Trip to Japan to reconnect my families and friends

I took a trip back to Japan to reconnect with my family. The family I thought I had lost when I had decided to marry my ex ... over thirty years ago.

Just like I've been finding myself back, I feel I have found my Japanese families back. I felt humbled though; I did not expect them to be so welcoming. I was able to spend time with all of my brothers I love, their wives, and their children (except my oldest's.) My favorite cousin and her sisters came to meet up, and that was fun. I have no sister, so my sisters-in-law and cousins mean a lot to me.

Kaimon-Dake, Satsuma Fuji, was as beautiful as it used to be. Sakura-Jima was looking perfect when I went up to Shiroyama while waiting for my HS friend to arrive from Tokyo. I felt grounded looking at these mountains. They remind me of my roots.

And the friends I cherish...

Thank you Chaki-chan for meeting up with me at KanKu Airport while taking care of emergency issues!!! Sorry that I missed you on the way out on the 15th!

Akko-san, a friend from HS and ever since. She has been there for me all these hard years. I can never thank her enough. I still have a lot to learn from her.

Hanamure, my HS buddy. One day, we went to see "Close Encounters of the Third Kind". We were up on the dorm roof that night and were sending hand signals to the aliens. We were those kinds of girls. Ha!

Masako-san, a neighbor during my Kichijo-Ji era, and a friend since. She is super compassionate like no other! She is also a professional level cook. I have no idea how she can whip these feasts up in less than ten minutes.

And the cherished friend I don't have a photo with. I truly enjoyed the time together.

Last but not least, thank you Meriam, sending welcome back flowers. I felt welcomed into my own home in Plano. That was priceless.

I felt alone for a long time - just me and my three children. Now, I feel I have ten thousand people stand behind me and another thousand beside me.

"Treat Yourself Like Someone You Are Responsible Helping"

Early last year, when I was frantically trying to find my way out of the abyss I was in, I came across Jordan B Peterson’s podcasts. I was skeptical. But, I did not hear my inner BS buzzer go off that often while listening to him talk. Decided to give it a cautious try, I kept listening, knowing I can stop immediately when I feel being manipulated.


Since then, I have listened to all of his podcasts, watched some of his lectures on Youtube and read/listened to his books. Later part of the last year, I worked on Self Authoring Program. My Christmas presents to three children last year were the accesses to their own Self Authoring Program. By the way, I spent merely $50 in total for all of that. I don’t agree with everything he says, but I have relearned a lot.


Among all the things he talks about - specifically among the rules he explains - I feel I need to understand this one the most. He does not talk about this rule often. Maybe because the majority of his audiences are young men (I am not), and other topics are more compelling for them than this one.


Treat Yourself Like Someone You Are Responsible Helping
 - link to his talk about the topic in Edmonton, Canada


Anyway, this is the most important one for me at this time. (The other one I am working on is Be precise in your speech.) After 30 years of abusive marriage and barely coming out alive, I need to relearn why I should care and value myself.


I’ve been practicing this for almost a year. I have been regaining who I am. I feel much stronger. I will continue practicing to stay strong.


By the way, I have been stressing the importance of getting the information from the source as much as possible. For Jordan Peterson, that is crucial. There is so much noise on the internet about him interpreted and created by others. I would not waste my time/energy to that. His own podcasts and lectures on Youtube are readily available on the internet and are free to access.

Diaper dilemma

One of my favorite podcasts is “Energy Gang”. (I also love its sibling podcast “Interchange”.) I’ve learned a lot over the years by listening to these smart people talk about green/clean energy.

They are down to earth and fun to listen to, but because they are super-duper knowledgeable (and not to mention they are prominent figures), I haven’t thought I share similar experiences...until yesterday.

The host, Stephen Lacey, recently became a father. He talked about the dilemma of choosing between cloth diapers and disposable ones. He ended up choosing disposables and asked his co-hosts, Jigar Shah and Katherine Hamilton, about their thoughts and experiences.

Jigar became a father a few years ago (I think) and Katherine is a mother of four. They both went through the same dilemma and decided to stick to disposable. Katherine used the cloth ones for her first baby (now 29) and gave up because the urine smell filled up and seeped through the entire house.

When my oldest (also now 29) was born, I tried the cloth diaper route first. I could not bear the thought of sending mounds and mounds of soiled diapers to landfills. We were in a two-bedroom apartment near the edge of Brentwood off West LA in Southern California. We had a washer and a dryer in the unit, but very quickly, I realized I could not do laundry for those diapers, and switched to cloth diaper delivery service.

However...each time I received a bagful of super white diapers in exchange for smelly and yellowed ones, I wondered if that was the right choice. What and how much chemical they use to make them so white? How much hot water or steam they use?

One day, a call came while I was nursing my baby. It was from my friend in Australia to congratulate for the birth of my first baby. I was happily talking with her until my baby started to poo. It ran over my lap then onto the carpet while I was tied to the lined phone. (There were only landlines back then.) Next day I went out and bought a pack of disposable diapers with side guards and never looked back. I remember reading somewhere that both types of diapers are equally bad to the environment and felt somewhat justified.

So, hearing those three clean energy experts chose disposables made me smile. Jigar and Katherine also talked about raising less materialistic children who are responsible and care. They used hand-me-downs, got stuff from garage sales, frequented to library, let the children play outside...etc. I did all of those as well.

Well, even though I feel I am falling short every day, maybe I did alright. At least how I raised my children were not too far from those people who are leading the green/clean energy revolution.

https://www.greentechmedia.com/podcast/the-energy-gang#gs.wei6r8

https://www.greentechmedia.com/podcast/the-interchange#gs.x21zgh

Collin Creek Mall will be reborn into a Mixed-Use Community

Collin Creek Mall is officially closed and getting ready for an exciting redevelopment (w/ $1B price tag). As I walked through the vast parking lot toward the celebration event, I overheard a lady saying the other, "I feel so sentimental..." Maybe she spent many of her teen days in this mall. As I spent little time there, other than occasional back-to-school cloth shopping for kids while they were in grade school, I don't share that sentiment.

I am actually pretty happy that this huge super underused property (=wasted space) will be reborn into a walkable, mixed-use, and vibrant community that offers a place to live, work and enjoy for many. I'd bet many shares my sentiment. After seeing resident groups fought fiercely against multiple development initiatives in recent years, it's refreshing to see both the city of Plano and residents are FOR this project. It being near my home base adds more excitement. Along I-75 is getting more and more interesting :)

New pup in my life!

We know nothing about Pia's history other than she was found at a parking lot somewhere all matted and flea-ridden. Luckily, she was comfortable with me from the get-go. No drama.

So far she has learned not to jump onto my bed and my leather couch. (It took a week!) She also learned how to fetch a ball. (She had no idea how to play with a tennis ball. I was like, what?) She was already house-trained, so at least I don't need to worry about that.

I am now teaching her not to gobble up all her foods in five seconds. Once that's done, I will try to teach her not to jump on people without getting permission first. We will see how that goes. One at a time...

Thank you, father!

My beloved father, in his mid 30’s. The man of integrity, who named me a child of integrity.

Thank you for raising me well and for loving me so.

I have missed you last twenty-five, but knowing you loved me, and the sense of responsibility to raise my children well (like you did for us) sustained me last thirty. Thank you.

I am proud to be your daughter.