Some Japan Pics

I can still dream of Japan from time to time.

If you ask me, I will go back there again, maybe in a different season.

I love the Asian-ness of the place.

Fushimi Inari - Too many Torii (gates) to count... thousands...
























Mister Donut- Our morning staple. The green tea flavoured ones always runs out first.



















Streets of Takayama - This is my favourite strip of all Japan. I love the wooden shophouses and the amazing local products, crafts, food of the Hida region. I can go walk there 1,000,000 times.


















A really nice sweet shop in Takayama- Did I tell you that I really like sweets? I'm also a sucker for good looking sweets.
















Shirakawa-go: 1 hour bus ride from Takayama. It is nestled in the valleys. During the winter, all the thatched roofs are laden with a thick layer of snow. I can huddle here for my honeymoon or something. It is soooo dreamy!

Der Raum

Trying to paint the town red again.

This time, we headed down to 2008 Bar of the Year- Der Raum at Church St. This unpretentious little cocktail joint is not your everyday cocktail lounge. The bartenders there are not only cute, but they are apt at finding you the right cooktail, as well as making cocktail blending look like such an amazing craft!

After mulling through the cocktail list for a good 10 mins, I was lured into ordering a Lemon Buttered Rum, just because it's got lemon butter, and maple syrup! The man ordered a a chocolate cocktail- a mixture of chocolate and yellow chartreuse (spice-like liquor) and frozen using liquid nitrogen into an ice-cream texture in 1 minute flat. It was fascinating to watch, very much like Macbeth and the witches cauldron bubbling with smoke as the bartender mix the ingredients up with his long metal spoon. I'm glad I got the bar seat, because the fun is really in the watching. The presentation of the drinks was creative and nothing short of a high ball glass.

Of course, did I already mention the cute bartenders? They are real friendly, and not the stuck-up sorts you see in most bars. The guy who who made my drink made it a point to chat with us, not in a patronising sort of way, but trying to suss out what sort of flavours we like so that he can make our drinking experience more satisfying.

The man was probably more delighted to meet Masterchef finalist Linda Kowalski. I thought she was quite nice when we were talking about her food escapades in Italy. Of course, I did not realise who she is as I am ridiculously bad at recognising faces. I can have Matt Preston sit next to me and I'll be asking him what he does for a living.

The bartender trying to mix the chocolate cocktail with liquid nitrogen

If work is the context, what's the goal?

I've been thinking about this a little.

While no one will be able to come to their own funeral to hear the eulogies, you can certainly tell a little with the numerous farewells in life.

A colleague just left. I bought her the card and present on behalf of the team, another colleague organised a lunch. We weren't that close to her, but decided that if we weren't doing it, no one was going to.

Which is a little strange, considering she's been seen as such a good worker. She works long hours, delivers her assignments with spunk, and might be one of the more professional people I've worked with.

Problem is, she's too task driven to stop to have a real chat with any of us. The 'hi' is always a prelude to work. We sort of gave up talking much to her after a while, feeling like all she wanted was to just tick the box, and not really being that interested in our lives.

Maybe it is not everyone's mantra to make friends at work, just keep it at colleague level.

Which may have explained why the farewell was a little nondescript.

If God gave us work as a context, what is the goal?

I'd like to think that it is to show God's love and glory.

But is it a little hard to do so if there weren't bonds of human relationship that acts as a bridge between two people. It is from this bridge that God's love and glory get a chance to travel back and forth.

I never think work is about working 8-12 hours, delivering the goods and leave feeling that you never really made a difference around those you worked with.

Humans... we are made to connect aren't we?