Thinking Loudly
Every posting is one piece among thousands pieces in this complicated yet interesting puzzle game called: LIFE
At times when I feel worry and conscious of my sick kids and husband, I always remember what M said.
M is my senior colleague. She is in the mid 40s, a success career woman.
She is single with no sign of man around. The only child. Father had passed away, mother in her 80s.
She got lines of properties and accounts waiting for inheritance.
Every time I express my worries on my high fever kids, emergency room visits, trouble of raising children, she always listen to me with this sparkling eyes and unmitigated smile.
Her responses to my problems are always the same:
” Shiawase…. urayamashi”
Translated as:
” What a happiness… I envy you”
She said, she longs to feel the worries of having a sick child, to comfort a cranky feverish baby, to cook soup for bed rest husband down by the flu.
Things which missing in her life.
So in my restless moments around my ill loved ones and challenges of bringing up the kids, when I remember what she said, I feel blessed.
“So you had a boyfriend before you met Daddy, right?” asked Raisa.
She always choose this time, when we drive the two of us only to ask me any honest and personal question. I think she feel it as girls time, Mom and me, and while driving, I can’t go no where but sitting and listening to her.
” Well. Yes I had.”
” I knew it, I heard it couple of times.” She got a sharp ear. She must heard this when I talked to friends. Specially to brokenhearted friends to cheer them up and give hope, my own experience as sample.
” So how many of boys ever be your boyfriend before you met Daddy?” She continued. It was really out of comfortable zone for me, but I can’t run. Avoiding it will only bring more curiosity to her. She will come back.
” I had four friends.”
” Four? Wow that is so much. All at the same time?”
” Of course not. One boy at a time. And I just kind of being a very good friends to them. Like going to study together, go out to play with other friends together.”
” So why you decided to change a boyfriend? Because you saw other better boy?”
” It’s not like that. When you are with a boy, you will talk and see what kind of boy he is and understand him better. Until one point you will feel if that boy is really the good one for you, or not. So if you feel that he is not the one, you will decide that the two of you should not be boyfriend and girlfriend anymore. Just be friends.”
” I also want four boys. But I don’t want them all to be my boyfriends. I just want to choose one among four boys.”
” OK. But you know sweetheart, you are just 8 years old. You are way too young for relationship like that. Just be friends with everyone.
When the time come, you can tell me and we can discuss together.”
The plump me, feel proud of myself when I managed to kick-out the lazy brat in me and hit the Gym again, after month of hiatus. Feel even prouder, when my leg still manage to run (or walk, to be honest) after the digital of the treadmill hit 5km. Pump it up, baby…yeah!
The lazy brat in me got to give up to be dominant. Shame shame on me.
My senior colleague, Y, she is 46 years old. If you see her in business outfit, you will not guess of her athletic build-up. Just like a common skinny lady. But next week, she will fly to Honolulu, Hawaii, to join a marathon. Yes it is 42,195 kilometers of running. For the 18th time in her life, well don’t ask me how many times if including her weekly 10K and monthly whole course practices.
Last week in a party, I just found out that M, the super quite neighbors department guy whose desk just located in my area, was so happy because he got the lottery. Oh no, not cash lottery. Lottery to be the participant of Tokyo Marathon 2009. Tokyo Marathon held every Spring time in the city. It is so popular that the 30,000 runner capacity is filled up so fast and to join the run you got to put your name in the lottery and wait for your luck.
M, despite his 30 years old look, some months ago surprised me by took a straight 30 days holiday as company’s present of his 25 years of service. 25 years? That make him at least…. 47 years old.
And he mentioned that he join the Marathon here and there, every year from when he was 24 years old.
Shame on the lazy brat in me. Shame shame shame on you.
Beautiful patern of kid’s size kimono wore by Karin-chan our lovely 4 years old niece at this year Sichigosan festival. This kimono is 31 years old but beautifully preserved that it looks like just brand new.
This year, I saw the show twice. First one was the original in Broadway, Manhattan, NY in spring. The other one was the Japanese version here in Tokyo, Japan in summer.
The first impression was penetrated deep that instantly firmed me to decide that Raisa should also experience the majestic of art, music and dance, where she has a huge interest. Beside, the story loads with some good message of life; believe in yourself and circle of life.
Over two dozen nominees and won over a dozen of them, including Tony’s Best Musical, The Lion King offer three hours of magnificent scene and sound with an intermission.
The translation from two dimensional animated character to a three-dimensional stage was done beautifully under the superb direction of Julie Taymor (Keita Asari for Tokyo). The ability to make the non-human character into so characteristically real, was fantastic. I still amazed how the biggest animal like huge elephant, the tall giraffe, until the smallest creature like bird was not absent on the stage together with countless member of the Pride Rock. Wonderful Africa root costumes ( I wonder how heavy they are…), genius designed mask and puppet, set and props stage design, easy to follow plot (exactly like in the movie), perfect act and pitch from each actor/actress in the play, wrapped beautifully by fluid movement choreographed by Garth Fagan and music and lyrics by the famous Sir Elton John and Tim Rice.
Eleven years after the show debut (ten in Japan), it still stands strong, gather long line of bystander leave no vacancy. The show stays in big cities in some countries and visit around the prestigious theaters around the world. Don’t dream for discounted ticket. However the $125 tab in Minskoff Theater, NY and 12,800 yen per seat at Shiki Theater, Tokyo were worth every penny/yen of them.
On my objective stand, I usually put some negative point in every review I make. But I have to be honest that it is so difficult to pull anything which made me not happy in this show.
Raisa was overwhelmed with the experience that resulted endless repetition of Circle of Life song in our iPod. From July this year, and still going on…
