We Finally Bought Ghibli Museum Tickets!

Actually, Risa's the one who bought it. She was kind enough to help us buy the tickets at Lawson Japan. 

If it were not for Risa and Natalia, we'd never get our hands on it. Perhaps. We'd originally planned to visit Ghibli Museum on March 21st and bought the ticket ourselves at Lawson later in Japan. Tickets for each month up to three months ahead will be sold from the 1st date of every month - and they say Ghibli tickets often sell out so fast, so yes I was getting anxious. I don't want to miss a chance to go to Ghibli Museum, because I'd really REALLY REALLY love to meet Totoro T.T

By the way, I'm the only one who has ever watched Ghibli movies among our group. My friends do not even know what Ghibli is =.=; yet they are happy to comply with my request to go to Ghibli Museum!! *rejoice*  

Since, as I've said, we couldn't ignore the probability of us not getting the ticket if we purchased it in Japan, we'd thought to buy it in advance via agents. Well, if you google it, there's a number of them offering such service, with of course, a higher price for the cost. 

So Nata instead contacted our friend Risa (Risa was an exchange student from Japan and we shared a lot of classes together back then when we were in uni) to ask if she could help us obtain 3 Ghibli tickets for March 21st. 

Turned out, all tickets for all time slots on that day have sold out. 

SOLD OUT, although it is still a month away. 

And so we had to change our itinerary and put our Ghibli visit a day earlier to March 20th. There are 4 available time slots and visitors can choose which among these: 10am/12pm/2pm/4pm. 

We chose 10 a.m.; yet all tickets for this time slot, unfortunately, sold out already! That kinda reminds me when I purchased Big Bang concert tickets a couple of years ago, online (that was way more intense by the way). 

But thanks God, the 12 p.m. slot tickets were still available and obviously, we took them. 

Minutes later, Risa sent this pic to Nata, which she forwarded to us. 

T.T *cries*

We'll need to exchange the tickets with the real ones later at the museum's entrance booth. We'll also meet Risa (who happens to live in Mitaka now) to say our heartfelt thanks!

So.

Three weeks more to go.

Hopefully all will be well.

It's Wonderful, to Have a Reason

So many people in this world are too preoccupied with their own things. Too caught up in a tedious round of routine, they barely notice that time actually flies. Gone. And will never come back.

They know, actually. But still, they can't help it and reluctantly let it slip away.

It's sad. Really.

And then in one afternoon, or that moment when you lay down on your bed at night, in the midst of daydreams or idle thoughts, suddenly it occurs to you that you want to make your life somewhat different... perhaps only slightly, but significantly. At least there's a sense of accomplishment, of something fulfilled.

You can, by creating dreams.

Something simple, like perhaps, you want to buy a memorable birthday present to your mom, or that you want to do excellently in your work before year-end assessment. Or perhaps you want to plan a trip somewhere, buy your own car and pay it in installments, invent a wonderful recipe, create a stunning DIY project, sell your own art...

Our dreams are endless, yet it would even be more incredible if you get up for real and make at the very least one of them come true. It's not always easy, but believe me, the efforts you make are like something that will keep you on going - something that will make you look forward to tomorrow and when you finally make it true with your own sweat and sincerity, it would be hundreds times sweeter. Like when you go hiking a difficult trek into the heart of the mountain and climb through the density of the forest to reach the peak, and then you are rewarded with a painfully beautiful sight high up from the rooftop of the world. You come triumphant, like a winner.

It's wonderful, to have a reason, to set a personal milestone or two and then own something of worth, a reason for you, as I said before, to keep on going. You wake up everyday with plans and expectations, and there - you paint your life with colors and turn it into something more meaningful. And happier.

Perhaps there is another way (out of many) to live meaningfully, not because you need to do so, but simply because you can.

So what is your purpose in life? And how exactly do you give meaning to it?