Claudia Chan

With this being the end of the year, I wanted to recount some of the things I had fun with.

So here are a few things that brought me a lot of joy this year.

First, I finished reading all the Demon Slayer Manga with my son. There are 23 volumes altogether, and I completed all of that with him. And for Halloween, my husband got him a Tanjiro costume (main character), and he was super excited about it.

I am in the middle of reading Naruto with my son. There are 72 volumes, and we are close to vol 50(!)

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I downloaded the Pikmin Bloom game, recommended by my friend Janet. And I’d been walking a bit more, (like doing lunch time walks when I don’t usually go outside).

I started playing Assassin’s Creed. Oh man… this game is the death of me. Other than Final Fantasy XIV, this one definitely turns me into a sailor, (I swore non-stop at the screen). And it’s super satisfying when I get to assassinate my targets! At one point, I started looking at my surroundings with new eyes (ohh.. my character can jump from here to there! Ohh there’re the red dots - the security!)

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I helped my son finish (more like I finished) the 1000 piece puzzle, with all the characters in the Simpsons.

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I started roller skating. And even though I still suck at it, I was able to skate a little better.

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I finished the watching the 20 episodes k-drama, the King’s Affection, with my husband.

Also, recently, I stumbled upon a book by one of my favourite illustrators, Takagi Naoko. I learned about her about 15 years ago. She wrote about her dreams of becoming an illustrator in Tokyo. She moved from Mie to Tokyo in 1998. Her books included things like life in Tokyo, her trips to different hot springs, food she found around Japan, etc. I loved her books.

I stopped following her because when I used to get her books, I would have to ask one of my friends, who were either going back to Hong Kong, or going to Japan, to look for the books to get them for me.

So two days ago, I was at the mall with my husband. At this mall (Markville mall), the book store got relocated to a bigger spot. When we went inside, I found out they now have a Chinese section. I got curious so I went up to check out what they have. The first thing that caught my eye was Takagi Naoko’s newest book, “Eat it all, Bento Diary”! This is her 20th anniversary edition book. I found out that she is now married, have a daughter. And this book consists of different stories about the bentos she either made or bought.
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The one on the right is the newest book. The one on the left is one of her first books called “Going to Tokyo by Oneself”

I am still floored, to find a Japanese illustration book, that has been translated into Chinese, which I found in the Chinese corner of a Western book store in Canada. 🤯

I’m so excited and proud of Takagi Naoko, because that is an amazing feat!

I still remembered her story about taking that step, moving from a small town to Tokyo. All because of a dream. Then being bold enough to take an action. Even when she kept doubting herself, wondering if she made a mistake.

Our lives, we are given this life to live it.

What if at any point in time, you can make a change, and it’s not too late to do what you want?
Life is all about both the positive and the negative.

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Let’s keep having more fun this coming 2025. Have a great new year!!