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Ulan-chan’s 15th birthday

Today is May 5th, Children’s Day in Japan. It’s also my daughter Ulan’s birthday! This lucky girl has her birthday on a national holiday. So the picture above is a cake for Children’s day (Kodomo no Hi) for the rest of the family to enjoy, and this was her own personal birthday cake:

Here’s the neat crap she got for her birthday. I got her a Dragon Quest Slime pillow with some Chiikawa character stuff. Chiikawa is some new cute character animation she’s really into and watches the videos on YouTube. I think it’s boring, but whatever. Happy girl is happy. We love you, Ulan-chan.

Oh yes, and while we were having cake, a mag 6 earthquake hit Ishikawa Prefecture, right on the peninsula. Klaxons were going off and there was even a countdown to what was supposed to be a mag 3 here, but we couldn’t feel a thing.

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A heartwarming father to daughter talk regarding the movie Aliens…

The local grocery store now carries pita bread, so I made Greg-version Turkish/Greek kebab sandwiches for dinner Saturday night. While eating, I put in the Aliens DVD again. My daughter Ulan voiced her displeasure at the first chestburster scene. I said, “Hey, this movie is about FRIENDSHIP. Because when everyone is getting killed in horrible ways by hideous space monsters, friends are all you have left!”

She probably thinks I’m crazy, but someday, she’ll learn. She’ll also learn that there were only TWO Alien movies ever made. The rest are feldercarb.

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A father/daughter picnic under the cherry blossoms

Today I took the day off to spend with my daughter. Every year we do a father/daughter picnic under the cherry blossoms (sakura) for flower viewing (o-hanami). We went to Family Mart to buy sandwiches and walked to the small river lined with cherry trees. A pleasant pedestrian path runs alongside, with the blossoms overhead. We had a picnic in the gazebo there. When the wind picked up, it would shower flower petals on us as we walked along the river. It was a beautiful day.

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My daughter playing the drums for “Mixed Nuts,” the theme song to the anime Spy Family, cover by Higashi Junior High

With a smile on her face, our beautiful daughter Ulan tears it up on drums. This jazz song has a particularly complicated rhythm, and she does a wonderful job!

The last time we saw her perform was last summer, and she was just barely doing simple rhythms on the drums. Seeing her now and how well she played with a smile on her face the whole time, she’s so incredible. I’ve told her since she was little that she has a special gift to bless others. I can see her playing drums in a church someday, or playing in a band. Blessing others.

I am reminded of the song “She Bangs the Drums” by The Stone Roses:

I can feel the earth begin to move
I hear my needle hit the groove
And spiral through another day
I hear my song begin to say
Kiss me where the sun don’t shine
The past was yours
But the future’s mine
You’re all out of time

I don’t feel too steady on my feet
I feel hollow I feel weak
Passion fruit and holy bread
Fill my guts and ease my head
Through the early morning sun
I can see her, here she comes
She bangs the drums

[Chorus]
Have you seen her, have you heard
The way she plays? There are no words
To describe the way I feel
How could it ever come to pass?
She’ll be the first, she’ll be the last
To describe the way I feel
The way I feel

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Our new floor sofa

Just over a month ago, I finally bought a small floor sofa for our apartment’s living room. In Japan, these floor sofas are popular since they do not take up so much space. They have no legs and just sit flat on the floor. I’ve wanted to get one for many years, and I am glad that I finally bought one.

I was out shopping with Mayu when I bought it, and it took up the entire back seat of the car. Mayu had to sit in the front seat, and it was the first time she sat in the front seat in nearly 4 years. She’s suffered PTSD ever since she was hit by a car in April 2019, and sitting in the front seat with a wide view of the road ahead makes her very uncomfortable. She was able to sit in front with me like she used to do, and it made me happy. It was a milestone, like an Xbox achievement unlocked.

Ulan particularly loves the sofa. Here she is wearing her snuggly jammies, playing her 3DS.

Sofas are perfect for snuggly time.