Happy Birthday my Friends

Yesterday was a long day and I liked it. It was two of my friend's birthday and we decided to have the party at my place, just like last year. The great thing about having parties at my own home is the fact that I'm in control. I can make sure all the food is perfect and guests are comfortable. I also like that I can just crash after everyone leaves. haha. Can't really get more convenient than that.

I had it all planned. The menu was perfect and the cake was going to be amazing. It was going to be in the shape of a butterly with pastel colors, making sure it was over-the-top cute to please two of my best gay friends. They love cute so that's what they'll get!

However things didn't go as planned.

First, my cake didn't turn quite what I had planned. Before cutting the cake into a butterfly shape, I had frosted the entire cake so I was left with a round cake. Damn! What to do what to do? I panicked for a few seconds but immediately gathered my remaining strength.

I made do with what I had and went all out with the frosting and decoration, at least to my ability. I'm no cake master so I can only do so much. Anyway, take a look. This is what it looked like.

It took me an amazing 6 hours to finish making this cake. It's crazy I know, but I don't even want to try and explain how many steps there were in making this monstrosity. Oh, let me tell you it was one huge cake!

Disappointingly, it wasn't the best tasting, so I scolded myself and promised to try harder next time. I still have so much to learn about making cakes it's sometimes sad. Oh well, better luck next time Shinichi. 

My two friends were happy though. They are near and dear to me and although I don't get to see them that often, I always want to be sure that their birthdays are special.

Happy birthday K and R. I love you both.

My new Vlog and Why I Decided to Do Such a Dumb Thing In The First Place

Hi All.

With thanksgiving being just around the corner, memories of the past come to haunt me once again. Not that I think about the past much but ever since I started vlogging, I've been forcing myself to face them once again for the sake of making sure that I've overcome many past issues that used to bother me.

Oh, you didn't know I vlogged did you? Well I did and no, this is a completely separate YouTube Channel from TabiEats, which is focused on food and travel.

Shinichi's World got its inspiration from a website I used to have until 14 years ago, at which time I decided to just do away with. It was basically a website about my life and although it became popular and got featured a few gay magazines here in Japan, I felt uncomfortable sharing so much about myself. Along with all the wonderful messages came the torrent of hate mail, mostly from those who hated gay people.

I wasn't as strong then as I am now and certainly not as comfortable. I still had a lot of issues to deal with and after way too many times where people noticed me on the streets, in supermarkets and at the airport, I felt it was time to close shop.

Times have changed and so have I. At this age, I feel I have nothing to lose and as I'm nearing the age of 50 very soon, I feel it's time to challenge myself.

At first I was content with my TabiEats Channel and although I'm certainly happy with how that one is doing, I felt that I had things to express that just wouldn't fit into the food and travel category. There were many things I wanted to address in my life and hopefully, to inspire people in ways I'm still not sure yet.

Shinichi's World is an experiment that's for sure, and one that forces me to face my own fears. But seriously, I think that's exactly what I need.

So what's the message behind Shinichi's World besides well, me!

I guess I want people to face their own worst fears and face life head on. I want people my age to not have to "act" their age or let too much maturity get in the way of being what they want to be. We should be able to be and do whatever we desire, no matter how old we are.

I also want younger people, especially those who are going through difficult times, to know that I've been there before. Those who are trying to over come anxiety and panic attacks to know that it can get better. They are not alone.

I know I'm starting to babble as I tend to do but you know what I'm trying to say right? I just want to contribute, encourage and hopefully inspire people to just be who they are.

We basically have two choices in life. Love or fear. And I've decided to choose love. I no longer want to let fear get in the way of anything. Besides what do I have to lose? Lose face? Causing shame to myself?

Seriously? Who the hell cares!

Visit Shinichi's World on YouTube

My New YouTube Channel

A couple of months ago I started working on a new endeavor of mine. I started a YouTube Channel! Yes I did. And not only is the channel about my passions travel and food, it's about a lot of other fun stuff like food reviews, comparing Halloween burgers and other food-centric topics that I love to talk about.

Now the little details about the channel because it's kinda important you see. Satoshi, they guy who I live with ( my partner of 14 years ) decided that he'd like to join me on this venture. Now I wasn't sure about how this would work out and quite frankly, I was a bit scared. How is it going you ask?

Well, it's going good for the most part. But if I may be honest here, it's far from easy. In fact, it's quite difficult for the most part. But it's a learning process.

Since it's almost 3 am, I really should sleep but before I go, I just wanted to share with you my YouTube Channel. If you're still reading this blog, which I used to only update when I was either depressed, super happy or bored, check it out.

CLICK HERE TO MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL TABIEATS.

Thanks!