I Scream (and a Variety of It)

This is what happens when you live by yourself and no one is there to stop you from, or give you dirty looks for, buying a six-pack of ice cream scoops. (And you also happen not to have any self-control.)

Today, after eating some delicious Taiwan ramen (which I will report on later), I stopped by 31 Ice Cream to get myself a treat. Or seven.

I've been a supporter of Baskin-Robbins since August of 2013. The franchise is called "31 Ice Cream" in Japan, though I don't get why.

I don't remember eating ice cream all that often when I was a kid in Japan. After we came to the States, we still didn't eat that much ice cream. (I remember my parents very, very, very occasionally buying a box of Viennetta...remember those??) But during our early years in the States, buying a carton of ice cream was a treat, and buying an ice cream cone at Thrifty Drug Store was even more so.

My go-to flavor from Thrifty was Chocolate Chip. When I was feeling feisty, I would get Mint Chocolate Chip. And when I was feeling zany, I would get Rainbow Sherbet.

My family and I have had our affairs with Dairy Queen (oh, the Hawaiian Blizzard...), and for a time I even flirted with Cold Stone. But then I learned that Dunkin' Donuts owned Baskin-Robbins, and that changed my life forever.

But to be honest, I don't go get Baskin-Robbins all that often. Those occasions are so particular that I can actually remember most of them. Now my go-to flavor is Rum Raisin (and has been, since the time I was living in the Mission and learned how awesome a flavor Malaga was). When I was in Albuquerque last March, I got Bananas Foster (you know, for Mardi Gras). Recently I've gotten Brown Sugar & Cinnamon, or even a double scoop with Brown Sugar & Cinnamon and Apple Sorbet.

See?! What is wrong with me? How come I remember these stupid ice cream flavors, but I can't remember other important things??

Anyway, so today I bought a "Variety Pack" of six small scoops, as well as one kid's scoop, just for kicks. And I realized today that—31 Ice Cream in Japan is...kind of stretchy. Like...rubbery? And I confess, I am not a fan of the Matcha. The Rum Raisin though, as always, is delicious.

Oh, ice cream. Grant that I made eat you, always, with everything.

[Flavors, clockwise from top left: Matcha, Box of Chocolate, Lucky Sheep, Winter White Chocolate, Chocolate Mint, Love Potion #31 Dark. The Rum Raisin was the separate kid's scoop. Mmm. The white chunks in the box are dry ice—which almost burned my hand, because I forgot that the lady at the store told me that...]

GSA #11: On Asking Questions

This past weekend I went to a symposium on the topic of censorship. It was loads of fun—I met some cool people, and I learned a lot.

But there was a frustration in me that culminated at the end of the symposium—a frustration that had been mounting inside me for several years.

It's with the way people ask questions.

This is a totally personal opinion, I know. But I admire people who ask smart, clear, and concise questions. Hence I'm not a fan of people who ask loooong, rambling questions. Or people who give self-serving comments disguised as questions. Or people who ask questions just to show how smart they are, or which books they've read, or which theorists they can cite. (I even got a little weirded out by people who read off what they'd typed out when asking their question—and I was pretty sure it wasn't a language issue.)

I never saw this problem among my undergrads (though that might be because they were afraid I would smack them if inane dribble kept coming out of their mouths). But I've seen it so often among grad students, whether in seminars, workshops, or conferences. And I've seen it among professors, too.

What's going on?! Is it because, when we enter a grad program, we constantly face the pressure to display how brilliant we are? Oh come on, people. I don't know about you, but I'm a fan of displaying brilliance in other ways (not that I can do it, but).

It takes practice, this "asking smart, clear, and concise questions" thing. But I think we'd be better served if we did practice. And I think teachers should actually train their students to do so, too.

Because you know what? One day when I get to serve on a search committee, I'm gonna remember if you asked a good question—and if you didn't. And when I come across your job application or come face to face with you in an interview, I'm going to have no mercy. And just because of your rambling question at some random conference years ago, you will be tested. And if you fail again, I am not giving you that job.

Ask your question, people, and then get the hell off the floor.

[Oooh, I sound particularly vicious in this post! Fun!]

和食、或いは、名古屋で食べたいお店の一覧

先日、辻芳樹（つじよしき）さんの『和食の知られざる世界』と言う本を読み終わりました。２０１３年の１２月に出版された本ですが、私は去年の９月に羽田空港で買いました。

辻さんの本を読んでいると、もっともっと和食の事を知りたい、と思います。色々な物を見て、色々な物を食べたい。もっともっと「食」について勉強したい。もちろん、料理の練習もしたい。

そしてもう一つ思ったのは、色々なお店で食べてみたい、と言う事でした。できれば、今年は名古屋にある美味しいお店にできる限り行ってみたい。と言う訳で、名古屋で食べたいお店のリストを作って見ました。いくつかの理由（地理、予算、趣味、等）でとても偏ったリストになってしまいましたが、食べログの総合ランキングから言うと、Top 20 がこんな感じです。（リンクは全て食べログです。）

1. 吉い
2. 梶川
3. 日本料理　馳惣
4. とんかつあさくら
5. ふじ原
6. 浜源
7. 焼き菓子　ルルー
8. 川口屋
9. セレスティ
10. お料理　京柳
11. トップフルーツ八百文
12. 菓匠　花桔梗
13. 味仙
14. ブルーデル
15. とんかつ　比呂野
16. 勝利亭
17. 沖縄の店　ちゅらやー
18. mairo cafe
19. 実濃忠
20. チュウズデイオフ

こんなに沢山・・・さて、いくつ行けるかな？

On Decisions

I want to make decisions not from a place of fear, but from a place of hope.

Not from a place of guilt, but from a place of warmth.

Not of worry, but of confidence.

Not need, but love.


[This was an exercise in syntax.]

On Gardening

I don't do it. Gardening, I mean. Probably because I never got into the habit, since my dad always has been the one to do things in our yard. (I don't really count weeding as gardening, which was my oft-assigned task.)

But if I were to start, I think my garden would be just dirt, and lots of it, so I can roll around in it with dogs and kids. I'd keep it nice and soft, making sure there weren't chunky rocks or funky roots. Mmmm, soft dirt.

And then I'd also be the one to do the laundry afterwards. Hmm.

Happy New Year! Time for Some Resolutions for 2015!

Happy new year, everyone! (Or, at least to those people who celebrate the new year on January 1st.) 明けましておめでとうございます・・・今年もどうぞよろしく！

While I am not one to stick to new year's resolutions, I saw an article from The Travel Lush about making the most of her remaining time in Indonesia, and it reminded me of all the places I want to visit in Japan/Asia while I'm in Nagoya. So, while certainly not exhaustive, here are some things I want to do this calendar year.

Gain weight—That's right, folks. I am aiming to gain weight this year, 11 pounds to be precise. And I want all of that in muscle, not fat. (Is that even possible? Ideally I'd like to maintain a healthy level of body fat...and then some, for warmth......)

Submit two journal articles—Yeah, I'm not a terribly ambitious one. But I'm starting Wendy Belcher's 12-week program, like, next week, so I've got that to keep me on track. I spent enough of Fall Semester dicking around, so now it's time to really sit down to do some writing.

Travel—Aaahhhh, travel. While I've racked up a good number of miles flying between SoCal and Japan, I really haven't been able to explore the places that have been on my "To Visit" List for a while. I'm focusing my energy on Japan this year, though; the rest of Asia will have to wait, due to time/financial realities. My "50 States Before 50" might get a notch if I use my Southwest miles to fly to Utah or Colorado...but I'll have to see. Which means that the places I should hit up, in descending order of priority/feasibility, are:

• Sites in Nagoya (Nagoya Castle, Tokugawa Art Museum, Shirotori Garden, etc.)
• Meiji-mura (It was basically implied that I'd be a fool if I didn't go.)
• Da-Saitama (Shut up, people...it's my HOME.)
• Hiroshima and Miyajima
• Nagasaki (Totally doable...6 hours each way, for $400 roundtrip? I'm in!)
• Kanazawa
• Okinawa
• Hokkaido

That's a pretty good list to last me for 12 months...given the built-in stays I've scheduled for my time back in the States. Maybe I'll start by going back to Saitama in mid-March...

Swear Less—Yeah, right. This has been an annual resolution since 2002, and it's likely not going away any time soon...

I've been hearing some really inspiring new year's resolutions recently—I'd love to hear more!