Almost....a Happy New Year

I can't believe that we are about to say bye

to 2009.

Then again,

I say this every year.



I traveled to a lot more places in 2009.

Shanghai (China)
Nara (Japan)
San Fransisco, California (US)
Missoula, Montana (US)
Kyoto (Japan)
BKK (Thailand)
Koh Chang (Thailand)
Korat (Thailand)
Phitsanolouk (Thailand)

...and now in
Chiang Mai (Thailand)


...and I hope I will see many more different places

in 2010.

...oh, and I hope I find a job too!


In addition to the bottle-vases

I have been making,

I have also been making postcards lately.

I think I want to make my living

by making something.

I know making postcards won't

let me earn enough

but I want to keep on making something.





Well, I think my goal for 2010 is

to be a better person.


A person who I can be proud of,

a person who I want to be friends with,

and maybe a person who I can love.


I want to be a more confident person,


.....I meant


I AM going to be a more confident person!

(without being arrogant.)





I will probably be too lazy to update a blog

tomorrow, so.....

See you in 2010.

JINGLE BELLS

It doesn't feel like

Christmas at all here

but I would like to wish you all

a very merry Christmas.



Our Christmas morning consisted of

ugly-looking chocolate covered banana

that I made last night,

and a cup of coffee.



Oh and this morning

we found out that cilantro seeds

germinated.

well, we found one or two germinating

yesterday and we found more today.




When I have my own family,

I wonder if I would celebrate this day.

I have plenty of good memories

but the more I think about

religions and hallmark holidays,

the more I question about

the entire culture about

giving and getting gifts

and such.

Maybe I feel it stronger because I grew up in Japan

and seeing Japanese people celebrating

a Christian holiday

always made me feel silly.




I think if I were a mom,

I will make me my family's

own holiday.

Like giving something

but maybe only handmade things

or maybe spend a day doing something together


....I don't know exactly

but something that doesn't have to be about

material.


Well, we will see....

Purple Pearl

I have been reading a lot

(compare to how I was before)

I don't think I've enjoyed reading this much

when I was in college.

I think my brain is craving stimulus

and knowledge

and since I am not in school anymore,

I guess I naturally pick up some books to

satisfy the craving.


The sad thing is,

books in Thailand are so expensive.

tsk tsk.

Another thing that I've been enjoying:

to create things with bottles and wires

and other random things that inspire me.

Right now, I am mainly making

wall-hanging bases for plants

but I think I need to think of other things

since our hanging space is so limited.

Or, if I become good enough

maybe I can start a business.

How about 20 baht for each base?

(...that is about 80 cents)

So guess who came to visit us in Chiang Mai?

tada.

(... Leonardo!)

and more tada.

(...April!!)

...and I also got to meet her older brother too.

Really, really

such a good timing.

I wish both of you could stay longer

but I won't complain.

I got to see you.

On the way to Doi Suthep.

I think Chiang Mai needs to rain,

or I need to go to Doi Suthep

once a week to have fresh air....

I have been also enjoying growing greens

and veggies.

(....no harvest yet.)

And me enjoying gardenless-gardening is

a good excuse for me to have fresh coconut treat

since the shell of a coconut is

a perfect pot for plants.

I am growing a ring...

well, not really

but have you ever seen the seeds of cilantro?

Yes, the pearly purple beads are the seeds.

Aren't they pretty?

I think that was my favorite discovery of the day,


Another surprise was that

the beaded ring Leonardo brought back for me

from Indonesia had the same color as the seed.

It made me smile.

I can't wait to have fresh cilantro.

I'm crossing my fingers though,

since I don't have a green thumb.

We are also growing bird peppers.

If they grow well,

they are supposed to look like

colorful birds.

....and also some Holly Basil.

(I know I spelled "Holly Bazil" on the tag.)



...Okay, this place is closing down

so I will say bye for now.

a Loveletter

I think for the very first time,

I am a little bit homesicky.

But "home" meaning Seattle.



Homesick isn't a bad thing, though.

It makes me realize

how lucky I was to meet

so many great friends.



Don't worry,

I am not being weepie-weepie.

It's just that, once in a while,

I get a feeling like

somebody squeezing my heart.



So, this is a love letter from me to you.

This isn't a blog entry

that tells you how homesicky I am.

It's just me, telling you

how thankful I am

that I have a place that I can miss,

besides Japan.

Film Camera

Lately I've been trying to learn

more about a manual camera.

During my high achool days,

I did have a phase when I used a film camera.

It's not like I had any knowledge on a film camera,

I just liked how unexpected

the images could turn out,

and I wasn't really interested in learning the techniques

or technical terms

because I thought it was more fun

to just taking whatever I wanted to take,

and wait for unexpected images to appear.

Now I'm back to films again.

But this time,

I think I do want to learn some more in depth.

These photos are from the first rolls I've taken

with my Olympus XA.

Most of the photos were out of focus

but some of them, I can be proud of.

...and some of them

I like it regardless of the out-of-focusness.

(Sometimes, it's just the feeling that counts.)

A bridge that I miss.

A brunch on a rainy day with Evan at Senor Moose.
The last brunch at Seattle couldn't be any more perfect.

Though I've only lived here for a month

it's my favorite place I've lived in Seattle.

....and hello,

Thailand.

A little heaven we found.

Using a digital camera sometimes make me feel dishonest.

I feel a little better because I stopped using

automatic mode though.

I've been thinking what photographs are

to me, and for me.

I don't think I am going to talk about that here today

but maybe,

some other time.

P.S. Thank you Evan

for helping me learn about camera.

Photo Album: Koh Chang

A view of sunset from the beach where

we stayed at.

Motor cycle adventure.

See you again

Koh Chang.

The End of Backpacking, the Beginning of New Life

After travelling for about 15days

Evan and I finally found a place

that lets me use my computer,

and has a fast enough internet connection

to upload my photos.

The newest news:

Evan and I've found an apartment in Chiang Mai.

We made a long shopping list

so we will be busy busy finding the

and making the place

our home.

Once we're done making the place comfy,

I should start looking for a job.

*********************************************************************************

The last 14days have been wonderful.

I wake up every morning

wondring

where 'today' may take me to.

The days in BKK was interesting but rather stressful,

it made me think about many things,

many depressing things.

I really hope that the children in BKK

get to see the beautiful side of their own country,

and not just the trash on the street and dirty cement.

My parents came to BKK for 4 days

and the day they left for Japan,

Evan and I left the place as well.

After taking an overnight bus

and a shady ferry and a mini-bus,

we got to an island Koh Chang.

By the time we got to the lodging,

we were exhausted

so we took a nap, a little longer nap than usual.

When I got up,

I realized we were no longer in BKK.

I felt reslly really happy.

Like, really.

The days in Koh Chang

made me think that the future would be wonderful.

I don't even know where I am going,

or what I am exactly doing in the future,

but I think it's going to be wonderful.

Hello Thailand

Hello from Thailand.

I wanted to post some photos and everything

but the internet I'm using now is

SLOW.....

Once I settle in in Chinag Mai

I will upload many photos.

So far everything is going

very well.

A lot of walking and waiting and taking trains and busses

but every single day has been

new and exciting.

I can feel that I'm going to

have great time here.

Bye Bye Tokyo

Tokyo

See you next year.

Thailand

See you soon.

The Last Coule Days

I've been coming back home late]

or just being a slacker

these days that I haven't uploaded

any blog entry.

I've also noticed I've taking less photos too.

Japan is a photogenic place

and there are so many interesting things to take.

...Even if the place is cool though,

sometimes you just don't get inspired, I think.

I think I try to see less when I'm tired.

That also goes to when I have a destination.

Like, when I have a reason in walking to somewhere

I tend to look at less things.

The better photos are taken when I'm just wandering around

I don't really feel like taking photos much

when I don't feel calm or centered

It's not like I'm stressed out or anything now

but being in Tokyo and having to take

many trains is really exhausting at times.

I'm still having funs though.

There is no doubt in that.

Here are the things from the last couple day...

Pat and Mario at Que Bom! in Asakusa.

If you'd like to have good Brazilian food

and live bosa nova in Tokyo, go there.

The people there are really friendly too.

Mario, who is a Brazilian musician, said that

the food at the place is really

close to what you get in Brazil.

Inokashira-park is

one of my favorite parks in Tokyo.

I wanted to ride on a swan boat with Evan

but sadly there is a jinks to that boat.

Apparently, a couple that rides on a boat there

is going to break up....

Each duck gets their own boat.

I like the design...

Evan and I had a mission (?)

to go try McdDonald's in Japan

so here it is.

It was okay.

At least the atmosphere of McDonald's in Japan is

not depressing or ghetto-y

like the ones in Ballard or Down Town Seattle.

I got to hang out with Marina-chan

whom I've known since we were in kindergarten

in California.

We don't keep up with each other that much

but I always feel

calm and happy around her.

She will always have a place in my heart.

Happy 20 years to us!!!

まりなちゃん、

頑張りすぎないでね。

そのうち、どっか

旅行行こう。