Spring has finally sprung!

Cambridge is an entirely different place under the rays of the sun and 2 less layers of clothing! Grass is green (well, it is even green in winter), flowers are blooming, and the days are longer. Now I know why people would actually want to live in this country!

Anyway, it was a great time of year for my "mum" to come for a visit. We spent 3 days exploring Cambridge, including lots of red bus fun, and then another 4 days in London, where we hit every major shopping area and almost every restaurant in the Mayfair area, including a Polish-Mexican restaurant which I highly recommend. Sounds a bit strange, I know, but the Polish food and Mexican food are actually separate menu items-- they just happen to be served at the same restaurant. It's the best food I've had so far in England.

Now that I'm older, mother-daughter time has taken on a whole new set of characteristics. We still bicker, snap at each other, and get plain old sick of each other (particularly after 7 consecutive days), but all in all I think the time seems more valuable. Maybe it's because now that I'm living abroad there is less of it... but in any case, the challenge of motherhood is a daunting one, and I guess only until you grow up a little do you become aware of just how hard it must be.

Back to Cambridge life. I am on to thesis-writing mode. In two weeks, I leave for Tokyo to conduct some 10-15 research interviews with everyone from the former Minister of Defense to the bureau chief of the Financial Times. I'm picking their brains on too many topics which I have too little space to cover. But this is what my supervisor wants, so I'm doing it. Target finish date is mid-June, but I question whether this is plausible or not, especially with S visiting in the middle and a short trip to France to "meet the parents..........."

And finally, the after-life has been decided-- that is, the after-Cambridge-life. I've accepted a job back in Tokyo with a US-headquartered employment search/headhunting company as their Tokyo Marketing Executive. Don't worry, I won't be snatching people from their desks and trying to make them quit their jobs. I am simply the marketing person, doing brand building, PR, and fulfilling the corporate marketing duties in Tokyo for the company. Money is good, hours are great, and the people seem friendly. We'll see how things go. I start July 10th, which means I will ironically be going back to Jo-Lo in Tokyo. Tanoshimi ni.