I Like My Soon-To-Be Expired Passport Photo Better...

Of the many things we are doing to prepare for our Sapporo trip, Rob and I went to Calgary this week to renew my passport and to buy Rob some new clothes.

The renewal process for my passport was quite successful (save for the argument we had about where to park).  It will take a week to get my new passport, but at least this gives me time to relish in what is the best ever passport picture I have ever had of myself to date!  Sure, it's the blank expression pose, but really...I think it's an a-ok photo.

My Best Ever Passport Photo So Far

In my excitement for Japanese shoes, I couldn't possibly leave Rob in the dust.  He, too, must have some kicks to strut around Sapporo.  I really am proud of Rob...these shoes are out of his fashion comfort zone, but are by far comfortable.  I spotted these shoes in my usual shopping-scanning mode.  If a clothing item doesn't catch my eye from 10 feet (oh...maybe I should use metric for Japan practice), rather 3.048 metres, then I don't even touch it.  Here are Rob's new shoes...I think he can pull them off with a pair of jeans.

Robeez new kicks!

It is also interesting to note all the material goods that we enjoy from Japan.  I always thought I was meant to live in Australia/New Zealand (rugby, sailing, surfing), or Brazil (surfing, samba, BJJ)...perhaps though, I am to be in Japan:

• Honda vehicles
• Kaizen
• martial arts
• snowboarding
• surfing
• not feeling so lonely because I am amongst lots of brown people (really, I used to hang out at the Vietnamese restaurants when I lived in London, ON because I missed my family a lot...I'd almost be crying into my noodles!  And, you could imagine my excitement visiting Vancouver where there were billboards of Asian people everywhere I looked...that was refreshing!)
• frequent handwashing
• bullet trains

and for Zane and Mike:

• Pokemon
• Bakugan
• dragons
• Tokyo Tower (reference to Pixar's "Tokyo Mater" a la "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift")
• ninjas
• samurais
• chopsticks
• Sapporo beer commercials (again, it's really the dragons)

I do realize that Canada does offer all the same things - Alliston, ON Honda factory and all of my list except for the bullet trains, but as it is in Japan, perhaps it is all about the presentation.

Here's a video of the kids paying tribute dragons and swords.  It was taken using our new Kodak PlaySport camera (waterproof to 3 metres and impact proof... can you say snowboarding vids??).
 Good night!  Oyasumi nasai!