Enough saidThursday, December 27, 2007
The Age of Technology
Vending machine for meal-ticket to be brought to the counter in the little shop
Vending machine for drinks after the mealManna from Heaven
This was the cup noodle (room service, no less) that saved dear from hunger the night before. But even with when fatigued from hunger, dear could still say wax lyrical in a dream, tired and tiny voice about the blueberry tart from a bakery in Ueno station. In the same breath, he attempted "Breadtalk sucks!" in as much vengeance as he could muster. It was very endearing and characteristic of him. This never-say-die.This was our western room the little hotel Kitcho, at the corner-turn of a quaint street of eateries and crafts, where we smsed our parents of our engagement. There was no reception on our handphones before we returned to tokyo.
My father was very cute. He congratulated us and in the same breath reminded me not take care and "don't lose your things". He knows me. Like deardear knows me. I've only left a tube of Sheseido face wash in Japan. Gah.
On the night of 10 Dec 2007
Think we shall save the proposal photos for our wedding.
But after laughing with meal-lady and futon-man, we chatted and rested with fruits and green tea until we felt ready for onsen again.
We were excited because night would be colder and it excites us to make the long dash (or rather, "scurry") from the warmth of our lodgings into the dark winter night and finally into the misty boil of sulphur and minerals.
So in the rotenburo, we dared each other to make a dash for another, some distance away, and we both obliged. Dear was very nice and he'd said he'd follow as long as I want to go. He has been so since we met. I was worried about his rope-burn but it has healed surprisingly fast. Dont know if because of the onsen. Then we came back to the original one near the changing room. And it was so peaceful, I was perched on a stone, looking at the flowing river separated from the rotenburo by some large rocks and enjoying the night sky too. Then dear said, let's go back. But it, being the last night, I wanted to stay a little longer to enjoy this serenity I can scarcely find once I'm in Tokyo, not to mention, back in our little city. But did not want dear to stay longer than he had wanted and I'd follow him if he left so I answered "okay..you go first, I'd follow" as I continued to stare and bid my time. After a few seconds, dear had almost gotten out of the rotenburo and called out to me.I had wished that dear would stop hurrying me out of the onsen because it was so comfortable and such a wondrous sight at night. So I gave it a last look and quickly turned back into the changing room. After donning our yukata and brown jacket, we happily made our way back into the ryokan, our bodies gaining temporary immunity against the cold.
Back in our little Asa-giri, I began my nightly ritual of washing my face, brush teeth, put moisturiser etc etc while dear, separated from me by 2 shoji screens and a about 30 tatami mats sat near the window looking out in a self-entertaining manner. He was half talking to me, half talking to himself, saying that he could see the orion, etc, etc. I looked at my mask, was about to put it on and wondered if dear would want some too. I thought "probably in BKK" when dear called out from where he was "dear, what are you doing?"
I said, "nothing!" as I had completed my ritual, abandoning the mask and went to where he was. He moved back a little on the perch, sat me down to look at the sky. For a brief moment, I tried to look for stars as I thought he was going to teach me how to see the orion and other astronomical beings. Then he said, "Actually I've been wanting to ask you a question." Then I knew. *chortles* because that was how he starts. But I was very surprised and happy too. I turned round to face him and he got down on his knees. He opened the little heart shaped ring box and said, "Dear, we have been together for 3 long years..." then I was very happy so I interjected with somethings, i cant remember what. It was just emotional and very blur. I remember he tried again "we have been together for 3 long years.." then he asked me to marry him in Japanese and translated. So joked "pre-nup!" He promised to love me and my family too and promised him too. He asked for 2 children *chortles* anyway, I said "yes" (of course, of course, of course =)) he said not "yes" should be "hai!" to his questions. He said somethings in Japanese and translated each of them. I won't tell you. *keke* But if you want to use it to propose to your girlfriend, you can ask my dear if he'd willing to share with you.
So we took photos and chatted and laughed and he told me that his who knew..who had helped..that was how we ended our last night in the place that took our breaths away.
But after laughing with meal-lady and futon-man, we chatted and rested with fruits and green tea until we felt ready for onsen again.
We were excited because night would be colder and it excites us to make the long dash (or rather, "scurry") from the warmth of our lodgings into the dark winter night and finally into the misty boil of sulphur and minerals.
So in the rotenburo, we dared each other to make a dash for another, some distance away, and we both obliged. Dear was very nice and he'd said he'd follow as long as I want to go. He has been so since we met. I was worried about his rope-burn but it has healed surprisingly fast. Dont know if because of the onsen. Then we came back to the original one near the changing room. And it was so peaceful, I was perched on a stone, looking at the flowing river separated from the rotenburo by some large rocks and enjoying the night sky too. Then dear said, let's go back. But it, being the last night, I wanted to stay a little longer to enjoy this serenity I can scarcely find once I'm in Tokyo, not to mention, back in our little city. But did not want dear to stay longer than he had wanted and I'd follow him if he left so I answered "okay..you go first, I'd follow" as I continued to stare and bid my time. After a few seconds, dear had almost gotten out of the rotenburo and called out to me.I had wished that dear would stop hurrying me out of the onsen because it was so comfortable and such a wondrous sight at night. So I gave it a last look and quickly turned back into the changing room. After donning our yukata and brown jacket, we happily made our way back into the ryokan, our bodies gaining temporary immunity against the cold.
Back in our little Asa-giri, I began my nightly ritual of washing my face, brush teeth, put moisturiser etc etc while dear, separated from me by 2 shoji screens and a about 30 tatami mats sat near the window looking out in a self-entertaining manner. He was half talking to me, half talking to himself, saying that he could see the orion, etc, etc. I looked at my mask, was about to put it on and wondered if dear would want some too. I thought "probably in BKK" when dear called out from where he was "dear, what are you doing?"
I said, "nothing!" as I had completed my ritual, abandoning the mask and went to where he was. He moved back a little on the perch, sat me down to look at the sky. For a brief moment, I tried to look for stars as I thought he was going to teach me how to see the orion and other astronomical beings. Then he said, "Actually I've been wanting to ask you a question." Then I knew. *chortles* because that was how he starts. But I was very surprised and happy too. I turned round to face him and he got down on his knees. He opened the little heart shaped ring box and said, "Dear, we have been together for 3 long years..." then I was very happy so I interjected with somethings, i cant remember what. It was just emotional and very blur. I remember he tried again "we have been together for 3 long years.." then he asked me to marry him in Japanese and translated. So joked "pre-nup!" He promised to love me and my family too and promised him too. He asked for 2 children *chortles* anyway, I said "yes" (of course, of course, of course =)) he said not "yes" should be "hai!" to his questions. He said somethings in Japanese and translated each of them. I won't tell you. *keke* But if you want to use it to propose to your girlfriend, you can ask my dear if he'd willing to share with you.
So we took photos and chatted and laughed and he told me that his who knew..who had helped..that was how we ended our last night in the place that took our breaths away.
O-name wa nan desu ka?
Simply gestures mean a lot to the people here, I think. We helped the lady clear the tray. We felt very wierd having a elderly but nevertheless genki lady and man serve and clear our meals as well as prepare and keep our futons respectively. I could see her eyes sparkle in genuine surprise and happiness as she apologised "gomenasai!" when she turned round to see us pack.
We were very happy. We tried conversing in broken Jap and English:
"Apple wine..ni hon go..nan desu ka?"
"Hai appolu winu. Ringo (something..can't remember now)"
"Oh! Ringo! Apple!"
"Hai! Ringo. Appolu...Ringo suki desu ka?"
"Ah. Hai! Suki desu"
"Ah!!" [lady makes cutting and peeling action]
"Iae...!" [dear and I shook our hands, rubbed our stomachs vigorously, pointed to the bowls of fruits on the tea table and grinned]
"keko desu"
"Keko desu" the futon-man echoed. I dont know why he did that, maybe I might have pronounced something wrong. But it was a good-natured, happy, amused laugh.
Meal lady and futon-man laughed heartily. It's a pity we never knew their names. We only knew Oga-moto san. And it was easy to remember his name because he is nothing like an "ogre". A very refined and cultured man. He welcomed us on the first day and provided insight into both Japanese and even the Chinese culture in crisp and fluent English as well as very enunciated Mandarin. He was patient to teach us Japanese too.
So I hope all these will remain. The genuine kindness and refined beauty of both the people and the place.
We were very happy. We tried conversing in broken Jap and English:
"Apple wine..ni hon go..nan desu ka?"
"Hai appolu winu. Ringo (something..can't remember now)"
"Oh! Ringo! Apple!"
"Hai! Ringo. Appolu...Ringo suki desu ka?"
"Ah. Hai! Suki desu"
"Ah!!" [lady makes cutting and peeling action]
"Iae...!" [dear and I shook our hands, rubbed our stomachs vigorously, pointed to the bowls of fruits on the tea table and grinned]
"keko desu"
"Keko desu" the futon-man echoed. I dont know why he did that, maybe I might have pronounced something wrong. But it was a good-natured, happy, amused laugh.
Meal lady and futon-man laughed heartily. It's a pity we never knew their names. We only knew Oga-moto san. And it was easy to remember his name because he is nothing like an "ogre". A very refined and cultured man. He welcomed us on the first day and provided insight into both Japanese and even the Chinese culture in crisp and fluent English as well as very enunciated Mandarin. He was patient to teach us Japanese too.
So I hope all these will remain. The genuine kindness and refined beauty of both the people and the place.
The Last Supper...
Not quite.Our last dinner before dear submitted his proposal on how we should phase out our then relationship and adopt the fiancee-fiance scheme. *chortles* (anyway that's not how he did it. he was very romantic. enough said *zip*)
My favourite for this keisei-meal was the little glass of apple wine which I, the clutz that I was, spilt half of that precious mixture onto the tatami mat. My heart broke for both the mat and my favourite beverage. I kept the remaining for the last, but our meals-lady, bless her heart, removed it because she had thought I had finished with my meal.
She also chided me good-naturedly for not eating the horse sashimi. She praised dear and gave him a look of approval. He had, I belief, with the empty plate been inducted and accepted into the esoteric world of Japanese haute cuisine. We had hatched a little plan, though, place 3 out of 5 pieces onto his empty plate so that it would appear that I had eaten some. But we simply forgot! *lol*
My favourite for this keisei-meal was the little glass of apple wine which I, the clutz that I was, spilt half of that precious mixture onto the tatami mat. My heart broke for both the mat and my favourite beverage. I kept the remaining for the last, but our meals-lady, bless her heart, removed it because she had thought I had finished with my meal.
She also chided me good-naturedly for not eating the horse sashimi. She praised dear and gave him a look of approval. He had, I belief, with the empty plate been inducted and accepted into the esoteric world of Japanese haute cuisine. We had hatched a little plan, though, place 3 out of 5 pieces onto his empty plate so that it would appear that I had eaten some. But we simply forgot! *lol*
On the fateful day...
So this is our secret hide-out. Literally. We plan to make it our romantic mecca of sorts. Guarded by the native black bears. *rwar* There are 4 rotenburos. We've tried 2; 1 at night after dinner.We were all clothed with a towel, no worries. ;p We had to run in the snow across a bridge to our the rotenborus in nothing but our yukatas and slippers. Way cool. Passed a little frozen tea garden on the way but saw a pretty purple cabbage flower. Couldnt take photo because of possible naked/semi-naked people. *chortles*
This photo was taken after returning to our lodgings from a lunch of Stamina-ramen at a stone's throw away. It was simple but delicious meal fit for winter. We also went to scour for batteries in a couple of liquour stores and finally found one at a petrol kiosk. But they were lousy, so my camera sputtered miserably, alternating between life and death henceforth until we've made it to Tokyo. (yes, my camera still feeds on batteries. No charger). [waiting for my next $400 LSD!!]
This photo was taken after returning to our lodgings from a lunch of Stamina-ramen at a stone's throw away. It was simple but delicious meal fit for winter. We also went to scour for batteries in a couple of liquour stores and finally found one at a petrol kiosk. But they were lousy, so my camera sputtered miserably, alternating between life and death henceforth until we've made it to Tokyo. (yes, my camera still feeds on batteries. No charger). [waiting for my next $400 LSD!!]
Testimony
Today, I almost missed the lady who was in-charge of our baptism class.
It was by divine intervention that I had asked for another lady who came out to talk to me and kindly gave me directions to find the one I'm supposed to meet, at another building across the street.
At that moment, the door to the lift opened and the receptionist told the lady who walked out that I was looking for her too.
I would have missed her had I gone to the building to look for her while she was on her way to where I was. We did not know each other.
And so, that was how I got the forms for our baptism class.
She was kind and allowed us to join the one opening on Saturday even though the registration has closed.
She just handed me the forms and told me to bring them on Saturday with the materials.
I was very pleasantly surprised.
If we missed this, the next one will have to be in June next year.
I had talked to her on my handphone but my battery went flat in the middle and I was afraid that she'd think I was upset with her for not allowing us to joining after registration was closed.
So after awhile, I thought why dont I drop by at Dhoby Ghaut since I was at Commonwealth, on my way home from school. God bless the north-east line. I was free until tmw when SPM starts.
And it's been a long time coming, 4 yrs in church, believing in Him the whole of my life. Dear said the problem had always been with time, but not his personal belief.
Well, encourage us and pray for us! =) that we may commit to our classes and handle our new year's work and personal commitments too.
PS: there are still nice people in the world. (and nice places too =p), if only we're kind to them as well. I've learnt that much in this holiday and am thus rejuvenated. Pay it forward, yo!
It was by divine intervention that I had asked for another lady who came out to talk to me and kindly gave me directions to find the one I'm supposed to meet, at another building across the street.
At that moment, the door to the lift opened and the receptionist told the lady who walked out that I was looking for her too.
I would have missed her had I gone to the building to look for her while she was on her way to where I was. We did not know each other.
And so, that was how I got the forms for our baptism class.
She was kind and allowed us to join the one opening on Saturday even though the registration has closed.
She just handed me the forms and told me to bring them on Saturday with the materials.
I was very pleasantly surprised.
If we missed this, the next one will have to be in June next year.
I had talked to her on my handphone but my battery went flat in the middle and I was afraid that she'd think I was upset with her for not allowing us to joining after registration was closed.
So after awhile, I thought why dont I drop by at Dhoby Ghaut since I was at Commonwealth, on my way home from school. God bless the north-east line. I was free until tmw when SPM starts.
And it's been a long time coming, 4 yrs in church, believing in Him the whole of my life. Dear said the problem had always been with time, but not his personal belief.
Well, encourage us and pray for us! =) that we may commit to our classes and handle our new year's work and personal commitments too.
PS: there are still nice people in the world. (and nice places too =p), if only we're kind to them as well. I've learnt that much in this holiday and am thus rejuvenated. Pay it forward, yo!
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Revelations
Preparing for marriage and preparing for a wedding are two entities which, though not mutually exclusive, are fundamentally different in purpose, duration and resource.
We would like to get married and start a life together. Simple and pure. And we encapsulate this in a vow before the blessing and witness of our Lord. To honour our parents as well, we seek their blessings and participation in the preparations and proceedings. This extends to our closer circles of relatives and friends. To express the love we have for our relatives and friends, we invite them to add to the joy of the occasion by gracing their presence.
And it radiates, it overflows, the love the Christ has for us, overflows abundantly from ourselves, bound as one, to all around us.
And this is the reason why we bend, why we compromise, why we would even put up this celebration of our union to scrutiny, seemingly senseless requests, why we struggle to consider and meet as many perspectives as possible while keeping to our values and the integrity of the event.
So I was reminded of Ella Enchanted. Ella who, with the gift of obedience, submit to every order in spite of her will. We surrender, however, by will, to express our love and to save those we love from harm, sadness or despair.
And that was how Jesus loved us. When we appreciate this, we would understand how the holy spirit works in us and how we must always remember to protect it in our marriage. And then planning for a wedding would be another way for us, this time as man and wife, to express our love. For our Lord, for each other, for all around us.
Merry Christmas..
We would like to get married and start a life together. Simple and pure. And we encapsulate this in a vow before the blessing and witness of our Lord. To honour our parents as well, we seek their blessings and participation in the preparations and proceedings. This extends to our closer circles of relatives and friends. To express the love we have for our relatives and friends, we invite them to add to the joy of the occasion by gracing their presence.
And it radiates, it overflows, the love the Christ has for us, overflows abundantly from ourselves, bound as one, to all around us.
And this is the reason why we bend, why we compromise, why we would even put up this celebration of our union to scrutiny, seemingly senseless requests, why we struggle to consider and meet as many perspectives as possible while keeping to our values and the integrity of the event.
So I was reminded of Ella Enchanted. Ella who, with the gift of obedience, submit to every order in spite of her will. We surrender, however, by will, to express our love and to save those we love from harm, sadness or despair.
And that was how Jesus loved us. When we appreciate this, we would understand how the holy spirit works in us and how we must always remember to protect it in our marriage. And then planning for a wedding would be another way for us, this time as man and wife, to express our love. For our Lord, for each other, for all around us.
Merry Christmas..
Monday, December 24, 2007
Itadakimasu!
First Day's Dinner.
We went to the onsen at noon, when it was snowing. The journey there finding the buses, in the buses, were nothing short of a polar-express experience as it manoeveres the narrow, winding roads on the mountain in the snow, overlooking falls and dams.
After the onsen, we were completely famished. The last meal we had was at 9 in the morning (S'pore time). I had asked for dinner to be served at "roku-ji-han desu" but in my eagerness, forgot that it would translate to 7.30pm, Singapore time.
The meals more than made up for my over-sight. We had a Japanese "Da Chang Jing" time. *burp* Look at dear's contented face =)
We went to the onsen at noon, when it was snowing. The journey there finding the buses, in the buses, were nothing short of a polar-express experience as it manoeveres the narrow, winding roads on the mountain in the snow, overlooking falls and dams.After the onsen, we were completely famished. The last meal we had was at 9 in the morning (S'pore time). I had asked for dinner to be served at "roku-ji-han desu" but in my eagerness, forgot that it would translate to 7.30pm, Singapore time.
The meals more than made up for my over-sight. We had a Japanese "Da Chang Jing" time. *burp* Look at dear's contented face =)
Come Away With Me...
After sleeping at 3am for KMT report,7hrs of flight,
5 hrs of transit time at the impossibly sterile airport of (shall not name country),
1 round of Name-Love Songs-Starting-With-A to Z,
1 round of Name-Break-up Songs-Starting-With-A to Z,
1 hr of buying various train tickets,
we're in the Keisei Morning Skyliner finally!
Not looking too glam. heh.
Self-photo at the Ueno Shinkansen station. Our first washroom pit stop outside of Narita Airport. Surprised that they are still the old squatting kind but very clean.At no. 19, there is an escalator down to our platform towards Jomo!
Finding Ueno Shinkansen station was a breeze. It helped that there wasn't a crowd in the morning too.
Our first bento set in the train! Beautifully packaged with a tiny bottle of soya sauce. About 1000yen each. We bought it in Ueno station itself, en route to our platform. The shoplady was going "Arigato-gosaimasu" ad infinitum. It was all so refreshing. We loved it. The bento, though were cold, as all sold at stations and trains are. Dear said his fish (left box) had a lot of fishbones. So we exchanged. But I didnt detect any. lol. Was probably lucky and got the right half. Anyway, the bento filled us for brunch.The chairs in the train were swivel ones which make it great for families travelling together because they can all face one another. From the window, we could observe as we move from more urban to rural areas. It was truely going to be a getaway.
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