I'm back!

Hello, friends! Thanks so much again for lots of
comments and e-mails while I was on vacation.
Joe and I got back from Japan on 8/21.
We're fighting with heavy jet lug we've got.
Waking up at 2 am is not surprising and
going back to sleep at 2 pm isn't surprising neither!

Today I want to show fabrics I got on the third
trip to Nippori Textile Town in Japan and give
chances for you to get some of it as omiyage
(Souvenirs). Yup, my first ever giveaways! woo hoo!


Did I just say it was my third time in Nippori?
Why did I go there so many times during the
short trip? Well, I thought Nippori doesn't like me.
The first time I went there, they gave me
only an hour to shop, which was absolutely no time.


So I went back there again one day, getting ready
to spend a whole day there shopping, but unfortunately
it was holiday! Oh my goodness! Almost all the fabric
stores were closed!!! I knew I didn't want to give up,



so I made it again a few days before leaving Japan.
I felt like in heaven. Stores all open, plenty of
time until they would close... what a pleasure!
I knew the next time I could visit Japan would
be another 2 or 3 years if it's not longer.



Knowing that, I surely knew I had to take advantage
of the opportunity to buy beautiful rare fabrics
for inexpensive prices.



While shopping there, I thought it would be nice
to live in Nippori. Yeah, being able to obtain
fabrics/supplies right away would be a great part,
but also it is somehow not that urban area
considering it's located in Tokyo.



If I ever have chance to go back to live in
Japan, I would really like living in Tokyo.
People say Tokyo isn't a place for living.
Too busy for that. But I like it. I have many
friends living near Nippori too!



I made bruise on my right fore arm carrying
too much fabric on the way back to my home
in Gunma, but I was even happy seeing it.
"Proof that I got enough fabrics!!"


This Japan trip overall was good!
I spent a lot of time seeing friends who
I get to see very infrequently. Some of
them I saw on this trip were like ones
I hadn't seen for 5 years,, no! Some
are like even 10 years!!!


Time spent with my families was nice too.
They never change, so it was hard to believe
it had been 2 years since the last time I saw
them, but it was sure nice seeing them and
knowing how they had been.



Joe's Japanese skills increased too on this trip.
He gained more familiarity around my home and
was even able to ride a bike to go to a sushi
restaurant and stop by hot spring by himself!
He could come back from Fukui by himself using a
fast train (shinkansen) too, which took him 6 hours!



We were literally busy everyday doing something
fun for 25 days in Japan. Now back to America,
time to get realistic. Work, school..ugh..
that's life, isn't it?



Every time I come back from Japan, I have tough
time in many ways. Jet lug is one of them but mostly
I miss my families, friends, and everything about
Japan so much. I have to ask myself if this is
really what I am supposed to do.



Lots of questions come to my head and I become
uncertain about my life. I don't like this period.
I feel so emotional, indecisive, nonindependent...


I should be feeling more positive soon.

Oh! I almost forgot to talk about giveaways!
Oops! That's what you want to hear about the most, right?!

Ok, so here is my idea.
I pick random four kinds of fabric for you and you
choose one. You can look at here, here, and here
besides this entry to see if you like those Japanese
fabrics I've got and you tell me which one is your
favorite so that I can include that fabric as your
fifth kind of fabric. Count on me about the size of
fabrics! There will be 3 winners!

But if the winners happen to choose fabric that I
can't share for some reasons, I would have to choose
other fabric for the fifth for you. And I want this
to be an opportunity for someone who loves Japanese
fabrics but don't have a chance to obtain them.

Is this clear? Leave me a comment on this entry by
the midnight of this Saturday, August 30th, 2008
(Pacific time). One entry for each person, please.
I'll choose random 3 winners...

Good luck!!!

Thanks for reading!