Last 2 days of July! Means Summer is also 1/3 over?
Nowadays, the weather in Japan is really bad and news of people getting heatstroke or even dying from heat stroke is all over the TV.
I don’t remember seeing so much or such news back in Singapore. Heatstroke is not really an issue we think about much (other than at Sport’s Day).
But imagine how serious the heat is when people suffer from heatstroke even at home.
Back in Singapore, we never had to blast the aircon in the living room unless perhaps if there are many guests.
A celling fan is usually sufficient to keep us all sane.
Last night I got a call from my friend who’s aircon broke down after she came back from a long vacation.
It was so bad that she had to go stay at someone else’s house after that because it was impossible to sleep…
I wonder….
Is it the way houses are constructed in Japan that causes heat to be trapped easily?
Is it the climate? The lack of natural shade from trees?
Whatever is it…. Drink more water!
Just spent sometime in the week and weekend for a friend who came over with her family. And my... I was so impressed by her son who is only 4 but can speak 3 languages already fluently! ( English, Japanese, Mandarin) and the most impressive thing is, he knows exactly who to speak to in which language!
Japanese grandparents father: Japanese
Mother: English
Grandparents in Singapore: Mandarin.
If you are wondering, I was grouped under English because I am his mum's friends. Hee that's how he does the association.
August will be a busy month for me though… expecting many guests and also plans to go travelling etc.
Better make sure I don’t get sick!
7.30.2012
7.26.2012
IT Otaku
One of my colleagues sent me this as a way to express his gratitude for helping him in something today.
Haaaa, I had a good laugh.
But really... this is a really IT-excel-maniac joke. Probably won't have people who can appreciate it.
More reminders and more resolutions
A month and half ago when I was touring Seoul with Mei, I remember complaining so much to her how much I am dreading work and looking forward to getting the yr-end bonus so that I could quit immediately. Mei who is also probably quitting just kept telling me, "Karen, 4 months passes very fast, trust me."
She is right... although each day went past really slowly if you count by the hour, July is almost over. I have somehow pulled through a really very draining month.
In order to help myself move along to achieve what I have set to do before I leave, I wrote down a few "resolutions" in my notebook. And really, having them down in written form works wonders.
For the first time in my career here I finally said "NO" to my boss and thank God, he understood the situation.
But, that led to a unwanted meeting with someone I don't really wanna meet today. I guess I will get through it somehow.
Yah... maybe I should cancel part 2 about not wanting to meet people I feel uncomfortable with, namely pple whom I don't know well and only have a very surface relationship with.
Last night I kinda experienced that again when I was introduced to a whole bunch of people I am meeting for the first time by a visiting friend.. I was really shifting uncomfortably in my seat while explaining for the 10th time I have been in Japan for 8 years, studied in Okazaki, working in the IT line now and then listening to heaps of praises on my Japanese... A few times, I just caught myself staring at the floor blankly because I don't know where else to look....
Of course I didn't become friends with all 10 of them but at least among them I found 1 or 2 people whom I could geninuely chat with. In fact one of them mailed me last night so I think maybe I should revise my resolution to be open and build networks instead.
Ok so here's my very short-term resolutions.
1. Pass 4 of my IT exams and get the monetary award! Wooh!!! If I do as planned, I have 200k yen waiting for me! I am really trying my best now.. so for the time-being I have to say good-bye to Facebook which is one of my biggest distractions around.
2. Avoid unnecessary conflicts and emotions-uprises at work. Yes.... I think I am just going to take things in my stride as much as possible. Remind myself I have a bonus to work towards and work here now has a time-limit.
3. Stop buying unnecessary things. NO!! I cannot increase my luggage anymore!
4. Don't take leave unnecessary. Yes, I am going to hold on till end of year. I am so going to drag myself to work even when I don't feel up to it.
Ok... that's 20mins worktime gone.... Back to work!
She is right... although each day went past really slowly if you count by the hour, July is almost over. I have somehow pulled through a really very draining month.
In order to help myself move along to achieve what I have set to do before I leave, I wrote down a few "resolutions" in my notebook. And really, having them down in written form works wonders.
For the first time in my career here I finally said "NO" to my boss and thank God, he understood the situation.
But, that led to a unwanted meeting with someone I don't really wanna meet today. I guess I will get through it somehow.
Yah... maybe I should cancel part 2 about not wanting to meet people I feel uncomfortable with, namely pple whom I don't know well and only have a very surface relationship with.
Last night I kinda experienced that again when I was introduced to a whole bunch of people I am meeting for the first time by a visiting friend.. I was really shifting uncomfortably in my seat while explaining for the 10th time I have been in Japan for 8 years, studied in Okazaki, working in the IT line now and then listening to heaps of praises on my Japanese... A few times, I just caught myself staring at the floor blankly because I don't know where else to look....
Of course I didn't become friends with all 10 of them but at least among them I found 1 or 2 people whom I could geninuely chat with. In fact one of them mailed me last night so I think maybe I should revise my resolution to be open and build networks instead.
Ok so here's my very short-term resolutions.
1. Pass 4 of my IT exams and get the monetary award! Wooh!!! If I do as planned, I have 200k yen waiting for me! I am really trying my best now.. so for the time-being I have to say good-bye to Facebook which is one of my biggest distractions around.
2. Avoid unnecessary conflicts and emotions-uprises at work. Yes.... I think I am just going to take things in my stride as much as possible. Remind myself I have a bonus to work towards and work here now has a time-limit.
3. Stop buying unnecessary things. NO!! I cannot increase my luggage anymore!
4. Don't take leave unnecessary. Yes, I am going to hold on till end of year. I am so going to drag myself to work even when I don't feel up to it.
Ok... that's 20mins worktime gone.... Back to work!
7.20.2012
An addition to my resolutions.
I must getting myself into situations I don't want to.
Stop doing things I am not looking forward to ( especially when they are not beneficial at all)
Stop meeting people I don't feel good or comfortable with.
Life is too short to waste time on such things...
Life becomes even shorter if you don't learn to say NO at the appropriate things.
Stop doing things I am not looking forward to ( especially when they are not beneficial at all)
Stop meeting people I don't feel good or comfortable with.
Life is too short to waste time on such things...
Life becomes even shorter if you don't learn to say NO at the appropriate things.
7.17.2012
Importance of Milestones...
Actually…I kinda gave up updating the blog sometime ago…because everytime I start to write something, I end up taking such a long time to complete it…
By the time I finally complete it, it has seems to lost its relevance or I just don’t feel it reflects what I am thinking/feeling anymore.
Another reason could be the lack of memorable events which qualifies the necessity to be penned down. In fact, I tossed and flipped in my bed for a good 30 mins ( or more) just thinking about this last night…
I was thinking of my life from as young as I could remember till the time I started work officially in Japan. I realized that there are many things I could remember and reminiscence about.
-The first uniform I put on as a preschooler
-My classmate from then whom I still keep in ( not close) contact till now….
-My teacher in kindergarten who has the same name as me….
-The first time I had a crush on the boy who sat beside me in Pri. 2
-First time something confessed he likes me in Pri. 4
-Boy-gazing at the most popular guy in school in Pri 6 ( prank-calling him together with my friend)
Then…
-Getting into NYGH and changing uniforms ( slightly…)
-Joining a really tough and time consuming ECA ( St John’s) and experiencing for the first time being scolded by neither my parents nor teachers
-Slept in tents and ate from mass tins from outdoor cooking
-Skipping Classes and resulted in being made to write confession letters
-Meeting some of the best friends I ever had in life
-Changing uniforms again in JC… ( had sleeves for once now)
-Experiencing the luxury of waking up later then my peers now for the first time because school was only 10 minutes’ walk away…
-Recalling how it was like having boys who are trying to turn into man in the same class after 4 years in the nunnery
-Going through many emotion rollercoasters while struggling to find my own identity and in the end found really good pals who were though going through the same path yet never hesitated to stretch out their hands.
-Experiencing what I say is the best school time of my life.
Uni….
-First time going to school uniform-less… ( could be a blessing or unfortunate thing depending on how you see it)
-First time away from home on a long-term regular basis to move into the hostel.
-Most relaxed time-table in my school life ever.
-Meeting and sharing unforgettable memories with someone. ( It is unforgettable but not something I think about everyday or want to hold on to)
Then it was studies in Japan and then the ultimate decision whether or not to stay in Japan….
So my point?
I felt that.. Up till the stage I took the courage to try to find work in Japan, my life was always filled with different milestones and events which I can identify to tell me clearly that I am moving forward in life and not stagnant. There was always some event ( spontaneously or not) and my life will always be slightly different after that, be it the graduation from a school and moving on the next phase in life.
But when I looked back at the past 6 years even since I started working in Tokyo, my memories was almost blank… I can recall fun times going out for meals/trips/hiking with friends… yet none of them actually tells me I am moving forward because I experienced zero change in my life.
Maybe that’s why there is this theory that when you are a kid you always feel that time passes very slowly and time passes faster and faster as you age.
I think that’s exactly what I am thinking about now.
Probably the only event that brought about a lifestyle change was when Carol left Japan and I started to shift the furniture around a bit….
And I gasped in horror to know that that was nearly 5 years ago….
Where and what had I done in between? Where did the second half of my precious twenties went to?
Then I realized…. Probably that is the “fate” of adults… There are people out there who never had a chance to pursue their dreams… let alone the chance to even venture out of Singapore.
There are also people who never had a chance to secure a job of their dreams but rather, a job of security to ensure there was always bread on the table.
But I know at this point in life, at the very last end of my twenties, I desperately need a change/ a milestone to ensure myself I was still moving forward not just physically but also mentally.
I don’t want to just age on the outside but remain the same internally.
That’s when I think.. maybe I won’t be satisfied with life even if I go back to Singapore….
I think I might just always feel like an alien inside me when I get pushed around by norms.
Ok.. so that was my thoughts when I was tossing about last night…
By the time I finally complete it, it has seems to lost its relevance or I just don’t feel it reflects what I am thinking/feeling anymore.
Another reason could be the lack of memorable events which qualifies the necessity to be penned down. In fact, I tossed and flipped in my bed for a good 30 mins ( or more) just thinking about this last night…
I was thinking of my life from as young as I could remember till the time I started work officially in Japan. I realized that there are many things I could remember and reminiscence about.
-The first uniform I put on as a preschooler
-My classmate from then whom I still keep in ( not close) contact till now….
-My teacher in kindergarten who has the same name as me….
-The first time I had a crush on the boy who sat beside me in Pri. 2
-First time something confessed he likes me in Pri. 4
-Boy-gazing at the most popular guy in school in Pri 6 ( prank-calling him together with my friend)
Then…
-Getting into NYGH and changing uniforms ( slightly…)
-Joining a really tough and time consuming ECA ( St John’s) and experiencing for the first time being scolded by neither my parents nor teachers
-Slept in tents and ate from mass tins from outdoor cooking
-Skipping Classes and resulted in being made to write confession letters
-Meeting some of the best friends I ever had in life
-Changing uniforms again in JC… ( had sleeves for once now)
-Experiencing the luxury of waking up later then my peers now for the first time because school was only 10 minutes’ walk away…
-Recalling how it was like having boys who are trying to turn into man in the same class after 4 years in the nunnery
-Going through many emotion rollercoasters while struggling to find my own identity and in the end found really good pals who were though going through the same path yet never hesitated to stretch out their hands.
-Experiencing what I say is the best school time of my life.
Uni….
-First time going to school uniform-less… ( could be a blessing or unfortunate thing depending on how you see it)
-First time away from home on a long-term regular basis to move into the hostel.
-Most relaxed time-table in my school life ever.
-Meeting and sharing unforgettable memories with someone. ( It is unforgettable but not something I think about everyday or want to hold on to)
Then it was studies in Japan and then the ultimate decision whether or not to stay in Japan….
So my point?
I felt that.. Up till the stage I took the courage to try to find work in Japan, my life was always filled with different milestones and events which I can identify to tell me clearly that I am moving forward in life and not stagnant. There was always some event ( spontaneously or not) and my life will always be slightly different after that, be it the graduation from a school and moving on the next phase in life.
But when I looked back at the past 6 years even since I started working in Tokyo, my memories was almost blank… I can recall fun times going out for meals/trips/hiking with friends… yet none of them actually tells me I am moving forward because I experienced zero change in my life.
Maybe that’s why there is this theory that when you are a kid you always feel that time passes very slowly and time passes faster and faster as you age.
I think that’s exactly what I am thinking about now.
Probably the only event that brought about a lifestyle change was when Carol left Japan and I started to shift the furniture around a bit….
And I gasped in horror to know that that was nearly 5 years ago….
Where and what had I done in between? Where did the second half of my precious twenties went to?
Then I realized…. Probably that is the “fate” of adults… There are people out there who never had a chance to pursue their dreams… let alone the chance to even venture out of Singapore.
There are also people who never had a chance to secure a job of their dreams but rather, a job of security to ensure there was always bread on the table.
But I know at this point in life, at the very last end of my twenties, I desperately need a change/ a milestone to ensure myself I was still moving forward not just physically but also mentally.
I don’t want to just age on the outside but remain the same internally.
That’s when I think.. maybe I won’t be satisfied with life even if I go back to Singapore….
I think I might just always feel like an alien inside me when I get pushed around by norms.
Ok.. so that was my thoughts when I was tossing about last night…
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