Yesterday was a very busy day.

FreeHead played a noon hour gig at House Of Secrets Comics in Burbank. Wednesday is New Comic Day so there was a built-in audience for the band. My Fangirl Sense was all a-tingle because one of the people who was there for the gig was Bruce Timm, the guy who created the best conception of Batman ever: Batman: The Animated Series. I was very proud of myself because I kept calm and did not grovel in the man's presence.

Then yesterday evening there was also a Saccharine Trust gig. Two Richie gigs in one day. And this time, ST played in Little Tokyo. So I was able to do some shopping between gigs.

I have always loved Little Tokyo, and I got a chance to get Oshogatsu decorations and shop for my nieces. Unfortunately since one of my nieces is only a year old I might not be able to give her the Kitty-chan (Hello Kitty to us 'Muricans) as a Japanese Bride doll that I will be giving to my four-year-old niece. I got two of them. The dolls are gorgeous, dressed in brocade satin kimonos complete with a little satin headdress on top ala the horn-hiding headdress Shinto brides wear.

Here's a picture of what I'm talking about:



And here's what the Kitty-chan doll looks like...well, sort of anyway:

Kitty-chan bride

For one thing, this doll is certainly bigger than 25cm. This one is a full foot tall. And also the brocade used for the kimono is not pale pink. One doll has a vivid red brocade Kimono on with a gold brocade Obi, the other one has a gold brocade Kimono on with a red Obi. I'm giving the gold brocade Kimono one to my niece Olivia. My concern about giving the other one to Ella is that it has eyes and a nose that could conceivably come off and choke her if she put them in her mouth. So I get to keep one. Sugoi, neh.

It's also kind of nice that Nijiya Market has taken over for Enbun Market in the Japanese Village Plaza. Nijiya is sort of like the "Trader Joe's" of Japanese grocery stores. They have reasonable prices and high-quality, often organic foods under their own labels, as well as recognizable labels you'd normally see in a Mitsuwa, Marukai or 99 Ranch market. It's ironic but going to Little Tokyo is easier than going to the Westside to the Sawtelle District to go to a Nijiya. The Red Line train makes Little Tokyo incredibly easy to get to. For the westside, you have to go over the Sepulveda Pass via the 405. A formidable task however you look at it, even on a weekend. I will miss Enbun Market because it was a local market with roots in Little Tokyo dating back to well before the Internment Camps of the 1940s. I think they started in 1902 or something. But Nijiya simply has the best stuff. I had one of their cold Bentos for dinner... Oishi, oishi.

The Saccharine gig went well too. The club that ST played at was unfortunately called "Club Cocaine" so when I couldn't find the place I couldn't necessarily ask the locals about where it was. So I hung out at the new Starbucks at 2nd and Central waiting for Richie to get into the area. Turns out the venue was right around the corner from Starbucks. Kewl.

I could see myself living in Little Tokyo. A lot of Downtown LA is scummy and gross but Little Tokyo is an oasis, by and large. Yes, there are people sparechanging you on the street. In fact I offered a particularly forward one dinner, and he refused. When the guy rejected an offer of a meal, I knew that he was probably looking for funds for either alcohol or crack. Sorry, dude. I don't enable addicts. Call me cold, but that's just me. I don't want to be some addict's enabler.

Still no word on the Math 149 grade. Eep...