marisa, gigi, me, and my new friend emily!
geoff (ipod hogging says dan) in a jacket he got in japan which says buta to shinju (which means murder suicide with a pig).







marisa, gigi, me, and my new friend emily!
geoff (ipod hogging says dan) in a jacket he got in japan which says buta to shinju (which means murder suicide with a pig).







An izakaya (居酒屋) is a common kind of Japanese bar or restaurant, also found in cosmopolitan cities throughout the world, popular in Japan for after-work drinking. A definitive feature of an izakaya is that it serves food as well as drink. Patrons typically sit on the floor and dine from low tables in the traditional Japanese style.
The name "izakaya" is a compound word with "i" and "sakaya" (sake shop). It was originally an opposite to "tachinomiya", (standing bar, tachi(standing)+nomi(drinking)+ya(shop)), a liquor shop which sold sake and let customers drink in the shop.
Today, when you first sit down, you will be given an oshibori (wet towel) to clean your hands with, next an appetizer will be served. The portions are generally more substantial than Spanish tapas, but are less than a full meal. Traditionally many Japanese salarymen like to relax after work at a local izakaya. This trend is complemented by a growing population of independent women, and young people (the drinking age is 20), who are also interested in relaxing after work at an izakaya.
Izakaya are sometimes called Akachōchin (red lantern) in daily conversation, because these paper lanterns are traditionally found in front of an izakaya.
this is a photo of some of my coworkers. inaya (pink shirt) is leaving the states to return to japan. we are in front of thai rama in torrance for his sobetsukai (goodbye party). they went to a number two (which means part two of the party for some karaoke and more drinking). i went to shinsengumi to meet up with tams and crew.
the skies were sooo pretty today. toshiro called me in the afternoon and we powerwalked from hermosa beach to el segundo (me in chucks, i should of worn my nikes)
me walking with my fanny pack
toshiro pondering on what drink to get at jamba juice. he decides on some sort of pineapple concoction. i get the berry lime sublime (i am quite thirsty from my two hour walk).
today i spent my whole day with marisa. we made plans to go to the oc swap meet for supplies. it looked like it was going to rain (the weather was this cloudy about to rain weather but the sun came out by 11ish. finished the meet and then headed to her friend robyn's house. she is the office manager at marisa's work and is so much fun. she smokes like a chimney and has the most wonderful stories. my favorite is the story about how she found her dream house. about 1:30ish we headed out to dana point for lunch at the harbor house. such a cute little diner. i had something called the belmont omelette and it was really tasty (spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes, onions, cheese), sourdough bread, fresh fruit. finished lunch and then headed to fashion island to return my wet seal shirt with the metal detector thing still stuck to it. called gigi to hang out but she was busy with the todders.
