Who would you meet?

Towards the end of last year.
During an office retreat.
For the sake of team-bonding with a difference, or maybe to kill time before the next session.
We posed a question - Who would you like to meet in this lifetime?

Thinking on the spot, I said Sarah Kay.

And really, I would.

I discovered her through a TED talk. 'B - If I should have a daughter'.
Then I stayed up all night and you-tube'd every video of her Spoken Word I could find online.

I still do that from time to time, when I need inspiration,
when I need to renew my conviction.
Or when I need to share the beauty of her art.

I found this today. She calls it 'The Type'
I fell in love again, every time.
With her words.
With the possibilities.


The Type: by Sarah Kay

And if I should have a daughter, I'd have her listen to Sarah Kay. 

March Forth!

I started writing this as a reply to someone's status update on FB. But I know better than to feed the internet trolls on that platform, I still need to get this out of my system though, so here goes.

There was a Police brutality video posted up this week showing.. well, police brutality.
I know I don't have the heart or stomach to watch it, so I won't. But I have a fair idea of what it entails, especially judging by the comments of those who have watched it.

I understand the uproar. It's a major human rights violation, agreed wholeheartedly.
But I don't see eye-to-eye with those who are using this as an excuse to jump on the 'What has become of Fiji' bandwagon. 

Police-brutality is a reality worldwide and so as wrong as it is, I still don't think it justifies us questioning our progress as Fijians, questioning our identity and saying that we are ashamed to be Fijian. I question humanity, yes. But I am still proud of being Fijian, and one has nothing to do with another.

Cases such as these have been happening for ages now, and while that doesn't make it ok, I only bring it up to indicate that the only difference now is that this time ...it was caught on camera. I think it's wrong to blame our circumstances politically, or otherwise. Yes, we should not be having such incidences at all, but I think by blaming it on things like democracy, and coups etc, is a cop-out from tackling the more deep-seeded issues in our society that leads its people to act so inhumanely.

Someone commented that we are going back into the dark ages. I disagree, as a nation we are doing better, we are good people, but bad people do exist. I question the integrity of the person who was a part of this abomination, and of those that stood around and did nothing about it. I try to get my head around what would lead them to be so cruel.
But I will not blame it on our country, and its people as a whole. I think we get enough of that from the misled foreign media and other countries already; we don't have to resort to blaming ourselves too.

We are good people. We need to remind ourselves of that. Bad people will always exist. But we shouldn't lose the good ones either.

Rant. over.

You can count on it.

A Milford Sounds birthday

2013!

Last week during an ice-breaker at one of our regional training-workshops we were asked to share how we would spend 1 million dollars.

In the short time I had to think about it, I came up with:
"Pay off student loans, throw a party, buy a farm to retire on."

I've been mulling over the question for a whole week now.
Yes, I took the innocent ice-breaker to heart!

So I realised, who am I kidding, I won't buy a farm. (Well, not yet anyway.)

I am going to pay off my student loans, throw a party.
Put my belongings in storage and ... travel the world.

To every corner possible.
Sigh.

But for now, I will just continue to try to do the same without the million.
And while holding a steady job.

I spent the last month or so in Middle -Earth (NZ for you non-LOTR fans, gasp!)
The 10th country I have been to outside my own.
It was my 29th birthday, spent in a different country 4th time in a row.
(THAT was purely coincidental.)

This time around it was spent with two friends, travelling through the beauty that is NZ, to the Milford Sounds.
No better way to spend a birthday than in awe of the earth in all its majesty,
And feeding my soul with adventure!
(And geeking out on the fiords, and re-living my High School Geo classes in real life!)

I don't wish for 1million dollars.

But I am definitely in for the adventure.

These days...

So I check my horoscope at the start of every month. Sometimes it's for fun, sometimes it's out of boredom. Sometimes it's to see how way off the mark they are. (Yes, I am STILL waiting for that love-of-my-life to show up thankyouverymuch).

There's two that I usually browse through... one on Yahoo... and Susan Miller (which is disabled for a few days right now, oh no.. how will my October go? *rolls eyes* )

There are some months though when they print (post?) stuff like this and I think, gee..

"Nobody ever promised you that it was going to be easy to balance, tightrope-walker-like, as you move across that high line that is life.... First you want to spend time with your friends. Then you want to spend more time with your family. Then you have to stay late at work. Agh!"

So that's basically what it's been like for me for the last few weeks, and what I know it will be like for the next few too. Been running around trying to 'schedule-in' things: finish work, catch-up with friends, finish work, attend non-work meetings, finish work, hug the parents, finish work, eat with the parents, finish work, have beers, finis.. you catch my drift. But what's crazy is that ..I frickn' love it! (Except ofcourse for the missing family/friends bit during all of this!) 

Have been travelling for work a lot over the last few weeks: Samoa, Solomons and Vanuatu, to run a regional climate change quiz amongst the high schools in each country. It's been tough, but also exhilarating. There have been nights with only 3 hours of sleep, days where you breathe in your breakfast and work through lunch. Tough but... amazing. There's been challenges but there's also been so many great people, so many smiles, stories, jokes, tears, laughs, exhaustion and then the great teamwork that keeps you going. I love working in the Pacific. 

It hasn't always been work-work-work in the new places either. Have managed to have at-least one whole day in each country to myself. 

Samoa turned out to be like a Saturday-arvo-lull. I like chilling there. in their colourful sulus (sarong/lavalava)

Solomons was nice to go back to, I saw another side that I didnt have time to discover the last time I was there, meeting the kids, chatting with the teachers and saw a lot from walking around the place (thanks to the traffic jams caused by the Royal visit) 

Then there was Vanuatu. sigh. I didn't take many pics in Vanuatu. It's like you don't want to offend the place by trying to capture it on camera. Instead, you want to go back. I am not one for making many future plans, but if the opportunity arises, I wouldn't mind living and working in Vanuatu for a bit. *adds to flexi-future-plans list*

Next week I get to discover the Micronesia region. Two weeks in Marshall Islands with a few days in Hawaii. 

But first... gotta get through this week. (cue: gotta get through this, gotta get through this.. )

In other news:

It's been a year since I got back from Japan! I had no idea what it was going to be like being back after 3 years. Oh boy! has it been a fun adventure! *raises piece of dalo with chopsticks to toast* 

Nambawan

"Stuff your eyes with wonder, live as if you'd drop dead in ten seconds.
See the world.
It's more fantastic than any dream made or paid for in factories" - Ray Bradbury

This was Solomon Islands for me, and I met a few others who see the world in the same way. It was exhilarating! There was also the constant reminder of Paulo Coelho. When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.


[This has been sitting in my draft-box for too long, so I am going to put it up, as incomplete as it is.]

On our trip to Malaita

This was taken on Auki, the capital of Malaita and our last stop... which we did a mad rush through since we only had two hours before the boat headed back to Honiara. Good times.

Word!

We also got a tour of the Arts Village that was being set up on Auki for the Pacific Arts Festival, by the very friendly security guard who guided us through instead of chasing us for trespassing!

I think what was most enlightening on this trip was meeting so many people (we were there for a Climate Change Community Workshop) who were interested in the same cause. Instead of trying to convince people that climate change was real and debating with skeptics, I got to listen to people talk about the impacts they are already facing from climate change.

There were presentations by those who have led projects that relocated people who are losing their land to sea level rise and others who are working in communities on adaptation projects that help islanders live with the changes that are occurring.

And throughout the week everyone from Melanesia that was representing their community etc. got to share ideas, best practices and experiences on how they can strengthen their efforts towards dealing with Climate Change. Go Team Pacific!

I guess this post isn't so incomplete after all.

(On a lighter note, I also got to watch some soccer matches at the Oceania Championships that were going on in SI at the time. Fiji vs NZ and SI vs PNG. Yay!)

Words I love...

I love Pablo Neruda. His words. They are strung together with such feeling, baby breaths and tiny whispers.

So today I let him write, instead of me.


XXXIV (You are the daughter of the sea)
by Pablo Neruda

You are the daughter of the sea, oregano's first cousin. Swimmer, your body is pure as the water; cook, your blood is quick as the soil. Everything you do is full of flowers, rich with the earth. Your eyes go out toward the water, and the waves rise; your hands go out to the earth and the seeds swell; you know the deep essence of water and the earth, conjoined in you like a formula for clay. Naiad: cut your body into turquoise pieces, they will bloom resurrected in the kitchen. This is how you become everything that lives. And so at last, you sleep, in the circle of my arms that push back the shadows so that you can rest-- vegetables, seaweed, herbs: the foam of your dreams.

must.not.forget

How people treat you is their karma; how you react is yours. - Wayne W. Dyer

Pause to smile.

I used to think that being content meant settling for less than what you are capable of achieving, whether it was in money, the person you were dating, your job, academia, your emotional state of being.

It took years (and even now there are days where I am still trying to grasp the concept) to understand that being content is not self-defeatist. It's not any kind of settling.
That it does not mean that you stop improving, trying.

but it does mean that you need to pause, reflect and be grateful for where you are now.
And today, I am.

This Zen Habits post was also a timely reminder: http://zenhabits.net/contented/

'Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.' ~ Lao Tzu

It's sometimes scary when you realise you are happy.
Happy just being.
This can't be right?
But it is.
I am grateful, and thankful.
Still stumbling, still wandering.
Wondering.
But with a smile.
And a lot of love. 

Wanderlust and home

In the words of Twenty-something Travel, "the curse of the traveller, is that no matter how happy you are, at least a small part of you always wishes you were somewhere else." She calls it the 'Restless Heart Syndrome'.

I think the curse follows you back home too after your travels. A friend I had made while in Tokyo left Fiji today after a week of trotting about the island. As expected, she renewed my enthusiasm for my own country, not that I didn't have enough of that already. But she also made me check-in with the part of me that wants to keep seeing the world. The curse then, turns into the drive that hopefully keeps you moving.

But then I find out that I am a god-momma. My dearest belle has a baby. These things you can't get on the road. Of course, the love follows you everywhere you go, but being able to see it unfold, develop and evolve while at home makes for amazing memories. I want to be everywhere and here at the same time.

Another friend moved out of his Mum's place and in with his girlfriend. A few old friends got married, some new ones too and a high school mate went down on one knee. I gush, I awww, I smile and I also cringe. Some people are just better at certain things, some just aren't.

The grass isn't greener on either side, I guess. But one needs enough a dose of both to survive, even if it is through vicarious living. And then some of your own adventure.

The climate, it is a-changin'

"Changing attitudes towards climate change is not like selling a particular brand of soap - it's like convincing someone to use soap in the first place."
 
Came across this analogy while reading up on climate change communication strategies.

Why?

Because I have a new job description. Comms consulant.

The actual title is something like: Climate Change Communications Officer - Consultant.
and yes, the acronym does equate to CCCOC >.<

So yes. Cheers to the gap between Graduate dreams and Professional realities getting smaller.
An anti-cheers to the sea-levels getting higher.

Inspiration for the moment

The problem, often not discovered until late in life, is that when you look for things like love, meaning, motivation, it implies they are sitting behind a tree or under a rock. The most successful people recognize, that in life they create their own love, they manufacture their own meaning, they generate their own motivation.

For me, I am driven by two main philosophies, know more today about the world than I knew yesterday. And along the way, lessen the suffering of others. You'd be surprised how far that gets you.

Neil Degrasse Tyson

Astrophysicist and Science Communicator

(yeah contrary to my first thoughts, he is not related to Mike Tyson... dammit.)

Ode to my kitchen

"Do you fall in love often?" 
"Yes often. With a view, with a book, with a dog, a cat, with numbers, with friends, with complete strangers, with nothing at all."
-Jeanette Winterson (British Novelist)

Because really, how can you not!

I fell in love with my new kitchen yesterday.

So what if it doesn't have any electricity (yet), 

or even a fridge/stove or welcome mat 

(*adds Welcome Mat to shopping list*)

and that the waste disposal system leaks.

I love its space,

I love its tiled counter tops

the cupboards (even with its hint of white ants)

and the ceiling fan that is built too close to the tubelight.

I love lying on my $20 rug from Rups,

in the middle of the kitchen floor,

and loving it even more.

(and I love telling people how my entire Tokyo apartment could fit into this new kitchen)

Object of my affection.

New Dashboard

"A life spent making mistakes is not only more honourable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing." George Bernard Shaw

So instead of scribbling down quotes/words/phrases etc I like on the inside cover of my books, on scraps of paper that end up on the fridge, walls or floor (>_<) ...or copy/pasting them onto my dashboard (computer, not car) I will just post them up on the blog.
That will also take care of my lack of regular updates. That's what I call sneaky efficiency.

Also, its the 20th day of Jan and I have been almost completely substance-free.

I say almost because so far this year I have had one bowl of grog, 2 shots of frangelico and a glass of vodka&orange.

Everything in moderation, including moderation itself. (I don't know who said this one...might be from Buddhism)

- Smoke-free since January (I wish it were 3 for the sake of rhyme, but it's actually Jan 1) -

Moderate revelations

I like words
spoken or written
by and at me or you
I continue to learn their worth
to be conscious of their feel, their reach, their bleed.
their power.
and to not be embarrassed and apologise for them.
to know which to take with a bucket of salt,
some with a red balloon
throwing caution to the wind,
but keeping sight of the (Savusavu) harbour.
Ironic. and yet iconic.

I might have caught a cold, from the ice inside your soul.
and then realised, it was mine all along.

Full Circle

So this rather miscellaneous blog was started as a way to plot random adventures (and mundane occurrences) during my stay in Japan.

Now three years and one month later, I am back in Fiji. The adventures will continue though, of whatever nature they may be...so I will keep posting, hopefully a little more regularly!

September was a bit of a whirlwind:

First there was: a week up north in Tohoku (area hit by tsunami in March) with 20 other young people who taught me a lot about myself, and Japan.

We spent a week camping at a volunteer centre with 200 or so other people in trying to help, in our little way possible, with recovery efforts in the towns that had been almost completely wiped out by the disaster. No amount of youtube videos or images of the destruction could have prepared me for that.

Met some amazing people at the centre, some who dropped by for short periods of time, some who gave up their comfy jobs after March 11 and moved to set up the volunteer centre and help the people of Tohoku. /deep bow.

Then there was: graduation! ...which means that I am no longer a student, which also means I am jobless! After graduation of the academic kind...there was Batizado (baptism) in Capoeira and the cordao (belt/cord) ceremony  (GO FOR GREEN!) ...a happy/sad end to the one year stint...which I can hopefully continue practising (somehow) back in Fiji.

And then there was: a somewhat mad dash through Vietnam over to Cambodia with two girlfriends (a first for me...have never travelled with company), two nights with Max in Phnom Penh and then a long bus ride up to Siem Reap which then proceeded to flood while we were there. Nothing tests character (of the country and the traveller) like flooded foreign streets.

Angkor Wat- Check. The trip ended with a short flight back to Ho Chi Minh, a lovely day/night spent marvelling at Vietnam's amazing bike culture. Another highlight of the week was the great (and very cheap) food that was devoured in great amounts. We had no shame in discussing what we should eat for dinner...while we were having lunch!

Final week - Back in Tokyo: on Monday morning...there were rushed goodbyes over 3 days, a final capoeira roda and Thursday morning -sleep-deprived, heart-heavy, mixed emotions- final train ride to Narita with my berimbau in tow.

Friday morning... I was sitting on a beach with Tiza (a classmate from high school who I have known since I was 13 or so) breaking chunks of long-loaf and dipping it into Rewa Butter.

My brain will take some time to digest this month. Luckily I have a lot of time on hand... back living with the folks and job-hunting... and catching up on the three years.

Here's to the next Chapter...wherever that may take me.

detours...is how I roll.

Posting the same map again, if anyone noticed.

Japan is probably the worst place to backpack 'my way' (without a proper plan) but I managed somehow anyway.

So I did make it to Shikoku, but not through Wakayama,
ended up going up to Okayama and then taking my first over-the-sea train to Takamatsu,
spending a night at a manga (comic/internet) cafe and then taking a beautiful slow train down to Kochi and camping out on the beach for a few days. *bliss*

Pics and anecdotes later. Currently trying to get my groove back in Tokyo after being in quarantine/on antibiotics for a week. It was a long time coming.

Let me at it!

here's the map again...for reference ;)

And yes, it does say 'Kinki' region...for the observant ones out there.

二ヶ月ぐらい...

...is all I have left in this country, about 2 months.
So trying to use up every minute to take in all that I can,
sights, sounds, tastes, friends...sigh!

Taking out two weeks to explore some places I haven't been to,
the first stop is Kyoto and the rough itinerary is to go through
Nara, Wakayama and ferry across to Tokushima then make my way down to the far end of Kochi.
Lets see where the wind takes me.

Need to bid an epic goodbye to this 3-yr adventure.
But then, the adventure never really ends...

Almost 4 in the morning...

I just finished reading my first ever Murakami novel...

after almost 3 years in Japan,

and then the earth shook.

Coincidence?

no, just another tremor. >_<

Oh Japan, how I look forward to embracing more of you for the next/last two months.

NB: Norwegian Wood (Norway no Mori).

In other news, the packing has begun, poignantly so.
Yet excited about the next adventure too.

The mamachari let go sooner than I would have liked,
got towed to some big yard where all bikes go to rest
which was probably for the best.
Its wrong to be so attached to spokes.
And I had accumulated a lot of bad karma anyway from illegal parking,
amongst other things.

So lost the bike but found the sea.
Yin and yang summer this will be.

(this post was inspired by Dr Seuss,
and two days of delirium due to what I hope is the final cold I will get this season)

Over-efficiency is creepy

This freaked me out.
Gmail is watching...

(Although, I am super thankful for the ingeniousness, I sometimes do forget to attach the intended document to my email.)

A word or two on words

“So avoid using the word ‘very’ because it’s lazy. A man is not very tired, he is exhausted. Don’t use very sad, use morose. Language was invented for one reason, boys - to woo women - and, in that endeavour, laziness will not do. It also won’t do in your essays.” - John Keating, Dead Poet’s Society


Amen. 
A rich vocabulary is sexy.
Sexier than a rich man. 
Communication, being my strength, also becomes my weakness. 
In that the lack of it causes despair.


Or at least thats the reason I attribute the fair many (many many) 'single' months 
in my inactively non-existent "romantic life" to.
My inability to use/understand Japanese nuances in more intimately social situations.


Not that I am complaining. Single is the new blue.
But there were some long and cold winters in between. 
Literally and figuratively. 


Luckily that has finally changed, 
with me gaining a somewhat more comprehensible grasp 
on this (godforsaken/beautiful) language. 
Or perhaps just gaining more confidence knowing I have very little time left in the country.


No, I still am fancy-free, 
but with a newfound appreciation for the local...er, charm.
And about time too!


But alas, we shall see how that turns out later.
For now I must invest my own currently dwindling vocabulary into writing my thesis.
One month to go. 
Cannot.bloody.wait.