"...am assured, receptive, responsive woman of substance. My sense of self comes not from other people but...from...from myself? That can't be right."

from "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason" by Helen Fielding

Pondering over a Pint (Barge Inn, Narita, Japan)

Ok, really..who am I?

I often wonder, but here's the basics....

Full name: Andrea Oikawa (ok, Andrea Dawn Oikawa)

Birthday: 12 June (Yes, a Gemini)

Misty the cat...well, for a good 17 years that is. now its Roxy, or just 'Cat'.

Misty!!!! 1984 - 2001

Residence:Vienna, austria. . This has shifted many times, including Japan, the UK, Australia, France, Germany...not to mention Jasper(Alberta), Lake Louise(Alberta), Whistler(BC), and racked up a fair bit in transit over the world as well.....

Favorite Color:Blue and its variations. Maybe cos the ocean is blue..??

Favorite films: Lost in Translation, Pirates of the Carribean, Empire Records, Run Lola Run, Any of the Disney cartoons, Any Jackie Chan film, Shawshank Redemption, The Full Monty, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Pride and Prejudice...and yes, Thelma and Louise, Under the Tuscan Sun and Bridget Jones's Diary

Music: A bit eclectic - the odd mainstream bit - less and less of this as more and more crap is being released these days. Love the Canadian stuff, Traditional Scottish & Irish, Indie and house, techno and trance(including most subgenres) - something with a beat to dance to. I guess this would also include Hardcore/Breakbeat, thanks to my buddy over in London, Stu the DJ. Jazz. and I cannot forget how much I enjoy some good Bob Marley once in a while(ahh, Africa...memories)

A quirks:Can't wink. Hate Onions, but Lima beans - love 'em.

Spare Time...Oh how to kill time in Vienna...running, yoga, pilates (only in summer as I've gotten soft in my old age and don't want to walk 15 minutes in the winter), swimming (also in the summer), kickbox training, regular training (the sauna and steamroom help with the motivation), reading, learning to play guitar and ukulele again..key word..learning...keeping credit card companies and internet travel bookers in business..so yeah, really into traveling...I've a section for this...which needs some serious updating..not sure how many countries I've put stuff on here for, but am nearing 40 countries that i have seen..when i get to sunnier destinations, add snorkeling, scuba diving and perhaps a bit of surfing to the list. Unfortunately the only diving I do in Vienna is the last minute one into the U-bahn, and the only surfing is on the internet.

A few favorite quotes....

"The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall." ~ Nelson Mandela

'Remember, no one can make you feel inferior without your consent' - Eleanor Roosevelt

'The only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it' - Oscar Wilde

'It's not that life is too short, it's just that you are dead for so long' - unknown

'You would not be entirely human if you did not mostly prefer to be elsewhere' - unknown

'Work to Live, Don't Live to Work' - unknown

I no naka no kawazu taikai o shirazu (a frog in a well does not know the great sea) - Japanese saying

'Beauty is in the eye of the beholder' (or beerholder)

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Me at Whistler's Mountain, Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada(1997)

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