My Japanese Adventures – The Sensational Sakura Safari (Part IV – Kanazawa contd.)

When you’re the Japanese city that produces 99% of your country’s gold leaf, is security fairly important to you? I imagine it would be and it seems that the residents of Kanazawa felt the same way. I have no hard facts to back me up on this, but I do have first-hand imaginary evidence. When I say first hand I mean I was there and when I say imaginary I mean that while I’m not necessarily making the following stuff up; I may be letting my mind construe connections that might be more coincidental than actually factual…

I’d want to protect things like this.

My Japanese Adventures – The Sensational Sakura Safari (Part III – Kanazawa)

Generally I like to celebrate my birthdays with friends and family when I can. This year, having a gathering of familiar faces was a little difficult due to the fact that on the date of my birth, my Dad and I were excitedly exploring Kanazawa, an extremely interesting town on the Sea of Japan. After a four and a half hour shinkansen ride from Hiroshima we dropped our bags off at our hotel and wandered the city, finding our bearings and simply orienting ourselves to our surroundings. After an afternoon of scouting it was decided that dinner was needed to fuel our bellies and combat the cold that was beginning to embrace us.

Of course – when you’re in Japan it’s compulsory to enjoy the country’s famously simple delicacy; guaranteed to fill you up and fight off the chill. We found a place easily enough and made our way inside. It was still reasonably early so my Dad and I were the only customers for the moment. We were greeted by an elderly woman who welcomed us in and bade us to sit, handing us menus and telling us to relax. I already knew what I wanted and soon enough, my birthday feast was placed before me:

The Man Of Steele – Another Anniversary Already?

It’s not a typo. If you came here to read about Superman you might be sorely disappointed. You may not – here’s a link to this Superman Super Site, may you find all the Man of Steel you can handle!

For those who are still with me, it’s time for another birthday post! (and another Sunday post; this is becoming a habit!)

Photo by Jessica Diamond @ Flickr (Creative Commons)

Thirty-Five

Today isn’t my birthday; put away your cakes and candles everyone. Last Saturday was my birthday though and I spent a wonderful weekend in my hometown introducing GE to the area I grew up in and my family. It was a great opportunity to catch up with everyone that I don’t see regularly and a fantastic chance for my family to share some embarrassing information with GE as they met her for the first time!

Sister, It’s Your Birthday; Happy Birthday Sister!

January 18th. A day celebrated in my family as it marks the birth of my little sister.

I am so incredibly fortunate to be in the midst of such amazing siblings. I’ve already mentioned my Wolf Brother in previous posts but that doesn’t at all mean that my Super Sister is any less significant in my life.

Today I want to wish her another insanely Happy Birthday and to let her know how much she has meant to me.

Happy Birthday, Wolf Brother.

Today is the anniversary of my brother’s birth. A soul charged (some would say burdened, but I’m not here to nit-pick) with a margin of responsibility for the safety and development of this blogger.

I’d like to take a moment to give back to the man who, as one of the people I look up to, has given me so very much over the years. A wonderful brother who always had a watchful eye out for me and has pretty much always been there to help me through the rough times. He took his job seriously, and looking back now I can see that he only ever had my best interests at heart.

I’m Getting Too Cold For This…

From small and simple to simply extravagant, we celebrate the birthdays of friends and family in many different ways. This year, to mark the occasion for two good friends of mine, I chose to participate in a ritual dunking the likes of which I have never experienced before. And it will most probably happen again.

Everything began innocently enough. I arrived at Cable Ski World on a clear and sunny Sunday and was soon relaxing in familiar company. As we all talked, we watched other skiers as they maneuovred their way around the lake before us, drawn by a wire attached to a motorised cable hook.