Went to the East Coast to continue on the Meet 'n Greet.

Boston and New York City. Not much sight-seeing in Boston aside from the meeting of my team's many aunties and uncles and even more cousins... and lots of food. Lots of food. We may have wiped out a few species of marine life. And I thought my people, the Japanese were crazy. Shoveled snow and got called a "crazy sunshine kid" because I wasn't wearing enough layers when going out. My team shared in that dubious honor.

Two and a half days in NYC, a nice vacation from our vacation. Took the Chinatown bus that ships you from Boston's Chinatown to NYC's Chinatown for $15 one way. What a deal! Ate more great food and did most of the things you're supposed to do in NYC, sans the Statue of Liberty. Empire State Building, the tree and ice skating at Rockefeller Center, Times Square, Ground Zero, Broadway show (Drew Lachey, Nick's brother from 98 degrees is a small man... not taller than 5'6"). Amazing thing: She wasn't sick of me at the end of the week! Almost as amazing thing: It got up to 60 degrees in NYC!

A week before I left for home I started meeting with a Japanese international student (Tamami) trying to get into UCLA so that she could practice speaking English and I could practice speaking Japanese.

Something I learned from the first-time meeting: There are age limits for female stewardesses on Asian airline companies.

Tamami used to be an airline stewardess for JAL. I asked her if she thought about going back to Japan and being a stewardess again. "I'm too old. I can't be a stewardess anymore." She didn't look all that old. Actually, she looked younger than me. Later in the conversation I find out that she's 25. She's 25 and she's too old. Apparently, you have to be under 25 to work as a stewardess for JAL, ANA, Asiana, and other Asian airline companies. It's ridiculous for me to hear that 25 is considered over the hill for anything.

The webpage reloaded... well... resurrected.

The webpage has new life. I still need to clean it out, update some things, and add more stuff, but I've finally updated my webpage again.

Basically, I was looking for a place to put volume 2 of my newsletters: The Fuller Years. Yes, I've decided to write a newsletter chronicling my time in seminary. Details are pending, but I think I'll put it out every two months. In light of my time being back here at home, and the fact that the questions I'm getting right now are all very similar, I think something like this would help out lots. My experience over the last 3 years has been that the newsletters were great conversation starters. I will not be mailing it out as I don't have a mailing budget for these things anymore, but, anybody who's interested can go download it from my webpage or can get it via email if requested (just email me of your interest). Enjoy!

Haven't been updating the site or the BCS simply because the end of the quarter is near. Haven't been reading anybody's blog. With the exception of a few people, I have no idea how or what everybody's doing. It's a bit sad to know that I keep up with people through their blogs. It's even sadder to know that I'm not the only one.

Greek final is on Wednesday the 8th. Last small group is on Wednesday night. Foundations final paper is due on Friday the 10th. I suppose the earliest I could come home is 1AM Thursday the 9th. We shall see...

Thanksgiving, Coalinga, and stuff

Words cannot express how great it felt to have Thanksgiving dinner on this side of the Pacific. The last time I truly celebrated an American Thanksgiving was 4 years ago. The turkey, the trimmings, the family... well two of them. My return was marked with two dinners! It was exhausting travelling to Concord for my family's celebration and then to Saratoga for Alinna's... but well worth it.

So, I made the trek up I-5 with my roommate Ben. And we're making good time, singing along to some old tracks like Tony Rich Project, when we see the Coalinga exit sign. Now, those familiar with the journey know about Coalinga and their cows... or rather the cow pies. The veteran traveller that I am, I immediately switch the vents to recirc. As soon as my finger pushes the button, Ben farts... with the air recirculating. Not once did he up to that point, and not once did he after that point. But as soon as we both see the sign for Coalinga, he just lets go. Was he holding it for the prime moment? You decide.

The Thanksgiving traffic wasn't as bad as everybody made it out to be. 7 1/2 hours one way. Today in Greek class it was obvious that nobody wanted to be there after a long weekend of fun, food, and friends. Poopy faces all around. I am thankful for a Thanksgiving spent with family and friends, I am thankful for good laughs from the belly, I am thankful for school, I am thankful for my team, and I am thankful for my God.

Just saw the snow report on the news...

I have the itch. It's boarding season. My brand new board is calling out to me from my closet. I must obey. My precious.

The miracles of Mr. Clean

Before coming to SoCal, I stopped by at 5824 and I saw Jason washing his car. Jason the king of TV products, was washing his car with the Mr. Clean car wash doo-hickee. He greets me with "This thing is freakin' awesome." The seeds were planted.

Two days ago, I notice that my car is in dire need of a washing. For reference, I had not washed the car ever (about two months/two trips up and down I-5). Remembering Jason's infomerical like plug, I go to Target, buy the product, and rush back home to try it out.

It was great. I know many of you are skeptics, but I would whole-heartedly endorse this product. Clarification: The product is a hose attachment. It has two replaceable parts... soap and a water filter to produce de-ionized water. More on this later. This hose attachment has three different settings. From here the instruction pamphlet describes it best:

Set dial to RINSE and wet car. Set dial to SOAP and spray car. Soap car with mitt or sponge. RINSE again to eliminate all suds. Set dial to Mr. Clean AutoDry (delivers de-ionized water spray from filter). Spray entire car, starting at the top. Stay within 1 foot of car while spraying back and forth until regular rinse water has been rinsed away. Watch the water dry spot-free before your eyes!

My first time... total time 45 minutes. The job can easily be done in 30 minutes if you know what you're doing. Lovin' it.

It's been a while...

And another midterm has passed. Results are pending. So is the toga.

Hoping to "resurrect" my webpage by adding new photos and writing a new series of newsletters regarding my adventures in SoCal and seminary.

Surprised by the number of responses to my last post. I've been intrigued by the comments and the back and forth.

Grrr: The Bitter Diatribes of a Liberal Evangelical Christian

Yes, I'm an evangelical Christian. Yes, I'm a registered Democrat. I just thought that I should preface everything I'm about to say with that.

Repeatedly, over the years, I've been asked (mostly from fellow Christians) how I could be liberal and an evangelical Christian at the same time. To which I usually ask, "What makes you think that Jesus is a conservative?" Time and time again, the issues of gay marriages and abortion come up in supporting the idea that conservative standpoints are inherantly Christian. Bible passages usually spring up further bolstering this ideology. And I won't deny (to some extent) that when it comes to gay marriages and abortion, that conservative viewpoints match up with Christian viewpoints (though I don't agree with conservative means of propagating this ideology). The morality of these two issues is a common point for conservatives and Christians.

What I don't understand is why many Christians, on the basis of these two issues, gay marriages and abortion, then deduce that conservatism equals Christianity. Or would go even further to say that George W Bush's stern denunciation of these two issues therefore shows "strong moral character," "courage," or "integrity." Integrity is a character that is shown in action. On the issues of gay marriages and abortion, all George W Bush has done is give a verbal denunciation. In other issues however, he has 1) made the rich, richer by making them the biggest beneficiaries of the tax cuts he has put in place, 2) set a new U.S. foreign policy precedence of preemptive strikes (by the way it can be argued that Pearl Harbor was a preemptive strike and that 9/11 was a preemptive strike), 3) allowed big corporations to ignore previously applied environmental laws protecting natural habitats around the world (we backed out of the Kyoto Protocol in 2001... who was President in 2001?), 4) increased military spending in a nation that already far outspends any other country on weapons (including WMDs), 5) lied about the reason why we're in Iraq, still doesn't concede that he made a mistake (some call that integrity, I call it bullheadedness), and numbers of US and Iraqi casualties are the result of this war that never should've started... that we continue to maintain.

When I was in Japan, people asked me about these 5 issues and many others that I can't seem to recall. What's more is that the Japanese know that George W Bush is Christian because he blares out his faith in word with a bullhorn. Naturally, they asked me one of two questions. 1) "Is George W Bush really a Christian?" 2) "Are George W Bush's decisions based on his religion?" My biggest tiff with Bush is that he was a roadblock to my sharing my faith. Because he's so publicly Christian, many people around the world equate what he says and does as Christian. Many countries naturally assumed that already with America's policies pre-Bush, but with Bush announcing his faith in very direct manner, more people are taking note. By observing Bush's policies, many I came across came to the conclusion that to be Christian meant that 1) you don't care about the underprivilaged, 2) you support the concept of war, 3) you don't care about the environment, 4) you want to be the king of the hill, 5) you stick to your guns even if you're wrong (overly simplistic, I know). Is this integrity?

All that said, I'm quite angry at the Democratic Party. Never before have I felt so alienated by the Democratic Party. I can understand why there's been such a backlash from evangelicals against the Democrats. I have felt belittled and ignored. Democratic think tanks threw faith out as a non-issue years ago, and have been paying the costs since then. In their books, people don't make decisions based on their faith. How terribly wrong they've been. The black Christian vote switching to the Republicans this time around is as clear an indication of that as you can possibly get. Instead of downplaying the gay marriage and abortion issues, why not highlight their civil service policies and show the connection to the life of Jesus? Why not highlight environmental issues and point the way to Bible passages that support such stances? Why not show how morally unacceptable this war is instead of engaging in a back and forth of who's right? If the Republican party wants to go on a values war, show America your guns.

Micah 6:8

My Greek class runs from 8AM to 1PM. In between, from 10 til 11, we have an hour long break. Today, I went down to the school cafeteria which has probably the best breakfast deal on the face of the earth: One egg, potatoes, toast, 2 pieces of sausage, and some fruit for $2.25.

Anyway, today, I see some classmates, and so I sit with them. The topic on the table is relationships... except they talk about marriage proposals, what the first few years of marriage is like, plans on getting married, etc.. Me? I was completely silent. Not so much that I had nothing to say, as much as it was that I was stunned. It was just one of those moments (and I've had many) when I realized that I'm not in undergrad anymore. I'm not 19 anymore. You'd figure that not being around super-competitive pre-meddies all the time would remind me.

I also found out that a classmate of mine got married after seven years of being friends. That is... they were platonic friends for 7 years, and then one day they decided to get married. I read about people like them. Now I know some.

Slowly, ever so slowly, it's starting to feel like home, here.

By the way, much to my surprise, I rocked the Greek midterm. Throw a toga and some philosophy on me, and I'll really be Greek. Hop-pa!

LA drivers.

Just a few days back, I stopped behind an SUV at a signal on Valley, a four lane road. I'm sitting there listening to my music when the SUV's driver door opens. And then the driver gets out of his car. This is a four lane road... a busy road with crazy Asian drivers all over the place. And he gets out of his car, and onto the road... the asphalt. Not an island separating the lanes. But just plain asphalt. And why would he do such a crazy thing? He gets out of his car, takes off his jacket, folds it, reaches across the driver's seat to the passenger's seat, places his neatly folded jacket on the passenger's seat, gets back in his car, and closes his door.

Granted, he made it back into his car before the light changed color, but who does that?

Studying for my first midterm in a while. It's an interesting feeling. Well, at least I'm ready for this one. I'm on top of this class... oh yeah. Pow, big ol' punch in the face of Greek.

What the... it's raining right now! This may be the first time I've witnessed rain in LA.

NOTICE: I'll be driving to NorCal on October 29th. I'll be driving back to SoCal on October 31st. I have three spots in the car. Anyone need a ride?

Ben and I have taken up a little friendly rivalry.

We started playing NBA Street on PS2 against each other. I took Game 1 and I haven't looked back since. Of course, we've only been playing since yesterday. Then again, the tally as of the end of today is 15-11. Yes, that's 15 games to 11 games. And yes, we've played 26 games since yesterday. Through all the screaming and yelling, mostly on my part, we're having a good time. But then, I might be biased because of the current outcome.

The second week of classes

Has it really only been a week of school? I don't know what it is, maybe it's the 5 hours of Greek per session, maybe it's the hours of studying outside of class, maybe it's just being in LA, I don't know, but this last week has felt like at least a month... and apparently my Greek classmates feel it too.

I'm doing well in my classes but I started thinking (with Seri), "Is it bad to just settle for a B in Jesus school?" I mean I want to do well, don't get me wrong. I just find added pressure to get A's in seminary. I mean, would it be unworshipful to get something less especially in this context? And besides, how would you feel if you found out that your pastor got C's in exegesis and ethics?

The marathon day.

My class schedule runs like this:

Greek: MWF 8-1PM
Foundations: W 6:30-10PM

The foundations class, however, only meets three times in the entire quarter. And of course, today is one of those Wednesdays. So, what does that mean? Today, I have class from 8AM til 1PM, and again from 6:30PM til 10PM. It is 3:21PM right now, and I'm at the school library at one of the computer stations typing this blog because I don't want to do my homework right now... and because I have 5 1/2 hours of wait time between classes. Why not drive home? Because A) I get more work done when I'm not at home (as my blogging now clearly indicates) and B) I'm running low of gasoline right now, and I don't want to fill up another tank (basically, I'm cheap).

What have I done so far in the last 2 1/2 hours? I finished my Greek homework, went poo poo, caught up on my emails, and now, I've blogged about my exploits on this Fuller campus today. Hooray for me.

So, I go to the grocery store to buy those small circular batteries from my external microphone. You know those batteries that were used to power the LCD Donkey Kong games. I search and search for them but to no avail. I ask one of the friendly Albertson's workers and he points me in the right direction. I find the correct size, pick up the nifty package, and upon further inspection, I see these words:

Energizer
EZChange
Hearing Aid Batteries
Size 675

Hearing aid batteries. Apparently, they are no longer known as Donkey Kong batteries, but hearing aid batteries. And yes, I felt a little strange at the check out counter buying them.

First day of school.

No pencil case. No Sesame Street lunchbox. No school bus. But today I went to school. Greek. Nothing but Greek. What have I accomplished in my first day of learning the Greek language? First, I learned that I'm not just going to learn Greek, but Koine Greek (a dead form of the language). Second, I learned how to read the stuff. I just don't know what it is that I'm saying. Aside from words like Christos, logos, and agapao, I have no idea what I'm babbling when I'm reading Greek. Oh, and because I'm just starting to read the language, I'm reading slow... what does that mean? According to Alinna, it means that I sound like Dory speaking whale. "Annnnnthrooooooooopooossss." That's Greek or whale for "man".

Good food. Good ocean time. Great time with a special visitor. Just what the doctor ordered!

I'm online!

Getting organized.

My room is finally starting to look like a room, and not something that just got hit by Hurricane Ivan. Furniture is assembled an in place. Just have a few pictures to put up on the wall and I should be good to go. Pictures of the place to be posted on my Yahoo! pictures site later.

It just hit me not too long ago that I'm going to school. I knew all along that I was going to Pasadena to go to Fuller, but I guess it never really dawned on me that I was going to school here. That I was going to read books, write papers, and think (a dangerous pastime). What I thought I was going to do here, I do not know. Go clubbing with future and present day pastors?

As part of new student orientation, a number of us from the School of Theology went to an academic advising seminar. When the people in charge saw how many people were entering into the School of Theology, they announced that we were going to have to go to the biggest lecture hall on campus. We walk in, and there are seats for no more than 120 students. Small is good. Small is very good.

I'm here.

I'm in SoCal. Right now, I'm at a computer terminal in the South Pasadena library because I don't have internet in the house. Yes, this is the reason why BCS rankings did not change yesterday. No worries. I should be back online on Friday the 24th to read all the interesting things you all did as recorded on your blogs. It better be good!

Quick recap. I'm rooming with Ben Nie. His blog's listed in the BCS rankings for now. We're living in a duplex in Alhambra. I'll post the address at the bottom of this post. Come visit! I've been going to new student orientation at Fuller Theological Seminary. Classes will start this coming Monday the 27th. Tomorrow, I'll be registering for classes. Tentatively, I'll be taking a Foundations for Ministry class (1 unit) and an intensive Greek language class (12 units). I've come to the conclusion that I like small private colleges. Here, I'm not merely an 8 digit ID number. I have a name. And that's nice.

2506 Birch St.
Alhambra, CA 91801

You can still be a FOB.

Today at church, I was talking to a guy from the Japanese division, and he was talking about how great it is to travel the world by ship. According to him, it's so much better to travel to Japan by sea than it is to travel by air. Let's break it down shall we?

Time
Air: 10 hours.
Sea: 10 days.
Advantage: Air

Entertainment
Air: Movies, tetris, complimentary cards, 13 music channels, airplane magazines.
Sea: The book you bring, piano.
Advantage: Air

Food
Air: Do I really need to say anything?
Sea: 10 days worth of food... remember?
Advantage: Sea

Price
Air: About $700.
Sea: Apparently, more than air. But most of that is due to the 10 days of meals thing.
Advantage: Air

Overall
Advantage: Air

I'll admit that it might be cool to go to arrive at Tokyo harbor in a ship and pretend that I'm illegal... once. After my my very careful analysis using only the best possible methods, I've come to the conclusion that while I may ship stuff sea mail (because I'm cheap), I am not likely to ship myself on a ship.

I just realized I didn't post some important info...

I'll be moving down to Southern Cal on September 18th. It's a Saturday. I'll be moving into a duplex in Alhambra with my friend Ben from El Cerrito High. Woo. My Gaucho pride is running high. That was sarcasm. I just now realized that it's kinda hard to detect on a blog. Oh, and for those who are wondering... Gauchos are Argentinian cowboys.

I'll be starting at Fuller on September 27th. It's a Monday. Craziness. I'm going back to school. I'm going back to school... school... school. Yeah, I don't think LL Cool J's gonna do a remix on that one.

The weekend of eating out.

Went to eat dinner with the family on Friday.

We went to eat at an Italian place in San Francisco called Il Fornaio. It was good. I'd recommend it. One thing, the bathroom.... Now, I'm not a short man. Neither am I a tall one. Quite average actually. I walk into the Il Fornaio bathroom, go to the urinal stall, and as usual there are two. One for adults, and one for kids. The adult one is taller than the kid one. I ended up choosing the kid one. I could've chosen the adult one, but I was a bit afraid. I was afraid that I might have to go up on tip toes to do my business. I felt a tad bit demeaned.

Went to eat Dim Sum for lunch and tapas for dinner with Alinna on Saturday.

The tapas place was very tasty. Zarzuela on Union and Hyde in the city. She's been talking about the place forever and we finally went. It lived up to the hype. It didn't disappoint. Good food. Good atmosphere. Great service. Felt slightly underdressed in my aloha shirt, cargo pants, and flip-flops. But it was alright... my partner in crime felt equally underdressed. And besides, we had a good time.

Went to eat sushi in Davis for lunch on Sunday.

I forget the place's name, but we ate sushi buffet. Crazy. After service on Sunday, we were talking about getting something to eat. Brandon suggests getting lunch in Davis. So what do we do? We make the hour and 15 minute drive out to Davis, of course. Would you expect anything less?

Blogger's changing all over the place. Now, there's a profile feature. Or maybe it's been there for a while and I never really noticed. Does anybody know what the profile's used for? Is it supposed to be posted on the blog page like a Xanga? I mean there's a spot for a photo and everything.

Traffic to this site's increased dramatically recently. I can only attribute this to a combination of two things. 1) The BCS. 2) My shameless advertising of the site at Canaan's youth camp.

As for the BCS, a couple of things. Karen's posted the first BCS color commentary on her blog. Found it incredibly amusing. Oh, and I noticed that my bookmarked list of friends' blog sites has ballooned way passed what it used to be. In the beginning, I used to struggle to find enough people to round out a top 25 list. Now? 86 and counting.... Granted, not all of them post regularly. But still, the sheer number of new bloggers out there is staggering.

My brother got his license! This is cause for celebration. Woo. I'm done.

Canaan retreat at Redwood

Had a good time with the Canaan folk, especially the youth and those involved with them. They've got good kids. It was also a good confirmation for me for the ministry.

Strange things about the weekend...

It was strange at first because I was at Redwood, but the usual faces associated with the place weren't there. It was just weird not seeing any PCJC people walking around.

It was strange not seeing the snack bar open. I was about to get a rainbow surprise one day... but then, it wasn't open.

It was strange seeing juk at the cafeteria. Actually, I didn't recognize it at first as juk. It looked like something... well, a lot less appetizing. The Taiwanese constituents weren't complaining, and they were eating it, so, what do I know?

It was strange because the youths' cabins didn't have adult supervision and yet they didn't sneak out at night.

It was strange sleeping in Evergreen lodge. It was like a hotel room. That's not the Redwood experience I know.

Off to Santa Cruz for the weekend...

"Costco's converted to pretzels." -- Brandon G.

"Churros were the bomb." -- Charlie F.

When did Costco stop serving Churros? I went to Costco today. And although all I wanted was an ice cream bar, I was disappointed to find that Costco's food court no longer carries Churros. Wait... is churro capitalized? Ahh... who cares.

According to Brandon, the churros at Costco were replaced with pretzels... err rather, Costco converted to pretzels. But from my recollection, I sorta remember the pretzel warming box (I'm sure there's a technical term for that thing) having both pretzels and churros. Maybe, I dreamt this. This is possible. I like both soft giant pretzels and churros. This could have been dream. A very good one.

So, I'm thinking... somebody should start an online petition to bring back the churros to Costco. Everybody loves churros. And even those who don't have to admit that they're cheap at Costco.

It's that time again, college football season.

The season has officially started as of today. With our Golden Bears ranked #15 in the ESPN/USA today poll, and #13 in the AP, I'm feeling pretty high and mighty. Rodgers to McArthur... that's something we're gonna be hearing a lot of. Reminds me of the glory years of Vedder to... uhhh, yeah. The poor guy couldn't even see over his offensive line. Probably the reason why they always ran wide receiver screens when he was taking snaps.

But Rodgers to McArthur, that's gonna be a great combo. Watch out SC. Don't underestimate the power of the Fighting Tedfords. "It's the only song you know... it's boring and it's slow...." Yeah, I don't think the rest of the chant is appropriate for blogging purposes.

Thanks lots to my friend Brandon. Got a lot to think about. I don't think I've been challenged like that in a real long time.

Why do we Christians have such a hard time being honest with each other? Better yet, why is it that we have a harder time being honest as we climb up the totem pole of leadership? And in honesty, not just in the things of the past but of the present.

James 5:16

Week long hiatus due to camp.

Camp was a whole lotta everything. Highs, lows, and everything in between. Never ceases to be a good time though. Had a great group of guys in our cabin.

Top 3 laugh out loud moments at camp...
1. One of my boys getting hit (slammed is probably a better word) below the belt by a catapulted water balloon during organized rec.
2. Greg, Kyle, and Brandon Saito downing a pitcher of water each (though Greg insisted on fruit punch), and then proceeding to yack most of it back out (though Kyle miraculously kept it all down).
3. Mark breaking the big blue whiffle ball bat after hitting Jon on the butt with it with all his might.

Showering

So, for years, my mom's commented on the length of my showers. Everytime she notes how I take "bird baths." Real quick showers according to her. For the record, my showers last about 5-7 minutes. All you guys out there, 5-7 minute showers aren't that short right?

I've noticed that I have a daily pattern in showering. I never break the ritual. Get the water warm. Dampen the hair. Shampoo. Rinse. Soap the face. Rinse. Soap the front. Rinse. Soap the back. Rinse. Soap the feet. Rinse. Squeegee the water off the body with hands... one more time. Towel off. Not only is the order of activities the same... but the order of body parts when I'm soaping or towelling is the same. Maybe I'll feel a little crazy tomorrow and towel dry the right arm before the left arm!!! What will I think of next?

Just checked out ESPN.com and found out that the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll for college football has been released. Lo and behold, Cal is ranked #15. I can't remember the last time Cal was ranked in the top 25 in the preseason.

To celebrate, our very own BCS Poll (the blog championship series poll), has its own preseason rankings. Unfortunately, due to lack of funding and resources, the preseason rankings are the same as last year's final standings. Have no fear, things will start to pick up again at the beginning of the season starting week 1, August 24th-30th.

Although I do not share the ESPN East Coast bias, I have to admit I am not bias-free... read: Alinna will enter the rankings in week 1. Then again, the real BCS (the bowl championship series) is just about as objective as a Berkeley ethnic studies professor on politics.

Great fun over the last couple of days.

Sunday, after church, I went to celebrate Jason's birthday and say good-bye to Danny at their place. Barbeque. Big fat barbeque. Met a bunch of people. Talked with old friends. Didn't get to talk with all the people I wanted to though. Oh well. Such is the case in these great big get-togethers. Saw a lot of smiles. Saw a lot of laughs. It was just a good ol' time.

So, at the barbeque, Ben Tao's there, and he comes up to me. "Hey, Hideyo, you wanna come down to the South Bay and play some ball tomorrow?" I'm such a push-over. Especially if it comes to getting a free ride to see Alinna.

Wee.

Getting readjusted.  Some days I find myself almost forgetting that I lived in Japan.  It's like the experience never existed.  Blotted out from memory.  But then, I look around my room, I see something, and I'm time warped into all the memories associated with Japan.  A tie I got as a gift, a photograph, my pocket translator.  Surprisingly, an old newsletter doesn't evoke the same response.  When I look at those pieces of paper, it feels like I'm looking in to another person's experience.  "Oh, that's nice. I hope he's doing well."  That is, until I remember that it's me.  I wrote that newsletter a few months ago.  And yet, it's so distant.

Congratulations to Alinna the winner of many awards.  Yes, the time has been both long and short.  What an incredible ride it's been so far.

Good day hanging with old friends.

A day of homerun derby, video games, two handed burritos, mahjong, and free stuff from Krispy Kreme with Steve, Kyle, Johnny, Ken, and Celia.  Oh my, it appears that Celia's the only one without a xanga.  What ever shall we do?

A few more details?  Homerun derby was fun but weak because the winner, Johnny, won with one homerun.  Fixed the hitch in my swing though.  Maybe next time.

Video games... well, when at Kyle's house, what else do we play than MVP Baseball?  I have now made it into the month of May in my dynasty.  Considering that the season starts in April, I think I still have a long long long way to go.  Manny Ramirez and Albert Pujols though are on a tear... at this pace, I think they'll have over 120 homeruns for me a piece.

Two handed burritos?  Where else but Sinaloa.  Crazy big burrito.  Finished it.  But didn't eat anything else for the rest of the day.  Some foods just sit in your stomach.  Burritos from Sinaloa set up camp.

Mahjong and Krispy Kreme... it was getting late and I was super tired.  The second consecutive time we had a draw at the mahjong table was clear indication that the night was over.  Note: The raspberry flavored frozen blend drink at Krispy Kreme tastes like the raspberry filling in their donuts.  Good in donuts.  Not so good going through a straw.

LA and the meetings

Went down to LA with Alinna to bring Kei back home and see a place in Alhambra.  Was "inspected" by the sister, although, I have to admit, it was very light.  If inspections regularly consist of eating good italian food, a little singing, laughing lots, and eating some Diddy cookies... I don't know what I was worried about.

Very cool going down to South Bay afterwards.  Went to the small group/LTG I heard so much about.  Finally got to put faces to the names I heard regularly.  And of course, had breakfast with the dad the following morning.  Again, I think I got off easy.  But hey, easy's cool.  I like easy.  No complaints.

She definitely got her share too.  What a blitz this weekend has been.  So glad that we're a team.

Good to see all the boys for free dinner.

Much love to all who showed at House of Prime Rib yesterday. Ben, Andy, Dean, Jason, Denny, Caleb, and Horace. Of course, for most who attended, a free dinner was attached... quite an incentive. After all these years, I finally paid out. I was like the last samurai... or something.

Much love and many prayers go out to Denny who is leaving for Bellevue tomorrow.

Weekend in Clovis.

Friday to Sunday in the Fresno/Clovis area for a camp training session. Highly unstructured but good fun hanging and getting to know the fellow workers. Kind of confused though. I mean, if training requires lots of eating, hanging out, worshipping, and laughing, I think I'm training most everyday.

Oh, and we found a Sonic Burger. All those years of Sonic Burger commercials with no Sonic restaurants in sight are over. Food... ehh. Drinks... so good. Onion rings... so good.

Crazy intense awesome week in the South Bay. I'm truly blessed.

Have we come to worship worship itself? Rather than seeking God himself, have we come to seeking that feeling of God?

When will we walk away from the "talent show"-ification of worship and come back to reverence? Since when do our talents dictate what we do in response to God?

In the exploration of the "heart of worship" and what it means to "have worship be beyond the music," I see us looking for other creative venues to express our worship. The message I hear is "Use your talents to worship God." What are you good at? Well, then, even though its not music you too, can worship God through your talents. Body worship. Art. Drama. The list can go on.

Why the emphasis on glorifying God through our strengths? What of our weaknesses? What happens in situations when we're not doing what we're good at? What happens when we're STUCK doing things we do not like to or can't do? Can we still worship God? Of course we can. In fact, the most beautiful worship comes from such circumstances because the praise and worship is so much more completely focused on the one who deserves it... God himself. When we do something we're good at, and praise God with those talents, it is inevitable... people will praise us as well.

Instead of the "talent show"-fication, can we come back to love? Can we come back to reverence? Can we come back to utter respect? Rather than exploring the different expressions of worship, can we explore the object of our worship and the attitude we bring to worship? Should the focus be on honing our skills in playing an instrument, singing, and speaking? Or instead should the focus be on growing in our awe and reverence when approaching the throne of grace?

1 Corinthians 13

Wow.

Oh-fer.

Twice I've gone fishing this week at the Dam Resevoir, and nothing. No fish. Not even a bite to get me going. If I had at least a bite, I wouldn't need the fish. I'd just go on and on about how big the battle against the "fish that got away" was. Then again, it is getting late in the season.

Tuesday with Kyle, Ben, and Brooke. And today with grandpa (sorry grandpa doesn't have a blog).

Oh, and crazy congrats to Ryan. You'z all grownz up and you'z all grownz up.

God is the boss. We're gonna be okay.

Weekend at Tahoe (only it was Wednesday)!

Ryan, Brandon, Katz, and I drove out to Tahoe yesterday, and came back the same day. Got to hang out with Tomio a bit as well which was cool. Planning for the trip was at a super minimum. Tuesday night (yes, that's the day before) at around 11:30PM, we decided that it would be splendid to spend the following day along the shores of the bluest lake in the world (and in the casinos and buffets that lie alongside). Day/road trip on a whim. It felt like college all over again.

It was good to just spend a good chunk of time with those guys. Talking, sitting, eating, sitting, laughing, sitting, hanging out, sitting. Good times.

Conversation of the day:

(Late in the day, after winning a number of times on the slots, Katz again wins on a slot pull. He proceeds to put his hand under the coin dispenser so that his winnings fall directly into his hand, keeping them from klanking on the metal bin below.)

B: "Hey, I thought you liked the sound of the coins falling."
K: "I did. But then it got annoying after a while."

Farmer's tan and good food

I'm colorblind. So, usually I can't see when people blush, tan, or burn. But today, as I was driving to Berkeley I noticed that I have the nastiest farmer's tan. To confirm, I touched my shoulders so that I could do a side by side comparison of my bicep and forearm. It was like night and day.

As a side note, "night and day" can also be translated as "California and Hokkaido" respectively. The color of my bicep used to be my skin color for about 2 years. As my mom said at a Starbucks when I came home, "[I'm] whiter than most caucasians." Sunny California days make all the difference.

Onto the good food. For lunch, I just went to Jones' BBQ on San Pablo Dam. I had their Catfish sandwich lunch special. Oh it was good eatin'. Fried catfish pieces with lettuce and tomato on a bun, beans and rice as a side, and a Pepsi for $6. Good deal I think. Definitely want to try out their beef and ribs now. If anybody's down, I'm in the area.

Great.

Had a great breakfast at Mama's in North Beach with Alinna followed by a great Giants game in the afternoon where we joined up with Jason, Mary, and Ev. Great time at the barbeque at East Bay... as usual. In the great words of the Kool-Aid man, "Oh yeah."


A thought on the megachurch phenomenon...

With the prominence of megachurches like Willow Creek and Saddleback, and their dubbed "success," I've seen a number of other churches try to imitate their style by investing considerable amounts of money to campus expansions, building renovations, and diversifying and increasing paid staff size. Granted, I definitely have a biased opinion about this, but wouldn't that money be better used for church planting rather than improving an existing church?

It appears that the early church thought so, that is, after the church in Jerusalem was dispersed. And if my generation is serious about desiring more intimate, closer, real communities/relationships, wouldn't ten 50-member churches be far more effective than a single 500-member church (all other factors aside)?

I remember reading this article from the Barna webpage when I was still in Japan. This may hold true right now, but I think the "Hope for small churches" section will be profoundly prophetic in the years to come.

Back "home"

I read this good article about transplanting or moving to a new location. And yet, though the article is good and speaks to me to some level because of my move back home, my experience has been different because of that very reason... I'm back home.

Getting readjusted has been difficult for all the reasons mentioned in the article: Expect disorientation, new relationships take time, old relationships will change, transplanting means growth. The additional problem is that the "new relationships" are really old relationships, and the "old relationships" are new relationships, well, at least in comparison to the "new relationships." I've known the people in my "new surroundings," here at home, longer than those of my "old surroundings," Japan.

And so, it'd be safe to say that I've expected too much of you all here on this side of the Pacific. I treated my American relationships as if they were old relationships that could just pick up where they left off. And though we may share in old memories and laugh at the same old jokes, the fact of the matter is that my American friends have changed, and so have I.

It's just been so difficult to see a familiar face, and feel like I have to start the relationship all over again.

Crazy weekend.

Many congrats to Phoebe on her baby shower. Nuts! She's having a kid. Definitely cool to see all the peoples out representing and showing their support. There is much love.

Congrats to Gordon as well... getting married. Unfortunately, due to some major stomach discomfort I wasn't able to celebrate in full force. Later that night, I just collapsed into bed... twice. The result? Two days of feeling nasty = 9lbs of weight loss. Atkins' got nothing on this baby.

Baseball.

Yesterday, courtesy of Jeff, I was able to go to the Giants game at SBC. The first thing I noticed when I saw the ticket was the section number... 208. I thought about it. 200s? Where are those? I've sat in the upper deck before... those were 300s. I've sat at field level... those were 100s. Where are 200 seats?

Kyle, Steve, and I walk into the stadium... buy food and start wandering, trying to figure out where our seats are. Kyle's the first to figure it out. I just follow him. We go up an escalator. Sure enough. 200s are club level seats. Just to clarify, Club Level seats are freakin' awesome. Amazing amazing. Nice view. No lines on concessions. Great service. I don't think I had to open a single door while I was there. They had ushers to open them for me especially when I had garlic fries in one hand, a bratwurst in another, and a Coke between my elbows.

As a side note, as of today, I'm borrowing the book Moneyball from Steve. I'm already 2/3 through it. I'm thoroughly enjoying the humor in it. For those who have read it, I'm kinda curious now as to how those draftees are turning out.

Today, I found a pair of old jeans.

I don't know where they came from. But I found them... today. So, I decided to wear them. I don't think I've worn em since high school. A few observations:

1. I've gotten bigger, most noticibly in the waist and leg areas.
2. I really was 130 lbs when I was a high school senior.
3. Old jeans have this grubby but soft feel that's kinda therapeutic... but not when they're huggin' on your skin.

My lack of posting.

Sorry, I haven't been posting. It isn't so much that I haven't had anything post worthy as it has been that I've been too tired at the end of the day to post stuff.

So, I return to Blogger, and I find the format all changed for the post-er... post-man... post-guy. The display looks all emaily. Strange. This will take a while.

The biggest thing since I posted last? Went to Virginia to see my friend Ben Tao graduate from law school at the College of William and Mary. I'll post pictures soon.

Highlights from the trip to Williamsburg?
-Congrats to Ben
-Southern cooking complete with gravy on everything. Honestly, I think I had a side dish that was gravy on gravy.
-Virginia Beach... the Atlantic isn't a hot tub, but it's plenty warmer than the Pacific, especially at Stinson.
-Seeing Ben give dancing lessons to practically everyone there. Never would've thought.

The speed of time.

Time seems to be moving real slow here in the States. Have I only been in America for 4 weeks? Seems like it's been way longer than that. This isn't to say it's been a drag.

It's been great spending most of my time hanging out with people I haven't seen in a while. Yesterday, I got to be in the presence of Christine and Jason... good times. I also got to rediscover used book stores yesterday. I forgot how much I love those places.

But yeah, I dunno. Time just seemed to slow down as soon as I touched down at LAX. In Japan, it was just that the pace of things in my world was just frantic. I was busy doing something almost all the time. I was always "on." Or at least it felt that way. True, I taught a lot of English classes during my time there, but that's not the whole picture. Even normal conversations with people in Japan required a heightened awareness. Just being forced to speak a foreign language, it takes a lot outta ya. Some mornings, if I knew that I had to go to city hall or the bank or something later that day, I'd study up on the vocabulary I'd have to use to accomplish my goals. Now, in the States, I just "wing" a lot of conversations. I'm not constantly thinking about how I want to say what I want or need to say.

What I mean to say is that my time to wind down in Japan rarely felt like I was winding down. Here, in America, if I want to wind down I'll watch TV with friends or family... or something of the sort. And time would just, for a moment slow down to a crawl. In Japan, I had no such luxury. I had time to watch TV... but it'd be Japanese TV. And watching Japanese TV, although entertaining at times (most of the crazy Japanese variety shows you see in the States were from the 80s... so they don't exist anymore), always seemed to morph into a Japanese language learning experience for me (I learned a lot of my conversational Japanese from playing with kids and watching TV).

Time may slow down if you're moving faster than the speed of light... but I've found that it may also slow down if you're watching Sportscenter... duh nah nah, duh nah nah.

Happy Children's Day

Since when does Cinco de Mayo take precedence over Children's Day? So, Mexico is like a million miles closer to the States than Japan... so what? No love for the Asian nations. There's Chinese New Year. That's it. And Japanese people don't even observe that. That's right. No red envelopes on some arbitrary February day for the people of Nippon. No crazy scary Lion dances with firecrackers going off all over the place. No love.

I have a lot of junk.

I've spent the better part of the day so far just cleaning out my former room and its closet. Amazing. I never realized how much of a pack rat I am. The great thing about the cleaning out of junk thing is that I've found a number of "lost" items (i.e. my old driver's license, old J-league basketball team photos, etc.) and a few things I never knew I had (i.e. Kevin Garnett and Will Clark rookie card). The not so great thing? Aside from throwing nearly everything away... sneezing all the time from all the dust that's just flying around.

Ahhh, the last of the boxes I shipped home from Japan came in yesterday! This is cause for celebration. What was in the last box? Oh, all the necessary things for survival in Japan. English Bible, Japanese Bible, photos, dress shirt, running shoes, Xbox, Xbox games.

In other news, we, at East Bay Free Meth thought of yet another game last night. There is a new East Bay game. The basic version of the game requires only one person and a hula hoop. The guy rolls the hula hoop on the ground in such a way so that the hula hoop rolls back (requires spin). As the hula hoop rolls back toward the starting point, the guy tries to dive through the hula hoop without disturbing the rolling hula hoop.

Over the course of the night, a number of variations were created. Multiple hoops were used. Multiple people were used. A no jumping rule was put into effect (also known as the T-Rex method). And of course different styles of diving were used to see the most effective methodology. I have some video of the activity, but unfortunately, I do not have a place for it on the internet. I'm hoping Charlie will post it on his website sometime soon. We'll see.

Today was a rather uneventful day... but interesting none the less, for me at least.

I reacquainted myself with the public library today. I forgot that they have quite a few books that I want to read. Yes, I like reading. Yes, I am a nerd. Well, maybe a wannabe. So anyway, as I walk in I see the business hours posted outside. What's with these crazy hours? I understand with the fiscal problems and everything... but help make the business hours easy to remember! The closing times varied from 4PM to 8PM depending on the day. It's almost as confusing as those stupid Berkeley parking signs that say something like "No Parking Every 3rd Tuesday of the Month 12:30PM-3:30PM." Actually, confusing isn't the word I'm looking for. How do you say "Mendou" in English? Inconvenient? Who wants to think, "Ok what day is today?" as they're about to walk into a library? Or who wants to think, "Ok, is this the 2nd or 3rd Tuesday of the month?" after they've searched for a parking spot to no avail for the last 20 minutes?

I also went to the post office today. I went to send a CD of pictures to the LIFE Ministries office. So, I stood in line. When it was my turn, the clerk was very friendly. He cracked a few jokes, we talked for a while as he was processing my parcel, and wished me a good day. Nice guy. Yeah, in Japan something like that would never happen. There are nice guys there too. It's just that, well, I guess they're just not as friendly. It seemed like being a nice guy there meant that you kept to yourself and didn't butt into other people's lives. That was my reality for the last 2 1/2 years. So, when the clerk at the post office today started off by saying, "Hey, how're you doing? What would you like me to do for ya?" I was a bit overwhelmed... but in a good way. For a few seconds I wondered, "Which question am I supposed to answer?" Yes, I am a sad, sad man.

I've gotten a few questions about driving in the States again...

"Is it hard to drive on the right side of the road again?" Quick answer, no. Long answer, if I lived in the country it might be more of a problem, but since I live in the Bay Area, I just follow the perpetual car in front of me. I'm yet to drive on a road with absolutely no cars in front of me. If that were the case, I might accidentally turn into the left hand side of the road, but yeah... I think I'm done explaining this one.

"Is it hard to shift with your right hand again?" No. If the pedals were switched then we'd have a whole different issue.

"So is there anything difficult about readjusting to American driving?" Yes. But stupid stuff. Example: It's been a long day and I just want to go home. I'm about to make a right turn. I get to the right hand side of the right lane and... woop woop, there go my windshield wipers. The lever for the blinkers (or winkers as the Japanese like to call them) and windshield wipers are switched. This makes sense because the gear shifter is on the left side of the driver in Japanese cars. Why does that matter? Well, suppose you're driving a manual Japanese car. You want to make a right turn. You slow down, because you've put your rice rocket days behind you, flip your turn signal with your right hand, and shift down with your left hand for maximum acceleration out of the turn. It would just be hectic and stressful if the turn signal remained on the left side of the steering wheel (as it is in America).

One more example: I go to run errands. I go to the grocery store. I buy some stuff. After finding the car in the vast American parking lot, I get ready to get in, and put the groceries in the car... only I open the right front door thinking that it's the driver's side. I play it off like I meant to do that (to who, I don't know because no one can see this small little Japanese man in the vast expanse known as the parking lot) and promptly drop off the groceries into the passenger seat, close the door, walk around the car, and get into the real driver's seat. Real slick.

Thought this was an interesting article about Christian leadership. The beginning caught my attention real quick but I wish he elaborated a bit more on the application side at the end of the article. It seems to me that the trouble comes in trying to figure out how to apply this concept in everyday life.

Much fun in the South Bay.

Much love out to Deez for being a good host. Driving me around. Putting a roof over my head. "Wrastlin'," and not being able to breathe when he squashed me. Oh, and good grubbin' at Google. I've since been inspired. I have visions of my future kitchen now. Got to see his workplace at HP as well. Thought the placement of his pictures on his desk was interesting. The foodstation at HP was quite disappointing after being blown away at Google.

Much love out to Alinna. Yes, I went to high school prom... to chaperone. Lots of fun thanks to a great conversationalist. She was looking great especially with her choice of footwear. They played a lot of music from my senior prom. Well, minus Hit Em Up. But you know when you're old when they play a song from your senior prom and everybody in the room goes "Awwww yeah" and proceed to lift their arms and do a roofing movement with their hands upon hearing. No way I'm turning 25 this year. What is this? Didn't I just graduate from college?

Gmail.

Pretty sweet. A gig of space on webmail. Because I'm an "active Blogger user" I get a Gmail account. So, for all you Xanga users out there tough natto.

hideyo@gmail.com

No jumping frogs. No stupid underscores. Just plain ol' hideyo. That's me!

As I was talking to Seri last night, I started wondering... is it white board? Or wipe board?

I think I've heard both depending on the person. Since the two sound so similar, I think I just let it pass without a glancing thought. Just putting it out there. Which is it? Or is it both? White wipe board? Yeah, I don't think it's white wipe board. That just sounds stupid.

So many changes.

Being back has been strange in a lot of ways. I remember when I got in to LA and turned on the TV, I saw a bunch of programs I've never seen before. I mean what's up with all the reality shows?

I look around at all the gas stations... crazy prices! $2.35 a gallon?!

Today, I called my home from a pay phone. Since when did phone calls cease to be 20 cents? When did it become 50?

Man, I'm glad God is an unchanging God. At least He remains the same. Well, Him and the Warriors. My first night back, the Warriors played the Blazers, and lost. Hardly recognized anybody on the Warriors squad, but they still lost. That, my friends is consistency.

I'm home.

My mind's going in a sorts of directions right now. That's all I have to say.

Leaving the city of Date later tonight... and going crazy until that time arrives. Well, not right now. Eating udon with crab and kimchee seems to help quite a bit. Not gonna be posting until probably the 6th when I touch down into LAX.

The plan...

March 22: Leave Date
March 23-29: Mission retreat in Nagano (Karuizawa)
March 30- April 6: Trip to Hiroshima, Kyoto, Nikko, Tokyo.
April 6-9: Los Angeles Re-entry/de-briefing.
April 9: The Yay.

Haven't been posting because I've been spending most of my free time packing and cleaning. Oyy. Who knew that stuff multiplies like rabbits?

I'm going going... back back... to Cali Cali...

FYI. I'll be back in Northern Cal on Friday April 9th, Good Friday. 12:37PM into Oakland Airport... United flight 6501.

Great article about Mel Gibson's movie, The Passion. Seems to echo Danny and Cal's thoughts and opinions. Haven't experienced the hype and controversy, but based on CNN's website reports, I can probably make a good guess what it's like.

I am weary. Not just tired. But weary. I'd appreciate your prayers on my behalf.

I got a phone call today from my mom saying, "Congratulations, you have been accepted into Fuller Theological Seminary."

Since my mind is going all over the place with preparations for the move back home, I'll take an except from my journal back in January.

Stephen's speech. In describing Moses' early activity as recorded from Acts 7:23-29, Stephen uses very active verbs. "Decided," "went," "killing," "thought." Verse 25 in particular is interesting. "Moses thought that his own people would realize that God was using him to rescue them, but they did not." Looks like he thought wrong. But beyond that, I think it interesting at the choice of words: "His own people." This probably doesn't mean that he was the leader and they were his people. I see this more like he was trying to be like his people... that he was trying to join his group, confirm his identity maybe. I guess something like trying to be a leader without taking the responsibility. "Hey, I'm one of the guys, man." Later in his life we see him pleading on "his people's" behalf. Responsibility, the responsibility of the spiritual leader is felt. Truly, the call and responsibility of a leader is great. It is true, not all of us should desire to be leaders. Only a few can carry the burden required.

Today we reached a new level of cold...

Most people back home will say that it's cold when they can see their breath outside. Those same people will say that it's freezing cold when they can see their breath inside. Well, today, as I was going to the bathroom, I noticed that my urine was steaming. Nasty stuff. Seeing that kind of steam rising up toward your face. Scary!

Then again, it could be worse. Asahikawa, a city out here in Hokkaido, doesn't snow sometimes. At times it'll get so cold that it won't snow. Instead of snow, ice crystals fall from the sky. The Japanese people call the stuff "diamond dust." Very scary!

Since Steve said that my last post was a waste of time, I'mma gonna post again.

A couple of days ago, I went to the train station to reserve some tickets for a trip I'm taking around Japan after I leave Date. Went into the office, sat down, and waited for a guy to come out and help me figure this thing out. A guy came out a few moments later and I tell him that I'm looking for a way to get to Nagano prefecture from Hokkaido via local trains. We talk for a while, clarify a few things, and it looked like everything was going well.

Then, his attitude changed. He started getting gruff with me and it was obvious that he didn't want to be there anymore. "Are you done?" "Do you need me anymore?" After a few minutes, he said, "Do you understand?" and I obviously didn't, but I said "Yes," and ran away.

Later that day, I talked with a few Japanese people about the incident to try to figure out why his demeanor changed so rapidly. Most suggested that he might have thought I was treating him like a retarded man. Why? Because I probably didn't speak perfect Japanese. That's right. I speak inperfect Japanese, and the guy takes that to mean that I think HE is retarded. Does this not make sense to anybody else out there?

Ahhhhh!!!!

I'm going nutzo. It's just starting to hit me. I'm leaving in a few weeks! The whole feeling is weird but very familiar. It feels just like graduation. Looking forward to the future, have to move forward, but kinda hesitant because this is what I've known as my reality for the last few years. Got a good number of boxes ready to become FOBs. Haven't worked on the FOP boxes yet though.

Thanks to Tim Clark, a fellow missionary in the Hokkaido region, most of the flooring's been wiped up, bathroom and toilet are clean, and so is the kitchen. Most of the cleaning duties are now relegated to the bedroom region.

Side note, today, the radio played the song "Summertime" by the Fresh Prince and DJ Jazzy Jeff. Yo, I was not feelin' it. -9C weather is probably not the best time to hear a song about hot weather, playing basketball outside, and driving down a street at 2 mph. Well, at least I was in a car at the time... instead of walking around with my fingers falling off from frostbite.

Have many good memories of this place, but the weather I can do without. I haven't seen a summer in a while. When I got here, and it started getting cold, I asked about how long the winters last here. The person laughed and said, "Here, we have winter, spring, and fall." I've generally found this to be true. Winter lasts about 6 months (Nov-Apr), spring lasts about 3 months (May-Jul), and fall lasts about 3 months(Aug-Oct).

Summah summah summertime...

Super Tuesday's coming up and my absentee ballot hasn't come in yet.

Then again, it was only two weeks ago that I sent in my app. I dunno. The whole thing seems like it'll be anti-climactic. I mean, I'll probably end up voting when it doesn't matter anymore. By the time I send in my vote, I'll probably be able to check the winner of the California primary on CNN, MSNBC, the NY Times, or any news website. My vote? Undecided but leaning towards Edwards. I'm sorry, but Kerry, yeah I don't think I'd look forward to any hour long State of the Union addresses from an orator like Kerry.

It's raining! Ha! It's raining!

Why am I so happy that it's raining? Because it's not snowing! Why's that a big deal? I mean, I like snow. It looks pretty. It's kinda cool. And it means that I can go snowboarding which is really cool. But yo, living in a place that snows and going on a weekend trip to a place that snows is way different! Can somebody on the East Coast back me on this one? The snow itself isn't the big deal. Well, unless it dumped like 6 inches the night before and you find yourself shoveling your car out of it's parking lot when you're already 5 minutes late to your first appointment.

The big deal is that if it's snowing, it's at least 32F. And that's not taking the wind chill factor into account. CaliforniaBoy + CaliforniaClothes + 32F + WindChillFactor = UnhappyCaliforniaBoy.

There are two great things about the first rain. First, it means that it's at least above 32F. Often it means that it's at least 38F. Second, it melts a lot of the snow and ice. And that's absolutely awesome!

Hahah! It looks like my attempts at making Date a beach resort by haphazardly spraying aerosol cans into the air, leaving my refrigerator door open, and driving my car everywhere around town for no real reason is starting to take effect! Mid/late February and the first rain! Har har har! If I recall, last year we didn't have the first rain til something like mid/late April. Global warming?

Servant leadership.

One of the many paradoxes of Christianity. And like the other paradoxes it is often misunderstood. After all, how can one be a leader and a servant at the same time in any given situation? So, because of all the confusion, sadly, we've simplified the term "servant leadership" to equal Christian leadership. We say that a Christian leader is a servant, but he does nothing that a servant would do. We say that a Christian leader serves, but often he is the one being served. Because the change of attitude and action is too difficult to comprehend and accomplish, we settle for a mere change of semantics. The result? A lot of Christians clamoring to become "servants." This is my story.

But who likes being treated like a servant? No, I'm not talking about servanthood as being nice to somebody. Or taking care of logistics. Or feeding the hungry. Or anything else we say is servanthood.

One huge thing I've learned in my time here is that servant leadership is a heavy burden to carry. We all desire to be "servants" until we are treated like one. It is then, when we hit a crossroads... a crossroads where we choose to follow Christ and take the narrow road to servanthood, or hold on to our rights and stick up for ourselves... the road well traveled. The road I've chosen all too often and still continue to choose to my regret.

We, Christians throw the terms "serve" and "servant" all too carelessly. It has gotten to a point where the words hold little to no meaning anymore... at least in accordance to its intended meaning. I wonder, would we still clamor if it were termed slave leadership?

Mark 10:35-45

Onsen.

Hot springs are everywhere out here, especially in Hokkaido. To answer the most common question regarding these places, yes, people get neked. Nobody wears swimming trunks or speed-os for that matter. You walk into the changing room, take off all your clothes, and take a small towel with you. And yes, the towel really is small.

Onsen are not to be confused with sentos (bath houses). Onsen get their water from natural or mostly natural hot springs whereas their sento counterparts simply use heated tap water, sometimes with minerals added.

Well, there are all sorts of onsen. You've got the salt water baths, the sulfuric baths, the cold water baths, weird mineral baths, and the mother of all onsen, the rotenburo or outdoor onsen. The rotenburo are particularly cool when it's snowing outside. Something about being in a warm bath, and having snowflakes fall on your face... it's something worth experiencing.

Anyway, a while ago, I remember going to an onsen that had a peculiar bath. I couldn't read the sign that described what was special about this particular bath at the time, so I decided to just test it out. I lifted my leg and slowly put it into the bath... and OUCH OUCH OUCH, I pulled my leg out of that mess. It turns out that there was an electric current running through the bath. That's right. An electric current was purposely flowing through the water where people were expected to bathe. Supposedly, it's good if you have arthritis. I don't care. Bathing experiences aren't supposed to feel like a school of piranhas are picking at ya like you're a buffet table.

I can use some prayer.

Right now, I'm a tired basketcase. Not a good combination. Why tired? Because LaVera, the person who's finishing out the time here in Date, got here at the beginning of this week. What does that mean?

First, just the logistics of getting a foreigner registered in a Japanese city. Green card, health insurance (because it's universal in Japan), car insurance, name stamp, cell phone, bank account, etc.. Of course, if I was in Tokyo, the people at the city hall, stores, and post office would be able to speak some English. But I'm not, so I have to brush up on some Japanese that never gets used.

Second, I've been noticing that when people want to talk to her, they look to me... to translate what they're saying. At least have the courtesy to look in her direction when addressing her! Yo, mad props out to the translators of the world. It is tiring work.

Things should lighten up in a couple of weeks as she picks up a few responsiblities.

Why a basketcase? Because when she arrived, I realized that my time here is coming to end very soon (a little over a month to be more exact). It's such a mixed bag. On one hand, I'm real excited about coming back home for all the obvious reasons. But on the other hand, I've been here for a semi-extended amount of time. It feels like graduating from college all over again in the sense that it's what I've known for the last few years, and it feels sorta comfortable in that way. And then, there's just all the other garbage that just doesn't help. Yuck.

Taken from the passage read during the chapel time (Bible reading after an English class) for one of the classes today... John 4:13-14 is fitting.

Economics of flying?!

I went to the local travel agency to check up on prices for my return trip home to the States. I sat down at the chair, explained that I wanted to fly from Tokyo Narita to LAX... and so, the lady working there punches a few buttons on her computer, prints out a few pages, and shows me the prices... for a round trip flight. 59,000 yen (about $550).

I'm thinking to myself, "Woo hoo. $550 for round trip? That means one way'll cost something like $300." I wanted to get solid numbers so I tell her, "I'm looking for a one way ticket. How much will that cost?" She punches a few more buttons, prints out a few pages, and shows me the print out. 180,000 yen (about $1600).

What the? So lemme get this straight. I pay 3 times the money for half the trip? I tried to explain my confusion to the woman who was helping me, but maybe I'm the only one on the face of this Earth who doesn't understand because she just said, "That's the way it is" and with a straight face!

I mean the way I see it, it's like if you go to McDonalds. And you feel like an 8 pack of Chicken McNuggets with that weird sauce that they call barbeque. They cost $4.50. But if you buy the 8 pack Chicken McNugget meal that comes with medium french fries and a Coke, it'll cost $1.50. Would McDonalds ever do something like this? In the great words of MacCaullay Culkin, "I don't think so."

"Preach the Gospel, and if necessary use words."

I remember hearing this quote all the time in college. I dunno. It was just one of those things that just sounded right or something. I didn't know if it had any real worth. I'd hear it, and just do one of those nods that said, "Yeah, I think I agree with that," without really knowing why.

I think half of my partiality for the saying was due to my unfounded dislike for using words in preaching the Gospel. "Hey, some famous dude said that I don't have to... or shouldn't use words." And just like that, I convinced myself I could still, and was actually living out the Great Commission and continue to live the way I did.

After coming to Japan, I discovered the meaning of that quote. For the first time, I couldn't use words. I didn't have an adequate handle of the Japanese language. Sure, before coming to Japan, I could say everyday household words like "Shut up," "What are we eating today?" and "Stop being annoying." You know, the basics. But using words to communicate the message of the Gospel of the Bible wasn't an option. I had to do what so many preachers challenge their congregants to do... "Live the Gospel." It's not until you are put in a situation where you cannot speak words that you realize how incredibly tough it is to communicate the Gospel merely by your actions.

Talk is definitely cheap. "Preach the Gospel, and if necessary use words," is not an excuse by any means. It is a challenge.

Absentee ballots.

Thanks to a little nudge from Christina, I applied for an absentee ballot for the California Democratic primaries. Because I don't have satellite tv here in Japan, I've resorted to MSNBC's streaming video news clips to help me make a decision. I think they do a decent job. But honestly, I don't know if it'll make much of a difference by the time Super Tuesday rolls around. Candidates are dropping like flies. Although, I do believe Dennis Kucinich and Al Sharpton are still running. Hmm...

Can someone explain to me the appeal of John Kerry? I just don't understand it. Why do people like this guy? I don't know, he just sorta reminds me of the second coming of Al Gore. Nothing to be excited about. Just some dude who's riding this whole "Anybody but Bush" thing to the end. Al Sharpton, however.... hahaha.

Surprise!

In describing what it's like to live in Japan, I think a British guy (Ian) who lives here in Date, said it best, "Because Japan is so developed, it kind of lulls you into believing that it's like home. And then, suddenly, you realize that it's not."

I think my "toilet paper in the train station" story is ample evidence of such a statement. I mean, if I were in a developing country, I'd expect there not to be any toilet paper in the train station (that is if they have a train station). And I'd take the necessary precautions... a roll in my backpack for instance. But this is Japan, the second largest economy in the world, one of the most developed, and so like Ian said, I semi-believed that it's just like home, and then, bam, no toilet paper, and I'm stuck in a public bathroom, not knowing what to do next.

Well, just yesterday I had a similar experience. No, not with train station toilets. Or anything to do with the poopies. Late last night, I was driving home... only my gas tank was close to empty. And I had a long way to go. "Hideyo, just go to the closest gas station," you might say. But ahh no, this is Japan, land of the gas stations that close at 8 or 9PM. That's right, if you're on the road, late at night, and realize that the little arrow is below the "E" on the gas tank meter, tough konnyaku.

I'm driving and driving, checking all the gas stations I pass by, hoping that one is open at 10:30PM. One by one they go by, and they're just pitch black. Then, I saw a lit gas station sign. "My savior!" I thought, but then as I was about to pull in, I saw that it was fenced off. Apparently, that gas station's been out of business for quite some time. Why they still have the sign lit, I have no idea. Maybe to mess with stupid foreigners who didn't fill up their car while the sun was still up.

But I got lucky. There was one gas station on the way home. It was a self station (most gas stations are full in Japan). Filled up, and left without a worry. It's just these little surprises... the things I very much take for granted back home, that help me remember that I am where I am.

Crime in Japan.

Over the last few months, fraud in Japan has increased. Upon further investigation, it was found that a large part of this was due to a new technique. Young people targeted elderly people, and called them at their homes. The phone conversations would typically go like this:

Young criminal: Hey grandma/grandpa.
Grampa victim: Who's this?
YC: It's me. It's me.
GV: Who?
YC: It's me. I need money. Can you send some over?
GV: Who is this?
YC: It's me. Don't you recognize me? Send me money!
GV: Oh oh ok.
YC: So, send money to this bank account number okay?
GV: Ok ok. Take care.

And just like that, without saying their names, they get their money. To explain this phenomenon, news reporters suggest that the elderly victims eventually give in without knowing who it is on the other line, because they feel ashamed about not recognizing someone they feel they should recognize.

Japanese "self defense forces" (a fancy schmancy word for high powered highly funded army).

Thought this article about the SDF was hilarious. Well, at least they're trying... sorta. Here's to the few, the proud, the moustached SDF.

Gotta love Jeff Tang.

I sent him the link to the video linked on Seri's xanga in her February 3rd post. He loved the video tons. Basically, it's two Berkeley guys doing a little music video. So on AIM we started talking about it.

HKKai: this was done in a dorm room (i recognized the bed frame)
Heeday1719: yah
Heeday1719: it says ehrman
HKKai: oh right..haha..i thought it was one of their names
Heeday1719: haha
Heeday1719: who's the last asian person you know named ehrman
HKKai: Jeff Jr.
HKKai: he'll be the first
HKKai: oh wait... he can't be named jr. then
Heeday1719: hahaha
Heeday1719: oh that's hilarious
HKKai: yeah... that was dumb
HKKai: i'm just being a funny berkeleyan
Heeday1719: i hafta post that
HKKai: yeah, see, i'm just as funny as william hung and the cereal and milk boys
Heeday1719: yes you are

The Shinjo phenomenon.

Tsuyoshi Shinjo (aka "The tallest freakin' Japanese dude on the face of the earth," "Automatic out," and my personal favorite "Oh no, why'd you put him in the lineup today Dusty?"), a Japanese baseball player, after playing in the majors for a few years, came back to Japan... to play for the NIPPON HAM FIGHTERS! Tally that as an additional reason to get a Nippon Ham Fighters baseball cap.

The news here has been covering the spring training camps for all 12 Japanese pro baseball teams recently. And of course, when there's the report for the Nippon Ham Fighters' camp, all you see is Shinjo. Nobody else. Absolutely no coverage for any other Nippon Ham player. Just Shinjo. Well Shinjo, and all his screaming fans. Reports indicate that the fan attendance for Nippon Ham's spring training camp is already 4 times what it was last year (that is pre-Shinjo).

I find this all amazing because when Shinjo was playing in the States (minus his rookie year in the majors), the Japanese media and most Japanese baseball fans were ragging on him... hard. Come back to Japan, though, and suddenly he's more popular than smap. What changed? I have no idea. It's the strangest phenomenon.

Oh by the way, Shinjo a few weeks back was on the Japanese version of the gameshow "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" (which comes complete with a Japanese version of Regis). He won it all... of course, the Japanese version gives 10,000,000 yen which is about $100,000 not (a la Dr. Evil) ONE MILLION DOLLARS! The thing is that he's not that smart. How'd he win? With a pencil. His pencil had the letters A, B, C, and D marked on its sides. If he didn't know the answer, he'd roll his pencil, and whatever letter showed up, he'd use that as his answer. Go figure. The pencil was right every time. For any high school juniors and seniors out there, rumor has it that the Nippon Ham Fighters team will be selling identical "Shinjo pencils" as souvenirs and memorabilia.

Food adventures.

Different areas of Japan have what is called "meibutsu" or specialties... usually in the area of food. Example... Sendai, a fairly large city in northeastern Honshu (the main island) has cow tongue as one of its meibutsu. Cow tongue was kinda interesting. It just looked like a darker cut of beef... a bit tougher too.

Another example of meibutsu is bee larva from Nagano prefecture, an area just north of Tokyo. Yeah, the taste of honey pretty much drowned out all other flavors, so it wasn't bad.

Then there are just flat out weird things out there. Example, pan fried locusts. Yum. Haha. In Yamagata, northeastern Honshu, the people eat pan fried locusts (inago). I remember a lady coming to church with a black plastic bag hoisted over her shoulder like Santa Claus. The bag was full of locusts. An image I will not forget easily. How were they? Ehh, they're not bad. They're cooked in soy sauce and sugar so it tastes like... surprise surprise, soy sauce and sugar. The locust itself doesn't taste like much. Just gives that appealing crunchy texture, and antennae and legs that get stuck in between your teeth. Felt like John the Baptist eating the stuff.

Sea snails (tsubu). They aren't much to look at... especially after taking em out of their shells. But they tasted surprisingly good.

Well, just recently, I got to add another item on the list. I was eating a Japanese hot pot (nabe) and I saw this white thing that looked like brain. It was all coiled up like one. I decided that it was better to ask what it is after eating it, so I braved it and took some. Didn't taste like anything. After dinner was done, I asked what the white stuff that looked like brain was. After a few minutes of explanation, and a lot of laughs, I figured out that they were in fact, fish testicles. Funny. I never knew that fish had testicles. Well, now I do. And I can say I ate em too.

Weird dream.

Dreamt that I was sitting at a desk, practicing writing kanji (Chinese characters). To make it weirder, through the entire dream, I just kept writing the same kanji over and over again. One dream, one kanji. Nagai, the kanji for long. Over and over again. Boring? Yes.

Update on the Japanese politics post.

So, today I talk with some people in Date, and the lying Japanese politician topic came up. I was surprised by some of the comments I heard. Namely, I heard a few people say that they felt sorry for the lying politician. Each person who felt sorry for him, felt that way for the same reason. They felt that the news reporters were too pressing on him. Basically, the whole thing about him lying went out the window because the reporters were too ambitious in getting a story. How ambitious were they? Well, you can check my last post. They basically checked up his statements each time until he backed himself into a corner.

Related topic. This morning I taught an English class and one of the students asked me, "Do American politicians lie too?" I wanted to laugh. I broke a smile and said, "Yes they do. But they're better liars."

Gotta love Japanese politics.

Just recently, a politician from Fukuoka got caught for lying. What was the lie? He said he graduated from UCLA. After he got called on it, he said that it was an honest mistake and in fact, he attended UCLA for a while but graduated from Cal State LA. Upon further investigation, it was found that he didn't graduate from CSULA either. He then, backpedaled and said that he graduated from Pepperdine which is in the LA area. Now, it looks like he didn't even graduate from there.

In an news interview, he was quoted as saying that he needs to investigate (possibly go to the Los Angeles area) to find the truth. My question... what does he need to investigate? Doesn't he know where he graduated from? I think everybody knows what school they graduated from. There's no need to "investigate."

Taiwan might have the fighting politicians, but Japan might have the best press interviews with their politicians.

Doot doot doot... News Flash. He had a press conference today for his constituents in Fukuoka. With tears in his eyes, he announced that he's resigning from his political party. However, he's not resigning his post as a member of the Diet. He also did not admit to any lying or wrong doing. How anti-climactic.

I think I'm officially homesick.

Had a weird dream. Dreamt that I started running from Shattuck and University in Berkeley. I was running towards El Cerrito along Shattuck. Along the way I ran into people I haven't seen in a long long time. I mean like junior high school and elementary school. I'd talk with them, but not for long because I kept on running. You know one of those "Hey, what's up?" ... all the while trying to figure out what the other person's name is conversations. At the end of the dream, I ended up at Solano and went into the Jamba Juice there.

I think the last part was induced by the fact that it was freezing cold in my apartment when I woke up. Crazy cold. Didn't keep me from making a homemade Jamba Juice though. Weird feeling. Feeling cold on the outside, and shaking from the inside because your insides are cold too from an iced fruit blended drink.

Nippon Ham Fighters.

I've been looking for a Nippon Ham Fighters baseball cap for quite a while now. I mean how cool is that? Doesn't everybody want a Nippon Ham Fighters hat? People'd be like, "Hey, what team is that for?" And in explanation I'd say, "Nippon Ham Fighters!"

Well, I still don't have one. Why? Because I want a fitted cap. And well, apparently, they don't sell fitted caps to the public. This isn't just for the Nippon Ham Fighters. It's for all the Japanese pro-baseball teams. Instead of the fitted caps, they all sell the adjustable back ones. Not so cool. It's not as bad as the fish net back caps but still.

Today, among other things, I played badminton.

It was fun. But at the end, it was weird. It wasn't exhausted. But my body couldn't take any more badminton. I think it was all the jerky motions. I mean, for about half the time I was standing still. And the other half, I was just running like a... like a... mmm squirrel. I dunno. Just real quick movements... nothing prolonged. So, I didn't feel like keeling over and just lying on the floor (like I do after playing basketball). Crazy Asian people. Liking games like badminton.

I remember going to Jet Li's house (thanks Charlie... Jet's Li's house!) and he had this area that was fenced off. Not like some little white picket fence. It was a full on fence like you'd see at a playground or a park or something. The inside of the fence was lined with something like a green tarp or something. Anyway, we go, and check it out. I thought it was a basketball court. "Cool, Jet Li plays ball!" We look between the tarp, and see a badminton court. Yeah, that's the mark of a super fob. How many MTV Cribs episodes have you seen where the famous guy had a private badminton court?

The radio.

Today, the radio made my day. I woke up this morning to snowy conditions and crazy winds. It was cold. The snow wasn't falling down. It wasn't falling sideways. It was just swirling around up, down, left, right... all over the place. The thing about windy snowy conditions is that the snow quickly turns into ice. On the sidewalk of the main street here, there were a few 1/2 inch thick patches of ice.

After walking outside a little, I decide that nature wins and I'm driving everywhere today. Wasn't too happy. Start the car, and the radio turns on. The song I hear? Hint: The first part of the title is "Maca" and the last part is "rena." Oh, I couldn't stop laughing. I forgot all about that song. This easily tops the time I heard "Mmm Bop" on the radio here.

What am I gonna hear next? Informer? Ice Ice Baby? Oh wait. I did hear that recently on the radio.

Yo let's get outta here. Word to your mother.

The Fuller app goes out today! Har har har. That's my pirate's laugh. Why I laugh my pirate's laugh when I mail a college app I do not know. But somehow, it seems appropriate.

I'm thinking about doing the whole BCS thing again real soon (something like Mexican League Winter Ball or the Road to the Final Four) because of one blog... Jeff's blog. As you can see, Jefferson's blog is not currently listed in the final stadings. At the moment, he's unranked. Reason? Cuz he just started.

I get good laughs from that blog. But it's because I know him. The content itself isn't all that entertaining. It's more the way he writes it... err lemme correct that. Is more the way he writes it. When I first found out that he started a blog, I was like, "Oh no, now the world will know how much of a fob he is."

Actually, Jeff's not all that fobby. Sometimes, I wonder if he's faking his fobbiness like how many MTV viewers wondered if Jessica Simpson is really that stupid (I'd have no idea cuz I haven't watched MTV in 3 years). There are some super fobs out there, (Ben knows quite a few at his work) but I don't think Jeff's one of em. Then again, how many fobs do you know who keep a blog in English?

Ochazuke.

When I was little and I got sick, my mom would feed me one of three things: Chicken noodle soup, ice cream, and ochazuke. Chicken noodle soup is the American tradition. Ice cream, I think, was to help get my fevers down. And ochazuke... well, ochazuke I don't really know... but that mess is good.

For all of you out there who have no idea what I'm talking about, ochazuke is basically like okayu (Japanese juk), but with seasoning and the water tastes like tea. For any Japanese American fob readers out there... holla!

Well, just today, I rediscovered ochazuke. I went to the supermarket and as I was browsing I saw the familiar packaging. The company that makes the stuff hasn't changed the packaging in at least 15 years. Got me a six pack.

Really easy to make. Get some leftover rice, pour a seasoning pack over it, and then pour hot water over it all. Well, I haven't had the stuff in like 10 years so I got all excited... so excited that instead of using leftover rice (because I had none), I made new rice! Then I went American style and supersized it to a donburi bowl... aww yeah. It was some good eatin'.

I'm back.

Came back from visiting family in the Tokyo area. As always, visiting the grandparents was relaxing. They just live at a slow pace. Wake up, walk the dog, eat breakfast, watch TV, eat lunch, watch TV, buy groceries, watch TV, eat dinner, watch TV, take a bath, watch TV, go to bed. Makes me wonder sometimes though. What would they do without the TV?

It's confirmed, I like the city. I like having to wait only 5 minutes if I miss a train. Out here, where I live, I have to wait about an hour if I miss a train. All I have to do is remember the toilet paper incident. If you don't know what I'm talking about, look around the blog... it's in there somewhere. I like getting a mocha with no whipped cream on any given morning.

Then again, I have to admit living out here has its clear advantages. Clean air. Being able to see the stars practically every night... and a lot of em at that. Real sidewalks. Little noise.

Wind chill factor is nooooo good. At night, the digital thermometer read -10C. I think that's about 14F. But it was a windy 14F. And that mess felt like 2F. And that's no arbitrary number. Thanks to AccuWeather.com, and its RealFeel, I can say with confidence that it felt like 2F. And I don't care if this is my 3rd winter, my 1st winter, or my 33rd winter... this California boy ain't too happy with the RealFeel anywhere near 0F.