Busy Season

It's busy season right now at work. I'm not sure what that means, but I've been working 10+ hours this week. But so has everyone else in the office. I'm not exactly sure what's going on, but my boss said it's like this every year. From April to June, we work crazy hours. But then the flowers bloom and the weather is nice and we can enjoy summer. I'll take that.

Sunday after church, my junior high basketball team played in the town tournament. It was conveniently 5 minutes away from church. So after Easter lunch at church, I went to the tournament. It's sad only having 6 girls to work with, but they tried. They were so beat the second game. I felt bad for them. But they put up a good fight.

Monday was long, and I'm not sure why. Ah, I woke up really early so I could Skype into Easter lunch back home. I got to see all my relatives celebrating Easter before I went to work. What a blessing technology is! I ended up working 11 hours on Monday. But coming home and turning off all my electronics and sitting in silence was nice. I needed to sit before God. Sunday was so hectic with church and the tournament that I didn't even take the time to celebrate the glory of the Risen King.

Tuesday, I taught at my far away school and then at 2:30 my boss and I drove to town. I had to go to driving school because Wednesday was my driving test. My poor boss was passed out in the backseat of the driving instructor's car. But at least he got a chance to rest. We got back to the office after 6 and stayed to finish up work.

Wednesday, I taught at my far away school...again. But I left after 2nd period and my boss and I drove to town again. We stopped at McDonald's before heading to the DMV. The DMV is slow in every country. My boss left a post-it note on my desk Tuesday night. Full car check. Lock door. Greeting. Adjust seat. Seat belt. Turn on engine. Start engine. 5-point check. Blinker. GO! So the whole time we were chowing down on fries at McDonald's we were practicing. I wanted to pass more for his sake than my own. If I didn't pass, he would have to take time to bring me down to town again. The written test was easy peasy. And in English. Then came the driving test. I was nervous on Tuesday and blanked on "Right/Left." I'm pretty sure the driving test instructor gave me pity points. But I am now the proud owner of a Japanese manual driver's license! Woot! We came back to the office at 5 and then had a dinner at 6. I was pooped.

Thursday, I taught at my far away school...again. The Board of Education observed my class...except my students didn't know. They looked like deer in headlights. *Smack forehead* Totally froze up. But I got back to the office and they said I did really well. I went from far away north school to far away west school. It took about an hour to drive for a 20 minute meeting. I got back to the office around 5:30 and then tried to prep for my Thursday night class. After getting home at 6, I decided to cancel class because I just couldn't hack it. So I rested. And it was good.

Today is Friday...and I'm blogging instead of being at work. Well, today is a holiday and kicks off Golden Week. I'll be traveling around Japan until May 8th. It'll be nice to use the trains and subways instead of driving everywhere. I'm looking forward to being in civilization and warmer weather (we're still in single-digits Celcius). And I'll get to see many familiar faces during my travels.

Until I'm back home in my village...

Dessert, Please

My dad always told me to enjoy dessert. Growing up, Mom always had something ready for us to eat after dinner. We always had fruit and then dessert. Cake. Tart. Ice cream. Cookies. Frozen cookies. We had to have something.

I miss that. Because I get home from work and eat...ramen or something from 7-11 or something simple. Tonight it was oatmeal. Work is...long and longer. For the last 3 days, I've been leaving home a little after 7 and getting home after 6. The thought of making dinner isn't the first thing on my mind when I get home. Usually it's hot shower and nap. But I can't nap at 6:30 since I go to bed at 10. Anways, back to the original intent of my blog...

Dessert. Saturday afternoon, I spent a long time digging around on the internet. Usually Sunday after church I bake. I bake scones and muffins so I can have breakfast foods for the week. And I enjoy it. But I started to want to bake things for the people who live around me and my teachers and coworkers. But my oven only bakes 4 cookies at a time. I can bake a dozen muffins at once, so that's not bad. But I wanted to give them something...desserty. So off to the internet to explore.

APPLE PIE IN A JAR...AMAZING!

So first to find a jar. You're supposed to use canning jars, but I couldn't find any. I just looked for ones that wouldn't explode in the oven and had decent sized mouths...and wouldn't make a burn a hole in my pocket if it did explode.

Then the crust...and lack of a rolling pin. I've learned to be creative with what I got (i.e. dining room table as new closet shelves). So I used a tea cup to roll out my crust. It worked out pretty well. I rolled out the dough so I could use the lids and make sure my pies had top crusts.

I used the rest of the dough to line the bottom and sides of the jar.

I couldn't find anything other than Fuji apples. It was a little mushier than normal apple pie, but you just make do.

I put lids on those 3 suckers and threw them in the freezer Sunday night.

Monday night is my Sabbath. I try and eat a delicious meal and enjoy God. No TV, no Internet, no cell phone, no music. Usually I end up eating and reading. Sometimes I get inspired to write poems or draw pictures or strum on the guitar. But lately, just reading and eating. So I pulled one of those little jars out of the freezer and prayed that it wouldn't explode. I sat with a cup of honey peach tea and Dallas Willard's "The Divine Conspiracy" and waited to hear an explosion coming from my tiny microwave/oven. But 45 minutes later, alas...

Homemade, hot apple P-I-E. Not quite as good as Grandma's P-I-E, but it was good enough. It was hot and cinnamony and tasted like 'merica. I sat there eating my hot apple pie and praised God for His eternal promises and the hope of His glory.

Because for some of us, life ends at the appetizers. Constantly leaving you hoping and wishing and waiting for something better, something more filling, something more appetizing than just cheese and crackers.

For others of us, life ends at the salad. It's good and all and it'll keep you nourished for a while, but 3 hours later, you're going to be hungry again.

But then for others, there's the entrée. The main course. The filet mignon. The grilled swordfish. And you eat it and you enjoy it and you're filled and satisfied by it, right? We praise the Chef, the Creator, for His provision, for His masterpiece, for letting us enjoy it.

But what happens when the Chef tells you the best is yet to come. And He brings out the dessert with your name written on the plate in cursive with chocolate sauce. It overwhelms your senses and elates your soul. You're about to bust the button on your pants from the entrée, but you can't help but to enjoy and savor the dessert. And its warmth fills you completely and you rest completely satisfied in the presence of the Chef.

Life doesn't end at salad bar. Life ends in dessert.

Another lazy weekend

Well, it snowed today. They weren't kidding about it snowing in mid-April. I started with rain, then slushee, then snow, then crazy wind, then clouds, and then fog. I think I got almost everything but nice weather today.

Yesterday I finally got the last of the gnarly weed bulb roots out. My house has suddenly started rattling a lot more when the hay trucks roll by in the morning, so sleeping in wasn't really an option. It just finished raining so the soil was damp (and not frozen). I got all those little suckers out...I hope.

Continuing in the spirit of spring cleaning, I attempted to clean out the closet in my spare room. Tons of junk and old blankets that smelled bad. Empty boxes and cassette tapes. I took everything out and left it on the floor. After church today, I came home to organize things. I went to town to look for a shelf for my closet, but I didn't find anything I liked...or that was cheap. Then I saw it...in my spare room. The dining room table I no longer used/needed is now in my closet as a shelf. It was the perfect size and cost me no money! Winner winner chicken dinner!

It's Palm Sunday (I think) and nothing special at church. I'm kind of used to having palm branches at church on Palm Sunday. I'm used to things at church getting geared up for Easter. To be honest, I would have no idea when Easter is this year except that someone brought it up in our Bible study. In America, the supermarkets start getting their Easter baskets out. Peeps appear on the shelves. Pastels are suddenly in season. You know when Easter is coming. But here, no one knows what Easter is. No one really cares. Kodomo no hi (Children's Day/Boy's Day) is coming up and the stores are gearing up for that. I have yet to find a single chocolate bunny or pack of Peeps in town.

Gnarly Weed Bulb Roots

In my last post, I briefly mentioned the gnarly weed bulbs in front of my house. My grandfather was a gardener and my mother inherited his green thumb (well, more than I did). While the ground is still hard and frozen, I managed to get a handful of bulbs with some of its roots attached. But as I hacked away at the frozen ground with my spade shovel, I realized that these gnarly weed bulbs had been here for a while. These aren’t skinny roots. They’re deep and well established and widespread.

My front yard doesn’t have one gnarly weed bulb root; I have a lot. If I suddenly decide one morning (like today) that I should take those bulbs out so I don’t have an ugly house come spring, I can’t just whack off the gnarly weed bulbs that I see on the surface. Whacking off the gnarly weed bulbs on the surface might prevent my front yard from being ugly this season, but it won’t solve the problem in the long run. No, I need to get my gloves on and my rubber boots and get ready to break a sweat and put some time and effort into this project. I need to dig deep down into the soil and pry those suckers out. I have to be careful to not leave any part of the roots lingering in the ground because it will grow back and I’ll have another season with this unsightly gnarly weed bush in front of my house.

In Paul’s first letter to Timothy, he warns against false teachers and teaches about true contentment. And in 1 Timothy 6:10, Paul writes, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.” But see, the thing is (and I even mistyped it the first time), the love of money is not THE root of all kinds of evils; it’s A root of all kinds of evils.

And if I were to liken my front yard to my heart, I have a lot of gnarly weed bulb roots there too. Take for example, the “root of bitterness” mentioned in Hebrews 12:15. On the surface the gnarly weed bulb looks like anger and malice and gossip, and those roots spread deep and wide and affect my ability to reflect Christ. The love of money on the surface looks like lying and stealing and coveting, and those roots spread deep and wide and affect my ability to reflect Christ. Because if I’m a temple of God and I got all these gnarly weed bushes growing out all over the place, what will people think of my God?

But I can’t just knock off the surface stuff. I can’t fix only what people will see. The root of the problem is the root in my heart that is suffocating the love of Christ in my life out of me. It’s easier (it’s not easy) to knock off the surface stuff. But it doesn’t solve the problem. I need to roll up sleeves and get ready to do real work on my heart. It’s not easy. It hurts. It takes effort. It takes time. And it’s necessary.

Martha Stewart

I tried. I tried, but alas I am not an old Caucasian lady who's super crafty.

My first order of business was to get the weed bulbs out from in front of my front door. When I first moved here, I had these MASSIVE weed bush plants in front of my front door. I was glad when the snow came and crushed them. But the snow is melting and now is my chance to get them before they bloom again! So I took my spade shovel out this morning. While the snow is melting, it doesn't mean the ground is unfrozen. I got a few of the bulbs out, but I need to get the roots out. Maybe next week when the ground is a little less frozen.

Secondly, I needed to build my kitchen island. After an hour of sitting on my floor with metal poles and wheels and screw drivers, it was standing and rolling around my kitchen. The thought of having 90cm of counter space is glorious...and reachable storage space. So much more freedom to cook (not that I cook that often).

Lastly, the living room needed to be fixed. I've been sitting on a floor chair for the past 8 months. I have a couch and a TV in my "cold" room--the room without a heater. My boss told me I could move the furniture and TV if I wanted to--it was, after all, MY house. But I don't watch TV and I figured sitting on the floor would be fine. But in my remodeling, I decided it needed to be done. I bought a couch cover (doesn't quite fit nicely) and started moving furniture. After I moved the couch and TV into my living room, I plopped down and turned the TV just to make sure it worked. Lo and behold, the Bulls/Celtics game was being shown...in English. It felt like home.

Before: chair on floor

After: COUCH AND TV!

More Earthquakes

PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR JAPAN!

Miyagi-ken got hit by another big earthquake--7.4--about an hour ago. This is the same area that was hit by a 9.0 quake two weeks ago.

My Facebook newsfeed popped up with all kinds of statuses. However, at least I know for the moment that they're all okay and accounted for.

From my friend in Sendai:

• Oh my goodness. Please pray for us again!!!
• I'm okay. My apartment's a mess. Sirens going off outside like crazy.

From my friends in Hokkaido:

• Bloody hell, that was a big one
• Another earthquake?
• Another big earthquake. Tsunami warnings!!!
• Another BIG quake just now shook our apartment pretty hardcore. Everything's fine here...but it feels like it was another big one for the people of Touhoku.
• earthquake?
• Wiggle wiggle, again!
• No, no. Not again,
• Let's hope this tsunami warning from the big shake just now doesn't mess up this weekend...
• Another big quake just before midnight. it's just not funny anymore.
• I tried to go to sleep and the Earth said no.
• another earthquake at 7.4...hmmmm ok
• hope everyone is doing okay down there

Miscommunication and Gestures

I live next door to these adorable old people, the Kobayashis.

I was told they would never share their vegetables with me.

When I first moved here, I was determined to befriend them and get veggies from their garden. I made friends with Pegleg (my secret nickname for Mr.). I offered to help him garden and tend the vegetables and help cut the grass. He's hard of hearing, so we are often yelling at each other and laughing in front of our houses. It might be one of my favorite things about him. In the summer when I would come home from work or town or church and he was outside, he would usher me into the greenhouse and load up my basket with tomatoes and zucchini and cucumbers and corn. Sometimes Mrs. would ring my doorbell at dinner time with freshly steamed veggies and a smile.

I apologized to Mrs. when I first moved here because I couldn't figure out the trash (remember my trash day post?). I would take my trash out early Monday morning, and then I would peek out my window to see her rearranging the bags and putting them in the proper place. One evening, she came over with some trash bags and the trash sorter description sheet. It wasn't that I didn't have bags or the sheet, I just couldn't understand what went where. She told me they were a present and smiled as she left.

When winter came, Pegleg would shovel my driveway for me while I was at work. I felt bad because he is old, but he insisted that it was good exercise and I was too busy (he was right; I never would've shoveled the driveway). Pegleg always reminded me how old my house was and how dangerous it would be in the winter time. Every time Mrs. or Pegleg saw me walking down the driveway (which we share) on my way to work, they would tell me I could sleep at their house if it was too cold in mine.

But it's been a while since I've seen Pegleg or Mrs. Neither of them drive and it's probably dangerous for both of them to be walking in snow/on ice.

But today, today was a beautiful day. I dare say it might've been about 10C. It was glorious feeling the sun shine on my face walking home for lunch.

When I got home from work, I saw Mrs. taking in the laundry that was hanging outside to dry. She smiled and asked how I was doing because she hadn't seen me in a long time and she and Pegleg were worried about me. I told her I was well and I was glad it was getting warmer and spring was coming. I asked how she and Pegleg were and she said they were doing well.

She asked me (or I thought she asked me) how the wind was--because spring in Shibecha is really windy and my house is old and it shakes...a lot. And I told her it was strong but the sunshine felt nice. She smiled and laughed; I knew I didn't hear the question correctly.

She asked the same question again but gestured at coughing...because "a cold" and "wind" are the same sound but different character *smack forehead* I told her I was well and smiled. I said I would check in with them more frequently so they wouldn't worry. She told me to take care of myself and smiled as she went inside.

It's April

Yup, it's April. I hardly even noticed March come and go. The snow is melting, but I'm starting to understand what spring weather is like: WINDY. My house is constantly shaking and rattling from the wind, but it's just another thing to get used to. At least my toilet flushes this season. Praise the Lord!

It's still spring break, but staff changes are happening/have happened.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, each school came in with their staff to be changed. They each said a short goodbye to our office and told us where they were off to next. Some are moving within the village, but most are getting shipped out far, far away to another distant part of Hokkaido. While only 3 English teachers are getting transferred, I'm sad to see a lot of the other teachers go. I've gotten to know a lot of the other teachers during my time sitting in the teachers' room or playing after lunch dodgeball with them.

On Friday, we had a big assembly with all the principals and new staff. My boss told me casual was fine; however, I showed up and everyone was in a suit. The superintendent walked me over from our office to the assembly at the town hall office across the street. I heard him say something about a self-introduction, but thought nothing of it. Each new staff had to do the typical bowing ritual, the superintendent reads some certificate, more bowing, etc. It was pretty boring, and at 2:30pm on a Friday, it wasn't all too exciting. Until my coworkers started standing up one by one to introduce themselves and encourage the new staff. Self-introduction. Maggot. I stood up and blanked. My boss had to remind me to say my name. Doh! However, the principals (who were all sitting across from me) gave me a little smile, perhaps out of pity, but maybe I made the somewhat boring and mundane ceremony slightly comical for them.

And it's also time for...SPRING CLEANING!

Since I have no classes, I sit at my desk at the Board of Education all day. So after working there for...over 6 months, I decided it was time to clean my desk out. While it's not sparkling clean and empty like my dad's office desk, it's starting to feel like my own space at the office.

It's also been a chance for me to redecorate my house. I've never spent so much time looking at HGTV and DIY articles. But in a foreign country, it's sometimes difficult to find things. Or they're in places you wouldn't expect. I'm currently still in the planning process, but today I made the first step. I bought the materials to start making my kitchen island. My kitchen counter space is tiny. It's maybe 10 inches. So the first matter of order in my remodel is to make more counter space. And my cabinets are unreachable (I have to stand on a chair to get things in and out). So building a kitchen island gives me more counter space AND more reachable storage space. I need one more part for my kitchen island, but they were out of stock today, so maybe next week I'll have it finished and I can put up pictures. Next will be rearranging furniture and decorating. I realized that it's kind of expensive (I'm trying to be as cost-friendly as possible), but I need to make this place feel like home. Somewhere I can call my own and have it feel like my own.