Welcoming My 7th Year In Japan

"Twelve thousand miles of it, to the other side of the world. 

And whether they came home again or not, they would belong 

neither here, nor there, for they would have lived on 

two continents and sampled two different ways of life."

 Colleen McCullough 

 The Thorn Birds 

Today, I welcome my 7th year in Japan. Yes, it has been quite a journey. I still remember, when I stepped my foot on Narita International Airport on April 3rd, 2007, it was raining on a spring morning. The beautiful cherry blossoms had just started to bloom in Tokyo. Back then, it did not cross my mind at all that this journey would take me this far. One thing led to the other thing, I have in fact spent more than a quarter of my life in Japan. Starting off with my three years at Nagaoka National College of Technology, I graduated after doing my bachelor degree in for two years at Chiba University. Now, I am in my second year at Gateway Computer Co., Ltd., working as an IT engineer. 

Along this long and wonderful journey, I have made new friends, and at the same time lost a few friends. The list would be too long if I were to name them one by one here. However, I guess there are some whom I think I shall mention here. The bunch in Nagaoka - Shah, Yan Kuang, Muazam, Duan, Aki, Joann, Ulya, whom we had shared a fair amount of happy times, crazy and lame jokes, and also fights and arguments. Then my seniors who offered great advices and encouragements when I was sitting for university entrance exam and job interviews. Special thanks especially to Andrew and Ben. Kok Hong, you too!

Next is my ex-housemate WinD, whom I lived with for two years during our time in Chiba. It was amazing that he managed to tolerate me for the couple of years. Though we do not live together anymore now, we do meet up occasionally now as both of us are still based in Tokyo. Too bad that he will be returning for good by the end of this year, or early next year the latest. 

Also, special gratitude to Crystal senpai, whom I often address her as Mama, and also Windel Papa. Mama says it is very easy to remember Papa's name because you just gotta combine the two words – Windows and Dell lol! Both of them have been the one who had showered me with support, encouragement and most importantly, the reason why I am now working at Gateway Computer. 

I would also like to give a special mention to my blog readers and those who had left comments here down these years. This blog started just a couple of month before I flew to Japan and I guess the title of this blog (My Journey), which had followed me throughout my journey in Japan, fits it perfectly. 

Those are the people who have been the pillar of support during my past six years in Japan. If you are not mentioned here, it is not that I do not remember you. It is just that Blogger recently introduced this word-limit policy, which limits the length of an entry to 500 words. So, I have to be economical on my words usage. 

And I bet you are not going to believe me anymore and fall for this prank, would you? Hahaha! 

Anyway, last but the most importantly, is Mom and Dad. Mom was the one who rushed to get me the scholarship application form right after I took my SPM result back in 2004. She was the one, together with Grandma, who accompanied me on my first day to PPKTJ (Preparatory Centre for Technical Studies to Japan) in KL. And she was also the one who always insists to send me off at the bus terminal or airport every time I am returning to Japan from my holiday in Malaysia. And Dad, like most guys, does not show his concern openly, but I know he is as much concerned for me just like Mom. He never forgets my exam finals dates, will remind me if I had put my room key and passport into my bag before I head back to Japan, and would stock up my favourite foods at home whenever I am back for holiday. 

And to my three sisters, Calyn, Cheryl and Cindy, I know you guys miss me as much as Mom and Dad right? So, thanks a lot haha! Also my aunt, especially my youngest aunt Mo-Aunty (we have been calling her like that since young 'coz it is an abbreviation from the word Small Aunty lol!) who give me VIP escort to and from the airport every time. Thanks to Grandma who would cook me fantastic food and also fresh fruits from her own garden. Food like Siamese laksa and nasi kerabu are things I really miss. 

I feel that I am making this entry sound so sentimental, aren't I? Or should I say, it sounds like reading through the acknowledgement section of a thesis lol! I did not mean to do that because it should be a happy post, since I am celebrating my 7th year in Japan, isn’t it? Talking about happy news, I got another piece of good news a couple of days ago. Although it is still not official yet, I will be getting an increment from next month onwards *yeay!* 

If you ask me when will I finally decided to return to Malaysia "to serve the nation", as some people like to put it, to be honest, I have no idea yet. Nobody knows how long more this journey in Japan will take me, but one thing for sure is, I will return to Malaysia when the right time comes. Yes, to vote! 

P/S: This is entry number 911. But did anyone had any kecemasan feeling while reading this entry?

Gotcha! It Was April 1st Wasn't It?

"Better a witty fool 
than a foolish wit."

William Shakespeare

If there is a day in a year when you should not believe Calvin, it is April 1st. Yup, the entry yesterday was just an April Fool’s Day prank. The first part was real, however the bad news part, about me quitting my job in Japan and heading home, was 100% pure bulls**t.

Realising that it was a great timing to make up such stories, I combined it with the good news (of me getting the award and bonus) to make it sound real. And I guess the plan worked! 95% of people who commented on my blog and Facebook fell for it, and wish me all the best. I am not sure if they really meant it, or they'd known that it was just a prank and gave me such sarcastic responses lol!

But how if they honestly believed it and made them sending me all those messages? I even had a few people who privately sent me messages to my mobile phone to ask what had happened. You know, I actually felt a bit guilty to be honest for playing up with their feelings. However, like Max Eastman once said, "It is the ability to take a joke, not make one, that proves you have a sense of humor." So I believe my friends who know me well enough, will understand that my mischievous trait has not faded at all yet. A giraffe never changes its height, huh? LOL!

Down the years, I have come up with several April Fool’s prank. I once changed my birth date in Facebook to April 1st few years ago, and my inbox was flooded with birthday wishes at the end of that day. There was another time I posted in my blog that I have broken-up and people asked me to stay strong etc. But now, I can't use that latter's idea anymore since I am not attached at the moment lol!

Back to yesterday's prank, I thought it will take some time before Mom sees the post in my blog or Facebook. So I came up with an additional plan; I made a phone call to her during my lunch break. She was marking her students' books at that time, and I started the conversation like usual. Then I dropped the bomb. I told her I’d just received a mail that morning and was told that I was gonna be transferred to Singapore beginning next month, for an indefinite period.

Her first response was, "Ooo, Singapore ar? Good ar, much nearer to Malaysia. You like it or not?"

I tried so hard to control my laughter at that moment, and right after that, I replied her, "Of course I like it. Coz I just April Fool-ed you hahahahaha!!!"

As if she had just woken up from being hypnotized, she realized that she had just fell to my prank and it drove her nuts for not being careful enough. "Ishhhh you arrr, why-la do me? Yealor-hor today’s 1st April. Why-lar I never realized it. Yerrr, sien-la. Today I haven't kena yet you know. Mana tau terus kena tipu by you. Some more so calm and relaxed only when you told me. Ishhhh!! Don't like it-lor hmphh!!!" hahaha!

Yes, my Mom is one of my traditional target every year because she's one of the easiest victim to prey on haha! However, nowadays, she is much more clever than in the past. I know pranks like "Hey look! There's a lizard on your hair!!" will never work anymore, so I have to use more advanced-level pranks lol!

She was so unsatisfied that just before she ended her phone call, she plotted a revenge and came out with her version of April Fools. She said to me, "Be carefull when you walk outside. Don't trip and fall. April Fools! Hahaha!"

I was like, "Hmmmm??"

Then when I got home, Mom sent me another message. "Mm baru baca ur blog.mayb april fool again ar?u wan come bc Malysia?tak believe u la.tìs time x april fool di cos mm saw the date 1st april.haha,nak april föol again."

At least this time she was more carefull not to fall for my prank the second time. When I Skyped with her that night, the first words from her was, "Woahhh, you this boy ar. Satu dunia you tipu today" haha! She later asked me if it's okay to do backdated April Fool's joke. I said of course not and she gotta wait for next year. Hearing that, she got emo 'coz she just got the idea that time. Too bad it was already too late. "Rugi only", she said lol!

​

During the Skype session, I tried to play more April Fools prank on her. One of it was the Google Nose prank. I sent her the link and guided her to follow the instruction. She then started to move her face to the monitor and started sniffing. She told me maybe she had flu, and she didn't smell anything haha! After that third prank I played on her, she never believed me anymore. 

Every time I start my sentence with, "Hey, you know or not…" she instantly replied me, "Don't want liao! Wanna April Fool me again right??! Hmphhh!!"