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...

Yesterday morning as I headed out to run amidst the rain, I felt like I wanted to snuggle back into bed and just enjoy sleeping through the rain. Then I turned on the news to watch while I run and saw the devastation in Japan. It's heartbreaking, but at the same time it is also a humbling experience. It reminds us how fragile our lives are. Lives could change in matter of minutes. No matter how much you anticipate it, prepare for it, you can never be sufficiently prepared. Who would imagine that this seemingly harmless "water" could suddenly rise up so high that it would topple buildings, pass the barriers and tumble down upon houses, obliviating all in its path and leaving nothing but a pile of debris and mud. A newspaper today showed a cruise ship balanced ontop of a two or three storey building. It's not architecturally constructed, yet it happens in real life like it were showing off the force of nature. And so with this giant of an earthquake in Japan, many ...

It's been two days since the earthquake in Japan, yet safe in Bangkok I still feel a certain sadness for those in northern Japan.  Some entire villages were swept away. Entire families and communities gone just like that.  In a blink of an eye.  I cannot imagine.  I cannot say I understand how it must feel to be in the midst of this devastation because I am not there and I am not the one whose house was swept away or whose relatives are missing.  All I can say is that my thoughts are with those in Japan and that I pray the worst is over.  This earthquake demonstrates how powerful nature is to destroy all in its path.  Nothing can withstand the force of 10 meter high waves hitting inland. Footage show entire houses being swept away as if they were toy houses and cars rolling around in the water like ice cubes bubbling up and down in water.   Some say it is nature's way of "cleansing" itself, it is inte...

This afternoon, as I sat there watching and reading the news about the earthquake in Japan, I cannot help but feel a sense of sadness and a certain emptiness inside.  The quake measured 8.9 on the richter scale.  This is no little affair even for Japan which is used to having earthquakes.   I pray that there are no devastating aftershocks and that the tsunamis don't affect more people than it has already.  I know it's partly wishful thinking since warnings have been issued from Russia to the US, and the Philippines, but one does have to hope for the best.  We must all hope for the best. This was one catastrophic movement of the teutonic plates and somehow this past year or so, more of these catastrophic events have been occurring.  I'm not sure if its just me but with the one in Haiti, New Zealand , Indonesia and South American countries,  earthquakes seem to be occuring every few months.  Thaila...