appalled

at my absentmindedness. i'm not sure if absent minded is the correct description but lately i've been really forgetful that i suspect i have an early onset of alzheimer's or dementia (touchwood).

the nearest-embarassment incident would have to be when i forgot my NETS pin number at the supermarket cashier. i simply stared at the keypad and it stared back at me and then i stared back at the cashier lady. the voidness in my brain sent a chill down my spine (hah, this phrase reminds me of compositions back in school). in the end i "forced" myself to scrape my brain for this piece of important memory and luckily before i gave up it suddenly came to my mind again. phew

well anyway that was not the worst. i just realised i have not uploaded my tokyo photos into my home PC! and i have already deleted them from my company laptop! ARGHHHHHHHH!

i hope i still can find them in the office server tmr. this feeling sucks. i really hope i'm not losing my mind. :(

ogenki desuka?

i wasn't expecting to go to this one but because of some mysterious forces i'm going to Tokyo again! and on the A380!! booked myself a seat on the upper deck, shared with the business class. this time round is purely for work but i can't wait to eat the delicious food and hit the stores again (even window shopping is good enough)

Men at work

for more tastes of tokyo, see here

bad days don't escape you even when you try to elude them

my father made me an offer to bring along our less-than-a-year-old Sony High-definition DV recorder for the trip. today due to a freak accident, the LCD display cracked. 3 jagged lines across the display. and i wasn't even there... :(

*heartache*

i wished i had taken better care of it, i wished i had asserted more control over it.......

i hate this feeling!!! arrrgghhhhhhhhhhhh

my heart is going to bleed more when i return to the fair and see more LCD screens tomorrow

in foreign environments like this you really appreciate technology

like GPS and the wireless internet connection when the road signs and tv program are foreign to you. Yes, I'm in Tokyo! Had to use some broken Japanese earlier to get some directions from the locals, who generally go all the way to help.

I was really impressed when one guy whipped out his mobile and started to look up his GPS application to help me find my way to the ryokan. Now, it is really not enough to only equipped one with the technology. The map wasn't easy to read and somehow he interpreted the directions wrongly (which I know because the ryokan ended up being at the opposite side of the road). There could be ways to improve the presentation/layout of the map on the phone such that users can understand it, relative to the current surroundings, immediately.

Anyway, besides the usual lost-in-translation cultural shock, here are some other personal first impressions of the city:
1) Buildings/flyovers are built in close proximity to one another. One can easily spy on another in Tokyo!
2) Too many slopes! As if the steps at the metro/mrt stations are not enough to kill...
3) The Japs like to speed ... in their bicycles! They don't like to brake, and they make good use of the downslopes to cut down their commuting time.

Where I stay:

And I'm really thankful for the wireless internet provided here. So should you too! ;)