let it snow let it snow let is snow

may your holiday be filled with joy and love...
and snow~

Merry  Christmas~

with love

crab with a B

i guess the pictures spoke for themselves
i never thought crab could taste SO VERY D.E.L.I.C.I.O.U.S

with japanese sake
it was completed
I was completed
.period.

do you know the muffin man?

you know you had a good day
when you found a bag of goodies
in front of your door after work

love,
and beloved

ひとみちゃん、ありがとう～

birthday season

november marks the start of birthday season (among my family and friends)
december is the peak, follows with january
feb marks the end of it

i wonder why most of my friends' birthday are all so close with each other
is this true for you?

happy birthday
to you and you and you~

i am proud of myself

hiukei 1 : 0 live octopus

'ok! just take it with your chopsticks'
'put it in your mouth'
' and CHEW!!!'
' F A S T!!!'
' CHEW CHEW CHEW!!'
' it's swiggling but it's ok!'
' don't look at it!'
' just CHEWWWWWWWWWWW!'
' okok!! good job!!'
' take a sip of shochu'

thanks to my coach Jeff
and my lovely mental support Johanne
without you guys
this is mission impossible

when it's cold, it's time for...

quiche!!!
homemade quiche!!

crust from 101 cookbook recipe
(oatmeal and sesame crust is the BEST crust ever!!)
throw in some eggplant, broccoli, ham, cheese, dried tomato, egg and milk
bake in the oven

and
Voila!!

smelling good
feeling warm
D E L I C I O U S

on board...in chicago

i had a great time in chicago
beatiful weather
lovely people
amazing skyscrapers

the river, the lake, the art institution, the food

and the train aka 'Metra'
somehow it reminds me of Thomas the train

hello visitors

thank you for singing in the morning



thank you for stopping by at night

a deep breath
a step back
learning how to be still

when you can't buy it

you make it

that's one of the biggest lesson
i have learned being in japan

i am referring to food

i was graving for hummus
i had some canned chickpeas
mashed it with some spices and seasonings and olive oil

voila~
homemade hummus!!

on a slice of baugette
topped with dried tomato
and i am in heaven

i am a student

since April
i started my grad program

i hate to say this cos it will sound like i am bragging
but since ppl have been asking...
so...i will just say it once
i am in a phd program
yes, i will become a 'doctor'
that all depends on if i can hand in my thesis 3 years from now

ok with that being said...
i just want to say
i love being a student
learning something you are passionated about
there is nothing better

each meeting with my prof is a self realization of how little i know
i think i am becoming a fan of my prof
this might sound really strange
but i kinda understand how young grad students fall in love with their prof who are like their dad's age
don't worry
i am not going to put myself into something exotic and complicate...haha!

each meeting with the parents is another realization of how LOVING parents are
i am trully touched by each of them
they are all angels to me
i am learning to much from them
it's frightening though
because i don't know if i can be as good as mothers when i become one

each meeting with the kids is another self confirmation of how much i love working with kids
they are just precious little beings from God
they are all different and they are all little darlings

there are more benefits to being a student too
student discount
research trip (domestic and oversea)
meeting lots and lots of really smart people
feeling young...hehe :) (this is a big one!)

i shall save this post as a self encouragment when i start screaming and crying with my thesis in the future

another lesson learned

read the prescription CAREFULLY before taking it
because
a) you don't want to feel like you are wasted/high at work
b) you don't want to have a purple face at work
c) you don't want to feel like you will vomit anytime
d) you don't want to worry that you may die from the overdose

prescription says:
1 tablet.3 times per day after meal
hiukei read:
3 tablets. 3 times per day after meal

didn't realize i made a mistake until i felt like i couldn't walk straight...
i took 7 pills in total when it should only be 3
overdose on antibiotics is not very fun
not at all

i have definitely learned my lesson

missing jo

last week
a good old friend/sister came visit
best week this summer ever
yet every hello is followed by a goodbye
saying goodbye is never easy
guess i will just look forward to the next hello

jo,
we shall say hello again in korea!!

The Good Earth

by Pearl S. Buck
a novel i just finished recently
a very interesting read

with a chinese root
yet
i know nothing about chinese history
yes...
shame on me

take a little break

away from the country side
into the city















thanks monちゃん for the amazing time~

way back home

despite the neverending insanely hot and humid summer days
beauty can still be found

as much as i love summer
can the temperature be 30 instead of 35?
it's really unbearable >_<

is 5℃ too much to ask for?

another hot and humid sunday afternoon

as i went to the museum to see this



i found something more interesting...



good job, dad!!
i am sure that you kids were all happy that you took them out~

==========
the exhibition I went to see (1st pix) was A M A Z I N G!!!
Fujishiro Seiji is currently an 86 years old artist and still active in his field
He is famous for 'shadow art' (影絵）








of course
the real works are 1000000000000000000000000000 times better~

song in a mid summer night

this is what singing in my head tonight

what a beautiful song
i was so blessed to get to hear it live last Dec

Drawing by Mr. Children

遠い遠い子供の頃夢で見た景色が
一瞬フラッシュバックしたんだ
笑いながら僕の頬にキスをする少女が
君とオーバーラップして

淡い光の曇り空に
フワフワな時を刻んでいく
この素晴らしい　煩わしい気持ちを
真空パックしておけないもんかなぁ

絵に描いたとしても　時と共に何かが色褪せてしまうでしょう
永遠はいつでも　形のない儚い幻影
君と共に　僕の元に

もっともっと上手にいろんな絵を描けたなら
やっぱり君を描きたいな
僕にとって君とは　つまりそう小さいな点
そしてあらゆる総て

デタラメと嘘の奥に
本当の答えが眠っている
この素晴らしい　慌ただしい
人生を二人三脚で越えて行けるかなぁ

どんな場面でも　僕の絵には必ず君が描かれていて
目を閉じたまま深呼吸してみれば分かる
君はいつも　僕のノートに

絵に描いたとしても　時と共に何かが色褪せてしまうでしょう
永遠はいつでも　形のない儚い幻影
君と共に　僕の元に
そしていつも　僕のノートに

0655 & 2355

image from Eテレ


it's a 5 mins program
by Etele fom NHK

it's a short program that aims to get you ready for work and for bed
i love the concept of the program

they have interesting little theme songs and animation
for 2355
they have a little one min stretch "the crescent moon stretch"
which i absolutely love

obviously
i am never awake for the 0655

check out the site
jap only though...sorry
0655 2355

...but i still like it...

the overly heated and humid summer in Japan
it's definitely not something enjoyable
...but i still like it...

japanese version of Toy Story 3
really hoping to watch it in English
...but i still like it...
(guys, really GO WATCH TOY STORY 3!!! it's REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEALLY Good!)

d.e.v.a.s.t.a.t.e.d

i am...
HONESTLY

ok, i love living in the country side
but
i don't like that they are not playing 'Toy Story 3' in English here

can i call it discrimination?!?
have they ever thought of the foreingers here?
ARGGGGGGGH!!

Woody and Buzz speaking in Japanese
hmmm...
well, it's just extremely weird

word of the day

-o s c u l a t e-


by yuri yurie


def.
1. to come into close contact or union.
2. Geometry . (of a curve) to touch another curve or another part of the same curve so as to have the same tangent and curvature at the point of contact.
3. to bring into close contact or union.
4. Geometry . (of a curve) to touch (another curve or another part of the same curve) in osculation.
5. to kiss.
Origin:
1650–60; < L ōsculātus (ptp. of ōsculārī to kiss), equiv. to ōscul ( um ) kiss, lit., little mouth

maybe it's just me
but i think this word is very romantic