Aid, Kitchen passed away on Wednesday, December 19, 2012. She was 12 years old. Since she was adopted (refurbished model), the exact date of birth is unknown. The cause of death is paralysis. The bowl is completely stuck on the base, and no matter what I’ve tried, it won’t dislodge. In another words, her brain is still working perfectly, but her body is frozen, forever, so we decided to put her to sleep.

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Happy New Year. 2013 has started with a perfect sunrise in Japan. Hopefully it signifies that the rest of the year to be bright and shiny. 2012 was filled with happenings: from Taylor Swift changing boyfriends 18 times, to Gangnam Style to Sandy craziness to starting my own business. Let’s hope 2013 will be a good year for everyone!

I am currently in Japan, staying at my mom’s home in rural Japan.

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In the spirit of getting back into writing and sharing my thoughts more often on Umami Mart, I want to tell you the story of how Johnny and I met.

It was the summer of 2011. I had been going on dates throughout the year, and “putting myself out there” on internet dating sites and meeting friends of friends. The scene was pretty bleak, and I was totally over the whole dating scene.

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Here’s something I dragged out of my photo archives. It’s from my trip to Kerala, India back in 2007. We spent two days and one night in the backwaters on a houseboat — probably one of the most glorious experiences of my life!

One thing I clearly remember was our breakfast on the boat. The plastic tablecloth was vibrant, with mismatching patterns and dizzying colors.

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Spring is just around the corner, and plum blossoms are bursting all over Japan, California, and beyond. A year after the devastation of the Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami, Japan still stands, its spirit strong, with people going about its business just like the rest of us. While the struggle is not over — affected areas are still under disrepair and threats of radiation looms — the blossoms are symbols of renewal, and healing.

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My city has experienced the wettest summer in the recorded weather history of Denmark.

Just this morning I woke up to a two hour thunderstorm with the most insane cracks, blitzes and a mustard yellow hazy sky. It felt like some aliens were landing on the planet in giant yellow spaceships. Unfortunately they didn’t, and another boring day began instead. And it keeps on raining.

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PREFACE
Skankynavia: In the US (Part 1 – Berkeley)

Last week I listened to the great NYC radioshow called RadioLab. They deal with quirky science and interesting true stories, and last week’s subject was “memory” (a rerun from 2007, listen here). It turns out that every time you remember something, and when you revisit a certain piece of stored information in your brain, you actually reprogram it.

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Before I go into this week’s tear-jerking post, I am fortunate to tell you that all my peeps in Japan are fine, but my thoughts are with everyone who is affected by the earthquake. This is truly awful, sad, and devastating for all of us. Japan may be well-equipped to handle the situation technologically, but if you can, please donate to Red Cross, or Japan Society’s Earthquake Relief Fund, or buy Lady Gaga’s wristband for the relief. 

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I’ve been a bit nostalgic these days, with the end of the decade approaching… any minute now. It’s a heavy load! The 00′s have certainly been a heartstopping (OBAMA!) slash heartbreaking (9/11) decade. Sigh. It’s over.

As I have thought heavily on the best films (IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE, dir. Wong Kar-wai), books (PATTERN RECOGNITION, by William Gibson) and albums (YOSHIMI BATTLES THE PINK ROBOTS, The Flaming Lips) of the decade, I naturally have pondered the best food moments.

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One year ago today, I broke up with New York City. I sold all my furniture, packed up all my things into many, many boxes and with the help of Erin, managed to clean and just barely move out of my darling little Brooklyn studio. A year ago. Today.

I showed up to NYC in 2002 just out of college with one suitcase.

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