"Believe in yourself and move on."

I happened to meet an interesting man in his fifties at a dinner table, when I joined a small gathering lately. We talked only for about half an hour or so in total that evening, but I did enjoy listening to his story, what he does and has done in his life so far. Traveled to various places inside and outside Japan, has done a lot of interesting things, has lived and worked in foreign countries etc. He is Japanese, but not a very typical one, pretty similar to my way of thinking. He is an international-minded man, very open minded.

Before he saw me off at the station, he said to me these words.

"Believe in yourself and move on. Time goes by so quickly, it just goes by. You've got to try hard to make your dream come true, to become what you want to be and to be happier. Do not make a big wall right in front of you by yourself. Don't be tied down by the work / company which you don't feel happy with. Believe in yourself, your talent and make an effort. You must start now!"

He said that he wanted to and had to tell me those words before going home that evening.

His words have remained in my mind since then. And I do feel that I should re-start what I really want to do in my life to make myself happier.

It was an interesting good encounter.

A New Roommate

On my way home, I stopped at a flower shop in the city. I wanted to buy plants for my room. I thought I needed something which could heal my heart and my daily life after stressful days at work everyday.

And here is my new roommate;

a little coffee tree :)

I hope it will light up my daily life and cheer me up...

I wish you all a happy day everyday.

Like the teacher John Keating in the film "Dead Poets Society" says, let us try to

"Carpe diem, Seize the day".

Kada (Wakayama Pref.)

Here are some photos from one of my day trips in Japan. This time I will show you the photos from Kada in Wakayama prefecture.

It is located on the border between Wakayama prefecture and Osaka prefecture.

Enlarge the map

I had a cup of cocoa at a café from where I could enjoy the beautiful view of the small islands on the sea. It wasn't a very sunny day that day, still the atmosphere which the soft sunlight created was mysterious and pretty. The harmony of the sun, the sea and the islands I saw from the hill was just so beautiful.

Plans for Spring 2009

Hay fever season has come. I... hate it...  I keep sneezing and my eyes are full of tears because of it :( It is still a bit chilly, but I feel that spring is coming gradually.

Does anyone of you have plans you want to do in spring or in a few months (spring for those who live in Northern Hemisphere, and autumn for those who live in Southern Hemisphere)? I am not sure what I will do, but I might want to do some short trips on weekends visiting some places on the outskirts of Osaka or some countryside in other prefectures in Kansai area. Then I want to enjoy taking photos of lovely places, want to feel different atmosphere which I usually don't feel in my daily life. I might want to stay in some youth hostels there to meet new people and talk about various things. Those things might give me a different sort of imagination to compose music and inspiration as well.

I have another plan to do from this spring. Well, it is actually something I always want to and try to do, but end up not doing it. I will learn Spanish and a few other languages properly. That's what I want to do from this year. So if anyone of you, who is from Spanish speaking countries, happens to leave some comments for me, please write it in Spanish. It might take time, but I can learn Spanish (which is "live" or "spoken" Spanish.) better.

Not to mention, I need to improve my English as well. Anyway, it is always fun for me to learn languages :)

I hope everyone is doing fine and happy. Till next time, take care and don't catch a cold. Cuidate!

Happy New Year 2009!

It is pretty late, but I wish all of you a happy new year :) I've been busy lately and also a little bit lazy with blogging as I had lots of things to do. Finally I have time to blog today. So here I am again.

I traveled a bit during my winter holiday and spent lovely time with my friends and their families in Europe. I am thinking of uploading some photos of scenery, food etc. with stories from my travel bit by bit, mainly funny stories or some stories which surprised me.

Anyway, I hope you had a lovely Christmas and a great fun on the new year's eve/day. And for my friends and the readers of my blog who are from Chinese speaking countries, I wish you all a happy Chinese new year :)

Till next time, take care. Ciao!