Good news!
My watch winding machine… is now back.
Faster than expected!

When I turned this in for service, I was told that it would be sometime in January.
Yeah, no way to get it back before Christmas.
Though, things were fast...



Here it is.
Now I set all watches in and run the winding. Cool, isn't it?
My favorite interior for sure.

Now perfectly ready for fancy Christmas home.

My day was about the full of miscellaneous stuff.
Yes, "errands."

Went to local hospital because I needed prescription for medicine.

Stopped by my bank because I needed to close one account there.

Common things for both places… it is most likely the nature to spend long hours for service.
FYI - compared to US banks, Japanese banks takes time to get one thing done.
Also, tons of people go into such place and those places are always crowded.

In hospital, waited longer than one hour. Wondering how to improve it.
Wait, I am no longer management consultant since I have quit! Hehehe.

Anyhow, I spent my day for just two errands. Too bad.

After band thing, usually good thing comes… it did!



(sorry, picture turned out not bright enough… my bad!)



MoonFlower's home-made pasta was supper.
Basil was even grown in the garden at her mother's place.
Isn't that great?

Taste awesome!

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.

Memorial day for me… today, two friends were invited as guest to our home.
Since the day MoonFlower and I moved in this place, having guests like that should be part of our lives.
So far, she held two dinners with friends… now first time for me.



Decoration / presentation is part of our "welcome."



Champagne bottle was opened!





Full of foods… cannot let guests go back home with empty stomach. Hahaha.





Still continues.



How many bottles???



MoonFlower's home-made lasagna becoming my favorite!





This bottle - French wine was of my selection. Pretty good!!!



Entree - roasted pork. Yum!



Full of sweets, too!



Guests for the Day.
Left - Tetsu & Right - Ryuji - we all worked for the same company long time ago… like year 2001.
Since then, we are still friends - dining together quite often.

Great friends with numerous topics to talk about.
Work (logistics), family, hobby and fashion. What else???

Great time really passes by so fast.
Started around 4pm… and it turned to be 11pm, quickly.
Almost missed the last train for the day. Hahaha.

Well both, we thank you for coming and sharing great time with us!

Who is next guest?

Surprise, surprise.
Today, my resignation is accepted by the Firm.
After almost 6 years, it is now time for departure.

Another page of my life is coming up.

So excited while so worried. Hahaha. True, though.
I cannot read the future like you. Thus, there is always risk…
Though, risk can be great benefit.

Type of the risk this time seems manageable. So I give myself a green light.

I will keep you posted in this page… to see what happens next.
Stay tuned!



Not missing the photo of our Christmas tree for 2012 before too late.

Tree is bigger than past years… not watered enough? Seems to be dying fast than expected.
The ornament is heavy making the branches bent.
Though, this is nice decoration.

Well done, MoonFlower!
(Right, I have done nothing to this!)

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!!!

Almost November…
Wait. Halloween is just around the corner.
Hahaha.

Slow? Steady today.
Some meeting for solution development.
It was quite interesting discussion took place between three members.

Was productive. Yes, quite.

Good lunch for team members:



Tuna, tuna, and tuna!!!
(over rice)

Another good dish… for me over supper.



pork with Chinese cabbage.
Ate too much… INDEED!

One simple day passed really fast…

What to be the next assignment? Unknown yet. Will see what to be…. hahaha.

Perfect Autumn day today!
Since MoonFower was busy... and out of home,
I enjoyed myself for day with no plans! Hahaha.

Went to library on foot.
Wanted to borrow some business-related book.
Read some wine magazine for short period time.







Then stayed (stuck?) in the cafe for reading.
Pretty good time.
You know, I am kind of person enjoying time alone.

iPad, kobo, and some books... perfect company.
And (importantly) spent little. Only 250 yen for coffee.
Quality time!

MoonFlower came home after being stucked to the heavy traffic jam.
We decided to open a red wine for supper.
It was her favorite, Cote du Rhone Villages.

2009 - I thought it could be young... but it was pretty good!
Just wondering how MoonFlower can (easily?) grab such good one.
She must have a good connection for wine selection. Hahaha.



















Ate too much after all.
My bad.
Too sweet - the pudding at the end.

"Special Pudding II" - the big name... with lots of sugar! Hahaha.

Believe it or not.... MoonFlower is amazing.
She baked those bread.
Looks so yummy!

On top of that... this cake... is also her handmade.
Seriously.
Looks like done by prefessional.

This is maroon monnt-blanc cake.
SO YUMMY IT WAS!!!
Unbelievable.









She and I went out for shopping a little.
Late lunch choice was of Japanese soba noodle.
Very good. A bit pricey...

Finally, my life in Japan resumes... or totally new life begins?
Hahaha.
Will see how different things are going to be.

Today it was my day off...

Though, are you impressed the fact that I woke up at 6am or so?
Had plenty of different "plans" which turned out to be in vain.
However, I felt like I should complete something within today.

So I cleaned things in my wall shelf up.
Tons of unnecessary documents and paper work discarded.
Now I have more space there!

"School Wars" - very old TV drama. High school rugby team drama.
Happened to air all 26 episodes in a row!
I was quite glued to that.

Though, I had to give up watching around 1:30am!
Watched up to the episode #11 or so.
Meaning 11 hours? Episode lasts around 40-45 mins for sure.

Must be fun watching! Surely it was.

That continues into tomorrow... I probably check it out tomorrow morning then.
Probably...
Most likely...

Received some envelop from ANA or All Nippon Airways.
It notified me that I am now qualified to upper membership.



Cool!
Though, too late???
No more BKK planned at this point.

Even if did, won't be that long like the past.
That's okay. I am not that mileage conscious. Hehehe.

Supper is ready.



Wow!!! Thai food at home here. Surprise, surprise!
MoonFlower had fresh basil and fixed this for tonight.
Yummy!

Already missed Thailand??? Sure thing.

I know and you know that 30th is last day in Bangkok, Thailand…
Means that I won't have to come here often any more.
Maybe some exception.

Anyhow, that means I do not have to learn Thai language any more. Right?

Though, still continues.
From today, the lesson goes into Level 5.
Wait. Level 5 already? That fast?

Hmm.

Actually, just finished Level 2. Why not 3 and 4?
What has been missed?
According to teacher, not much missed.

Level 1 and 2 are good enough to move on because 3 and 4 help more vocabulary perspective.
Meaning I should not worry too much.
Instead, Level 5 has significant difference.

WRITING and READING!

Yeah, Thai writing. Scary.
Though, time remaining is very limited. How in the world to manage it all??? Probably not.
My approach is "do as much until then."

So paid 300 baht for new text book! Hahaha.

Not difficult… but EXTREMELY difficult!!!

Monday, already? Only some days reaming… before the Season 8 to Bangkok, Thailand.
Better enjoy as much! Hahaha.

Even Monday - I went out for watching some movie… that I cannot watch in Thailand.
Yeah, brand new Japanese movie… very famous one called:

"Odoru Daisousasen the Final"



Famous TV serious extended to the movie… and this is truly final one (so advertised).
Funky but serious and bold detective's story was quite heart-warming and humorous.
The final movie was not much of disappointment.

Laughed a lot.

Surprising enough that there were so many people came to watch this movie.
Must be really popular… and lots of people are off on Monday??? Hahaha.



Light supper… I'd better watch my weight and diet??? Sure!

Oh one more thing… some shopping completed. Two deliveries were made.



"Voice GATE" is USD memory stick with voice recording feature.
Automatically upload to the Evernote soon as connected to PC or Mac.
Pretty cool, huh!

I loved it so far.

There is no play function on its own, though. Hahaha.



Mouse for work. Never used before…
I thought that it would help my stiff shoulders.



Also, this mouse has presentation control integrated.
Very cool.
Tried and worked very well.



It was hot but full of blue sky today.
I didn't mind to stand in the balcony watching around like that.
Very nice!

Started with my most favorite… MoonFlower's home made French toast!!!
What a perfect day! Hahaha( a bit exaggeration)





This time, she used oven… though, we both concluded that we (she) had better use pan, instead.

Drove to Yokohama. Nice driving for sure. Didn't take too long and no traffic jam.



Lunch - Okonomiyaki.
Surely, it was MF's pick. Hahaha.

Didn't shop much… it was precisely WINDOW SHOPPING.
Though, picked some foods to take home because we knew that we would open a bottle tonight.



So tonight's bottle…
Domaine Arnaud Ente… Wait. This is quite famous and prestigious winery in France!!!
Second label??? How come MF could get such bottle?

Hmm, she has some secret connection????

Taste? Fantastic!!!



Very best for sure!!!



Food came from Yokohama Sogo department store.







Cheese, too.







Not missing any sugar. Hahaha.

It was great dinner home and I surely got drunk, quickly.

New Commute and New Office

Hello from hot summer Japan!!!
Worse than Bangkok for sure. Higher humidity as well.
Today, first commute to Tokyo Office in the month.

Not only of first time... but first time to new office.
Yes, the firm has bee relocated into brand new building!
Much better location, too!!!

Located in Akasawa area... fancy shopping and dining area.
Lots of corporate offices, too.
Very convenient.

New office facilitated with brand new furniture. Not bad.
There is "down" area with sofa in the center of entire floor.
I haven't got a chance to lay down yet. Hahaha.

Hmm, let me see...

Fancy office with big sofa...
Office located in the center of shopping / dining district.
Meaning...

I do not have to work much.
Rather, I can go out for having fun.
Then... notably, I can spend night if I missed the last train for the day.

Really?
That would be cool.
Saving some money for hotel room.

Who was such smart and generous guy out there for such wonderful courtesy!!!

I am quite thankful.



New office is now located in the brand new building...



Maybe next thing that I should concern...
I should work well to generate good performance so that my employment is to be retained?
Hahaha. Sure hope so!



Dinner was served!

Belated wedding anniversary dinner tonight. Hahaha.



Sparkling wine to start with.











Very rare… opened 2nd bottle at single night.



Very old wine… we received as wedding gift… 3 years ago.



Produced in 1975? Yeah, birth year of MoonFlower. No kidding!



It was fantastic taste!!! Very different from any other wine ever tasted!



Good Japanese beef for celebration!



Finished with pasta.

Overate for sure!!!
Drank pretty much!!!

Good home dinner with MoonFlower for sure.

Finally home!!!
Season 6 is now done.
Good or bad? Let's forget it.



Flight was about 80% full.
Though, 2 seats next to me… were open.
Yeah, I had plenty of space for myself.



Breakfast… was ok.
It was TG flight... shouldn't complain. Hahaha.



Nice view from the window.

Arrived at home around 7pm.
MoonFlower came home after me.



Chinese salad.



Japanese gyoza - the main for supper.

It was all requested by me. Hehehe.

Well, today - July 20th is the wedding anniversary for MoonFlower and I.
Happy wedding anniversary!
Dinner takes place tomorrow… at home. Hahaha.

Time is up… yes, already!
Tomorrow I have flight going back to Thailand once again.
Yes, "Season 6" is to being.

Season 6… how many more to come? Hmm… not quite sure.
"Mai nea jai" (not sure)
Hahaha.

You know, I have already forgotten Thai language… didn't study it at all!!!

My bad. I know.
I was quite lazy again… as always.

One last dinner before Season 6.



Never seen this plate before. Pretty cute!



Salad first.



"Hayashi (hashed) rice" was what I actually request for tonight.
Yeah, definitely over-ate.
Made me fat… fatter than before.

Maybe I should get some exercise while in Bangkok… for diet.
At least I should give it a shot? Hahaha.

Anyhow, time to go back…
Hope things are going to be okay for the work in Bangkok.
Plus, some learning experience.

See you from Bangkok!

Saturday here… no rain during this rainy season is such a good news!



Even better news to me… is I get what I love to eat…
My favorite French toast!
Our family's trandition - weekend's breakfast, right before going to abroad on business, is French toast. Hahaha.

Good deal!

MoonFlower and I went to Panasonic Showroom in Shiodome in the afternoon.
Checking out cupboard.
Within this year, we are sure that we buy new cupboard to the kitchen.

We found alternative way to set in the kitchen.
Good news for MF and bad news for me concerning the budget? Hahaha.
It's okay! I can handle it… I think… I hope… hahaha.

Dinner was SUSHI!



Never been to this sushi bar… so we tried.



Not bad…













Tasty… very fresh for sure.



It was quite good except service.
There was some big party going on and kitchen was quite busy for that… I guess.

Actually, there is another sushi bar that I would like to check out…
Maybe next return to Japan - may give a shot.
Anyhow, good dinner. Not much alcoholic, though. Hahaha.

Sawat dee krab ("Hello" in Thai)
It's Friday… work is over… weakend kicks off now! Hahaha.

Came home without stopping any place tonight because of dinner home.



Today's choice for the bottle...



French. Fleith Eschard.
MoonFlower's choice. She bought this a quite while ago.
She takes the inventory of wine… while I do not. Hahaha.



It was quite light but fruity taste. Perfect to the current climate.



Dinner dish followed.





Seemed that I over ate tonight. Hahaha.
I'd better watch out the diet… I should not grow… too much.

We were watching Korean TV drama called "The Spring of Oh Dal Ja."
Not new one, though. It was back in 2008 or so.
It has a re-run in cable channel and we taped almost all episodes.

Tonight, we started watching from episode 1.

However, I didn't last too much longer after that… fell to a sleep without taking care of dirty dishes.
My fault. Hahaha.

Yes, I was full and it was a great dinner home.

Yes, Season 5 is over and hit the road back to Japan today!



Airport - came late and took some time in emigration process… hahaha.
So hungry… quickly grabbed something to eat. No shopping.

TG flight for Narita… seated at 32C today.



Wrong choice… this dish was not good at all. Too bad.



"This Means War" was available… watched.

Finally came back to Japan. Arrived at Narita around 4pm.
MIssed the bus for the hour and I waited for next one at 5pm.

Finally home a little before 7pm. Tired.

MoonFlower had to work overtime today and came home at 9pm.
Then, I came to supper, finally. Hahaha.



Sashimi dish for tonight. SO GOOD!
Fresh fish is something i usually cannot come to in Bangkok.
Good stuff.

Some beer came along. Even perfect. Hehehe.
Tomorrow, I most likely stay at home for relax… resume working on Friday.

Today - good thing is that I didn't have major hangover. Hahaha.
Usual Saturday morning… probably more organized than usual.
Hit down to Shiodome with MoonFlower.

Our purpose - checking out the kitchen shelf (to be installed).
Panasonic has good line-ups and we wanted to get quotation.
Everything was smooth… didn't have to wait too long.

Initially I was told to wait for 60 mins. Turned out to be 6 mins. Pretty darn good! Hahah.
Shelf design and material used are determined. Quotation will be in mail to us in a matter of a couple of days.
Good dela.

MoonFlower has right to respond as final answer. Hahah.



Late lunch - at Tully's.



Walked down to Giza ward.
Went to Cartier for ordering something for me.
Yeah, my watch - Santos 100 XL Chronograph - I ordered replacing the leather belt.

Paid some money --- quite expensive… but within the expected range.

Surprise was that the goods is due in 3-4 months. Gosh, that long! Hahaha.
It's okay, that doesn't bother me much.
You know, I am not going to wear that Cartier watch for a while since I will be gone to Thailand for a while (again).



One last dinner with MoonFlower.
Wine bottle was open.
One is quite expensive… picked up in Bangkok a while ago.



Saint Henri Shiraz - Australian wine.
Surely different from usual French or even Italian wine.
Good experience.

Probably more fitting to winter season. Hahaha.





The dinner was closed with pizza delivered by Domino. Yeah, Domino Pizza.
It was pretty good!
Ate quite bit tonight. It's okay… I won't get another chance to dine with my darling wife until 2nd half of next month.

Now everything… all events scheduled are completed!
Ready for another Bangkok? Sure thing. No problem. Hahaha.
Next update - is definitely coming from Bangkok. See you folks then.

Hi folks.
Week in Japan now begins!!! This means another start… "Cool Biz."
This is for light clothing for business in order to save energy during the summer.

Does that make sense to you???

Outline of Cool Biz is like we shall not wear tie or formal attire.
Less formal more comfortable under high temperature setting of air condition. Say 28 degrees.
Saving lots of energies by this efforts… led by the government for many years…

Thus, as per guideline set by my firm… I wear light shirts, jeans, and sneakers. Totally casual like weekends.
Guess what?

EVERYONE PUTS STILL FORMAL CLOTHES!!!

It was quite suicidal to me… because I definitely appeared moron!
Well, I didn't do anything wrong, though.
Darn it…

Well, do you think I would stop doing that?
If you know me in person… you know the answer.
I will not.

I will even accelerating how far I can go from here. Really!!!

Maybe I am now being called moron. Hahaha.





Came home late from work… about 9pm or so.
Good dinner, prepared by MoonFlower, was waiting for me.
Fantastic!!!

It was wonderful home made dinner and I ate SO FAST. Hahaha.

Too bad that I am surely going to miss this kind of food… every soon.
Another 6 days to go. Time is really ticking.
Sunday, I will fly (back?) to Thailand.

Did you enjoy your meal?

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!!!

WHat's up, folks?
Things are stable and calm for me… so I have been quite relaxed. You can say, I am just lazy out here.
Only thing I did for today is just check-up at my usual dentist.

Entire inside of my mouth was X-rayed today to make sure there is nothing wrong in my teeth.
Good thing was that my dentist confirmed with me that there was no cavity or other issue.

Great!

I often come to the dentist for cleaning and check-up. Like every 4-6 months. Not enough?

Since I found a good dentist nearby my house… it is not much hassle for me to go.

One accomplishment for the day… is:



My last MacBook - bought back in August 2006 - time I was at Thunderbird for MBA - is now back with new hard drive!
500 GIG hard drive made this revive.
Surely, MacOS X is now installed. Seems everything is okay.

My new (?) machine? Of course not. This is going to be MoonFlower's dedicated machine.
She has none for herself and we have shared my MacBook Pro with multiple user setting.

Good thing for us to have own machine… now we can take advantage of video chat such as Face Time.
Between Bangkok and Tokyo - we can talk to each other anytime we (she?) want. Hahaha.
You know, we usually don't call up each other much while being away from each other like that.

Maybe the technology will unite us…



My (most!) favorite actress Manami Higa (right) now appears in new "Hancho" series (season 5).
I hadn't watched this drama at all, not even interested.
Now different ball game here. Since she is in the story, I will follow.

It looks like very popular… season 5? Gosh. No wonder that so many famous people are in the story.

Finally, topic on supper. It was MoonFlower's idea to open a bottle of wine tonight. Unusual.
Since I am home and she came back home early… we could do this:



French bottle - 2008.



Very good one! Perfect with tonight's cheese.





Then finally…coming to the entree --- GUMBO!



This is MF's home-made GUMBO. One of favorites for me - MF fixes.
Yum yum!!!

It was awesome supper between MoonFlower and I. Thank you, darling!

French toasts… definitely my favorite.
It was my blanch.



Yum yum...

Today MoonFlower and I were quite excited about these...
New champagne glasses… we bought them last month.
MF wanted me until today.



Brand new!
Look at those great legs!!! Very thin but so beautiful!!!



Not champagne… but sparkling wine today.



Look at those bubbles!!! I love it!



Only disappointment in tonight's dinner… the cheese. They are okay… not bad.
Hahaha.

Seafood, salad, pork, and pasta… ate too much!

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.

Tableware Festival was toad's final destination for both of us, MoonFlower and I.
Last year, we went there… this year, too!















Testing for 1,000 yen (13 dollars).
Could choose the glass I want and I drank a glass of Champagne.



My choice was this. Lobmeyr's Champagne glass.
MoonFlower and I ended up buying a pair of those glasses for home.

Good discount given upon our purchase. Great deal!



Dinner was at home. Opened a bottle of wine.
Red one.







Variety of cheese came along with wine. Great selection.
I slowly kept the pace… between cheese and wine.



Other dish, too.



Chicken was the main dish tonight. Good food.
Good dinner lasted long… MoonFlower and I sat at the dinner table and talked to each other for hours.
It was quite late… when finished. It was almost 2am after family festivity.