(This is going to be a long post. So don’t say I didn’t warn you! đ )
It’s been more than a month since we arrived in the UK! You know, from Day One I’ve been itching to blog, to write down everything and anything I’ve experienced so far. But the first few weeks were really hectic. We were so busy with settling down and all, trying our best to make our lives here as manageable as possible and make the transition as smooth-sailing as possible.
Visa? Check.
Plane tickets? Check.
Accommodation? Check.
Application for school? Check. But I’ve yet to receive the official admission. Bummer.
Anyway, I’m mostly done with the paperwork and other requirements for our travel, but I’ve yet to pack our things. I’m getting all panicky when thinking about what things we have to bring, what things we can leave behind, what things we can definitely do without. It’s actually very hard to decide, because although I’ve been to the UK before, I only went there as a tourist and I’ve never actually experienced living there on a long-term basis.
As they say, sometimes it is necessary for us to get out of our comfort zone in order to grow. Sometimes, in order to grow professionally and personally, we have to go to a totally new environment and learn about new things.
Everyone needs training. There is always room for growth and improvement. And I think that women, especially, should always take advantage of opportunities that would enable them to grow. For a woman, the choice is always a difficult one to make, because there is a delicate balance between career and family. Going outside for training is definitely bound to perturb that delicate balance.
Having said that, I would like to officially announce that I will soon be embarking on a new adventure in my professional/personal life – out of Tsukuba, out of Japan. Heck, even out of Asia. Into the Queen’s territories!
I was browsing through some blogs we have syndicated at Philippines Today and I happened to read Jessica Zafra’s post about Ninoy Aquino’s 25th death anniversary being commemorated today, August 21. I was really surprised to realize that it has indeed been 25 years since then.
Where was I twenty five years ago today? Well, I was still in elementary. I think I was in Grade V then. We had a TV in our house, but we were listening to the radio instead as news of Ninoy’s assassination exploded all over the archipelago. I guess those were the heyday of radio broadcasting – news stories were dished out by radio newscasters faster than their television counterparts. Of course, nowadays we check out the internet instead for the latest news. Anyway, it was a really poignant memory for me, because right after my Daddy heard that Ninoy got killed, he started storming around and cursing Marcos and his government to high heavens. I remember thinking, why is he so fuming mad? As for me? Well, I didn’t even know who Ninoy Aquino was (shame on me), but it sure was saddening for me to know that he got killed just because he returned to the country! I became more interested about the country’s state of affairs afterwards.
Been to the grocery stores lately? Then perhaps you have seen the poster above. The owl (the bird symbol of Tsukuba) is holding an eco-bag, and the announcement at the top says: ăŹăžèąăźçĄæé
ćžăäžæąăšăȘăăŸăă Starting from September 1, the free distribution of grocery bags will be stopped.
At the bottom part, it says: ăèČ·ăç©ăŻăă€ăăă°æćă§ïŒBring your own bag (My Bag) when shopping!
I think this is a welcome development. I myself have bought my own basket (strangely called "My Basket," which is actually redundant because I bought it and so it’s a given that its my…ahm, never mind!) so I won’t have to use the plastic grocery bags. Except for the part where I have to lug the big basket to my car whenever I go out for groceries, using it is quite convenient and useful actually.
Here’s why:
When I first heard of the latest animated movie feature from Studio Ghibli, I told myself that I shouldn’t miss it on the big screen. I’m a big fan of Miyazaki, of anything Ghibli-related. It all started, of course, when I watched Spirited Away (Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi). It was unlike anything I’ve ever seen before, and I got hooked immediately.
However, until now I’ve mostly watched Ghibli films with English subtitles – mainly because 1) my Japanese wasn’t that good, and 2) I wanted to fully enjoy the story, which would be impossible to do if I watched the Japanese version only.
Well, now comes Gake no Ue no Ponyo.
Ever since we’ve moved into our new abode, we have grown fond of walking in the mornings (on weekends), as long as the weather permits it. And every time we go out for walks, the more I affirm to myself that moving to our current place is indeed a wise choice. I have two critical conditions for me to qualify a place as an ideal place to live: CLEAN, and GREEN. The city of Tsukuba boasts of being such a place, but arguably some places are better than others. Our previous place was near the main road, and we lived at the first floor – you can’t believe how incredibly dusty it could get inside the house! (Of course, my mom would chastise me by telling me that I don’t clean often enough. Ahm, hello? Working mom here! Of course the house will be a mess. đ )
Of course, no house is ever free from dust, but I swear that our new place doesn’t have as much dust as before (and I’ve not changed my cleaning schedule at that). And this being a residential neighborhood, it is also very quiet at nights. The park is also nearby and we can just go for a relaxing walk early in the morning and enjoy the day. And oh the trees – should I tell you about the trees? They’re everywhere! This is as green a place as you can get.
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| Our green path: located just a few minutes away from our place. |
When Aya came back from visiting a friend’s house, she brought home some homemade gyozas which she and and her friend prepared and cooked. This gave me an idea – how about we make our own? I mean, if a couple of kids can do it (under an adult’s supervision of course), how difficult could it be for us? đ Anyway, I decided to find out by experimenting. The first thing I did was search through YouTube’s repository of videos on how to make gyoza. Oh, I love the internet. Information at your fingertips. Instant how-tos on anything under the sun.
Anyway, making gyoza isn’t that difficult, as I happily found out. Hey, if you can make lumpia, you can make gyoza. You just need to master the art of folding the gyoza skin. đ
Durian Chocolates
My sister, fresh from Malaysia, has brought us a lot of souvenirs and goodies bought in Langkawi and Kuala Lumpur. How sweet! Among the things she gave us was a box of chocolates – with a twist! Ever heard of the King of Fruit, otherwise known as durian? (How exactly this pungent-smelling, thorny fruit could be called the King of Fruit, I don’t know.) Now this is something I haven’t heard of before (pardon the ignorance!) – durian chocolates!
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| Here’s the box of durian chocolates, simply titled, “Durian.” LOL |
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| Aww…the chocolates even come in three varieties of shapes! |
After months of waiting, I’m happy to announce that my first-ever book chapter has finally been published. And although I’ve yet to receive our complimentary copy of the book, the book is now available through Nova Science Publisher’s website. If you want a sneak preview, you can find the book here. The title of the book is YBCO Superconductor Research Progress.