199. My bucket list

Hi Everyone, 

I was asked if S141 Kolinsky was sold out. 

It did not show up at the online shop,

So,

I called Hakuhodo, and I was able to buy it but it looks like going to be discontinued in coming months. 

Looks like kolinsky brushes will be very scarce.

Please let me know if you are interested.

https://store.fudejapan.com/products/hh-s141?_pos=1&_sid=d70bbc00d&_ss=r

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Yesterday, I came across the idea of ‘Bucket List.’

Bucket list is, as you may know, 

a list of goals people want to accomplish before they die”

I googled it and also came across the movie, ‘The Bucket List.’

It interested me so much that I watched it on the train.

And

after getting off the train, I finished watching it, while eating ‘onigiri,’ rice balls, on the desk.

I am always amazed that we live in such a convenient world….

After watching it, 

I began to create my own bucket list, but it doesn’t look fancy…

I mean…

in the movie, they start traveling, eating in a gorgeous restaurant, visiting Safari, trying skydiving, visiting Mount Everest ….

There were two men, who are different from each other, go to experience their bucket list.

One guy, Jack Nicholson, is rich and frivolous, the other, Carter, Morgan Freeman, is family-oriented and hard-working.

Two different guys enjoyed the last few months of their life together. 

I did not come up with those ideas…

Instead, I was thinking about my experience at work.

There was a colleague of mine, from USA before. He was the third generation Japanese, and looked Japanese but behaved differently. His parents ran a Japanese restaurant in LA.

Maybe he was so American or Southern Californian. 

He always smiled so that his mouth remained the same shape even he was not smiling ; not Japanese-like.

One day, after being bored at my work, I went to a convenient store. 

When I was looking for coffee or sweets, I heard his voice. 

He was chatting and laughing at the paying counter.  He finally said Arigato (thank you) and left there.

After coming back, I asked him, ‘you were enjoying at the store, weren’t you?’

He said, ‘I was learning Chinese from her. She is from China’

I am not entirely sure if he was just learning Chinese or having a different purpose. (I did not ask)

But, I can tell you this:

It is rare that Japanese talk with a sales person at convenience store. 

They just go, buy and leave a store : well, it is a culture, maybe. Or shy.

I may not be able to talk long at paying, either.

but at least  I thought it good to say ‘thank you’ at shop. 

Well,

when I say, ‘thank you,’

Some people smile while some people are embarrassed LOL.

Japanese are not good at Arigato, they say ‘sumimasen’ (sorry) 

It is strange to say sorry when buying, isn’t it?

I try to be a rare type of Japanese at the paying counter.

Maybe it is a bucket list. And I will continue.

I say thank you at shop, and enjoy their reaction.

It is one of good things or privileges to live in Japan to get a embraced reaction when saying thank you, LOL.

Thank you for reading, 

Toshiya