love Ya!
Karri
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Glad to know you HAD some type of Turkey for Thanksgiving!!
Love Ya!
Karri
# posted by : 7:57 AM
: 7:57 AM:: Saturday, September 01, 2007 ::
Swappy Goodness
My swap package was delivered the best way possible--in person!
Sam's husband needed to make a last minute trip to San Francisco to procure a visa so we had a few hours to see the yarny sights. We started with a tea lunch for two at Leland Tea Company. That first sip of Tiffany, their house tea, is always heaven. Forgot to take pictures of the beautiful spread.
Then we walked over to Artfibers--yarnie heaven! I swatched some beautiful purple yarn (Valparaiso, I think it was called) while Sam picked out yarn for a couple of sweaters. I was so entranced by the fiber I didn't take any pictures.
Unfortunately that was all the time we had (we were able to make a quick Starbucks run, though!). It was then I received my package, and man, was I spoiled!
Look at all the yarn and tea goodness!
The yarn is Claudia's Hand Painted in Stormy Sky. I've been looking for a lighter sock yarn to do Monkeys up in, and I think this will be it! I've also been wanting to try Louet Gems, and Claudia's uses that very yarn as a base. 一石二鳥！
And here's the tea! In the pretty canister is some Golden Monkey. I haven't had a chance to try it yet, but it's supposed to be really good with milk, mmm. I'm drinking the Moroccan Mint right now--spearmint with green tea. Kinda like Tazo's Zen, but better. ^_^ And I love this mug... did you go far back enough in my blog to see that I took pottery classes in Japan, Sam? I find myself staring into the mug, trying to figure out what kind of glaze would leave such a pretty blue tint.
Thanks for everything Sam--it rocks! ^_^
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:: Kazen @ Always Doing 10:36 AM [+] ::
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:: Monday, August 20, 2007 ::
From Waaay Back
Ken and I were in Japantown two weeks ago and witnessed something touching--two old friends who haven't seen each other in years meeting, by chance, in a bookstore. What made it more special was that one friend had moved to the US, while the other was simply visiting from Japan. Turns out they knew each other from waaay back. Some force brought them both to the magazine section of the San Francisco Kinokuniya and bang, instant nostalgia. Not only for them, but for every Japanese speaker within hearing distance. You couldn't help but be touched and smile. 「ぐうぜんだね！」
二週間前ケンと私は日本町に感動したこと見た：本屋で何年間会わなかった友達は偶然で会った。面白いところは一人アメリカでいるけど、一人は日本から旅行した。昔々の友達そうだった。なんとなく二人はきのくにやの雑誌に来て、懐かしくなった。二人だけじゃなくて、日本語が分かる客さんも。感動した。"What a coincidence!"
That was their way back. I haven't posted knitting projects in a while, so this is my "waaay back".
それはあの二人の昔のこと。最近私はあまりニットの物をポストしていないし、これは自分の「昔のこと」。
First, completed projects. 最初、出来た物。
'Vog On, Sockdown, 'Vog On
Pattern: 'Vog On by Aleta Fera
Knit Picks Memories in Yukon (discontinued)
size 1.5 US dpns (2.5 mm)
Really nice pattern--I like the way the lace worked out. Easy to memorize once I groked it. Did make a couple of modifications, though: I didn't like the floppy picot cuff so I did them a la Cara instead. Also decreased the toe to 16 instead of 12. It only took one skein so I'm going to repeat the pattern with the second, but do them toe up so the cuffs are longer. Must use every yard possible! ^_^
作り方好きだった、とくにレースのこと。分かった後覚えやすかった。変わったことある：書いている「ピコットのもすそ」好きじゃなかったしケラさんのもすそ使った。（英語でCara・・・私はカーラ・Karla・・・近いけど違うね！）最後のステッチの数は１２つの変わりに１６つまでニットした。５０ｇだけ使ったし、もう一足作るつもりだ。糸全部使いたいし今度足の指から始めるかな～。
I like the way the photos came out, too. I set my camera on self-timer on top of a thick book then shot away. I also put it in burst mode, so I got a two-for-one deal! -_^
写真は大丈夫かも。厚い本の上カメラを置いて、自動タイマーをして撮った。一回二枚撮ったし、「一つ買って、二つ目は無料セール」みたかったですね！-_^
Orange-y Clash-y Dishcloths
Pattern: Mason Dixon Ball Band Dishcloth
Peaches 'n' Creme, orange and pink lemonade
size 6 US circulars (4 mm)
Using my Mason-Dixon pack to venture into new worlds of color. Can't say how successful I am with it, but it was fun to make, and will surely keep dishes clean somewhere!
メーソン・ディクソン・パックを使って新しいカラの世界入った。いいかどうかわからないけど、楽しくて、どこか誰か使えるね！
Lemon Lime Washcloths
Pattern: Baby Genius Burp Cloth from Mason Dixon Knitting (much smaller, obviously)
Peaches 'n' Creme, white and lemon lime
Size 6 US circulars (4 mm)
My bath poof was annoying me. I like knitting. Instant solution.
私のタオル好きではなくなってきた。ニットするの好き。かんぺきね！
Woah, that became way longer than I was intending, so I'm going to take a break here． I'm trying to keep up with my Japanese, so I thought writing this post in both languages would be a great step. Don't know if I'll do it every entry, but I'm going to try to!
わ～長くなってしまった、ごめん！日本語を勉強したいし英語と日本語で書いた。多分間違い多いけど、勉強は勉強、でっしょう？毎回両方で書くかどうか分からないけど、書いてみたい、ね。
Labels: Knit, Photos, San Francisco
:: Kazen @ Always Doing 9:50 PM [+] ::
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i really like how those socks came out. i have some memories in cape cod laying around, maybe i will make a pair...
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# posted by : 9:00 PM
: 9:00 PM:: Sunday, August 05, 2007 ::
Yarn Crawl!
Talk about fun. Bunches of knitters from the Bay Area converging on the city to check out the yarn shops. We didn't even get to all of them (Imagiknit, you'll be next!) but we still had a blast. And of course, pictures were taken!
(flickr)
At our first stop, Urban Knitting Studios, Sarah shows off her Arietta Cardigan. Awesome "fair isle". The shop itself was nice--your usual stuff, decent selection of most everything. Finally saw Panda Cotton in person, but didn't pick any up.
(flickr)
Blurry, but it's our second stop, Artfibers! We could have spent a lot longer here--the yarns are amazing and they have a swatch area where you can test everything out. I tried to crochet a couple of the yarns, but they really seemed better suited to knitting. Gorgeous colors.
(flickr)
Here's Ryn playing with some of her new roving on a drop spindle. It was spinning up really nicely... man, there's a hobby I do not need to take up. -_^
(flickr)
Want to here "ooooooo"s go up in a yarn shop? Yank out an iphone!
(flickr)
And a group shot of everyone at Artfibers. The yarn I'm holding is totally something I grabbed from a drawer so I wouldn't be yarnless in the shot.
After that we took the J Church to Noe Knits (sorry, no pictures). Nice shop, nice owner and everything, but the sock yarn selection was really, really, really skimpy.
All in all a great time, and I'm looking forward to the next adventure!
Labels: Knit, Photos, San Francisco
:: Kazen @ Always Doing 5:59 PM [+] ::
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:: Sunday, July 29, 2007 ::
Fire - 火事
About an hour ago, while sitting here knitting, I smelled something. Something... scorching. I made sure that it wasn't in my kitchen (a slow stewing disaster of a forgotten shortbread, perhaps?), and then I saw the smoke out the kitchen window. It reminded me of a Brooks Chicken barbecue--waves of white smoke from charcoal and chicken. Then the sirens started wailing. As I stood on my own fire escape I saw six fire trucks screaming their way to the scene. So of course, like many other curious citizens out there, I had to go, rubberneck, and take pictures.
(flickr)
(flickr)
(flickr)
This gives you some idea of where it was. It wasn't the corner building, but two to the left of that. It's really early yet, so no news of how it happened. I didn't see any ambulances speeding away from the scene, though, so I think and hope everyone is okay.
Labels: Life, Photos, San Francisco
:: Kazen @ Always Doing 6:08 PM [+] ::
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:: Monday, June 18, 2007 ::
Yea Safeway!
I love this about San Francisco--I can split my grocery shopping between Nijiya Market in Japantown and Safeway, a "normal" supermarket. I got my Japanese groceries last week, but my Safeway stuff, my staples, were sorely lacking. As a result it's been a lot of rice, rice with nori, rice with furikake, and fried rice for dinner the last few days. (Good thing I love rice! ^_^)
Today the Safeway delivery guy came and oh, the possibilities! Here's what I plan to make over the next few days:
- Japanese curry
- shortbread cookies
- pasta
- macaroni salad (from mom's awesome recipe, now that the requisite spices have been procured)
- bunches of salad
Yea for veggies and pasta sauce and powdered sugar!
In other news, I've finished my first Cascade sock, and cast on for the second. Once I actually start knitting the ribbing I'm hoping this one will fly off the needles, too. I've also been working on my pile of New Yorkers and library books--nothing spectacular to speak of, though.
I'm totally looking forward to Wednesday and Thursday, my "weekend" this week. One day will be spent in motion, and hopefully the second will be nice, quiet, and boring. -_^ Wish me luck!
Labels: Knit, Life, San Francisco
:: Kazen @ Always Doing 6:42 PM [+] ::
:: ... 1 comments
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It's nice to hear from you, the sock looks great. Nice color, hope you'll have a pair soon!!!! Love Love Love
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# posted by : 12:46 PM
: 12:46 PM:: Saturday, April 28, 2007 ::
Crazy Thoughts
Uh... yeah.
(full size at flickr)
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:: Kazen @ Always Doing 11:51 PM [+] ::
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:: Sunday, March 25, 2007 ::
Three Blocks to Culture Shock
Awww, isn't he cute? What a bullfrog!
...at $2.99 a pound. A fish market in Chinatown, San Francisco.
Labels: Photos, Random, San Francisco
:: Kazen @ Always Doing 10:15 PM [+] ::
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:: Wednesday, March 14, 2007 ::
Spring in San Francisco
A while ago I got talking with a customer about how I liked San Francisco--he grew up on the East Coast as well.
"It's nice and all," I said, "but I miss snow and hockey and fall and the rest of it."
"Give it two years," he replied. "After that you'll never want to go back."
I am determined to never let it get to that point.
That being said, the weather here is insanely gorgeous. Here we are, in mid-March, hitting 70 in the afternoon with clear blue skies and a heavenly breeze. I walk out of work and let my hair down and think, "I'm living in paradise".
It may actually be a deal with the devil, though. "You want picture perfect weather nine months a year? No problem! I'll give you that, but in exchange I reserve the right to level your city with an earthquake whenever I feel like it!"
In the end, it may be an even trade.
Labels: Random, San Francisco
:: Kazen @ Always Doing 11:05 AM [+] ::
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:: Monday, March 12, 2007 ::
Cars, People and Oh, the Signs!
Looking down at the intersection of Stockton and Sutter Streets, San Francisco.
(full size at flickr)
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:: Kazen @ Always Doing 8:59 PM [+] ::
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:: Thursday, February 08, 2007 ::
Water for Her Best Friend
At the Cable Car Bell Ringing Competition, Union Square, July 13, 2006.
(full size at flickr)
Labels: Photos, San Francisco
:: Kazen @ Always Doing 9:41 PM [+] ::
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