Jan. 16, 2006

The next day of heavy rain was very sunny. (This is about last Sunday.) The clouds were making interesting pattern in the sky. I looked at the sky many time while I was walking.

I’d heard about ARI, the famous muffin cafe in Omotesando many times. I’d tried to go there twice before but it was shut then. Last Sunday, I finally had a chance to eat the famous tasty muffin. It was hard to choose only two muffins when all the muffins looked so yummy. I chose salmon and cream cheese muffin and lemon sugar muffin. Wow! Both were so tasty. I wanted to eat more but I was on a diet as usual 😉 (Most girls are always on a diet!)

To share the pleasure of having the tasty muffins with you, I took a picture. But it was out of focus. Never try to enlarge it! You anyway can’t eat the photo!

(Japanese)

大雨の次の日の日曜日はとても天気がよかった。（これは先週の日曜の話です。）おもしろい模様の雲が気になって何度も空を見上げてしまった。

表参道の有名なマフィン屋のことは何度も噂に聞いていて　それまでに2回行ってみたのだけれど2回ともお店は休みだった。でも先週の日曜日、ついにおいしいマフィンを食べるチャンスが！どれもこれもおいしそうに見えてその中から2つ選ぶのはかなり時間がかかったけれど　サーモンとクリームのマフィンとレモンシュガーマフィンを食べることにした。おいし～！感動するほどおいしかった。もっと食べたかったけれど　私はダイエット中。（ダイエット中じゃない女子は珍しい）あきらめることに…

記念にマフィンの写真を撮ってみたけれどフォーカスが合ってなかった。ってことで小さめに載せておきます。

Jan. 13, 2006

Very cold day. Went shopping with my colleague during lunch time. I wanted to find new gloves. I found it! Love the color and it’s really useful. I can press the shutter button without taking them off!

今日はとても寒かった。昼休みに会社の同僚とショッピング。写真を撮るとき用の手袋が欲しかった。で　このかわいらしい色の手袋を購入。かわいいだけじゃなくて便利！

Jan. 11, 2006

I went to yoga in early morning. I struggled with sleepiness and morning chill in bed for half an hour after I heard alarm clock. Outside was still dark. I almost gave up yoga but finally got up.

Bus was busy with elementary school kids in the uniform on the way to Meguro. I arrived at the yoga studio at 8:00. Voila!

I did Ashtanga Mysore practice trying to remember what I learnt in Thailand. Some part I forgot but teacher gave me help. I learnt two new poses today. While I was practicing I felt a bit energy-less and breathing was more difficult than usual. But I felt great after finishing practice as usual. Sun was smiling outside then. I took a picture of the balcony of yoga studio. Sun light was beautiful.

Practicing yoga in the morning, I felt good all day long. Namaste : )

(Japanese)

今日はアシュタンガマイソールの朝のクラスに行ってみた。東京で朝のクラスに出るのは初めて。朝起きるのはかなり大変だった。眠いし、寒いし、外はまだ暗かったし。目覚ましがなってから30分、ベッドの中で半分眠りながら悩む。ほとんどあきらめかけたけど　なんとか起き上がった。

目黒へ向かうバスは制服を来た小学生で大混雑。でも8時にはヨガスタジオに到着。

タイで習ったことを思い出しながら練習を開始。ところどころ　もう忘れていた。でも先生が親切に指導してくれて　今日はさらに新しいポーズを２つ追加。練習中ちょっとエネルギーが足りてない感じがした。呼吸もいつもよりうまくできなかったし。それでも練習を終えた後はとても充実した気分に。その頃には太陽もまぶしいくらいになっていた。ついついヨガスタジオのベランダで写真撮影。日の光がとてもきれいだった。

1日中気分よく過ごせたのは朝のヨガのおかげかな。Namaste : )

Jan. 10, 2006

At the end of the year, we often here the expression "Time does fly fast". But it’s not only at the year end. It’s already the 10th day of 2006! Since I came back from Samui, I’ve been meeting with a lot of friends to eat and chat about the holiday.

A couple of restaurants I went to with friends recently…

Shanghai Dining Jogenro in Jiyugaoka : My aunt and I had lunch there. I liked the interior. Spicy Chinese noodle we ate was good with a lot of sesame though I was thirsty afterward.

Shichifuku in Shibuya : Hiroshima style Okonomiyaki restaurant. Tasty and good price! I liked the oyster there. The master remembered me : )

Bizuri in Shibuya : Their specialty is Taiwanese tea (quite good quality). I enjoyed chai tea last weekend. My recommendation is Orlon tea with milky aroma.

(Japanese)

“時の経つのはほんとに早い”って　年の瀬によく聞く言葉だけれど　時が経つのが早いのは年末だけじゃない。新年になって早くも10日目。サムイから帰ってきてからは毎日のように友達に会って休暇の話の交換会。

で　最近行ったレストランを紹介

上海ダイニング状元樓　（自由が丘）: おばとランチに出かけた。インテリアがよい感じ。ゴマのたっぷり入った坦坦麺は美味だったけど　あとでかなり喉が渇いた。

七福　（渋谷）: 広島お好み焼きの店。おいしくて安い。この前はカキがおいしかった。マスターはなんと私のことを覚えててくれたみたい。（4回目だったけど）

ビズリ　（渋谷）:台湾のお茶がメインだけど食べ物やアルコールもある。お茶は種類が豊富だし味も高級。週末はチャイを頂いたのだけれど　私のほんとのお勧めは凍頂キンセンというウーロン茶です。（キンセンのセンの感じがchoiceにない！）

Jan. 8, 2006

Another cold day though it was a little warmer than yesterday. This winter has been very very cold in Japan. I don’t remember any other winter which was as cold as this year. The average temperature in December was the lowest ever since 1946 when Japan started keeping a log of climate. I miss Thai weather a lot.

昨日よりは少し暖かかったけど　やっぱり寒い1日だった。今年の冬はほんとに寒い。こんな寒い冬が今まであったかどうか思い出せないくらい。12月の平均気温は日本で1946年に記録を取り始めてから一番低かったらしい。タイの暖かい天気が懐かしい・・・

Jan. 4, 2006

Came home yesterday. A week in Samui refreshed me. Mt. Fuji through the office window welcomed me into the office this morning.

Memories of Samui…

Ashtanga Yoga: It was painful, indeed! My muscle was screaming a lot especially on the first and the second day. Teachers encouraged me to try more than I thought I could do. Thanks to their help, my arms reached further and I could stretch my legs more straight than I expected. The most challenging part was to remember the order of poses. (this was my first time to try Ashtanga! and in Ashtanga mysore practice, teachers don’t give us instructions but adjust our poses while we are practicing.) All in all, it was so challenging but fun and funny mates in the beginner’s class made it a bit easier : )

Vegetarian Meal : It wasn’t my favorite as I anticipated. I didn’t feel full even I ate more than usual. But at the same time it’s also true that I didn’t have any problem in my stomach when I was eating vegetarian meal though my stomach often has problems. Now spending a little more than a full day in Tokyo, I have something lying on my stomach for the meal I had today. My stomach is really weak, I know, but I still like meat!!!

The Ocean: I was looking forward to swimming in the blue water. Though it looked beautiful when I looked at the ocean from the beach, the water wasn’t that clear when I went into it. But it was cool enough to cool down after morning yoga practice.

Humid but Not that Hot: Weather was quite OK except it rained a lot though it wasn’t a rainy season. It was humid but wasn’t uncomfortably hot. I comfortably spent the time with tank-top and shorts.

Westernized Town: On the new year’s day, I went to a little town (could be the busiest town in Samui?) Chaweng. It was very westernized and I wondered where I was! Starbucks, Boots, Irish pubs with football matches on TV, MacDonald’s and lots of western people…

Simple Life: Got up at 7:00, had yoga practice from 8:30 to 10:00. Breakfast, shower and relax. 12:00 Yoga workshop, 13:00 Lunch. Relax (sometimes went to small towns or had massage) and afternoon practice at 16:30. Supper at 18:30. Evening video show and meditation (sometimes I skipped it). At 21:00, I was always in bed either chatting with the room mate or reading. I couldn’t stay up after after 22:00! And no TV in the room!   

New Friends:I met a lot of people. Quite international people! Many of them live in the other country than their own. Made quite a few friends. They made my retreat much more fun!I’m sure that I’ll keep in touch with them.   

I did, saw, felt more than these but impossible to write everything!

(Japanese)

昨日タイから帰国。サムイ島ですっかりリフレッシュされて今日を出社。窓から見える富士山が今日もきれいだった。

サムイ島の思い出をいくつか・・・

と思ったけど　日本語版は明日書きます・・・帰ったばかりで忙しい。