Picture of the Day: Banteay Srei Carving Details

Banteay Srei, Cambodia
8.2011 

Picture of the Day: Tombs at Saint Louis Cemetery #1

New Orleans, Louisiana
United States
1.02.2012 

Japanese Omiyage (お土産)

Working with people from from a completely different culture is rewarding in many ways but it can also be difficult to find common ground and build trust as colleagues. Nothing bridges gaps more than making an effort to follow some of the other culture's customs.

One of the simplest goodwill building gestures you can do in Japan is the act of giving omiyage (お土産). Omiyage are souvenirs, but in a work place context they are little treats that you bring for your co-workers when you come back from a business trip or a vacation out of town. Additionally, if you are going on a business trip somewhere else, you also bring your hosts omiyage.

Omiyage is big business in Japan. Everywhere you go, especially at large train stations and airports where people are in transit, there are beautiful shops selling gorgeous omiyage. Different areas have local specialties, but some things, like fancy rice crackers, are popular just about everywhere.

I won't even pretend to know all of the intricacies of Japanese gift giving, but in general you want give omiyage that is consumable, beautifully packaged and has the contents individually wrapped so it is easy to distribute within the group you are visiting. It is also best if the treat you are giving reflects the place you are coming from or is locally produced.

All of this causes me no end of a conundrum when I visit Japan. When I was living in Japan and would travel domestically, finding something nice to bring back to my group was no problem. Coming from the U.S. on business trip is a whole different matter. First, I usually end up visiting a ton of people when I am on business trip so I have to bring tons of omiyage which can be very pricey. I just don't have it in my budget to spend $500 for treats. Additionally, since this isn't a custom in the U.S. finding something that looks pretty, is tasty and is individually wrapped is next to impossible. I always try my best but because I am not Japanese and giving omiyage is not expected from me it is okay if my omiyage isn't exactly Japanese style. The point is that I make an effort to give omiyage and follow Japanese custom which is what is important.

Figuring out what to give on this trip was difficult. I had just used my standby go-to omiyage of Ghiradelli chocolate squares (individually wrapped = check, edible = check, something produced in the U.S. = check, won't make me go bankrupt = check, beautiful packaging = so-so) which meets most of the criteria when I was visiting in December so I didn't want to use that again. I ended up getting several boxes of large round wafer cookies with various fillings. The box wasn't exactly beautiful but looked nice enough and the treats seemed pretty tasty. I also got some individually wrapped chocolate truffles but they melted in my luggage. Yeah, I know I am an idiot for bringing chocolate to Japan in the summer. Anyway, luckily I brought enough of the wafer cookies since my checked bag was half full of them.

As a side note, have you ever been in a duty free shop and seen packages of chocolates emblazoned with U.S.A. and pictures of American flags and the Statue of Liberty? Despite not achieving the beautiful packaging requirement, those boxes of chocolates clearly indicate that the traveler is coming from the U.S. and are being marketed for omiyage. One time when I was desperate I bought some of them for a business trip and the chocolates were terrible. I'll never do that again!

The upside of this gift giving business culture is that I often have a chance to enjoy being on the receiving end of these little treats. When I was working in Japan, after we would have a company wide holiday I would come back to work and it was like a little buffet of delicious treats in our office area with everyone having brought something in. Being back home in the U.S. whenever we have a Japanese visitor I get to have a little bite sized tastes of things that I loved in Japan but are hard to find in America.

When it is all said and done I really love this Japanese tradition. It's a nice simple way that you show your colleagues that you respect them and appreciate working with them. Plus, I get to give and receive treats. Any tradition that involves me getting to eat tasty things is awesome in my book.

Picture of the Day: Woman Doing Restoration Work at Wat Pho

Wat Pho
Bangkok, Thailand
8.20.2011 

Headboard Makeover for My Guest Room

About a week and a half ago, I was at the Ann Arbor ReUse Center wandering around looking for treasures when I stumbled upon this really cool wooden headboard for just $25.

The wood was cracked and in terrible shape, but I knew that with a little bit of work it would be perfect in my guest room. I just loved the rounded spindles that looked like stacks of beads. I loaded it up in the back of my little hatchback and took it home.

As a first step I gave the headboard a good washing to get rid of all the dust and gunk that had accumulated on it over time. I patched a few large cracks and then used some grey spray paint primer to give it an even base. With a few light coats of red satin spray paint and a few days of drying, my headboard was ready for the guest room.

I chose the red because I thought it would stand out nicely against the pale blue walls and pick up some of the red in the vintage travel posters that I have across the room over the console table that I made from a Japanese chest.

I am so happy to finally have a headboard in the guest room. I think the final result is quite striking. I got some new grey sheets with a tiny, subtle geometric pattern, but now the bed needs some fun throw pillows and some art above it as a next step.

What do you think? Do you like the red or would you have gone with another color?

Picture of the Day: View of Sydney Harbour Bridge From Sydney Tower

Sydney, New South Wales
Australia
11.2010

Off to Japan...

I'm at the airport right now waiting for my flight to Japan. Last time I was in Japan was in early December when the fall leaves were beautiful shades of red.

This trip will be different, however. The end of July is right when the rainy season in Central Japan ends and the crazy hot and humid summer begins.  

Despite the impending heat, I am looking forward to this trip. I have a lot to accomplish for work, plus I'll get to see some friends from my days when I lived in Japan.

We're boarding soon so I better sign off. Happy travels!

If you are interested, check out some other posts from this trip to Japan: Japanese Omiyage, Week in Pictures: 7.22.2012, Shopping at the Hyaku-en Shop (百円ショップ ), Flying Over Mt. Fuji,  Week in Pictures: 7.30.2012

Picture of the Day: Street Signs in Times Square

New York, New York
12.20.2011 

Storage Ottoman Makeover For My Closet

My closet is a complete and total mess. Having enough space isn't the issue. It's a nice size for an old home with about 42" of hanging space on either side of the door. I have access to it from my room and then can walk through it to the master bathroom. Unfortunately, it is completely unorganized and I have all sorts of junk on the floor. I added a second hanging bar on one side, but that is all I have really done recently. The woodwork needs to be painted and I'd also like to paint the walls something other than white. I have a lot of shelving but because I am so short I can't reach it so it is currently wasted space.

As a first step to make my closet more usable and organized  I decided to make it easier to access my shelves. I had this little turquoise suede ottoman that I thought would be perfect to make into a step stool. I wanted to be able to move it around easily so I decided to put it on casters. I didn't want it to slip out from under me when standing on it so I bought two locking casters and two regular swivel casters.

To mount the casters I started by flipping the base of the ottoman upside down and prying off the small feet that were on the ottoman. I then placed the casters in each corner of the ottoman with the two locking ones in opposite corners. I predrilled holes and then screwed them into the base.

Now that the ottoman was rollable I decided to make the inside more useful as well. I have a lot of flip flops but no good place to store them and I thought this could be just the ticket. I used some black foam core, large cup hooks and black duct tape to make some partitions for my flip flops to hang from. I cut four pieces of foam core the width of the inside of the ottoman and 1/2" shorter than the height.

For the center I doubled up two pieces and put a piece of duct tape over the top of them to join them. I used a flip flop for a guide and determined that the hooks needed to be 2-1/2" from the top of the foam core. I then poked a cup hook into the foam core 3" from each side and 2-1/2" from the top. I repeated the same on the back side as well. I found that the hooks had a tendency to spin when I tried to hang the flip flops on them so I pulled them out, added a dab of hot glue and then replaced the cup hooks.

For the two end partitions I did the same process as above, but with a single piece of foam core and with hooks on only one side.

With all of my partitions complete I was ready to assemble everything in the ottoman. I placed the end partitions against the side and used duct tape along each edge to secure them to the ottoman. I then put the middle partition in the ottoman and taped it down as well. I finished by hanging some of my flip flops in the ottoman.

I moved my ottoman into my closet and it fit perfectly. I can also now reach my closet shelves when I stand on it which is really convenient. 

Now I need to find where the rest of my flip flops are hiding around the house and wrangle them in my new and improved ottoman.

Picture of the Day: View From Phnom Bakheng

Phnom Bakheng
Siem Reap, Cambodia
8.19.2011