New beginnings for a chronic procrastinator

Its not new anymore. I moved in here 3 months ago.

Spring vacation ended with a blast, having hosted a myriad of characters in my new abode, starting with my good friend Yuka before she moved to big bad Tokyo and 4 friends from home arriving in 2 batches. The new place is just a stone's throw from uni, and is situated 15 minutes from the city center (if I cycle very, very fast), is situated at the foot of Kyoto's sacred Daimonji hill and basically fulfills all the criterias that I asked for. The area must be green, the view must be nice, must be quiet, mustn't have thin japanese walls... needless to say, I ended up with an apartment that I can barely pay for.








I seemed to have done something right! These creatures are indeed having fun...

Such an investment (one can't say that it is an investment as I do not get anything in return, except for happiness) worried me to bits, and seeing a rainbow the moment I woke up from my first night in this strange place seemed to be a sign from Big Bang that I have made the correct choice.



Fast forward to 3 months after, spring marked a new beginning of other sorts, the dreaded first year of my masters programme. This means that there will be no more (or less) fun times for me and friends in the same situation. I commerated this occasion by a day out with the girls in our fancy suits and tightly-crossed fingers, in hope for a good academic year. Many things to look forward to... classes conducted in japanese, and fear of being discovered to be incompetent!


Bad ass uni entrance ceremony


Charlie's Angelos


Bad ass floating people


Bad ass salsa queens


Bad ass gypsy chick

A new academic year means having another extra shot at yet another set of resolutions. I hope to be able to learn more about my own weaknesses and of ways of overcoming it in my journey to become a good researcher. Maybe I should just stop procrastinating.

Thanks Charlie's Angelos! I had a blast with you girls.

End of winter

Last snow in Kitashirakawa

Winter bade farewell to Kyoto by unpredictably spewing snow on 18^th March, a day more associated with sunshine and sakura trees heaving with unfulfilled promises of a spectacular show you would never forget and of course… dormant insects waking up from beauty sleep and now out for some serious partying. Everyday I walk past these trees, observing hard and searching for minute details of change. Imaginary or no, I seem to have been able to see the buds growing by the day. I can be an impatient person, and anything that is equivalent to watching grass grow (or in this matter, watching sakura bloom only that it has not) can drive my mind crazy and disoriented.

Warmer days ensued after the snow episode. I started to realize how foolish it was of me to lug my jacket around. Despite being a child of the tropics, I showed resilience towards the cold and is known for taking off my jacket during cycling trips in February, something unthinkable to my Japanese friends. My good friend Yuka has suggested that I might have “contracted” premature menopause as I was surely showing symptoms… hot flashes! I enjoyed the cold wind against my face, numbing my ears, my nose.

A nice bike trip to Kamogawa in the pre-spring sunshine brought out the artist in me! I am sure I will miss these bare trees…

Having lived in Kyoto for a year, and having had no contact with any family members, I am glad to have a cousin cross over to the land of the rising sun, specifically in Fukui city. Poor guy is now living in a city where pachinko parlors loom within a 500m radius no matter where you go. Living in Kyoto makes you a spoilt child. With 17 world heritage sites and 40% of all of Japan’s Japanese gardens concentrated here, one can easily turn into a snob. Nevertheless, Fukui has its own charms outside of the city’s boundary and when you step out into the countryside.

Somewhere in Katsuyama

Somewhere in Katsuyama, too.

Eiheiji, one of my favourite temples (my second visit this time)

Holy snow

Driving around Fukui and the countryside with my cousin has brought back the delights of Japanese (mild) winter. This part of Japan is still colder than Kansai area as of that moment. It was snowing so I quickly ditched my jacket, and embraced the cold before it ends for good.


Somewhere in Katsuyama, still.

Having traveled to Fukui with reluctance, I came back to Kyoto with a renewed outlook of the world outside the ancient capital.