Happy New Year

Happy New Year everyone,

or, as the Japanese say,

Minna-san, Akemashite Omedetou Gozaimasu!

Well, I'm really happy to be able to report the DC trip is ON. 5 of us from Odaiko New England (4 Community Members, 1 student) plus two others are renting a minivan and driving down on Saturday for the MLK weekend and the Inauguration. Of course it's going to be chaos piled on top of bustling crowds stacked on top of insanity scattered atop confusion. (One might say that currently describes Wall Street...) But to experience all that? I still can't believe it's truly going to happen.

We've got places to crash...I think. Hopefully our hosts can tolerate these interlopers from Massachusetts! We're still trying to figure out what events we might be able to get in to/check out/participate in while we're there. But we'll get that all sorted out.

Of course I'm bringing my camera....and a notepad. Have got to keep a journal for all this stuff, then translate it into something coherent for my blog!

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And now for something completely different....

I finally got a Skype account & a decent little web cam (as did my Japanese fiancee). Can't believe we had spent such a long time without this arrangement - it's great to be able to video talk with each other over the 'Net. Though it's a bit crazy - we're probably averaging 2 hours & 15 minutes per chat. Plus, we have to take into consideration the 12+ hour time difference between Boston and Tokyo!

Well, that's enough for now. I have taiko member rehearsal tomorrow night, and of course it's bitterly cold in Boston the next coupla days....the dojo will probably be freezing. As good a reason as any to vigorously drum. : )