My Safe Haven - Lawson

Lawson- a Japanese 24hrs convenient store that I loved

most. I remember when I was first visited it almost 15 years ago in Tokyo, I loved it instantly and tend to walk in wherever I found one on street.

Originally I thought it is because of the items that sell inside are so attractive in terms of it's extra mini size and lovely package design, but it shall be the atmosphere that it gives me a feeling of "safe haven".

Besides snack, hot or cold drinks, oden (a Japanese winter dish of boiled egg, daikon radish...,etc in a specific soup), beer, desert, magazine, maps, newspaper, body wash, lotion, toilet paper, one time battery charger......., etc, etc.Any thing that your daily life need can be found inside such a small store, no matter when, even in the late night of 3:00, you are lack of nothing.

This morning, when I preparing this post, I take a break from my tag to Lawson and discover that, besides of the feeling of safe haven,it reminds me that our life can be simple and basic, what we human actually need to sustain our life is not much, but we are really over consuming. We need clothing but not couture, we need food but not big dishes, we need a shelter but not an over decorated flat...I doubt whether we can walk backward and back to our basic, if we can, our planet and next generation will have a chance.

Merry Christmas to all of you

Hi guys!
protoworkricky just finished
our new Christmas card,
may I use it to
wish you & your family
have a wonderful X'mas Joy
with God's blessing!

You've got mail

Last month, I saw a T.V. news reporting there was a new shop opened in Beijing called "郵政慢遞"meaning : Slow Post.The idea is you can write a letter to anyone, set a specific delivery date, tomorrow, a week, a month, a year or even 50 years later; the post office will keep your letter in their safe box and send out on time. Is that interesting? just like a real function " Time Capsule".

You can imagine that, it attracts a lots of customer instantly. Some of them write to their parents after 30 years of making promise to some achievements; some to their lovers, their kids or even to themselves. The owner said they will try their very best to deliver the mail because they thought this is not only a business, but a kind of "romance". I take a break afterward, and think...yes! this is the kind of romance that we've forget and lost somehow someday.

My colleague always wonder why I feel so happy to make a post to the mail box, even it is only a business letter. I think this is the reason, the feeling of waiting a reply, to deliver something to someone waiting on the other side of the world ... by starting to write on a selected paper, a card, putting into an envelop, add a stamp and walk to the nearby mail box; all action we've did is for preparing a connection to someone.

Although in modern world our email replace most of the paper transfer, and I do support to reduce using paper in any channel that we can, but I still wish to receive/ send a real Christmas card and once to enjoy the "romance of waiting"....

Miss Lady Air Bag

Hi everybody, I am Miss Lady Air Bag, how is your day? happy? sad? busy? messy? joyful? boring? if you feel lonely at any time, just come to me, I will give you a big hug full of warm and sweet air.

I was created by protoworkricky in year 2009, he is a colleague of protoworkannie (yes, I am living in her office right now). She usually work alone in the morning, or sometimes in holiday, so I was created to be a companion to her.Not joking, everyday in the morning when she's back to office, during coffee break, working in the backyard or leaving office, she will talk to me; it always seems that she can get a full recovery of energy after that.

Having companion is important in our life, especially when we are experiencing different up and down situations. He/ she can be a human, a pet, a pot of plant, a diary, or even a toy like me.

What I just want to say, you are not alone if only if you are willing to share of just say "Hi" to the one next to you, they are always there and ready be your companion.

p.s. - I know my photo is not sharp, because I was too excited to have my first photo and I was swinging and laughing.

Marshmallow Sakura

As a foreigner, we don't always have chance to see the blossom of sakura in Japan, especially at the end of April. We were so lucky to see these picture in reality inside a park of Tokyo that year. The first impression to me was : Wow! incredible, what a "marshmallow trees !" They just look like those marshmallow in white, pastel pink, blue, green (even in purple nowadays) which we did taste when we were kids.

Hong Kong is a small place, earning living was difficult in those day when we were young; it was a luxury for us to have marshmallow which could only be found in department store or theme parks.They were "deluxe" not only because of it's cost or specially located, but the time that our parents could spend with us to share this joy.

When I grown up, these colourful marshmallow become popular again, and can be found any where in Mongkok. I was so excited to buy one and finished it within seconds......but it's not the same anymore. Is the taste different? No, quite the same; or due to it's value? may be, it cost little and easy to find, that we don't feel so treasure ?! But the most important is, I am not with my parents at that moment......I miss my childhood.

I think the only way is to take a break, spend some time with our parents, having chat time, T.V. hours or even a short morning breakfast, knowing that the time we can share together is becoming short; be their "kid" again, you will remember that moment and keep to the bottom of your heart even they are not next to you some day.

Virtual, Virtual, Virtual

Do we really need to be a different person, just escape from the past? make new friends? to new places? join new groups? new hobbies? so we can have new life? really a total new life and new me?

I've get lost when I began to get in touch with some of my over 10 years friends in the virtual world this month, although the network of connection seems so close and easy, I can't "reach" them any longer; they are far outside of my memory, I don't know who they are, it's so sad!

Have you discovered that, in one sudden day, some of your friends who used to be working/studying or playing with you so close, chat a lot from day till night; having similar thoughts, both of you will shout to the same boss ......when time pass by, you no longer recognize them, they seems as strangers, so bad and so sad!

It's seems they just don't want you to be part of they life anymore, which reflects the old him/her; or truly you don't really have any good to them besides bad memories, this may be the fault of our own?! may be ......yet so true.....

Could friends be real and forever? I think, yes! if you are true to them, you should get at least one out of ten who can treat you in the same way. Too optimistic? then one out of a hundred (if you've got this many) and it should worth to live in a real you.

Being in the virtual network, I could not ask for any from my virtual friends, when I take a break from "my lost", I learn to relieve from anything that have no return with no regret; but treasure to those just right next to you, no matter in virtual or real life.

Creating Miss Lady Flower

Creating Miss Lady Flower