The Opposite of Beige

Warning: In this post, you’ll have to wade through some sap
before arriving at the payoff. This weekend I met my new mentee via the U of M’s
school of journalism mentoring program. (I’m also on the school’s alumni board;
do the warm-fuzzies never end?) Here’s what I love about mentoring: You give and
you give, and then you get back more than you ever imagined. Already, my mentee
has proven her self a person of impeccable tastes. She is a former Japanese
language and literature major, so she happens to know oodles about Japanese
culture. She told me about this cool, origami-inspired method of Japanese
gift-wrapping (which I intend to try this holiday season) and even referred me
to this aptly named Japanese fashion magazine, FRUiTS. On a beige Minneapolis morning such
as this, these pics of colorfully clad Tokyoites (see the gallery within) really
hit the spot.