escapades of the elusive kat

So... my car park cat with no name, but I call him Tuxedo Cat, had suddenly passed away. Another person that feeds the cats in the car park told me that. On that day, I had still played and talked to Tuxedo Cat at around 5pm. ( Read more... )At first I was thinking to just let the cat stay the night and the following day I'd start looking for a new family, but Mom has declared herself "Nonna" (we're not even Italian) so i guess this fine cat is here to stay. Look at his beautiful Yakuza sleeve (only on 1 arm lol)

(omg that's 5 cats and a dog now)

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches
Sangu Mandanna
Amazon Product Link

As one of the few witches in Britain, Mika Moon knows she has to hide her magic, keep her head down, and stay away from other witches so their powers don’t mingle and draw attention. And as an orphan who lost her parents at a young age and was raised by strangers, she’s used to being alone and she follows the rules...with one exception: an online account, where she posts videos "pretending" to be a witch. She thinks no one will take it seriously.

But someone does. An unexpected message arrives, begging her to travel to the remote and mysterious Nowhere House to teach three young witches how to control their magic. It breaks all of the rules, but Mika goes anyway, and is immediately tangled up in the lives and secrets of not only her three charges, but also an absent archaeologist, a retired actor, two long-suffering caretakers, and…Jamie. The handsome and prickly librarian of Nowhere House would do anything to protect the children, and as far as he’s concerned, a stranger like Mika is a threat. An irritatingly appealing threat.

As Mika begins to find her place at Nowhere House, the thought of belonging somewhere begins to feel like a real possibility. But magic isn't the only danger in the world, and when peril comes knocking at their door, Mika will need to decide whether to risk everything to protect a found family she didn’t know she was looking for....


This was an ad-hoc borrow from Libby because I wanted an audiobook last week for my gym + pottery day but the book was not available, so I queued it, and then it suddenly was available. So I went ahead and listened the past 2 days.

This… wasn’t a bad read/listen honestly but certainly not amazing either. There were aspects of the magic I found pretty plausible. Character reactions were way too “nice” and everything was just…. So goodie-goodie pretty fairy. Most of the book was made of corny and once again, the great fixation with sex. I wasn’t sure what this book wanted to be: YA-friendly? I saw the intended romance pair a mile away, also the actual truth of why they can’t “call Lilian back”… and the initial breakdown a mile away too.

The familial relations came as a surprise though.

Specifically to the audiobook, sorry to say I hated the narrator, hated her attempted accents more, which sounded like her imitating a lisp.

Look at me, making time to write here!

The last 2 days were pretty hectic. Boss came to town and then had a series of things to get done. I registered to be in the ballot for the Hong Kong Standard Chartered half marathon. Don't know if I will get it since it's by ballot, but, we'll see.

I got a couple trips lined up. For All Soul's Day long weekend (Saturday through Monday) I've booked a trip to Taipei. I was originally planning to give up on my November trip, but then suddenly found out there's some Pokemon Astronomy event going on in Aichi (flying to Nagoya).... so.... used my air miles, so I only paid for the tax for my flight ticket. And then January birthday trip to Taipei again. Hong Kong half marathon if I get the ballot. Hong Kong Pokemon Run, and then in March Nagoya again for the Marathon. Yup. It feels redundant to be going Taipei and Nagoya twice in six months. But the Pokemon Astronomy thing is only up till early December.

I've officially decided to stop my Korean classes once I finish this level. The other day I was supposed to have a class, but it was the parent's wedding anniversary. Originally i planned to go to class and not go for the anniversary dinner, but my Mom guilt trip (the actual guilt trip was a failure) me by saying "well when you go on your holidays you don't care about your classes anyway, so it's your choice." A hidden threat. What she didn't know, when I took time off from my previous classes, it was Chinese class. This is Korean class. And what do you know, I skipped one class and they covered so much ground, I had difficulty following the coursework the following week.

Funny thing is, I'm actually damn good with the Korean grammar. Like when they have to do verb declensions, I remember very well which verb forms will decline from the root form, and which verb forms will decline from the simple present form. So this other girl that sits next to me is some kind of K-pop fan or whatever, so she knows some Korean already. Every time we have conversation or reading exercises she always "guides" me on reading and answers. The thing is, she always forgets from which verb forms the declension should start from, so her verb forms are wrong more than they are right.

My problem is I can't remember the actual Korean. I can try to build a sentence in my mind, but then when I open my mouth to speak, it comes out all Japanese. I agree it's because at heart, I don't really want to learn Korean. But I must say knowing how to read it has actually helped me with work. I receive mail from Korea, and the other day, received a piece of mail. Usually I open and scan it and put it through Google Translate. This one particular piece of mail, I look at the addressee and notice... that's not our company name. So I put it through Google Translate before actually opening it, and found out indeed, they did mis-forward a piece of mail.

Still enjoying going to the gym. I really want to put more days in the gym. Once Korean classes are over I can schedule more time to go to the gym then.

The Passengers on the Hankyu Line
Hiro Arikawa (author), Allison Markin Powell (translator)
Amazon Product Link

Welcome aboard the Hankyu Line train!

Come along on a heartwarming, funny, and perfectly cozy voyage with the charming and relatable passengers—including one dashing dachshund—whose lives intersect and affect each other on one of Japan’s most romantic railway lines from international bestselling author Hiro Arikawa.

Between the two beautiful towns of Takarazuka and Nishinomiya, in a stunning mountainous area of Japan, rattles the Hankyu Line train. Passengers step on and off, lost in thought, contemplating the tiny knots of their existence. On the outward journey, we are introduced to the emotional dilemmas of five characters, and on the return journey six months later, we watch them find resolutions.

A young man meets the young woman who always happens to borrow a library book just before he can check it out himself, a woman in a white bridal dress boards looking inexplicably sad, a university student heads home after class, a girl prepares to leave her abusive boyfriend, and an old lady discusses adopting a dog with her granddaughter.

With stories that crisscross like the railway lines, the Hankyu train trundles on, propelling the lives and loves of its passengers ever forward.


I mean, I get what the author was trying to go for: slice of life of a series (or “sets”) of characters. Starting with the train line going one way, then 6 months or a year later (I also took some time to finish so forgot the small details) the other way back, and a follow up on the characters. It was a cute, easygoing read.

I particularly enjoyed the library “rivals” story, the grandma story, and the wedding dress lady story. The dog only shows up by the end of the book with very little “screen time”, so I was scammed into reading the book LOL coz there was a dachshund on the cover.

Cute, could have been quick read, but I was in a slump and dragged it on.

Wild Dark Shore
Charlotte McConaghy
Amazon Product Link


A family on a remote island. A mysterious woman washed ashore. A rising storm on the horizon.

Dominic Salt and his three children are caretakers of Shearwater, a tiny island not far from Antarctica. Home to the world’s largest seed bank, Shearwater was once full of researchers, but with sea levels rising, the Salts are now its final inhabitants. Until, during the worst storm the island has ever seen, a woman mysteriously washes ashore.

Isolation has taken its toll on the Salts, but as they nurse the woman, Rowan, back to strength, it begins to feel like she might just be what they need. Rowan, long accustomed to protecting herself, starts imagining a future where she could belong to someone again.

But Rowan isn’t telling the whole truth about why she set out for Shearwater. And when she discovers sabotaged radios and a freshly dug grave, she realizes Dominic is keeping his own secrets. As the storms on Shearwater gather force, they all must decide if they can trust each other enough to protect the precious seeds in their care before it’s too late—and if they can finally put the tragedies of the past behind them to create something new, together.

A novel of breathtaking twists, dizzying beauty, and ferocious love, Wild Dark Shore is about the impossible choices we make to protect the people we love, even as the world around us disappears.

= + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = +

Random Audiobook “read”. Was originally a DNR but then someone talked about audiobooks today and I figured I’d just…. Suffer through it then. Glad that I did; not because it turned to be good, but because I didn’t increase my DNR count.

Can everyone just… talk? And I find it so tiring that every other line is something either referencing, or directly expressing, or some kind of innuendo, to sex. The entire book felt like it. “Ooooooh, this happened, he is a bad man.” “But ooooooh, look at him sweat.” I’m no prude, but THAT was excessive.

Possible spoilers ahead.

So the narrative made it sound like it was Ralph that was the one that killed everyone, but apparently that wasn’t the case. But then that wasn’t the case, despite he indeed having some anger management issue.

And with all the mentions of how “Orly is just a kid, he let something slip,” I really doubt why and how he didn’t let THAT slip. Sorry. I wanted to like this book, but I didn’t.

It's rare when youtube loops some interesting videos - and then made me search up something. So I'm just jotting them down here for my own record.

Apparently we have a Parsee cemetery here in town. And a street name. That made me look up Zoroastrianism. And apparently the Star Ferry in Hong Kong, as it is known as now, was founded by a Parsee businessman.
https://www.icm.gov.mo/rc/viewer/20001/733

Here's the youtube that started it all... sorry Cantonese only and no subtitles...

Mending Bodies
Hon Lai Chu
Amazon Product Link

In dystopian Hong Kong, a new government program incentivizes physical conjoinment between individuals through a painful and disruptive surgery, promising personal fulfillment and a reduced cost of living. Hon Lai Chu’s unnamed narrator is broke and knee-deep in her dissertation on the subject, critical but increasingly unmoored by the implications—and the possibilities. Surely it is better for society to give up your autonomy if it means taking fewer resources, as the conjoined do, right?

Hon Lai Chu, one of the foremost writers working in Hong Kong today, sets her characters loose in a macabre reality animated by sketchy institutions and characters with elusive motivations. Politically and socially allegorical, Mending Bodies, translated by Jacqueline Leung, challenges our safe understandings of people, bodies, and governments.


Book club read. I don't know how much I can say about this without spoiling the book for anyone in my book club that follow me here. It was a very, very weird read, my mind had to do a lot of mental gymnastics to understand the physical aspect of pretty much everything. There's an underlying message on choice and group mentality as well. I didn't really like this book, but I didn't NOT like this book either. I think this was an excellent book club choice (hahaha I suggested it) in that I'm sure everyone will be having opinions and comments about this. Here's to hopefully having more discussions!

I know, I know, it's been awhile. I've been genuinely busy. I didn't even get to post my last day in the Japan, because once I'm back home, I'm super-busy and I just don't have the time!

So, in recent news:

- after returning from my Japan trip, I was busy going to Yoga classes (to use up my credits as much as possible) (spoiler: I'll still be losing out on around 16 classes; I bought too big a package back then. Lesson learnt.)
- Continued Korean class, and registered for the next session that will start in July. (geez, and it's July ALREADY! Classes start next week)
- There was a gym that's relatively near my place and they had a really good promotion going on, so I joined it.
- From this gym I went on one class of Animal Flow, it was brutal, but I actually think it's better than Yoga in training more muscle groups and pushing me, so I'll probably continue with that.
- I'm also growing to love going to the gym, even though all I do are some simple things, my running friend suggested me to use an App (Fitbod) for it to create some routines in the gym. What I also enjoy is being able to shower after lol. I try to go at least once a week for the gym, but will increase the frequency once my Yoga studio membership runs out (really soon, end of this week).
- Book club continued but we were on a book that I just couldn't get into. I actually didn't manage to finish it before the meetup, but I intend to finish the little bit before the next one's decided.
- One of my book club friends begged me to buddy read ACOTAR with her, so this morning before I went dog walking, I loaned the audiobook from the library and listened, and wondered why everything was so familiar, and apparently I had already read the book before, got annoyed at the childish amateur-ish fanficcy vibes it got, and DNF'ed it already.
- Boss has been very kind and told me to arrange my own pay *upwards arrow* so I'm on it right now.
- Work has also assigned some Linkedin Learning course for me, so I'm also on it on free-er days, like today. And even with that, it's pushing for AI related courses. Can we just stop it with AI? I get the wonderful things they can do, but I'm in the camp of AI or AI-related tasks should limit within automated tasks. But anyway.
- Pottery studio has been fun, I made some other nifty things. I will post them later (later.... when???).
- The next long-weekend break we will be having is November (All Soul's Day on a Monday, or a Friday, forgot which). Was asking some friends with they want to go somewhere. It's in the works, but nothing planned yet.

Everyday there's something that comes up to mind and I'm like, "I should write that down," but then other tasks come up and then I forget about them later. But, I think it's also nice for life to be this busy, makes the time flow!

On this fine day, I went eastwards. My actual destination was Sawara 佐原 but after checking the routing, it would pass by Narita anyway, so I re-visited Narita. When I went with my bestie a couple years ago, she did the silly thing of locking her Goshuin-book with her luggage at the coin locker, and apparently the Temple there gave out hand-drawn stamps. She has a super special Goshuin-Cho. Hers is made of wood, so only the hand-drawn Goshuins would look nice, if she had to stick a paper onto it, it would ruin the aesthetics. Anyway, since I commenced my Goshuin journey as well, I decided to go there.
Familiar road, familiar buildings, familiar shops. Narita-San Shrine.
Same steep stairs (not photographed).
When I went to get my Goshuin, I saw this map... so I decided to go on a quest and get them all. I don't know what part of human nature this is, say it's a set and you'll want to get them all (Pokemon, pop mart or any blind boxes, gachapons, etc...)
I saw this beauty along the way, this guy was huge. I didn't have time to get my raven plushie charm out to take a photo with... I assume that's a raven, I think it's too large to be a crow?
So, I found out while the main temple had hand-drawn Goshuins, all the others only gave out paper Goshuins.
Even though it's all one temple cluster it was a bit of a walk.
Once i got the last Goshuin I decided to have a wander in the forest. I have Austrian blood flowing in me too, I like to Wandern!
Nice and breezy in here.
Walked the wrong way here and had to go back.
Had a quick pause for a cold drink and a snack, then went on my way back to the station. Had to wait 20 minutes so I started reading, and then it sort of dawned on me, if I brought my regular sized e-reader I wouldn't take it out in this situation. So I think getting this tiny e-reader and bringing it on this trip was a good call. I posted in my book club about the joys of this small sized e-reader and apparently a sort of debate started whether an e-reader should have a backlight or not. I'm in "it doesn't matter but I like it without backlight" camp. I noticed my Kindle and Kobo with the backlight the screen looks like it's raised. Then people started to use words like purists and such. Ooops.
Arrived Sawara! I decided to immediately take the bus and go to the furthest point I was going, and from there make my way back.
Arrived Katori Jingu Shrine, this also had a bit of a maze-like walk.
Very nice shrine here. Also had Goshuin. Before I left, some ceremony was going on, so I stayed on the far-off sidelines to observe a little bit.
While waiting for the Goshuin to be drawn, I saw this huge tree. It's probably nothing compared to another tree my bestie wants to go see, but, I still found this tree impressive.
The hand-drawn map made it seem like this special rock is a huge one, but it's a tiny rock.
Maps wasn't too helpful with finding a way back, so in order not to get too frustrated, I went to get some food. Cold noodles with dorodoro! Grated yam, I loved it. And Warabimochi, they claim to be No.1, so I had to try. The lady gave me a plastic bag for when I finish and can put the paper plate away.
In the end I took the same bus that brought me here, but the return route. I stopped half way to walk to the my next destination.
It was quite a walk and on the way I saw a poster looking for a lost dog. You see? What did I say yesterday? I hate these stories, and it's happening live in front of me. I teared up a bit thinking about the lost dog and how scared it must be. Anyway, I reached the local Float Museum
So, similar to Kawagoe, Sawara was also a merchant city, so they had similar festivals. This museum was obviously older than the one I visited in Kawagoe, but this one had more international support. Signage's were also available in English and maybe Spanish (I didn't look well) and there was a movie time that they called me to go watch. Since I was the sole audience they let me choose the language lol. So I watched the movie in English. Nice to have a 15-minute sit down.
I'm going to have to ask my bestie to try to plan a Japan trip to see one of these floats festivals, sounds like a very interesting thing to be in. Though maybe if I ever go, on the day I'd be like "ugh... too many people...." lol
Continued my walk to look for the...
"JyaJya Bridge"! It's actually called the Toyo-Bridge ("Toyohashi Bridge" just means Toyo-Bridge Bridge). I don't know from where I read it but it's called the JyaJya bridge because of the sounds it makes? At certain times of the hour it would start flowing with water (like a waterfall).
Well, can't not do a river boat tour right? It's very safe, with life vests.
Quick visit to the Inoh Tadataka's Former Residence. And who is Inoh Tadataka? I forget if it said whether he's the first or not, but he's a Cartographer.
I probably didn't research enough about the place. I know it's the Soy Sauce and Sake city, but I couldn't find any shops selling that. Also Peanut Ice Cream. Found an ice cream place but it only had the fancy sorbet type stuff, not proper old-school ice cream.
Anyway, it could also be that I chose the wrong road to go to the station so I missed all that. There's always a chance for next time, right?
Back in Tokyo, I went for... Indian dinner! The naan I had at Kawaguchiko was still the best so far, but I also liked this one because usually the garlic naan I have is very oily. This one is nice dry, garlic crunch, oh yum yum! I asked for the minimal spicy but it was still too spicy. I was half done and the guy wanted to change, I said no need, I'll finish it. Also did my final tax free shopping, as I need to start planning on how to pack my back. Everything (including the new small suitcase) can fit in the one suitcase, I just need to weight it to see if it goes over.
Tomorrow is my last full-day here in Japan, I have a local tour planned, so hopefully it's going to be easygoing than the past few days.