festivities

I haven't written in this digital diary in a while, so here's a bit of an update. Christmas happened. I don't remember what I did aside from doing some work, but I did eat some おでん that my mom made. There is perhaps nothing better on a winter day than crowding around a boiling plate with japanese vegetables crammed into it. The daikon was especially good.

I wrote holiday cards to chapter and district leaders, but my hand is about to fall off.

Sachiko also came by and we did the DC thing. She didn't seem to interested in the Smithsonians, which is a bummer given that DC is known for its museums and politics. But Eppon joined halfway and we made it fun. However, we watched the most boring IMAX film that ever existed. The movie was entitled "Legends of the Flight, 3D." It was about the evolution of airliners. And no, it did not have to be in 3D. In fact, Sachiko, Eppon, and Justin all fell asleep - though, to be fair, we were tired from walking 20,000 steps across the National Mall, according to the iPhone.  In addition to the DC tour, we joined my momin making some もち (mochi), which are japanese rice cakes. I also went undefeated in Othello and Checkers against Sachiko.

もち

 

@ the small chinese restaurant we ate at in chinatown. The food was delicious. Though, when the owner spoke to me in Mandarin, I froze up. I am ashamed. 



@ the National Archives.  Spady would love this.

I had another interview with a small firm in Annapolis, and really, I am looking forward to hearing back from them. They do work both in litigation and land use, which is a perfect fit for me. After reflecting on the interview, I wanted to redo it because I felt I spoke with some pretence, as if I catered my answers to the interviewer's liking - though in fact I was attempting to be myself. But what is done is done, and I can only chant that receive positive feedback.

I received my score back from my MPRE, an attorney ethics exam required in most states, but I didn't do so well. Apparently I am not ethical. In any case, I'm not too concerned about these results because the exam is not requried in Maryland (though it is in the majority of states). I will take it again in March, unless the recheck of my scores that I requested comes back with more positive results.

With all that being said, let's usher in the new year of Capable People and Dynamic Development! Let's make our SGI family worthy of the title "Soka Youth Gakkai"!

asian dream song & the eclipse

Hello all. I think I'm on a blogging binge because of the holidays, though I should be working... In any case, did anyone see the lunar eclipse yesterday (4am on the east coast)? It didn't get as dark as I suspected, but the moon took on a red hue for whatever reason.

my miserable attempt to capture the eclipse. Com'mon lumix.

my mom and I lying on the deck

Does anyone like 久石譲 (Hisaishi Jyou)? I actually don't know if that last character is correct. He's the composer and pianist for most, if not all, of the Studio Ghibli songs. My favorite is "asian dream song," which is not a part of any ghibli movie as far as I know. The second one I've posted down below is 風のとおり道 - which means, roughly, "the path on which the wind blows" and it is a song from となりのトトロ. Pay attention the celloist in the second vid in the second half of the video.





If you'd like any of his music, let me know.

the city is not a place for kids, Rocky, Pengin

There are so many things wrong with cities, at least for a kid from the 'burbs. I just had my interview with the city (which went surprisingly well... more on that and my interview with the firm on friday to come at a later post) and I needed to be at the school for a moot court meeting at 5pm - five hours after the end of my interview. Okay, no big deal, I'll just park somewhere.

Except that all street parking anywhere remotely close to my school was taken. Okay, I'll go look for a garage. Do you know how many garages need student permits? (I had one, except that we entered winter break). Alright, two strikes - I'll go look for a garage a little farther away that doesn't need a permit. Twenty dollars?! Gimme a break. I then took an unnecessary tour of the city looking for a spot that would welcome my 94 civic.

After some time, I was fortunate enough to find street parking right across my school, but alas, it was two hours. Bmore, my friend, can you lend a ninja some slack? Being lazy, I acquiesced and just parked my soon-to-die 'Queen Elizabeth' at the spot, knowing very well that I had to come out every two hours to feed the meter. Oh, and I forgot to mention that I can't park here from 4-6pm, so I'll have to recon the city again.

So I sit here in school pouting over some Mickey Dee's Crispy Chicken, and thinking, what am I doing in the law library during winter vacation? Ah~, I feel like Rocky in Rocky Balboa, going up against a challenge I'm not conditioned for and competing with students that are on a different level. But then I am reminded that Rocky was only worried about "getting stronger":




Julie, with her love forwedding songs, shared this single by Pengin (feat. U, who I believe is Yamada Yuu, the actress) with me. It's catchy. Enjoy!

genkidama

It's nearly 2am, but I just couldn't restrain myself. I have to share this now. As we were awing Flo's "art stuff" album via skype, my younger brother, Justin, felt incumbent on himself to share his relative artistic depravity with me through a facebook post. The series of posts went like this:

**Justin: [bleep] Eric Kunimoto. I am not SSJ 4 yet as I promised you. (Note: SSJ = Super Saiyajin, as in the saintly beings from Dragon Ball Z. He's telling me he's not yet worthy; he hasn't met his full potential.)

**Eric: you better use the training pod thing, or something. I'm doing it naturally, like Goku. But alas, I am battling the Gohan disease, stuck at SSJ2

**Justin: right. [bleeping] gohan.. he could have been the shit. I think I'm goten. pre-fusion. right before buu. not good.... rather.. oblivious.

Then, Tommy Tomiyama, all the way from Africa, decided to interrupt the conversation by reminding us how stupid we were:

**Tommy: majide omaera honma ni ahodana...

We brought him into the loop and he played along. In fact, he decided he would be Kururin. Here's a photo to remind you all of who this kururin is.

It was funny enough that Kuruin doesn't have the ability to become a Super Saiyajin because, well, he's not a Saiyajin in the first place. But it was what Tommy said after that changed my life forever. Here it is, unadulterated and in its true and most genuine form:

**Tommy: ehehehe kuririn saiko- a, demo genkidama wa tukai taikara yappari saiyajin ga ii. At Soka Gakuen in Tokyo, the prime point of the whole Soka Education school systems, there was once this tournament of fine capable men, entitled "Kamehameha Tournament." the competition basically entails your kamehameha demonstration. first you have to claim your favorite kamehameha scene, against which enemy, thus setting the parameters of your battle, then gather your strength, or Ki, throughout your whole being, while narrating the scene, both yourself and your opponent toward the climax. once you are charged with your Ki, you finally release your weapon. your demonstration is evaluated on the bases of 1) accuracy of the narration, 2) the intensity and coolness of the battle scene itself, and 3) your facial expression at the moment of kamehameha. in 2001, when i was a senior there, the champion took everyone at shock, as he raised his both arms high into the sky, shouting, "minna!!!!!!!! orani!! orani genki wo kure!!!!!!!" right, it was not Kamehameha. everyone said to himself, "EE? Genkidama??" it was against the tournament regulation, but the audience raised their arms, sending their Genki to this contestant. soon after, they were united at the depth of their lives together with Goku. We could all see this imposing, yet beautiful Genkidama above him. time was ripe; he released the genkidama onto Freezer the Bastard. a moment of silence arrived, a moment of peace. everyone knew, that year's championship was his. maybe you guys should join the competition....."



I'll just leave it at that without any further commentary. I apologize if you're not familiar with Dragon Ball techniques and phrases. I suggest you watch the series. All the episodies. Now.

winter vacation?

I can't tell if I'm on vacation or not. On one hand, I'm not attending class, but on the hand, I'm doing just as much work as if it was still October! But admittedly, I am enjoying the white december and reading Dostoevsky instead of a majority decision packed into these unnecessarily thick hardbacks. And, I get to enjoy the niceties of staying within the borders of my cosy home, including the きつねうどん (is this not the mark of youth?)

It is cold. Extremely cold. But as I shiver into infinity, I can't help but think that my days of drinking coffee while doing school work will come to a halting stop in May.

By the way, would anybody have some recommendations for some good quality headphones? Not for running, but to sport with my future mp3 player/phone and for my computer? They don't have to be audiophile headphones, nor do they have to really heavy duty. I'm looking for something I keep around my neck, but nothing that looks breakable. Any suggestions are appreciated :). Generally, I like stuff from audiocubes.

interviews with myself

I have two interviews. The first one is for a law clerk (a term for short-term associate, usually during school) position with a D.C. metro firm doing litigation and estate planning. That is on Friday. The second one is for an externship position with the city working on land use and real estate issues. That is on Monday.

Sorry I can't be more specific - it's not because I don't want to share, but it's because I am, in a certain respect, not allowed to. As an aside, I'm in a bit of a quagmire with respect to writing a blog because there are employers who hound the Internet for info.

But let me digress a little. I got both calls over the last week, and while it feels awkward, it feels right. I've been dishing out resumes and cover letters left and right and it was, at first, a viciously unnerving experience. However, as I continued to bring these setbacks into the context of my faith and chanted for the happiness of myself and my YMD, I felt a sense of mission to turn poison into medicine. As some of you may know, entering prof school was a ride, to say the least, but as my law school career comes to an end, I can clearly identify the moments where I broke through my own karma to create tangible results. My point is, whether these interviews go well or not, I intend to show who I have become through these experiences to the interviewers - to that extent, these are interviews with myself.

Now, back to the actual jobs. I went to the firm's office today, just to make sure I knew where it was, and jeez... you can definitely see the difference between the private and public sector... Marble flooring, glass everywhere, shiny nameplates, and a mammoth building. I felt out of place with my American eagle checkered shirt. The job entails a lot of research and writing, which I am confident in doing, but it is also admittedly in a field that I am not too familiar with - estates and trusts. But they know that based on my application, so I know there is a reason they want to speak with me. Litigation, on the other hand, is something I have substantial experience in, albeit not in the private sector. On a more general level, I'm really excited about interviewing here. This is a mid-size and growing firm, and it's conveniently right outside DC.

The city job is in a field that I am extremely interested in (land use). I've had a fair amount of academic training in the field as a research assistant and clinic student, but not professional experience. But, if I'm able to step my foot in here, it would be invaluable insofar as land use law is practiced on the municipal level. To make a comparison, if someone wanted to make themselves the most marketable to get a federal tax law job, it would be in their best interest to work for the IRS, or perhaps the SEC.

Time to chant and face myself!

brothers in prose & korean bbq

I love words. I deeply enjoyed story time in elementary school, individual reading time in English class, and yes, I love the power of words in the law. Mastering your penmanship helps communicate a lot more than the words themselves - they inspire, impart courage, compassion, wisdom. Discipline in our words can help many people. That takes meticulous editing, precision in vocabulary, and merciless desire to refine our language.

With this preface, I'd like to introduce two brothers in prose. The first is The Brothers Karamazov. This novel was written by Fyodor Dostoevsky, one of the goliaths of the literary world. I plan to read this particular story over the winter break. Here is a short blurb from the editors:

"Into the framework of the story Dostoevsky poured all of his deepest concerns - the origins of evil, the nature of freedom, the craving for meaning, and, most importantly, whether or not God exists. The novel is particularly famous for three chapters that rank among the greatest pages of Western literature: "Rebellion" and "The Grand Inquisitor" present what many have considered the strongest arguments ever formulated against the existence of God, while "The Devil" brilliantly portrays the banality of evil."

My second brother is George Yamazawa. He recently competed in the individual world poetry slam competition (iWPS). He's placed in a number of previous competitions. Here, he won 4th. Check out his delivery below:



Here's my favorite, from 2009:



I forgot to mention that I finished finals yesterday. One more semester! To celebrate, I went out with a few friends to the 24/7 K-bbq joint, called "Honey Pig," near my house. Here are a few juicy snapshots:

the radio

For some reason, listening to the radio (well, listening to pandora - 21st century style, I guess) grounds my daily activities in reality. To back up a little, I recently began a "running music" channel in the hope of finding music I can use on my mp3 player while exercising. Naturally, running music tends to be american rap and pop from the 90s and early 2000s, when music was actually decent. This channel ended up being my toy to reminisce with old school songs. 3 Doors Down's "Kryponite" was a pleasant reminder of the good ol' high school days.

Highschool - when we still went outside to play basketball with our friends down the street, when we rode our bike everywhere, and when we were only still transitioning to digital standards. And, calling friends over the landline ("Hi Ms. A, is Jon there?")! Sleeping over friends' places and getting slaughtered in a NERF gun battle? (maybe this is more elem/middle school)... When I'm reminded of those times, I feel so grounded in reality; not watching football, but going outside to play; not studying my notes off the computer screen, but printing them out.  Listening to pandora, I remembered how important it was to just live - embracing community, books, and the genius of the bike.

Just a reminder to myself cherish the 'here and now.'

ninjas and cafe latte

I think we've all see this; it's marvelous... Kudos to the creators. The last scene is hysterical.



Speaking of ninjas, yesterday I visited Julie so I could get out of my house to study. It helped a lot - I got a lot of studying done for my last final, and she was kind enough to treat to some カレー　that her mom made. Julie also attemped a 手作り　latte, but that didn't go over so well...

I think Marika messed her up

her latte. She had some coffee grounds floating.

to the 4th class french belle

君を想う

the perfect snack

When you're studying and a grocery run has not yet been made, I employ my go-to snack attack. I get a cracker (I go with Ritz), place a small slab of ham on top of it, and squeeze some karashi (mustard) to top it off. I was going to refer to Cliff's blog for a quick recipe but for the fact that I had no ingredients at my disposal. So here is my perfect snack, in all its glory:

On a final note, I am suffering from a serious deficiency in excercise. While I could have blamed this on being busy up until two weeks ago, my semester internship has ended and I've been temporarily relieved from research responsibilities; so I should have some time to workout. My excuse is that I want to have some running headphones so I don't have to be bored running.

flute break

Taking a break from merciless testing. So I've been practicing the flute for about 30 min or so everyday and I'm enjoying a lot (thanks, Elaine)! I have officially finished my first beginner's flute book. I think I'm about at 2nd grade level, haha. Well, that may be deceving because there are so many prodigies out there now. Anyway, the experience has been great! I've shown a "Ken and Yumiko" piece on this blog before, but here are a few low-key at-the-cafe performances. Enjoy!

ten in counting

ten white hairs. Unbelievable. Perhaps it's the signature of a senescent 24-year old. Or perhaps, it's good ol' stress. That would explain my recent addiction to blogging. Either way, I prefer not to associate myself with it. At least this puts me in the winter holiday mode.

the greatest danger could be your stupidity

That's right; that's what the fortune cookie said. I must say, I've never seen such a demeaning fortune. With that being said, as I enter the final examination marathon, I pray to be able to let all the wisdom come forth.