zombiecookie

I haven't really posted anything for a while, but I figured since I've been back in the US for over 6 months I might as well update. Expect more doll pictures soon, as I've gotten new dolls. ^_^

Yakiimo is one of the most annoying foods in Japan.
How can roasted sweet potatoes be annoying you  ask? It's not because I think they taste bad, or because they're hard to get. In fact this time of year they're super easy to get. There are people who drive around in trucks who cook and sell them, sort of like an ice cream truck.  Unfortunately, unlike an ice cream truck the way they get your attention isn't a nice catchy tune. It's a steam whistle. It doesn't stop and is super loud. The first few times a heard it I thought it was an air raid siren going off. At least those stop; the yakiimo whistles continues on until it's out of earshot. Heaven forbid they stop. I had to listen to one for half an hour today.

Omurice is one of the foods I will miss the most when I leave Japan, but also one of the easiest to make ;)

Omurice is basicaly fried rice with an omelet thrown on top. The twist? The fried rice is made with ketchup (Although sometimes they use other stuff). I really like it when it's made with ham or sausage, but normally Japanese people use chicken.  There aren't really a lot of rules when it comes to what you put in the rice, so it gets adjusted a lot. I've made some really kick'n omurice using salsa. On top you can put more ketchup, demi-glace sauce or even gravy.   It's a great way to make a meal out of left over rice.

Now, some Japanese people claim Omurice is western food, but that is a lie, a delicious delicious lie.

So, in Japan McDonald's has monthly McFlurry flavors. I just had a Gateaux  Maron flavored one. I've been trying to avoid eating McDonald's, but I couldn't resist when I saw the sign for it. It was very very good, although it didn't really taste much like Gateaux Maron. I just like it when they mix cake in. The Strawberry Shortcake was my favorite flavor. They actually have two flavors right now, the other being Mint Oreo, which is about as awesome as it sounds.

So, as I think about things, Japan has changed my tastes somewhat.
Back in college my friends and I got to partake of some rather.... interesting beverages. Grass Jelly and some weird rice drink among them.... I did not like them much at all. The texture was very strange. Now, weird bits in my drinks do not phase me at all. Tea Apple drink with konyaku jelly and apple bits, that is pretty tasty stuff. Muscat aloe drink with bits of aloe? Pretty tasty too. Amazake (It's a sweet drink made of rice, served warm)? Best part of winter festivals!

.... and Japan's Kit-Kats are still strange I found some ones that I think are apple carrot.... that's what they have on packaging anyway. They sorta taste like very sweet V8 Splash. They are much better than the Ramune ones.

Kitkats are made in some pretty strange flavors in Japan. Some of them are good, some of them are not so good. FYI, Ramune Kitkats are not so good.

I've been thinking about getting a sewing machine for a while. I wish they weren't so expensive (They've even worse there than in the US!). I can find lots of the little mini ones, they're very popular here, but I know that for the type of sewing I'd be doing it wouldn't really work well. In the stores they run about 20,000 ($200) and up for a real machine. I'm not going to pay that much for something that is probably going to be impossible to bring back to the US with me. Oh well, maybe I'll get lucky and find one on sale. Sometimes amazon has them pretty cheap. It's still probably not worth it. I sewed some at home where I have a machine, but it'd take me a long time to get the value/cost to even out... and I have one at home.  I could make cute things if I had one though. Oh well, I'll figure it out when I work out my budget for next month. I know a few people in the area that might be interested in a used one when I leave, so it isn't likely to be a complete loss.

I don't post very often, but Verzion has pissed me off enough that I felt the need to share. 

It was May 11th that canceled my service with them.... sorta.  I had no problem with the phone, but they wouldn't let me cancel the DSL.  Why?  Because the name hadn't switched over yet and there was an early termination fee that was going to be charged to my former roommate.  That part's important because I called this morning because my final bill was $65 dollars on a billing cycle of 5 days. The phone people were like 'We charged you 7 cents, you need to talk to DSL'  So I talk to DSL and they said that they charged 32.61 or something like that, the rest was run over from the last cycle because of how the bills fall.  Okay, I was pissed that is was that much, but the have a mimium charge, and I get that.  Then she tells me that my bill should be higher and too expect that in the mail.  Why you ask?  The $79 dollar early termination fee should have been on it.  Um no, they cannot charge me for that because my name isn't the one on the contract, as stated by about 4 people when I tried to cancel the account.  She kept on saying they would though, which, made me rather angry.   Because yeah, right hand meet left hand and all that jazz.   I'm going to let it go though until I get a bill for it in my name, because the majority (and common sense b/c of the contract and everything) has stated that the late termination fee, not my problem.

Well, Christmas has come and gone, and well, it didn't really feel like much this year, but it was fun, and I did get to see my family. I still can't wait for school to start again though, because all of my friends, are there and I won't get to see them till I go back.

I started watching Papuwa. It is very strange... Maybe someday I'll write my opinion's on it, but right now I'd rather find something amusing to read, so well, that means the end of this entry.