You would think that a ninja-themed restaurant would be pretty cheesy, but I found that it was designed pretty classy.  The decor had a dark feel to it and was like old world Japan with a modern twist.  Simple and beautiful.

Our waitress was a cute ninja girl who led us through a dark passageway to our table.  Every table has its own small private room that makes you feel like you’re there for a secret meeting.

I ordered the Hanzou course which came with a Japanese Saga steak and garlic sauce.  It was perfect.  The steak was really tender and just melted in my mouth!  Saga beef from the Saga prefecture of Japan and is known for its high quality like Kobe beef.  My mouth waters when I look at this photo.

How cute is this dessert?!!  The presentation of the food was so creative and it was a lot of fun waiting to see what would come out next!

The service was great also.  They have English version menus and an English-speaking staff so our guests were able to enjoy every part of the experience with us.

We went all out and ordered drinks, appetizers, and course meals so our bill for 4 came out to 68,000 yen (roughly $680).  Yikes!  It’s a bit pricey but I suggest ordering a course set if you want to get the full experience.

>>> more photos of NINJA AKASAKA

Ninja Akasaka
Phone Number: 03-5157-3936
ninjaakasaka.com

I went over to the new continent of Northrend and ran around for a little to take a look at some of the new content.

Here’s me pulling into Valiance Keep:

It was pretty cool to see chunks of ice floating in the water as you were pulling in.

Tip:  Don’t forget to train for your all your professions.  I was able to find some new herbs when I was running around.  All of the profession trainers are right around the keep.

They have a new “fog” feature that I don’t really care for.  Check it out:

Well at least I think it’s supposed to be fog… The way the fog just framed the screen in a circle looked pretty cheesy to me.  It looks more like how it should if you were in a dream state.  I think it would have looked better if it were an entire overlay of fog like what happens when you get drunk and everything gets blurry.  It was a nice try, but I don’t think they pulled it off so well.

I also created a new Draenei Death Knight.  They look fierce!  I found it funny that it was like 5:00 am in the U.S. when I was playing and there were like 20 new Death Knights running around.  Here is me posing with the Lich King (look carefully, I’m hidden!):

Everything surrounding the death knight is just creepy!  Look at the creepy looking Scourge Gryphons:

When you get on your Acherus Deathcharger, it makes this eerie screaming noise.  I love it!

They have some new unique quests, not just the usual find and kill quests hat was much needed variety to keep me playing.  I’m looking forward to trying out the new PvP stuff as well.  If you never played World of Warcraft before, now is a good time to start.  The hype is worth it.  If you’ve been playing for a while and was bored with it like me, the new expansion is worth a try.  I know it will at least keep me in the game for at least another 4-6 months.  That’s how they getcha!

Other supplies you may need depending on your situation: feminine supplies, contact lens supplies, glasses, sunscreen, bug spray, infant formula, diapers, hearing aid, prescription medications, pet food, leash, bowls, pet immunization records, pet medication

Tips:

• Copy your family photos to a DVD or thumb drive and keep it with your kit. If you have to evacuate the area, you probably won’t be able to bring all of them with you but at least you’ll have a copy to print out later.
• Put your clothes into a large sealed plastic bag and use a vacuum cleaner to take the air out to make it more compact
• Put your whistle and small flashlight on a lanyard so you have easy access to them
• Store everything in plastic zip bags to protect them from water

Emergency Kit For Home
In addition to what you have for your “To Go” kit, you should have the following:

Fire extinguisher
Wrench or pliers to turn off utilities
Crowbar
Hammer
Heavy duty aluminum foil
Staple gun
3 day supply of food, canned and dried foods or MREs
Plastic sheeting
Sleeping bag or warm blankets for each person
Unscented household chlorine bleach and medicine dropper: When diluted nine parts water to one part bleach, bleach can be used as a disinfectant. It could also be used to treat water by using 16 drops of regular household liquid bleach per gallon of water.
Tea bags: makes bleached treated water taste better
Tent
Long lasting candles
What You Need By Your Bedside
Flashlight
Crowbar
Slip on shoes or slippers with hard soles: In case an event happens when you are sleeping and there is broken glass or other dangerous debris on the floor

To Get More Detailed Information
FEMA website: http://www.fema.gov/areyouready/
Equipped to Survive: http://www.equipped.org/earthqk.htm

For the past 7 years I’ve been focusing on trying to make more money because I thought that would make me happy.  I thought if I make more money, I would be able to buy lots of stuff, travel, pay bills without worrying, and that would make me happy.  A few years ago, I got everything I wished for.  My husband and I were given the opportunity to move to Japan where we both got better jobs.  Our bosses and coworkers are cool, the work was interesting, and the pay was great.  We never had to clip coupons when we went grocery shopping and we paid our credit card bill balances off in full every month.  We were able to fly back and forth from the U.S. and Japan at least twice a year and even went to China for vacation last year.  So why was I still unhappy?  I felt really guilty that I was so lucky to have this great life, and it still wasn’t enough.  I felt tired all the time, gained weight, and just felt trapped.  Trapped in boredom.

The 4-Hour Workweek helped me realize that no amount of money was ever going to be enough.  Tim Ferriss talked about how he started a very successful company that was making $40K per month, but was working 12+ days, 7 days a week, and was miserable.  I knew I didn’t want to head down that road either.  I realized I was focusing too much on money and not enough on the type of lifestyle that I wanted.  Tim Ferriss now has the lifestyle he wants and spends his time traveling all over the world and doing the things that he likes every day without ever having to work a typical 9-5 job.  He tells you how everyone can do that in his book and I was completely inspired.

I’m not sure about what I would be doing every day if I only had a 4-hour workweek, but my dream is to have what I describe a “Slacker Lifestyle”.  My sister and I talk about how some of the best times in our life was our summer vacations off from school where we would sleep past noon, then sit in front of the TV laughing and eating Triscuit Sandwiches (Triscuits with a slice of cheddar cheese in between…I love cheese!).  We were total slackers, but we were happy.  I don’t mean I want to just sit around now everyday and be lazy, but I want to have that feeling of freedom again.  I want to go explore different countries for months at a time if I want to without having to save up vacation time.  If I don’t feel like working and I want to play World of Warcraft all day, I don’t want to have to call in sick and feel guilty.  I want to spend time with family and friends without needing to schedule out every spare minute I have.  When I am working, I want to work on things that are fun and I believe in without obligation.

I know it sounds impossible, but after reading the book I really believe I can have this lifestyle.  His book tells you how to free up time to do more of the things you like and automate income.  Tim walks you through a step by step process for reinventing yourself and provides some real tools for achieving this lifestyle.  I know it sounds all dramatic, but he really changed my life!  The 4-Hour Workweek inspired me so much that I cut my hours to part time so I can dedicate more time to do things that I find fun like starting up this blog.  I would love to hear from all of you out there too.  I hope you enjoy!

Check out The Blog of Tim Ferriss