Personal

Personal

New Year, New INC Ministers

Yesterday was a busy yet memorable day for me and Cerg and many other Iglesia ni Cristo members, especially those in congregations and locales that took part in the special worship service for the ordination of new church ministers.

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Welcoming year 2011

Unlike in the Philippines where the new year is welcomed literally with a bang using paputok (firecrackers), torotot (toy trumpets), and almost anything that creates noise, new year is greeted silently and peacefully in Japan.  This striking difference is perhaps a reflection of the contrast between the cheerfulness of Filipinos and the silent nature of the Japanese people.

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Hello blog!

Wow, it's been a while since we last updated our blog.  We've been busy these past few weeks and so much has been going on at work, at the church, and with our personal lives.

So what have we been up to?  Mister and Misis traveled around the world, met a 9th-generation medicine man who told us we would come back and study with him, and spent four months in Italy, eating and enjoying life.  Ok, just kidding!  (I just saw the trailer of Julia Roberts' Eat, Pray, and Love so I've included its short plot here. hehe.)

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Chorei Leading

Yesterday, it was again my turn to lead our Department Chorei.  In case you didn't know, chorei is the Japanese term for the morning assembly or ceremony that is popular among many Japanese companies.

Basically, chorei is like the flag ceremony in Philippine elementary schools.  There is, however, no flag (and flag-raising, of course), no singing of the national anthem, and no reciting of panatang makabayan.  These are replaced instead by the reciting of the company vision and mission, attendance checking, and countless bowing.

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"Ikaw ang buhay ko (You are my life)"

Last Sunday (May 9), Cerg and I attended a special gathering of members of a Christian Couples organization in Tokyo.  The programme was composed of two parts - a lecture and a "socializing".

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Leaving Tokyo

Yes, we have left Tokyo for good! I mean Tokyo, the station, not the city.

The company I work for has moved its main offices located near the Tokyo station to a new location west of the Imperial palace.

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White Suit

I needed a white suit for a special church occasion (Sta. Cena).  Had there been more time before the said occasion, I would have ordered one from the Phillippines.  Not only is it cheaper in the Philippines, I also know of a Filipino tailor who makes really good suits and barongs.

Finding suits in Japan is very easy, unless of course you have special requirements such as an unusual color. I searched for stores online and found two stores that seemed to sell white suits .  One is in Ueno and the other is in Harajuku.

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Affordable suits in Japan

Cerg and I went to look for a blue suit (pang-diakono) last Saturday. I wanted an Armani but I couldn't find one which suited my taste (read: none suited my budget), so I settled for a relatively unknown brand.

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Keitai Chess

Keitai ChessKeitai ChessToday, I downloaded a Chess game software for my mobile phone. Unfortunately, there is one defect that I found. (FYI, Chess is not widely played in Japan, though they have this board game called Shogi which is very similar to Chess.)

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Movie-going, from Manila to Tokyo

Transformers 2Transformers 2"Patingin-tingin, di naman makabili
Patingin-tingin, di makapanood ng sine
Walang ibang pera, kundi pamasahe
Nakayanan ko lang, pambili ng dalawang yosi"

About twelve years ago, the song with the above passage became popular in the Philippines. It describes the lowly condition of someone who has little money to spend, even on simple things as going to the movies. As a student with a meager allowance at that time, I was able to relate well to the song.

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