A Fun-Filled Day Free of Tasks

Yesterday was a Saturday, and I had a relaxing day doing things I truly enjoy. Normally, on weekends, I run a few errands, such as getting a haircut, shopping for groceries, or having a part-time helper clean my apartment. However, yesterday I had the whole day free of tasks, which really felt like heaven.

Having gone to bed rather late the previous night, I didn’t wake up until around 9 in the morning. I spent some time watching YouTube videos while trying to get fully awake. I came across a video of the American singer-songwriter Charlie Puth’s rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner, performed at the Super Bowl in Los Angeles last Sunday. Being fond of the melody of the American national anthem, I pressed play out of curiosity, not knowing what to expect as I hadn’t even heard of a Charlie Puth before.

Within a few seconds I was blown away by his performance. Before singing the actual lyrics, he hummed for a fleeting moment as he tinkled a few notes on his electric keyboard to set the tone for the song. It had a gospel feel to it, somewhat reminiscent of the organ intro to Whitney Houston’s Jesus Loves Me. Those few bars were immediately refreshing, resulting in me getting goose bumps all over.

The rest of the song was equally enchanting. Charlie Puth’s mostly soothing yet at times powerful and explosive voice blended seamlessly with his mellow organ music, along with the voices of a gospel choir and a cameo appearance by legendary saxophonist Kenny G, made for a perfect mix of delightful audio sensations for viewers.

Aside from this outstanding music, what made the performance visually striking was the flyover of US Air Force fighter jets that was choreographed to occur at the exact moment the song ended. It was something miraculous to behold, leaving an indelible impression.

I read on the Internet afterward that Charlie Puth sang the Star-Spangled Banner partly as a tribute to late Whitney Houston’s Super Bowl performance in 1991, largely considered the best rendition ever of the US national anthem by a professional singer. I’ve watched that performance countless times and fully agree that her voice is truly unparalleled and impeccable—it will likely remain unbeaten for decades to come—though this time Charlie did a fantastic job that will go down in history in its own right.

In addition to Whitney and Charlie, singer and guitarist Chris Stapleton also delivered a truly memorable performance at the Super Bowl a few years ago, as I discovered in a related YouTube video. I can’t seem to get tired of watching and comparing various versions of this historical song by different artists, and will surely continue checking out new ones as they get posted on social media.

After having fun watching YouTube, I went to a cafe in my neighborhood for a change of scene, where I did some reading over a cup of delicious latte. I started reading a gay-themed comic series by Japanese manga artist Gengoroh Tagame titled Our Colorful Days.

I am reading the French version, bought during my previous trip to Paris. Inside, there are numerous words and phrases I don’t know, mainly in colloquial language. I mark them with a highlighter so I can look them up later. Although I currently learn French vocabulary mainly from my Larousse French-Japanese dictionary, comic books can serve as a great supplement for my study, especially as it relates to learning informal spoken language.

I ended the day by watching the latest Japanese movie titled This is I on Netflix, based on the autobiography by the transgender comedian Ai Haruna. It was a part-drama, part-musical film, interspersed with famous Japanese pop tunes from the 80s and 90s. Having grown up listening to those songs, the movie brought back some old memories from the past, filling me with nostalgia.

This is I is a heart-warming story revolved around the lives and struggles of Ai and Koji Wada, the doctor who performed her gender-affirming surgery, showcasing exquisite acting by 18-year-old Haruki Mochizuki in his movie debut. As most of the story takes place in Osaka, the dialogue is mainly in the Kansai dialect of Japanese, adding a distinct flavor to the drama. I’m glad I watched it with the original Japanese audio in that sense.

What a fun-filled day yesterday turned out to be! It enabled me to fully recharge my batteries in preparation for the upcoming work week. My profession and study surely give me a sense of purpose, but it needs to be balanced with relaxation and entertainment for me to have a well-rounded life. I hope to stay mentally active for the coming decades by continuing to draw new inspirations from books, cinema, and the arts of all kinds.

No Secret Other than Studying, Exposure, and Practice!

Image: いらすとや

I am currently reading a book which deals with the topic of how tiny nations like Denmark, Luxembourg, and Singapore have become successful and affluent over the past few decades by deploying strategic macroeconomic policies, developing industries best suited to today’s global economic needs, and cultivating a population that continues to retrain and reinvent itself. 

Japan used to be highly prosperous and was the envy of many in the world economy, but its advantages have waned significantly during the past 30 years or so. Nowadays, it’s placed behind dozens of nations in global rankings of competitiveness. It’s reminiscent of the trajectory taken by Argentina, which used to be one of the wealthiest nations at the beginning of the 20th century, but has since declined into mediocrity due to bad politics and severe mismanagement of its economy.

Since I don’t know much about economic theories, I can only approach this issue from the perspective of language learning. One of the common denominators allowing the aforementioned tiny economies to thrive and prosper is a workforce that’s well versed in the English language.

I don’t believe there is anything inherently superior about English in relation to other major languages such as French and Chinese, but since it has effectively attained the status of the sole lingua franca of international commerce, proficiency in the English language has become a must in terms of being on top of the latest trends in the world economy and thereby staying competitive.

In terms of outstanding English proficiency, Nordic countries like Denmark, Norway, and Sweden come to mind, along with the Benelux countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. Curious about their advanced levels in English, I asked ChatGPT about what makes people of these nations so fluent in English, and it came back with some very informative answers.

According to ChatGPT, people in these countries have more ample opportunity to consume native English content—such as TV series, movies, and novels—compared to people in countries like France, Spain, and Italy. In the former, Hollywood films are normally released in original audio with subtitles, whereas in the latter, they tend to be dubbed into the local tongue in cinemas. Constant exposure to native content allows viewers to develop familiarity with vocabulary and sentence patterns of English, leading them to consume even more content.

In another comparison, schools in the Netherlands tend to start teaching English as a subject at a younger age than in Japan, and their class hours are consistently more numerous from elementary school all the way to university level. Without even considering the linguistic proximity of the Dutch language to English, the sheer amount of English education they receive affords Dutch students an overwhelming advantage over their Japanese peers.

Much closer to home, Singapore offers schoolchildren an immersive environment in which they learn English and effectively grow up as its native speakers despite coming from households that speak Chinese, Malay or Tamil. In Singapore’s education system, English is the medium of instruction in all subjects except for the Mother Tongue Language class administered according to each student’s ethnic background.

In my opinion, most ordinary Singaporeans speak English in a form that deviates from what’s considered standard in British or American English, committing tiny grammar errors here and there, but that doesn’t prevent them from being effective communicators in English, allowing them to convey their ideas clearly to their interlocutors from around the world. This, combined with their knowledge of their respective mother tongues, put them at a great advantage in international commerce.

The success in developing fluency in English—or any other language—ultimately comes down to the amount of exposure, studying, and practice. Ignoring this rule and hoping to become fluent by some miracle is simply a pipe dream that will never come to fruition. I need to remind myself of this fact whenever I feel lost in my language-learning journey.

No One Can Have a Perfect Life!

 

(Image: Irasutoya)

A few weeks ago, I went to the Apple Store on Orchard Road and bought a new MacBook Air. This replaces my previous laptop, a MacBook Pro bought in 2018, which was having some battery problems. According to the sales staff who inspected my old device, the batteries were an old model that was no longer manufactured, and as such, could not be replaced. Given the situation, I bought a new device on the spot.

Nevertheless, as my previous laptop was still in working condition as long as it was plugged in for power with a charging cable, I continued using it for more than a month. Since I bought my new laptop, I’ve been busy with my work and studies, and couldn’t be bothered with installing it for the longest time. This afternoon, I finally succeeded in resisting my inertia and got my new MacBook Air set up in my living room.

Right off the bat, I had a bit of a problem on my new computer trying to access an Excel spreadsheet I had saved on iCloud Drive from my old MacBook Pro. Much as I tried to refresh the data on iCloud, the new machine wouldn’t display my existing files.

Feeling a bit exasperated, I turned to ChatGPT for help. Thanks to this excellent AI chatbot, I learned that the issue was caused by the discrepancy between the Apple IDs used on the two devices—my old machine was logged in with a Singapore-based ID, whereas my new one was logged in with a US-based ID. As soon as I used the same login profile on both laptops, I was able to access my previous files on iCloud Drive immediately.

I wouldn’t characterise myself as technophobic, but my IT literacy isn’t that spectacular, either. Until today, I didn’t know the difference between Apple’s iCloud Drive and Microsoft’s OneDrive, as I only use Google Drive and Dropbox as far as cloud services go. I’m a reasonably proficient user of Microsoft Excel, but I don’t know how to code.

Recently, I had to move my Anki flashcard decks for my French studies from my laptop to an external drive due to the lack of storage space, and I had to rely entirely on ChatGPT for the steps necessary to carry out the move. Because I have no knowledge in coding, I didn’t understand the script generated by ChatGPT, and had to go through hours of trial and error before finally gaining access to my flashcards from the new location on my external drive.

I’ve felt the need to study basic coding skills for at least a few years, but I’ve always put it off due to my other priorities, notably my English and French studies. As English is my primary language of communication in my career, I can never relinquish my learning activities, especially my writing practice.

That leaves me with only my French studies available to be discontinued if necessary, but the problem is that I don’t want to give them up now, not due to the sunk-cost fallacy on my part, but because I genuinely enjoy learning this beautiful language. Knowing myself, I’m sure there will come a time when I will finally relinquish studying French, either because I get bored or because the temptation to study something else—such as coding, or even some other language—grows stronger than my interest in the language of Rousseau.

Either way, I’m acutely aware that I only have so much time available in a day to pursue my personal interests. I need to stay focused only on things I truly enjoy, even at the expense of something that appears highly relevant and important for me. No one can have a perfect life, and as painful as it may be, we need to accept compromises and sacrifices from time to time.

Keep Barreling Ahead in 2026!

(Image: いらすとや)

Happy New Year!

About four months ago, I started taking lessons online with Lucas, my French teacher. Up until now, I’ve already taken 14 lessons with him, with each one lasting an hour. Even though it’s supposed to be a “lesson,” we don’t follow any specific structure to strengthen my pronunciation, grammar, or vocabulary—we just talk randomly in French about whatever topics that come to mind, such as what has happened recently in my private life, what books I have read, and the latest international news.

One might think that having random chats is unsustainable for a conversation practice, as the student can quickly run out of topics to talk about, thereby putting a substantial strain on the teacher to keep the conversation going and avoid awkward silences. But luckily for Lucas and me, this hasn’t become an issue yet, as we always have a plethora of things to talk about.

It also helps that Lucas is fluent in English: although throughout the lesson he doesn’t speak a word of English, he does allow me to switch back to English whenever I have difficulty expressing a complicated idea in French. In such instances, I would verbalize an idea first in English and try to rephrase it in French using words I already know, whereupon Lucas would point out and correct my errors. 

What’s more, I don’t have to make any preparations before the lesson or be burdened with homework afterward, making each session a relaxing and enjoyable event rather than a strenuous and draining grind. The point of having these conversation lessons is so that I can get used to speaking French with a native speaker—something I never get to do otherwise in Singapore.

The other aspects of French proficiency—including vocabulary, pronunciation, and grammar—can be largely learned through self-study, so I shouldn’t waste my precious talk time with Lucas trying specifically to improve those areas. Through these lessons, I’ve recognized that my grammar is still relatively weak, so I plan to reinforce this area by completing a few grammar drills in the near future.

Besides having conversations with Lucas, I’ve recently implemented a major change in my study of French. As I commute to and from the office every weekday by foot, spending 25 minutes each way, I began saying out loud some of the French sentences I’ve memorized during the past few weeks, without relying on my flashcards and based solely on my memory.

I memorize about 75 sentences containing new words during the week using flashcards, adding up to around 300 over a month. During my walk to and from the office I recite in random order whatever sentences I can recall. Although I don’t have a photographic memory, I can still come up with enough successive sentences to last me throughout my 25-minute journey.

I’ve been practicing this active recall method since December 15 of last year, and can feel that it greatly helps me consolidate my memory of the words I’ve newly learned. As forgetfulness is one of the biggest factors that hampers the progress of a language learner, I believe that this method can boost my efficiency in a meaningful way.

It’s been more than two full years since I began learning French vocabulary in earnest with a dictionary. Even though I still have a long way to go before I can read French novels without needing a dictionary, there’s no doubt that my overall French proficiency has grown immensely. As persistence is key to success in language acquisition, I will keep barreling ahead in my French studies in 2026.

Watched Tokyo Taxi

Yesterday afternoon, I went to a movie theater near Orchard Road and watched the latest Japanese film Tokyo Taxi, starring Chieko Baisho and Takuya Kimura, directed by Yoji Yamada.

I used to go to the movies quite frequently when I first arrived in Singapore, like once a week, but the frequency of my cinema visits has decreased substantially over the years, no doubt affected by the prevalence of streaming services such as Netflix. The corona virus pandemic of 2020 also played a role in dampening my desire to watch a movie on the big screen.

That said, I’m really glad that I watched this movie in the theater. Tokyo Taxi—inspired by the 2022 French film Paris Taxi—is a story of an 85-year-old woman named Sumire, who moves into a nursing home located far to the south of Tokyo from her original residence in northeastern Tokyo. Instead of traveling by train, a much cheaper option, she decides to carry out the relocation by taxi.

It’s quite a long journey for a taxi ride to begin with, but Sumire requests Koji, the driver, to stop off at various spots in Tokyo that are full of bitter-sweet memories for her. While visiting those places, she recounts her life stories to him, including her first love, the man she later married, and what eventually happened to her beloved son.

As Sumire reveals her inner world, including the things she did she is not particularly proud of, Koji, who is a bit reserved at first, gradually opens up to her as well and tells her about his own anxieties. This is about as much as I can disclose about the movie while keeping this writing spoiler-free.

Chieko Baisho, the actress who plays Sumire, is currently 84 years old. She is famous for her role in the popular It’s Tough Being a Man (男はつらいよ) film series, which came out semiannually for more than a quarter century, known to practically anyone of my generation in Japan. Takuya Kimura, who plays Koji, is 53 as of this writing. He is an ex-member of SMAP, an erstwhile best-selling idol unit, arguably the most popular heartthrob to have emerged from the Japanese entertainment industry.

I thought both actors did a good job in the movie, but I particularly enjoyed the acting by Baisho, who portrayed the character of Sumire with refined skill, striking the audience with the subtleties and complexities of the protagonist without being overly saccharine and sentimental. We can’t help but fall in love with and cheer for Sumire, who manages to maintain a pure heart till the end despite the numerous adversities that befell her.

Kimura, on the other hand, is also likable in the film. He’s not just an idol with a handsome face performing sold-out concerts, but a serious actor as well, having played central roles in dozens of movies and television shows for more than three decades. I felt that in Tokyo Taxi he has achieved a breakthrough in acting by playing a character with more vulnerabilities than strengths, contrary to the heroic characters he had previously played. He will no doubt become more well-rounded as an actor as he continues to mature into an elderly man.

Kudos to the world-famous director Yoji Yamada for directing this heart-warming story. Tokyo Taxi has left an indelible impression on me, reminding me yet again that some movies are just meant to be viewed on the silver screen rather than via streaming. I sincerely hope that the seventh art can continue to survive and thrive in Japan and beyond, and for that, we need to support the industry by going to the movies from time to time.

How Can I Grow My Japanese Vocabulary?

仮面の告白

Since I finished reading Yukio Mishima’s novel Confessions of a Mask a few days ago, I’ve started to study the unfamiliar Japanese words I encountered in the book using the Anki flashcard app. Although this is a relatively short story, I came across hundreds of words I didn’t know.

As I can only study around 15 words per day due to my busy schedule, it would take me more than two weeks if I were to cover all the words, but that’s not what I intend to do—I plan to memorize significantly fewer words, as most of them are archaic words of classical Chinese origin and no longer in common use in modern Japanese—I will only select those words that are presently relevant for studying and memorization.

Speaking of Mishima’s language, being curious about how he acquired such a refined and extensive vocabulary, I asked ChatGPT for some insights, along with the experiences of the author Haruki Murakami, who has also impressed me with his rich vocabulary.

Not surprisingly, Mishima was excellent at his schoolwork, particularly in the subjects of classical Japanese and Chinese, benefitting from the pre-war Japanese education with emphasis on memorization of large amounts of classical texts to build the foundation of his vocabulary.

Mishima also recounted his experiences of reading a wide range of books—literary works by Japanese writers and those by Western writers translated into Japanese—from a very young age, being a cosseted kid doted on by his grandmother due to his poor health. It is worth noting that he consciously read books that were considered too difficult for a reader of his age, perpetually attempting to venture outside of his comfort zone and challenging the limits of his intellect.

There was no mention by ChatGPT of Mishima attempting to mechanically memorize words from dictionaries or glossaries to broaden his vocabulary—which is usually my approach—his unparalleled knowledge of literary terms was acquired thanks to his extensive reading of classical works and intensive studying and memorization of selected passages, along with the formidable amount of writing exercise he did to refine his style.

As for Haruki Murakami, he recounted in multiple essays and interviews that someone aspiring to become a novelist must be prepared to read an insane number of books to acquire a robust vocabulary and establish their unique writing style. When he was a student, rather than doing his schoolwork conscientiously, he opted instead for reading countless books, particularly American literature translated into Japanese.

On top of authoring his own books, Murakami has also translated numerous books from English into Japanese. This translating process—where he needs to constantly ask himself what are the Japanese words and phrases that most accurately convey the meaning of the original writing—has sharpened his sensitivity to the nuances of words, enriching his own vocabulary in Japanese and helping to shape his unique writing style.

As I’m not aspiring to become a writer, I certainly don’t need to go to those extremes as experienced by Mishima and Murakami to grow my own vocabulary. Having said that, I do think it’s important for me to possess decent knowledge of Japanese as it’s the primary language I think in on a daily basis. Maybe I can take a page or two out of their playbooks in order to improve my mastery of this beautiful language.

Reading Confessions of a Mask

Confessions of a Mask

(Disclaimer: The following article contains spoilers.)

Over the past week, I’ve been reading the Japanese writer Yukio Mishima’s early work Confessions of a Mask in its original Japanese version. Mishima is known for his highly articulate and decorative writing style with a rich and extensive vocabulary, using numerous archaic literary words, many of which are of classic Chinese origin.

Although I’m a native speaker of Japanese, I come across a few unknown words literally on every page of this novel, requiring me to look them up in the dictionary to be able to progress through the novel. Not that I’m complaining, though—it’s not often that I read a book that bombards me with highly elegant, nuanced, and sophisticated words, providing me with a rare opportunity to broaden my vocabulary in my mother tongue in a substantive manner.

Mishima authored Confessions of a Mask in 1949—merely four years after the end of WWII—at the young and tender age of 24. The novel was an overnight sensation, launching him on a highly prolific and successful trajectory in the Japanese literary scene.

Confessions of a Mask was shocking to many because of its subject matter—homosexuality—a delicate topic that other novelists had hitherto avoided dealing with in such an open and brazen way. Mishima was widely rumored to be gay, and this novel was considered semi-autobiographical with numerous elements of the story coinciding with his own experiences. 

The novel starts when the protagonist, Kochan, was a young boy, and follows his life journey as he grows into a mature man, going through a historical period that spans across pre- and post-WWII days in Japan. At a very young age he becomes aware that his sexual attraction was toward men rather than women, and experiences an unrequited love for Omi, his male classmate in secondary school.

When Kochan is in college, he develops a feeling of platonic love of sorts for Sonoko, a younger sister of Kusano, his close friend. However, much as he tries to fall genuinely in love with Sonoko, he can’t feel anything by way of carnal attraction toward her—a kiss with her leaves him with no passionate feeling at all—such that when he is pressed to make a decision about whether to marry her, he has to decline in the end. Disheartened, Sonoko goes on to marry another man.

Subsequently, Kochan continues his life, but as a lonely man with his mind completely shut off. He laments the fact that he is henceforth incapable of opening his heart and falling in love with anyone, and that he will spend the rest of his days wearing a mask, hiding his true self and pretending to be “normal,” hence the title Confessions of a Mask. The story thus comes to its tragic end.

As a gay man, I find this kind of storyline deeply depressing, and yet it makes me grateful that I’m now living in an era and place where I can be open about my sexuality, without being required to wear a mask of any sort. It must have been suffocating for gay men to act in conformity with the rest of society back in the day, and this novel provides me with a glimpse into what it feels like to live with one’s sexuality permanently suppressed.

Despite its prose that is sometimes arcane and riddled with difficult words, Confessions of a Mask is more than fascinating to keep me moving through the pages. I expect to finish reading it in just a few days, making it the first Mishima book for me to read in its entirety. I look forward to reading more masterpieces by this highly talented author and enjoying the depth and richness of his inner world.