Tuesday, December 27, 2011
No bras & contacts
Relaxing in Taipei has a lot of implication, no one really cares if you don't put in any effort to make yourself presentable. For example, I can do around town in my pajama (the thing is I was only planning to go eat the rice noodles with my mom for breakfast, but Grace called and we had to go to the mountains for hotspring visit and lunch). I was in my sleeping wear,no bras and glasses. But I was around and about for the whole day. No issues.
Monday, December 26, 2011
Monday, December 05, 2011
Hannibal
Lousy movie in a way that there are many absure plots, they seem meaningless but to bring out the cruelty and violence of Lecter. Many of the scenes should not be shown but being shown for the purpose of displaying the gruesome nature and disguisting thoughts. How professor Lecter's victim disfigured himself was a blur, why the wild boars want to attack human beings is not clear - why they didn't attack Lecter holding the uncounscious Agent Starling is also not clear. How Starling found Lecter after he was kidnapped is not explained. Starling woke up from comma and wore the sexy dress into the dinner table to see Paul eat his own brain. How the hell did she manage to carry the handcuff with which she used on Lector.
I am very surprised this movie can sell - but Lector is probably secretly in love with Starling. From that viewpoint, it is quite romantic.
I am very surprised this movie can sell - but Lector is probably secretly in love with Starling. From that viewpoint, it is quite romantic.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Shoes
I found a very nice shoe shop just next to where I live in Sheung Wan. Finally bought a pair of boots for thiw winter. While I was browsing other shoes, I found a small sticker in the sole of a pair of nice lady shoes - "Made of real leather, colour black - please do not wear light colour socks". It is rather considerate since I have seen many light colour (or skin tone) stockings, ankle length, with black heels in China.
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Arrived in Hong Kong
In mid November, The temperature is 28C and humidity is 80%. The air doesn't flow and my throat felt funny after 1 hour run along the harbor. The humidity is really the killer, you feel like swimming in hotwater most of the time when jogging.
I ran uphill yesterday just to try a route suggested by other runner, the air miraculously got much lighter and cooler as I passed the mid level. Pretty good workout, though running is not possible (I am still not strong enough to run all the way), just walking uphill in fast pace is enough to make me out of breath. Pretty nice.
I ran uphill yesterday just to try a route suggested by other runner, the air miraculously got much lighter and cooler as I passed the mid level. Pretty good workout, though running is not possible (I am still not strong enough to run all the way), just walking uphill in fast pace is enough to make me out of breath. Pretty nice.
Chinese Women
Coming back from Bejing for a final presentation to company's pitch to the biggest bank in China, I had some conversation with my colleague about Chinese women (the topic came about because of his first encounter with Chinese women in Beijing - he was very puzzled). I remember I had written something about it before but perhaps it is worth another go after a few years.
How do you describe Chinese women? I think you cannot categorize them as a women in a normal sense. Chinese Women (I am refering to those born and raised in Mainland China) do not considered female as a gender that are inferior to male, it is just a second gender. Being a female just means you are physically weaker than man yet at the same time possessing the power as a female. Of course this might be different in the country side but, in the city, the well-educated women are totally in control. You see them as government officials, successful business women, energetic real estate agents or shop owners.
You might be wondering how this is different from western women who are well respected and go about doing their career (I think glass ceiling is still there, that's another topic). I think the difference is that Chinese women can really forgo the fact that they are female and let go of the sense of being a woman or mothering duties very easily. Remorse and guilt do not bother them too much - or they are forced to ignore them. Living example is my aunt from my father's side - She was going thru a very rough time during great culture revolution. She had to marry a guy much older just to survive (for food). But when opportunity presented itself for her to flee to Hong Kong, she abandoned her 2 young children without hesitation.
My aunt's case might be caused by the distored environment but somehow I think the mentality somehow is rooted in modern Chinese women. Definitely no offense but I think they have to arm themselves with such level of brutality in order to survive. I suppose it is not common in women from other culture/region. Nevertheless, I think Mao Tse Tung had really achieved the gender eqaulity miles ahead of anywhere else in the world 50 years ago.
How do you describe Chinese women? I think you cannot categorize them as a women in a normal sense. Chinese Women (I am refering to those born and raised in Mainland China) do not considered female as a gender that are inferior to male, it is just a second gender. Being a female just means you are physically weaker than man yet at the same time possessing the power as a female. Of course this might be different in the country side but, in the city, the well-educated women are totally in control. You see them as government officials, successful business women, energetic real estate agents or shop owners.
You might be wondering how this is different from western women who are well respected and go about doing their career (I think glass ceiling is still there, that's another topic). I think the difference is that Chinese women can really forgo the fact that they are female and let go of the sense of being a woman or mothering duties very easily. Remorse and guilt do not bother them too much - or they are forced to ignore them. Living example is my aunt from my father's side - She was going thru a very rough time during great culture revolution. She had to marry a guy much older just to survive (for food). But when opportunity presented itself for her to flee to Hong Kong, she abandoned her 2 young children without hesitation.
My aunt's case might be caused by the distored environment but somehow I think the mentality somehow is rooted in modern Chinese women. Definitely no offense but I think they have to arm themselves with such level of brutality in order to survive. I suppose it is not common in women from other culture/region. Nevertheless, I think Mao Tse Tung had really achieved the gender eqaulity miles ahead of anywhere else in the world 50 years ago.
Friday, November 18, 2011
What is on your Dinner Table
Chatting with Cathy, who was really surprised with the dinner arrangement with Micheal's family who are originally from Taiwan and live in US for decades. Mother would order take-out or pizza as dinner. When they return to Micheal's parent's house, the parents were sitting in front of the TV and said "Dinner is on the table, help yourself". What she found is the cold frozen pizza!!!! Hong Kong origin, this scene chilled her spine and was really confused if the parents were making a joke or something.
My family had a dinner ritual that there must be a least 3 or 4 dishes and a hot soup for dinner. Kids were instructed to set up the table, chopsticks and soup spoons would be laid for each member's usual location on the dinner table. Of course, guests would join our dinner (don't ask me why, but there were always some sort of uncles living with us whether they were just visiting or even stayed for months for work). I needed to help my mom to cook, clean and serve fruits while everyone sat down in front of TV. After moving to Taiwan for ages, my mom didn't have the time or habit to cook the Cantonese soup which requires hours of cooking. But that's very common in average Cantonese families. Everyone would sit on the table, sharing the food together is the official end-of-day. My family has simplified the dinner - comparing to family in Hong Kong. Rice has to be freshly cooked, all ingredients would be purchased from the market on the day (frozen food? Out of question!). That's the reason many Hong Kong housewives busy themselves in the market every morning, thinking what to make for dinner. They can even tell whether the fish is male or female.
Food is so heavily related to Hong Kong/Cantonese culture. The typical way of a Cantonese girl to signal her love and caringness is to say to her boy friend "Would you like to taste the soup I made?". God knows how many hours she spent on the soup. When I explained this to Grace, she was totoally lost.
Taiwanese families are not so pain-stakingly aggressive about dinner - part of the reasons is that most moms work during the day and, I think, the main reason is that Taiwan has not yet developed into the state to appreciate food - think about it, Taiwan was still a agriculture society in the 70s. Hong Kong has long been the hub of business since British government cultivated the humid fish village in mid 19th century.
My family had a dinner ritual that there must be a least 3 or 4 dishes and a hot soup for dinner. Kids were instructed to set up the table, chopsticks and soup spoons would be laid for each member's usual location on the dinner table. Of course, guests would join our dinner (don't ask me why, but there were always some sort of uncles living with us whether they were just visiting or even stayed for months for work). I needed to help my mom to cook, clean and serve fruits while everyone sat down in front of TV. After moving to Taiwan for ages, my mom didn't have the time or habit to cook the Cantonese soup which requires hours of cooking. But that's very common in average Cantonese families. Everyone would sit on the table, sharing the food together is the official end-of-day. My family has simplified the dinner - comparing to family in Hong Kong. Rice has to be freshly cooked, all ingredients would be purchased from the market on the day (frozen food? Out of question!). That's the reason many Hong Kong housewives busy themselves in the market every morning, thinking what to make for dinner. They can even tell whether the fish is male or female.
Food is so heavily related to Hong Kong/Cantonese culture. The typical way of a Cantonese girl to signal her love and caringness is to say to her boy friend "Would you like to taste the soup I made?". God knows how many hours she spent on the soup. When I explained this to Grace, she was totoally lost.
Taiwanese families are not so pain-stakingly aggressive about dinner - part of the reasons is that most moms work during the day and, I think, the main reason is that Taiwan has not yet developed into the state to appreciate food - think about it, Taiwan was still a agriculture society in the 70s. Hong Kong has long been the hub of business since British government cultivated the humid fish village in mid 19th century.
Friday, October 28, 2011
National Geographic
The problem of living in Japan for too long is that you develop a fine taste in white shinny fish. Agi 鯵（アジ）, Saba 鯖（サバ） or Iwaji 鰯（イワシ）are all my favorite. If you want to assess whether a sushi restaurant is good at what it does, order these type of shinny white fish sashimi. They are very tricky to handle because the fish meat deterioate very quickly (faster than others). If raw fish can be served, that means this restaurant has good channel to get the best fish out of market and knows how to keep them fresh. These fishes are normally not expensive to buy from market, but the restaurant will charge you almost the same price as other expensive fish for the complexity of storage and logistic. Autumn is the best time - they are fattened up preparing for winter (sorry fish, I really like you so much that I eat you).
I was flipping thru the national geographic magazine which shows a rare photos of white shark near Papua Ginea. The sharks filter sea waters to extract whatever eatible. In one of the photos, the shark was about to catch up a large quantity of shinny white little fish with its gigantic mouth - all I can think of is the little white fish must be delicious.
I was flipping thru the national geographic magazine which shows a rare photos of white shark near Papua Ginea. The sharks filter sea waters to extract whatever eatible. In one of the photos, the shark was about to catch up a large quantity of shinny white little fish with its gigantic mouth - all I can think of is the little white fish must be delicious.
Seoul of Asiao (4)
I bought 2 packs of chilly flakes for my mom a couple days ago. But when we took our stroll to Namdamum, I found a shop selling the same chilly flakes. I asked the clerk (who changed channel to Chinese after knowing that I can speak Mandarin - I found out that I can communicate with Older generation Koreans with Japanese, and younger Mandarin in Seoul most of the time, interesting!) how much it is, the reply is much cheaper than what I have paid for before. I was a bit upset and he said "Lady, you should buy another pack from me such that, averagely, you don't lose
out too much".
I went back to the nice tofu shop next to my client's office alone. I randomly selected a Tofu Kimchi soup with rice. As Korean restaurant normally does, 4 delicious appetitizers were sent to me. I like each one of them but the raw garlic chives salad is going to make me smell. I don't want the nice food to go to the bin, so I dumped them all into the boiling hot tofu soup - the smell is not that bad if the chives are cooked.
As I was eating happily, the waiter walked past me and saw my empty plate. I know the Korean emotion, I immediately signal him that this is good, no more (I cross my fore arm in front of my chest and said "no more, thank you"). He smiled back and brought back another plate of raw garlic chive salad. Much obliged, I smiled to him but said again "Thank you very much, but this is the last one I hope".
I felt bad if it goes to the bin if I don't eat it and my tofu soup is still hot. There is no reason for me not to eat it - it is very delicious, too. I put all of them into my soup and happily started eating. The waiter came by and saw me smiling - he came back with another 2 dishes of garic chive salad!
out too much".
I went back to the nice tofu shop next to my client's office alone. I randomly selected a Tofu Kimchi soup with rice. As Korean restaurant normally does, 4 delicious appetitizers were sent to me. I like each one of them but the raw garlic chives salad is going to make me smell. I don't want the nice food to go to the bin, so I dumped them all into the boiling hot tofu soup - the smell is not that bad if the chives are cooked.
As I was eating happily, the waiter walked past me and saw my empty plate. I know the Korean emotion, I immediately signal him that this is good, no more (I cross my fore arm in front of my chest and said "no more, thank you"). He smiled back and brought back another plate of raw garlic chive salad. Much obliged, I smiled to him but said again "Thank you very much, but this is the last one I hope".
I felt bad if it goes to the bin if I don't eat it and my tofu soup is still hot. There is no reason for me not to eat it - it is very delicious, too. I put all of them into my soup and happily started eating. The waiter came by and saw me smiling - he came back with another 2 dishes of garic chive salad!
Seoul of Asiao (3)
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The next day we moved to another hotel in Itaewon, we walked around the area and felt (at least for me) that I am back to New York. I think this area is where the US soldiers hang out, hence, it is filled of western restaurants and pubs. I am not too happy with the hotel, it is too old and not clean (sorry I am really picky, I found disgusiting dirt and trash under the bed after I pushed aside the other bed to place my yoga mat).
I have no problem with old hotel, but a lot of fixtures are desparately in need of replacement. The fan in the bathroom doesn't work and the dressing table surface is broken. The most annoying bit is hotel is right above the pub area, the music normally blasting until 4am.
The only good thing about this hotel is there is a private spa in the basement, we almost went every day after our jog and whole day of walking. Hot water bath is really amazing - funny that you feel really tired after the hot bath as if all the energy is drained in the pool.
The cold water pool was my favorite, it is really great just dive into the pool after a couple minutes in the steam room (the Korean steam room temperature is 81C - you can almost cook something inside). The massage current is so strong, I swim against the current and stay in the same position, ha ha ha. There are not many people using the facility, it is
great!
Seoul of Asiao (2)
We finally had some decent Korean style BBQ.
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Seoul is beautiful in this season, the weather is just mild and you can see the beautiful change of leaves, thus, I have no luck in any hotels nearby my client's office. I was put to some hotel that requires 30 minute commute, fortunately, the subway system in Seoul is very efficient. Still, walking 10 minutes is not very fun with heels. But this makes us live more like locals - my last trip in Seoul was all Taxi rides, I learnt to say "straight, left turn, right turn, P turn (a way to turn left if direct left turn is not allowed)" in Korean, ha ha ha.
We went to experience the famous Korean Spa treatment - Teamiri, which is roughly translated to body scrub in English. Cathy's description was so vivid and fun, I cannot refuse to try it. She said you are basically just like the fish in the market, lying on the board being scaled.
We followed the advise from the tourist information center to the cheaper Spa place (which is 2 stops away from Myong-dong) the next day. Amazingly my broken Japanese works better than English. We were all very confused about how things work but it turned out one of our scrub ladies is from China. Communication is not a problem! The scrub ladies were all middle-age women, who dressed in torn down panties and old granny bra. You can even see the birth mark on their bellies. Before we walked into the body scrub area - which is right inside the spa/bath house, I can see them sitting there, almost naked and chatting happily away with each other. No offense but this scene does strike me as if we are going to the low class brothel.
Everyone in the bath house is of course naked, Cathy and I were asked to lay on the thick plastic sheet covered massage bed. I was thinking if the serial killer wants to cut open his/her victims, this is a great place to do it. The scrub lady scrub us with a rough srubbing cloth, with a great pressure. Quite embarrassingly she almost touched every piece of my body surface. This is very strange.
There are really brown things coming out, I start to wonder if I have showered myself properly every day. After the throughout scrubbing, she poured a bucket of hot water all over me to rinse away the dirt, really just like how fish monger does after they gut the fish.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Seoul of Asiao (1)
Walking out of the hotel eating breakfast, thinking we are just going to have a casual walk but it turned out a 3 hour hike/walk. We reached the top in Nansam Tower.
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Coming back to Seoul after 1 year, the city doesn't change much but I have changed a lot. Thick skinned I walked into any shops and smiled like an idiot to get what I want (sometimes not very accurate, since I don't really know what I was pointing at - they are all in Hangku). Cathy came to visit me and I had to be brave to overcome the language barrier, hence, I walked into all stores and do all kind of stupid things.
It is interesting that we ran into quite a few Chinese speaking ladies in restaurants and SPA, of course, I am the main point of communication. We also ran to the English speaking tourist information center for help sometimes, but inevitably, these ladies in the hub always advise us to take the cheaper option. For example, when we were in the restaurant, the Chinese dish washing lady (judging from her gloved and aproned outfit - being dragged out by the front desk after he saw us non Korean speaking), recommended us to drink Coke because it is cheaper, despite the fact that I have explicitly asked for alcohol.
We want to experience the authetica body scrub (Cathy's description was so interesting, she said, you were scrubed like the fish being scaled in a market), how can I resisted? We went to the tourist information center trying to find a good srub place (TeaMiri in Korean) near Myong-Dong. The tourist information center lady told us not to get to any shop in Miyong-Dong, it is too expensive. She then recommended us to go somewhere 2 subway stops away, according to her, it is cheaper.
It is really funny that people are still looking at me and Cathy as if we were still in graduation school and want to help us to save money.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Rollerblading B.B.Q.
We rollerbladed under the scorching sun for 3 hours, going thru the uneven, definitely not smooth road, from Shinagawa station all the way to almost like Haneda airport. These is my rollerblade group's tradition to have the mid summer B.B.Q. party every year. There we go.
It was so hot that I took the lead to dive into the not so clean water. Everyone then followed. There is not much damage in water fight this year because all crazy kids were in the water soaking wet anyways. Somehow it is not exciting or mischevious enough to pour a bucket of cold water over someone's head.
Elementary School Reunion (2)
Elementary School Reunion (1)
On my recent trip back to Taiwan, I ran from the airport with my backpack, to meet Irene, do some yoga and go to the elementary school reunion. This is the first time for me after 24 years (Oops, everyone knows how old I am now).
The gathering was planned for weeks, some delayed the flight to return to US, some made the early booking to return to Taipei earlier.
It is amazing to see everyone, it seems like we never change compared to 20 years ago.
Thursday, July 07, 2011
How to Push Yourself to a Limit
Running with a friend who is 10 year yonger than you!
My Osaka friend came to Tokyo for a relative's wedding. In order to repay his kindness during my refugee days in Osaka, I decided to take him to run around Kokyo (Imprial Palace) in Tokyo. The run is about 6km, we started from the north east side of the palace garden and jogged uphill for about 1km. We were keeping a steady pace and my friend kept checking time in such an obvious way - lifting his arm and read his watch - every 5 minutes.
I was getting a bit of out of breath since the pace is faster than normal, asking him if everything is ok. He gave me a big smile saying the pace is good. I was very confident that I can outrun him since his is not an experienced runner according to what he told me but the truth is he is very fit.
We didn't slow down for the whole course and, due to my runner's pride, I cannot ask for a break and I kept up with the speed. Until the end of the course, I thought my heart is going to burst and my lung is not big enough to get proper amount of oxygen. But we finished the run in 25 minutes, 10 minutes shorter than my normal time!
My Osaka friend came to Tokyo for a relative's wedding. In order to repay his kindness during my refugee days in Osaka, I decided to take him to run around Kokyo (Imprial Palace) in Tokyo. The run is about 6km, we started from the north east side of the palace garden and jogged uphill for about 1km. We were keeping a steady pace and my friend kept checking time in such an obvious way - lifting his arm and read his watch - every 5 minutes.
I was getting a bit of out of breath since the pace is faster than normal, asking him if everything is ok. He gave me a big smile saying the pace is good. I was very confident that I can outrun him since his is not an experienced runner according to what he told me but the truth is he is very fit.
We didn't slow down for the whole course and, due to my runner's pride, I cannot ask for a break and I kept up with the speed. Until the end of the course, I thought my heart is going to burst and my lung is not big enough to get proper amount of oxygen. But we finished the run in 25 minutes, 10 minutes shorter than my normal time!
Aggressive Dolphin
Talking to a scentist brings you quite some unexpected knowledge. Jen was showing me an articule explaining the mysterious death of poisposes, which were attacked by a group of aggresive young male dolphins. The dolphins were sexually frustrated since the females are taken by the more matured male dolphins.
My Aunt and Cousins in Toronto
This is a long await vacation, I finally made my way to Toronto, escaping the scotching temperature in summer of Tokyo. I am literally doing nothing but hanging out with my aunt, my mom and Ho family (they all traveled to Toronto). After getting over the jetlag problem, I wake up early in the morning to jog, make bread and coffee for the family, drive my cousin to subway station, clean the bathroom, go grocery shopping to feed the family, it is all very relaxing.
Over the dinner table, we were talking it is very possible to fight off the traffic tickets in Taiwan because police men are normally very nice (and gullable). Espeically it comes to the young and pretty ladies (um, things are just easier for young and pretty girls everywhere in the world). But my aunt contributed a different story, that her sister, auntie Gui, once was caught speeding on the high way. Her execuse to the police officer was that "my legs were cramping so badly that I cannot release the gas paddle". She got off the hook!
Jen has been an ethusatic golfer since Auntie Feng brainwashed her. In one of her softball pratices (preparing for the match against the Genetic Lab group), she swang her bat in a way that the ball flew over to the pitcher with great force. The ball hit the guy and broke his ear. The coach came to her "Are you a golfer?" in a very concerned tone. Replied positive, the coach replied "Please do that again in the real match".
Over the dinner table, we were talking it is very possible to fight off the traffic tickets in Taiwan because police men are normally very nice (and gullable). Espeically it comes to the young and pretty ladies (um, things are just easier for young and pretty girls everywhere in the world). But my aunt contributed a different story, that her sister, auntie Gui, once was caught speeding on the high way. Her execuse to the police officer was that "my legs were cramping so badly that I cannot release the gas paddle". She got off the hook!
Jen has been an ethusatic golfer since Auntie Feng brainwashed her. In one of her softball pratices (preparing for the match against the Genetic Lab group), she swang her bat in a way that the ball flew over to the pitcher with great force. The ball hit the guy and broke his ear. The coach came to her "Are you a golfer?" in a very concerned tone. Replied positive, the coach replied "Please do that again in the real match".
Thursday, June 02, 2011
Golden Week is really Golden (2)
Sandy and I jumped into the cool sea water, she carried a camera! The water is cool and filled with jelly fish sometimes. That made me some execuse to talk to the cute lifeguard, "Execuse me, I was bitten by the jelly fish" as if it is all his fault that there are stinging jelly fish in the water. He replied cooly "You'd better get some medication in the service station".
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Elementary School
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Face Book is really amazing, my elementary schoolmates are united (600+ kids in our grade).
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Microwave Miracle
I am always too lazy to figure out the electronic appliance (still don't know how to adjust the clock on my rice cooker 3 years after acquaring it), I only know to push the "start" button.
The microwave is smart enough to do 1 minute for small object, and 2 or 3 minutes if I put in a huge bow with left over pasta. Although I only press the same button all the time.
The microwave is smart enough to do 1 minute for small object, and 2 or 3 minutes if I put in a huge bow with left over pasta. Although I only press the same button all the time.
Friday, May 20, 2011
Nightmare for Control Freak
I rarely have nightmares featuring discusting images (corps, monsters, etc), as I turn old, the nightmares are often I was put in a stressful situation. Thank god it is not work related. My dreamt about going to a trip, staying in a hotel, and hanging out with friends. We were having too much a good time and I forgot that I have to catch a plane. I went back to the hotel trying to check out, but it is way past noon, and I don't remember which room I was in. Ok, I will pay for the late check out fee but it takes time to pack. I finally found my room and felt another wave of stress, my room is a complete mess! I quickly calculated how long it is going to take for pack, I am definitely going to miss the flight. Another terrible discovery is that I cannot find my laptop. I frantically searched inside my backpack, found a laptop but it is not mine.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Something about Toes and Toes Nails
I have met some really pretty girls with not-so-well-maintained toe nails, which are shown from the sandals with chipped coating and dried cuticles. I am trying my best to maintain a healthy looking toes and nails, at least they have to be ready anytime for inspection, proving that they are taken care of.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Diet Log May 18 2011
Um, I think I am so used to the light and veggie diet, I had a lot of sukiyaki last Friday evening and greasy food suddenly made my tummy very unwell. My weight is down to 55Kg<, perhaps this diet is pretty good I think I will continue doing it...
What a Quake would Do to You (9)
It was raining hard the next day, completely ruined my plan to go running. I decided to visit the aquarium with my friend. Though I was really exhausted after returning home at 3am again... My friend was experienced that it takes long time to queue so he brought along with him some fresh made mochi and 2 cans of tea, we were standing in the queue under umbrella, eating. That was really considerate of him, perhaps most Japanese are educated that way?
We navigated through the crow to see fishes, different type and shapes, very soothing though I think most of them have gone insane. My friend explained me Osaka people have very acute sense of humor, for example, the little girl in front of us looking at a quiet fish laying in the bottom of the seabed, exclaimed "That's papa!" and pointing to an agressive fish swimming around fast "That's mama!". Ha ha ha, is that joker characteristic came from the gene? I wonder what has bred this Hereditary tread, would this increase the chance of survival? Making hard life much easier to bear, for sure.
The next day I was supposed to report to the bank's Osaka branch, but instead, I packed up and return to Tokyo before noon. The party is over, all friends either return to Kobe or flew out to London, the hotel room seemed very unwelcoming, I missed my coffee and yoga session. Radiation threat? I don't think too much of it. Any clear mind would be able to understand it is physically impossible to get any harm from the nuclear plant that's 250Km away from Tokyo. People are just over-reacting (many thanks to the MIT nuclear blog, http://mitnse.com/2011/03/13/modified-version-of-original-post, the more you read and understand the event, the calmer you become). This is the end of my refugee trip, life is back to normal in Tokyo.
We navigated through the crow to see fishes, different type and shapes, very soothing though I think most of them have gone insane. My friend explained me Osaka people have very acute sense of humor, for example, the little girl in front of us looking at a quiet fish laying in the bottom of the seabed, exclaimed "That's papa!" and pointing to an agressive fish swimming around fast "That's mama!". Ha ha ha, is that joker characteristic came from the gene? I wonder what has bred this Hereditary tread, would this increase the chance of survival? Making hard life much easier to bear, for sure.
The next day I was supposed to report to the bank's Osaka branch, but instead, I packed up and return to Tokyo before noon. The party is over, all friends either return to Kobe or flew out to London, the hotel room seemed very unwelcoming, I missed my coffee and yoga session. Radiation threat? I don't think too much of it. Any clear mind would be able to understand it is physically impossible to get any harm from the nuclear plant that's 250Km away from Tokyo. People are just over-reacting (many thanks to the MIT nuclear blog, http://mitnse.com/2011/03/13/modified-version-of-original-post, the more you read and understand the event, the calmer you become). This is the end of my refugee trip, life is back to normal in Tokyo.
What a Quake would Do to You (8)
Summer is coming to Tokyo...
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Waking up in the hotel in Nagoya, it is still early to meet with Irene for lunch, I put on my running gear and set out to explore the city. I ran straight to Nagoya castle, it is sunny and dry, perfect for jogging. Got back , showered, lunched and left for Osaka. Irene warned me that people in Osaka are very different from Tokyo. What she said was "Osaka people are somewhere between the self-controled Tokyo and rude China, um, they are very Taiwanese. They talk in Kansaiban which is different from Tokyo accent Japanese (um, I can understand a bit of Japanese by now, such as the public anouncement in train station or placing order in restaurants), that worries me a bit - what if I cannot order beer to the table?
Arriving in Osaka station, setting out to find my hotel for the next week, it was not too far out from the station but it took me a while to find (this is the time I regret to have the cheapest plan for my phone, otherwise I could have googlemapped my way around). Anyhow, checked into the artificially made mediterranean theme hotel Monteray, I went out again to find food and drink...
Some Tokyo friends are also in Osaka this weekend, fleeing from the radiation thread or waiting for the planes to leave for London or Hong Kong, we met up for partying through the night. A group of 12 plowing through bars and pubs in Namba area,I think we made a cross of shinsaibashi (心斎橋) about 100 times. Around 3am in the morning, I went home by taxi and my local Osaka friend even negotiate the fare with the taxi driver, cool, this is so Taiwanese.
My local Osaka friend is going to join me for the jog around Osaka castle the next morning, I was so tired (cannot function properly without 8 hour sleep) and couldn't sleep in. We jogged around the castle, and my friedn is so proud to be Osaka-er, very eager to show me around the town. We bid each other farewell then meet up again with the crow for dinner in the famous Kanidoraku - famout crab restaurant for dinner. More party and pub crawling ahead... Fleeing away from danger? I think I am walking into party over doze danger.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
What a Quake would Do to You (7)
Um, I forgot that I haven't finished my refugee story after the earthquake. This is the picture of the Royal Chinese DimSum restuarant in London, I guess it is the one in Bayswater.
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I spent the first night in Nagoya, the packing is really terribly hard. I had to put in all my toys, rollerblades (in case I get bored and didn't want to take the public transportation), running gears (um, need to exercise on daily basis), Yoga mat (what else can you do in the hotel room if it rains), french press coffee cup, a can of Lavazza, books to entertain myself and heels to go to work. My 40 liter suitcase soon filled up without space, I had really hard time to get to Tokyo station since most of the elevators are not running to save electicity.
Since when my luggage has grown to this size? I used to travel with a carry-on size roller everywhere for 2 or 3 weeks business trip when I was in Beijing. Something terrible must have happened to me...
Arriving in Nagoya, Irene came and picked me up from the station, after checking in the hotel, it is the party time! We went to the nice local yakiniku restaurant which features in all kind of pig/cow internal organs. You grill them on the charcol stove. I love that. Noisy salary men around, smoke and smell of great food, this is the perfect meal. Though Irene commented "you don't look like you are a refugee who is trying to flee from disaster". Hur hur hur, we ate and drank, chatting silly things, nothing is better than hanging out with old friends.
Golden Week is really Golden (1)
Most of my pics are food/drink related...
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The stressful project is winding down after the board decided to postpone the go-live for a whole year. I am literally taking things easy. Going home around 8pm is really something, besides, I no longer need to do the horrible communte to Fuchu. I worked more closely with the dealers and system engineers in the trading floor near Tokyo station, which is only 10 minute bike ride away. My golden week vacation came easy, thank everyone the decision was made in mid April.
Back home is always nice, meeting my family, exercise intensively, doing Yoga and surfing with Sandy, go to the sea (Taipei is surpringly close to the beach in the north, only 30-40 minute drive), hang out with my dad (um, I still need to do 2 dinners, one with my mom and the other one with my dad), find the good books to read during the day, what else can beat this?
Saturday, May 14, 2011
The Hunger Game
I fell soon after this picture was taken. The buckle of my skate in the left caught the right while I sprang out to catch the crowd (I was sitting down and adjusting my boots). I was literally flying out and fell on my tummy, flat on the ground. Ha ha ha ha
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The story is very similar to a movie I watched long time ago, Battle Royale - a group of Japanese high school kids were dispatched to a remote island to kill each other. The rational was absurd, I don't remember the details. The hunger game has a better background reasoning and the story is very engaging. Starting from page 1, I know the protagonist, a starving heroine, is going to win the game. It just has quite a few twists that her counterparty from the same region is secretly in love with her (or he is just pretending to enhance his chances of surviving). The idea is pretty interesting that all the participants need to win the crowd's heart to get support. The whole event is like the crooked trueman show, with more violence. It is a role playing game, live!
It is a ok read, no need much brain power to digest, perfect vacation kill-time reading. I suspect there will be sequal soon, and not sure how good it will be.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Suction Cup
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A couple years ago, I won a chicken doll from the arcade vedio game. The arcade game center is in the service station where we made a brief stop before heading to the southern Taiwan. The doll came was a string. The other end of the string is a suction cup, it was a popular design such that the doll can be hung up inside the car window. I quickly pressed the suction cup on XiaoHo's forehead, I think he was only 3 or 4 years old back then. The chicken doll was dangling on his face and that really made me crack up hard, XiaoHo thought it was funny also. When Grace and my mom found out about it and hurriedly took the doll off XiaoHo's face, it is all too late. A small circular bruise was formed, I laughed so hard again.
Just when we threw a tea party for my friends last Saturday (they came with kids), there were 3 toddlers (Christine's baby number 2, Emily's daughter and Grace's second kid), 1 baby (Eric Pan and Wood's Little Cherry) and 4 destructive kids ages from 3 to 6 (XiaoHo, Chistine's oldest son, Jimmy's son and daughter). Soon the situation is out of control, and I found XiaoHo is putting the Hello Kitty doll suction cup on Christine's son's forehead. The doll stayed hanging for a while, everyone cracked up. I tried to entertain the kids so I put the suction cup to my forehead and walked around with the hello kitty on my face for a while. Man, I wouldn't have thought this also created a bruise on my face!
That was a beautiful Saturday afternoon, the sun was very strong and kids were playing on the balcony (I really have the urge to lock the door so that we cannot hear them) and the living room was brightly lit. Some kids were sleeping in my mom's room and most of them were trying everything possible to destroy adult's peaceful world. My dad was given the task to take all destructive and noisy boys to do some archery practice in the yard. I was really worried since I am not sure how my dad can watch over 4 jumpy and hyperactive kids. I went downstair and found that all arrows were shut to the roof. "Auntie Joey, get those down please", I had to step on my dad's shoulder, climbed up the roof to get the balls, some arrows. That was fun though. I am still quite good at climbing.
Monday, May 09, 2011
Little boy trapped inside
According to my observation, I think every grown up man does have the desire to behave like a little boy whenever chance presents itself. Whenever it is possible to do some mischievous actions (for example, practical jokes), men are like, "oh yeah, baby, show time". Or if talking about the possiblity of playing firecrackers to blow up the fish in the pond or the dog in the garden, men would participate without slightest hesitation. Another type of little-boy hobbies is to catch whatever that moves, such as fishes in the stream, birds in the trees, or dragon flies stopping on the tip of grass. (Um, stray dogs are not challenging little boys would leave them for girls to bully, angry wild hyena would be ok). Regardless the age, little boy is trapped inside every man. My dad and XiaoHo are the living proof of my theory. My dad made the bow and arrows for XiaoHo, who practises home-grown archery whenever possible. Whenever these 2 meet, the conversation is all about how to make a better arrows. Sigh...
When my mom and I went hiking, we walked past some middle age men overlooking the beautiful stream. The water was crystal clear that you can see fishes, which these men were looking at. I explained my theory that men likes to bully/catch/disturb anything that moves in an unfamiliar envrionment, my mom replied "They like to chase women more".
When my mom and I went hiking, we walked past some middle age men overlooking the beautiful stream. The water was crystal clear that you can see fishes, which these men were looking at. I explained my theory that men likes to bully/catch/disturb anything that moves in an unfamiliar envrionment, my mom replied "They like to chase women more".
Sunday, March 27, 2011
What a Quake would Do to You (6)
The project room developed a trap after the quake.
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In fact, life in Tokyo moves along normally. I met up some friends on Thursday in Roponggi, and realise most of them are going to Osaka the following weekend. Some of them are temporarily relocated by their overly worried HR, but my estate broker friend is going to Osaka because his wife's family is in Osaka, the trip was planned long time ago (um, we talked so much of the strategy to make money over the market's over-reaction that night over beer, it was fun. I guess I really like money a lot). As we were crawling from one pub to another, I ran into 2 of my skating friends. Briefly exchanged our feeling about how good it is to enjoy a less crowded Tokyo, the American friend said that BBC would like him to find some friends who are panickedly trying to leave Tokyo. He told the journalist that those who wanted to leave are gone already, do you want to interview people who want to stay? No was the answer.
In fact, this week has not been very productive, although I went to work but I spent long time browsing internet trying to find useful, calm, and truthful information. I read as much as I can, but it is hard to filter away the white noise.
I don't want to leave Tokyo (though I have to admit that I was a bit worried but I always think I can find a way to survive, besides, there are so many fella Japanese, there is really no reason to be scared). Nevertheless, I quickly calculate the benefit of going to Osaka, man, I can calm down my parents and have a free trip to Kansai (west), why not? I am not productive anyways, might as well take the advantage.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Legends in Autum-Spring and Warring State Period China
I am not very happy with the translation of 春秋戰國 in East Zhou Dynasty in Wiki. Spring-Autum is actually the name of the history written by Confucius, who wrote the history on the surface but implied the wrong-doings of the current authorities in the back. The phrase "spring-autum" has developed a separate meaning, such as eventful or under-current dynamics. Warring-state is the true translation of the tension-bound international relation at that period. Not really internationl, but the competition between states. There was a powerless central authority, that was time before Chin dynasty unitfied China, the unity has lasted for roughly 2 thousand years.
In that period, Chinese didn't behave like Chinese today. The talents were only loyal to power (preferably power that will be given to them eventually). One of the most well-recognized talents were politicians who gave advise to the state lords in order to defeat, out-prosper his neighbors. The other branch is military strategists.
It is actually not very easy to survive though you are super smart and talented. The key to rise is to handle your boss, the state lord, who can give you the glory and also get your head off your shoulder. You also have to pay attention to the subtle dynamics amongst other advisors. You'd better have the sensitivity to know when to flee to the neighbors, which most of the time is the enemy you are fighting for. This is amazingly similar to the highly developed capitalism society. The principle is not to have any principle.
In that period, Chinese didn't behave like Chinese today. The talents were only loyal to power (preferably power that will be given to them eventually). One of the most well-recognized talents were politicians who gave advise to the state lords in order to defeat, out-prosper his neighbors. The other branch is military strategists.
It is actually not very easy to survive though you are super smart and talented. The key to rise is to handle your boss, the state lord, who can give you the glory and also get your head off your shoulder. You also have to pay attention to the subtle dynamics amongst other advisors. You'd better have the sensitivity to know when to flee to the neighbors, which most of the time is the enemy you are fighting for. This is amazingly similar to the highly developed capitalism society. The principle is not to have any principle.
What a Quake would Do to You (5)
As the nuclear plant explosion event unfolded, gradually friends and colleagues were getting panicked. Many had fled, those who stay are showing their anxiety on the face. Even my Japanese friend txt msg me saying that she had gone to Osaka although she has to work. She warned "Japanese govenment never told the truth". I really think there is no problem at all, but when British Embassy's website published the advice encouraging those living in Tokyo consider leaving the area. I was a bit worried.
My parents use MSN to contact me mostly (10 minutes after the earthquake on March 11 afternoon, both my mom and dad had MSN me separately). My mom MSN me "I don't read news and I don't watch TV. But do you know what to do if things get worse?" I said "First of all, I don't think things will get worse and secondly, I have no foggiest if worse case scenaio happens". That was really a bad answer. My mom threw me the emotional black mail right away "If you die, I have no meaning to continue living my life. I am going to go shopping, bye" and she logged off.
Um, I think I have to do something. I was searching for tickets to head back to Taipei and, at the same time, I politely told the bank's project manager that I am going. Project is in the critical phase, they came up with the plan for me to work in their Osaka branch. Ok, that sounds like a good plan, at least I don't need to leave the country and I can continue working. Best of all, my company is going to pay for the travel (HR in San Francisco is also scared by the media sensationalization, they don't want anyone dies in Tokyo otherwise they have to pay more I guess). Things work out pretty ok, because it was Thursday that I decided to go west, and the long weekend is coming along.
My parents use MSN to contact me mostly (10 minutes after the earthquake on March 11 afternoon, both my mom and dad had MSN me separately). My mom MSN me "I don't read news and I don't watch TV. But do you know what to do if things get worse?" I said "First of all, I don't think things will get worse and secondly, I have no foggiest if worse case scenaio happens". That was really a bad answer. My mom threw me the emotional black mail right away "If you die, I have no meaning to continue living my life. I am going to go shopping, bye" and she logged off.
Um, I think I have to do something. I was searching for tickets to head back to Taipei and, at the same time, I politely told the bank's project manager that I am going. Project is in the critical phase, they came up with the plan for me to work in their Osaka branch. Ok, that sounds like a good plan, at least I don't need to leave the country and I can continue working. Best of all, my company is going to pay for the travel (HR in San Francisco is also scared by the media sensationalization, they don't want anyone dies in Tokyo otherwise they have to pay more I guess). Things work out pretty ok, because it was Thursday that I decided to go west, and the long weekend is coming along.
Suppose Tomorrow is the End of the World
I am going to copy Kamimura, if I have only 24 hours to live, I would put on my best dress (oh man, need to buy a nice dress) and my best heels. I will then go to a nice Jazz bar, I am going to order the best Scotch. Definitely not to get drunk, I want to go home, take a nice shower/bath, then sleep as much as I can. Oh, maybe read a little bit. I hope I happen to have a good book in hand.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
What a Quake would Do to You (4)
It is quite complex why I am not thinking about leaving. In a way, I really like where I live and I have developed some routines to clean, exercise, eat. That's the ultimate balance. I don't want to give up my comfortable life. In addition, if ordinary Tokyo residents can handle this, why can't I?
Also, after reading some very good link about nuclear plants and radiation, I can pretty much comprehand there is no great danger in Tokyo. For those who lives 30Km radius around the plant, evacuation is necessary, but 250Km away tokyo should be ok.
Life as usual in Tokyo, I ran, went grocery shopping, went to work on bicycle. No one behaves differently from every day life. I was a bit angry with the foreign media coverage, people in Tokyo are trying their best to live the normal life, foreign media are exaggerating for program rating. What is the deal? I had to reply to many friends/relatives' are-you-ok emails. Some friends who's never contacted me for ages wrote me email or facebook messaged me "should I deliver some foods to you?".
Most of the news in Japan are calm and to the point, there is no need to create extra panic. Oh well, on the otherhand, perhaps overly sensentionalization is actually a good thing to push the authority to work harder (for example, the news media in Tanwan miraculously pushed the government to speed up the process of refugee care). This is not happening in Japan, Japanese are very supressed, suffering is expected and accpeted. Delivery of food and materials is kinda slow.
In fact, Japanese society is run by the philosophy of big-state-small-citizen. The existence of individual is to support the bigger picture of the state. The state is taking care of everything, as a citizen, your job is very simple. You only need to be law-abiding, sensible (that is, being a Japanese ;-) and paying tax. You can see Japanese are calm and not losing any manners during this traumatizing time. The authority will sure take care of everything eventually, they think. They are educated this way, they are living this way, they will be doing this forever without coming up with out-of-box solutions.
Also, after reading some very good link about nuclear plants and radiation, I can pretty much comprehand there is no great danger in Tokyo. For those who lives 30Km radius around the plant, evacuation is necessary, but 250Km away tokyo should be ok.
Life as usual in Tokyo, I ran, went grocery shopping, went to work on bicycle. No one behaves differently from every day life. I was a bit angry with the foreign media coverage, people in Tokyo are trying their best to live the normal life, foreign media are exaggerating for program rating. What is the deal? I had to reply to many friends/relatives' are-you-ok emails. Some friends who's never contacted me for ages wrote me email or facebook messaged me "should I deliver some foods to you?".
Most of the news in Japan are calm and to the point, there is no need to create extra panic. Oh well, on the otherhand, perhaps overly sensentionalization is actually a good thing to push the authority to work harder (for example, the news media in Tanwan miraculously pushed the government to speed up the process of refugee care). This is not happening in Japan, Japanese are very supressed, suffering is expected and accpeted. Delivery of food and materials is kinda slow.
In fact, Japanese society is run by the philosophy of big-state-small-citizen. The existence of individual is to support the bigger picture of the state. The state is taking care of everything, as a citizen, your job is very simple. You only need to be law-abiding, sensible (that is, being a Japanese ;-) and paying tax. You can see Japanese are calm and not losing any manners during this traumatizing time. The authority will sure take care of everything eventually, they think. They are educated this way, they are living this way, they will be doing this forever without coming up with out-of-box solutions.
What a Quake would Do to You (3)
Still quite a few aftershocks, after a while, I only felt dizzy. The anxiety seemed to die away because the nerves had been numbed. A beautiful Saturday it was, not quite sure what to do since my friend cleverly made her way to Haneda airport waiting for the flight back to Taipei. I went running, since there is nothing urgent for me to do, I spent long time to jog to Asakusa. Visiting temples and feeling the tranguil atomoshpere might be just what I need after the previous day's unresting mind.
After the jog, going grocery shopping and took a nap. I was woken by a phone call from a colleague. She was really concerned about the nuclear plant blast. So I switched on TV while talking to her, um, the TV was just showing the first explosion of Fukushima Daiichi plant. Oh well, that's scary. But I still didn't understand why she was so nervous. "Radiation leak! Joey, radiation!". Ah, that's why. She asked if she should go now becuase it might be hard to leave when every foreigner in Tokyo starts to move. I have no plan to go anywhere, so I said to her if you feel so stressed that you cannot eat, cannot sleep, you'd better go.
She flew out the next day. At the same time, I got skyped by another colleague. I typed my opinion to her. She flew out the very day. I guess my manager is going to hate me for that.
Still nonstop aftershocks, I have TV on constantly and can hear the emergency blink blink sound all the time. Somewhere in Ibaraki-ken, somewhere in Shizuoka, somewhere is Nagano, magnitute ranging from 3 to 6. I cannot be bothered, went to bed sleeping like a baby.
But I have my survival bag packed, with my passport, wallet, a bottled water, fleshlight, candies, just in case I have to run out the building, I hope I have enough money to get by for a while.
After the jog, going grocery shopping and took a nap. I was woken by a phone call from a colleague. She was really concerned about the nuclear plant blast. So I switched on TV while talking to her, um, the TV was just showing the first explosion of Fukushima Daiichi plant. Oh well, that's scary. But I still didn't understand why she was so nervous. "Radiation leak! Joey, radiation!". Ah, that's why. She asked if she should go now becuase it might be hard to leave when every foreigner in Tokyo starts to move. I have no plan to go anywhere, so I said to her if you feel so stressed that you cannot eat, cannot sleep, you'd better go.
She flew out the next day. At the same time, I got skyped by another colleague. I typed my opinion to her. She flew out the very day. I guess my manager is going to hate me for that.
Still nonstop aftershocks, I have TV on constantly and can hear the emergency blink blink sound all the time. Somewhere in Ibaraki-ken, somewhere in Shizuoka, somewhere is Nagano, magnitute ranging from 3 to 6. I cannot be bothered, went to bed sleeping like a baby.
But I have my survival bag packed, with my passport, wallet, a bottled water, fleshlight, candies, just in case I have to run out the building, I hope I have enough money to get by for a while.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
What a Quake would Do to You (2)
My parents caught me on MSN 10 minutes after the big quake. They were of course worried but I assured them that things are ok in the strong building.
I have a visitor coming from Taipei and we are going to meet at the hotel next to my place at 6:30. Although chances are low that she can make it to the meeting, I do not want to be late. In addition, ever since the earth quake happened, no phone line worked. I biked home, all sidewalks are packed with people. I have never seen so many people on the street ever in Tokyo. They decided to walk home despite the fact it might take 3 or 4 hours (Can you imagine the pain for girls who are on heels?).
I arrived in the hotel just 10 minutes late, the road is more crowded than before. The hotel makes me think of 張愛玲傾城之戀的淺水灣酒店. There are so many people waiting in the lobby. No train is running, no bus going to Narita airport, people are just waiting. Old ladies were given blankets, people sat on the floor but all are very quiet and calm. I walked around the whole lobby trying to find my friend (oh, it feels so much like at war, you are trying to find the injured in a hospical) but to no success.
I gave up and went home, all drawers were open and the kitchen shelf fell, my Chinese rice wine spilled all over (it actually smell very disgusting if you have too much of it). The planting soil in the pot were all over my kitchen, great, I have to spend some good time to clean this up.
In order to calm my nerve, I drank some sochu, the aftershocks are still coming in pretty small intervals. After 10pm, the phone lines are not jammed anymore. My friend is trapped in Hilton Tokyo in Shinjuku, where she was put together with her colleague for the night. Great, at least she is safe. I gave up the idea of going to Roppongi to party with my colleagues, decided to go to bed.But the moment my head hit the pillow, I passed out and slept so well.
I have a visitor coming from Taipei and we are going to meet at the hotel next to my place at 6:30. Although chances are low that she can make it to the meeting, I do not want to be late. In addition, ever since the earth quake happened, no phone line worked. I biked home, all sidewalks are packed with people. I have never seen so many people on the street ever in Tokyo. They decided to walk home despite the fact it might take 3 or 4 hours (Can you imagine the pain for girls who are on heels?).
I arrived in the hotel just 10 minutes late, the road is more crowded than before. The hotel makes me think of 張愛玲傾城之戀的淺水灣酒店. There are so many people waiting in the lobby. No train is running, no bus going to Narita airport, people are just waiting. Old ladies were given blankets, people sat on the floor but all are very quiet and calm. I walked around the whole lobby trying to find my friend (oh, it feels so much like at war, you are trying to find the injured in a hospical) but to no success.
I gave up and went home, all drawers were open and the kitchen shelf fell, my Chinese rice wine spilled all over (it actually smell very disgusting if you have too much of it). The planting soil in the pot were all over my kitchen, great, I have to spend some good time to clean this up.
In order to calm my nerve, I drank some sochu, the aftershocks are still coming in pretty small intervals. After 10pm, the phone lines are not jammed anymore. My friend is trapped in Hilton Tokyo in Shinjuku, where she was put together with her colleague for the night. Great, at least she is safe. I gave up the idea of going to Roppongi to party with my colleagues, decided to go to bed.But the moment my head hit the pillow, I passed out and slept so well.
What a Quake would Do to You (1)
Um, we were all very young back then.
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When the quake started I was working in my client's super high rise building next to Tokyo station. The glass and steel building shaked so violently that you can hear the sound of mental blocks pressing each other. I thought this is just an ordinary quake but it lasted for more than 20 minutes. I was getting a bit nervous because many people have put on the halmet and hid under the desk, what I can think of is, man, if the building is going to collapse, nothing is going to help. I am searching for the pillars, I guess at least that's the strongest point of the whole floor. Hold on to my handbag (was really struggling whether to take my laptop or not, I gave up at the end), slowly moving toward the corner and pondering the possiblity of running out of the building (I was in the 5th floor, theoretically speaking, it should be possible to dash out fast enough although lifts are shutdown the first thing after the quake started).
Shocks came almost like every 15 minutes, as you think the whole thing is over the building started trembling again. I was really annoyed, there are so many tasks we have to finish, I don't have time for this. We continued working until all TVs in the trading floor showing the tsunami striking Sentai, Miyagi and all trains are suspended for further inspection (Japanese are painfully careful with safety. The rail way, I was told, will be inspected by human inch-by-inch before operation can resume. All highways are also closed for the same reason). Things do not sound very good.
Wednesday, March 09, 2011
Johann Sebastian Bach
I quite like Bach's work. Listening to the music, you can feel order and precision. That helps to feel organized in this super un-organized world.
Tuesday, March 08, 2011
Diet and Yoga still Going On
Party but I cannot eat anything after 7pm, only shochu on the rock
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Having problem leaving the warm house into the cold for my morning jog, I started yoga about a month ago. My yoga teacher is YouTube, my living room became yoga studio with a mat. It is very addictive after 1 hour yoga that all muscles screaming bloody murder.
Diet is still going on, no sweets (occasionally I was lose enough to allow a chocolate donut) and definitely no Bento boxes (I used to buy 2 bento boxes from convenient store and ate them ALL!). Strictly no beer (only when I go out, 1 beer is max, then switch to shochu on the rock). Weight doesn't drop much but my physic is apparently trimmed - compared to early Jan. Joey, well done!
Sunday, February 27, 2011
My Chinese New Year
I fought against all the odds to get myself a week and half vacation. The condition is that I have to remote support and stand-by if any issues occur. I finally got a week off, and flew out of Tokyo on Thursday evening. Uncle Thomas, auntie Feng, Jennifer, Jen's boy friend, and Sany are all coming to Taipei. That is just too much fun not to go. Um, this blog is really too long away. Just roughly keep a record of what we did.
We went straight to Tainan, original plan was to surf, but it turned out we surfed around the nice restaurants in Tainan city.
Typical Taipei life, hanging out with my mom, friends, do my daily run, went to yoga lesson with Sandy (oh my god, I am so addicted to it now).
I think the highlight of this trip was to play firecracker and firerocket with my dad. We went to buy loads of fireworks (the shop keeper asked us curiously, who are going to play these? Um, my dad and I). We invited XiaoHo and Kevin in our first trip, just next to the lake in the base of the hill we live. It is actually very cool to fire rockets to the sky then BOM! After a while, we shot the rockets into the lake, also BOM! I think my dad really enjoyed this, I guess there is a little mischievous boy hidden inside everyone's heart.
We went straight to Tainan, original plan was to surf, but it turned out we surfed around the nice restaurants in Tainan city.
Typical Taipei life, hanging out with my mom, friends, do my daily run, went to yoga lesson with Sandy (oh my god, I am so addicted to it now).
I think the highlight of this trip was to play firecracker and firerocket with my dad. We went to buy loads of fireworks (the shop keeper asked us curiously, who are going to play these? Um, my dad and I). We invited XiaoHo and Kevin in our first trip, just next to the lake in the base of the hill we live. It is actually very cool to fire rockets to the sky then BOM! After a while, we shot the rockets into the lake, also BOM! I think my dad really enjoyed this, I guess there is a little mischievous boy hidden inside everyone's heart.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Wash Instruction
I left my baseball cap in Taiwan, really need one to force my hair in one place when jogging, so I had to visit my favorite sports shop again (just bought a yoga mat last weekend). I love the sales section, I found a Puma baseball cap looks similar to my previous one. However, the material is sort of the men-made suede, I am not sure if this is machine washable.
Inside the cap, exists the wash instruction, which says, "wash when it is dirty".
Inside the cap, exists the wash instruction, which says, "wash when it is dirty".
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Wedding
Beautfiul wedding in Ritz-Calton Tokyo.
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Irene and I went to Mai's wedding, glamourous. Congratulation!
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Diet Log Day 13-15 Jan 21-23, 2011
Jan 21 Friday 2011
Breakfast : half toast, 2 cups of coffee
Snack : Forgive me, I bought a piece of white bread and a can of coffee waiting for the train to go to Fuchu. Really hungry after the early webex meeting.
Lunch : Chicken breast with potatos
Snack : Chicken breast with potatos
Dinner : Large bowl of seaweed salads
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Jan 22 Saturday 2011
Breakfast : half toast, 2 cups of coffee. Man, I had a gift from the colleague, that is a 40g primkles potatos chips. Yummy. I was feeling relaxed on Saturday morning, bright sunnny day outside, surfing the web and I unconciously ate the whole package!!!
Run : run 9K to Asakusa, feeling really hungry while strolling around the temple, I ate a Gomadanko (胡麻團子) before heading back. Many thanks for the carbs, I was really losing all energy when running 4K to Asakusa. The sweet made me to run back to Nishonbashi without problem.
Lunch : My fermanted pickled Chinese cabbage is really yummy. I cooked myself a delicious pickled cabbages, tofu, chicken breast and mushroom hotpot.
Snack : I went to buy some faba beans and edomame frozen packages that are on sales. Ate 20 or 25 Faba beans as snack.
Dinner : I bought a piece of nice fish jaw (ぶりかま), ate a half piece, very yummy. But I drank a bit of the shoju (いも).
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Jan 23 Sunday 2011
Breakfast : half of toast and 2 cups of coffee
Rollerblade : Running out of the house trying to catch up the City Stroll program, already slept through the Ueno start, I thought I can at least catch the gang in Tokyo station at 10:30. When arriving at Tokyo station, man, there is no one. It was only 10:20 pm, the faster skaters should be at the meeting point before 10:15. Feeling frustrated, I considered different activities, thinking about the Koto-ku(江東区) area. So I rollerbladed over to Oshiage to see the under-constrution sky tree. Man, it was cold and I was hungry.
Lunch : heading back to Nygyo-cho by train (sorry, it is really too cold to go home blading). I went to eat the 回転寿司, quite an interesting concept. I ate 4 plates and a soup. Went home still feeling the craving for carbs and suger.
Snack : Polished off the left over Faba beans, feeling really like some sweet. I cooked the yam with ginger and suger. Devoured the whole pot in one go.
Run : Went out for a 6K run before the sunset. The sky is bright and it was such a nice run. I think I finished it less than 35 minutes. Joey, good girl!
Snack + Dinner : coming home starting my non-stop snacking. I first boiled some Edomame, cooked the taro/potato/chicken breast stew, ate a tangerine, apple. A pack of Natto (納豆). Feeling bored, so I ate the radish salad. I continued to cook a piece of ぶり. Yummy! As you have guessed, I poured myself some shoju to go with all these food.
Weight : <57Kg
Breakfast : half toast, 2 cups of coffee
Snack : Forgive me, I bought a piece of white bread and a can of coffee waiting for the train to go to Fuchu. Really hungry after the early webex meeting.
Lunch : Chicken breast with potatos
Snack : Chicken breast with potatos
Dinner : Large bowl of seaweed salads
________________________
Jan 22 Saturday 2011
Breakfast : half toast, 2 cups of coffee. Man, I had a gift from the colleague, that is a 40g primkles potatos chips. Yummy. I was feeling relaxed on Saturday morning, bright sunnny day outside, surfing the web and I unconciously ate the whole package!!!
Run : run 9K to Asakusa, feeling really hungry while strolling around the temple, I ate a Gomadanko (胡麻團子) before heading back. Many thanks for the carbs, I was really losing all energy when running 4K to Asakusa. The sweet made me to run back to Nishonbashi without problem.
Lunch : My fermanted pickled Chinese cabbage is really yummy. I cooked myself a delicious pickled cabbages, tofu, chicken breast and mushroom hotpot.
Snack : I went to buy some faba beans and edomame frozen packages that are on sales. Ate 20 or 25 Faba beans as snack.
Dinner : I bought a piece of nice fish jaw (ぶりかま), ate a half piece, very yummy. But I drank a bit of the shoju (いも).
___________________________________
Jan 23 Sunday 2011
Breakfast : half of toast and 2 cups of coffee
Rollerblade : Running out of the house trying to catch up the City Stroll program, already slept through the Ueno start, I thought I can at least catch the gang in Tokyo station at 10:30. When arriving at Tokyo station, man, there is no one. It was only 10:20 pm, the faster skaters should be at the meeting point before 10:15. Feeling frustrated, I considered different activities, thinking about the Koto-ku(江東区) area. So I rollerbladed over to Oshiage to see the under-constrution sky tree. Man, it was cold and I was hungry.
Lunch : heading back to Nygyo-cho by train (sorry, it is really too cold to go home blading). I went to eat the 回転寿司, quite an interesting concept. I ate 4 plates and a soup. Went home still feeling the craving for carbs and suger.
Snack : Polished off the left over Faba beans, feeling really like some sweet. I cooked the yam with ginger and suger. Devoured the whole pot in one go.
Run : Went out for a 6K run before the sunset. The sky is bright and it was such a nice run. I think I finished it less than 35 minutes. Joey, good girl!
Snack + Dinner : coming home starting my non-stop snacking. I first boiled some Edomame, cooked the taro/potato/chicken breast stew, ate a tangerine, apple. A pack of Natto (納豆). Feeling bored, so I ate the radish salad. I continued to cook a piece of ぶり. Yummy! As you have guessed, I poured myself some shoju to go with all these food.
Weight : <57Kg
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Diet Log Day 12 Jan 20, 2011
Run : Oh my god, I am missing out another run today.
Breakfast : half piece of toast (78KCal) and 2 cups of coffee
Snack : finished off the mixed nuts
Lunch : 50g of spagetti with minced pork, scallion and mushroom
Snack : 50g of spagetti with minced pork, scallion and mushroom and some bean salad (140KCal)
Dinner : ???
Weight : < 57Kg
Breakfast : half piece of toast (78KCal) and 2 cups of coffee
Snack : finished off the mixed nuts
Lunch : 50g of spagetti with minced pork, scallion and mushroom
Snack : 50g of spagetti with minced pork, scallion and mushroom and some bean salad (140KCal)
Dinner : ???
Weight : < 57Kg
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Diet Log Day 11 Jan 19, 2011
Run : Woke up 8:30am because my mobile phone was set to silent mode and, therefore, no alarm at 5:45am, Joey, very good execuse.
Breakfast : Half piece of English Muffin, a small piece of cheese, one egg sunny side up and 2 cups of coffee
Snack : Office is really sinful, there are so many sweets lying around. I ate a piece of candy and a small cookies
Lunch Part 1 : The lightly pickled radish
Lunch Part 2 : As soon as I finished the veggie, my colleagues are going to the very nice sushi restaurant for the lunch special. The Chirashi (100000000 KCal) is so yummy. So I followed the crowd thinking I will definitely get out of work early enough to do a run or swim.
Snack : Back to the office, there are so many cookies around. My brain is not really functioning with all this hunger signal sending through my whole nerve system. I think I picked up a couple of cookies unconsciously.
Dinner : Pickled veggies and 8 tiny tangerine.
Weight : <57Kg
Breakfast : Half piece of English Muffin, a small piece of cheese, one egg sunny side up and 2 cups of coffee
Snack : Office is really sinful, there are so many sweets lying around. I ate a piece of candy and a small cookies
Lunch Part 1 : The lightly pickled radish
Lunch Part 2 : As soon as I finished the veggie, my colleagues are going to the very nice sushi restaurant for the lunch special. The Chirashi (100000000 KCal) is so yummy. So I followed the crowd thinking I will definitely get out of work early enough to do a run or swim.
Snack : Back to the office, there are so many cookies around. My brain is not really functioning with all this hunger signal sending through my whole nerve system. I think I picked up a couple of cookies unconsciously.
Dinner : Pickled veggies and 8 tiny tangerine.
Weight : <57Kg
Monday, January 17, 2011
Diet Log Day 10 Jan 18, 2011
Run : Finished 6K within 40 minutes, a bit slower than usual. I must be hungry.
Breakfast : Feeling extremely empty inside my tummy after the run, I had to devour half toast very fast, 2 cups of coffee later, another half. Man, that is 156KCal.
Snack : I am really bad, I started to chew on the nuts I secretly hid in my handbag while reading books during my long-a** commute to Fuchu (maybe 80KCal?). I also bought a nice whole wheat bread while waiting for the bus. I finished the whole thing before lunch time. That must be around 350KCal.
Lunch : 2 pieces of chicken meat and some potatoe slices, I will save the rest as snack later.
Snack : Someone just offered me the chocolate candies and cookies in the office, I shared them with my colleagues as much as possible but still ate some.
Dinner : One egg with lots of veggie salad. Lightly pickled raddish.
Weight : 57Kg
Breakfast : Feeling extremely empty inside my tummy after the run, I had to devour half toast very fast, 2 cups of coffee later, another half. Man, that is 156KCal.
Snack : I am really bad, I started to chew on the nuts I secretly hid in my handbag while reading books during my long-a** commute to Fuchu (maybe 80KCal?). I also bought a nice whole wheat bread while waiting for the bus. I finished the whole thing before lunch time. That must be around 350KCal.
Lunch : 2 pieces of chicken meat and some potatoe slices, I will save the rest as snack later.
Snack : Someone just offered me the chocolate candies and cookies in the office, I shared them with my colleagues as much as possible but still ate some.
Dinner : One egg with lots of veggie salad. Lightly pickled raddish.
Weight : 57Kg
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Diet Log Day 9 Jan 17, 2011
Run : Waking up really late 7am, not enough time to go running because my phone didn't ring since the battery is dead (what a perfect execuse). I determine to get back home before 10pm such that I can wake up early enough to run tomorrow.
Breakfast : half toast (80Kcal), 2 cups of coffee
Snack : a piece of rice crackers (80Kcal) and a candy (10000000 KCal) - forgive my little indulgence, I really want to eat that chocolate... 2 piece of chicken breast meat and some potato slices (250KCal??)
Lunch : 100g spagetti and onion/carrot stir-fry (400KCal)
Snack : The remaining chicken breast meat (20g - I only took 2 bites) and some potato slices
Dinner : Veggie salad and chicken breast meat without dressing.
Weight : 57.5Kg
Breakfast : half toast (80Kcal), 2 cups of coffee
Snack : a piece of rice crackers (80Kcal) and a candy (10000000 KCal) - forgive my little indulgence, I really want to eat that chocolate... 2 piece of chicken breast meat and some potato slices (250KCal??)
Lunch : 100g spagetti and onion/carrot stir-fry (400KCal)
Snack : The remaining chicken breast meat (20g - I only took 2 bites) and some potato slices
Dinner : Veggie salad and chicken breast meat without dressing.
Weight : 57.5Kg
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Diet Log Day 8 Jan 16, 2011
Breakfast: a piece of Toast - this is my running energy, have to get something down my system.
Run : going for 6K run, feeling really good
Lunch : a pack of tofu, veggie miso soup, 2 tangerines and an apple
Snack 1 : a tiny crossant
Snack 2 : 50g of chicken breast, a small taro, mushrooms cooked with microwave oven. Dried ika chewing while watching YouTube.
Swim : going for a 2K swim
Dinner : A can of diet beer (sorry, I am really weak), a plate of stir-fried veggitable, many cherry tomatos, an apple.
Weight : 57.5 Kg
Run : going for 6K run, feeling really good
Lunch : a pack of tofu, veggie miso soup, 2 tangerines and an apple
Snack 1 : a tiny crossant
Snack 2 : 50g of chicken breast, a small taro, mushrooms cooked with microwave oven. Dried ika chewing while watching YouTube.
Swim : going for a 2K swim
Dinner : A can of diet beer (sorry, I am really weak), a plate of stir-fried veggitable, many cherry tomatos, an apple.
Weight : 57.5 Kg
Diet Log Day 7 Jan 15, 2011
Waking up so tired and exhausted (shoju is really strong, we had to carry one of our colleagues under our arms and throw her into the Taxi).
Breakfast : half the toast, 2 cups of coffee
Lunch : going to the yakiniku restaurant on the 42 floor in Shiodome, the view is excellent. The food is neat and clean. half bowl of rice, 200g of wagyu beef (very fatty), a bowl of salad with light dressing, a bowl of hot beef soup. Man, this is calories vacation but the food is really delicious.
Dinner : feeling bad about the Yakiniku dinner, but still got hungry during dinner time. A pack of Tofu with soy sauce, a bowl of veggie miso soup.
___________________________
Lazy day passing away, no exercise at all. Really have to go running tomorrow.
Weight : 58Kg
Breakfast : half the toast, 2 cups of coffee
Lunch : going to the yakiniku restaurant on the 42 floor in Shiodome, the view is excellent. The food is neat and clean. half bowl of rice, 200g of wagyu beef (very fatty), a bowl of salad with light dressing, a bowl of hot beef soup. Man, this is calories vacation but the food is really delicious.
Dinner : feeling bad about the Yakiniku dinner, but still got hungry during dinner time. A pack of Tofu with soy sauce, a bowl of veggie miso soup.
___________________________
Lazy day passing away, no exercise at all. Really have to go running tomorrow.
Weight : 58Kg
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Diet Log Day 6 Jan 14, 2011
Run : still not able to do any run this morning, I slept through the jogging time. Joey, very bad.
Breakfast : half of toast, 2 cups of coffee. 100g spagetti with 4 thin slices of pork and onion. A number of cups of tea.
Lunch : 80g spagetti with 4 thin slices of pork and onion
Snack : 50g of chicken meat with egg plants
Dinner : Lots of mutton barbeque and veggies, 2 glasses of red wine and 3 glasses of shoju.
____________________________
This is really a break of my diet (ok, I have a very weak mind), I was originally planning to go swimming. But working until 6ish and thought I should have relaxed a bit. Um, drank a bit too much...
Weight : 57.5Kg
Breakfast : half of toast, 2 cups of coffee. 100g spagetti with 4 thin slices of pork and onion. A number of cups of tea.
Lunch : 80g spagetti with 4 thin slices of pork and onion
Snack : 50g of chicken meat with egg plants
Dinner : Lots of mutton barbeque and veggies, 2 glasses of red wine and 3 glasses of shoju.
____________________________
This is really a break of my diet (ok, I have a very weak mind), I was originally planning to go swimming. But working until 6ish and thought I should have relaxed a bit. Um, drank a bit too much...
Weight : 57.5Kg
Diet Log Day 5 (second half) Jan 13, 2011
Dinner : 100g spaggeti with 4 thin slices of pork and onion
8pm snack : bean salad (120Kcal) and green leaves salad (160Kcal)
midnight snack : 2 glasses of chilled herb tea and 2 leaves of joey-made pickled Chinese cabbages
________________________________
really feeling tired after getting home around 1am. I have a new understanding with exhausion. That is, you lost the ability to make judgement and become slow in response. I was holding the glass of herbal tea, walking to the bathroom, cannot decide whether I should move the heater to the bedroom or brush my teeth first. As the result, I was walking between the bathroom and bedroom for about 3 times holding my glass.
8pm snack : bean salad (120Kcal) and green leaves salad (160Kcal)
midnight snack : 2 glasses of chilled herb tea and 2 leaves of joey-made pickled Chinese cabbages
________________________________
really feeling tired after getting home around 1am. I have a new understanding with exhausion. That is, you lost the ability to make judgement and become slow in response. I was holding the glass of herbal tea, walking to the bathroom, cannot decide whether I should move the heater to the bedroom or brush my teeth first. As the result, I was walking between the bathroom and bedroom for about 3 times holding my glass.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Diet Log Day 4.5 (first half) Jan 13, 2011
Run : Worked until 1am last night, self-pity stopped me to jump out of the warm bed and run into chilly riverside in the dark. Joey bad, bad, bad.
Breakfast : really rushing running out of the house, getting late as usual. I had 2 cups of coffee only. Arriving at the client site in Fuchu, getting really hungry. I ate 2 pieces of chicken dark meat (50g), one small yam and half thick toast. The hunger is hitting me with heavy blow, I am not sure how I swallowed the whole list of items within 5 minutes.
Weight : 57Kg. This is really amazing. I can even feel that the fatty lump in my tummy disappearing. Oh man, I need to run tomorrow.
Breakfast : really rushing running out of the house, getting late as usual. I had 2 cups of coffee only. Arriving at the client site in Fuchu, getting really hungry. I ate 2 pieces of chicken dark meat (50g), one small yam and half thick toast. The hunger is hitting me with heavy blow, I am not sure how I swallowed the whole list of items within 5 minutes.
Weight : 57Kg. This is really amazing. I can even feel that the fatty lump in my tummy disappearing. Oh man, I need to run tomorrow.
Diet Log Day 3 Jan 12, 2011
Breakfast : half thick toast, a tangerine, 2 cups of coffee
Lunch : 50g of white fish with fresh mizuno and mushroom. Really too hungry, so I ate the 2 small yams prepared as snack. Still feeling the hollow in stomach, continued eating 2 piece of chicken breast strip (100g)
Snack : working until 5pm at client site, waited for the time slot no one is bothering me, quickly devoured the remaining chicken breast strip.
Dinner : 100g of spagetti with 3 pieces of thin port slices and veggie, N cups of tea (really hungry).
Weight: 58Kg
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Really feeling very weak to change into my running gear this morning, no jogging today. Worked too late at client site, cannot make it to the swimming pool before 7:30pm.
Um, drinking tea is as good as drinking beer, Joey, well done!
Lunch : 50g of white fish with fresh mizuno and mushroom. Really too hungry, so I ate the 2 small yams prepared as snack. Still feeling the hollow in stomach, continued eating 2 piece of chicken breast strip (100g)
Snack : working until 5pm at client site, waited for the time slot no one is bothering me, quickly devoured the remaining chicken breast strip.
Dinner : 100g of spagetti with 3 pieces of thin port slices and veggie, N cups of tea (really hungry).
Weight: 58Kg
_____________________________________
Really feeling very weak to change into my running gear this morning, no jogging today. Worked too late at client site, cannot make it to the swimming pool before 7:30pm.
Um, drinking tea is as good as drinking beer, Joey, well done!
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Diet Log Day 2 Jan 11, 2011
Run 5.2K for 40 minutes (really slow today, I guess I was tired and hungry)
Breakfast : A thick toast and 2 cups of coffee
In the train : really hungry, so I finished off the almonds left from yesterday
Lunch : Still hungry, ate the chicken breast salad (100 Kcal) and Soya milk soup (153 KCal) - feeling slightly better :-)
Snack : Empty a bowl of soba noodles with some chicken (250 KCal)
Dinner : A rice ball - I am really really hungry, I have to eat!
Weight : 58Kg
_____________________________
Went to Tokyu Hands to buy the scale finally, everyone should have one at home, it is the upmost dangerous thing not to weight yourself constantly.
As I walked out of the store, I picked up nice massage cushion (had an eye on it for ages). The best part of it is that you can move your body around it so that it can be the neck, shoulder, upper back, lower back, or legs massager. But I think I used it too much last night, I woke up with sore back and neck, I think I had bruised them.
Breakfast : A thick toast and 2 cups of coffee
In the train : really hungry, so I finished off the almonds left from yesterday
Lunch : Still hungry, ate the chicken breast salad (100 Kcal) and Soya milk soup (153 KCal) - feeling slightly better :-)
Snack : Empty a bowl of soba noodles with some chicken (250 KCal)
Dinner : A rice ball - I am really really hungry, I have to eat!
Weight : 58Kg
_____________________________
Went to Tokyu Hands to buy the scale finally, everyone should have one at home, it is the upmost dangerous thing not to weight yourself constantly.
As I walked out of the store, I picked up nice massage cushion (had an eye on it for ages). The best part of it is that you can move your body around it so that it can be the neck, shoulder, upper back, lower back, or legs massager. But I think I used it too much last night, I woke up with sore back and neck, I think I had bruised them.
Sunday, January 09, 2011
Diet Log Day 1 Jan 10, 2011
Breakfast : 100g spagetti with scallion fish stew sauce,2 cups of coffee
Run for 5.5K in 40 minutes
Lunch : salmon carpaccio with raw onion and celery slices. A Apple and a tangerine. 2 cups of tee
Snack : Almonds and calorie free Vitamin drink
Swim for 2K in 55 minutes
Dinner : Veggie stew. A can of calorie free beer (man, it doesn't taste good). A tangerine and a few almonds.
Weight:58.5Kg
Run for 5.5K in 40 minutes
Lunch : salmon carpaccio with raw onion and celery slices. A Apple and a tangerine. 2 cups of tee
Snack : Almonds and calorie free Vitamin drink
Swim for 2K in 55 minutes
Dinner : Veggie stew. A can of calorie free beer (man, it doesn't taste good). A tangerine and a few almonds.
Weight:58.5Kg
Diet Log Day 0
With my running regime starting last year, my guard of food intake has dropped since. Hey, running 5K every day should allow me to eat as much as I wish. The end result is that my weight silently creeps up the scale and that didn't alarm me at all. I went to the local hot spring, enjoyed the bath and saw the electronic scale that is not broken (the one in my swimming pool is constantly out of order), I finally weighted myself after the body check up in June. The number was unbelieveable, I gain 2.5Kg in 6 months. Though all my trousers fit alright, I think there is a serious problem.
I need to start a rigid weight loss program, no more self-indulgence (How I treat myself some sweets after meals from convenience stores) and no more beer drinking. I need to shed at least 7 pounds/3Kg before going back to Taipei for Chinese New Year. Oh man, 3 weeks to go.
I need to start a rigid weight loss program, no more self-indulgence (How I treat myself some sweets after meals from convenience stores) and no more beer drinking. I need to shed at least 7 pounds/3Kg before going back to Taipei for Chinese New Year. Oh man, 3 weeks to go.
Happy New Year
Year of 2011, nothing really special happening during the days off. Japanese are fully westernized, fathifully following solar calendar after meijin revolution. This is very interesting, most of the population of Japan are doing the farming business, and lunar calendar is more accurately capture the change of season. The 12 or 24 seasonal timings for first rain in spring (realy spring), which is good for seeding the farm. The awake of sleeping insects, and the summer thunders. This calendar is still followed by Chinese, Taiwanese and Koreans. Perhaps Japanese farmers have found a way to cope wiwith it.
Up to the last day of the year, I was working away from Fuchu and Shinkawa, being torn between 2 projects as usual. I was only too happy that this is the year end, only thinking I can have a day off tomorrow relaxing. The next day I leisurely ran, took a walk to the Asakusa shrimps, and called my Ducth friend for dinner (really not quite sure he is in down, most foreigners are away for X'mas and New Year's holidays). Surprisingly he is still around but will be flying to Amsterdam the next day. Happily I agreed to a dinner then clubing. The party is nearby Nihonbashi, which is where I live, that's great.
In the night club, people were so excited during the count down which I don't quite understand. I walked home around 3pm, thinking how I can wake up early enough for my end of year Oedo-line Tokyo skate run. Setting the alarm on my mobile phone, then I realise this is really the 1st of Januarary, oh my god, I have missed out the run and totally missed out the last day of the year.
Up to the last day of the year, I was working away from Fuchu and Shinkawa, being torn between 2 projects as usual. I was only too happy that this is the year end, only thinking I can have a day off tomorrow relaxing. The next day I leisurely ran, took a walk to the Asakusa shrimps, and called my Ducth friend for dinner (really not quite sure he is in down, most foreigners are away for X'mas and New Year's holidays). Surprisingly he is still around but will be flying to Amsterdam the next day. Happily I agreed to a dinner then clubing. The party is nearby Nihonbashi, which is where I live, that's great.
In the night club, people were so excited during the count down which I don't quite understand. I walked home around 3pm, thinking how I can wake up early enough for my end of year Oedo-line Tokyo skate run. Setting the alarm on my mobile phone, then I realise this is really the 1st of Januarary, oh my god, I have missed out the run and totally missed out the last day of the year.
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