I have a great weakness for embroidered clothing, especially when the embroidery is bright and colorful. However, I can't bring myself to buy them very often. Although I've yet to experience it, I am a little paranoid about the thread falling apart. That slightly OCD part of me knows it's going to be incomplete. I just can't risk

I will never forget Hiroshima. From the Yokohama station, we rode the Shinkansen, dubbed the "bullet train," toward our destination. I believe it is the fastest train you can take in Japan, and indeed it lived up to its name. I was ecstatic to be riding it. I think a lot of us were. I had heard so

Oh, lovely day. Beads of sweat collected and quivered at the bridge of my nose. More threatened to roll down the sides of my temples. My hair clung to the back of my neck in the most awful, desperate way. I swore I would not let it defeat me and vowed to be free of this heat. I

"The March Hare took the watch and looked at it gloomily: then he dipped it into his cup of tea, and looked at it again: but he could think of nothing better to say than his first remark, `It was the BEST butter, you know.'"  -Lewis Carol, Alice in Wonderland Alice in Wonderland is one of my favorite

A couple of days ago, I went with my mom to a plant nursery. She suddenly wanted to buy a guava tree and determined that I was the one who would be taking her. I didn't mind, and it sounded like fun. We wandered into the nursery, eyes bright with glee. The flowers along the fence were beautiful

I remember the heat and humidity so clearly. The brilliant sun shone in all its splendor with uninhibited zeal. And fool that I was, I thought it was an excellent idea to wear black jeans and combat boots. It was unbearably hot. I was surprised my body could sweat so much. A post by the entrance reminded that