Thursday, January 20

I got lucky with this photo of a bird in the plum blossoms - feeding time at the Aoyama Cemetery! Not sure if they were after the nectar or bugs. It isn't as cold as it's been, though I'm still bundling up in my wool coat, hat and boots.

Yesterday, had my first full day of client sessions, again working with an interpreter. I am always amazed at how a person can think in two languages at once, especially the mix of Japanese and English. The sentence structure is entirely different.

It is such a contrast for me, when I am walking around in the city, the people seem entirely aloof and detached. I often feel like a ghost, or at least a deaf mute. But when I am sitting with a total stranger who has come to me for help, there is an immediate and profound connection which fills my heart with a sense of belonging here. I guess that's why I love the work that I am doing.

The evening before, at the introductory seminar, I was delightfully surprised to have a very full room of new and return clients. As a sample of my clairvoyant sessions, I picked people out of the audience and gave them mini-readings, a little insight and advice on the spot. Easier for me than following my lecture notes!

Today was a free day, so I set out on the subway, headed to the Ginza district. This is one of the busiest, high-end shopping and high-tech business areas, right near the Imperial Palace and center of Tokyo. Blocks and blocks of tall glass buildings, flashing every designer name and electronics business known to man, with marching crowds of Japanese dressed in classy black. Glad I left my red coat at home! I would have stuck out like a zit on a model's face!

The photo of the pretty Japanese boy is an ad for 'Romeo & Juliet' - probably a uniquely amusing live production. I visited a museum with a special exhibit of Japanese screens and ceramics from the 1600s. I've seen photos in books, but there is something spectacular about seeing the gold leaf screens painted with flowers and grasses, large and in person. The museum lobby on the 9th floor looks out over the Imperial Palace Gardens. You can't see buildings, mostly trees surrounded by a stone wall that is more like a hillside, and then a wide moat. Quite a construction project.

After the museum, I met my 'Marfa' friend, Takako, for lunch. She is working in the Ginza area, and told me to meet her at 'The Apple Store.' It was only 20 stories high with a giant Apple logo on it, so it was a little hard to find! Dining out is always an adventure. I'm never sure what I am eating by what it looks like. Good to be a 'convenientarian' in this land!

The next three days in a row, I will be doing more client sessions. Should be interesting.