Met up with a girl friend, for a meal of chilli crab and good girl talk.

Came across a group a buskers who were part of this community called "The Beloved".
And at their blog, I came across this post that reflected my current sentiments, word for word:

Giving, or giving up?

Have you ever been so outraged with a close friend that you try to avoid him or her, and you'd be relieved for a reason to be busy so that you don't have to talk or even look at the person? Lets be real. I have.

Talking to some friends recently reminded me again that it takes a special kind of love and choice (and modified worldview) to continue meeting up with and watching the back of the dear friend with no strings attached even though i want so much to whack my friend's head with a genetically modified oversized salmon.

Have you ever felt what it was like to have someone "give up" on you? That surely must have been difficult to accept... Or have you ever given up on someone?

Then again, has there been someone in your life who, no matter what, has always been unconditional in their acceptance and never gave up on you even in your worst of times?

- pony

On the way to work, I learnt a lesson.

A father was bringing his young daughter to kindergarten. They took the elevator from the third floor and down. There were 2 other people in the elevator, a young woman at a corner and a man with a bicycle occupying most of the room. The father and child stepped inside to the unoccupied corner near the door and the elevator descended. When the doors opened, the father and child alighted first, to allow room for thte other 2 to get off. The father, holding his daughter's hand, stood outside and pressed the elevator button to hold the door open so that the other 2 people could get off smoothly. The little girl simply waited patiently with her father, looking on quietly.

The best ways to teach our children is always by example.

"...faith is about doing. You are how you act, not just how you believe."

- Albert Lewis, from Have a Little Faith by Mitch Albom

Finally I got hold of the video! I was lucky to find it sitting on the library shelf, it's been a hot loan item for months!
Thoroughly enjoyed the movie. It was light, peppered with humor yet thought-provoking.

Also loaned Mary Poppins. I had to watch it at least once! Not as good as 'The Sound of Music', but well.... supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!

Girl company is truly a wonderful thing.
Talked to my friend YN about my emotional struggles on a certain relationship, and it felt good to share with her. To have a like listen can sometimes be very comforting and liberating.

I'm glad we had the girl talk!

Everyday, again and again, I fall in love with the brilliant blue sky and gentle breeze that softly touches my face. The towering yet sturdy green trees and the cheerful sunshine.

Even while I get hurt and my heart broken, Mother Nature envelopes me in her gentleness.
Even when people change and break their promises, Mother Nature is always there for me, unchanging.

I'm so glad to be in love with Mother Nature.

"Holding on to anger is like grapsing a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else, you are the one who gets burned."

"An idea that is developed and put into action is more important than an idea that exist only as an idea."

先週の授業に、突然先生が私達に尋ねた：
「あのキムラタクヤがいるのバンドなんと言うだっけ？」

みんな早速「ＳＭＡＰ」と返事したところで、先生に睨まれて、「そんなことよく覚えていますよねぇ」ってたしなめられた。へへ。。。
この話の前、生徒達は授業に教えてもらったことがまったく覚えないっと談じていたから。

で、先生は一つ良いことを教えたくれました。
ＳＭＡＰがうたった一曲「世界に一つだけの花」の歌詞はとても素敵な意味が入っている。
「人はそれぞれ特別ですから、比べるものはない。世界にたった一つだけの花ように。」っと先生が教えてくれた。
先生のその一語、なんだか私が深く感じた。

本当に素敵な一曲ですもの。

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Happy but broke :P

I'm banning myself from shopping the next 3 months. But, oh, the delight of getting items that make me happy at discounted prices!

Why wandering in the wine aisle is bad for me:

Was doing some retail therapy when I found myself happily lost in Carrefour's world of wines. My intention at the hypermarket was to get a closet and not wine, but I left with no closet and 2 bottle of wines. Mr Richard, the staff at the wine department, kindly gave me helpful recommendations (Canada's got better ice wine) and even great tips to wine drinking (he taught me about wine decanting and 'breathing'). Up till last year, I know nothing about wine, and now, I've learnt to enjoy the pleasure of wine appreciation! I was excited when I saw a Haut-Medoc going on a discount because I had wanted to get one for Mum to taste after my experience with a Medoc in a gala dinner I attended in France. It tasted just right for me, aromatic but not too bitter. Isn't it lovely that I've manage to get one at last! Oh, the Cabernet D'Anjou rose is for myself. I love dessert wines and it was for half the normal price. Happy!

To top it off, I got a great bargain at Ikea. 6 wine goblets for about only a dollar each.

Ahh, great wines and great bargains. Retail therapy always works :)

私、雨の日好きなんだ。
心の悩みが降っている雨に流せばいいなっと思う。
雨が上がったら、
空気がきれいで、爽やかで、涼しくなって
心も落ちずいて、静かで、軽くなって
気持ち良いんだ。

雨の日すごく好きなんだ。

It was raining when I got off the bus this morning.
To reach my office in the main campus building, one would have to walk a short distance from the bus stop. And there are two ways: sheltered and unsheltered. Normally, quite a number of people take the unsheltered path because they would have the option of taking the elevator up the building and not climbing up flights of stairs. However, on a rainy day, most people will take the sheltered path to avoid the rain. It's logical and normal, right?

As I step off the bus, I noticed every one turning and walking towards the sheltered path. Without as much a second thought, I opened my umbrella and walked the opposite direction. I love walking in the rain. The pitter patter of raindrops over my head, the refreshing wind in my face, the splashing of water at my feet.

As I cross the road, I turned around to glimpse behind me.
There was no one else but me in the rain.
I couldn't help a smile.
I've come to like the feeling of walking the road less traveled.

Innovation without energy is powerless.
Energy without innovation is purposeless.

-Dilip Mukerjea-

It's been a long while since I last watched a Disney cartoon.
The latest, "Princess and the Frog" is as typical a Disney animation as any one of the collection of Snow Whites, Hercules, etc etc. Though nothing fantastic, I did have a good laugh.


Well, it was my first dinner-cum-movie outing with a colleague I'd never thought I would become friendly with. And I'm glad I had a good time!

You will be the same person in 5 years as you are today except for 2 things:
the people you meet and the books you read.

-Charlie "Tremendous" Jones-

Got side-tracked when doing my gift-shopping for this week's office Christmas party and ended up with gifts for myself:



















Sakura, my favorite flower! Now I can smell like one, haha.
The customer service at this Body Shop outlet was very friendly, with the salesgirls being pleasantly chatty and joking with customers. I could feel the festive cheer in the shop!

After freeing myself from the vices of beauty shop, I fell straight into those of the bookshop. I just love the air of discount in my favorite bookstore, Kinokuniya. My special order 君に届けnovels had arrive from Tokyo and I can't wait to start reading them. And, I happen to pick up the last NLP guidebook by Joseph O'Connor. Lucky!

On another note, I'm so glad to be back in Japanese class after a month of absence.
相変わらず、先生は面白い人で、次々冗談を言いつづけた。
たとえば、Lさんと会話の練習時、こうなったの：

（先生はLさんに今日車がどこにおいていたと聞いている）
先生：車は？
L：駐車場で。
先生：。。。遊んでいる？

なんか車が駐車場で遊んでいるのイメージを想像したら、バカだなっと思って、我慢できなくて笑っちゃいました。
やっぱり先生の授業は最高です。

Me and my housemates did a major spring cleaning for the house and now every nook and cranny is clean! The look of sparkling clean kitchen lamps made me very happy!

After a long day cleaning, we took a dinner break of pizza and sauvignon blanc. Cheese and wine, no better combination! Thanks to TT, who generously opened the New Zealand, Malborough's sauvignon blanc. It was light and quite mild, but nonetheless chilled and satisfying!

A friend of mine said, "Jot down the things that makes you happy, makes you smile, today. It will help make your day brighter and throw sadness out of the window.'

I'm just a simple girl in search of peace within myself. Being the perfectly imperfect human that I am, I often forget what it's like to be happy when I'm down in the dumps. For sometime now, happy memories elude me when I reach out for it. But not anymore.

I want to remember all people and things that inspires me, that enlightens me, that loves me, and that makes me appreciate the meaning of happiness.

This blog will be evidence that I have many happy memories, every single day.