from then till now (catching up now that i'm getting my feet under me)

yay suprise party! crafty folk! this is all of us squished into my entry way. aww! miss you guys!dinner with my adult conversation class.
eggplant curry! very tasty!

group picture! hiromi wore a kimono for me and she danced two traditional japanese dances! i took videos, they may go up in the future.
sing, rie, sing!
mrs. frost, bob, erica, and i had a great lunch before i left! i miss them already!

an arm of the typhoon headed for me as i waited for the plane.
pretty old house from a walk mia and i went on.
two cops eyeballing a guitar hero II van. kansas can be a strange place.
so many roses at hy-vee (grocery store) that i had to snap a pic. probably too much dark tower in my system...

here's baby oscar! he's the reason i came home two weeks early! he looks so serious!
ahh, mass st.! one of my favorite places in lawrence. it always has the greatest atmosphere!
even a sweet jug band that had people dancing in the street!
in the morning it's off to the KC Farmer's Market! here's the kc skyline.

this has to be one of the cutest babies of all time! she was chillin out in one of the stores helping her grandma sell fudge and cheeseballs.
brats: it's what's for breakfast!! yummy brat from the italian deli and hot off the grille!! *food eating sounds*
yay produce!
shoppers at the market! there are about four lanes of this then a box of shops surrounding the area. it takes a while to walk through, but that's half the fun!

sunflowers and millions of tomatoes
chainsaw doing his super-cute impression of jabba the hut!
roger, i don't think that you're going to be able to turn the truck parking lot into a pool, no matter how long you leave the water running. ;)

and, now take a deep breath, cuz' you're going to need it to laugh at my hair cut!

yes, it's a fo-hawk. :P i like it! i can style it however i want, and i'm kinda digging the short thing. don't worry it looks downright normal when i don't put goo in it. i'm calling it my breakup haircut, because it is! *sticks tongue out at derek* and i don't care what you think about it!

The Long Goodbye

what's this? my last sunday dinner at yoma's! akimi, yoma, james, kiet, christine, nozomu, me, akinori, gilly, and rob. i said my goodbyes and managed not to cry. *sniff*
goodbye, yoma, you skinny cook! we tried to explain this saying to him, but he is still rail thin.

aww! saiyonara to The Ugly Men!
mon night: ange, lou, gilly, mai, myself, and jill. we got together and went to the renaissance resort up in naruto for the last onsen.
squeaky clean, and looking good, jill!
gilly's practicing her proper, and slightly morose, young lady face.

mai and lou are all rosey! :)
nice and relaxing! time for a chat and ...
...Tea!

here's gilly reinforcing British stereotypes. ;P "tea anyone?"
the dark chocolate tower!

gold flakes. this place is so fancy you eat gold with your chocolate!

tues night was dinner with some of my favorite co-workers: saeki, takigawa, and nakaishi sensei. we went to a gourmet, organic buffet. it was really tasty!
yar! let's eat!
yummy!
a good time and we're very full!

Last Weekend In Japan!

Fri night: it's time for The Ugly Man. they're really good!
and rob hops up there with his okanawan sashin, which he totally rocks at!
akinori looks like he's crying!
that's better!

the bass babes! no ugly men here! and they're apparently number one, which is a big variation on the usual "V" that most people are so fond of around here.
smitha, jammin out to S&G's "Sound of Silence"
this is an awesome pic of smitha! she looks so serious and professional. she should sing on stage more often!

time for me to toss down my tribute to Janis by singing "Move Over". james was kind enough to man my camera, and got some abfab shots!

oh yeah. can you feel it?
Christine! rock rock rock!

then she and james do "stand by me"

james looks like a total dork in this one! :) nothin' but love, james!

a little fuzzy, but you can't beat their expressions.

akinori recouping between sets!
ange, akio, and i!

in the intermission rob and lance played some traditional okanawan music. very groovy.

on to sat morning!

took this one biking down the river road.
pretty.

and then it was off to the saiyonara beach party, in all it's rainy glory.
oh, kirsten, can you make it through a party with dry pants?! ;)

this is pickles's bum! hello, pickles's bum!
drinking game in the works. this is side a.
here's side b.
the moody coast.

tracy, anya, bessie, haden, and tilly!
joey's corn is getting instant satisfaction.
rob better have some more bbq, he's eating for two now...
hello ange!

christine, kirsten, rob, and tara.
yes, angels eat too. ;)
erin and sarah. erin is making the best face ever!
olivia!!!

ken! or monta, as people who have/will watch the musical might know him.
ahh, this is the top side of pickles!
jorden!
wow, if tilly gets any hotter, i'll start getting burns! meow!

ahhh, nice one!
crazy anya! and can i get any more shiny?
hmm, i think somebody's been drinking...
yes, goulashes are awesome!