Super Bad News!

Oh No!

There is bad news! And I have it! And I am also delivering it! So now you have it! (no tag backs)

I HAVE TO STOP BLOGGING BECAUSE I AM TOO BUSY!

I really wanted to hire someone to help me out at the stand, but once I looked into I realized it's way harder to do than I thought. And also it costs more money than I have. Bad News! So, I guess I'm going to have to take a blogging hiatus.

So, I’ve come up with two ways to apologize to you, my super awesome readers!

1. If you come to the stand, and mention the blog, I will give you whatever you want for free!

2. If you leave a comment, I will say something really nice about you! It might not even be true!

For example:

BlogReader75 Says: How could you quit your awesome bento blog?! We are not friends and I hate you!

Yumi Says: Thanks for the comment! You are a great dancer and people love your anecdotes!

So that’s the deal. You can get a bento discount, or a compliment! Let’s do this thing!

*You can get both if you want. Just don’t tell me about it.

Alright! Get to it already!

==============================================================================
Visit Yumi at her bento store in Nancy Drew: Shadow at the Water's Edge (Mac/PC) - get the mystery game at your nearest retailer or download it online from http://www.herinteractivve.com/

YOU GUYS WERE TOO NICE TO RENTARO!

Just kidding. It looks like he did a nice job answering your questions, thanks for keeping him so busy. I’m always worried that if he isn’t kept busy he’ll start doing bizarre Rentaro things, and I seriously didn’t want that to happen while he was staying in my apartment. I was worried I’d get back and something like this would happen.

Me: How’d it go?

Rentaro: I fixed all of the problems with the electricity, and I also fixed that problem you’ve been having with your toaster.

Me: What problem with my toaster?

Rentaro: Oh yeah, right. That wasn’t a problem. I just thought it would be funny if it did a little dance while making toast.

Me: Is that what it does now?

Rentaro: Yeah! It’s pretty funny to watch. It, um, doesn’t make toast so much anymore, but I’ll get to that. Also, try not to touch it. Also, I fixed that problem with your computer.

Me: What problem with my computer?

Rentaro: And, on that note I should be leaving, also try not to touch it if you don’t want to get shocked.

But, apparently you kept him busy enough that he only had enough time to solve problems as opposed to causing them. Right now I’m pretty happy about apartment things! The lights and the heat are back to being normal – it’s the Best Apartment Ever again. Good job, apartment!

Today I’ve been thinking about difficult decisions. Aren’t they the worst? Sometimes you really don’t want to do something, but it turns out that it will be for the best. The problem with decisions is that you don’t get to see into the future to see what will happen. Right now, I’ve got to make some big decisions about my life and my business.

The good news is that my business is starting to get super super busy ^_^

The bad news is that I can’t be there as much as I need to.

I can’t decide if I should hire another person to help me run the stand, or if I should cut back on the hours that I’m working.

Sigh. Tough one.

Anyone want a job at a bento shop? At this point it doesn’t exist and pays zero dollars, but maybe soon?

Guest Blogger Rentaro!

HELLO YUMI'S BLOG READERS!

This is Rentaro. I'll be taking over the blog for Yumi today. I'm going to try to be the best substitute Yumi possible. (I've been practicing: Exclamation points! Things are cute! I have anger issues! and I love emoticons ^_^) But it's tough. Even thought I've known Yumi for a long time, she is not exactly an easy person to figure out.

Since Yumi like to answer questions on Friday, that's what I'll be doing. She told me that if I don't know the answer I can just guess. I don't want to just make things up and have no one know...maybe I'll use a guessing font. Let me try. The Earth Weighs 16 Trillion Kilograms. Okay, I can work with that. So, to the questions!

Rosey asks:

"Dear Rentaro, What do you think of the Yumi's apartment? is it too pink for you, or do you like it ;D "

If you've been friends with Yumi as long as I have, you become immune to things that are pink. Her apartment is great! It's in the best neighborhood. It's a little small, but who cares?

Anonymous asks:

Do you like Yumi's bento? (the only answer for this is "YES! It is super spectacular and soooooo adorable! How could anyone not love it?!" any answer other then that is strictly against the rules.)

Dear "Anonymous" who I assume is Yumi,

YES! It is super spectacular and soooooo adorable! How could anyone not love it?! I go on to say, It is a delight. Poets of the future will speak of it reverently.

Munkhgerel Asks:

Have you ever run a blog before? Do you have any idea what to write?

No and also NO! It's kind of intimidating. OK, I did have a blog for a week. I wrote one entry that was just said "This blog will be a place to put all of my ideas." And then I didn't put any in there. And then I took it down after a year because I realized it made it look like I hadn't had a single good idea in a year.

Anonymous Asks:
What are your thoughts on the sibling conflict between Miwako and Yumi?

I think that they are both right. And if they ever want me to take sides, I'm going to into witness protection. One time I told Yumi that she should really consider her sister's point of view. The second I said it, I imagined future me busting through the door and then sadly saying. "It's too late, you've already said it, haven't you." That was the last time I said anything about their fighting that wasn't a thoughtful nod followed by trying to change the subject.

Another Question from Rosey:

"Do you like the sciencez?"

For realz! Science is just about the greatest thing ever.


Curious Kitty Asks
Rentaro - ever thought about contacts? ^^

Like for your eyes? I like the idea, but I don't think I could ever talk my eyes into trusting my fingers.

Eyes: WHAT ARE YOU DOING!
Fingers: It's a contact lens. Don't worry. Science approved.
Eyes: THIS IS NOT COOL! NOT COOL AT ALL. COMMENCE CLOSING SEQUENCE! NONE SHALL PASS!

Okay, I have to run out for a minute. Keep the questions coming! Or, you can also send ideas about what I should write about. I'm really looking forward to using my guessing font too.

UPDATE!!!!

Adriana Asks
Hi Rentaro, I'll give you a chance to use your guessing font... provided that you don't know the answer. Um... why can't people tell that Clark Kent is Superman? Is it because of the glasses?

Well, the truth is that everyone knows it's him. But...he just, he's just a really nice guy and he wants us all to believe the secret identity business. So it's a politeness thing, really. Sure we get tired of summarizing what just happened for him "Oh you missed it, so much awesome stuff just happened." But, it's really just the least we can do.


Anonymous Asks...
Just wondering did you tell take Miwako's side then because shes your girlfriend? And im talking to Rentaro and this counts as a question .

I try really hard not to take sides. Really, really, really hard. To the point of running away if needed.

Redwall asks:
Hi, RentaroI was wondering what's your favorite book or book series?

I love science fiction! Right now I'm working my way through the Finding Earth Saga. I'm on book 7. It's about a bunch of astronauts who went on a faster than the speed of light trip for too long, and when they came back the whole planet was gone, and they have to figure out how to get back to earth. Spoiler alert: They don't find Earth in the first six books. I have high hopes for this one!

Anonymous Asks:
Rentaro have you ever seen a ghost?

No. People are always so afraid of ghosts, but if they do exist - then they're more weird than sad. They're like those people who go back to hang out at their old high school after their first year at university. Does that make sense? People don't want you around at their home/high school ghosts/ college freshman, just find somewhere else to go.

UPDATE AGAIN!

Anonymous Asks (or rather, says):
I'm upset, Rentaro! You didn't do all the questions from the last post's comments! Oh well, guess you're busy. ^_^

Oh no! I didn't!? Yumi warned me that blogging was tricky. I can't figure out which ones! Can you ask again?

Anonymous Asks:
Do you think zombies breathe? I mean, they moan and stuff, right? But they're dead. So they shouldn't need air. So they shouldn't breathe. But then how do they make noise if they don't breathe. I'm perplexed.

Hmm. This is out of my area of expertise. I might have to ask Yumi? Does she normally field zombie questions. Also, I should point out that whenever I'm having a bad day, I like to think "I am so lucky to be alive, and also additionally lucky that zombies are not real."

Anonymous Asks:
Do u like sheep? Yes I really want to know that.

I've never met a sheep, but I do wear sweaters. So I guess I should say thanks to at least one sheep at some point. *edit* I just looked up pictures of sheep online. I am glad that Yumi is not here, she would have had a heart attack. Baby sheep are pretty cute. I'm not too proud to admit that.


Anonymous Asks:
Rentaro,Do they have those crazy giant hornets where you live in Japan? Those things are so mean looking. I saw a video of them attacking a beehive. It gives me shivers thinking about it.

So remember that thing I say to myself when I'm having a bad day, there is a second part: "I am so lucky to be alive, and also additionally lucky that zombies are not real. But let's not get carried away about things, because there are terrifying hornets."


Anonymous Asks:
Answer my sheep question and if your not blogging anymore this question also applies to Yumi.

I see that this is important to you. Suspiciously important. Is this that typing sheep that I've been hearing about? ;)

UPDATE ALSO AGAIN

Panda Asks:
hi!have you ever ate canned bread?

Yes! I did not like it much, but I did like its outift.

Anonymous said...
No my cousin drew a picture of a sheep and i wanted to know.

I'm glad this wasn't the typing sheep, I've heard he's mean. That's cool that your cousin drew a picture of a sheep. Did your cousin draw a place for the sheep to live?

UPDATE AGAIN AGAIN

Anonymous Asks:
Do u like puppies there my fav animal so this is important to me.

You'd have to have a heart of stone to not like puppies. Or alergies. Luckily I don't have either. I am pro-puppies. I also like old dogs (and cats) because they're really dedicated to taking naps, they're like advertisements for napping.


Anonymous Said:
No but she did draw someone to carry the sheep

That's good!

THANK YOU FOR ALL OF THE GREAT QUESTIONS!
I'm off to have a snack! If you have more questions, it's not too late! I'll answer them all before handing the blog off to Yumi!

FINAL UPDATE!

Anonymous Asks:

Hey Rentaro! What are your favorite movies?

My Favorite movies have more than one alien, and less than one musical number.

Is yumi's blog too girly for you? (if you want to keep your life, I'd try saying 'noooo, I love it!')

Oh, no it's not too girly for me, I don't really worry about that sort of thing.

Are you as awesome as Yumi?

Well. It depends on who you're asking. If you're asking Yumi, no. If you're asking me...also no. Very close though.

Andrew Asks

Dear Rentaro, What have you done to get lectures from Takae?

They are so traumatic that I instantly forget why she has gotten mad at me.

Stanley Asks

Hiee Rentaro! Do you prefer Pizza or sushi, And WHY?!

Sushi. Pizza's cool and everything, but you can't put wasabi on pizza. Or you shouldn't put wasabi on pizza. Or should you? *edit* You should not.

Tim asks:

What is the most hilarious weirdest CRAZIEST thing you've ever seen or done?

Hmm, that's tough. A lot of the guests we get are pretty crazy. There was that one time...actually, Yumi would KILL me if I told that story (Note to Yumi: The thing with all of the paint, remember?).

Three Headed Monkey in a Leather Jacket said...

What would you do if you were in the middle of soldering a robot dogs leg to it's body, when suddenly a massive voice came out of nowhere screaming that you've just one a trip to new york!?

If a massive voice came from out of nowhere and screamed anything at all, my reaction would probably be the same no matter what it said, really. I would run away. I'd probably also do some light to moderate screaming.

Anonymous said...

Its mean to call somebody a "complainer."

It depends on how you say it. We, as a people, need to have a long talk about fonts and such so we know how offended to be by comments on the internet. Like, "He called me a complainer!" "Really, in what font?" "Helvetica." "Oh he was just teasing."

Munkhgerel Asks:
How are things going between you and Miwako? How often do you go to Yumi's bento stand?

Well, things are going good. Relationships are confusing! I've been to Yumi's stand about five times so far. I love it! And I'm not just saying that because I know she'll read the blog. It's pretty cool, also I get cuts. Who doesn't love cutting in line?

Yumi Asks:

Dear Rentaro, Isn’t Yumi, wonderful?

No. She's fantastic ;P

Dear Rentaro,

Is it pronounced Lin-ta-roe or rin-ta-roe? Someone corrected me when I said rin-ta-roexD

Oh, I don't care really. You can say it however. You should probably spell it R-e-n-t-a-r-o.

And, it looks like this last question took care of itself.

Anonymous said:

Whoever wrote all that stuff about the sheep is hilarious. ;)

Anonymous said:

Thank you my cousin realy did draw a sheep actually she drew Nancy holding the sheep it was a haunting of castle malloy reference.

Okay! I'm giving the blog back to Yumi! Thanks for all of the great questions this weekend!

(_ _)

That’s how tired I am. Another long, weird night in my apartment. Did not get much sleep.

Not even you can cheer me up today, plant-cat. Not even when you say adorable things like “I can haz photosynthesis” or “I’m in yr vase, crushing yr plant dudes.” or  “I don’t feelz like a flower!”

It’s time to take action. I’m going to spend the night at a friend’s house to catch up on some sleep. Rentaro agreed to brave a night alone at my apartment, hopefully while he’s there he’ll be able to figure out what’s going on. I hope he does. I super love my apartment but I’m done with it until it starts behaving.

But that means that I won’t be able to update my blog until probably Monday. But I made Rentaro promise to run the blog tomorrow. He doesn’t have much blogging experience, so maybe you guys could give him some prompts. I think he’ll be able to handle answering your questions about…whatever weird thing that he’s into these days.

Possible questions to ask him include.

1: So you’re running Yumi’s blog – is the pressure getting to you you?

2: What’s your deal, anyway?

3: Isn’t Yumi, wonderful?

4: Are you done fixing Yumi’s apartment, because she’d really like to move back in.

You can leave questions for Rentaro here today and tomorrow, he’ll be in all day Friday.

Thanks for understanding, I’ll be back ASAP with all the best in Bento, Fashion, and Yumility.

Expo – oh -no!

The first really big test of my bento stand is coming up! I don’t know if I should be worried or excited.

The Technology of Tomorrow expo (this super big deal convention with a bunch of inventors and scientists) starts soon right near my booth, and that means one thing: Train after train of tech savvy people, hungry for bento and technology are headed my way. So I’m about to be busy with a capital "B" and a lower case "usy".  I hope I can make enough bento to keep the crowds fed!

“We demand bento! And technology! And a bigger train!”

But it did make me think that maybe it’s time for a first ever installment of

YUMI INVENTS THE FUTURE BY OFFERING AMAZING DEALS!

Listen up scientists! I have some serious ideas about technology – so I will be offering the following coupons during the expo:

1: Do we still need doorbells? No. We need something more exciting. Present a more fun alternative for 10% off of a single bento!

2: If you invent anything that floats, present it at the booth for 50% off of any non-sale item!

3: If you have a cute robot, and I get to play with it for a few minutes, you can have whatever you want. For free. As many times as you want. As long as you always bring the robot. Make sure everyone knows that.

4: I’d wear glasses if they did anything fun. Can you make that happen? 10% off any dessert.

5: Shoelaces are so hilariously old! Make something better, preferably something that makes a neat noise. 30% off family sized bento deal.

6: Free anything you want if you can fix the weird things that have been going on at my apartment.

7: Why doesn’t my bag do more things? Move out of the stone ages, bags! You should have moving parts, and play music, and have GPS or something. If you can help with that – free snack sized bento!

I’m going to add some more deals as I think of them. Also, I’ve got a very busy week coming up, so I may have a guest blogger a little later. Not sure if he’s going to be able to fill in, but I’ll let you know!

Until next time, keep looking to the future!

Another sleepless night and another rainy day, but that’s ok: Dessert exists!

It is so rainy that all of the plants look all droopy and depressed! Cheer up, plants!

 If there has ever been a reason for rain, it is that umbrella (Sorry farmers, you come second after that umbrella.) Maybe I should try making an umbrella. Is that a hard thing to do? It can’t be, right? I’m 95% sure that umbrellas were around before science, so I could probably figure out how to make one.

I’ve got some serious ideas about umbrellas. Get ready you lucky raindrops and taxi tidal waves!

Last night was another long night. My building manager still hasn’t been able to figure out what’s going on with the heat and flickery electricity. It was rough. At one point I was thinking about knocking on my neighbor’s door…but that would be just way too weird, right?

I made it through the night and woke up SERIOUSLY grumpy. Very seriously grumpy. I gave a baby, a dog, and an old lady dirty looks on my walk to stand. I made grumpy looking bento. I grumpily walked home from the stand and I decided that that was enough. Sleepy or not, I was going to have at least a little fun. So I decided it was time for another installment of

SHOULD I MAKE DESSERTS AT MY BENTO STAND? LET’S LOOK AROUND AND MAKE A DECISION!

So I hit the streets, on the prowl for new dessert ideas, and that’s when I met this crazy business right here:

You are crazy, Delicious Thing That I’m pretty sure was a crepe.  Also you sorta look like a combination of Elvis, a panda, and a piece of pizza (this seems weird, note to self: Review this after I catch up on sleep o_O ) 

I loved it, but it’s not quite my style. So I hit the road, in search of the ultimate dessert.

Round 2, Fight!

You are Mount Fuji Cake!

Now, this is closer to what I’m thinking about! Simple, tasty, sure it’s not very cute – but it’s a mountain! Mountains have enough troubles without having to worry about being cute!

Look at how great it is! Powdered sugar snow, chocolate rocks! This is really close to what I want to do.

Now I just need to find a simple way to make a dessert that really says “Kyoto!” or at the very least “Yumi.”

Not sure what that is yet. Do you guys have any great ideas?

Nightmare sleep zombie!

ε≡(ノ´＿ゝ｀）ノ

GRR! ARG! Sleeeeeeeeep.

I had a super good day off on Sunday. It was a nice break from the stand, and a good chance to kick it with some friends that I haven’t seen in forever. Friends are the best thing you can have, especially best friends!

So Sunday: A + You did a great job!

Sunday night: you need to see me after class. (Because of your awfulness!)

When I got back to my apartment, something strange must have been going on with the heat, because it was freeeezing. I blasted the heat (I even started a batch of cupcakes for additional warmth…Okay, I’m not going to lie, I also wanted cupcakes…not that they turned out, but anyway…) but couldn’t get the apartment to a reasonable temperature because the power wouldn’t stop flickering off and on. I tried to call the building manager, but my phone was being suuuuper weird. It would just make static buzzing noises whatever I did anything.

So I just decided to deal with the cold for the night and to try to get to sleep because I’ve got a crazy week coming up. But, since a story about me sleeping through the night isn’t very interesting…you can guess that that is not what happened.

I got what felt like about ten minutes of sleep. When the apartment wasn’t busy being strangely noisy, or stupidly frigid, I had the worst nightmares I’ve ever had. I swear the second I closed my eyes – BANG I’d be right in the middle of the worst dream ever. The creepy part was that it was the same dream each time. I’m standing near the shore of a dark cold lake – I can see these weird white shapes under the surface of the lake and I know I don’t want to go anywhere near them. That’s when the shore starts to crumble into the water, and I try so hard to make it back to land, but I know I’m not going to make it – and this part where the shore is crumbling away seems to last forever.

Ugh. It was the worst. Sorry, I shouldn’t be talking about my weird nightmares here, but I’m so exhausted and brain-dead from getting no sleep. I promise a less weird post tomorrow after I (hopefully) get some sleep and general cheering up.

Break Dance!

That’s it, I need a vacation. Did you know that opening a restaurant is hard? It is! And did you also know that people want to eat food every day? Good news, though! I had a super busy day yesterday. I made enough money to close down one day this weekend! So I’m going to take Sunday off!

I.AM.SO.EXCITED.

Eww. That color is a little gross. Let’s try that again.

I.AM.SO.EXCITED.

There we go. What should I do this Sunday?

“You could take us out to the park!”

Good idea, bikes!

“No! Come hang out with us noodles!”

You make a compelling argument, noodles.

Ok. I just put this here because it’s a-dor-able. Hi Lamb! You’re so cute that I want to build you a house!

“You could hang out with us fabrics!

Oh, yeah! I have been thinking about working on a new outfit.

“You should go food shopping!”

Yes. Yes I should.

“You should come downtown to watch me perform my one mug show: Mugged”

Oh, mug. That’s not a real thing. But if it were, I so would!

What should I do with my day off?! Should I close the stand one day a week?!

Ask Yumi

That’s right! It’s time for another installment of…

It’s time to dive back into the mailbox and answer some questions!

Dear Yumi,

My new neighbor is really inconsiderate. She has loud parties that go all night long every other night. I asked her to keep it down, but she won’t listen.

Sincerely, Good Fences

Dear Fences,

That’s sad! Did you know that today I found the cutest bakery EVER? If you email the baker a picture and come by a few hours later, she’ll give you a cupcake that reflects your personal style! 

Dear Yumi,

My boss is mad at me because I’m always late for work. What should I do?

Sincerely,

Better Late Than Never

Dear Better Late, you or your boss should move to a different time zone – but not both of you. That would solve nothing. (^_^)

Dear Yumi,

I just got a new roommate, and she’s perfectly fine, but the problem is that now my dog likes her more than he likes me! What do I do?

Sincerely,

Too Sad to think of a good name

Dear Too Sad,

You should rent a movie about a dog that walks thousands of miles to find his owner’s home after he gets lost, and then watch that movie with your dog. You dog will feel sooo bad.

Dear Yumi,

I have to learn a new language in school next year, but I want to choose a language that will help me the most in the future. Should I learn French or Spanish?

Sincerely,

Vocabu- Larry

Dear Vocabu-Lawrence,

The language that will help you most in the future is Robot. “0101100101110101011011010110100100100000011010010111001100100000011001110111001001100101011000010111010000100001” See!

That’s it for today! Best of luck in all endeavors!

(*Yumi advice is for entertainment purposes only.)

SUPER POP QUIZ!

Food edition. I had so much fun making the fashion quiz that I decided it’s time to do a little food quiz!

Question 1

It’s breakfast! The most important meal of the day.

a)      I don’t know, actually making food seems too ambitious. I’ll just dunk a candy bar in some milk.

b)      Hmm, I should at least try to burn some toast.

c)       Right, a balanced breakfast, like on tv. I will cut up an orange and put it next to cereal.

d)      I should at least poach some eggs and blanch some asparagus and top that with hollandaise.

Question 2

Time for brunch!

a)      Time for brunch? Who has time for brunch? I’ve got THINGS to do.

b)      Brunch? Is that the thing where eggs pretend like they belong at lunch? No thanks.

c)       Yeah! Fruit, eggs, sandwichy-things, juice choices, I’m on it!

d)      Sure, I hope there’s heirloom tomato infused olive oil and artisan bread there!

Question 3

Raid my kitchen and you’ll find.

a)      Take out menus. And…oh gross! How long have those potatoes been there?

b)      Microwavable things in colorful wrappers. And cookies! And other cookies!

c)       Stale bread, soft avocados, a lot of ingredients I’ve been meaning to make into food but will eventually throw away.

d)      Unsalted butter, a small herb garden, shallots, garlic, ginger, vegetables – to name a few.

Question 4

When I come across some strange new food, I:

a)      Make one of my friends try it first.

b)      Refuse to eat it unless someone agrees to fry it first.

c)        Agree to take a tiny taste, it might be okay.

d)      Jump in with both feet! There’s nothing like discovering something new!

Question 5

My cooking style is best described as:

a)      I can assemble a sandwich if I absolutely have to.

b)      I know how to cut up an onion. I just have to give my eyes a break every few minutes.

c)       I’ve got the technique, I love food, my cookbooks have more dog ears than a…dog park.

d)      I invent new flavors. I make foams. I plan to one day split the flavor atom.

Question 6

My favorite restaurants are:

a)      The kinds where you get a prize with your meal.

b)      Something simple, where I can order by pointing at a picture.

c)       Unique, with interesting menus and good chefs.

d)      I keep track of the best chefs in the city and always keep an eye out for anything new and exciting!

Question 7

Some friends are coming over, time to:

a)      Tell them I won’t be cooking food now, or ever.

b)      Open a few bags of snacks and put them in bowls.

c)       Make some simple hors d'oeuvres.

d)      There’s that appetizer thing I’ve been meaning to make. And If I’m making that, I might as well make that spicy noodle thing I’ve been thinking about. Should I just go ahead and make dessert while I’m thinking about it? Yes. I should.

BONUS ROUND!

Give yourself ten points for each statement you can answer yes to:

I know how to cook an artichoke. (five points if you can describe what one looks like)

I’ve successfully baked bread/ cake.

I’ve read one or more books about food or cooking.

I have a favorite chef.

SCORING:

Alright, it’s time to add up your scores!

As = 2 points
Bs = 5 points
Cs = 10 points
Ds = 50 points

And now…the results!

If you got

1 – 13 points: You somehow got negative points!

14 – 34 points: Customer: You like food, but have got other things to do! You can’t be bothered to spend your day near the oven waiting for onions to caramelize, sauces to reduce, soufflés to…just sort of sit there and be spongy, you’re busy! Sure you eat food when you have to, but beyond that who cares?

35 – 69 points: Line Cook: As food knowledge goes, you’re doing pretty great. You know what you like, and when you put your mind to it you can work wonders in the kitchen. You’re adventurous, and you love to experience new foods, flavors, and cultures!

70 – 299 points: Sous Chef: The kitchen is your home away from home (that is also probably in your home.) When you try something good at a restaurant, you’re already imagining how to revisit it again at home. You’ve got at least one dish that everyone’s always begging you to make.

300 points or higher: Master Chef: You’re a wizard in the kitchen. You could make an orange taste like a banana if you wanted to, but you’re probably not going to do that. Your friends make a habit of “stopping by to say hello.” Around dinnertime just in case you’re making food.

Ghosthunters!

What is up with those weirdos? I mean really? This is not one of those questions that I don’t really expect anyone to answer! If you know, let me know! I’ll even accept guesses!

A little while back, some big deal guy in the ghost hunting world mentioned the ryokan as a “Haunted Hotspot.” on his website. That was mega weird, I mean think about someone saying that about where you grew up, but that was just the start of this ghost hunting business. Apparently this guy is the king of the ghost nerds or something – because the second he mentioned the ryokan, all of these bizarre people started showing up with their…stuff.

I’m not saying that all ghost hunters are terrible, but most of them are. Think about it – they show up where something tragic has happened, cause this big silly scene, totally disrespect everything and everyone there, and act all self important about everything. If you ask them to stop what they’re doing they’ll act as if you’re interrupting some sort of great scientific research. It makes me crazy! It’s like, excuse me people working to solve world hunger, and you too people working on new vaccines, also you too technology people – all of you stop for a second: A bald guy who somehow also has a ponytail (Which science refers to as a hair-paradox, or hairadox.) thinks he’s recorded a ghost talking.

Also, for some reason these people have decided that ghosts are made out of electricity. They have these little machines that show electromagnetic fields or something, and they walk around, and when the machines start to light up – they super freak out. Never mind that these little machines always pick up ghost activity near THINGS THAT RUN ON ELECTRICITY. “Guys! Come here! I think the television is a ghost! So is the computer! And the toaster! Oh no! Please tell me no one had toast this morning!”

I think what bugs me most is how rude they are. Everything is just a game to them. They’re also so sure that they understand what’s going on. They don’t. It’s like they’ve put one foot into a tide pool and declared that they’ve discovered all the secrets of the ocean.

I’m not saying that I believe in ghosts, but – even I’ve seen some strange things. I’ve had that something-is-really-really-really wrong feeling in the middle of the night. I’ve been to some places that definitely had a spooky feeling. There are a lot of things that we’ll never get to know for sure. I don’t know if we’ll ever be able to say if there are ghosts or not. But I am pretty sure thousands of years of mystery is not going to be cracked by some hobbyist with a bunch of junk he bought from the catalog you find in the little seat pocket in an airplane.

Sorry – just had to deal with a lot of those people these last few days. What do you guys think of this whole thing? Any ghost hunters out there? Any people who don’t like ghost hunters out there?

My first review! (Was negative, but whatever!)

Did you read the post title? Did you? Go ahead, I’ll wait? C’mon! Did you read it yet? You didn’t. Wow – you are a very slow - ok so you did now. Nice job! Alright, so that means that you know that I got my first review!!! A review about my bento stand happened!!!! One of Kyoto’s notorious food bloggers (we’ve met before. I’d post a link to her blog, but I don’t want to drive any traffic to her site…for reasons you’ll see in a second. Yeah. I’m petty. What of it, world!)

That’s the good news, now the bad news. The review was really mean. I mean, really really mean. Like, who-knew-words-could-be-that-terrible mean. (I trusted you, words – and this is what you do? Appear in a mean review? About me?! I thought we were friends! After I bought you all of those books to live in. That’s it, we’re through!)

(Okay, I lied. I can’t blog without you. You’re back in the game – but watch your step.)

I’m going to post some of the worst comments from the review, just to give you a sense of what it was like:

“Cute? More like awful.”
“Uninspired.”
“Looked like she was wearing a wedding cake.”
“I’d rather eat the box!”
“Lacking subtlety.”

I was only going to post some of the comments, but you know what – I’m going to respond.

“Cute? More like awful.” No. More like cute. Less like awful. You’re more like awful!
“Uninspired.” Okay, I admit it. I should have spent the morning reading poetry to my food.
“Looked like she was wearing a wedding cake.” That’s just not very nice. I didn’t say anything about your sweater situation.
“I’d rather eat the box!” You’re welcome to. I’ll save some for your next visit. In fact I INSIST you try one.
“Lacking subtlety.” You know who wants subtle bento? Boring people. “Did you try that bento? It was so subtle!” “I know! I loved it. Well it’s 7pm, we should go home and go to bed soon.”

There was one sort of positive line.

“If you’re there already and are in a hurry, check it out.”

But you know what? I’m not going to let it get me down! The stand is just opening, I know I’ve got a lot to learn, and I know I’m going to have to deal with a lot of mean reviews – but soon, I’ll be getting the good ones. (I hope.) Do you guys listen to reviews?

SO YOU WANT TO MAKE BENTO LIKE A PRO!

Yes! It’s time for the first ever installment of:

SO YOU WANT TO MAKE BENTO LIKE A PRO!

This week’s episode – 

BENTO 101

So, you might be asking “What is this crazy bento business anyway?” Good question, citizen! Bento is a thing that we’re going to make. Let’s make some bento! Since this is the first time I’ve done a tutorial, we’re going to start off pretty easy.

The first thing you need to do is set up your work station:

Hey ingredients, what’s up? Spoiler alert: people are going to eat you!

Now, since this is a very basic bento lesson – we’re just going to focus on putting all of the ingredients in the box. Fancier boxes have themes and motifs and all that, but today it’s just the basics. Making a box that contains the perfect blend of proteins, starches…and oh man, deer, I can’t keep focusing if you’re going to be that adorable!

I get it already! You’re the cutest ever. Good for you.

Okay, so let’s get to work! So for the protein portion, I decided to make eggs!

What a great day to be an egg!

OH NO! WAIT! I was wrong! It’s a terrible day to be an egg!

You can make your egg happy or sad depending on your mood – I used carrot strips and edamame to make my egg look indignant.

For starch, I used rice. But rice is booooring, right? So I used a star mold. If you don’t have a rice mold, you can use cookie cutters or shape by hand.

Once the rice is out of the mold, it’s time to see how it will fit in the box.

Not bad…but not great…it looks like they don’t get along, better solve that problem.

A wall made out of mango and melon! Best idea ever, but now they look uncomfortable…

A bed of edamame and carrot! Yes! But…we can do more, right?

Let’s add a little furikake for color! And a treat!

You guys ready to go? Don’t be so nervous, egg!

That’s better!

There we go, a simple bento that anyone can make. If you like this tutorial let me know and I’ll try to do some more.

And now for our Fabulous Friday question:

What would you put in your bento?