![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
blacklillyHmm. I don't think I ever really said there would be nothing I wouldn't try, but keeping in mind my vegetarian proclivities, that cancels out a great deal of food. That being said, my fish consumption increased when I came to Japan, pretty much because I either gave in to the fish in almost every dish, or I just never went out for dinner. Lately, I've cut back on the fish - I feel far too guilty most of the time. At most I eat it once every two weeks, normally when I'm out.
I recall being a little dubious about the idea of natto, but it was something I ate on my second day in Japan, thanks to my friend Yusuke, who took me to a tiny izakaya in Ikebukuro and ordered natto omelette, looking on with amusement and then astonishment as I discovered that I actually liked fermented soy beans.
Weirdest thing I've eaten, and which I was really struggling with (and still do) is sushi and sashimi. It was all I could do not to gag the first time I ate raw tuna. The weirdest sashimi I ever had was one of these little critters:
Yes, teeny tiny squid. Teeny tiny raw squid. I popped into my local bar on the way home one night in Omori and was offered these as something of a challenge. For some reason, I accepted it. So, with a plate of soy sauce and wasabi put one in my mouth and started to chew. At first it was just bland squiddishness, and then suddenly my mouth was filled with the sea, and it was absolutely revolting. Maintaining what little dignity I can still muster, I swallowed down the squid and then sat at the bar making nasty faces until someone kindly got me a beer. It was nasty nasty nasty.
It made me think of that scene in "Oldboy" where the protagonist eats a whole live octopus and the tentacles are slapping about on his face while he chows down on the poor critter.
Today I've been in a pretty morose mood. For some reason last night at the party I went to I was overcome by the heat of the place, and as I sat on the steps cooling off, was overcome with a really strong feeling of despair. I ended up going home for a bit as I was so distracted by this intense feeling that I couldn't even hold a conversation with my friend, who seemed to cotton on that I had descended down into the depths and was trying to get whatever it was out of me. I lay down for a bit, had a shower, changed and then went back - by which point most people had gone. I managed to cheer up by playing a couple of guys at Connect 4. One bet me was that if he won he could have my phone number. I won the game, but I gave him my number in return for an orange juice.
Sometimes I just need a day of moping. I think I got that today. I stayed home, had a bath, rearranged my bookshelves, watched Alice in Wonderland and cooked some excellent food. As it's a moping day I should have watch Amelie or Bright Star - something to cause a cathartic session of boo-hooing. There was no booing today. I'll cheer up tomorrow. I'll have to cheer up tomorrow, I've got to be genki Laura for my students.
Something that should cheer me up - a got a short term contract teaching at Waseda until the end of November. That'll make my CV look sexy.
I recall being a little dubious about the idea of natto, but it was something I ate on my second day in Japan, thanks to my friend Yusuke, who took me to a tiny izakaya in Ikebukuro and ordered natto omelette, looking on with amusement and then astonishment as I discovered that I actually liked fermented soy beans.
Weirdest thing I've eaten, and which I was really struggling with (and still do) is sushi and sashimi. It was all I could do not to gag the first time I ate raw tuna. The weirdest sashimi I ever had was one of these little critters:
Yes, teeny tiny squid. Teeny tiny raw squid. I popped into my local bar on the way home one night in Omori and was offered these as something of a challenge. For some reason, I accepted it. So, with a plate of soy sauce and wasabi put one in my mouth and started to chew. At first it was just bland squiddishness, and then suddenly my mouth was filled with the sea, and it was absolutely revolting. Maintaining what little dignity I can still muster, I swallowed down the squid and then sat at the bar making nasty faces until someone kindly got me a beer. It was nasty nasty nasty.It made me think of that scene in "Oldboy" where the protagonist eats a whole live octopus and the tentacles are slapping about on his face while he chows down on the poor critter.
Today I've been in a pretty morose mood. For some reason last night at the party I went to I was overcome by the heat of the place, and as I sat on the steps cooling off, was overcome with a really strong feeling of despair. I ended up going home for a bit as I was so distracted by this intense feeling that I couldn't even hold a conversation with my friend, who seemed to cotton on that I had descended down into the depths and was trying to get whatever it was out of me. I lay down for a bit, had a shower, changed and then went back - by which point most people had gone. I managed to cheer up by playing a couple of guys at Connect 4. One bet me was that if he won he could have my phone number. I won the game, but I gave him my number in return for an orange juice.
Sometimes I just need a day of moping. I think I got that today. I stayed home, had a bath, rearranged my bookshelves, watched Alice in Wonderland and cooked some excellent food. As it's a moping day I should have watch Amelie or Bright Star - something to cause a cathartic session of boo-hooing. There was no booing today. I'll cheer up tomorrow. I'll have to cheer up tomorrow, I've got to be genki Laura for my students.
Something that should cheer me up - a got a short term contract teaching at Waseda until the end of November. That'll make my CV look sexy.