Singapore more expensive than HK?

So says the UBS study: http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_419549.html

Weekly Food

My new favorites!

KL airport has wifi everywhere!

KL Airport is huge, has a fancy train that shuttles between nodes (A to H, I think) and though the toilet still is far from Tokyo standards, the toilet cubicle fits the small handcarry-baggage cart they provide all over the airport for free.

There is Harrod's too but it seems to only sell a lot of those shopping bags.

Announcements are in perfect mandarin chinese!

Another reason to shop online

After Gilt.com (and it's in Japan, too!), there's more!

Free international shipping! From shopbop.com

Well... until June 30.

Unit A

Here's an idea of what's inside mansion (really, it's called マンション) here.


This is the toilet exhaust fan and light


and this is where one plugs in the lamp for the bedroom light.

The genkan light :)

In the kitchen...

More Paula Lima

Oren Lavie's Her Morning Elegance

Sun been down for days
A pretty flower in a vase
A slipper by the fireplace
A cello lying in its case

Soon she's down the stairs
Her morning elegance she wears
The sound of water makes her dream
Awoken by a cloud of steam
She pours a daydream in a cup
A spoon of sugar sweetens up

And She fights for her life
As she puts on her coat
And she fights for her life on the train
She looks at the rain
As it pours
And she fights for her life
As she goes in a store
With a thought she has caught
By a thread
She pays for the bread
And She goes...
Nobody knows

Sun been down for days
A winter melody she plays
The thunder makes her contemplate
She hears a noise behind the gate
Perhaps a letter with a dove
Perhaps a stranger she could love

And She fights for her life
As she puts on her coat
And she fights for her life on the train
She looks at the rain
As it pours
And she fights for her life
As she goes in a store
With a thought she has caught
By a thread
She pays for the bread
And She goes...
Nobody knows

And She fights for her life
As she puts on her coat
And she fights for her life on the train
She looks at the rain
As it pours
And she fights for her life
Where people are pleasantly strange
And counting the change
And She goes...
Nobody knows

**********

I think it's me!

Thursday night concert

Paula Lima in Shibuya!

Meu Guarda Chuva

Paula Lima

Composição: Jorge Ben

MEU GUARDA CHUVA

Mas quando eu comecei a gostar de você
Você me abandonou
Agora chorar que é bom
Chorar que eu quero ver
Vai começar a chover
Só eu tenho o guarda chuva
Adivinha quem vai se molhar
Quem vai se molhar é você
Também pode chorar que eu não volto atrás
Pois no meu guarda chuva não te levo mais

Ninguém mais do que eu
Chorou, brigou por você
Ninguém mais do que eu
Sofreu, amou só você

She sang Vou Deixar.



Vou deixar
Paula Lima

Composição: Indisponível

Ele falou, chegou, suave no ouvido
Oh Preta seu gingado me alucina oh!
Eu olhei, pensei
Esse charme me fascina eu vou saber de onde ele vem
O que ele pensa, de que forma vai tratar sua rainha
Ter certeza que não eu vou me arrepender

Esse sorriso (sorriso)
Malicia (malicia)
A minha pele arrepia oh

Vou deixar você chegar
Vou deixar você chegar


All other in Sinceramente.

Inspired by Susan Boyle (and Paul Potts)

From H:

After reading Penelope say that your day job does not destroy you, I felt more confident about focusing on the practical. There are so many variables in life. So many what if's.

Part of me wants to surrender to que sera, sera.
Part of me shares The White Tiger's (by Aravind Adiga) view. No to predestination.

So I'm at peace with predestination, even as I am fighting it. Because hey, who knows? Maybe my predestination is wayyyyyyy better than what I have in mind.

Lessons from Other people

How to Introduce Yourself http://www.escapefromcubiclenation.com/get_a_life_blog/2006/05/how_do_you_intr.html

How to recover from Job Loss http://www.escapefromcubiclenation.com/get_a_life_blog/2007/03/how_to_recover_.html

Salary Surveys

Logistics Executives get around JPY4,000,000 per month. True or False?

I'm looking through this list in Glassdoor but can't find it...

How to Heal after a Heartbreak

Life can be good again.

Go to bed early says fromheartbreaktowholeness.blogspot.com

Dr Phil's advice:

Sometimes the relationship you need to rescue is the one with yourself. Moving past a breakup is about you, not your ex.

Don't start thinking about being friends right away — if ever. You have to be your own friend first.

The relationship gym's advice: 7 Steps

My two cents:
Cry for a bit. Then stop.
Think of the days when you weren't together yet and you were so, so, so very happy.

Love, Life, BREAK UPS

Remember, if you break up with someone, it is only because there is someone else waiting for you. - From SoundOfLife

The rest of the quotes I found on SoundOfLife's page:


Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway. - Anonymous

“Relationships are like glass. Sometimes it’s better to leave them broken than try to hurt yourself putting it back together.”

“The hottest love has the coldest end.” - Rocrates


“The pain of having a broken heart is not so much as to kill you, yet not so little as to let you live.”

“I don’t miss him, I miss who I thought he was.”

“If you’re going thru hell, keep going.”

You don’t die from a broken heart, you only wish you did.

“I guess we all make mistakes sometimes But you were my biggest. ”

“I don’t make mistakes.. I just date them.”

5minutes is all you need to get ready in the morning!

Look at him go!

What I like about RH

I find Roppongi Hills comforting --the way the cinemas are there, Coldstone, and even the open spaces!



Look, they even have massage chairs for your to try them out! These were on the level where you have to enter the Hibiya line station.




I have heard about the strange and spooky stories about the building and the area and hope they aren't for real.

Lamb Lunch Set

This was my lunch! Very very late lunch! That's lamb and it was really good! The picture is bad... (Is it my Sony Cybershot that's to blame?) but the rice is a genmai mix.

Special because it's better for you than a burger

This is lunch when I feel like lazing around. Did you see that price? It was unbelievable! Original "Lunch Time Special" price was 390JPY and after lunch time, it's sold at 50% off!

Chiyoda Sushi
usually located near your neighborhood train station

Green Apple salad

Today's breakfast!

The crunchiest, sweetest green apples ever! Strawberries are sooooooo cheap these days! What happened? 200 a pack!

5 things I hardly spend on

1- During winter, there's no need for the airconditioner. And if you're under really warm blankets, there's no need for the heater, either :) In that case, call the electric company and say you don't need all those Amperes allocated to you (and paid for my you!). You'll actually see the fixed portion of your electricity bill go down. It goes down in the same proportion as you decrease your Ampere allocation.

2- Long distance calls. Skype is a friend. As a treat, your first call to a phone is free!

3- Maps. Use google maps or take photos of the street maps and then find your way using the map on your phone. Why do I do this? It's just a lot more convenient rather than having all those unwieldy maps.

4- Water. I'm glad I live in a place were tap water is still ok to drink. (To prove it, there's even a bottled tap water version sold!)

5- Milk cocoa, Milk tea drinks. I think I overdosed on these while working since these were my favorites from the lineup at the vendo machine at work.

Not satisfied with saving? There are 0ther ways to earn extra bucks.

Love love ice cream!

Ice cream to celebrate!

Mrs Darwin

“Mrs Darwin” by Carol Ann Duffy, Britain's First female Poet Laureate
7 April 1852
Went to the Zoo
I said to him — Something about that chimpanzee over there
reminds me of you

Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008)

This I need to watch!

Ending a relationship is painful. So how does one get over the relationship?

The dumpee in the movie goes to Hawaii.

How about going for a book?
The Four Agreements

As a reviewer writes:

From the cover of the book:

Be Impeccable With Your Word: Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.

Don't Take Anything Personally: Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won't be the victim of needless suffering.

Don't Make Assumptions: Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness, and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.

Always Do Your Best: Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse, and regret.

And referring to philosophers? How about Philosophersnotes.com?

Sunday in Church

I was a bit late for Mass and was led to a seat on the side reserved for Families with Children. I got to the seat and found myself right behind two Korean boys in identical clothes seated in between their parents. They were having the time of their lives, playing with invisible toys while crouched on the kneelers. All of a sudden the younger of the two sits on the dad's lap and plants a kiss on the dad's cheek. I smile. The dad kisses his son back. I am touched. The son kisses the dad again and the dad kisses back again. I melt.

That was so sweet. I can still see it happening as if they were in front of me. Cheers to that Korean family. They were lovely.

How to get cosmetics shipped to Tokyo for free

1- Ask a friend to buy from any pharmacy/ department store for you when they go to Hawaii or Guam for the weekend. ABC Stores in Guam have great prices and a very practical range of products (daily necessities: sunblock, toner, mascara at 1/3 the price in Tokyo!)

2- Ask a friend going on any trip to get cosmetics for you at Duty Free (I like Clarins and Chanel stuff at the airport, they're bundled for more savings! Compare prices at the stores and at the inflight store. I found that inflight stores are cheaper! Well, for the Bobby Brown eyeliner Duo, it's 45USD at the DF Store in Guam, and only 40USD inflight on Continental Airlines! Thank you Continental!)

3- Best of all, if you've run out of friends you can bug, or if travel is at an all time low from the cost-cutting, the swine flu scare, or even from travel fatigue, from Posh Pinay, I learn that a Cosme-de.com ships anywhere for free and does NOT require a minimum purchase!

Hurray for me!

Surprise Call and a Prize

I got a surprise call today from a friend from years ago who sensed (he used the word "sensed" himself) I was in need of some cheering up even if he had no clue it was a weary heart. Thanks to Skype, that short rah-rah chase the blues away kind of pep talk turned into nearly an hour!

I'm grateful for that. I'm grateful for TokyoTower's friendship that makes itself felt across continents.

Now, if you're like me, you're online and talking, but you're never only talking, right? I can't just do ONE thing when I'm online. I'm emailing AND chatting. I'm blogging and talking. I'm surfing, shopping, blogging all at the same time. So here's what came out of that hour, I found this contest! I found a chance to win Jurlique introductory set or a brush set or a lipstick carrying case.

You can, too!

All you have to do, is blog about the contest. Details at Beauty for a Living.

Here's what the Jurlique prize looks like:



Guess what made me do this immediately... The soul at Beauty for a Living is sending it to anyone anywhere in the world! :) When I read that, I made it mine! I'm secret-ing this Jurlique set!

Contest Prize: 2000EUR

See luisaviaroma!

Duplicity

With no expectations, I went to watch Duplicity starring Julia Roberts and Clive Owens. It has a fun ending! Initially, it was slow --but the pace of the light comedy/love story was gave you time to savor the picture on the big screen :)

I like the way Julia Roberts' skin looks. She has freckles :)

Another movie to look forward to: Kesareta Headline (English title is State of Play) starring Russell Crowe and Ben Affleck

National Health Insurance Premium

This is how Setagaya ward charges for National Health Insurance. Basis for the premium calculation here.

すばらしい日曜日

先週は良かった。

遅く寝ても早く起きて、朝ごはんを準備して、出かけた。

協会に着いたら、すぐ並んで、少し待ってた、神父様がいろいろ話して、これが覚えた：忘れてなくても真に許すことが可能です。

あとで席も取ってくれた。

忘れなくても許すことが可能だ！

New recipes

I just found Obachan's kitchen and can't wait to try out her recipes.

Left Turn

At the Taipei Airport

おからレシピ

昨日買ったおからはどうする？

レシピ見つかった！Cookpad.comで。

Arrived OK prompts

Without any need for SMS, phones on international roaming, scampering for a public phone, one can inform friends about arriving at one's destination safely.

This isn't one of those automatic prompts from airlines that announce that the plane has landed. The service works by checking whether one's phone is actually working in the destination and then sends out SMS, email, twitter to the pre-set list of people. ArrivedOK seems interesting. Hope it works!

Ideas for eating out

I recently found Kat and Satoshi's blog and will try out the places they recommended. Thank you for sharing your favorites!

When tuna head meat looks like beef

At Inagiku



Auntie C, thank you!

Hospital Set-up

Look!

This hospital has high ceilings, a mural, an aquarium, and comfy seats.

Even better, the information ladies are very quick and very helpful.

Kitasato Institute Hospital

Why is there a red stain inside the tomato sauce can?

Look!

Is that normal?

Nutritionists, please advise?

Rice alternates

I mix ビタバァレー into the rice! Yes, the bag above's empty... I've used this one up. Time to pick up another bag.

It's wheat!

What the food really looks like

Butter Chicken Curry at Taz Mahal Shinjuku

Menu - Part 3

Menu

Taz Mahal Menu (Part 2)

Tropicana saves the day!

The menu (Part 1) at Taz Mahal --yes, it was Taz...


This one was really good! I got it at a jidohanbaiki (vending machine).