Moshi moshi, My Memoirs of Japan

Tokyo? No it isn’t. What you’re seeing is the corner of Wilshire Blvd. and Hope Street. The location filming of the movie Fast and the Furious 3. Noticed the tire marks on the road?

It is interesting to see how the movie production people converted a busy Los Angeles Downtown setting into another major city in another continent, Tokyo it is. I can’t help myself but be amazed at how simple it seemed to be. Just like when Spiderman 2 was being filmed, 7th Street and the Metro train station underneath was New York for about a month. But interesting as it is, this set also made me nostalgic…

Flashback, memoirs of Japan…

This picture taken in front of our office building with the bicycles reminded me of the policemen I saw in Tokyo and Okayama. They don’t ride cars, they don’t carry guns, they ride on pedal bikes like this and they carry clubs, no guns. Gave me sense of peacefulness, somehow.
This picture of Lemuel and Brack by the vending machines and the lights, reminded me of the nights we, my Kumareng Fhe and some friends were roaming the streets of Tokyo at minus four degrees centigrade, admiring the lovely flowers, which seemed to me like green leaf lettuce because they are so big and fresh. I was amazed to see even flowers were sold in vending machines; I enjoyed the hot soup from there.

I was also surprised to know that Camote or sweet potato in Japan is such a popular and quite an expensive treat, especially the roasted ones. We find them everywhere in the markets all over the Philippines and buy them so cheap that is not enjoyable to have anymore. While there, it is usually sold at nighttime by vendors in white vans, and people run to get a share.

We enjoyed the convenient stores and we're flabbergasted that people will buy disposable umbrellas and throw them away as soon as they get on the trains. This is where I experienced a ride on the first overhead electronic train (as in no driver) in Asia, second to the world, I heard the first is somewhere in Europe. Breathtaking to cross over the Yodo River which they say is kind of polluted, is still to me one of the cleanest rivers, at least visually.

I can’t help but smile in front of my monitor when I flashed back to the bloopers we did at the Electronics Conference and Exhibits we attended, like attending a presentation just so to get a convenient seat to nap and getting freebies afterwards. Sashimi, fresh veggies, and a ton of gift from my sweet staff, Gracie, made my stay in Tokyo so memorable.

Tochigi, the city of my first traditional train ride and my first time to hold a snow in my hand. Can’t do this in Tokyo, so embarrassing…First time to eat Soya with soy sauce instead of the sweet syrup we are used to in the Philippines. I learned that eggs, older than a day, are considered old and not good to eat, for people there only consume eggs right from the poultry. Royal treatment, company tour, and real Fuji apples made my day.

Off to Okayama so curious about the Sento, but as fast as I get in, I went out. I can’t be a naked fish in a hot tub, I could bear the hot spring, I love hot springs in Laguna, but I can’t bear me being naked together with other people. No!no!no!no!!! Bullet train? Yes I did, from Okayama to Osaka, it’s fast but not as fast as a bullet as I expected it to be, ha!ha!ha! The view of the mountains is so spectacular, going through the mountains, is dark, of course : - )

Osaka International Airport to me is the most beautiful so far, very good architectural design, so high tech, and clean. I also love the bargain stores there, the Sanrio store is not crowded, a whole store, only one storekeeper who also posts as cashier when customers are ready to pay. Gave me the impression that Japanese are so trusting with their goods. The quest for Game Boy – this egame is made in Japan and is available at all Toy Kingdom branches of SM Shopping Centers in the Philippines, surprising enough not to find one in a major city in Japan as Osaka, thus I settled for Tomica.

Can’t forget the authentic guava tea, wearing the Kimono, the Japanese slippers, the cleanliness of the places, the politeness of the people, the telephone booths full of advertisements of you know what…

I guess, Japan will be forever dear to my heart, after all more than a decade of my career life was spent with Japanese companies. My only regret is I should have taken my Nippongo lessons seriously, four months learning Hiragana, Katakana and Kanji under Sensei Beatriz Mojica, a noted scholar, should help me a lot, but thanks to my laziness, my line remained: “Sumimasen, eigo de hanashite kudasai ma senka?” (I’m sorry, in English please?)

Travel has a way of stretching the mind. The stretch comes not from travel's immediate rewards, the inevitable myriad new sights, smells and sounds, but with experiencing firsthand how others do differently what we believed to be the right and only way.Ralph Crawshaw

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Front-of-the-line

If you love theme parks you most probably know how a front-of-the-line pass works, and incase you’re not familiar with it, a front-of-the-line pass in Disneyland Resort for example, gives you instant access to enjoy the rides or attractions without having to fall in line. Picture this, you are standing in a long line waiting for your turn to experience Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Three-Hours Wait, ups! I meant Temple of Doom (it just feels like the wait time is 3 hours to get into the ride), and comes this person flashing this card, going straight to the entrance ready for the ride, while you and hundreds of jealous eyes stare in envy, this person takes the ride, enjoy the thrills, came out happy, while you and the rest are still in line waiting for that precious turn. How good a front-of-the-line pass can be?

Last week, Abraham showed me his school’s own version of the front-of- the-line pass which he got as an incentive for having good grades. His is a privilege to bypass any line in the school Cafeteria at Nutrition (popularly known as recess) and Lunch hours. In a school of more than 2,000 young teen students trying to finish their meals within the alloted time, even batch scheduled breaks won't help shorten the lines, a front-of-the-line pass then is a relief. Whoever thought of this special type of pass, depending on how and where it is being used, is quite a genius, creative, or rather has good business sense.

I just can’t help but blast back to the days I was in High School and in College. It would be nicer if we have this kind of pass back then, even if it works only during Enrollment days where students of all disciplines would line up in front of the registrar’s office to enroll. It usually takes me more than four hours to finish a semester’s enrollment and really, skipping lunch is a pain for someone with hyperacidity. I wonder too, with all these online facilities nowadays, if you still need to fall-in line to get enrolled in a class? I just think, today’s generation is quite lucky in this sense.

If you’re like me who experienced the disadvantages of being last, you would understand why I wanted a front-of-the-line pass…My last name (maiden) starts with S, when I was still attending elementary and high school, I was among the last ones if the line or seating arrangement is ordered alphabetically. I usually end up seating at the back where I could hardly hear my teachers or my classmates especially during group discussions. I missed a lot of jokes, comments, and freebies (if you’re one of those lasts in the line, you’ll end up with what others didn’t choose) those days. This is why I was so excited to change my last name when I married, and I’m glad my husband’s last name starts with a D, what a promotion! But gone are the school days when I needed this the most. Oh well…

But despite wanting to be first, I'd also enjoy being last, if… it’s time to... get a shot (immunizations) I hate needles poking me, or to have a tooth or two extracted (never had, hope, I’ll never will). I’m sure each one of us wanted to be both firsts and lasts, where, when, and why?…It would be nice if you can click on the comments and post your thoughts.

Postcript: I can't find a handy quotation for this entry, and I can't end my blog without one, thus I came up with an original, below.

Discipline comes in many forms, waiting in line is just one of them. Maria Elizarah

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Electronic Geek

When the digital video camera and the magic microphone came out years ago, I took advantage of my son’s coming birthday as an excuse to get both, as both will be used for the party. When the camera phone penetrated the US, I was among the firsts to own one, and every year thereafter I would call T Mobile to have my handset upgraded. Same with the digital camera, I didn’t stop until I got hold of the 3.2 mega pix (3 years ago was the top of the line). Upgrade, update, the latest, these are words often in my dictionary. I don’t enjoy reading magazines about celebrities, home decorating, cooking, and fashion, as much as I loved digesting the pages of Popular Science.

My internet leisure hours will not be complete without visiting Shopzilla, Price Grabber, and Amazon.com, clicking on the link to Electronics and although I spend most of my time in these sites to check on the prices , I will be getting what I want from my favorite store (because I hate paying for shipping charges and anticipating the delivery of the item for days, I order online and pick it up from the store the same day) and that is Best Buy, or Circuit City, my second favorite, . In fact when I told my boss I am planning to have a second job at some hotel, he told me he’d rather me work at Best Buy than in a hotel because he knows it is my favorite store and I’ll have fun at work. I think he’s right.

If most women spend money and find pleasure having their hair or nails done, shopping for expensive clothes, leather bags or shoes, going to spas, or trying out the newest cosmetics and fragrances, I will be most thrilled carrying the tiniest digital camera. There’s this unexplainable satisfaction I feel having these things around.

I scrutinize the specifications and regularly read expert and customer reviews of the latest electronic products in the market whether I am buying or not. I don’t like having something on my ears, but I have an MP3 player…hmmm…

As I observed, addiction to electronic gadgets is common to men, so I can’t find a good explanation for my fondness with these inanimate objects that break down, become obsolete in a month, and gets lost. And I would really appreciate it if someone out there could enlighten me on my fascination with these "can live without, non-essential" things.

Two mini e-geeks on New Year's Eve (Like Mother, Like...)

Modern man lives isolated in his artificial environment...Arthur Koestler

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