Hachiko statue outside Shibuya station, Tokyo

I didn't know such a meaningful story lies behind this statue of Hachiko the dog. This dog accompanied his master to the train station every day and returned in the afternoon to greet him after work. One day his master passed away and never returned from the station so Hachiko faithfully returned to the same spot the very next day, and every day for the next nine years to wait for his master.

It was raining that day and sadly I didn't get a crisp clear shot.

And we can build this dream together, standing strong forever
Nothing's gonna stop us now
And if this world runs out of lovers, we'll still have each other
Nothing's gonna stop us, nothing's gonna stop us now

My heart sank when my bananas were rejected at the cashier because I forgot to weigh them. :( They were fresh from the box and I actually split the bunch to get just the right number I wanted. Was so happy to finally have fruits though I couldn't find any strawberries. Boohoohoo. This must be at least the second time it's happened - I keep forgetting to weigh my fruits :(


But the thing that made my day is seeing bike uncle! Yay he's finally back :) And he fixed my bike for free again :D Good stuff!


My left pinkie has been hurting since last night. Damn. I'm too young for arthritis and gout right? But I'm fearing for my toes too. Chilblains maybe? Can't wait for Spring.

Snow is bad - it makes me daydream. Good thing it has stopped.

OMG OYG guess what? I just checked my forecasts and both predict snow tonight and tmr! Woohoo! :O This is big news. Haha. Before this I already took it for granted that there's not going to be any snow in Beijing this winter. Cool shits. And today I was still lamenting I would never be able to see a snow-covered 故宫, then now there might be snow, but it's not as if I'll be free to go visit 故宫. Lol. Life's an irony. Haha. Shoulda still go out tmr? Yeah I should right, since I already experienced snow in Korea and rain in Japan this year, I should give Beijing a chance too right? :D No white christmas but a...white CNY day 8?

I'm in a good mood despite feeling cold because instead of just listening to sounds of explosives going off outside, I can actually see fireworks from my room window for the first time this year! Haha. My window faces a hotel building by the highway you see, so my view is either blocked or I'm facing the wrong direction from all the action. Haha. But today is different! Somebody is setting off fireworks from atop the hotel building! Good stuff :) So I've opened my curtains and subjected myself to the fish tank phenomenon, a term used by my dad. Lol. I'm never going to watch NDPs for fireworks again. It's as if they're free here.


I biked out specially to get nuggets to satisfy my craving today. The security guard was surprised I haven't been going out to play. Lol. There was an Angmoh ordering in chinese at macs and it amused me as usual.


Ok I'm watching the reflection of fireworks in the hotel windows now. Better than nothing la huh. As you can see, I'm bored again. Haha. Maybe I'll go to the gym tmr. Been itching for a run.


So many people are getting married this year. Haha. Seems so surreal to me. I often wonder what makes them so sure they want to spend the rest of their lives together. I can't imagine that happening to me in the near future. Marriage? Such a far cry from my reality now. The less commitments the better :))

Remember the scene in Jurassic Park 1 where evil fatty in a yellow raincoat tries to escape the park in a jeep with dino eggs he's stolen, so that he can sell them for a huge profit outside? But he was ambushed by these creepy dinos with webbed stuff around their heads which could be extended out like umbrellas to increase their surface area and scare the enemy? They killed him with the poisonous venom they spat. This scene sprang into my mind in Nara Park. You can see what an impact Jurassic Park made on me. Or rather how randomly my mind works. Dusk was approaching and it was getting chilly. So there I was, standing at what I thought a safe distance from any deer within my field of vision (I checked 360deg!), and I swung my backpack to the front to pull my scarf out. The moment I let down the cover of my pack after getting my scarf out, I saw a deer's face in mine. Ok not exactly in mine as I'm taller than the deers, but kind of face-to-face as I was looking down. Too close for comfort. And it really gave me a shock, creeping up to me like that. Scream. Haha. Seriously scared the hell out of me. So sudden and unexpected. It must have thought I was digging for food to feed them. Yeah that reminded me of the umbrella dinos cos that's what they did to fatty in the car. They popped up unexpectedly from all sides and spat venom at his face. Funny right, to scream at a deer when I managed to survive haunted houses and scare attempts by my friends all these years. Lol. Ok I admit there was paranoia involved because we were threatened by deers twice before that incident. But still. Good stuff.


As you can see, I'm really bored. I keep thinking of random stuff. Like how much I miss the orange juice in Jeju. I'll fly a crate of oranges home the next time I go there, just like everyone else. Haha.

Seoul 2011Jan16-20

CNY is here when...

There's a mad rush at supermarkets and you have to queue for half an hour at the cashier.

You start hearing crackers and fireworks.

Red-tented makeshift stalls selling firecrackers and fireworks start popping up everywhere.

You start seeing red remnants left on the ground.

Familiar faces in the neighbourhood comment in surprise that I'm not going home for the New Year.