China - Beijing

Ni-hao, China! Many people think I'm Chinese. But I am 100% pure Japanese. In fact, I've never been to China. With some good and bad pre-conceptions about this country, I began my 2-week trip in Beijing. Honestly, I was surprised how wide and clean the streets are. NY's one block is nothing compared to the one in Beijing. And guess what keeps these big streets so clean; the cleaning people who literary pick up trash with a large pinset, driving a tricycle from corner to corner. Hats off!

As the city is getting ready to welcome people from overseas for the Olympic and becoming more and more modernized, many old buildings are getting turned down. Most of the old Beijing scenes is now covered by construction walls. Like many other cities, it's a sad development. Even the local people don't necessarily appreciate this modernization. I wish the city tried to keep the exteriors old and renovate interiors. In a long-run, this modernization may keep the travelors away.

Did I get to go to Great Wall? No. It's my plan for the next visit, if ever.

Pacific Coast Highway

Driving could be really fun. Last summer, we had a great time driving rough, curvy roads through trees in Vieques island, Puertorico. This summer, the PCH (Pacific Coast Highway) got us one of the most memorable driving experience. SF to LA. 3 days on the road. We could have spent extra days easily.

I didn't think the West Coast ocean scenery could be that beautiful. Part of the scenes even reminded me of the sea in Japan. The waves are high and rough. Huge splash against the coast. Along with many scenic spots, there were some places you could drop by. Local breweries and farmers shop.

Drawn to the sign 'Fresh Strawberry,' we tried a basket of organic strawberries and a cup of strawberry cyder. That was one of the best strawberries I ever had.

In Monterey, we took a detour through the 37-mile drive. It's a reserved residential erea where non-residence pay and drive through. All the houses were like castles! It was so much fun to just see those houses by the sea shore. Another memorable spot is Big Sur, the most exciting and magnificent sceneries along the curvy narrow roads. It leads into the forrest in the mountain. The inns by the river put chairs right in the water. People can read or have beer with their foot dipping in the clear water.

Little Miko's Japanese Dinner

Just wanted to share my dinner I cooked for myself the other day. Usually, my Japanese meal is stir fries or something my American boyfriend can easily eat. But once in a while, I need a real Japanese food. When my boyfriend doesn't need dinner, I normally cook super authentic Japanese meal. The recent menu was mixed vegitable pickles and yam potato soba noodle.

Japanese yam potato called Yama-imo is really slimy and it itches around your mouth. It's realatively reasonable and is a great energy food for stronger stamina. We usually eat it graded over tuna sashimi or float in a soup noodle. The other evening, I jullianed the yam and served with hot Soba noodle with lots of fresh Japanese scallion, Naga-negi.

This is probably one of the healthiest foods since soba noodle itself also has low calorie. Slimy but crunchy yam was so satisfying in taste and volume. I screamed, "Umai!" (Damn Good!), alone in my apartment.

Fying Pan

If you haven't been to the Frying Pan at the Chelsea Pier on 23rd street and you love to dance, you should give it a try. It's a salvaged lightship from 1929 and the dock has a big dancing space and bars. They are only open in the summer. We went there primarily because we know the bartenders there. But I had a really great time.

Pros: You can sit and drink on the Fying Pan or on a dock feeling the breeze from the Hudson River. They have a smaller dance room in the basement of this ship (2nd pic). Exploring this salvaged ship is reallly fun. You can go into each room: kictchen, bedroom, and the controling room. It's good for a date scene but also great for a group.


Cons: The bathroom is awefully dirty, especially for ladies. Many non-NY people and youngsters were the majority. You don't wanna go if it rains. The music is different every night. Last night, Friday, was a mix of house music (we didn't really enjoy this selection) and some hip-hop.

Overall, it was a lot of fun for Little Miko.

Art Deco in NYC

Arguably the worst area in Manhattan is 42nd street. Every time I have to go to that neighborhood, I simply wish to get the fxxk out of there. Around Port Authority, tourists and alcholics occupy the side streets. This is the street I always walk by as fast as I can. To my surprise, I found this Art Deco-style building. It's mostly covered by scaffolding so the picture unfortunately turned out a bit dark. The silver metalic element gorgeously reflects the light of the ceiling lamp and brightens the mossy green-solid black border design. Many new buildings use chic, modern designs. These new ones, if done poorly, can be uninterestingly bland architecture. I wish to see more buildings with character and history.

Turmeric Tea

It's probable that everyone knows what Turmeric is. The yellow spice is often used in Indian dishes. I knew that Turmeric is somehow good for your health. And the other day, I found Turmeric Tea at a Japanese grocery store.

According to my online research, Turmeric (ginger root family) has a very effective component called Curcumin. This element has a proven effect in promoting the liver fuction. Turmeric is also known for anti-oxidant and cancer prevention. Some caution the chance of strong side-effect for those who have hepatitis and other liver problems. But it sounds like it's a very healthy thing if you dont' have major health problems.

I started drinking lots of Turmeric tea ($5 is a bit pricey but you can probaly make with Turmeric powder economically), and I feel like I get much less hangover. There's also extract tablets at health stores.

Chili Crab Festival

Looking up the Brooklyn Bridge and a clear blue sky, the street behind the old tabacco factory in DUMBO was filled with people. It was the annual Singapore Chili Crab Festival, sponsored by Tiger Beer. We got there around noon, right after the event started, and there was already a good crowd.

The main dish, chili crab, was served out of woks along the tables on the streets. The competition over seating was really tough, especially since there were many families with kids. Of course, you cannot eat crabs in shells standing. There was no other option for us than to sit on the concrete ground. The chili crab came with a piece of bread and the broth was very rich being mostly coconut milk and chili. To my disappointment, the crab was overcooked and the meat was crumbly. With all the mess on my face and hands, I diligently sucked all the juice and picked meat from thin legs of the crabs. My favorite dish was the Singapore cold noodle with grilled calamari. It was also flavored with coconut milk and shrimp paste, but differed from the chili crab with its refreshing scallion and cilantro.

Food wasn't the only thing you could find at this festival; my friend found a free massage. It was a good 10-minute massage and far better and professional than those you can get at nail salons. I tipped her with my gratitude. I also happened to see one of the cutest dogs in Brooklyn (pic posted). Though the crab itself didn't meet my expectation, it turned out to be a nice summer afternoon in DUMBO.

Been Rich All My Life

Isn't that a pleasure to discover a great movie? Pick a movie simply by a brief review and see it without knowing much about it. And that happens to be one of the best movies you see in a year. Been Rich All My Life is my recent discovery at Quad Cinema in Union Square, NY.

I picked this documentary simply because of a NY Times movie reviewer's suggestion. Did a bit of web surfing to find out about it. It's about a group of old black ladies–average age of 86–who used to be chorus dancers in pre-war Harlem. Now after over 60 years, They reunited to start a dance team, Silver Bells, and had shows throughout the city.

Even though they can't lift their legs high to the face or stretch their backs or the steps are not as powerful as they used to be, theie dance is steady enough to keep the rhythm. One of the ladies still teaches dance to young dancers. Their dance is not counting 1, 2, 3... It's all with the rhythm that remained in their soul and body. Perhaps, young dancers can dance faster steps but they still cannot dance the way the Silver Belles do.

As entertaining and encouraging as it is, this movie also deliveres the real, sad truth. None of these ladies is an iron grandma: They are old, undeniably, and they do have to face with issues and fears of aging. Surrounded by many senior audience and a group of teen dance team, I cried and laughed. I recommend this movie to all women regardless of age. You will surely learn and feel something out of this movie.

Little Miko Needs to Paddle

Born and raised in Tokyo, I grew up without chances to enjoy the nature regularly. When I first came to America, in Boston, the city park took my breath away and I felt like I was in a movie scene. After years of stay in the States, I get to visit many places including Minnesota I went to the other day.

Minnesota, a state with ten thousand lakes, is where my boyfriend's parents live. His father owns a canoe and kayak and has canoed almost all rivers throughout the country. Not to miss the gorgeous summer day, we went to a lake to paddle. I started in a canoe with his dad. We anchored the canoe and set up the chairs. Giving the son and father a private time to catch up, I got on the kayak by myself. Kayak was actually easier and smoother. Dip and paddle, dip and paddle. Having cooled down our body heat, we got back on the ride. This time, I took the kayak and followed the guys in a canoe. After 30 minutes of paddling, my back started to hurt a bit. Little sore on my stomach. It must be a good exersize if you do it once a while.

On the way back, I enjoyed seeing beautiful houses by the lake. Just for a few hours, I forgot about the busy, dirty Brooklyn where I live.

Fair Play

Head butting in the middle of the World Cup is not nice. Everyone who saw what Zidane did yesterday during the World Cup final, the last game of his career, must have felt many different thoughts. People are talking about it and nobody knows what happened. What did Materazzi say to Zidane? Was a red card legitimate since neither of the refrees actually witnessed the incident? Unfortunately, these questions don't matter. But the bigger question is, "what's fairness?"

Technically, players don't get a penalty for any, literally any, comments made to each other during play. There is no rule for FIFA to give a penalty for what players say, simply because it cannot be recorded and played to the audience. But it was a replay which gave Zidane a red card. So players can use verbal epithets to provoke opponents. Think of the worst thing people from other country could say to your country. It's a war. Not a game. It's a crime. Not a joke. And these people who say these things can get away with it? FIFA has something to think about. Lucky it wasn't a game between Al-Qaeda and American army or between Japan and China. A red card wouldn't have solved the problem.

I won't say what Zidane did was forgivable. But at the same time, I hope Materazzi will be punished and receive equally negative responses from the media as well as people who watched the game. Zidane was arguably the best player of the last decade. Even some Italian players admit that. Not only was he a great player, he was a heroic icon to many Arabic French. He knew what he meant to the people and kids who admired him. He knew that was his last game. And he didn't want to leave the field in such a way. I'm sure that he's shut his mouth or held his head to many bad words so far in his long career. It's sad that some player pushed him to the edge, to ruin his career and achievement, simply by saying brutal words to him. Materazzi, if he wasn't a complete asshole, must be realizing what a terrible thing he did, and I hope he is.

Zidane's still keeping his mouth shut and doesn't intend to reveal what Materazzi said to him. That's another sign that it was something quite provocative. Social rather personal. If Zidane revealed the exchange, there could be a war, or at least a huge conflict between Italy and Algeria, or many other Arabic communities. I am sure Zidane can take responsibility for what he did. Can Materazzi do the same?

Battle with Esq.

I am one of the millions of immigrants in the U.S. A legal immigrant who pays taxes and works hard to pursue a career. While some people are lucky enough to win a Green Card lottery without spending a dime, I have spent thousands of dollars to stay and work in this country, legally. Even if someone offered me a job, I'd still need to file paperwork and pursuade the government to issue me a visa. Money, timing and luck are not easy to get all at one time, and I need them all along with a lawyer, one of the most unfaithful creature.

H1-B, a non-immigrant working visa, is what I have. For this type of visa, the employer files a petition on behalf of me. After all, the company has to prove to the goverment that they couldn't find another qualified citizen, but only me, a foreigner, for the particular position. My position must be related to what I majored in school as well. I need to make as much money as a citizen would have made for the position. $2,000 for the lawyer. $1,000 for the government. And after the first three years of period, I have to go through this process again, paying the same amount of money, in order to continue my work at the sponsoring company. At least I was lucky enough to have my company take these costly steps.

My initial visa expires at the end of August, 2006. Now I have to file an extension for the visa I was once approved for. It's usually not hard to get it approved for the second period. But I still needed to meet and work with my lawyer, a mid-town suspender esq. Almost all the immigration lawyers are bloodless, mean money-suckers.

I've heard bad reviews about my lawyer. But he was experienced enough to get me a visa for the first three years. And now for the second and the last period of the six years allowed for any H1-B applicants, I decided to use the same lawyer. The other day, they sent me a draft of my renewal application. The supporting letter, which states all the details to establish the fact my company legitimately needs my continuing serivice, had many typos and incorrect details. I instantly emailed my lawyer with some questions that I needed to confirm and clarify before my employer signs. The response was outrageously rude. I guess he misunderstood what I wrote in my email and furiously accused that I 'complained' about them making a 'mistake.' I didn't, however, make any accusations. I learned that lawyers get easily freaked out when their clients mention anything negative about their services. But if they get upset so easily, how come they don't make sure to proof the document that they file on behalf of the client in the first place? It's simply a contradiction. He couldn't even write an email using proper English.

The assistant who primarily hanldes the actual writing was calm and made the necessary changes. But I still needed to write back to my lawyer in order to establish the fact that his response to my email with questions was not appropriate. This time, I wrote as if I were a lawyer. I paid meticulous attention to the words I used, explaining there was a misunderstanding, without offending him, while conveying that I deserved better legal service from him. I am sure if the correspondences were not made by means of emails, my lawyer wouldn't have reacted so furiously; they hate the paper trail that could harm their career. That's why I chose to email. I won't give up, after paying him couple of grand. They know the law well but don't care at all about immigrant workers.

As boring as it sound, that's what I and many other immigrant workers have to go through.

Cubano a la Williamsburg

A little Spanish bakery on the corner of Grand and Bedford Avenue is my new favorite breakfast place. For over a year since I moved in to this neighborhood, the artificially colored birthday cake samples in the showcase, completely discolored by the sun and a plastic naked-boy mascot sadly draining in the sea of cream, didn't seem to have much to offer. "Who would eat that crap?" was my thought everytime I passed.

A few months ago, my boyfriend, who is a bit of an Epicurenan, suggested grabbing a sandwich from them. We've seen many construction workers getting a morning sandwich and local Spanish people picking up some coffee in the morning. The place seemed to be popular for sure and we needed to at least give a chance to this bakery as we do to all other neighborhood restaurants.

Once you go inside, there's always a long line in front of the counter and a showcase shelf full of Spanish treats. Next thing you notice is the ladies who are working behind the counter, some of whom are shorter than the glass case. They swiftly serve each customer. But the biggest offer here is the price. An egg & ham sandwich on big hero bread is only $2.25. Hot coffee is only 60 cents. Even an iced coffee, which they charge $1.25 mainly for the ice, is still the cheapest in this hipster neighborhood.

For our first time, I had a sandwich with egg, ham and cheese. My boyfriend ordered a Cubano sandwich with extras of pickled jalapeno, pickles, lettuce and tomato, mayo and mustard. The lady wrote down our order on a piece of paper of 2 inches. Traditionally, a Cubano is comprised of roasted pork, ham, swiss cheese and pickles with mustard (and sometimes mayo). I never enjoyed eating too much meat. But this version was pretty good. The iceberg lettuce and unripe American tomato are not nutritionally advantageous, but they add some crunch and refreshment together with pickles. The key extra is the pickled jalapeno. I believe all Cubano should have pickled jalapeno as a standard.

The place being so busy and our Cubano has extra toppings, we normally wait for 5 to 7 minutes. Worth waiting? For a huge sandwitch for $3.50, of course. If you are in this hood, please try, or at least see the cakes by the window. They recently made them all new, saving the plastic mascot on the cake.

Mac Attacks

Working M-F at an office with a latest Mac didn't compel me to get a computer at home. Actually, I have an Mac G4 desktop at home that I use to watch DVDs and play music. This computer is fine but I don't use it otherwise because the desk it's sitting on is too narrow for me to work.

I see people using their laptops (mostly Macs in arty Williamsburg), enjoying a creative weekend morning at a local cafe, and I always wanted to be one of them. It simply seems productive somehow. As you may have noticed reading this blog, I am nothing of a professional writer. I am a non-creative office worker who likes writing and a bit of graphic design. To fulfill my intellectual, artistic hobby, I needed a laptop. Alas, the use of notepads and pens is ideal but too hard for the computer generation including myself. So the question was when to buy a laptop and which one. I have to admit that I didn't have strong enough passion to spend a couple grand to get a laptop. For me, the occasion was the business trip to Europe–It was also the moment that I realized I am a professional who needs to check emails.

MacPro was, with no doubt, my first preference. However, hearing more reviews about the new MacBook, I spent days of research on both laptops. Questioning myself, "Do you seriously need $3,000 MacBook Pro to fiddle with Photoshop and InDesign?" The answer was, at least at this point, No. But I encouraged myself by buying the black MacBook with bigger memory. I do plan to add more RAM memory which should help using photo-heavy applications for my graphic design projects. FYI: The new MacBook shares the same memory source for text and graphics.

Result: I have started this blog. And I do check my emails at home. I can watch DVD while my boyfriend sleeps in the other room where we have the desktop Mac. Besides the fact I couldn't afford a Pro, the shiny screen and the matte surface that easily gets dirty with finger oil (still I prefer the matte over shiny white), I am pretty, pretty, pretty content.

Cannes Ad Fest

In June, most of the ad people gather in Cannes, France, to attend the festival. And this was my first trip to Europe.

Ad freaks do care about the industry. But, more than anything else, they love to parté. Throughout the one-week festival, they party every night, and after party until 4, 5 am. I guess that's how they sustain their 'creativity.' I work in the advertising, sort of. But I don't care about this industry. Design folks are much cooler, by far.

Of course, parties serve as networking opportunities for a few people like those from small agencies. But for the majority of ad dorks, 'Cannes' is a vacation. For me, it wasn't. Staying with my bosses in a tiny apartment and sleeping on a couch was totally worse than working in the office without them. 7 am, my bosses unintentionally but loudly woke me up and left for a jog. An hour later, they woke me up again to take me to a farmers market. As much as I appreciated their hospitality, I couldn't enjoy this early morning tour after a late night of partying.

French people know how to eat. Fresh and colorful seasonal vegetables, flowers, olive, fish (not stinky), and cheese are neatly piled and you don't see rotten tomatoes or slimy greens like in American supermarkets. I was convinced this trip would satisfy my dining enthusiasm. Still, it's a tourist town. You have to choose the right place to eat. Key points in choosing a restaurant: waiter/waitresses, atmosphere, menu, price, customers. Between one that looked somewhat fancy "safety" place and a smaller, more quiet restaurant with old waiters, I chose the latter, with my support for a local and unpopular restaurant. Their food was absolutely fantastic. A dish like fluke meunié that tends to be simply blank and boring was carefully seasoned with herb and salt. They seem to use some north African spices down there as an accent. The sea bass with fresh tomato salsa was indescribably good. And the best part is, the portions are just right. I was fully satisfied in taste and volume at the end of the meal. Bravo.