The past week has been busy, dealing with the loss of my laptop hard drive and trying to plan out a visit to the northern island of Hokkaido for this weekend.
Thanks to a Linux liveCD, the computer is still usable, though in an even more limited capacity than before. I was lucky enough to have time to backup my data (after symptoms appeared... bad habit) and so as far as I know, nothing of importance is missing and I won't have to weep like a little girl about it later. The pictures I've been picking through and posting here were already stored off-site (read: at work), but all the code I'd been working on could have been lost. The moral is to back up early and often - get either an external hard drive or DVD burner. I prefer the DVDs since they are more portable and will last your lifetime. The external drive is just as prone to failure as the one inside your computer you are trying to back up. Don't be a penny-pincher on this, you'll come to regret it later.
The Hokkaido trip is taking place in late November, so it should prove numbingly cold and white. I'm not much into skiing, but I am excited at the opportunity to shoot pictures of the volcanic scenery. The island is (no surprise) famous for seafood, and I intend to try as much as possible. The plan is to arrive by plane near Sapporo and take a night bus to the northernmost city, Wakkanai. From there, a ferry to the island of Rebun (and back ;), then another nightbus to the heart of the wilderness - the enormous national park of Daisetsuzan near Asahikawa city. This may change, however, as I will be accompanied by one of the interns this time. I won't have the flexibility I normally enjoy, but the companionship while on the buses and trains is important... ever since I finished my book.
Speaking of food to try, here's a quick list of some "strange" food I've consumed so far:
- octopus - pretty standard fare in Japan, but I'm getting to appreciate the flavor more and more. Rubbery and chewy, buy not good if you get creeped out by the suckers. The best by far have been deep-fried baby octopus (iidako).
- whale - overpriced and not anything special besides the rarity. Tastes like a dark meat more than seafood.
- squid - raw, pickled, or a side dish full of "guts" in vinegar - the raw texture and flavor is bland for me, but the other two are good, especially served cold with some sake.
- horse - I've had two kinds of horse sashimi: dark and marbled. The darker one was at an Okinawa-style restaurant and far superior in flavor.
- dandelion - this was a bit of an accident after some mis-translation (French, not Japanese!). I suggest you avoid putting flowers into your mouth.
