Alia Luria

I’ve been doing a lot of cooking and baking. More on the baking later, but I’ve started to memorialize my recipes as articles. I’m starting off simple, but hopefully, I will be adding some useful stuff in here. Most of what I like to cook for myself is Indian or Moroccan food. I love lamb. Mmmmm!

• Saffron-Scented Basmati Rice with Whole Spices
• How to Make Homemade Paneer
• Recipe for Paneer Masala (Mild Tomato-Based Gravy, also called Tamatar Makhani )
• How to Oven Roasted Vegetables and Make Roasted Tomato Sauce
• Chorizo and Smoked Cheddar Pizza
• Snow Crab, Shallot, Garlic, and White Wine Pizza

I was extremely lucky because I know some Japanese and knew a lot about Japanese culture when I made my decision to visit Japan. However, even with those advantages, traveling to Japan can be daunting for some. I have started to write a series of articles on Suite 101 dealing with tips and advice on how to maximize the benefits of a trip to Japan and avoid potential problems. The list is short at the moment, but I hope to add to it in the coming days!

• Currency Exchange — U.S. Dollars to Japanese Yen
• Ooedo Onsen Monogatari Part 1: Directions and Overview
• Ooedo Onsen Monogatari Part 2: Procedure for Entering and Navigating the Baths
• Day Trips from Tokyo: Ancient City of Kamakura

Meet my puppy, Ein. She’s a Pembroke Welsh Corgi. She’s super, super cute. Last week she got to meet my brother’s Rottweiler, Wilson. :) Apparently, something she said really surprised poor Wilson. Hee hee!

Well, I am already over 30, but barely, so here a list of 150 things that you should do before 30 that I found on a blog. What I’ve done is bolded. I hope to tackle a lot of the European ones this coming summer!

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said “I love you” and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby’s diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb [No, but I did pet a baby elephant!]
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and didn’t care who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Taken a midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Played touch football
61. Gone scuba diving [No, but I walked on the bottom of the ocean floor!]
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theatre
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on a television news program as an “expert”
83. Gotten flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Kissed on the first date
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror
96. Raised children
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
98. Passed out cold
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge [No, but I walked the Brooklyn Bridge!]
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking with the windows open
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Touched a stingray
110. Broken someone’s heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a TV game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for 30 hours in a 48 hour period
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. States
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Touched a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad and The Odyssey
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone’s life

I guess that’s not really bad… Some of that stuff, I’ll never do, and some I might do in the next couple years. I think the whole before you are 30 thing is a crock. You are never too old to experience new and interesting adventures!

I couldn’t resist making a manga-me at Face Your Manga, and I was surprised at how very close it turned out! I decided to download the big version, for a whopping $2.23, figuring that I could use it as a logo at some point. It is definitely the manga version of myself! They even had my haircut. :)

This week will forever mark in my mind the shocking and horrifying event of my Macbook’s hard drive failing spectacularly. I have always known that backing up data was important. And, I always intended to start doing it. Well, I really should have. This past Saturday, not even 4 hours after getting back from the Caribbean, my hard drive had a massive mechanical failure. I was not able to get it to a repair specialist until Monday… but I had held out the hope that my data would be salvageable, as I had run a hardware check on the machine, and it had come back okay. So, taking my drive to Save Your Mac, which I highly recommend, I had every hope that my data would be recovered and machine restored.

It was not to be however. Steve at Save Your Mac tried to load the data up on a gadget that reads the drive directly, using Disk Warrior. However, he could not even get the disk to mount or read at all. After about 10 minutes of nothing but a horrible clicking noise, we had to throw in the towel. So, I tried not to have a total panic attack inside the repair shop. He referred me to some disk recovery specialists, which I will be enlisting to help me recover the data. They will have to use some crazy expensive techniques, but hopefully the results will be worth the expenditure.

In the meantime, I am typing this from an almost empty, brand new hard drive. Eventually, I will get my cruise photos up for people to enjoy.

It has been a really long time since I’ve updated. I have had an extremely busy but rewarding summer working. Now, however, is the time for vacation! On Saturday, David and I are leaving for a week long cruise to the Caribbean. Our first stop will be Nassau, followed by St. Thomas and St. Maarten. I will post photos upon my return!

I may try to transition this into a travel blog, given that I am no longer living in Japan, but I plan to continue to travel. I haven’t decided yet.

Well, I’m sorry that it’s been weeks since I’ve updated this site. I’ve had a one visitor after another, and the semester is winding down, which means a lot more projects and preparation for finals. As well, I’m also in the midst of preparing to depart Japan, as well.

I should write a few tidbits about the last month, however, so that you get some idea of what it’s been like.

Spring Break
For spring break, Amey and I traveled around Japan, visiting Kyoto, Nara, Himeji and Osaka. The trip was a blast, and I particularly loved Kyoto. I could have spent much more time there, and I’m really glad that I’ll have a chance to go back with David in May (even though it will be Golden Week, so travel will be very expensive). I ended up taking over 1,000 photos in March, so I have a ton up on Flickr. The temples in Kyoto were amazing, and the Japanese gardens were stunning. I think they were borderline my favorite part of the trip. It was like standing in a fairy land. Here are just a very few of the salient sights…

Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion)

Ginkaku-ji (Silver Pavilion), was under renovation

Eiken-do Temple – View of Kyoto

Todaiji Temple in Nara

Maiko Geisha Spotting!

Nijo Castle’s Garden

Imperial Palace Garden

Gion Corner Maiko Dance

Himeji Castle

And that’s kind of a shortcut to that…

Pacific Culture Workshop

The highlight of this workshop sponsored through the school was definitely getting to wear a kimono. The lady really had to rush to get me into it, and I was wearing a sweater and jeans, so it’s amazing how much bulk the kimonos will hide! I really loved the kimono and wanted to take it home with me!

Tokyo International Anime Convention 2008

Amey and I didn’t spend a whole lot of time at the anime convention, but I did manage to get a photo with Al from Fullmetal Alchemist!

I will have to do a whole entry on the sakura trees and plum blossoms, which were both gorgeous. Hanami (cherry blossom viewing) season in Japan is truly a great experience, and it is probably the most beautiful that Japan ever looks… with flowering trees everywhere. The weather has been so bad the last couple days that it’s possible that the trees are no longer blooming, but I managed to get a lot of photos of Ueno park and other trees. I will put some photographs up when I have some more time!

So, I still haven’t had time to do a proper update. I promise to try to work on one. I haven’t even gotten all my photos from kyoto tagged properly, but at least they are all up. I’m also getting sick, which stinks. I’ve had a sore throat all day, and now I’m feeling dizzy and my eyes are feeling puffy, so fun fun. I should probably try to get to sleep early tonight, but we’ll see what happens with Amey.

Also, I made a stop at Kiddy Land today and loaded up on random bunny stuff! Woo hoo, bunny stuff! :)

So, I made it back to Tokyo safe and sound. And my apartment hasn’t been leveled by a fire or earthquake, so all is good. I have a lot of photos and videos to share about my adventures in Kyoto. It was an amazing place, and I’m super looking forward to going back there with David in May. :) I took almost 1000 photos while I was in Western Honshu this week, and the vast majority of them are up on Flickr already, although they mostly need tags and descriptions. I will, as usual, post some of the highlights here, as well as links to videos.

As far as video, this video of me feeding a baby deer should tide you over until I get my links added and described! :)