Having "Me" Time

After the earthquake I wrote an email to a Japanese colleague asking her of her troubles and hoping that all was fine.  Her response made me teary eyed and it's something I still remember till this day.  She told of her hardships and how they were having trouble with electricity, but it was the end that hit me.  She apologized for having caused me concern and worry.  Wow.  I was breathless.  Here she was in trouble, her nation was suffering, and still she apologized for making me worried about her!!  I admire her. My experience is but a fraction of what others have experienced.  Since that unfortunate day of earthquakes and tsunamis, I've been hearing endless stories about the Japanese discipline and sense of morality.  How even in times of suffering and the Japanese will not loot nor take advantage of those less fortunate.  Other people's lives are taken into deep consideration.  Afterall, everyone is in this situation and e...

Ever since I've moved house earlier this year, I've had the opportunity to see another part of life I had never previously seen.  I now live next to a military base that is also open to the public. Cars pass through in and out to get to the main road on the other side of the base.  Most mornings and evenings that's the route I'd take.  Unexpectedly though, on a quiet day you can be most certain to hear the sounds of soldiers in training.  Just half an hour ago as I lay on my bed relaxing, a beautiful sound came through the window.  It was the sound of trumpets playing a tune that reminds me of war movies. It was 9pm.  Like an alarm clock, every evening and not a minute late,  the sound of trumpets playing a tune will echo through the air and flow through all the houses in the surrounding area.  It sounds magical.  If you wake up early, you're hear the same tunes being played at the wake of dawn.  5am.  The...