Big in Japan!
31/05/2007
It’s night 4 in Japan, and we’re enjoying our last night in Osaka. Other than my feet killing me, everything else is great.
The weather’s been pretty good. Food and all is fine. Hotel rooms I can live with (though this one has a spotty cable-internet connection, tsk tsk).
But my feet are killing me! We’ve been walking a lot. We walked around the train stations trying to get to Ikebukuro the first night in Tokyo, the walked around Ikebukuro the next morning, then we had to get back into the subway (up and down flights of stairs lugging around something like 25kg of luggage is a real killer), navigate the molemines that is the underground, find our bullet train to Osaka, change a couple of subway lines and then walk to the hotel. That is such a killer trip, I wouldn’t recommend staying at this hotel (Namba Washington Hotel) if you plan to subway your way around Japan.
Yesterday we made a short daytrip to Himeji Castle. It was an awesome little trip. It rained a little but it didn’t pour, instead it just kinda sprinkled the whole day.
Today we walked around looking for electronics. We started with Yodobashi Camera, went around looking for Sony Tower (but it was being rebuilt), and then it was mostly walking around looking for more. Didn’t buy anything though.
Tomorrow we finish our shopping around the area and head on over to Kyoto. More then.
getting through the day
27/05/2007
In about 12 hours, we’ll be heading for the airport.
In about 15 hours, the plane should be departing for Tokyo.
In 22 hours, we should arrive in Narita.
In 24 hours, we should show up at the hotel.
From now till 3am, we need to:
- Finish packing
- Get KF a haircut
- Organise our notes
- Finish the laundry
- Get toothpaste
I think we’re in pretty good shape.
My dad went through his full blown audiophile phase in the early eighties, when I guess he could afford a little indulgence. I’d wake up on weekend mornings to a variety of music, depending on his mood – anything from Pavoratti to South Pacific to ABBA – blaring from downstairs.
When I got downstairs, the windows and the sliding door would be open, my dad would either be in the garden trimming his bouganvillea or if I was late, he’d already be taking his break – leaning back on his canvas director’s chair, eyes closed, feet on a coffee table, facing his speakers.
As I grew a little older, I got to put the vinyls onto the record player and set the needle to play. Soon after I got to pick what I wanted to listen to, and on weekdays when he was out working (and after I learnt not to randomly set the knobs all the way up) I got to listen to what I wanted on my own. By then we’d moved on to CDs and it was easier.
All that just to tell you that after so many years, I’m still amazed at the stuff Billy Joel writes. The earlier stuff, not the whole River of Dreams, We Didn’t Start the Fire rubbish. And that I wish I wrote like Billy Joel.
And that the other day I thought I saw Neil Gaiman on the overhead bridge connecting People’s Park to Chinatown Point. But it wasn’t.
Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
25/05/2007
Happy Birthday V!
Three days to go, before we take the plane to the land of the rising sun. I’m excited. I bought a new piece of luggage (on sale!), I’m tightening up our itinerary, I’m doing my research, making sure we have the information we need to get where we need to go.
I am uptight, I know. I know vacations are meant to be a little bit of an adventure, and an adventure is a lot of not knowing what’s in store. But nonetheless, not knowing anything in store just doesn’t cut it for me.
Anyway. I’m off to pack. 
Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
25/05/2007
Happy Birthday V!
Three days to go, before we take the plane to the land of the rising sun. I’m excited. I bought a new piece of luggage (on sale!), I’m tightening up our itinerary, I’m doing my research, making sure we have the information we need to get where we need to go.
I am uptight, I know. I know vacations are meant to be a little bit of an adventure, and an adventure is a lot of not knowing what’s in store. But nonetheless, not knowing anything in store just doesn’t cut it for me.
Anyway. I’m off to pack.
from this to that
23/05/2007
For the first time in many years, I’m gainfully unemployed, with no job lined up. I’m all in it for deferring enjoyment, but I’ve decided to cash in some of the cumulative brownie points since you know, life is so uncertain. 
I was pretty much set on this resort in Ko Samui, but it didn’t work out, so we ditched that, which isn’t a bad thing because KF decided he wanted to go to Japan.
So we’re off to Japan next week to savour the Tokyo-Kyoto-Osaka experience for a week and a half. Can’t wait.
Many thanks for Lil’momma, Sharks, Ah Lian + Ah Leongsan for the travel advice.
it’s only been 2 days
18/05/2007
We haven’t done very much. A bit of housekeeping, in both the literal and metaphorical sense, keeping up with appointments – dental and social.
The rest of it was spent watching TV – my lovely hawtstuff Daniel. ;D
This is my definition of “taking a break”, or “taking time out”. Doing stuff you otherwise would only allocate to the weekends – all week long.
And feeling fine
Korean Serial: Spring Waltz
17/05/2007
5-7-5: Summary in a haiku
Famous pianist and
Childhood sweetheart reunite
Breaking Philip’s heart
Drama level
Started out light, but turned into a bit of a sobby romance.
Eye candy
- Daniel Henney (as Philip)
Love shape
Square (two guys in love with the same girl, another girl in love with one of the guys)
The variables
World renowned pianist, diplomat adoptive parents, Philip the lovely half Korean hunk, crazy music producer ex-girlfriend, a case of identity substitution, Austria, beautiful islands off Korea and a pink truck.
The hiccups
Crazy music producer chick who falls in love with him.
Immense guilt for living someone else’s life, and for causing heroine’s mother’s death.
Politics.
The quirks
Lovely soundtrack. The title track is soothing and pretty, and since the dude’s a pianist, there’s a lot of that playing in the background. Lovely Daniel gets to pretend to play the piano as well, and he looks so much hotter doing so than the main dude (who’s kind of scowley).
The plot
It’s complicated. But the beginning was set in Austria in the winter, and the middle bits (the childhood bits) were set on Cheongsan-do (very pretty). So ruffian’s father causes the death of sweethearts mother, and boy has to let himself get adopted so sweetheart can get surgery. He grows up thinking she died, but is unable to forget her.
He meets her later, but what ensues are obstacles one after another.
Final rating: 4/5. Loved the music, loved the scenery, love Daniel Henney, the storyline isn’t too bad, the main actor reminds me of a former co-worker from Hong Kong turned world-traveller and Flickr fan, the chick is cute. But I mostly watched it to see Daniel Henney – even better when he breaks out in Korean.
the mystery behind what i do
16/05/2007
For years people used to ask me what I do at the Big Why. It’s a big secret. But now that I’ve left the job, I can freely discuss it. There’s no better way to illustrate what I do day-to-day, except to show you.
A day in my office life.
Enjoy.
after all these years
15/05/2007
Some things change. Some things don’t.
Tomorrow, tomorrow and tomorrow.
Parting is such sweet sorrow, but when you gotta go, you gotta go.
I’d like to think there is no deal, no problem, no looking back, no feeling bad, no resentment, no relief, no joy, no heartbreak, no pain, no gain, no this, no that. Nothing. It’s just another day. Just like getting married. Just like breaking up. Just like every other day. It is just some other day.
Like the uneventful way you showed up on the first day.
It’s going to be really tough – to not feel anything. After all, it’s been years, my sweat, tears and youth. But in the grand scheme of things, I guess there are better things to feel something about.
Like polar bears, birds of paradise, penguins, rainforests, pine trees, snow leopards, Hayao Miyazaki films, Daniel Henney, hanging with KF, sleeping in, my friends having kids, my brother’s kids getting in trouble, my Simmons bed, my bad Korean, getting fat, getting slim, getting funnier, getting older, walking in snow, having breakfast in Jeju overlooking the sea with the breeze in my face and my music up to the max.
I’ve had the time of my life.
