This was funny: spinning drying fish in Ginza.
Some highlights from the visit:
We love fish in Japan.
This sweet little lady has so much energy. She knows how to say cheese for photos now! And she talks, like making conversation. Impressive, she just turned two yesterday. I was probably still gnawing on crayons and making confetti with Mina's homework.
It's fun to finally be able to show them around instead of the other way around. We went to Sato Yoske, a noodle shop since the 1860s.
I would be more than happy to be just half as cute as she is as a mom!
This month is flying by already. I feel like I'm on a floatie in an ocean, going with the flow and hoping to make it through. My mom visited last week, then overlapped with my sister and niece for a day, and now it's just my sister and niece. When I arrive home it is nice to see the light on and say "tadaima" and hear "okaeri" in response. I'm not ready to be a mother though (I guess nobody says they ever are) because I wake up in a slight panic when my niece cries in the middle of the night. I'm sure that's something parents get used to. My sister said if any mom is completely honest, having kids reveals anger management issues that you may never have known of. Unfortunately, I am afraid of what more that kids will reveal in me because my commute has already made my anger crystal clear. I'm not the type to ever lash out in a fit of rage, but that "ughh" feeling is definitely anger. Even as I write this I'm getting over how my second train was one minute late, making me miss my third train by about 30 seconds. I may sound insanely precise, but everyone I have talked to here who does some kind of morning train commute can relate with the importance of that one minute, even a few seconds. I can't just speed up to make up for it, I have to watch the train leave and wait for the next one. It has been a good lesson to be satisfied living life on a floatie and going with the flow since there's absolutely nothing I can do about it. Some thoughts from this week's train rides (that just sounds more fun than "commute"): Sir I sincerely hope that is your briefcase... One man down. My shoe lost the commute battle, missing flower. Having my butt nested under yours while being squished from all sides was exactly how I wanted to start this morning.
I got sick about 10 days ago, not major, just fever, migraine, congestion, lost voice, typical virus symptoms. I haven't been sick since November! With work events until late evening this past week, recovery is slow but I'm sounding less and less like a dying toad. It was a combination of lack of sleep and stress. I talked to my boss the Friday before about leaving. For the most part I really like my job, and I have been meeting top executives and hearing how they think, joking around with them, things that people working for those companies for years may never have a chance to do. On Saturday with a client's store opening, I didn't think twice about the CEO giving me a hug but now that I think of it, that's pretty unusual. Also being in the first headline article of the Ginza Economy Newspaper was definitely not an everyday experience. This was at a press presentation for one of our clients. (See link for photo and article in Japanese)
http://ginza.keizai.biz/headline/2257/
The Tommy Bahama food is delicious.
Basil mint lemonade, seared ahi tuna, ahi tuna tacos, hamachi and yuzu citrus appetizer, piña colada cake.
Even using Japanese ingredients, I didn't realize until I talked to Japanese guests, how foreign this food was. My coworker got a mango and chicken salad. They don't really do giant entree salads which I love at Japanese restaurants. Even though I will seriously miss Japanese food there are some foods to look forward to :)
I said goodbye to my sister and niece on Monday morning. Before I can even start to get lonely, I have two more visitors, then a trip to Nagasaki for Japanese history research, and then 3 weeks after that I will be home.
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
I always have this on my mind since one of my favorite professors explained it to us: Christians are always somewhat homesick.
It's true. No, not for California, but for heaven.
2 Corinthians 5:7-10 for we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9 So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.