Category Archives: life

The 1st week of Advent and a Happy New Year

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I feel so guilty not being able to attend one of the most anticipated Sundays in the Church’s calendar. The 1st week of Advent, which marks the first of the four weeks of waiting for Jesus’ birthday. In the Church’s calendar, today is like the New Year and hence a time of looking forward to the new year’s blessings and joys as well as being thankful to the year that was.

And with a smile, I was thankful that unconsciously, we were also doing our recollections and our share of thanksgiving. We are now cooking something that enabled us to reminisce on how our story started and how it unfolded. Listening to Hubs share how he felt buoys me up and made me really thankful how God has been good to us to have had enabled us to spend our lives together.

And so with joy, love and hope, we look forward happily to the future God has planned for Atsushi and me. I am excited! Because I believe it is gonna be great. We claim it Lord! πŸ™‚

Happy New Year everyone!

11.11.11

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Along with probably all bloggers in the whole wide world, I just couldn’t pass up the chance to pin down something on our blog on this very unique day.

We haven’t got anything special planned today actually. I’m even now alone in Starbucks waiting for Hubs as he had a project party with their multi-national clients. It has been a good day at the office as well, for my part. Even my allergic rhinitis didn’t act up for the first time in two weeks! Not a sniffle at all.

But even so, I don’t consider this day as a day of “doing” or sort of “reaping” and celebrating. Rather, I consider this a day of planting, with heart filled with joy and hope as I did the “planting”.

Had the idea of planting earlier when I paused from frowning at the HYSYS simulation in front of me and accidentally looked at my laptop clock and a smile lit up my face as I saw it was exactly at 11:11. Perfect time for planting indeed!

Happy. Hopeful. Full of eager anticipation. Thankful.

rainy days and love

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The hunt for the perfect chocolate-colored, high-heeled boots had gone on for so long that today, hubby and I separated ways after dropping by the church so that I can go to any mall I want to, as long as I want to. This has gone on for a month and I somehow feel guilty to hubby already when I get out from shop after shop without a paper bag at hand; I can almost hear his sigh of frustration when I get out the shop and still empty-handed although he would assure me he is ok and aren’t really frustrated. But of course, I really couldn’t allow myself to buy boots which cost more than $400 and yet I’m only halfhearted with it or that it will cause my feet some torture (my feet are really quite…..special, to avoid being derogatory to oneself).

Thankfully, it was a productive afternoon. Albeit by the time I was finished it was already 5 o’clock and it was already dark as I got out the station. There was a soft drizzle but I didn’t have an umbrella with me. Worried with my whereabouts, Hubs called me up where I was and offered to pick me up in the station.

He had colds yesterday and I have a big paper bag with me which I can use as a shield from the soft drizzle but still he offered to pick me up. And even when I was a bit guilty, I still felt warm inside when he came to the station, hair disheveled obviously from sleep, carrying our big pink umbrella.

Times like this, you just love rainy days.

As we walked, I was suddenly reminded of my university/college days. I remember nights when it was raining like cats and dogs and one of us was stuck in the university gate or the corner from our dormitory without an umbrella. Even when it was a torrential rain, a friend from our dormitory would think about the one who got stuck, and without hesitation would pick up her friend. Even when it meant getting wet with rain. I did my share, I also picked up a friend. But it was because somebody else did it before me.

I guess selfless acts like that would probably be remembered for as long as you live, even when you haven’t already seen such friends for a long time.

Date at Enoshima

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As we wait for our late lunch, we enjoy this fine malt Enoshima beer. I don’t like beer much because they are bitter. But this one I definitely can drink. 乾杯！

(guess who’s having the bigger volume. πŸ™‚ )

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Singaw

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We have a project party tomorrow and I wanted to bail out of it. Partly because I want to walk home together with hubs. And equally because I have singaw. And it hurts like crazy so much so that I haven’t eaten properly the last two days and I haven’t been talking too much neither. So imagine going to a party where there’s lots of eating and talking to happen. Torture.

Singaw is the Filipino term for those blisters inside your mouth or tongue. Bisaya call it kainit.

Earlier in the evening, when I still didn’t know what is the English term for singaw, I was telling hubs that I’d tell my boss my reason on not joining the party by sticking out my tongue and showing him the blister. Hubby doubled over and went red laughing. I just love making him laugh.

As I looked over the Internet though on the English for singaw, I found THIS article. It was my turn to double over with laughter.

With THAT article though, I learned that the official English term is cold sore or canker sore. Or better yet I’ll just say kounaien which is the Japanese term for this bothersome affliction.

Just came across THIS article. And am thankful we live in Japan. They do have a medicine for it. Hurray!

Am still not decided though whether to go to the party. Oh singaw, please be away.