My Side of the Story

As most of you know, I recently became engaged to Hannah. If you didn’t know, then I suggest you go read Hannah’s blog, then come back to mine.

http://thisresplendentlife.blogspot.com/2011/04/if-shoe-fits.html
The reason I pass you onto hers before letting you read my own, is because her post is a romanticized version of my marriage proposal. It fluffs up the good stuff and is blithely ignorant of all the things that were running through my head as it occurred. So, to be fair, I’m going to offer my side of the story in order to help you better understand the entire experience.

As Hannah mentioned, I planned a pretty exciting weekend, the details of which I was not willing to share with her. I did this because Hannah LOVES to know everything before it happens. She’s worse than I am when it comes to figuring out what she’s getting for Christmas, her birthday, etc. So when it came to my plans for Saturday, I guarded them like an angry mother moose would guard its calf.

Despite the buildup, the schedule was going to be fairly simple: Buy Vibrams for Hannah. Go free climbing with Hannah and Baldr in Tulsa. Go home. Sleep or watch movies for the rest of the day. The reason I wanted to buy the Vibrams was that Hannah had wanted a pair for a long time, but was never able to purchase them. In addition, I really wanted another pair as well. So Friday, I stopped by Summit to check on the goods and make sure they’d be open on Saturday, which they were. Banking on the weather being lovely, my plan solidified. Hannah gets there Friday night and we do our thing.

Then Saturday morning comes and Hannah wasn’t feeling very well, so I had intended to nix the outing and just let her sleep. However, after her prodding and promises of being “fine,” I took her to Braum’s to get some food and then to the outdoorsy store, Summit.

We spent the next hour or so trying on various Vibrams and waiting for the girl working to help us. Aside for the really poor service, and a few off-color comments about it (on my part) we got our shoes and went back to my apartment to pick up the little beast, Baldr. Then it was off to Chandler Park.

The drive was going fairly well for the most part. It was nice weather, windows were rolled down as we flew down the highway, and I was listing to my iPod. Hannah wasn’t acting like she felt very well, or was a bit unhappy, so about 30-40 minutes out from our destination, I rolled up the windows to talk to her about it…
Just as a bit of background: Baldr is like me when I was younger. He gets carsick worse than anyone/thing else I know. I mean I could have fed him hours ago, or even not at all, and he still sprays vomit all over the inside of my car like a mentally challenged fire hydrant. However, I found that this can be circumvented if the windows are down, similar to how I was/still am.

Back to the story. I rolled up the windows to talk to Hannah. The conversation wasn’t getting anywhere, so my frustration level had increased a bit. Then, Baldr started moving in a very familiar manner. About the time I realized what was going to happen, it was too late.

I have never seen him puke that much.

I was furious. By “furious,” I actually mean borderline homicidal. Had Hannah not been there and if I loved my dog even slightly less, there would have been a bloody puppy mess spread for half a mile down Highway 51, and I’d have ended up in that special hell where only murderers, gossipers, pedophiles and puppy killers go. Thankfully, Hannah was indeed there, trying to calm me down as I raged.

At this point, I’m sure you can imagine proposing was about the furthest thing from my mind. Especially when you realize I legitimately had no intention of doing so that Saturday, or even several Saturdays afterward, despite the fact we'd talked about it before and knew it would eventually happen. Anyway, we stopped at the next town and cleaned the rest of my car (I’d done a fair amount of cleaning while still on the side of the road. That included, but was not limited to, scooping handfuls of his sick out of the car with my bare hands and cursing with only the most debauched and inappropriate swears).

Once things were mostly cleared out, we continued to our destination. Eventually, we arrived at Chandler Park and I was pleased to see it wasn’t completely packed, at least not in the climbing area. An hour or so passed while we were outside, climbing and walking around. Finally I opted to go to a less used area to climb. Little did I know that I was essentially walking into a divinely staged environment, nearly perfect for what was about to happen. I do a bit more random climbing until we (all three of us) made our way to the top of a fairly secluded rock formation.

It was about that time the wheels in my head started turning in ways I had hoped they wouldn’t. They kept recounting a conversation Hannah and I had earlier that day about how due to the cost and total awesomeness of the shoes I’d purchased for us, Hannah would be just as happy using it in place of a ring. My response had been less than favorable. You must understand, I love Hannah very much and because of that, I wanted to purchase a fancy ring and do things the 'correct' way. I believe I even mentioned that I wasn’t sure I wanted to get married yet and how the whole concept scared the crap out of me. (P.S. The only difference now is that I know I want to get married. I’m still scared crapless)

So again, I had no intentions of proposing. There we were, atop this large rock, lost in the trees and grass. We talk for a bit but my mind started getting this white fog and I began getting remarkably nervous. I thought to myself “Oh dang it. Am I really doing what I think I’m doing?” I drop down on the rock below Hannah and take off her left shoe (The fact it was the left one was entirely unintentional, but worked out brilliantly), then I started talking about our relationship. We frequently talk about our relationship, but as you can imagine, it was a bit different that go around.

Then, before I know it, I slide the shoe back on and ask her if she'd be willing to marry me. Sure, with Vibrams they don’t exactly 'slide on,' but you get the point. Turns out she smiled and said ‘yes,’ after ensuring I was actually asking her to marry me (I had to ask twice. The first time I only asked if she'd be "willing" to marry me...but didn't ask her to do so). I’m still fairly confident I was possessed by some divine entity for a brief moment, because I easily pulled off the smoothest, spur of the moment, fairy-tale (with a modern twist) proposal in pretty much ever. I'm also fairly confident it was God doing me a favor, because I most likely wouldn't have ever grown the pair of balls needed to ask the question for real.

So yeah. I’m engaged and I didn’t expect it any more than my lovely fiancée did. It's crazy how these things work out, but I'm glad they do. I honestly never really expected I'd end up here and now that I am, I couldn't imagine being happier anywhere else, with anyone else.

The Zombie Apocalypse: My Meager Attempt at Survival

This is a response to a status thingy on Facebook. I posted it here to link to my friends on FB. Please excuse me if you get confused.

'Go to your profile. The first 5 people in your friends bar are you teammates in the coming zombie apocalypse. How do your chances look?'

The first five were as follows: Alex, Jenny, Elise, Taylor and Jake.
To be rather frank with everyone, our chance of a '0 casualty' rating is infinitesimal. When I look at the individuals in this group, I identify their basic survival skills, physical abilities and other random skill-sets of which I'm aware.
Frankly, the most probable number of survivors is three. However, assuming others follow orders perfectly, we may increase the total to four individuals. Those four would be: Alex, Jake, Taylor and myself.
I'll explain my filtering process below (Only list 3-4 ranks in each category):

First: Basic Wilderness Survival Skills

Alex and I scored highest in this category, immediately followed by Jake. The both of us possess nearly all simple, but invaluable, skills needed to survive. Namely: Ability to locate/build a shelter, ability to locate water and purify it, ability to locate a viable food source, the ability to prepare the food source in a safe and healthy manner, the ability to make and sustain a fire of the appropriate size from scratch.

Second: Physical Fitness/ Coordination
Jake and Taylor scored highest in this category. Due to their diet, focus on health and regular workout routines, they fall into the top two (followed by me, then Alex).

Third: Survival Skills for a Zombie Encounter
Assuming combat ever occurs, one must be able to defend themselves (and others as needed) with the weapons at hand. To be fair, I included the presence of long-range, mid-range and close combat weaponry, followed by hand-to-hand. Keep in mind I calculated current ability along with ability to learn. Also, when calculating Hand-to-Hand I included estimated length of endurance based on physical fitness and ability.



In the subcategory of long-range (rifles, etc): Myself, Alex, Jake, Everyone Else

Mid-range (pistols, thrown weapons, staves): Alex, Myself, Everyone Else

Close Combat (swords, knives, clubs, etc): Myself, Alex, (Probably Elise), Everyone Else

*NOTE: Anyone can swing around a big stick, but only a couple in this group could turn it into an accurate killing tool.

Hand-to-Hand (The “You’re Screwed” Category): Jake (and his long arms…curse you…), Myself, Alex, Taylor



Fourth: Ability to Plan and Execute Strategies


This category is pretty self-explanatory. When one plans to hole up in the mountains, booby-trap the surrounding areas, locate and secure escape routes, etc…they need to have the skill-set and understanding to plan and make things happen.

Rankings: Alex and I are at the forefront due to our experiences traipsing through/living in the wilderness. We would be ideal for locating defensible areas and figuring out what we’d need to do to fortify and better the area. Following the two of us would be Jake/Taylor and then Elise. Jake and Taylor are tied with their unique understanding of ways to survive in heavily populated areas and their standard “thinking outside the box” mannerisms. Following them would be Elise due to her ability to strategize in ways that would enhance the plans of others.



Fifth: Emotional Stability and Control


It is one thing to be cool-headed and able to keep your emotions stable, so as to not freak out and get yourself killed…but it’s something different entirely when you’re able to control them in seemingly hopeless situations. When it’s obvious everyone is probably going to die, someone who lacks emotional control, but who is stable, might find themselves thinking, “We’re all going to die anyway…what’s the point of fighting it?” The ‘point of fighting it’ would be the fact that I don’t want to die and neither do the others in the group. So based on my understanding of the group members’ Stability and Control, I ranked them as follows:

First would be Jake, then Taylor, myself and then Alex.




Sixth (lastly): Random Personality Traits and Skill-Sets:

Each person has a random assortment of skills and personality traits, the likes of which may or may not prove invaluable. Naturally the Skill-Sets would be useful if someone is practically the next MacGyver, however if nobody in the group likes you, you’ll end up killed by zombies on your own…or after I stab you and use you as a diversion. So, with all of that in mind, I’ll give you two categories and the rankings of each group member.

Random Skill-Sets: Alex, Myself, Taylor, Jake, Elise Jenny

Personality Traits (being able to meld with the group): Taylor, Elise, Myself, Jake, Alex, Jenny.

IN CONCLUSION:

I’d like to express my sincerest condolences to the members in my group who would most likely not survive. This is not a reflection of how you’d do with other people, it’s merely a well calculated and thought out process of deductive reasoning which lead to the results of how well you’d do in MY group. Also, if you scored lower/were not ranked in some categories, it doesn’t necessarily mean you lack all of that needed skill/trait, but rather there might have been a surplus in the people ahead of you. So, believe me when I say that I wish you the best in the upcoming Zombie Apocalypse…I just don’t want my survival dependent upon you specifically. It’s nothing personal… I’d just rather keep my group’s survival rating above the 50% margin.

So now, selected from the picayune number of friends I’m willing to keep on Facebook, I offer my preferred group of individuals for the upcoming Zombie Apocalypse.

My group would consist of: Alex, Jake, Michael, Talyn, Sam, Hannah and Dillon.

Yes, I opted to add two more, even though greater numbers increases probability of failure. I did this because with these individuals we still have a higher chance than me and just one of the people I didn’t select. Though to be frank with everyone, even with this group, two of us might not make it. But here’s to hoping that doesn’t occur.

Thank you for your time.

Podcast

Well, if you don't mind listening to me ramble about myself and experiences here in Japan, check out this Podcast I did a month or so ago. It's pretty much 17 min of me going on about stuff. ^_^

http://japanofiles.com/episode_32

The Most Important Day of the Year

Many of you are wondering what it is I did for that ever-so-special day, the likes of which comes once a year. No, I’m not talking Christmas, Thanksgiving, The 4th of July or any other seemingly important day. I’m speaking of the one and only day of the year which is my day. It’s the day which celebrates my coming into the world, screaming, covered in all manner of mess, and naked. Yes, that applies to most Friday nights, but I’m talking about my birthday.
To answer the question on everyone’s mind, I think it best I start at the beginning. I woke up something close to nine, rather early in my book, and rolled out of bed. Sure I didn’t actually “roll,” it was more of a springing motion into a kneeling position atop my sheets. After which I stumbled to the bathroom to splash water on my face. Fortunately for me, it takes about two and a half steps to get there, otherwise I’d probably crash to the floor and continue to sleep another extra hour on the dirty tiles.
I digress. After my morning rituals, I sat down at my computer and turned on some music. The American Dollar, to be exact. I’ve become rather fond of them since my good friend, Alex, shared some of the music with me. After sinking into the now comfortable chair (I say “now” due to it originally being a stiff, cloth, rolling chair, but due to long hours spent in it, sweating like a horse, it’s rather soft now), I considered what I was going to do for the day. I concluded it best that I get a bit of work done for my boss, Richard.
I’m currently working on a project of sorts with him, which requires a very limited amount of my literary genius, but getting paid to write isn’t something I’ll complain about. So I got to work. I finished what was required of me in something close to an hour. Upon completion I was left in a sort of conundrum. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do for the rest of the day. However, as I looked about my room, I realized I needed to clean it, especially because tomorrow is burnable trash day. Thus, after a few more hours of procrastination, I got after it.
Imagine with me, for a moment, what a garbage dump looks like. Now, imagine that garbage dump is located on your balcony. Now, bear with me, imagine that it has been there, accumulating all manner of rubbish over the course of a year. Lastly, imagine that it has been rained on and flooded at least once. That, my dear friends and family, is what my little porch looked like. With a grimace and more than one unpleasant experience, I got a section of it cleaned up and mostly bagged, so I could rid myself of the garbage, assuming I manage to get it out on the right day.
I will admit, I do intend to leave a bag of cans for the people to clean up later. This is not entirely due to me being slightly spiteful of the way I’ve been treated, but more so due to the fact I paid ¥10000 at the first of the year for a cleaning service that entailed wiping off a counter or two. My theory is that the person who will come to inhabit this room after me will certainly get their money’s worth.
Yet again, I digress. After deciding I was done cleaning for the day, I set about to do my laundry. Finally having enough change to use the washing machine, rather than my bathtub, I quickly did a load. Naturally I forgot it was in there until about five this afternoon, but as least I did get it done.
So during that time, I found myself playing a bit of D&D online and writing. As to the writing, I’m quite satisfied with what I accomplished. I’ve been writing my book for a little while now and just today managed to complete the needed battle to join two parts of my writing together. The current status is 43 pages. Hopefully later tonight or tomorrow, before/after work, I’ll be able to write a bit more, but I’m at one of those stopping points where it’s hard to get going again. Yet I’m finally at a place where things will start progressing rapidly and be much more exciting.
Other than that, I really didn’t do much today. I did a bit of eating, some working on a new talent of mine, and chilling. So to be honest, it was like most any other day, excluding the fact I have a nice little gift I was able to purchase while in Osaka. Below are the photos. It’s an iPod touch. Not an iPhone, iPod. iPod. It does everything an iPhone can, minus phone calls, which you have to pay for with a phone. I can access the internet and skype all I want. I can play games and listen to whatever music I’d like (as long as I have it one there). It’s remarkably convenient and super sleek.



See? It says iPod.


Frontal view of the awesome. A list of some of the apps I've already got installed. Including, but not limited to, a Japanese dictionary, games, wallpapers, etc.



I mentioned wallpapers under the previous photo. This would be my current one. I'm rather fond of it.

In conclusion I'd like to do a bit of a shout out for the awsome people who messaged me, skyped me, texted, or emailed me for my birthday.
Thank you Steph for the lengthy text, Dad for the conversation (the day before my b-day and today), Hannah for the 6+ hour conversation (yesterday), Liberty for the best Ecard I've ever received, my mother for her lengthy text, and Jen for her "Happy Birthday!" comment at about 2:00ish this morning. Also, a special thanks to Tara and Alice. Two Australian girls I randomly met up with Saturday night. The weekend would have been dull without you two.

That wraps up this post. I'm sure I'll have another one sometime in the future. If anyone would like to read my book, in its current and unfinished state, I'll happily take any requests. Thank you and goodnight.

Blargh...

Recently, I’ve been dreaming about a lot of random things. I say “a lot,” but to be perfectly honest, that’s a wee bit of an understatement. I’ve been dreaming about going back to the States, staying in Japan, the future, questions people might ask me about everything, etc. The short list above is an edited and modified version of the original. Most of what was written first doesn’t need to be shared, so be happy with what you’ve got now. However, I’d like to expound on one of those things: “questions people might ask me…” One of those questions was a bit of an inquiry as to the nature of me. To be perfectly sincere, it became quite the monologue. However, I impressed myself with how genuine and upfront I was in my response. So, I’ve opted to share a bit/a lot of what I said.

My name is Jesse Ammon Holyoak. I’m a simple, yet remarkably complicated creature. I’ve been living abroad in Japan for the last little bit and it was during that stay I really learned some things about myself. Most important of these discoveries was my realization of what I truly want. I want to fall deeply in love with someone. I want to fall so completely that they become my world, my life. I want to be loved as deeply by this someone as I want to love them. I want to wake up on the couch after a long movie night and see this someone, standing in the hallway, wearing naught but my shirt, messing with the thermostat. I want to sit next to them at the kitchen bar, eating cereal in the morning, both of us still wearing what we slept in. I want to discover and revel in the myth known as “making love” rather than just having sex. Above all else, I just want to be a good husband and father.
Despite these desires, commitment absolutely terrifies me. It isn’t due to my fear of being reined in or restrained, but it has everything to do with my fear of completely messing it up. I am scared of losing something so precious, something I put all my emotions and energy into. I’m horrified by the possibility of it blowing up in my face, so I am hesitant to even reach for it.

The monologue continued on for several more pages, were I to write it all down, so I'll end it with that part there. It's an interesting thing to see yourself answering questions like that, due to the fact it's as though it's news to you as well. The subconscious mind is a brilliant and beautiful thing.

So yeah...I'm working on a screenplay...

Yup. I'm working on a screenplay, however, due to an inability to write anything outside of "story" format, I'm going to write it out like a novel/short story first and then rewrite it as a screenplay. It'll be interesting, methinks. So just to share a bit of what my brain vomited onto a page tonight, I'm going to give you a taste. Yes...a taste of my brain vomit. Trust me, it's nummy, but has no editing, so you'll have to deal with it.

As I descended the dark stone steps into an unfathomable abyss, my senses were assaulted with smells of death and decay. My eyes burned with the poisonous fumes, my mouth dry like sandstone as ash and smoke filled every opening and pore of my body. The heat rolled off my flesh like the tongues of serpents seeking for weakness so they might rend me to the bone. In the presence of such foulness every fiber of my anatomy, every tendril of my spirit shook in fear and desperation, yet I was compelled forward by the image of my beautiful, smiling Eurydice.
Step after step I continued further into the dark unknown of the Underworld. My footsteps echoing off stone like the voices of a long forgotten people, lost in the sands of time. My feet bled, shedding red tears to mirror the pain and agony locked within the confines of my destitute soul. A lifetime seemed to have passed from the moment I entered the mouth of this foul cave, yet I pressed onward, clutching my bribe for the ferryman as it rested against my chest.


And there you have it folks. My little short post for the day...or however long until my next one...and a slight teaser for the wait.

The Mother of All Updates

Well this is the second attempt at a monster post. I managed to mess the last one up. SO, this is it. It'll start off with Part One of my recounting of the trip I took to a mountain village called Hakuba.

Yes, well, it all started off with a bit of a misunderstanding and a dose of insomnia.
My good friend Jake and I had planned a trip to Osaka last weekend. We had conjured up plans and locations to travel, etc. We were to leave on Thursday, be there for three days and return. This is where the misunderstanding took place. For some reason, unknown to me, Jake got it in his head that I was not going to Osaka with him, but rather staying home. So, I found myself in my room on Saturday, doing not much of anything at 4:00 in the morning. It was at this time I receive a text from my friend Tyler, who is going to school in Osaka, but happened to be traveling that weekend. The message stated that he was in Matsumoto. Naturally, being awake and bored at this hour I respond to his message asking for his exact location. I never got the location but it turned out he was just passing through on a night bus traveling to the mountain village of 白馬 (Hakuba) to go snowboarding with other Kansai Gaidai students.
So, through a series of messages back and forth, it is determined that I will take a trip to Hakuba by train, assuming that there is a train to Hakuba. I have never been to Hakuba, nor have I traveled by train on my own, so naturally, this journey was off to a good start.
I bike down to the 駅 (eki) and get there around 10:00 am, completely unsure of what I was doing or where I was really going. I lock my bike up across the street, believing it to be safe enough for the limited time I had supposed I would be gone, then I make my way into the main area of the eki. I eventually come to a stop in from of the signs that list the train names, locations and departure times. I stare at them blankly for a good ten minutes before I decide to give Jake a call, in hopes that he can help me. There was no answer for a while, so I concluded it best to find a seat across the way at Starbucks. I order myself some herbal tea to drink and find a place to sit. Time passes and eventually I get a text from Jake. I then walk back outside to the main area and send him photos of the train lists and destinations, seeing as how I can make little sense of them. As luck would have it, Jake had no idea how to help me in my little situation, seeing as how he had never even heard of Hakuba, let alone know what train I should take. Jake’s great advice was to speak with the eki people.
A bit of time passed before I concluded that was indeed the best option. A bit of time passes before I end up in the room talking to the "eki people." In the limited Japanese I know, I stand there, expressing my desires to get to Hakuba and not knowing what to do. They proved helpful enough and I soon find myself in possession of a ticket to Hakuba. During my conversation with the "eki people" I discovered that I would need to switch trains at some point during my travels. I was instructed to switch to the train on platform 4, as I would arrive at platform 3. I nod in understanding and then make my way back to the Starbucks across the way, to wait for an hour for my train to arrive.
Soon, boredom struck, like an assassin in the night, cutting my stay in Starbucks short, like the arteries of the unknowing victim. At this time I mosey on into the shopping area of the eki, where I suddenly seem to materialize in the book store. I begin walking listlessly through the rows of books, like a wraith through the rows of headstones in a graveyard. After a while I notice I’m standing in front of a particular shelf of books, foreign books, translated into Japanese. Stepping forth, from the veil of listlessness, I reach down and picked up a book, familiar in both title and artwork.
It’s the book known as “Twilight.”
I flip through the pages, scanning the words I didn't understand until something within me stirs, or clicks, rather. I looked back down at the shelf from which I had lifted the book and noted that the series lay before me, like so many stones in an abandoned street.

I bought all four.
Making my way from the store to a little donut shop, I sit myself down at a table and begin to read. I understand little, but thankfully, I had thought to bring my dictionary with me, wherewith I was able to translate the Kanji into their Hiragana forms, to make them more readable. Much time passed while I slave away through the first page, reading and writing, then re-reading again. Suddenly, I’m roused from my labors by the alarm on my phone, which I had set to mark to time of my departure
I quickly gather my things and make my way to the platform, ticket in hand.
My train was easy enough to locate. I enter and find my spot near the opposite door, where I would need to stand, seeing as how the train was unusually crowded.
Five minutes pass before the entrance door lurches forward and closes, a shaking of the train marking that the breaks have been released, signaling our departure.
The ride is a fairly long one. After 80 minutes or so, we arrive at the station in which I would need to switch trains. I am nervous, of course, but quickly jumped off my train and followed the crowd to the next train...trains.
There are two.
A small bit of panic strikes, squeezing the breath from my lungs like the grip of a child on a small serpent found in the garden. However, I quickly recover my composure and ask an old lady, walking slowly next to me, which of the two trains I am to take. Her answer does little to relax me.
"That one over there," she points to the far one, then pauses, "wait no, I think it's this one here."
I swallow an unsure sigh, but conclude it best to follow her to the second train indicated having consigned myself, in that moment, to accept whatever fate awaits me.
I locate my seat next to the little old woman and lean my head back against the cold window.
She sends a few sheepish looks my way before returning her focus to the bag in her hand. I return a few sideways glances her way, to study her a bit, to gauge her comfort with sitting next to a young handsome gaijin like myself. I note the wedding ring on her frail boney finger and smile to myself. I certainly hope her husband was still alive, she seems kind enough, but naturally timid around foreigners. I sigh and close my eyes, relaxing a bit and hoping to make out the word "Hakuba" from amidst the other words and destinations that would soon be announced which, naturally, I wouldn't understand.
The doors hiss shut and we start off to some unknown destination.
The young male voice of the "conductor," if they are to be called that, rings out over the speakers stating the name of the line we were currently on and a few of the nearer destinations. Hakuba is not one of them, but the name of the line sounded familiar and correct enough, that I figure I'd wait it out.
About forty minutes pass and I soon find myself in the very snowy mountains. Trees, snow and ski resorts passing rapidly, like the whims and desires of a young teenage school girl. I close my eyes again, being finally content enough with my surroundings to assume I am heading in the right direction.
Another 15-20 minutes pass before the conductor's voice announces the stop "Hakuba.” I gather my meager belongings and ready myself to step off the train when we come to a halt. I call my belongings ‘meager’ because they were naught but a messenger bag holding a scarf and an extra jacket, the jacket serving more as a fashion statement than actually anything to keep me warm In addition to that, the four small books and my dictionary were contained within my bag. (My lack of foresight baffles me to this day.)
I follow the surging crowd of people and step off the train into the cold mountain air.

~To Be Continued In Part Two~

Now it's time for a few photos. I'll be gloating a bit, seeing as how these photos will include, but are not limited to, photos of my culinary masterpieces and new hair cut.

"A FOWL AFFAIR"



Simple enough to make. You need: chicken, cut to your size of preference, Ramen, Hidden Valley Ranch dressing, two eggs, and seasonings of your choice.
Cook your chicken for however long you prefer, naturally cooking it long enough to make it safe, then place the chicken to the side, covered, to keep it warm. Get a pot of boiling water going to cook your Ramen. While the ramen is softening, throw in your two eggs. The eggs and the Ramen should finish cooking at about the same time. Drain water. Mix chicken into the ramen and season to taste. Top it off with Ranch to add that special awesome flavor.

"BOLIVIANO"



*cooker's note: It's called the Boliviano because Bolivia's flag's colors are red, yellow and green. Red tomatoes, yellow noodles and green beans...yeah...anyway...

Needed items: Ramen, beans of any variety, sliced tomatoes, enoki (Japanese mushroom), and thinly sliced meat of your choosing, best option is beef of some sort.
Similar cooking pattern as the first. Cook noodles first, unless you wish to cook the meat at the same time. If so, you can throw the meat in the pot with the Ramen at the beginning and it will cook quickly in the boiling water. After noodles soften and meat begins to brown, toss in the veggies. Turn the heat down and let it slow cook for a bit. When things looks how you want them, pull it off the heat, drain the water, season to taste and then add the ranch if you'd like.


"HELLTHY EATIN'"



A personal favorite. I mean, c'mon, the last thing any gun shootin,' steer wranglin,' meat eatin' country boy wants is to be gnawing on some plant, rather than the rear end of some dead animal.
Personally, I'm rather fond of rear ends. Both on humans and on animals. Naturally, I keep a few extras hidden under my floor boards for when I get the munchies, but I digress.
Needed Items: ...leafy things..., bunashimeji (different Japanese mushroom, croutons (r whatever you can find that are similar), Brussels sprout things, fresh beans, dressing and such.
Keep in mind, this is just a monster salad. Period. Just mix it all together.
Here's the final product:




Now to end everything up. My last two photos are of my new hair cut and my new girlfriend. I was being all artsy and such when I took the photo to show off my hair, so bear with me. I enjoyed editing it though. After that will be the photo of my new girlfriend. Her name is 緑. She's quite the lovely thing. Very bright by divine design. Slender built, very attractive, certainly the best girlfriend I could have at this moment. Sure, having a dog would beat having a girlfriend, but I'll be getting one of those when I get stateside. Oh, speaking of which, I'm planning on finding a way to fly 緑 out to Oklahoma with me. Not sure how that will work out. It'll be a bit complicated. It'll totally be worth it though. We've gotten along pretty well so far. Started off very well. In fact our meeting is a bit of a funny story. I headed out with Jake to go to WATAHAN and Seiyu (it's like the japanese walmart)and then pay my bills, but ended up taking a detour to JUSCO (bigger store. Kinda like a crappy mall). Jake and I parked our bikes, walked in, took a right and there she was. Took my breath away, I must admit. Love at first sight. She was something quite exquisite. Though to shorten things, names were exchanged, waited around on her for about 20 min, spent some time walking home with Jake, then she ended up at my place. We've bonded well, been all over Matsumoto together, we're even planning a trip out of town together before school starts again. We'll see how it goes though. It needs a bit more planning. Though yeah. The photos are below. Figured you'd like to see the awesome and the lovely.


"HAIR CUT"





"LOVELY MISS 緑"