my daddy

 

a fun and silly brother

a caring mentor
a patient listener
a talented painter
a wise teacher
a humble learner
a crazy friend
a faithful servant
a loving father

what can I ask for more from one person?
i am so blessed to have you as my father

all my memories you are filled with laugthers

thank you for all the crazy and fun moments we have shared
thank you for all the adventures we have been through
thank you for all the opportunities you have given me
thank you for all the time you spent listening to and praying for/with me
thank you for all the wise words you have spoken
thank you for all the freedom and love you have given
thank you for letting me be me

happy birthday

my hero
my daddy

i love you

the first of everything

There is always a first time of everything

On December 23rd, 2011

I gave my first to stitches

Sewing?

Well...it's sewing something together

Just not on a piece of cloth

But on my finger...my left index finger

Yes
I had an operation...just a tiny one
I cut my finger
By peeling an apple
My right hand slipped
the knife slide through the smooth round surface of the apple
And cut right into my left index finger

For the next second
The half cut apple was flying in the air
My finger was red with blood in an instant
Pain, but I couldn't scream

I quietly turned the tap

Place my wounded finger under the cold water

Wrapped it with paper towel with an ice pack
And went back to my new year card writing

After 2 hours
4 sheets of paper towel changed
30 cards written
My finger was still bleeding
Hmm...better go to the doctor

Everything in the clinic happened too quick

Before I realized

My finger was anesthetized

Three stitches were sewed
And my finger stopped bleeding

It's the unexpected
that make our lives become an adventurous journey

Merry Christmas!
Warning:
The following image is not pretty
view in your own caution

here. there. and in between.

yesterday...

4:53am home
5:42am Kanazawa JR station
9:55am Tokyo JR station
10:27am at school
13:52pm out of school
15:19pm at Chihiro Museum, Tokyo
18:12pm Tokyo JR station
22:23 Kanazawa JR station
22:58 home

i was here and there
and the in between made my day a little brighter and happier



to you

the lady on my left is the most wonderful woman on earth
she gave birth to me
she held and caressed me, she saw me took my first step
she spanked me, she got mad at me
she smiles for me, she cries for me, she prays for me

we are different in so many ways
yet we are similar in so many

she is the person i fought with the most
yet we love each other so

there are times when i secretly wish to have a someone else as my mother
yet she is still and will always be the best mother to me

today is her birthday
happy birthday, ma-mi
i love you

from fruit to jam

 persimmons

grown by obachan

persimmon jam

made by hiukei

it's nice to have a 2nd (or 3rd) hometown

visited my 'hometown' in japan yesterday

2 bags of fresh vegetables

6 oranges

6 grapefruits

a bag full of persimmon

a jar of homemade miso

a bag of chestnut

the word grateful is not enough to express my gratitude

but i am truly grateful

for being so loved

thank you

thank you

thank you

arigatou

ありがとう

red + white + a little black + the sky

 flying up

 by lake michigan

first journey with my new black converse

fall is beautiful

taking a nice walk in busse woods

 view of my new place in kanazawa

nostalgic?

beauty in solitude

m.o.n.t.r.e.a.l

why does this city become so much more attractive after i am not living here?

the sky
the streets
the food (oh...the food!)
the people
downtown
even metro and buses seem more fun than before

it's GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD to be back

spending some quality time at the park with the little one
i'll miss you and everything here

good bye...my beautiful spacious apartment

i'll miss you

today marks the beginning of my

nomadic life

August and September will be adventurous

so many to look forward to!

it's summer...it's all about the ice cream

it's summer
japan is hot and above all...HUMID


which means
everyone loves ice cream

♪　you scream i scream we all scream for ice cream　♪



my oasis

Life is just hectic...in a good way
apartment hunting,
goodbye speech, tears,
papers filling, data collecting

packing

scheduling

it's hard leaving 5 years worth of life
but it's definitely exciting entering into the unknown (well, partly unknown...i am not that adventurous)

well, between all these chaos

my oasis was found in movies...animation to be exact for this post

i am usually not a big fan of animation except for Hayao Miyazaki

but recently i have found a new love

Sylvain Chomet 

I actully found out about him from "Hayao Miyazaki's reommendations" corner at the DVD rental shop

"Les Triplettles de Belleville" was just simply fun to watch

the music is playful and i love the artwork

Tonight...i am going to treat myself to a movie at the cinema

"L'illusionniste"

it's a miracle that they are showing it on screen here in Ishikawa

it's a sign!!!

must go!!

reports? online lecture? packing?

oh...they can wait...



and guess what?

it's July soon!!!

what does that mean?

Giburi's film will be shown on TV every fridays in July!!!!

                                                oh...pure joy!!

between "An Education" and "Hors de Prix"

Finally got to rent the 2 movies I have been longing to see
"An Education"

"Hors de Prix (Priceless)" (thanks melli!!!)

LOVE THEM!
both are EXACTLY my kind of movie

simple but fun (convey a clear message)
great acting
beautiful setting (France and England...oh...Europe...i long for you)
AWESOME costume
   (seriously!!!goggled whenever the protagonists have a new outfit on...)
   (i...who rarely wear dresses except on special occasions... am now dying to wear one)
last but not least...
the protagonists!!
How can anyone resist the charms of Carey Mulligan and Audrey Tautou?

start it right

you know your day just can't go too wrong

when you can sleep in till 10

cook a nice bowl of oatmeal

turn on the tv

play the DVD that you rented yesterday

sprinkle some cinnamon and add a hint of maple syrup

go back into your blanket again

with that bowl of oatmeal

i love mornings on saturday

about English...(the language)

to start off with
i am not good at English
although is the language i am most fluent at (i think...my chinese is funny, my cantonese sounds even funnier, my japanese has huge room for improvement and don't even mention about my french...)

English is a VERY VERY VERY difficult language
period
the longer i teach it
the more i realize how difficult it is

my English students always asked me very interesting and challenging questions
which makes me feel totally incompetent
but i LOVE it!!

here is my secret confession
i never thought i would say it but
english is...hmm...quite sexy
i think i am slowly falling in love with the language


maybe it's about time for me to relearn the language

Hello, English
Nice to meet you

...and May it is

say...June is around the corner!!

gosh~ where did May go?

May has been amazingly to me so far

-road trip down to Mt. Fuji

-completion of my researh grant application (finger crossed)

-a brief visit to Tokyo

-Mother's day

-girls night (cheese fondue home party is THE best)

-jogging along the river, around the lake

-sprawling...cartwheeling...on the grass under the sun

-warmth, sunshine, blue sky

-joy, laugthers

-desserts, cakes, crepes, sweets

-love, hugs, phonecalls, skype

"if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us" 1 John 4:12

thank you for your love 

a bit of fun

sitting under the full blossom sakura is a little boring?

let's add a bit of fun!!

kids surely know how to enjoy the sakura to the fullness

kids' laugthers

blue sky

warmth

full bloomed sakura

what can i ask for more

coming soon

 

can you see the pink?

can you smell the pink?

can you hear the pink?

can you feel the pink?

sakura is around the corner!!

i am not a big fan of pink
but i can't resist the full blossom of sakura in spring

unsettled self

i am so unsettled about myself
sometimes it's annoying
i want to be free from thoughts like:
-what others think about me
-how others see me
-i wish to be like someone else
-i am not good enough

i am a happy person in general

i mean...i am happy while i am writing this

it's just annoying
i am annoyed by myself

i don't hate myself
but i guess i don't like myself enough
does that make sense?

anyways
i don't know where i am going with this post
i am just excited my weekend will be starting in 30 mins
and
according to the weather forecast
it will be sunny

this is exactly what the world needs now

i forgot how much i used to and still love this song

there are just so many versions to it

i wish coldplay i can hear the full version by Coldplay

about the quake...

there are so much going on that i can't wrap my thoughts around it

earthquake...tsunami...
they didn't affect my area at all
now with the radiation...
ppl are telling me to leave
which makes me even more anxious

is japan really ok?
what's going to happen?
honestly
i don't think anyone has an answer

one thing for sure:
"The LORD sits enthroned over the flood;
the LORD is enthroned as King forever.
The LORD gives strength to his people;
the LORD blesses his people with peace."
Psalm 29:10-11

image by by fly51fly

all is to say
i am safe
don't worry

what do i want to most now?

a nice cup of hot chocolate/ soy chai latte
and a nice warm hug

if i can only pick one out of the 2
i want the hug

i really hate
being sick and living alone
the two just don't work well together
you feel extra vulnerable and lonely

what are common in these 2 photos?

ayumi

candy-like candle (b-day present from m.)

1. they make me smile
2. they are sweet
3. they make me feel warm at heart
4. they are cute....so VERY VERY cute (especially the one in the 1st pix)
5. i like them

if i am her...

i don't wanna know how many bowls are waiting in front of me...

seoul is a very interesting city...i dun even know how to sum it up
but one thing for sure:
foods there are amazing!!

getting better at blogging

hmm...i love reading other's blogs
the more i read others
the more i realize how boring my blog is...(hmm...)
well,
1)it's not aritculating
2)it's so vague and broad...like BLAH!
3)the content is shallow and not very fun

but on the other hand
i am reserved (and scared, mostly) about sharing my thoughts
in such a public space

or i am just lazy
reviewing and recaputuring my day
organizing thoughts and feelings
is a very engery consuming task

or there is just nothing exciting happening (which is NOT true..i hope)

all those amazing bloggers out there,
how do you guys do it?

10 things i did in the past month..

   

one.

two.
                                                                                                       

            

 three.

four.

six.

seven.

eight.



1. went to chicago
2. met my parents
3. got stuck in the blizzard
4. celebrated my best friend's birthday with her in vacouver
5. back to work
6. baked oatmeal chocolate chips cookies
7. had a cheese fondue party with friends at home
8. discovered couple nice cafes
9. saw L.A. confidential

10. went to the gym

what did i do on 2011.01.10?

i had delicious japanese sweets with my lovely friend

 i met my 2 aunts who i haven't met in about 3 years

i held an one day old baby

and

i turned 28

in summary:

i had a love-filled birthday

thank you for being part of my life for the past 27 years

you are precious to me

あいがとうございます

これからも　よろしくお願いします。