Read Foreign Affairs Magazine

Today marks the third anniversary of my mother’s passing away. I dreamed about her last night, but unfortunately forgot what the dream was about when I woke up this morning. I still think about my mom often and talk about her with my dad every time we speak on the phone. While I don’t really believe in concepts like God, heaven, and afterlife, I’d like to believe that the Almighty is taking very good care of her now in the land of eternal happiness.

Yesterday afternoon, I visited the hair salon to have my hair cut, bleached and dyed. I opted for the same shade of bluish-green color for my hair dye as last time, and as expected, my hair came out just fantastic after the coloring process.

Although the green hue of my hair will keep fading and eventually turn brown in a manner not unlike autumn leaves, I actually enjoy witnessing this gradual transition. In an attempt to make my hair stay green a bit longer, I apply sunscreen to my hair and use lukewarm water to wash it every day.

Afterward, I headed to the Tanjong Pagar neighborhood to go through my weekend routine of grocery shopping and reading at Starbucks over a decaf latte. This time, I read the latest issue of Foreign Affairs magazine.

Despite the fact that I’m interested in world news, yesterday was my first time reading this respectable publication. Previously, I was a bit intimidated by the thickness of the magazine, fearing I wouldn’t be able to finish reading it.

Yesterday, I read several articles on what’s happening lately in Russia and China with a great deal of interest and fascination. To my pleasant surprise, they were not too difficult or abstract to read through - in fact, they were extremely well-written with clear structure and relatively plain vocabulary. While a copy of “Foreign Affairs” retails around SGD 30, I believe it’s well worth the price, and I look forward to buying its next issue.

By the way, I read books, magazines, and newspapers both in Japanese and English. I can read Japanese much faster than English because I’m much more proficient in the former. Nevertheless, I still love reading in English as I get to not only enjoy the content of the article, but also appreciate the beauty of the English language along the way.

In my view, when it comes to reading, what really matters is not so much the number of books you read as the amount of knowledge or enjoyment you derive from them. As such, I shouldn’t feel as though I’m being less productive while reading in English compared to Japanese. Moving forward, maybe I can read more in English in relation to Japanese to optimize my overall reading experience.