Well, it’s official: just like Biggy, I’m going back to Cali.

The arrangements have been made, the plane tickets have been purchased, and miraculously, my company has approved my request to telecommute (or as the Japanese say, “slack off”) from my parents’ home in California for the last two weeks of December. Therefore, come December 11th, I am outta here!

Today, I found myself thinking about all of the things that I look forward to the most about going back to the States. Oddly enough, aside from the obvious ones such as spending time with my family and hanging out with friends, one item very high on the list is food. But the funny thing is, what I find myself craving even more than the scrumptious dishes that are apparently considered too “exotic” to reach these shores — turkey, sandwiches, low-fat milk, etc. — is American junk food. Crap like hot dogs, licorice, Cherry Coke, Sunchips, slurpees, Taco Bell, and so on — “food” items entirely devoid of nutrition, teetering atop the food pyramid whilst mocking me with their deathly delectability.

Operation Gain 10 Pounds is set for launch. T-minus 18 days and counting.

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Here are some photos taken at Shinjuku Gyoen earlier this month. Certainly not very good, but it was dusk and the lighting was very low. Well, that’s my excuse, anyhow, and I’m sticking to it.