My wife is back from her 10-day vacation in Japan. I’m still jealous that I couldn’t go with her this time, but what’s done is done. She brought me お土産 (souvenirs), though! I love me some presents!
I had requested some stationary stationery because my pencil and erasers were well used. Korean stationary stationery doesn’t satisfy my needs. I need my MONO erasers and made-for-Japan mechanical pencils! Not only did she buy me the standard block erasers, she also bought me the state-of-the-art miniature cylindar action pivoted erasers. 満足だ！
I also got some books. You can never go wrong with books. Unless it’s a terrible book. If you buy someone a terrible book, I suppose it goes very wrong. But the books she bought me were great!
The book I started skimming through is titled, うっかりの日本語合ってるようで違ってる！ (Careless Japanese that seems right but isn’t!) The cover has a little salaryman saying, 「頭痛がイタイ」which means, “My headache hurts.” To be honest, I’ve never heard anyone say 「頭痛がイタイ」. But the book covers more commonly made mistakes. (Like the difference in usage of 愛想 and 愛嬌)
And, finally, she got me a Totoro keychain. We both enjoy Miyazaki, and she particularly likes Totoro, but that’s one of the only Miyazaki flicks I haven’t seen! I still like it, though. And so does baby Lani who tries her best to steal it whenever it’s removed from my pocket.
7 Comments
September 25, 2007 at 2:30 pm
I want presents! In my opinion, Tottoro is one of the weirder Ghibli films. (Though I think Pom Poko takes the cake, there.) I definitely prefer the 魔女の宅急便, 紅の豚, and 千と千尋の神隠し type films. The cat-bus contraption, the sootballs, and the creepy Alice in Wonderland Cheshire Cat grin give me the willies. Ha ha.
September 25, 2007 at 11:12 pm
天空の城ラピュタ is my favorite. 千と千尋 was also good. And, of course, 魔女の宅急便 and もののけ姫.
September 26, 2007 at 7:52 am
How can one not like the cat-bus?
Just to add my two cents, my favorite Ghibli film is 紅の豚. Did anyone else feel it might have been targeted more towards adults than the general all-ages audiences as with other Ghibli films?
September 26, 2007 at 12:49 pm
Hey Bryan - I got that feeling, yes. What’s really neat is that I now live in a setting that’s rather similar to the scenery in the film. (Which I think is supposed to be Mediterranean…nearer Italy and Greece…?)
Has anybody else seen Pom Poko? I want to know that I’m not the only one who cracked up at the weirdness it joyously presents. I’ll never look at Tanuki the same. Ha ha.
September 27, 2007 at 11:29 am
stationEry
No careless English mistakes, now!
September 27, 2007 at 12:27 pm
I requested some ‘not in motion’.
Dawn! Don’t point out my bad English!
September 27, 2007 at 2:54 pm
Sorry! Reflex!
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