I saw a guy on a dirt bike going down 31st the other day and it made me miss Toby and the open road. It made me miss this jacket even more though.

Life with Lou in Japan.  Good times.

I know you were all wondering.  It’s true.  I come from a line of hipsters & hippies.

Nine years ago I up and moved to Japan.  I went to teach English, travel, and really find myself…or maybe I just knew I didn’t want to be in Kansas for another second.  The point being that I went.

I knew that it was an opportunity of a lifetime or something like that.  I bought a camera that required double A batteries as I didn’t want to have to deal with the electricity differences.  Nine years ago the digital cameras on the market where costly and huge.  I could drop $100 and get a little 35mm that would work just fine thank you.  So that’s what I did.  I took lots and lots of photos.  Some of them better than others.  These are all in various stacks and photo albums.

However I have started to digitize some of them.  Of course, this first stack doesn’t have a single person in it.  Nope.  These are some of the better photos from my trip to Kyoto.  My goal is to digitize a lot more of them.  So watch out world.

In the past 5 days I have been reliving all those great times from undergrad. I helped someone move on August 1 which included an hour of wait time while they stood in line to get keys and this evening I attended a birthday celebration at the Sandbar. I feel that I should note that I never actually went into the Sandbar while attending KU. In fact the first time I ever went in was December 20, 2002. Nonetheless it is a KU tradition and I was there this evening.

Of course I’ve also been on campus all summer doing Dog Days. Today was the final day for the summer session. Yes I got my t-shirt and yes I did the run (okay so I walked up the hill–what? it’s steep). I did get lapped by the super fit, attractive guy, but that’s life.

Perhaps next week I’ll find myself at a house party or swilling beer with gutter punks. Life is running in cycles and at least I know what is coming next. This time, however I will not get involved with Neo-Nazis.

When I relocated back to Lawrence there was one place that you had to get a burger: The Burger Stand. Over the past couple of months I’ve had my fair share of Kobe burgers, an occasional Fire burger, and I have even ventured to try a very special pork burger.  I can tell you that the best fries are the original fries and not to waste the money on the duck fat fries-they aren’t as good as you’d hope.  There was talk of the Burger Stand relocating to someplace with more seating and then it happened.

The Burger Stand moved like a knight; over one block and down two.  But the gourmet was just getting started.  In its stead at the former location sprang up The Burger Pub.  This one featuring Chef Matt Lawson.  I’ve only had the House Burger so far, but it featured homemade pickles & mustard.  Man, oh man that mustard is good.  It is made daily and has just a hint of horseradish.  Apparently there is a burger that has a coat of that mustard seared into the meat.  That one is up next on my list followed by the Egg Burger (egg, bacon, cheese on a burger).

Sorry Smashburger you just can’t compete in the same arena.  I do dig you as a great alternative to just stopping at Maccers-if only you had a drive through.  My first 5 Guys experience is slated for tomorrow; I don’t think it’ll hold a candle to the Burger Pub though.

Over the last couple of weeks I started cooking. Now that I’m back in civilization, meaning places that come with kitchens and grocers that have more than goya and rice, I remember that I can indeed cook. I’ve actually been making things out of a new cookbook that I have and everything is quite tasty. Below are some photos of some of the dishes.

Well I have completed the first 5K of my season.  It was the Dam Run.  I figured I would complete it at a relatively slow time based on the time it took me to do the Mud Run last fall.  I surprised myself and completed it in under 35 minutes.  So of course now I’ve challenged myself to complete the next one in the same time.  The next 5K is the Hilltop Hustle.  If you know anything about KU you are aware that it is hilly.  If you are unaware there is a joke that you can tell the year of the student based on their calf muscles.  So in order to further prepare for the Brew to Brew and the Hilltop Hustle I have changed up my route (and music).

Today I was going to do my 5K loop and call it a day, but as I neared the turn I thought…pah I can make it up the hill.  This hill.  I made it 3/4 of the way up.  Maybe tomorrow.

I’m back in Kansas. This is my third week. In some ways it is very strange while in others it’s great. My mom has been great and we have been going out to eat at all the best places. Tonight we went to Dempsey’s; best burger in town.

I’ve also started running outside. I did run a little bit while in New York. This is completely different. There are hills here. Not just little inclines, but full on hills. I have been on a couple routes so far and all of them have hills. This is good because I’m going to be part of a relay team next month. This is a race from Boulevard Brewery to Free State Brewery. I’ll be doing a 4 mile stint. This will be with my cousins. To prepare I may be doing a 5K on the 27th. If you want to join me let me know.

In other news the NCAA basketball tournament is starting. This year I don’t even need to pretend to work during the games.

Tonight was the night that I designated as the farewell evening. this means I would close down a bar and not feel bad about it Jesse, the most fabulous friend in the world came over. we packed up my belongings and then made a way too involved dinner. afterward we went out to trivia (we too 2nd place) and then to a good local bar, dba.

After a couple of hours indulging our drinking personalities Jesse headed back Manhattan. I stayed and chatted up a musician or two until my writer friend arrived. Overall it was rather surreal.

Perhaps I will have another going away on Friday in Manhattan. one can never tell.