Music survey

***
On a sad note, I just found out my supervisor
(26 year old Japanese Teacher of English who sits next to me)
lost his father last night. Prayers, onegai shimasu.
***
When I was in Sapporo studying Japanese, one of the things I did for homework was a music survey of the locals. Whereas my classmates primarily hit the beer gardens for their research, I tried to find other colorful subjects as well. Here are some of the ones who weren't too shy to have their photo taken.

These students were just hanging out after class one night, so we had a nice little chat about music and their graphic arts studies.










These cats cracked me up. It seemed like these two men had been friends forever with the rapport they had with each other. The one gesturing really likes Elvis.






This was a really cool little store run by a lady who'd been to Egypt. I was lured here by the sale on skirts...I bought that maroon one I'm wearing in the photo of me with the girls in yukata.










Meet Faye-Faye. S/he performs almost every night in a little restaurant/bar in the arcade. His/her favorite music is old Chinese and, of course, his/her own. :)








Here are the 'yukata girls' I met in the park at the beer garden. They were having a party for all of their nursing colleagues.






I walked up to these guys and told them they were the coolest looking guys I'd seen that night, so I figured they'd be interesting blokes. They were just some students out enjoying themselves. Too bad you can't read the shirt on the guy in the middle. Claaaasic English, but not quite appropriate for my (mostly) "G" rated site here :)

Sam here making a few friends with the locals in Hokkaido...

Just a couple of reference shots for my sketchbook...



Here's a museum at the botanical garden I visited on a school field trip in Sapporo. It was nice to see something different than the traditional Japanese for a change.















These maple leaves will be turning scarlet soon to herald the arrival of fall...I'd like to see this pattern in fabric.




















Here's a little nod to Weston -
(since I didn't have any peppers :) )
Actually, I'm thinking this could be inspiration for a new kind of potato chip...

It's funny how we can "see" things, and then through the help of the camera, we can "see" things differently. That's probably why I like photography so much. That and because it's kind of a legacy of sorts from my dad, I guess. Speaking of Dad, I paid special attention to this glass ball sculpture because Dad used to have several of these green glass balls around the house. He made really cool macrame hangers for them and hung them about. I think he got the glass balls from his USCG stint in the Pacific. Well, here I am on the other side of that ocean and obviously some other artist thought that they were an interesting medium, too. I'm not crazy about my compositions here, but I was fascinated in the material (the green glass) and it's reflective, refractive, and transparent qualities. It was also kind of a natsukashii (nostalgic) moment for me because they remind me of "home" (a little ironically, since I think they actually originate in Japan!).


Here's what the sculpture looked like in the hotel entrance way.

Hello, sushi lovers!

Here's a helpful sign I found in Sapporo -

Which is your favorite?

(don't forget to click on the picture to make it big enough to actually read)

Sam is a good gator

Today was one of those days when I totally underestimated the power of mental and emotional exhaustion.
Yes...a little more 'tatami time' than I'd like to admit, but sometimes, it just can't be helped. Of course living alone in a quiet place can be grand, and I know many people with busy lives and crowded houses can be envious of my plentiful solitude, but sometimes it's just hard being the only one here, feeling so far away from everyone else.
BUT - at least I have Sam. He's been a good gator, and I know he's been staring at me all day, willing me to get my butt up and post some of the fabulous photos of him from the past month. So, voila! The one above is of me and some of the teachers at the Sapporo Nihongo Gakko, where I studied Japanese for two weeks earlier this month.


Here's Sam at the main train station in Sapporo. He thought the stars on the big clock there were pretty neat. Speaking of stars, I thought it was interesting that the people up in Sapporo (and maybe all of Hokkaido?) celebrate "Tanabata" (the star festival) on Aug. 7, not July 7, like the rest of Japan.


And here it is, folks - the only photo known to exist of me in a bikini. (unless Dad has one tucked away somewhere from when I was 3!) The school took us on a field trip to the beach so we could enjoy (looking at) the waves, and eating "Jingus Khan" - Japanese BBQ. I was determined to wear a bathing suit - since I don't even remember the last time I had the opportunity to wear one - but could only stand it for a little while, since I was cold! It was really spectacular at that beach, with all the mountains so close by, and dark sand which made not only the beach, but the water look completely different that what I'm used to.