Utada Hikaru's Beautiful World

YouTube - Utada Hikaru - Beautiful world (english subtitles 2007 09 07)

haha nice wish

Mishima's Spring Snow

After yoga and shopping yesterday, I plan to stay in my hidey-hole for the remainder of the Golden Week and hibernate with (alternatively) Yukio Mishima's Spring Snow and Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat, Pray, Love. My stomach muscles hurt a lot today, results from the strain they got from yesterday's yoga.

Anyways, to Spring Snow. I'm liking it actually. Though of course what i'm reading is the English translated version, it's so full of words; so heady with flowery words that I tend to read slowly so I can make a picture in my mind of what it was trying to portray. This book is so heavy, so welling of thoughts and ideas that I can't help but stop reading at one paragraph or another to mull about things, to reflect on what has been said in the book.

The book inspires in me a question though. This book is considered as one of the major novels of Japanese literature. And really, IF the author's characters in the book reflects the real thoughts of young men at that time, one would marvel at how deeply their 18 year olds think and philosophize at that time. Makes me think how mundane were my thoughts were at that age. haha.

Browsing about reviews of the Spring Snow in the internet led me to a site showing me that this book had a film adaptation last 2005 - and with Satoshi Tsumabuki on the lead role as Kiyoaki Matsugae! yay! haha. Gotta have a copy of that movie. =P

Plum Garden Ume Tsubaki

It should have been one of my farewell parties. However, as I got extended unexpectedly, it winded as our project's girls' dinner where we celebrated as well my extended stay here in Japan. And Kayo-pon's choice as location of our dinner was a celebration in itself for me.

Having had acquired the taste for Plum wines, the Plum Garden Ume Tsubaki, was heaven for me; what with their 100 different types of Ume Shu. They have this special list as well where the top 10 choices were listed, showing the alcohol base, it's alcohol percentage and it's sweetness. And, should you feel that you're not in the mood for Ume, you can choose a number of different drinks in their selection as well - shikuwasa, peach cocktail and even your good ol' oolong tea and orange juice.

And it's not just their wide selection of Ume Shu they can boast of. Their menu is mouth watering as well, with some selections that are native in Okinawa like Goya Champuru.

This one, I like as well. Raw salmon meat, salmon roe and avocado placed delicately on top of Japanese rice with mayonnaise on it - uhhmm! yummy!

One other nice thing about this place is that you get to have a 30% off if you get in the resto before 7pm on a weekday. You just need to bring with you a print out of their discount ticket which you can readily get from the internet. Nice!

Plum Garden Ume Tsubaki

http://r.gnavi.co.jp/a359118/
3-5min walk from Yokohama Station

Shikuwasa

There are two of us lady engineers in our team. The original lady engineer in our team actually already resigned to be with her husband in US. Then she got replaced by another lady. I'm not really sure why it has to be another lady. Or maybe not. Maybe it just happened to be so that the available one is a lady engineer. But nevertheless, Kayo-chan is real nice and pretty and fun to be with.

During our team's milestone party, Kayo-chan suggested the location for our 1st party and she took us to an Okinawan restaurant. And yeah, she originally came from Okinawa. She suggested cocktails for me and as alcoholic as I am, I liked what she ordered for me - it's sweet yet gives you the kick you just need at parties. It was made of shikuwasa, a citrus fruit which tastes like (and I have a feeling looks like a small) dalandan.

Yesterday, we got to talk on the ladies' toilet and she told me that her mother sent her a liqueur made of shikuwasa. As her mother sent her four , she's sharing one bottle with me. Really nice and thoughtful. It made me thoughtful though that I really am already tagged in our team as a hard drinker. haha

Haha, love the girly packaging print. Loved the girl's shoes as well (I currently have two pairs of shoes with the same style and I still can't get enough of them).

I was planning to toast this with Kitty tomorrow. But felt like drinking a shot now, so there. And it's nice!. The 12% alcohol instantly had an effect on me though. So I better sleep now if I want to be at 9 in the office tomorrow.

Beck Breakfast

Woke up with the sun this morning. Yes, even before my alarm clock went off. It could be that something woke me up; that some part of my dream woke me up with a start; and that since I was in that phase of my sleep when I am nearly awake which is the optimum time to wake up (as the Sleeptracker ad says), I was indeed fully awake.

After a few stretches, I took a leisurely shower, took my time in dressing up and was already out my door by 7:05.

Usually, when I walk to the office, I have my IPOD on. But this time, I listened to the birds' chirping. The rain last night quenched the tired-looking streets and hence everything looked so fresh - from the wet pavement to newly grown leaves to the heartbreakingly blue sky.

I went out my door early with only one intent in mind - to have that Set B breakfast at Beck's Coffee shop again. =D. The nearest one is in Kannai. In front of JR station. Haha! This is so waaay out of my way but I still decided to go as it's not often that I am this alert in the morning. It's almost like I'm excited to get the day started. Even if I had already submitted my last major work to my boss yesterday and hence means I might spend the day pretending that I'm doing something.

I don't know how they still manage to earn from it but Beck;s Set B breakfast meal really is as balanced as it claims; and mighty cheap at that! With 500 yen, you already have a couple slices of bread toasted in delicious butter, scrambled egg, bacon, a glass of that Jap veggie drink (which consists mainly of carrots, orange, tomato, apple and some other 40 leafy/non-leafy vegetables and fruits) which I've taken a liking to during this stint, and another cup/glass of drink of your own choice. I had cafe latte of course (had to take some time off royal milk tea). And oh yeah, you also have a big helping of yogurt topped with dried fruits - which honestly is my favorite in the set; to think that I basically don't like yogurts...those dried fruits..ahhh yum!

So really how much do they actually earn with this set? Or probably the Japanese government is sponsoring these breakfast sets as a sort of incentive for waking up early. Yeah, I know. That is absurd. But still!

I initially planned to read/write while devouring my breakfast but thought otherwise. Nanamnamin ko muna breakfast ko.

Ahhh. Lovely.

8:10 na! Time to go to office!

Lionel Richie's "Just Go"

It'd be nice to have a guy like this. haha
kulang na lang, papaypayan ka whilst sipping a cold cocktail on the beachfront.

-------------
Just Go

(Lionel Richie)
It’d be so nice (nice nice)
If you didn’t have to feel so lonely
It’d be so nice (nice nice)
If I could sneak you for a moment

I know you like to get away, go away, far away
To a place where there’s just us two
Got a busy day, everyday but not today
Cause I’m here to take that stress from you

So you can just chill and clear your head
And let me do everything for you cause you deserve it
Prepare your meal and make your bed
Well let just first make this with you
cause you are so worth it

(Akon)
I just want us to go go go
Drop everything and just go go go
I just want us to go go go
Drop everything and just go go go

(Lionel Richie)
How would you like to sail away in the Bahamas?
(Just you and me, girl)S
o far out in the sea where nobody can find you
(Just the end of the world)
Cause there is no rush for you to come back
and face the rain
Cause there is plenty sunshine where I pickin’ you
And I’m here to reduce the pain

I know you like to get away, go away, far away
To a place where there’s just us two
Got a busy day, everyday but not today
Cause I’m Here to take that stress from you

So you can just chill and clear your head
And let me do everything for you cause you deserve it
Prepare your meal and make your bed
Well let just first make this with you cause you are so worth it

(Akon)
I just want us to go go go
Drop everything and just go go go
I just want us to go go go
Drop everything and just go go go

(Lionel Richie)
Just imagine when you tired and
Layin’ by my side and
Sippin’ on some wine while I stand in massage and
Releasin’ all your tension I couldn’t handle a time and
My job is to keep my baby smilin’

So you can just chill
And clear your head
And let me do everything for you cause you deserve it
Prepare your meal and make your bed
Well let just first make this with you cause you are so worth it

(Akon)
I just want us to go go go
Drop everything and just go go go
I just want us to go go go
Drop everything and just go go go
I just want us to go go go
Drop everything and just go go go
I just want us to go go go
Drop everything and just go go go

Spring-y days

Saturday found Maj, Kitty, Zoey and me in Negishi Shinrin Park for this year's traditional o-hanami. It was actually some sort of pot luck but we ended bringing more food that it was closer to a feast than a mere picnic. Of course we popped a couple of corks as we usually do in our monthly get-togethers.

Aside from a taxi mishap on our way to the park (where I almost puked on the pizza that was sitting on my lap as the taxi driver zigzagged and sped-away to make up for his mistake), it was a fun afternoon. Of course, the culmination of it was us shopping in World Porters (where, yet again, I got mugged. haha) and dinner at "To the Herbs".

Sunday was yet again an affair with the Sakura as Maj, Kitty and I hopped around Tokyo and Yokohama for great sakura spots.

First stop was Asakusa where we took the water bus for a nice view of the Sumida riverbank which was practically lined with the cherry blossom trees.

The water bus took us right smack into the center of Hama-rikyu Gardens. I've seen better looking gardens actually; I feel that the skycrapers of Shiodome somewhat spoiled the garden's beauty. But what made this garden a must-see for us is because of the teashop located in the center of the pond in the garden. For the price of 500yen, you could get to enjoy great-tasting matcha and uber-licious japanese sweet cake; both of which are served in a tea-ceremony style. And yes, while we waited for our goodies, we tried to sit Japanese-style on the tatami-laden floor. The goodies were really such goodies that I wouldn't hesitate to go back there again and again.

Next stop was Mitsuike Park in Tsurumi which is considered as one of the 100 best hanami spots in Japan and the only one found in Yokohama.

Getting there was interesting; what with Kitty chancing upon a helpful Jap dude who happened to be living right next to the park. ^_^

However, the first thing that would remind me of Mitsuike though is that we just ate a LOT there. haha. I actually ate 2 hotdogs as we took our rest there. Or was it three? haha.

Tuesday was O-Hanami with my teammates in my current project. We had our mat laid under the shade of the sakura trees which had a very nice view of the Yokohama Bay. Spectacular, it was.

Lunchbreaks this week was also mini-sakura sightseeing as Kitty and I walk around Sakura-dori after eating our lunch outdoors.

And by the by, the street just right before rounding the corner to my apartment is a sight to behold nowadays.

And so I say, who wouldn't ever fall with these??

Cirque du Soleil's Zed

January 2008.

Came across a news article telling about the construction of Cirque du Soleil's theater in Tokyo (technically in Chiba as it is right beside Disneyland) which is expected to open come October 2008. Got saddened with this as I wouldn't be in Japan anymore by that time. Didn't know yet i'd get extended at that time.

November 2008.

Tried to book some seats to the newly opened Cirque du Soleil theater. But alas, all weekend shows for December and January were already fully booked!! Unimaginable, isn't it?

April 3, 2009.

Finally made a booking!! But no tickets yet as we need to wait for some 3 days for the seat confirmation. I think one reason is that tickets can (also) be bought on any Family Mart store, nationwide, at any given time (not to mention that you can also buy tickets from H.I.S. Travel Agency, Sunkus, Lawson and also from some JTB offices) and hence some confirmation has to be done with regards seat availability.

April 5, 2009.

Yey!! yey!! Finally have my tickets! Looking forward to this saturday!!

Check out their video gallery for the gala premiere

. (Shun Oguri's hairstyle's a bit off, but the dude is still coool! ^_^)

seize the day!

So happy that today, I somehow seized the day.

It was actually not all bed of roses. There were disappointments and a couple of stuff that broke my heart. But then I guess it just boils down into counting the happy things that came your way....

First off, I finally had a booking for two to Cirque du Soliel's Zed Show next saturday!! Thanks to Taisuke for taking the trouble of booking for me (took him one hour, yikes! plus the time it took him to accompany me to the konbini to pay for my tickets).

Had a very nice dinner with Kitty as well at Ottoya.

Last Tuesday, during our team's milestone party a.k.a drinking spree, I recommended O. Henry's The Last Leaf to Taisuke. And this evening, whilst walking home, I recounted to Kitty the story of the last leaf - one of my favorite short stories of all time.

Heard of it first from a song when I was in elementary and I cried at that time. Then when I read it again during high school, I cried buckets. And even earlier, when I was recounting it to Kitty, I couldn't stop the tears from pouring. And then just now, wanting to be certain I recounted the right story, I looked it up the internet. And sure enough, as I read the story, I was crying buckets again. bwahahaha.

Gotta sleep for now. For tomorrow, we'll be seizing all the chance we can get with the sakura season as well. =D

odd case

Another set of musings from Eat, Pray, Love has got me to thinking about stuff and how I so totally relate to it. That even now, though I have my hometown where my family lives, still, I couldn't point a place where I can say my "home". I kept a slot in our apartment back in Almanza for the past 3 and half years while I'm overseas. But it's not a home; it's my sleeping quarters.

To quote Gilbert, "I'm wary of the danger that if I drift about this world randomly for too long, I may someday become The Family Flake". An oddball.

I feel like my heart is bleeding with the thought of leaving Japan in a month. And even now, when there's still 26 days left, I am sad already. Chastised myself earlier though. As, by focusing on the sad part, you would get to miss the little happy moments in those precious 26 days.

So earlier this morning, I decided to seize the day and make the most of what I still have left.

But still, I know I wasn't able to.

wants and loves

First off, we had a lovely sunset today. That different kind of orange tint that's oh so delightful I can almost lick its deliciousness.

Second off, I need new pants. My size 0 GAP pants is loose already; suffice it to say that ALL of my office slacks needs to be overhauled. I've been having breathing problems, some shortness of breath, whenever I eat more than usual hence I've been cutting rice intake. The feeling's great (!!) albeit I didn't realize that I'd be needing to buy some new wardrobe.

Third off (this is what you get when you're a chickadora and you get to spend the whole afternoon, walking around town, ALONE), I think i'm fast becoming a semi-vegitarian. When I entered my suki meat shop (Kind's Meat) in Bando, my nose crinkled at the smell of raw meat; almost making me gag. I had to hurry buy my ration for the week and go out the door before i do gag. What I read in Eat, Pray, Love didn't help as well - "Eating meat is eating the fear of the animal on the moment of its death". So goodluck to me later on with my Adobo dinner.

So, to real business.

I never am one to plan ahead. I tried planning time and again and yet, almost always, something else happens to thwart me from my plans. And usually, that something is so much better than what I had anticipated. And so I choose to just be caught with the moment, and decide later on on my course of action when the moment forces me to decide. Well of course having this kind of attitude had put me in tight spots a number of times already. But once I get past the tight spots, the experience gets more exhilirating, more memorable. It's sort of like smelling the flowers while you walk about the garden. Enjoying the moment. Basking in in the present.

But don't get me wrong, time and again, I do feel the need and praticality of planning. With planning, you get to know where you're heading and what you need to do to get to where you want to go (not just in short trips but life in general). Hence, when the situation calls for it, I do plan.

My RFA will be up come end of April and every now and then, I thought of what I want to do should I get to be extended or if they decided to let me rest for a bit and have me packing my stuff for Manila.

Wants. On that field, I have a lot though. I have lots of it that I utter one of it almost every hour of my waking day (or even in my dreams haha). Some shallow, some so deep and so deeply ingrained that I can almost feel it oozing out of every pore of my body. For those wants (I'd call it heart's desires), I rarely share it for fear of spoiling it the moment I utter a word of it. There are times though when I wanted to shout these desires to the world; so then the world could conspire in making this desire come to fruition.

(whew, this blog's taking quite so long!) And here, i'm gonna share some of those shallow ones...

1. I want to learn a new language.

So then, what language?

French is the one language that I have often considered as like music to the ears. And I would love to learn it to feel its velvety texture on my lips, on my tongue, as I utter the musical notes, myself.

But France is not the one place that I'd like to go to. It's one of the places I want to go to but certainly not the first one.

I want to go to Italy. Really really really want to go to this place that I can almost feel the desire oozing out of me and smell it in my sweat. haha.

So I want to learn Italian. For starters, I just borrowed "Italian for Beginners" from the Noge Library this afternoon. Let's see how it develops...

2. I want to learn to cook gourmet food. But first, I have to have a big kitchen to work on. But then again, if you really want to learn, small kitchens wouldn't be a hindrance.

3. I want to learn how to bake. There's lots of stuff/gadgets available in 100yen...

4. I want to learn how to drive.

5. I want to go practice bikram yoga and go to the yoga center driving my own car. And then have some relaxing tea after, with a book at hand.

6. I want to take some time off from work and really work on doing something new; something pleasurable.

I want, I want, I want. This and more....

issues

A few pages into "Eat, Pray, Love" and i'm hooked. (thanks for this Kitty). It's so timely to be reading this. As I am on a search, myself.

As I walked my way home in the rain earlier, with a cup of Tully's Cafe Mocha (supposedly their couples special for Valentine's-White Day), I thought of things of old, things of new, things of yet to come. It was already 8:30pm but I still can't decide whether I'll eat, much less where to eat. I thought of not eating but my stomach seems to have a different opinion. Hence when the train got to Bandobashi, I just decided to buy Oden (quick bites dipped for some time already in some special steaming stew available in any konbini).

But I met some friends and colleagues on the station who was heading to the same apartment as I am and we chatted animatedly on our way home about the status of projects in our company that I totally forgot to drop by at the konbini. When we started to part ways, it was then that I remembered that i'm going home to my pad without food in tow. No dinner yet at 930pm. They were so gracious to invite me to join them though. And surprisingly, despite the current mood I was in, still, I had a great time. And had a (at least) brief respite from troubling thoughts that I've been having.

The whole day, despite the numbing pain in my abdomen, I have to have a clear mind to address issues at work. Half of me wants to complain about work but half of me chastices the other half for wanting to complain. Haha, a split personality indeed.

last year in the twenties

This birthday was really weird in that I have no pictures of where we ate at as well as the people I hang out with. So i'll try to document what happened in the most concise way I can. =)

March 6 dawned gray and dreary, with the kind of rain that would make you want to stay in your bed. But still, I walked with a light step, greeted the rain with a smile and a mantra - i'll take this rain as a blessing...

To be honest, it actually took some effort not to be sad, at the start. From the start of the week, i've been feeling hermetical and socializing took some amount of energy. For a couple of hours last wednesday, i perkep up a bit with the karaoke with people from the office. Bevs' blooper was such a blessing really that it pulled me out from feeling anti-social.

When my day came though, there was a big part of me that wanted to stay at home. But then again, I bounced off my bed and told myself that there's only one day in the year which i can consider as MY day thus I should not ruin it by feeling dejected and lonely.

Generally, it was a good day. Though the stress at work was still manageable, bothersome people-who-think-my world-revolves-around-them made it more stressful. But then again, getting stressed by them just proves them they're right hence, I didn't pay them any more attention than what was necessary. After all, I have a life to live. This makes me think though that I wish I could someday say this to their face - "get a life! and stop bugging me."

Had the traditional lunch at Hardrock as well with some friends and collegueas in Process and Piping which was arranged by Gali (so nice of him). Along with the renovation, HR have also changed their cake and memorabilias; one of which was a VERY big keychain with your picture on it. haha.

Was really thankful for Kitty's sweet deed - delivering flowers to my desk. =)
Hehe, you may find me weird but that has been one of my secret wishes. hahaha. Anyways, with that, people knew it was my birthday, greeted me and gave me sweets that by late afternoon, i already had a toothache from all the sweets I had. Sano and Tae-chan gave me a cake as well. So thoughtful! I laughed when Kitty told me that Sano was so bold as to talk to Kat to confirm it was my birthday even when they don't know each other.

To top the special day, Kat and I had a special dinner at a (surprisingly) fine dining resto in Yokohama. Good food, good food. Afterwhich, we headed off to my place, for oden, cheese snacks and liters of Plum Wine to set the mood of our chikahan.

So really, it was a good birthday. Really thankful for Kitty for helping me keep myself from feeling dejected on my birthday =D.

The following day, (7), was a fun day of girl talk and food binge.

Maj, Zoey, Kitty and I were supposed to meet at 1145 in Hiroo Station for a birthday lunch at Cicada (Zoey's a birthday-mate). But I woke up late and got lost in Shibuya (although I've been there nearly every week already) that I only arrived at Cicada at 1am, harassed and very hungry.

Cicada was yummy as always and still the favorite. *_* The couch at Starbucks was also very relaxing that we hanged out there for hours and hours. Afterwhich, we explored Ebisu and then the Ebisu Garden Place where Domyugi waited for Makino in the drama Hana Yori Dango. Had dinner there as well but the food in the resto we chose was so lousy I lost my appetite - even up to now. haha. Which is a good thing na din as I am on a diet. hehehehe..

unbirthday

I read a couple of (separate) blogs last week referring to the word unbirthday. And from what I inferred, it's a feeling you have when you feel like there's nothing to celebrate and you feel like you're not in your element.

And between the clashing of wills with a colleague at the office and some personal issues to contend with, I just feel like that since the start of the week - so unbirthday.

This evening though, I checked what the word really means and Wikipedia says "An unbirthday (originally written un-birthday) is an event that can be celebrated on any day that is not the person's birthday. It is a neologism coined in Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking Glass, giving rise to the song "A Very Merry Unbirthday to You" in the 1951 Disney animated feature film Alice in Wonderland."

And funny how today, it was applicable to me as well haha.

Bevs mistook my birthday for today and hence, early morning, she sent a reeeally cute email greetings on the email with the whole Process Department on carbon-copy. And the greetings just kept on pouring thereon..even from those who knew my birthday. haha.

The mistake was a blessing in disguise actually. It perked me up...tons. =D

So there, it was a very merry unbirthday for me today. haha.

Anyways, A Very Merry Unbirthday to You!!

my kind of winter

It's been a warm winter. And hence, when mid Feb came and we were barely hitting below 3degC, I gave up hoping I'd wake up one day to find a snowy landscape outside my window like how it was last year.

So boy was I reeeally happy when last Friday, it snowed!! As Maj pointed out, it's like a "Friday treat". Though I woke up at 9 then and was making a dash to the office cause I was already soo very late, I was thankful for waking up late cause then I can enjoy the snow outdoors.

Then, the following day (Saturday), we went skiing. Hence, more lovely time with snow snow snow! =D

And then again, this evening, it snowed. Though it was mixed in with the rain, I'm still so very happy to see them make their graceful fall. I hopped my way back home and even lifted my face up to feel the snow on my face. haha. Snow-crazed, yes I am.

MMMMM!!!! my kind of winter. =D