telepathic paranoia

If you came here looking for the English manual for the SH001 phone, it can be found here: http://www.au.kddi.com/torisetsu/pdf/sh001/sh001_basic_e.pdf

It’s snowing right now in Northern Idaho, but I’m not bothered…  because I’m visiting M. in Kyoto for school break.   Or rather…  I’ve decided I need to stop telling people I’m in Kyoto, because it conjures up images of monumental shrines and kimono-clad geishas.  In fact, I’m hanging out in an area of Kyoto so remote, it might as well be just an ordinary little town.  There’s a Circle K and a car mechanic and a medium sized grocery store a few miles away.

But that doesn’t mean it isn’t an adventure…  Yesterday, for example, we took a bus to the nearest shopping mall to buy M. a mobile phone.  No easy feat, with a language barrier the size of Rocky Mountains!  The sales girls were sweet but as daunted by the situation as we were.  Still, we kept our spirits up and managed to cross the great cultural divide.

First lucky break: we found a booklet that had an English section that described the plans available, and M. was able to indicate which one he wanted.  Then the girls informed us with wild and cheerful gesturing that “Each Yen!  Each Yen!”, which we eventually came to understand meant that certain phones could be had for one yen, when purchased along with a 2yr plan.  And there was much rejoicing.

Then the girls had a few more logistical questions for us, and one of them came up with the genius plan of typing them into her own cellphone and using a dictionary app to translate them into English.  This got us past a few more steps — then the girls called a service number and, by requesting an English-speaking agent, got us patched through to a call center in India.  The Indian guy asked us the necessary set-up questions in English, then entered the answers into his computer system, whereupon a Japanese agent could interpret them and pass them along to the sales girls.  Phew.

Then M. was handed some forms to fill out, all in Japanese characters, natch.  His two months of studying served him well enough, and he was able to copy his name and address off his ID card, with only minor corrections from the sales girls.  Then they sent us away for an hour while they charged the phone, and when we came back, they had not only switched the phone’s interface language to English, they had picked up a few new phrases themselves!  I think they must have done a quick brush-up revision while we were gone…

And then, at the end of it all, M. had a new phone!

The Sharp sh001 8 megapixel camera phone.  But in BRIGHT RED.

Not available outside Japan. Now the only problem is finding an English-language instruction manual.

Then to celebrate we went out for okonomiyaki and beer.

Yum.

Tags: au, food, japan, mobile, okonomiyaki, phone, sh001, sharp

Oh look! I went to Seattle! (And went no where near the Space Needle — this was taken from the freeway.)

I did, however, make it to Pike Place Market, in desperate pursuit of fresh fish. Coming from the Ocean State, the fish available on menus in Idaho makes me distinctly nervous.

This halibut sandwich was good enough for Jehovah.

Passing through the Cascades on the way there and back.

Tags: cascade mountain range, cascades, fish, food, landscape, pike place market, scenery, seattle, space needle, washington

Wow I am so far behind in blogging.  I blame school.  I never even finished talking about Moscow junkfood.

And how could I fail to share my love of Hawg’s Grill?

I’ve walked by this little pork shack a million times, and I can tell you that the worst thing about it is its hours: it’s only open while I’m at work or in class. Not cool. But something about the menu made me realize I had to find a way to pay a visit:

Maybe because it’s printed on a pig gut? That could be. Or I mean, the concept of pork fries is pretty much irresistable, even without the illustration.

Man oh man. Pork fries, heavy on the pork (the cheese and fries are hiding beneath about three pounds of shredded meat). With a side of potato chips, made on the premises. Because I have no shame.

As I said, the worst thing about this place is the hours. Because as amazing as this was at one in the afternoon, isn’t it just what you want at 3am?

Tags: cheese fries, food, hawg's grill, idaho, moscow, pork, pork fries, restaurant, the palouse

Moscow junk food I have consumed and loved.

First up, ZIPS!  I first fell in love with Zips Drive-In because of the exciting retro signage and twinkly lights all around the outside.  But I also came to appreciate their burgers and shakes.

I’ve had pumpkin and amaretto so far (that’s two separate incidents, not blended), and um they are really really tasty. More excitement: they offer their fries with pinkish “fry sauce” instead of ketchup, which gives them a incongrously continental flair.

And whether you get the waffle fries or the tater tots, they always throw in a happy face dude for cannibalistic goodness. :)

Up next: Hawg’s Grill!

Tags: drive in, fast food, food, idaho, moscow, restaurant, the palouse, zips

The weekend before Hell Week, I prepared by staying home and doing as much of my homework ahead of time as possible.  Oh wait, no –  actually, I headed up into the Idaho Panhandle to hunt for mushrooms with the Palouse Mycological Association.  Braving the damp and chill, we set out for Priest Lake (Idaho’s Crown Jewel, apparently) in search of matsutake (japanese for “pine tree mushrooms”).

Sad to say, we didn’t find many.  I made this big guy mine, and some other folks found a few, but apparently this was nothing compared to previous years.

I wasn’t too bothered, though. I mean, it’s hard to be crabby when you’ve got this view outside your cabin door.

It’s ridiculous how crystal clear all these mountain lakes are up here. Have they never heard of algae?

Overnight, the fog rolls in.

We didn’t find enough for a big feast, but we all got to try a nibble of the famed matsutake, here marinated in grilled over the camp fire after being marinated in oil, ginger, garlic, lime, and a dash of soy sauce. I have to say, it made me understand people’s disappointment: delicious!

Matsutake wasn’t the only mushroom collected… Most of these aren’t edible, but they were gathered as samples for the mycology classes at WSU. They make a lively display, anyway.

More pics of mushroom weekend here.

Tags: idaho, landscape, matsutake, mushrooms, mycology, pandhandle, photography, priest lake, scenery, washington state university, wsu

Still playing catch up…

I’ve been wanting to go to The Old European since before I moved to Pullman. Seriously, google maps threw it at me one day while I was in Providence, and I got all excited. It was probably the presence of lingonberries on the menu that did it, making nostalgic for Scandinavia.

Next time I’d probably order it without the whip cream, because I prefer my dishes to tend more tart than sweet. But other than that it was delish.

Also tried the aebelskivers, which looks just like fried dough balls, here, but are actually stuffed with ground meat. Fluffy yet filling!

But in a way, the best part was the decor. The whole place feels like the dining room of a swiss ski lodge or something. I felt almost as though I should place a giant oaken room key on the table, so they could charge breakfast to my room. Loved it, basically, and can’t wait to go back for the schnitzel.

Tags: food, old european, pullman, restaurant, the palouse, washington

It seems it was only a few days ago that I was dreading my morning walk to the bus, the 85 degree weather guaranteeing my shirt would be unattractively stuck to my back by the time I got to class.  Then this morning I awaken to my husband fiddling with the heaters –  fall is here!  And with it, apples.

Washington State is apparently apple country, so we headed out to Bishop Orchard, about half an hour from Pullman in Garfield, WA to see how they do it ’round these parts.

The day was that perfect autumnal mix of crisp and clear (good for pictures!).

Cider was pressed.

For some reason, I liked the luscious looks of this apple must.

A wasp liked it too. Can you find him?  (Click the photo for a hint)

Tags: apple picking, apples, autumn, bishop orchard, cider, cider press, fall, the palouse, washington

They do have some fine produce, here. It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to get cheap, delicious avocados, and the tomatoes were sweet and juicy.

On a less healthy note, tried a buffalo burger at a roadside stand on my way to Oregon this weekend.

It looked just like an ordinary burger, but I have to admit there was something unexpected about the flavor. It was, somehow, more meaty than the regular beef.

Tags: avocado, buffalo, burger, idaho, oregon, roadside food, salad, tomato

I’d only been here a few days when I first heard about them: Too-Good-to-Be-Missed huckleberry donuts for sale at the Moscow Farmer’s Market! Be sure to get there early!

Early? There was my first problem. I have this long-established propensity toward sleeping in on Saturday mornings (which is when the market meets). So I flubbed it my first weekend. But the next week, I got to Moscow bright and early (okay, around 11) and followed my nose to the stand producing tiny, delectable donuts hot out of the oil.

I bought myself half a dozen mini-donuts sprinkled with vanilla powdered sugar, and they were meltingly delicious. But…

Where were the huckleberries? Were they hidden imperceptibly in the batter? Was there some magic word I was supposed to say? Was “huckleberry” simply some irrelevant brand name?

These are huckleberries. They look a bit like blueberries, and I can’t tell you what they taste like because I’ve never had ‘em! But I can tell you they are the state fruit of Idaho, so I must certainly try them at some point. But thanks to my laziness, I seem to have just missed the season! I went back the following week to ask the donutlady about the huckleberries, and she said there wouldn’t be any more this year.

In the meanwhile, perhaps I can content myself with some local huckleberry syrup.

Tags: donuts, farmers market, food, huckleberry, idaho

These beans taste like a direction.

I’m not sure what possessed me to buy ranch style beans, other than the cheerful packaging (final apostrophe included) and the cowboy sensibility.  They were pretty good — we had them with fried chicken and on baked potatoes.  They also seem like they would be good with fried eggs on toast.

Tags: beans, cowboy, cowboy food, food, idaho, ranch, winco