Merry Christmas!

Wow! Lots of presents this year, even if we're all apart!

My work had a Christmas party this year at Katana and then an after-party across the street at skybar.




And THEN, Steve's work had a xmas party the same day at a club down the street. Yup, 3 nights of drinking all rolled into one.

Gingerbread Contest

The only time I've ever won anything at work, and I didn't even get a prize. =/

The production team (Studio, QA, Interactive) broke up into groups and made gingerbread houses. Our team (Dave, Sasha and I) created a holiday drive-in.

Attention to detail was key. The drive-in was for the movie "Elf" and we even had my iPod playing the movie in the front.


And what's a movie theater without a popcorn stand?


Some of the contending entries were pretty impressive:


Some were not:

Holiday Update

I am already in Holiday mode which makes it very difficult to concentrate on work! I just have to make it through this week, which should be lightening up by the day and then I'm off for a week and a half. Well, technically I'll be "working from home" on the 27th and 28th... so we'll see how that goes. I feel like I'm in high school again waiting for my 2-week Christmas break. Heehee.

Some random updates:
- I cut my own bangs before my holiday party and it's not that cute. I really need a haircut.

- I used the Crock Pot I bought on Black Friday for the first time on Sunday... works pretty well! I'm going to use it again tomorrow to try to make some rendang... hopefully super soft and falling apart. Yum. Funny thing is, Steve found an old Crock Pot in my cupboard that I wasn't even aware I already had. Oh well.

- I am missing my company's white elephant gift exchange. The last time I did this was the first annual JT&CO Christmas Party where somebody brought a model of a church among some other weird stuff. I'm wondering if my life would be any different if Joanna chose the PSP instead of the video iPod. I wouldn't have won the Rapp Gingerbread contest for sure if that was the case. (BTW Ai, you can have it back if you want, :P)

- We traded in a bunch of old games this weekend for Rockband! We got over $100 off... collecting $1 for my old PS2 Britney dancing game among other things. :) I should write up a list of what we got for each game, pretty interesting. Anyhoo, more about Rockband later.

- This is probably the first year that I finished Christmas shopping waaaay early, I've been done since last week! I don't even remember some of the stuff I've gifted. I can't wait I'm sooo excited. So is Lulu.

- This winter is colder and wetter than usual. Makes me wish I still had a pair of Uggs. Too bad I can't wear Uggs to work, that would be awesome.

- Steve and I go to Happy Six way too often. I think all the workers there probably recognize us now.

- I tried baking Creme Puffs the other day and they came out disastrous. It might have been something that I did but I blame the electric oven I have for not puffing up the puffs. Although technically the cream part never touched the oven, I still blame the oven. I think I'll limit my oven use to just baking Lulu cookies, since she wouldn't care too much if they were hard.

A Night at the Opera

My first night to be exact! Steve took me to see Don Giovanni at the Dorothy Chandler Pavillion. The classic story of Don Juan was timeless and surprisingly dark. I assumed all of Mozart's pieces are light and comical but this one was definitely dark and twisted. The music was amazing and the set was definitely visually stimulating. I was surprised that the set was so modern and geometric (complete with laser lights) but found later that it was unique to this director.





The occasion was definitely dressier than a musical. We both had the day off (he had a free day and I was "working from home") so we were able to start getting ready early at around 5PM. The Opera did not start until 7:30 but we wanted to allow for traffic to downtown and get there before the pre-show lecture. The entire show was sung in Italian and some of it was subtitled in English above the stage. It was fun to try to pick out what little Italian I knew while they were singing... as I think the subtitles were more comedic/tongue-in-cheek. After the show we decided to stop by Little Tokyo for some ramen... always the perfect ending to any night. :)

Black Friday

I had the stark realization that I have probably fully transcended into adulthood. We spent this Black Friday at the Grove and numerous retail shops like Best Buy, Target, Bed Bath and Beyond. After reviewing my purchases, I realized we only bought very boring household items. Not even the fun stuff like an up-convert DVD player and a toaster oven for Costco frozen foods. I'm talking boring things like a Crock Pot, inflatable bed and a handheld vac. Actually, the last item is not boring at all, it's the highlight of my Thanksgiving. =X

Let's go into more detail, shall we?

Crock pot, only $15 at Target! It was shiny and red... and I immediately thought Hainam Chicken Rice when I saw it. Unfortunately, when I called my mom to ask her how to make it she said "Uh, you can use a regular rice cooker." Whatever. It's still shiny and pretty and I will find something to make with it.


This inflatable air bed with an included air pump was only $20 at Target. We're going to need one when the family comes to visit during Xmas so I thought I'd pick one up... aero beds are usually $150 and I thought this was a suitable disposable substitute. I mean, it was so cheap I doubt it will last more than one full week. Hmmm just thought of something. If I'm not going to inflate it until Xmas, what if there is a leak? I better try it out tonight.


Remember by obsession with Tyson my Dyson? Think slim, compact, portable and cute. Meet Bison, the handheld Dyson. :) He's so cute. He's a little louder than Tyson but works well with pet hair stuck in corners and other crevices. He wasn't on any type of Black Friday special but a Bed Bath and Beyond 20% off coupon did the trick of convincing me that I wanted, needed, had to have one.

Other than these household appliances, we picked up a ton of DVD's and games on major discount. We got 2 PS3 games (I don't even remember which ones anymore, hahaha) and some TV seasons as well as DVD and Blu-Ray movies. Needless to say, we spent the rest of the weekend at home in front of the TV.

Hah.

Back in the Day

Stuff like this makes me wonder how significantly different my children's childhoods will be compared to how I grew up.

Warnings on Sesame Street: The original episodes are apparently no longer suitable for today's toddlers.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/18/magazine/18wwln-medium-t.html

Taking it Slow

On the 3rd day of our trip, we decided to take it slow. We hung out at Moomin cafe one more time, trying to get clearer pictures.


Yona had tea with a male Moomin. She ordered the 4-cheese roll, the roll I had yesterday.


My turn to pose for the photo.


The girl moomin with hair was so cute. Nobody was sitting with her :(


During our walk to the steakhouse, we saw a cute pet store with the cuest French Bull Dog. We asked the salesperson to take her out so we could play with her, she was so cute!


Yona treated me to lunch at a Matsuzaka steakhouse... the best beef, supposed to be superior to Kobe beef as well.


It was a really small, upstairs restaurant that only seated about 10 people.



"Matsusaka beef is produced from virgin female cows born in Hyōgo Prefecture chiefly, The cows are raised in the quiet, serene area surrounding Matsusaka between the Kumozu River to the north and Miyagawa River to the south. Only female wagyu are raised in Matsusaka, where they are fed plenty of fodder, as well as tofu lees and ground wheat. When they have no appetite, they are fed beer to stimulate their eating, and they also receive regular massages with straw brushes after being sprayed with shōchū and are taken for daily afternoon walks. Soothing music is played to the cattle to "calm" them and promote better quality Beef."

It's like these female cows live in a day spa, with the soft music, regular massages and beer and sake. :) We're talking intensely fatty beef in the best possible way!


This was my lunch set, served teppan-yaki style ($50 for that slice!). It was undoubtedly the best beef I've ever eaten in my life. Beats any cow cheek or Kobe beef I've had, hands down.


Downstairs from the steakhouse was a little stand that sold croquettes using the leftover beef. Yona and I really wanted to try some by the line was too long.


Afterwards, Yona and I started our long walk to the Ghibli museum, stopping to take pictures with anything cute we saw on the street, like this Christmas tree. There were so many Christmas decorations up in the city already.


Finally we arrived at the park area that leads to the Ghibli museum.


All parks in Japan are used as mass evacuation sites in case of emergency.


It was a very green park.


Almost there! 300m to go...


Getting excited.


Finally we are greeted by Totoro at the ticket booth.


We were an hour and a half early from our reserved entry time so we kicked it at a Lawson's and picked up some Yona beer. Just kidding. We bought ice cream and sat at the park, watching the little kids bike around.


Finally we are in! We weren't allowed to take pictures insde, but we were allowed to take pics outside. Inside we saw a lot of very cool exhibits, showing the history and science of animations. There was also a mock-up of an animation studio complete with sketches, story boards and reference material. It was pretty overwhelming to witness what goes behind the scenes on making one of his movies!


This glass staircase overlooked the courtyard.


After that, we took the subway home. This was the longest escalator I've ever seen, literally like 5 stories worth of escalators in one long stretch!!

We were so tired afterwards that we went back to the hotel to rest/nap.

When we mustered enough energy, we headed back to Tokyo Dome City to do some shopping and exploring.


The arcade had a "dog-walking" game... it's a treadmill with a fake dog in front. Seriously, they think of everything!


I was so tempted to play their games... the prizes were so cute!

Roppongi & Ginza (More Shopping)

This is our hotel, Toyoko Inn. The funny thing about hotels here is that you give them your key when you leave so they can clean your room. When you come back, you have to go to the front desk and ask for the key again. We are on the 9th floor. The hotel is just 2 blocks from the train station, and 3 blocks from Tokyo Dome City.


There are vending machines every 10 feet it seems like... and they're filled with my favorite drinks from Nijiya. Usually there is one for fruity drinks, one for coffees and teas and one for beers.


Tokyo Dome City. Shops, restaurants, bakeries, roller coaster, haunted house (didn't go)... lots to keep you busy.


My favorite place so far has to be the Moomin Cafe & Bakery. Based on a Finnish cartoon character, this bakery is full of buttery goodness... and random Moomin characters sitting in the cafe.


So cute! Kind of remind me of Amandine's back home. :)


Look at all the lonely moomin's in the cafe... where's my date?


There he is! Me: "That is an adorable red and white apron you have! Where did you get it?"




Yona: "Ewww his apron is dirty."


The cafe itself was really cute too. Lots of decorations, murals, etc.


Yona, busy looking up our stop. We missed our home stop once and accidentally got on a rapid train and missed our stop another time. She's not that good at this.


Subway ride to Ginza... nobody wanted to sit next to me :(


Super-long escalator ride out of Roppongi train station, probably the fanciest/cleanest/nicest train station I've seen.


There was a huge alien thing outside. I have no idea what it was.


Roppongi Hills Mall


Really fancy mall... Not so fun though. The only fun was probably the museum store (there is a museum here also) which had a lot of cheap Murakami stuff.


Hot pigs in a steam room....


Saw a Doraemon store from afar...


Yay!


Walked by a garden to get to the street for a long trek to our lunch restaurant.


Saw a FOB cafe on the way.


The Starbucks in convenience stores here come in little cups that look like the hot coffee! So cute!


Ate lunch at Gonpachi, which is the restaurant they based the famous Kill Bill fight scene. The actual scene was filmed on a set that was based on this restaurant.








Pretty cool, we sat on the second floor and our "window" overlooked the whole restaurant.






Yona's Lunch: Yakitori-Don.


My lunch: Too much =P I had a lunch set.


Afterwards we went shopping in Ginza... first stop, this 5-floor Apple store! (Disappointingly, everything inside was the same as the American Apple stores. :P


The Matsuya store in Ginza was dressed up as an LV Multicolore Trunk. Cute!


Continuing on to shop in Ginza... reminded me more of New York's 5th Avenue shopping than Rodeo Dr, as it's often been dubbed.


Cute flowers individually wrapped on a street cart.


Saw a GTR in a Nissan showroom.


Our feet were hurting so much, we sat at a cafe just to be able to sit down. Unfortunately people are allowed to smoke indoors so it was an extremely smokey cafe. Yuck.


Went to a famous toy store in Ginza. It wasn't as cool as Kiddyland... didn't really find much here.


Saw the Sony building. We were so tired we forgot to go inside after taking the picture. Haha.


:9


We stayed til dusk, when the lights started to come on. Look at the clock on top... giant Casio Baby G. :) Pretty cool.




Went halfway around the world to shop at a GAP. Although to be fair the GAP here has a lot cuter stuff.


Went to Vina's "recommended" sushi restaurant. Yona conveniently sat away from facing the fish. (There was a bucket of live shrimp on top of the counter)


The o'toro was so yummy. The uni didn't look too good but it was sooo sweet and yummy.


Back to the hotel after a long day of walking.


Rested a little bit in the hotel before coming back out to go convenience store shopping. Took another Purikura. Heehee look at Yona's hair on the top left.


Yesterday's purikura.