Well, I have to admit it. I can deny it no longer... Nico now owns this blog. I cede this bit of cyber space to her. Because I know that for the 5 people who regularly look here, it's really only the Nico pics y'all are interested in. So it shall be, from henceforth this blog is now "Operation Endearing Nico".
For rants and the occasional collected oddity, I set up another blog called "Not Nico". If sufficiently bored, please go check it out. Also, I've started a new blog just for my illustration related posts; that's over at Drawger. If you're at all interested in illustration you should check Drawger out as it's home to allot of really talented folk, fellow illustrators whose work I have admired for years.
On Monday, Motoko, a friend of Yuichiro and Yumi's, came over to take some photo's of Nico. Motoko is a professional photographer and does some amazing work. And fast too... it's Wednesday and we already got the prints back today. I'll post some of those tomorrow.
In the meantime, you can check out my photos of the shoot by clicking here.
Last week Nico started her vaccination's. They start later than the States here in Japan. Here's a little movie I made to commemorate the event. Just click it to play.
Yesterday was Nico's 6 month mark. To celebrate we went to a cozy little restaurant nearby.
We had a great time... until Nico cried us out of the place. Oh well. But it was her birthday so she could cry if she wanted to... sorry.
But back home we shared some yummy birthday cake that Yuichiro and Yumi bought. As well as a bitchin' pair of lil' biker boots. For when Nico turns into a 1 year old riot grrrrl.
so, after a prolonged absence I'm back... was swamped with work (yeah! and boo... the freelance life is one of feast or famine and when the buffet is laid out ya gotta gorge on it till it hurts). Also, we took a nice little break down with the in-laws for a bit of a chill. Or actually, to warm up... we really needed to get away from the icy grip that is a Takayama winter. So it was nice to just hang out at Takashi and Kiyomi's place, eating Kiyomi's great cooking, watching CNN on cable and reading comics on our iBook.
But in fact, we were busy... apartment hunting.After going through a second frigid winter up here in the mountains, shovelling out the waist deep snow, shivering in a poorly insulated, drafty building that is the Japanese norm in homes and huddling next to dangerous, smelly kerosene heaters for warmth, I decided enough is enough. We're leaving the snowy heights of our mountain stronghold for the generally balmy climes of the Kanto plain. We found a place, a 2 storey house in Chigasaki with a little yard and a driveway just big enough for our lil' car, Champ. Chigasaki is about 40 minutes outside of Yokohama and an hour away from Tokyo. It's also just down the beach from Tsujido where the in-laws live... very convenient for baby sitting duty.
We didn't plan on moving so soon. We'll be moving down next month, April. WE had originally thought we'd be doing it in the Fall. But, y'know how it goes with apartment hunting... it's like potato chips, you see one, then you can't stop and pretty soon you've eaten the whole bag. Or in this case, signed a lease.
So the next few months are gonna be busy.
Ok, now for a Nico fix:
Blue skies and a smiling baby. More pix TK.
BTW, I'm thinking of starting a separate blog just for all things Nico.
To divide my already miniscule web traffic even further.
mckible (aka "mckibillo") in nihon...
Hence "mckib in nihon" (go figure), where I'll strive to provide the occasional, piquant observation on the life of a gaijin in the mountains of Japan.
Since November 2004, adding to an already crowded field of ex-pat observation.
is Josh McKible. I'm an illustrator living and working in Kanagawa, Japan. My work has appeared in the New York Times, Esquire, GQ and many other publications. For more information please visit my portfolio site. For commissions, collaborations or just to say "hi" please email me. Thanks.
