I just finished reading a fabulous little book called The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon. It tells the story of 15 year-old Christopher, an autistic boy (or perhaps he has severe Asperger's Syndrome, it never says and I don't know enough to tell) who finds his neighbor's dog, Wellington, has been killed and decides to do some detecting to figure out who did it.
The book is written in the first person, by Christopher's character. This gives us a glimpse into not just how he thinks, but how he understands the world around him and how he manages to survive in a world that is filled with ambiguities and uncertainties and way too many other people. It also brings into reality the emotional challenges that come with raising or teaching a boy with Christopher's condition.
The book is part mystery novel, part adventure, and part memoir. It's half exploration of the inner mind, and half commentary on the awesome overload of information we deal with, through the eyes of one who is least capable of dealing with it. I'm not a book reviewer by nature (honestly, I forget most of what I read shortly after finishing it...I didn't even remember the main character's name and it's only been two days), so I'll just say that the closest book I can compare it to is The Catcher in the Rye
My buddy Mason is the COO for a company in Sacramento called BareBones WorkWear. He's been there for a number of years now, and his hard work is really paying off. Despite the recession, the company continues to grow and expand and it's great to see people taking notice. Here's a recent article in the Sacramento Business Journal about their recent success. (photo from article)
If you're shopping for anything from construction clothes to boots to medical clothes, their site has a great selection, and Mason is constantly tweaking the website to ensure it's working like a charm. With Christmas coming up, it's worth taking a look!
My buddy Martin just introduced me to a new site called Shelfari. Yes, the same Martin who probably didn't read a full book all the way through during his time as my roommate at UCLA. I don't blame him, there was Nintendo to be played and Discovery to be watched, after all. But something happened to Martin since he graduated, and he's now one of the most avid readers I know. And not just fluff. Some of the books have big words, too.
Anyway, back to Shelfari. It's a place to create your virtual "bookshelf", where you can list your books (down to the specific edition), rank them, tag them, review them, and recommend them to others. The site accomplishes this by integrating with Amazon, which actually bought them in 2008. Personally, I think that means this site has a lot more potential. There's still a number of features it needs before it can really kick butt, like:
I recently went to Japan for a week to visit Rika's family. Rika was there for three weeks, but I couldn't take that kind of time given the busy work schedule right now. We don't do a lot of touristy stuff anymore when we go to Japan, so nine days kind of works, but I'd prefer to stay a little longer. It felt like we returned just after getting adjusted, and with only one week, every night gets booked and the trip becomes a whirlwind.
Below I've written a "Top 10" list of my favorite experiences on this trip. You can also see the photo album I put up (also linked to the right).
10. Daria-en (Dahlia Park)
We went to "Daria-en" with Rika's mom and grandma. Dahlia Park is in a neighboring town called Kawanishi. I used to teach at Okino High School in Kawanishi, which is very close to the Park, but I never saw it while I lived there. So I actually did do one touristy thing.
The park is just acres and acres of dahlias. Huge bloomin' dahlias. Not knowing what a dahlia looked like, I was a bit surprised at how big they are and how many varieties of colors and shapes they come in. They aren't quite orchids for sheer wow factor, but they are impressive nonetheless. It costs about $5 to get in, but if you buy the "Park & Onsen Combo", you can do both for $6.50. We did that. Nothin like a day of western flowers and eastern bathing.
9. Morning jogs
I always try to go for at least a few jogs in Japan, but this year there was a twist. Rika was jogging with me. We chose to run up into the mountains toward the campground, which I found out is actually owned by Rika's family (who knew?). Rika's family was a bit iffy about us running out there, for two reasons. The first, and saddest, is that someone committed suicide there the week before I got there. Nobody really wanted to be up there as a result, which is a real shame because we normally might have had a barbecue there.
The other reason is that there are bears. Before we start, Rika's mom is careful to remind us to watch out for bears. Rika decided it was better to be safe than sorry, and sang while she ran, some kids' song about meeting a bear. It is sung in rounds to the tune of Down by the Bay, and goes something like this:
Aru hi (One day)
Mori no naka (Out in the woods)
Kumasan ni (Into a bear)
Deatta (I did run)
Hanasaku mori no michi (Out on a road in the blossoming woods)
Kumasan ni deatta (Into a bear I did run)
She sang this to make sure the bears knew to stay away. I argued that Japanese bears were small and wussy and that they were nothing to worry about. Apparently word got out, though, because on the news one night a bear went into a bus terminal and messed up 9 people. Don't diss Japanese bears.
Recent Comments