Out for Lunch

I walked down to Izumi Chuo for lunch with friends. When I get to the bottom of the hill there's a pedestrian overpass, I suppose since crossing the Route 4 could be precarious for some folks who might not be able to move so fast along a wide crosswalk.

It seems they are finally refurbishing this thing. I noticed scaffolding. Thank goodness. These rusty, crumbling steps are gonna give way at some point in the not too far off future, and I cross several times a week.

We did food truck cuisine by Izumi Chuo Station. 

Recently a more wide variety of food trucks has been showing up. I had a Taiwan burger - super fatty and tender pork in a steamed bun. The nice lady asked me if I'm okay with cilantro and I told her to load it up. A lot of people in East Asia can't do cilantro. They gag at the thought of it. One of my best friends is Korean and one time when we were at a Mexican joint in Seoul he accidentally had a tiny nibble of cilantro and his face swelled up like a veiny pumpkin. Luckily beer was the cure. The waiter was freaked out.

Walking home on a cloudy, drizzly day after a nice (albeit quick due to work) lunch with friends was yet another opportunity to reflect. 

The leaves on a few trees are already changing. Momiji I think is naturally prone to getting red and brown before other trees, but it surprised me nonetheless. It's still technically August. Autumn isn't for weeks.

Back at my desk in my home office, I have the window open pretty much all the time. The only time I close it is when the temperature gets above 35 C (or below... whatever cold is) and I'm starting to feel dizzy or when the rain starts to intrude.

This afternoon was light drizzle. Window open. Beautiful smells coming in.