washi * rice

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There are 11 poets named Karen.

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Today, I decided to take a personal day to work on my conference paper, eat chocolate, and *think.* 

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I didn’t have any chocolate in the house except three kinds of cocoa beverages (hazelnut, dark chocolate, and marshmallow cocoa).  No chocolate?  Inconceivable.

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I ended up taking a walk. 

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I spent most of the morning in a bookstore looking at new books… lovely! 

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I spent part of the afternoon in a paper store… it reminded me of the one I used to visit in Berkeley.  Handmade mulberry paper and fern-leaf paper and dyed washi paper and paper with silver print from India… the store was fragrant – like sweet rice.

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I visited the perfume boutique and sprayed my dress with the pink Vera Wang perfume ($90 for 3.4 oz), then the mint-green one (also $90 for 3.4 oz). 

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The fancy chocolatier wasn’t dispensing free chocolates today.  Yesterday, it was sharing “gem chocolates” wrapped in turquoise and gold foil.  *sigh*

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Now I must return to work. 

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