Taking Back the Flag

We had the pleasure of being in Los Angeles during the final stretch of the most incredible election season of all time. Yesterday we gathered with friends to watch polls close and the landslide take course. What a fantastic night to be an American. After that we drove up Sunset honking our horn and waving to crowds of Obama supporters as they cheered and celebrated in the streets.

Gone is the peaceable shame that came with traveling (and living in Japan) during the Bush years, and restored is a sense of pride and a stronger connection with the American people at large.

"By choosing you, the American people have chosen change, openness and optimism. At a time when all of us must face huge challenges together, your election raises great hope in France, in Europe and elsewhere in the world."

– French President Nicolas Sarkozy

Truck – One More Reason to Visit Osaka

There's an ongoing rivalry between Osaka and Tokyo that's similar to the rivalry between NYC and LA in The States. We have yet to visit Osaka, but I just found another good reason to check out the city of Osaka, famous for its comedians and okonomiyaki.

Tokuhiko Kise is a furniture designer who lives, with his wife and daughter, just above the space where he runs his successful furniture company, Truck. This space is where all the design, manufacturing and retail of the furniture takes place. I've only seen catalog photos, but I really appreciate his modern, earthy style. It's just very Japanese. I’d love to see the entire store sometime, and maybe even bring home a souvenir or two.

Art District 798, Beijing

We’re in China (Beijing) for my first time. We’ve covered the city well and I have to say that one of the most interesting and unexpected things we’ve come across has been 798.

798 is an up and coming/already there artist community here in Beijing. Located at the site of a former industrial military factory, it’s big, spanning across several streets, alleys and buildings. We spent an entire afternoon there and only saw about a third of what the district has to offer. Remnants of the old factory buildings and metal structures remain among countless galleries, cafes and retail stores. The art, the transitional feeling of the area, the old and new buildings in the same space, it’s all just very unique and cool. The most striking exhibit we saw was God of Materialism. It was insane and disgusting, but somehow it made perfect sense. It was interesting to see a Chinese artist lashing out at materialism and over consumption in general. The scale of the art was huge; there was no mistaking the message. Other stuff we saw was tamer. I hope we make it back for round two of 798 before we leave.

Three Cups of Tea

I’ll be honest and say that it wasn’t as well written or enjoyable as some other recent reads, but it’s probably more important. This is a great book that really speaks to America’s troubles with terrorism and the handling of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Greg Mortenson’s true story peels back layers, allowing the reader a first hand glimpse and the ability to piece together both reasons how and why terrorism begins as well as possible ways we might more successfully dissolve its intensity in the future. Thought I should put it out there.

One Year of Marriage Went Fast

Tokyo.Ten Party

We’re usually pretty lazy about going out for late nights here in Tokyo, but last Friday there was a party happening that we didn’t want to miss. W+K’s record label, WK Tokyo Lab, threw a big party to celebrate the opening of the Tokyo.Ten exhibition at the Claska Hotel. There was live music provided by Tokyo Lab’s own, as well as a huge display of visual art by a large number of artists collaborating with the label. We had a really great time. The party happened to fall on one of the only sunny days in a while (June & July are the rainy season, yay), which made it feel even more like a celebration. It was really fun to see the artwork, and also to bump into friends from around town who we hadn’t seen in a while.

Intl. Living & Farewell Wishes

Before moving to Tokyo I never realized that there is a community of people and families out there in the world that is living indefinitely international. They don’t just move to one place for a year or two. It’s more long term than that; it often involves multiple locations and many, many years abroad. I’ve met families from America that have spent years living in Singapore then Hong Kong and now Tokyo; Australia, Hong Kong, Tokyo and back to Hong Kong; France, America and now Tokyo; New Zealand to Shanghai, Tokyo and now Dubai. It goes on and on like that. And then there are the people who have moved from their home country to live here in Tokyo indefinitely. They have babies abroad, send them to international schools, create social bubbles providing them with a connection to their own cultural traits and friends who speak their own language (yes I’m also guilty of this). These people have no plan to return home. In fact, home becomes sort of ambiguous after a while. And it doesn’t seem to bother them in the slightest. Becoming acquainted with these folks really blew my mind at first. Living abroad for a couple years, sure, but I couldn’t fathom the idea of giving up my life back home for a never-ending international experience. To tell the truth, I thought these people must be nuts; or maybe they just came from a place not quite as nice as the one I’m from. But over time, as I got to know these people I realized that they weren’t nuts. In fact I quite liked them and shared a lot in common with them. They also came from pretty desirable places, and they all raved about their home countries just as much as I did (you become unexpectedly patriotic when you live abroad). The only thing I can really gather as a reason or explanation for this lifestyle comes down to that old silly phrase: Different strokes for different folks.

Needless to say, this move-around-the-globe lifestyle creates a lot of sayonara parties. This month I’ll say goodbye to three of my Tokyo girlfriends. These girls are off to Sydney, Melbourne and Hong Kong. I’ll miss them all as they’ve kept the laughs coming and the spirits high through my time here in Tokyo. The power of friendship is such a special thing. I’m not sure I would have made it here in Tokyo had I not nailed a few solid friendships. After our goodbye dinner the other night with our friends Joanna and Andrew, I squeezed Joanna so tight that I could almost feel the baby in her six-month pregnant tummy give me a little kick. I just didn’t want to forget that last hug. I don’t know when we’ll see Joanna and Andrew again, hopefully in Sydney this winter, but more likely back in NYC. I wish them all well and a big old SAYONARA!