half enough
"Half Enough" is Victoria's first regular column series. Opinions expressed in this column are not necessarily those of Discover Nikkei.
Stories from this series
Remedies for the common cold
Jan. 13, 2007 • Victoria Kraus
I recently caught a winter cold. Although it’s never really winter in Southern California, there are occasionally rare days when the temperature can drop down to the low 40s. It could’ve been due to the drastic up-and-down weather patterns lately with daytime highs in the 80s and lows in the 40s. I must’ve let my guard down when I wasn’t looking. It’s been six months since I was last afflicted with the inescapable common cold virus so I tend to …
Boars and fortune cookies
Jan. 6, 2007 • Victoria Kraus
2007 marks another year of the boar since its last turn of the animal wheel twelve years ago. I am a proud 1983 boar. Friends and family say it’s no coincidence since I am generally stubborn. And since it’s that time of year in Western society, I thought I’d share some of my new year’s goals inspired by some fortunes in my cookies and my boar-ish personality. My first fortune of the new year said, “Keep your feet on the …
Tamales for Christmas
Dec. 30, 2006 • Victoria Kraus
Two days before Christmas Eve, I saw a news clip on television about a popular tamale place in East Los Angeles. This restaurant was so busy and apparently so good that they had orders from customers six months in advance. Many of the customers—who were waiting for hours in line—had traveled long distances by car for these tamales. One gentleman drove from Sacramento and brought ice chests to bring the authentic Mexican tamales home, tamales that can’t be found anywhere …
Half Japanese Christmases
Dec. 22, 2006 • Victoria Kraus
Christmas before finding out the truth about Santa My father told me there was no Santa Clause when I was seven years old. I wasn’t completely surprised, though the little ounce of hope I did have that Santa Clause might exist was dispelled when he made the news official. It was the year 1990 and my parents were struggling financially. My father sat me and my brother atop the toilet seat lid in the bathroom and turned the fan on. …
To be a circle
Dec. 16, 2006 • Victoria Kraus
My mother has a circle metaphor. I don’t think the metaphor is originally hers and when I ask her where she got it from, she doesn’t remember. “That’s not the point,” she tells me when I ask her about the origins of her circle metaphor. The point, she explains, is that the metaphor for a human being becoming a circle makes sense and is a good thing. I tend to overanalyze and overdramatize things, but when she puts it that …
Which comes first - moving out or growing up?
Dec. 9, 2006 • Victoria Kraus
Paying rent is a costly way to learn to grow up. I’m left with very little disposable income and two credit cards (that I’m still paying off) screaming to be swiped. In Japan, most children live with their parents until they get married. I can only think of two reasons why: 1) there isn’t enough space in Japan for everyone over 18 to live on their own, let alone afford it, and 2) it is a longstanding tradition for Japanese …
