Here I am, after too long not posting, eh. Sorry about that.
Well, Christmas is in three days...
Actually, as far I'm concerned, it's only two days away. Christmas Eve is when we have the big gathering at our house with my side of the family. There'll be about 20 people crowded into our little house again this year. It should be fun, even if it is a bit "cozy". ^-^
In church Sunday, they were focussing on the "Jesus is the reason for the season" thing... but this time it was different. Many times, around this time of year, the focus is on the birth of Jesus, but this year the lessons revolved around both His birth and His life. They spoke of His teachings and the sacrifices He made for us. It was good to see.
As a Christian (Yes, Mormons ARE Christians...), I believe in the divinty of Jesus and the sacrifices He made for our sins. Yet, I find myself loving and respecting Jesus on two levels... both as the Son of God and as a man. As a man, He was still a person worth looking up to - even for those who cannot accept His divinity. He was the ultimate peacenick! He loved everyone, even those who were considered "unclean" by society. He brought to the world two laws: Love God and Love our neighbor. Who is our neighbor? Everyone is!
When I think of all the times that His name is used by politicians in support for or as an excuse for their wars, I can only imagine the depth of sadness it must bring Him! He showed us the way to peace... I keep hoping for the day when the world will finally listen... when people will sing of "goodwill to men" all year, and not just at Christmas.
In other news, I bought the JAM Project DVD last month. After a little trouble with the region coding thing, I've been able to watch it several times. It's a bit expensive, but it was worth it. Excellent high energy concert! The DVD also included a few extras: a bonus song, a behind the scenes documentary with interviews, biographical info on the members, and discography. Very well done! I'm already planning to buy the next one that's coming out February 23rd!
Also this month, I finally finish translating Yoshiki Fukuyama's "Jungle Lady" album. Now I'm trying to get the JAM Project songs caught up. This week, I've caught three songs in progress. They should be ready to upload by next week. ^-^
Yesterday, we went to Seattle again. There, I saw a very interesting street musician named Jim Hinde. His home page is at www.jimhinde.com. I added his war protest song "Shouting Down the Wind" to my Songs to Ponder page. Please, take a look at it.
Also added to Songs to Ponder is John Fogerty's "Deja Vu All Over Again". After all these years, he's still great, eh!
Well, till next time... Merry Christmas!
peace
Wednesday, December 22, 2004
Wednesday, November 03, 2004
I read the news today, oh boy...
Please, tell me this is a bad dream. I can't believe that there are enough people in this country stupid enough to fall for Bush's scare tactics! Yet, it really seems so. Kerry has conceeded and the news doesn't seem to even cover any results except the activities of the Republicats and the Demicans.
In the last four years, Bush has sent troops into Iraq, claiming that they were needed to "defend us" from WMDs that weren't there and "justice" for an attack in New York that Iraq had no involvement in. Troops families suffer as tours of duty are extended... and more and more troops are not coming home at all. This war was not "a cake walk". We (the Americans) were not heralded as saviors by the Iraqi people, except maybe by the Kurd minority. Meanwhile, Bush has managed to alienate us with half our traditional allies
Daily, we hear about attacks by "insurgents" on our troops and those that support them... and I find myself wondering if the same thing were to happen in our country, would they be considered "insurgents" or "freedom fighters". It's really all a matter of perspective. The effect is the same, in either case? Innocent people are caught in the middle while "freedom" is delivered or resisted at gunpoint by all involved.
They say that in any war, truth is the first casualty...
And I definitley DO NOT feel any safer...
Meanwhile, on the homefront...
I keep reading about "new jobs" being created... but where are they? The only jobs I see out there are low paying service jobs, often part-time, usually with no benefits or (as in the case of my husband's work) so expensive as to be unaffordable. At the same time, the cost of basic items like food and transportation has jumped exponentially.
I wasn't able to buy Fukuyama-san's DVD. You'd think I would have been among the first to buy it, wouldn't you? The truth is that between my husband's job, my two jobs, and my son's SSI (disability pay), we bring in just enough money to bring us all the way up to "low income". By the time I had enough money (after bills and emergencies), it was already sold out. Thanks to a friend who shall remain nameless, I have a DVD-R copy, but it would have been better if I could have bought it.
I'm buying the JAM Project DVD. I've already ordered it. Barring medical or house/car repair emergencies, I'll still have the money to pay for it when it comes in at Kinokuniya later this month. I was going to buy it in a couple months after I bought Fukuyama-san's DVD, but since I couldn't I guess I'll buy the JAM Project DVD now, eh.
Money shouldn't be this tight. Four years ago, all the income we had was my husband's job and my son's SSI. I stayed home to work with the children and run the house. We were buying groceries and paying the bills... mostly on time - barely, but we were doing it. In May of 2001, I took on a part time job (15-20 hours per week) to bring in a little extra money for educational supplies and family activities. Then about a year later, I began also earning money as a "home care provider" for my now adult son. Now... after a few years of temp jobs (after being laid off from Boeing), my husband has been steady at the current job for about two year and I am working twice the number of hours that I started off at. Why was getting harder, not easier, to make ends meet? We weren't doing any more spending than before...so we went to a credit councelor for advice. He looked at our debts and spending... and said that we couldn't cut our expenses any more than we had. We need to find ways to bring in more income. Why are things so tight? Because the cost of living had outpaced the wages. It was that simple.
And this year the price of gas jumped to over $2.00 per gallon before finally going down a bit. Now it is holding steady at around $1.97. Just three years ago, it was "expensive" at $1.30.
Sigh. Enough ranting for now, eh. The good news is that I'm getting a few updates done on the site this week including some song translations. I just finished translating "Jungle Lady" and should have it up tonight sometime. If schedule allows, I hope have the whole Jungle Lady album finished by the end of next week. Then I can catch up on the JAM Project translations... and a few others.
Becca-isms is turning out as good as anticipated under the new format. As I suspected, no one can express Becca-isms quite like Becca. Check out her Halloween post! ^-^
Despite my concerns about the political climate, I still believe that people are all capable off good... and I know that, besides myself, there are still many others who will continue to shout the message of goodwill and peace until all can hear.
peace
In the last four years, Bush has sent troops into Iraq, claiming that they were needed to "defend us" from WMDs that weren't there and "justice" for an attack in New York that Iraq had no involvement in. Troops families suffer as tours of duty are extended... and more and more troops are not coming home at all. This war was not "a cake walk". We (the Americans) were not heralded as saviors by the Iraqi people, except maybe by the Kurd minority. Meanwhile, Bush has managed to alienate us with half our traditional allies
Daily, we hear about attacks by "insurgents" on our troops and those that support them... and I find myself wondering if the same thing were to happen in our country, would they be considered "insurgents" or "freedom fighters". It's really all a matter of perspective. The effect is the same, in either case? Innocent people are caught in the middle while "freedom" is delivered or resisted at gunpoint by all involved.
They say that in any war, truth is the first casualty...
And I definitley DO NOT feel any safer...
Meanwhile, on the homefront...
I keep reading about "new jobs" being created... but where are they? The only jobs I see out there are low paying service jobs, often part-time, usually with no benefits or (as in the case of my husband's work) so expensive as to be unaffordable. At the same time, the cost of basic items like food and transportation has jumped exponentially.
I wasn't able to buy Fukuyama-san's DVD. You'd think I would have been among the first to buy it, wouldn't you? The truth is that between my husband's job, my two jobs, and my son's SSI (disability pay), we bring in just enough money to bring us all the way up to "low income". By the time I had enough money (after bills and emergencies), it was already sold out. Thanks to a friend who shall remain nameless, I have a DVD-R copy, but it would have been better if I could have bought it.
I'm buying the JAM Project DVD. I've already ordered it. Barring medical or house/car repair emergencies, I'll still have the money to pay for it when it comes in at Kinokuniya later this month. I was going to buy it in a couple months after I bought Fukuyama-san's DVD, but since I couldn't I guess I'll buy the JAM Project DVD now, eh.
Money shouldn't be this tight. Four years ago, all the income we had was my husband's job and my son's SSI. I stayed home to work with the children and run the house. We were buying groceries and paying the bills... mostly on time - barely, but we were doing it. In May of 2001, I took on a part time job (15-20 hours per week) to bring in a little extra money for educational supplies and family activities. Then about a year later, I began also earning money as a "home care provider" for my now adult son. Now... after a few years of temp jobs (after being laid off from Boeing), my husband has been steady at the current job for about two year and I am working twice the number of hours that I started off at. Why was getting harder, not easier, to make ends meet? We weren't doing any more spending than before...so we went to a credit councelor for advice. He looked at our debts and spending... and said that we couldn't cut our expenses any more than we had. We need to find ways to bring in more income. Why are things so tight? Because the cost of living had outpaced the wages. It was that simple.
And this year the price of gas jumped to over $2.00 per gallon before finally going down a bit. Now it is holding steady at around $1.97. Just three years ago, it was "expensive" at $1.30.
Sigh. Enough ranting for now, eh. The good news is that I'm getting a few updates done on the site this week including some song translations. I just finished translating "Jungle Lady" and should have it up tonight sometime. If schedule allows, I hope have the whole Jungle Lady album finished by the end of next week. Then I can catch up on the JAM Project translations... and a few others.
Becca-isms is turning out as good as anticipated under the new format. As I suspected, no one can express Becca-isms quite like Becca. Check out her Halloween post! ^-^
Despite my concerns about the political climate, I still believe that people are all capable off good... and I know that, besides myself, there are still many others who will continue to shout the message of goodwill and peace until all can hear.
peace
Tuesday, October 12, 2004
Vacation!
This week I am on vacation. I found out back in August that, for the first time, I actually have two weeks vacation time! Of course, it would have been nice to know that before August, since it needs to be used by the end of the year or I lose it. Maybe it's just as well... I might have been tempted to use it for a trip somewhere during the summer, instead of using it now for what I really needed it for: going absolutely nowhere.
Well, not really nowhere. I did go grocery shopping and I have a Sakura-Con related meeting tonight. Sometime this week, I have one more errand to do... but that's about it. The rest of the time is being spent playing with the children and catching up on email and my web site... mostly just catching up, spending a week off the runaway train that my life has become.
I still have one more week to schedule... maybe in November sometime, eh.
Just got JAM Project's new album on Sunday. I've already listened to it several times. It's very good! My oldest daughter says "It has a very different feel from the other albums." It has a tighter, more professional, less shounen feel. I think JAM Project's members are getting better with age, eh. ^-^
I need to go get catfood. Even on vacation, some things never change...
peace
Well, not really nowhere. I did go grocery shopping and I have a Sakura-Con related meeting tonight. Sometime this week, I have one more errand to do... but that's about it. The rest of the time is being spent playing with the children and catching up on email and my web site... mostly just catching up, spending a week off the runaway train that my life has become.
I still have one more week to schedule... maybe in November sometime, eh.
Just got JAM Project's new album on Sunday. I've already listened to it several times. It's very good! My oldest daughter says "It has a very different feel from the other albums." It has a tighter, more professional, less shounen feel. I think JAM Project's members are getting better with age, eh. ^-^
I need to go get catfood. Even on vacation, some things never change...
peace
Tuesday, September 21, 2004
Real quick... something I forgot to mention
One other update I forgot to mention: Becca-isms (in General Blather).
Becca is my second daughter. She can sometimes be a bit... uhm... interesting. I had a page with a few of her quotes on it, but of course that meant remembering her off-hand comments long enough to write them down.
Better solution: she now has her own blog where she can do what she does best - ramble. Have you ever seen the movie, "Airplane". Do you remember that guy in the control tower? He was that one who would make random comments like "Aunty Em! Aunty Em! It's a twister! A twister!" Well, Becca reminds me a lot of him sometimes...
Her first post is a tale she like to tell about the "apple kingdom". That tale gets more "interesting" each time she tells it.
Enjoy! And consider yourself warned. ^-^
May get to that Japanese diary entry tomorrow...
Need sleep.
peace
Becca is my second daughter. She can sometimes be a bit... uhm... interesting. I had a page with a few of her quotes on it, but of course that meant remembering her off-hand comments long enough to write them down.
Better solution: she now has her own blog where she can do what she does best - ramble. Have you ever seen the movie, "Airplane". Do you remember that guy in the control tower? He was that one who would make random comments like "Aunty Em! Aunty Em! It's a twister! A twister!" Well, Becca reminds me a lot of him sometimes...
Her first post is a tale she like to tell about the "apple kingdom". That tale gets more "interesting" each time she tells it.
Enjoy! And consider yourself warned. ^-^
May get to that Japanese diary entry tomorrow...
Need sleep.
peace
Updates
"This topic brings me to that worst outcrop of herd life, the military system, which I abhor... This plague-spot of civilization ought to be abolished with all possible speed. Heroism on command, senseless violence, and all the loathsome nonsense that goes by the name of patriotism -- how passionately I hate them!"
Those words were written by Albert Einstein, a truly intelligent man and fellow pacifist. I was looking up the dates he lived for my daughter and was sucked in by the rest of the site... and the links to a couple other sites. What should have been a "quick look up" turned into an afternoon's reading! He was an extremely fascinating person!
Actually, until I saw that quote, I was going to use the Rush song "Time Stand Still" as the theme to start my post. I've been planning it for over a week. The song is about wanting time to stand still for a little while so that we can more fully enjoy everything that is around us now. Ironically, it didn't get posted due to lack of time.
Between work, and kids' schoolwork, and Sakura-Con meetings, and errands, and appointments, my life has been like a run-away train.
I found out that I have a couple weeks vacation at work that I have to use by the end of the year. I plan to take at least a week of it next month sometime... and for once, I don't wan't to go anywhere. I normally am the type of person who wants to go places and explore, but this time I want to just stay home and spend time with the kids and maybe catch up on my email... maybe take the kids to a park. I miss the days when I could just throw them in the car and go wherever whenever we had the notion. Now we have to plan days in advance and hope nothing comes up to get in the way. (sigh) It used to be that I had more time than money. Now, thanks to the economy being the way it is, I don't have much of either.
Well, it's after 10:00pm... my "day off" is nearly over. I did manage to squeeze in a couple updates in on my web site... stuff I'd intended to do month's ago. I've added a couple "featured artist" pages to "Let's Talk Music": Far East Native and Tetsuro Morita. You've probably noticed I've changed my featured artists to a constant list from the "artist of the month" format. I could never keep up with it the other way... and this offers me the luxury of updating the artists' information a little more often.
I condensed down the concert calendar information for those artists I was keeping tabs on down to just the Yoshiki Fukuyama concert calendar and the Shounan Artists Concert Calendar.
Of course, this was all done at the expense of answering my email... I will get to it soon. Promise.
Right now, I need to go post in the Japanese version of the diary so I can finish and get to bed by midnight. I have to get up at 04:45 tomorrow to continue the ride on that runaway train...
By the way, the site map needs to be updated a little bit. I'll set it to right during my vacation next month. Good night.
peace
Those words were written by Albert Einstein, a truly intelligent man and fellow pacifist. I was looking up the dates he lived for my daughter and was sucked in by the rest of the site... and the links to a couple other sites. What should have been a "quick look up" turned into an afternoon's reading! He was an extremely fascinating person!
Actually, until I saw that quote, I was going to use the Rush song "Time Stand Still" as the theme to start my post. I've been planning it for over a week. The song is about wanting time to stand still for a little while so that we can more fully enjoy everything that is around us now. Ironically, it didn't get posted due to lack of time.
Between work, and kids' schoolwork, and Sakura-Con meetings, and errands, and appointments, my life has been like a run-away train.
I found out that I have a couple weeks vacation at work that I have to use by the end of the year. I plan to take at least a week of it next month sometime... and for once, I don't wan't to go anywhere. I normally am the type of person who wants to go places and explore, but this time I want to just stay home and spend time with the kids and maybe catch up on my email... maybe take the kids to a park. I miss the days when I could just throw them in the car and go wherever whenever we had the notion. Now we have to plan days in advance and hope nothing comes up to get in the way. (sigh) It used to be that I had more time than money. Now, thanks to the economy being the way it is, I don't have much of either.
Well, it's after 10:00pm... my "day off" is nearly over. I did manage to squeeze in a couple updates in on my web site... stuff I'd intended to do month's ago. I've added a couple "featured artist" pages to "Let's Talk Music": Far East Native and Tetsuro Morita. You've probably noticed I've changed my featured artists to a constant list from the "artist of the month" format. I could never keep up with it the other way... and this offers me the luxury of updating the artists' information a little more often.
I condensed down the concert calendar information for those artists I was keeping tabs on down to just the Yoshiki Fukuyama concert calendar and the Shounan Artists Concert Calendar.
Of course, this was all done at the expense of answering my email... I will get to it soon. Promise.
Right now, I need to go post in the Japanese version of the diary so I can finish and get to bed by midnight. I have to get up at 04:45 tomorrow to continue the ride on that runaway train...
By the way, the site map needs to be updated a little bit. I'll set it to right during my vacation next month. Good night.
peace
Monday, July 26, 2004
It's been a while, eh...
Saturday, our family took a long needed ride together to the ocean. We were crammed 8 people in an old 7 passenger van, but it felt good to get out. We need to do it more often.
Between my work schedule and my husband's schedule, we only have 1 day out of the week that we can all be together... if there are no meetings or appointments on that day. I miss the days before I had to get a part time job to help make ends meet. Back then, the kids and I were able to just jump in the car and go explore. Now, we have to plan everything in advance to make sure everyone's calendars are free.
Outside of work and the kids, I've been quite busy. Sakura-Con came and went in a blur, but we've already begun planning again for Sakura-Con 2005. This year, I'm volunteer coordinator again and I'm helping to create the Japanese language version of the site. That should be up within the next month. Also, I am now the ANCEA treasurer. ANCEA is the parent corporation for Sakura-Con. Like Sakura-Con, ANCEA is run by all volunteers... yea, we actually do this just for the sake of doing it. Crazy, eh. ^-^
In other news, I've finished the travel journal from our trip to Japan, finally. I do have a few extras I still plan on adding to the English version of the site, but the journal itself is finished.
I've got Fukuyama-san's new album. As expected, it's awsome! I've got one of the song translations finished... the rest will get done as I have time.
It's nearly 2:00 am already. I have to get up at 6:00am to get my son going and get myself ready for work. The weekend has gone too fast...
I'll have to do my Japanese language journal entry tomorrow... having trouble keeping eyes open now...
peace
Wednesday, April 14, 2004
Sakura-Con is coming soon...
Change of plans on the 6th: We decided to drive to a park instead. Pt. Defience park in Tacoma is criss-crossed with over 100 miles of hiking trails. This time, the kids and I hiked up from the promenade at Owens Beach.
This week was my baby's birthday. She turned 7... I guess she's not really a baby anymore, eh. ^-^
I updated a few things on the website this last few days:
- Concert schedule information added for both Fukuyama-san and Aso-san
- I changed the appearance of the lyrics/translation page for "hachigatsu muika", adding a picture and making it more readable
- still slowly adding to the Japan trip report
- oh... and in case you didn't see it already, Fukuyama-san has a new solo album coming out in July!
Sakura-Con, the Northwest United State's largest anime convention, is coming up April 23-25. This year we are expecting well over 4,000 people!
Check out the website at www.sakuracon.org
I work on Sakura-Con's staff as the Volunteer Coordinator. That means that until the 26th I am extremely busy. I'll try to get an update or two done to my site before then, but no promises, eh. ^-^
Till next time... peace
This week was my baby's birthday. She turned 7... I guess she's not really a baby anymore, eh. ^-^
I updated a few things on the website this last few days:
- Concert schedule information added for both Fukuyama-san and Aso-san
- I changed the appearance of the lyrics/translation page for "hachigatsu muika", adding a picture and making it more readable
- still slowly adding to the Japan trip report
- oh... and in case you didn't see it already, Fukuyama-san has a new solo album coming out in July!
Sakura-Con, the Northwest United State's largest anime convention, is coming up April 23-25. This year we are expecting well over 4,000 people!
Check out the website at www.sakuracon.org
I work on Sakura-Con's staff as the Volunteer Coordinator. That means that until the 26th I am extremely busy. I'll try to get an update or two done to my site before then, but no promises, eh. ^-^
Till next time... peace
Tuesday, April 06, 2004
It's Spring! ^-^
It's been a fun week... work, broken toilets, bills, etc.
However, today I have no work, no major errands, and it's beautiful outside! We have several trees in our yard, all of them in some stage of bloom: cherry, plum, apricot, apple, pear, quince. Even hayfever can't dampen my spirits today! \(^-^)/
I'm going to try to get a couple updates done on the site this morning. After that, the kids and I are going to a park. It's too nice to stay cooped up inside.
peace
However, today I have no work, no major errands, and it's beautiful outside! We have several trees in our yard, all of them in some stage of bloom: cherry, plum, apricot, apple, pear, quince. Even hayfever can't dampen my spirits today! \(^-^)/
I'm going to try to get a couple updates done on the site this morning. After that, the kids and I are going to a park. It's too nice to stay cooped up inside.
peace
Sunday, February 29, 2004
I love computers. I really do...
I keep telling myself that. Maybe some year, I'll convince myself. Right now, I have a headache.
One of the local power company's transformers blew a couple blocks away, and took my computer with it. I've been spending the last few days combining what was not blown on my computer, with parts from an older computer we had out in the garage. At least, my hard drives turned out to be intact... although a lot of things had to be re-set up.
Tonight, I've got to take Becca somewhere. After that, maybe I'll get a chance to catch up on email and/or finish my Japan trip report. Right now, I'm tired. I need a shower...
peace
One of the local power company's transformers blew a couple blocks away, and took my computer with it. I've been spending the last few days combining what was not blown on my computer, with parts from an older computer we had out in the garage. At least, my hard drives turned out to be intact... although a lot of things had to be re-set up.
Tonight, I've got to take Becca somewhere. After that, maybe I'll get a chance to catch up on email and/or finish my Japan trip report. Right now, I'm tired. I need a shower...
peace
Sunday, February 15, 2004
Still working on that Japan report...
I can't believe it's already February 15th! The time is flying so fast!
I've started the Japan report... look for it under "General Blather". So far, I've finished through the 20th. I've finally got a day free today, so I'm going to work on the 21st and 22nd. Hopefully, I may even get to the 23rd. That's the day I first saw Fukuyama-san! I used a roll and a half of film that day! ^-^
Tomorrow, it's back to real life and work... and a van with a bad engine. I'm ready for vacation again! Where would I go? Well, Japan sounds nice...
peace
I've started the Japan report... look for it under "General Blather". So far, I've finished through the 20th. I've finally got a day free today, so I'm going to work on the 21st and 22nd. Hopefully, I may even get to the 23rd. That's the day I first saw Fukuyama-san! I used a roll and a half of film that day! ^-^
Tomorrow, it's back to real life and work... and a van with a bad engine. I'm ready for vacation again! Where would I go? Well, Japan sounds nice...
peace
Thursday, February 05, 2004
I love Japan!
The two weeks we spent in Japan were absolutely awsome!
The cities were clean, transportation easy, and the people were the best part yet! With very few exceptions, everyone we met was helpful and friendly. I didn't want to leave... I definitely want to go back some day.
At my husband's suggestion, I took lots of pictures - 11 rolls worth, in fact. I got all but one of the rolls back from developing now. The last one will be ready on Saturday. As my schedule allows, I'm working on a report of the trip for the web site...
Hopefully, it'll be ready soon. ^-^
Now I go to bed. I have leave for work in 4 hours...
peace
The cities were clean, transportation easy, and the people were the best part yet! With very few exceptions, everyone we met was helpful and friendly. I didn't want to leave... I definitely want to go back some day.
At my husband's suggestion, I took lots of pictures - 11 rolls worth, in fact. I got all but one of the rolls back from developing now. The last one will be ready on Saturday. As my schedule allows, I'm working on a report of the trip for the web site...
Hopefully, it'll be ready soon. ^-^
Now I go to bed. I have leave for work in 4 hours...
peace
Thursday, January 15, 2004
ready or not...
I don't have much time to post. We need to leave within the hour and I still need to get in the shower.
Our plane leaves for Tokyo at 0945. Ready or not, here we come...
If I can, I'll post from Japan. If not, I'll see you in two weeks. ^-^
peace
Our plane leaves for Tokyo at 0945. Ready or not, here we come...
If I can, I'll post from Japan. If not, I'll see you in two weeks. ^-^
peace
Tuesday, January 06, 2004
It snowed again today...
This winter has been a lot different than the past few years. Not only did we get snow, but we got it four times! We've actually had snow on the ground for about a week now!
They predicted 6-8 inches of snow for this morning, changing to rain by late afternoon. We got at least 6 inches, I think. It was nice having real snow. It changes the world somehow. I had an errand to run, so I went for a walk. The air seemed stiller, the white world seemed more innocent, people slowed down and talk more... some grown men were playing a game of street football. Eventually, it did start to rain a little - more of a soft ice mist, actually. It was the kind of rain that was fun to walk in... tinkling like hundreds of small bells as it landed on my coat and hat. The whole thing had a magical feel to it.
It's now about 10pm and raining, but the snow still seems hardly touched. Still, I expect by the weekend that it'll all be gone and we'll be back to the normal Western Washington green. Ah, well. Green is a nice color too, eh.
9 more days till we leave for Japan. I think I'll sleep well on the plane... after I collapse from the exhaustion of getting ready.
peace
They predicted 6-8 inches of snow for this morning, changing to rain by late afternoon. We got at least 6 inches, I think. It was nice having real snow. It changes the world somehow. I had an errand to run, so I went for a walk. The air seemed stiller, the white world seemed more innocent, people slowed down and talk more... some grown men were playing a game of street football. Eventually, it did start to rain a little - more of a soft ice mist, actually. It was the kind of rain that was fun to walk in... tinkling like hundreds of small bells as it landed on my coat and hat. The whole thing had a magical feel to it.
It's now about 10pm and raining, but the snow still seems hardly touched. Still, I expect by the weekend that it'll all be gone and we'll be back to the normal Western Washington green. Ah, well. Green is a nice color too, eh.
9 more days till we leave for Japan. I think I'll sleep well on the plane... after I collapse from the exhaustion of getting ready.
peace
Sunday, January 04, 2004
It's cold!
I like winter... always have. The fact that it's snowed three times this week absolutely thrills me - but boy is it cold tonight! It's not the actual tempurature that's the problem. I lived through much colder when we lived in Anchorage, but here in the Puget Sound region we get a very wet cold, the kind where it only has to drop to the high 20s to chill a person to the bone. High 20s (farenheit) is what they are predicting for the high temperature tomorrow...
As you can see, I've been playing with the style sheets here learning how to insert pictures and such. It's my first experience using style sheets and there's still a lot to learn. In my case, the best way to learn is by doing. ^_^
12 days left until we leave for Japan. I hear they are having a very mild winter over there this year... Sounds nice.
peace
As you can see, I've been playing with the style sheets here learning how to insert pictures and such. It's my first experience using style sheets and there's still a lot to learn. In my case, the best way to learn is by doing. ^_^
12 days left until we leave for Japan. I hear they are having a very mild winter over there this year... Sounds nice.
peace
Friday, January 02, 2004
With the new year comes a new diary...
Happy New Year!
This year, I decided to replace my update Journal with a general diary... well, actually, two of them: one in English (this one) and one in my rather unskilled Japanese. I had thought for quite some time that I should have been translating the Journal entries into Japanese but now, on second thought, I've decided that the English diary and the Japanese diary are going to be seperate. Sometimes they'll say the same things, other times they'll be totally different. If you can read both languages, I'd be happy if you read both diaries.
Things to look for in the near future... update info for my website, of course, but also January is a big month for me and my oldest daughter, Eleanor (age 17). We're going to Japan for two weeks starting January 15th. We arrive in Tokyo at 5:00pm January 16th and come home January 29th. More on the trip details later...
I have to work in the morning and it's getting late. Till next time...
peace
This year, I decided to replace my update Journal with a general diary... well, actually, two of them: one in English (this one) and one in my rather unskilled Japanese. I had thought for quite some time that I should have been translating the Journal entries into Japanese but now, on second thought, I've decided that the English diary and the Japanese diary are going to be seperate. Sometimes they'll say the same things, other times they'll be totally different. If you can read both languages, I'd be happy if you read both diaries.
Things to look for in the near future... update info for my website, of course, but also January is a big month for me and my oldest daughter, Eleanor (age 17). We're going to Japan for two weeks starting January 15th. We arrive in Tokyo at 5:00pm January 16th and come home January 29th. More on the trip details later...
I have to work in the morning and it's getting late. Till next time...
peace
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