bunny tales

It hurts to say goodbye and to see people go, especially when they are so close to you…

My big brother, Rajiv, left today, on a flight delayed 3 hours bound for New Dehli, India. 4 years spent with him as classmates, friends, and a true brother-and-sister relationship made our farewell a difficult one. I tried really hard to hold my tears back, but I simply couldn’t.

Big brother won’t be around, at my convenience anymore.

I thank God for our meeting and the moments we have shared together. Along with my friendship with Ruth, God has put these 2 very special persons in my life to help me deal with my past problems of being a racist. They have shown me true love and I still can’t believe that I have grown so attached to them.

Rajiv is a real gift from God. He is the only other guy who I have ever known who truly understands me and accepts me for who I am. I give them credit for suffering my stubbornness and constant whining. These are the guys who have seen my truly happy and seen my cry my eyes out. They always give me their time and listening ear.

It is unfair for me to compare or even place the way how Rajiv has influence me in my life with a dear friend, Cho Fatt. Rajiv has showed me the love,responsibility, and commitment of "old-school" brothers, spoiling me in every way possible. When I am hungry, he feeds me… When I am upset, he cheers me up… I never have to be in the lack of anything as he tends to my needs. All I have to do is to mention, or ask, and it will be given. He sometimes don’t even have to do anything, but just sit there by my side, leaving me to throw tantrums, punches, etc. Above all these, he has shown me what it means to live a meaningful life and to search for true happiness that can only be found in personal satisfaction minus all the material things.

He has done so much for me. The countless coffee outings we shared, ice-cream, grocery shopping, hour-long walks, and time spent together and with friends, generally doing the things I want to. I am always showered with gifts. I will always always remember the speeches he gave me whenever I am upset but trying so hard to suppress it in front of others and thus putting myself in so much stress. I will definately miss the way he used to mess up my hair while patting my head… and I will never forget that this is the guy who literally hurt himself really badly just to cook a great meal for me on my birthday. There is just so much to say that I know that we have a relationship that can never be severed. His support of brotherly love has truly been one of the pillars of my strength and  success here in TCU and Japan.

Thus, I wish to express my love and gratitude in honor of this brother of mine. Fireworks were set off today right at the time of your take off and this evening just for you. I will remember the times we spent together, your looks, your touch, your smell… and above all, I will remember you speech to me today: "Suemae, Buddy… Be you, be cool, and be happy."

I can’t believe my Friendster account is out of space for me upload pictures…

Due to the lack of space, I have reorganized my photo albums. I apologizethat I have to remove some pictures. Please check the albums out as some of them have changed in content and all.

I spent close to 5 hours online already.. Saturday well, spent?

Would you hire a bunny? Would you hire this bunny?

I need a job.

"Bunny for hire! Bunny for hire!!!"

—————————————————————————————————-
Maybe I am taking things too slow… or maybe I am taking things for granted? Hmm, walking out of the paranoid stage is helping me relax a little, but maybe a little too much? I reckon it is time to be assertive and go after more jobs. Otherwise, I will just have to start on my application for graduate schools, do what I have to do, and then go home if I can’t find a job still…

Hmm, but where is home? Where is home for me?
Ah! What the heck… maybe I can choose the option to marry the first bloke who asks. (That has always been the fun option during the good ol’ days with MeiQi.) Fingers crossed for the best to come.

Hurrah! I have new music! Masako helped me burn some of my recent CDs into MDs. Right now, I am listening to the Youth Praise CD Pierce made for the Youth at church and passed me a copy months ago for band practice with the kids. Not bad, not bad at all. It is a good pick up to kick start the mornings. I was listening to it in the trains to church this morning. After a while I changed to Ray Charles… somehow these music placed in me a nice bouncy mood that lingers on as I relieve the memories of various moments and events. I used to be judgmental against people who choose to just hang on to memories of old… but hey, it did me some good!

I had my first experience of Japanese flower arrangement yesterday. "Ka-do" as it depicts "the way of the flower" is aesthetic as the name would suggest. I was facinated by the many facets of simplicity it carries but yet difficult to master. This is my "piece" after a wonderful session with Yumiko-san and her mother. Her mother holds a valid certificate and licence to teach the art of the Japanese flower arrangement according to the Sogetsu School.

Hmm, so, I guess it is another little something I can add on to my list. So far, I have tried the following in the Japanese Arts: Japanese Tea Ceremony, Kimono, Calligraphy, Haiku, Japanese sword appreciation, and Flower Arrangement. Yup, according to Japanese standards, I can make a "good bride," equipped with the skills of a traditional Japanese lady.

Strange… I think I hear the sound of fireworks… are they having a summer festival somewhere near? Nahh.. I am too lazy to check it out for now.

I guess this will be the first time, or maybe, after a LONG while (since I can ever remember) that  I feel like I am on a true vacation with nothing in the past to worry and nothing in the future to hassle about. Oh, please don’t get me wrong… What I meant was that I can hardly remember the time when I did not have to fuss about finishing something up from the previous semester and prepare myself for the upcoming one.

Technically, I did nothing at all for the last 2 days. Ok, maybe not NOTHING. I took my own sweet time "at home" yesterday watching TV, writing thank you notes, working on my Japanese resume (that is a pain as it has to be hand-written), flipping through magazines, etc. Today, I went to the office to get more resume/CV forms, did a little errand at the post office, went to the mall and hung out. I met up with Rajiv there, and later, Seth too. After having 4 cups of coffee (well, all of us are tight on the money purse and MisterDonut have free refills on their coffee) it was a great time just chatting, relaxing, and hanging out with the boys. I guess I won’t be sleeping tonight.

We just talked and talked. Somehow, it didn’t feel like we are on holiday at all. The weather made it feel like we are still in May. The rain has somehow took the summer away. Strange, very strange indeed.

Maybe this feeling of a long vacation is good in a way. I don’t have to rush off to be at anywhere, no need to pack and fly off, just resting is good I guess. Is this peace? I have no idea… How long would it last? No clue… But out of not doing anything, I have the thought of going home yesterday. Maybe I can be on holiday back home too? Nah, I like the idea of being the ghost of the ACTS-es program–although I am gone, but I am still around. Haha!

Take things slow, Suemae. Seriously, you have all the time in the world to stop and smell the flowers. But don’t forget your schedule book and cell-phone. Reality needs you too.

Could it be? Has the rain stopped? It started raining since Monday and for the past few days, I can hardly remember seeing the curtain of water disappear at all. It was difficult to move my packed stuff into storage. However, there was good in it as Rajiv couldn’t go for his work and we got to spend sometime together yesterday. Rose, Rajiv and I went out for coffee and then for a nice dinner (on Rose) as it was our last gathering together. Jewel has left the dorms last week, Rose left this afternoon, Sawma this week, and Rajiv next Sunday.

The girls will be living in Japan as they have secured jobs as teachers at international schools in Yokohama and Tokyo. Sawma is going back to India for a while and Rajiv too… for good or moving to UK from there. It is difficult to see each of them go. How ironic it is that though it is I who graduated, I was left behind to see off my fellow friends… understandable for the fellow graduates, but juniors like Ruth, Ashesh, Sunil, Matthew, etc.

I don’t know… but I guess that’s what I have been accustomed to over here in at TCU for the past 4 years. I have seen people come, made good friends with them, and they have to go. People like Lisa Hirata, Aimee, Kanade, Yumi-sensei, Osakabe, and of recent, Kevin… came and go. These are those very few whom I adore and they were kind enough to keep in contact.

I have no idea how am I going to keep up with this season of farewells. Maybe my tear ducts will go through intense use and do work after all. I dread the departure of Rajiv… I really do.

I don’t know what is wrong with me lately. I have no control over my tear ducts at all. Almost every single thing can lead to the opening of the floodgates of tears. It is so difficult to even have a proper conversation these days without bawling like a baby.

———————————-(T_T)——————————-

I went to the office to return the graduation robes I borrowed for additional pictures with my family today. I also talked with Miss Kawamoto about moving my stuff into storage and checking out of the dorms tomorrow. Henceforth, I will start my nomadic life.

*boo!… sniff… tear…

I hope everything will turn out right. Fervent prayer and fingers crossed for good news this week.

Monday, July 17th, 海の日, Rainy…


Thank God for the rain today. Finally, a cool day out of the burning heat we had all week. I made my way to Tsuchiura to attend Tami’s wedding. It costed me a bomb just to travel there on the trains, and limping around with this corn that grew on the pinky of my right foot made it worse. But I was really glad and happy to meet up with old friends from Tsuchiura Megumi Church again.

Tami and Saito-kun… my blessings to you.

Dear All,
Even though I couldn’t really find the time to write about my graduation (I will, in due time), I have posted some pictures of my graduation, taken from my Clie. They are in the photo album section. Please forgive me as I did not manage to get many pictures taken for I was super busy on the day. However, if you know any one out there who has pictures of the ceremony and all the events that led to it, do send them to me so that I can upload them. In the mean time, enjoy what I have, and as always, there is the faithful collection of Yanagisawa-sensei. So, do check them out at 
http://www.flickr.com/photos/miwakoy/sets/72157594190659269/

I have also asked Seth about shooting my graduation and the various events on video. He did mention to me that it might be possible to load it online. So, once it is done, I will inform you guys.

Enjoy the pictures!

Wow… I was just going through what I have last written before the silence. Man! It has been a while and you guys were not updated about what has been going on in the bunny life. Well, just to whizz you through and not bore you with the details.. here is it.

My family arrived Monday morning (July 3rd) for my graduation. That day, we went to Narita-san in the morning and had lunch around the station as we waited for our pick up. We came back to the dorms, unpacked and then went for dinner at Osumi-san’s.

Tuesday, (July 4th), I took my family to DisneySea and we had a blast. I was really glad that my family enjoyed themselves. We spent 12 hours there. The first ride we got on was "Journey to the Center of the Earth" and we covered almost every ride (except the Gondolas). We caught every show and parade (except "Donald’s Boat Builders"). We were able to watch the last day of performance of "ENCORE!", a summary of American Broadway… in short, it was GREAT!!!

Tired, we spent Wednesday on campus as it was raining. I did my final duty of chapel translation for Kurasawa-sensei. Had lunch in the dorms with my family (hurrah for instant Asam Laksa noodles!) and went to "Meadow Grass" for cakes and coffee with my family. I took my sisters to Jusco and let them experience cycling in the rain, and got back to change and prepare for the ‘Pre-graduation/Farewell Party’ the ACTS-es students threw for us. Later in the evening, my family and I went out with some friends to get ourselves plastered in the park near campus. Yeah… sounds wierd, but it really did happen… no one really got plastered though… ok, maybe Kazuto.

The big day of the Graduation was Thursday. The schedule for the day was something like this. I had choir rehearsal in the morning, rehearsal for the ceremony, went back to change, grabbed lunch with my family, went to take the official pictures, finished up my lunch, going through the ceremony itself (which I will write in detail later), had a hectic time taking pictures and all, went for a farewell party hosted by the Student Council Farewell Committee, went out for a nice celebration dinner with my family, and then partied all night karaoke-ing with the boys.

Friday, the family didn’t want to go anywhere since we were having a Tanabata Party with my Friday evening English class, so, we just hung out at the station area where I brought the clan to the 100yen store. Man! They spent so much time there and pratically bought the entire shop. They even got stuff that I never knew the store carried! After the class in the evening, I got back and changed into my yukata as I totally forgot that we were doing yukatas. Kevin was in his, so I changed just for a picture.

I played tour guide on Saturday and Sunday. I showed my family and Kevin and Albert around Tokyo. We went to Asakusa, walked to Ueno through a street decorated for the Tanabata Festival, covered Ueno Park and then took a train to Tokyo Station to visit the Imperial Palace. My family was too tired to go to Tokyo Dome and Tokyo Tower, but as I chaperoned them back, the boys went and covered that. After resting for a while, I went out to play some fireworks with Matthew, Sunil, and Kevin… just hanging out with Sunil before he left for home. We got busted for making too much noise from a neighborhood guy and guess who had to deal with it as she speaks Japanese? Well, it is never too late to have a "first expereince" moment after being here for close to four years now. We went for Ramen later as Kevin was starving.

On Sunday, after church, the same group was led to Harajuku and MeiJi Shrine. We saw many of the "interesting dressers" around and after loads of pictures, we made it to Shibuya. After coming back from Tokyo, my family and I had dinner at the mall. I went out for drinks with the boys after they were done at the hot-springs. Instead of Karaoke, we just hung out at "wara-wara" a Japanese pub/restaurant. The Kevin, Albert, and Matthias were beat so only Matthew and I went for pool. It was great to be able to spend some time with Matthew before he left too the next morning.

And I deserved to be kicked as I totally forgot that Ruth left the same day and time as Matthew did. I heard her voice outside my door after knocking it Monday morning and I cried, dreading to see her go. I spent that day spaced out in my emotions after chatting with Ann Dee who left the same day too. I brought the family to the 100yen place again and left them there as I had a Korean BBQ dinner with the Korean students, Rose and Jewel. That night, I lost my cool with my mom… sigh!

Anyways… Tuesday was a day of eating and stuffing ourselves. I took my family over to Iwama-san’s place to meet my other class of students. The ladies had a great time. After resting for a while, we went to the Kobayashis’ for dinner with Kevin and Albert.

Wednesday was left for last minute shopping and packing. After settling some stuff at the office, we took some pictures that we weren’t able to on Graduation Day with the robes I borrowed from the office in the morning. My god-ma made "Bak-Kut-Yeh" for me and we had dinner with Motoko. I enjoyed the very last bit of "sambal" from the meal of "nasi lemak" god-ma made a few days ago. After that, Kevin and I went for drinks, and I came back buzzed to stay up packing and then another round of drinks with my sister, Suzanne.

Thursday was a teary day seeing my family off. I stayed back to see Kevin and Albert off too… and the rest is history.. as mentioned before.

So… that is about it… a week of madness… I guess being busy is not really an option in my life… and now… back to the packing… but tonight, I will spend some time with Motoko and Masako.. till then… stay tuned!