A Rambling Chicken

These shoes are made for walking... on the sun.

2007-11-17T19:53:00.000+09:00

My favourite shoes

Something i drew for fun as a tribute to the last days of summer-y autumn afternoons, as I lied on the lawn, entertaining myself with thoughts of happiness.

Check out my best friend amy's marvelous illustrations! Go knock yourself out, or rather... go get yourself knocked out.

I have always wanted to share with you some of my old works from uni, particularly from my first year. I guess that was when I worked hardest, before starting to slack off and procrastinate more and more. Guess that's my middle name, if I were to have one.

Extreme convergence perspective - Gotham City
Pencil colours, pastels and collage, 594x420mm.
Basic design studio (2001)

Have a good day, people and enjoy the sunshine while it lasts. I know because I have got Smash Mouth's Walking on the Sun in my head and it's fabulous.

All I need now is a new pair of heels ...... and salsa!

A Tokyo oasis

2007-10-28T18:40:00.000+09:00

So I woke up and decided that I should get out of my shitty dorm* in exchange for some fresh air, and a new perspective. The heavy curtain renders my room in constant darkness and one can easily lose track of one's sense of time and purpose.

I cycled to Shinjuku Gyoen, a big piece of green space tucked in between the concrete jungle that is Tokyo, where the free screening of environmental movies organized by Reina's internship place was being held for the last day.

The whole park was marvellous to walk in and every step brought me further away from my initial plans, and before long, i parked my ass on the grass, lied down and gave in to procrastination. One hour led to another.

The two hour on the grass was haunted by Emilie Simon's "Désert", its steady downtempo beat rewinding itself again and again sans control.

Oh mon amour, mon coeur est lourd
Je compte les heures je compte les jours
Je voudrais te dessiner dans un désert
Le désert de mon coeur

(My love, my heart is heavy. I count the hours and I count the days. I want to draw you into a desert, into the desert of my heart)

Dans la nuit parfois, le nez à la fenêtre
Je t'attends et je sombre
Dans un désert, dans mon désert, voilà

(Sometimes in the night, I wait by the window. I wait for you and I sink.. into a desert, into my desert)

Dans la nuit parfois, le nez à la fenêtre
J'attendais et je sombre
Jetez au vent mes tristes cendres, voilà

(Sometimes in the night, I wait by the window. I have waited for you and i sunk... Throw into the wind, my sad ashes)

That was the perfect melancholic song to offset the perfect weather, perfect turf, perfect breeze, perfect autumn scent in the air, the perfect oasis in parched Tokyo, and its the perfect song for waiting.

There is something about the greyness of Tokyo that offsets my balance: the lack of trees, the not-tastefully-designed buildings apart from the selected few iconic ones, the neon overdose, the onslaught of people yelling into PA systems 24/7, the army of black-suited salarimans during rush hour, traces of vomit on the streets of Shibuya. There is supposed to be no paradise here.

"Désert" is the perfect offset to this beautiful illusion. Désert is the balancing equation.

* Refer to the 'City Wok" joke in South Park!

Voilà l'été!

2007-10-09T16:13:00.000+09:00

I know the title of the post is very unsuitable for the northern hemisphere as it is nothing summer-like at all at this time of the year. Summer is slowly exiting, the air growing chillier by the day!

I have missed out on the gradual change the seasons, being trapped indoors in the office building, time kept still by fluorescent lighting and the sun (or the absense of sun) shut out by drawn-down blinds.

Despite being a child of the tropics, I am not particularly immune to the blazing sun of japanese summer. This summer I have escaped to the milder Hokkaido which boasts of having the best weather in the whole of Japan during the hellish summer season. Here's a little preview of my trip, and I guarantee that I will write about it soon, though one season too late.

The office I am interning in is of course not particularly lifeless, as a plethora of creatures (particularly our amphibian and reptilian friends, and fishes too) do happily co-exist with us. These creatures enjoy superstar status and are revered by all. I spend at least an hour a day feeding/staring/admiring/talking about these creatures at work!

My fellow colleagues:

Japanese Fire-bellied Newt (ニホンイモリ, in kanji 日本井守). This is what would become of you booze too much.
(Pic taken by Mr Itoh, my Homo sapien colleague)

Black-spotted Pond Frog (トノサマガエル, in kanji 殿様蛙) which actually has a pretty golden sheen. My favourite fella, this.
(Pic taken by me, my Homo sapien self)

Tokyo Daruma Pond Frog (トウキョウダルマガエル, in kanji 東京達磨蛙), a crazy frog that is always jumping around and eating everything!
(Pic taken by Mr Itoh, my Homo sapien colleague)

Another creature that I have encountered from my internship for a conservation project is this cute little thing, my life-long passion, Leopard CAT!! Notice the capitalized "cat". I like cats. Any cats.

Tsushima Leopard Cat (ツシマヤマネコ)
(Pic taken by Mr Itoh, my Homo sapien colleague)

They provide great entertainment but I still can't believe the fact that I find frogs cute.

A song of eternal sunshine, Voilà l'été by Les Négresses Vertes (which I got to hear last weekend when a dear friend of mine visited Tokyo) has been stuck in my mind for the past few days. The infectious shouts of voilà l'été, enfin l'été and toujours l'été are hard to shake off. Summer is here! Finally it's summer! Its always summer!........

Voilà l'été, j'aperçois le soleil
Les nuages filent et le ciel s'éclaircit
Et dans ma tête qui bourdonnent ?
Les abeilles !
J'entends rugir les plaisirs de la vie

The eternal optimist in me is now restored!

A pilgrim's tale

2007-10-08T18:02:00.000+09:00

A trip back to Kyoto (with loads of hugs) healed all ailments. Woke up to bird song. Time to take on Tokyo with renewed optimism!

I spent a weekend in Kyoto recuperating and meeting good friends with a free lunch of tomato cream macaroni courtesy of estie and a dinner of smoked salmon salad by kendall, a night out to the Kyoto Sam and Daves, another lunch and karaoke the next day with my dearest friends. Once back in Tokyo, the crowded JR Yamanote line greeted me as I re-started my normal routine of commuting to my workplace.

With estie

Dries the Big Belgian

Even though Japan has never been my choice of country to visit when I was still in Malaysia as Japan is so expensive, Tokyo was somewhat intriguing to me especially the gorgeous buildings by master architects that I have only been able to read about in architectural magazines.

Tokyo for me is a great place to enjoy in solitude if you enjoy taking a stroll, and I personally like Omotesando and Roppongi area best with its stylish buildings, chic museums and that surge of energy that you can't really find elsewhere in Japan. Of course also the display of wealth (vulgar or not, you decide) of one of the world"s most expensive cities.

Here is one of the buildings that I like best, the Prada building in Minami Aoyama designed by Herzog and de Meuron, just a hop from Omotesando metro station.

If you were to peep from your door....

The entrance to the store

I love this pic below, the back of the Prada building, where the ugly power lines can be seen juxtaposed against this iconic structure, reminding us that although Tokyo is touted as the Future, it still lacked the sense to bury these lines under the pavement. Nevertheless this pic has a very "derelicte" sense to it, and for understanding my meaning of this word more deeply, please watch the Zoolander and you will see...

I think this post will be the first of more to come about all my favourite things in this city and all that I see during my many solitary walks.

Come take a walk with me :o)

The faraway gaze

2007-09-26T00:21:00.000+09:00

I have moved to Tokyo exactly one month ago for a 4-month internship in a Japanese environmental consultancy company.

There were many ups and downs of course and the past few days were particularly dark for me, and like I have said to friends, one of the darkest days of my entire stay in Japan. I am still trying to survive it, to make sense of it.

On my way home from work to JR Shibuya station, I saw some people gathering around this group of 5 japanese guys and girls, holding placards that say “Free Hugs”.

Feeling like a dump and having nothing to lose, I walked towards the Japanese youngsters enthusiastically holding “Free hugs” signs. I really needed one at that time but to my utter disappointment, all I got were half-assed hugs designed to keep you at a safe distance, and eyes that linger more at the crowd gathering around them, than on me, the supposed object of affection for the moment. I guess these people are more concerned with how other people perceive their “open-mindedness” and their passion. Well, people should step forward, try them and judge for themselves the novelty of their actions. I was left cold, and I am sure I will find people who think the same.

I have wasted 5 hugs on self-absorbed people who haven’t gone past the pedestal that they put themselves onto. Good luck to these people.

I have found the Japanese website for this “Free Hugs” campaign and I would like to file an official complaint. Anyone wanna help? I think they need to improvise.

http://www.freehugs-jp.com/

Attention!!!

2007-06-26T00:20:00.000+09:00

Hey it's my birthday today, wish me!!!!!!!!

Vaseline is good for you

2007-06-16T22:29:00.000+09:00

The miracles of kitchen wrap and vaseline (and something else, you won't want to know).

Had spent the whole of the week lusting after the Holga 120 Colour Flash camera with glass lens, checking Ebay for deals a-plenty day after day. Yes, deals are a-plenty and it is extremely tempting but developing 120mm film can get very expensive, I heard... so once again, i have delayed gratification and have rescued my credit card from being molested yet again. I am growing stronger by the day! The Brain has triumphed over the little devils tucking at my purse-strings (!).

Maki and Chu dropped by for lunch today and I was amazed by Chu's Leica camera, one of those fully manual, antique ones with levers and knobs galore. Chu will teach me how to make my own pinhole camera next week, and I am muchas looking forward to it!

I got even more excited about the pinhole camera after seeing a camera obscura featured in "The Girl with a Pearl Earring". I love its simplicity, and the uncertainty of how the image would turn out. Guess its good for character building since I badly need to learn patience, NOW.

I love the dreamy effect that medium format cameras produce, and Chu offered a few tips on how to do it the poor man's way: vaseline and kitchen wrap.

Being an impatient person, I cycled straight to Kamogawa and Kitayama (fave parts of Kyoto) armed with my point-and-shoot digital camera and my Lomo Fisheye, kitchen wrap, vaseline, some tape. I want to look at Kamogawa as if I just woke up from my nap on the river shore.

Stop and smell the flowers!

My beloved bike, my partner in crime. Never talks back at me, though... what a darling!

Before sunset

Demachiyanagi station

Takanogawa

Sunset in Shirakawa, this is probably what you will see if you are walking around sedated

The Fisheye pics will have to wait. Will try not to kill myself.

A trip down memory lane

2007-05-26T12:22:00.000+09:00

So my bestest friend from home came to visit me.

Having her around had mysteriously made me forget that I am currently in Japan. Frequent memory lapses happened during our bus rides, meals, walks etc and only the bus driver's announcement of bus station names in japanese woke me from my little slumber.

Time stopped for us, eh?

I got much goodies from her, and among them was my student portfolio compiling work from my four years in uni and among them, I found sketches of Sailormoon and Sailor Mercury, drawn when I was 15!

As soon as I saw them, I quickly sprayed fixative, seal in the goods and seal in the memories.

Care to have a look??

Sailor Mercury - 9th July 1997

Sailormoon - 22nd June 1997

I have always told people that I have only started to like Japan after my arrival here, and had only been remotely interested in the past. Finding these sketches reminded me of what I have forgotten.

Now that I am finally alone in my apartment (miss you already, Amy!), I began to clean things up and looked through my portfolio for something useful that I can show to my potential employer for my coming internship programme. To be honest, my past works were pretty useless for the interview (I have diverged into a slightly more different field...), apart from a few good pieces such as my 3-week labour-of-love pencil colour artist's impression of Gotham City, and a bas relief project which quickly degenerated right after the critique session and of course after the photograph was taken. Anyway, it feels surreal to be in a foreign land, and looking back in time and realizing how much I have grown (artistically and mentally) during those four years and now. For a moment, I have also forgotten where I currently am.

I have always been fond of sketching with my trusty pencils (and pencil colour, when I feel that I have enough time to finish them) and below is one of my best sketch that I have ever produced. The word "best" is relative, because in my case, I do not draw a lot as I am too much of a perfectionist and I don't start anything unless I am sure that I will do it perfect. That had been a major hindrance. So let's say that its the best among my limited collection.

Lucky corn

Well, at least this lucky corn got my absolute concentration, and I am usually a feeble-minded, hyperactive girl who can't sit still for more than 15 minutes. I think the guy sitting behind me in class is tired of me fidgeting in my seat already. Sorry Yama-chan!!

This missy here's gonna go places!!!

Well, the past two weeks has been quite an adventure; whirlwind-ing through Tokyo, force-feeding Amy limoncello and a bottle of Chianti, classes, presentations, terrorizing Kyoto Imperial villas and molesting cats! Tiring, but worth every minute.

p.s. This post couldn't have been possible without you, Amy!!! Kudos and hats off......
(I had so much fun with you and wished that you could stay muuuuch longer!!!)

New beginnings for a chronic procrastinator

2007-04-10T21:05:00.001+09:00

Its not new anymore. I moved in here 3 months ago.

Spring vacation ended with a blast, having hosted a myriad of characters in my new abode, starting with my good friend Yuka before she moved to big bad Tokyo and 4 friends from home arriving in 2 batches. The new place is just a stone's throw from uni, and is situated 15 minutes from the city center (if I cycle very, very fast), is situated at the foot of Kyoto's sacred Daimonji hill and basically fulfills all the criterias that I asked for. The area must be green, the view must be nice, must be quiet, mustn't have thin japanese walls... needless to say, I ended up with an apartment that I can barely pay for.

I seemed to have done something right! These creatures are indeed having fun...

Such an investment (one can't say that it is an investment as I do not get anything in return, except for happiness) worried me to bits, and seeing a rainbow the moment I woke up from my first night in this strange place seemed to be a sign from Big Bang that I have made the correct choice.

Fast forward to 3 months after, spring marked a new beginning of other sorts, the dreaded first year of my masters programme. This means that there will be no more (or less) fun times for me and friends in the same situation. I commerated this occasion by a day out with the girls in our fancy suits and tightly-crossed fingers, in hope for a good academic year. Many things to look forward to... classes conducted in japanese, and fear of being discovered to be incompetent!

Bad ass uni entrance ceremony

Charlie's Angelos

Bad ass floating people

Bad ass salsa queens

Bad ass gypsy chick

A new academic year means having another extra shot at yet another set of resolutions. I hope to be able to learn more about my own weaknesses and of ways of overcoming it in my journey to become a good researcher. Maybe I should just stop procrastinating.

Thanks Charlie's Angelos! I had a blast with you girls.

End of winter

2007-04-10T20:01:00.000+09:00

Last snow in Kitashirakawa

Winter bade farewell to Kyoto by unpredictably spewing snow on 18^th March, a day more associated with sunshine and sakura trees heaving with unfulfilled promises of a spectacular show you would never forget and of course… dormant insects waking up from beauty sleep and now out for some serious partying. Everyday I walk past these trees, observing hard and searching for minute details of change. Imaginary or no, I seem to have been able to see the buds growing by the day. I can be an impatient person, and anything that is equivalent to watching grass grow (or in this matter, watching sakura bloom only that it has not) can drive my mind crazy and disoriented.

Warmer days ensued after the snow episode. I started to realize how foolish it was of me to lug my jacket around. Despite being a child of the tropics, I showed resilience towards the cold and is known for taking off my jacket during cycling trips in February, something unthinkable to my Japanese friends. My good friend Yuka has suggested that I might have “contracted” premature menopause as I was surely showing symptoms… hot flashes! I enjoyed the cold wind against my face, numbing my ears, my nose.

A nice bike trip to Kamogawa in the pre-spring sunshine brought out the artist in me! I am sure I will miss these bare trees…

Having lived in Kyoto for a year, and having had no contact with any family members, I am glad to have a cousin cross over to the land of the rising sun, specifically in Fukui city. Poor guy is now living in a city where pachinko parlors loom within a 500m radius no matter where you go. Living in Kyoto makes you a spoilt child. With 17 world heritage sites and 40% of all of Japan’s Japanese gardens concentrated here, one can easily turn into a snob. Nevertheless, Fukui has its own charms outside of the city’s boundary and when you step out into the countryside.

Somewhere in Katsuyama

Somewhere in Katsuyama, too.

Eiheiji, one of my favourite temples (my second visit this time)

Holy snow

Driving around Fukui and the countryside with my cousin has brought back the delights of Japanese (mild) winter. This part of Japan is still colder than Kansai area as of that moment. It was snowing so I quickly ditched my jacket, and embraced the cold before it ends for good.

Somewhere in Katsuyama, still.

Having traveled to Fukui with reluctance, I came back to Kyoto with a renewed outlook of the world outside the ancient capital.

A walk to be remembered

2007-02-21T22:01:00.000+09:00

What an eventful day!

Went to Kyoto's Immigration Bureau to settle some documents, and settled down on one of those long couches. Parked myself right in front of a foreign resident woman and a (probably) japanese pimp who are both casually talking about her job as an exotic dancer. Was forced to eavesdrop on her "resume", who her colleagues are, her old clients, her sexy moves and also listen to that guy coming on to her, while I was chatting to a chinese woman next to me who had also been waiting for a looong time for those documents to be processed.

Just as my chinese companion left and I was once again left to my own devices, I lifted up my head and saw this petite woman with the biggest breasts "evar", at least in relation to her build! She looked as if she was 6 months pregnant "there". I sheepishly looked away as it was awfully rude to stare.... I was amazed.

After another 30 minutes of excruciating wait, I finally got my documents done, and I paid a quick visit to the washroom.... but left the place before I get to use it.... because I just saw a man pee in the women's W.C.

How weird can a girl's day be?

Ana the Catalyst

2007-02-18T23:16:00.000+09:00

Valentine's Day has been special this year, as I did not celebrate it with my significant other (who is far, far away..) and was celebrated with friends in Kyoto. I, who have long been a Valentine's Day skeptic, preaching to others about it being an over-commercialized practice aimed to milk away our hard-earned money..... bla bla.... decided to engage in a gift exchange game with good friends in Kyoto. To make it more exciting, all of us met in a restaurant and each picked secret Valentine to give a gift to.

...... And then I received this from Ana!!! I got 2 mugs with pink heart motif and some chocolates! Thank you!! Since today is also Chinese New Year, and I am given a second shot at new year resolutions, I have decided to sketch more, and not let my pencils and colours etc go to waste. My biggest influence? Amy and trumpetvine, a travel sketchblog. So here you go, Ana, my little tribute to you!

Valentine's mug (ink and watercolour pencils)

And to give myself a well-deserved pat on the back for reviving this long-buried hobby, I decided to pour myself a glass of homemade limoncello. As an ode to glamorous deceased famous painters, especially my personal favourite Van Gogh, I have decided to sketch "under the influence", by allowing myself some firewater, just to see if I could produce better sketches.

I started to get myself ready for another attempt, with my little glass of limoncello perching elegantly the table against my mess-of-a-table ready to be consumed... it became the perfect subject matter! I had no choice but to delay gratification, and sketched it before downing it!

Still life with limoncello and mess (Ink and watercolour pencils)

This is not perfect (little mistakes in terms of proportion), but i vow to practice more!!

I love quick pen-and-ink sketches with a wash of watercolour which can be done under a few minutes. I find sketching liberating.

(Sketches were done to The Wine Song by The Cat Empire)

Just when I thought you were weird...

2007-01-30T21:52:00.001+09:00

Having been tagged by The Remarkable Amy (by the way, check out her newly "refurbished" site Re:make!).

I am now obligated to lay bare a list of Six Weird Things about myself for all to see and criticize. I don't know how many people I would have scared off with this post....

1) I used to love killing rabbits in the name of science, but what I was interested in was not the study of the animal itself, but to marvel at my talent of carving little white socks out of their paws without damaging or staining it with blood...

Disclaimer: I have since ceased to do the above, not even thinking of doing it, ever again!

2) When I eat raisins, I would first chew off the top of the raisin itself, then pop it in my mouth, eat its flesh, and in the end, the skin. Feels good.

3) I smell my cat's forehead before lightly brushing my lips against its fur and kissing it.

Again a disclaimer: My cats take regular baths.

4) I am lazy when it comes to washing my socks. I usually wear them for a while, deliberately "purge" them and then I will buy new ones!

5) I wear my favourite fancy shoes around the apartment after waking up to make me happy for the rest of the day!!

6) I wear a pointy hat everywhere I go and tell people that I have an antenna on my head and I that am telekinetic and psychic and that i can establish contact with human beings and animals and aliens alike anytime, everywhere.

p.s. Ok feel free to tag yourselves and write away!! Tell me your weirdest secrets!

Loving Indie

2007-01-06T00:30:00.000+09:00

How should I start this entry?

I have had the honour to have my old friend Indeterminacy publish one of my own photos on his site (for New Year, no less! Thank you!!) as inspiration for original one-minute short stories by Indie, the king himself and fellow bloggers who are as always, brilliant at it!

Here's the picture!

Ok that's a bottle of Limoncello (zesty lemon liquor from Sicily) or what I call Liquid Gold that I am absolutely crazy about. At first sip, you'll first be greeted by the amazing fragrance of thousands of lemons that you could easily lose yourself in. The liquor itself tastes sweet and tangy but surprises you with a jolt of real warmth as the liquid makes its way through the esophagus, soothing the nerves and leaving you in bliss. And then you will know in your heart that you would kill for another sip or two. Limoncello is the essense of Life itself.

Word of caution: It should only be drunk straight and chilled. No ice cubes!! No mixing!!

Anyway, my version would never match yours, Indie but here you go!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Greg was tired of life. After 2 divorces and a string of failed relationships behind him after the latest divorce from his vicious, mean ex-wife Martha, Greg was beginning to lose hope. Not one woman seemed to want to call him after the first date! He felt rejected and betrayed. What went wrong, Greg kept asking himself, as his self-esteem startes to dip lower and lower... Well, indeed he was having the custody of his two young sons, as Martha was determined not to take this burden with her. They are very charming and polite little boys, and no one would have rejected him because of that.

So Greg went home defeated to seek comfort with a glass of wine, one that he has kept for special occasions. And at that, a glass of scotch too. Well, he wasn't supposed to be drinking so much, as he had a little of a breath problem and drinking and eating strong-smelling food would leave him with a bad breath for the next few days. And no one likes an alcoholic. No one wanted him, so what the heck, so Greg thinks. As Greg tumbled through his front door, the children's nanny, a plain, bespectacled and shy but clumsy girl named Brenda, who at the age of 29 still doesn't have a boyfriend. She's a nice girl and Greg knew it, but he had never taken notice of her... as men, as shallow as it may seem, are still very much prioritizing a girl's looks rather than her personality.

As Greg entered through the door in a daze, he stepped on a pail of water that Brenda has left there unintentionally and Brenda went running towards him, to try to save him from falling, but both of them fell flat on the floor in an embrace. Everything seems to be moving so slowly and then when their lips touched, though it wasn't intended to be that way, magic happened! The whole room bursted into lemons!! This kiss with Brenda was the most amazing he had ever had! It was fresh and tangy, but at the same time, sweet... and Brenda's lips were warm and inviting. Greg was suddenly transported to the beautiful island of Sicily and as hard as Greg tried to rub his eyes and wake up from this beautiful dream, he could only see Brenda and notice how she was now bathed in golden light, just like a good bottle of limoncello should be.

They fell in love right away and began spending time with each other everyday, never to tire of each other. Greg felt younger and happier than ever as he has finally found his elizir of life. And he lived spellbound by the limoncello goddess until the very last day of his life.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Please go to Indeterminacy to read his and fellow's bloggers take on this pic! Brilliant posts.....

Another amazing story that Monsieur Indeterminacy had written from another photo donated by me: The Melon Story. Enjoy!!

p.s. The name Greg was inspired by my previous boss, though I do not know why I used it.

p.p.s. The homemade limoncello that I have been making turned out great! Very proud of myself :o)

(Homemade goodness)

Temporarily lost

2007-01-01T16:54:00.000+09:00

A very happy New Year to all of you!

I am starting my 1st blog entry of the year with a few pics of snow in Kyoto. I have never seen snow before in my life, so if snow isn't that exciting to you, please humour me for once :o)

I have never been in full realization of the fact that I am now living in a foreign country until very much recently. Being in Japan for the past 9 months had always give me a false illusion that I am back home and that things had never changed at all (except for the freaking language barrier, and weird japanese men talking to himself in the train or the random lewd old men that you have the pleasure to meet every now and then). Almost everyone I see around here is yellow-skinned, I still see the odd headscarf wearing women (mostly Indonesian students) just like I do back home. Everyone talks to me as if I am a local despite the fact that I struggle to find ways of expressing myself in japanese language. And also despite the fact that I am always with gaijins (foreign people in japanese) who speaks better than me, most of whom have been learning this language for years, I am still the one being spoken to! Discrimination at its best but good practice opportunity, I know, but don't you think I should feel very much at home?

That was what I felt like UNTIL............

.... last week, I went to get new prescriptions for my glasses as my eyesight was failing. I handled myself very well, trying my very best to construct decent sentences, polite enough but also friendly as not to alienate the opthalmologist (the japanese language has too much protocol associated to it, and I am supposed to be careful of certain grammar usage). I was doing okay, until when my eyecare professional moved me to this machine (I don't know the name..) which shows rows of alphabets which I was supposed to read outloud as the opthalmologist adjusted the lens to get my prescription perfect. After some small talk, we began the test... and instead of the usual roman alphabets, I had to read hiragana. I burst out laughing, not much about the test, but at myself for finally realizing about where I am after so long, for real.

And at a count down party at our favourite Sam & Daves (new Kyoto branch!) yesterday night (this morning??) what more of a better way to start the year but to countdown in japanese... jyu, kyuu, hachi, nana, roku, go, yon, san, ni.... ichi!

Happy New Year to you fine folks! 明けましておめでとう！

When the sun was still high

2006-12-03T21:17:00.000+09:00

Summer time and the wind is blowing, outside in lower chelsea.
And I dont know what Im doing in this city,
The sun is always in my eyes.

(by Third Eye Blind - Motorcycle Drive By)

It was summer, and there I was in Montespertoli of the Il Chianti region, halfway between Pisa and Firenze.

The weather was perfect, it was the end of summer, a bit chilly at night, but the sky was always clear, not a spatter of rain.

The day started at the tip of Ponte alle Grazie, opposite the Arno River waiting for the unknown guide to pick us up. There I met some strangers and after an awkward start of exchanging basic pleasantries, the guide arrived in a beat-up van. Hoping to meet some Italians, the guide turned out to be a Scot, who was about to be kicked out from his apartment for not paying rent.

And after an hour's drive, we arrived in a quaint castle in Montespertoli called Castello Guicciardini Poppiano, whose owners, the Conte and Contessa were on holiday, jetsetting all over the world. They own both the castle and the hectares of vineyards and olive groves around this property, which in turn also produce award winning olive oils, wine and fine grappa.

Wine tasting creates instant friendships. What was awkward at the beginning slowly disappeared as everyone let their guard down. Wine is miraculous, and should be the cure for all ailments of the world! And also bread with lavish sprinklings of good olive oil and a pinch of salt, Tuscan style.

Sidetracking... Warm wine as proven by our little autumn soiree here in Japan, is a potent magic potion for all ailments. Cold winter winds from Hokkaido, be gone!

After visiting the cellar, we proceeded to the rooftop. The view? Fabulous.

At that very moment, I without realizing, said my thoughts out loud, "I want to be buried here after I die". Laughter followed, but I know that I have meant exactly what I said.

It was almost noon, and it was time to cycle to the place serving lunch. We started our journey through this little road flanked by tall cedar (?) trees on both sides, dwarfing all of us. I felt myself being humbled by these big trees and this vast rolling landscape. I felt like a kid in a candy shop, very in awe but I know that I do not need candies to keep me happy. Nature in all its glory makes me happy. It gave me a serene and calm feeling, but I knew that part of me wanted to leap out and dance.

I remember when I was a young 16 year-old, I used to be obsessed with Third Eye Blind's self-titled debut album especially this song "Motorcycle Drive By". Great lyrics, awesome guitar riff, so much life. Its one of the most under-rated songs of all times which never enjoyed the success that it so deserved, but I loved it (and still do) nevertheless. Its the sound of freedom though I do not know how to describe it as such. It's a feeling that this song was able to evoke. Was it the guitar riffs' slow start, building up as the song progresses and then a sudden revert to a calm end? I liken it to containing a storm in a teacup. Like a burning man, and a quick dip to the water to end the pain. Or.. rather an hour long session of onsen, and a quick dash to the cold shower to cool down. And everything will be all right.

And there I was, as described in that beautiful song, careening through the universe, my axis on a tilt. Everything was so beautiful that my heart ached.

As I pass Chianti vineyards, olive groves and sunflower fields which appeared a bit tired of life, the sun in my eyes, I could see nothing, only what's ahead, I could hear nothing, except Stephen Jenkins' voice and the wind roaring in my ears, and I felt invincible. And wished that you were with me.

And theres this burning, like theres always been,
I've never been so alone, and I, I've never been so alive

The day ended at my favourite place in Firenze, Basilico Santa Maria del Fiore, which I will never tire of.

I've never been so alive. And I wish I could take a piece of you with me.

A purist's laments!

2006-11-02T00:32:00.000+09:00

In an effort to spin some yarn.

Well, as starters, here's a pic of my first Halloween getup which is not even remotely Halloween in character!! Sorry for my lame non-efforts, but what I wanted to achieve was psychedelic 70s Afro style with blings and all. Kind of like fusion, as I am too poor and could not afford to be a purist. I am a purist by heart but what am I to do? Not exactly entertaining, boys and girls, but here you go.

Wait, saw the bling?

I wish I know how to spin some serious yarn, kick some serious derriére. Having morphed into a girl of few written words, all I could do is to bombard you readers with molto pictures. As I have read somewhere, "If you can't blind them with knowledge, baffle them with bullshit". I WISH I could bullshit more and baffle YOU. What used to be so easy, I am losing grip.

Well, like I have said, here are some to blind you. Get your Raybans! The glare, the glare!!!

Oops, it was very rude of me to not give you an introduction of what are about to come. Again... I have skipped grammar class, this time for Mt Hiei which is situated northeast of Kyoto with the labmates.

Err.. I don't exactly have "lab" labmates. I am allergic to "lab" labs. They are my colleagues, and we love having a good time and outings once in a while.

It was a four hour climb to the peak, a nice hike punctuated by little stops to examine tree species (the botanist in us!) and chocolate breaks.

One of the most interesting spots that I found myself liking is this cedar forest (which are actually plantations of cedar for construction purposes but are now slowly abandoned as extracting timber from japanese forests are more expensive than importing them from the third world timber-producing countries, for example MY country). Its not naturally occuring, but its very japanese, minimalistic and organized. Well as a consolation for myself, I will still call it a cedar forest though it is technically a plantation. Need some romance and illusion here.

One cannot always afford to be a purist under such circumstances.

The hike further up also revealed slopes with leaves slowly turning red.... Ahh.. the purist in me was immediately soothed.

Halfway up, the gridiron layout of Kyoto city could be seen.

Well, I hope this photo gives you an impression that it is high. Just deception. Just doing some magic tricks.

Further up, a field with wild grass enveloping the whole slope, dancing to the gentle breeze. Don't want to all poetic here (and I am really bad at being that) but it was a beautiful feeling. A simple but captivating sight.

The peak offered good views towards Lake Biwa, biggest lake in Japan and also Ohara, a nice place with temples and rice fields. The view was absolutely beautiful, mountains, lakes, all shades of mysterious blue. But the sad part of the story is that the peak has been levelled to build a huge parking lot, capable of occupying at least 10 buses, 30-40 cars and of course, a specially built so-called "botanical garden" that charges an arm and a leg.

Aren't untouched nature the ultimate botanical garden that none of the human creations could rival? Its hard to be a purist here. Tourism has a big market in Japan and nowhere is spared.

Well, boys and girls, here's what I can do best to spare you the sight of railings and bus stops and kitschy "botanical gardens" and buses and parking lots and tarmac and restaurant and automatic drink dispensers.

The secret? Just squint hard. Well I did.. and I became happy.

The descent was pleasant, walking among temples with more than 1000 years of history which I have yet to discover in detail.

There's nothing like a zen garden to end the day, peacefully.

p.s. Again.... about the greatest adventure (to date), I will work on it soon enough! Please please please do wait.

おなかも心もハングリーのあなたへ

2006-10-25T01:15:00.000+09:00

Translation of the title:

To you, the person with the hungry stomach and a hungry soul.

Anyway, that's literally what it means. If you're hungry, and your soul is too; join me, and run away with me...

Grammar class is definitely worth skipping for................

Banpaku Kinen Koen (万博記念公園) in Osaka!

The leaves are beginning to turn red.

I love this lonesome tree. Solitude is beautiful.

The Great Keiko.

Anyway, nothing beats skipping classes. I feel good!

And forget not, boys and girls... Trees make you healthy!

p.s. About my greatest adventure (to date), its still in progress, so stay tuned!

I think I ate too much ginger.

2006-10-23T19:35:00.000+09:00

As copied from my trusty notebook........

As I am writing to you now, I am sitting in a train station, sweating, facial moisturizer melting on me, my glasses fogging up, catching up my breath from the torture of a long walk from my dorm up in the hills to this tiny little train station. Its a daily migration, if it could be called as such.

There, I have emphasized on how hot I was. Well, "hot" can be interpreted in both ways, "hot" as in temperature-related hot and "hot" as in that babe is hot. Well, I meant temperature "hot".

Wearing a tank top only on the 23rd October morning had me sub-consciously and unknowingly sending out signals to two random ojisans (old men), whom on separate occasions in a span of 10 minutes offered me a "samukunai ka?"(s) which means "aren't you cold?" followed by a loud sneer. Or.. was it a look of genuine surprise and genuine concern?

What's with the smirk then?!

Fashionable japanese girls and boys around me are now already decked head-to-toe with high boots, wooly sweaters, mufflers and the works and the mercury has not even dipped that low yet. The mornings and afternoons are still sunny.

Dearest ojisan, thanks but no thanks.

Nihonjins dress according to the calendar, and me, oblivious to that and depending on my non-impaired intuition and my logic, now appear totally "non-linear" in the land called Japan.

Wanting to get some revenge, I will have to wait until next summer, in the height of the heat in August, ask some japanese old ladies, whom when its as hot as it could ever be possible, still manage to don a t-shirt, a sweater, hats and of course, GLOVES to match. Are you really that cold? Atsukunai ka? Its a strange, strange world.....

Either it's them, or it's my "flawed" south-east asian genetic makeup..............

Or maybe..... I ate too much ginger.

p.s. Sorry for the long silence. As for the post on my greatest adventure (up to now), I am now diligently uploading them pics into photobucket, and will be ready to meet you all, after I have drafted some decent text to go with them.

p.s.s. Chinese food makes you strong!

I love limoncello

2006-09-07T00:43:00.000+09:00

Will write about my latest little adventure after the 18th September. Stay tuned...

Sad, sad sky

2006-08-14T02:43:00.000+09:00

View from my very quiet dorm. Waiting for the supposedly coming typhoon closing in from the Pacific Ocean. Nothing happened of course.

Burn, burn!!

2006-08-06T21:15:00.000+09:00

Heisei Yodogawa Fireworks Festival in Osaka, 5th August 2006
(formerly known as the least-favourite city)

The CROWD at Yodogawa, Osaka. Unbelievable. Most of them must have camped out here under the scorching sun from 6am (an exaggeration, I know). Arrived a little bit earlier at 7pm and found no vacant space at all. Had to climb up the retaining wall, sat on where the slope began and prayed hard that I won't lose my balance. Gluteus maximus muscle overwork.

The calm before the storm. Had to admit that Osaka "can" be beautiful at night, even after my numerous attempts at denouncing it. One of the many definitions of "existence" that I remember vividly is that "Life exists in the presence of light, without its presence, there is nothingness". Errrr... Osaka looks better in the dark.

Oh, and of course, when there are fireworks.

Raining gold.

It was well worth the pain, sore butt and all.

Confessions of a dictator

2006-07-29T04:16:00.000+09:00

I have a belief that it is always good to be mildly depressed.

Being too happy makes me lose touch with the world.

Fear keeps me alert. Being far from the familiarities of home, which I always introduce to friends as Hobbit Land, has installed in me a sense of fear towards the prospect of failure. I love the sense of urgency that fear gives me, as I was a chronic procrastinator when it comes to personal assignments (if any of my ex-colleagues are reading this, I didn’t do that while I worked…). Projects back in school were rushed as I took too much sweet time THINKING of the perfect thing to do. I had thousands of thoughts and possibilities swimming in my head, but I couldn’t settle for the best, as I have always believed that the best ideas only come out to play when a person is in the lowest state of helplessness. Having too much choice and time cripple my judgment. Very limited choices and time, on the other hand brings out the guerilla in me.

The price that I paid though, was immense. I have not been sleeping much these days, probably an average of 4 hours/day. I felt as if cold reimen (japanese summer cold noodles) sauce ran in my veins. When I walked, I felt as if I was floating, not the graceful kind though...

Then again, life's problems can always be solved with some shopping. Its therapy at its best!!

Suit (matching pants not shown) for my coming entrance exams (end of August).

Lining with pin stripes.

Mother-of-pearl buttons. 良いね～

Well, it can be safely said that my chances of passing my entrance exam will increase by 42.98% if I were to wear it during the interview session. I am sure.

I loved deadlines, just not anymore.

I am doing an Angeline

2006-04-10T22:48:00.000+09:00

Doing an Angeline means blogging about food in her trademark chirpy style. The techniques to doing it are:

a) Describe as if it is the best thing available on earth and that you would rather saw off your leg or go for lobotomy than to miss it.

b) Add as many "yummy(s)" as you can into a single sentence. For emphasis, add loads of exclamation marks. Do also repeat your punctuation marks.

c) Always pose with a "peace" sign. Preferably pose in front of your food.

And lastly...

d) Always end a post with a satisfied picture of one's self enjoying the food. Ignore people around you. Lick the plate clean if you must. Don't be shy.

Yesterday I went to a very famous tea house in Kyoto called Ippodo. It was a very, very old traditional tea house selling their trademark japanese green tea. Their green tea was divided into 4 groups: Matcha, Gyokuro, Sencha and Houjicha. Oh I was soooo excited and was dying to try them!!!!

Raving about this place simply leaves me so tired so I have decided to try their Matcha! I decided to try the koicha which is the stronger version of matcha and it is said to contain more Vitamin C than 1kg of oranges!

Konatsu had accompanied me to this tea house. Isn't it ironic it was me who brought her here despite her being japanese? I am such a shiawase!!!

Ok. This is a close-up of Matcha. The green stuff in the bowl is matcha, powdered green tea. The matcha is at first stirred into a paste using the "brush" provided at the side. When it reaches the consistency of glue, slowly sip and enjoy the natural sweetness of the tea. I was so happy and I loved it!!

After that, pour more water into the bowl with the remaining matcha paste and whisk up a storm until it is frothy. Yummy!!!!!!!! Enjoy the remaining tea by sipping slowly. At this stage, this tea is called usucha, which means a lighter and less strong version of koicha.

And.... the colourful looking cake at the side was a special Kyoto sweet! Its meant to be enjoyed together with the tea. Yummy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Finally, see how happy I was? I would definitely come again!!!!!!! Yummy!!!!!!!!!!

I have to admit its really hard trying to do an Angeline.

Girl, you are irreplaceable.

Listen to Marge, and you'll never go wrong!

2006-04-09T21:35:00.000+09:00

Many, many years ago (I was 14 years old then) I was a hard core "The Simpsons" fan. I am still one now.

I remember vividly an episode from Season 4 called "A Streetcar Named Marge". I forgot precisely how the story went, but it was about Marge wanting to fulfill her dream as a Broadway actress but was met with indifference by Homer. Anyway, the main point was not about that.

In that episode, Marge was cast as Blanche DuBois in "Oh! Streetcar", the musical version of A Streetcar Named Desire directed by the flamboyant Llewellyn Sinclair at the Springfield Community Center. In that musical, there was a song called "The Kindness of Strangers" which goes like this....

Marge [spoken]:
Whoever you are, I have always depended on the kindness of strangers...

Cast:
You can always depend on the kindness of strangers,
To pluck up your spirits, and shield you from dangers!

Marge:
Now here's a tip from Blanche you won't regret:

Cast:
A stranger's just a friend you haven't met!
You haven't met!
STREETCAR

How true.....

Konat-chan, thanks for visiting me!

Risye and Wei-bin

Nozomi-san and Sasaki-san at Kamogawa

(Most) Friendly folks at GES:

Hey girl!

Ladies! Please take your pick..

2nd round party at a local izakaya

Life is sweet.