ChanomiTalk

China Walls is pretty fun place. You can BBQ and watch the sunset while you fish. If the waves aren’t too big, you can jump off the cliff and go swimming. Although getting out of the water can be a little tricky.

When I lived in Japan I was very fortunate to be able to make a living doing my favorite hobby, which is scuba diving. My wife and I ran a scuba diving store in the city of Hadano in the Kanagawa prefecture. I was able to dive in the Izu Penninsula which is one of my favorite parts of Japan. My job meant that I was able to go to either the west or east side of Izu every weekend and often during the week. It is such a beautiful area of Japan that unfortunately most foreigners never get to see.
In Japan, most dive stores will have ski trips in the winter since it is so cold and the average diver does not want to dive in such cold water even though the winter ocean in the Izu Penninsula is the most beautiful of all the seasons. My wife and I also ran a few ski trips a year and the first one that we held was in the Nagano area where the winter Olympics were held. Even though I grew up in Northern Michigan I never got to go skiing so this was my first time. It was a great experience even though I was very terrible at first! When we drove back to the Kanagawa prefecture we stopped in to a country style restaurant that was beautiful! Very large and open with a huge hearth in the middle. Most of the food offered was available only to that area. When all the food came to the table, all of us shared and I immediately started eating what I thought was sashimi. It was a little darker in color with a stronger taste but very good. When I mentioned that I really liked this kind of “sashimi” some of the people at the table laughed and then I realized it wasn’t fish! I asked what it was and somebody made the sound of a horse! That was my first experience with basashi! I really, really liked it and everytime I had a chance to eat it I did. Of course one can not eat it in the US so everytime I go back to Japan I eat it if possible.

My Grandma O.,Maria Osorio’s life’s story is to me a sad one and I have mixed feelings about her as well. When I was a child, she was very loving,and a good cook, she made these awesome hashbrowns from scratch and always made sure I was full. But then, she was devastated by the passing of my grandfather. And though she seemed like the same woman on the outside. She was never really the same after that. She became depressed and somewhat of a worrywort. Sometimes I wish I could have done more for her before she passed.

My last blog was a bit “Whiny”, so this time i’ll try to make it a bit less, well, “whiny”. Even though my story is about another thing I dislike about this awesome country, i’ll try.

I’m feeling a bit under the weather right now and the reason for that is because the southern brasilian weather is fluctuates… A lot. Sometimes the weather will be super hot and humid and feel like it’s 100 degrees, and the suddenly it’ll feel really cold the next day. I’ve heard many things about the spring weather here being like this every year, so i’ll be really happy once this season is over because I heard the weather is pretty hot during the summer. And I live right next to the beach which will be awesome 😀

Yesterday, I got the new iPhone 5 from my local Softbank store.  My phone is the 64GB memory version.  Without a 2-year plan, the phone costs 72000 yen.  With a 2-year plan, I pay only 860 yen a month vice 3000 yen (3000 yen x 24 months=72000 yen).

Back in the ’80s, when I was working as a bank teller, a customer I was helping asked me if I liked the “Pointer Sisters”(and I did), then would I like to see them in concert. Only thing, it was for tonight only, and I could bring a friend,too. I quickly said,” Yes, that would be wonderful! I would love to see them live.” And with that, I accepted the 2 tickets. I quickly called my girlfriend to join me after work, and off we went. To our surprise we were escorted to the first 10 rows from the stage. Wow, we could see everything, we were so close and what a wonderful performance. They had all these sequenced gowns and costumes. How synchronized they were in their routine.

Near the end, everyone got all excited and were standing instead of sitting, cheering, so I stood up and went into the aisle to have a better view. Suddenly, I saw all these security guards, 5 or 6 of them all around me. I looked around but didn’t see what all the ruckus was about. So I went back to my seat, and my girlfriend slapped me on my arm and said,“didn’t you see Tom Selleck!” And I said “where?” Then she pointed to him, but all I could see was his back, and all the security around him. He was headed to the backstage to join the Pointer Sisters. My girlfriend yelled above all the noise and cheering saying, “He was right in back of you for a moment, watching the performance finale.”

WOW!! Just to imagine, I was that close to him and didn’t even know it. Tom Selleck was such a popular TV idol especially with the women. I had a co-worker who loved him and would have just died to be so– close to him!

There is a lot to say about this man that I had known little about. He passed away when I was only 11 years old. His name was Larry Osorio, but it was originally Ladrigo. He changed it when he arrived in America to sound more American. In my mind, he was a true pioneer. He left his homeland, the Philippines at the age of 17 to explore the world. He met his wife, my grandmother in Brazil. Of all the things I have heard he accomplished, above all is a fond memory of the time he took me fishing. I had caught more than him. But he caught the Bigger ones. 🙂