rest and relaxation.

a good friend of mine aditya, who lives in mumbai, india, has been studying for months- though, it seems much longer.  this weekend, he will be [finally] taking the CFA exams.

baba- good luck this weekend!! you will do just great. just think, you can relax come monday!

as for me, i am heading to my grandparents this afternoon in shimane prefecture. i cannot wait to spend some quality time with family. it will be a nice change from how i usually spend hours of my day:
 

rush hour in japan (this actually happens)

have a fabulous weekend!

j

image via fujiwara-kankoo

a closing chapter.

for the past four years, A&F has been a huge part of my life. i have met so many amazing people, had the chance to see so many things and had exposure to more than i could have ever dreamed of in my first job after college. after all the company is the reason i have been in japan for the past three years.  i could not be more proud to have been a part of something so great. thank you for the opportunities, the experiences and the wonderful memories.

before opening day in ginza

circa 2010

my last day in stores before moving to the HO

ladies dinner (and jason-not pictured)

HO lunch

though i am very sad, the end of this chapter means the start of the next. world: bring it on.

tomorrow, i will be leaving tokyo and heading out to shimane prefecture to visit my family. this is it. the beginning of the end.

j

the little things.

i've found that all too often, we lose focus of the beautiful little things and moments that surround us on a daily basis.  to help ease the onset of the mid-week blues, i wanted remind myself of a few of the things that make me smile.

flowers at the market

ending your day on a sweet note

the glitz and glam of ginza at night

ending your day on two sweet notes

this smile

being able to see shrines throughout the city

 happy hump day!

j

a confession.

i have a confession to make.

i have been trying to stay very positive throughout the last few weeks, but truth be told, this has been a very emotional time for me. thinking about what i am about to leave. thinking about what i have to look forward to. it is truly bittersweet.  is it okay for me to be excited? there are days when i cannot wait to get on that plane. there are also days when i think "what the heck am i getting myself into?" i guess last friday it all caught up to me. on my walk to the train station (yes, in public) i broke down into tears. the uncontrollable sobbing kind. as i often do when i need to talk to someone,  i immediately called my friend go- who always seems to know what to say.

go reminded me that some people are only meant to be in your lives for a moment in time, while others, for much longer. that all of these moments in the past three years will never be lost- so long as i don't let them become lost. sometimes it isn't enough to hear it from just one person. or even the second person you call. it takes time for you to realize what is about to happen, and accept it- come to terms with it. i have had some time now to reflect on all of the relationships and memories i have made and how they will or will not continue to play a role in my life going forward.

is this the right decision? well, of course it is. i chose it to be. why does it feel so hard to for me to just let go?

then i got home to see this little munchkin's smile. and somehow, everything felt better.

munchkin

today marks the official two week mark of my departure from japan and return to new york!

j

new memories.

happy memorial day! thank you to all of those who serve and have served to keep the united states free and out of harms way.

(especially you dad.)

this past weekend was my last full weekend in tokyo. i decided to take it easy with a few close friends and go around the city as a tourist. it was emotionally tiring to say the least, but it was exactly what i needed. a low key weekend. full of sunshine and awkward tan-lines.

here are a few of last week's new memories via iphone picutres.

me and my adorable niece maili

the freshest tuna you will ever have: courtesy of mr. hashimoto

tokyo skytree lit up

dancing elvi at yoyogi park

crepes at takeshita dori

backstreets of harajuku

スクランブル交差点

...and a big congratulations to my friend lindsay who finished her first ever half marathon in 2 hours, 9 minutes and 33 seconds! maybe one of these days i will get around to running a 5k...

j

sunshine.

as everyone stateside is gearing up for memorial day weekend, i myself am preparing for a big weekend: my last full weekend in tokyo.

there is very little preparation that you can do for the inevitable end. all you can do is make the most of it: do what you love, eat what you like, enjoy the time you have left with the people you love and of course, hope for sunshine.

have a fabulous weekend!

j

photo of mt. fuji via planetware.

a leap of faith.

 i have recently learned that life does not always goes according to plan. now, for a life long planner, that was a lot to take in.

for as long as i can remember, i have always been very goal oriented and only made moves after a good amount of thought and calculation. for me, the decision to move back to new york without a single idea as to what lies ahead was a big deal and totally, well, un-me. i have no job. (eek) no plans. (double eek)  but i am lucky to have a great support system of beautiful friends and amazing family. i have to have faith that everything will fall into place...

sometimes you have to trust that the decision you made is the right one. if you fall, get back up. don't regret the decisions you make, only learn from them. at the end of the day only you alone have the power to decide your future. you won't ever know what lies at the end of the tunnel until you decide to walk through. there might just be something beautiful waiting for you on the other side.

j

new beginnings.

with an impending move back to the united states -after being in japan for almost three years- big changes are coming my way.  thanks to a little encouragement from my friends and the blogger of my family (check her out! peace love nutrition),  i thought now would be a great time to start writing about my journey- wherever that may take me.

happy blogging!

j