Now firm's team is dissolved and many of "us" leaving the work for good!
Tonight farewell, not funeral, took place in Roppongi.

20-some friends got together over dinner.



Farewell gifts from the coworkers!
Like hunting hat. Nice!



Shoe caring kit.



Hand and body soap



Why underwear for me??? Hahaha.
Good joke!
Very kinky but cool present it is.

Festivity doesn't come to an end, easily!
Finished 2nd place around 2:30am.
No more trains for the day to go home.

Then, 7 of us decided to continue.
Went into sport bar for some more fun.



Pool table



Golf simulator and even played darts.
Pretty fun even though all of us were quite drunk!!! Hehehe.
Certainly, became memorable night.

Here is my BIG THANK-YOU!!!



Flower box for me.



Very cute!!!



Underwear… nicely "boxed."



Boxer pants. Hahaha.
Nice try. Liked it!



Underwear for two… couple --- meaning for MoonFlower and I???
Oh boy! What a joke!

Though, I liked it.

Now I am on "trial" for 2 weeks… to see if Hulu is worth to subscribe.
Yes, Hulu has arrived in Japan for a while.

Maybe I will switch my subscription from Star Channel (movie channel) to Hulu soon.
I guess, video on demand seems to be much better off than ordinary TV channel on specific category.
Plus, the cost will be cut by half.



For current viewing… it is "the West Wing." I like this series much.
Maybe another political theme-base drama after "Commander in Chief."

FYI - I have never majored in Political Science, though. Hahaha.

Nonetheless, the political theme-base drama is a good material for English study.
It is because:

- President will speak proper English.
- President's staff always responds starting with YES or NO. High clarity.
- Argument taking place seems good lesson learning into business scene.

Agree?

Down side is of the political term.
You will not enjoy much out of story without having good understanding of US Politics.

In my opinion, good point covers bad one well and worth to spend time to see and learn.
I just finished 1st season of 20 episodes.

20 episodes x 45 mins = 900 mins equal to 15 hours. Oh gosh!

Hulu holds episode up to 2nd season. 3rd or beyond are coming up soon??? Just wondering.
Otherwise, I have to look into other drama to watch for fun and some study.

Today is decision-making for country's direction.
Yep, General Election Day it is.



This is a genuine ballot for the General Election in Japan!

Believe it or not, we, constituents, still write the name of candidate as our vote on the piece of paper.
Yeah, piece of paper with pencil.
It is true! This is Japan's voting style still today.

Where is our technology? We are not confident of that??? Hmm.

LDP (Liberal Democratic Party) is coming to a historic victory tonight.
It will come back to the power for the 1st time in 3 years.
Good? Bad? Hmm, we just didn't give confidence to the other one - Democratic Party who held last power.



Not because of celebration of LDP's huge win - but just happened to be… opening a bottle.





Called ODEN for super along with that bottle tonight.

Some explanation here for you:

Oden is a dish in which a variety of ingredients such as tofu, eggs, white radish, fried fish paste, and potatoes are boiled together in a large pot of seasoned fish broth. Hot mustard is served as a condiment.

Making sense to you? Hope it does.



Yummy food and sparkling wine. Good combination for me.
MoonFlower didn't like that bottle much because she said that taste was different.
To me, it was okay. Hahaha.

Now 1st half of December is gone. Already!
Too fast.

My iPad (3rd Generation) sold via auction site is now dispatched to the winner.
Yeah, already.
It means that I come to another life without such gadget!!!

Used a little longer than half year… now SOLD!
via Yahoo! Auction tonight.

Very fast… closed the deal in 15 minutes.
Some core user agreed to pay the desired amount.

Thanks!!!

Comic cafe was part of my "to-do" list for this time's stay in Japan. Hahaha.
Today, I have to put a check mark on that particular line item on the list.

In the afternoon, went to comic cafe… providing a (tiny!) space for reading comics or surfing the net.

My purpose??? Of course, I have to read "Kami no Shizuku" - the comic about exploring the wine.
"Kami no Shizuku" can be translated as "Drips of God."



Grabbed #5 to #10… though, within 2 hours, I hardly finished them. Hahaha.
I need to come back.

Also, there is a lot of "other temptation." Lots of magazines are available.
I'd better check those out first… more than comic. Hahaha.

Had to go to renew the visa for my stay.
I know, this is still necessary even though the number of days in BKK is yet limited.
Rules are rules! Hahaha.



Huge governmental building complex.
What is this open area for?
Maybe you can run and scream around for nothing? Hahaha.



Local food for lunch.



This is large size. Large enough?



Not water. Chai tea. Pretty sweet.



N'Tity and Ogakijin… how come we hate each other so much?
Of course not. Happened to be that way in this picture.

Accident, right?



Immigration. Took so much time… though, settled at the end.
Long day just for this. Hmm.

July is ending… today.
Already? Yeah, already!



Saw this truck… on the way to the project room.
This is no made-up. Totally truth.

OVER-LOADED!!!
Obviously, truck body is smaller than entire size of cargo!!! Don't you see this?
I'd better yell at them? Hahaha.

Yes, already last day at home!
Tomorrow, hitting back to BKK once again for Season 7.
Too fast!



Supper at home started with bottle of bear. Unusual.
"Grand Kirin." - is that premium brand? Never knew before.



Eel was the main dish for me.
I asked MoonFlower to fix it as last supper home together.
Yes, had missed this food for long time.



I bought some cakes for both of us for after-dinner dessert.



Coincidentally, MF brought some sweets as well.
Thus, we had plenty of sweets home tonight.
Ate too much for sure!!! Hahaha.

Okay, ready for hitting the road to BKK… see you there soon, folks!

It is Monday night and I went out for drinks with Kirk tonight.
He said that he would have to go to hospital for check-up tomorrow.

Tomorrow?
Then, he drinks with me tonight?
Asked him many times if this was okay or not.

He totally okayed. Really? Yeah, really.
Hope things will be okay with him tomorrow.



Tavern located in Tsukishima area.



Kirk "as usual"
He is going to get (finally) married this fall.
Congrats!!!

I am so relieved! Hahaha.





Lots of drinks and food tonight.
Over eating and over drinking. Beat me!

Though, it was fantastic time with long time friend.
We've known each other for almost 15 years now?
Cool!!!



One more thing.
Recently, bought a new belt for my watch - Cartier Santos 100.
Finally arrived.

Usually, user has to order for new belt upon selecting type of leather and leather color.



They are navy color. Can you see?



Since purchase, default brown belt has been worn out over 4 years.
Now time to "refresh."



So cool even without the belt. Hahaha.



New look with navy belt!!!
What do you think?
Better than I really thought.



Very cool.
Unfortunately, it is not time to put on my wrist for a while… since summer.
Hahaha.

In fact, I was wearing this watch all day today:



Tag Heuer watch.

Anyway, so glad to make Santo 100 get new look like that!!!

Project members were up to Mahjong after work.
Yeah, big Friday night entertainment / game among us.
Four of us spent time over the game for decent hours… like 5 hours?



The place is really for Japanese customer-only.
Not really crowded, though.



It was first time for me to play game in over 10 years!!!
Plus, absolutely 1st time to play on the automatic Mahjong table ever.

Came to a big loss… I was at last place after all.

Loss of 2,000 baht. Seriously!!!
Big loss for me like I usually do not carry more than 1,000 baht.
Hahaha.

Shocking. Indeed.

Today it was only my day off while in Japan!
Easy day? NOT so easy.
In fact, I had to go some errands… hahaha.

Went bank for withdrawal, etc.

Oh dropped by the video rental shop for music CDs.

-Kyary Pamyu Pamyu
-Iki mono gakari
-T-ara
-Kara

First two are Japanese. Following two are Korean.
All were female vocal… hahaha.
Somehow just like that.



Kyary Pamyu Pamyu - 1st album "Pamyu Pamyu Revolution"

What kind of music?
It is like techno-pop music, I would say.
Hard to describe!

Those were rental.
Though, I bought another one online.



Maroon 5's latest album "Overexposed."
Pretty cool!
Recommended.

Then, at evening, I went to my usual hair saloon for haircut.
I got free head massage then.

Never done that before.
I wouldn't even get that unless it was free. Hahaha.
It turned out to be pretty good, though.

It was pretty good massage lasted like 20 minutes or so.
My hair became a bit shiny… hahaha.
Sounds like a girl!

Talked a lot with the stylist who gave me treatment and haircut.

OK, tomorrow it is Friday… going to rain all day, huh. Darn it!
Yes, am going to work! Probably a little more than that. Hahaha.
See ya!

Working dinner tonight.
Though, was it by mistake???
Ended up at Cabbages & Condoms.

Yes, restaurant. Thai food.
2nd visit since end of last year. Remember???





Tiger!!!







Actually, foods are really good.
A bit tourist pricing… but okay.









All are real? Seriously???



Oh no!

It is Friday… last working day in Japan for me… before very next BKK trip!!!
Time really flies… already last day? Gosh.
Anyhow, work is work. Right?

Now you can take a look at my attire for the day.
Still "Super Duper Cool Biz."
Hahaha.



Yes, wearing PINK! What's wrong with that???
FYI - I am not a gay… and I never like gay. Got it?
Hahaha.



Shirt and jeans are both from Tsumori Chisato.
Very cool, huh!



Tonight - I was with Kirk - long time friend since Atlanta era.
Remember of him???



Went to a tavern in Shimbashi for eatingJapanese stuff.







Don Perignon - in pink??? Hahaha.
Still Japanese alcohol!



Tavern was packed with (almost) all Japanese male.



I should hold pink drink, wearing pink shirt. Hahaha.
Good combination!



Then hit the road to Ramen noodle shop.
My usual place… called Sawa - but in different location tonight.





Very tasty… as always. Good stuff!
Better than any ramen noodle ever found in Bangkok! Hahaha.

Okay… one more day to go for me to "stay" in Tokyo.

It is Thursday!!! Wan paru hat in Thai.
It means I have only 2 more days to be around since I have to fly back to Bangkok once again.

Chai, iik krung (yes, again)

Yeah, I will fly on Sunday. Means that I can enjoy half of coming weekend???
I have to sacrifice my precious Sunday? Darn right…

Anyhow, today's attire. Cool biz of Ogakijin. Hahaha.



Vivid design shirt, huh. By Tsumori Cisato - my favorite designer.
In fact, I wore T-shirt and shirt over T-shirt… both were from the same brand.
Coincident? Hahaha.



Album "JPN" by Perfume - yes, TECHNO music. I like those girls for sure.


Another choice of music is by Maroon5.
Cannot wait very next album which is coming out on June 20th.
Recent single "Pay phone" is really cool.



Calm and rich music for study… MELLOW huh.

Rented those three CDs tonight and I have to return them by 10am tomorrow.
Good choice I made…

Surely, I wanted to take more music with me going to Bangkok.
Now I am more ready.

Yeah, photos from previous night… dinner at home with MoonFlower.
I opened the bottle of sparkling wine I bought at BKK airport…
It was Italian sparkling wine… quite popular brand called "MARTINI."

Have you had one before? Recommended… quite good cost- vs.-performance.





Quite reasonable prosecco it was.
Can be with any kind of foods for sure.





MF fixed something for two of us.





Good bread… I kept eating.



Lastly… not least MoonFlower's home made pasta.
Yes, it was carbonara. Perfect one she fixed for me!!!



And today… I went out for shopping.
To buy two things. AppleTV for my Thai friend… and SIM for my new iPad.
Yes, I bought them at Yodobashi Camera without any trouble. Good stuff.

I will see how the G3 connection out of my new iPad. Hope it turns out to be good one.

Late afternoon when MoonFlower came back from gathering with her friends… we hit the road to her mother's house.
Everything was smooth and flat until the time we went off the express way.
We suddenly heard big metal-squeezing noise from somewhere front side of the car.

I was quite afraid that the car gets broken down in the middle of road.
We stopped. Check the car… and found nothing.
Though, as car moved, the noise really came up.

Finally, we call the dealership for help.

After infant diagnosis by the engineer over the phone, least conclusion - "car is still drivable."
Assumption was that some small object got jammed inside the disc break.
Does that really happens? According to him, rare but still happens.

So we decided to drive up to that dealership for inspection.
At least we can get relief by doing so. Hahaha.
Took us another 20-25 minutes to get there… and noise was eventually gone right before getting there.

Inspection was done and the final answer was the same as assumption.
Wow, good news!

So we went to the house of MF's mother quite late because of that… was better than getting serious accident and the like.

Tomorrow, will go to newly-open outlet mall for shopping!!!

Okay… only one day to go… tomorrow is the last day that I stay in Bangkok this time.
I will fly back to Japan on Thursday then.
When to be returned? Am I truly going to? NOT sure… it's up to my firm.

Anyhow, big surprise was under way… which I had no idea.



This phone strap was given to me today… from a female student of the class I taught last week.
Really?
Yeah really.

Important point… two things.

1st - She noticed of my nickname in addition to full name. In class I told them my full name… so she must check out my profile in the document which has nickname. Cool.
2nd - There are more than several instructors for the class… but it seems be that I am only one coming to get one.

Oh boy, I have secret admirer? Hahaha.
Not secret because I know who she is.
Then the question is whether she is serious? Hahaha. Doesn't matter. I am married. Hehehe.

At least I feel good about what I have done teaching the class.
Great experience for sure.

So I can tell that I have some fan in Bangkok. Good, huh!





Dinner took place at Germany restaurant called "Bei Otto" located on Soi 20.
It was team dinner… since coming to an end of Season 4. Yeah 30 day stay in Bangkok!
It was quite successful. At least I can say so…

Today we passed the exam given by the board members of client.
So now we are so relieved for sure. You know what I mean?
So relaxed now.

Tomorrow another and last working day in Bangkok then hit back to Japan day after tomorrow!
Cannot wait!

Woke up quite early… don't know why.
Maybe I am getting old. Hahaha.
Good thing about getting up so easy today was that I came to see my favorite actress coming on TV show live.







Manami Higa is my favorite for sure.
Rare to see her in live show… so it made me quite happy to come to see this!
You know what I mean…

Thus, I made a perfect start of the day… hahaha.
Now we have to finish preparing for tomorrow's board meeting… the biggest event during this stay.
Wish me luck!

It was definitely fun experience to me.
I came to be lecturer of class at Thai-Nichi Technology of Institute today.
From 9am to noon for 3 hours… it was my SHOW. Hahaha.

I was quite nervous, though.
Because of previous class - Accounting when students showed much difficulty keeping up with the subject, I was quite concerned whether they could keep up and show some kind of sign for being interested.

My worry didn't need to last as far as today's class went.



Maybe I did a good job. Hahaha.



There were lots of smiles and laughs in the class.
3 hours seemed very quick and short.



Students never lost the intension listening up today. Thank you!!!
I am quite happy with how it went.










So everything went as pretty much planned.
All slides for the class were used as well.
My past weekend for the preparation is well paid off!!!



So I came to a big lunch after class. My reward. Hahaha.

Preparation was quite everything for today's lesson learned.
That's what I conveyed to students about making good presentation.
See my point? Hehehe.

What's up, folks!
It is my birthday… yes it was my 39th.
Wait. Am I truly 39 years old now?

I feel like I turned around toward becoming younger!
Let's say, I were about 35 years old! (big difference?)

I received so many HBD messages from different media including mixi, Facebook, and other social network.
Of course, direct emails and special phone calls… I thank you for that. Truly.
I am quite delighted!

Yesterday, I shared with you the story about some surprise the client threw for me.
Today another story here.
I came to a big cake again! This time, sweet cake! (khanonkheek)



I feel like I were a kid because this kind of celebration never took plea for a long time!!!
You know what I mean. Whole cake, candles, and blow on my own!



The party took place at "Soi 8" Irish Bar.
It was my first visit even though rest of project members have been there more than several times!
Hmm, why not me… until today??? Hahaha





Shiro~ Thanks for neat party, bro.





"Irish" Pub still serves Thai food. Interesting (nan khao jai)



Big cake, huh!



Lastly, we played the pool.
First time in long time for me. Since Thunderbird???
I did play it okay. Everyone won once and break even among three of us.

Peace.

Last even for the night was the massage.
Body oil massage in Phrom Phom.
I have been to foot massage once in February or March… none other than that.

Kind of hesitation to the oil and entire body to be massaged.
It was not bad at all.
Though, I felt a bit awkward about the fact that I had to be naked… entirely. Oops.

hahaha (555 in Thai numeric expression)

Oh, one more thing… I cannot forget about it.



BD present from MoonFlower. It was a bangle. Cool huh!
Remember that blue is best fitting color to me? Yeah, perfect fit, huh.

Anyway, happy 39th birthday for myself! Hehehe.
Good night!

Oops, I'd better call my mother… who has the birthday same as mine… TODAY!
Happy birthday, Mom!

Hi folks. I have another 366 days to go… in order for me to turn to be Big 4.
Oops, that joke has been used already. My bad!!!
Anyhow, it was my last day as being 38 years old…

Yes, I am becoming oldER. Leave me alone.
I get more grey hair and come to short memory… That's okay.
SPONTANEOUS!

Today it was quite consultant-like day.
Meetings and some "quiet" hours for thinking. Another deliverable template has been come up.
Good deal.

As one day before my birthday, I came to some surprises.

I was called upon to be one on one with some client.
The secretary came to our project room and I was told to come with her ALONE.
I had to sit in the middle of nowhere… totally intimidated by surrounding.

"Happy Birthday---" song sung by IT Team.

Gosh… what a surprise! It was quite scary. Hahaha. I truly held my note pad with pen for serious meeting.
Yes, you all really got me!
Plus, they brought a nice ice cream cake.

Another one.
Had another Thai lesson tonight. Yes, 2 nights in a row.
After the session, my Thai teacher Si gave me a card and some gift. It was a nice wallet.

Cool!

Wait. Was I ever been popular or treated that well before? In Japan? In US?
Probably (must be?) Thailand is now my most favorite place of all??? Hehehe.
Good stuff. I really appreciate.

No Thai class tomorrow after work.
I should plan something for myself??? Maybe...

On the way to new apartment… new place.
I have to call it new even though the facility itself is not quite new. Hahaha
So ironic.

Anyhow, took the picture of premise. Can you see it well?
Probably not.



Anyhow, good night and see ya tomorrow!

Hi folks. Another 367 days to go for me to be BIG 4.
Wait. Let's not talk about that far future. Too much uncertainty! Hehehe.

Today started working at 7am due to conference call to Japan.
Though, turned out to be all in vain. Unfortunately.
Of course, I wasn't happy about it.

It was not my fault, though.

Late morning, I showed up to the office and started working on project and other stuff.
No major meetings scheduled today. Thus, it was quite calm for me.
Though, time still flies fast.

At 6:30pm it was time for me to resume Thai lessons.
Yes, from today!

Though, as you can imagine, I forgot it all!!! I didn't study Thai at all while was in Japan.
Yes, my fault about that. Hehehe.

I even open the Chapter 14 when my teacher told me to go to Chapter 20.

14 = sipsii
20 = yiisip

See, I cannot even recognize the numbers… this was the true proof that I totally forgot!
The fault is mine… yes, I admit it.

After the lesson, I came straight home.
I wanted to eat some instant food home tonight.
Well, it was quite in vain… thinking about that plan.

Tons of ants were found around the kitchen. Oh boy!

My appetite disappeared instantly for sure.
Only ate small bread with water. That was enough for tonight.

I will definitely request the pest control tomorrow.
No one really likes termites for sure.
Bad dream… being seen today. No more. Done!

This was the side effect that I moved from new place to old one…
Hope tomorrow the day becomes much brighter.
Wish me luck!

Wan nii khun pen yangai baang?

Today's agenda… worked in the office, not the project site yet.
Project is to resume from next week. Therefore, project members got together in the office for internal meeting.
Yeah, we had to organize the idea and action plans for coming to consent among ourselves.

Productive? It was okay, i guess. Hehehe.

Today the 20th of month - pay day! Yes, money is now wire transferred to my bank account.
Then, I have to withdraw some (lots of) money for home loan payment.
Plus, MoonFlower's allowance, mine… on top of base household spending for foods, etc.

Wait.

Still expediter is the same while I am away from the country?
The answer is yes. Unfortunately. Very unfortunately.
You know, living outside the country doesn't come easy.

In a matter of fact, my living cost is much more than expected originally.
Then, my monthly allowance doesn't come to cover everything needed in Bangkok.
It is mainly because of weekend's spending like golf and social gathering (e.g. drinking).

Thus, no more golfing for a while!
I will have better control about the budget.
Will see how it goes.



After work, we had an extra inning! Meeting? Sort of… but not quite!


It was a BBQ place.
How come Shiro was in the picture? I just wanted to show how big the menu was. Hehehe.
Maybe he knew that I was taking (stupid) picture. Hahaha.



Place was called Roadhouse BBQ.
It was my 1st visit. It was pretty good and it was really American pub stuff.
It was good reminder. Hahaha.

Some beer along with buffalo chickens!
Yeah usual stuff. It was pretty good!
I definitely look for another chance going to such place.

Late night after that mini festivity… had to pack my stuff.
Tomorrow, moving to another place. Still in Bangkok.



At least, I put the all clothes in the shrink bag.
I'd better get up early to be ready for move.
Oh boy, busy weekend is to begin.

How's it going, folks?
My vacation week is still going.
I was quite lazy once again and I didn't even go out at all. Not even single step outside the home!!!

Perfect for me.

You know, I am kind of person never mind being home alone, just watching TV or surfing the Net.
If you know me in person, I am sure that you cannot disagree. Hehehe.
I spent quite quality time by myself.

Only regret was that I didn't study Thai language much. Very little.

Anyhow, I spent quite time for organizing this website data.
I still have lots to go to reorganize the data for sure.
Though at least, I keep going… until whenever finishing it all.

Next project note organization.
From the project in Bangkok, I saved up about 70-80 pages of note.
Now time to sort them out.

I usually take notes on the note pad such as "Rhodia" (from France).
I make sure that each page I make a mark for the sequence on the top (otherwise, I may lose the track once detached?)
Then, scan them… into digital data.

After this, quite easy and convenient.
All scanned notes are sorted out in the Evernote.
Dates and name of the meeting, etc. Of course, whom I had meeting with.

Once it's done, no more hassle like bringing many notes with you.
Always instant access to the notes from iPhone, iPad, Mac or Windows.
I can keep all notes indefinitely and no limit of number of notes!

Recommended!

At night, I checked more than several websites for wrist watches.
You know, it is about my crazy hobby… watches.
I found that some brand I usually don't take a look was quite interesting.

It is ZENITH watch.

Reasonably priced… notably, beautiful see-through back (rear).

Gosh… so cool.
Compared to other brand… such as IWC, price against value was quite high.
Some Zenith models are quite reasonable, too.

Hmm, I'd better go to shop to check them out!

Of course for the purchase, I have to discuss it with MoonFlower for her consent.
Yes, I do need that. Otherwise, chaos… you know what I mean.
I like peach more than anything. (BANG!)

Just obtained this photo… from the recent kick-off for this project.



I seemed to look so nervous… don't you think?
Hahaha. You can laugh.

Showed up to the Thai Embassy this morning.
Yeah, my Tokyo time starts...



Ate Chinese dish for lunch. Yeah, never get tired of Chinese food!!!
Sure, Thai food is good, too.



Along with project members, came to Yasukuni Shirine for prayer.
For what? Of course, this huge project's success.

Really? Really.



Only 100 yen? For Apple's bumper (orange).
Yes, it really was. So I picked up.



Well, I really wanted to buy this green bumper, though.
Meaning, I bought two bumpers at a time.



Great supper fixed by MoonFlower who worked a bit over time today.
It was good food… liked it so much. Thank you darling.

What's up? This week is now coming to an end… as far as work concerns.
One more day to go. I shouldn't complain.
Big weekend is ahead.

There are many plans over the weekend. I will be even busier than usual.
Oh, I will play golf… I know, I don't do so that often. This weekend is exceptional.

Being inspected?
Do I look suspicious… even a bit???
MoonFlower will come to Bangkok to "check me out."

It is 1st visit for her to Thailand. Good for her!
I am sure that she will enjoy herself so much over Bangkok and other cities that she visits.
Cannot wait!

She will spend only limited like… not as living with me or anything.
I bet that she will come here with long list of DOs and shopping items.
Oh boy, I have to be supportive for that.



Today's lunch. Said, "sweet papers and pork." Not that sweet. Rather, a bit spicy. NOT bad though.
I even like it. Hahaha.
Well, the menu list is pretty decent… so it may take some time to come back to this dish.

Okay, i'd better go for now.
See you tomorrow.

Okay… another 10 days to go… for flying back to Japan.
Yeah, still my flight back scheduled on 29th.
Wait. Today is 20th… PAY DAY!!!

I'd better transfer some money for paying the home loan…
I should not forget about it. Hahaha.

It was a long meeting took place in this afternoon.
It made me go to Thai class late.

"Khoothoot thii maasaay"
Means, I am sorry that I am late.
Yeah, had to tell so to my Thai teacher (this is private lesson).

Tonight, I learned about how to tell time.
Well, it's not as simple as English or Spanish.
Time expression obviously got influenced by some culture or even religion.

Thai is indeed Buddhist country.

Interesting expression about time in Thai… is from 7pm till 11pm.

You cannot use figure 7 to 11 to express those. Seriously.
Instead of those figures, you have to count from 1 again.

7pm - 1 night hour said in Thai - "1 thum"
8pm - 2 night hour said in Thai - "2 thum"
9pm - 3 night hour said in Thai - "3 thum"
10pm - 4 night hour said in Thai - "4 thum"
11pm - 5 night hour said in Thai - "5 thum"

Those 5 hour expressions are the exceptions.
Otherwise, you can use same numeric expression. Makes sense?

Thai is interesting and unique language.
I am yet eager to learn so much and I will continue as long as possible!
Constraint is of the budget that I can take Thai classes… maybe. Hehehe.



my "khaaw thiiang" (lunch) today… Yum Yum.
A bit spicy it was.

It's Saturday!!! (Wanni wansau!!!)
As usual, I went to school for Thai language lesson.

Of course, I took care of laundry and other miscellaneous matters home.



Lesson went with no problem… except…
Surprise quiz was given!



1st half was choosing right answer from 2 alternatives.
2nd half was of composing the answer to the given questions.

There were 10 questions. Oh boy.

This quiz didn't end upon finishing the all questions.
Teacher asked me to read each question and my answer at loud.
Then I had to explain what it means in English.

Gee, this quiz was full course quiz! Hahaha.

Well, thank God, I was okay upon being given A.

Thereafter, I went to Nana Station to get together with my colleagues.
I came down there to help them to move in to new apartment. They are no longer allowed to stay in hotel because, like me, they're expected to "live" in Bangkok for a while.

Probably another 3-4 months. SERIOUSLY!



Apartment room seems very nice and fully furnished!!!



Bed size is queen!



Pretty cool view from the apartment window.



Hallway is ordinary. Hahaha.



Lobby was at least clean.



My friends were so serious in choosing the linen design.
I usually pick very vivid color. Though, they were pretty conservative. Hahaha.

When finished all shopping for move-in, it was already passed 6pm.
So we went out for dinner and ended up at pretty expensive Italian restaurant.
Italian… I cannot resist too much.



Lasagna! It was my wonderful choice of the night!



Sweet was awesome!

Some entertainment followed immediately after that restaurant.
Perfect night for me and other friends seemed to have fun WAY much more than me. Hahaha.

Good night!

Yes, it was my day off today!
What's wrong with this??? For rest of this month, I will remain in Bangkok…
This is my only day for being myself doing anything I want.

Wait. What about the weekend?
What about it? I said, "being myself." Hahaha.
In the morning, I went out driving to the nearby theatre for movie.



"The Penthouse" is the movie selected.
I thought that it would be super duper funny…
Well, it wasn't that bad… but so unrealistic… from one scene to another. Hahaha.

Went to McDonald's after the movie for late lunch.
Then, studied Thai language for an hour in the same place.
Yes, am still pushing myself to learn that language.

I could go home thereafter… though, I shifted the car to different direction.
Something can be done easily on weekday instead of weekend.
Yeah, test drive!



Italian car, Alfa Romeo… I went to the dealership for taking a look.
Brand new "Julietta."



Rear design is my favorite!



I did a test drive… it was fun to drive!
Yeah, this is going to be our next car!!!
Wait, I have to get approval from MoonFlower… Hard to get??? Will see.

Friend's gathering over dinner tonight.
Usual friends.



Tetsu came late around 10pm after work.
He's super busy… great salesperson he is!
Will be in Hong Kong next week?



Tsbk (left) and Marashida (right)



Finally (about time?), Marashida is going to get married very soon --- line next month.
Congratulations!!!

It was fun gathering for sure and I over-drank for sure.
Went on to a bar after the restaurant…
It was way passed the midnight. Hahaha.

Report about the shopping made for myself in Bangkok…
Thai silk product for me. Blue… was my choice.
It was 50% off… "MUST BUY."





How do I look?
Since yesterday's haircut, my hair is now short version. Hahaha.

MoonFlower and I went to Kameido for prayer for the 1st time in this year.



You can see new Tokyo's symbol - Tokyo Sky Tree.
The highest TV tower in the world!



Kameido Tenjin Shrine was the destination.
Prayed for health, work, and peace for family...



Fortune teller was not that bad… much better than one in 2011!!!
This is really good news!

Dessert at famous Funabashi-ya for Japanese sweet.





"Kuzu-mochi." Perfect company with Japanese tea. Loved them!

Well, the weekend is already over… one last week in Japan… am expected to be busy… will see how it all would go for me.

Bangkok's last night for me… Yeah, already it is!!!
Tomorrow, I will fly back to Japan. Just for a week to "stay there."

Today's meeting with client went (dramatically) well. Beyond my expectation.
Meaning that it was quite positive outcome and we WILL move forward soon.
Thus, I will have to come back to this place so soon and concentrate on the work assigned.

Good stuff! Finally!
It's about time? Hahaha. That's ironic.

Tonight a little festivity took place because of my final night in Bangkok.
Friends came to get together.



From left to right, Am, Wong, Ogakijin (me), and Bun.
They came really late like Thai clock… but it was fun.

Mostly, we spent time on Thai lesson! Perfect for me. I can master this language quickly.
Quickly = "REW REW"

It was Italian dinner and I ate too much. Hahaha.
Good wine, too.

Man good time really passed by fast and I was almost late to the last train!
Anyhow, I learned a lot. Good time, of course!

My hair becomes long and first thing to do in Japan… is going to get haircut. Maybe.
See you in Japan…so soon!

As the end of 19th, the accounts are all closed.
Now I come to analyze the spending...



Left column number is of percentage.
If 100% on particular month, I made the spending even to the budget.
If larger, the deficit. If less, saving.

I did a bit better than previous year. Can you see that way?
What about those:

Average
92.1% in 2010
87.5% in 2011

See? I made it better by about 5 percent!

Let's shoot another 5 for 2012!!!

Had a lunch at nearby cafe and on the way back to the office… came to this scene.



It was a bit late for me to take the camera out to shoot… They seemed to be some models because there were more than several professional-like photographers taking pictures of those gals.

See it was LATE… they finished the posing, already!

Though, the background of this photo is nothing really interesting… why that place? Hmmm.
I wish I could speak Thai language.

Come to think of it… I am (more than seriously) considering to take some Thai language lessons.
Not cheap… but I think it is worth doing so. Don't you think? Will see.

Today and tomorrow, am taking the mandatory training session for Fire Prevention Management.
Since I am selected by the Mansion Management of the residence I belong to.
I have to take an easy exam after 2-day training session to be certified.

It was like military training. Very punctual per time schedule.
No cellphone. No chat. Not allowed to do anything else.
One supervisor sitting in the back observed 200+ trainees in a large class room.

Was both of case study and physical exercise like how to use fire extinguisher or fire hose.
I really came to new knowledge for sure. Hahaha.
It was boring yet, though. You know… Of course cannot doze off…

Everyone else really took (serious) notes from the class, except myself. Oh boy!
I am SO behind. Am I going to be okay after tomorrow? Can I pass the exam? Really?
Will see how that happens tomorrow.

I am more concerned about how cold it would get tomorrow… since forecast really tells that it would be severe cold tomorrow morning…

MoonFlower and I met for dinner in town.
Our choice was that we ought to go to new place where we have never been to.

It was Indian / Nepali Restaurant called "Sansar."



Indian beer - Kingfisher.



Both we selected were lager...



MoonFlower's pick - Nepali Mustang.



Great stuff… made me really full wit that large dish.



Of course, important part of the meal… naan. It was AWESOME!
When came to our table… was extremely hot and it was so perfect…

MoonFlower and I didn't know that good restaurant can be really found nearby. Hahaha.

Wish me luck for tomorrow session!

Something required for tomorrow's session-

Tomorrow, it is supposed to be the 1st working day of the year… though, I will not go in to the office for work at all. Instead, I have to take 2-day session from tomorrow.

This means that I won't resume working until next Tuesday! (next Monday is national holiday)



This is what I bought at 100 yen shop (like one dollar store). It's triangle bandage.
Wanted to buy that without any design… wanted simple plain one… but out of stock.

"Gachapin x Mukku" - Japanese fancy characters are on. This makes me a young adult? Hahaha.



Wanted to buy this book and I found it in the Book-Off store. This used one costed me half of the price for new one. Good deal.
I will take this book, along with other books, to Bangkok for my spare time there.