Author: alicer

Photo Blog #41: Color Theory

f Aperture: 1.8, Shutter Speed: 1/20, ISO: 3200

For this assignment, we were supposed to make our photo look like the shot of a movie. I can’t exactly say that I succeeded (to be honest I think this looks more like a painting or a drawing, especially her pants), but I really do like how this photo turned out – it makes me think of perhaps a flashback during an animated movie? I’m not quite sure – but I really like the contrast of how she (my sister) is walking into the darkness from the light – and I’m really happy with the fading out effect on her left leg.

Photo Blog #40: New Years Light

f Aperture: 1.8, Shutterspeed: 1/30 ISO: 800

So, I didn’t properly read the requirements of the assignment – I didn’t realize that the photo was supposed to be something that represents the New Year, whoops?

For this assignment, I tried to take a high exposure photo during the night time – and it was as I was testing my camera in my mom’s car that I took this photo. I really like it a lot – in Japanese, the word we use to describe a green traffic light is “ao”, or “blue”. I’d never understood why it was that we called it blue, because it’s so obviously green – but when I took this photo, it made me think, Oh, so this is why – and after that I couldn’t help but get attached to this photo.

If I was going to take the photo again, this time fully complying with the assignment, I would probably try to take a photo of the moon. It’s the year of the rabbit, and in Japanese culture it’s said that there’s a rabbit making mochi on the moon, so it would fit better with the theme. Next time!!

Photo Blog #33: Who Inspires You

A bunch of games that can be played on the Nintendo Switch. Danganronpa, Omori, Skyward Sword, Link's Awakening, Breath of the Wild, and Hyrule Warriors Age of Calamity.
f Aperture: 1.8 Shutter Speed: 1/60 ISO: 143

Believe it or not, games, and the teams behind games, are what inspire me. In order to make a good game, I feel, one also has to write a good story with fun lore behind it. All of the games present in the photo above do that well, I feel. When I play these games, it often makes me think about how I myself want to create these kinds of stories, and share them.

Most of these titles are fantasy titles, (specifically the Legend of Zelda games) because fantasy is my favorite genre, and is also the genre that I want to write in in the future. Games are often my hyperfixations, and my inspirations, so that’s what I wanted to reflect with this assignment.

Photo Blog #32: Fill The Frame

A photo of a plant. One group of leaves is a lot brighter than the others.
f Aperture: 1.8 Shutter Speed: 1/15 ISO: 148

For this project, we were assigned to fill the frame with one color. I took photos of a number of things, such as blue bags, the white wall, and the like, but ultimately felt that this photo fit the theme best, especially since it had a subject that was incredibly close to the camera.

Photo Blog #31: Friends and Family

A photo of one of my friends standing ominously over another friend who's lying on my couch.
f Aperture: 1.8 Shutter Speed: 1/15 ISO: 253

It took me a while to ultimately decide on this photo for the friends and family prompt. Originally, I planned on taking photos of certain objects around the house that my family members considered important to them – and hoped that that would be able to tell a story about them. I took multiple photos around the house, and ultimately realizes that none of them were photos that I actually liked – and thought that instead of trying to take a new photo, I could look through some of my older photos of my friends, to see if any of them told a good story.

Ultimately, I decided on this one. I’m not quite sure what story this is telling, but there is undeniable something happening here, so I thought it worked well.

Photo Blog #30: Habits

A bunch of manga volumes. The manga near the camera is in focus, while the manga is the back is out of focus. The series in Noragami.
It Goes On

For this photo, the theme was habits – and the moment I heard that I knew I wanted to make my photo have something to do with my manga obsession. I have a habit of buying too much (not enough) manga – and then buy more and more shelves when my previous one runs out of space. I’m currently on shelf #4, and I’m hoping that I won’t have to get anymore before I go to college – my room doesn’t have enough space!!

For the photo, I considered taking it from multiple angles. I thought about taking it closer to the shelf, from the side, in order to make it look like the manga was stretching on forever – which is why the photo looks like it does.

I thought a photo of my entire shelves would better illustrate how this is a “habit,” though, so I took multiple photos from farther away. I ultimately decided on the photo above, but I do like the other photos I took, so I’ll add them here.

My four shelves. All of them are filled with manga.
More of an Addiction than a Habit, Really
The top layer of my biggest shelf. You can see my older Ocarina of Time volume. I still need to see if I can find one of the really old ones of volume two, because now-a-days they only sell them together as a set.
Even MORE Manga

Photo Blog #29: Facial Symmetry

Left side of the face reflected.
Left
Right side of the face reflected.
Right

Not going to lie, these are kind of terrifying.

For this project, we were supposed to work with symmetry – specifically, symmetry in our own faces. After taking a photo of my own face, I went into photoshop and reflected the image twice – the first time I reflected the left side of my face, and the second time I reflected the right side. They’re kind of terrifying, and I don’t really know how to feel about them, but it was funny while in the process of making them, so yeah, I liked this particular project.

(When I specify left and right for this project, I specifically mean my own left and right/from my own perspective.)

Photo Blog #28: Culture

A yard, seen from the inside of a traditional Japanese home.
美しい庭
A group of people walking into a temple courtyard, as it is raining.
墓参り

For this photo assignment, the theme was culture. While the photos presented here are photos I took with my phone, I thought that it would be appropriate to use them – as they were both photos that I took in Japan over the past summer. The first photo I chose because it showcases what a yard looks like from the inside of a traditional Japanese house – and I thought it would be a recognizable display of Japanese culture that anyone might know. The second image I chose, because it was one I took while doing Hakamairi, or visiting (usually a family member’s) a grave. I didn’t take any photos of the grave itself out of respect, but I did take photos as we walked throughout the temple – and I thought that that was a good showcase of my culture. Ultimately I couldn’t choose between the two photos, which is why I decided to just post both.

Interview Transcript

Interview 1

1st Interviewee: Gen Motouji

(Alice’s mother was also present for interview)

Occupation: Owner of Gochi Japanese Fusion and Tapas 

Interview Date: 3/9/22

Location: Gochi Japanese Fusion and Tapas 

00:01 Alice

これをこっちにおきます。

I’m going to put this here. (talking about the voice recorder). 

00:02 Gen

はい、よろしくお願いします。

Yes, I am in your care. (No good translation for this phrase, no real English equivalent). 

00:06 Alice

ではお名前は何ですか。

To begin, what is your name? 

00:08 Gen

ゲンモトウジ

Gen Motouji 

00:10 Alice

もう一回？　

Once again? 

00:15 Gen

ゲン モトウジ。ゲン。G-E-N

Gen Motouji. Gen. G-E-N. 

00:16 Alice

モトウジ。すごい。えーと、あーの、ゲンちゃんの出身地はどこですか。

Motouji. Woah. Um, alright, Gen, where are you from? 

00:25:01 Gen

日本の埼玉。生れはベトナムなんですけども、育ちは日本がほとんど。

Saitama, Japan. I was born in Vietnam, but was raised mostly in Japan. 

00:35 Alice

なぜアメリカに来ることになりましたか。

Why did you end up coming to the United States? 

00:37 Gen

親がグリーンカード – アメリカのグリーンカードを取って、そのまま自然に、二十一歳以下だったから、グリーンカードそのまま受け取りました。

My parents got a green card, and because I was under the age of 21, I just naturally came with them and received one as well. 

00:53 Alice

（母へ）それできるの？　（ゲンへ）えーと、なぜこの職業を選びましたか。

(To Mother) You can do that? (To Gen) Um, why did you choose this profession? 

01:03 Gen

本当はメジャーがこれじゃなかったんですけど、ゴチの一号店、クーパーティーノ店をずっとバイトしてて、自分のCarrierスポーツトレーナーになろうとしたんだけど…

うちの奥さんが向こうのマネージャーやってて、二人でもうゴチやめようかなと思った時に、やっぱり一号店もやっぱり二人一気止められるの大変てらってことで、お店オファー、二号店やらないかってオファーをもらって、色々やってみようかと思って、今はどっぷりやっちゃってます。

In actuality, this wasn’t my major, but I was working at the first Gochi store in Cupertino – I was originally trying to become a sports trainer.. . 

My wife was a manager at the other store, and at around the same time, we started discussing resigning, but of course that’s not great for the business, so we received the offer of opening a second store. When I/we received the offer, I thought I should try doing all different things, so now I am doing a lot. 

01:40 Gen

でも一応スポーツトレーナー格はエキステンドってのはライセンスがエクステンドして、まあいつか。

Though I still do have my license as a sports trainer – I’ve had it extended. So at some point in the future. 

01:45 Gen

サムデイ。

Someday. 

01:45 Alice

サムデイ。えーっとどこで料理の修業をしましたか。

Someday. Um. where did you receive culinary training?

01:53 Gen

クパチーノ店、ゴチクパティーノ店だけ。

The Cupertino Restaurant, only there. 

01:55 Alice

クパチーノで？プロの学校とか行きません…

Only in Cupertino? No professional schooling or…

01:55 Gen

ア、全然。

Oh, no no. 

01:58 Alice

ただ家とかで勉強？

So you were just studying cooking at home? 

02:01 Michi (Alice’s Mother)

違う、ゴチクパティーノって説明してんじゃん。

No, that’s not it, he’s explaining that he learned at Gochi Cupertino. 

02:03 Alice

全然、ごめん私、意味がはわからないんです。

Sorry, I don’t understand the meaning. 

02:06 Michi

えーと、1号店で修業したってこと。

Um, he trained at the First Store. 

02:07 Alice

1号店って何？

What’s “the first store”? 

02:09 Gen

Main Restaurant, Cupertino.

02:14 Alice

アー、そういうことね。オッケー。私なら通訳-

Ohhhh I see, that’s what you mean. Okay. My translation is- 

(laughs) 

02:20 Alice

オッケー。

Okay. 

02:20 Alice

では、なぜマウンテンビューにレストランを開くことにしましたか。

Next, why did you decide to open the restaurant here in Mountain View? 

02:25 Gen

最初いろいろ探してて、サニーベイルとかマウンテンビューとか、一応クパティーノの本店からメインレストランから離れたところを探していて。で、ちょうど最初はカストロストリートにできたんですけれど、一応デベロップメントがあって、そのWe got kicked outでこっちに探してもらいたい。マウンテンビューの方がやっぱりいっぱいフーディーが多いから。

At first, we looked around at a lot of areas – like Sunnyvale, and Mountain View. We did keep in mind that we wanted to be at a separate location from the main restaurant. At first we opened at Castro Street, but because there was development (construction projects?) going on, we got kicked out, and we started looking around here. Mountain View has more “foodie” people too. 

02:54 Alice

そして、えーっと、レストランを開くにあたり、影響を受けたことやものはありますが。

And then, um, was there anything that inspired you to open the restaurant? 

03:03 Gen

影響を受けたこと？うーん。最初サーバーでずっと、多分、高校生ん時からサーバーとかやってたから、接客は楽しいし、料理とまたー

なんと言えばー

料理ももちろん大事だけど、接客も大事だなっていうのが影響がある。多分人と接するのが楽しいなと思う。

Something that inspired/affected me? Hmmm. At first I was working as a server – I was working as server ever since highschool, I think, and I enjoyed customer service, and in terms of cooking- 

How should I say…

Cooking of course was important, but the importance of customer service is a concept that I’ve always been influenced by. I think it’s probably because I always found interacting with others to be fun. 

03:29 Alice

接客って、ごめん、何？

“Customer service,” sorry, means what? 

03:30 Gen

Customer Service

03:34 Alice

ありがとうございます。なぜ日本食レストラン、レストランではなく、日本フュージョンレストランにしたんですか。

Thank you. Why did you choose a restaurant that was Japanese-Fusion rather than just Japanese? 

03:43 Gen

カルフォルニアはもう、なんだろー、全部のレースとかカルチャーのフュージョンだから、日本食ってだけにしちゃうと、やっぱり寿司ないとダメとかそういうステレオタイプになっちゃうから、フュージョンだったらオープンな感じだったかな。

California itself is, hmmm… a huge fusion of different races and cultures. I thought that if I labeled the restaurant as just Japanese, then I’d have to face the stereotypes such as “there must be sushi because it’s a Japanese restaurant”. If I label it as fusion, it’s much more open. 

04:07 Alice

なんとなくわかります。この質問を先生と話してた時、

Oh, I get what you’re saying (in some sense). When I was talking about these questions with my teacher, 

04:10 Gen

あと、カッコつけてるとか。

Oh, and also because “Japanese-Fusion” sounds cooler. 

04:13 Alice

先生にも、「じゃあ寿司のレストラン寿司のレストランなんですね」ってめっちゃ言われて、「違います。違います。」

My teacher also said “Ah, sushi restaurant, sushi restaurant”, and I had to be like “It’s not sushi, it’s not sushi.” 

04:17 Gen

照り焼きチキンもないです。

We don’t even have teriyaki chicken. 

04:23 Alice

じゃあ、メニューのコンセプトはどこからインスピレーションされましたか。

So, where did you get the inspiration for the menu’s concept? 

04:28 Gen

メニュー。自分のオリジナルメニューが何個かあって、それはやっぱり、他のレストランとか、食べ歩いたりとか、インターネットで見たりとか、テレビで見たりとかしてうちにあるイングリディエントでサービスできそうだったら。それと、もう一個近いレシピがあったら、それを二つ。他の人からもらった二つをコンバインしてオリジナルとしてだす。そのまま盗んだらやっぱ盗みになっちゃうから。

The menu-. There are a few original dishes of my own, which were inspired by me visiting other restaurants, or walking while eating (likely referencing street vendors in Japan and the like?), or seeing things on the TV and internet, and then deciding whether or not we’d be able to make something like it here. Something I’ve also done is find one recipe that I like, then find another recipe and put them together to make something new and original. If I just take one recipe as it is then that’s just stealing. 

05:00 Alice

そのコンビみたいなのがフュージョンですか。

And those kinds of combinations are fusion? 

05:02 Gen

そうだね。それもあるね。自分にはゼロから1を作るスキルはないから、だから1と他の人の1と1を足して2とかの方が自分に合ってる。

I think so. Yes. I don’t have the skills to make something from 0 to 1, so I take the 1 and 1 from others to make 2. That style fits me better. 

05:20 Alice

えーっと、じゃあ、メニューには、これフュージョンに戻るんだけど、メニューの中で特にフュージョンしているものはなんだと思いますか。

Alright so, in the menu – this is going back to the fusion topic, but, are there any items on the menu that you particularly consider to be “fusion”? 

05:28 Gen

フュージョンしてるもの。家にしかないものは家にはやっぱ、その、クパティーノとのメニューにはないやつを、一応こっちのフュージョンとかで出してて。で、まー、スペシャルに乗っているけど何個かあります。まあーあとで見せますけど。それがうちのフュージョンかな。クパティーノプラスアルファ。アルファというわけじゃないけど、サイドストーリー。

Something that is fusion… I think the things that are on our menu that you can’t find anywhere else – including the other Gochi Store in Cupertino – we release under the label of fusion. And, well, we’ve got a number of specials as well. I can show you later. I think that’s our fusion? Cupertino + Alpha. Well, no, not alpha… we’re the side story.  

05:56 Alice

じゃあこれもまた同じ流れな質問なんですけど、フュージョン以外のメニューのアイテムとかありますか。

This is also going back to the fusion concept, but do you have any items on the menu that fall outside of the concept of fusion? 

06:04 Gen

一応トラディショナルなのも結構あって、それは普通にあって、それー、まあ一応味はシンプルで。それが好きな人多いし、子供とか、鶏の空揚げ、天ぷらとか。ありますね。

We do have more traditional items on the menu, that are, well, usually there – and simple. There are lots of people who like that, and especially children like to eat familiar foods like karaage, or tempura. So we do have that. 

06:24 Alice

これちょっと日本語がおかしいかもしれない。これをお母さんに直してもらいたいから。ゲンちゃんはどういうお客さんにアピールをしようとしていますか。

This next question might sound a little strange. I didn’t get the opportunity to have my mom fix my Japanese. What kind of customers are you trying to appeal to? 

06:32 Gen

うーん。特にこの辺っていうのはないですね。誰か来てくれてでそれで…　まあ、普通の日本食じゃないのはたぶん来たらわかると思うんで、まあ誰でも。もちろんそれがフュージョンが嫌な人も絶対いっぱいいるし、トラディショナルが食べたいって人も、うちは多分ダメだだから – we don’t get to pick any customer. 

Hmmm. There isn’t really any specific customer base we’re trying to appeal to. We’d be happy if anyone came. Since, well, people can generally tell that this isn’t usual Japanese food when they get here, so, honestly, anyone. Of course, there are people who don’t like or prefer fusion, who like traditional better, and for those people we’re not really the best option – we don’t get to pick any customer. 

07:00 Alice

来てくれたら嬉しい。

You’d just be happy if they came. 

07:01 Gen

誰でも見て来てくれたら。

Anyone, if they see it and then are nice enough to come. 

07:05 Alice

えーと、じゃあ、あー、ママこれなんて読む？

Alright, so… oh, Mom, how do you read this? 

07:09 Michi

わかんない、ゲンちゃんが読めるよ。

No idea (she was recording a ways away so she couldn’t see the page), Gen can read it though. 

07:11 Alice

お願いします。コロナによって、

Please. Due to the corona… 

07:14 Gen

営業形態や安全対策にどのような影響がありましたか。これはかなりあります。ここにあるように、セルフオーダーとかになって、やっぱ人がいなく、一回6ヶ月で、いやもっとか、六ヶ月ぐらい、あのー、ダイニングもなかったから、そのせいでやっぱり辞めちゃった人もいるし、帰ってきてもやっぱりパートタイムになっちゃった人もいるから、ショートオブ、ショーテージがLabor Shortageが すごいあるから、こういうセルフオーダーだーとかあったし、あとパッシングとかも今相当スプレーなどをしなきゃいけないから、Takes Longer。で、まぁ、みんなカスタマーもthey are aware of it, but when they are angry,

… was the restaurant affected by both the COVID-19 Pandemic and Covid Safety protocols? Yes, quite a bit. As you can see here, we’ve had to switch to a self-ordering system, and especially since we lost quite a few people – because we weren’t able to be open for 6 months, well, more, but around 6 months, and… since we didn’t have dining, there were a number of people who quit, and those who came back afterwards might now be working part time instead, so, yeah, I’d say we’re greatly affected by the labor shortage. Also, because we have to take care to do the cleaning and spraying of the restaurant, it takes longer. And the customers, well, they are aware of it, but when they are angry… 

08:04 Alice

アハハ。

(laughs) 

08:06 Gen

They tend to get mad – more than usual. だから難しくなる。

They tend to get mad – more than usual. So things become more difficult. 

08:13 Alice

コロナの性でアジアンヘイトが増えていったので、この店はアジアンへートなどから問題とかありましたか。

Because of the coronavirus, there was an increase in asian hate – did Gochi face any problems or trouble due to that? 

08:21 Gen

特に今んところないかなー。やっぱり、マウンテンビュー的にもやっぱりあんまりないし、だから、まぁ、ここら辺は結構カームな感じがするかな。今のところ。

As of right now, not really. Mountain View doesn’t really have that kind of thing – this region is more calm about that, I think. As of now. 

08:37 Alice

それは良かったです。じゃあ最後に将来の目標とか希望はありますか。

I’m glad to hear that. To conclude, do you have any goals and aspirations for the future? 

08:48 Gen

まあ、特にセカンドレストランを作りたいとかではなくて、できるだけいられればそのまま少しずつ上がっていけばいいし、でも I’m not looking for a big change, そのまま, as-is のまま行けたらいい。

Well, it’s not as if I’m trying to open a second restaurant or anything. I think I want to try as hard as I can to maintain what we’ve got now – I’m not looking for a big change. I’d be happy if we could continue as is. 

09:08 Alice

そうですかー。じゃあ、それで終わりです。

I see. Well, then, that’s all my questions. 

09:13 Gen & Alice

ありがとうございます。

Thank you. 

(End of Interview)

Photo Blog #18: #No Filter

A photo of purple flowers - behind it you can see the green bush it's growing out of. Only one of the purple flowers is in focus while everything around it is blurred.
Purple

This was actually a photo I took back in January, when I was considering whether or not I wanted to try and go back and finish the December prompts (since I have yet to finish those, and will likely go back at some point in time to do so.) This was a photo that I took, but ultimately decided not to go with for the prompt of “Home Town”. My thought process then was that I’ve always lived somewhere where there are purple flowers, but I wasn’t sure if that was what I wanted to go with for my interpretation of the prompt. I did like how the photo looked, however, which is why I decided to repurpose it for this prompt of “No Filter.”