Ummmm...ok.

That's all I really have to say about some of the things around here.

Sometimes I see things that make me "ooh" and "aah" -- like the teeny tiny origami crane I mentioned last time. Other times I see things that make me "eww" or things that make me "aww." And then there are the things that I just don't quite know what sound to make about them.

Like in the case of the random garden of animal bushes that I pass on the drive from Kuji to Noda...

Hmm, not sure. Kinda cute? A little odd? A tad creepy? (That bear is staring right at me!) Definitely quirky.

I tell you what, there is all kinds of quirkiness to be found in the stores...

Like the giant insect repellent bottle hanging from the ceiling in addition to a display of cardboard pigs -- with noses that look like lollipops -- that appear to be running around with nets and also swinging. Peculiar.

There are also some peculiar things being sold.

Exhibit A: Diet pills called Jesus Body!

The fine print on the box says:

New discovery to be kept secret from others.

The discovery is a secret.

I can try it down because I am correct.

We will not make you sorry.

Pleasure to have the real thing.

I really longed for this.

Exhibit B: Bread that is the shape and color of corn, and has a corn-flavored cream inside.

A whole new kind of corn bread. I bought it to try because I was curious. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't really good, either.

On Wednesday at my English conversation class, Emiko brought an...umm...unusual snack to share...

Grasshoppers!

The dried critters made each of us squirm and "eww" a little bit, especially me. (And I'm usually pretty brave about trying different foods...and "foods.")

Tomoki wasn't so sure about them, either...

One word for what they were like: Crunchy.

Well, that's all the oddness for now. I'm, uh, hopping (bad, I know) off the computer to do some last minute studying for tomorrow's Japanese test. Sayonara!