Stranger

I just signed my employment contract recently. An extension of one year, to be exact. It only means that I will be staying in Japan for another 365 days, unless unexpected twists will come my way. So for the meantime, congratulations to me. LOL! So I can finally say, I made the right decision of choosing Japan over Korea , a year ago.

Lots of things happened since the very first second I returned to Japan . Oops, just a warning, this is going to be a cheesy post. It might be. And since I am assured of another year here in Japan , I will not write about the ‘firsts’ I’ve done here the second time around. That would be on another post should I decide to leave Japan once again.

For the past year, Timog Forum, an online community of Filipinos in Japan played an important role in making my stay almost homesick-free. I’ve been a member of this community since 2005 but got active once again last year. Since its an online community, expect it to be filled with faceless strangers talking to you through the power of their keyboards. A cyber family relationship.

cluster of web friends
dealing with faceless strangers
online family

Yes, they be anonymous but they are bunch of respect-worthy netizens. I haven’t seen any of them since 2005 but I developed friendships from few of the members. Even when I left Japan then, we continued giving updates to one another. So when I returned, I decided to meet them. And slowly those faceless friends, are confirmed to real.

Aside from the oldies (my previous contacts since 2005, LOL!) , I was able to meet bunch of photography addicts through this site, one of the many reasons why I am so thankful to TF Forum. Despite making a promise to avoid establishing friendships again (due to employment contract period), I can’t help but to embrace the opportunity of having these friends in the Land of Rising Sun. I felt really blessed to have them. Lucky me! Our friendships are not limited to the clicks of camera nor model shoots. Its beyond that. It includes plurk and facebook. LOL!

Last year was a blast! And this year will be beyond belief!

Group hug, everyone!

/totomai
07/06/09

Gundam

It was a long Saturday. Woke up not in my apartment, got a spaghetti and coke for breakfast, courtesy of my friends. A day like this made me feel that I am still normal. Normal in the sense that I am not that totally deprived of having a good breakfast. Living alone really has its disadvantage. One of them is cooking. But anyway, that's another story.

After breakfast, we went out to meet a group of friends for lunch. Its still a continuation of our friend's birthday. It was celebrated for almost two weeks. The group decided to have lunch at a Filipino Restaurant in Iidabashi, Tokyo, Japan. Glad that our stomachs were filled-up, we never expected what happened next. LOL!

We were treated for a death march around the city. We searched the store in a different location. But thanks to mobile navigation, we finally found the place after 30 minutes under the sun, drank 2-3 energy drinks and consumed packs of wet tissues. But it was fine to us since he was the oldest of the group. Respect the elder! Just kidding of course.

The group then headed to Odaiba, Tokyo, Japan to see the famous life-size Gundam RX-78. It will be opened to public by July or August but since they can't cover it, its almost equivalent to being opened to public already. Or maybe perhaps, there are other interesting features come those months. I guess it will be a good photo opportunity again.

If you look closely, it was well-made. The details from the structures to lights, are spot-on. An actual-real cinematic extravaganza, I say! I must wait for the day when it will be officially open to public. Lots of surprises for enthusiasts like me are likely going to happen. Fingers-crossed.

Gundam (ガンダム, Gandamu) is a metaseries of Japanese anime, featuring giant robots, or "mecha", created by Sunrise studios. The series started in April 1979 as a TV series called Mobile Suit Gundam, and later became a franchise name with more sequels, prequels, side stories and alternative timelines, published and aired in various media including TV anime, OVA, manga, novels, and video games. Gundam became a collective term for 7 different time lines, all featuring their own story-lines, with a few common denominators and war machines called Gundam. source

If you are into Japanese animation, this place is a must for you. The creators invested a lot of time and money to put this life-size robot into existence. One observation though, the crowd is 90% adult. The adults of younger hearts outnumbered the younger ones. It means that Gundam is really popular here in Japan. If only one can bring this home and have this as a toy. Haha!

With a roast turkey burger, its a wrap for all of us. It was a great time shooting with you guys. You all know who you are.

/totomai
06/27/09

Strands

I am inviting everyone to visit my new blog site, Nalalabing Hibla (Remaining Strands). Of course, Distilling Thoughts will be here to stay.

Nalalabing Hibla entries are written in Filipino / Tagalog, and I want it to be funny (if I won’t fail on this department), candid, and more personal. It’s basically having the same format as Distilling Thoughts, one word title and one photo per entry. Don’t worry, I won't use the same photos for these two blogs.

I hope you will find some time to visit Nalalabing Hibla. Come and join me in my journey to life just before all of my hair strands are gone. Hope to see you there.

Isang hibla ang naliligtas sa bawat kuwentong nailalabas.

Any comments, suggestion for further improvement of Nalalabing Hibla, or to make it more interesting, is greatly appreciated.

/totomai
06/24/09

Passion

There are times that you feel that your life is in monotone, black and white or hueless. But there are chances that aid to put color to your life albeit temporary, its good enough to let you realize your existence. I thought, I am alive then.

These may be quick moments, a blurry vision but its enough to put a melody to my heart. Never thought I will be using the word heart here. Well, I must accept I have one and its still working in good conditions.

I think we all dream to find our destiny, our better half asap. But we can't control it, fate has its way of scheduling things despite the efforts you make. Life is real, not ideal, but its not wrong to set your path on an ideal way. Just lower your expectations because if things result to a not-so-favorable one, you might find it difficult to recover. Save some energy just for yourself.

And yes, I hope more of an ideal relationship will come soon. Maybe. Fingers-crossed.

3 Days with Betsy Faye

Yesterday...

We ran around the town plaza,
chased butterflies and dragonflies;
bought some cotton candies, laughed
and counted each other's missing teeth.

I loved you, Betsy.

Today...

We walk out of church,
showers of rice bless us;
waltz to the wishes of guests
while your lips rest on mine.

I love you, Faye.

Tomorrow...

We will sit on rocking chairs,
listen to the tic-tac's of our false teeth;
we'll stare at the pendulum
and wait until our clock of life stops.

I will love you, Betsy Faye.

/totomai

Life can be a fantasy too. Fantasy in a real world. Listen to the music within you.


totomai
06/20/09

Alive

Just came back from South Korea. My job there was physically demanding and mentally draining but I survived it. It was a very good experience on my part, and during those two weeks, I learned a lot from it.

Anyway, a few weeks ago, maybe because of my work load, I tried to isolate myself from cyberspace. My online accounts were frozen. As much as I would like to keep them updated, I just can't. Time is scarce. Not only time, but as well ideas and inspirations were just too difficult to squeeze out of my brain and body. And this is a yearly thing! It happened to me a year ago too.

Ghost Singer

Behind stage curtains,
she performed melodic arias of spring.
Her sterling voice echoed
through the dense auditorium.

Now, behind steel curtains,
she belts a shrill coloratura twittering.
Fortissimo of pathos melodies
resonates through the asylum.

/totomai

Sometimes we build walls just to keep us away from the things and environment that we are used to. To some, it can be a method of discipline, sometimes it can worsen your condition and might break your insanity.

You are responsible in every decision you make. I agree, sometimes we do need a break from every thing. But after we are recharged or inspired again, just imagine the next outline of your chapter. Bet, it will be a smooth sailing one.

I hope I am making sense. LOL! I'll re-read this entry tomorrow.

/totomai
06/15/09

Endo

Endo is a popular term among OFWs and other contract workers. Endo is a short cut for end-of-contract. Endo is also the title of the movie written by one of my good friends, (I am patiently waiting for the DVD, lol).

Ah the dreaded day has arrived. It always been like this since I started working abroad. On the 11th month, I start to worry whether my employer will renew my contract or, in most cases, not. But what make this year more unpredictable is the fact that most engineering companies, EPCs to be exact, are running out of workload. So it means, they have to reduce to manpower in order to survive. Termination is inevitable.

This coming Saturday, I will be leaving for South Korea for some commissioning job. My immediate supervisor told me that its about time to stretch those muscles and stay away from the computer for a while. Yes, I will be supervising a start-up operation of an oil and gas refinery. My performance (perhaps including my supervisory and technical skills) will play an important part in having my contract extended. How I wish I will be more confident and knowledgeable when it comes to actual operation. Fingers-crossed. Its do or die. And I am not talking about the swine flu.

At times, I say that it is fine to have no job but it’s a totally scary to find yourself imagining that you will be cut-off from your job. Really scary. Of course, being the bread winner of our family, I have to be certain that I will get a new job as soon as possible should I be sacked.

I guess I’ll have to do my best if I wanted to stay here. If not, then come what may. I am getting used to this routine but despite of being used to it, there’s still a feeling of uncertainty. And that make me realize that I am still human after all.

In three weeks time, I will know the verdict, whether the finish line is just a shoulder away or its been shifted to a farther spot so I can continue sprinting.

Gambatte! But I am still contemplating, am I going to work as an engineer forever?

totomai
05/25/09

Camp

Thanks to Japan’s Golden Week celebration, finally, I got a well-deserved break. Being away from calculations, reports, material requisitions, proposal is definitely a breather. Add the fact that you escaped from the hustle and bustle of the city, you are in for a treat. For six incredible days, the diminishing rate of my falling hair slowed down. I am thankful for that. It meant no pressure. Just pure, unadulterated and uninterrupted fun.

This is just for the camping activity. Other will be blogged soon, if not, perhaps next year.

From the mountains of Chiba, I went to the mountains of Yamanashi and settled to the hills of Shizuoka. Exhausting? Not quite. Not when you have Kuya Ben, Ate Maki, Kuya Rad, Ate Rya, Ate Mami and Kuya Winnie around you.

We all met at Lake Tanuki, a man-made lake where you can witness the magnificence of Fuji-san. But there are times Fuji-san is too shy to show-off, just what happened on the first day of the camp. The camp was spearheaded by the oldies (I won’t be mentioning names) and the youngsters obliged. Haha! Four of us went from Shizuoka and the three from Kanagawa. While waiting for the traffic-delayed campers, who arrived past 1, instead of wasting our remaining energies, we submitted to the call of dreamland. I never realized that sleeping on the grass or on the wheelbarrow was pretty relaxing after all.

As soon as the Kanagawans set foot on the grounds, we hurriedly set-up the tarp and prepared our lunch. Everything was finished in a jiffy. Either we were too hungry or too excited. After which we erected the tents, our resting venue for the night. And once again, everything was done in a flash.

One of the reasons behind this camp was to practice the so-called strobe technique. The use of external flash to further bring life to subject. As I am not really sure if I am defining it correctly just go to the internet and search about it. Or ask Kuya Rad.

I am not really into flash photography but playing with external flash was spine-tingling. Arranging of multiple lights in various angles and locations was challenging. Not all the times you got what you have in mind but there are also instances that the resulting photo is much better than what you have anticipated.

The session was momentarily stopped by Ate Maki. She had to go to her kingdom or else all of her enchantress would troop down to Lake Tanuki, disturbing the other campers. And with a simple wave, she’s gone. The rest of us continued playing with strobes until our stomachs complained. By the way, we feasted on the foods prepared by Ate Merly, who cares about cholesterol? I can only eat like that once in a blue moon here in Japan so why not abuse the opportunity then?

The rest of the night was spent talking, listening to music, sharing jokes and ghost stories. The weather was still fine before we hit the mat. At around 2 or 3 am, I was awaken and saw the three entering the tent and didn’t mind them as my consciousness was still being drowned in the labyrinth of dreams. It was only in the morning I realized that they checked our things as well as the tents since it started raining before dawn. So much for the hope of seeing the sunrise. Haha!



The rain planned to ruin our activities for the day. However, Kuya Ben, who knows some Japanese superstition, decided to hang a tissue on the tree, to stop the rain. Call it coincidence, but the rain stopped for a while. Of course, what to do next? Take the cameras out and start the shooting spree once again. A group of kids even volunteered to be shot. And Fuji-san appeared for a minute. But we just can’t stop the rain from falling and we have no choice but to wrap up.

Seriously, there are moments that you just don’t want it to end, and this is one of them.

どうも ありがとう みんなさん!

/totomai
05/12/09

PS
Other events will be blogged separately as this site is for blogs, not for novels. LOL!