I woke up to the news that Maurice Sendak has passed away.

I love children’s books and Sendak is definitely one of my very favourite authors, along with Dr. Seuss and Chris Van Allsburg. (Jumanzi, The Polar Express)

I have always loved Sendak’s illustrations. I tend to pick children’s books based on whether or not I like the pictures. I believe it’s an important part of what makes a good children’s book.

My 3 year-old and I read a lot and Where The Wild Things Are is of course our staple.  

and an ocean tumbled by with a private boat for Max

and he sailed off through night and day

and in and out of weeks

and almost over a year

to where the wild things are

Our other favourite is In The Night Kitchen. It’s a story of a boy, Mickey, who

fell through the dark, our of his clothes

past the moom & and his mama & papa sleeping tight

into the light of the night kitchen

It’s wonderfully weird and crazy. We love it. We often quote the book “Milk in the batter! Milk in the batter!” and laugh.

My own personal favourite is this little book called A Hole Is To Dig. It’s “A First Book Of First Definitions.” This is not written by Sendak, but by Ruth Krauss. Sendak did the illustration.

Dogs are to kiss people

Children are to love

A brother is to help you

Steps are to sit on

This little book is adorned by many lovely pictures of children by Sendak.

It’s easy to love his illustrations. It’s beautiful and imaginative. Many of his stories are so unique and unconventional — almost weird. But that’s what makes his books so special.

Thank you, Mr. Sendak for your amazing gift — Rest in peace.

Uninterestingly, I spent my 37th birthday working. I was on a deadline for a project and it took me longer than expected and I had no choice but to work all day.

However, I received over 200 birthday wishes all over social media (and phone) and I felt very much loved. Thank you so much to all of you.

In an unrelated note, it was a weirdly emotional day.

While I was working on the deadline, I was doing bunch of other things. Like emailing people about other projects and doing research. I get bored easily, so I like to multi task.

I’m waiting to hear from several people on various different topics. Both personal stuff and business stuff. Some are important and some not as much. And I am terrible at waiting. All the while I’m waiting, I get so antsy.

Then in the afternoon, I heard from one person. The person did not quite answer my question but just basically replied to my message. I was a little confused, and I will be honest—I was annoyed with the message.

Then guess what happened?

Something funny happened. I got even more antsy. I started to worry about other more important emails I’ve been waiting for.

I felt insecure. I thought maybe I’m not hearing from the person because the person doesn’t like me, or doesn’t want to write me back, or maybe the person will not have good news for me.

Now I couldn’t concentrate on the project I was supposed to be working on. I was agonizing whether or not I should send another message asking, “Did you get my message?” Which I know is, SO annoying.

For about an hour, I was obsessed with these thoughts of insecurities.

The good thing about getting old is that you get smarter—one could only hope—as we age.

I told myself, “Come on, you are crazy. You’re obsessing. Go take a break.”

I hopped over onto Facebook and found a TEDx video my friend Kris posted. And of course, of course—that was exactly what I needed to see.

The talk is about how everything is about perspective and how you can reframe things.

After watching the video, I felt much better. I felt confident. And I knew everyone—everyone has that insecure moment whether they admit it or not.

I know I’m not the only one. I’m not afraid to write about it here and that’s the way every confident 37-year old should be.

I’ve worked with Tami Tate from Triple T Consulting last year for Courtnall Celebrity Classis Golf Tournament. We were two of about ten women who helped as Silent Auction cabinet. After the successful event, we got together for a meal and I had an absolute blast meeting and connecting with powerful women in the cabinet.

So I was delighted to hear from Tami, asking me to model for a fashion show for WIN(Women In Need) fundraising gala on Friday, May 4th.

WIN has been in greater Victoria community for 20 years, supporting women and creating opportunity for self-sufficiency. It’s a cooperative; they work together with other organizations such as Bridges For Women Society, Transition House, and Inter-Cultural Association.

I was in WIN Cook Street store the other day to try on various outfits from the consignment store. You wouldn’t believe the quality. Shoko, who works at WIN picked some excellent items for me. I am dying to tell you what I’m wearing, but I’ll leave it as a surprise.

This was my first time to be in a WIN store, and I was reminded that I should shop there often; having a toddler boy means that you are constantly looking for new clothes for him as he wear them out very quickly. You’ll be supporting women in your community by shopping for what you need; it literally is WIN WIN.

I’m excited to be part of Fashion with Passion event – it will be held at Ocean Pointe this Friday, May 4th. Tickets are available online. I hope to see you there.

What: WIN’s fourth annual Fashion with Passion Fundraising Gala

Dinner, Live auction and fashion show

When: Friday, May 4th, 2012

Where: Delta Ocean Pointe Resort

Ticket: $80 for an individual ticket.  Tables of 10 can be purchased.

First annual Breathe Now, a conference for women is now over.

We, the four co-founders first met each other on Twitter. We spent over a year planning this conference. This past weekend has been exciting, profound, fun, eye-opening, all at the same time.

Being the first year, the conference crowd was not as big as other major events. But I really liked the grass-roots feeling to it, and many people seemed to enjoy the intimate feeling as well.

There are so many things I want to write about, but I’m going to share some of the lessons and moments from Breathe Now.

1. It’s OK…to plan ahead

I was the moderator for this panel. Lisa, who is a visual practitioner, talked about some of the practical ways to map out the future you want, and Kristy talked about the importance of Wills and Power of Attorney. Barb talked about how everybody’s financial plan can be so different. This was a very practical session and I learned a lot. As a single/separated mother, issues concerning having a will hit pretty close to home.

2. It’s OK…to talk about it

I had an honour to moderate a panel on Mental Health. I adored both of the speakers, Airdrie and Jess. Their stories were both heartbreaking and profound. We had some great discussions after the presentation on having a support system, importance of reaching out, etc. After the session was over, Airdrie mentioned that the stigma on mental health is more prevalent among men and it might be a good idea to open up the discussion to both men and women. I like the idea. Mental health has always been an important cause for me, as I’ve known many people close to me suffer from the illness and it meant a lot for me to be able to have this session on Breathe Now.

3. It’s OK…to own your own beauty

This was another session I was really looking forward to. Panelist were all my friends- Tracey, Véronique and Teresa. It so happened they each filled the age groups 40′s, 30′s and 20′s. Tracey talked how she stopped apologizing for her appearance, Veronique shared her experience as a young model, and Teresa spoke about her journey on finding her own beauty. We agreed it was important to give compliments to others –  and ACCEPTING it when you receive them. I’m sure many of you relate, but us women are incredibly hard on ourselves. We keep finding faults in us.

I’m sure I’m not the only one who has hard time accepting compliments. This does not apply only to our appearances…For example, I was pleasantly surprised that so many people came up to me to congratulate me on putting up Breathe Now. My first couple of responses were – “Oh, it’s not a big deal… I didn’t do so much….I had all the help from the other three.”

But after this session I’ve reminded myself not to make any excuses for myself and just say “Thank you.”

Of course, I cannot not write about our two amazing keynote speakers- Rona Maynard and Bif Naked. Rona’s talk was warm, witty and full of great insights. She shared the story of her husband not being able to find the passport on their departure day to Amsterdam, their destination for an anniversary trip, and that she ended up leaving without him. (He caught up with her eventually.) I loved her mantra “This is not my problem” – as women often tend to carry other people’s burdens.

Although Bif’s style is quite different from Rona’s, her talk was very profound as well. She shared her story of childhood, and her journey up until now. She said, in a way, she was happy to get a breast cancer – better her than her mom or her sisters. She has also gone through a heart surgery few weeks ago and she said that definitely made her make “the list”….which was a great reminder for all of us to take care of ourselves. She encouraged us women to be compassionate with each other. It was an honour to meet her.

Big big thank-you for all the speakers, volunteers, and sponsors who made this conference possible. This couldn’t have happened without you.

And of course, big thank-you to my fellow co-founders – Janice, Janni and Angela-they were my rock and sisters.

We have received many positive feedbacks on Breathe Now (Don’t get me wrong, there is ALWAYS room for improvement, though) and I am incredibly humbled. I loved my friend Rita’s comment on her blog - “A big heartfelt thank you to angela, yukari, janni, and janice for the opportunity of fulfilling on my secret dream…and for creating something that we didn’t even know was missing until you started creating it.” Thank you, Rita!

Now I’m onto my next adventure…I know there will never be a dull moment, I might get frustrated or stressed out, but I will always remember to breathe. 

One of my favourite words is Fellowship. To me, it reminds me that we are not alone. Breathe Now —I am one of the four co-founders of this event— is for fellowship of women. I wanted Breathe Now to be the opportunity for all women to come together and connect and share. Sometimes we forget how powerful sharing can be.

With only a week left to go, the four of us and all the volunteers are working hard to put together what is becoming an amazing event.

Last night, we met around 20 women for the Meet The Founders get-together. It was an intimate gathering, and I felt so honoured to be surrounded by all the amazing women. We all introduced ourselves and honestly, every single person in the room had an interesting thing to say.

Everyone has a story to tell. It is important to share our stories, in order to keep us sane and healthy. We all go through challenging times that test who we are. It’s part of our lives. But I know many women still try to manage it and act as if everything is all right. Where does this need to be perfect come from?

What I have learned from talking to all the people I’ve met and going through a fair share of tough times myself, is this—it is our basic human need to be connected with one another.

Just recently I heard a story from a woman I greatly admire. If you just look at her, she is full of energy and always putting herself out there. She is strong and fierce. You’d think she has it all together. Then few days ago, she revealed on her blog that she was having a hard time with an immediate family member’s passing. She said she was a mess.

Do I think she is weak to reveal her emotional state? No. All I felt for her was admiration for her courage. I felt empathy—I felt, Me too! Me too!

We are all busy. You are building a career, raising children, have a meaningful relationship, taking care of the family… many of us are stressed out and exhausted. It is so easy to forget that the most important thing is to take care of yourself.

Breathe Now is your chance to listen to other amazing women and to share your stories. We have purposefully scheduled a lot of time in-between the sessions so that everyone have plenty of time to talk. Of course, there are fun things to do as well—shopping, massages, fashion show and cocktails. Ultimately, this is a day and a half set aside for us. To be together. To share. To laugh. To joke. To learn about each other.

What is your story?

On the last day of our series of activities as ANA Brand Ambassadors, we got to visit ANA HQ in Shiodome. (I missed the chance to ask the story about ANA Gundam…too bad.)

ANA Gundam

Here, we met with ANA  Inspiration of Japan (IOJ) Project team.

So, what is Inspiration of Japan?

Mr. Jin Kuze, who has designed IOJ has shown us his design concepts.

Below is the IOJ logo. See the orange bars at the top of each “I”?

At first sight, those orange bars look like they’re placed in equal space in between. But they’re not. See the second image.

Why did Mr. Kuze do this?

He told us about Japanese step stones in traditional Japanese gardens. They are usually used “as is” in their natural shapes and sizes and they are never put in even gaps. Do you know why?

It is to create a sense of adventure. Sense of non-routine. Because the stones are not in perfectly equal spaces, you need to pay attention to your steps… or you might trip. This creates a sense of adventure in what would be a mandane, boring task of merely “walking”. Fascinating, isn’t it?

Mr. Kuze told us this “Invitation to the extraordinary” is a very Japanese concept of hospitality. Think of the Japanese tea house, where you create a completely different world with seasonal flower, calligraphy scroll on the wall, etc. in the small room.

This seasonal flower concept is integrated in the tray mat for the in-flight meals on IOJ. The flower will change every season.

These details are so subtle you probably won’t even notice them until you read about it but I think that is the very essence of Japanese culture. It’s so not in-your-face.

As I wrote in Part 1 of this series, the services on IOJ was exceptional. Yet there was nothing pushy about it. And that, is the Inspiration of Japan.

(This is part 2 of 3. You can read part 1 here.)

Adventure continues in Tokyo. We got to visit ANA’s Maintenance Center and Cabin Attendant Academy In Haneda International Airport.

Here is a GeekBeat.TV episode from the maintenance center tour, so check this out.

After the tour, we got to fly on the amazing new aircraft, Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

If you didn’t know how special the 787 is, read this page –  but basically the 787 is the lightest, most sustainable aircraft currently available in the world. And the amazing thing is, ANA (and many other Japanese companies such as Panasonic, Mitsubishi, Kawasaki, Toray, etc) worked together with Boeing to build this aircraft. It is said that this aircraft was “Made with Japan” (Yeah, this is where I got all misty while watching the documentary on the plane)

Saw this outside subway station.

I love their copy “We Fly 1st” – well, because, they did!

ANA is the first airline to fly 787 in the world. And we as the Brand Ambassador team got to fly to Okayama on Dreamliner!

Ambassadors on 787!

First thing you’ll notice on board is how roomy it is inside. Interior had a very high ceiling and calming color with LED lighting. Of course, everything was brand new.

High ceiling with huge overhead bins

I loved the big windows, with electronic “auto-dimming” shade – there was no sliding shade you’ll see in regular planes. On 787, all you need to do was to push the button under the window to darken or lighten the glass. You know, sometimes you want the full view of outside, but don’t want all the light, or your neighbour is asleep? This window will solve the problem.

Of course, each seat was equipped with its own screen, complete with seat-to-seat text messaging system and an USB port.

Drink holder OUTSIDE of tray table, USB port and window dimmer

As I looked outside when we were taxing to take off, I saw something heartwarming. Couple of people in uniform on the tarmac, were lined up side by side, and were waving at us! (Well, not to us specifically – but to the aircraft. You know what I mean.) I was so excited I had to let John, who was sitting in front of me, know right away. I wish I had a photo to prove this. But that is Japanese customer service, in my opinion. Extreme attention to details. This reminded me the simple fact that it doesn’t take much to make people – your customers – feel good.

See the Rolls Royce logo? They made the engine

We had a wonderful flight to Okayama, and a quick tour in Kurashiki.

Be sure to check out Dreamliner when you have a chance!

(To be continued in Part 3)

Welcome drink on board

What is the first thing that come to your mind when you think of Japan? Sushi, Kimono, or Ninja?!

As part of the social media campaign for their latest service, “Inspiration of Japan”, my friend Neal Schaffer and I became their Brand Ambassadors for ANA – All Nippon Airways.  Neal and I have been working since November on this campaign, and it was finally time for us to fly to Narita with an IOJ.

I’m writing this post from consumer’s perspective. I’ve written about it in my first post about IOJ, but as a frequest flyer to Japan from North Ameria, the comfort during my trip home is very important. I love traveling and flying, but let’s be honest, flying takes so much toll on you. I flew back to my home town of Sasebo last month and I was exhausted.

So I was very excited to try this new IOJ services. Our seats were called “Business Staggered“- Because each seat was staggared and every seat has an aisle access-I love that.

You can rest your tired heet there

The cabin for IOJ was amazing. Plenty of room to store your personal items, like your laptop or a purse. There are a deep pocketed foot rest under your entertainment system so you can fully stretch your legs with your shoes off. (Of course, they provide slippers, shoehorn, and a bag to take your slippers home!) You have a side desk other than your normal tray, so I got to keep all my magazines, camera and water bottle there. There are USB port and iPod jack, so you can enjoy your own media if you get tired of all the entertainment available on your personal screen. (I actually watched a short documetary on how their latest aircraft Boeing 787 came together and got a little misty. True story. I will be writing about 787 later.)

Here’s a quick video of me experiencing IOJ. (Sorry it’s a bit noisy)

Neal wasn’t the only partner I had on this trip. John P. and Cali Lewis from GeekBeat.TV were also the ambassadors, and they flew in from San Francisco. Unlike Neal, who has lived in Japan for 15 years and speaks fluent Japanese, this was John and Cali’s first time in Japan. I got to spend a lot of time with them in Tokyo, and not only it was fun, but it brought me a lot of insights. I got to see Japan through first time visitor’s eyes, and that was definitely a cool experience.

Cali, John and me

One of the things John said and it stuck with me was “There is so much attention to details!“…Of course, I knew that. I have always been proud to be Japanese and proud to offer extreme attention to details. But by spending time with John and Cali, I rediscovered many things with a lot of attention to details, and of course, IOJ was no exception.

The food and presentation was amazing

I have flown to Japan many times before, but the minute you board ANA flight, it just feels different. When I sat down, my Cabin Attendant came to me to hand me a warm steamed towel and introduced herself that she would be taking care of me today. She soon came back to ask how to pronounce my name, so that she can personally address me as “Ms. Peerless”. I really wish I got her name and took a photo of her, as she was the best CA I have ever encountered.  She quickly figured out what kind of drinks I like and made some excellent recommendations. It sure was the highlight of my flight.

I got to use the full flat seat to have a nap on the flight, and soon we arrived in Narita, Tokyo, where many adventures were waiting for us.

(To be continued in Part 2)

I was here, in Victoria. That day, I went to see my son play in school musical. He did so well. I came out from the theatre, so proud, when I looked at my phone. I found several tweets from my friends talking about big earthquake in Japan. Some tweeted to me asking if my family was OK.

What earthquake? Where?

I got home and turned the TV on. What I saw there was devastating footage of Japan’s Tohoku area being destroyed by Tsunami.

It is hard for me to describe the feeling and sensation I felt while I was watching all the coverage. Have you ever experienced the fear of your home country being destroyed? The terror of mother nature. Big buildings and cars, swallowed by giant waves within seconds.

The helplessness. Hopelessness. Guilt. That overwhelming sadness.

It was stressful enough for me, who was merely watching it on TV, in a country 7500km away. Imagine what it’s like to be there. Your family, your house, your friends, your pets….all gone.

Last night, I watched a special TV program on 311 on TV Japan. On the show, they were reporting updates of each municipalities. Nothing, almost nothing is back to normal. The debris are still there in most of the municipalities because there are no means to clean them,  and so much empty lot there, as nobody wants live in fear of another Tsunami, and/or because the foundation there is not strong enough to build anything on. Many people are moving up on the hills, but there are not enough housings, and of course there are so many delicate and complicated issues such as needs of elderly, schooling, small businesses, etc.

Since 311, several friends and I put together Hope Love Japan fundraiser here in Victoria and we raised $14,000 CDN. I’ve also joined Tasukeai Japan to help with translation.

And now, it’s been a year.

Just like any other disasters, I know this has literally become “Last year’s news” to some of you.

Yuuki, my friend from Tasukeai Japan (Tasukeai means Supporting Each Other), who’s been to Tohoku to help out, said to me;

“For the people in Tohoku, what they fear most is to be forgotten.”

How do we keep it from withering away?

Tasukeai Japan and their amazing volunteers created the video above to send the messages from Japan to the world.

330,000 people are still displaced. 3,000 people are still missing. This is far from over.

Please share the video. We want any people as possible to see it.

Thank you for sharing. Thank you for supporting. Thank you for remembering.

Special Thank You to Daisuke Yamamoto who created the video! 

Sadly, I never grew up with Dr. Seuss. I’m from Japan. I started reading Dr. Seuss with my first born. He is 14 now, but I still have the same copy of Green Eggs and Ham, except now I read it with my younger son (3 year old).

Who doesn’t love Dr. Seuss? His books are  just pure fun to read aloud.

When my toddler was born, a friend gave me this book – Your Favorite Seuss: A Baker’s Dozen by the One and Only Dr. Seuss.

It’s a collection of 13 of Dr. Seuss stories, including “And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street” “The Sneetches” etc…the stories are all wonderful as you know it, but what is equally wonderful is the introduction by Janet Schulman, who used to be Dr. Seuss’s editor at Random House. She writes how Dr. Seuss was known to everyone who knew him personally, as simply, “Ted”. I was fascinated to learn more about Ted Geisel, his life, his personality, and his humanity.

I particularly loved this anecdote :

“In spite of his ban to appearing on television, Ted did suffer through a good number of press interviews. One of the questions he frequently got was, “Where do you get your ideas?” At some point he concocted an answer and delivered it with deadpan sincerity: he got his ideas in Über Gletch, a small hamlet in the Swiss Apls, where he went each summer to get his cuckoo clock fixed. It annoyed Ted that many of these same journalists would describe his books as “whimsical.” Ted once said to me, “‘Whimsical’ means that the books say nothing. Look it up in the dictionary. It means capricious, without reason.””-  Your Favorite Seuss: A Baker’s Dozen by the One and Only Dr. Seuss

Few months ago, I wad thrilled to purchase Dr. Seuss’s latest book;The Bippolo Seed and Other Lost Stories. My friend Drew at Tall Tales Books (Awesome children’s bookstore) knew I liked Dr. Seuss, and he told me about this collection of “lost stories” by Dr. Seuss. (Top photo)

These are mostly stories that were published on magazines, and never made it to books. For this book, Introduction is written by Charles D. Cohen, the world’s formost Seuss scholar and collector of Seussiana(!), and the author of The Seuss, the Whole Seuss and Nothing But the Seuss: A Visual Biography of Theodor Seuss Geisel. Don’t you just love the title?

This book contains seven stories. My favourite story in this book is the titled one, The Bippolo Seed. A duck finds a magic seed that will grant you any wish, and he hopes to wish for a week’s worth of food, but a cat comes over asks, “Now why.  Did you wish for just that?” ….just like many of Dr. Seuss stories, this has a moral background and in this case, it’s a warning about greed.

Cohen has many great stories about Dr. Seuss in this introduction, such as a fan whose mother used to read her “The Rabbit, the Bear, and the Zinniga-Zanniga” and when the magazine pages had worn to shreds, typed the story up to her…also about Dr. Seuss’s revelation to write books for children to be read aloud, after hearing a three-year-old boy reciting his book by heart. “Ted marveled, “I don’t wtite for kids that young…how does he do it?”” - The Bippolo Seed and Other Lost Stories

I highly recommend you pick up this book.

It is so hard to pick just one favourite Seuss story. My top 3 favourites are:

-Horton Hears A Who!

(“A person’s a person, not matter how small.”)

-The Lorax (Classic Seuss)

(“I am Lolax, and I speak for the trees!”)

-Oh, the Places You’ll Go!

(“You’re off to Great Places! Today is your day!)

Celebrate Dr.Seuss’ birthday with reading his book with the little people in your life. Which one is your favourite?

Disclaimer: This is NOT a sponsored post. Nobody asked me to write this and I wrote this just because I love Dr. Seuss. However, the links are all Amazon affilite links. Just thought you should know that. BUT, if you are in Victoria, BC, you should just buy these books at Tall Tales Books.(Again, I’m saying this on my own discretion)