Setsubun No Hi (節分の日)

Hey all you bloggers. Hope all of you doing fine as it already 2015. Yes no new resolution for this year too!

This year, setsubun no hi (節分の日)　falls on the 3rd of February (some years it’s on the 4th). It marks the start of the spring season or risshun (立春) in Japan according to the old lunar calendar. It’s not an official national holiday, but it is celebrated in ways all meant to drive away bad luck and bring in new, good luck. Most of the traditional rituals revolve around beans, because beans are considered to be very lucky. But there is another way of celebrating setsubun no hi, and that’s with a big, long, uncut sushi roll called ehou-maki.

Food wise,ehou-maki originally a kansai region thing [I’m not really use to Kansai region since always based in Kanto for work purposed] whereit has become so widespread i think everyone in Japan takes part in it. Supermarkets and convenience stores cash in on this fad with specially made Ehoumaki rolls for sale.

Ehoumaki kinda look like normal sushi rolls except there is always 7 ingredients in them. 7 being a lucky number. [Sometimes its 8 ingredients too. which is also a lucky number]

There are some rules in how you consume them though..such as…you must never never cut them and you must eat it in the lucky direction of the year. Oh and you should not make any noise or talk whilst eating this sushi roll.

Do you celebrate Setsubun? is there something similar where you are from? Do share!
XOXO C.T

A New Year’s Resolution To Draw More: A Retrospective

fatim308:

New year fav. Have a good read people!

Originally posted on myf draws apparently:

My new year’s resolution for 2014 was a fairly complex one, but in essence it boiled down to two words:

draw more.

…and it has felt like I’ve drawn a lot this year. Not as much as someone who doesn’t have a day-job and a child, of course, but a steady stream of stuff nonetheless.

Some of it I was pleased with. Some of it I was not – and I’ve learned to call that stuff part of the learning process, rather than a failure.

January

It was my husband’s birthday and I made him this card:

February

February first is Hourly Comics Day! I entered into the spirit of things, and tried not to care about putting out unpolished work – after all, that’s what it’s all about.

I’m quite looking forward to the next one already – and let’s face it, February is not usually…

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Less than a month, Living in japan for good!!

Hey all you bloggers!! After a few month of not blogging, my heart suddenly aching for another blog post!!

Hence the title of this post…yup, I will be going for Japan another next 4 month and come on the next year. Its instructed by the company and the only reason they gave so that I will improve my Japanese language and to experience the business culture in Japan. Feel excited at first but knowing that I be away from my family, friends and crazy colleagues seems to saddens me a bit. Whenever they talk about the business trip or how lucky you are. Hmmm…well I guess I’m counting my blessing

Here’s what I know about Japan after my fifth visit to Japan

The Culture Experience
The first Good thing about living in Japan is the same you might find in any other country in the world, and here i’m talking about the experience of living in a country with a culture which is totally different from your own. By this I mean just, in general, that living some time in a completely different culture will enrich your life a lot. It can be shocking and annoying at times, but also very interesting and stimulating. You will learn things about life that you cannot learn without leaving the comfort of your own culture, and see the world under a different light.

Though Japan has now more open and becoming more westernized, but still it has developed very unique and interesting traditions… and yet… one of the most technologically advanced nation in the world. This is a unique combination. Where else can you see old temples right in the middle of modern business districts? Where else can you see old women wearing traditional Kimono while texting with their latest smartphone? Where else can you see students walking around with their long bow for traditional archery? Only in Japan.

Japanese Kindness
Japanese are correct, and polite but this doesn’t necessarily means that all people in Japan are nice, there are annoying people too, of course, I don’t want to pretend that all Japanese are polite and have good manners, but in general people are polite, helpful and correct.

Transportation That REALLY “transports” You
Good Public Transportation, which doesn’t necessarily defeat the purpose of “travelling”, but rather makes life easier in terms of stress. I would say that Japan’s Transportation System is the best in the world. Plus, it obviates the need to own a car (…owh believe me)
The best way to explain it is this: Cold trains in Summer, Hot in Winter, Clean stations and trains, nearly always on time, great customer service and fair price.

Great Japanese Food And Food Hygiene In Japan
Like Italy and France, Japan has too a great food culture.
Apart from the things that everyone knows, like Sushi and Sashimi, Japan has much more to offer. Take Japanese “nabe”, “tonkatsu”, all kinds of “donburi”, noodles, Japanese sweets, osake, umeshu (plum whine), miso soup, all kinds of fish dishes, etc. Food Hygiene is high. No questions about it.

Well about the goodness of Japan. But I knew I’m going to approach good bye soon to my crazy friends a.k.a colleagues less than a month!!!
Okay here’s the thing, I treat my colleagues as if they were like my family. All I can say is it is rare that one finds a good friend in a colleague.Thanks for being that wonderful person who always was willing to extend your helping hand.

Office Politics …Lesson learned!!

Hey all you bloggers, its the month of Halloween and of course the Oktoberfest is here!!

Office Politics. Ever heard of it?

When you hear the phrase “office politics,” what comes to mind?

Do you imagine:

• Favoritism
• Back-stabbing
• “Makes me want to run and hide”
• Cronyism
• Self-interest

It’s not a pretty list, is it?  Yet, whenever I talk with my friends about “office politics” their viewpoints tend towards these types of words. Which is actually I find it TRUE INDEED. And everybody has a really ‘GOOD’ experience with office politics….being manipulated is one of it and it already happen here quite sometimes in my offices.

I learned that no matter what your company, you’ve probably encountered organizational politics. Most of the people you work with misaligned priorities, pursuit personal goals, and unresolved issues — all often lumped under the umbrella of “politics.”
And there’s always one person among of all staff in the organization really don’t like to see you up in cloud nine and will always tend to bring you down. Jealous!!!

Here are just a few lessons I’ve learned:

1. Always give honest responses.

2. You don’t have to be friends with everyone.

3. Don’t settle in too much.

“If I had to, I could clean out my desk in five seconds, and nobody would ever know I had ever been here. And I’d forget, too.”

4. Everyone has distractions that sidetracks the task at hand.

“When I discovered YouTube, I didn’t work for five days. I did nothing. I watched Cookie Monster sing Chocolate Rain about a thousand times.”

5. It’s OK to think about the end of the day, no matter how much you love your job.

“Lord, beer me strength.”

6. Sometimes work makes you irrational and cranky.

“I want to clamp that 21 lady face in a George Foreman grill.”

7. Dreams die. Find new ones and move on.

8. Just be yourself.

9. You will ALWAYS have to do math.

10. Performance reviews are arbitrary and subjective to your supervisor’s mood.

Awww…this is so damn true!! Its happens everyday, so welcome to HELL.

11. Don’t skip lunch. It’s your one bright spot in a bad day.

“Whenever I encounter one of my worst day, food is your best friend” my friend told me this afternoon when we had our lunch together and I think its reasonable, I mean you can’t resist food because food is tasty (in general). At least it helps you feel better.

12. No one will ever really understand what you do for a living.

14. Your office is not your home. It is not worth dying for the job…unless your job is saving lives. Get out.

“Nobody should have to go to work thinking, oh this is the place that I might die today. That’s what a hospital is for…”

People said we should be a professional when handling with work but believe me…I know a few people that handling work that use “PROFESSIONALISM” in their own way. Hmm…way to go jerk!!  Here’s an advise for you : Please try not involved any emotion or get revenge on something or to somebody you don’t like and misused your powers. You should be a LEADER NOT A BOSS.

Well the conclusion is…..It’s easy to use “politics” as an excuse for a lack of achievement or an outlet for your frustration. But it may be a lot more effective to use “politics” as a way to get things done.

Until then, Happy Halloween everybody

P/S Watch out for Micheal #Thriller

diaries & connections to the past

fatim308:

Its great post!!! you guys should read this!! ;)

Originally posted on Accidental Pen:

I have been thinking a lot about diaries – especially the old, hand-written ones.  In our local news, there have been several recent articles about a Civil War diary that is being examined by local historians.  It chronicles the daily life and struggles of a young Union soldier as he passed through this area.  The story is fascinating, but for me it is even more remarkable to look at the images of those pages … his handwriting on the old paper, the scribbles in the margins, the entire personal image that is captured not only by his words transcribed, but by the physical pages themselves.

It made me contemplate my own journaling and diary-keeping.  The mark of my pen, the paper and the books I choose to write in, the ink, my penmanship.  While I know there are many distinct advantages to maintaining a digital record – and there are…

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Monday Pink

( From Left to Right: me, Shirley and Wen ying )

Some people called it blue Monday but for us its a pink Monday…Really love this picture with my friends/colleague…

Sister love on Independent day

Quality time with my twins before on our way to work. Well as you can see here my pic might be a bit blurry ( I’m the one with red) and I remember we used to smile this way like when we’re still kiddies…years past by and it never change.

So enjoy your weekend and to all Malaysian out there, Happy Independent day