Tired and Happy

*ow* Everything below the waist is reminding me I was Doing Stuff with it that I don't do in a normal day, running around Nisei Festival yesterday.

I've decided we need a Chibi-Con to run at the Miyako Hotel the week of Nisei Festival. Nothing big - just show up, and if we have enough rooms sold, they'll throw in a meeting room we can all sit around and discuss the urgent matters of the day in. Doubt we'll need it. We'll be too busy.

Don't need a dealer's room - you've got everything from Anime Jungle to Marukai outside. Everything - name it.

Don't need a Masquerade - you've got the Obon Street Dance the closing night of the festival - and I so wish I'd had a digital camera now, I could weep. They have schools that teach this - and the taiko kai playing the opening music had their own take on Obon that was positively happy in a way I wish I could be every day.

Sun Valley. Gardena. Pasadena. They came from everywhere in the area - most of the groups in matching yukata and gehta. Easily 1/4 were not Asian. Traditional. Non-traditional. Big groups. All ages. Everything from a group in matching costume down to the hats they wore - only the youngest members did not wear them. But the group went from my age down to littles below the age of reason.

Obon is Japanese line dancing. It does not contain the stomping country-western line danncing does. It can contain the same energy as a conga line. It's also as graceful as the hula, and I couldn't help think that Hawaii must have been a wonderful place for Obon to exist alongside it.

Next year, we'll be out there. This year, I would only have been in the way, welcome as I would have been.

I absolutely love Nisei Week.

Yeah, I know Elvis has been dead for 25 years. They had a "school" of Elvis impersonators doing Obon last night. There were dancers wearing stars-and-stripes yukata. There was a school who wore the "burglar" kerchiefs for some of the dance numbers (they danced for hours...) and the kerchiefs were patriotic red, white & blue. The men were wearing lovely matching forest green & black yukata.

We are Japanese. We are American. In that typically Japanese fashion of being more than one "thing" - and welcome. Welcome to us. If you would have us - we will have you. Gladly.

I didn't see an exhibit that did not offer flyers with their class schedules on them.

LAPD had sent six people for an area a block long - just west of the Parker Center you see on Dragnet ("this is the city...Los Angeles") and they spent most of their time admiring the teeniest chihuahua in front of Daikokuya (the cute girls too, but the dog was the main draw). No trouble. The biggest issue was telling the transients to move on and quit bothering the visitors.

They closed 1st street between Central and San Pedro and we danced on it. Jim and I had won a Lilo & Stich beach ball earlier in the day (it's a big one - 3' diameter) that we blew up and played with before the show began. We're batting around a beach ball in the middle of the road in front of Parker Center. Los Angeles, home to multi-tens of millions - is suddenly a small little town where you can play in the middle of the street at dinner time, just as it's getting dark.

And don't miss the Sunday buffet at the One Thousand Cranes restaurant at the New Otani in Little Tokyo. Just make reservations for when they begin it (11:00) and come hungry.

What kind of Japanese food have you not tried? Oden? Sashimi? Mochi? Sukiyaki? Cha-soba?

We rolled out of there. And snacked all day. Sweets from Fugestso-do, unagi don from the above mentioned Daikokuya - and walk, walk, walk. I have discovered, however, that 4" curbs are no longer my friend. I am sore from sitting on them for too long in contorted positions trying to rest the bottoms of my feet.

Taking the jade necklace I wear every day back to the lady who made it five years ago - and having her restring it for no charge (even replacing the worn out beads) - and I found a pretty I couldn't resist - a necklace of jade goldfish - will have to post a photo, no description would do it justice. Goldfish - fully carved with fan tails and bulging eyes goldfish. And Jim got himself a dragon he can wear to work - and likely will!

Browsing the museum shop and noting ISBN numbers to order later. Buying fortune cookie bath fizzies.

Out all day with my Love.

Come join me next year. Please.

Tired and Happy

*ow* Everything below the waist is reminding me I was Doing Stuff with it that I don't do in a normal day, running around Nisei Festival yesterday.

I've decided we need a Chibi-Con to run at the Miyako Hotel the week of Nisei Festival. Nothing big - just show up, and if we have enough rooms sold, they'll throw in a meeting room we can all sit around and discuss the urgent matters of the day in. Doubt we'll need it. We'll be too busy.

Don't need a dealer's room - you've got everything from Anime Jungle to Marukai outside. Everything - name it.

Don't need a Masquerade - you've got the Obon Street Dance the closing night of the festival - and I so wish I'd had a digital camera now, I could weep. They have schools that teach this - and the taiko kai playing the opening music had their own take on Obon that was positively happy in a way I wish I could be every day.

Sun Valley. Gardena. Pasadena. They came from everywhere in the area - most of the groups in matching yukata and gehta. Easily 1/4 were not Asian. Traditional. Non-traditional. Big groups. All ages. Everything from a group in matching costume down to the hats they wore - only the youngest members did not wear them. But the group went from my age down to littles below the age of reason.

Obon is Japanese line dancing. It does not contain the stomping country-western line danncing does. It can contain the same energy as a conga line. It's also as graceful as the hula, and I couldn't help think that Hawaii must have been a wonderful place for Obon to exist alongside it.

Next year, we'll be out there. This year, I would only have been in the way, welcome as I would have been.

I absolutely love Nisei Week.

Yeah, I know Elvis has been dead for 25 years. They had a "school" of Elvis impersonators doing Obon last night. There were dancers wearing stars-and-stripes yukata. There was a school who wore the "burglar" kerchiefs for some of the dance numbers (they danced for hours...) and the kerchiefs were patriotic red, white & blue. The men were wearing lovely matching forest green & black yukata.

We are Japanese. We are American. In that typically Japanese fashion of being more than one "thing" - and welcome. Welcome to us. If you would have us - we will have you. Gladly.

I didn't see an exhibit that did not offer flyers with their class schedules on them.

LAPD had sent six people for an area a block long - just west of the Parker Center you see on Dragnet ("this is the city...Los Angeles") and they spent most of their time admiring the teeniest chihuahua in front of Daikokuya (the cute girls too, but the dog was the main draw). No trouble. The biggest issue was telling the transients to move on and quit bothering the visitors.

They closed 1st street between Central and San Pedro and we danced on it. Jim and I had won a Lilo & Stich beach ball earlier in the day (it's a big one - 3' diameter) that we blew up and played with before the show began. We're batting around a beach ball in the middle of the road in front of Parker Center. Los Angeles, home to multi-tens of millions - is suddenly a small little town where you can play in the middle of the street at dinner time, just as it's getting dark.

And don't miss the Sunday buffet at the One Thousand Cranes restaurant at the New Otani in Little Tokyo. Just make reservations for when they begin it (11:00) and come hungry.

What kind of Japanese food have you not tried? Oden? Sashimi? Mochi? Sukiyaki? Cha-soba?

We rolled out of there. And snacked all day. Sweets from Fugestso-do, unagi don from the above mentioned Daikokuya - and walk, walk, walk. I have discovered, however, that 4" curbs are no longer my friend. I am sore from sitting on them for too long in contorted positions trying to rest the bottoms of my feet.

Taking the jade necklace I wear every day back to the lady who made it five years ago - and having her restring it for no charge (even replacing the worn out beads) - and I found a pretty I couldn't resist - a necklace of jade goldfish - will have to post a photo, no description would do it justice. Goldfish - fully carved with fan tails and bulging eyes goldfish. And Jim got himself a dragon he can wear to work - and likely will!

Browsing the museum shop and noting ISBN numbers to order later. Buying fortune cookie bath fizzies.

Out all day with my Love.

Come join me next year. Please.

Tired and Happy

*ow* Everything below the waist is reminding me I was Doing Stuff with it that I don't do in a normal day, running around Nisei Festival yesterday.

I've decided we need a Chibi-Con to run at the Miyako Hotel the week of Nisei Festival. Nothing big - just show up, and if we have enough rooms sold, they'll throw in a meeting room we can all sit around and discuss the urgent matters of the day in. Doubt we'll need it. We'll be too busy.

Don't need a dealer's room - you've got everything from Anime Jungle to Marukai outside. Everything - name it.

Don't need a Masquerade - you've got the Obon Street Dance the closing night of the festival - and I so wish I'd had a digital camera now, I could weep. They have schools that teach this - and the taiko kai playing the opening music had their own take on Obon that was positively happy in a way I wish I could be every day.

Sun Valley. Gardena. Pasadena. They came from everywhere in the area - most of the groups in matching yukata and gehta. Easily 1/4 were not Asian. Traditional. Non-traditional. Big groups. All ages. Everything from a group in matching costume down to the hats they wore - only the youngest members did not wear them. But the group went from my age down to littles below the age of reason.

Obon is Japanese line dancing. It does not contain the stomping country-western line danncing does. It can contain the same energy as a conga line. It's also as graceful as the hula, and I couldn't help think that Hawaii must have been a wonderful place for Obon to exist alongside it.

Next year, we'll be out there. This year, I would only have been in the way, welcome as I would have been.

I absolutely love Nisei Week.

Yeah, I know Elvis has been dead for 25 years. They had a "school" of Elvis impersonators doing Obon last night. There were dancers wearing stars-and-stripes yukata. There was a school who wore the "burglar" kerchiefs for some of the dance numbers (they danced for hours...) and the kerchiefs were patriotic red, white & blue. The men were wearing lovely matching forest green & black yukata.

We are Japanese. We are American. In that typically Japanese fashion of being more than one "thing" - and welcome. Welcome to us. If you would have us - we will have you. Gladly.

I didn't see an exhibit that did not offer flyers with their class schedules on them.

LAPD had sent six people for an area a block long - just west of the Parker Center you see on Dragnet ("this is the city...Los Angeles") and they spent most of their time admiring the teeniest chihuahua in front of Daikokuya (the cute girls too, but the dog was the main draw). No trouble. The biggest issue was telling the transients to move on and quit bothering the visitors.

They closed 1st street between Central and San Pedro and we danced on it. Jim and I had won a Lilo & Stich beach ball earlier in the day (it's a big one - 3' diameter) that we blew up and played with before the show began. We're batting around a beach ball in the middle of the road in front of Parker Center. Los Angeles, home to multi-tens of millions - is suddenly a small little town where you can play in the middle of the street at dinner time, just as it's getting dark.

And don't miss the Sunday buffet at the One Thousand Cranes restaurant at the New Otani in Little Tokyo. Just make reservations for when they begin it (11:00) and come hungry.

What kind of Japanese food have you not tried? Oden? Sashimi? Mochi? Sukiyaki? Cha-soba?

We rolled out of there. And snacked all day. Sweets from Fugestso-do, unagi don from the above mentioned Daikokuya - and walk, walk, walk. I have discovered, however, that 4" curbs are no longer my friend. I am sore from sitting on them for too long in contorted positions trying to rest the bottoms of my feet.

Taking the jade necklace I wear every day back to the lady who made it five years ago - and having her restring it for no charge (even replacing the worn out beads) - and I found a pretty I couldn't resist - a necklace of jade goldfish - will have to post a photo, no description would do it justice. Goldfish - fully carved with fan tails and bulging eyes goldfish. And Jim got himself a dragon he can wear to work - and likely will!

Browsing the museum shop and noting ISBN numbers to order later. Buying fortune cookie bath fizzies.

Out all day with my Love.

Come join me next year. Please.

Got some time to waste?

llamajoy found a nice way to do it:

Clicky Clicky Clicky - Oooog.

Got some time to waste?

llamajoy found a nice way to do it:

Clicky Clicky Clicky - Oooog.

Got some time to waste?

llamajoy found a nice way to do it:

Clicky Clicky Clicky - Oooog.