Nao made tea and brought sweets

Today Nao brought sweets from her trip over our days off. She also made green tea for all of us and after lunch, she served us individual portions of warm MATCHA (like green tea ice cream flavor but better cuz it's the real thing). The sweet cake tasted like a potato that had been saturated in custard with a soft, marshmallow like skin as thin as paper, lightly powdered on the outside.

I took a picture of my stamp -- pressed into my 'meishi' -- or business card. On the right side, from top to bottom, the katakana says "Regina." On the left side it is a kanji that my shodo (calligraphy) teacher's father made up once upon a time for "Taufen." It is one of a kind. Mezurashii.

Monday night was the first night I cooked in my kitchen...and I took a little video. Or, as you would say in Japan, "BIDEO O TORIMASHITA." It is uploaded below!

I have been watching BBC movies thanks to Mom's Christmas DVD's. Finished Jane Eyre tonight. Timothy Dalton played Rochester in this version and although he is such a fine actor, I couldn't help but continuously flashing back to Orson Welles. Rochester is described as not so good looking, even by Jane herself...so it's harder in those scenes to believe -- even when Timothy Dalton's face is badly scarred, etc. He's just too suteki (good looking). Orson Welles was great casting. He wasn't handsome at first sight but he had a power to him. Same thing with Jane Eyre. She wasn't 'beautiful'...and yet, and yet -- she was. Screw you Brocklehurst. Remember the pious and unforgiveable Mr. Brocklehurst? What a great name. Brocklehurst. Sounds like a a cross between a root vegetable and a skin pustule.

Started to watch Wuthering Heights and remembered reading it in high school. Talk about a Debbie Downer. Cathy is really off her rocker. I'd love to see Fred Armisen and Kristen Wiig do that sketch of Cathy and Heathcliff. But I don't think anyone would get it because no one reads anymore. They should start doing a version of cliff notes as webisodes for the average high school student. Said Mrs. Shouldinski -- a 'coming soon' Kitty Landers character.

Here's the Fujiyama Mama's first homemade dinner. Time to sleep. Oyasuminasai! Chris and Bentley: ITTARASSHAI!