QUICK NOTE

Am @ our local curry place getting takeout. We have established ourselves as regulars, and last night ran into one of the waitresses @ another little place around the corner. She recognized us and introduced herself, which we thought was really nice. It's one thing to be recognized as regulars, but now I feel like we're moving into the realm of "locals." (Previous composed on phone)

We discovered a new restaurant last night, right next to the Italian place. It's sort of a surfer bar, very small, with a laid back vibe. It had a good selection of food, including Jamaican jerked chicken. Strange to find that on the menu, frankly. But, it was pretty good. The prices were quite reasonable, and we ate our fill for about $60. That's darn good for Japan...At a few of the places we know well, we only get one entree, as the portions are big enough for both of us. Plus, it keeps costs down. It's just a really expensive country.
I'm (David) getting ready to head out for our annual Yama Sakura exercise, and will be gone for about a month or so...That seems like a long time until you compare it with what we used to have to endure (3 months). Both of us will be pretty busy, though, so the time will fly by. Melody has to do some traveling as well, and will be back in the States for the first time in almost 2 years. So if you see someone driving a rental car and the wipers go on when she makes a turn, that's probably her. She'll be in Colorado for a conference, and then will be heading to Texas for a few days with her folks. They're excited to see her, as one might imagine. We'll make the trek back once again in April to see people in earnest. It will be a bold venture, hitting CA, TX, AL, NC and VA, and maybe, if we have the time, FL. We have a lot of family and friends between the two of us...and thusly, a lot of ground we're going to try to cover.

Let me throw in a few pictures, since it's long overdue that I do so...

From the November trip to the Fuji area...
This was taken from the bus...it was a hip shot of sorts, and turned out pretty well, I thought. Conveys a sense of movement, like that guy's going somewhere and nobody's going to stop him. I was pleased with the results...

Fuji from the bus window...absolutely majestic. If you look along the right side of the mountain, just before the sky, you can see the trail leading up to the top, zigzagging along. Friends who have climbed it (we'll make the trip next summer) say that it's like climbing up an ashtray.