2007

It's the time of the year where most people sit and reflect on what this year means to them, what they have achieve, what they have gone through etc etc..

For me, this year is almost surreal. So many things came and gone, wham wham wham...one by one events unfold to the extent my calendar cannot even keep up. This is how it goes:

JANUARY
Finally finished uni, my last lecture in my entire life (most probably) as I walked out into a hot summer day.

MARCH
Had the urge to take out all my wisdom teeth all in one go. That was a great feeling! The feeling of being anesthetized, not feeling a thing, and being so drowsy to the extent I can't remember I actually got up from the dentist chair, paid with my own hands, and been driven home.

APRIL
Road-trip around South Island with 3 aunties and a granny, whereby we need to hunt for Chinese food most of the time in order to satisfy them. But all in all, it was fabulous as I had fun with Ronald, and when the Pajero overheated and broke down in the middle of nowhere, a Kiwi mechanic on holiday stopped to help us out. Makes me realised why I love New Zealand so much. Small town folks are great!
Then it was my graduation. 4 years in Law School and this is it....dad took so many photos of me, still feel good that the older generation Kiwis couldn't believe that an Asian can come out of Law School in conservative Canterbury. Yes, believe it or not, the mentality still exists.

MAY
Profs started, and met a whole bunch of law-school friends. For 3 months, 12 of us see each other from 8.30am to 4pm average Monday to Friday, coped in a small room. We laughed at everything, shared bread, made coffee for each other, sat assessments together, discussed and complained about the stuff we were studying.. especially Legal Ethics.. hahaha.. good days, good days...had wine and cheese gatherings to de-brief. Fond memories indeed.

JUNE
Met a friend, lost the friend. Thought I found another friend, but lost that friend as well. This whole month made me realised that no one can ever replace PY, and my gurlfrens (7 of you gurls, you know who you are) from back home. Miss u all.. Muah muah!

JULY
Bersatu games -- didn't participate this year due to Profs. But managed to go and support CMSA whenever I got off Profs early.

AUGUST
Profs ended. Packed for Japan. Left behind everyone, friends, boyfriend, family, foes. I was a bit unsure to be frank, but then I knew I needed the change, I needed the break, otherwise I will be stagnant.

Until now, Japan has treated me well, although I was plucked out from my comfortable zone for the 2nd time now (first from Osaka, then from Fukuoka) to be posted to a branch office....Met so many new people from the company and from the streets alike. Great colleagues, great ex-colleagues, friendly people, weird fashion, good food though I have to say I miss my beef at reasonable price. It's definitely the warm Gaijins and JP that make this place easier to settle in.

Christmas came and went. Nothing eventful. Although pre-Christmas was fun and unexpected moments happened when I headed back to Osaka for the long weekend. Now all I can say is that I am looking forward to my Beijing trip which should be the start of a wonderful 2008. Fingers crossed.

Pictures of my weekends in the past 3 months when I was in Fukuoka

Well.. 3 months being posted to Fukuoka branch office came and went by in a blink of an eye.

Last weekend, I took the 6.30am Shinkansen from Fukuoka to Tokyo. As I stepped out into Tokyo Station, the place looks old and dirty, reminds me of London indeed. After meeting Nick (we are to exchange our posts in the branch offices -- we exchanged apartment keys and train passes, working information in respective branches etc), I took the train to my Apartment in Higashi-Chiba....
That night, I met up with Laura (who came up from Osaka for the weekend), Yuma (whom was heading up to the mountains soon), Aaron Ling (whom also came into Tokyo for that weekend), and a couple of Yuma's friends. The night's event aside, I hereby post some pics of my good old day-tripping while I was down South, Kyushu region when I was working in Fukuoka:

Passionate product for Passionate people

I seldom use facial cleanser because I always believe in cleaning my precious face by using natural substance --
i.e. h20





Then, I thought I better get some blackhead remover cleanser.. so Clearasil it is. But then, Clearasil seems to make things worse.. no kidding, everytime I used it, a pimple will mysteriously start to form itself on my face.

Solution?

BodyShop Passion face cleanser! It is like light whipped cream when you squirt it out, has meeeeneeemum smell. Yes, smells au naturale. Fantastic! And the best thing is? They support Community Trade too! Fair price, fair product, fair origins...
and no, BodyShop is not paying me to write this. It is just pure customer satisfaction. 100% recommendation from mua!

Daily life in Fuk

It's amazing how when I was first transferred to work in Fukuoka, I felt sort of lonely and out-of-touch with my English-speaking colleagues back in Osaka.

Now, nearly 2 months have gone by, and I was told that I will be transferring to the Tokyo branch in mid-Dec.

Feeling? Sort of reluctant to move now, considering I have accustomed to Fuk's way of living and working, and the office colleagues, the lunch talks..the apartment I am living in, my neighbourhood, my neighbours, my neighbours' gardens, people I see everyday on the train, people I see on the way walking to the train station every morning, which supermarket sells cheaper food than which, and if one sells cheaper raw food doesn't mean it sells cheaper fruits and bakery.... the list is endless....

Not to mention the train is pack in the morning with people rushing to work (yeah, my office is strategically right in the middle of the city where everyone works too) -- see above pic.
Oh my god.. I cannot imagine in Tokyo!!! I will be definitely squash by human stampede!

These are photos of my neighbourhood and what I see everyday
(For Mark)

Those orange hanging bits in the above pic are my neighbours' garden-grown persimmons. Yeah.. they hang them dry. Now I know how my favourite dried fruit is preserved.

Trippy trip to Saga...

Saga -- a prefecture just next to Fukuoka.

Why? To see the International Hot Air Balloon Festival/Competition... There were hundreds of them!

Went there -- last Saturday night, stayed over at Yukiyo's house, as we needed to get the first 5.45am train on Sunday, to the paddy fields for the festival.

How many people were there? According to the announcer, half a million. Well, this is Japan after all, paddy fields or not.

Experience in a typical Japanese house -- I tried to push the thoughts of The Grudge out of my mind, but I cannot help it. The house is beautiful, large, Japanese garden, but very similar to the Grudge style in the inside. Part parquet flooring, part tatami flooring. I had a room to myself. I was spooked before I went to bed as many thoughts flown through my head as I lie there.. silence was eery. In the middle of the night, I experienced what the olden Chinese believe it as the Spirit/Ghost crushing you as you lie in bed..

I was fully awake, my mind was so conscious and all but I cannot open my eyes, I cannot move, I cannot speak...it just felt as though something very heavy is pushing me back down. But I refuse to believe such Spirit/Ghost explanation. If any of you out there who can give me a logical one, please feel free to enlighten me.

Photos:

Just when I thought inspiration is down~

I don't know whether it is meant to be, or that everything turns out right just as they are suppose to...

As I wrote in my entry yesterday on how I have lost some part in me due to routine, I received a heart-warming text from Mark, early this morning (Japan Time) as I was walking to my office. The text reminded me that there are friends out there that I love and believe in.

Just as I thought lunch is another lunch today, I received 2 parcels. One from my parents, one from Boi. Both contained cards which lifted my spirit like nothing else. Parents sent me some blackcurrent supplement pills to save my eyesight from the evilness of the computer screen and work stress; Boi sent me an ENGLISH book to read, burned DVDs of ENGLISH movies and series (yes, I have to stress on the "English" bit as I have been deprived of them), some herbal mix and spices for cooking, plus a badly written snail mail, which clearly reminds me of him. Hahaha.. man, I love everyone!

Just as I was reading my horoscope on Friendster -- I don't usually believe in them, but they seem to hit home at most times which is quite scary.

It says:

The Bottom Line

Having a routine might get boring from time to time, but uncertainty is worse.

In Detail

Despite the fact that having a routine in your life might get boring from time to time, you will find a great deal of comfort in knowing just what is going on in your daily life for the next few days. There are few (if any) mysteries for you to solve right now, and that should suit you just fine! You need a period of stability right now -- it will give you the firm foundation you need to let your mind wander and figure out what next big task you should tackle.

Could anything else be more coincidental? After all these encouragement, I will definitely fly outside the box because I am a butterfly of FREEDOM!

Running out of ideas

Sometimes, when we are in a place that we have to just do what is required of us, we lose our own selves in that process and in that place, we lose the abstract beauty in us, and we forget how to show that part of the beauty to the world and to those around us that matters.

Make sense?

What I am trying to say is, as this applies to me, I just work and work and work. Getting up at 7.50am, take the 8.32am train, reach the office at 8.58am, and work til whenever that is required out of me that day. Monday - Friday, routine...

No one I know likes work. But we all have to do it, now or sometime in our future. I am talking about general public anyway.

I am losing my abstract self, and I need to gain it back by smelling the neighbour's jasmine flowers in the weekend, or just sit by myself in a train platform, not going anyway, just sitting there and observe people.

I need to write, I need to paint, I need to play sports...By the way, I can't find acrylic paint here, they only seem to sell watercolours... sucks! Anyway, made myself a new pair of glasses, and I look totally like a librarian. Perfect.

New toy!

After nearly 2 months, I finally got my hp in Japan! Yeah, one of those funky coloured ones. I have to go to a certain SoftBank shop in order to catch the only English speaking staff to set up my contract. After fixing on the leather strap which Ronald bought for me before he left, onto this vivid pink baby of mine, viola! its ready to go. But somehow, I feel as though I am not using it to its full potential....not being a tech-savvy person is, at times like this, a pain to oneself. And the fact that despite the phone being bi-lingual, it does prompt me in Japanese once and again .. errr ... I don't understand you, new toy...

My life is like a Jellyfish...

These are some pictures I took when I went to the Osaka Kaiyukan (Aquarium) with Boi a month ago.

If I ever want to come back onto this Earth, it will be as a JellyFish..... My mind is made up... the jellyfishes are so mysterious, floating about, silently, gently and gracefully....and then it can WHAM! sting the hell outta you. That's the way it should be : my life as a JellyFish.

My baby Boi is gone...for the 2nd time...this time for REAL!

Boi conveniently sitting on my newly bought 2nd-hand couch I got from Mason.






Boi carrying my couch through the commuter.









My pig door rug/mat which Boi got me.











Us in Tennjinbashi.. errr, I think that is what it is called anyway.

He left Japan at 8am today. Seriously, I never felt so sad in a parting before, and today I felt it tearing into me. All throughout my life, I was the one leaving, maybe that is why partings were never sad for me.... until now. In my secondary school years, I was the one that left behind my friends and my bf-then to go NZ. In the past, I was always the one traveling to visit my sister, my friends, and then I leave after my holiday...And then for this Japan trip, I was the one who left my comfortable-zone behind as I yearn to experience more, to see more, to travel more... I left him behind.

Yes, I cried as we ate breakfast in the airport. Yes, I cried when we hugged and kissed goodbye. Yes, I cried as I make my way up to the observatory deck and waved at the airplane he was on. Yes, I cried on my train home all alone, scaring every damn Japanese sitting near me. Yes, I am crying now as I type this... And I always thought I was emotionally strong, dismissive and dominant in a relationship. If I could change this feeling, it would be this. I can't describe it.


Looking back in the past month:
He arrived as a surprise on the 26th August Sunday.


We spent nearly a month together. He meets me for lunch at 12. Most of the time, meets me for my evening breaks at 7, and when I reached home, he will try to have cooked a great simple meal...


And then I was posted to Fukuoka (down south from Osaka) -- He shifted with me, settled me nicely again in my new home for the next 3 months....He waited for me in McDees below my office to go for lunch together, he meet me after work to take a walk around the city before going home...


Then he was to leave on Tuesday (18th Sept) but he missed his flight, even after we ran, luggage and all to the check-in counter -- frankly speaking, I never experience anyone who misses a flight before when I send them off. So my heart beat stopped for 10 minutes before he sorted out everything with reasonable costs...


So his next flight is on Sunday (23rd Sept. i.e. TODAY!!!!)....


During his stay here, we fought, we argued, we forgave, we shopped, we had fun, we watched Japanese movie (Sukiyaki Western), we ate by the river, we watch fishes swim in the river, we checked chicks out, we didn't check guys out as there weren't any, we cycled tandem, we talked about our ideas for our Cafe, we paid extra for good French coffee and not Jap can coffee sold in convenient stores, we walked endless of miles, sweat and still laugh about it.


We even took an unclaimed nice black umbrella on the train only to lose it in a Chinese restaurant few hours later --

Lesson to be learnt: What is not yours will NEVER be yours despite you may have possession of it for the briefest moments.

Here are some pictures, this entry is for you. Have a safe flight back to Christchurch. Love u!

Physical pain never felt so great!

View from my desk -- Overlooking Osaka Business Park.. Always got helicopter flying around as the Osaka Castle is there as well (not in this pic). The castle is this horrendous green and white thingy..












My Company -- I am on the 15th floor, Crystal Tower.


The view from my workplace is gorgeous.. Just yesterday, there is this red dust thingy that according to Mike (an old staff), Osaka tends to have this yellow or red dust that occasionally gets blown over by the wind from don't know which desert... the sky was entirely red but I didn't have my camera with me then, so no pics.. :(

Will be expecting to work late next week onwards. My team leader stays til 11pm. And he expects us all to do the same. Sigh. Whoever says working life is fun??? Only the $$ bit is motivating me right now. I love the people in the company though.. Maybe that shall be my new motivation? Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps.

Ok this is totally random, but thought I would share my wound on my heel with everyone. That, was caused by my shoes which did not contain my expanded feet in the heat properly.. Enjoy... I didn't know which medicine to buy coz they were in Japanese.. so I do the home-DIY style.. put salt.. Yes, my temporary threshold for pain is very high! It healed a bit. By the next day, the pain is totally gone. Viola!

Japan

My Green tea ice-kacang.. But I still prefer the Green Tea ice-cream from Minami, Dunedin though...

The gurls in Kobe -- Mabelle taking the pic.

China town in Kobe..

CCC New Zealand!!! Awwww I miss home!!

My Loft that I am suppose to sleep in. But I really cannot bring myself to sleep in there.. so claustrophobic...

The height is only 90 cm.. I can hardly sit up if I were to sleep in it.

Ladder climbing up to my Loft.

As you can see, I now sleep on the floor in my "spacious lounge"!

Arrived in Kansai, Osaka on Friday morning.. surprisingly the flight didn't seem long at all despite the 8 hours I have to wait in Singapore airport... perhaps I have lots of things on my mind....I still hear Mark's soft voice when he sang for me in the airport, and I still hear Ronald's guitar strumming, and I still hear Cheong's soft whisper of : "At least one of us is getting outta here.." when he hugged me goodbye...

The guy (Aaron Koh -- profile- born in Perak, Moved to Singapore, and migrated to Perth) that picked me up didn't hold the company's sign in the airport as he thinks he looks foolish doing so.. and because of that, I waited (didn't know how this Aaron dude looked like) and after waiting for about half hour, I finally rang the office and spoke to J.Tessensohn, our superior (the man that hires the foreign staff), JT then rang Aaron to confirm he is actually in the airport...and scolded Aaron as well... errr whoops.. Sorry Koh, didn't mean to get you into trouble..Thought it would be awkward silence all the way from the airport to my residence.. but no, we talked non-stopped which was good.

This Aaron dude compensate well by at least lugging my 25 kgs worth of luggage through the heat, onto commuters, and finally to my apartment whereby he fix my air-cond and TV as well upon checking in. He also spent me lunch... hmmm... I am beginning to think all the foreign staff are friendly in Japan based only on one dude...And he took me to places to shop for essentials. AND even gave his advice on which toilet paper to buy (those with "groove" so it feels better)... errr.. ok..

It's so hot here 36 degrees heat wave.... sweat like shite man!
Dinner was planned with most of the foreign staff, to welcome me and Laura (Scottish chick) at this place call 280 whereby all dishes are 280 Yen. Cheap! Food is so cheap and gorgeous here if you really know where to go... And it is a pleasure to get to know all these foreign colleagues. Mostly Canadian Asians (dual citizenship I think, from HK and Taiwan) and One Irish, and majority of Aussies though, and some Americans.

The next day, went to Kobe for a day trip with the female colleagues... 5 of us had a blast even though we hardly knew each other.. I think when every one is on foreign soil, everyone tend to look out for each other, and stick to each other... the gurls treated me and Laura well, and took us sightseeing.. :)

One of the Singaporean chick is called Mabelle... and the Irish dude is Mark.. hmmmm....According to Mabelle, her apartment was broken into when she first arrived 9 months ago, and the burglar stole her underwears and bras... scary....So after hearing her story, I leave my not-so-nice bras on chairs in my apartment, and safely stow my sexy ones away so if anyone breaks in, they will go for the ones they can see on the chair.. ahhahahaha

Oh, according to those foreign staff that has been here for about 2 years now, they hardly speak any Japanese and they can get by... I will tell more about my experience in shopping for groceries and my observation of Japanese people in my next post. :) What can I say? The shopping was eventful and the people are damn colourful. Haha. Tune on... I need sleep now..