Rainy Days/Japan Tour Day 4

Ok, I really wanted to post this up on Sunday, but I got sidetracked a bit. Can only blame my anime addiction.. Oops.. Can't help it when I want to return to the anime I bought years ago :p

Brr.. the weather these days really remind me of the days back in Japan. Rain... stop... rain... stop... rain... well, you get the picture. Like what Jack Ho told me on Sunday afternoon when I popped by HMV Heeren to catch Jack and Rai's album launch there, it feels like the rainy season hit our shores really early. Kinda sucky it puts a damper on my journeys when I'm outside. Ah well. There's nothing I can do about it. The boys performed a live set and conducted a pop quiz session for cd giveaways. Small crowd though, guess it's due to the rain. Jean Danker was on hand as the host as well. Managed to take a shot with the duo with my (new) hp, as I forgot to bring my cam down. And was kinda surprised that Rai remembered my name...

Been catching up on my backlog of stuff lately, mostly on the anime I have collected over the years that I've yet to watch. There's STILL the backlog of 20+ books I've yet to finish or even touch -_-" Also trying to meet up with some friends and catch up with them. Just met Cat on last Friday over lunch at Suntec and chatted bout our current life. Guess it's inevitable that busy schedules and work will keep friends apart. Hope to be able to meet some others over coffee or lunch when I can.

Been busy as well with some issues over guitars. No, I'm not buying another one... Yet anyway :p Guess that'll take a few years to save up, at the current price it's going at. What I'm currently GASing for. But anyway, it's over a new case for my Taylor. Yes, I'm tired of carrying around a 30 lb hardcase on the buses and trains that make up the public transport on our sunny (rainy, more like it these days) island. So me and Hann from Guitar4Christ were trying out some Tric cases to make sure they fit our GS-es. Apparently, there was one Dreadnought-sized Tric that Wili from the boards let us try and didn't fit. Ouch. And there's another supposedly same-sized Tric that did. Just praying hard that it'll fit and I have a lighter alternative to my current case. Falling in love with my Taylor all over again as I changed the strings to Elixir .13 PBs and changed the bridge pins to amber-stained buffalo horn, which balanced out the sound nicely with more bass and more sustain. Sweeter on the mids and highs too.

Another day just went by. Guess there's too much in the itinerary for my liking. Went to another few places again today. Ramen factory, Wasabi farm, Mt. Norikura, morning market. And a really long bus ride which took up most of the day. Really amazing how the roads were built into the mountains, winding along the edges while rivers flowed below. Norikura was beautiful, as you can see in the web album, but the rain spoiled things again. Took some nice shots of the snow amidst the surrounding peaks at 10 degress celsius. Brrr... Surprisingly, there were shops open. Saw mittens but they were too colourful for my taste. Ah well. Ramen factory and the other stops weren't that much to write about. Just tourist traps, though the wasabi farm offered some insights into how wasabi was grown and made. Tried wasabi ice-cream despite the cold weather and it was surprisingly nice, not spicy at all. Though I was shivering for quite a bit afterwards. The farm and its surroundings are really beautiful, set in the midst of the Japanese Alps. Too bad I'm running low on shots. There's still Tokyo tomorrow and the Mt. Fuji visitors' centre in the morning. Disneyland after that, and another 1.5 hour ride into Toyko proper. Hope there's time to shop. Really wanna get my stuff. There's still some 70k yen in my wallet and I've already bought the food stuff for friends. Time to sleep I guess. Parents are already in bed now (10pm). Can't really do much now. Tv's not really receiving anything. It's a small hotel after all. Shucks. Oyasumi.

"Who, then, is the man that fears the LORD? He will instruct him in the way chosen for him. He will spend his days in prosperity, and his descendants will inherit the land. The LORD confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them." Psalm 25:12-14

At The Cross

Been listening to this song quite a bit recently. Got it from a friend some time ago, but only started to let it have heavy airplay at my radio station in the last month or so. Might To Save as well, but I prefer this sort of worship. Really intimate, and lots of acoustic guitar playing.

Really been a while since I last blogged, more than 2 weeks now. Been busy here and there with assignments for Kevin, as well as clearing some backlogs of my own stuff. Bumped into Jon at Paul's wedding, and he seems to be doing fine after the closing of the cafe. Bumped into Kace as well at the dinner. Paul's invitation to him was "a gathering of some 20 guitarists" and didn't mention anything bout a wedding dinner, lol. But still, good to catch up with them. Spent the whole evening talking to Kace, even after the dinner where a bunch of us went for drinks and after that as well, when we just talked over supper till like 3+ in the morning. Really had a blast talking bout stuff and over nothing in particular. He really has a wealth of knowledge on his fingertips. Hope to meet him again for the G4C bbq in September (hopefully this event goes through. All talk at the moment... Trying to do something bout it for now)

Gomen, day 4 of my Japan diary will have to be in the next post. Gonna continue clearing my backlog of stuff now. Man U's playing Newcastle home tonight as well. Time to kick off the 2008/2009 EPL season! Recuperating from an ankle issue as well. Started early last week near the tendon of my left foot. Ankle itself became affected on Friday, which led to some fancy feet juggling when manning cam 1 in the Sanctuary for Reachlight as well as passing mics. Kinda fun though. Doc said it's gout, which I kinda disagree as the first contact point is usually my big toe... Aw well. Thank God it's healing nicely now, and I can put some weight on the foot now and do some walking. Praying for a complete healing for this and for my gout. I wanna eat beef and yong tau foo again!

"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." Matthew 5:13-16