Just the other day over lunch, we had a quick random discussion which ended up with us talking about placebo effect, and the power of the human mind. Under hypnosis, they were asked to do things they wouldn’t normally do, or would be very afraid to do, like ride a roller coaster, or eat a…
Author: Enrico Pangan
Filipino in Tokyo
Cesame Tennis School Mukoujima
I enrolled at Cesame Tennis School in Mukoujima last January hoping to practice my shots, as I had plans to join a small tennis tournament in March. The tournament was eventually postponed because of rain, but it’s ok. I’m glad I enrolled and I’m glad i can practice my shots every week with professional guidance….
No Starbucks in Minami-Senju Yet
Just saw a poster at Lala Terrace Minami-Senju announcing new shops that will open from April 2014. The old Tsutaya space is big enough to accommodate these three. Unfortunately, none of the Starbucks that the guy who cuts my hair was telling me about. This is the second time he told me Starbucks is coming…
Minami-Senju West Gate
The West Gate of Minami-Senju station has seen massive changes since I moved here about half a decade ago. Back then, the east side was the more progressive side with its high-rise condominiums and community malls, while the west side was just a bunch of old houses and old shops. There are still many old…
Migrated Blogs to use Google+ Comments
I’ve just migrated my blogs to use Google+ Comments to replace the legacy Blogger comments. Here is a short summary based on my few-days-experience: Merits Demerits While there are many merits to using this newer commenting system, the one big demerit is that only users with Google+ accounts can make comments. The good thing for me though…
Karting Place in Tokyo
Not very many people are aware but we do have a Karting place in Tokyo, albeit a little to the north east of Tokyo, but still within the 23 wards. The place is called City Kart. My friends and I have tried this place once and it’s lots of fun. It’s outdoors so be wary of…
From iOS 4 to iOS 7
I’ve just renewed my iPhone developer account (¥8400 per year) and am current updating my old app from when I developed them in 2010 to now. Many things have changed for the better and I was able to migrate my app in just one weekend. First, the price. I remember it to be much more expensive…
Starbucks at Lala Terrace Minami-Senju?
The Tsutaya shop at Lala Terrace Minami-Senju closed shop last month, and people are now making guesses as to which shops will occupy the big floor space Tsutaya once occupied. When I went for a haircut last week at Ichi BDO, this was one of the topics I talked about with my stylist. He mentioned…
Doubles Tournament at Ariake Postponed
My partner and I were supposed to participate at this mixed doubles tournament at Ariake Tennis no Mori Park but unfortunately, it was cancelled because of the rains. Only seeded players can move on to the main draw scheduled next week. 僕らは有明テニスの森公園で開催するミックスダブルス大会に参加する予定が、雨が降っているため、中止になってしまった。シード選手だけが来週の本戦に参加出来るのです。 Here’s the message from the organizer (in Japanese): 本日のミックス大会、全て中止です。シード選手だけ本選に出場します。その他の選手は参加費を返却します。 中央区テニス連盟:馬場
Why Sunday Comes Before Monday
I was given the task to start a small office team party, by giving a two minute speech as to why “Sunday comes before Monday”. My initial reaction was … why do we need a speech? Why does the party organizer come up with such weird topics? After a while though, my initial doubts were quickly…
The Urantia Book – Bible for the 20th Century?
Chanced upon the Urantia book while I was looking for a book about aliens and spirituality. It was published in 1955 by authors, who remain a mystery until now. There are groups who believe it was written by celestial beings, possibly similar to how some Christians believe the Bible was written by humans “inspired” by…
When foreigners associate Filipinos with domestic helpers
When foreigners associate Filipinos with domestic helpers, the immediate reaction of many Filipinos, is to feel insulted. This is something I’ve given some thought, and I am sharing my thoughts on this. I believe there is no reason to feel insulted, because feeling insulted, is in itself, an insult to the many Filipino domestic helpers….
Enrico in Tokyo 