Is not the new arrival of Gucci Fall 2008 collection’s handbag.
Nor the Blahnik’s new design stiletto.
Is not the gorgeous dine at the famous Gordon Ramsay at Conrad Tokyo.
Nor the expensive chu torro or uni sushi at expensive sushi bar in Tsukuji.

Luxury is,
Surrounded by loved ones on our humble dining table,
in our home,
having lontong sayur:
lontong originally made with banana leaves wrap (mind you, banana leave is rare here),
with gulai buncis and chicken,
accompany with original krupuk ikan tenggiri (Thanks to Tante Nani).

And that, for our last breakfast before Ramadhan.
Entering the holy month, with the high spirit.

Mohon maaf lahir bathin.
Selamat menunaikan ibadah puasa di bulan Ramadhan.

Am a big big fan of Broadway musical. Every time I visited NYC (and I always try to make NYC as a transit point for any US trip), the shows are on my top priority list, same level with the business meeting : )
But you know, with about $120 tagged per show, it really drains the pocket so fast. So I was so damn lucky last May to get the ticket at TKTS, the booth which sell the unsold Broadway show tickets just hours before the show started.
Hairspray. An 8 Tony awards winner. Been years since its debut in 2002 I tried to get the always full show, with no luck. But this time I got it, at 50% discount!
It’s a real classic American musical. The 1960s setting of Baltimore. The dance, the costume, the full swing of Rhythms and Blues, and of course, the story.
You will get what you expected from the 60s: from big hair (and the aerosol, that is the main ingredient of the number), massive dance and dance, bold color mini skirt, until racial issue.
The plot of the story, the history of the show and the movie, the awards winner, you can just easily click-click online.

My personal highlight is Tracy Turnblad the main role, a fat girl try to reach her dream to be a famous Diva, and she did!
Marissa Perry as Tracy, was excellent. With her plumb body (I feel so connected! ) she sang and energetically danced, keep the show moving without missing a beat. Super stamina. Super vocal.
It was also entertaining to see the act of 6 times Emmy nominated George Wendt ( most people remember him from TV series "Cheers") who played the funny Edna Turnblad, the fat mother of Tracy. He was good a s a she.
I took it as a bonus to have the 5 times Grammy nominated Tevin Campbell in the show after been a while didn’t see him anywhere in the Billboard Chart nor the MTV. Campbell vocal still perfect, his dance was bravo.

If anyone get only a chance to see a Broadway show, I would suggest to put Hairspray in their top candidate list (though I still have some stronger candidates).

*Photo credit: Official website of Hairspray the musical

In these go-green days, where recycle is part of daily life, someone agaisnt the idea of it. He said: Stop recycle !
And he is not just someone. He is member of just about every prestigious academic and government entity in Japan.
A very interesting and unique professor.

Worth to read, check out his idea here.

She is a personable lady.
No age barrier, she became Raisa’s best friends just in a day. Good buddy of Ken.
She is a great sparring partner to talk just about every possible topic, to joke just about every silliest thing.
She is a library of interesting stories, unbelievable experiences.
I don’t have to mention how smart and celebrity she is, nor to exaggerate things,
just google her name, you’ll get more than 7000 result of things related to her. From her professorship & academic work till her art.

She is music. Never thought our humble piano at home can make that maestro level of music. Always thought Ken’s guitar is just a toy guitar until she played good music with it even with a missing string (well, it is indeed a toy guitar, her finger just magic). Tell her a tittle of song, she will play the number right away. If she doesn’t know the song, sing or hum that to her, she will compose the song just in a blink.
She plays list of instrument, all self learned. No doubt she is the key person in some choir groups, bands, music groups, you name it.
I never attend her lectures, but I was thinking she should be a pro musician. She is doesn’t play music, she blend into it.

Last night she spent at home, we gathered and had this spontaneous small concert when the sweet and talented Sakura Lady joint us with her violin. The beautiful melody in candlelight filled our living room with unforgettable moment. All on-demand song played well, from classic, pop, national anthem until dangdut. Good music and super cute Kuch kuch hotahee dance by Nug.
Good friends, good music, good time. Timeless time flies.

Some people are really gifted.
But some others really blessed to enjoy the gifts; music and friendship.

Thanks Mer-chan, for the good time.

Working hard and playing harder, that’s why, weekend always resulted in a super exhaustion.

Friday 8/8
Worked half day in the morning. Handle all the urgent in the mailbox. Reviewed progress and milestone points for a project. One meeting just before lunch. Some business calls.
Afternoon, took half day off for preparation of the BBQ party at home in the evening. Went to super market for sodas, seafood and snacks. Ran home, marinade meat for BBQ, made a huge pizza, squeezed lemon for lemonade. Guest started to arrive at 4PM, kids played water at the padding pool while adults played with the charcoal and meat. Continued by watching the superb Olympics Opening Ceremony together. Guest left home just before midnight. The 27 of us had some really fun time, and surely full tummy.

Saturday 8/9
Though it was so hard to leave the bed, but got to get up early. Today is the first day of the two days Salaam Bazaar, a festival conducted by the Embassy of Pakistan to celebrate the independence day of my second country. The festival held at the heart of Tokyo at Ueno Park. The head of the event is our family relative, therefore we got some role on the festival. 10AM we were in the park, dressed in Pakistan national costume (shalawar khamis) and shinny face which melt in just thirty minutes later as the temperature was around 34C.
Event was a hit. Nice dance, excellent music - professional traditional music imported from Pakistan just for this event. Audience were enraptured by the performance. Super delicious food: Chicken butter curry with fresh bake nan, samosa, kebab, ice cold mango lassi, etc. Yummy!
The water and soda though, was sold in 200yen per bottle, which is too expensive (normally it is 130 yen in vending machine). So some of the Pakistani creme de la creme in Tokyo, open their wallet and said that in this happy event in the hot days, free drink should be for everyone tomorrow. And guess who they pointed to be the coordinator for free drinks? Hubby.
Just before left, as the event was located just across Ueno Zoo, Raisa and Ken begged to pay a visit to the Elephant family inside the zoo. So, while hubby still busy with this and that, I brought the kids for a short 1,5 hours visit to our brother and sister in the zoo. My favorite was the super fat brother hippo, Ken’s favorite was the uncle elephant with the potty size as big as a soccer ball, Raisa’s favorite was a sea lion buddy named John whose keep makes sound as loud as a fire engine sirens. Kids had fun and walked around the over 100 acres of zoo in this hot day seems just fine for them while with this costume and sandal, it indeed killed me!
Wet in our own sweat, we headed back home in the evening, with a super transit at Costco to buy 1500 cans and bottles of drink for the free drink tomorrow. I never really love the car we are driving now  but that day, I was amazed (though feel a bit guilty for the abuse) and appreciate my Mazda MPV to see how all those drinks, plus ice boxes, plus ices entered in the car. Load of over 600kg, plus the four of us was packed inside the van!
As if not enough for the day, we ended our day by a visit to Tsutaya to rent some of the tittles in our must-see-DVD before heading home.

Sunday 8/10
Morning was a rush to again leave the bed in difficulty. But again, with the drink responsibility on our shoulder, we got to be at the spot on time. Grabbed the bread and juice for breakfast in the car. Met neighbour on the parking place and got to appology again as we turned down their invitation for kayaking today. Ice blocks hunting (some supermarket still close before 9AM).
By 11AM our free drink stall was open at the right side of the stage in Ueno Park. Today the festival even more crowded than yesterday. Raisa enjoyed the giving-the-free-drink-stall game. She was shouting: "Nomimono ikaga desuka? Muryo desho! Sumitai no Kora, Jinjerueru, omizu, ocha, juzu mo arimasu desho….!" (How about drinks? Free drinks for you? We have cold Coca Cola, Ginger Ale, Water, Green tea and types of juice!) Once someone picked the drinks from inside the ice box, Raisa would wipe that drink in her towel so customer hand should not be wet. Our stall was so busy. Every body happy and enjoyed, except those food stalls who sell the drink in 200yen! They got a super slap!
Today’s program was not only the drinks stall. The drink stall was actually a spontaneous program just decided yesterday afternoon. But hubby and I had promised Raisa and Ken that on Sunday, we will bring them to swimming pool. It is a summer resort swimming pool with all the pool attraction and different type of water game. Kids have been waiting for the day. So we can’t just cancel that for a sudden adult program. So around 2PM, we left the park, headed to the pool. Before 3PM we were in our swimming suits at Inage Pool which located in front of the beach. Enjoyed different type of pool and slides, the water games and followed by the relax time on the beach. Kids were playing sands and collected shells, me and hubby laid exhausted, enjoyes the breeze and view of Tokyo Bay.
By 7:30PM we were back and had dinner home. Then we all view one of the DVD we got from Tsutaya the day before.

Today 8/11
This morning I woke with the muscle sore (mind you, I picked lots of softdrink crates). Another difficult time to leave the bed, but man got to do what man got to do. I cooked lunch boxes for kids. Prepare breakfast and as kids will leave a bit later with hubby, I left to the office by bus. Another week to start.
Luckily, the week in front of me is a slow one. This week is Obon period in Japan where culturally, commonly and even officially encouraged, people take holiday to go to their hometown. So not many business, office was only one third full. I just choose not to take the holiday this time where all hotel and transportation are fully booked and at double rate.
I think I should go down to the refreshment room at second floor of my office for a massage.
Before the next weekend come.

For the first time ever, I was in a group tour. I never like to travel in a tour, freedom and flexibility is a must for me. But the trip was an office outing, so there I was one among the crowd following a lady with the flag. The tour guide. Marumoto-san is her name. 

Opted for the view, I took the front row seat on our tour bus just next to her.

During our eight hours tour, she was all the time (except two short fifteen minutes highway ride that rule enforced her to sit and buckled) on her feet in and out the bus , explaining everything about Hokkaido. She was super well-informed about the island, deliver the information in friendly tone with some joke and trivia intermission to make it interesting. Just to her personal accent, she ended almost all of the sentence with the word: "hai", which mean "yes" but some people use it to soften the tone, specially when talked to customer or respected people.
So there she was, in the uniform including hat and glove, all the time standing, holding the microphone, explaining A-Z about the island.
There is a species of red sunflower in the island, hai. The size can reach up to thirty cm diameter, hai. Hokkaido population is less than three million people, hai. This area cover by at least three meter thick snow in the winter, hai. The famous fruit of Hokkaido called Yubari Melon was sold for 5 million yen in fruit auction in May this year, hai. It is more expensive than the price of a brand new Toyota Corola, hai. The government of Hokkaido……….,hai. Sapporo city history………….,hai. The wind gust here…., hai…, …..hai…..,hai…………..
Though I feel a mixed of embarrased and guilty, I have to admit, at times, I can’t handle my sleepy head. So do my colleagues. Though many of us slept (after night of party, mind us), she keep her informative-descriptive mode on. Never stop as she worry that she might missed the chance to inform the detail. Never sit as seems to her to sit infront of customer consider impolite.
She did her job well.

At the end of the tour. Before she said good bye, she excused herself for any incompleteness (if any) and unprofessionalism (if any) as she still in learning mode, this is the second year of her full time job as tour guide. She is nineteen years old.
Nineteen? That amazed me. The quality of work she perform as a nineteen years old, made me rewind back and think what did I do when I was nineteen. The crazy fun university life.

She’s great.