Seven Lucky Gods

I got a new charm for my cell phone, and just in time too since my old one just broke last week. My brother-in-law works for a Japanese company and he was given the charm as a gift from a visiting colleague. He isn't much for cell phone charms, but he knew I would like it. Yea!

Bonus Time!

I got my annual raise at work today and it was much above the average amount. That makes me very happy! On top of that I received a bonus, which also makes me very happy. I am feeling really good about moving to a new department at work - it has made such a difference in my happiness. I am not nearly as bored as I used to be. Hooray for bonus time (not just at Clinique)!

Laptop Lunches

I am posting to this Flickr group now. I have been making Laptop Lunches for a while now, but I finally got my act together and put the camera in the kitchen so I remember to take pics of them. I guess this demonstrates that I am still in to lunch packing. It turns out to not be such a transient obsession after all. Maybe I need to rethink the blog name.

Koyama Shoten

I found a pretty good Japanese grocery store in Livonia called Koyama Shoten. It is near the corner of Six Mile and Newburgh roads. I got a really nice mug and several food items for bento and sushi. I was pretty excited since almost all of the other Asian grocery stores in the area are Chinese or Korean. They tend to have only some of the items that I am usually looking for. They have limited bento items, but I scouted it out nonetheless.

Yo Mama!

My sister and I went to see Yo-Yo Ma last night in concert and he was fantastic! We had nose-bleed seats, but he was still visible and the show was great. He even played some Shostakovich - my favorite!

The Recycling Nazi

Yup, that is what they call me at my house. I try to recycle as much as possible. I have been known to pick through the trash to pull out recyclables. I am excited today because I just read the paperwork from our new trash service and discovered that they take many more of the plastics than our old service. Now all of those yogurt, butter, and rice pudding tubs can be recycled too! It was killing me to throw those away and I even began to look for brands that packaged differently so I didn't have to throw so much away. Hooray for recycling #1-7!

Going the Moose Way Home

That is actually the title of a really good book that I read as a child, but it came to my mind as I was formulating this post. The other day on my way to work I found that the road was closed temporarily so I had to turn around and go another way. I noticed that this new way takes just a bit longer, but is infinitely more peaceful of a drive. I have decided to take this new route indefinitely since it avoids the highway, has very little traffic, and runs through a mostly rural area. I have been in a great mood upon arriving at work the last few days and I attribute it almost entirely to my new route. Silly huh?