katenjoys

Frazzled

2007-08-27T12:01:00.000-07:00

I just returned to Vermont after living in Japan for two solid years. I have done a million things worth posting in the last two months. So here is a totally random picture from last Christmas...until I can sort through some pics and get postin'.

Stuff for Sale--CHEAP!

2007-08-01T05:47:00.001-07:00

Susukino SET:

Includes a hair dryer, two curling irons and a variety of products to achieve the perfect back-comb/hairspray look. Get 'yo skank on! (600yen or a big beer)

"JAMIS Dakar" Full Suspension Mountain Bike 17" frame

BRAND NEW Kevlar XC 26X21 tires! BRAND NEW brake pads, chain&clipless pedals!

Includes clip pedals and clipless, shoes and a lock/w 3 keys.

TAKE ADVANTAGE OF HOKKAIDO'S TRAILS!!! (25,000 yen) ($200)

AVAILABLE AUGUST 17th

Print page
	Model	Jamis Dakar 2003
	Sizes	13", 15", 17", 19", 21"
	Colors	Matte Red & Matte Grey
	Frame	7005 aluminum (all tubes) w/ gusseted down tube & box-section stays, fully-active 4-bar linkage design, 90mm travel, Fox Vanilla coil-over shock, replaceable derailleur hanger, international disc brake mount
	Fork	Manitou Black Sport, 100mm travel

	Rims	Alex XT-3000 double wall disc, 32H
	Hubs	Front: Formula QR Rear: freehub
	Spokes	WTB 14g stainless steel
	Tires	Hutchinson Mosquito 26” x 2.0”, wire bead

	Front Derailleur	Shimano Alivio 31.8mm conventional clamp/top pull
	Rear Derailleur	Shimano Deore
	Shift Levers	Shimano Alivio, Rapidfire SL, 24-speed
	Chain	KMC IG-31
	Crankset	TruVativ Hussefelt, 44/32/22, 170mm (13-15”), 175mm (17-21”)
	Freewheel	Shimano HG-50-I, 8-speed, 11-30
	Bottom Bracket	TruVativ Gigapipe, ISIS, 68 x 113mm

	Brakes	Tektro forged alloy linear pull
	Brake Levers	Avid AD3 alloy levers
	Pedals	Wellgo, WPD-823, clipless
	Headset	Dia Compe STS Aheadset, 1 1/8”
	Seatpost	Alloy micro-adjust, 350mm x 27.2mm w/ alloy clamp and QR seatpin
	Saddle	Jamis ATB w/ SL top, steel rails, w/ nose and tail guards
	Handlebars	ATB Riser, alloy, 6° x 20mm rise x 620mm
	Stem	Jamis alloy threadless, 90mm x 10°(13”), 105mm x 10° (15-17”), 120mm x 10° (19-21”)
	Grips	Kraton dual compound

	WEIGHT:	32.00 lbs

ACTIVE SET:

Exercise ball (like new)

yoga mat, badminton set, Adidas soccer ball, tennis balls, juggling balls, fishing rod,

bat&ball…&more! (3,000 yen)($25)

"Street Cruiser" (Mr. Shit)

He's the Shit. Classic design. Great for taller riders but can be adjusted to fit anyone. Three speeds. Purchased for 24,000 yen ($196). Look good while you get around. Everything works. (5,000 yen)($40)

BURTON Snowboard with Burton Bindings

Burton Custom '49. Board and bindings are in great shape. A true classic! Made back in the days when Burton handmade their boards in Burlington, VT (my hometown). Now they're factory made in Canada. Come winter you won't find a used board for less than 6,000 yen….ACT NOW for guaranteed winter FUN! Comes with board bag and leash. (4,000 yen)($33)

Liquid Lover Set:
Blender and Coffee Maker

Like new! (includes filters and "chopper" for blender) (1,500 yen)($12)

Burton Snow Skate
Can't make it to the mountain? Take the snow skate to your local park for tons of fun without paying for a lift ticket!

(2,000 yen, $16)

Two of the mama cherry bikes have been SOLD, sorry....

Hakkoda-san Hiking in Aomori Prefecture

2007-06-26T01:32:00.000-07:00

Hiking in the Hakkoda-san mountains in Aomori Prefecture. A shinto shrine on Akakura-dake (1548M) with O-dake (1584M) and the trail we were on in the distance.

Nearly at the summit of O-dake (1584M).

Looking across sennin-tai to little Io-dake (1360M).

Looking across a crater at Takada-o-dake (152M).

A little shinto shrine on O-dake.

The Ido-dake (1550M) crater.

On Akakura-dake looking back towards Ido-dake on the left and O-dake in the middle.

Let's Go Fly a Kite!

2007-06-18T05:36:00.000-07:00

This is my newest and coolest toy--a 4 meter stunt kite.
We're playing at my favorite park in Sapporo--Moerenuma Koen (designed by Isamu Noguchi)Sherri

Kate

Sherri

Weekend...in no particular order...all cell phone pics...

2007-06-06T05:07:00.000-07:00

I loaded up Beverly Ulayla (my bike) and headed into the wilderness with Sherri. Bev U is a "mama cherry" aka a one speed granny bike. I rode it over 40 km to get to the mountain and back. My butt was cozy but it was killer on my legs! The basket is full of food, the backpack is full of camping gear and my boots rested on the fender...for 40 freakin kms! Aurrgghhhh...

The hike was lovely...

The hut was on this cute little lake. The water was about chest-deep but...NO SWIMMING!! "Abunai-yo!" It's TOO DANGEROUS... whatever...

This was the weekend before. Some hungover Sunday golf.
50 balls = 250 yen. Not bad.

Remember the mosaic? It's coming along nicely.

This time I participated! Katie, Sherri and I made the blue and white patch of "sky" near the windmill and the red wind.

Friday night enkai. Tastiest food ever. Always is.

Snippets of Monday Evening and Tuesday Afternoon

2007-05-22T01:37:00.001-07:00

I've been taking pictures on my cell phone lately...

I've lived here for 2 years and yesterday was the first time I purchased flour and sugar. I guess that shouldn't seem so surprising considering I don't have an oven.... This is my homemade chocolate banana-nut bread. I made it in my rice cooker and it was tasterific!

The tulips are out!
Toyohira-Koen (park).
I ride my bike through this park every morning and afternoon.

Dearest Mom,

2007-05-13T21:26:00.000-07:00

I did not send a gift to you.

I penned some doting rhymes in lieu:

Sorry I'm a selfish daughter,

but Mother's Day is Hallmark's fodder

for those sad souls who can't express

through love and simple tenderness

the gratefulness they should bestow

upon The One who helped them grow.

So unto you I do bequeath

longevity and healthy teeth;

in hopes that one day you and I

might share a laugh and gently sigh;

knowing that our lives were great,

Happy Mother's Day from Kate.

A Day In Sapporo

2007-05-12T06:29:00.000-07:00

These kids and university students were making a mosaic on the Shiroishi Cycling Road. They were smashing tiles and sticking them to the wall. I'm gonna have to ride past periodically to see their progress.

This might be the last worthy weekend of sakura. 'Twas lovely while it lasted.

More mid-May mosaic madness.

Huh?

2007-04-01T18:01:00.000-07:00

These pictures are posted outside the women's locker room at my local gym in Sapporo. I look at them every day when I put my shoes on and I can't see one difference between the two. If there wasn't English in huge type at the bottom, I would have no clue what these were for.

Curt's Photography in Museum

2007-03-31T19:53:00.000-07:00

Carrie and Kimberly Have a Dual Birthday Party!

2007-03-26T19:25:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Carrie!

Happy Birthday Kimberly!

The girls. Dancin' Queens!

After 2 hours of all-you-can-drink...we're good at drinkin' like this by now... and we're dancin' on the benches...because we have excellent balance...

Me and the Birthday Gals.

Me and Carrie

Björk Is Still Cool.

2007-03-25T22:08:00.000-07:00

She is totally awesome. Her new album will be released May 7th. I'll be at the CD store bright and early to get a first-hand JAPANESE edition!! Back in the day, when I was a hardcore Björk music collector/afficionado, getting a Japanese edition (with bonus tracks) was quite rare...but now I'm right here...willing and waiting to spend my "hard-earned" yen on new tunes!!

Let's Be More Japanesey

2007-03-23T22:02:00.000-07:00

Here are some random images from Japan.

Dogs and their owners should always have matching panties.

An enkai (work party) which I attended in December.
Wear your robe, eat raw food, drink 'till you pass out.

Last Day of School

2007-03-23T21:40:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my last day at Shinoro-Nishi Junior High School. It was my base school for one year (but when you subtract the months at visiting schools and holidays, I was there for about 5 months). With Carl's help, I prepared an excellent speech in Japanese to say at the final party. I practiced it, typed it up, and brought the WRONG SPEECH to the party!! I couldn't believe my bad luck.... Oh well, farewell Shinoro-Nishi.

I got these flowers 'cause I was leaving...

and these too...

...and since pictures of flowers are boring, here's a real place (a karaoke joint) called "Poo".

St. Patrick's Day

2007-03-20T21:18:00.000-07:00

St. Patrick's Day in Sapporo was an event for charity this year. Coordinated by Maeve and Carrie, all the money raised will be donated to an organization building homes for widowed women in India. Good on 'ya Ladies!!

We performed an Irish dance and I had to be a man (all the dancers were girls, so some of us had to use props). I made the hat and beard from construction paper at school.

(from left) Chi-e, Kate, Maki and Katy

Irish Lass/Lad

The mustachio made me do funny things.

Beer + mustashio made me do even funnier things.

AINU-INU

2007-03-11T03:56:00.000-07:00

I've named this breed of dog "Ainu-Inu".
It's a Japanese dog specific to Hokkaido island.
The Ainu (eye-e-new) are the native people of Hokkaido and this was their favorite breed.
inu (ee-new) is Japanese for dog.
I really want one of these dogs!!
I'm gonna see if I can bring one back to The States.

Road Trip Leads to Backcountry Adventure

2007-03-05T02:17:00.000-08:00

Me with Furano-dake in the background.

Hot, isn't she? A bit puffy perhaps.....?
Oh, and I was chewing gum AND eating snow (at the same time).

My fabulous friendly friends.

Me and Tree.

Yep, that's me.

Such nice girls...
from left: Sherri, Katy (kneeling) and Kate

FREE! WHEE!! YIPPEE!!!

On Friday Katy and I picked-up our FREE rental mini-van in the heart of Sapporo. (The rental car company was giving rental mini-vans to foreigners to survey how we enjoy traveling in Hokkaido.) After some savvy city driving and a last-minute decision to pick up some rental snowshoes we headed out into the country. We picked up Sherri along the way and arrived at our hostel in Furano at 10PM.

Early Saturday morning the Hostel Guy recommended a good place to snowshoe and we headed towards Daisetsu-san National Park (the biggest NP in Japan). Our destination was superb!! Cheap accommodation, a fabulous onsen (now my top-ranking!), good company (many backcountry outdoor enthusiasts), a kitchen and immediate access to the mountains.

We snowshoe'd up to one of the peaks surrounding Tokachi-dake at about 11;30 AM on Saturday. I strapped my board on my back 'cause there's no way I'm walkin' all the way up and not riding down....

On Sunday we decided to do it again but this time each of us carried our boards up (for an all-girl, all-snowboarder backcountry trip!) The weather was beautiful and it had snowed during the night. The snow was the driest snow I've ever seen.

The trip down is always too short! As is the weekend....

2007-02-27T01:10:00.000-08:00

Oh My God...When I Was 7 This Was Cool?

Holy crapoli. Apparently the 1986 Redskins wanted to thank their fans for being so great, and the only way to do it effectively was through the majesty of song. There's too much goodness to give it an appropriate introduction, but if you love tight jeans, football players rapping, Motown dance moves, and handicapped fans, this might just be the video for you. I watched it after a shot of tequila and it made my day...or the tequila did....

Real Henna Tattoo or Fake Real Tattoo?

2007-02-13T05:12:00.000-08:00

This is when I inked my Boy's name (nearly) on my ass.

Kitesurfing 101

2007-02-13T05:00:00.000-08:00

What can I say....?? I'm hooked!! Can't wait to go again and again and again... by the way, that's me and a 16 meter kite (and my Philipino instructor).

Philippines...a preview...

2007-01-16T05:28:00.000-08:00

2006-11-22T18:31:00.000-08:00

Geez, cool videos just keep popping up all over the web!!

Minilogue/hitchhikers choice - short version (longer on DVD)......This creation must've taken a work-load capacity that I'm currently incapable of.

2006-11-20T02:02:00.000-08:00

Where the Hell is Matt?

Ok, last killer video!! I wanna be this guy!! (Or I wanna have been him when he got to do all this travel.) I've got a lot of catching up to do...but next time I'll do something like this for sure!!

2006-11-20T01:33:00.000-08:00

Kiwi!

This is a fantastic little film. I love it!! Your life will surely improve once you've seen it!!

2006-11-20T01:26:00.000-08:00

"Amateur - Lasse Gjertsen"

This is FrEAkiN awesome. I dig. You will too; I guarantee.

Halloween Class!!

2006-10-17T04:20:00.000-07:00

Awesome costumes guys!! You were all great!

China Pictures (more and more!)

2006-09-05T05:19:00.000-07:00

China Pictures (more)

2006-09-05T05:10:00.000-07:00

I went to China from July 15th- July 31st. Next is the Philippines for scuba and kitesurfing!! Yippee...Yee-haw...and...hurray!!

Shikotsu-ko (Lake Shikotsu) BIKE TRIP!

2006-08-23T06:45:00.000-07:00

One day in mid-August Maeve and I decided to bike 50K to a beautiful volocanic lake south of Sapporo. It was a great adventure. I brought my new(ish) ultra lightweight tent and we set off at....2 PM. Maeve is a Trooper (notice the capital "T") because she did the ride on an over-worked liver and a few hours of sleep. I am a self-proclaimed trooper because I did the ride on Carrie's bike which was crafted for the likes of Santa's Helpers and Oompa-Loompas. It was kinda like riding a BMX bike with 21 gears. But neither of us complained and we enjoyed the lush Hokkaido scenery and gear 1. We spent two solid hours going uphill, but it really wasn't too bad...just ass-aching. When we arrived at the campsite it dawned on us that we had NO food; not even gum or candy. The only resaurant had closed at 6:00 and it was just after 6. Our first thought, of course, was to politely "eikaiwa" some Japanese folks in the hopes of scoring food, but we were smelly and tired and not in the mood. Instead we approach two women near the closed resaurant and begged them to make us some food. And then we had a feast! Well....kinda....we each got an ume onigiri (pickled plum rice ball) from the ladies. Then we were given a small fresh water salmon on a stick from an old man. Then we were given a can of flavored fish each!! It was all delicious. The best part is that we feasted in front of 5 different beverage vending machines, so we got gatorade and water and soda and tea and hot chocolate!! (We had planty of money...just no where to spend it!)

The next day we went swimming in the lake (2nd deepest in Japan!) and then headed into the tinnie-tiny town to get lunch. After a corn dog and some tako-yaki (octopus pancake balls with mayo, sauce and dried fish flakes) we headed off on the 60K ride home. After a beautiful hour and a half ride we hit the outskirts of Sapporo and cruised home via roadsides and bike paths. All-in-all, it was one of the best summer weekends I've had in Japan! Bonus ending= an hour soak in the local sento bath 1 block before we reached home! And it had a menthol pool to sooth my sunburn!!

...and these from Kyoto...

2006-08-23T06:26:00.000-07:00

soooo lovely and peaceful...I love Kyoto!

Kyoto was BEFORE China...but here are the pics...

2006-08-23T06:09:00.000-07:00

Mom came to visit me in Sapporo (June 23-July 12, 2006) and we took a wonderful trip to Tokyo and Kyoto for a few days. It was hot-as-hell, but we didn't care. We biked and explored ancient temples on foot. We ate good food. We laughed and chatted all hours of the day. THANKS FOR VISITING, MOM!!

China Pictures...FINALLY!

2006-08-23T05:32:00.000-07:00

Here are some of my favorite Great Wall pics from my trip to China (July 15-31, 2006). There are plenty more fabulous, fun, freaky, fantastic, futuristic, foggy, and fuzzy pictures to look forward to...I hope to post them before winter. Just kidding....kinda....

Video: Sea Eagles Play "Chicken" in Turf Dispute

2006-08-19T19:26:00.000-07:00

Eagle helicopters....

Jesus Camp

2006-08-07T21:24:00.000-07:00

I'm bored to tears here at work....

I was trying to download David Byrne music when I happened upon his website. It's quite a unique piece of work for such a popular artist--mainly because he writes interesting things in personal journal for all to see.

Here's what I found... very cool guy with cool music and a cool website.

http://journal.davidbyrne.com/

CHEESE...I NEED IT!!!

2006-06-18T21:46:00.000-07:00

Japanese food is killer and I could eat it forever, BUT, there is no substitute for you favorite foods from home. Well, sort-of from home....like Mexican and Thai and fondu. When I was in Tokyo last week I ate Mexican THREE nights in a row!! And I wanted it for breakfast too!! I also threw a minor fit in Tokyo because I settle for a ho-hum restaurant to eat lunch at and after lunch I walked past a Subway!! SUBWAY!! Oh, I was so upset...but, alas, I couldn't bring myself to eat another meal 3 minutes after lunch.

Today the hunt is on for cheese. Not the crappy Kraft-slices-peel-it-and-enjoy fake cheese here in Japan, but real cheese.

Tokyo, Japan Alps, Matsumoto Castle

2006-06-13T04:06:00.000-07:00

VIDEO = human beatbox

2006-05-20T05:02:00.001-07:00

CHECK IT OUT!

WHOA NELLY....It's been a while, eh??

2006-05-18T06:20:00.000-07:00

BLOG SHMOG...

Blogging is cutting into my precious relaxation time. You've gotta check out this movie though!! I love it. Make sure you watch both guys (and the kids and lady)

I HIGHLY suggest that you watch this WITHOUT SOUND first! I was watching at school and I had to turn the volume down. I think it made it much funnier.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lU6sdCeY1Q8

日本 Easter 2006=packaged ham...

2006-04-16T20:51:00.000-07:00

When we remembered it was Easter Sunday at 2PM yesterday, we immediately biked to the grocery store to buy a delicious ham...or 4 packages of ham each filled with 4 slices! Our Easter feast was delicious and totally B.S'd, just like most things I accomplish at the last minute. Jesus would be proud if he were here today.

R.I.P!!!!!

2006-04-16T02:23:00.000-07:00

Bike #2 is gone(STOLEN). Stay tuned for pics of bike #3(She is a BEAUTY!!!)

Doggy Pic!!

2006-04-10T03:14:00.000-07:00

I LOVE JAPANESE DOGS!! They are happy, well kept and well outfitted!!

Orchid Show 2006

2006-03-29T02:34:00.000-08:00

These pictures are from the 2006 Sapporo Orchid Show. I took all these pics on my snazzy cell phone/camera...not bad, huh? I went to the show with my buddy Carrie, a savvy Canadian chica. We had as much fun as you can possibly have at a flower show, which was a lot!! I haven't included the picture of the prize-winning bonsai orchid, nor the mother and 2 year-old little girl wearing matching fur coats and Valentino handbags...priceless!! Ahhhh, here's to good times and random Tuesday holidays in Japan.

"Teledreams" for me!!

2006-03-26T23:03:00.000-08:00

These are the K2 Dawn Patrol tele skis I bought on a goddamn whim last Saturday. I really need to send thousands of dollars home from Japan every other month to pay-off the credit cards and school loans, but what do I do instead? I buy SKIS in April, just when the resorts close. Frickin' hell. On top of the impulse buy, I can't afford bindings or boots, so I have to suffer while I look at these great skis that I can't use during the last few weeks of the season. Wanna read something funny, though? This is what Curt wrote for me about my new skis:

"These are my new friends. They are 167 cm of pure telemark skiing love. From the floral paterns on the topsheet, to the "woman power" symbol on the base they are geared for the backcountry with enough shape to work well on the groomers. I am in heaven!!!"

Backcountry Adventure

2006-03-20T17:16:00.000-08:00

This past weekend I went on my first backcountry trip in Japan. It was great!! After an amazing drive to a nearly abandoned mining post, myself, Curt, JJ, Ben and Jeb tramped up to Muine Hut. Mount Muine (1461M) is about 1 1/2 hours south of Sapporo. The climb started at a deserted ski resort and after an initial steep ascent, we had a nice rolling hike uphill for a few hours. At the ridge the winds started to pick up and the glorious sun that had warmed us at the bottom disappeared. I managed to catch a glimpse of Mount Yotei (a perfect conical volcano) in the distance before the clouds rolled in permanently. As we trudged on across the ridgeline the winds grew stronger and stronger. By the time we reached the short decent to the hut, the winds were so strong I was blown over twice! I was nervous to say the least; this was my first run-in with bad weather in the backcountry. The winds coming over the ridge were ripping at my clothes as I desperately tried to throw my pack down, take my snowshoes off and put my snowboard on (and hang onto my poles at the same time). Eventually I got everything put in its place and I managed to get my pack on and stand on my board...but the board was freshly waxed and the winds pulled me backwards towards the 20 ft. cornice on the other side of the ridge! I immediately threw myself to the ground. Then I had to crawl to the edge of the ridge on my hands and knees until I was over the ridge and could traverse across the slope. Eventually, I made it!! I found Curt a short distance below desperately trying to make nice turns on the frozen wind-blown crust. Then I saw the others' tracks and I straight-lined it for the bottom. After some wrong turns and all five of us going in different directions, we each converged on one track and found the hut.

Muine Hut was an adorable little hut nearly buried in snow. We helped dig out the toliet (which was buried under 8-9 ft. of snow!), made some grub, drank o-sake and vodka, played cards and passed out.

The next day the weather had turned snowy. The fellas went out for some skinning and runs, but I stayed in the hut.

The trip out on Sunday was an adventure in-itself. The weather was snowy and windy with poor visibility. We had to hike up to a ridge-line and then around the ridge of a huge bowl. That was just to return to the spot where I had crawled to the edge. From there it was subtle climbing over a wide ridge line with raging winds ripping across the snow. We only got one picture from Sunday due to the nasty weather. Finally, we reached the decent and put our boards and skis on for some relaxing downhill...but we got a bit lost and couldn't find the faded red ribbons that were guiding us. Luckily, we were close enough to the bottom to hike out to the road and trudge up 500M to the car... Ahhhhh....the car!!!

We concluded the trip with an Indian dinner and a relaxing onsen... What a wonderful weekend!

Real-Life Simpsons Opening Scene!

2006-03-13T16:52:00.000-08:00

You've gotta check this out. I dig it.

Sunday at Teine

2006-03-12T18:03:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Curt and I finally got back out on the ski slopes. It was a beautiful sunny day in the city, so I thought it would be a perfect day to hang out in the park and get sweet rail shots. Alas, the day was cold and crappy. The slopes were rock hard. I had to use my edges for the first time ALL SEASON!! Of course Curtis was delighted to ski the roughest part of the mountain, so I tagged along to watch his marvelous telemark skills. I made a few turns, but mostly I just chucked ice boulders downhill and watched my mini avalanches. That's me on the fun box, though...behind all those cool Japanese Cats. All-in-all, it was a nice day outside.

Saturday Night!!

2006-03-11T04:34:00.000-08:00

This is a new beer by Kirin brewery in Japan. You'd think I'd love Sapporo beer because I live in Sapporo, but Kirin is actually my favorite. "ENJUKU", is their new 6% seasonal brew. The can states (in English):
"Enjoy the rich and deep taste harmony of ENJUKU. The crispy flavor of fine barley and the mellow aroma from superior hops bring you good times."
Well, it's Saturday evening and I'm trying to get those "superior hops" to bring me "good times". While I continue to work on collecting more empty "Enjuku" cans, I will also work on posting more frequently. Kampai!

The Beginning...

2006-03-03T20:07:00.000-08:00

Welcome to katenjoys!!

This is the beginning.