Yesterday Japan celebrated “Culture Day” as a national holiday. Most people had the day off, and that included me (but not my wife). This was unusual for me because holidays that fall on the middle of the week tend to be rescheduled on another date to make a long weekend. The work of shutting down all the equipment and starting them back up again just for a Tuesday holiday is apparently quite a big deal.
I enjoyed the day off, though. I spent most of the time in the kitchen, making a pasta sauce, making enough soup for an army to take for lunches this week, and also an Italian pepper soup that we’ll be playing around with during dinner time the next few days.
Because of the day off in the middle of the week I lost out on my planning time that is usually scheduled for Tuesday. That meant more planning on Monday and moving quickly this morning. It also meant that I didn’t have time to write this entry until my lunchbreak today. But hey, I’m flexible.
Last night Kuniko and I spent a little time discussing where we’d like to go next year. The two places that came up are Eastern Europe and Africa, but a lot depends on our schedule (and contracts) next year. Summer in Africa may be a little too hot for us – we like to find cooler climates for our summer trips. Moscow’s weather was perfect for our previous trip. No decisions yet, but our schedules should be coming into focus around December and January. Hopefully we’ll be able to choose an interesting destination.
