Heart Warming Christmas Eve

Santa Claus has not visited my place for decades, but I still believe that something sweet will happen on me if I am a good girl. So, even on the night of Christmas Eve, I worked hard until late as usual.

When I got home, I recognized that I have received packages. One was a box and the other one was a big envelope.

I opened the box first. It was from Marlo in Southern California. And in the box...there are boxful of penguins! My favorite ones!!

"The kids tried to find anything like penguins in their toy collection and whenever we went out to send to you. They remembered that you loved penguins, so now you have many more to add to your collection! We hope you like them."

Trinity and Jett found them for me! How sweet they are!!

While holding the penguinful box, I couldn't help but warming the cookies of my heart.

Isn't it nice to have somebody who remember me overseas?

I also opened the other parcel. There was a book, "Dewey" (by Vicki Mayson) and a Christmas card from Mary in Medford, Oregon. She wrote a lot for me with her heart-warming words.

Finally, tears came from my eyes.

Thank you my friends! I always love you and miss you!!

I believe Santa Claus came to deliver those parcels for me, while I was gone for work...

So...let me say..."Thank you, too, Mr. Santa Claus!"

Besides there presents, I have enjoyed such a wonderful Christmas season this year.

Dec. 20 -- Christmas Dinner at Ritsuko's House: I made Roasted Chiken and Chinese Pork for five good girls. Everybody loves my dishes. Ritsuko prepared salad with 'miracle' honey mustard dressing, which was innovated by accident.

Dec. 21 -- Christmas Dinner with Mika. We enjoyed Spanish food at El Camino Comedor in Kagurazaka, Tokyo.

Dec. 22 -- Breakfast with Mr. Santa Claus (winter-only! who came to Tokyo from Kyoto for work) in Roppongi, Tokyo. We had such a nice talk over the breakfast, as usual, and I had abdominal muscle-ache as we laugh too much. Thanks to him, I manged the busiest-day-of-the -week while keep smiling throughout the day.

Dec. 23 -- Christmas Dinner with a new friend. We have known each other for months via Internet but just found out we in the same area of Tokyo. I asked him for dinner as my favorite restaurant offers special Christmas menu on Dec. 23-24. As he runs a popular gourmet blog with hundreds viewers daily, I thought he must be an ideal person to go out with on the night... and I was right! It was such a nice dinner, something "VERY CHRISTMAS."

Hope everybody, my dearest friends and the people on this earth, be happy like me!

Happy Holidays!!!

Traveling Kyoto In Late Fall

Kyoto is one of the most popular and must-to-visit cities in Japan, according to many people and travel books. Of course I also visited there in my life, however I did not recognized the beauty of the old city when I went there as school activities.

We visited there to see historic sites, seeing wooden Buddhas, taking photos with friends and etc... It was not really fun, honestly to say, when I was a KID.

However, the real beauty of the city started talking to us all of a sudden. It might be a sign of telling us "OK! You're finally good/old enough to appreciate Kyoto." And time has come to me, too. After living in the U.S. for years, traveling Europe and Africa, I finally was able to have an ability to find the true value and importance of the city.

It was surely nothing else but boring to see the old wooden statues in a shabby temple when I was a teenager. But I can feel the power of people's thoughts and sorrow when they built the old temple and the Buddha statures to make their wishes for peace. The silence along with old wooden houses, which were totally unfamiliar with me who grown up in a big modern cosmopolitan, could even touches me... the nostalgia!

Why it happened? Maybe because I became older and cultural knowledge, which was formed in the U.S. and Europe, helped me to awake my DNA as a Japanese. Of course I always love skyscrapers in Tokyo as they I grown up with them. I also love red brick buildings and European churches and castles I dreamt of visiting for years.

BUT I now fell in love with wooden old temples, castles and statures built hundreds years ago, as well as the perfect matches with autumn leaves.

Here is my compromise. I did my painting in the garden of the Nanzenji Temple and the red brick building is a bridge with waterway built in 1890. Though the bridge is not really old, compared to the ones in Europe, it is one of the oldest western-style waterway bridge in this country. Besides, the colors of autumn leaves make perfect contrast and reflection on the red bricks!

I finished this painting in 35 minutes. Am I quick? Yes, of course! Because I WAS NOT ABLE TO STAY THERE ANY LONGER, because of the rapidly dropping temperature there. It was about 5 Celsius, or 40 in Fahrenheit; the coldest day of this year!

As soon as I folded my palette, I got out of the temple and ran back to the subway station nearby. Though the scenery was perfect, the autumn leaves in sunset, it was not the prefect season/timing for my painting. I became feverish by the time I am back to Tokyo and spent a whole day in a bed...dreaming of Kyoto.

Aftermath of Global Financial Crunch?

As a matter of fact, I thought I am totally free from the recent global financial turmoil. I do not mean I am wealthy enough to waste some money, but I just DO NOT have any assets to be hurt by the international credit crunch.

However, it was only a couple of weeks ago when I got a bank account report from a Japanese city bank, I recognized the aftermath of the disaster has finally reached me.

I opened a bank account at the bank about 6 years ago to save my bonus payment in euro and Aussie dollars. Why did I put my money there in Aussie? The reason was easy -- interest rates! Initially, I planned to buy only euro with my bonus in Japanese yen. But... all of a sudden...somebody inside me whispered a warning: "Mina, Don't you have to hedge risks? Is euro-only saving good enough for you?"

In terms of risk hedges of stronger yen against other currencies --which would lessen my bank account balance in yen eventually-- as well as to earn better profits via differences of higher interest rates, I decided to put the half of my bonus into Aussie...

Yet, it seemed to be OK until September this year. The unrealized profits of my saving in euro and Aussie increased by 25-30% from the initial capital, thanks to weaker-than-expected yen against those currencies and relatively high interest rates.

But the situation converted all of a sudden under the growing concerns on the global credit crunch triggered by the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers and other related issues.

The latest account report showed my "Unrealized Losses" are now swelling to as much as 10%; Aussie plunged by 40% while euro weakened by 25% against yen during the past two monthes.

I know it's not easy to earn money...... But I learned now that it's SO EASY to lose money in a instant.

Has The Change Really Come To America?

Nov. 4 of 2008 will be the really unforgettable day not only for the people in the U.S., but for the rest of the world as Barack Obama has been elected president of the controversial nation, as the first African-American elected to the country's highest office. We were, there was no doubt, one of the witnesses of the historic moment. The speech made by the next President of the United States was surely moving.

As a matter of fact, I was somewhat skeptical about Obama's landslide victory though the U.S. Media expected him to win with a wide margin. As a person who was educated in the U.S., I thought America is not yet ready to have an African-American President. Although I had never felt that I was a MINORITY at school or in the Bay Area, I knew that the place I was from was not mirroring the whole shape of the nation. The reality of the professed nation of the unity is not a melting pot but a large piece of patchwork.

Ominous black clouds still still loom over the country and thus over the rest of the world.

In his speech, Barack Obama declared, saying "The Change has come to America." However in the midst of his supporters' chorus of shouts "Yes, We Can! Yes, We Can!" the next President of the U.S. was standing behind bulletproof glass walls.

It is surely sad and unfortunate to say that there has always been a considerable danger for Mr. Obama to be assassinated. In fact, exit polls showed that about 55% of WHITE American gave vote to John McCain. I can easily imagine that some people would say "Oh my God, The White House is no more the one we loved as it became The Black House," or something like that... In fact, it was only a couple of days ago when some creepy crazy white-Americans plot the death of Mr. Obama.

Moreover, I always wonder whether the U.S. is a real democratic and developed country or not, in terms of the MESS of voting. The election result came out clearly and quickly this time, but the complicated and not functional voting system let people to wait in the long line for hours to cast their votes.

Before dispatching troops to the middle-east and South Asia, the U.S. had better settle down a 'modern election system' not to be supervised by the United Nations election administration committee.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/11/04/MNFA13RQDA.DTL&type=politics&tsp=1

Wine Train Ride in Napa, California

Taking a Wine Train trip in Napa is one of the most favorite events for many travelers in Northern California. But just like not many Tokyoite go to the observatory of the Tokyo Tower several times or very few Japanese poeple climb up to the top of Mt. Fuji repeatedly, it is not really common either for Northern Californian to take wine train trips several time in their lives...I guess. However, as a matter of fact, it was my third time to take the tourist train with gorgeous dishes.

The first time was with my farther... I believe it was in the summer 2000. We enjoyed champagne branch ride. The meal was great and my Dad really enjoyed and loved the tour.

The second time was with my female friend who was traveling together in the Bay Area to attend my Berkeley friend's wedding. At that time, we enjoyed Spas and grape seed oil massage at a hotel and then head toward the dinner. That was...just great and we both loved the treatment.

So, this time, me and my mother tried lunch ride. As I'm driving, I was not able to drink wine during the ride, though I could enjoyed some 'tasting' before boarding.

As Mother and I ordered different plates, we could enjoy both versions. It was surely expensive, but worth trying to entertain special people, such as PARENTS! My mother, needless to say, really loved the experience in Napa.

Yes, Mama, I'm glad you to say that! Why don't we come back here with Dad sometime again?

Sundial Bridge in Redding, California

People will imagine palm trees, beach and the Holly Wood sign as the typical images of California. But THAT IS NOT THE TRUTH! California is more than that!!!

Whenever I travel to see my friends in Northern California, my Japanese friends ask me, "Did you go to Holly Wood? What about the Disneyland in L.A.?"

No kidding! The land size of California is about the same of the main island of Japan. Nobody would expect foregin travelers in Tokyo to drive down to Hiroshima or to Okayama for a day trip... right?

Anyway, my second home, filled with my school days memories, is in Northern California of green mountain area, crystal clear lakes, rice fields and the Bay Area. California is really big, maybe much bigger than everybody (in Japan) thinks. So is Northern California, as it will take more than 5 hours if you drive down from Mt. Shasta to Berkeley, the East bay of the Bay Area.

I usually drive straight between Mt. Shasta and Berkeley, except 1-2 times of coffee break. This time, too, I could take my Mother to Napa from Mt. Shasta within 6 hours. But I decided to stay overnight in Redding, one of the LARGEST cities in Northern California. (Mom is not really used to long-distance travel by driving.)

Ron recommended us to stop by the Sundial Bridge in Redding. Though I did not know anything about the site because the bridge was built only a couple of years ago at the Turtle Bay, I thought it should be a good idea to entertain Mother in a small city, where there is nothing special to host foreign visitors besides the newly built bridge.

By the time we got the Turtle Bay park, a popular camping field, the sun was about to drop over the mountains. The reflection over the water --Sacrament River-- was nothing else but gorgeous! I quickly opened my sketch book and grabbed a pen and a brush to paint the beautiful moment.

Here it is!

Traveling Northern California: Mt. Shasta

One of the biggest events of this summer for me was traveling Northern California to see my old friends from junior college and Berkeley.

Well, although I was born and grew up in Tokyo, I would say Northern California (above San Francisco) is my second home.

As well as seeing and talking to my dearest friends, I was able to say 'Hi' to my sacred and special mountain, Mt. Shasta.

Though the air was a bit smoggier than usual because of wild fine in Happy Camp, the beautiful mountain was still there and smiling to me...

Hello, I'm home!!