Q. Tell me about your work. I am managing sales engineer team and customer support team for several software products. Some products are developed internally in our company and some are developed in other countries. I visit our prospect companies and do demonstrations, and answer questions from our customers. Also, I am the primary contact for the software vendors in other countries, so everything goes through me, such as sales, technical and legal matters. My current biggest challenge is having a bi-weekly web meeting with people in the UK. Since I am the one who report to them, I am the one who talks the most. I get nervous!

Q. What is your favorite restaurant? What dish do you recommend there? I don't go same restaurants again and again, but for ramen it's another thing. I'm originally from Fukuoka where is famous for Hakata Tonkotsu ramen. Though I'm not so into ramen, I cannot stand any other flavor other than tonkotsu. And, sometimes I crave it all of a sudden. Since I don't live in Fukuoka now, the choice is very limited. The ramen of most of the ramen shops that offer Tonkotsu ramen is far from the original Hakata ramen. The noodle for Hakata ramen must to be thin and white. I recommend Ippudo for anyone who come to Japan, since its origin is in Fukuoka and they have many branch shops all over Japan. I like Shiro-maru noodle. Next time you come to Japan, please give it a try!

Q. Where do you want to live and why? I want to live by a river, a lake or a park. I'd like to live near nature. When I was a child, my house was located in front of a pond and near a park. I like watching sunlight through leaves, the change of color and feeling breeze under a tree. Actually, I live by a river, but it's more like a flume. It would be great if I can live by a park with a beautiful stream.

Q. Where do you want to visit and why? I would love to visit Northern Europe. I have visited some Asian countries, some places in the US and Canada, Italy and London, but never been to Northern Europe. Since my husband loves Moomin and I love the northern lights (I have seen it in Alaska once. It was absolutely amazing!), I would love to visit Northern Europe. In reality, we are planning to go to the US next summer again (to see my niece and her parents).

What is your favorite movie genre and why? It's difficult for me to write random things... Well, I found a QA lists. I would write things along with the list. Q. What is your favorite movie genre and why? I used to watch lots of movies when I was in university, but now I rarely watch them. I think my favorite movie genre is Sci-Fi like Interstellar, Inception and Gattaca. The images Sci-Fi movies show us are amazingly beautiful. And normally twists and family story or love story are involved. I like crying watching movies somehow. Also, I remember I really liked Trance. I did not see the twist coming. Maybe my another favorite genre is mystery or thriller. I like to be surprised with an unexpected twist, but not horrible one. What is your favorite movie genre? I do not like horror, fantasy and animal themed movies. Other than those, would you recommend some movies for me? If I could find them on Amazon prime video, I would like to watch!

Today's book: Stolen I've finished reading "Stolen". Gemma, 16-year-old London girl, was drugged and taken to outback in Australia by a nine years older guy, Ty. At first, Gemma was just afraid to be killed or get injured by her captor, but he was not a violent person. He was just wanted her to be with him there, or he wanted more from her? It's difficult to state what I feel about this book, but surely the nature of Australia outback was beautiful.

My father My little brother and I live away from my parents who are in their seventies. My brother had visited them for the  weekend and told me my father looked feeling down. He is grumpy and stubborn, so he does not take someone's opinion easily. On top of that, he has a physical disorder for his leg and cannot walk normally. Since he likes birds my brother suggested him to have a bird to take care, but he turned that down because he might not be able to live longer than the bird. Depressing...  My brother and I have been thinking how we can cheer him up.

My daughter is seeing a human face on the ceiling… From a couple of days ago, my 9 years old daughter sees a human face on the ceiling when she goes to bed. She says the pattern of wallpaper on the ceiling looks like a human face and the eyes scare her the most. So since then I had been sitting beside her on her bed till she fell asleep. It’s a little bid annoying because I cannot do things I could do during the time, but I also think it’s a precious moment for my daughter and me since this kind of things occur only when a child is young enough. I don’t think this will not occur when she grows up. Kids are adorable after all!

Shiruko and Zenzai During winter time we have Shiruko or Zenzai occasionally. Both Shiruko and Zenzai contain Anko (sweet bean paste) and Mochi (rice cake). Other than that, the differences depend on where you are. I am from Kyushu, southern part of Japan, so for me Shiruko and Zenzai are both watery, but only Zenzai contains the grains of Anko. In other places, Zenzai is not watery.