My cousins came over 2 weeks ago and I really had great fun with them! My extended family is always something I thank God for and treasure. Besides my parents and my brother, they are the people who taught me the meaning of Family with a capital F!
And the best thing about them is, we can ( I mean we all!!) can laugh at the same old jokes all the time ( despite our age gaps... ah hemm)

so anyway.... we made our way to karuizawa for the weekend!
Karuizawa is a resort area in Nagano prefecture. ( about an hour on the bullet trains away from Tokyo)It is famous for its beautiful landscape, ski resorts ( hosted the 1998 Nagano winter olympics)

And when we got off the train, we almost couldn't believe our eyes!
The mountain across was evenly stained red, yellow and orange. In the middle of mountain, there was a white trail man-made snow with people already skiing!

One thing I love about Karuizawa is that, it looks just like a some filming site. It is littered with many small speciality shops and cafes. It somehow reminded me of England's bath. I guess it has to do with its history of the inflitration of foreign missionaries.

Some of the cute cafes around





We didn't do much besides strolling around the station... yah basically I am someone who don't plan much when I go travelling except for the basics like accomodation and probably transport around. My idea of a perfect vacation is LAZING around and discovering new things and surprises! (Carol! Esther and I really missed you so much on this trip! We so much want to go to Karuizawa with you as well!)

So just before we checked in to our hot spring hotel for the night, we visited this place call the Kumoba Ike.






and finally... The ugliest photo of the year (hopefully nothing worst than this from now on) I was debating whether to put this up... what if that "someone" chances upon it.
but heck lah!
That "someone" better accept this part of me too!



Is there anyone who doesn't understand what I am trying to do?

So that's for day 1... day 2 to be updated soon~~~
Ahhh I am already missing autumn. Winter can you please don't come so soon?

I miss them~~

Just as I was flipping through FB just now... I came across this lady (who is my cousin's cousin actually) who used to dote on me alot when I was a kid. I can't really remember too much details about playing with her but everytime we meet, my aunt will ask if I remember how this lady used to carry me around so much till her arms ache. Then she will always end if, "but she can't carry you anymore now!" ( having double meaning to this phrase... ahem)...

I have a lot of this da-gege, da-jiejie ( esp gege) who were my playmates when I was young. One reason being, I am one of the youngest in the extended family so I will always have cousins' cousin, some neighbours' children playing with me. And also my cousin-in-law was the pastor of the church I used to go to so while the adults will always gather in their house after church ( pastor stays in the church premises) while I go off to socialise.

Deeply etched in my memory is the other pastors 3 grown-up sons.. ( so they must be like 40 plus now?) The eldest was pretty aloof, the second was super gentle and patient with me, the youngest always playing tricks but also doting a lot on me. There is also my cousin's cousin who carried me on his shoulders so that I could pluck rambutans grown in his house.

They are really warm memories that I kept all these while in the midst of growing up. really feel like meeting them again especially the da gege who is always so gentle with me.

This is life I guess... some come, go and never come back. some, come and leave some sort of footprints.

ok 3 more days to my cousins' arrival!

僕の初恋君に捧ぐ～

Roughly translates to, " I dedicate my first love to you".

A movie I told my friend I want to watch. And her reply is, " Haa as expected!"
Seems like my friends think I like such sob~ movies!

I haven't gone to watch it yet so I don't know what the story is about except it is about a pair of lovers' ( The guy having a heart condition) story from when they were children till adults.

Here's Hirai Ken's new song to go with it. Many people say it fits the story perfectly!
somehow I think there is always a tinge of sadness and "boh bian"-ness in his songs.

Trials and Errors~~

I tried to make some chicken porridge last week.

My first attempt in my 2X years of living...

And I succeeded! It tasted really good ( at least in my opinion...) was healthy, ( no extras condiments of salt of whatsoever) and it was smooth too!
I better jot down the recipe in my notebook.

Actually there isn't much recipe to follow anyway, I just boiled some chicken breast meat with ginger, red-dates, dried scallops for 45 mins, oh yes carrots too to provide some vege and sweetness to the soup. Remove the chicken and then poured some rice in to cook for another 20-30 mins.

I tried to fry bee-hoon last week as well and I received positive comments from my colleagues. And they ask me if I liked to cook, did I learn from anyone etc....

The answer is No... Cooking is not my hobby so to speak. I do not hate it though. But it is just a means of survival to me because seriously speaking, it is too expensive and unhealthy to eat out everyday!
My mother was really worried if I can survived overseas alone when I first announced my plans to come to Japan. And I remembered telling her then, human have strong survival instincts, they will somehow learn how to do something if that determines they can survive or not.

So... some people out there may think this person is so brave to go overseas alone, so independent, can do this or that... think again, who is born with such skills? Everyone of us probably started with zero and then somehow worked our way out.
Just like how a baby will scream when they need something, or eventually learn to walk because they desire to move around, I believe too when you are put into a situation which you just have to do something so as to survive, you probably will.

So anyway having said that.... I am going off to iron my clothes, clean the house and prepare my bento for tomorrow~~~

My collection part 1~

Ok here's the close up shots of my earrings part 1! I picked the ones I like better!

1. The flower series. I was very into rose at one time so that explains the collection. But the fact is, I hardly have any chance to wear them cus they go best with party dresses I guess....

2. The black series. Currently my favourite because they are so easy to mix and match! I can change my style easily with them too. Jeans on days I want to be more stylish or skirts for work..

3. The knit lace series. Note the ribbon.... hee

4. The silver bronzy series....

Lastly but not least, my cheerful minnie-mouse heart studs!

Loneliness~~

The sermon in church today was about dealing with loneliness and the pastor's wife shared a story with us.

Loneliness is something each of us would probably experience often... if not at least once in a lifetime. It is not just plainly about the absence of people in our lives. It is in fact the presence of people but the lack of meaningful relationships that brings about loneliness and solitude. Someone once told me, being alone is not equals to being lonely. How true the vice versa too.

So anyway, she (Noriko) spoke at how she marvels when she sees our pastor(Talo). He doesn't seems to have any lack of friends, not alone attention from ladies! She felt that Talo is a person who probably doesn't experience any loneliness....

Then Noriko recalls how Talo has a friend in US whom he will always contact through the phone or Skype. This very same friend has NEVER ever took the initiative to call Talo before. In addition to that, he is always talking about himself during the conversation, what he has done or achieved, what he is going to do.... it was all a me , myself and I conversation.
Everytime they go back to US (Talo's from Hawaii), they will meet up and the friend has never offered to pay before. He would always expect Talo and Noriko to foot the bill.

In the midst of all this, she was just thinking to herself, how come Talo still wants to continue this friendship... and one day, she felt God speaking to her. " That is because, Talo doesn't sees things the way you do." ( I add or as many of us do)

When we do something for someone, though we do not expect 100% back in return, I think most of us expects at least 70% back... If I write a letter to her, I expect at least a card back, If I give her a treat at Crystal Jade, I expect at least a Mcdonald's back... ( ok no relations I know)....
But some many times, in the midst of giving, we become tired because we also subconsicously expecting something which unfortunately never comes back or comes back in a idea totally different from what we have expected. I have seen plenty of people on TV dramas and in reality alike who just exhaust themselves out mentally and emotionally because they don't reap the same amount of harvest they had supposedly sowed in the first place.
Of course it is human some might say that we all expect something back...
It is only polite, it is only nice to do so....
But my take is if you cannot give just for the sake of giving to this person unconditionally, just giving because you want to bless this person wholeheartedly, then perhaps it is not wise for you to give as well. The reason why Talo didn't feel the loneliness nor taken for granted because his main agenda was on giving and how he can try to do one more thing for the person. And it was just as simple as that, a condition of his heart.

I think I am guilty of that too. I often wish I could be treated better by some friends. Could receive more sms or phonecalls on my birthday, wish my friends can shower more attention on me etc.... I am weak and also lonely at times. But then today's sermon taught me that the way to overcome it is not ask for more but to change my mindset and learn to give more. It is also important too to keep seeking from the source, which is God.

Found it!

Can believe my luck!!! I was just window shopping in this little shop at the train station near my place to kill time and I actually found the earrings I said I wanted in the earlier post!!

In fact, I managed to find other neat steals as well!

Then I went home to check and found out that the very shop I went to actually carries products from the brand (earrings). Gyaa!!

After that, I went to had my nails done! It has been a long while since I last did it.... so well really just to just get them in shape. I think the manucurist herself was more satisfied then me. She kept commenting that I have long fingers and good nail shape ( actually I felt like asking her what justifies a good nail shape... nails looks all the same to me!) So in the end, she requested to have photos taken too. There goes my first assignment as a nail model.. haa



Then I went to have dinner with my friend to celebrate her birthday!
Brought her to this shop I really liked and we had foie gras and scallop sashimi etc!



That's the guy who is doing the scallop sashimi on the hot plate in front of us. The insides are partitally raw while the outside is coated with breadcrumbs and pan-fried with garlic sauce.
This shop is pretty famous as it has been on several TV programs including the Iron chef!
It was rated as having the best Okonomiyaki ( Japanese style pancake) in Tokyo....

But.... while I really like the food there, I am also aware that foie gras is a "cruel" food as we know the goose are forced fed to produce fatty livers... does it make me a lesser criminal if I eat less foie gras?

SpotTED

Found this in some online shopping website. Really like the black one and the gold ( brown)but it is all sold out!

Then I found it on yahoo auctions!!

But!

Sadly, it is going at a unreasonable price.. about 20USD?

sigh.... better buys to come!

Accessories

I was telling my friend today how much I am into accessories nowadays.

Accessories sometimes makes just a whole world of difference and that sparkle you need for boring simple days!

I am not a fussy dresser... especially on working days when EVERY minute in the morning is just so precious. So accessories just add some spice into my other wise plain black jacket and slacks!

Anyway I promised to show her how I store these accessories.

1. I simply hang the neckaces on little hooks onto a bar like this... They looked pretty jammed up together but actually it is really easy to take them on and off the bar! It is also great when you want to compare them at a glance.


2. Earrings are hanged on as below.


3. Those that cannot be hung up ( like studs) are placed into little transparent pockets.

So here are some of my favourites in my small and growing collection of earrings! I love dangling earrings of all sort!

1. My most recent buy ( actually already way back in June). I fell in love with it on first sight! I love the butterfly and how it can be matched so easily with anything! ( jeans, skirt, tank, blouses etc)

This is my "winter" series earrings. Usually wore when I am in my black knitted top, skirt and boots. But I just love little fur balls so much! I have got 2 other necklaces with furballs too! But like I said, they are only active during winter.

Like butteryfly above, the below goes well with almost everything. I love its intricate designs and the purple! I have had this for years.... maybe 3-4? And it is still my all time favourite.

A gift from my Taiwanese friend! Something I never had before and good on days you want to be casual and cute! I am also into lace... hmm knitted lace? I just love necklaces with then too.

Last but not least, another gift from someone special and close! This is another faithful partner who had seen me through many occassions because of its simpicity and elegancy.

Can't wait for weekend to come so I can go hunting for more cute accessories!
I am really thirsty to expand my collection here!

Playing too much~~

I had a slight suspicion that I have been playing too much in Japan....

Then I looked back at how I spent most of my holidays...
While a hand can count the number of times I was home all day in weekends, all limbs add together cannot account for the number of times I went on trips...
I wasn't in Japan for all long holidays...

Then I look forward and found most of my holidays now packed with plans to go travelling or expecting people coming to visit Japan.

But well~~ this is life for me!

And all thanks to my friend. I am craving for Eggs benedict now. Any good shop in tokyo for that?

Dreams~~

Long time no write...

Just had a long weekend and thus some time to stay at home and relax.
My idea of relaxation however is not really just lazing about and doing nothing... it usually involves cleaning and clearing up stuff. It is therapeutic as I see the clutter gone, my mind is usually cleared as well!

I also managed to finish catching a drama series I have missed in the midst of my busy schedule these few months...
And somehow I was led to think about "dreams".

I looked back in my life and I realised I never really had any major dreams nor should I say I never really stick to acomplish any dreams I had...
They just merely existed, remained and finally vanished in the same form they were from the beginning.
The only time and I would say the major dream I ever had was to study in Japan and especially finally making the decision to work in Japan
It was tough then coming back to Japan for 3 months with only faith and the passion to see my dream come true.
I would always remember the sights outside the window as I travel to and fro Tokyo and Okazaki for interviews. But then I will also never forget how I felt just so fulfilled everday because I know I wake up to a goal I have to achieve.

I remembered telling someone how blessed I think I am. There are people who go through life just trying to find out what their passions and dreams are but never, people who are contented just to hold a steady job but not doing what they like best or are best at.
At least I have already discovered my passion.

So... I need to remember what I am working for, why I am here, where I am going on from now.

As time crawls by~~

I realised I haven't been blogging for about 2 weeks...

What have I been doing???

Hmm.... undoubtedly enjoying my life, having good food with friends visiting...basking in the summer warmth! ( I don't exactly lurrrveee the hot sun, but I definitely appreciate the warmth you don't get in winter. And my adrenaline rushes when I hear the crickets! They are definitely screaming it's summer!!)

It is amazing how people come and go~~ I have already got my 2nd half year packed by visitors.

Meiling: Mid June for 10 days,
Celine: Begining July for a week,
Mona: End July for 5 days,
Shin: Mid-End August for the weekend,
Mona: Coming in again for End Aug arashi concert.

*Going To TW myself end Sept for a wedding.

Cousin coming End Oct and then another friend again in Dec.

The first time I felt Tokyo is small.

It is not unusual to bump into not 1 but a few acquaintances, friends, or even famous people on the streets of Singapore.

It is also almost predictable or I would say a pretty easy feat to be able to find a link to someone you might have met for the first time. The person could easily be a friend of your cousin, a senior from your school, the sister-in-law of the colleague sitting beside you...
Just like the top 5 accounting firms in Singapore is filled up with graduates from NTU, 90% of the doctors making their rounds in Singapore's government hospitals are probably your NUS med grads too.

Well, it is not anything to be surprise about considering most of us are born, schooled, worked and socialised in the same 700km square for our entire lives.

I remember when I first came to Tokyo, I was just so overwhelmed by sea of unfamilar faces. There were times days gone by ( long weekends especially) when I realised at the end of it, I have not opened my mouth to talk to anyone for the entire 3 whole days. Tokyo is just so wide and confusing. The vast endless train lines just see so many people coming and going in and out of Tokyo daily.

In my 2 years here, I have also met so many people who come in and go out of my lives. Mostly introduced by friends over parties etc... and really... though I socialised with utmost sincerity, I know that most of the time they are also people I will never meet again. Twice.
The truth is, most of us ( or actually 99.0% of the Japanese people) whether or not with the intention of meeting someone again will say " see you again!" just to be polite (or as a form of greeting) and probably not contact the person again until there is a need to.

Same goes to the group of people I met 2 weeks ago when my friend's friend came over for a visit in Tokyo.

In fact, if not for my friend, I would not have met this friend.

If not for this friend, I would not have met her group of friends here too.

But then today when I went to church, just as I was settling down in my seat, I caught a familar face in front of me.

I was almost too surprised that it took me a moment to realised I was looking at the same lady whom I met through my friend's friend 2 weeks ago.

This lady almost became someone whom I thought I will never meet again.

She was also very surprised to see me. Her fiance too.

We chatted again after service and we realised that we have been attending the church for about the same period of time and is always sitting in the same area too.

It just dawned upon me how wonderful this kind of meetings can be. If not for that simple act of hosting my friend's friend, this lady will probably still remain a stranger to me till today. We could be sitting next to each other for the rest of our lives in the same church but never ever have the reason to talk to each other.

On the side note... I finally signed up for DCAT seminar. ( = Doing Church as a Team). I want to go the beach camp in Aug too but can't take leave now le... So sad!! I want to go to the beach and play soon! It's summer!

The rainy season is officially over..

The rainy season is officially over..
So it is also officially summer in Japan now.
As the skies cleared up to welcome the warm ( actually hot and humid) weather.... I feel more refreshed to a certain extent as well.
I really hate to live in an area which rains non-stop!

The picture on the left is the teru-teru bozu. Japanese children hang it up during the rainy season to pray for good weather. This is especially used on days where they have some event like Sports day or some festival...

So now summer is officially here. It is time to make plans!
So far I have plans to go to the biggest fireworks festival in Tokyo, visit sunflower fields, visit lavender fields. Also thinking about the church camp which is by the seaside... only problem is, I have to take 2 days leave to attend it..

Anyway... it was so hot yesterday that our CEO decided to treat everyone to ice-cream! It is the first time I ever ate ice-cream in office during office hours! ( our ex CEO disallowed that) it was really interesting to see everyone getting excited and licking on the ice-creams like a little kid! It was such a simple gesture on the CEO's part but I think it does wonders to boost our energy~~
SO here's a photo taken with the people sitting around me.

My new creation!

Since I had some time in the evening yesterday, I decided to continue my artwork creation.
I used extra buttons and beads which came with clothes I bought.
So, cost of the final work = $0!!

well well.... since this is made from odd and ends of extra materials I had, can't complain much about the final result.

But still I am pretty please with how supposedly trash-to-be can be converted into useful stuff!

The corsage on its own

A plain white singlet

With the corsage!

On a cap

On a bag!

Akanishi Jin Lookalike~~

When I first saw him, I thought he really looked like Akanishi Jin!
I don't have a good photo of him to prove my point... But he confirmed with me that he is often said to look like Akanishi Jin too...

Akanishi Jin = top member in KAT-TUN, from Johnny's entertainment. You'll see him in gokuzen 2005...
here's akanishi jin

HIm.... well well... still a cutie anyway! heee

So anyway we had him for nearly the whole of saturday from 7am onwards to have sushi for breakfast, taking neo prints, playing gundam stimulator in which you are seated in the cockpit and fighting with other team mates against another team. ( this is super cool!! gundam fans must try!) We only had dinner at 10pm, went to Mori Tower in Roppongi for a fantastic night view. Home at 1am.

deadbeat.

Japanese Magazines

One thing I love about Japanese magazines is, they love to include freebies with them!
It is not the usual free shampoo samples nor sweets, but really useful things you can use! They include things like tote bags, umbrellas, slippers and even ladies boxers!

And the best thing of all, they are from reputable designer brands.

From Jill Stuart, a cute apple tote. ( Front)

Back

Tsumori Chisato. Famous for her quirky, fancy designs~~

Cher. A brand very popular among young ladies here. A typical camisole costs around $80 there and a dress can be well over $300. One thing to mention about its shopping bag, you can only purchase it alongside other purchases from that shop. It is big enough to put in A4 size stuff so it can act as a bag on its own to go out with!

My trusty lunchbox bag! just the right size for a lunchbox and a fruit!

LeSports Sac 35th anniversary souvenir. A passport, notes cum card holder. Very useful when travelling! It comes with strap which you can strap over your shoulders or around the waist.

ML bought like 2 when she was here cus she likes it so much!

ML!! see all the nice and freebies from the magazines!! tempted???

Do I resemble her really?

My friend sent me a picture that day and she says that I look exactly like her　↓.
When my friend asked me if I think so too... I was stumped for a moment...

Not because I was shocked or anything...

But..

I was trying hard to recall how I looked like!

This made me ponder for a while how it reflects our own lives...

Though our face belongs to ourselves, we are not the ones who look at it the longest. It is the people around us.

These people are also the ones who can point out to us our blindspots, remind us of things we do not remember or even highlight things we have missed.

In the same way, whatever expression we carry on our faces, (happy or black), it is not us who have to bear with it. It is the people who have to face us everyday who are affected the most.

So for these precious people who sticks with us regardless the kind of faces ( or expressions) we have, let's do them a favour by smiling more and sulking less! Let's do ourselves a favour too because smilling is a great way to loose calories!!

Btw....

This is how I look from behind. I was shocked to see this too because I never knew my hair was that curly!

Blogging at 1.43am in the morning.

I slept only 2 hours too last night because I was out till midnight with a friend visting and this morning, we woke up at wee hours in the morning. 5XXam to catch the fresh early sushi at tsukiji market.

She is "my friend's" '(grins) friend actually and I have only met her for the first time yesterday.

The 2 days out with her and her group of Japanese colleagues led me to actually ponder on a lot of issues about myself in Japan and the current situation I am in. The issues are too personal so I won't be elaborating anything here.

Though it was fun to be out re-discovering Tokyo, I must admit it is really tiring to be up for 20 hours straight, and with a group of perfect strangers. I am not exactly an extrovert so it takes me to warm up ( pretty fast) and open ( very hard to people)...

At one stage, I was pretty zombified actually because I had to act as an translator for her and her colleague as well.

Then I received an sms from a friend who told me to read a verse from the Bible, Romans 12:12 because she said that as she was reading it, I kept popping up in her mind.

It says: " Be joyful because you have hope. Be patient when trouble comes."
Can't say how much it spoke to me about my current situation.

And it goes on in verse 13. "Share with God's people who need help. Bring strangers in need into your home."

Woohh... it speaks perfectly well to what I did.. bringing a perfect stranger into my home.
SO thank God for His timely assurance which brings comfort and an answer to myself too as to which I offered that friend's friend a roof~~

Last day before monday comes again!

In retrospect...

Thanks for the many comments and emails!



Woh.. I was quite surprised and shocked myself by the no. of emails I got after yesterday's post.
I have must gotten many people worried. Thanks for showing concern and care anyway!


After yesterday's written puke on blog... I feel well a little better today.
Nope the situation hasn't change. Nor has the girl changed better overnight.
She is still as ditzy as ever.

What has changed in my mindset to a certain degree.

I don't know how many of you other there think the same way. Sometimes we just think that the company cannot survive without us. If I am on leave, I will be still thinking of what will go on in the company, paying 100% attention to my phone 24 hours a day, checking emails to make sure everything goes well...

But the truth is... as my cousin kindly reminded me. No one is ( or should be) indispensible to the company. My ex-supervisor told me exactly the same thing when I was pondering if I should take a day off one day. He told me that if something really happened in my absence and it could not be handled because I wasn't there, it is not my fault but a flaw in the management.
I was very greatly for this very comment of his because he was the one most affected in my absence actually as he had to cover my work too.

And of course... that I am mere mortal.

No matter how much work my boss is going to dump on me, if my physical and mental health is not going to withstand, then it is just too bad. Nothing personal.
Same goes for the girl.

So today, I came to work more relaxed than I was yesterday. Shall just let my body do the leading. If I can handle I will.. If I cannot then I won't.
Nothing personal ( twice said!)

And of course.. Leave the rest to God. He says in His word that " My grace is sufficient for you for my power is made perfect in your weakness."

Brings me back to last week' sermon in which the pastor said. When challenges in life, before we start to complain, let's ask God first what is that He wants to teach.

And last but not least, TGIF!!!