BLISS

engaged.

it happened yesternight. :D

ALL IS WELL

i almost never update this blog when i'm deployed but i know not why i just feel like doing it today. coincidentally, he and i have some free time today so we spent the day quietly at the local hotel which was owned by a malaysian and they serve many malaysian dishes for dinner, which reminded me of mom so i utilised the business centre to skype her.
it's almost funny that how doug and i ended up here in sudan together. looking back, we've known each other since we were, what, 11? we were downright nasty at each other back then and luck had it that we were stuck in the same school and same class until year 11. even after then, when i was in tokyo, we did get casual updates about each other through mutual friends. i went for medicine so was he, but of a different kind. he was aiming for raamc. 5 years later without any contact, god made us meet again. it had to be the weirdest thing that happened in the weirdest place; afghanistan. it gave a whole level of meaning to 'love knows no boundaries' for us. also it made my first fieldwork easier because of him. fast forward, it's been a year since the fateful meeting and we are going strong. in between he's stationed home while i flew to sydney as often as i could. mysteriously, we got our deployment to sudan at almost the same time.
he had changed so much since i left for tokyo. he wasn't the boy i couldn't see eye to eye. instead he was absolutely charming and charismatic that literally swept me off feet. of course, the fact that i always get to see him in fatigues is a major plus point.
like today, he surprised me with a day trip to the hotel as his idea of pampering me. we are at the point where i know what he wants and he me. it is so comfortable to just talk to him without me hesitating over my choice of words and choice of topics. despite geographically-challenged, our life is simply blissful.

WHERE WE WILL BE AT

Khartoum, Sudan.

got this photo of khartoum from doug a couple of days ago along with some updates of the current situation over there. many asked me the same question; if i ever felt scared or worried for being posted for such high-risk area. the truth is, it doesn't. when you know the need and help is badly needed there and you know you can provide it, all the irrelevant emotions are beyond you. dugii and i feel that if it's time for us to leave this world, then it's time to go. god has plans for us. not many understand it but as long as we know what we want to do.

NYC.
truth be told, oli's been spoiling me. a lot. perhaps, too much. she kept me well-fed, well-entertained and well-indulged. now this will come as a big surprise to those who knew me since young. perhaps it's due to my experience in gaborone and kabul, everything is just too luxurious! i find it hard to accept how reckless we are with our freedom and capacity! i wish not to elaborate more for i'll get rants from you and you and you for being this way. :D

NYC IN SEPTEMBER

Hello. I'm back here again.

Where my dream started.

Where a large sum of my money will go to.


Where New Yorkers remember the heroes.

WATCH ME WORK THAT POLE

shin pulled some strings of his own and surprised us with real good treat at a shibuya club. i've been away from the clubbing scene for quite some time and club pure surprised me. heaps of expats swamped that place at the main arena. it's a massive fresh and young japanese meat market out there for fellow gaijins to enjoy. it was almost funny and i felt almost bad for both sides but it's all fun.
good times sure pass fast, don't they? sept 10th is the day i send myself all the way to nyc for a week before UN packs and sends me to sudan. at the same time, i can't wait for it. i can't wait to see doug again. men in fatigues are irresistable, aren't they? LOL
til then i'll be spending quality time with the family. it's gonna another 7-8 months before seeing them again.

WHEN ALMA MATER MATES MEET

it was nostalgic to have met my old uni mates again. a dinner reunion that was hastily organised by shin in two days got twenty of us gathered at the restaurant. he's born to pull such magic that we always felt that it was a shame that he didn't go for pr or media or alike. he'd be a god or something. it was interesting to meet them again after 2 years. some of us remained the same and a few changed noticeably. particularly kondoh. it was a 180 deg of change and all. his look, his fashion sense, his behaviour, as a matter of fact! of course, i meant it in a very good way! as for me, a change was there but just subtle, as Ryusei put it. a keio school of med 04's night out in shibuya is gonna happen in a couple of days. of course, our good ol' shin's gonna do it so i'm not worried at all. just tell him what you want and he'll get it for you. i itched for a good clubbing scene.
it was his birthday few days ago. it quite disheartening for not being able to celebrate with him. it was session via skype instead but i was glad that his platoon celebrated with him after that. i wouldn't want him to celebrate it alone.
happy belated birthday baby. wished i was there.

OF DOGS, PLANES, CELEBRITIES & A BIRTHDAY

milo was a mad dog when he saw the planes after we arrived at the airstrip. as expected, tofu was turned off by the crazy humming noise so she stayed with mom and dad on ground. flying with milo and dad was a walk down the memory lane, i felt like i was 15 again when i first flew the plane with dad. we reminisced the time when he was the one piloting the plane. how time flew so fast.

skydiving was absolutely crazy. just like bungee, it's something that you ought to do it at least once in your life. i'm glad i did it and it's already my 3rd dive yesterday.

last week saw me flying a group of japan 'super idols' for skydive and one of them was absolutely freaking out before getting off. though i might wanna add they are pretty down to earth and just plain hilarious. meeting them did spark me to watch some of their shows. Well, two words for them; pure entertainment. milo did leave a huge impression on them as he was onboard. ah my sweet milo. as for us, we were just glad the session ended without mishap. man, they did weird stuff up there you have no idea. guess watch their show when it's aired. the boys'll be on tv by the way. :D
to end, i absolutely miss that guy who's in sudan now. sigh.

FUNNY TONGUE

my japanese got funny. dad and shuuhei snickered for the longest time when they overheard me conversing with the okami of the ryotei the other evening for my birthday. even doug casually mentioned my japanese was weird. well, i blamed aussie slang. it got the better side of my tongue, ain't it?
now that doug's back to sydney to get ready for the next fieldwork, my time will be devoted to my parents and of course, off to sayama to burn the airstrip with shuuhei and hiroyuki! shuuhei hardly flies instead he skydives, thanks to hiro's brain-washing. in fact he's being doing part-time instructing people skydive during his day off for the past year. nevertheless, it'd be so much fun again flying, y'know, playing on the bed of the clouds. i wonder if milo could still do it.
til then.

JUST ME

by him. phuket.

SHANGRI-LA

thank you for making my sydney trip amazing and it is indeed a heartbreak to have left sydney so soon.
so i'm back home in tokyo. parents are happy, need i say? LOL shuuhei took a couple of days off just for me. and oh how much i have missed milo and yuki! i forsee a great 2 1/2 months in tokyo :)
now that i'm probably someone who has the most free time in the world, frequent updates will be visible here for the next couple of months.
Til then :)

WE WENT TO PARADISE AND CAME BACK

it was great.

HOMEBOUND

good news mates, doug and i will be sydney-bound from May 25th to June 20th! it's definitely not an exaggeration for me to say that we are dying to meet you boys and girls again! we await good times! however i have to give caution that 50% of the time shall be spent with the family. :)
next destination would be phuket for a couple of days after which we'll be off to meet my parents in tokyo until me vacation ends in september and he'll be off to sydney again while ms kamata shall be crashing at oli's place in nyc for a week before being sent off to sudan.