Irene during Onigiri classes

Travel Log

Anoops post about his travel diary did not really initiate me to flip through my passport and log mine too. But last week I got a mail from the tax people asking if I should be considered for permanent resident taxation in Japan. As per rules, if one stays in Japan 5 years out of last 10 years, you will be considered permanent resident for taxation. Well, for PR, you will need to apply separately I guess!

So I flipped through my passport pages and created the log for Japan.

Japan Arr Japan Dep Japan Days
11-Feb-97 8-Mar-97 25 First trip to take up Yamaha project
27-Mar-97 14-Jun-97 79
24-Aug-97 20-Dec-97 118
5-Jan-98 2-Feb-98 28
8-Feb-98 3-Mar-98 23
7-Mar-98 21-Mar-98 14 G'bye Yamaha. I am getting married

8-Jun-02 27-Jul-02 49 The new Japan role. Nihon NeST
24-Aug-02 Moved in with family.
4-Sep-03 376 First Japan vacation.
5-Oct-03 11-Jan-04 98 Jan 04. When I attended TI India interviews
17-Jan-04 13-Mar-04 56 G'bye NeST. Me moving back to Blore
18-May-04 23-May-04 5 TI India does not mean be in India
22-Jul-04 27-Jul-04 5
5-Sep-04 11-Sep-04 6
12-Oct-04 20-Oct-04 8
5-Dec-04 13-Feb-05 70 The extended intl biz trip. 3GSM Cannes in Feb
19-Feb-05 2-Apr-05 42 I will be back soon for a longer stay!
25-Apr-05 29-Apr-05 4
15-May-05 9-Jun-05 25 Setting up school etc.
5-Jul-05 13-Sep-06 435 Second stint with family
21-Sep-06 8-Dec-06 78 Only one short break for a Dallas trip

So I have clocked 241 days less to be a permanent resident of Japan!

Fun days back home

The coconut grove vacation. To realise the beauty of the coconut trees, the kalpavriksham of which no part goes wasted, you need to stay away from these. And then once in a while come back and they will steal your gaze.

Irene and Ian at Madayippara. Pazahyangadippuzha flowing in the background. Down the hill is the angadi. On top of hill, once should have been a small fort. Only some stones are seen. Then there are still the vadukunna shiva kshetram, the madayikkaavu, and the vadukunnippuzha, a pond that holds water round the year. And a school. And a college.

The view from the top of Fazl-e-Omar school is also breath-taking. On one side, is the shy Chemmallikundu puzha flows tucked in the deep green and the naked beauty still fast asleep under a blanket of fog on the other.

iPhone rolls out....

http://glorify.blogspot.com/2007/01/job-well-done-or-magic-jobs.html

Back into reality

It was colours all over. Now I am back into the black and white world. The dotted lines. Solid spaces.

A month of slowdown. yukkiri shimashita.

The soil, the greenery, the warmth.. reminds me where I belong. And a longer stay and returns to ATM counters reminds me about controlling emotions. So I am back. Into the cold says of winter. Into the mechanical life of trains and buses. Of mails and phone calls. Of watches that run fast.

A month passed on so quickly. Saw rain and shine. Experienced laughter and tears. Despair and joy. Fights and set-them-rights. Met far and near. Those who are so near but not met for nearly a decade! People joining and separating. Birth and death. Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi...

Kids enjoyed a lot. Morning till evening of fun. Exploring relationships. Understanding the meaning of cousins.. New games, new rules.

And a month of almost no emails. No gmails. No office calls. No blogs. No scraps. No craps. No ppts. A huge break. First time in life.

Back into the black and white world of realities. Let me restore my formatted brain with the latest backups and updates.....