Ann

Yesterday, I thought that I would go to PP for church. I don't think that this is where I will be attending but at least it is a place where I know a few people, even though they may all be my elders. Susan told be I should go to Church at the Crossing in Indy and I think I will end up going there, but on my first Sunday back I felt like I needed something safe so to say. And what a blessing when Ann Smith was the speaker. Simple honest and straight forward.

She started off by talking about the New Year in Japan and the practice of gift giving. So as she prepared she thought about giving gifts. She said that if she could give a gift to everyone, it would be: "The gift of awareness that you are not alone." She then read a number of scriptures that she had picked out from her bible, scriptures that had been underlined by her and Nathan over the years. No explanations just straight truths.

3 points that caught my attention were:

• We all need people that we can be transparent with.
• We were not created to be self sufficient.
• To be heard is so close to being loved that to the average person they are inseparable.
  

One Week Down

So I have been back in the states for Just over one week now. I'm in Anderson now have got a car and am in my apt. They only had the bigger apt. available so I'm in a 2 story 3 bedroom apt. The downstairs alone is probably bigger than my apt. in Japan. And I've got free cable. When it's been on it has been on HGTV pretty much the whole time. While I was at home I also got hooked on "Flip This House" a show where people buy houses maybe old or run down at a cheap cost and then totally redo the house and stage it for resale in a short amount of time hoping to make a big profit. I would totally like to do this. It only I had the time.

Merry Christmas

Well I am back home and already I'm eating like a pig. Actually at Detroit airport m flight was delayed an hour so I stopped in at Fuddruckers and picked up a hamburger and fries that was out of this world. It's in C wing so the next time I go through Detroit I know a good pace to eat other than Taco Bell.

Went out to the mall and Kohls today, but it was really depressing not much selection and long lines of people waiting to buy think I will but off shopping till I have some time to do it when things are not so sressful. And I thinkI need some better shopping than Mansfield offers.

Finally I video that Susan sent on my facebook super wall.

10 days left!

I saw this wreath last week and thought it would be great for Tamasei. The school has been transformed into it's usual holiday lighting spectacular, and I am on the committee that oversees this. Hopefully while I am back in the states in 10 days I will be able to pick up some nice things for next years decorations. More than anything I am really looking forward to being back.

Yakuza

Last night I went to the sento and this was one of the sights that I saw. Recently I started going back to the local sento and I have run across these tattooed guys quite regularly. Last night there were 3 one man obviously the leader was fully tattooed like this guy. The other 2 were in different stages of of incompletion. The guy with the most incomplete tattoo was going out of his way to take care of the leader. When they entered the sauna he opened the door for him. Which isn't too unusual but you have to have a special key and the leader didn't have his. When they sat down the underling drapped a towel over the leaders lap. When they left he also got the leaders clothes out and opened his locker for him. He also took the leaders clothes out of a bag and handed them to him. He pulled out a pair of black underwear, and the leader said, "Those aren't mine." He was just pulling things out of a bag that was not his, how was he supposed to know that the underwear didn't belong to his boss? He handed his pajamas to him next and he went as far as undoing the buttons for him. What a weird life they must live.

Now the wierd thing is that most people are afraid of this people, and probably rightly so, but I have never felt that way, in fact I was a little tempted to ask him about his tattoo. But I didn't maybe there was a little fear after all.

Good Samaritan

Ran across this article about NYC's police Subway Sting. The police are leaving wallets with money and credit cards in them to try to catch people that are likely to steal them. How do you decide if the person that picked it up is actually trying to steal it though? Sounds like the police are trying to trap people. You know that it will make people think twice before they do a good deed and try to return property that they assume is stolen.

It makes me think of when I lost my drivers lisence in Japan. Some one picked it up and turned it into the police station. I went to ask about it and sue enough they had it for me and they told me I needed to call the person that found it and thank them. It was a very unique experience. Japanese people are usually very honest about things like this. I don't know how many times I've asked students if they found money what would they do and the imediate response is that they would take it to the police station. Even if it was as trivial as ￥1,000 (about $10). Wouldn't it be nice to get back to those kind of morals in the states.

Amazing

This brought tears to my eyes and I don't even like opera. Glad to know that he has found his place.

American Idol, Move Over!

I was in Ginza yesterday and heard this guys CD being played at a music store. If someone like this would walk onto American Idol it might be worth watching.

Mutifunction Toilet?

So just what is a "Multifunction Toilet", a toilet that can do anything. I'm not sure if it was the English of the Japanese that caught my eye, or maybe it was both. In Japanese it is the だれでも(daredemo) toilet. Literally the anyone toilet. So who comes up with these titles and don't they have them checked by anybody? I went over to have a look and as it turns out it was a unisex handicap toilet. Go figure.