#10 Through the good and the bad
A package of journey in life with benefits in shaping our mature and wiser being. Keep the bad as deep as the good. As from pain we learn and rise.
Hello readers! It’s almost end of June already. How was your week? What series did you just finish? Hoping at least your post binge-watch feelings or having your favorite food or beverages can ease you from the hard week. We never know how long this pandemic situation will control us from being fresh enough to be productive.
Our last edition is a #SalMonday from Gerry about the biggest fear of Meiska and Elsa. You can read it back here in case you missed it.
Do not miss our publication by clicking the button below to subscribe! We hope you enjoy Salmon Mentai.
Meiska
As mentioned on the last newsletter, I am officially 27 years old! It was not an easy year being 26 before with a lot of things happened especially in my workplace. It scares me how much tougher being 27 will be in the following months with more unexpected things to happen as well. How will I lead myself?
Inspired by currently exposed of successful leaders that protect their own nation from the virus during this time of crisis, here are two fictional yet inspiring leader characters from my favorite anime that I refer my leadership to:
Atsushi Kamiya (Aoki Densetsu Shoot!)
![Flashback Friday] Shoot!](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!phkw!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7152f569-c473-43b6-890c-dea44ead42d7_512x384.jpeg "Flashback Friday] Shoot!")
Actually, Kamiya (left) was not the main character of the series, but he was one of the important players of the team. Kamiya was a vice captain and best friends to Kubo Yoshiharu, a team captain everyone dreamt of in a team. Kubo was famous in Shizuoka because he brought Kakegawa won the national high school competition while Kakegawa was just a new established high school. But not long from the second generation of Kakegawa student enrolled, Kubo passed away and Kamiya carried the heavy legacy.
![Flashback Friday] Shoot!](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!phkw!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7152f569-c473-43b6-890c-dea44ead42d7_512x384.jpeg "Flashback Friday] Shoot!")
There was one episode where he could think of a tactics to win against a tough team with combining every players’ specialties, and succeeded. That inspired me so much because what a smart playmaker and accommodative captain he was. From Kamiya I learnt that it’s completely fine being unsure along the way in the process of figuring things out. Because eventually we will meet a point where the only answer is to trust our own intuition. He was the one to decide Toshi Tanaka (the main protagonist) to wear the number 10 shirt. On behalf of Kubo.
Roy Mustang (Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood)
Roy was a flame alchemist and again, one of key characters in the series. He was teaming up with the Elric brothers (the main protagonists) to fight the Homunculus and its kind. He was a self-absorbed and respected State Alchemist therefore he’s fearless supported with his strength. To me he was a mentor and godparent figure to Edward and Alphonse Elric. He kept deep and strong bond with Maes Hughes, his cheerful and hospitable best friend at the military and office who, at the series, murdered by Envy (one of the Homunculus) resulting Roy’s deep dark ambition to revenge.
The “it” moments Roy left me with were those with contradictory emotions. First, when he cried because he had to lose his best friends (he had to hide his subordinate as well for being accused in murdering Maes Hughes). Second, when he was acting like a crazy monster fighting the Homunculus with his snaps that instantly burnt them. It was the moment I realized I wanted to be powerful person —in a good way. The battle scenes between him with Lust and Envy shook me as it showed how overshadowing hatred from revenge could turn a person into. It was merciless, unstoppable, and heroic at the same time.
Who is your favorite real or fictional leader you aspire to be?
Elsa
I’d love to visit museums, but one interesting museum I ever visited was the Museum of Broken Relationships in Zagreb, Croatia. The museum outposts in Zagreb and Los Angeles permanently, but the temporary exhibition had been rolled in different countries.
The museum exhibited about the failing relationships and their ruins. The idea was about to offer the chance to overcome an emotional collapse through creation, rather than ‘destructive’ self-help instructions for recovery from grief and loss. The interesting part that the exhibitors were showing not only broken relationships with partner, but with family, friends, even with themselves. I pick top 5 stories that are interesting for you.
Title: Roof tile. Duration of relationship: 4 to 5 months. From: Zurich, Switzerland.
“I got 30 presents from her for my 30th birthday. Among them was a snowball with golden angels, a small gumball machine, salt and pepper shakers in the shape of cows, a windmill, an inflatable champagne bottle and as the 30th present a roof tile onto which she wrote ‘…but it beats only for you’. We knew the first part of this sentence from a failed theatre performance ‘My Heaty is a Roof Tile..’ After less than half a year we broke up, hugging each other, with tears on our eyes. Two weeks later she called me at the store. She did not get her period. And I had fallen in love with a man two meters tall.”
Title: Set of acupuncture pens. Duration of relationship: 2007-2009. From: Pittsburgh, USA.
“During the two years we were together, I was constantly sick. She strongly believed in Eastern Medicine and made me special soups, drinks and herbs. She ordered this special set of acupuncture pens for me. I never used them. My health changed almost immediately after we broke up. I rarely get sick now.”
Title: Handkerchief. Duration of relationship: years. From: Heerlen, Netherlands.
“This is a fragment of my life that I would like to share with you. I had a good relationship with my mother-in-law, she was pretty & elegant, she was good at languages, she was kind to everybody, she liked parties, singing & dancing. We used to talk about many things..Then one day we had a very special and sad conversation.. She told me that she had got Alzheimer.. and was concerned about the deterioration of her quality of life.. and all that the illness would bring.. We knew that perhaps that was our last able-minded conversation.. Then, she gave me this HANDKERCHIEF.. so I could dry my eyes.”
Title: Door. Duration of relationship: Jan 20, 1992 – July 13, 2014. From: Crikvenica, Croatia.
“This is the door to my home onto which the friends of my deceased son had written beautiful messages, verses, and words as their farewell to him.”
Title: Pizza Maker (pizza mix in a box, 16.7 oz) Duration of relationship: 45 years (1963-2007). From: Bloomington, USA.
Dear Pizza,
I miss you incredibly. It’s been four years this month. Sorry for the silence. I guess I owe you an explanation. Remember how I loved you? But within two hours, I’d wind up crying, erratic, foggy, and miserable every time. I thought it was just my personality. It was actually food allergies—gluten and casein intolerance. I had to say goodbye.
Most of the other foods were easy to give up. But I still dream about you. I miss your steam, the way you grease up the plate, your sweet, tangy richness. I was in New York City recently. Temptation at every turn. I could hardly stand it.
Maybe I loved you too much. How could this happen? Maybe it’s not our fault. Maybe it’s our polluted environment, or the genetically engineered cows and wheat. Did food allergies even exist twenty years ago? I’m sceptical.
I wish it weren’t so, but I do much better without you. Hard to believe there was once a time, when I was about three years old, that I only ate the crusts. Little did we know how much things would change. Please, stay hot and tasty. I will always love you.
Love,
Me.
Do not forget to give a comment about your favorite (fictional) leaders and your museum experience (or broken relationship?) by clicking a comment button below.
Museum of Broken Relationships is open for contributions still! The best thing from the museum is that they will keep your story anonymously— safe and sound. You can shout your personal brokenship experience here.
