I'm still here!

It's been a busy January! I swear, work has a way of majorly crimping my style.

But before I launch into my much abbreviated Japan sightseeing, I need to recommend Sweeny Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. It makes me want to go on a huge Steven Sondheim kick. The only exposure I have previous to this is "Into the Woods." The movie is awesome. I'm usually not much of a Tim Burton fan- his stuff usually makes me feel a little wan. But the cinematography is awesome, Johnny Depp is wonderful and Helena Bonham Carter holds her own. There were a couple of unexpected elements that I feel I totally should have seen. I probably would have if I weren’t so enthralled with the movie as it progressed.

So, I got special liberty last Wednesday and went skiing with MWR. It was up in Nagano Prefecture and called Shiga-Kogen. A friend sold me her seat after she had an unexpected TDY come up. It was AWESOME!! I definitely need to make skiing a higher priority. Zipping down the hill, taking a few (small) moguls- I loved it. A few friends of mine from the ship were there so I had skiing buddies all day, which was also quite nice.

AND, I am going to a sumo tournament on 10 Feb. I tried to get tickets to the one going on right now in Tokyo but no luck. Sold out! To console myself, I checked out Harajuku, which on a Sunday is the place to be. I saw Harajuku girls, greasers dancing to music, and some folk musicians.

I will definitely have more to write in a few weeks when 2 friends from college and my sister and brother come out to visit. That time will be crazy! I can’t wait!