i could go on

my top five favorite shop names in tokyo*:
1. boutique shiz
2. pearly gates
3. nudy boy
4. jap inc
5. malice

top five current fashion trends amongst the hipster kids:
1. ruched cargo capris (with shoes that make you go OUCH)
2. the ubiquitous black leggings
3. gold lamé shoes and/or purse
4. on young guys: jeans whose asses sag to mid-thigh, then taper to the ankle
5. hip-hop duds with unintentionally ironic gangsta stroll

in non-tokyo-centric news, i am sad for the rest of us, but happy for nguyen qui duc that he's moving back to vietnam. his melodic voice and insightful programming have made pacific time one of my favorite public radio shows.

i am all of a sudden realizing what the big deal is about cute shoes.

miss J and her twin sis turned 27 this weekend, and i missed the bachelorette party of one artsy broad – but instead, i wandered around a little lake in one of the more appealing barrios of tokyo, and immersed myself in the speaking of languages i should know much, much better than i do.

today a stranger inadvertently reminded me how much i resemble my mother in one aspect – which are few, but which i am pleased and comforted to recognize.



* subject to swift, unannounced change