Baby Bobby

Firstly, I have changed the blog title... it was no longer suited to be termed isolation since I am constantly surrounded by a familiar crowd.

In foreign land Tokyo for a year, there seems to be more to write about, and friends & family back in Singapore could find out how I am doing just by visiting this website. Economics of scale.

I might have lost some inspiration to write since coming back to Singapore. But since I have friends now based in Tokyo, New York, London & New Zealand, I guess I should continue.

With no work this entire week, I had the fortune of two morning jogs at 7am @ Botanic Garden, one tennis session @ 830am, and brought Bobby to East Coast Park for his morning walk.

This Chinese New Year week has been extremely healthy. Tokyo has taught me a great deal about healthy eating habits! I no longer feast beastly at bak kwa (barbequed pork).

Bobby the basenji @ 8 years old is extremely athletic, and child-like. He is also very famous among the children in the apartment estate. Often when we walk around, people say Hi Bobby Hi Bobby, and totally ignore the humans behind the leash.

2006 is officially Over

Its Chinese New Year's Eve. I have been away for a full year, and its the perfect timing to meet up with my relatives and friends. This year's turning ushers in the Year of the Pig/ Boar, which according to Chinese astrology, signifies honesty, loyalty and amiability.

Yearly, my mum would also bake biscuits for the new year. I love it because not only is it tasty, I know there are no preservatives and I feel assured with the hygiene standard - yes I would rather have the best.

Tonight, my relatives and my family would be having Reunion Dinner @ my Uncle's house. In the afternoon, and for the 1st time I accompanied my mum to Far East Florists to buy some fresh flowers for the home. In the past in audit, this would never happen. hoho my sister is in the office now!

At the florists, not sure if it is due to the last day before New Year, I didnt manage to see a bunch of flowers that were really fresh or beautiful. Even if you had money, you couldnt buy the best (although this is really due to the climate in Singapore). I remembered I received roses during my birthday in Tokyo, and amazingly it stayed fresh in my apartment for one week - the longest period I ever had to admire fresh flowers.

I read today that human's need for closeness repeatedly goes through 3 stages:
1) Hold me tight
2) Put me down
3) Leave me alone.

This cycle is apparent when an infant becomes a child as he begins to explore the world, crawl, walk, and achieve independence and autonomy from the mother. However at stages of anxiety, the child will return to the mother for soothing and closeness. No I am not preparing for motherhood. But if life is really a cycle, why do we have to worry so much about life's ups and downs?

Tonight will be fun. I will bring my SLR and perhaps try playing mahjong?!

Girlfriends meet-up

Today, Mei, Peiying, Yimien & myself - we met up after a year. We had a good catch-up session and summarized our life events that happened in 2006. It was good to know that everyone of us are doing good in our life. Most exciting news of the tea session was one of my gfs relocating to New Zealand for 2-3 years. There would be endless flow of fresh quality milk and fruits! We spoke about despite Singapore being an affluence country, we are unable to have abundant supply of fresh quality fruits, vegetables or seafood. I never realised all this until I returned from Tokyo.

The other 2 gfs are also going to be kept busy with Europe honeymoon planning, and a new house coming up! We have all moved on to a second phase in life.

Bf was busy running around this weekend for his project. Despite that he took time to have lunch with me today, and brought me to Kate Spade to try to get my wallet fixed. Appreciate it.

Just as our friendships have blossomed over more than 10 years, I noticed another bizzare friendship between a predator and prey.

THE FREAKY friendship between an Axis deer and an African lion at the Doha Zoo is flourishing well, despite their disparate behaviours.

One is a predator while the other is always the prey. One is a carnivore while the other relishes leaves and grass as a repast. One is aggressive in nature while the other as docile as, well, a deer.

Because they belong to different environments, they are now separated at night, Dr Abubacker explains. During the day, they mostly share the same paddock, though the veterinarian doesn’t like the idea much. “The deer likes an open, grassy environment while the cub loves to be on dry, hard surfaces,” he said.“But, we are doing our best and trying to create a dual-purpose accommodation with a sand bed inside the paddock for the deer,” he said. At night, the Axis deer is removed to another enclosure. In fact, they are left together only when they are watched by the keeper.

They don’t know how long the two will continue their strange relationship. “We are keeping a close watch”, Dr Abubacker said. You never know when the lion takes a fancy for some fresh deer meat and goes for Fantu’s jugular. That will be a sad day for the zoo. Keeping the two young animals together is an experiment, according al-Yazeedi, the zoo chief. They want to see how long the predator and the prey could continue to be friends.

Gulf Times Newspaper 2007/2/11

EVOLUTION

On Feb 1st, I said goodbye to Ebisu, my home for a year in Tokyo. As friends always ask me how do I feel about going back, I didnt know. On the limousine bus to Narita airport, I slept half the time (I expected myself to be staring at the city since it could very well be the last time).

My flight was delayed for two hours at Narita as there were problems with the runway. SQ had to land @ Haneda airport (about 30 mins south of central Tokyo) first, and then took an hour to fly back to Narita.

Relocating back to Singapore has been difficult:

1) I was shocked at the service level when I first touched down @ Changi Airport. Although 5am, I said Good morning with a smile at the immigration counter. No response. In Tokyo, they would have greeted you with at least a nod.

2) Went for Macdonald's breakfast (ok 5am) @ Changi Airport. When my bf ordered Big breakfast set, the lady asked "What drink" with a bit of gangster attitude. I asked my bf "Have I been away too long and that this has always been the service level in Singapore, and I have forgotten; or this is an exception?" In Macdonald @ Tokyo, you are always greeted with long phrases of polite nihongo.

3) First dinner @ Chatterbox @ Mandarin Hotel. Paid S$21 for ba ku teh. The meat was not tender and I couldnt get use to the Chinese rice yet. Disappointed. In Tokyo, you pay and often it comes with a quality tag.

4) I was also shocked upon returning home to my Condominium. The stairs and the walls were so dirty. I later found out that it was because the upstairs unit is now under renovation, and they would repaint back the stairway walls before Chinese New Year. Still, I think in Tokyo, the construction company or apartment management would have found ways to prevent such inconveniences to others living at the same stairway.

5) I used to catch a cold easily in Singapore. In Tokyo, even with the four seasons changing, I never did for the entire year. Once I landed, I have been having on-off cold and eyes are often itchy due to the higher dust level.

6) I used to stay a minute walk away from my office in Ebisu. So now, back to reality in Singapore, I have to reach office by 8am, and I think it takes 40 mins by bus, which I am not yet used to. So I have been taking cabs. Thought of driving to work daily, but after some accounting, I didnt take it makes sense. I guess I will shuttle between cabs and buses..hehe

Disclaimer: of course there are positive aspects which I would not be elaborating in this post.

With the above adaption, also I had only one weekend to rest and started work immediately on Monday.

Luckily my wise bf was with me. He said "Its all part of the relocation package, it doesnt stop when you fly out of Japan." Thats true. With all this relocation stress and I hated my ugly Singaporean mentality of always complaining, it striked me instantly of the importance of understanding and accepting change. I am giving myself time to adapt to the transition.

To me this experience clearly illustrates the impermanent nature of all phenomena. This is the true nature of reality. Being ignorant about this fact would only result in self-created unhappiness. Life is change. If I resist, I will continue to perpetuate my own suffering. The more I try to hold on to what I had, the more distorted my life will be. I have to accept this inevitable change... this is adaption phase!

Transition from Winter to Summer fireworks

Heard from a Singapore colleague who just returned to Tokyo in December that its really hot in Singapore. So for me soon it would be transitioning from winter to Summer.

How's my week? It was crazy as expected. Even my manager worked till his eyes were red with all the new files testings. Earlier this week, I was tempted to slam the table in the office as there was just too much new processes to master within a short period of time. Luckily by mid-week today, I have calmed down. Accepting the inevitable speed of change has helped me cope with the problems. I had taken on a more active role during this one year to learn more about life & happiness reading the Dalai Lama book. Now I see it paying off, as reflecting on the principles has reduced my day-to-day anxiety - which is the cause of many troubles.

Current countdown..where is the peace?

After I wake up tomorrow.. it will be down to one last Saturday left in Tokyo.

For today, I ran out and met up with friends to watch a Shomyo Chant @ Spiral Garden @ fashion street Aoyama. Although Spiral Garden is an art gallery, today, leading priests of different sects come together, harmomizing on shomyo chant.

Of course I didnt quite fully comprehend during the sacred chanting, but after the performance, Miki-chan gave us all a more in-depth explanation. I followed-up with further research at home. This is traditional Japanese Buddist chanting; performing a 1,200 year old song, along with a scared ceremony that was practiced during the Edo period.

Although the instrumental tone was repetitive, I thought that was the best part as there were sho mouth organ, hichiriki pipe, and others played along with the chanting. I have never seen these unique instruments upfront.

The costumes were colourful yet solemn. Apparently this has attracted interest from around the world with its multilayered sound and power.

The ceremony was meant to ensure the "rebirth of women". Women in white kimono were blindfolded as they crossed an area covered with white cloth symbolizing a bridge from this world to heaven. As part of the audience, I believed I was blessed too.

Relocating home to Singapore seems more difficult compared to the initial move to Tokyo. Well, I had one full month with no work responsibilities to prepare back then. Now, I dont have such a luxury, sometimes with the many many tasks left and yet interesting deadlines for - work, packing, bank account, phone line, gifts, shopping - I feel like cracking.

I feel like I have to constantly remind myself, not to allow the tight deadlines and stress to weigh me down, to discourage me with no purpose, or interfere with how I handle my life or my ability. This is the last two weeks of the one year assignment.. I cannot afford to crack.

| View Show | Create Your Own

Three Weeks Countdown to Singapore

I worked on Saturday. Still in the evening I managed to catch a nice Nabe (Singaporeans dont think wrongly!) dinner with Steven. Hot pot in winter times is the best. We also ordered chicken wings requesting for the most spicy on the menu (expectedly, it was mild, but always nice to think that we have hot spicy chicken wings in Japan). I also went to visit his apartment, which he has nicely replicated the Roppongi Hills style that he stayed in for the first month. Way to go!

Backdating to Friday evening, I had a very nice dinner with Satoshi-san, and three other Singaporean colleagues. Lynette whom I have met only for the 4th time (and always at meal tables only) - she's really nice & special & talkative. She made me look forward to returning to the Singapore office. So far everyone seems talented and nice. Cool.

Sunday - today I felt lost. Absolutely lost, not sure Y?? I think I worked too hard last week trying to rush and perfect things within the short deadline given.

Now that I am leaving here. Are there things that I regret? Things that I should have done, things that I should not have done? or Things I didnt do? I guess not, since I chose to stay in my apartment on a Sunday, and not rush out to "not to have any regrets".

Funny how I never felt like I want to return to Singapore when I was here for one year. Maybe because no date was given by my boss and so I didnt think about it. But now that I know my return date, time just seems to fly sooo slowly. It has never been this slow. Why?

Sorry this post seems a bit chaotic today - just like my mind is. But thats life right? "As products of an imperfect world, all of us are imperfect". It happens.

Have you been to an Earthquake Museum?

1995 5:46am. That is what you see (in huge letters) on Kobe's Disaster Reduction Museum as you approach it. The Great Hanshin Earthquake, Richter 7.2 took almost 6000 people.

We first entered the Theater where large scale images and sound conveyed the tremendous loud impact of the collapse of buildings and expressways by the Quake. Fires also swept the city. It was rather terrifying to realise the reality of what Mother Nature can do. After you walk out of the Auditorium, you enter a realistically reproduced devasted streets just after the Earthquake.

We also saw the world map which mapped out the earthquake zones in red. I was searching for Japan and couldnt find it. I thought my geography was really bad, but Yumiko-chan laughed... so Japan was entirely covered under the red and thats why I couldnt spot it. Several continental and oceanic plates meet on the Japanese archipelago.

Monday was public holiday, Tuesday we were too busy to swap processes, thus there were no disappointment. Today, we swapped. Tiring and we have to come up with manuals before I fly off. What was supposed to be brought back to Singapore by two persons is now solely on me. Tiring. However, looking at another angle, perhaps they have confidence in me & my team. I have to think this way right? Well this is nothing compared to the recovery and reconstruction of Kobe after the Quake.

Sand Sculpture @ Temple @ Kyoto
It was peaceful just looking at the sand.

Can you imagine entering the grounds where you find yourself walking along a beautiful sand-covered path, well preserved historical temples, pine trees trimmed like huge bonsai and bamboo fence. The sand garden was amazing. Apparently the best view is said to be at night with a full moon shining on the sand, resembling a calm, peaceful silver sea. Even though I couldnt wait till night time & for the full moon, admiring it in the day was already stunning. Just sand, but you also wonder who was the first person who thought of making an art out of sand, and who was the artist that created this beautiful piece for all to admire.

Guess what I am coming home! Suddenly the company realised that for tax reason I have to leave here on Feb2 as I arrived here on Feb 3 2006. The bad thing is, I was only told about my exact processes to be brought back to Singapore yesterday evening.. well that gives me & my team approximately 3 weeks to do some magic. Among all the four Singaporeans posted here and are bringing processes back to Singapore, I have to say I have the worst exit plan.

Luckily for some reason I was also reading these pages a few days ago. Headline entitled "But It's Not Fair". Haha how applicable. "A feeling that our problem is unfair adds an additional ingredient that becomes a powerful fuel in creating mental unrest and emotional suffering." So how can we deal with this feeling of unfairness that seems to torture us when problems arise? Well the book had a more interesting account, but to save my laptop battery here, bottomline:

1) Accept the reality of these difficult situations - understand that difficult situations happen for a reason
2) Be initiative & accepting to changes, and bring about positivity in the changes
3) Have an action plan to address the problem, focus our energies on finding a solution & the problem can be transformed to a challenge.

Well yes, the situation is going to be very challenging! Lets see how my next three weeks turn out!

Kyoto - Kaiseki 懐石!

Wanted to share a picture during our Kaiseki dinner. This was our appetiser, and the only picture I took. The food was so good I had to drop my camera and feast.
We had the kaiseki cuisine served in our ryokan room. It was a lavish banquet cuisine where numerous small dishes are ceremoniously brought to us by the waitresses in beautiful kimonos. It lasted for approximately two hours.

Food standard in Kyoto was generally higher than Tokyo. Even a simple udon shop run by a one-man show served fabulous food standard.

On the right, we started with Umeshu 梅酒 which came as part of the appetiser. And to add to all the fresh seasonal ingredients selected, we had an elegant bottle of sake each.

It was a pleasure to be away from a main city and feel absolutely free from problems... Even back at Tokyo now, I feel re-energised, focused & more acceptance to face challenges.

Happy New Year to all of you!

Deers - Messengers of Gods

If you have been thinking where I disappeared to during this holiday season, I was lucky enough to be strolling among the peace that Kyoto and Nara has to offer.

At Nara, groups of deers, apparently messengers of the Gods, roam freely around the temples and shrines. Although I walked NON STOP for four days, the last stop at Nara was definitely an enchanting & relaxing experience.

Many deers graze in the serenity of this park. Kids were thrilled, as visiting many many temples in Kyoto & Nara must have been overtaxing. Compared to the many other temples I have visited, Nara (which used to be the Capital of Japan in the 8th Century) is brought to life simply because of the free roaming deers everywhere. Irwin & I had to hide behind trees to eat our Mochi ice-cream, otherwise we know who would be asking for a taste of the vanilla favour.

Because they are scared, they are protected by law. We saw how cars have to give way to deers on the roads while turing into lanes. Irwin's sweater was pulled twice because they wanted the biscuit feeds faster. The deer even wanted to eat up our Mochi ice cream wrapper!

But I have to say, strolling in Kyoto & Nara brought about a lot of peace in me. No wonder people say Kyoto is a must-see. Indeed it really is!

Lumiere

Here's Lumiere, one of the grand projects held in Kobe during December period. Apparently an intended street party as a memorial to the spirits of those who died during the 1994 Kobe (Hanshin) earthquake.

It was definitely stunning to walk through an entire stretch (km) of beautiful lights with music in the background. It felt like...path to heaven...you know similar to what you would watch on TV.

Kimono for Real

Yes we went to try it.

I believe the Kimono is one of Japan's beautiful tradition treasures. We stood straight for at least an hour while someone complete the layering and "tying" of the kimono on us.

So yea how's life? What am I up to right? Always seem to be trying new things. Just got back from a fabulous Kobe trip too. Not sure why but today there was no excitment at work. Well, its December right, most people go on vacation and trading activities come to a holiday mood.

Not that I am complaining about my lifestyle.. but boredom is kicking in. Called my mum and of course she says "You should feel very happy and contented with your life!"

My book says "If you desire happiness, you should seek the causes that give rise to it, and if dont desire suffering, then what you should do is to ensure that the causes and conditions that would give rise to it no longer arise. An appreciation of this causal principle is very important." So, what do I really want? Relocation to another new exciting city again? or be someone well taken care of back in Singapore?...

Hello

Well I havent been writing, coz I have been busy withYear End, meeting new frens, trying to spend as much crazy time with Eva before she relocates to New York and planning for Kyoto trip.

This year-end was smooth fortunately. Because I have heard of the problems faced last year, I was kinda scared at whats gonna happen this year round, especially when I am new at it. Fortunately it was smooth sailing although there was still madness.

I guess having my optimistic eye with me helped. Hearing about last year's story made me more prepared for the hecticness; and everything seems to turn out better than expected. Can't complain.

My Update

This week was year end @ work. It was busy but less busy than I expected.

Weekends, I attended a Singaporean buffet lunch organised by the Embassy and met a new bunch of Singaporeans who are mainly working with Investment Banks here too. Seems like Japan's financial sector has a huge appetite for Singaporeans. There was Ba Ku Teh at the buffet. Friends who have relocated here for about 2 years said "Oh its terrible". However a lady who has been here for 8 years said "Oh its so delicious, you have to try it!". Of course she has forgotten how authentic Singapore food tastes.

Sunday, I headed to Harajuku for a cake feast. 5 of us had 6 slices of fruit cakes! Its extremely delicious. I have to say I have hardly tasted this standard in Singapore. In the above pic are some of the good gfs (not the chambermaid!) I have been hanging out with. Still, Phil is returning back to Sg in 2 weeks time; and Eva is relocated to New York end of the year. I am really happy to have met them as they filled up a lot of my happy gf memories at this age.

I feel like I live day by day; just like I analyse my daily PNL day-by-day. Currently I have a tentative date to return to Singapore, but no concrete timing. Sometimes it feels like it is hard to set long term goals. Or maybe I have none anyway.

As Winston just told me "I should treasure the remaining days here". Besides all my new found friends, I wonder how much I have changed or grew mentally.

Ginza
Above was taken at Ginza (most exclusive and expensive shopping area in Japan) when having a coffee break with family.

What's happening
Lately and unbelievably, I have been busy with watching a Korean drama series - Princess Hours, which was based on a comic book series. All thanks to Steven who insisted this is one of the most popular shows going on right now and so I should take a peek. I was also given a 3 weeks deadline to finish all 24 series, which explains the addiction.

What's up with life
I never used to follow drama series, nor could I understand why friends around me talk about drama series excitedly! Now I know why. The romances, how one overcomes hardships and finds true love must be the main reasons. Initially I continued watching one episode after another just because I want to find out the ending. Now in my final disk, I find myself basking in the fairy tale love. I now realise what Dalai Lama's book was referring to. In the book it mentioned "Our need for other people is paradoxical. At the same time that our culture is caught up in the celebration of fierce independence, we also yearn for intimacy and connection with a special loved one. We focus all our energy on finding the one person who we hope will heal our loneliness yet prop up our illusion that we are still independent." The book also went on to say that the notion of that 'One Special Person' is a product of time and cutlure. I guess media definitely has played a key role in romanticzing love and intimacy. So, do people crave for romance and intimacy because they feel something missing in their life; or do they really know what true love is?

10th month into my relocation. Before I got here, thinking that I would need all the survival skills & alertness to make it on my own, I was meditating daily. After I settled in without too much of a hiccups, I dropped the routine..oops. I believe power of the mind is the strongest tool. Meditation helps in reflections and clarity. Despite knowing the positivity meditation can bring, it is still not part of my daily routine. I wonder what needs to happen before I can snap my finger daily and say "hey its time for meditation!"; just like I would naturally reach out for chocolates daily.

Chai TAO KUEY in Tokyo?

How does the above carrot cake appeal to you? When I first saw it dished out, I was shocked.

It looked like Chinese omelette. I have also never seen chai tao kuey(carrot cake) served so elegantly on an artistic plate. Even the chilli is served with such a perfectionism circle. Some lettuce on the side for the health conscious?

But at least this is the closest Tokyo has to offer next to Newton Circus in Singapore!

Special thanks to Connie for pointing out my deficient in dialect spelling. I published this post with Chai Chao Kwai initially. Guess it was a mix of Hanyu Pinyin and my mother's chinese name..hahaha

Children, the answers to our next generation?

Yesterday I paid a home visit out of Tokyo to visit my colleague's baby boy Kaito-Kun. A very caring father, often he sends us photos of Kaito-Kun on Friday quoting Happy Friday! Amazingly, no matter how hectic work is especially on Friday, the baby picture never ceases to stop all of us from work, take a moment to smile to ourselves and simply comment on Kawaii! Yesterday we all had a chance to carry Kaito-kun to take pictures. After the coffee and snacks, we actually sat at Kaito-kun's mat and watched him for 3 hours! I remember Kan-chan and I were "pressing" his stomach simultaneously just to see how real this is and how it felt like...hahaa

Interestingly, the father's wish was to see Kaito-kun grow up (@ 4months now) and what his girlfriend would look like.


- Get Your Own

When I watched Kaito-kun, I wondered if our parents also spent that amount of mat-time and fantasize what we would grow up to be. Even if the baby laid there on his back without strength to move around as yet, to the parent, the baby symolises hope and a bright future. Of course looking @ delinquents, we know not all grow up what the parents expected. No one said life was easy. We are all trying.

the wave



Question: What is he doing/ thinking? He was kind, he waved twice and checked with me via expressions if I managed to snap it. Since an hour ago, I have been glued to CNN and Japanese local news on the tsunami warning affecting Hokkaido especially. It was expected to be 1-2metres high, but luckily the 1st and 2nd wave turned out to be 16 inches and 8 inches respectively.