Tokyo-bound

Just a quick note before I leave for Nihon-koku.

In the past 48 hours I have received phone calls, e-mails, and facebook posts, each expressing the caller's/sender's well-wishes for my trip and support over Seth's move to D.C. I just wanted to thank Hashem for the friends he has given me, the loving family I am blessed with, and the incredible network of people I am connected to across this crazy globe. Thank you again and again to everyone who checked in to inquire about life - it meant quite a lot.

Jaa, mata atashita!

Ira Glass is my new best friend.

So on a special edition of "This American Life," the public radio show featured stories around the theme "What I Learned From Television." This particular show was unique in that it was live - taped in front of a lively, appreciative audience on a 6-stop tour.

On the bus home from work last night, I turned on my Ipod and selected the new "This American Life" podcast (If you don't know podcasts, you'd better get to know! They are especially helpful for pathetic souls like myself who get carsick when they read in a moving vehicle...or even think about reading in a moving vehicle). In the best show I have yet heard, sex columnist Dan Savage confesses his prudery and Ira Glass admits he sings the lyrics to "The OC's" theme song whenever the show airs. But my favorite of the four acts was David Rakoff's painful rediscovery of television programming. Having sworn off tv after college, Rakoff agrees to watch 29 hours of television - the very amount the average American watches in one week.

Usually my bus rides are relatively uneventful, at worst punctuated by a drunken passenger, meth head, or obnoxiously loud cell phone chatter. But last night, "This American Life" made me shriek out loud with laughter, drawing the attention of my fellow bus riders. I tried to smother the laughs, giggling into my hand and twitching about in my seat. But David Rakoff's attempt to watch "My Super Sweet Sixteen," "America's Funniest Home Videos," and other cultural gems sent me over the edge.

Thank you, sexy radio hipsters. Last night you made me look like the crazy one on the bus.

http://www.thislife.org/

Here is my favorite series of photos of Seth and I. These were taken at Cannon Beach, OR.

I post these pictures because I'm feeling particularly enamoured tonight. To explain: this morning, as per usual, Seth did not wake up when my alarm went off. Instead, he slept deeply as I showered and dressed for work. As I was bustling into the room to grab a sweater, he sat up abruptly, still very much asleep. And then gently, ever so carefully, he leaned down and kissed the pillow where my head would have been had I not been rushing off to catch my bus. Having "kissed" me, he then promptly rolled over and slept on. Smitten, I pounced on him in bed, trying to tell him what he had just done. "Seth," I said. "You just kissed the pillowcase!"

"Oh," he replied. "I missed."

A Blog Virgin, touched for the very first time.

Dear me! I've made a blog. A rudimentary one at that, but I've still managed to make one. I think at one point I swore I'd never have one of these - they're very self-indulgent!

In any case, this will become my replacement for mass e-mails while I am away in Chennai, India. I'd rather friends and family be able to check up on me, share in the delicious madness, etc without feeling obliged to reply to my long and often-intense e-mails. Not that I won't write to my loved ones...you'll just get personalized notes rather than impersonal rants.

To check out where I'll be working starting in August, go to: www.tarabooks.com The image above will be my workstation. Yay Macs!

Cheers!