Japanese Mums

In the last couple of years, we had a baby rush in Dunedin, particularly of Japanese Mums. Most babies are half Japanese and half Kiwis, Australians, English, Dutch, etc. Thus, their apperance is quite unique; some of them have Asain features, but with pale complexion, light brown hair (natural, not dyed!), and light eye colour, whilst some have more European features, but with some Asian touch. The end results, in bose cases, are very handsome kids. These little ones are thriving and so are their Mums. Now, there are a few Japanese Mums' groups in which members not only excahnge information about child rearing, but also they give each other mutual support . Looking at those babies and their Mums, I'm very much encouraged to have my own in the (hopefully) near future.

Beautiful Sunset

This is the view from our backyard. Does this tempt you to come and visit us in New Zealand?

Feltmaking - first experience

"What is this?" My husband, asks me holding a felt pouch I made at my first feltmaking class. Without a handle and decoration, the pouch looks like an oval-shaped helmet. It's gray outside and pink inside. I chose salmon pink wool to contrast gray wool. However, the pink wool fibers have tangled with some of the gray ones, and that once-beautiful salmon pink has turned into 'dirty' pink. The process of felt-making itself was great fun. It was more physical than you think. You have to rub, squeeze, kneed, push, roll, etc. My back was pretty sore after the first class (about three hours). I'm wondering what happens at the last class in which we are going to make a jacket.

Artist's window

This is the view from our back door. Isn't it lovely? The words around the edge of the window is a poem (I don't know who put it there, though).

OOS (Occupational Overuse Syndrome)

I've developed OOS, also called repetitive strain injury (RSI), recently by doing data entry. My current experiment involves paper and pencil questionnaires, and I have to enter hundreds of thousands of data by hand. The uncomfortable sensation started from my palm, wrist and spread into my lower and then upper arm. It's happened so quickly.

An occupational safety officer at my department checked my workstation. He adjusted the height of my desk and chair, and he attached a rotating armrest to the desk. I thought this will fix the problem! No. He then told me a scary story about a woman who ignored the sign of OOS. Now, 10 years later, she can't even write a word!! That was enough for me to heed his advice to stop doing data entry right then and there. However, I can't do without a computer. Every work (well 99.5%) revolves around a computer. I do all my writing on it, as it's not only easy to edit, but also the computer has a referencing software Endnote in which all of my references live.

A doctor told me that I just need to be aware how I work, and take micro breaks (every 5 minutes) to stretch different parts of my body. It sounds so straightforward, but it's not so in reality. You sit in front of a computer. Your eyes are glued to the screen; your fingers are permanently hovering on the keyboard or mouse. In the meantime, time flies really fast, and before you know it, you've been working for more than one hour without any break, Ahhhh....

Anyway, I have to stick to the stretch regime as much as I can, because my survival as a PhD student depends on it. If you have any other good ideas to avoid OOS, please let me know.

Now, you see how I work. Doesn't I look like a ghost?

Six Thinking Hats might save me (I hope)

As you've guessed by now, I'm using my blog as "ikinuki" (a short break) to detach myself from my PhD. It's amazing how freely one sentence follows the other when I work on my blog. With my PhD, however, writing is really hard like hell! It's just that with academic writing, almost every thought and idea need to be backed up with citations. This not only hinders the writing process, but it restricts the thinking process as well. I've been trained in this scientific discipline for years (meager 5 years, to be precise); I feel as if my imagination and creativity are all shrunk within that limited framework. I want to think outside the square, but how?

I was grumbling this to my husband, Then, he put the book "How to Have a Beautiful Mind" by Edward de Bono in front of me, which I had borrowed more than two weeks ago, but haven’t read. When I read a chapter about six hats, I felt enlightened. To start with, I liked the way he puts simple, short, and clear sentences, which aren't interrupted by any citations. But, his suggestions for how to think, how to approach an issue with parallel thinking really struck the cord. The mixture of logical and intuitive (even including emotion) into the thinking process is very unusual, but I can see how beneficial it is. It's a way of tapping all areas of your brain to get the optimal outcome.

For the last few weeks, I felt I was estranged in stagnated water. Now, I desperately need a flow of fresh water in my brain. I’ll see how De Bono’s strategy will help me to get out of this murky water.

Jane Eyre

Have you read the classic novel, Jane Eyre? I'm at the middle of it. I came across the title in another book "Eyre Affair" and I had been interested in getting my hand on it. This is the oldest English I've read so far. Hence, some phrases and words sound a bit strange, but the characters and the narrative completely grip my attention and I could keep reading it for hours at one sitting (if I'm allowed). The descriptions of scenes, psychology of the characters, the speed with which the story moves, etc.. everything is just right to stimulate and expand my imagination. It's no wonder that so many people love this book. I wasn't a big classic novel fan, but I change my mind!

Twin sisters

Twin sisters
Originally uploaded by hadashi05.

Here is a shot with my identical twin sister. She came all the way to see my husband, William, and me twice during our Japan trip.

Journey's end

Journey's end
Originally uploaded by hadashi05.

This was the end of our trip in Wakkanai. After 3,200 km of cycling over two and half months, we were happy to call it a day.

Learning by teaching, teaching by learning

I took up a demonstrating job at the same time as I started my PhD this year. Teaching itself is very new to me. I love the element of teaching, namely standing up in front of people and taking the central stage (just kidding). Public speaking is said to be the worst fear for most people (worse than death sometimes). The challenge for me, however, lies not in standing in front of people but in explaining, commanding, and entertaining in English which makes sense for everyone.

In the lab, I have to explain concepts and terms which are fundamental knowledge in psychology. Students are to get taste of different areas of psychology and decide which area they want to go into or even whether they want to keep psychology as their major or minor. Hence, the future of the psychology department is on our demonstrators' shoulders (well, a portion of it). Anyway, I take this job very seriously, partly because I don't want to disadvantage or discourage my students to study a fascinating subject, and partly because teaching teaches me a lot of things I haven't fully understood myself.

I'm experiencing first hand that knowing a subject (or thinking that you know it well) is one thing, but explaining it in a concise and comprehensible manner is entirely another thing. After living in an English-speaking country for over 7 years, I don't have much difficulty in conversing in daily life, but teaching a lab requires a different kind of communication skill. I sit at an experienced demonstrator’s lab every week. Although it's not compulsory, it's a vital lesson for me as we don't get other means of training. The demonstrator is a superb teacher in my eyes. His wide use of vocabulary amazes me each time. He is really good at capturing students' attention and creating a lively atmosphere. His explanation is clear and to the point. I have to tell myself the usual mantra "I have two more years to catch up with him, since he's been teaching for three years." This is the sort of mantra I tell myself whenever I fall into a trap of comparing myself with someone who is superior (this is called upward social comparison in psychology term, by the way). This always works for me. If you know some other magic wands, let me know.

PhD beginner

I haven't introduced myself properly to you, have I? I'm a Japanese who is doing PhD in psychology at the University of Otago in New Zealand. I came to NZ in 1999 and have been here since then. My husband is a Dutch-Kiwi, who isn't a typical Kiwi who loves rugby and beers. Instead, he is into sumo and Haiku, and knows some aspects of Japanese culture better than me. We cycled the length of Japan last year, which was broadcast on local Kumamoto TV, RKK. For those who missed our footage and for our own sake, my husband set up a blog about the trip.

I've just submitted my 6-month self report review to my supervisor, which was the first substantial writing I did since I've started my PhD. My interest is in happiness (well-being in psychology term), and I'm looking at the relationship between life goals and various types of well-being (yes, there is more than one type of well-being!). You might ask why I chose this theme for my PhD? It occurred to me, one day, that everyone seems to be ultimately pursuing happiness, no matter what activities or work they choose to engage in. However, the pursuit has proven to be elusive, as not so many people are full heartedly content with their lives.

From the evolutionary perspective, we humans are not designed to be happy, but to keep on reproducing even in the state of misery. Also, some researchers argue that there is a biological set point of happiness which is rather stable across one's life span. In contrast, some argue that we are endowed with the capacity to experience happiness (positive affects), because that helps us to build our personal resources and thus a greater chance for survival. In modern society, we are bombarded with so much information and images every day, which portrait happy people who appear to be on top of the world. It's likely that the gap between the escalated expectation and reality makes people dissatisfied. However, that dissatisfaction does not put people off, but spurs people to try harder.

I can keep on going talking about happiness, but I'll leave you with the following quote for now.
"If you win a rat race, you are still a rat".

Pilates lessons

I started Pilates about 6 weeks ago. I went through a pretty intense first 5 sessions that taught me the fundamental basics of Pilates, such as breathing, alignment, balance, posture, etc. Now, even walking down the street, my mind suddenly brings back those lessons and checks up on my walking style. It is indeed a good thing, but I've lost a sense of freedom somehow. It's as if my mind has taken over the control, enjoying a role of a commander to discipline my lazy body. Mind and body are supposedly connected, or so many believe. At the moment, however, I'm torn in between. I guess with time and practice, this dilemma will disappear.