The past few months have indeed flown by very quickly for me, due mostly in part to how much I’ve been working. But along the way I’ve had some wonderful adventures with people I love and appreciate that break up the madness that is “bake, rinse, repeat” on a daily basis. It’s hard to believe that in just a couple of weeks it will already be April—it feels like only yesterday I was celebrating New Years with Sarah and Emma, and here I am now preparing for Hanami and a trip to Sweden. For the first three months of this year a lot has already happened, and it has definitely been a whirlwind ride! At the start of January my friend Trevor from Kansai Gaidai came down for a weekend visit. We actually spent most of ... read more

It’s impossible for me to compare my experiences in Sweden to anything else I’ve ever felt in my life, because to do so would be presenting a non-truthful perspective. For me this trip was a homecoming: As I went through the security checkpoint at Dulles International my mother said, “Now you’ll see if this is what you really want to do. Now you’ll know if you really want to move”. And when I was looking back at tram stop at Frölunda Torg I was already certain of where I want to be, and of where I belong. There have been many milestones in my life, but I don’t think any can measure up to my going to Sweden - it was a trip of many firsts for me. The first time I went abroad alone, bought ... read more

“For a long time it seemed to me that life was about to begin - real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life. This perspective has helped me to see there is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way. So treasure every moment you have and remember that time waits for no one. Happiness is a journey, not a destination.” --Souza For once I will take a shot at writing an entry in free form without the use of a word document to revise my ideas and see how they flow. It's better to let thoughts flow spontaneously and from the ... read more

Tina, I really wish you had been here today. This morning I made my mom and her boyfriend some buckwheat pancakes with chopped walnuts and a caramelized pan fried apples in substitution of maple syrup. It was one of those moments where as a cook I wasn’t quite sure if I liked the outcome or if something could have been different. But cooking pancakes this morning made me think of the Running Club I was in back at Kansai Gaidai. On our first long run to Yamada-ike Koen the entire walk back all Tracy-Sensei would talk about was pancakes, how good pancakes would be after a run, and how much better those same pancakes would be with peanut butter or fresh fruit on them. After this we always promised that we would have some sort of ... read more

A fair warning: this entry is going to be long and picture heavy. :P I talked with Felix a little bit today about guidelines with regards to relationships, and how religions and other personal morals govern them. This not only includes married couples or couples in general, but also the relationships we have with our friends, our families, and people that we meet on the streets in everyday interactions. We each have our own personal morals by which we live; we each have standards on how our life should play out, and we each have our own different ways on how to achieve goals. Religion, other people, whatever outside influences that aren't our own thoughts are really just guidelines: it's up to us to make our own decisions in the end and live life without regrets. ... read more