I’m about four in this memory. I’m visiting my maternal grandmother’s house, and one day, I beg my elder cousin to take me out to an event happening in the city centre. I know she has a car and can drive me there. She’s taken me to different places in her car before. Today, however, […]
The summer when I was in high school, one weekend, my mother took me to the nearby shopping mall to buy me some new T-shirts I could wear to school. Not particularly interested in fashion, I walked around the floor of ladies’ clothing dispassionately when my mother signaled to me in front of a rack
Fantastic and Refined Read More »
You say you’re not sureYou say you should waitBecause you might make a mistakeBut who hasn’t made mistakesIncluding terrible ones? You say it’s not for youYou say you shouldn’tSomeone said something beforeBut who cares who said what in the pastWhen it’s about you and now? You ask “But how?”You’ve never done it beforeAs if that’s
Several years ago, I was at London Heathrow Airport connecting flights. Although normally connecting flights is easy, because my two flights were operated by different airlines, I had to go through the border control once before doing the full check-in procedure all over again. As soon as I got out of the arrival door with
Merry embarrassment at the airport Read More »
Spotting my seat, I first pick up the disposable cushion and throw it in the overhead storage along with my backpack. Sitting down on my seat, I take out a book, a notebook, and my pencil case from my tote bag before storing it away under the seat in front of me. These three items
The spring I was turning eleven, my family made a ten-day trip to London, England. Since my father had work to attend, it was my mother and I who explored the city together during the day. With a paper street map in our hands, we visited popular tourist spots – the British Museum, Trafalgar Square
So as it won’t fall Read More »
Inside an old cameraIs a film rollI cannot rememberWhen was the last timeWe took a picture with itWhat was the last sceneCaptured on the film? Left inside a tape recorderIs an old cassette tapeNobody’s opened it for yearsWhen was the last timeWe played with itWhat was the last soundRecorded on the tape? The sweater I
When I was a college student in Tokyo, I had a friend whom I’d meet up with in Ikebukuro, a neighbourhood in the northwest of Metropolitan Tokyo not too far from Shinjuku. We always met there because not only the place was accessible from both our places by just one train, several department stores were
I’m eleven or twelve in this memory. I visit my maternal grandmother in the countryside during the summer break. As soon as my mother and I arrive at her house, I follow my grandmother to her bedroom to drop my bags. It’s a tradition between us to have a little chat there before joining others
I don’t remember it Read More »
One weekend in May 2018, I went to Toronto to attend my friend’s wedding. Because my budget was tight and hotels in Toronto were expensive, I went for my familiar solution: stay at a youth hostel. After a quick online search, I found one in Greektown close to a subway station. The location was accessible
Two Nights I Couldn’t Sleep Read More »
