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The weather-caster has predicted rain all week long, & I am very much enjoying this wet weather. During the daytime, I put on some music from my Internet Radio while the rain is peppering the home windows, turn on my portable heater, & hammer through a day’s worth of work from my “home office” (if you can even call my computer station a home office). During the afternoons & evenings, I turn on my gas fireplace & curl up with an e-book on my iPad. (Sometimes I’ll have the TV on in the background.)
The rain makes me feel quite productive; the rhythmic sound of the rain calms my mood & my mind. It truly helps me to focus & get my work done.
On a particular day like today, I’ve already sorted out my daily correspondence, mail/post, bills, & now I’m tackling a mountain mound of laundry. Usually, one does not think of doing laundry on a wet & soggy day full of rain (especially if you’ve got a ton of delicates to hand-wash), but for me, this is a perfect day to get all of my laundry done (not that I save all of my dirty laundry until the last moment.) So, I’m cranking up music from my iTunes program. Today it’s French Pop day; I’ve got Joe Dassin, Françoise Hardy, & Sylvie Vartan on repeat. I’ve just finished ironing a huge pile of dress shirts, & now I can sit down & relax with a cup of hot coffee (with lots of cream & a little sugar, please).
The rain may be preventing me from going on an outing today, but I still feel very much like I have accomplished a lot. Cheers.
Today’s song of the day:
This past Friday it rained in my city. The weatherman had predicted heavy rain showers throughout the day. I was very much looking forward to this wet, gloomy skied weather. (Gawd knows we need more rain to ease this major drought we’re having in California.)
I must make a little naughty confession. I mostly wish for rain so that I may shirk my home-gardening duty of watering the plants around my house. My house is an Eichler designed home, with big front & back yards as well as a courtyard/atrium in the middle of the house. (My home floor plan is U-shaped & boxy.) Oh, I also live on a pretty steep hill, so my backyard has multiple levels, so let me just say that watering ALL of the plants around my house is a chore & a half!
I’m veering off my original topic. I’m sorry. Let me continue. Where was I? Oh, yes. I was talking about loving the colder, wetter weather. Other than this nasty cold I’m having (& on the day I’m going to my very first Black Keys concert no less!), I’m really enjoying the approaching colder climate. I am looking forward to wearing chunky knit sweaters, & layering, & all that [INSERT HIPSTER FASHION TREND SO I CAN PRETEND TO BE COOL & TRENDY]. Don’t get me wrong. I still love hot weather & sunny days (Try walking the concrete streets of Tokyo in mid-July). However, I am ready to throw on my fluffy down jacket & bust out my itchy, plaid scarf. (Oh the things women will do for fashion…or my lack thereof.)
Rainy days, to me, are fun & motivational. Yes, I said MO-TI-VA-TION-AL. It really gets me in the mood to tackle all of the house chores I normally would push off until it became immensely unavoidable. Sure, when it rains, most people would rather be cuddled under a warm, soft blanket on the couch watching On-Demand movies & drinking hot cups of coffee, or reading a book while sipping on a cup of tea…I did indulge in some of that myself…& I also got shit done (ironing dress shirts, vacuuming the rugs, folding laundry, hand-washing delicate clothes, emptying clean dishes from the dishwasher).
That sense of accomplishment, nothing feels more rewarding, especially when you get to finally settle down on the couch & relax after all is said & done, wrapped up with a neat little ribbon. I feel so at ease listening to the pitter-patter of the raindrops while sipping my second cup of hot coffee. The weather on that day was cold enough to warrant my use of a space heater. I actually turned on the gas-powered fireplace & settled in to play a few puzzle games on my iPad. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I hope more of this colder, wet weather comes again soon. I would like to enjoy more days like these. Cheers.
Today’s song of the day:
My friends are getting married in two weeks. They are hosting their wedding in Taipei, Taiwan. I am so excited to be visiting Taipei for the first time in my life. Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve heard so many awesome stories from my mom (who grew up there by the way), & I’ve always hear from my relative about how mind-blowing incredible the food is. I’ve been eating Taiwanese influenced food my entire life, so I’m really pumped up to be trying the real deal while I’m over there. Also, I’m so extremely excited that both of my friends are finally getting married…& that I get to go on an epic trip with all of my closest friends!
[ I remember my friends’ proposal like it was yesterday. Our whole circle of friends went to the San Diego Comic Con in 2011. In the spur of the moment, our male friend (the fiancé) had asked us to help him stage the proposal on the beach. We only had a couple of hours to pull the whole thing together, including: 1. helping him write her (the fiancée) a letter/message in a bottle, 2. get an empty wine bottle to stage a scene on the beach where they would randomly find said bottle, & 3. (the most tricky part of all) film the whole proposal with a friend’s Pro photography camera without her knowing they were being filmed. We somehow managed to make it work with our extremely limited resources, & voila! Our friends are finally tying the knot. ]
Not only will this trip be for our friends’ wedding, but it will probably be the last major trip my husband & I will take for a long time because after this, we are going to anchor ourselves down & get the ball rolling on continuing the family tree (if you know what I mean). [Bow-chicka-wow-wow!] After our friends’ wedding, my husband & I are going to stay in Taipei for a few extra days, then jet off to Tokyo, Japan to visit an old friend of mine as well as my cousins & my last surviving uncle (from my dad’s side of the family). Before we head off to Tokyo, we’ve got quite a bit of sightseeing to do in Taipei, since it’ll be our first time traveling there. I am definitely planning to take a lot of pictures, which I hope I will have time to upload on to this blog. *Fingers Crossed* Also, my mom has given us a laundry list of things to do on her behalf (e.g. take a picture of her alma mater college, visit the national museum, have lunch with one of her friends…whose nickname is Little Horse in Mandarin. I kid you not.)
After our little excursion in Taipei, we are off to Tokyo. This time we are going there with two of our closest friends (my husband’s best friend & his wife…who is a close friend of mine as well). We are all very excited to visit new neighborhoods & try new things this time. However, as per my usual routine, I must visit at least one or two of my cousins & I must visit my grandparents in their final resting place to pay my respects. Also, I will be meeting up with a longtime friend of mine (whom I’ve known since Kindergarten), & I couldn’t be more thrilled to see her after 5 years. We’ve both been very busy with work & family, so it’s been difficult for us to keep up regular contact with each other. This time in Tokyo, we are going to take it easy, go slow & really soak up all of the fun. I’m usually more of a fast-paced kind of girl when I’m on vacation. I want to cram in as much things to see & do in one day as I can, but this time my husband has convinced me to just slow down & really enjoy my time…for this may be my last overseas for a long time. Like always, I’m going to be taking photos galore in Tokyo, & like I said before, hopefully I’ll be able to upload them when I can.
I am so excited for this trip, I can hardly wait.
Rabbits & Foxes 
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