did you file yet?

Today is April 15th. In America, it is the day that Federal taxes must be filed. I was quite surprised when I asked Satoshi about their taxes. In Japan, as long as you work for a company, they file taxes for you. How great is that? No need to figure anything out, no need to stand in line at the post office at midnight, just sign a release form and let them do all the work for you (well, you are working for them, right?!) In Japan they don't get to itemize any type of deductions, but if it saves you the headache of filing yourself, how can you complain?

So, lunch was a mixture of leftovers that turned into kim chee chahan (fried rice). Heat your assortment of veggies in oil and when everything is slightly cooked, add your leftover rice. If the mixture is a bit dry, add some stock then add your kim chee at the end. Lunch is served! Fast and easy!

The only problem with eating a lunch like this is that you get hungry quite quickly. We had some popcorn that I brought back for snack. This popcorn is made by the Hawaiian Popcorn Company. In Hawaii, you can usually get your popcorn with a side of furikake (dried seasonings like nori (seaweed)) and kakimochi (rice crackers) at the movies. This is mixed in with the popcorn and eaten. Some people actually sneak in this mixture at the movies so that they can mix in their favorite kakimochi.

I bought several interesting flavors while in Hawaii. One of which was Li Hing. Li hing is a sweet/sour flavor that is added to dried plums and is of Chinese influence. (If you are from Hawaii, you are probably salivating at reading this part of the post.) Actually, if you look for li hing in Hawaii, they have added the powder to almost anything and everything, even to frozen margaritas (yum!) and cake frosting (blah!)! When we eat the others I'll definitely share them with you.

Hope you have a great week!