Paul and the Magical Sushi-Go-Round

So that's going to be the title of my first childrens' book!

Actually, Paul, Akemi and I went out for a little ¥100/plate sushi action at Kura Sushi this past Monday (Memorial Day). I mentioned this place before in a previous post. It's actually a chain, and this time we went to the one located in Kanazawa-Bunko. I've said it before - it is the model of technological sushi-efficiency. Each table is equipped with a touch-screen computer that allows you to not only order specific pieces of sushi, but it also tallies up your bill as you slide your empty plates into the slot at the end of the table. Mind boggling! Akemi and I ate a meager 4 and 6 plates, respectively, while our friend Paul ate an astounding 39 plates! What an absolute glutton!! We coaxed him on to make it an even 40, but he claimed he was "saving room for dessert". And he wasn't kidding! He managed to polish off not only a brownie sundae at a nearby Baskin-Robbins, but topped it off with a large scoop of matcha (green tea) ice cream. Geez - what a pig! Out of all my friends, he outdoes everyone when it comes to eating and putting away the beers! Paul - you really give us a few good laughs with your uber-indulgent lifestyle, but man, you better slow down or you won't make it to 30!

Cheers, my little wasabi-peanuts!

Lowrey Wedding

Hi guys! Not to bore you with more photos of drunken debauchery, but I just wanted to share some pics with you from a wedding we attended last Saturday, 19 May, for our friends Dave and Nobue Lowrey who had their ceremony and reception at the Grand La Meridien Hotel in Odaiba (Tokyo). I know Dave from my previous tour here in Japan when we both worked at the main clinic in Yokosuka. The ceremony and reception were probably the most lavish affairs I have ever attended. Following the wedding the new couple honeymooned in Guam and then headed back to Okinawa where Dave is currently stationed as an exodontist. Nobue's family owns a real estate business up in Kamiooka, a great little town just south of Yokohama. Cheers to the new couple!!

What's That Lump?

That "lump" is Luna, of course, as she tries to hide from having her teeth brushed and her nails cut, but can't quite squeeze her stumpy butt completely under the couch! She's our sweet little perpetually-hungry Vietnamese pot-bellied chihuahua!

Boston Chowdah / Philadelphia Freedom

Hello Friends of Nature! Akemi and I recently traveled back to the land of Wal-Mart, big food/big people, and monster trucks! We were gone 20-30 April, spending about 3 days in Boston vacationing then the rest of the time in Philadelphia attending my Endo meeting and visiting family. Boston is a great city, one that I would really consider living in if the winter weren't so depressingly and unbearably miserable. Philadelphia, on the other hand, is fun to visit (especially Center City) and great to see family, but it definitely earns the nickname 'Filthydelphia' (and I guess more recently, 'Killadelphia'). I don't think that I could really be happy living there. It's a nasty, nasty city, and people are lucky if they can escape to the outlying suburbs or away from that area all together.

In Boston, we stayed at an 80 year old hotel, the Boston Park Plaza Hotel, officially listed on some historic registry of something or another. Our room and bathroom were clean but tiny, which really makes me wonder if Americans were pygmie-sized 80 years ago. Food in Boston is to die for, including the local specialties of clam chowder, oysters, lobster, and just about any ethnic food you can imagine. While there, we took in the local attractions, including the Freedom Trail, Boston Common, Fanueil Hall/Quincy Market, North End (Little Italy), the Boston Museum of Fine Art, Newbury Street (and other incredible shopping areas), and also a Red Sox game at Fenway Park. In Philadelphia, we stayed at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Center City, a great starting points for most of the great restaurants, bars, and shopping in the area, as well as walking distance to the Convention Center where my meeting was held. It was a great opportunity to visit family and get an attitude adjustment away from the grind of Navy dentistry. Anywho, here are some Boston pics. They are as follows (top to bottom) - Oysters and beer at Legal Seafood; Outside of our hotel and Legal Seafood; Boston Common; Boston Cemetery (site of Paul Revere gravesite); Old state house/site of Boston Massacre; Freedom Trail sidewalk marker; us in front of Sam Adams (the patriot and the beer guy); Akemi and the big man; Paul Revere (now can you remember all the lyrics to the song of the same name by the Beastie Boys?); Akemi on the Democrat Donkey. The last two are from Philadelphia - Akemi with Tony, Lysa, and Ellie; Akemi teasing a patriot at the Liberty Bell.