576 "Break"

"Break" has so many different meanings. Interruption, separation, change, pause, holiday, gap, opening, escape, opportunity to success, winning, turning point, and good fortune. The variety of the meanings is somewhat fascinating, as they carry both obviously positive and very negative things. 

I have just experienced one of these "breaks"and yet, who knows when I get another "break" in the future. I like it because overall "break" is a clear and influential change, sometimes a liberation from a deadlock. 

575 Into The Woods

It was too good to be true. I've returned to my hometown so many times but for the first time I had a breathtaking moment to witness the scenery of golden autumn woods. It was not just a wonderful sight --- it was with sweet smells of autumn trees. It was a natural forest in protection, but it also looked relaxed and casual, just like a backyard on a hill. It was just a minute walk from the subway station but in that morning almost nobody paid attention to the scenery and scent. Maybe that's because these natural beauty and the privilege to enjoy them is so common and ordinary in countryside. The place was like a magic. Quiet, magnificent, warm, tender, clean, bright, and mysterious.

574 Pasta Pot

I think the weirdest part of a weird dream is that in the dream you feel, think, or even say something in a manner which you might act in a real world.  The other day I had a little dream of me inviting friends to a dinner. I was expected to cook pasta and one of the friends was in charge of making sauce. The friend said okay and promised to bring good sauce perfectly match the pasta. At the moment in my dream suddenly I noticed that I didn't have any large pasta pot for the purpose but only had a normal one just fitted to boil macaroni. I sensed that I was in trouble as I knew the friend would make a good sauce for spaghetti, not for macaroni. Then the funny dream ended and I waked up with a clear idea that it would be better for me to go and get a pasta pot right away (which I still haven't, or, should I?)

573 The Intern

30代の若き起業家社長のもとに訪れた70歳のシニア・インターン。"The Intern"は穏やかで良質なコメディであり、年も性別も異なる2人の人間のバディ・ムービーとも言えそうです。よくある「お互いのギャップに反発を覚えつつ、次第にそれを乗り越え共感と友情に至る」という分かりやすい展開を踏むのではなく、2人はそれぞれの領域に踏み込むことなく、争うことも理解を求めることもなくそれぞれが自分のやり方で日々を歩みながら、次第にお互いを自分とは異なる（故に貴重な）存在として認め、リスペクトするようになります。ここでは年長者が経験値を振りかざすこともなく、若者が現代の価値観を押し付けることもありません。年長者が余裕と知性で若者を導くこともあれば、若者は瑞々しい精神と行動力で年長者に新たな経験を与えます。映画ではやや理想的すぎる人間関係が描かれますが、実際の人生でもこのようなバディが居てくれたなら、と誰もが思うことでしょう。大半の場面がオフィスで、大半の会話がこの上司と部下のやりとりで占められている、ある意味では単調かつ小さな世界の映画ですが、表情豊かな周りのキャラクターと、気が利いてリアルで笑える脚本が非常に活きています。

572 Ambulance

I have got on an ambulance three times, twice as a patient being carried to the ER, and the third time was as a fellow passenger. Yet I think not so many people have that experience three times. So to those who luckily never have rode on the ambulance, here's to give you a sense of it. 

First of all it is not comfortable both to the patient and to the passengers. The inside is actually not so large, as there are so many medical equipments and stuffs all around. And there's no window view, means you cannot look outside from the window. So if you are a patient you just lie down on a strecher feeling little sickness from the car going forward and round from time to time, looking blankly at the ceiling of the car, answering to the inquiry from the ambulance crew, and hoping to get to the hospital in a minute. But the whole feeling as a patient is (at least to me) far from uncomfortable --- it was gratitude and a great relief to become rescued from the suffering and fear.

As a passenger, there's lots of things to do. Looking worriedly at the patient and encourage him/her saying you're gonna be okay, while answering to the questions from the rescue crew, and finding cell phone to call to the families or friends of the patient. The seat is narrow and there's limited space for the fellow people in good health (absolutely acceptable), and as there's no seat belt, when the ambulance has to turn quickly at the crossing the passengers often bump each other. But of course, no one cares.

What I want to say is, every time I have that kind of experience, I'm really impressed by how professional, calm and reliable these rescue crews and ambulance staffs, and doctors and nurses are. Here's again my gratitude to everyone who save people.

571 Shades of Blue

シルバーのiPod nanoを長年愛用してきましたが、うっかり洗濯機に入れて洗ってしまうというミスによりやむなく買い替えに。今や殆どのデジタル機能を備えたiPhoneが普及し、さらにApple Watchが登場する中、シンプルに音楽だけに機能を絞ったiPodが存在し続けてくれるのは音楽好きには有難い話です。長い間シルバーの本体を使ってきましたが、今回初めて明るいブルーのiPodを購入。色合いはDodger Blueに近く、デジタル機器でもこのような微妙な美しい発色ができるようになったのかと驚きました。小型で軽量な中に膨大な曲を収納するiPodは、たいていポケットか鞄の中に入れられたままで、あまり外見が問われるものではないのですが、音楽を快適に楽しむための必要な機能を小型のタッチパネルに整然と並べたhandsomeな形を見るにつけ、Appleのデザインのシンプルさを突き詰めた傑作であると気づかされます。

570 Signature

I was really lucky to happen to meet Sir Paul Smith who visited one of his flagship stores. This was my first time to ask signature of a celebrity, but I don't feel it's right to call him just a celebrity. I think he is a true creator who has great influence. I have been a fan of his cloths and respected his works. I spoke with him only for 30 seconds but I did feel uplifting happiness and excitement that I was in front of a real creator, and just by shaking hands with a few words I could get an extraordinary sense that I was meeting somebody truly real and special.

He kindly wrote his famous iconic signature. This was a huge gift as it was a creative symbol of his brand and part of his design. I know I might be too excited, but the whole experience was so unexpected and unusually happy. 

569 Freedom

When you finds your life difficult, when you feel there're lots of things you cannot deal with or change, and when you feel you are stuck, this might be of a help, to think this way. You have freedom to let yourself (sometimes) be free from such notions as defined socially, ethically and in common sense. You have freedom to live your own life. You have freedom not to fix your way. You have freedom not to choose and leave things unsettled. You have freedom to do wrong deed. You have freedom to try and make error. You have freedom to enjoy unusual feelings. You have freedom to waste your money and time. You have freedom to follow your spirit and call it wisdom. 

Let yourself be free from what you can change by the way of thinking.

568 Consulting

I have been wondering why people around me starts to talk about their problems or ideas and consult me. I'm not exaggerating and please don't take it wrong, because I don't mean any kinds of self-praise. I'm just wondering because I never ask them to talk about them. Very often, when I specially need someone's advice or just need to be heard and understood,  a person I am talking with seems to suddenly get a feeling like talking about themselves. Very strange, but in fact, it's honorable at all cost.