catching up, rambling about attitude, and taking a break

Here are the quick and dirty's of the past little bit... mostly told in picture form. I am taking a break from this blog for a little bit too... It has recently been seemingly like a chore to write here, so I want to recharge my writing passion using other forms.



Yom Kippur in Kobe was a great experience... well-needed fasting and Jewish-community-being-arounding... wanna talk culture shock? Speaking/ hearing/reading Hebrew for a day and walking out of the Jewish community center to the world of reading/hearing and (not)speaking Japanese... wow.
(Shinkansen- bullet train. This got me to and from Kobe twice in the past two weeks!)

A junior high school sports festival... think color war and actual teamwork and group activities.... from 9am till 330. I thought my team had overcome a huge deficit to win second place after it repeatedly won 20-person running relays... but it seems that that was not the case. or maybe it was, but i just didn't understand. My team captains were crying at the end... but the winning team's captains were crying too. Teachers too... lots of folks... someone told me, "Sports Day, whether you win or lose you cry..." I think this is mostly due to physical exhaustion and coming to grips with completing a huge part of one's life for the months leading up to it.... its so overwhelming to be done that the winning and losing didn't even matter... how cool.

(Recently I was told that I cant have any pictures showing students' faces... invasion of privacy. Fair enough, so this is the blue team in the 30-person "3-legged race"... it was timed, it was amazing to watch the teamwork!)

Day of rest turns into an adventure into the big city. Liat emails me to inform me about an extra ticket to the Fukuoka International Film Fest... I'm a sucker for movies... had to go. Took the opportunity to go to Ohori Koen (yes, Drew and Jen... I made it!) before the film fest too. A lovely day in Fuk, even with the rain flirting to dump all day.

(Liat posing on the ____ [dont know what its called] in Ohori Koen)

Next day (Tues) back to Fuk for the meeting (more on this in two more paragraphs)... and the other posts describe the madness that went on from there.

(Another Sports Day shot: this is the huge team jump rope I told you about... the one that caused injuries galore... well, teams perfected it this day!)

Today is Thursday night, I am going to watch the women's world cup Semifinal between the US and Brazil... winner plays Germany soon... keep your eyes and ears peeled. I taught 5th and 6th graders yesterday... introducing numbers... it was a life-changing experience... awesome kids, awesome school and teachers and an exhausting day. I was scheduled for an extra class... nearly killed me but it was awesome. Yes- AWESOME! And today, I had 2nd graders... they were so small... and I made a spectacle of myself and made them laugh my walking into the top of the door frame upon my entering the classroom. I decided to do it all day too, to break the ice early. Haven't slept, physically exhausted, but I am awake and aware and smiling all day... unreal actually.

(The Narita-san statue is a great view on my bicycle-commute to school. Yeah, i take that road on the right!)

Leads me to a good point on which to rest for a while:

The meeting I attended was full of negatude. Folks wanted to leave early, the "too cool for school" attitude. Bitching, moaning, peanut gallery stuff. For three hours this went on. I could have easily joined it... i mean, settling for the lowest common denominator is easy and accepted. I mean, it makes everyone agree, so it must be right, right? Fucking (yes I wrote it) wrong, actually. You know why? Because agreeing is not always better. And a lousy attitude is a lousy attitude. If I accept negatude, then others will stay negative too. It is a shared energy thing...

I can't describe it well in words, but perhaps you've been in the situation where everyone looks right, even though the view is to the left. You look right too, because fitting in is easier- you don't feel like dealing with comments from the aforementioned peanut gallery... well, I'm done with it. I'm looking where the view is, and dealing with the comments... Not picking a fight or disagreeing to make a controversy... on the contrary...

Simply reflecting the happiness... And I practiced at that meeting too... with a smile. And you know what, it all just seemed silly after a minute of smiling... drama appeared, then melted out of my life and left me happy.... just like I had been going into it!


If I am physically drained and asleep on my feet and dead.... then I should be even nicer and happier, with a bigger smile... WHY? Because others vibe that smile, and smile back... and recharge my missing energy. The school day yesterday from another point of view....


After a draining day, I got to the elementary school and gave it everything... for 7 hours I was beaming and loud and excited and moving.... and by the end of the day, I left with a bigger smile and more energy, despite only five hours of sleep from the previous night... you know how I know it works? I got 5 hours again last night, rocked the classrooms again today and feel great!


Its all about energy.... the more I give, the more I get. The quality of energy I share is the same resonance that recharges me. It's not easy, but one is in the moment only once, so its important to make sure that energy is wisely absorbed/transmitted.

I received a gift recently. It was a scroll with the phrase in Kanji (Japanese characters):


"Ichi Go, Ichi E" -- One chance, one meeting.


This is not a Carpe Diem idea...



It is an idea that this moment is right now... It's true we may meet again, but this meeting is the only meeting we will have at this one time. I figure its important to recognize the intensity of each living moment and live accordingly... and, as written above, I have been choosing the energy route to do so.



Holy moly, I rambled that one away... can't promise another post anytime soon... but I do promise to be completely present in the moment I write... sharing as much positive energy as I can...



Ichi go, ichi e....



Soon,

Supposed to be an easy one...

Yesterday was supposed to be a more mellow day.... office for a couple of hours in the morning, take the train into the city, get lunch, regional meeting for a couple of hours in the afternoon, putz around the city and get home... well, it all started when I woke up... (normally it does, no?)

early- 6am: life is too short to sleep, And its OK, because I went to bed early (it was my Sunday after all!). Meditate, air out futons, wash dishes, blah blah blah... i even showered and shaved (not exciting at all, maybe it sounds like it is through)
812 leave house late
830 office
1020 leave, errands, lunch, bike to special bike parking grounds
1135 leave for city on slower train (22 min nap on train)
1220pm get to the city (Fukuoka)
1238 meditation at Ankukoji (?) temple before meeting
130 meeting- find out about lantern festival at major temple
500 leave city- head to Daizaifu temple for said festival
545 arrive Dazaifu, drink guava juice, buy shodo (Japanese calligraphy) materials (brush and ink block)
600 walk around the site, make offering to shrine
645 string quartet concert, 7-year old boy makes conversation in English with me, impressive!
705 head to main pond
715 meet Japanese woman (Yasuko) who wants to converse in English, so we do.
800 traditional dance, as an offering to the god of the shrine. light candles for good luck. wind blows out candles at my end of the pond, but the whole place is illuminated- really cool looking.
900 another prayer at the shrine. walk around the grounds at night with Yasuko, make plans to visit temple again, speak English with her more
916 train, transfer, train
954 arrive Kurume, get bike from station before closing
1015 Ramen meal at famous restaurant... conveniently down the street from my place
1020 meet a neighbor at restaurant, we practice respective languages... he teaches me Japanese and Chinese, I teach him English and Spanish.
1050 said neighbor invites me drink with his buddies
1100 drop my bike at home
1115 drink with said friends, learn important (vulgar) Japanese words
1220 get home

I will write more about whatever, including the last weekend, as well as show pictures... but I have to be home in order to do it. Total time on the fly yesterday: a touch over 16 hours; Total time awake: 18 hours; Total camera time: ZERO- left it at home... foolish.

Today: elementary school kids... gonna be entirely destroyed later...

Get at you soon,

A lot to write...

.. but fortunately not enough time to get it down:



Here is an outline for you in the days to come:

- Yom Kippur in Kobe
- Myojo Jr. High Sports Day Festival
- Another work Party
- day of sleeping that turned into an adventure

But this is a thought that came across my mind last night... There is a spider living in my bathroom. He is rather large, but we have made an agreement that he will live behind the toilet and will not bother me. I will use the toilet and not bother him. Problem is that he is making a mess, leaving all of his meals behind... and I will have to start cleaning up after him... I guess what this comes down to is my having to let him use the toilet after all! And you thought I was going to kill him? I didn't kill the random grasshopper that made his way to my throne... he is alive too... I had to encourage him to get out of the bowl so that I could flush though... and he is happier outside next to the basil plant, probably drying off.... eeewwwww, too many details!

And my basil plant, I thought something was fishy when it grew, but there were no new leaves... I figured it had been pollinated or fertilized or whatever (i know next to nothing about gardening except that i like it). So, there were a couple of nice leaves for me to choose from last night to add to my pesto... and it was lovely except there was an interesting aftertaste of mint! Because my plant was cross-bred with the mint that grows wild on the ground floor! So I have a "mintal" or a "basint" growing on my balcony. Wonderful and new!

La la la random... more to come... but work meetings call! Enjoy the day!

Soon,

Untitled

I have nothing to report right now that is super exciting... wait, that is a bad way to start... Let me start over:

So, I haven't stopped in 3 weeks. Like Drew's away message said, "I am like an electron particle, always moving!" Dude, from work parties to soccer tourneys to a week of work it has continued. I even picked up a couple more classes during the week, so I have been preparing materials, teaching and riding my bike to and from work. Filling in the time with shodo (Japanese calligraphy) and just the mundane things that keep us all living in apartments and houses and such- you know, the groceries, the Home Depot (called Gooday, here), the things like that. But I did ride my bike cross-town (with a busted open knee, still!) to get another round of discount tickets on Shinkansen.

I leave work early today to take the train to Kobe, again, to observe Yom Kippur. It will be a quick 30-hour fast/trip so i can get back here for one of my junior high's annual Sports Day Festival. All-day Sunday and then an after-party with the teachers... won't stop moving, can't until I get back from that party Sunday night... fortunately, Monday is a holiday. I have it on my agenda, "SLEEP." And that is taking priority. Period. Getting my body back in working condition:

Seemingly up all night, Rob Lowe is asked by Nick Naylor in Thank You for Smoking, "When do you sleep, Rob?" His response "Sundays." I get that.

Also, a thought by our friend Sylvia Plath (if you don't know her, then you should do some research), "We stayed at home to write, to consolidate our outstretched selves." I have not been studying Japanese as much as I'd like. Nor have I been writing creatively (less this blog) as much as I had anticipated. So, that will be 2nd and 3rd orders of the day on Monday... if i decide to actually wake up that is!

The whole point from earlier (I have ADD, I know it, I love it and I embrace it) is that I was super busy, running and "un-stopping" and I had finally taken care of my trains for this weekend and my stomach told me it was time for dinner. And I was wandering near the downtown, and there it was. A small Ramen shop... and I was the only one in there and it was fantastic. MORAL: No matter how busy one may think one is, the most important way to stay organized and moving is to take the time to eat a great meal... expensive or cheap, big or small.... Just a great eating experience... and to observe the food before eating it. and to take every morsel inward peacefully... it leads to bodily refreshment as well as mental clarity and outward patience and calm. Or maybe it's just me...

Anyone fasting or observing Yom Kipuur, take it easy and enjoy a day of reflection. Anyone else, please take it easy and enjoy a day of reflection.

See you next week

Pleasure and Pain

Last said, I was on my way to a work dinner/welcome party in one of the nicest hotels in Kurume... wonderful.. Sukiyaki.... cooked up in front of us, dipped the food (meats, veggies, noodles) into my bowl that was filled with a raw egg... talk about adding flavor and a couple of grey hairs (salmonella, ever heard of food poisoning?)... but fantastic... as the mantra goes: try everything. I was a cultural ambassador as my supervisor learned how to perfect the art of the Sake Bomb... a small cup of sake dumped (creatively) into a glass of beer... and chugged. Needless to say it wasn't a sober occasion. I went for a drink after the dinner too, but couldn't hang... went home and slept for 4 hours then got up, on my bike and charged full speed ahead, in the dark to the train station....

I left Kurume as the sun was coming up... 30 min to Hakata... then transfer to the Shinkansen (da Shink!) or bullet train... and no kiddin that thing moves quick. so convenient, so efficient... and i counted that each train can transport 1600 people at full capacity... and from Fukuoka to Kobe in just over 2 hours... unreal, i don't know the distances, but it is just a large number. An awesome ride, let me tell you. to Kobe, some subway madness to a bus terminal, all the while playing cell phone texting games with the group I'm trying to meet. they come running as the bus takes off and we are off to Awaji island.

Who? Why, the Fukuoka JETs football (yes, soccer) team. FGU! We had never played together... or maybe a couple of them had previously, but we were just a bunch of soccer studs who got thrown out on the field together. Lots of transportation (they left the night before on a water ferry) and we arrived at 10:30 for our first game at 11. I cant go into too many details or this will really drag... but here are the highlights:

10 teams, we finished 2nd! Lost 1-0 in the final on a goal that could have been prevented if the referee had actually blown his whistle on time to end the half... but, alas, the goal was counted and then he ended the first.

(the crew who lasted the entire tourney. yeah FGU!)

1-0, 1-0, 4-0, 3-1 on the first day.... I swear i assisted or played a role in 5 of those goals... but it is a team game, so it really doesn't matter. The last game i think i suffered a bit of a concussion... elbowed in the back of the head... and then was slurring words later, pupils dilated... i was suffering the signs and symptoms of a concussion. But as the game finished, I pulled a move that involved me playing behind my back and causing a breakaway... that i missed and my teammate finished... not bad for a messed up head.

Second day: I said I couldn't play... didn't want to risk getting a serious injury. Then everyone came to breakfast: broken toe, 2nd degree sprained ankle, bloodied shins and knees, concrete pillars as legs... you name it, someone had it.... so, we just pulled together and got er dun! I vowed not to head the ball unless it would be a game-winning goal. So, game two, we were tied 1-1 and the ball came in the air across the box and the clock was winding down. I headed that thing so hard into the back of the net that I was ready for any fate that might befall me... and lo and behold, i am ok as i write this (or at least the guy in my head tells me its ok for now). Two goals that game and some more assists as the day went on. Our defense was amazing- anchored by Paul and Eric... the three Japanese guys whose names I have written down on a piece of paper in the bottom of one of my stacks in the office, the Randal, our captain Matt Ho, Sam, Dan, Josh, Verge, Lee, and all of the other randoms who joined us from time to time to sub us out for a moment (we were only 12 by day 2)... lest we forget our outstanding keeper Ian. Our fabulous cheering squad of Taz and Lauren- thank you ladies! Oy, there is one more... i will remember who it was after i post this... and then i will update it!

injury-ridden, huge scars on both legs, head damage, muscle fatigue.... worth every second... amazing amounts of soccer and great play by everyone... what an honor to be a part of this squad.

doesn't end there.... straight to Kobe... met up with Colin (YES, finally!) who is a friend of Blake's from back home... rock on OC! His blog can be seen as a link on mine. He was much taller than I thought, but an awesome dude... and he introduced me to Kendall and Lauren who also took pity on my limping, gimpy stature... we went to dinner and then to a small concert: featuring the Boo-boos (see Colin's site) among others. Jamming out in Kobe, needless to say... we made it back to Kendal's and had a sleepover... 4 of us on a floor without enough space for at least 6... more next time! They are awesome and I hope to see them again too... if only Lauren wasn't going home in three weeks, ahh! take it easy girl. Kendal, better apply to JET! And Colin, well you are here for awhile... I'm finding you again soon! second awesome crew in two days. wow.

i was going to go to Kyoto early on Monday morning... HA, i couldn't even walk. So, I limped towards Kyoto with Colin much later... and then got there... met Robyn and her friends for a vegetarian lunch at a famous temple (can you tell i am tired writing this?) and then back to the train, to the station, shinkansen, train, to my home station... then the 25 minute bike ride home on muscles that were concrete! just exhausted...

wake up: first day of school at a new school. another Japanese introduction for teachers; speech in front of the student body (315 kids in uniform), an extra class scheduled first thing; lots of errands to run after school- another shink ticket to buy (yes there are cheaper ways to travel, but my schedule is insane--- i am listening to a crazy fast progressive trance mix right now... ahh, rambling on!) ramen at a small restaurant on the fly, dry cleaners, the usual fruit stand stop and saying hi to the neighbors! Time to write, minimal. Time to play harmonica, non-existent. Time to sleep? not really. Loving life? Can't doubt it for a second.

Every moment is so important. If i check an email instead of wash a dish, then perhaps I have wasted an entire lifetime. Whether I peruse a magazine instead of studying Japanese, the moment is gone forever once it has passed. There is no time to waste doing stupid shit (really trying to stop cursing): creating drama, no time; worrying about logistics of people meeting people, can't afford to use energy with it; not giving every ounce of energy into every thought and action... impossible. I don't know how this ramble makes sense, but maybe the following paradox might help:

Every second is so important that not using it wisely is death. Furthermore, that second has to be of completely undistracted by future and past seconds that have or may occur. But being attached to that second has got to be the silliest use of it.

If you have read this all, then hopefully you don't feel as if your seconds have been wasted.

Gotta rest now. If I am able to wake up tomorrow then I must make use every second that I am gifted.

Danger at school

i will be going away for some three-day weekends... so i will be kinda MIA... for the next month or so... but here is a thought i had at lunch today:

It is so dangerous for kids here in Japan. It is a game that really should be banned. They play it, but I saw a girl with that gash over her eye. Not a small flood of red falling from her brow, either. And the dude who couldn't even walk... his ankle was pretty badly sprained. The matching black eyes on the two older guys and the multitude of bandages taken to the first-year students... on elbows, and knees. There was even the guy with the crutches... they ought to stop this, but it seems as if it is actually celebrated and encouraged. I really feel like an outsider now. I am on the fringes of understanding this. But I never thought group jump rope was so dangerous! No kidding!

Have a good weekend, I will attempt to play soccer without hurting myself any more than I already did in the training process (sore muscles... and really out of shape). Good luck!

celebrated Rosh Hashana at school by offering apples to dip in honey to the teachers... and the vice-principal even explained it for me in Japanese... they were a hit. Sweet (yeah, to say the least, "amai" in Japanese)

l'shana tova,
mata-nei,

A shorty- Rafting

Have to write something or I won't write anything. I went rafting last Saturday for the first time in a while. I realized quickly that it wasn't going to be a very hard core rapid-oriented trip... so i kicked back and just worried about having a good time. That, as opposed to getting ready for a good back, flank and arm workout. In fact, because we were 9, we had to take turns NOT paddling and i fully embraced that by sitting on the front of the raft for an extended period of time. We got up at 5:30am and hit the road to get to the rafting place near Kumamoto by 8... and got off the water before 1pm. Afterwards a couple of us went to Onsen... hot springs, Japanese-style. Relaxing, refreshing and repeatable (struggled for the last "r" word there!)... nakedness continues, in yet another country!

(group posing on the raft!)

During rafting we capsized the boat numerous times, jumped off of a huge rock into the river and even had a chance on the rope swing... my backflip failed as i landed on my head... but i did manage a near perfect backflip off of the raft. That was sick! Just like snowboarding, like writing like anything- you gotta go for it and commit 100% and you will make it. Second-guessing (like i did on the rope swing) leads to failure... but dedication and acting like one is in the most important (last, whatever) moment of one's life results in perfection, happiness and nirvana... I have a lot of work to do on this.

(Quite the lineup for a second of weightlessness!)

One of my JTE's (Japanese Teacher of English) is into great music- she visits Mississippi every year for a blue festival- and she lent me "Postcards of the Hanging" the Dead covering about an hour and a half of Bobby Dylan's bests. So, i will jam away as I post this blog. Loving life, ups and downs.

(Floatin' in the drink!)

L'Shana Tova... Happy Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year)... may your next year be filled with sweetness, joy and happiness!

Kiotsukete kudasai (take care),

Dave

In the classroom, soccer and first frustrations

I started on Monday. The speeches went well in Japanese… funny because I don’t even speak it yet. But the speeches went over well, maybe ‘simply’ is a better way to put it. On Tuesday, I was tossed into an elementary school to teach/ introduce myself in English. I was asked all sorts of questions from my shoe size to my favorite Japanese food. Then I had lunch with my “homeroom” of 5th graders and they tried to break down the recess plans in Japanese… eventually we figured it out. So I played dodgeball, in my wool pants and white shirt and tie outside in the sun. Not a bad costume for 95 degree heat and 100% humidity. I am getting used to it… and I even made some amazing dodges…

The past couple of days, I have been with my “home” school, Myojo Jr. High. It is awesome! An older building, but with lots of character… and you know me, I love that. I have taught a bunch of the first year students so far and will work with the second and third years next week. Lots of self-intros coming up and even more questions. So far I’ve only been asked twice if I am married. I show the family picture and students are astounded that Jake is only seventeen years old…
And the best part is that I introduce UCLA as there place I studied- and I have been teaching the 8-clap to all of the students! More Bruin fans, exactly what the world needs!

I am a cultural ambassador, a live-tape recorder and a reminder to speak English. I get greeted everyday by numerous students with, “Hello,” and then a bashful run-away. I get inquiries about (school) life in America (they don’t call it the United States; here it is “America”). My favorite was when I told how them how many days of summer vacation we have… they told me 40 and then I told them 80. It was the loudest “Suugoi”- wow/awesome- in unison that I had ever heard. And now I recognize the word. I also represent the US to my co-workers: in the board of education office, at my various schools and at the bars. I have to be a good example in all of these places; this leaves me no time to be anything less than fired up always- working and partying hard. (Complicated sentence, huh?) I even got "do you believed in a balanced diet?" when my desk mate saw my lunch of friend chicken and rice. On all the time, even in the down time.

Yesterday and today, I played soccer with the school team. I asked if I could practice with the students. The teachers appreciate my involvement and the students get to practice their English too. And I pick up some Japanese schoolyard language that will certainly be helpful. It gets me in shape and I love it that I have touched a soccer ball three times this week. I am playing in a Sunday night “league.” A bunch of us run around in a short-sided game. And, I also bought my bullet train tickets (long adventurous trip into the Japanese language) to Kobe (like the Bryant)… so that I can play in a JET soccer tourney. I will be playing for the Fukuoka prefecture team. Being back into the junior high, I might as well be playing soccer on multiple teams and play everyday of the week; it is a flash to how the past of what used to be!

I had a moment of frustration when I suggested a new exercise to the soccer coach, I think he shrugged me off, laughed and commented to another coworker. It's hard to be patient always because i am not understood. It is hard to be the one that everyone knows "doesn't get it." It's hard not fitting in and feeling it. Its hard not speaking the language. but this is a stepping stone. It is not easy, nothing is... it takes time and patience... and effort and caring and effort and... yeah... If my life is easy, then I get pissed off. If life is hard then I get really pissed off... but then I work on it and, get better and enjoy life even more... like it's been said, "You have to learn how to crawl before you can walk," or maybe it was "You gotta walk before you can crawl." Either way, it's all about waking up in the morning, giving it my all and learning and teaching.

Living everyday to the fullest. Giving the body a run for its money, but not abusing it. Working the mind and studying without cramming too much and losing information. Bringing peace to the world and finding it for myself too, patiently and one step at a time.

Kiotsu Kette Kudasai (take care),

So Much to Say

I put on probably one of my favorite all-time albums to write this short (probably long post). Dave's Crash and you know what song plays first, "So Much to Say."

What's better than having one of the most complete and fulfilling days of your life? I got one: Receiving a small note, a tiny postcard, from a great friend who had the thoughtfulness to share some of the beauty he saw in the world in an exact moment... moving along.

Today was the first day of school. Props go out to my upstairs neighbor Praju, from India, who helped me translate my speech into Japanese. I managed to successfully speak it in front of the staff room and then again in front of the school. Lots of people, and it felt good, real good. I'd say "natural," but i read it in English romanji, as opposed to Japanese characters... but that will come soon. Or later.. It will arrive sometime.

I had lunch with two teachers, and dinner with another three. I even got invited to the house of a a random woman that I met at the fruit stand. she wanted to practice her English probably, but I just couldn't make it. However,I did learn more Japanese today than i did in a month kicking it around the office. I was waiting for this... to get thrown into the mix where the majority does NOT speak English. As the Japanese value education, they are into learning and teaching... so my life in Japanese and English revolves around this basic principle of enlightenment. Which brings me to my next point.

Teachers are underpaid. They are public workers... servants if you will. And the majority of people earn money privately and don't want to give publicly (ie: pay taxes). Thus, teachers' salaries will always be too high as far as the public is concerned. And teachers always feel that they work too many hours off the books (ie: grading papers, doing after-school stuff) for the pay they are getting. this battle will go on in all modern societies and hopefully one day the average person will feel that giving is better than receiving and teachers will earn the money they deserve. and the taxpayers will get their money's worth out of the system. Eventually it will work. This leads me to the next two points:

1) from an earlier thought, I am stoked to jump into the deep end of the Japanese world. Bring it. Like my friend Vinnie wrote on his blog, I too have been pulled between partying and getting involved in my new living-culture... and I am choosing the latter. fortunately for me, Vinne figures this out these important ideas a day or two before me and the I can just copy his example! Keep blazing trails baby!

2) I will be one of the poor teachers who feels that he should be earning more for the amount of work he does. At this rate, I am not concerned about money or time. In fact, this description is inaccurate... Suffice to say, what I mean is, I am a teacher, I feel it, it seems right and I'm just suited to do it. I value education and peace; money is just a by-product of doing something that I would do for free. Any money I do acquire can just keep my travel habit going... and remind me to live a modest life. The coolest part about being a teacher is being a student too... i receive a free education everyday... in life, language and love. I am blessed to be able to ride my bike to work everyday. What else do I need? (Besides good weather- as that will make riding a bit more difficult... and with typhoon season coming up....)

OHH and the whole reason for this blog was a statistic that came to mind as I share a bit of my life with a Japanese teacher, Shibata-sensei, with whom I will be closely working. she asked if I cook for myself and I said that I did, when I had access to a kitchen... and that has been... hmm, how often?... long story short, I have slept outside thirteen of the past 36 months. Since graduating college, I have slept under the stars or in a tent, on the ground, exposed to the elements in both hemispheres- a third of the time. I had a hard time accepting it... and then I laughed and it made me realize why sleeping on a thin futon on my tatami mat floor feels so goddamn good.

I bought and arranged the some flowers on Friday. One of the lilies is beginning to wilt, but another one opened today... and it seems that this will occur again tomorrow. Flowers are beautiful... and such good reminds of the peace and amazingness in the world... and a reminder of death and life in the same being:




Mata-nei,

Deciding to Live

I am exhausted. I haven’t slept in a week and I was going to do it early tonight so I could get some rest... not gonna happen because I want to get this out:

I woke up this morning and decided to live. I was tired, slightly hung-over and already sweating from the humidity. Actually I was woken up by a phone call to go to the beach (thanks Wendy!). I was out late and hung up and said I was going to stay home. After ten seconds, I realized that I had to wake up. I had to go to the beach (yes, again, I love it there!)... I woke up and ran with it… and all day. And sometimes it was slower, others faster, some were stressed moments and others relaxing vacation-style ones.

I am putting this on my blog because it is a reminder. We all wake up hung-over (sometimes). We all wake up irritated at an alarm (sometimes). We even get phone calls to arouse us from slumber. Sometimes an obligation. Sometimes a fun activity to do. Another popular excuse is “for work.”

What if you woke up one day and smiled and shot out of bed because you were so excited to be alive? Because you were excited to go to your job, to do your best, to learn something new, to face mundane frustrations, drive through the daily rat race, enjoy the sunlight on your face as you sipped on a morning java at the local coffee shop because you left yourself a couple more minutes? (Ramble, ramble, ramble)

What if you woke up to wake up? And then work was just another thing to check off of the list along with a morning run and picking up the dry cleaning? An interesting way of looking at it, and a way to separate oneself from energy-draining drama too…

Like I wrote, I woke up this morning and decided to live. To be awake, aware and to react to what was presented to me. I accepted the goods for goods and bads for bads and then let them pass through me as I passed through the world. What if you wake up tomorrow and decide to live? What if everyone decided to live when they woke up?

Happy September. It is nearly the start of the next Jewish year. It is a time to start anew, even for non-Jews. It is a reminder to live. Schools are starting (I begin teaching on Monday!) and students are beginning a new life. It is the time for living, for waking up and for being excited. In fact, every second is like this. Are you living? If not, there is only one thing stopping you.

You have to wake up and decide to live. Are you ready?