Thursday, November 4, 2004
Every morning before leave the house for work, Karin will ask me, kaisha? (literally means company, which also means, going to work?). And I will answer hmm as a yes. She is at the stage where she will repeat questioning the same thing, despite how frequent we have answered them.
Yesterday was a public holiday in Japan. Trying to get out of the house early for morning breakfast at McDonalds nearby where there is a lovely terrace to enjoy the garden, the sunshine, and the pedestrain.
At the ground floor, we met the neighbour. We greeted each other good morning at the same time. Our girls greeted them as well. Spoke with a tone as of talking to a little kid, she asked where are you going.
"Kaisha!" Karin replied excitedly.
The neighbour laughed out loud. She replied while smiling, really?
Karin gave her a big "hmmn!"
Then she said, kawaii desune (she is cute, isn't she?). Karin gave her another "hmmn!" again.
It Had To Be You
Sunday, November 14, 2004
HMV is running a sale on imported version CDs and DVDs.
I just found out that Rod Stewart released his 3rd album, The Great American Songbook III. So, I bought it yesterday, the 1st one and 3rd one. The 2nd album has a song which was used in one of the TV commercials, and I guess that makes the CD sold well, that's why it didn't have stock, so I could not get it when on sales, I mean the imported version. The locally made version is more expensive than the imported one.
As Time Goes By
Sunday, November 14, 2004
Got a universitymate who came to Tokyo on business trip, so we went to Shinjuku for lunch. He is a Malaysia and is working in Singapore now. Almost 80% of the Japan graduates from Malaysia are working in Singapore, he said. I guess it is about the pay and the prospect of career to utilize the Japanese language. I have never really interested in working in Singapore though I know that the chances to work for one Japanese companies are higher than in Malaysia, yet I never really tried it. Apparently Singapore is trying to give out more scholarships to students from Malaysia and China to go study in Singapore. So much of effort needed to maintain the small little island.
Something he mentioned caught my attention.
"You got to pay tax even while you're sleeping."
It's the same as in any city, but the sentence came out from him somehow impressed me. Perhaps it's more depressing when in Singapore, where working to maintain the living there is obviously hard. He must be thinking about the time especially when one retires in Singapore. A few of my Japanese friends who did commented that Singapore isn't the place to "bury their bones" (live forever) there.
Went to another HMV and found Rod Stewart's The Great American Songbook Volume II, As Time Goes By, with on sale tags on it, and bought it with ¥1690.