Pickle Hater

Safely landed in the port of Copenhagen, only to find out that NObody likes pickles (except for me)!

Ramen

Ramen is just one of those things I can eat no matter how full I am.

Sparrows

I reeeeally enjoyed drawing this strip. I think I enjoy drawing animals in general. Speaking of animals, G and I went to the Tierpark (we have a year pass) the other day and he got to pet a lemur. He was pretty excited.

In other news, we are leaving Berlin for a four-country trip in two days. TWO DAYS. HOLY SHIT. I haven't even packed and I've been having mini-panic-attacks off and on for the last four days because I'm a very, very paranoid person (until I get distracted because I am very easily distracted). I get so paranoid that I haven't emailed, confirmed, bought gifts for, printed out maps, written down addresses, penciled in dates, etc. etc. And then I get distracted and forget what I needed to do, and then later remember that I haven't done anything and panic. Basically, I'm just an idiot.

Okay. Time to stop being paranoid and distracted and actually do some preparation. I plan on updating everyday as per usual while we're on the move, so keep checking back!

Making Faces

Happy Sunday!

Just for that

G's mom and dad have recently started reading my blog . . . which is pretty awesome!

They're Coming!

This was me last night/this morning.

Stickers

I HAS THEM.

YAY!

Synonyms

Thought you should know.

Rhubarb Season

Some more G's pun-lovin'.

Spring Snow

It's the damn poplar fluff season.

This is how I felt yesterday while biking.
 Photo from BZ article, May 2, 2012.

Mama's Necessities

On the way to Bremen this past weekend, my parents and I took a little half-day trip to the North Sea . . .

Bedtime Comix: The G Dance

He just wants some attention.

Also: just a reminder that my first mini-comic "An Idiot's Guide to Dining with an Asian Mother" is still available! More info here! 

And it's heeeelarious

Sometimes I lie just so I can hear him go "Noooooh."

Booga Booga

G has a pretty low voice and he mumbles a bit, so it's nearly impossible to understand him on the phone, even if you talk to him all the time. Well, that's not true. But this was difficult to decipher on the telephone.

Dogs make everything better

Man. Dogs are really something.

Single Women VS Single Men

I also wanted to say that I'm absolutely blown away by all the emails I've received in the last day regarding the Asian Mother mini-comic! Thanks so much! They're still available, so if you're interested in getting yourself a copy, please send me an email at horibe (at) gmail.com or use the button on the right hand side of this page. There are also more details in yesterday's post Asian Mother: On Sale! 

Whoop whoop!

E-mail address: Gmail, not Facebook

Quick correction:
Just wanted to make a quick correction in the last post. My email address is horibe (at) gmail.com (not facebook.com). If you happened to send me an email in the last few hours, it would be great if you could resend the email to the gmail address. Sorry for the hassle! Thanks!

Asian Mother: On Sale!

In other news, copies of An Idiot's Guide to Dining with an Asian Mother are now for sale! Whoop!

An Idiot's Guide to Dining with an Asian Mother is a little booklet about the dos and don'ts when meeting and dining with an Asian mom for the first time. I think my inspiration for this came from a scene in Amy Tan's novel Joy Luck Club where one of the daughters brings home her all-American boyfriend home for what ends up being a disastrous dinner. The best part of it all was how oblivious the boyfriend was to the fact that he'd made a horrible first impression on her family. As someone whose boyfriends have mostly been non-Asian, this was a pretty relatable scene. (Though it's never been that bad, fortunately.)

Eating is a hugely important concept in Japanese and most other Asian cultures. My Japanese friends are constantly uploading photos of food on Facebook. 70% of the conversations between my mom and me is food-related. Whenever my family travels, it's for one sole reason: good food. (Okay, not true of Scotland...but still!) This is why I think that by far the easiest way to set a positive (or negative) first impression on Asian moms is at the dinner table.

Obviously I couldn't include everything I wanted to cover in a little 18-page booklet, but I picked and chose the funniest and the most basic rules. Some tips are particular to Japan (ie. the bowing rule doesn't apply to all Asian countries) and some are international, but yes. Hopefully it's somewhat helpful. And entertaining.

Wow. tl;dr? Here's how you can buy my baby book:

My babies! Woot.

They are hand-bound with love (love!) and cost 2 euros each + shipping (0.90 euro within Germany and 1.45 euro elsewhere). By the way, the shipping will be the same if you purchase 2 copies to be sent to the same address. (A-mazing!) So yes. Buy two and give the other one to your (Asian, non-Asian, or inner-Asian) mom. Or just buy one. And I'll write/draw something nice in it for you.

Anywho. If you're interested in purchasing a copy, message me at horibe (at) gmail (dot) com with your mailing address and email address, and I'll send you a PayPal payment request. Thanks!

*****

私の初ミニコミック An Idiot's Guide to Dining with an Asian Mother、発売開始しました！

このミニコミックを作ろうと思ったきっかけは中国系アメリカ人作家のエイミー・タンの小説「ジョイ・ラック・クラブ」。中国系アメリカ人の主人公が白人(アメリカ人)の彼氏を実家に呼ぶシーン。食卓でのタブーを連発し最悪な第一印象を残した上、それに気づきもしない彼にあきれる彼女に私は深く同情したのを覚えている。

いままで（というか今も）日本人じゃない彼氏がほとんどだったが、親に彼氏を紹介するにあたって身にしみて感じたのが、「第一印象は食卓で決まる」。そこで大事ないくつかの基本的なルールをおもしろおかしく描いてみたのが今回のミニコミック。そんなに深い内容のものではないけど...面白ければ結構！日本人と付き合っている友達にでもあげてください。:)

値段は一冊２ユーロ+送料で、ドイツ国内は+90セント、その他は1.45ユーロです。２冊までは送料は変わらずお送りできます。お問い合わせは horibe (あっと) gmail.comまで。お名前、送り先住所とメールアドレスもお知らせください。

Don't be a perv

Yeah, G, stop being such a perv.

「下品」

You know what's weird? I have no problem writing this comic in English, but I found myself feeling a little bit reluctant about translating this into Japanese. It also took me a while to figure out which version of the word "penis" I should use in Japanese. Revelation: I'm prude and proper in Japanese.

Also, G and I agree that "Pimmel" (German) is the best penis word ever. (Nobody asked.)

Ungh. I have a feeling I'm going to get lots of hits just for saying "penis" in this blog. Penis penis penis.

不思議なことに、このマンガ、英語で描(書)くのは問題無かったのに、なぜか日本語に訳すときにかなりの抵抗がありました。さて"Penis"をどうやって訳そうか思ったより長く悩んだし...。結論：私は英語では下品だけど日本語だといい子ちゃんなのです。いままで気がつかなかった...

Japanese Pop Culture 101: Understanding Anpanman

Hairy Toes

"Little Noz" Stamp

So yes. Back from G's graduation! Yay, yay! We're so proud of G! Yay!

He's in there, er, somewhere.

Anyway, when we got home,  I got to work on the stamp straight away . . . and here it is! Now that all the components of the mini-comic are done, I can start working on producing more! It's more time-consuming than I imaged so it might take a while before I can make them available online, but the plan is to make 50 by the end of the month.

Zine Zine Zine

I literally just finished printing, folding, cutting, and sewing up the first 10 copies of my first little zine, An Idiot's Guide to Dining with an Asian Mother. Phew. Oh wait. Oh shit. As I was writing that, I just remembered that I forgot to make the stamp that goes on the back cover of the zine. Crap! Ok. It's not completely finished, but soon! SOON! I still want to share this photo and tell the world that I am . . . almost . . . done.

Ok. Off to G's graduation now. 

Qualities that make me really "Japanese"

n.b. I like karaoke but I will not sing in public. My off-tune caterwauling is for my ears only.

Get a bell, kid

This made me laugh a lot for some reason though.

「ベル買えよ」

Bonsai Mugs

Oh man! Backaches, but still a lot of fun. I think I'll make more of them.

We'd love to meet you

Back to basics with good old black and white.

Big 25

G finished his fifth 25km this morning in an awesome time! Not really a comic, but here's a little picture of G running. Slo-o-o-wly getting used to using the tablet!

Sixteen?

Technically not a Saturday post, but still a Saturday post! T'was a long day of learning how to use the tablet.

Anyway, this happened to me yesterday while buying a keg of beer at a supermarket. This is either a new high or a new low . . .

The Fuss over Eyelids

Just something I was thinking about today.

Just to impress you

My scheme to get G to love dogs is has begun infiltrating his dreams.

Dream Job

Something I remembered from babysitting the other day. Kids are awesome.

 久々の日本語バージョン！「Dream Job」

The Evil Umlauts Part 3

Also check out Part 1 and Part 2!