今年と来年

これは初めて日本語でブログします。 ^_^

今年は、２０１０、とても面白かったです。自分で日本へ来ました。自分で住んでいます。時々難しかったです。初めて家族ありません。でも、新しい友達と経験があります。よかったですから、私は今年忘れない。しかし、来年はもっといい年になります。いろいろ場所へ行きたい、たのしい友情がありたい、面白いほんを読みたい、おいしい食べ物を食べたい。実際に、私は時々少し怖いですが、わたしは心配しない。将来はここで、明るいです。来年は楽しみですね？

Translation:　This is my first time to blog in Nihongo.

This year, 2010, was very interesting. I went to Japan by myself, lived alone. At times, it was difficult. It was my first time to be away from my family, but I had new friends and new experiences. Since it was good, I will never forget this year. However, next year will be better. I'd like to go to a lot of new places, to have fun friendships, read interesting books and eat delicious food. Actually, I am a little afraid of the future sometimes but I won't worry. The future is here and it's promising. Isn't next year exciting?

What Is A Year?

What is a year? It's that span of time when the earth makes a full revolution around the sun, a cluster of 365.25 days and nights, marked by a beginning, middle and end.

Our lives are collections of years. You know how encyclopedia sets have volumes on them? That's life. We package our experiences in volumes of events that go together according to the time they happened. Some people are present most years, others disappear, many others recur.

Young or old as we are, we have our best years and not-so-good years. I'd like to think that 2010 is a year when the fluttering of the wings happen, pertaining to the butterfly effect--a small change at one place in a complex system can have large effects elsewhere. Elsewhere are the next few years of my life, and large effects, hopefully, are good things yet to come. My 2010 was not that epicly epic. Some parts though were noteworthy and remarkable. But in the greater scheme of life, little things have to happen in order to give way for grander things, and that is a belief I hold on to. As my favorite person Adam Young says, and I quote:

"The future is bright, and by all means, it’s beautiful. There’s really no telling what tomorrow may bring."

I would not dare deny that I have been very blessed this year. There were staple blessings like a good family, a healthy body & sound mind and meaningful friendships. And then there were surprises. Never had I imagined that I'll be sitting at a dormitory desk in Japan writing about what the year meant to me. You see when God surprises us, it's in ways we won't have a hint of. Now that's how surprises really are supposed work.

Try imagining where you'll be and what you're doing a year from now, on December 31, 2011. You'll be surprised that it's not exactly the way you pictured it to be.

I'm positive that 2011 will be a better year. :-) For everyone, I hope!

Christmas in Japan

This year Christmas is a little different. There was no opening of gifts under the tree when the clock hit twelve but it was meaningful, nonetheless.

What made my Christmas this year:

Yummy food and friends I have in Japan (Don't be mistaken, I don't eat my friends.)

Overnights and kris kringles and again, foood. Yay.

Getting surprises from Manila

My little brother sent me a book he bought with his allowance with a note inside. :-) It came on Christmas eve. It really made me smile!

What other things made my Christmas include phone calls, chats, texts, Facebook wall greetings from people who could forget greeting me since I was away (and it was excusable) but didn't. Thank you!

Merry Christmas to you and your family!

See You Later, Santa

It's the day of Christmas eve!

Christmas in Japan is not as festive as it is in Manila, that's given. Sans caroling, bibingka, queso de bola, parols, synthetic Christmas trees and only lights on trees as a reminder, Christmas here probably is just any other holiday, as important as Halloween and less-celebrated than New Year.

There are lots of different things about Christmas this year for me. But it will be meaningful and special just the same. (Crossing my fingers)

In Japanese, it's メリークリスマス. Merry Christmas wherever you are in the world!

おはよう

It's almost 7am and the sun has barely risen. It's totally still dark outside which made the waking up five minutes ago a lot harder to do. It's winter, yeah? And in the South Pole don't they hibernate when it's this cold?

I really had not realized that there are only three days before Christmas until I dated my journal December 22, 2010 before I slept last night. Of all the many things we cannot control, time is one of those, just easily slipping away from our hands. There's no way to chase lost time because time is unidirectional and it only goes forward. Well at least for now.

What am I thinking? I'm supposed to study for my big Nihongo test but I can't help but put the thought of winter break on top of my pile of things to think about.

I am not fully awake still so forgive the random rambling. I might laugh at this entry later today.

Growth Spurts

I believe in growth spurts.

You see, growth is not a gradual, boring, process. It's not like watching the sun rise on the horizon at a steady rate. It's more like the twitching your eye does when it's stressed. Before you can even anticipate it, there's this sudden spasm you're kind of scared to feel, yet it comes anyway.

Now that was a nice analogy, don't you think? We live our lives anticipating the big events like graduation, first day at work, moving houses, etcetera but somewhere in our heads we think "Hey not yet, don't come yet", because we know that sudden twitch, that sudden new, electric feeling, will give us a uneasiness. It will break the monotony of the present which can kind of hurt, that is, because we're so used to security.

But at some point in our lives growth spurts need to happen, because there's no way to go but forward, except if you're Benjamin Button or some martian with an alternate sense of metabolism. Growth spurts, I think, are a lot more exciting because they are so fast, they deliver a message: there is no backing out. You have no choice, yes you, human being who is not Benjamin Button, but to mature.

Being in Japan for exactly three months today made me realize how to live like an adult. And if you're sort of interested to know how much adventures and misadventures it took me to realize this, then, read on.

So it's not new knowledge that I had been the culprit of a plastic melting incident in the oven of our floor kitchen in the dormitory (which thankfully turned out more hilarious than dangerous). And that's only for starters. My hair dryer exploded too (hello, I am not an electronics major, what would I know about voltages?). It was funny alright, but it could have turned the other way around might I have been a little less careful.

Rule number one in being an adult is taking responsibility, since there's no one else to blame but yourself for any deliberate or accidental mischiefs. Responsibility too in many other things-- important travel documents, bills to pay, bank accounts, making sure that the heater and lights are turned off before leaving the room, eating dinner at an appropriate time, and so on. It took me one and a half months to figure out an alarm plan that works. Now, I have three alarm clocks ringing in the morning at varying tones, volumes and distances from my bed, and apparently it works!

Growing up is about making plans of getting rid of old habits and forming new ones. It's about memorizing pin codes and scholarship signing deadlines, making grocery lists and sticking to them, getting your butt off the chair to go do the laundry, making decisions you have thought two, three times about.

It's kinda hard but awesome if you ask me!

Declutter

I'm actually a 'home girl' kind of person-- if I don't need to meet people or do things, I would really prefer to stay in front of my computer and be face-to-face with it the whole time. But today I decided to go out by myself.

See the world out there.

Know what I'm missing.

And know if it would kill me if I missed it.

(Okay I should stop writing like Zusak.)

I decided to head to Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden. I've read about the place once or twice and found nothing really special about it in the pictures. I just thought well, it might be a beautifully-landscaped garden where I can sit and have a picnic, read a book, forget everything, and just get bathed by the warm autumn sun. For all I know I was wrong.

In an instant it became my favorite place on planet earth. That was how beautiful it was.

I've never really thought about the fact that gardens can change lives. Now I know why Martha Stewart was so passionate about advocating horticulture and gardening. I'm not really a fan of gardens, I have never actually seen much in my life. I may have seen less gardens or parks than an average person. But this one's kinda different and special. I won't try to describe it or explain why, because you might not get thrilled as I am right now. There are just places where you feel safe and warm and free to think whatever. I bet you have yours too.

Lately, I found myself detached, wanting something and nothing at the same time. I needed to clear my head and not think of the unnecessary.

My December

I wanted to write something but I cannot stitch what I wanted to say to words. Thus the illustration.

Thanks to Tim Burton and his work The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy for the much loved inspiration.

三冊本を借りました

3 new books to read! I just came from the library to fetch them. I had no idea which ones to borrow actually. I had trouble locating these since I'm not good with understanding call numbers.

The foreign books section (where all the English books are placed since most books are Japanese) had versions of these titles in Russian, French, Spanish, etc.

What are other ones nice to read? :-)

Autumnal Shades of Blue and Brown

All images were taken in Shinagawa on the 29th of November, 2010.

Mmmm Today.

1. I got to read, clean, rest, sleep, dream, eat and catch up on my personal reading list.

On Thursdays I have to attend one class only which I'm so tempted to skip, but I keep on telling myself that I went here TO STUDY. That's always a handy reminder ringing in my head whenever I feel warm under the sheets to get up in the morning and go out to the freezing world that's out there, or when it's too tempting to go to the park and just watch people play.

I'm moving on with items in my reading list. I'm on my way to finishing The Screwtape Letters (CS Lewis) and I've started reading The Book Thief (Markus Zusak). I've kind of mastered reading while on sitting the train, or even standing up, while walking when changing train lines or while walking home. I like the sound of flipping pages, maybe that's why I can't bring books down.

2. I also dreamt that I went back to Manila for Christmas. Maybe that's why I overslept. I'm clingy to the thought, but winter break's too short.

3. I was biking around with flat wheels until last Tuesday. It's okay because the next item is totally going to make-up for this.

4. Coldplay's Christmas Lights video was released today. I woke up to it, and I was so so so happy. I can relate to the lyrics.

I'm excited for our picnic this weekend!

A Good Conversation

What you'll need:

A pair of brains, to some extent, hot wired to sync. Preferably playful, serious, curious and insightful all at the same time. (This is one of the harder parts.)

Healthy, listening ears and sincere enthusiasm and interest.

While you're at it:

The most important thing is that it has some sort of flow. It's not structured, but the exchange of ideas just happens effortlessly.

Both of you do not always agree to what the other says, or else it turns out boring. Good conversations tell you that what you're thinking is not always right. It shows you that there are other perspectives to things.

But then of course, you should agree on many things too.

Insert nice things to laugh about and random trivia you think that person is interested to know.

You don't count the hours down before the conversation ends.

Post-conversation:

The realization that it was a good one not while it happens but when it's over.

Good conversations make you enjoy them while you're at it, and then leave you with some healthy thinking afterwards (around 10-20 minutes post-conversation).

You 'research' on about things you may have talked about.

You don't mind talking to that person again.

Other notes:

Can happen anytime, anywhere, whether it may be over Toffee Nut Latte, over the telephone on a school night, along the shoreline, on top of a hill, at 3 in the morning, in the front seat of a car or over Yahoo Messenger. The location or manner does not usually matter.

Good conversations are like stickers on a loyalty card-- they accumulate and indicate deeper friendship.