Scenario: Jennifer wants something greasy or fried; I want something light and simple. What to do?

Preliminary Research: Ah, bacon, the miracle food. Revenge on those vile swine for their flu! There are, of course, various carbonara recipes available, but a) I’m looking for something less eggy, and b) I find our lack of white wine disturbing. So, we’ll work off of a modified clam linguine recipe and go from there. I want to keep it really simple, so no red peppers or exotic spices this time.

Required Ingredients:
350g Bacon
1 Medium onion
2 cloves Garlic
2 Tsp Cooking sake
Black Pepper
1 Tbsp Oregano
1 Tbsp Parsley
1 Tsp Red pepper flakes
2 Tbsp Olive oil
1 Tbsp Butter
4 Mushrooms
Linguine
Rice Penne

Side dish:
Half of a garlic bread, Peller Estates Rose (a steal at approx $0.01/mL)

No Jennifer for this one! I’ve put my money where my mouth is and offered to cook a second dinner if this turns out badly, so I’d better make sure I don’t screw up. The bacon is chopped into small pieces, then fried in a large skilled while I prep the onion and garlic, and lay out the other spices. Once the bacon is done, (not too crispy) drain the fat and set aside the bacon bits on a piece of paper towel. Fry up the chopped onion and garlic for 3 minutes, or until your overly-sensitive smoke alarm goes off. Or, as we call it around here, the “dinner bell”. This is also a good time to put the water on to boil for the pasta. Put the bacon back in the pan, along with the parsley, oregano, sliced mushrooms, red pepper flakes, and olive oil. Oh, yes, and white wine if you have it. We didn’t, so we had to use the last of our rice wine. I wouldn’t suggest more than half a cup of wine. Black pepper too, should be ground in at this point. Toss the garlic bread in the oven, and simmer the sauce on low heat until the pasta is done. The noodles need to be buttered immediately after they’re drained, and the bacon, etc., should be mixed in right away as well. Serve with parmesan cheese sprinkled liberally on top. It was quite tasty, and managed to meet both targets – both healthy and unhealthy and the same time. A nice change from red or white sauces. Oh, and while cooking the garlic bread, we managed to set the toaster oven on fire. We were very smooth – “Step one – unplug the oven. Step two – remove the bread. Step three – close the door. Now we have a romantic quasi-candlelight dinner.”


7.0/10

Scenario: Going to Japan for two weeks, need a quick energy food that is portable, gluten-free, and won’t spoil. Join special guest chef Jennifer in the experimental kitchen.

Preliminary Research: We later discovered that a similar recipe existed in our cookbook, but initially it was just pure skill and imagination.

Required Ingredients:
1 cup Milk
1.5 cups Oats
75ml Quinoa
10 Dried Apricots
1.5 cups Chopped nuts (we used peanuts)
Nutmeg
Cinnamon
1 tsp Vanilla
1 Large egg
1 Handful of Raisins
1 Handful of Chocolate chips
1 Handful of Pumpkin Seeds
1 dash 5-spice

Side dish:
n/a

I was diligently taking notes, so it will likely be a bit more structured than previous posts.
Mix milk, oats, and quinoa, soaking until sticky. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Then, in a large bowl, combine oat mixture with nuts, cinnamon, nutmeg, apricots, vanilla, and egg. Stir up emphatically. Next, throw in the raisins, chips, and pumpkin seeds. Finally, sprinkle in a little bit of 5-spice. Spread thin over a greased pan, then score to form appropriately-sized bars. Cook 10-15 minutes (until done).

These were quite tasty. They held up well even after a week, and are certainly flexible enough in terms of ingredients that you could alter the composition with minimal risk. The sparse use of chocolate chips made them feel particularly luxurious – one or two per bar seemed to be about right. We’ll probably tinker with the recipe a few times to figure out the ideal mixture.


6.5/10

Today we participated in Attractions Victoria's Be A Tourist in Your Own Home Town. I purchased two booklets as a Valentine's Day present, and we decided to spend the day doing the downtown activities. I'll provide a brief review here.

1) Tour of the Legislative Assembly. This was interesting, and it was neat to see inside the legislature. The tour is free all year round, so we didn't need to do this today, but it was a good excuse to go inside and have a look around.

2) Undersea Gardens. There was a line of 120 people in front of us, but it moved quickly. While waiting, we saw seals and even a sea otter, which is highly unusual for the inner harbour. We were interviewed for a survey while waiting, and learned that a sea otter had gnawed through the nets protecting the fish in Undersea Gardens and eaten much of the sea life within. Apparently many tourists were quite angry about this. Consequently, the entire west side of the attraction was completely barren. We watched a scuba diver in the main tank show off some of the local sea life, including a frightening wolf eel, and a giant octopus. Just as we entered the building it had started to snow, but it was clear by the time we had left.

3) Red Fish Blue Fish. this was a fish and chips stand at the foot of Broughton Street. They had a buy one get one free deal, but all the seating was outside and it was rainy and extremely cold, so we went elsewhere.

4) Swans Brew Pub Tour. Was already full - we didn't have reservations. We ran into Andrew Sund on the way there though, and stopped by the Legacy Art Gallery to see the J. Fenwick Lansdowne exhibit.

5) Artisan Wine Shop. We tasted some acidic rose and an unusual Riesling from Anarchist Mountain near Osoyoos. There was also a 10% Discount on wine, so we bought a medal-winning Chardonnay.

6) Rogers Chocolates. Purchased two Victorian Creams at 50% off. Ate them for dessert when we got home. They were okay.

7) Rogers Chocolates Soda Shoppe. Bought two ice cream cones at 50% off. They were pretty good.

8) Miniature World. There was a lineup in the freezing wind. People in the Empress were dumping water out the windows onto us. We only had to wait for ten minutes outside, but the interior was so packed that we were essentially waiting in line for the whole museum. It was so full. The miniatures were interesting, but there were so many people that we couldn't really explore it at our own pace; we sort of had to go along with the crowd. Regular admission is now $12, so I'm glad I didn't pay it, or I would have felt somewhat cheated.

We had planned to go to the Abkhazi Gardens and Art Gallery tomorrow, but if the weather is as bad as it was today we might have to give it a miss. We might use the 2 for one coupon at the Odeon though.

All in all, while none of the attractions were spectacular, it was still a fun day.

Scenario: Caitlin has come over for dinner – and she has a bucketful of allergies! Can we finagle a recipe that will keep her from being poisoned? She’s allergic to wheat, dairy, non-dairy, and her own salty tears. Well, maybe not the last two. We usually cook these with soy and cilantro, but those are no good. Let’s see how it turns out.

Preliminary Research: Reading the ingredients on all of our sauces to find something wheat-free. Soy Sauce is out. Tempura and Dashi are out. We settle on hella garlic and a vegetarian soup broth.

Required Ingredients:
Rice Paper Wrappers
1 Block Tofu
Green Onion
6 Cloves Garlic
“Better than Broth” Beef and Vegetable stocks
Ginger Root
Chili Flakes
Shaved Carrot


Side dish:
White Rice. We’ll also be garnishing ours with Tempura Sauce mixed with dashi and chili Oil.

Okay then. Jennifer is actually doing the lion’s share of the cooking on this one. The garlic, ample grated ginger and green onions are sautéed in vegetable oil, ad after a time the tofu is squeezed in as well. This is fun, just make a fist, and the tofu will squirt out from between your fingers. Some chili flakes are sprinkled in, then the seasoning. Straight-up vegetable broth was too sweet, so Jen added a bit of beef quasi-stock as well. It’s starting to smell very tasty at this point. Lastly, some shaved carrot.

We put together an assembly line to build the wraps. One person dips the wrap in water, then the tofu mix is scooped in, and the whole wrap is neatly folded. When all is said and done, we have nine of these tasty treasures. The oil is heated in the bottom of the pan, and one quick fry later, we have our finished product. This meal is a bit of a task to prepare, but if there are a few people to help out, it’s not so bad. Let’s see how they taste.

Not bad! The rice was a little wet, but the wraps were very tasty. Bean sprouts might have gone well in these wraps, but as we didn’t have any in the house, too bad so sad. We sliced an orange as a sweet treat.

7.5/10

Scenario: This is one of those “cleanout” style meals to which I referred in the introduction. I have a bunch of three-day-old rice that needs eating, and just enough in the way of vegetables to make friend rice possible. I don’t feel like cracking open a new pack or garlic, so I’m limited to one clove – I’ll try to make up the difference in red peppers. I had some ham that I threw out last night – I’m regretting that now, but it was probably no good.

Preliminary Research: None needed. I’ve made fried rice before – this will mostly be a case of incorporating the leftovers in my crisper.

Required Ingredients:
4 cups rice
3 Large Mushrooms
2 Large Carrots
¼ Onion
Green Onions
¼ Large Red Field Pepper, sliced long and extremely thin
1 Stick Celery
¼ Pack “Breakfast Grill” brand Chicken-Bacon
2 Eggs

Sesame Oil
Chili Oil
Cayenne Pepper
Japanese 7-spice
Black Pepper to taste
Soy Sauce
Mirin
Rice Wine
Montreal Steak Spice Seasoning (Pepper, peppers, salt, spice)
Shiro Dashi (liquid)
Frank’s Red Hot Sauce

Note – Most of these spices are optional – you can get away with as little as the pepper and soy sauce if necessary.

Side dish:
1 Grapefruit, halved and dusted with sugar.

Right. So, having dredged the fridge for whatever vegetables I could spare, and selected chicken-bacon (which is much healthier than real bacon) as the protein source, I get to work. The bacon is sliced into chewing-gum sized pieces, and then popped into the skillet. In goes the onion, the bottom four or five chops of green onion (the white part), the celery, the peppers, the mushrooms. As soon as I add one ingredient, I start chopping the next one. This staggers the cooking time – if you add the carrots and mushrooms at the same time, the mushrooms will shrivel down to nothing before the carrots are cooked. Aargh, I forgot the garlic. Well, better late than never. In it goes. I usually add some soy sauce at this point, but I decide to wait (ultimately a mistake, it turns out).

Once it’s all nicely cooked, it’s time for the rice. After three days in the fridge, it’s formed into a large, hard, square lump. You could theoretically splash some water on it and microwave it as a side dish, but at this point re-using it as a cooking ingredient is probably the safest bet. You can get away with as many as five days for fried rice, and almost a week for use in tortillas or tacos (cooked up with the meat or ground round to stretch the amount).
I pour some oil (chili oil, sesame oil) into the block of rice, then break it up with a wooden spoon and mix it with the rest of the ingredients. Once it’s largely mixed in, in go the sauces. Rice wine, soy sauce, mirin, dashi, 7-spice, cayenne, and a liberal amount of Frank’s Red Hot Sauce. Mix it in, and crack two eggs over the rice, wait 20 seconds, then stir it all in. This thickens the mixture. Jen prefers grilling and slicing up the eggs, but she’s not eating any, so I’ll do it my way. Lastly, I sprinkle on the green onion tops, and some pepper and Montreal Steak Spice as salt. 5 minutes later, it’s done.

Try a bite, and… What the heck? It isn’t even spicy!? More like PepperDOWN am I rite? Ahem. Well, it’s okay, but not up to the usual standard. Let me tell you, peppers are no substitute for garlic, and I paid dearly for not seasoning the ingredients pre-rice. The grapefruit was delicious (Buck Brand, you can’t go wrong) but unnecessary as a foil for the truant spice. However, the beauty of fried rice is that it can be re-fried, and with a few more splashes of soy sauce and a re-heating, it’s almost up to snuff. The second bowl was noticeably better.

All in all, a bit of a disappointment, in fairness. I won’t be cooking that way again. Good enough to serve to guests, and the food was saved from an early composting, but I can’t help but feel let down. Let this be a lesson to you – don’t skip on the garlic in your fried rice, friend.

4.5/10 (first bowl)
6.5/10 (second bowl)

P.S., next time I’m going to cook some ground lamb. Never done that before, any tips/suggestions? I’m thinking maybe in a Japanese curry served over mashed potatoes, but I’m certainly open to options. Thanks for reading.

Scenario: An acquaintance of mine (whose name I would prefer not to disclose) once made me a large quantity of apple butter barbeque sauce, suitable for spare ribs, in exchange for a night of babysitting. The recipe, modeled on cuisine found in Montreal’s Bar-B-Barn, was unparalleled. I used it on ribs, pork chops, and even hamburgers. It is the memory of those happy meals that inspired me to purchase some applesauce and try to recreate these longago burgers (to channel Salman Rushdie).

Preliminary Research: Neither my “Joy of Cooking” nor the internet were much help in finding recipes for applesauce burgers. The best lead seemed to be a recipe for Apple Butter Pork Ribs, which confirmed my suspicion that applesauce and barbeque sauce were the two required ingredients, and the rest was seasoning.

Required Ingredients:
4 x Alex Campbell Signature Series Sirloin Hamburger Patties (partially thawed)
5 x Large Mushrooms
1 cup Applesauce
1 cup Bull’s-Eye brand Grilled Onion and Garlic Showdown BBQ Sauce
Pepper to taste
8 Slices Whole Wheat Bread (since we were out of buns)

Side dish:
Lipton’s Sidekicks – Sour Cream and Cheddar Flavour

Okay, so the plan is set. I still have my wide selection of spices and sauces to draw from, but apple is a very tricky flavour to work with, so I’ve opted to avoid garlic, onion, wine, and Japanese spices as much as possible to go for a light, fruity taste. I chose that particular barbecue sauce to give a little hint of onion and garlic, enough that I wouldn’t have to make any later additions.

In a large skillet, I lay the four burgers down and turn the heat to medium high. The meat will brown a little on one side while I slice up the mushrooms. A few drops of soy sauce on the burgers keeps them from burning and makes the kitchen smell nice. These hamburgers are pretty nice, but there’s still some grease, so before adding any more ingredients I drain off the fat (5 minutes grill worth). Next, in go the mushrooms, the barbecue sauce, and the applesauce. For luck, I pour in 50ml or so of Philips Blue Buck Ale, drop the heat to medium, and we’re off.

Hrmn… It doesn’t look good. Some real surgery is going to be necessary to save this one. I can use the mushrooms as tasters along the way to see what flavours need to added. To begin with, the consistency of the sauce is terrible – the barbeque sauce and applesauce haven’t really mixed, and seem to want to go their own way in the pan. I really ought to have mixed them together before adding them to the pan. Secondly, it’s way too sweet. I have a few weapons at my disposal, and opt for a few dashes of cayenne pepper, and a splash or four of golden Dragon Hawaiian Style Teriyaki Marinade. That’s a bit better. Time to put on the Lipton Sidekicks. There’s still a lot of liquid here, so we’ll let it boil down and see where it is in five minutes or so.

Well, the mushrooms have started to cook, and it’s not turning out well. Apple and mushroom is *not* a winning combination. The closest palatable taste would be something in a baked bean, I think. However, a little piece of hamburger indicates that the meat has soaked up the flavour well, and is actually pretty tasty. That’s a big surprise, given the unpleasantness the mushrooms. I think that if I sweeten the mix a bit, it just might save this. In goes a capful and a half of blackstrap molasses, and… it’s actually okay! Crisis averted!

I’ve sliced some cheese, and the noodles are done, so let’s assemble these bad boys. I’m burgin’ pretty hard at this point, and really looking forward to trying this out. This is by no means a healthy meal, so I’d recommend eating only fruits and vegetables for the rest of the day.

It’s pretty good. Not great, but it hits the target. I don’t know that I’d serve it to guests, but I’d certainly be willing to cook it again. Hamburgers are a hard food to mess up, and I think I could have done a better job with a classic recipe, but I would prefer these applesauceburgers to a restaurant burger any time. The Sidekicks were a perfect match, and a tall glass of the rest of the beer tops it off nicely.

7/10

I like to eat. A lot. I have always enjoyed cooking my own meals whenever possible, and recently have begun try to push the envelope when it comes to new and exciting flavours. This is known around our house as “experimental cookery”, and it can have some interesting results. The heights have been hit with inspired roasts and curries. The depths have been plumbed (carrot soup, anyone?) and the stuff in between has been… well, entertaining, I suppose. Jen and I did some baking for our wedding, which was a flop as a batch of cookies, but flew off the shelves as “Doctor-Recommended Vitality Biscuits”. I’ve decided to chronicle my experimental cooking from this point on, as well as any new or exciting recipes that I end up trying out.

To begin with, a brief note about my experimental cooking style. My medium of choice is meat (or tofu) and I strongly believe in counterbalancing sweet, salty and savory flavours. I tend to lean salty on side dishes: pasta, rice with tempura sauce, spicy potatoes. Meat can be savory (often courtesy of our old friend alcohol) or sometimes sweetened, usually with fruit. I’ll also sometimes do “cleanouts”, the goal being to put a large a dent in our near-expiring food stocks as possible. Lastly, these sessions usually take the form of a narrative rather than a recipe, as tasting midway through often requires correction.

Anyways, please join me in a full-out assault on the tastebuds. Who knows what marvels will emerge?

Episode One to follow shortly....

久しぶりです。今仕事でちょっと暇をつぶしているのでブロッグ　を書こうと思っています。もう読ませたらすみません。このごろの最大の情報はオタワに行って今年の春に定職につけられることになりました。外交通商部の外交官になるはずです。安全状況ばかりの確認をまっています。定職日付はまだ分からないんだけど多分３月か４月に引っ越すかもしれません。すごく興奮します。仕事は面白いし給料は高いし（最初＄５４０００CDN）ぐらい、本当の定職をはじめたいです。そして今日オタワに気温は‐３5℃ですから、ちょっと悩んでいます。そこでスノーボードができますが、この寒さで怖いですね。ビクトリアでにも最近雪がたくさん降って、店が全部閉店した。最悪だった。今まだ大学で働いてジェニファーも大学院生部でバイトしています。彼女はオタワに行く時にも一回音楽を教えるかもしれません。フランス語も勉強しなくちゃいけません。

Today was the inauguration of Barack Obama. At work today, there was a lecture/job interview scheduled for the same time, but we made an executive decision and postponed the meeting to watch the speech. The network was overloaded, so we eventually had to listen to the speech on the radio. Perhaps a dozen of us stood silently, listening. It was a tense mix of relief, hope, and cynicism. The speech was very powerful, and if the United States is able to step up to the plate, maybe they can begin to undo some of the enormous mess of the last eight years. Let's just hope that the actions are able to live up to the rhetoric.

For those of you wondering about the lack of posts, we have a legitimate explanation. This year for Christmas, we made another compilation book from pictures and journal entries created during the honeymoon. As this comprised the bulk of our Christmas gift-giving this year, we couldn't tip our hand. Jennifer has been going through the images, tidying where necessary, and over the course of the week we should be in a position to upload a number of images, either to livejournal directly, or through a proxy site like flickr. Sorry for the extended delay. You can take a peek at the books here: http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/search?search=victorioka. If you're in town, we have an extra copy you can look at, but if you're in Japan ad want a copy, you may have to order it yourself ;)

yes, we're back. no we aren't posting the trip blog or photos yet. first things first.

follow this link http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenandcael/  to get to the photos that we've gotten so far.  at this point they're all from friends and family as we haven't gotten the photos from our photographer yet.  if you've got any that you'd like to share, or that you'd like us to have, please email them!

leaving today for the amazing 4 week honeymoon. we'll probably tell you all about it when we return. i apologize in advance for how long and detailed it will be. and yes, you will probably hear all about every meal we ate once cael starts typing.

Anyone interested in putting up some traveling Moriokans for 5 nights? Mihoko and Ayumi are coming to Victoria on the 10th.

Well Anonymous Ellie, you’re in luck. As a matter of fact, I had been planning to sit down and write an update this weekend, so perhaps your blog-senses were tingling. As it’s been a few months since we’ve posted here, I’ll give a recap of some of the more exciting events in our lives.

Blueberry season was busy this year, but not quite as stressful as last season. This is particularly true in my case, as I was only out working on the weekends. That said, between UVic and the farm, I did work more than 34 days in a row, so it was nice when season ended. We had an end-of-the-year wrap-up party involving good food and Filipino karaoke, which was unexpectedly delightful.

Once we’d finished on the farm, Jennifer considered getting a temporary job somewhere, and sent out a few resumes, but ultimately realized that she was going to need to be a full-time wedding planner. We’re now two weeks away from our wedding, and after having put in many hours of honest work, are pretty much on track as far as preparations are concerned. Yesterday, we were cooking, baking, and preparing food until past midnight, but much better to get this stuff out of the way now. Our honeymoon plans are also all set: fly to Paris via Calgary and Frankfurt, then travel by rail for a comprehensive tour of Italy. The train-riding will give us ample time for composition, so I will cautiously suggest that there will be an uncharacteristically bountiful series of posts come mid-November.

Soccer season has started this year in Victoria; Takayuki has joined my team, and we’re playing in Div. 5. The new league structure has made it easier to enter a new team and work your way up. We were a little worried that the competition would be unexpectedly strong, but we’ve won both of our games handily, against the supposed “powerhouse” teams at that. I took a knock on the foot two weeks ago and had to go into emergency, but fortunately the X-ray showed no breaks. Nonetheless, I had to miss three days of work because I couldn’t stand or walk. This has given me a little more time to help out with the wedding preparations, and a chance to do more language study. I’ve had to do extensive French practice (more on that later), been studying Japanese via Skype with Minegishi-sensei and her students, and reviewing Italian with Jennifer in preparation for our trip.

I’m still in the running for a job with Foreign Affairs. The latest phase of the recruitment process is language testing. The job requires full bilingualism, so I’ve been boning up on my French. I borrowed the French Harry Potter books from the library, starting with Harry Potter et le Prisonnier d’Azkaban and eventually finishing Harry Potter et les Reliques de la Mort last month. It’s the first time I’ve smoothly read a French novel for fun, and I cannot recommend Harry Potter highly enough for anyone trying to study any language at an advanced level. Anyways, I had to go to Vancouver for some computer-based reading and writing tests, and on Thursday took my oral evaluation here in Victoria. I haven’t received any of the marks back yet, but I have high hopes. I believe that I have progressed as far as possible, as from here there are no other interviews or tests to complete. We’ll see.

Well, that’s enough for one post. I’ll write again later.

The cat was acting all crazy last night - running around, biting, and making a nuisance of herself. "Why would she do such a thing?" we wondered, clutching our pillows tighter around our heads in a vain effort to get some sleep. Well, mystery solved.

We went to Kamloops this weekend for the wedding of our friends Tamiko and Dave. It was a great trip. The ceremony and reception were fantastic, and we are very happy for both of them. Kamloops was uncomfortably hot, but it was almost worth it to be able to walk down the streets eating apricots that grew everywhere, much like blackberries do in Victoria. We managed to catch the Pacific Buffet on the way home, which was also delicious. The best part was when a small boy, perhaps 6 years old or so, tromped past us carrying a plate piled high with cheesecake and cookies, excitedly shouting "I can't wait to eat this!" at the top of his lungs. Everyone in the restaurant gave a hearty laugh, and I smiled knowingly, a twinkle in my eye.

I've also included a video of the Stray Cat Weightlifting Championship. I strongly urge you to watch it.

今、ビクトリア大学　で、夏休み中　の　社員　が　多くて、先生方　も　旅行　している　ので、最近　ちょっと　暇　に　なって　ブロッグ　を　書ける　よう　に　なりました。　

 

７月　は　毎日　天気　が　最高　です。　雨　が　ぜんぜん　降って　いなく、穏やか　です。　ビクトリア　で　は、自転車　に　乗っている　人　で　道　が　混でいます。　ジェニファー　は　ブルーベリー　農園　で　働いて　いますが　僕　は　まだ　屋内　から　青空　を　見なくちゃいけません。　週末　に　農園　で　働きくつもり　でしたが、今　まで　の　ベリー　は　まだ　赤過ぎます。だから、昨日　休んだり　サッカー　したり　結婚　の　準備　したり　しました。　土曜日　は、たみこ　と　いう　友達　の　結婚式　に　行きます。　カムループス　で　行われているので、母　の　車　を　貸します。５時間ぐらい　かかります。　カムループス　は　カナダ　の　一番　砂漠　みたい　な　地方　です。　サボテン　も　がらがら蛇　も　います。　そこ　で　ぜんぜん　住みたくない！　

 

国際関係省　から　連絡　を　もらいました。面接　を　合格　しました。　次　は　フランス語　の　才能試験　と　防衛点検　です。　全部　合格　できれば、候補者　の　組　に　入って　雇用　の　申し込み　を　待ちます。　決められた　入社員　は　オッタワ　で　３年間　の　トレーニング　して、外国　の　大使館　で　働きます。　フランス語　が　話せますが、会話　なら　ちょっと　久しぶり　です。　落ちって　も　大丈夫　です。　二番目　の　国語　の　能力　で　拒否　できません。　その　場合　で、一年間　まで　に　十分　に　話せるように　なってもいいです。　面接　に　入った　人　は　５００人ぐらい　しか　いないので　（～６０００人　から）面接　を　合格　した　候補者　とした、最後　の　２５人 　の　立場　に　近付きます。　

 

じゃあ、仕事　へ　帰らなくちゃいけません。　息　を　とめて　みんな　の　夏　の　メール　を　待ちます。

二週間ぐらい前、　貴幸さん　と　ダウンタウン　に　行って　Ｗｏｒｌｄ　Ｎａｋｅｄ　Ｂｉｋｅ　Ｒｉｄｅ　を　見たり、港　で　アザラシ　と　遊んだり  ペッティングズー　に　行ったりしました。　写真　を　たくさん　撮りました。　ザリナ　の　も　を　アップ　しよう。

i read somewhere that you should allot 10% of your total budget to photography. 

is that a joke??

At long last... a video of us taking the cat on a walk. She doesn't really like it, but it's a good excuse to go outside, and an excellent warning to Zharina not go go outside on her own. Enjoy.

It’s been quite a while since either of us have updated the blog, (at least in English), but I’ll do my best to sketch out the transition from busy season to slow season. Jennifer has a number of irons in the fire right now, but I will leave those to her to discuss.

As the utter lack of posts would imply, April was very busy. The end of the academic year meant plenty to keep me occupied at work, especially as I had to do marking as well. soccer season also ended, and the unrelentingly foul weather  - wind every day - kept us relatively sedentary for the month. We also saw the arrival of Takayuki and Megumi from Japan. Jennifer traveled to Vancouver to meet them at the airport; you can imagine their surprise to find that they still had to travel another 6 hours to make it to Victoria!  They did, however, eventually get settled, and we see Taka a couple times a week, usually having over for dinner after soccer.

 Since the weather has turned and the evenings have been getting longer, we’ve seen a resurgence of our social life. We’ve been spending a lot of time with Caitlin Croteau, Andrew Sund has been in town, and of course the new exchange students have been around. We’ve had something on the go most evenings. I’m playing soccer now 5-7 times a week, various drop-ins and private games, and as Jennifer and I have purchased UVic gym memberships and are working out regularly. It feels very good to start getting back into shape, towards more traditional fitness levels. UVic Intramurals start next week, so that might up the tempo a little as well.

On the employment front, things are a little more relaxed now that my TA duties have finished, but other developments have kept us busy. Jennifer has (finally) put in her 2-week notice at work, which will free up some time for her - not necessarily even in terms of working hours, which have been minimal, but time on-call. She’s working on a project with Caitlin right now (I won’t spoil the surprise) and is going to audit a course up at UVic as well, before buckling down for the crush of blueberry season. I too am busy, preparing documents, forms, fingerprints, etc. for an interview with Foreign Affairs in Vancouver at the end of the month. I’ve been brushing up on my French, and intend to borrow Harry Potter et le prisonnier d’Azkaban from the library tomorrow.

The nice weather recently has also inspired us to do a little shopping – Andrew Sund picked up a new camera for us while in the US of A, a lovely 12MP Canon A650 at a very reasonable price. We acquired a Harmony remote control for Mom, and are looking at purchasing some heavily discounted Mp3 Players. I received a bit of a bonus at work – a retroactive raise in lieu of benefits resulting from the extension of my position here into September -  so it’s been nice to be able to treat ourselves to a few presents. I even got a new pair of cleats, after my (two month) old ones had to be returned because of a manufacturer’s defect. Everything shiny and new indeed!

As I don’t have them on this machine, I can’t upload the videos and pictures I’d like to at this point, but I will try to do so soon. I have a half-day off on Wednesday, perhaps I can do that then.

Anyways, brevity being the soul of wit and all that, I’ll wrap things up here. Will keep you posted as things develop.

久しぶりです。　最近、生活　か　ちょっと　退屈　に　なって　少し　ブロッグ　を　書ける　こと　に　なりました。　

 
３月　も　４月　も　毎日　風　が　吹きました。最悪　でした。　気温　は　いつも　低くて、よく　冷たい　雨　が　降りました。　大抵、４月中旬　まで　ブルーべっリー　苗　が　もう　咲いていますが　寒さ　で　まだ　咲いていません。　ジェニファー　は　７月　に　果樹園　で　も　一回　支配人　に　なる　と　思って　います。　その　時まで、大学　で　イタリア語　の　授業　に　入りたいそう　です。　写真家　の　仕事　を　止める　でしょう、　そこ　で　最早　働きたくない　と　思います。

私　の　教授　の　助手　の　バイト　が　終わっった　ので、仕事　で　これから　少し　のんびり　できます。　天気　と　怪我　で　ちょっと　太りましたが、このごろ　よく　サッカー　して　います。　実際　は、木金土日　曜日　も　サッカーして、今日　足　が　疲れて　よう　に　なりました。　尚、今日　ジェニファー　と　体育館　の　パス　を　買い　に　行きます。

貴幸さん　も　土曜日　に　サッカー　の　試合　に　入りました。　新しい　スパイク　を　買いました　が　まだ　草　の　競技場　に　慣れていません。　今日　彼　は　バスパス　を　もらう　の　で　参加　しやすくなる　と　思います。

 
ジェニファー　は　バンクバー　空港　で　たか　と　めぐみ　を　迎え　に　行きました。　空港　から、バス　三台　にも　フェリー　にも　乗って　６時間ぐらい　かかりました。　その　週末　に　一緒に　晩御飯を　食べて、ライブ　に　行きました。　交換留学生　は　今日　英語　の　授業　を　始めています。彼らに　ブロッグを　書いたら　どう　と　聞いて、多分　自分　の　ブロッグ　を　書くかもしれません。

 
仕事　から　書いているので、写真　と　ビデオ　など　を　見せられないんですが、　今度　できれば　しよう　と　思います。

We have decided to get married.

It'll probably be sometime in October or November. 

We'll keep you posted. 


Also, I compiled an abridged version of our blog from Japan and photos into a photobook.  You can view the first 15 pages or order a copy at
http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/195404 .  200 pages including never-before posted photos and details about our return venture.  It's pretty cool.  We just got our copy on Thursday.


PS.  Haruka, Cael says thanks for the card!

zharina has a urinary tract infection; cael had to take her to the vet.

my bike got stolen while i was at work.