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.
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.
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
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.
