Koi and Guns

It's amazing what your parents can do/buy when they don't have two sh!theads to raise.  BMW Z3, it was in the James Bond film Golden Eye with Pierce Brosnan.  It's pretty sweet driving this car



of all random things, one of my best friends in Paris got a job in Hornell, NY the town next to my parents town.  She works for Alstom, a French train manufacturer.  She'll be here for 1.5 years.  Look, she's already becoming American/Upstater.  Would she do this in Paris?  um, I don't think so.  But when all there is is Walmart around town then this is what happens.  I guarantee she is gonna leave the US quite a bit larger than when she came.



Fumika's aunt or grandma didn't have a need for these Koi Nobori (koi windsocks that you put out around May 5th, children's day in Japan) and she knew I loved koi nobori and even tried to buy some with her mom so she got these from her for me!  Her mom mailed them to me.  These things are not cheap.  This set is probably like $2,000.  I saw an inferior looking set for $1500 also with 7 fish but without the two long streamers, 2 little banners, and 2 huuuuge long banners.



it's cool that there are countries with cultures like this.  Maybe the US will get there some day but it's got thousands of years to go and needs to become obsessed with making everything look cool and pleasant.





so if these are ever going to be displayed properly a proper proper diesel flagpole would have to be cemented in the ground.  and the pole would have to be like 3 stories high or more because the longest fish is as tall as our house.



catch of the day.  Already rotten





yea they're as tall as a two story house.





ok enough Japanese sh!t lets shoot some guns!



I thought, what better thing for Ornelly from Paris to experience in upstate NY than shooting some guns?  I also wanted to see what it was all about.  9mm glock



I was gonna crop in closer so you can see the shell popping out better but i liked how her purse was on the ground there.  and she was in heels.  We shot a larger caliber something or other, 11 mm maybe.



so it's pretty amazing how easy it is to shoot, which is kinda scary.  but then its hard to be accurate.  There was a handle grip safety on the second gun so you just squeeze it in your palm and the safety is off.  Interesting stuff and i'm curious about the rifles next time.



someone got a few bulls eyes, probably not one of us



my mom has also become dog training lady to fill the enormous unfillable special gap in her life where her marvelous children used to be.  She takes Brody to shows and he runs obstacle course and stuff.  that thing on a rope is one of the things he has to retrieve.  She's working with him on some water obstacle course now and he has to retrieve this cute little special oar from the water.



another example of what your parents can buy when they can stop feeding you.  A japanese style deluxe remote controlled toilet.  It's not Japanese though.  I was just saying how amazed I was that Van Der Kock's parents have one and then i go home a month later and my parents now have one.  You really don't realize how expensive and what a parasite you are until after you graduate and come home and everytime your parents have some new awesome gear/toys/appliances/vehicles/every apple product released ever.  Well that's it for upstate new york.  The last few times i've been back its been an increasingly more rewarding trip for me.  What's happening to me.