In desperate need of a haircut...

I should be ashamed of how long it's been since my last haircut. I went two years without a haircut because I was living in Japan and was afraid the stylist would give me a Japanese mullet. Too many of my students were sporting these looks and I knew that I'd somehow end up with one too. Oh, you don't know what a Japanese mullet is? Here you go:


*shudder* Full on top and pathetically stringy and spider leggy on the bottom. Japan may be the only country where you can find more females with mullets than males... So I waited until I moved back to Hawaii and finally cut my hair after our November 2007 wedding.

Well, I got my hair cut once more after that but it was close to a year later. That puts my last haircut at around November 2008. It's now January 2011. Yes, it's been that long since my last haircut.

I'm thinking about something like this:

It's too bad a hairstyle can't also transform your entire body. =P

9/365: Kewpie, holiday style

So Christmas has already come and gone but since it's still technically winter, here's a photo to celebrate the season. I bought this Kewpie figurine when I was living in Japan. I became mildly obsessed with Kewpie after hearing a jingle for a food product, tarako (fish egg) spaghetti. A little quirky, a lot strange, and a teeny bit disturbing, Tarako Kewpie is also unexplainably charismatic and likeable. He's got a bit of a cult following and is probably one of the most awesome characters to come of out Japan.




Oops, perhaps I should have cautioned you that the song may be stuck in your head for the next few days....

Must. Get. This. Keyboard.

Unfortunately, this adorable Japanese goldfish design was only available for a limited time and is no longer being sold.

I love this so much that I'm entertaining the crazy idea of buying an extra keyboard, pulling off all the keys, getting creative with washi paper and Mod Podge, and making one by myself. Now THAT would be quite the ambitious DIY project!

If goldfish aren't your thing, how about cherry blossoms or bunnies?

*swoon*

There's also gold leaf and black leather covered keyboards, if cherry blossoms and bunnies are a bit too frou frou for you.

Available at Wazakura Koubou (Japanese language site)

Not your typical travel destination

I've decided that this is on my list of 'Places to Visit Before I Die'.

It's a small deserted island in Nagasaki prefecture in Japan called Hashima. Because of its shape and silhouette, this island is also known as Gunkanjima, which translated to English, means Battleship Island. Used for coal mining for almost a century, it was one of the most densely populated areas in Japan, until Japan made the shift to petroleum and natural gas in the 1960's.

(photos by Yuji Saiga)

How did I stumbled across this island? This photo essay by Mario Gallucci. I was fascinated by his photos and his story behind them and had to learn more. Here are some of his pictures:

Yes, it's deserted and kind of creepy looking. It's also technically illegal to set foot on this island. And yes, walking around in these unstable ruins could potentially be dangerous and possibly even fatal. But I still want to go.


One day.....