Ireland & Northern Ireland 2001

some snapshots from 25 years ago... 

We saw an amazing performance of "Jesus Christ Superstar" done by the Really Useful Group.

coastline of Northern Ireland

from the train

people on the beaches of the Antrim coast

Champion 4H horses 

That's me, sitting there on the left, at Giant's Causeway

  I remember when my dad rented this funny little car in Northern Ireland, must've been like a Yugo -- and I can't tell you how treacherous it was doing down some of the coastline roads!  The cliffs would just drop off far into the sea below in some places.  In other places, cows or sheep would be holding up the road (which was small enough for one vehicle but was technically two lanes!)

The best burger I'd ever eaten in my life was from a little stand on the side of one of these winding coastal roads.

At one point, he drove into a round-about, but because there were no dividing lines, when he came out of it, got briefly confused and was actually driving on the wrong (American) side of the road - almost landing us right into an on-coming car!  But he swerved and all was well, blood pressure just an elevated for a bit, haha.

I also remember finding some lovely shells on the beach (one with pink and black swirl, another with blue and black swirl) and when I came back to the sink, they were crawling up the side of the porcelain.... (because they were actually snails!)

We really enjoyed walking around Dublin, seeing the side-door to a recording studio used by U2 in their infancy, and meeting up with my friend and pen-pal, Trevor.  It was a really nice trip, just me, my dad and my sister.  My pen-pal's family was so hospitable and welcoming.  I think of them from time to time, I hope they are still wonderful as ever.

🎵 🎶

Phil Keaggy  "County Down" 

Audra, August 2001

Month recap: LCD Soundsystem, North Carolina trip, & Scary Pockets

 Well it's been quite a month, between work, travel and family, lots of stuff to catch up on.

Had a pact with family to see LCD Soundsystem should they get back together again and tour - and wouldn't you know it - they did!

It was honestly an absolutely fantastic experience that was even better shared.

Here's a fun video taken from the opening song of the concert:

(I can't even describe how INTENSE the bass was!  My ribs were vibrating!)

I love the lyrics to so many of these songs, but "tonite" is a particular favorite.

We also welcomed a little lady into the family, she's the sweetest:

I took on a bunch of cover work for a few comic book publishers (more on that when I can show the art) as well as an updated logo and t-shirt for our friend's restaurant Uxlocale.  Andy and I are also deep into pages for a few projects, Andy with Makimono and Penguin, and me with Penguin Random House and some indie stuff.

I went to visit family for a week, which was a lovely experience and really good for the heart and soul.  More relatives came in and we had a great time with a large group of us, my sister and her husband being excellent hosts and all around great people.

The cat sunning herself in the music room.

Edge of Urge was such a great find!

Also enjoyed a fantastic meal at Circa 1922, and had a fun time at my sister's cast party when she was done with her show at Thalian. (pictured above)  She even took me back stage to see where she does her makeup and hang her costumes.  

The cast party was at a really fun bar/live music venue called "Where Eagles Dare":

As was the pizza & arcade at Cugino Forno:

Got to finally meet this little guy and it was a blast and a half!

It was so wonderful for the three of us sisters to be in the same place at the same time, especially with birthdays in the family and anniversaries overlapping.  Lots of family time, some Mario Cart, and IPAs.

My sister got me hooked on these two covers:

Scary Pockets "The Chain" (Fleetwood Mac cover)

Scary Pockets "Stayin' Alive" (BeeGees cover)

♬ Enjoy ♬

Gero Onsen (Spring 2013) 下呂温泉 + cherry blossom talk

The lobby of Gero Kanko Hotel.

My in-laws used to be regulars at this place, to the point where the owner would even come over and talk to them.  I can't remember exactly what I said to him (I'm sure it was grammatically horrible and a jumbled mess, but he was polite to be patient with me) but it was something about how I really loved Kurosawa movies. 

Usually when a non-Japanese person starts speaking Japanese, the Japanese person will ask what prompted them to learn the language, so that answer is usually ready to go.  They will also usually compliment you no matter how much you butcher something -which is sweet- so it's also helpful to have "Oh no, I'm seriously awful" also ready to go in response...

You could actually choose your own mushrooms at this place -- off tree bark in the lobby.

After dinner we were given lanterns and verbal instructions on how to get to the thermal baths.  The water in them is very soft and you can choose which one you'd like depending on what health benefits the mountain water supposedly offers.

I almost died on this outing, actually - I got separated from the others and almost wandered off the side of the cliff... (not kidding) and if it weren't for a 2 foot grating that made a small out-cropping, .... dead.

The walk was so quiet, you couldn't even hear the road or other people lodging.

My mother in law bringing us our lanterns for the walk to the bath house

We rented two private springs and split the time evenly between individual family members.

After that, it was time for some late night Kirin & karaoke with my in-laws.

Tomoko crushing it with a kid's song.

 

I loved my yukata so much... I wish I could've taken it home!

I still wonder about this person... who is she?  Where is she now?  

Cherry blossom season is beautiful but actually makes me sad.  I read that suicide is most common in springtime, not in winter.  Wouldn't have guessed that, but I see it.  

Maybe it's the idea of "mono no aware / 物の哀れ" - the fleeting nature of things, the sadness at the transience of it all.  Maybe it's having to face life coming back after the excuse of hiding away in the winter.

Japan trip (Spring 2013) Gero Onsen

Cherry blossoms at Gero Onsen

 I can't believe it's been 13 years since I went to Japan with my mother-in-law.  I thought in honor of that 13th anniversary, I'd post some of those trip memories.

It was April 2013 that she and I spent a month visiting family and friends, experiencing cherry blossom season, and in general getting in all kinds of trouble, eating too much, and making lots of embarrassing language mistakes - and late night karaoke and sake.  

It was so fun the wander all the side-streets and take in all the details.

Gero Onsen's mascot is a frog, which makes the sound "ge-ro ge-ro" as in "ribbit"

Why frogs say "ribbit" in English,... I have no idea

Gero is also incredibly hilly, how kids and bike to-and-from school I'll never know - more power to them!  We walked uphill quite a bit but were rewarded with spectacular views.

cherry-blossom flavored things everywhere to celebrate the season. 

More on this trip, the amazing hotel and karaoke fun next time.

🎵 🎶

Yuki Matsui - "Night Rain"