that's more like it

It's about that time of year when the bamboo shoots in my yard start to spring up everywhere, breaking through the concrete walk, as well as anything else that gets in their way. They grow so quickly that you can practically watch them shoot up. This got me thinking about bamboo torture, so of course I googled it, like I do everything. While I couldn't find a definitive source on whether this form of torture was actually used, I did find the mythbusters episode proving it to be possible.

On another note, my adventure today was almost thwarted by the universe. But then I remembered that I'm Emma, and rain does not hinder my adventures, it is often the impetus behind them. So I braved the elements, hopped on a bike (unfortunately the only one I was able to unlock was my Dad's fold-up one, which made me feel like a very large child, and elicited more than a few stares), and pedaled down to the train station.

I spent the next hour meandering around the nearest department store, shamelessly accepting anything offered to me for free (iced tea, coffee, ring cleaning). In one import store, amid the anchovy sauce (ew) and liverwurst, I discovered a rare gem: Kraft Mac 'n' Cheese. For $3. Which, unfortunately was about what I paid for my short coffee at Starbucks. The upside was that it was my first time EVER to be served coffee at Starbucks in a real mug. I don't know if I just look like the paper cup type or what, but in all my years, I've never even been offered one.

Mayra, your Japanese word of the day is jitensha (bicycle). I would teach you the word for fold-up bicycle, but I'm pretty sure you would just give up before you even tried to pronounce it.