Travelling to San Francisco for the Walk For Life
Category: Life
Friday, January 18, 2008
Travelling to San Francisco for the 'Walk For Life' 2008
18th January 2008
Finally set out at 1.45 p.m this afternoon for San Francisco. Stopped by Nippon Ramen for some Miso Ramen for lunch. It tasted better than I remembered it. Also stopped by Peets to get a Darjeeling Kalimpong to go. It felt so good to sip it in the car, with the sunroof open and the wind breezing through.
The 405N was pretty packed from after the 118 split, so I decided to take the surface roads and reconnect later with the 5.
Bessie (the name I give my car) led me through SF Mission blvd. to Rinaldi, to the winding roads going uphill on Woodley. Woodley turned into Balboa Blvd, then to Foothill Blvd. and I soon filtered into the 5.
The ride was surprisingly smooth going up north. I guess it was a blessing in disguise that I left the house later than I intended.
The hills were beautiful, like the furry paws of a labrador, or like hot cross buns dusted with cocoa powder, the setting, orange sun cast shadows deep in the crevices of the hills that brought out its terrain beautifully.
Wide open roads...
All throughout, I had my speakers tuned in to EWTN, Catholic channel and Symphony.
I listened to some programme on scripture reflections on St. Paul's letter to the Ephesians, Chp 4 verse 17-21, as the hosts were talking about baptism and how it is a beginning, not a graduation as some people think it is.
Also heard a programme on Patrick Madrid's show where he talked with a listener who was questioning Mary's role in Catholism and whether catholics were biblical in their doctrines concerning Mary. Quite interesting.
It inspires me to blog about Mary and what the bible
says about Mary in a future post.
Also heard him talking about distance learning ,eg. Catholic Distance University being one, and a website, ie. www.wdtprs.com ? 'what does the prayer really say' weblog on latin prayer translations,.
Anyway, I reached caught the tail end of the interfaith prayer service at the Cathedral of St. Mary's. There were some people at a reception and as I scanned the strange unfamiliar faces, I found myself asking Him if there was anyone he wanted me to meet.
All the same, I was starving, So I made my way to Whole Foods market on 1765 California Ave. and got white bean with turkey chilli, garlic mashed potatoes and a leg of rotiserrie chicken from the hot food bar. Too bad there wasn't much of a selection there. after all, it was already about 9.25 p.m by the time I got there.
There was a Peets there too! But it was closed. Sob.
Anyway, it's getting late, so I'm turning in. This hotel is lovely. yeah.
Sandwiches & Seagulls, Tea and a Rainbow
Category: Life
Monday, January 21, 2008
Sandwiches & Seagulls, Tea and a Rainbow
Lovely, puffy-grey-white clouds in the sky... and the sun is bright yellow...I'd say, canary yellow.
Looks like I've found a nice spot for future lunches. I'm here at the Artisan Cheese Gallery, waiting for my Duck Confit Sandwich. It's a place with cream cheese coloured walls, a sprinkling of wooden tables and chairs. Cheese from all over the globe is displayed on the counter, wheels wrapped in shrink wrap, imported pasta and sauces displayed on wooden shelves. Really pleasant. Black and white pasta ribbons, lavender and rose jellies, artisan salt packaged in square bottles, varieties of honey in jars.
The Duck Confit Sandwich tastes good, albeit a bit too sweet because of all the fig jam they layered on it. The duck meat is juicy, the bread is just the right thickness and it's nice and warm. MMmm.....
--------------
Now here at Peets. The weather has gotten rainy and grey.
Oh, a rainbow briefly appeared, in the midst of grey rain clouds... it's gone now, but it was beautiful and it reminded me of the promise that God had made to his people so long ago, that he would never again flood the earth as he did in Noah's time.
I pointed the rainbow out to the two people sitting outside of Peets, an older gentleman and a younger pre-teen of about 12. Both were wearing yarmaulkes and the young boy was reciting something, presumably scripture in Hebrew and the older gentleman was his teacher, I presume, because he was correcting the boy as he read.
The boy read the scriptures, perhaps just like our Lord did, so long ago, reading the scripture of his Jewish heritage as a boy in the temple, elucidating awe from his elders at the wisdom he had beyond his years. --------------
Three little seagulls soaring in the sky. Where do they come from? We're quite far, I would think, from the sea, yet these seagulls come by pretty regularly.
They give glory to their creator in the way they fly, soar. flap their wings, for they do what they were made to do, and they do it beautifully.
So, I had a beautiful birthday. I'd been going back and forth about whether to go for the 'Walk For Life' and I'm glad that I did it.
After all, what better way is there to celebrate my 35th year of life than by taking part in a pro-life walk, a walk that calls to mind the need to cultivate a culture of life, especially during this, the 35th anniversary of the Roe V Wade, U.S Supreme Court decision to legalise abortion in the US.
It is well worth reflecting/contemplating on the fact that I was born, 35 years ago, just around the time when the Supreme Court here chose to allow people to legally abort the unborn for whatever reasons, whatsoever.
The babies aborted around that time would have been my age this year. In taking part in the walk, I felt that it was one way I could help to give a voice to the voiceless, to make a stand on behalf of those who did not have a choice to keep their lives.
In place of a birthday dinner celebration as usual, or a birthday cake, or birthday cards, I broke bread and shared the feast of Christ's body and blood with my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ at mass at St. Patrick's Church, I had the pleasure of enjoying the candles lit at the Tabernacle and I had a placard to hold 'Women Deserve Better Than Abortion' during the Walk For Life.
Yes, it took 6 hours to drive there and 6 hours to drive back to LA, but it was a journey not made in vain. After all, no life is lived in vain.
It was a celebration of life. The life that is given to all of us, the life that only He can give, or take away.
Walking for Life on my birthday in San Francisco
Category: Life
Walking for Life on my birthday in San Francisco, CA
photo by Gerald Augustinus
Saturday 19th January 2008
Woke up at 8.50 a.m. By the time I left my hotel room it was about 9.20 a.m and I made my way across the street to the Ferry Building to check out the Farmer's Market.
Lined up in a row alongside the water were blue tents where stores and vendors had set up their wares. Vendors were selling everything from breakfast platters to skillet potatoes to Lavender Sugar, Oysters, stalks of Cherry Blossom and organic fruits and vegetables.
There were also a few musician street performers, including one dressed as a cowgirl, complete with cowboy boots and hat, but wearing a short skirt and checkered tights as well. She was playing the accordion, kicking her boots into the ground as a percussive instrument and singing 'What Do You Do With A Drunken Sailor'. She did a very spunky rendition of the song and it sounded great. I dropped a dollar in her jar and went on my way.
I walked around, taking in the sights and the smells. The Bay Bridge was standing majestic against the light blue sky, waves gently lapping away at the pier and the morning sun was gradually turning up its intensity.
Sausages were sizzling on the grill, oysters napping on beds of ice-chips and abundant fruits and vegetables in a sea of orange, reds and greens. I made my way to the bakery inside the ferry building called the Frog Hollow Farm where I coughed up $4.50 for a Ham and Gruyere Cheese Turnover, basically a crispy pastry puff filled with ham and gruyere cheese.
I then made my way to the Peets in the building, but not before strolling around, admiring the seductive sights of stores specialising in cheese, and others specialising in caviar, mushrooms and artisan bread. It was a feast for the senses.
Daintily laid out treats from the Boulettes Larder
The Peets in the Ferry Building terminal was not ideal, ie. they had run out of ceramic mugs and were using paper cups, but the seating was great because the unfinished wood tables and chairs were placed next to a huge window that overlooked the bay waters.
I got my tea, settled in to eat my turnover and browse through the headings of the New York Times. The front page carried a story about how the cooking oil prices were soaring and driving up the cost of food globally. The story mentioned something about how a factory in Malaysia that had planned to begin a business converting cooking oil into diesel oil lays idle now because the owners can no longer afford the cost of the raw materials, ie. the cooking oil, to turn a profit in the making of diesel oil. Hmmm...I guess paying $4.50 for a small crispy puff pastry with Ham and Gruyere cheese will soon not be considered extravagant, but normal in the light of future spikes in the cost of food.
After my breakfast, I took another quick stroll around the stores in the Ferry Building marketplace, making a mental note to come back after the 'Walk for Life' to get a sandwich from Lulu Petite. (I'd read that their sandwiches, esp. the crispy chicken sandwich was good.)
It was about 10.25 a.m by this time. I quickly made my way back to the hotel. I had to pack, check-out, get my bags stored at the hotel concierge and then make my way over to the Justin Herman Plaza lawn for the 'Walk for Life' rally and I didn't want to miss the beginning. From the Ferry Building, I could already see a big group of people gathering at the rally area.
By 10.50 a.m, I was on my way, walking to the rally. Along the way, I passed by another rally gathering, although it was quite small and sparse, a small gathering of people for abortion had gathered and some were shouting some slogans that I could not make out.
Walking along to the Walk for Life rally, I was heartened to see so many people walking along with me to gather at the lawn.
There were already many groups gathered there, people from all walks of life, all colours and all ages, all gathered to make a stand against abortion. Many had come via church groups, college students groups...I saw banners for groups like the Trinity Students, Knights of Columbus, and the Paulists priests were on site too to take video footage of the event. Sign boards like 'Abortion Stops A Beating Heart' and T-Shirts sporting 'Pro-Woman, Pro-Child, Pro-Life' were worn.
I saw a man distributing 'Women Deserve Better Than Abortion' signboards and I asked if I could have one sign too. I wanted to have something to hold, to show my solidarity for the cause, to make a stand in as much of a way as possible.
The rally soon began. A welcome address was given by the founders of the 'walk for life' two women, Eva and Dolores.
A lady called Francine led the crowd in the singing of America's national anthem, and this was followed by a prayer by one of the bishops who was there. Following this, Alveda King, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s niece walked to the podium to share her witness to the truth. She herself went through two abortions and experienced first-hand how abortion hurts women. She gave a very moving speech.
Next up was a lady called Gianna Jessen. This woman spoke very powerfully. She had survived a saline abortion. Her mother had tried to abort her via a saline abortion (read more about it here) but she would not die. In a twist of irony, she was born in the abortionist's clinic and the abortionist had to sign her birth certificate! I thought that was amazing. As a consequence of her near-death experience, she suffers from cerebral palsy and walks with a limp but she is such a spunky individual, and she spoke with such humility, yet with such power and conviction. I was really moved by what she said and the manner in which she conveyed it.
Jesse Romero was next. He told the story of St. Telemarcus.
St. Telemachus lived in the time of the Gladiators in Rome. He single-handedly made a difference by witnessing to the truth. In the arena of 80,000 people gathered to watch a gladiator match, St. Telemachus was the lone voice that shouted out to the Caesar to 'stop the killing in the name of Christ'. He was run through with a sword by the gladiator, but he repeated his plea with his dying breath, 'Stop the killing'. and after he died there, in his own pool of blood in the middle of the coloseum, caesar and his wife were so moved by his convictions, that he left the arena. 80,000 filed out of the colosseum and the game was never held. Subsequently, the Ceasar signed a declaration banning all future gladiator games. Truly one man can make a difference.
Rev. Clenard Childress was next and he mentioned how appropriate it was that Alveda King was there that day, because Martin Luther King Jr. too, was a fighter for the right to life and liberty for all.
The walk was soon to begin and the organisers told everyone to be respectful, to keep things peaceful, and not to engage with the hecklers along the walk. It was great to see too, that the San Francisco police force were out in force to help make the walk as safe for everyone as possible. It was real nice to have them there. There must have been about 25,000 people there at the walk.
Before the walk started, I had made the acquaintance of Diana Sheffield and John McRaven. They were both from Davis,CA and we started talking and sharing about the circumstances that had brought us there to join in the 'Walk for Life'. Diane and John had joined some 50 members of their parish on a bus from Davis,CA to be there. I told them that I had driven up the evening before from Los Angeles to be there and they were pleasantly surprised that I made the 6 hour drive.
The walk soon began and everyone followed along the path, along the Embarcadero. Traffic stopped whenever we had to cross a road, thanks to the wonderful police officers who were there to bring order to the event.
It was a good leisurely 2 and a half mile walk. There were people singing hymns, and we could hear someone else playing the guitar and a tambourine ringing out to keep time.
Others were praying aloud and many others, like myself, John and Diane, had a good time chatting. John, Diane and I had a good talk along the way, sharing our thoughts about everything from 'why don't people understand that life begins at conception', to discussing the topic of wine-making and physics, both subjects John and Diane were studying in college, and I shared with them my life as a singer-songwriter in LA. [Diane also talked about Pope Benedict and John Paul II and I shared my thoughts with them too about how I thought John Paul II really lived as he preached, ie. being a powerful witness to the cross of Christ as he bore the cross in his burdened body]
Along the way, various groups of people had gathered along the side to heckle and challenge the 'Walk for Life' participants. Carrying signs like 'My body is not an incubator' and other varied signs like 'Free Kisses', and another bore a sign saying 'Stop Home Abortions - Give Us A Choice', with a pair of clothes-hangers stuck to the sign. Yet another smaller group was carrying huge cut-out shaped lips. Dressed in predominantly hot pink and red colours, some with netted black stockings and pink ribbons in their hair and extra dark black-khol-lined eyes, they were quite a colourful sight. Along the way, the promise of 'Free Kisses' was seen being redeemed by various strangers kissing the sign-holders.
We soon walked past Pier 39, and the Fisherman's Wharf. Tourists stopped to take photos and restaurant cooks from the restaurants in the area stood by windows to take in the sight of the 'Walk For Life' participants walking on by.
Some pro-choice activists had grouped together as a small marching band contingent and were playing a fun Brazillian rhythm, complete with a brass section and a trio of college-age guys walking in front of me took the opportunity to sing along to the beat, 'Ole, Ole, Ole, Ole...Pro-life, Pro-life'.
Pro-Abortion supporters along the way shout slogans as the pro-life walkers walk by.
It was a beautiful day, clear skies, a light breeze, and the sun shone a warm golden yellow.
I looked around me at the people who walked along-side me. There were seniors with full heads of white hair, Asians, Caucasians, Hispanics and African-Americans, toddlers being carried in arms, infants in strollers, young kids walking along hand-in-hand with their parents, and I saw two kids, a little girl playing with her gameboy and a 3 year old boy taking a nap in a little plastic wagon pulled along by their dad who was taking part in the walk.
It was inspiring to see just as many men as there were women. The myth is that abortion is a 'women's' issue'. But here, on this Saturday morning, standing all around me, were men of all age groups, and from all economic walks of life, the young, the teenagers, the young fathers, the grandfathers, making a stand, showing that this was an issue for all peoples. When life is being threatened, when the most vulnerable are being threatened, all should defend it.
The walk soon made its way along the waterfront where seagulls were scattered en-masses along the water and I joked about how it was good that they were not starting a seagull formation to crap on us.
We soon walked up and along a little winding path through a canopy of Eucalyptus trees and downhill towards the Marina Green.
John, Diane and I were astonished to see that a big crowd had already gathered at the Marina Green, the end-point of the walk. We did not realise how big the crowd was. All behind us, and up half a mile ahead of us, stretching as far as the eye could see, were people in the 'Walk for Life', forming a continuous human chain. Truly there is strength in unity and solidarity.
It felt good to reach the end of the walk. It was the furthest that I have walked in a while and my feet and calves were starting to ache :)
It was also great to see Fr. Frank Pavone, the national director for 'Priests For Life' there at the podium on the stage at the end. He told the crowd to keep striving to make a difference and encouraged everyone in their fight to defend life. He has been a very passionate catalyst in the pro-life movement here in the US, and he was one person that I was hoping to say hi to and to share my music with, so it was good to go up to say hi to him.
I soon bade farewell to John and Diane, and decided to give them a copy each of my cd as a token of my appreciation for their company along the walk and in hopes that we would keep in touch.
I decided to walk back towards the starting point of the walk where my hotel was, but I was unsure if it was the fastest route back. Spotting two men walking along the way back, and overhearing them talking about the walk, I asked them if they knew the fastest way back to the Justin Herman Plaza.
They mentioned that they were walking back to the Bart station which was where the Justin Herman Plaza was, and said that I could walk along with them. It was about 3.25 p.m by this time How wonderful is God's providence :) I had come alone to this walk and had found companions along the journey both to and fro!
Brendan, Steve and I introduced ourselves to each other and had a good chat along the way back. Brendon and Steve gave me some tips on where to go the next time I was back in SF (St. Peter and Paul Church in North Beach, Telegraph Hill) and Brendan mentioned how music could be a really powerful tool for good or bad and I agreed with him. He started mentioning Wagner, and how Wagner had inspired Hitler! Oh my...must see if it's true. It made the walk breeze by and soon, we were back at the Ferry Building, close to the hotel and the Bart station. It was 4.30 p.m by now and we bade each other goodbye.
I made my way into the Ferry Building Market. I was starving and had only had a bite of the tonkatsu that i had picked up from the Japanese deli earlier on that morning. I made my way back to the Lulu Petite deli. I weighed in my choices : Crispy Chicken Sandwich, Duck Rillette Sandwich or the enticing Tomato and Blood Orange Braised Pork Sandwich.
I picked the pork sandwich. It was so delicious. Moist, tasty, and it had a really good flavour to it. I savoured every bite and chased it down with a sip of Darjeeling tea. (yes, I'd gone back to Peets too to get another cup of Darjeeling Kalimpong Tea.)
It was close to 5.15 p.m by then. I had planned to visit the Notre Dame Des Victoires church for mass, but it was a little too late now, since mass started at 5.15 p.m there. I briefly considered not attending mass, but I knew that if I didn't attend mass on my birthday, if I didn't partake of the feast that He had prepared for me in the Eucharist, it would somehow, make my birthday feel less complete.
Fortunately, I found out from the hotel concierge that there was a church just about 10 blocks away, on Mission and 4th Street. St. Patrick's church. Hmmm.....I wondered if it was going to be as architecturally beautiful as the Notre Dame des Victoires church that I had read about. It was about 5.35 p.m by this time and i worried that I would not be able to make it on time for the Euchastic part of the mass if I were to walk there. I hem and hawed on my decision for about 10 minutes, before I decided to take a cab. Just at that moment, a cab pulled up in front of the hotel and I jumped in. It took about 5 minutes and i was there.
The church looked small but majestic on the outside and even more beautiful on the inside. I was pleasantly surprised. Statues of St. Therese of Lisieux and St. Teresa of Avila stood along the side, silently praying.
Thankfully, the congregation were in the midst of the prayers of the faithful, so I had arrived just in time to catch the liturgy of the Eucharist.
It was so good to receive Him again in the Eucharist. It was the best birthday feast I could have wished for.
After mass, I wandered around the church, and knelt for a while before the tabernacle.
There were many candles lighted in front of the altar, and I imagined that this, was akin to the birthday candles that I would have had <BR>on some birthday cake. I imagined that it was Jesus's gift to me, the blessing of the beauty of these candles, glowing and swaying in the glass jars, even better than birthday candles on a cake.
"Dear, Lord, Thank you for this, my 35th year of life. Thank you for all the blessings you've given me all these days of my life, for these 'birthday candles' lighted beautifully here by the altar. Thank you for your providence this day and all the days before that. I want to give you all the glory for the life that you've given me, for the body and blood that you've fed me with this day at the beautiful sacrifice of the mass, your birthday feast to me. So much has transpired today that has warmed my heart. Thank you for all the gifts of this day, for the beautiful clear blue skies and the comfort of warm sunshine, for the visual feast of the farmer's market, for the seagulls by the water, for the friends made, the moving speeches, the 'tour' of San Francisco with the walk, for your mother, for your providence in getting me to mass just on time for the Eucharistic celebration, for the beauty of this church. You've given me such a lovely birthday celebration Lord, thank you for helping me to celebrate this life you've given me. Amen."
I walked to the back of the church and read a bit more about the history of the church and browsed through the photos taken of the church throughout its history. I was surprised that this church, that I had almost passed over in favour of wanting to go to the Notre Dame des Victoires church, had a long distinguised history and was one of the first few churches in SF's history. What a blessing that He brought me there.
Pipes for the organ at the back of St. Patricks Church
View of the church's altar after mass
After mass, I walked back towards the Hotel Vitale. The moon hung, almost full, overhead, like a lamp shining over the high-rise office buildings. The stars though only a few were visible, added the sparkle to the indigo evening.
I drove back to LA soon after. The 5 and a half hour journey was pretty much uneventful and went by smoothly. The roads were not crowded, so that was good. By the time I reached back home, it was 1.15 a.m in the morning.
Altogether, a good birthday :)
P.S I found a nice video that kinda summarises the 'Walk For Life' 2008 here :
I think Kana mentioned that it takes the soul about 2-3 days to catch up with the body after a long flight. I have to agree.
I got up this morning at 4 a.m We'd gotten to bed at 6.30 p.m Saturday evening after getting into Los Angeles at 12.50 p.m
I'm still in the throes of disorientation and readjustment. I think that travelling and being shuttled from one world to another is great for precisely that, ie. having to question your pre-existing notions of comfort, of home, of space and of time.
The sun is a little lower in the sky and the weather has gotten cooler in the 2 weeks that we've been away from Los Angeles. People are now all decked in sweaters after the last flashes of summer skin from two weeks back.
It's so wierd to have all these worlds within us, these worlds that we carry around and interact with. Memories of Japan still within me...and as I write this, a poignant Eastern pentatonic scaled melody is being played by the violin over Peet's speakers.
DAY 1 Tuesday, 25th September 2007 ============================
Monday was a very long day of promotions so thank goodness we had today off.
Mike and his wife Eva pick us up from the hotel at 2 p.m and we head to the Asakusa area of Tokyo,famous for it's shopping street leading to a temple. We reach there at about 3 p.m
We walk around a bit looking for a place to have lunch before we stumble upon a small restaurant in a shophouse serving a 'claypot'-like traditional Japanese rice dish.
The menu
However, unlike a claypot dish, it is served in a metal bowl encased in a wooden box. I order the scallop rice dish and it is delicious.
For appetizers we had some salt-encrusted ginko-like nuts and fried yam, sweet-potato-like sticks which are all very yummy.
Kavin ordered some yakitori with rice, and an egg dish with yam and other grilled meats like minced meat balls and pork wrapped around basil leaf.
Altogether, a great meal, and good company with Mike and Eva.
Then we walked around the Asakusa area and saw a bit of the temple there, and browsed through some of the shops along the way. There were quite a number of tourists in the area. We also saw a Totoro shop featuring characters and merchandise from the Miyazaki films like 'Kiki's delivery' and the Totoro films.
View of the temple
Posing like a bunny at a Tenugui (handpainted cotton towel) shop
After this, we headed to the Harajuku area. It is an area filled with stores selling the latest trends and fashions in clothing and somewhat resembles a 'beverly hills' feel, with all the brand name clothing stores that line the street.
We walk into Kiddy Land and I'm fascinated with all the cute merchandise. The Japanese have a way of making things really cute and so there are little stuffed toys of rice mochi balls, stuffed toys of koala biscuit characters, cute toy rabbits, hamsters, teddy bears with kawaii (very cute) expressions.
Eva and I go ga-ga over the miniatures that are on display and I pick out two boxes of miniatures and she picks out three. The miniatures are mostly those of small tiny dishes, like teddy bear cookies or rabbit shaped rice cakes, all in miniaturised form. Kawaii!!
Outside Kiddyland
After this, we walk along the small shops along the back alleyways and I spot a Chihuahua dressed like its master, in denim pants and a bright pink chequered shirt.
We also spot a Takoyaki (balls of savoury pancake-like consistency filled with octupus) stall along the way and Mike buys some for us to try. The takoyaki is topped with Mentaiko, mayonnaise and sprinkles of Nori seaweed and it is Oishii. (ie. delicious!) We sit outside the Wafflish Waffle clothing store to enjoy the Takoyaki in the cool summer/fall breeze.
We then walk around Harajuku a little bit more before heading for Ramen noodles for dinner.
When we got back to the car, I realised that I'd misplaced the plastic bag with the miniatures I'd bought from Kiddy Land and I wasn't sure where I'd left it, but thought that it might have been left outside the Wafflish Waffle store. Anyway, Eva said that she'd call the Wafflish Waffle store in the morning to see if anyone found the bag outside the store and told me not to worry about it, mentioning that she'd left something at a bus-stop once and when she went to look for it a week later, it was still there. In general, she said, Japanese usually left things where they were and did not take what didn't belong to them.
Mike and Eva sent us back to the hotel. About an hour later, Mike called Kavin to say that he'd found my plastic bag with the miniatures on the floor outside the Wafflish Waffle store. They had been so sweet to drive back there to look for my little bag of miniatures. I was touched. Mike mentioned that now, I did not have to worry and could have a good night's rest. That was really considerate and sweet of them.
============================== DAY 2 26th September 2007, Wednesday
We travelled to the Ropponggi area, to Tokyo FM, a radio station located within a Starbucks Coffee Shop on the patio level of an office/mall complex.
There, we met with Sam, my interpreter for the day. We also met Tepei another employee with S2S. Tepei and Tochikubo helped to set up the keyboard and microphone for the 'live' broadcast performance I would do for the radio show.
Mike and Uchida were also there. In between soundcheck, vocal warm-ups (I found a nice quiet spot to do this near the B2 elevator stop) and the programme, I found some time to chat with Sam and learnt that she used to live in the States but moved back to Japan when 9/11 happened.
She's married to a Japanese-Indian and together they raise their two daughters, speaking to them in English and Japanese and her father-in-law tries to incorporate the Indian culture and language to his granddaughters as well. Her mum-in-law, Japanese herself, cooks two separate meals every day, one Japanese meal for herself and one Indian meal for her husband.
It truly is a global village that we are living in; navigating the different cultures that we are a part of, painting our identities in different colours, trying to make a masterpiece out of the myriad of options we have in our global setting.
Sam and I
Even as I'm writing this, a Caucasian gentleman sits across from me at this Japanese restaurant and speaks to the waitress in Japanese. So who is more Asian? I, the more Asian-looking one who can't speak Japanese or him, with his Caucasian features, but Asian leanings and Japanese fluency? How does one define what cultural boundaries exist? It all makes for a very interesting discussion on identity within this increasingly global world we live in.
So, 12.25 p.m rolls along and I have my interview with DJ Akasaka on the "All That Radio" programme where I do a 'live' performance of 'Little Superhero Girl' and 'Shelter' and Sam helps to translate my answers to the interview questions into Japanese. It's nice that a small crowd gathers outside the studio to watch as I sing and DJ Akasaka says that it's not often that a crowd gathers, so it's a good sign :)
Singing 'Shelter' for the live radio broadcast of "All That Radio" programme
Once the interview is done, Uchida, Kavin and I walk towards the HMV TV headquarters, buying a few sandwiches and pastries from a deli along the way, for our lunch. The interview is to be broadcast in all the HMV stores in Japan. In the studio at HMV TV
Pic with the HMV TV staff
Thanks to Mike for getting my lost miniatures back :)
Next up is an interview for the "Dave Fromm Show" at InterFM where I perform 'Little Superhero Girl' and 'Shelter' live on the radio programme. It's a nice touch that Dave plays the old 60's song 'Corinna, Corinna' as we're talking about how my mother named me after the song. There is also a nice audio background of Carole King playing her songs as we talk about my collaboration with her on "If You Didn't Love Me". I like the fact that he puts in the extra effort with the audio snippets. Dave is also lovely to chat with.
In the studio on the "Dave Fromm Show"
With Dave Fromm
I find out that he's been in Japan for about 20 years and spoke Japanese to his mom who is Japanese. Before living in Japan, he lived most of his life in St. Louis, Missouri. which explains his American accent. It's fascinating to meet yet another person who is defining what it means to live in our global village.
He tells me too, that he and his radio programmers liked the 'Beautiful Seed' album and so decided to invite me on their show. Sweet :)
[just an aside, this next picture was taken from the ladies restroom. Notice the button that says 'Flushing Noise'? Apparently, japanese women were so embarrased by the sound of their using the toilet that they would be flushing the water continuously to mask their sounds. So, in order to save water, manufacturers of bidets in Japan added this feature, so women could have their flushing sounds and save their water and dignity in the process :) Interesting, eh?]
Following this, we went back to the Ropponggi area where we had another radio interview in the same Starbucks radio station, but this time, the interview was for Digital Radio 702 and the DJ Mie was lovely to talk to. Sam was also on hand to interpret my comments and answers and she did a wonderful job. I sang 'Little Superhero Girl' and it was heartwarming to see that a small group of people had gathered outside the studio's glass walls along the street outside to listen and to lend their support and to applaud after the song was sung. I also sang live renditions of 'Shelter' and 'Beautiful Seed'.
On the show with DJ Mie and interpreter Sam
hey we're on cyberspace
With DJ Mie Saito
Uchida, Mike, Tochikubo, Kavin and I had dinner after this at a Japanese restaurant, Izakaya restaurant specialising in 'small dishes', a sort of Japanese dim-sum place. We had yummy fried rice, a sort of steam-boat soup, some mixed yakitori, mentaiko and cheese 'spring-rolls' and some egg dish with bittergourd. It was all very yummy.
============================== Day 3 Thursday 27th September 2007
Tochikubo meets us in the hotel lobby and drives us to FM Osaka in the area of Tokyo called Azabu.
Sam is there waiting for us when we arrive. The DJ Snoopy (so called because her friend thinks she looks like snoopy and gave her the nickname) has a host of Snoopy stuffed toys and Snoopy things in the studio which is housed in an apartment-like setting. DJ Snoopy mentions that I look very Japanese and that I could easily be mistaken for being Japanese. I tell her it's probably because of my big eyes :)
In the studio with DJ Snoopy and Sam.
DJ Snoopy and I
Next up, we take a cab to the Ropponggi Hills area to have an interview with J-wave radio. It's a modern looking, big studio and radio station with a lovely view of the surrounding Tokyo area, including the Tokyo tower which transmits radio signals to the whole of Tokyo.
In the studio with DJ Noa The interview is for "Asience Spirit of Asia", a programme hosted by DJ Noa Kaneka who conducts a wonderful interview with an emphasis on the perspective of Asian women in the world today. Mike mentions that he thinks it's my best interview so far and that DJ Noa did a great job conveying the essence of my answers.
After this, Mike drives Tochikubo, Kavin and myself to Yokohama for the next radio interview at FM Yokohama. Along the way, we pass through Komazawa, an area that seems to have a lot of pet stores.
Yokohama is an hour's drive away from Tokyo and the radio station is within the Landmark Tower in Yokohama.
The programme 'Radio Dock' is with DJ Yoko, a German-Japanese lady. I suppose that the name Radio Dock is in reference to Yokohama's port city status and Mike points out later that Yokohama has quote a number of old colonial, western-architectural styled buildings because a lot of the early Europeans who came to Japan passed through Yokohama.
The interview goes well and I sing a 'live' version of 'Little Superhero Girl'.
With DJ Yoko
The view outside the studio window of the dock area and a ferris wheel
After this, we head for dinner at Yokohama's Chinatown where we eat at a famous Chinese restaurant. Kavin helps to order mabo tofu, crab with black bean sauce, stir-fried bok choy, stewed pork, and the speciality, an okonomiyaki-like egg, noodle dish which is a fusion of Japanese and Chinese cuisine.
Yokohama's Chinatown Speciality dish
Dinner is good and we all down ginger ales. No beer that night for Uchida who had to drive back to Tokyo. :)
We head back to Tokyo after dinner, passing along the Rainbow bridge and going through Tokyo's metropolitan expressway.
The rainbow bridge at night
============================ DAY 4 Friday, 28th September 2007
Tochikubo meets us at the hotel lobby and we take the subway from Shinagawa station to the office building of the Daily Yomiuri, Japan's largest daily with a circulation of 10 million copies.
When we get there, we meet up with Kana my interpreter for the day.
Reporter Nishida interviews me on my music and the album and it is a good indepth interview about the inspirations behind the songs and the recording process and decisions behind the making of the album.
After this, we stop by the Tower Records at Shinjuku to sign the cd display there
and then travel to NHK radio for an interview for the programme 'Asian Pop Wind' with DJ Sakiya. It is a one-hour radio programme and interview and we talk about the albums 'Beautiful Seed', 'Safe in A Crazy World' and 'Fly Away' and we also play some selections of music from some Singaporean musicians. I choose some songs to be played from Singaporean musicians. Tanya Chua's 'MoQi', Electrico's 'Only Where I'm Going', Kit Chan's (Dick Lee penned) 'Home, and Shirlyn Tan's 'Window'. Kana helps to translate my answers and the programme will also run on the inflight entertainment channel of Japan Airlines flights.
With DJ Sakiya
We make some time after that to visit the Tower Records head office in Shibuya and to meet with the staff there. It's nice to meet up also with Imaizumi-san who is a staff at Tower Records, but who is also a fan :)
One last interview before the end of the day. 'Plug-In', a web-magazine interview is held at the Zarigani Cafe in Shibuya with Mutsuro Yamagashi, the article writer and Hidetoshi Hirota, the editor.
After this, we head to the shopping area to look for a spectacle shop so that Kavin's glasses can be fixed as the nose-pad from his glasses is broken.
As Kavin gets his glasses fixed, I have a good time chatting with Kana. She has a great command of English and she speaks it with a very pleasant British accent. We talk about how it's important to pick up language as a young kid. She herself spent some time during her childhood in the U.K and so I'm sure that contributed in part to the way she is able to speak the language well.
Kana's husband is British and she mentions that she speaks to her son in Japanese while her husband speaks to her son in English. That way, they help to raise the kid in a bilingual environment.
I like Kana. It's comfortable talking to her and I see her as a friend I'd like to keep in touch with.
Kana and I
It's fascinating how, on this trip to Japan, I've met with so many global women and men. Kana and Sam, both Japanese, but with both Eastern and Western world views and both married to men from a different cultural background. The DJ's Dan, Max and Yoko, all speaking Japanese, but having a western background and culture to draw from as well.
This exchange of cultures, languages...it's truly fascinating
A welcome party by our Japanese record label S2S follows. We get to meet all the people who work for S2S and it is also great to see Ken Suzuki (who founded S2S) again.
The food was great. Good yakitori, cold tofu dishes some sashimi and yakisoba dishes. It was also good to get the chance to talk with the people from S2S.
============================= DAY 5 Friday 29th September 2007, Tokyo time 11.55 p.m
So we've been on the plane SQ12 from Tokyo to LA for about 5 hours now.
I can't believe that our time in Japan has come to an end. I was quite sad to have to say 'bye' to Mike and Uchida just now at the airport.
It's funny how one can become quite fond of another's friendship in just a short amount of time as a week.
We started off, a week ago, shy, especially with Uchida, starting off tentative with small talk, but as Paulo Coehlo says, communication is all about the intention. If one has the intent to be friends, to communicate, then it follows that no matter how small or limited one's common language ability is, the intention will be conveyed. Beyond the spoken and written language, there is the language of gestures, eye contact, facial expressions, vibe, smiles and even music.
And as I write this, I'm thinking about those Japanese fans I had the pleasure of meeting at the in-store performance and autograph signing at the Tower Records in Shibuya today.
Their eyes, their smiles, their enthusiasm, their handshakes and bows, all conveyed their joy and appreciation at hearing my music and I feel so blessed that I had the opportunity to meet each and every one of them. It was good to have Mike there as well and he sweetly agreed to help me translate what the fans said to me. I was moved that a lot of them, took the effort to speak in whatever English they could muster, to convey their hope for my return to Japan to perform for them again some day inthe near future.
So anyway, let's recount the day. Woke up at 9.45 a.m and stumbled out of bed. I was rather sleepy as I'd gotten to bed around 2.40 a.m, so I'd gotten only about 7 hours of sleep.
I got up, slapped on some make-up, did some vocal-warm-ups and got dressed.
We met Mike and Uchida at the hotel lobby and did our check-out from the hotel. They'd rented a car to ferry us and our luggage to Tower Records, so that was really sweet of them and it made more sense, rather than the original plan to take the subway and drag our luggage around.
We reached the Tower Records in Shibuya at about 11.30 a.m and had some time before the actual soundcheck for the performance at 12.30 p.m
It was nice to have some time to meet the Tower Records staff and the AVEX staff who were there to also see the performance. That was great that they took the time to come :)
Avex staff and I
I also had some time to eat a delicious pork cutlet sandwich, thanks to Uchida for picking up the sandwich at the Family Mart convenience store :)
The performance started at 1.30 p.m and I enjoyed it very much. I greeted the audience with a 'Hajimeimashtei' ie. (lovely to meet you for the first time) and a 'Watashiwa Corrinne May Desu' ie. (my name is Corrinne May) plus a couple of other greetings that Uchida had helped me put together. That helped to break the ice with the audience and I was thrilled that they applauded my attempts to greet them in Japanese :)
The set began with Beautiful Seed, led into Shelter, On the Side of Me, My Little Nephew and Little Superhero Girl and I chatted with them about my time in Japan and the food that I'd had and shared with them stories about my nephew in Singapore and my being far away in Los Angeles. It was great to see that they understood my stories as some of them nodded to acknowledge that they got what I was trying to convey.
It was great to meet each fan during the autograph session.
It was also lovely to see that Eva and Kana and DJ Sakiya had made the effort and time to come and see the performance. Lovely too to meet Kana's husband Paul :)
Eva and her friend
Paul and Kana
Thanks to Mike for kindly consenting to be my interpreter for the event
There was also a couple there, the lady, Shirley is from Singapore and her hubby is from Japan and they live in Tokyo now.
Another Japanese couple and their daughter had seen me in my Singapore concert and had come to lend their support here in Japan.
Another fan, Hiroshi, who I had met previously at the Tower Records in Osaka, had taken the time to travel the few hours from Osaka to Tokyo to catch my performance again. That was sweet of him :)
After the autograph session, I signed the cd display at Tower Records in Shibuya.
As we walked back to the 'Green room' after the performance, I was moved that Mike mentioned that he was quite touched by my performance and that it was nice that he could still be moved even after so many years of working in A&R.
We took a picture back in the 'green room' with Ken, Mike, Tochikubo and Uchida.
[another aside. Did you know that this cell phone (pic below)can receive tv signals, ie. you can watch tv on your cell phone in Japan for free? Man, the Japanese are just so technologically savvy :)]
I was a little hungry by then and it was nice that Mike and Ken took the effort to get me another pork cutlet sandwich from the convenience store, even though it was a little distance away.
After this, we bade goodbye to Tepei, Ken, Tochikubo and Fukutaro. Mike and Uchida then sent us to the airport.
We took some pics together and then said goodbye. I'm going to miss them.
Osaka, Japan Saturday, 22nd September 2007 ============================= We got into Tokyo at about 6 p.m in the evening and Uchida who is from S2S, our record label in Japan, picked us up from the airport.
We caught the 7.15 p.m train to the Tokyo station where we met up with Mike from S2S. During our walk to and into the train stations, I found it fascinating to see the myriad of people, all heading in different directions, heading somewhere, and all the configurations of train lines, intersecting with countless other train lines, and food stalls selling everything from pork cutlet sandwiches, to strawberry cream cheese cakes.
After this, we travelled via the Shinkansen (bullet train) to Osaka. The Shinkansen is capable of exceeding speeds of 300 km/h! It was quite exciting to speed along on the train to Osaka and watch the buildings whiz by.
By this time, I was starving as we hadn't managed to have dinner yet, and so I was extremely grateful that there was a food cart going around. We got some pork cutlet and ham and cheese sandwiches for dinner. The pork cutlet sandwich was delicious and I washed it down with some orange juice.
Kavin posing with the food cart on the Shinkansen
Inside a Japan Railway train
It was nice to be able to talk with Mike and find out more about him, this being the first time we had actually met in person, beyond the email correspondence. Kavin and Mike had a good conversation too, exchanging news and updates about the promotions to be done in the coming days, and sharing bits of life stories like how we had met our respective spouses :)
I found it really nice that despite being the managing director of S2S in Japan, Mike was essentially a very down-to-earth, humble guy who makes it a point to lead his employees by example. In the course of our conversation, I was quite touched too that Mike enquired about my heart operation and how I was doing now. He'd read about my experience on my blog. That was sweet of him.
So, we reached Osaka after about 3 hours on the bullet train. It was fascinating to see how all the service staff on the train, from the rubbish collectors to the food cart servers, would do a bow and say 'Excuse me' to the passengers before they left the train compartment. Very polite.
We checked into the LAForet hotel in Shin-Osaka at about 11 p.m and I got to work, signing some 80 autographed cards that Uchida had brought along. These cards were to be used the next day at the Tower Records in-store.
The view from our hotel room
By the time we got to bed, it was close to 2 a.m
=========================== Sunday, 23rd September 2007
We checked out of the hotel at 12 p.m and travelled to the Tower Records in Marubiru, Osaka (leaving our luggage at the hotel).
It was nice to see the CD display at the store and to sign a message on the display.
After viewing the store, we had lunch at a soba noodle shop. I ordered a soba noodle with duck. It was yummy and came with a bowl of fried rice as well.
Posing outside the soba noodle store
Then we headed back to the Tower Records store. We were given a 'green room' to rest in before the in-store performance. The room was essentially a radio studio that Tower Records uses for its radio programmes.
Uchida, Corrinne, Mike and Kavin looking like a band in the green room.
Leaving my mark on the green room wall. It's interesting to see that Tower Records is flourishing in Japan whereas the stores in the U.S are no longer around.
The sound check and the subsequent performance in the store went well.
Poster for the in-store performance
I sang 1) Beautiful Seed 2) Shelter- Cherry Blossom Edition 3) On The Side of Me and 4) Little Superhero Girl.
Following this, I gave each fan who had lined up, an autographed card. It was great to meet the Japanese fans. It was the first time I had performed in Japan too, so that was definitely a special moment for me.
After this, we headed back to the LaForet hotel to get our bags, then set off for the train station. While at the train station, we had dinner at a restaurant that served Okonomiyaki ('as-you-wish' teppanyaki). It was fascinating to see how the cooks made the Okonomiyaki. I also had an iced Oolong tea. Yummy food and good company :) Mike and Uchida helped to explain how the Okonomiyaki was made.
The menu for okonomiyaki
Chefs making Okonomiyaki
Okonomiyai
Uchida and I
Kavin and Mike
After dinner, we said bye to Mike who had to head back to Tokyo. Then, Uchida, Kavin and I took the 7.55 p.m Shinkansen train to Fukuoka.
Some finds in the shops of the train station.
The Hanshin Tigers t-shirts and such
The Shinkansen, ie. bullet train The trip was long. About 3 hours long. After arriving at Hakata,Fukuoka and checking into the Hyatt Regency Fukuoka, Kavin and I went walking around to take a look at the convenience stores that were open. There were the sandwiches and instant noodles, but I wanted something a bit more substantial for supper. I remembered seeing a MOS burger near the train station, and so we made our way there.
Unfortunately, the MOS burger store was already closed by the time we got there at 11.15 p.m Thankfully, there was a ramen shop there that stayed open till 4 a.m in the morning. What's more, they had a machine at the front of the shop with pictures of each food item and the corresponding cost on buttons and one had only to slot money into the machine, press the button of the food item one wished to order, and the machine would spit out an order ticket, a receipt and the exact change needed. No language barrier kept us from supper that evening :)
We ordered a char siew ramen and a plate of gyoza. The char siew ramen was delicious! Only later on did we find out from Mike and Uchida, that Hakata Ramen is famous for being good! Yummy. good stroke of luck.
========================== Monday 24th September 2007
We woke up too late to take advantage of the free continental breakfast, so it was good that I had bought a hot dog bun and a bottle of Kirin special milk tea the day before and so I had that for breakfast.
Speaking of tea, I find it interesting how I have to adapt my taste buds to take in a different type of tea in each country I go to. In Singapore, it's the nice hot cup of kopi-tiam style teh, which I get from Yakun most of the time. In the U.S, it's a cup of Darjeeling Extra Fancy Kalimpong which I get from Peets. In Japan, it's my bottle of special Kirin Milk Tea, brewed with twice the amount of tea leaves so that it's a stronger brew, and tastes almost like a sweeter, more milky version of a Yakun tea, but cold and in a bottle.
I had a Hong Kong style milk tea once when I was in chicago, and I was struck at the similarity to the taste of the Singapore milk tea.
I have a theory on why it is so. Hong Kong and Singapore are both former British colonies, and so, black tea became a part of the culinary landscape in both countries. But perhaps because the whole leaf tea version of black tea was not affordable to the local population, they adapted the desire to have tea by using the less expensive tea dust to make their brew, and instead of fresh milk, which I assume was more expensive and which spoiled faster, they used evaporated and condensed milk instead. Hence, the similarity in history, and evolution of the local tea. Not sure if this version is accurate, it's just my take on it :)
But I digress...
We meet up with Tochikubo from S2S and Yoko Yamane my interpreter for the day. Uchida is there too. We take two cabs into Tenjin City where we are scheduled to have a radio interview at Love FM with DJ Max on his morning show, appropriately titled 'Ohaiyo Gozai "Max" Ta', a play on his name 'Max'.
Being interviewed by DJ Max
Max is from France and I am fascinated by his ability to switch seamlessly between Japanese and English. In between interview segments, he tells me that he's lived in Japan for the past 8 years and that his command of Japanese is mainly from communicating with people. I guess it really helps to be immersed in a culture and society where one has to constantly be in touch with the language one wishes to learn.
So the 'live' radio programme is fun to be on and I am happy to share a little bit of singlish with Max who asks about it. 'Let's go Makan lah!' he says gleefully, immediately putting to use the Singlish phrase for 'Let's go and eat!' I've shared with him.
After this, we take the subway to FM Fukuoka and we catch lunch at a nearby restaurant beforehand. It's a bank holiday on this Monday, and so not that many restaurants are open, and we settle in for a set lunch meal at a hotel restaurant.
I have the grilled mackerel which is delicious, and I learn that Fukuoka is famous for its fresh seafood.
After lunch we head to FM Fukuoka. It's got a classic radio station feel to it, and the scent of cigarette smoke wafts throughout the premises.
I am ushered into the radio recording studio to pre-record 3 interviews for broadcast later in the month.
I record segments for 'Live Gun', a programme hosted by DJ Lue where the questions I have to answer include one about what type of animal I'd want to be if I were an animal and why? Answer : A koala because they are cute and sleep all the time and it is nice to be able to have the luxury of relaxing and sleeping for those long stretches of time.
I also record a segment for a programme called 'Saturday Morning EYE!' for DJ Ai Nakajima where one of the questions asks how I get my morning started each day. Answer : I have to have my Darjeeling Tea with milk and sugar every morning. That helps to make my morning feel complete.
Next up is another pre-recorded interview for the 'Smash Wave' programme for DJ Eiji where 'On The Side of Me' will be on heavy rotation as a 'Power Play' song. Yay :)
Yoko in the meantime, helps to translate all my answers into Japanese.
After this, we travel to Tenjin FM to record a programme for the 'Morning Wave' radio show broadcast on Freewave FM.
This is followed by a live broadcast show request called Freewave 'Park Side Cafe' where I meet DJ Kaida and we have a segment where I pick 3 questions for him to interview me on from his 'Park Side Cafe' interview 'menu', all in keeping with the 'cafe' theme of the programme. I choose to talk about Travel and Food (Hainanese Chicken Rice).
I also find out that DJ Kaida and I were born one day apart in the same year! His January 18th, mine, January 19th;
He plays 3 songs from the album, 'Shelter', 'Beautiful Seed' and 'On The Side of Me'. and our interview is broadcast simultaneously on 4 big TV screens outside the Solaria Mall building. Some people also gather around outside the glass windows of the studio to have a look and I was especially moved to see a fan walking past, waving a copy of my album and giving me a smile and a thumbs-up sign. :)
The view from outside the glass walls of the studio
Hey I'm on TV.
Yoko, DJ Kaida and I
Dj Kaida and I
After this, we travel backto FM Fukuoka via cab and I have a 'live' radio interview with DJ's Buutchi and Fumi for a programme called Super Radio Monster Raji-gon. DJ Buutchi is welcoming and warm and also speaks with an American-accented English. He has a super deep voice whereas DJ Fumi has the high, girlish voice of a young girl, reminiscent of those young teenagers in Anime cartoons. It's an interesting contrast and I wonder if, in general, Japanese radio listeners favour the deep voices for their male DJs and high girlish voices for the women DJs.
As part of the interview, I get to pick a question from the pinball machine in a game called 'gatcha-gatcha'. [I can't remember the question now though]
DJs Fumi and Buuchi with the gatcha machine and I DJ Buutchi is quite complimentary on the album and tells me that he likes it. Great :)
After this, we head to the Tower Records in Fukuoka to give an in-store performance.
My name in Japanese! In red on the poster.
The performance goes well and it's great to have Yoko there to help translate between the fans and myself as I sign autographs on the cds for the fans who are there.
I'm also joyful that the audience was attentive and very focused during the performance. They really listened and understood as I shared the stories of my songs with them. It was great to see that despite the apparent barrier of a different language, the emotional, universal language of music spoke through to them and they really got the meaning of the songs.
Signing the display at the store
We had one more thing to do before the end of the day. A radio interview at an outdoor radio station event with DJ Toggy for a show called T.T Lounge at Cross FM. The topic for discussion is 'marriage' and so I share about how Kavin and I just spent our 4th wedding anniversary on a plane, going from Singapore to Montreal, a full 36-hour long anniversary, because of the time differences involved. I also share about our wedding in Singapore and about how I believed the ingredients for a good marriage include a sense of humour and being able to argue together and laugh together.
Yoko and I
After this, we bid Yoko the interpreter goodbye and leave for the Hyatt to pick up our luggage from the hotel. We then make our way to Fukuoka Airport. We have dinner there at one of the restaurants in the hotel and I get to try the famed Fukuoka Mentaiko (spicy cod roe) and the Jidori (local chicken, cooked half raw) The Mentaiko is delicious :)
Jidori
After this, we browse through the shops at the airport, mostly selling Mentaiko and famous cakes and sweets and I ask Uchida why the Hello Kitty toy is wrapped in some red stuffing. He replies that the toy red stuffing is represent Mentaiko and that the Hello Kitty character is essentially a 'Mentaiko' Kitty. I find it very cute and amusing!
Mentaiko
Chick shaped cake
The Hawks baseball team merchandise. Can you spot the big Mentaiko Kitty?
In the meantime, Uchida and Tochikubo buy some gifts of cakes for their colleages back in Tokyo, and they explain that it is part of Japanese culture, that when one goes away somewhere on holiday or vacation, one brings back a gift for those who were not there.
Our flight to Haneda, Tokyo takes about one and a half hours on the plane. We check into the Prince Shinagawa hotel and as we bid goodnight to Uchida and Tochikubo, they present us with a box of cakes from Fukuoka as a gift and Uchida gives me a little paper bag with the Mentaiko Kitty I had seen in Fukuoka. I am very moved by their sweet gestures, and also touched that Uchida had bought the Mentaiko Kitty for me. So sweet of them :)
View from the hotel room window of the surrounding Shinagawa area
Album promotions for 'Beautiful Seed' in Singapore
It's been a busy couple of weeks. Fruitful, but busy.
Tuesday August 14th 2007
Evelyn from Warner Music picked us up and we headed to MediaCorp radio for a couple of interviews.
I had an interview with WeiBin at 93.3 FM, Singapore's 1 Mandarin Radio Station at MediaCorp Radio.
It was nice to see Wei Bin again and I was grateful for her kindness in helping me with my Mandarin answers to her questions.
After this, I had another live radio interview with Melanie Oliverio at 93.8 LIVE FM It was good to chat with Melanie again and to talk about some of the inspiration behind the album 'Beautiful Seed' with her.
Before we had our lunch, we headed over to Kenn's house to borrow his acoustic guitar for the MTV segment the next day, as I had to play a one minute segment of my song 'Shelter' for the Pop Inc. programme with VJ Colby.
By the time we had lunch, it was close to 3 p.m Lunch was chicken rice packed from a store along River Valley road and we ate the lunch at Warner's office while waiting for the press interviewers to arrive.
The first press interview was for Green Dot and I was surprised to see my ex-classmate from RGS, Karen. I hadn't seen her in close to 18 years and she still looked pretty much the same as she did.
There were also press interviews with Inflight entertainment and it was nice to see Shee
