meeting up with uncle and auntie Liu

This weekend I received an abrupt jolt to my lackadaisical Sunday post-dinner lounging. My uncle Liu called to find out if we could meet up in Tokyo. It was all so very sudden that I could not call off classes.

Instead I took the afternoon off between classes and sped to Tokyo. They stayed at the posh ANA Hotel where one night in a single room will set you back over 300 dollars! This picture is a carbon copy of what their room looked like on the 'executive floor.'

I could only see them for a brief two hours but it was worth it. I had not seen them in almost two years. They seemed just as young and jubilant as they did two years ago. Amazing...I wondered if it was the result of going to all those spas and foot massages in China. I remember my body condition really tuned up with the daily foot massages I received during my one-month stay there years ago.

Uncle Liu and auntie came to Tokyo from Kyoto where they had been treated to a very luxurious dinner in Gion. Each guest was accompanied by a real geisha! Amaaaazing. My aunt said the singing and dancing was not as impressive as one would expect. Then she asked me of my impression...I laughed and told her most people do not have the opportunity nor money to go to such a place!

Uncle Liu set up Augmentum, a blooming software development company so he often finds himself in Japan. I saw it when I was in China - he runs it like the CIA to protect trade secrets and keep all the employees in line. One piece of advice he gave me was, "You can do whatever you want, Vivian, but whatever you do, you have to be the best at it." He admires and respects Japan, especially the Japanese work ethic, nevertheless he did mention that Japan has lost that spark it had when he first visited decades ago.