Having "Me" Time

Last night I opened up my email and read a lovely forward from an old childhood friend I've known since my age was still a single digit. We haven't lived in the same country for decades, but we always keep touch and she always sends such good forwards. This particular one though I could not let it past without sharing it with everyone. Thank you for sharing it with me. You know who you are :) The story is a bit long but please read it all the way through the end. It's a great reminder to us all of what is important in life, in relationships and how we view the world. Sometimes we go through life, trying to do everything that's expected of us, until we lose sight of the person we really are and the people who surround us. We are too busy performing our "tasks." Take a "pause" every now and then, look at the person next to you, and really see them. Are you spending "quality" time together? Are you taking care of each other and really unde...

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 morning as I awoke I noticed something different in the air.  It wasn't bright and sunny and the air wasn't heavy.  Before I could look out the window, I heard the sound of rain pouring down on Bangkok.  How wonderful it is.  After days of humidity where the air was so heavy I had trouble breathing, I'm glad the rain has come.  It feels like a whole new day and what a wonderful way to start off Sunday. Sunday is my favorite day of the week.  It's always the day when things seem to go on at a slower pace after the hectic weekday and the busy errand filled Saturday.  Some shops are closed on Sundays and it reminds me of my childhood days in Europe.  There Sunday is church day and most of the shops do close.   It's family day and time to just have quality time with those you love.  Bangkok is trying to make Sunday family day too.  Therefore being the Sunday before Valentines' Day, remember that it's not only a day of love...

We are creatures of habit.  I'm a creature of habit and once you're accustomed to something, changes affect you whether you realize it or not.   Moving house this time I realized for the first time how one could get accustomed to living with 'noise' in centre city.   I lived at my condo for a decade, next to the skytrain and a busy main road.  Though the walls were thick and not a sound could be heard from neighbours, sound waves travelled up almost 20 stories to my window.  Sitting my room, I'd hear sounds of the skytrain rolling by until late at night.  Sounds of motorcycles and cars zooming by seem to somehow travel upwards and straight to my window.  During New Years, if the office building opposite me had a party, I could hear the karaoke and the announcements.  Sounds of construction across the road penetrated my wall of glass. They all became background noise that I didn't care about. At this new place, I'v...

Adjectives are a funny thing.  We use it to describe things, objects and people that surround us. It is something we do almost unconsciously and so I have lately noticed how adjectives used to describe one changes. For a very long time, I was always described as "chubby" by those who know me.  I was then likened to a panda and then a penguin.  All very cute animals, and terms of endearment but if you noticed, pandas and penguins are black and white and have no waistline!  Now,  I have become "long neck" or even "chopstick legs." Perhaps I'm a long neck dinosaur or a twiggy twig walking? Oh the stick insect! Whatever adjective we are described as by our friends and those who know us, I think the most important factor to remember is to be healthy.  No one is perfect, we all have flaws and there are countless adjectives to describe us humans.  Therefore, it matters not what we are called,  what...

For the first time this year, today Bangkok citizens felt the first cool breeze of the upcoming winter season.  Last year we barely had a day of cool weather, this year seems promising.  Since early morning, the sun was out but instead of being hot and humid, it was wonderfully cool averaging around 25 degrees celsius.  Oh how I love this weather.  The entire city feels like it is airconditioned.  This cool air of autumn is one of my favorite times during the years and always makes me happy.  It reminds me of the beautiful autumn colours, hiking in the Shenandoah Mountains last year, or in the Austrian countryside.  It's always so relaxing and pleasurable after the summer rush and energy.  Then Thanksgiving arrives and the festivities begin.  Of course it also reminds me of  my recent trip to Japan when all the shops started putting everything up for Autumn and it made me think about what were my impres...

After the silent Shinkansen ride where everyone was quiet, and extremely orderly, I arrived in Tokyo.  The capital of Japan, Tokyo was a completely different story from Osaka, Kyoto and Nara.  With a population of 13 million people it was bustling with people.  Everywhere I went, I was surrounded by people. At first glance of the underground map, I thought I was looking at a painting by Jackson Pollock with coloured lines and dots scattered all around the page in seemingly random patterns.  It was a piece of art in itself, but upon close study of it, you realize that there was really quite a lot of sense in all this chaos and a pattern emerged.  This combination of JR trains, Toei Line Trains, or Tokyo Metro Line allowed you to go anywhere you wanted to.  It is no wonder that Japan has one of the most extensive network of surface lines in the world. I stopped at Shinjuku station to see what this shopping area ...

On holiday one goes to so many sites within the space of one day that after two days you feel like you've seen so much, experienced so many things and nourished your senses.  Yesterday I went to visit Nara, founded in 710  as the first capital of Japan and it is definitely a site not to be missed.   There are eight Unesco Heritage Sites in Nara alone and the best part is that a lot of them are within walking distance (though make sure you have comfortable shoes.)  I like it because it doesn't have the large bustling atmosphere of a modern city.  I can feel its history in the air. The main sites are located in Nara Park which is an area so large you would probably need an hour or so to walk around. Being someone who loves to just soak in the atmosphere of the place, I took longer, much longer. I spent at least two hours walking around.   I couldn't help but just stand and look at the large wooden columns that towered over the entrance of the Todai-ji Temp...