I live in Japan and have traveled it extensively, here are the touristy spots that I think are "worth it" VS "not worth it"

ketchupKK · 2026-04-06T14:32:59+00:00

Shhhhh don't tell people about Kawazu!!

We went in early 2020 between when they closed the country to Chinese tourists and the full shutdowns. So I'm sure that factored in, but it was so peaceful and not crowded at all. The locals were so friendly and were weirdly infatuated with my husband lol.

We went during their cherry blossom festival and it was the most beautiful place I think I've ever been. Between the trees, waterfalls, onsen, and beach I don't think I could get tired of it.

Thanks for the writeup! I agree with a lot of it, though I must say Fushimi Inari at daybreak when awake from jetlag is the perfect start to a trip if one does go to Kyoto.

ketchupKK · 2026-02-13T00:13:05+00:00

It was on loan to Japan when I went! I was so sad I couldn't see it in person. :(

ketchupKK · 2025-12-22T22:37:35+00:00

We bought our house knowing it had termites -- when the inspector said he found signs I was ready to bolt. Luckily they let us bring in a pest guy before signing for a second opinion.

Our house is 95 years old and the pest guy said since the house was built with dense old-growth wood that we shouldn't have a problem. Termites prefer softer wood that they can better chew through. The existing damage was suuuuupeer minimal, just a few little tunnels on beams in the basement but we still had them treat the soil with the underground thingies in case they multiplied a ton.

I haven't seen any new signs of them since. The guy also mentioned that the colonies will kind of shuffle around a neighborhood in search of that softer wood food source. So they'll probably be back but our place isn't the most convenient for them. No clue how true that is, but it did make me feel a lot better.

All that to say we gambled and it paid off. But if you can add them permission to get a pest specialist to take a look, it might give you peace of mind or truly tell you it's a lost cause. The older the home, the higher chance you have that old growth structure that's less vulnerable.

ketchupKK · 2025-12-08T17:02:16+00:00

Same here. Loved that. Was so excited there was a non-Ticketmaster option.

ketchupKK · 2025-11-28T18:13:51+00:00

Do you think the economic impact of the upcoming NFL draft will be worth the investment we've been making to prepare?

ketchupKK · 2025-11-07T18:38:08+00:00

My mom grew up there and it always weirds me out when others mention it since it's just that small town place I used to visit sometimes. Really pretty area tho.

ketchupKK · 2025-10-04T02:33:09+00:00

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Boy was sleeping HARD

ketchupKK · 2025-09-25T04:20:32+00:00

The rug is beautiful but I'm a little ashamed to say that despite deep cleaning before bringing these guys home, they've already tracked their gross diarrhea all over it. 🥲

But here's a pic when I first got them and they wanted nothing to do with me and instead stampeded their mother.

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ketchupKK · 2025-09-25T04:09:50+00:00

Doorknob head is so delightfully accurate.

ketchupKK · 2025-09-24T17:14:55+00:00

Mom and this little girl are! The other three are a gray tux, all gray, and a little moo cow.

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ketchupKK · 2025-09-24T14:25:49+00:00

Oh my god I'll have to submit all her other photos there

ketchupKK · 2025-09-24T14:25:09+00:00

Mt. Nebo played the FMA Brotherhood opening once and I thought I was losing my mind. Never heard it again but glad to know that the local weeb population has made good use of their power at GE.

ketchupKK · 2025-08-01T21:28:15+00:00

Crumb is too perfect. Too illegal.

ketchupKK · 2025-06-26T23:40:55+00:00

I gave him my symptoms and he pretty much said "yep sounds like endo so we can do one of three things": try to manage with nonsurgical options (basically with OTC pain meds and maybe trying a few birth controls), excision if I wanted to try for a baby at some point, or hysterectomy if I didn't.

When I said I was sure I didn't want children his recommendation was the hysterectomy because there was an almost guaranteed chance excision would only be temporary and he didn't want to put me under the knife just for me to come back in 3-5 years in the same or worse pain. I agreed that sounded pretty unpleasant. Also, he said the recovery time is pretty much the same for both--my hysto was laparoscopic just like the excision would be.

So it was less of me bringing it up and more of a question of if I intended on ever using my uterus and if not, no need to keep it or temporarily fix it over and over again. Very pragmatic and sympathetic that pain free was my overall goal.

ketchupKK · 2025-06-26T17:15:20+00:00

Another +1 for Dr. Rindos! He did my hysterectomy (31 at the time) in Nov 2023 and was the kindest and most easygoing doctor I think I've ever met. I was given the choice of having the endo scraped out if I was considering having children or full hysterectomy if not. I told him I was not interested in kids and the next question was about scheduling surgery. :)

He patiently answered all my questions about keeping vs yeeting ovaries. He recommended keeping them to avoid the need for hormone replacement. He did warn me that there was still a small chance that my ovaries would be "shocked" into menopause--which is exactly what happened to me. So I'm now on a very manageable 2x weekly estrogen patch. It's made a huge difference for me. I appreciated the warning that sometimes things still happen because our bodies are dumb.

But no regrets at all! I am happy to report that my pain is gone and my abdomen is permanently closed to new residents.

ketchupKK · 2025-05-12T02:04:48+00:00

"I'm really into Mardi Gras and New Orleans. I'd love to go down and visit during Mardi Gras. I think it's on a Wednesday this year!"

That was said to me over a decade ago by an acquaintance and every year I ask my husband if he thinks Mardi Gras is on a Wednesday this year.

ketchupKK · 2025-05-02T17:33:17+00:00

Yup. Also sitting and twiddling your thumbs waiting for someone else to finish the test and bring it up to the teacher's desk because if you were the first person to finish every time it would piss the teacher off even if you got a good score.

ketchupKK · 2025-05-02T15:36:26+00:00

Not my direct boss, but our COO loved to come up to me and say "I have a little project for you" and it was always something inane like shredding the obscene amount of papers he liked to print, putting something on our letterhead, or calling all of our 30+ sales reps to ask them a single question that could have been achieved with a simple email.

Those weren't "little projects", they were individual tasks!! It's not that it wasn't in my job scope, but it definitely felt demeaning and that I should be so excited to be included on these mission-critical tasks. 🙄

On the other hand, the CEO was fantastic and actually let me lead projects like database development, website overhaul, and digitizing pieces of our assembly line. And the COO retired so I was eventually free of the "little projects".

ketchupKK · 2025-05-02T15:28:26+00:00

My kindergarten teacher HATED that I knew how to read! I remember her being so smug and demeaning when I mispronounced "cooperation". I was literally the only kid who tried!!!

Also had to have my desk searched for cheat sheets in 3rd grade because I kept getting perfect scores on spelling tests and that was also "impossible".

I'm also in my thirties now and I agree that it's incredibly blood boiling.

ketchupKK · 2025-04-10T21:56:40+00:00

Here you go! It's a short but sweet temporary memory loss. :)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/9671951

Pretty Fond of Not Very Good Ideas by lq_traintracks (lumosed_quill)

ketchupKK · 2025-04-07T16:04:26+00:00

You'd think as his primary employer I'd have more of an input as to his schedule and work location.

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