My birthday dinner

For my birthday my boyfriend took me to Nobu Tokyo. I've always wanted to go there so I was really excited! The restaurant is a near replica of the one in New York. It was a good idea that they moved to this new location as it is much more quiet and secluded and has an air of class. The first dish was scallop sashimi new style.
This is a whitefish Peru style. It was sooooo good!
Crispy Salmon Skin Salad.
Cabbage Steak with Truffles
The best dish of all, Robert Deniro's favorite, the fish dish. Can't remember the name!
The chocolate cake bento box.

A very light and refreshing wine jelly with mascarpone ice cream.

Everything about the restaurant was perfect. Yes it was slightly over-priced and it's not something you can do everyday unless you had money to burn. With a cocktail and two glasses of wine each, the dinner came out to over 30000yen. But it was so worth it! Thank you my sweet boyfriend. I love you so much!

Let it snow

It always seems to snow during the week before or after my birthday. Sure enough is snowed this year as well just like clockwork. This day I had a haircut appoinment. I usually bike it down there, but this day I had to walk.
This place is just one train station away. I used to live here with my ex-boyfriend. This little park is located behind the apartment where I used to live.
Although it's cold, wet and sometimes a pain, I like the snow.

A short walk in my neighborhood

The other day I went out for a little walk. This is the side road from where I live. It was a nice day although a bit cold. I usually ride my bicycle here but the sidewalk is small and the road is a two-way street so it's very stressful.
This is where we usually buy flowers, bulbs and dirt for our small garden on our balcony.
There's a dog that actually lives here. It's big and cuddly but smells terrible! The owner really needs to give it a bath.
A small trail with trees behind the flower shop.
A couple blocks down and we find a cabbage patch right in the middle of the city!

Pictures from LA, Dec-2007

My trip to LA started on Dec 27 and lasted for one week. We went during the high season so our plane fare was expensive. However because I had a pretty bad year, I decided to go for it. As you can see in my pictures, my face is almost recovered from Bell's Palsy. This first picture was when I felt the worst. The skin from the tip of my skull to the bottom of my neck was being stretched in a most uncomfortable way. So I'm not smiling in a lot of the pictures.
A forced smile in this picture with my sweetheart. I totally love him to pieces!

Disneyland!

After extensive research on the internet, I found out that CRUMBS was one of the most popular cupcake shops in town. We found it and I got four gigantic cupcakes. I ended up only taking a few bites of each and I cound not eat any more. I was a bit disappointed because it was overly sweet and I was expecting a bit more. Maybe if I just got one it wouldn've been better. Just too sweet for me. Anyway, at least I got to try them. Next time I'll try Sprinkles.

In Santa Monica for lunch. I was so tired and by this time, my face was hurting. But the food was good although service was terrible. hehe

Gumbo at Farmer's Market. OMG, I actually waited in line for about 20 minutes while my boyfriend waited on a bench in the cold weather. Good gumbo though. My boyfriend had the salad below and regretted getting that in the cold weather. He felt even colder afterwards.



Most of our first three days, we just couldn't get over our jetlag. So we slept a lot and took frequent naps. My face was going through the worst time during my Bell's Palsy recovery and I could not get myself to smile. I was tired so often and New Year's Eve was spent in our room. However we went to a fabulous restaurant called Katana. We got reservations last minute and that made our trip. My boyfriend and I ended up shopping a lot of the time. A huge sale was going on at Macy's. Almost everything was 50% off! With our suitcases full and just barely making the weight limit for our return flight, we returned safely back home. I love LA and already making plans to return.

A new morning

Okay, I feel better today then yesterday. Not that I had a bad day or anything. Just not so good. I think a relationship in my life might be ending. I might just all be in my head and worrying for nothing. It affected my sleep though and for the first time this year, I slept until 10am.

I'm going to try not to think too much today and hopefully have a better day. On days like this, I just need to have really great mind-blowing sex! Boyfriend, get ready!

The new year and other petty details

Happy New Year friends! Well, last year sucked big time and I was reflecting on the past year to see if there was anything I could salvage from the year I had. So I looked back and thought about what was good...or if anything was good for me. After a few minutes, I did find a few things that happened to me that I would consider to be fortunate. Here's a list I made.

Second Life:
I found a fascinating world that didnt know existed. With all the drama found in real life, I made a few friends that I have become close to. It's strange really, but out of all the things in this world, second life was the last thing I thought I would get involved in. I love all the creativity that can be found...the helpful people found in the metaverse...a place of belonging you can find in Second life that cannot be compared to MSN messenger or anything else for that matter. I cherish those friends that I have met there and hope they will remain my friends for a long time. I'm also going to buy some land. hehe

Getting out of debt:
Yep, I was a bit in debt at the beginning of 2007 and I cleared it by the end of January! Whew!

Saving some money:
Yes I even managed to save a bit and that in itself is a miracle!

My relationship with my boyfriend:
Has gotten better. I love him more than ever and it was due to all the ups and downs that have proven that relationships can last for a very long time. In fact, it has gotten better than ever and I think I have found my lifetime partner.

My real life friends:
They were always there when I needed them even when I alienated them during my illness. I love them and will always love and cherish them. They are my treasures.

My family:
My sister and mother. Although they live in a different country, nothing seems to separate the bond we have.

Getting Bell's Palsy:
Yeah I know it's weird, but it taught me how to slow down. In fact I think I needed to real badly. If I kept going at the rate I was going, I probably would have killed myself. Now only if the recovery was a bit quicker I would be one happy man.

Going to LA and forcing myself to go on a roller coaster:
Yes another dumb thing I know. But for me it was a milestone. For the longest time, i've been avoiding rides due to my anxiety attacks and they had gotten worse over time especially last year. I was bummed out because my friends know how much I love roller coasters and kiddie stuff. But everytime I got on a ride, even a tame ride like Big Thunder Mountain, I would get an anxiety attack and start getting all the symptoms of a heart attack. Through a friend I met in Second Life, who treats patients with anxiety attacks, I forced myself on that friggin ride. The coaster was intense, went upside down, and was a very long ride. I had to get out of line 3 times before just saying, the hell with it. If I die, I die! And I didnt die! In fact, all the adrenaline went somewhere else instead of accumulating as anxiety. And I did it twice and that was a big thing for me so there! Yay!

So although last year was a tough one for me, it wasn't all that bad. Sure I had to slow down and I missed all the xmas parties that I didnt go to. Sure I had to rest a lot and I definitely hated quitting the gym. But I'm doing yoga now and I'm eating healthy. I wake up early and sleep at a decent time. I had to learn how to breathe properly and deal with my panic attacks in new ways. My Bell's Palsy is better but still bugs the hell out of me. But my smile is back and I'm happy again.

Oh, I have a nice house in Second LIfe that I'm renting until I get some land so if anyone wants to come and visit me, just join the friggin thing and look for me! It's really not that hard and if you can MSN, believe me, you can SL!

Oh, my new year's resolutions for the year.

Become healthier through a macrobiotic lifestyle, including diet, exercise and healthy lifestyle choices. (So far so good)

Keep my apartment clean!

Make more money, but take it easy when I have to.

Focus on my projects.

Call my mother once a week.

Get a new haircut! Had this hairstyle forever! Geeeesh!