happy cat diaries

Guess what's happened?

2009-10-16T21:05:00.002-04:00

It's been SUCH a long time since I posted anything here, but I have something of note to write about: Kaz and I became parents last month! Chiyo Ghislaine was born on September 17th, weighing 8 lbs. 6 oz. (same as our nephew Desmond), and Kaz and I are totally in love. It's been a whirlwind month - simultaneously the shortest and the longest of my life, and there's a steep learning curve to good parenting, but we're doing our best. I now intend to keep a blog of her life, and to post pictures.

I'm Exhausted.

2008-09-07T21:41:00.002-04:00

My newish job of working at Starbucks has me completely wiped, as I'm trying to prepare for the commencement of classes on Tuesday. I haven't been sleeping well for weeks, and I've been nauseous non-stop for the past three days. I suppose pregnancy would be the first cause many people would think of, but I find it quite unlikely. However, I've been totally obsessed with babies recently, which I find really confusing since my relationship with my beloved sister has changed so much since the birth of Desmond. He's two weeks old today, and as much as I adore him, I can't help but feel sad at the prospect of never having the same relationship (or role, for that matter) with my sister ever again. I also find it very confusing to see my sister in so much pain (which is ongoing due to the nightmare that is breastfeeding and an awful episiotomy), caused by such a beautiful and wondrous little being. I guess it would be fair to say that I am feeling very conflicted.

Our Family's Newest Addition

2008-09-04T19:25:00.004-04:00

My sister just gave birth to this little angel, Desmond Xavier. At 8 lbs 6 oz., he was no shrimp! I speak for my whole family when I say that we've all fallen completely in love with him. Congratulations to my beautiful sister, Mai, and her husband RJ.

It's Almost Time!

2008-08-21T23:52:00.002-04:00

Any day now, my precious sister will be having her baby. It's so sweet, her cute husband has been practising loading a doll into the car seat, so he'll be ready! Not too much is happening here, other than adjusting to my new, currently-fun job at Starbucks, preparing for the commencement of classes in two weeks, and painting our bedroom. Let me tell you, Kaz was NOT happy about being roped into painting, and now that the first coat's done, I'm taking the remaining paint back to the store to be adjusted because the colour's all wrong. Essentially, I hate the long, dreary Toronto winters we have, where the sun seems to vanish for decades, so I decided that in lieu of filling an entire room with the lamps used to treat sufferers of SAD, I would paint our bedroom a cheery and yet not overpowering shade of yellow with hopes of it enabling me to get out of bed in the mornings without a vicious frown. Unfortunately, that particular shade has been hard to come by, and the current one, a very light shade called 'Lemonade', is too green.

The Return

2008-08-03T04:04:00.005-04:00

Well, I heartlessly abandoned this blog a few years ago, but I've missed it here and, even if no one else takes a look, these are my precious memories that are fading from my frazzled mind. For me, blogging is cathartic, and a kind of therapy, and re-reading my posts from the past five years is good for me. All I can promise is that I'll be sincere.

2008-05-08T03:06:00.003-04:00

Forget Vox! I'm going to come back, I've missed writing here.

Moved shop

2006-09-24T13:21:00.000-04:00

After many years with this blog, I've decided to move over to Vox, which is fantastic. You can visit me there at rhie.vox.com; please keep in touch!!

2006-08-02T17:06:00.000-04:00

As you can probably tell, I'm tinkering with the site, so please excuse the poorly sized pictures and everything else that's wrong!!!

2006-08-02T00:31:00.000-04:00

2006-08-01T23:15:00.000-04:00

I usually refrain from writing about my clients but this time I may not be able to resist. We recently (ie. last Saturday) shot a gigantic birthday party for our client, a well-to-do dentist, who just turned 40. My idea of a nice birthday party involves some cake, some friends, a few thoughtful presents and maybe some karaoke; the client (we'll call him Dr. Ned) had quite a different vision. Not only did he rent the largest and most expensive hall in Toronto and decorate its 30-foot ceilings and walls with billowing canopies of fabric and rent $3 million dollars worth of sound equipment, he also hired a full band, a DJ, a producer, 2 event planners, a choreographer, a videographer, 6 guys who were painted gold and made to act as human statues on platforms, makeup artists, 12 handsome young men in togas, a full troupe of Greek traditional dancers, belly dancers, hip hop dancers, cha cha dancers, tango dancers, some tiny Asian dancers, and two toga-clad trumpeters to announce his arrival and departure. He performed a very long program of singing traditional Greek songs, dancing in intricate routines, and making speeches to his hundreds of friends and his beloved family members. He even hired a rapper to rap over one of his Greek rhumba songs as he sang. The food kept coming, the performances kept on going, and a good time was had by all, until the wee hours of the morning. I've never seen such an over-the-top event. The rest of the weekend was spent driving to Guelph to shoot a wedding in the beautiful town of Elora, with the assistance of my very competent, professional and adorable brother, Nathaniel Ian, my feet are covered in blisters on every side from the heels I had to run around in on both unfortunate days. Monday Nathan and I went to look at apartments near his new school in North Toronto, which were all disgusting and over-priced. Then I leapt into a bus and went to Waterloo to take my sister to the doctor (which she hates and avoids like the plague) and rushed home a few hours ago to find a mountain of e-mails in my computer, classes that I am required to take being full, and a cranky and tired husband who said he had nightmares because I was away for the night. (We're almost never apart.) Tomorrow is a large shoot for Home Depot, and I have about 9000 hours of editing to do from the 30 GBs of pictures we shot last weekend. Hurray!

Rhiana vs. Ma Po Tofu, Round 2

2006-07-28T18:54:00.000-04:00

Alright, Ma Po Tofu. I see you there in that plastic tub, and I can count at least 20 malignities of hua jiao lingering on the surface of your delicious sauce. You may have bested me in the restaurant, but I shall be the victor tonight. Much pained eating ensues, followed by frenzied drinking and, finally, triumphant cries at the sight of a clear plate. I quite enjoyed that! Hua jiao, I have learned, contains 3% hydroxy-alpha-sanshool. This explains the tingling and numbness, but not the deafness I experienced. (Perhaps we'll never know the cause of that.) Also, hua jiao is not illegal as I wrongly assumed, but was banned from importation until 2006, because it carried a disease called citrus canker that could infect North American plants. Now, it's heated to 70 degrees Celsius prior to leaving Asia. The fact that it's a new arrival in Canada explains why I've eaten a lot of Sichuan food without ever tasting a hint of hua jiao until this very week! I've unfortunately never been to Sichuan, and I don't recall ever eating Sichuan food in Hong Kong, so someone will have to update me on the current hua jiao situation there.

2006-07-27T02:15:00.000-04:00

Hua jiao - BEWARE!!!!

Murder, by Mapo Tofu

2006-07-27T01:33:00.000-04:00

Last night Kaz and I popped into what my dear friend Zhao (Chengdu native) calls "the most authentic Sichuan restaurant in Toronto", Ba something Ren Jia Sichuan Guan on Steeles. I was about to find out how true that was, as we ordered one of my favourites, Ma Po Doufu and some Gongbao chicken for good measure. Zhao Zhao always told me that Sichuan food is very spicy because of the pepper, but I mistook this to mean the spice of the chili pepper (la jiao) instead of the foreign item hua jiao (flower pepper?). Kaz said they use this hua jiao pepper in Japan (called sansho) in VERY small quantities, but I was truly unprepared for this taste; unlike anything I've ever eaten. It was very peppery - more like an exorbitant amount of black pepper than chili pepper, and it soon paralyzed my tongue, my lips, and affected my hearing. I think I almost fainted! Kaz and I were both dying, gobbling huge amounts of rice with tears streaming down our faces. I immediately called Zhao, and because my ears were temporarily malfunctioning, I didn't realize that I was yelling very loudly in the otherwise quiet establishment. Of course, I was hollering in Mandarin about dying from hua jiao-induced spice and needing something to take away the pain, and Kaz was getting embarassed. I was getting louder and louder, as my panic grew, and after I yelled "Wo zai si.... la si wo! La si wo!!!!!!" with great vehemence, waitresses bearing water suddenly rushed at us from all sides. I appreciated it, and I apologized for yelling, and the waitresses encouraged me to order their "foreigner version" with fewer offending peppercorns next time. Naturally, I balked at the idea of eating foreigner food of any kind (sidenote: this is Canada and I was born here, so why should I be referred to as a "foreigner"????) and the remaining Ma Po Doufu is waiting for me in the fridge, challenging me. I will eat it! I managed to figure out why I've never eaten this particular spice before: it's not legal to import it, and the chefs actually smuggle it into Canada under their clothes, like a drug. I wonder if it's illegal because of its affect on hearing.....

2006-07-18T10:04:00.000-04:00

So I'm sitting here in my summer office, as a bored little receptionist. The panic to make my university tuition for the year is on, and this office job, on top of duties within our own business, is my part of the bargain. Normally, I hate offices, and I tire quickly of the mundane trivialities that must be dealt with each day, and I whine incessantly both our loud and inside my head. Instead, I'm still smiling. Two things have changed my attitude - a determination to honour God with my work regardless of how meaningless I consider it to be, and a new-found career goal that spurs me on. I've got to pray throughout the day to keep a good attitude, or rather, a sincerity in my good attitude since I always want people to be happy with me and, therefore, I behave well. I'm just so bored, waiting by the phone, doing crossword puzzles and reading 5 newspapers each day. I think I'm ready for Jeopardy, I've absorbed so much trivia. I want to join the Foreign Service, and become an Ambassador before I turn 45, and according to our Ambassador in Australia, I have a very good chance of being accepted to the Service because of my language background, once I finish my degree and perfect my now-dismal French. A major focus of the VERY demanding entrance exams is current events and knowledge of seemingly miniscule facts, so I'm brushing up my skillz. Did I mention I'll need at least 3 more years before I can take these exams? I am that excited. My Kaz is pretty excited about us becoming a "diplomat" family, because we are very well suited to the nomadic lifestyle. He's always hoped that I would be the one with a steady job so he can roam the globe and shoot documentary projects, and we will have diplomatic passports and will be virtually un-arrestable!!! No more parking tickets for us! Seriously, I think I can really make a difference. And it's been a while since I felt that way.

2006-07-10T14:25:00.000-04:00

This is what I look like after 2 hours of makeup. Now, I don't want to spoil the ending of our makeover show on So Chic, but I thought I'd give you, my dear friends, a sneak-peek at us at the end of our transformation. We happened to run into a friend who took this picture while we were shooting the party scene at Rock the Preppy, and this is the only shot I've seen of our final looks. (Of course, the makeup is overdone for television.) Anyway, look for the whole show airing in the fall, more details to come once they are available. We're going to have a viewing party then!

As an added thought....

2006-06-22T16:54:00.000-04:00

You scored as Emergent/Postmodern. You are Emergent/Postmodern in your theology. You feel alienated from older forms of church, you don't think they connect to modern culture very well. No one knows the whole truth about God, and we have much to learn from each other, and so learning takes place in dialogue. Evangelism should take place in relationships rather than through crusades and altar-calls. People are interested in spirituality and want to ask questions, so the church should help them to do this.

Emergent/Postmodern

89%

Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan

86%

Neo orthodox

82%

Fundamentalist

61%

Reformed Evangelical

57%

Charismatic/Pentecostal

54%

Classical Liberal

43%

Roman Catholic

39%

Modern Liberal

21%

What's your theological worldview?
created with QuizFarm.com

Filming, and a Ferret

2006-06-22T15:34:00.000-04:00

This past Monday we started to film our episode of So Chic. Luckily, I was placed with the adorable Steven Sabados, who is charming, gorgeous, and a perfect gentleman. Surprisingly (perhaps only to me?) Steven and Chris are a couple and have been together for over 17 years! Maybe I was very naive, but I thought that makeover shows were filmed in a more documentary style, where the events of the day flowed naturally and were captured on tape without requiring the intrusiveness of a million takes of every scene. I was very wrong, as I soon discovered. I had to act my ass off! We would be filming a scene where I was showing off the outfit before we filmed the scene where Steven chose the outfit for me; filming me reacting to my new self for the first time, at least five times over; and filming the "old" me admiring the look of the "new" me, where the new me was played by a forty year old man before they could superimpose the "new" me into the shot in post-production. My brain hurts. Filming took forever on both days (Mon. & Wed.), and the $500 shoes they bought me hurt like hell. On Tuesday night, we dropped off a friend following a nice garlicky dinner in Greektown, and were happily enroute home. Kaz suddenly swerved and started yelling about a weird looking squirrel with a death-wish. It was a poor albino ferret! I leapt out of the car and called him, and he ran toward me and jumped into my arms. He was lost, it was almost midnight and he didn't have the best survival skills, so I decided to take him home, despite Kaz's reluctance due to his ferret phobia. Kaz wanted to release him in High Park! The poor little guy was REALLY stinky, and I didn't want to bathe him in case he bit me and had no shots. I named him Reginald, and posted a notice on Craigslist in case his owner was looking for him. I made him a little nest, fed him some cat kibble, and put him on the balcony, and in the morning we jumped into a taxi and took him to Animal Services, and just barely made our appointments with our stylists and TV crews at two chi-chi Yorkville salons. Anyway, Kaz looked AMAZINGLY GORGEOUS, and I looked unrecognizable under 3 pounds of TV makeup. (Seriously, 2 friends didn't return my hellos and looked confused.) I don't have any pictures, because by the time we arrived home and washed that crap off my face, we were just too tired. About the clothes, I wore some cute things to our event, Rock The Preppy. I wore an orange plaid button-up shirt with a white Michael Kors vest, some insanely expensive denim culottes, orange dangly earrings and bangles, beautiful white snakeskin sandals, and carried a gold Michael Kors handbag with an Hermès scarf tied to it. Those things are all back in their dust cases and boxes, carefully placed in my closet, as far away as possible from my accident-prone self. I don't even know how to explain what they did to my hair - it involves a "sexy sweep" and some "inside-out highlights", according to the stylist. They took Kaz to Aveda while I was doing the makeup marathon, and taught him how to give a hand massage with lavender oil, to remind me of our honeymoon in the lavender fields in Hokkaido. I don't think it's sunk in yet, but I had a really great time.

2006-06-16T00:53:00.000-04:00

Koharu felt left out, and wanted to send her birthday wishes to Kaz also.

Kazu's Birthday

2006-06-15T23:45:00.000-04:00

Today my husband Kazby turned 29; hurray for Kazby! I spent 7 hours making little squares of chocolate mochi and a matcha cake, because I know how much he misses his home and his beloved family. Results? Not bad for a gwai-mui. It looks messy because I ran out of time, but it tasted good. I read one too many negative reviews about the service at Susur, so we went to Splendido, which was AMAZING. Their Exotica Canadiana tasting menu was incredible - delicious and unusual Canadian ingredients skillfully prepared by David Lee, served by perfect staff in a beautiful restaurant. The menu went like this: 1. Some kind of fabulous gazpacho served with one perfect crouton. 2. Caribou, barely seared, with juniper berry gelée. 3. Chilled Sweet English Pea Soup with Niagara pancetta and three gorgeous morsels of Nova Scotia lobster. 4. Smoked Copper River BC Salmon with Lake Huron Sturgeon Caviar. 5. Poached White Asparagus with Brier Island Sea Scallops in a Truffle Vinaigrette. 6. Whole Roasted & Pulled Yorkshire Suckling Pig with seared Quebec Artisanal Foie Gras. 7. Wagyu Beef in an Uni (Sea Urchin) Vinaigrette. (Note: This part wasn't Canadian, but was added by the chef because it was Kazby's birthday!). 8. Fennel Anise Sorbet in a Tomato Consommé. 9. Dorset Lamb Saddle with BC Morel Mushrooms in a Rosemary Garlic Jus. 10. A selection of desserts including Cherry Jubilee, Sichuan Peppercorn Dusted Niagara Strawberry Sorbet with a Lemon-Lime Mousse, Lennox Farm Rhubarb, and a divine Rum-soaked Chocolate Cake with Coffee Ice Cream. The chef kept adding more courses, and I was confused because there were only supposed to be six and I was full and dizzy. We were still eating at 11:30, three and a half hours after arriving! It was the best meal I've ever eaten, and I gladly paid $410.00 for the privilege of sharing it with my baby. Now, if you'll excuse me, the one glass of wine I had is making the world spin. :-P. (What happened to my genetics - my grandparents are Irish!)

2006-06-13T00:26:00.000-04:00

Woofstock is over; many, many thanks go out to my Mom, sister Maija, her boyfriend RJ and our dear friend Jon-Jon, who slept very little, donned my company t-shirts and talked to tens of thousands of people pushing chihuahuas in strollers and walking poodles with lime green mohawks. We never could have done it without them. The people who attend this festival are serious dog lovers - you get me? If I never see another Yorkie wearing a rhinestone studded jumpsuit with matching barettes and boots, a visor and "doggles", it will be too soon. I saw so many ridiculous dog products like: 1. Dog Temporary Tattoos. The text on the back of this poor miniature Pinscher read, "What's up, Punk? Do I look funny to you? Get used to it, Fool!" 2. $500 GPS collars so you can always find your dog 3. Animulets - healing jewelry for dogs Of course, the existence of people who treat their dogs like they're Paris Hilton is good for us! We got a lot of interest in our pet photography, and I met some fantastic contacts for the future. Now, I've got a huge vat of ballots (for our free photography session) in my living room, and I need to find the time and the right program to quickly generate a database of info provided by 3500 patrons. To be honest, toward the end of the second day, our faces were stuck in perma-smile, achy and beaver-esque. We talked on and on and on, in English, Japanese, Cantonese, Mandarin and French and the crowds never let up. I was even able to enjoy my favourite "guilty pleasure"; overhearing Chinese people talking about me and blurting out something at just the right moment. I just love seeing the looks on their faces, especially when they've just said something they don't want me to know. Since marrying Kaz, it happens much less frequently because no one is really sure if he understands Chinese. (He's started yelling "Hou mah-fahn" at anyone who crosses him in Chinatown, which I don't try to discourage because it sounds more like he's yelling "very cat rice" instead of "very annoying". And how can you be angry if someone calls you Cat Rice?) Speaking of my precious baby, it's his birthday on Thursday and he's depressed and whiny about turning 29. I previously thought that only women were so neurotic about their age, but I see I was wrong about that. He keeps talking about "dying first" and sending his body back to Japan, and other morbid topics, which I find comical. (Though I did have one horrible nightmare about him being in an accident and me not having the language skills to notify his family). I figure a birthday trip to Susur and the partaking of a seven-course tasting menu will cheer him up. I'm not sure how cheerful I'll be after spending $300 on one meal, but food is one of his great pleasures, and I can always eat nothing but oatmeal for the month of July to relieve my guilt, guilt I will feel for both irresponsible use of money and all the calories contained in morsels of silky squab liver mousse served on five-spice cookies and its other culinary-masterpiece affiliates. To anticipate your question, this is a surprise for Mr. Ehara; I'm relying on his deep-ceded hatred of reading to keep him from discovering my plan as outlined here. I have more details to work out, and an appointment with my stylist (for the TV show) tomorrow morning, so I bid you farewell.

2006-06-09T13:15:00.000-04:00

The dears themselves, Kintaro and BJ!

2006-06-08T23:45:00.000-04:00

The countdown to Woofstock is well underway, and we're in full panic mode, but I wanted to post about meeting Tyler and BJ, winners of the last season of The Amazing Race, before I forgot about it! So, we met them. Kaz took their pictures for one of the national papers, and they were sweet and hilarious and very warm people, and we had Iced Cappuccinos in Tim Hortons. Tyler speaks Japanese (that sounds hysterical) because he walked the entire length of Japan (all 2000 miles) to impress his now girlfriend, Ayumi. He made a fantastic film about it, that you really should watch. Kaz was crying, he was laughing so hard, and when it's the week before your first show, such relief is a godsend. I'm hoping we can see them in San Francisco, and I'm thinking about walking across China next summer just to experience a more true and direct interface with nature, a culture, and myself. (And Kaz.) Maybe I'm tired of feeling like a passenger in my own life?

2006-06-07T03:07:00.000-04:00

"Wow, I sure am happy Grandma brought me back this hat from Quebec" remarked Koharu, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

Pandemonium

2006-06-03T16:45:00.000-04:00

It's a rainy Saturday in Toronto. The dog has cabin fever, and is devouring any paper products she can find out of frustration. Have you ever seen a frustrated Boston terrier? It's not a pretty sight. I'm feeling rather melancholy (maybe I should stop listening to Imogen Heap and Feist?), and very overwhelmed. Yesterday was our biggest shoot ever (and highest paid job) and Kaz and I have been bundles of nerves for weeks. That was 13 hours of mayhem - lugging half of our own office (props for the "dorm room" we had to create) along with every piece of photo equipment we own to a smattering of locations across the GTA with two clients (with clashing ideas of the images they need), one assistant, two wardrobe stylists, one makeup artist and four male models/comedians in tow. As usual, I wore the wrong shoes. Kaz nearly smashed a lens/decapitated a model while shooting in a BMX stunt bowl, with a wide-angle lens that make objects look much farther away than they really are. The poor cutie got a bruise on his cheek, and I'm thankful he isn't going to sue us. My Mom's been on a conference in Mont Tremblant for the past week, so we've pushed all the furniture away and had denizens of dogs in our living room studio, frantically trying to accumulate enough pictures for next weekend's Woofstock Dog Festival. Between tent rentals, banner and t-shirt ordering (from a store staffed entirely by idiots), print-making, adevertising and making 8000 copies of our price list, I think I've given myself an ulcer and the dentist said I ground all of the enamel off my teeth while sleeping. (She also said I have my first cavity and need braces before my wisdom teeth come in.) Since this is our first show, I have no idea what to expect. The fact that Kaz and I are both finicky, high-strung perfectionists doesn't help the situation either. Unfortunately, next week is the filming of our TV show, and that takes two fifteen-hour days of shopping, primping and partying in stilettos with martinis. I get the $2000 budget (for one lonely outfit - I could buy a whole wardrobe for that!) I had a bad dream that they dressed me in leopard print and those gaudy lucite hooker shoes with rainbow LCD lights embedded in the soles. But that ensemble doesn't cost $2000, so it probably won't happen. So, yeah. Can you tell that I've been talking like a chipmunk? I've been trying to find my peace, but it's a real challenge when everything seems to be happening all at once, you know? I've had to make so many decisions, and then more decisions based on the first ones. It makes me worried that if there is a flaw in my lower-rung choices, everything could topple, like a human pyramid with a frail narcoleptic on the bottom tier. Self-doubt. Insecurity. Mistrust. These are the names of my demons, and the enemies of my faith. To combat this melancholy diatribe, I will relate the joys of receiving my new phone from Shanghai, a very pretty Nokia 7360 from the L'Amour series with a harmonious and soothing ring. It was well-worth waiting for a month and a half, and since it's not available here, it's special. Oh, and lucky Kaz got a new camera - a Canon 5D. Full-screen, and 12 Megapixels? Oh yeah!

2006-05-09T17:33:00.000-04:00

Ugh, the closet filming was a nightmare. They grilled us for over three hours on the contents of our closets, filming and refilming and refilming. We had to a little runway walk in our worst clothes (of which I still have tons, I've realized) and because we both gained weight over the long Canadian winter (we're like bears) everything I tried on fit like a sausage casing. Soon, I'll be able to see myself, in various types of sausage casings, on national television. Wow, I can't wait for that! Anyway, Kaz got a new giant lighting kit, which he ordered from Tennessee. It was awfully cute watching him try to talk to the Tennesseean (Tennesseeite?) customer service person - neither of them could understand the other at all. He LOVES his lighting kit, and he's experimenting with a lot of new things. He's also currently exhibiting at CONTACT, at Club Lucky until August 31st, showing his Grandfather story and the one on Male Host Clubs we shot in Osaka last summer. His agent just sold that story to a magazine in Vancouver, so we're pretty excited!

2006-05-09T17:32:00.000-04:00

Eharas in High Park

Makeover Jitters

2006-05-08T12:04:00.000-04:00

Today is the day that the TV crew comes to film us in our closet. I'm completely panicked, and considering a trip to the second-hand store to add some hideous and vulgar items of clothing. I don't have a fabulous wardrobe (or anything close), but I'm worried that everything inside my closet is boring and regular, as I JUST gave away all of the tacky and garish items I owned, most of which were purchased in Asian street markets and plastered in improperly spelled and incomprehensible English phrases, which I delight in. Yesterday, our good friends came for a barbeque, and they said our clothes are too normal and well-fitting to make for a good 'before' picture on TV. Aren't makeover shows only interesting if the people look awful before and fantastic after?!?! It's a beautiful spring day, and I'm happy.

I miss my church...

2006-04-13T22:14:00.000-04:00

in Hong Kong. I didn't realize that I'm actually in their blog ring, so I've posted the link on the right, and hopefully, they won't notice that it's many months overdue. I shouldn't have said that I'm happy to move back and forth between apartments. That is a falsehood. I keep threatening not to return to the old place, and my Kazu keeps bribing me with promises of shoes, knowing that I'd just dig in my heels if he tried to force me. He's a smart man, and a bloody good husband. We landed a big client today; our biggest ever. Kaz will be shooting an ad campaign for a major computer hardware company, advertising their new and fabulous multi-media card. If we do well, there are two more projects in the works! I'll be praying about this one!!! It's tax season, so I've been distracted and focussed on filing my GST and income tax, and not so focussed on Easter. This weekend, I really need to devote some time to thinking about Jesus and what He means to me. I know He loves me, I know I love Him, but my faith has been stagnating because I can't get over the things that have hurt me, performed by people who used His name as justification for their actions. I hope I get over it soon. Maybe I'll go deeper on this topic later. For now, I'm waiting for my sister's arrival. Hopefully she isn't bringing her murderous cats, because I secretly live in fear of their scythe-like claws and 6-inch fangs. They also scale curtains to ceiling height and tip over vessels of liquid in the night. Kazu saw the fulfillment of a cherished dream this week, as we've purchased a barbecue. Husband, the lover of meat and smoky flavour, is beside himself. We put it together ourselves, and Kaz has been marinating ziploc bags of meat for three days in anticipation of the BBQ's inaugural run on Saturday, with a champagne toast and the attendance of our friends. I pray that we've assembled it correctly! Side note: I wanted so badly to bake a cake in the shape of a lamb, and I pranced all over the city (in heels) looking for a cake pan. The closest thing I found was a bunny pan (how secular) in Williams Sonoma, and do you know how much it was???? $50!!! I can probably BUY 10 bunny cakes for that much! Or I can shape a bunny out of fois gras and coat it with truffle flakes, with caviar for eyes and for the tail.... (ten minutes of brainstorming with my Mom)... marzipan handcrafted by the Queen. Yes. I'm going to go now.

Cats are precious.

2006-04-12T20:21:00.000-04:00

Today did not start off well. As I was walking to the new apartment from the old (for story, see below) Koharu nearly sliced her precious face to ribbons on some broken wine glasses in clementine box, in a rubbish heap, because clementines are her favourite food and neither of us expected to find pointy, jagged shards of glass in a box that should contain delectable orange fruits. Anyway, we passed an opossum who had been struck by a car the night before, and I felt so sad to see such a lovely creature killed in the height of his bliss; spring time when food is plentiful and the female opossums are so coquettish. The person who had struck him had moved his little body onto the sidewalk, and tears sprung to my eyes as I saw him. Not twenty paces further, we encountered an even more grisly sight; the body of a grey stripey cat, also hit by a car, also moved onto the sidewalk. I immediately burst into tears, and Koharu and I just stood there on the sidewalk, uncomfortably and unavoidably faced with the reality of the conflict between urbanization and the natural habitat of our animal friends. We went inside, and I hugged my cat. I've renamed her Cranberry-Never-Sue, with the "Never" being short for, "Never go outside." Cats are precious. (For the record, so are possums.) The reason we are living in two apartments is neither simple nor fun. All of our belongings have been in the new apartment with my Mom and cat for over a week, but Kaz and I move back to the old apartment each night and sleep on a horrible, leaky airbed because of the Japanese feng shui followed by my husband and his family. This year is apparently a VERY inauspicious year to move, and I would be struck with illness or business failure if I moved on any day other than April 15th. Though I am a Christian who does not believe this, I have limited chances to impress my in-laws due to the physical distance and the language barrier, so I've compromised on this issue and must sleep in the old apartment and drink water brought from the old house until April 15. Kaz has made a lot more compromises for me (ie. going to church together, attending house group), so I'm happy to do this for him, because I love him.

WE MADE IT!!!!

2006-04-06T17:45:00.000-04:00

Oh my goodness!!! The casting director just called, and we're going to be on the show!! Filming will be in June, but they're coming to film us in our closet next week. *^_^*.

2006-03-30T10:51:00.000-05:00

So Chic with Steven and Chris is a show on Life Network based in Toronto that I've always loved. It features two designers/stylists who take a pair of women, give one a budget of $2000 and the other $500, and spend the day making them look fabulous before an evening at a fancy gala or other extravagant event. I heard that they were looking for a married couple for a special show, and I applied, just for a laugh. I had no idea things would progress this far, because we've made it through the second round of casting eliminations, and we had coffee with Steven and Chris on Monday night. It was so hilarious - I made Kaz wear the dorkiest combination of stripes and plaid, black, brown and grey, and they LOVED us. (It was mutual.) Chris, the blond, is my favourite, with an easy laugh and an overwhelming love of shoes. We had a moment, the two of us, where he thought my shoes were Louis Vuitton and I told him I'd bought them at Winners for $44. He cooed, I tittered and batted my eyelashes. I lifted my jeans to show him the full profile of the shoe, he blurted, "You're adorable and fabulous!" and we became soulmates. Kaz still hasn't stopped laughing. I'm waiting by the phone, but I don't want to get my hopes up.

2006-03-30T00:14:00.000-05:00

This is the photo I was talking about, with Ojisan and Mrs. Kawai. I think this was before he was full-on grabbing my behind. Note the shoulders up to my ears? Apparently, I've disposed of all pictures in which I look truly panicked, and this is the last remnant of that fateful afternoon. *shudders*

I made the dog a halter dress.

2006-03-29T13:26:00.000-05:00

Does that make me insane? In case you have not yet discovered it, I pick up new hobbies, perform them with fury and passion for a number of days, then become bored and never do it again. This is why there are 10 pieces of wood underneath my bed (product of a brief obsession with birdhouses in the ninth grade), a 4-inch strip of scarf hanging in my closet (really not my fault - my best friend taught me in HK the day before I flew back to Toronto, and by the time I'd landed I had completely forgotten how to knit), and a large collection of paints from my short affair with painting miniatures. Now, I've started to sew and I intend to make curtains and a duvet cover for our new place. Hopefully this occurs before tedium sets in. Yesterday, I wrote a long story about how Kazu's grandfather tried to teach me to sew, but I pressed the wrong Japanese blogger button, and it was devoured. (Once again, thanks so much to my husband for installing Japanese Windows and converting everything to unrecognizable scribbles- it makes my life so much easier.) Because my husband's maternal grandfather is such a character, I will retype this story. To begin, Minoura Ojisan (Grandfather) is eighty-nine years old and drives a massive Toyota Crown that barely fits through the diminutive streets of Japan. One of the great loves of his life is women, and the other is giving long lectures. He owns a Singer sewing machine shop in Nagoya, and he sent me a lovely one as a wedding gift that took many months to come on a boat. With its Japanese manual and my adorable yet helpless and impatient husband, learning how to use it was impossible. Through the family grapevine, Ojisan heard that I was not using the sewing machine, so he took another one from his shop and drove it down to Kazu's house when we were visiting last summer, along with his very sweet and cute girlfriend, Mrs. Kawai. Unfortunately, Ojisan is not the most patient man, and once we sat down to learn he launched into a very long and complex series of instructions in Japanese, and was hitting my arm and yelling "HAYAKU!!" (ie. "Hurry up!") before Kaz could even translate them into English. Every time he hit me, I grew more flustered and made more mistakes, and he yelled louder and hit me harder. No one in the family dared stop him (Japanese tradition of respecting elders, I suppose) and I ran out of the room crying. That was the end of the sewing lesson, so it really hasn't been my fault that I cannot sew. Anyway, we went to the temple to take family photos, and we were laughing and having a good time. As Kaz was taking a photo of Ojisan, Mrs. Kawai and myself, I felt someone's hand creeping down my back. As my eyes grew wide in panic, Grandfather's hand came to rest on my derriere and began to squeeze, squeeze, squeeze. I was so horrified that I wanted to scream, but my throat was dry and no sound would emerge. Thoughts rushed through my mind like wildfire; Is this normal in Japan? Can I tell him to stop? Doesn't Ojisan remember that his other arm is around his girlfriend? Why the @&#& hasn't my idiot husband noticed that my eyes are bugging out of my head?!?! Despite my silent pleas for help, Kaz happily snapped frame after frame after frame, and I look panicked and uncomfortable in every one. Grandfather's eyes are sparkling mischeviously as he was kneading my butt like bread dough. After what seemed like an eternity, I blasted Kaz for his failure to protect me; especially given the clues. (Grandfather kept saying, "I'm in heaven..." as I was thinking "This is hell.") I guess I shouldn't have been that surprised by his scandalous actions, considering that what is now my engagement ring was a gift from Ojisan to his wife, because he felt guilty she became very sick and he'd spent almost every night in the ryotei (geisha house). He really is a hilarious man; extremely vain, demanding, generous, amusing and embarassing. If I can find those pictures, I will definitely post them. Oh, and one of Koharu in her new dress. :-).

2006-03-29T00:08:00.000-05:00

"I'm thirsty!" meowls Cranberry-Sue, and Kaz obliges.

2006-03-29T00:07:00.000-05:00

The cat now refuses to drink from her water dish, preferring a more direct route.

2006-03-29T00:06:00.000-05:00

Unfortunately, Kazu's plan to teach the cat to flush the toilet has not yet reached fruition.

2006-03-29T00:05:00.000-05:00

Thirst quenched, it's time to depart.

2006-03-23T01:03:00.000-05:00

Isn't it wonderful that spring is here?

2006-03-23T01:00:00.000-05:00

Yes, I am a Boston Beaver.

2006-03-23T00:59:00.000-05:00

Sometimes you just need one good walk in the spring air to get a new perspective.

Time flies when you're having (un)fun.

2006-03-23T00:34:00.000-05:00

For awhile, I didn't want to post because I was figuring out what to say about my new job. I was trying to think about something positive to say about it, but I've discovered that there is very little good to say about shaky monitors, monotonous work better performed by robots and/or zombies, magnetic fields, cubicles, daily headaches, pointless and time-consuming e-mails, noisy neigbours and office politics. It was extremely unhealthy. So, I quit. Now, I am much happier. For the first time, I think I was true to myself, and I did what I needed to do without torturing myself unnecessarily, and I am proud. We'll be moving soon; our annual tradition. My Mom is sharing our current small apartment and she's been the model of tact and grace under pressure. :-). We've become deeply addicted to weBoggle (watch for team rhi&kimby!) and are fiercely competitive. However, all of the non-words (eg. "blee") accepted by the game have mutilated my current vocabulary and speech, causing me to say things like "who the heck is him?"

Victorious at last?

2006-02-06T17:51:00.000-05:00

Many thanks to you dear friends and kind strangers who convinced me to stick with this blog thing; for now, anyway. :-). Here's the reason for the Puss-in-Boots - I'm starting a new job next week, which promises to be exceedingly dull. I'm not being negative - they actually told me so in the interview. Fortunately for me, they pay very well (they have difficulty keeping people, apparently), and the contract is only for about 6 months. In 7 months, I've decided to return to the heartily-despised institution called the University of Toronto. It's about time I finished that degree in International Relations, but the struggle will be to get into the program with my HORRIBLE marks. (What can I say? I had a REALLY bad time.) {As a sidenote, I would be happy to look like Puss-in-Boots, but I hate those boots. They're so Sienna Miller. (Ugh.)} The point of all this whinging (yes, I'm secretly English) is that I feel that this will be an excellent chance for me to see, once again, that God makes impossible things possible. I'm certain this is what He wants me to do, and so I will do it with confidence and a lot of prayer. Ironically, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council asked to interview me in Hong Kong next weekend, for the very position I'd wanted so desperately. I guess I'll reapply once I finish. On a completely different topic, my BEST friend and most wonderful "sister" Jenny has just become engaged to Carl! I'm SO EXCITED!!!!!!!! The wedding, which I'm hoping will be in HK (because I'm the MOH and miss it profoundly), is sure to be one of the most memorable days of our friendship, and something we've been dreaming about for at least six years! Originally, we were supposed to get married TOGETHER, but I jumped the gun on that one. (Apologies, again.) Kaz and I are very stressed; even more than usual. The complications of my new job, finding a new home, training the dog to stay off the fabulous chocolate microfibre sectional, and the horrendous London-esque rain that never ceases have driven us to restless, anxiety-filled days and sleepless nights. Last night, I dreamt my sister was kidnapped and accidentally murdered by Dog the Bounty Hunter, who normally does not intimidate me. I woke up crying, before realizing that the same sister has a black stripe in Taekwondo, and would not be easy for Dog to harm. I find that comforting.

Feeling bored with blogging...

2006-01-29T22:27:00.000-05:00

and considering calling it quits. We'll see.

2006-01-18T12:42:00.000-05:00

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24

2006-01-12T17:58:00.000-05:00

Thank you so much to everyone who called me, sent me an e-mail or a card. I appreciate it so much. I had the nicest birthday ever, and I didn't even cry through dinner this year! (An annual habit since my Mom gave me some eye cream for my 20th and I misunderstood.....) Kaz had a sneaky plan to get me to my favourite Japanese restaurant, Ematei. Once we arrived, Jon and Zhao were there; two of my three best friends (missed you, Jen!). Had a beautiful dinner, killed ourselves laughing at Kazu's acting, ate a gorgeous cake, and proceeded to karaoke. I had two alcoholic beverages and became unable to walk - I think that's a new world record for inability to hold alcohol. The rest of the night is a blur..... but you can tell that Kaz is a loud singer just from looking at this shot!

It's my birthday week...

2006-01-08T23:57:00.000-05:00

so I'm not as cheerful as usual. There's nothing like turning 24 (on Wed.) to make you wonder if you're doing all that you should be, achieving your potential, and pursuing the right things. Sometimes, I still wonder if God put desires in my heart that I can never accomplish, but that doesn't fit with who I know Him to be. I'm as restless as ever. Maybe this will be the year when I'll get me some patience? Here's a dog in a helmet to cheer myself up. When I get my Vespa, Koharu and I will get matching purple ones, and zoom around Toronto with lattes.

At long last....

2006-01-02T15:17:00.001-05:00

our company website is up and ready for business. I still have some minor adjustments to make, but I send my heartfelt thanks out to our web designer, Cynthia Piazza. You've been fabulous! BTW - Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

2005-12-27T01:11:00.000-05:00

This year was different...

2005-12-27T01:00:00.000-05:00

it was wonderful and full of love and hope and laughter and the most cheese I've ever eaten. I love my family. God bless you, and keep you safe tonight.

2005-12-20T13:40:00.000-05:00

I'm so busy preparing for Christmas! Why do we have to cram so much into one little day?

He's back....

2005-12-20T00:54:00.000-05:00

and he's got us working like dogs until the wee hours of the morning. I'll update when this week is over...

2005-12-08T12:39:00.000-05:00

Baby, come back!!!

2005-12-07T13:49:00.000-05:00

My husby is off to Edmonton for 5 days to work on a project, and I'll be alone in Toronto with my "daughters" and my work. I could have gone with him, but he's documenting what may be the last days of a child dying from a horribly painful terminal illness, and I wouldn't have been able to stop crying or be of much help. I'll write the story from here. You know, we've been married for over 20 months, and only slept apart for two nights (plus a couple when I was angry and made him sleep on the sofa). I'm a little bit nervous to be by myself, but that is rather silly. I slept alone for the other 22 years of my life, without catastrophic loneliness, so I'm sure I'll be fine. :-). A dear friend has already offered to have a girl's slumber party with our dogs, so that takes care of one night! I've been rather sad. The dreaded countdown to Christmas has begun, and regardless of the birthday celebration of our Lord and Saviour, I wish I could go to sleep and wake up on January 1st. (Okay, maybe Dec. 26th so I could hit the Boxing Day sales.) The point is, things in my family are not good. The familiar battle of who to visit on which day has begun, and I never escape the season without several backpacks full of guilt. I hate holidays, and if I could shrug off my deep sense of familial responsibility, Kaz and I would leave the country for the last week of December and take that ridiculously cheap package to Cuba. Of course, I would spend most of the time angry and fretting over the plight of Cuban citizens struggling to pay their bills, living right over the walls of our luxurious and sequestered resort, so maybe all that guilt is inevitable (and an indication of a much larger problem that I should deal with *^_^*). Guess its time to suck it up and head to the mall with my lengthy, as yet unblemished, gift list. Maybe this year will be different? God bless you, and keep persevering.

2005-11-29T14:43:00.000-05:00

Family photo

Broken, Perhaps Unfixable, Government.

2005-11-29T14:26:00.000-05:00

I really dislike writing about politics, since everyone else does it. Today, however, it cannot be helped. Election time is upon us, and I am faced with the same old quandary - for whom should I vote? I hate the Conservatives (particularly, Stephen Harper), loathe the NDP (nearly ran over Jack Layton and Olivia Chow on their stupid tandem bicycle in Chinatown - semi-intentional) and can no longer trust the Liberals. Voting for the Green Party is wasting your vote, same with that hyper-traditional Christian party. Last election, I suggested voting for my cat, Cranberry-Sue. This time around, I will find a better solution.

Publication Date

2005-11-16T15:47:00.000-05:00

Our story (first joint effort) is going to be published in this weekend's National Post (Saturday, November 19), on Osaka's Hosting Industry, by Kazuyoshi and Rhiana Ehara. I'm really excited! Family and friends - stockpile!

2005-11-11T13:50:00.000-05:00

The Many Faces of Koharu

Finally....

2005-11-07T21:05:00.000-05:00

It's done!! Never has one article taken so long to write, but I feel so relieved. Look for it in the National Post this month! This is the week to fill your Operation Christmas Child boxes, so head over there if you're interested!

2005-11-01T13:59:00.000-05:00

Koharu - the Reluctant Pikachu As you can guess, Koharu was not at all pleased to be dressed up for the second night in a row, this time in a polarfleece suit complete with hood. Her rabid barking scared the heck out of the one little boy who did knock on our door for candy. We took my little baby brother to the airport this morning - he's moving to Vancouver. We wish him many great adventures and will be sending him our love daily.

Happy Halloween, from the Violent Groovies.

2005-10-31T13:54:00.000-05:00

This year, we celebrated Halloween with our dear friend Jon (the 70's samurai). Kaz took this picture, and named us the Violent Groovies. Hopefully the good times will continue tonight as some wee kiddies knock on our door. Kaz has been so excited about giving candy to kids that he actually purchased the candy in August, so let's hope he isn't disappointed!

!@#^@&!(@#*@(@(@!!!!

2005-10-26T18:13:00.000-04:00

Listening to: Beck - Girl. Yes, I am jumping and stomping my feet. And the dog's wearing a kimono. So stressed. Being a writer is the most damaging, depressing profession anyone could choose, except maybe being a poet. I feel like I'm eating myself from the inside out. Does that make sense? No, it doesn't. I shouldn't be a writer. Spending this much time alone with my own thoughts is making me lose all judgment and making me miserable. I'm approaching Hemingway-esque despair. How long have I been working on this story? Will I ever finish? In my world, rather devoid of normality, I took Koharu to the dog daycare, and discovered that her friend Lola-the-Roots-model was celebrating her birthday there, rapaciously devouring a peanut butter birthday cake with creamcheese icing with her four-legged friends. I felt a twinge of guilt for missing Koharu's birthday, and then I realized how utterly ridiculous it is to throw a dog a birthday party when children are dying. If I didn't watch, I think my life could easily be consumed with many meaningless things. Or good things that are still distractions from what God has for me, which is probably a larger danger. Our wonderful housegroup has been praying for me and my ridiculous story, but I've hit a wall and I'm not going forward with this until I get back my peace.

2005-10-23T22:42:00.000-04:00

I'm still writing the story, which I must finish this week. Then I'll update.

Neighbourhood Nincompoop

2005-10-07T11:45:00.000-04:00

If I were the writer of a sitcom, I would include the following: Girl enters Polish deli across the street from her home. Everyone except her is speaking Polish and eating Polish food. Handsome young Polish man asks her what she would like. Rhi: I'll take five of those small sausages, please. Guy: Certainly. Rhi: Actually, what are those called? Guy: These are weiners. (All the Polish people turn and stare at the stupid girl who can't recognize weiners.) Rhi: Oh.... they look... different. Guy: How? Rhi: Um........................ they aren't wrapped in plastic.... and they are very pink and tied together. Guy: This is how they look in Europe - nice and fresh. (Everyone is still staring, and snickering.) Rhi: This is embarassing... thanks for the weiners. (Takes weiners and runs.) Even if my sitcom were not a success, I myself would still laugh. Those weiners were actually delicious, and gave my Singaporean squid curry an unexpected edge. Ever since Koharu pooped on the floor of the Chinese fruit market and I panicked and kicked it under the counter, I have been ashamed to go back and only go dressed in the sneakiest of disguises. If I ever want more of those weiners, I will have to enact the same scheme.

My big break....

2005-10-03T00:29:00.000-04:00

has come, and now I don't want to mess it up! Our Host Club story, written and shot in Japan in August '05, has been purchased for a series in the National Post. This means Kaz and I will be published together (ie. my story, his pictures) right across Canada, three weekends in a row! I'm really thankful to God for this chance. I'm quite nervous, but with His help, I think I can do it! I'll post more details as they come available. Until then, I'll be editing, re-writing, and gnawing on my fingernails. Love, Rhi

2005-09-11T22:28:00.000-04:00

For dinner, we watched a documentary on Romeo Dallaire, Canadian Lt. General and leader of the peacekeeping mission in Rwanda 10 years ago. His return trip to Rwanda was so personal and so intensely moving, I almost don't know what to do with it all. A lot of footage was shown from the war, including more corpses than I could comprehend. General Dallaire has spent the last ten years in Canada, suicidal and wracked with guilt over what he saw and how he acted. From what I know, he was the only white man who acted honourably, saving as many people as he possibly could. I'm stunned - why didn't the world act? Why didn't anyone intervene? Why didn't we care about Rwanda like we cared about Yugoslavia? There were journalists there who stayed in Rwanda, reporting news to our deaf ears and blind eyes. I don't want to be a journalist if it means only observing and recording but doesn't change the outcome. I want to be a woman with impact, but I need to learn to wait on God's guidance for when, and how, to act. We went to a new church today, in our neighbourhood. I haven't been to church for awhile, for many reasons. The primary reason was that I was angry at God for things that happened to me in Australia, and frustrated with the legalistic hypocrites who cluelessly plague our churches. Of course, the angrier I was at God, the less loving and forgiving I was toward the so-called legalists. Well, God and I have resolved our dispute, and he's put my attitude in check. Today's sermon was about spending your time, money and effort until you are spent, and waiting until heaven to reap your reward. Kaz was very impressed with the sermon, and spoke with the pastor about it after the service. I'm praying that this is the church that will encourage him to accept Jesus. Happy 49th birthday, Daddy! xoxo

Honeymoon Part 2 - Tomamu & Sapporo

2005-09-06T14:54:00.000-04:00

We stayed at a resort called Tomamu. It was full of HK Chinese, so I felt right at home. :-). The crab buffet was disgusting, but everything else was great. Oh, except for the twin beds. Who wants to sleep in twin beds on their honeymoon?!?! (This is a problem all over Japan!) Kaz won me a Rilakkuma (Relax Bear) from the UFO Catcher. I named her Koyuki, and she's lovely. We ate some fantastic ramen. So delicious! Our friend Hui brought us matching I (Heart) NY tee-shirts, and we wore them just so everyone knew we were on honeymoon. Sapporo is a crazy place - in 1897 there were only 7 people in the city of Sapporo, and now it's Japan's fifth largest metropolis. How did that happen? Kaz tortured a fake cow, and a fake panda. We had some lovely cheese fondue, some lavendar ice-cream, Hokkaido cheesecake (insanely good), the best sushi I've ever had (the scallops were the size of hockey pucks!) and some very delicious corn.

Honeymoon Part 1 - Furano & Biei

2005-09-06T14:23:00.000-04:00

Hokkaido is such a beautiful place. It rained every day we were there, but it was still fantastic. We rented a car and used the navigation system to get from one place to the next. Of course, the navi directs by finding the shortest possible route regardless of whether that route is driveable, and sent us down some ridiculous gravel paths through the forest. Kaz was freaking out about the possibility of twigs scratching the rental car when three little foxes emerged from the bushes, looking for food. It was such a magical experience.

Oh yes, we're home.

2005-09-01T17:38:00.000-04:00

I must be getting old. Wait, we must be getting old. We've been home for ... some days... and we're still jetlagged, panda-eyed mopey creatures surviving off of cereal because we're too tired to cook. I had a great time in Japan. Challenging, but fantastic. I feel like I've grown as a person and given God more room in my life. Honeymoon was really great, the family was great, but the shopping was fantastic. I'll update with the pictures. I can't believe what has happened in the Gulf Coast. Our thoughts and prayers are with all of those people.

filling in the blanks

2005-08-17T00:00:00.000-04:00

I think I left some spaces in the events I related. Friday night was the third night in a row we stayed up all night in a smoky, dark room while Japanese guys with elaborate hairstyles poured champagne for dolled-up prostitutes and lonely middle-aged women. We toured the home of the owner, who rents space to 4 of his hosts. It was insanely huge, ridiculously luxurious, and filled with a bizarre array of pets - an $8000 pygmy monkey, a snake (who died of a cold on the day of our visit), an owl, a chihuahua, a dachshund, a 3-legged cat rescued from the street, and a desert fox from South Africa. The whole experience was very surreal. When we came home, I'd been awake for close to 35 hours, and I was ready to crash. Mr. Kaz and I slept a whopping 19 hours, woke up, and went to Kyoto with my mother-in-law. Yesterday, we had a nice visit with an adorable couple. The husband is a childhood friend of Kazu's. I'm still getting used to the Kansai way of speaking to people - insulting, and not complimenting is the way to maintain a friendship. In a bizarre twist of fate, Kaz has gained a ridiculous amount of weight since we arrived in Japan, and that has been pointed out and ridiculed by everyone we've seen. This is Asia, and my experience means this is no surprise. :-). What I hadn't expected is how cruel I'm supposed to be to my Kaz. Friends and neighbours keep insisting that I must want to trade him in for a host, that I must feel repulsed by his chubbiness. When I defend him and launch into a heartfelt speech about how dearly I love him, Kaz becomes angry with me and says that I'm not doing him any favours. I don't get it! The number one host in Club Acqua begins conversations with potential clients with insults (eg. "You have a lot of meat around your stomach"), and the girl is somehow charmed. I suppose that in Kansai, an insult from a friend is worth more than the highest compliment. You'd never get any girls that way in North America. (Just a lot of slaps and glasses of wine in the face.) We're going on honeymoon in Hokkaido tomorrow - hurray!

random pictures of yesterday's kyoto shopping trip

2005-08-15T14:54:00.000-04:00

Boy Toys and Cat Noodles

2005-08-11T09:48:00.000-04:00

The main problem trying to do a story on people who are nocturnal is that we too must become nocturnal! The Host Club is so unbelievably interesting, but we stayed there from 11:45 pm to 12 pm, when the exhausted hosts went off to have breakfast and grab some rest. I don't want to give away too much now, but this project is equally intriguing and exasperating, since I cannot communicate and everything has to be translated by Kazby. Of course, he is so tired from taking photos/staying up all night long/translating for me and the subjects. Next time, I'll choose a subject who can understand me! Being a rather sympathetic creature by nature, I found a struggling host who is too poor to afford food and eats chewing gum for breakfast, and I feel so sad for him that I just might become his next supporter..... :-P After an exhausting night, we found an udon restaurant called the Wild and Homeless Cat (or that's my slightly overdramatic translation, anyway.) I am not a huge fan of udon (I can't slurp properly, and I always burn my face!), but I loved this place. It's by far my favourite restaurant in Osaka. The sweet tofu (kitsune) was emblazoned with a cat face and arrived in a cat-shaped bowl, so how could I not love it? I suppose I should get some rest, since we're leaving for the Host Club again at 4 am. OH! One more thing. The other night our family was sitting in the house watching TV, when Kaz let out a huge yell and ran into the kitchen. Apparently, cats are so wild here that they silently open screen doors, enter houses and steal food off of the tables!!! A cat broke into the house and stole an entire mackarel. I couldn't believe it - such a smart and sneaky creature. I was really impressed. This is Ote, Tsune-san's semi-feral cat. Oyasumi nasai!

Japanese Wedding

2005-08-07T22:20:00.000-04:00

Following our third and final wedding yesterday, I feel thoroughly married. Kazu's parents rented an extremely expensive and beautiful traditional Japanese hotel tatami room, and invited family from all over Japan. Since we spent all of Friday shopping for kanzashi (hair accessories), tabi (split-toe socks), geta (special sandals) and other kimono accessories, I was very excited to try it all out. Mrs. Hayasaka, the kimono fitter, came for a trial run on Friday before getting me ready for the wedding. Kimono are very complicated things that must be tied very tightly. It looked beautiful, but my hands were tingling because all those ropes cut off my circulation! We had a very delicious traditional Japanese meal, made some speeches (mine partly in Japanese), received bouquets from the children, and greeted all of the guests. By the end, I was so tired that every time I bowed, I closed my eyes and almost fell asleep! The Ehara parents were so extremely happy to have this wedding, and I was truly thankful to be able to give that to them. Kaz and I are both exhausted, but very happy.

2005-08-07T22:18:00.000-04:00

This sign says something close to "Ehara-Drumm Wedding". Cute, huh?

2005-08-07T22:15:00.000-04:00

These are my naughty darlings, Yusuke and Yosuke. Yusuke, the older one, is exactly like a miniature Kaz, sukebe and mischevious. Yesterday, he tried to kiss me on the lips! Yosuke is a bit more shy. :-).

2005-08-07T22:13:00.000-04:00

Our Japanese parents

2005-08-07T22:09:00.000-04:00

Putting the finishing touches on my speech following the costume change. Rhi - kimono --> summer kimono Kaz - suit --> yukata

2005-08-07T22:08:00.000-04:00

Appetizer course of the huge 8+ course meal.

2005-08-07T22:05:00.000-04:00

I wished my Mom, Dad, brother, sister, RJ, grandparents and aunties and uncles could have been here to see it. Kazu's parents showed a video of our Canadian wedding while I was changing kimonos, and I was reminded of how lovely it was to have all of our family together to celebrate with us on that day. All my love to everyone at home, *^_^* Rhi PS OH, I'm still working on those wedding Thank You notes!

2005-08-07T09:32:00.000-04:00

Life in Otsu

2005-08-03T23:20:00.000-04:00

Alright, I may have overreacted a little. We arrived last night after an uneventful flight, and were greeted immediately by Okasan, Otousan, Obaachan, Kazu's sister Yuka and our wild and adorable nephews. A family friend had dropped off 3 plates of mouth-watering mackarel sushi to go with Okasan's sashimi. Yo-chan and Yu-chan don't understand that I don't understand most of what they say, but I'm having a lot of fun playing with them. They are huge fans of a card game called Mushiking (about beetles) and have been winning local tournaments even though they are only 4 and 6 years old. Very cute. Today we went with Obaachan (Grandma, 83) and Tsune-san (family friend, 92) to visit Grandfather's grave, a Shinto shrine dedicated to monkeys, and a roadside shrine-like thing (Ojizosan) and we went to explore the area around Kazu's house. Kaz's mom is a fantastic cook, and she and Obaachan made takoyaki (octopus balls), shrimp tempura, and assorted other delicacies. Kaz keeps driving on the wrong side of the road, and we keep having encounters with careening trucks. Tomorrow we are going to Shigaraki, the place where Shigaraki tanuki (comical ceramic raccoons) are made. Kazu has a friend who is a potter there (not making tanuki) and we are going to stay there. Hopefully they have an UNIQLO nearby, since, as usual, I packed wrong clothes and it is very hot, necessitating many changes a day. That's my update for now, I'll input more of our Japanese adventures later. I'm having a good time and learning more of how to be an Ehara. To our family at home, I miss you all.

Clinging to the Doorframe

2005-07-27T18:25:00.000-04:00

So, we're off to Japan on Monday. I'm apprehensive, to say the least. Japan is a terrifying place where all sorts of weird things happen and I have to attempt to speak (insert gasp of horror) JAPANESE to every member of my husband's family. I had a REALLY bad time there on my last (and only) stay and this has corrupted my usual optimism. The only thing I'm looking forward to is working on our newest story, which I'm going to work my ass off for to see it get published by the Star. (So don't be surprised if I come back without an ass.) The story, you ask? Osaka Host Clubs - a truly bizarre example of what happens when women are bored, lonely, and too rich for their own good. (In case you don't know what this is, here's a link.) Needless to say, I will not be showering any hosts with $10 000 bottles of cognac. At least, I don't intend to. I'll let you know how it goes. It is a rare day when I do not want to travel, but the truth of the matter is that I do not want to leave my sidekick (the dog) and go off with my sweet husband (AKA the world's most incompetent and lazy translator) to the land of people who catch every minute flaw and point it out, loudly, in public. Recently, I've been even more restless and impatient than usual. To get me excited to go to Japan, Kaz and our good friend Nick decided to show me a classic Ozu movie from 1953, called Tokyo Story. It was about 3 hours long and nothing really happened except the children were selfish and heartless, the mother died and the children fought over her things, and the father didn't show any emotions at all, nodding and answering, "Ehh" to both invitations to the bathhouse and solemn announcements that his wife had died, in the same tone. It was pure torture, and really failed to elicit the desired response from me. I've finished ranting for the moment. If you should be looking for me, I'll be hiding in the closet and feeding my passport through a paper shredder.

Canada Day

2005-07-15T17:00:00.000-04:00

I know it's a bit late, but I wanted to post some pictures from Kazu's Canada Day Picnic, held in Belleville. Since Kaz became a permanent resident of Canada at the end of May, we decided to go all-out this year to celebrate that. Amazingly, it was attended by both of my parents (and Dad's fiancee), my brother, sister and her fiance, Milton, Diana, Jane, Kaz and I, and our canine friends Oscar and Koharu. We ran around, gorged ourselves on picnic food and showered Kaz with maple leaf-emblazoned gifts. Happy Belated Canada Day to Canadians (especially Janice and Renee) everywhere!

2005-07-15T16:57:00.000-04:00

Mommy and Oscar de la Hoya Drumm enjoy the shade.

2005-07-15T16:54:00.000-04:00

My Dad's fiancee, Mary

2005-07-15T16:53:00.000-04:00

My Dad

2005-07-15T16:52:00.000-04:00

A sneaky disguise?

2005-07-15T16:51:00.000-04:00

Our long-time family friend, Milton with his friend Jane at our Canada Day picnic.

2005-07-15T16:47:00.000-04:00

Milton's daughter Diana slugs a mean bat.

2005-07-15T16:46:00.000-04:00

My sweet Kaz, on his first Canada Day since becoming a permanent resident.

2005-07-15T16:40:00.000-04:00

Koharu, a new immigrant from Kentucky, was not very excited about Canada Day.

2005-07-15T16:38:00.000-04:00

My brother, sister and I hold Oscar and Koharu to show our proud Canadian spirit.

2005-07-15T16:34:00.000-04:00

RJ and Mai lead the BooPLe (Belleville Public Library creature) back to the picnic after a morning of handing out fliers and hugging children. 3 things you should know: 1. My Mom is inside the suit, since she is the fundraiser for the new library. 2. She gets claustrophobic very easily. 3. She cannot handle the heat, and it was at least 32C that day, outside of the heavy foam costume. Needless to say, she didn't enjoy it much.

2005-07-15T16:17:00.000-04:00

And the catch! Congrats, Tyler. :-P

2005-07-15T16:16:00.001-04:00

The toss....

2005-07-15T16:16:00.000-04:00

They don't do this in Japan!

2005-07-15T16:15:00.000-04:00

Getting the garter *blush*

2005-07-15T16:12:00.000-04:00

I love him...

2005-07-15T16:10:00.000-04:00

My cousin and bonifide cutie, Erica-the-flower-girl.

2005-07-15T16:08:00.000-04:00

This is my pig. I am a gifted artist, non?

2005-07-15T15:01:00.000-04:00

Many thanks to my best friend Jenny Cheng for flying in from HK to be with me (and keep me sane) and to her dear boyfriend Carl for all of his help!