So many of my friends are artists.
I'm not talking mediocre artists, I'm talking super bad, talented powerhouses. Musicians, actors, directors, some of them all of the above. To see there success is so inspiring. It is an incredible feeling to believe in someone or something, and to know there dreams, and then watch them come to fruition.
It is beautiful to watch the rest of the world realize something you've known all along. I consider it a privilege. The success of my peers makes me want to step up my grind. It makes me want to be better at what I do so that I can share in their success, but not in a leech-y, riding coattail-y kind of way. I am glad to be there for the growing pains and the rewards that come as a result of them. I'll cry when I hear your story, because I was there for it.
My friends are ebullient, brilliant, strong, and beautiful and talented and inspiring and wonderful. There could never be enough adjectives, and I'd be hard pressed to find them. Because honestly, these people are the best. The world wouldn't be the same without them, and neither would I.
Thank you. Thank you all for just being you.
Love,
The Gypsy
Monday, January 23, 2012
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Live more, Blog more.
My life has been pretty weird since I got back to Japan. Hence the empty space in my blog life. Going home was so incredible and it just made me more excited to come back to Japan and finish strong, so to speak. There are so many things that I want to do in the next 9 weeks but as the time winds down, I find myself having to prioritize them. My weekends are all planned for and this weekend is the only one for the next three or four weekends for which I haven't already made plans.
And so I write.
It seems a little early to sound so conclusive about my experience here but the truth is, before I know it, I'll be packing my suitcases (again) and making my way back stateside. Japan has been and continues to be, an eye-opening experience that has fostered and encouraged a tremendous amount of personal growth. When I made this decision, I was hoping that this would be a life-altering change. It actually has proven itself to be that, and then some. I know myself so much better than I did a year ago. And to finally feel like I have clear direction and a plan (you know I love plans), is comforting and exciting, and dare I say it, a little scary.
I made the decision to take on some big things in the next few years. My dreams, all the things I have always dreamed of, and felt that were meant to be. The scariest part is wondering if this plan, my plan, is God's plan for me....wondering if it fits the mold. If it isn't, it will fail, and that's fine because though my plans may fail, God never does. He's never failed me yet. I never do anything unless it feels right. Coming to Japan felt right. And I ran with it. Some people felt like it came out of nowhere, and maybe it did for them, but not for me. These plans that I have for myself, they feel right and so I'm running with it. When I want something, I am good for making it happen and failure is just not an option.
These 9 weeks will fly by because I will be putting in work. Working hard to make sure that when I get home, I hit the ground running. Running toward my dreams. Running toward success.
Meet me there?
Love,
The Gypsy
And so I write.
It seems a little early to sound so conclusive about my experience here but the truth is, before I know it, I'll be packing my suitcases (again) and making my way back stateside. Japan has been and continues to be, an eye-opening experience that has fostered and encouraged a tremendous amount of personal growth. When I made this decision, I was hoping that this would be a life-altering change. It actually has proven itself to be that, and then some. I know myself so much better than I did a year ago. And to finally feel like I have clear direction and a plan (you know I love plans), is comforting and exciting, and dare I say it, a little scary.
I made the decision to take on some big things in the next few years. My dreams, all the things I have always dreamed of, and felt that were meant to be. The scariest part is wondering if this plan, my plan, is God's plan for me....wondering if it fits the mold. If it isn't, it will fail, and that's fine because though my plans may fail, God never does. He's never failed me yet. I never do anything unless it feels right. Coming to Japan felt right. And I ran with it. Some people felt like it came out of nowhere, and maybe it did for them, but not for me. These plans that I have for myself, they feel right and so I'm running with it. When I want something, I am good for making it happen and failure is just not an option.
These 9 weeks will fly by because I will be putting in work. Working hard to make sure that when I get home, I hit the ground running. Running toward my dreams. Running toward success.
Meet me there?
Love,
The Gypsy
Monday, January 2, 2012
I can't believe that it is already almost time for me to go. Damn. I don't want to pack. I don't really want to leave. And man, that flight. The longest 15 hours of my life. Did you know that AIRBORNE costs like, $50 in Japan! Oh my emgee! I will be stocking up on that before I hop on the plane. That and all the other medicine I can't get in Japan. I realized this morning that it will be impossible for me to see everyone this visit and that really sucks. On the bright side, I'll be back in 3 months.
These next three months ought to be eventful. Between work and all the trips I want to take, I'll barely sleep. Now is the time for that. I'll sleep when I'm dead. Or when I'm really old and fall asleep while people are talking to me.
It is omiyage time. I need to start shopping for souvenirs for the homies in Japan. It is so hard to think of things to get for people. Snacks are always the easiest, but real gifts...a touch more challenging. I'm open to ideas.
Love,
The Gypsy
These next three months ought to be eventful. Between work and all the trips I want to take, I'll barely sleep. Now is the time for that. I'll sleep when I'm dead. Or when I'm really old and fall asleep while people are talking to me.
It is omiyage time. I need to start shopping for souvenirs for the homies in Japan. It is so hard to think of things to get for people. Snacks are always the easiest, but real gifts...a touch more challenging. I'm open to ideas.
Love,
The Gypsy
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Happy New Year!
I have not blogged in ages! My last blog probably started in a similar tone. Anyway, Happy 2012. I was lucky enough to ring in this new year at home. It is really nice to be back stateside. Coming home for the holidays really anchored how much I really miss home. It is a feeling that has sunken into my spirit so deeply that I can almost ignore it. Being here makes me realize that I am ready. I'll be sad counting down the days I leave Japan but, unlike when I left, I am really excited about a ton of things here at home.
So here's to a great year to come. Amazing things are going to happen for many of us. I am sure of it.
Happy New Year, friends!
Love,
The Gypsy
So here's to a great year to come. Amazing things are going to happen for many of us. I am sure of it.
Happy New Year, friends!
Love,
The Gypsy
Sunday, September 18, 2011
My night with two of my favorite Japanese people...
Hanging out with Masa and Mina always hits the reset button on Japan for me (not for long) but...it always feels good.
A piece of the end of our day...
A piece of the end of our day...
Monday, August 29, 2011
Spa Day...well, sort of. OK...not really.
Today (and I do mean August 29th today as my blog posts are a trifle out of sync) I had my first massage in Japan. More than anything, this made me miss my girls at Jolie the Day Spa in Atlanta…was that a shameless plug? Nope…wait for it…Jolie has the best technicians in ALL of Atlanta. If you want to be treated like royalty and get the best services in the Atlanta area, you MUST visit this spa. Give 'em a ring (if I add the # is it too much? I am not ashamed - 404.266.0060). PLUS…the girls at the front desk are HOT :) ( and not just because I used to be one).
As most of you know, I am a spa rat. I am spoiled from my days at Jolie and I have been (quietly) complaining about not having that privilege (a deep, deep privilege for which I am eternally grateful) anymore. So when my friend told me her friend managed a massage spot not too far from me, I jumped…leaped at the opportunity to get a massage (at a ridiculously reasonable rate).
It was insanely clinical. It felt like a luxurious visit to the chiropractor. I really enjoyed the service, and I have another appointment in 4 weeks…but it was so far from what I am used to and what I expected. It was like having physical therapy in a mall. The therapist definitely had some Japanese science in his fingertips because when I got up from the massage table I was loopy, but erect. I was literally standing up too straight to fall over. I really loved that he assessed me before my treatment (and also pointed out all the things that were wrong with me). He told me my pelvis was unbalanced, (and I can think up several reasons for this but…) my spine was curved and I had an incredible amount of tension in my neck, back and shoulders. I knew most of this, but it was nice to know that he knew and that he wouldn't just be poking around for the next hour.
After our massages we had a nice little lunch at this place in Tsujido called Pacific Deli. The food was really good and I really enjoyed the company. We ate ourselves into laziness and then hopped on the train heading back to our side of town. I decided to do some walking around Odawara and found a couple of really cool places. I went looking for a scrapbook and found a really cool, tiny art supply store. On the way there, I found a hip-hop dance studio. I decided next Sunday I will go hurt myself and have some fun while I do it. I also found a neat fabric store, which was right on time because I needed some fabric for this vision board (I guess it is more like a vision "cloth") that I am making. So presently we have quite a few irons in the creative fire, so to speak…but that is exactly how I like it.
I think this was one my most productive days off to date. Stay tuned.
Love,
The Gypsy
Mineko's Food
My Food
As most of you know, I am a spa rat. I am spoiled from my days at Jolie and I have been (quietly) complaining about not having that privilege (a deep, deep privilege for which I am eternally grateful) anymore. So when my friend told me her friend managed a massage spot not too far from me, I jumped…leaped at the opportunity to get a massage (at a ridiculously reasonable rate).
It was insanely clinical. It felt like a luxurious visit to the chiropractor. I really enjoyed the service, and I have another appointment in 4 weeks…but it was so far from what I am used to and what I expected. It was like having physical therapy in a mall. The therapist definitely had some Japanese science in his fingertips because when I got up from the massage table I was loopy, but erect. I was literally standing up too straight to fall over. I really loved that he assessed me before my treatment (and also pointed out all the things that were wrong with me). He told me my pelvis was unbalanced, (and I can think up several reasons for this but…) my spine was curved and I had an incredible amount of tension in my neck, back and shoulders. I knew most of this, but it was nice to know that he knew and that he wouldn't just be poking around for the next hour.
After our massages we had a nice little lunch at this place in Tsujido called Pacific Deli. The food was really good and I really enjoyed the company. We ate ourselves into laziness and then hopped on the train heading back to our side of town. I decided to do some walking around Odawara and found a couple of really cool places. I went looking for a scrapbook and found a really cool, tiny art supply store. On the way there, I found a hip-hop dance studio. I decided next Sunday I will go hurt myself and have some fun while I do it. I also found a neat fabric store, which was right on time because I needed some fabric for this vision board (I guess it is more like a vision "cloth") that I am making. So presently we have quite a few irons in the creative fire, so to speak…but that is exactly how I like it.
I think this was one my most productive days off to date. Stay tuned.
Love,
The Gypsy
Mineko's Food
My Food
Big Bang.
Suwa.
The perfect way to end Obon and celebrate Oli's birthday. Suwa. Fireworks. Festival. We took the night bus from Tokyo last night to Suwa and got here around 11. I passed out so hard on that bus ride. It seemed to last 20 minutes and not the three hours it really was. We got to Oli, hopped on our bikes and headed home. My feet felt like two baby elephants and I was exhausted.
We got home and I showered... and then everything else was a blur until I opened my eyes the next morning. This day was big. It was Oli's birthday (yataaaa!) AND her student offered to dress us in yukatas (casual summer kimonos) AND it was the highly anticipated Suwa Fireworks Festival (one of the biggest fireworks festival in Japan). This promised to be an awesome day.
We got on our bikes, got some breakfast and went to Mitsuko's house to get the day started. Breakfast was a mistake. We got to her house and she had cake, tempura, sushi, Japanese fried chicken, tea, coffee...the eating was unceasing, seriously. Mitsuko was super generous and really gracious. Her family was so kind. She took us to a temple very close to her house and the resident at the temple treated us so kindly. More eating, of course. He so took us through the temple and explained everything - in Japanese of course- and then he busted out the green tea and sweets and we sat in the temple with a beautiful Japanese garden as our backdrop.
Breathtaking experience.
Yukatas time! We walked back to the house to get dressed for the festival. Putting on a yukata is work. Not for the wearer, but for the poor person who has to do all that science with the tying and the obi and the bow and aaaah! Insane. 30 minutes later we were dressed and feeling beautiful.
Festival time! Another one of Oli's students gave her some super buck seats for the festival, I'm talking center stage, first row-buck! So we walked through an intense crowd of people, passing hundreds of street vendors on the way and made our way to our seats. This was the most incredible display of fireworks I have ever seen I my life. 36 sets, each one bigger than the last. The finale was a 2km replica of Niagara Falls with all kinds of other craziness going on around it. I was floored. It was thorough. There were so many people here, it trumped a Tokyo crowd on it's busiest day. I think we had a bossy day. A super bossy vacation and now it's back to life, back to reality. So here I am on the 6am bus headed back to Kanagawa. Dying inside. I feel like a kid at the end of summer vacation without the joy of back to school shopping. "It's over, it's over. But it's far from over."
Talk to you soon.
Love,
The Gypsy
The perfect way to end Obon and celebrate Oli's birthday. Suwa. Fireworks. Festival. We took the night bus from Tokyo last night to Suwa and got here around 11. I passed out so hard on that bus ride. It seemed to last 20 minutes and not the three hours it really was. We got to Oli, hopped on our bikes and headed home. My feet felt like two baby elephants and I was exhausted.
We got home and I showered... and then everything else was a blur until I opened my eyes the next morning. This day was big. It was Oli's birthday (yataaaa!) AND her student offered to dress us in yukatas (casual summer kimonos) AND it was the highly anticipated Suwa Fireworks Festival (one of the biggest fireworks festival in Japan). This promised to be an awesome day.
We got on our bikes, got some breakfast and went to Mitsuko's house to get the day started. Breakfast was a mistake. We got to her house and she had cake, tempura, sushi, Japanese fried chicken, tea, coffee...the eating was unceasing, seriously. Mitsuko was super generous and really gracious. Her family was so kind. She took us to a temple very close to her house and the resident at the temple treated us so kindly. More eating, of course. He so took us through the temple and explained everything - in Japanese of course- and then he busted out the green tea and sweets and we sat in the temple with a beautiful Japanese garden as our backdrop.
Breathtaking experience.
Yukatas time! We walked back to the house to get dressed for the festival. Putting on a yukata is work. Not for the wearer, but for the poor person who has to do all that science with the tying and the obi and the bow and aaaah! Insane. 30 minutes later we were dressed and feeling beautiful.
Festival time! Another one of Oli's students gave her some super buck seats for the festival, I'm talking center stage, first row-buck! So we walked through an intense crowd of people, passing hundreds of street vendors on the way and made our way to our seats. This was the most incredible display of fireworks I have ever seen I my life. 36 sets, each one bigger than the last. The finale was a 2km replica of Niagara Falls with all kinds of other craziness going on around it. I was floored. It was thorough. There were so many people here, it trumped a Tokyo crowd on it's busiest day. I think we had a bossy day. A super bossy vacation and now it's back to life, back to reality. So here I am on the 6am bus headed back to Kanagawa. Dying inside. I feel like a kid at the end of summer vacation without the joy of back to school shopping. "It's over, it's over. But it's far from over."
Talk to you soon.
Love,
The Gypsy
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