Binapolis

"golden handcuffs"

A few shots from working on our short film. Check it out at:

http://acceptable.tv/videos/50-Golden-Handcuffs

In costume in my sweet sweatsuit.

Our director Sheila D. and the porn stars.

Chillin' on the set aka my apartment.

Getting to work.

Did somebody order a pizza?

My good friend, Susanna the Great.

Dinner break while the sun sets at Isaac's awesome house in Laurel Canyon.

From left: Isaac who plays Isaac, Susanna the writer, Sheila the director, Tze the DP, Heather the caterer, Martina the "porn star."

Sheila gives a little direction and sets up the shot while Isaac works on his "reel."

Wow. I must've been really drunk to do this . . .

I normally don't do karaoke. But SOMEONE signed me up without my knowledge and before I knew it was screaming Beastie Boys at the top of my lungs.

Fightin' for my right to party.

Damn you, BJ.

Sundays . . .

So . . . it's Sunday morning. Alexis comes in and convinces me to wake up and go to the beach with her and our friend B.J. . . . and boy am I glad she did?! BJ took us to his friend's birthday party which turned out to be this . . .

Yeah. They're playing "Washers." It's big in Missouri.

It's the guy in the medal's birthday. He's awesome. Greg Smith! His brother planned a whole day of scavenger hunt fun and activities!

A beautiful day to objectify some men.

That's right.

If I ever said anything negative about living in Los Angeles, I take it all back.

And then there was also a newborn infant in the garage. Sure.

Our friend BJ! (Yeah, he won the Amazing Race.) He rules.

Supernova, B.J., and B.S.!! Best. Day. Ever.

Beach!

Yeah, it's a Sweet Valley High book. What of it?

What trouble will Jessica and Liz get into now?

What trouble will Alexis and Bina get into now?

My first flying lesson

Chase took me up for a flight over Fort Worth. It was rad.

View from the cockpit at sunset.

Me in front of the 1950s plane made out of fabric. That's right. He let me know there was no brake fluid so I'd have to open my door during the landing to slow down the plane and that the door had a tendency to "fly open" during take-off so if that happened just keep closing it. My response "You're kidding, right?" He was NOT kidding.

Chase pulls the plane out of the hangar at Parker County Airport.

He's taking the picture while I'm flying the plane, bitches!

Concentrating on not crashing the plane.

That's never a good sign.

Maverick.

I'm not sure what's happening here? Licking my hair? Also, this was probably not safe at all.

A Very Chauhan Christmas

Meera was pretty excited about her Disney Princesses Scooter.

Sidewalk fun. She needed a little help.

Yay! They liked my presents! Abhi's was Spiderman.

Little diva.

Soon to be wed.

Thrilled.

A Very Popeye's Thanksgiving

So after returning from my Japan travels, I couldn't really afford to go home or fly to New York like I had planned for the Thanksgiving holiday. In fact, I started to get really depressed about the fact that everyone I knew was leaving LA for the weekend. Crap. I lamented to Christine that I was probably gonna sit around watching football by myself whilst eating a bucket of KFC. "Me too!" she proclaimed. "Let's do that together!" I exclaimed. "Yay!" (in unison) So I drove up and spent Thanksgiving with my BFF and it was downright awesome.

This Thanksgiving was brought to you by Popeye's Fried Chicken. Whatever. Don't judge. You haven't had that Cajun Fried Turkey, man. It RULES. It's a very yellow and brown table, isn't it?

Turkey and carbs.

Sabine gets into the holiday spirit. Christine swears "She LIKES it!!"

A Texas Thanksgiving in San Francisco.

The sign says karaoke.

My mom, grandma, aunt, cousin and I went down the street from their apartment and got ourselves a karaoke room. They sang Japanese while I sang American cliches like Material Girl and I Will Survive. It was kind of liberating.

Karaoke Cousins. Testing a theory: Successful people wear silly hats.

Oh boy.

Just so you can see the Japanese lettering on the screen.

Even Baba-chan rocked the microphone.

My mom and aunt are adorable singing a Japanese oldie called "Kawaii Baby" loosely translated to Cutie Baby.

See?

Peace out.

Harajuku Girls

Mom and Azusa waiting for the train as we venture out to Shibuya and Harajuku for some shopping fun.

This sign states that this car is for women only during rush hour so that they can avoid perverts pressing against them when the train is packed.

Ridin' the rails. Azusa texts.

A blurry shot of me in front of my cousin's hat shop CA4LA. It's very popular with the celebrities in Harajuku. My cousin sold a hat to Janet Jackson.

Ai-chan met up with us in front of this department store, Parco.

At the ramen shop.

Shibuya is a lot like Times Square.

Napster and Tower Records represent.

Crazy crosswalk.

How adorable is my cousin?!?!

The results of our shopping spree.

shabby chic style

Kamakura

My mom and I took a day trip to the beach town of Kamakura. It is where much of my parents' courtship took place while my Dad was stationed at Yokosoka.

At the shrines.

Dresssed up for the children's day festival.

I need all the help I can get.

Me and my buddy. Pardon him, he's a little grumpy today.

Shake what your momma gave ya.

A wedding.

Enjoying some tako-yaki.

This path is lined by cherry blossoms in the spring. A prime minister built it for his wife as a pathway down to the ocean while she was pregnant with his son.

Taking a rickshaw ride.

Look at him run!

On the koto bridge (named because it was said you could hear the sound of koto drums because of the tall pine trees knocking together in the wind).

Heading seaside as the sun goes down.

Dai-chan. He was hilarious.

The ocean at sunset.

Me and Dai-chan keep it real.

This picture was an accident but here's what his shoes look like.

Shopping in Kamakura.

The pickle shop.

Eat and eat and eat some more

Picking up some dessert on the way home.

Chestnuts.

Road Trip!

Heading for the mountains.

Mom glams it up.

Constant snacking in the car.

Pretty waterfalls.

Snow!

Dragon Head falls. Do you see it?

Driving by a lake.

Trying to be artsy.

After I took this guy's picture, he took mine.

Here we go.

BABY FISH MOUTH

My favorite: Maitake Tempura Soba

Getting romantic with soft cream.

Big waterfall

Big dorks

Back to the hotel.

The tofu is cooking in there.

Dinner time.

Somebody's gonna have to do A LOT of dishes.

My mom really liked this vase. So much that she had to take a picture with it.

Bed time.

Turning more Japanese by the second.

A little hiking.

Not bad.

Japanese senior portraits.

It's fall!

Isn't my mom pretty?

pretty leaves

The outdoor onsen we visited. Yep. We bathed outside. Naked.

Dusk.

Hama Hama Hama

Adorable Nanami-chan watches the new Dora DVD my mom got her.

Visiting with Hama-san and Hama-san.

Obachan and me in Shibuya.

What the %#$@##%#?

Mom figures out how to buy a train ticket.

Hula

Mom gives Mitsuko a hula-dancing lesson in the apartment.

Japanese Rock'n'Roll

We went to go see my cousin Ai-chan's boyfriend's band at a "live house" in Shibuya. They were pretty hard-core. They were actually pretty good, but it struck me as really odd, how politely quiet everyone was in between songs.

That's the boyfriend on the drums. The band's name was Shi.

Rock'n'Roll.

Drunkard cousins.

The next band's lead singer was this white guy from Georgia. He spoke really good Japanese as he'd been there for 6 years working for a video-game company. His band was called Used Cows.

Asakusa

Mom and I hit up Asakusa for a little shopping and praying.

Praying for my soul.

Make a wish!

Letting the incense wash over you.

My turn.

In front of the Asakusa train station.

Where's Bina?!?!

The Onsen

This is in front of the first Onsen (Hot Springs Bathhouse) we went to in Tokyo.

In the eating and games area.

Ai-chan and Aunt Mitsuko-chan.

Ittai! It hurts! Mom has a little trouble walking on a stone path. It's supposed to be good for your feet or something.

Doctor Fish!

My cousin Ai-chan and I decided to try this out at the Hot Springs place. You stick your hands in the tank and the little fishies eat up all the dry skin and stuff on your hands to exfoliate them and make them extra soft. Them crazy Japanese people. Seemed just weird enough to give it a whirl.