Turning 5 and Japanese
It’s our 5th wedding anniversary today and guess where the hubby and I celebrated our special day?
Yes, we turned five and Japanese. Hehe. Actually, the photo was taken during my portfolio show. “Turning Japanese” was the theme of my table and it fits me so well since I’m a Japanophile (if that’s the right word) and love anything Japanese not just anime. Everything you see in the photo are stuffs that are in our home already. So it was easy to put them together and come up with the concept.
Originally, I was planning to bring our four-panel shoji screen but changed my mind. The darn thing would be hard to transport, it won’t fit inside the Mini (for a minute second there I had wished I’ve gotten an SUV or a truck…nyah…bad bad bad…hehe…I remain loyal to Kon, yes that’s my Mini’s name). But it would have added more ambience to my table no?
Anyway, the hubby and I decided to skip work just to set things up. Well, he was planning to go in the morning and then help me out in the afternoon but we both ended up not going. I had to work on other projects that are due today so I had no choice. I worked on the projects in the morning and headed back to school in the afternoon to get my table done. Thank goodness for Dory, one of my friends at school, who reserved one for me.
When I got there, Nicole, another classmate, was setting up her table. She had a retro theme and was building a tent over her space. It turned out pretty neat. When Dave got there with more loads of stuffs (we have to use two cars to load what I needed), I started putting things together. The hubby was the one who placed the Geisha banners up the wall and the paper umbrella up the ceiling. I’m so thankful he was there to help out because I wouldn’t be able to put those things up there. Man, I’m short, er, petite. Hehe.
Anyway, we had to go back home to change. Yup, as you can see in the pic. I wore an authentic summer kimono (yukata) with all the accessories - kimono undergarment, obi (the wide belt-thing), obi-board, tabi socks, and sandals (not geta or the wooden one, though, only men wear those…I wore this cutesy sandals with cherry blossom decor on it just like my yukata).
It was a feat putting the kimono on, the person we bought it from in Japantown-SF showed me how to put it on and tie it. But I haven’t practiced since then. But thanks to the Internet we found this site with a step-by-step guide, so I was able to wear it right. The hubby helped me tie the obi into a a butterfly.
Too bad, I forgot my digital camera and wasn’t able to get pictures of the whole kimono and the back so I could show what it looks like. A fellow Pinay, who works at the school bookstore, even reminded me to bring a digicam when the hubby and I went home but it completely slipped my mind. =( The photos you see here are courtesy of Jon-Michael’s film camera. He’s one of my classmates who was also in the show.
Here’s the three stooges…ehehe. Moi, Dory, and Jon-Michael (who’s Pinoy, by the way). Laking pasasalamat ko talaga ke Jon-Michael, without his film camera, e di wala akong souvenir photos from the portfolio show. Yan ang totoong boy scout, laging handa.
The hubby got it easy. He’s wearing a red hapi coat. Japanese men usually wear this during a matsuri or festival. I’m glad he is supportive like that. He gamely wore the coat and acted as my live prop. He would sit on the big pillows on the tatami mat and act like he was part of the decor. Hehe. Sometimes, he would be my logistics man, getting napkins, cleaning spills, and checking the ice for the mochi ice cream.
Oh yeah, the brown tea cups on the table near the shoji lamp has mochi ice cream. It’s my foodie giveaway to entice people to come to my table…hehehe…aside from Pocky. You see, I’ve done package re-design for a mochi ice cream brand and made mock-up boxes for it to showcase on my table. I also did a See’s Candies (a chocolate brand here) package but I didn’t bring the actual chocolates for giveaway. If I did, it would have been gone in seconds like the mochi ice cream (who can resist gourmet chocolates?). Well, here’s a low-res photo of the package I took for my portfolio book:
Mochi is a traditional Japanese rice cake made of glutinous sweet rice. A daifuku is a mochi with red bean paste or anko in it. Mochi ice cream is similar to daifuku only it has ice cream instead of anko in it. And it’s way yummier. Of course, I like a strawberry daifuku once in a while. Anyway, a lot of people were familiar with mochi ice cream. But some were curious about it, tried it for the first time and liked it. One girl even came back to my table to get the last of the blueberry mochi ice cream. Haha.
At the show, we also did a flash presentation of some of our pieces. We designed a self-promotional piece showcasing some of our works using Flash 8. It was fun but nerve-wracking because we had to speak in front of a lot of people to introduce our presentation. But I was glad my hubby was there to cheer me on.
All in all, we spent our 5th year anniversary on a very memorable event and we wouldn’t want it any other way. The hubby and I really make a great team, we helped each other out, supported one another and showed how our bonds work as husband and wife to other people. For me, this event wasn’t just a showcase of my design work but it is also a reflection of our relationship. We really had fun sharing this experience on our anniversary and that’s what matters most, ne?