Not on the internet

A local person gave me a city tour. In addition to the must-see famous spots, she shared her own hangouts. Her schools, favorite sushi place, supermarkets, places to buy sweets.. I enjoyed it so much. That's what I always want to know when I visit someone's hometown.

Autumn sky

Bright colored umbrellas, some are almost like roofs.

haunt me: aerial

UN BALLET URBAIN by Repetto

[Good evening Tuesday] A Handshake

As a translator, I get to become someone else through texts. It gets more exciting when the person seems interesting and very different from myself. Most of these times are fun, and other times it becomes nightmare.

A few years ago, I had an occasion to become one of the sexiest men on this planet. Actually, it was my second time to become "one of the sexiest men on this planet", and I don't know exactly how many are called with this title, but this person was famously and inarguably that type. 

I know his name but I didn't know much about him. I quickly checked how he talks and behaves to complete the work and it was okay, but deep down I was feeling "I don't think I can fully be him, there's nothing I can relate to".

But the work related to this man had kept popping up since then, so I decided to delve a bit deeper into himself. I read his books and articles to get to know him better, and while I was watching one of his documentaries, I saw one subtle face expression of him. And that was our handshake moment.

After this, it got so much easier to translate his texts and I got more confidence to become his Japanese persona. I don't see his texts so often these days, but I still high fiving in my heart each time I see him on media. 

I think a lot of translators have this type of secret bond. With someone you could never imagine.

Summer pit stop.
Temperature went up to 40c last week. Where's rainy season?

haunt me: Collage

 

The Colors – Inside CHANEL

Applause to M. Lagerfeld and his creative team.

[Good evening Tuesday] Strength Finder test

I took a Strength Finder test (choose your country on the linked website) for the first time in over a decade. Results were almost the same as last time's, but few of the things I felt "not quite right..?" was replaced with "yeah this is more like me" results. And the analysis was much improved and deeper than the one I took many moons ago, and frankly I was impressed. (and.. rest assured, this is not a sponsored post.)

This test, which consists of more than 100 questionnaire, will tell you what your major strength are in business or general field. Apparently the result of this test is not everything, but it may help you to understand a bit more of yourself from a new perspective. (The test is widely used in HR and coaching.) 

If you want to try, I personally recommend the course to tell your Top 5 strength. (It's essential and cheaper, and you can always upgrade afterwards.) You need to answer those questionnaire in limited timeframe, so set aside about 30-40 minutes before clicking start button. Follow-up emails have some insights too.

[nokonoko journal] May 2022

Many things have changed. Looking back on May last year, we were still in the state of emergency and everyone was talking about vaccination. Now, almost all the restrictions have lifted and our border will be soon re-opened. Our government has started to discuss about the necessity of wearing masks, and soon (hopefully) we'll be able to walk outside maskfree (if it's open space, for starters). But I know most of us here will remain wearing them for a while... because it feels physically, mentally and socially safer that way (and it's also easier that way in terms of makeup). 

Now that domestic travel restrictions have lifted, I visited Tokyo National Museum. It was wonderful, you can follow Japanese arts and crafts chronologically there like an intensive course. 

Back in the spring of 2020, Italian writer Paolo Giordano wrote an essay about the ongoing pandemic situation, and the Japanese publisher shared its postface in Japanese on their web. He was listing the things he doesn't want to forget after the pandemic ("Il virus, il "dopo" e quello che non voglio scordare") and that has kept coming back to my mind during these years.

What I don't want to forget, obviously there are many. But I'll just share one thing here. Do you remember there were many livestream (usually long one) from home? That one taught me the power of editing.

One of the things I enjoyed the most in the museum was a map of texture. It has nothing to do with texture mapping (in case you're into CG) but it's an actual map of museum made with different textures. For lacquerware section you can feel slick and cold texture for example.

Cherry Blossom 2022

This year I wanted to try something different and new, so I made my annual Sakura report in video format.

It might look like a school assignment of 8yrs old (or younger)... but at least I tried! :)

2022

Happy New Year.

2022, I'm determined to have fun this year. Are you?

あけましておめでとうございます

私が暮らす群馬の山沿いでは、きりりと冷えた風と
明るい日差しに包まれた穏やかな元旦を迎えました。

「ステイホーム」という言葉を聞くようになって約2年。
私たちの巣ごもりスキルはこの月日の中で確実に上がり、
気がつけば、以前なら当たり前と感じていたことのなかにも
小さな楽しみや喜びを見出だせる頭と心に
変わってきたように感じています。

2022年が、みなさまにとって希望と幸せに満ちた

健やかな1年となりますことを心からお祈りいたします。

楽しい年にしようぜ。