Tomorrow, Akemi and I leave for two glorious weeks in the culinary capital of the world: Tokyo, Japan. I will, of course, be continuing to update this blog with a blow by blowfish account of my trip – so fear not. It’ll be like you’re coming on vacation with me!
My sister was kind enough to volunteer to take care of the dogs in my absence. She flies in late tonight and will be settling in for what will hopefully be a nice, quiet, pleasantly uneventful stay here in Vancouver. I’ve stocked the pantry and the refrigerator with all sorts of goodies including kimchi chips, papaya, and a nice Berkshire pork chop for tomorrow night’s dinner. She’ll have free rein of the liquor bar, SUV, and the home theater – providing she can figure out how to operate it.
In addition to running around town shopping for food, I also spent a good couple of hours running around the office – and my various email accounts – looking for an old script that has suddenly garnered some fresh interest. Eventually found it and sent it off. In the meantime…
Even though I’ll be away, work will (hopefully) continue on other fronts: the show based on that SF novel (the pitch packages went out last week and, if there’s any interest, we’ll be moving on to development), that Southern Gothic pilot (I’ll be writing the script on the plane), that action feature we’ve been hired to write, and the show we’re presently developing for a broadcaster (we delivered the outline last week and are awaiting notes).
Oh, and there’s that super secret project I was telling you about. Apparently, the final piece has fallen into place and we’re good to go. Now it’s just a matter of working out the details. Sadly, we won’t get an official announcement until January – but, as always, you’ll be the first to know!
Today, I leave you with:
6 Mind-Blowing Easter Eggs Hidden in Famous Movies Viral
The 9 Least Incredible Adventures the Incredible Hulk Ever Had Go Circus Hulk!
Elephants Can’t Deal With Death Sad.
And sad. ish.
Congrats Joe, sounds like 2014 will be a very busy year for you, you deserve it!
Your Tokyo trip is here already? Time flies, I guess. I hope you guys have a great time and the wedding goes smoothly. It would be great if we could all go with you like some kind of wacky entourage, but we’ll have to be satisfied with going without jet-lag and spotty Air Canada cabin service, and feast on your blog entries rather than the tasty Japanese cuisine! 🙂
Sounds like a lot of movement on the work front – but does that January date mean that we WON’T hear anything here by the end of the month? I don’t know if I can wait that long!!! 🙂
I did before about the elephants having PTSD. Given recent research on how higher animal brains respond emotionally very much as humans do should cause us all some greater reflection on how our fellow creatures on this planet are treated. Then again, a lot of us don’t treat other people all that well, so I guess it’s not that surprising.
I have to admit – I kind of laughed at seeing poor Marty get tackled like that. I don’t get what the guy’s problem was though. That someone took the stupid inflatable chair he was going after? See above.
An update on what I mentioned happened yesterday with my step-mom. I had taken her out of the hospital to a restaurant for lunch (as I do almost every Sunday) and as we were leaving via their “wheelchair accessible” walkway to the parking lot, the wheelchair that my step-mom was in caught a small edge in the transition from the paving stone walkway to the parking lot. It caused enough of a bump (and it was slightly downhill besides) that she slid right out and landed face down on the ground! I was HORRIFIED, of course, and thought she was a goner. To make a long story short, she was okay – in fact she didn’t even have a scratch except where the bridge of her glasses bumped her nose which caused a little bleeding. I got her back into the chair with some help from a passerby and then safely into the car. She was not nearly as upset as I was – I felt just awful. It could have been so much worse. It’s still upsetting me a lot just to re-tell it. I’ve checked back with her a couple of times today and she’s still feeling fine, not even sore. Whew! Of course, then I had to take her back to the hospital and explain what had happened, not without a huge amount of embarrassment. They seemed very patient about it and gave her a good check over and everything was okay. I kept wondering if they were thinking “yeah, likely story!”, though.
The piece on the elephants made me cry. Then I threw up. I shit you not. Thanks, Joey! Many years ago, I used to do a lot of volunteer work to stop the ivory trade (only elephants should wear ivory), and it saddens me to see that nothing’s changed. It seems that no matter what the international community does, this crap goes on and on.
In other news (!), Cody will finally be getting neutered this week. I will be a nervous wreck (as I always am with dogs in surgery), so please keep him in your thoughts. Oy!
Have a safe trip, can’t wait to hear of all your adventures! Congrats to Akemi’s sister and family! 🙂
Have a drink at the Star Bar for me!! Hello to Sis,.
I had to skim through the elephant article or else I would have been crying and sick like Deni. Just recently on the news, they were showing how elephants remember family members. An older female elephant was being reunited with her daughter after a few years apart. As they happily walked toward each other, a young little elephant went running by his mom (the daughter) as fast as his little legs would go toward the older elephant. The older elephant was his grandmother! The little guy was so happy to see her again. They all looked so happy. I think they should start hunting and kill the poachers. And leave their bodies out there…food for the animals.
@ gforce – My mom is in a wheelchair and lightly using a walker now too. I don’t think she would do as well as your step-mom did if she fell out. Maybe I need to seriously think about a seat belt for her? Glad your step-mom is okay. I guess they are tougher than we think. Thanks for telling the story. I’ll have to look into the seat belt.
Enjoy your trip!
Had a tough call at 4am this morning. The hospital called to say my mom passed away. My brother and I caught a flight this morning to Ontario to help my dad. Mom had been severely stricken with rheumatoid arthritis and Parkinson’s for many years. Last week she was hospitalized with a nasty infection but couldn’t win the battle. What a crappy year. First my best pal, Bilo, then my horse of 25 years, and now a most wonderful person, friend and mother.
Hi Andria! Have a good flight Joe! Have fun with your family Akemi!
Your posts on your food adventures in Japan are among my favorites. Have a great time and safe trip. Hope your sister and the dogs have a good time together.
@ Bella&Kasper – So sorry about your mother. I will put you and your family, especially your father, in my prayers.
Good riddance! I mean…Bon Voyage!! 😀
Looking forward to your culinary adventures! Post lots of pictures! Eat lots of goodies! Beware the cod sperm! 😉
das
@Joe:
Good news on the writing front; congratulations!
And safe travels tomorrow! I’ll be looking forward to your trip updates.
We’ll be at YVR a day later to go home ourselves.
Das:
I have no further comments to offer 😎 , as that could incriminate me. 😆
Bella&Kasper – Oh my, I am so very sorry. {{{{hugs}}}} Thoughts and prayers and lots of hugs being sent you and your family’s way. Twelve years ago I went through a similar thing – one loss after another – blow after blow. At some point you just feel like you can’t get up again. But you do. And if you feel like you just can’t, then reach out to someone who can give you a helping hand.
das
if you watch enough of nature documentaries you find out just how sensitive elephants are. when they come across the bones of an elephant (usually one they knew) they spend several minutes touching them with their trunks & front feet before moving on.
Joe and Akemi….safe travels and have fun in Tokyo! 🙂
An early welcome to Andria. Jelly, Bubba and Lulu couldn’t be in better hands. 😀
Have a great trip Joe and Akemi. Congrats to Akemi’s sister and fiancee. It would be lovely to see pictures of Akemi’s family if possible.
@Bella&Kasper: My condolences to you and your family.
Let me know please, why do so many shows always have the bad guy grab a hostage, and then tell the good guy, who’s a cop, FBI, DEA, ATF, to drop the gun. The majority comply, then the bad guy gets away.
Aren’t police taught not to give up their guns? Ever?
Is this a tv trope?
It just happened again on Blacklist.
to Mike from Canada;
apparently yes, it is a TV trope;
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/PutDownYourGunAndStepAway
@Bella&Kasper: So very sorry to hear about your loss. My most sincere condolences.
@Bella&Kasper: My deepest condolences to you and your family.
Bella&Kasper: condolences on your loss. Sending prayers your way!
Safe travels to all!
@Joe and Akemi: Have a wonderful trip! Safe travels! Say hi to Sis for us and at least SHOW HER how to work the electronics in the house before you go.
@Bella&Kasper: I’m so sorry. My condolences to you and your family.
Hugs and love, bella&kasper.
I did not even open the elephant link. It was on reddit and FB, and I’ve been avoiding it.
Hubby is stuck up in Idaho. His truck up and quit on him. Fortunately it is a company truck, so repairs and hotel are covered, but that’s a lot of down time.
Marty, no! That’s no way to treat a marmot! Much as I’m weired out by costumed characters (amusement parks are a minefield of creepy miming manimals) that really looked painful.
Is your sis bringing her pets with her to Vancouver? Looking forward to the amazing Tokyo pics to come, especially the deserts.
I see your marmot and raise you a Purple Panda. I think this kids are going to grow up to be future mascot manhandlers.
http://youtu.be/u02Eq2RDpBk
@Bella&Kasper: I’m so sorry for your loss! My thoughts are with you and your family.
@gforce: So glad to hear your stepmom is in good shape after her fall. That really must have be terrifying. I felt horrified just reading it; I can only imagine how scary it must have been for you to live it. You’re a good son, taking her out to lunch every Sunday. I bet she looks forward to it all week.
@GForce I gasped very strongly when I was reading your account of what happened. Thank God she wasn’t injured more severely. I understand you feeling terrible about it; I would have too. These things happen and it wasn’t your fault. Reminds me of a story about Matt (a local resident here) I will have to share sometime.
@Deni: I agree. I read the article and cried, but did not throw up. I hope Cody’s surgery goes well.
@Bella&Kasper: I’m sorry to hear about your mother. I send you and your family much love and heartfelt sympathy.
@Andria You should post blog updates on the kids while they are away.
@maggiemayday Bummer. But yes it is nice that the company is picking up the expenses. I hope the truck gets fixed soon.
@Joe & Akemi Make sure you pack your radiation suits. But on a serious note, I hope you have a terrific flight and an UNEVENTFUL trip, filled with lots of fun, good sleep, no mishaps, lots of good food, etc.
Looking forward to more posts about all these great projects.
Oh, BTW, if everyone would send really positive thoughts our way? You know how they say you will find a dog to adopt when you least expect it? I am certain this is fate and we’ll see if the Dallas rescue group will allow us to adopt this far south. My inquiry email is at least getting forwarded to the adoption coordinator within 12 hours of my email, versus a whole month that went by when we adopted Buddy locally. Good sign. I don’t want to share the story just yet until we know whether or not this is a “go.” I have a feeling that if it doesn’t, I am going to be far worse off than I am now. But if it does go through, it is a WONDERFUL story. I feel Maddie working some magic for us.