Parting Ways

Late last night, I tried parting my hair again. It's been a while since it's been this long and part-able.

I started by trying to re-establish my old part, down the middle but slightly off to the side. Since it's been about five years since I had it last, the hair wasn't totally cooperating but it was good enough for Alinna to have a look-see. With arms open wide and a big smile, I looked for Alinna's approval. Instead, she frowned... big-time.

Take-two. To be even more obnoxious, I tried the swooping part from the right side of my head. I even got it to wave across my entire forehead. It was pretty awesome. Again, I turned around and looked for Alinna's approval, but instead her hands started attacking my head.

I think it's safe to say that I will forever be parting ways with the hair part.

Taking Out the Tree

It's now January 10th and I have finally taken out the Christmas tree. It was starting to look a little crispy and when I finally tried to push it through the doorway, it was more than just a little crispy. There is a massive trail of pine needles on the stairs leading up to our apartment. The stairs are now ninja-proof. No ninjas will be able to creep into our apartment unannounced.Totally unrelated, I was browsing around and found the blogs of some of the people in my fellowship. After reading them, I've come to realize that I make some completely innane posts. I used to write deep Jesus-y like stuff on this blog (or at least I thought so), but those days are now gone. Instead I write about Christmas trees and ninjas.

Back and Refreshed

I'm back from my now yearly trip to North Carolina (it's now yearly because it's been two years in a row). As Drew Hyun said once, I get to spend a week down in North Carolina with a bunch of people whose cars I'm not even worthy to wash. Get to learn from a bunch of holy people, enjoy their fellowship, and at the beginning of every school year, I get a scholarship check from them. I think it's a pretty sweet deal.

Pounding

As per the Satake annual tradition, we ended the year by making mochi the old-fashioned way. Fire, steam, rice, mallets, and a marble bowl that is deceptively heavy. There is a lot of physical exertion required. Lots of pounding and grinding. Alinna found her niche in the process by discovering her hidden talent of making attractive, perfectly round pieces... everyone was impressed.

In other news, last Sunday both my mom and my sister made comments about my weight paired with a gentle patting on my belly. I dunno. What do you think?

I think it's safe to say that Alinna's been taking care of me.