Category Archives: life

a goal for the next 21 days

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I’m currently in the midst of drafting my post for the tea ceremony experience we had last Sunday. I actually started drafting it last Sunday, wanting to post it right after we got back home. Alas, it’s Saturday already and yet i’m still having trouble uploading the videos. I tried publishing through my iPhone but at some point the App crashed. Now tried it in iMac but the upload rate is somewhere along 1%/5 minutes. Hence I decided to revisit TED while waiting for the first video to load.

Gosh I miss TED! And i’m so glad the talk I ran into has just the humor i needed. Do watch it!

Back when I had my “count thy blessings” post in December, I said that once you did something for 30 days consecutive, you’ll end up having that deed as a habit. From Achor’s talk above, it seems 21 days is all you need. And it isn’t just about making something a habit. It’s about recording three things daily in 21 days to help your mind focus on the positive side of things. For a happier you. For a hopefully more efficient and successful you.

So here’s to a goal of posting 3 things to be grateful for for the day, for the next 21 days! 🙂

And oh, today’s three things?

– thankful for Hubs who was willing to cook lunch while I sleep my head off

– thankful for friends and family with whom I can share what I’m going through, with whom I can ask to help me pray

– thankful for the Mentors I have met so far. Some of them might be out of reach, some whose genius I can only have a glimpse on, some of them I soooo wish to talk to more often, most of them doesn’t have an inkling I consider them my mentor. But at least at some point in my life they’ve touched me and their influence would always help me along the way. Albeit I still really wish for official mentors. 😛

songs from the heart

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It was so hard for me to sing “Make Me Whole” before. I’d sing a few lines and my voice would crack, tears would then well up on my eyes as I think of Hubs. That was how dear the song was for me, for us. Thankfully, I was able to sing the song during our wedding, without messing things up.

I hope soon I can sing this too, just as beautifully, without cracks showing up in my voice as tears well up.

honesty and the Japanese

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The first time we got assigned here in Japan nine years back, we were so amazed at how honest the japanese are. Some examples: when you choose to buy an item and the sales person knows that that particular item has a defect, they’d point out the defect and ask you if you’re ok to buy the product considering the defect. When you left behind an item on your seat in the train station, you’re sure to find your stuff either in the same exact location where you left your stuff or in the Lost and Found section.

Even in the office, the honesty system prevails. We don’t have a time card or anything of the sort where we log our time in and our time outs. Our bosses approve our time sheets with the trust that the number of working hours we’ve inputted, including our overtimes, are really the hours that we have rendered our work. With a policy as trustful as that, the person that would beef up his/her work hours on paper even when they’ve actually worked less hours is probably a very untrustworthy person through and through.

I was again reminded of the honesty system in this country when we (me together with Atsushi and family) dropped by Osaki no Hana on our way to Yoshima.
Whilst enjoying the view,

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one of us noticed these mandarins, or mikan as they are known in Japanese, for sale.

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But no one was around looking out for the sale of their produce. There was however a note to just drop the payment on this bamboo pole.20120104-220540.jpg

 

Thrilled with the concept, one of us dropped 200yen into the bamboo pole and took one pack. We tasted the oranges right there and then and was so surprised to learn how sweet and juicy the oranges were. I’m not an orange fan as I usually find them sour and difficult to peel. But this one wasn’t just very sweet and juicy, the skin was so thin it’s so easy to peel. We ended up buying five packs (or was it six?). ~big grin~
Grandparents enjoyed its juiciness and sweetness as well when we got home.

Now if only we’d see more of this honesty system, it’d probably be a better world (and a more efficient one at that).

cheers for 2012!

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A few years back, I welcomed the new year in Japan with friends and colleagues. When we raised our glasses for a toast, before anyone could utter cheers and well wishes for the year, Gali enthusiastically and selflessly exclaimed “to Ate Marj’s love life!!!”. With a cheers as enthusiastic as that, even when everyone had their own wishes for the new year as well, everyone raised their glasses for the toast; a toast for my love life for the new year.

Funny. Because whaddyaknow? It was actually the year Atsushi and I started to become an item.

And so for this new year’s toast, after having had raised our prayers for the new year, I raise this imaginary toast to Gali. Gali, this is for you as my way of saying thank you.

Cheers to Gali’s love life!!!! 🙂

in-laws

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We’re staying over with Hubs’ family for the new year holidays. The past three days had been really interesting and fun that it’s just but right to have this post for them, which I know is not enough to express how thankful I am to them.

As we go drive around for a road trip, my chest swells with thankfulness. We have received a lot of blessings this 2011. But one of the biggest blessings is that Atsushi’s family warmly welcomed me as a new member of the family that leaves me with a feeling of wanting to be a better daughter-in-law because of all the good things they’ve done to me.

Ojichan, Obachan, Otosan, Okasan, Mayumi, ありがとうございました. I’ll do my best to make your son even happier.

Will feature later on the places we’ve been to the last couple of days once I’ve downloaded the photos. Here are some teasers for now.

Free milk from Shionoe (しおのえ), the dairy farm we went to yesterday. Their milk jam is just so delicious!!

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A stopover at Osaki no Hana (おさきのはな) in our road trip earlier for this beautiful view.

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By the loooong Seto Bridge (せとおはし).

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For most part of this evening, we watched videos of when Atsushi and his sister were still kids, with Atsushi as young as four years old (gee that’s almost 28 years ago!). One thing I learned: like how he is as a grown up, hubs was definitely NOT a boring kid as we had tons of laugh with Atsushi’s antics. As Otosan has said, he sure was a comedian. 😀

getting ready for the new year

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It always comes as a surprise that the day right after Christmas, all those elaborate decorations in the malls disappear overnight; making you almost feel like Christmas had been only a dream. In place of the Christmas trees and decors though, these are slowly put on display, like mushrooms that has popped up overnight. And yes, it is for the New Year Japanese festivities.

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Spent a number of new years here in Japan (all spent on shopping because January 1 sale gives you one of the best bargains throughout the year). But this’ll be my first time to really immerse myself with the Japanese festivities. And you bet I’m excited! 🙂

Two things we’re thankful for. We finally placed an order for the Laura Ashley curtains which will be sewn and delivered in four weeks. Yey! Was also able to send a box for my family. I know it’s late for christmas but the box was bigger than I’ve anticipated hence it took me quite a while to fill it up.

Tomorrow’s gonna be a mad dash in the office to issue outputs that needs to be issued before the holidays. Good luck to me! 😀