Street@Gotanda: This is where I walk by everyday, to get to the train station.

nejireno fall, Tokyo 

1430@yoshino park, kagoshima 

Entering December

It is just the beginning of December but almost everywhere in Tokyo is already in Christmas mode. Come to think of it, when I first arrived in July, it was still humid and sultry in Tokyo, but now, in what seems like a blink of an eye, the scene has changed completely.

After about 4 1/2 months here, I have learnt lots of new words/phrases (of course in Japanese), I have spent quite a lot of money, on the other hand, I have also been making money, I have gotten more comfortable with my co-workers, I have taken lots of photographs, I have been to places around/in Tokyo, I have watched quite some DVDs (thanks to the DVD/CD rental store), I have been working lots of overtime hours, I have been eating onigiri (Japanese rice ball) for breakfast almost every morning, 2 each time, about 4 times a week, 4 weeks a month, for about 4 months, total would be about 128 (2x4x4x4) and counting.

At times, I wish I could be back in LA, sometimes, I wish I could be back in Malaysia. Some other times, I wish I could travel around more often. Too much to do, too many places to be in, too many people that I want to be with, but there can be only one me at a given time, at a given place.

Okay, maybe I should stop whining because everyone goes through the same process in his/her life. Excuse me for my rambling.

BTW, for those of you who haven’t seen the movie “The Beach” (with Mr. Titanic Leonardo in it), should check it out (saw it last night and thought it was interesting).

Peace.

Sunset @ Ippekikou 

A view of Mt. Fuji from Mitosan. Taken on a hiking trip. 

Just makes you want to be there with your special one. 

Yellow, II 

Yellow, I 

Time for some fall colors!!! @Yamanashi, Japan 

帰り道

Winter Cosmos 

where is our bridge? 

playing with light 

Wheel of Light? 

Birthday present = got hired

Anyone ever gotten a birthday gift from his/her boss??? I sort of did this afternoon.

It so happened that today is the end of my 3 month probation period and the company has decided to hire me officially. Hence, I got this "gift" from my boss this afternoon at work, without him knowing that it's actually my birthday. So I guess my lonely birthday is not so bad afterall.

Let's stop talking about today before I get even lonelier.

Last weekend was the awesomest (I know it's not right, but I can't find any other word to describe the awesomeness of it) weekend. For the first time, I went to this Tokyo USC alumni gathering in this place called Roppongi (it's "the" area most populated with foreigners). This gathering was actually an event for USC and Notre Dame alums to watch USC (currently ranked 1st) play Notre Dame (ranked 9th at that time) live at Southbend. It was a game so hyped up that many said it would be the greatest college rivalry game ever in the history of college football. And was it, indeed. I know many of you are already losing me at this point and are about to go to google to search for something more interesting than college football, so I will not further talk about the game, BUT, the point is we beat the Notre Dame Irish by scoring with only 3 seconds left.

It was so cool because, first and foremost, we won, and second, it was the most exciting game I have ever watched and it sure will live long into the history of college football. Thirdly, I also got to meet up with fellow trojans and made new friends. Nothing beats watching a trojan football game with fellow trojans. This reason alone is enough to make me go back to school.

Back to real life. It had been raining for the past few days due to this one typhoon. But it finally went away this morning to make way for some LA-like weather, which I obviously miss.

Sorry for this long post that was not intended to be mainly about football but ended up so.

A Japanese temple in Kamakura. 

秋雨

It has been raining here for the past 3 days. As this is my first fall experience in Japan, so it was kind of unexpected as fall in LA is virtually rainless. I am actually enjoying the final day of my long weekend. Due to the wet weather, I had to change my plans to go shopping instead of going out to take more pictures. Thanks to the rain, I finally pulled the trigger and bought a guitar. Now, I will have one extra thing to do when I am at home.

Also, I was away for two days last week for a visit to SONY's semiconductor factory in Kyushu. Went into the cleanroom and did not like it at all. Can't imagine how one can work in there for long hours.

If money did not exist in this world, would you still be doing what you are doing now?

Buzz..... 

staircase like waterfall