I love going to the supermarket here in Japan. No, it's not because I'm happy to get food to fill my fridge. It's because of the people I see there. Specifically, the grown men who loiter around the aisles without a shopping basket or cart. It's given that anytime you go to the supermarket, you'll find at least 10 men walking around with the most expressionless face, starring into the distance, not even looking at the products the supermarket is trying to sell. They never have a shopping basket, and just by watching them for a few seconds, it's pretty clear that they have no intention of shopping for food. What's incredible is that they all have the same posture. Staring out beyond the distant walls like they're trying to figure out if someone's watching them from the other side, slightly hunched over, and almost always with their hands folded behind them. No doubt they came with their wives. The ones who look like they're all by themselves were probably dragged over by their wives. But the ones who are with their wives... they're the interesting ones because it kinda looks like they're inspecting what their wives are choosing to by... like they're giving their stamp of approval. But in a way that doesn't go against the "rules" I just described. Glancingly, without much effort, they'll see what was chosen, and if they approve, they say nothing... continuing to look beyond the walls. If they don't approve, some put the product back onto the shelf, some will say a few words to their wives, but the purists make a quick "look" to show their opinion, all while not saying a word. I think it's all absolutely incredible.

Is this what Christmas feels like for people in ministry? Our church finished all of our Christmas celebratory events on the 23rd. We've had 2 weeks of special events. And of course, for at least a month before those events started there was preparatory work. Basically, since mid-November, our church has been in Christmas mode. And now that it's all over, there's a general feeling like Christmas has already passed... when it's really tomorrow. Well, actually today considering the time. Merry Christmas! Midnight's come and gone and no special present from Santa.
Throughout the day today, I asked people in the church if they felt the same way... if it felt like we're way passed Christmas already. Everybody agreed. It's the weirdest feeling. Knowing in my head that Christmas is tomorrow, while feeling like we're well into January.
I guess it doesn't help that I'm not gonna be doing the usual Christmas things for a second year in a row. In the Satake home, we've had a way of celebrating Christmas. Christmas Eve is the opening of presents. But before we could open our presents, the kids all had to put on a mini-talent show. For me, this usually meant that I would play the piano. A Christmas song and then the song I was, at the time, working on. As for Christmas Day itself, the main event was the making of mochi (rice cakes). My grandpa would get the fire started to cook the mochi rice. That's right... no rice cooker. In the Satake household, using a rice cooker for the mochi making is cheating. Some people celebrate their ethnicity by digging down and remembering their roots... on Christmas morning we dig down way deep into the Earth's core and play in the magma. Once a batch of rice was cooked, my grandpa would bring it out to our driveway to dump the rice into the old style stone bowl where a group of people are anxiously waiting to pound the rice with wooden mallets. The batch of rice is then pounded and pounded until it's one homogenous mass. For all you Chinese readers out there... this is the reason why Japanese sticky rice is better (although I'll admit, Japanese fried rice is absolutely horrible)! This huge glob of rice goo is then broken up into personal portions to make the final product. This goes on from morning to sundown which is then usually followed up with dinner featuring self-serve hand roll sushi (temakizushi).

Prompted by a few people asking about what Christmas is like in Japan... I found this article from The Japan Times' website. It's a pretty good assessment and report of the Christmas phenomenon here in Japan.
Add in a bunch of special events in the church and freezing weather, and that's pretty much the Christmas season that I've been celebrating.
Japan is indeed a very unique country

Just thought this was an excellent article from the Christianity Today website. Some good thoughts on Christian worship and well, Christian living in general. Funny thing is that in reading it, it seems so incredibly basic.

Katakana words in Japanese always mess me up. For those of you who aren't familiar with the Japanese language, there are three different systems to write. Japanese is a phonetic language meaning that each character represents a distinct phonetic syllable. In contrast, English like most (or all?) European language, a single letter doesn't represent a phonetic syllable but a sound. Example: phone has five letters but doesn't have five syllables... instead it has one. Two of the three writing systems, Hiragana and Katakana use this phonetic concept. The third writing system, Kanji uses Chinese characters... often simplified. Kanji doesn't use the phonetic syllable concept but instead goes according to meaning. That is, a single Kanji character holds a certain meaning, and thus can hold many syllables within it.
Anyway, going back to the Hiragana and Katakana... Hiragana characters are used for words with Japanese origins while Katakana words often have foreign origins. For example... "conpyuta" means computer. It doesn't look very similar... but when you say it, you can hear the similarities. But some katakana words just get me scratching my head. Here's a list of some of the ones that really mess me up (the pronunciation --> the probable origin --> the meaning in English):
stobu --> stove --> heater
conro --> ??? (sounds like cornrows as in the hair style) --> stove
smato --> smart --> skinny
manshion --> mansion --> condominium

Yesterday, I came back to my apartment thinking about how incredibly strange Japan is. After Sunday service, I went with a group of people to see another gospel choir perform. The concert itself was pretty entertaining. But it was weird. Not a single member of the choir is Christian. And yet, they sang songs that said "[Jesus is] our Lord our Shepherd and king," and "We will praise [Jesus] for the rest of our days." There isn't a language barrier. It's not that they don't understand what they're singing because in the programs they passed out at the door, the lyrics are written in both Japanese and English. It's the strangest thing... to hear a completely non-Christian group of people singing praises to God and testifying of God's goodness to them.
I liked what heard... the group obviously had practiced a lot. It was a good performance. But it was just so... plastic... fake.
It's not just Hokkaido. All throughout Japan, young people are joining gospel choirs. Gospel choirs are springing up everywhere. Some of them led by Christians, some of them not. Regardless, they're popular.
A few weeks ago I heard that Christian weddings are incredibly popular in Japan. About 85% of all Japanese weddings are ceremonially Christian. Because the existing churches aren't well known and few in number, "Christian" wedding chapels are springing up everywhere. Often building these chapels are hotels, hoping to attract more customers to stay in their rooms. Hotels often ask the pastor of a nearby church to perform the weddings at their wedding chapels... but in case that isn't possible, they'll just hire someone else. It doesn't really matter if they're ordained, or a pastor of a church, or Christian for that matter.
I just find all this incredibly amazing. The increasingly popularity of Christian gospel choirs and weddings... especially when compared to the number of Christians in this nation: 1/2%.
I asked a few people how this can happen. The answer I got was that Japan is a country that doesn't feel like it needs God. Instead, they use religion (or God) to serve them. And so, one day, they can go and sing gospel (because it makes them feel good) and then the next day they can remember their deceased relatives by chanting Buddhist chants at the Buddhist temple, and then follow that with praying for success at the Shinto shrine. Basically, Japanese people can live without God. Plus, Japanese people have their basic needs met. So, Japanese people don't strive for God. They strive to become rich or famous.
To quote Ecclesiastes from the Message (a new Bible translation): "What's there to show for a lifetime of work, a lifetime of working your fingers to the bone? One generation goes its way, the next one arrives, but nothing changes -- it's business as usual for old planet earth."
"The last and final word is this: Fear God. Do what he tells you. And that's it. Eventually God will bring everything that we do out into the open and judge it according to its hidden intent, whether it's good or evil."

What a day! Today... err yesterday, anyway, was the day of the English Christmas play. For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, a background is in order. I'm teaching a bunch of English classes. One day during the summer, as I was driving my pastor around, he said, "I'd like to do an English Christmas play at the church this year." So, we decided to have the little preschooler English class and the elementary school students' class join forces to form Voltron... I mean to act in the English play. Naturally, a script had to be written, and since the script had to be written in English, I wrote it. Pretty basic script. Pulled from the Christmas story passages from the Bible, and basically simplified the English. Why? So that the parents and other guests would understand what's going on by listening. Oh, and to make memorizing the lines easier for the Japanese children.
Example: In Luke 2:10-11 it's written "Then the angel said to [the shepherds], 'Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.'"
The script has the angels say, "Don't be scared. I have good news. Today a Savior is born in Bethlehem."
Anyway, so I felt today was a great success! Not only did the children (all 21 of em) perform well, but for the first time, I saw the tiny church sanctuary filled to the brim. I don't have an exact count, but I'd probably say that there were somewhere around 60 people there. Maybe more. Keep in mind that for worship services we usually have 18 people come. And of those 60, I'd say about 90% were not only non-Christians, but non-Christians who had never been to our church before.
There's more. Before the play started, we showed the Veggietales Christmas video, and then that was followed up by a quick evangelistic message by Igarashi-sensei. Regina Hsieh, another missionary from LIFE who's working in Okinawa came by to the Date church today on her vacation. She talks to some high school students who stopped by to see the play, and after the whole program was over, the high school students said that for the first time, they understood the real meaning of Christmas. And then, one of the high schoolers said that she realized after the message, that she has sin in her life. Later, the high schoolers will be coming to the Christmas candle service, and hopefully then, they'll understand the freeing power of Jesus Christ from that sin!
PLUS... today was relatively warm! Woo-hoo! A full 4 degrees celcius I think. That's a little below 40. But when you compare that to the fact that it dipped down to the teens in fahrenheit just a couple of days ago, it felt like it was in the 70s... well, maybe I'm getting a little carried away.

What is maturity? It is often described as a good characteristic and often, especially in this country... Japan, age is very closely linked to maturity. But we may not be becoming better people as we age. If so, how does someone become mature in the good sense of the word? I should explain:
Usually, for the English classes I'm teaching, I'll partner with a church member to lead the class. Basically what happens is that I'll teach the English time for about 50 minutes... and the last 10 minutes are a Bible study/introduction to Christianity time led by the church member in Japanese. This passed week, however, due to a series of circumstances, I also had to lead the "chapel times" for a couple of the classes because the "chaplain" couldn't make it to the class. The two classes were the housewives' class on Wednesday and the high schoolers' class on Friday.
For both classes we read Mark 12:30-32. Basically, it's the passage where Jesus describes the first and second most important commandments of God. The first is love God with everything you've got. The second is love others like yourself. Last week, we focused on "love others." I had only one question, "What does it look like to obey this commandment?" In other words, "If you say, 'OK, I'm gonna obey this commandment', what will you do?" My thinking was... brainstorm ideas on how to "love others" for 10 minutes, challenge the people there to then go out and do those ideas for a week, and talk about how it went the following week... that is this week.
Maybe I should start with the high school students on Friday. The three people who attended last week thought of a ton of ideas, practical ideas, loving ideas. At the end, they were excited about the possibility of putting these collective ideas into practice.
The housewives, however, were very different. Instead of starting with the brainstorming, they thought of reasons why they'd fail at "loving others." Instead of thinking about the different ways we can show love to others, the topic of discussion transformed into "Why it's so difficult to love others." Excited at the immediate possibility of sharing the Gospel, I started talking about sin and how the Bible says that it keeps us from doing what God wants us to do... like love others. But it soon became apparent that the discussion of "Why it's so difficult to love others" was merely used as an out... a way to push away the responsibility of obeying the commandment.
"Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it." -- Mark 10:15

Well, the message I gave this past Sunday went well... sort of. Because my Japanese isn't good enough yet, I have to script it in English, send it out to my mom for translation, get back the scripted message in Japanese, and read it. Not exactly the best way to give a message, reading a script verbatim that is. But then, when I think about it, for some reason there don't seem to be a whole lot of good orators in this country. So compared to what everybody's used to around here I guess you could say that I was so-so. Regardless, after Sunday service, a number of members came up to me and talked about how they were moved and challenged by what was said. If you'd like to see the message... it's scripted, so I can send it out to ya... in English or Japanese, take your pick!
In a somewhat related occurance... just yesterday, the NHK guy came by. I couldn't believe it. Japanese people have to pay for basic television. I'm not talking about satellite tv or even basic cable tv... I'm talking about your very very basic tv that comes in through the antenna tv. Anyway, it's the first time we meet and so, we go through the formal introductions. Immediately, he picks up that I'm not from around the area. Big deal. I wrote earlier about how I've been called mentally retarded until people realize that I'm American. But this guy was different... or maybe my Japanese was different! Instead, the NHK guy asked me if I'm from around Kyushu. For those of you who don't know Japanese geography, Japan is a set of islands... an archipelago if you will. There's honshu, the main island, the one that looks like a J. There's Hokkaido, the one that dots the top of the J. Shikoku, an island found underneath honshu... it kinda looks like a mini Australia. And then there's Kyushu, the set of islands on the southern tip of the honshu J... that includes Okinawa. Apparently, I sound like a person from Kyushu now. Or maybe, it was the NHK guy's nice way of saying, "There's something weird with you... are you mentally handicapped?" Hope it's the former, because if it's the latter, that tells ya something about how Hokkaido people think about Kyushu people!
Lastly, I know I write a lot about the weather here in Hokkaido... but well, I've never lived in such extreme conditions. Anyway, today, I gave in. The church is only 3 to 4 blocks away from my apartment but the weather was so cold that I decided to drive. How cold? Well, today as I walked by the digital thermometer in downtown Date, it read -9C. Now, if my math serves me right, that's a reading of 12F. To me, that's like Urbana cold. For those who don't understand... lemme put it this way, i got into my car to drive to the church 4 blocks away, when I put my hands on the steering wheel to get ready to go, I did a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle face. You know, the turtles had this look right before they were going into battle, where their eyes would get all squinty, and gritted their teeth in such a way as to close the front part of the lips but leave the sides of the lips open so that you could see some of the teeth. The steering wheel was ice cold. I mean, it hurt to put my hands on the thing. So, after thinking about how hazardous it would be to try to drive without touching the steering wheel with my hands, I ran upstairs, grabbed my gloves and drove off.
For those who might be remotely interested to find out about what I'm experiencing in terms of weather, I've posted a link to a couple of weather sites on my missions page. I really like the English site, not only because it puts things in fahrenheit, but it also gives the "RealFeel temperature" which is really just the temperature after including the wind chill factor.

Local weather news... doo-doo-doo-doo. The good news for today is that there was no difference between today's high and low temperatures in the city of Date. That's right, the temperature in the morning was the same as the temperature in the early afternoon, as is the temperature right now. Very strange phenomenon. Speaking of weird weather, back home in the SF Bay Area I'm very familiar with, what I call, the "Ooh, yikes, morning." I should clarify this Bay Area winter weather phenomenon with the typical situation that lends itself to the "Ooh, yikes, morning." I wake up, pull myself out of bed, and look out the window. It's bright and sunny. Not a cloud in the sky. Excited, I dress myself with a T-shirt and a pair of shorts. I step outside and my eyes get all huge, after which I yell, "Ooh, yikes!" hence the name. Bay Area winters are tricky. They think every day is April Fools' Day. It can look like it's 80 degrees from one side of the window while it's really 45 degrees outside.
Anyway, back to Japan. So, the good news was that the high and low for today were the same. The bad news for today is that the high and low for today was and is -1 C. That's about 29 degrees fahrenheit. Yep, that's right. I had a sweater and a jacket on. A knit cap and scarf. And gloves. The only part of my body that weren't covered were my eyes. I looked like an Al Qaeda member. Actually, gimme a pair of black, thick rimmed glasses and I'd have looked like the main character from the movie "A Christmas Story." I think his name was Ralphy. "You'll shoot yer eye out!" Oh, that was a great movie.

Just tonight as I was taking out my plastic trash in the negative celcius weather, I looked up at the clear sky... just staring at the stars, wondering how anybody can not believe in God. Somehow, when everything's quiet and calm, there's that sense that there is somebody or something beyond ourselves. How else would you explain the generally worldwide religion phenomenon? Atheism is a relatively new concept, no doubt somehow related to the increased busyness of people in developed countries. Only when the distractions of hurry and noise go away do we realize what people for centuries have suspected or known... God is very much real. All this from taking out my plastic trash.

For a while now, I've been wondering what exactly is wrong with the Japanese economy. Actually, as I write this blog, I'm watching a parliamentary debate regarding the state of the Japanese economy and the proposed reforms. After talking to people and reading newspaper articles, all I got was that the big problem lies in the huge bad loans Japanese banks hold. But how were those bad loans created? What were the steps that led to the current situation of perpetual recession?
Searching around the web, I came across this article. It's a bit long, but it's relatively easy to understand. The light bulbs were going off in my head as I read the article. If the article is correct in its analysis of the situation, Japan will be in this recessions for quite a bit longer. The problems are deeply cultural and thus, very hard to change.

Some news about back home... well sort of. As reported by the New York Times. After reading the article, I am dumbfounded by two things. #1: The bridge toll's $5... how can you be in a financial crisis when you're charging people $5 to cross your bridge one time? Granted, the New York bridges cost more to cross, but that's New York. Everything's expensive in New York.
#2: Why would a poor economy have a huge impact on the traffic across a bridge? I can only think of one reason... fewer jobs in the city meaning fewer people commuting into the city. But such logic would work only under two conditions. The first being that there's a huge drop off in employment rates... I mean, well into the double digit percentages. The second is that a large number of those recently unemployed come from Marin County... or other counties in the northern peninsula.
I don't doubt that there are fewer cars crossing the bridge. I just doubt that there's such a significant drop off in bridge crossing that the private company in charge of the Golden Gate, would be in such dire straits.
The thing is, is that the bridge really isn't all that useful... especially at $5. I can only think of two times in my life when I've crossed that bridge, and I've lived in the area all my life. But of course, I'm biased because I've lived in the East Bay. The bridges I know well are the Bay Bridge into SF, the Carquinez (sp?) Bridge to Sac and the mountains, the Dumbarton Bridge into Stanfurd territory for Big Games, and maybe the San Mateo bridge for my sister church and the Richmond Bridge to Stinson. I think that's all of em except for the Golden Gate. (I just had a Sneakers flashback.) As the article said, the public bridges are all $2. The Golden Gate, however, is $5. In theory, somebody from Marin County going to SF, could take the Richmond bridge and then take the Bay Bridge and "save" $1. But then you think of the extra time and gas wasted... and well, it's not worth it especially working through the MacArthur Maze. A smarter man, however, and probably most people from Marin County, are now carpooling in, splitting the costs of both gas and bridge toll. After all, this is Northern California... a region that prides itself in not being Southern California, through policies like "Spare the Air Day" and carpooling stations.
And lastly, the idea of collecting donations for crossing the bridge by foot or bicycle is an example of horrible policy making. It doesn't take much brain power to figure out that Mr. Blue has ample reason to be skeptical of this plan.

The holidays have now officially begun with Thanksgiving. Actually, the day's over here. Somehow, without friends and family to surround myself with during these times, it just doesn't feel the same. Often, it's the family gatherings and parties with friends that we enjoy so much during these times. I guess the positive way to look at my situation now is that those same "family gatherings and parties with friends" won't distract me from the real meaning behind this season... the birth of Jesus Christ. There's no denying that I'll have yet another "different" Christmas, but that doesn't mean that it'll automatically be any less joyful.
To further lift my spirits, just yesterday I got two packages! One of em was from my home church's womens' missions group. It was of course a big coffee can filled with homemade baked goods. I started getting them for the holidays when I was going to college. But now that I'm in Japan, I'm even more happy that I got it because I can't get some of the ingredients that were used to make the baked goodies! I'm sure every bite will just remind me of home.
The other package was from Lauren in Nagoya. She is awesome. Inside the box was a bunch of Thanksgivingy stuff and just general food stuffs. Corn bread mix, gravy mix, cranberry sauce, barbeque sauce, and even some baked goodies just to name a few! I'm sure some of you guys from back home are just laughing from reading that list because you all can get the stuff for cheap at your local Safeway or Ralphs, depending on where you live. But consider living in a city where the "supermarkets" carry nothing but the strangest foods, 7 different kinds of corn flakes, and every fish known to man. Ok ok... slight exaggeration. But I swear... Cap'n Crunch, Mother's Animal Cookies, and Nutter Butters never tasted so good.
Going back to the story... I remember after tearing the packaging tape away and opening the top of the box saying only two phrases, "Aww yeah," and "Oh shoot!" as I digged through the contents. It was a happy moment.

Tomorrow's my birthday. I'll be turning 23. What happened to 22? There are dog years and cat years. What about Japan years? In a year of time, a dog ages 7 times faster than humans. The past Japan year has been one where I think I've aged faster than had I been in America. As my sister said with a frown after visiting me during the summer, "Hide's turned into an adult." But at the same time, I hardly remember being 22. It felt so incredibly short.

Random thought of the day. Why can't people have those teeth cleaning biscuits that we give to dogs? You know... the biscuits that are bone-shaped. Supposedly cleans the teeth and freshens the breath. It'd be so much easier, not to mention faster than brushing your teeth. As you walk out the door, pop in a biscuit and out goes the morning plaque and breath. It'd be so incredibly awesome.
Is it because dog teeth and human teeth are shaped differently? If so, surely the design or concept could be modified for human usage. Add one more to my list of incredibly stupid sounding invention ideas... along with adult sized one piece baby jumpsuits. The ones that make kids look like mini-teletubbies.

Two different thoughts. As I've been preparing for the message I'm gonna give on the 8th of December, I've been thinking about how Japanese preaching is so very different from American preaching. Ever since my Japanese language learning got up to the point where I could understand most of the sermons preached in Japanese churches, I noticed the difference but couldn't quite figure out what caused the differences. Recently though, I've realized that it's the end goal... the purpose of the message. Sure, generically, all Christian messages are ultimately for the sake of glorifying God. What I'm talking about is the means to reaching that goal. The Japanese method is educating the people. At the end of most every message, I've come away with a "take-away" that starts with the words, "After hearing the message, I should know..." Talk to most pastors here and ask them what the purpose of preaching is and they'll most likely say something to the effect of "To teach the people about God."
Most American churches are different. Of course, teaching happens through a sermon. But that's not what most pastors hope people come away with. Almost always the desired "take-away" starts with the words, "After hearing the message, I should do..." The end goal isn't knowledge. The end goal is action... empowerment. Knowledge for the sake of knowledge, was once a noble cause in America. But now, the way of American thinking is changing. Knowledge is now for the sake of application. Interest, for the most part, varies according to the level of application in one's life. And as a result preaching's probably changed as well.
The second thought. Why aren't more churches in Japan starting youth groups? Whenever I ask the question to Japanese church-goers, I usually get the same response: "Japanese youth are busy... they don't have the free time to come to a youth group." But when I walk around Date after 8PM, I see all these high schoolers and post high schoolers hanging around the strangest places: Train stations, roofed bus stops, supermarket parking lots to name a few. They're still at the train stations and bus stops after trains and buses stop running so obviously they're not waiting for a ride home. Sitting around, talking to one other for hours at a time. So, maybe they're not the cookie-cutter, good, studious kids that the church wants to attract. But isn't that just about the same thing the Pharisees said about the people Jesus hung around with?

A while back, I went to a charity gospel concert at a church in the nearby city of Muroran. A group from the big city of Sapporo came to perform. Before the concert began, I noticed a white guy sitting next to a Japanese guy, all by themselves in the back of the sanctuary. You have to understand that seeing a non-Japanese person around here is a rare occurence indeed. To illustrate, a few months ago, two new ALTs (assistant language teachers... they help teach English in the schools) from America came to Date. A full page bio on the two of them was written on the city's monthly newsletter... the newsletter has about 16 pages. It was quite an event.
Anyway, back to the story. So, I go over to the two guys to talk for a while because the concert didn't look like it was gonna start for a while. I start talking to the American for a while, but then I realize that the Japanese guy who was sitting next to him wasn't saying anything... but looked like he wanted to talk. Realizing that the Japanese guy probably either couldn't speak English very well, or had little confidence in using the English he knew, I switched to Japanese mode and started talking to him.
The Japanese guy was really interesting. He found out about the concert through the church that he's attending. Apparently, there was a flyer that advertised the concert in the church. He's been going to the church for a few months, but he's not a Christian. So then he starts talking about how much he used to smoke, and how once he started going to the church, he had this growing conviction to stop smoking. And that was it. He stopped. Cold turkey. I tell him my disbelief, asking about any kind of withdrawl symptoms. But he just shakes his head, smiles, and says, "Yeah, I don't have any of that. God's just given me the power to stop." I turn to his American friend, and ask him about the Japanese guy's previous smoking habits. The American smiles. "It's hard not to notice that he's stopped smoking. He used to smoke at least a pack or two a day." I turn back to the Japanese guy for a final look-see. He looked completely relaxed. His hands weren't fidgety or shaky. His eyes weren't shifty.
It's a miracle. I can't think of any other explanation. Read the Bible and you'll see that all these miracles and God-led interventions occurred. Sometimes, we look at our lives and wonder... hey, why don't I see miracles like the people of the Bible did? This guy reminded me that the miracles are there. They're all around. We just have to ask people to hear their stories of how God did incredibly amazing things in their lives.

Oh things have been absolutely crazy this passed week. If you look at my website on the missions page, you'll see that I got the newsletter out not too long ago. They're always short... a page long, but honestly, after all the training I've gotten from my Cal education, I think writing long papers are sometimes easier than a short concise little ditties.
That's besides the point. So, a few days ago, I got that out. And if you read the newsletter itself, you'll see that the preschoolers and elementary schoolers that I teach English to, are gonna put on a Christmas play... in English. That's been quite a challenge. We've still got a long long way to go... but not in terms of time. It's on December 14th. Great googely-boogely.
This coming Thursday of course is Thanksgiving. But because I'm in Japan, I have to bring Thanksgiving here. So, on Thursday, during one of my English classes, we'll be having a Thanksgiving dinner. Well, sort of. Without the turkey. It's weird. I can't find turkey anywhere but I can easily find ostrich (there's an ostrich meat farm about 10 minutes from my apartment by car). So, we'll be stuffing a chicken. And of course, I have to make the preparations.
And then, of course, there's the message that I'm preparing. I'm scheduled to preach on December 8th because the pastor's gonna be on vacation to Israel. As usual, I've gone through about 7 potential topics/scriptures. So these three things are on my urgent list right now.
My important list includes the decision to extend my time here in Japan or not, working through my personal mission statement, writing Christmas cards/postcards (I haven't quite decided yet), and doing my part in making that whole church planting thing that I'm supposed to be here for, happen.
Exhausted... and it's not yet December...

Recently, I've been learning a lot about myself. It's strange. I've been me for as long as I can remember (thank God!), and yet, often I don't get myself. In so many ways I'm a walking contradiction.
As most of you know I'm by nature, partial to spontanaity. Every personality test I've ever taken for whatever purpose has shown that I strongly favor being spontaneous over being planned (my Myers-Briggs type is ENFP every time I take it). It shows up in a bunch of ways. I don't see a real purpose in owning movies because for me, the fun and thrill of watching a movie only comes around the first time through. There are exceptions. But those exceptions aren't so much that I like the movies but more that seeing it again serves a separate purpose.
I read. But I'll read a book once. I know that there are great benefits to reading a book twice, three times, or even more. But the idea has no appeal. Again, there are exceptions... but those exceptions are due to some perceived greater purpose (i.e. class textbooks and the Bible).
I hate TV re-runs.
I don't take pleasure in the familiar. I don't like knowing everything that's going to happen. Or so I thought.
A few months ago, on the subject of what I wanted to do when I went home on vacation, I wrote in my blog that I wanted to experience the familiar. The reasoning? I've been doing nothing but the unfamiliar for a year and now I want a change of scenery. Prior to coming here, I figured that I'd thrive in this situation because everything would be new. Things didn't quite turn out as I expected.
Did the unfamiliar become familiar? That is, did being unfamiliar with my surroundings... that feeling, become familiar? Maybe to some extent, but I don't think that's all of it. Searching my heart I came to the realization that my obsession with new things is within the context of the condition that I perceive that some things are certain. For example, I like reading new books because I think that the new books have something I can learn from (my perceived certainty). I like going to new places with friends because I think that I'm going with friends. I've often felt at liberty to try new things in ministry because I've perceived that the people I'm working with or would be working with, are people I can trust.
So I'm thinking about this last night... while sipping on some grape juice, and then, a behemoth of a question smacks me in the head. "Does this mean that I don't perceive God's promise of being with me always to be an absolute certainty?" I've come to the conclusion that up until this point, many of the things that I truly think are absolute certainties are not absolute certainties at all (because God alone is the one true absolute certainty in life). That's not to say that I don't believe that I have a personal relationship with God... because I do through my belief in Jesus Christ.
But a belief and an absolute certainty are two very different things... at least in my understanding of the usage of the word "belief." I may be very wrong in my understanding of the two terms but when I think of "absolute certainty," I think of a thinking and process that pervades in the life we live. That is, the addition (or subtraction) of an "absolute certainty" in our lives, changes the way we live and see our life drastically. The addition or subtraction of a belief, however, at best, changes small little things in our lives to make us "better/moral people."

Surfing the net, I came across this interesting article. It's an article from a person's point of view of the discrepancies between what is written in Biology textbooks about evolution and scientific fact. Granted, the perspective is probably at least a tad biased because the writer of the article is a "creationist" (i.e. someone who believes that life was created by a higher being as in God) and was a creationist before thinking of writing the article. But I believe the paper serves a purpose in getting readers to "look at [selective adaptation and the accepted mechanism of evolution] critically."
I'm a bit shocked after reading the article. I'm very familiar with the evidence (or should I say supposed evidence) Wells examines. I've studied the Miller-Urey experiment, embryo development drawings, the tree, homologies, the peppered moths, and Darwin's finches a number of times. Actually, after reading the article, I wouldn't say that I actually studied these things. It was really more like I read about them over and over again. I'm no evolutionary biologist. I've only studied the stuff to the undergrad biology level. Naturally, I've studied some of the evidences a little more than the others. I've only read about the finches a few times while the peppered moths and the Miller-Urey experiment have been mentioned a number of times starting from junior high school science classes. And I've participated in university level labs where we drew Darwinian trees from observing homologies in vertibrate species. But I'm still familiar with all of the evidence Jonathan Wells attacks in the article.
I can't endorse this article as being true because I haven't seen the refuting evidence for myself. Regardless, it's really got me thinking about things I've been taught that I've never doubted as being anything but true. The article's argument against the Miller-Urey experiment and peppered moths were especially thought provoking/troubling to me. Whaddya guys think?

It's about 10:30 PM. I'm walking back to my apartment from the church. When you get close to my apartment building, there's a digital display showing the current temperature. I decided to take a picture of it tonight. Here's the picture. Even though it's only a four and a half block walk... it's a WALK! Now, granted it's in celcius and not in fahrenheit... if it was in fahrenheit, well, I'd probably still be out there somewhere between the second and third block as an ice statue. But still... to see that minus, it's something else. Scary! It's scary!

Being here so far has been a very humbling experience indeed. For about as long as I can remember, I've been labeled as being smart... or at least competent. Recognized as being someone who could do a few things very well. Always at the top or near the top in school (things changed a bit in college of course). Went to a world-class university. I come here, and suddenly all the rules change.
I start off with a disadvantage. I'm young. In a country where seniority rules to the point where you haven't reached your peak until the age of 60, well, it's a bit difficult sometimes to get my voice heard.
I had little to no connections here prior to moving here. In Japan, it's amazing. Above merit, above ability stand seniority and personal connections in that order. Age and somebody to vouch for you. Coming from the US where ability is paramount, this was very shocking. To complicate things, to try to show your abilities is, in large, considered as showing-off, thus, lowering your personal connections substancially.
I'm Japanese-American... and look it. Actually, if you ask anyone around here, they'll say that I look Japanese. Not that there's a difference in the DNA of a Japanese-American and a Japanese person. Regardless, although looking like practically everyone else has its advantages, it has very noticable disadvantages. The most obvious of which is language related. People meet me for the first time and immediately they try to hold a normal conversation thinking that they are talking to another Japanese person. After a year of being in Japan, my language skills have improved drastically. So, understanding what they're saying for the most part isn't all that big of a problem. It's talking that's a problem. My pronunciation's pretty good, my vocabulary's OK, my basic grammar structures are for the most part functional... so, to get my point across, for other people to understand me isn't the problem. But, well, it just sounds funny. I miss the nuances of the language. I'll use the wrong sentence structure. I'll accidently choose a word that has has a similar meaning to the word I intend, but isn't the same. I look Japanese, so naturally, Japanese people expect me to talk like them, but I'm American and so, Japanese is a second language... of course I'll sound different from a native speaker. The separation between their expectations and what really comes out of my mouth causes confusion and a lot of weird looks. These looks are usually followed by their saying something to the effect of "Hey, something's different about you," or "Is there something wrong with you," or "Are a little slow?"
All academic acheivements go out the window. About half the time, the locals I meet, come away with the impression that I'm mentally handicapped. I, of course, explain to them that I'm an American, that I'm a missionary, and that I'm working at the local church. But somehow, they don't believe it. They'll pretend like they understand, but, everything shows that they figure I'm lying. It isn't until someone from the church vouches for me that I'm really an American, or they hear English come out of my mouth that they finally believe me. I've seen this happen so many times. Somehow, I'll be speaking English to someone. A completely different person, a person I met a while ago overhears the conversation and my English... to which the newly enlightened Japanese native proclaims, "Wow, you really are American!"
Definitely humbling. I'm young in a society that praises seniority. I started with no connections. And half the time I either come across as being a liar or mentally handicapped.

"I see all this potential. And I see it squandered. An entire generation pumping gas, waiting tables... slaves of white collars. Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy stuff we donít need. Weíre the middle children of history, man. No purpose or place. We have no great warÖ no great depression. Our great war is a spiritual war. Our great depression is our lives. Weíve all been raised on television to believe that one day weíd all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars. But we wonít. Weíre slowing learning that fact."
I've always liked this monologue from the movie "Fight Club" a lot. I remember it striking me when I first watched the movie as being so true. Yeah, that's pretty much all I have to say about that. Oh, I just recently got it on mp3! So now it's alongside the Martin Luther King "I have a dream," JFK "Man on the moon," and Winston Churchill "Fighting on the beaches" speeches. Still waiting for that great speech to come out of W's mouth. I might have to wait a while for that.

It's now official. Right now, as I type, it is snowing outside. The first snow of the year. The beginning of November. Yeah, I think it's safe to say that Halloween trick or treating wouldn't go over very well here in Hokkaido. But it's definitely snowing. This isn't that snow/rain mush. It's not hail. It's nothing else. It's snow.
Ding ding ding. Round 1 of Hokkaido winter vs. Hideyo the California kid has just started. Let's get it on!

Can someone tell me what's going on with the whole Iraq deal? Seeing how Japanese news is wrapped up in the whole North Korean "Return those Japanese people you kidnapped" issue, I'm not getting a whole lot of information. I read this article from the New York Times. After reading the article, I couldn't help but wonder, "What did the United Nations get out of this 'compromise'?" For those of you who don't know what's going at all... here's a quote from Secretary of State Powell describing how the United States recognized French and UN demands on the issue:
"[The UN Security council has] now the opportunity to decide or not to decide [if military action is needed if Iraq fails to comply], to pass a second resolution or offer a second resolution or not, and [the United States] will be part of that debate."
But then, there's this quote:
"The United States would reserve the right to lead a military action against Iraq if Iraq continued to block inspections, even if the Security Council did not give its approval."
After reading this, I'm thinking, "So, lemme get this straight... there are two courses of action if Iraq doesn't comply with the UN inspections. The first is that the Security Council approves military action and the US along with UN forces attack Iraq. The second is that the Security Council denies military action, but the US goes ahead and attacks Iraq anyway." Am I missing something here? What's the purpose of the debate within the Security Council if the decision it makes bears no weight? I always thought the whole thrust of the debate for this supposed "compromise" from the French side was to make sure that the United States would comply to a United Nations Security Council decision.
I can see only three possibilities as to how this happened. A) The United States diplomats to the UN are incredibly smart and persuasive. B) The UN people are incredibly stupid, naive, and forgot the entire purpose of the talks with the US. C) The United States once again strongarmed the United Nations. By my wording, I'm sure you all know what i think.

Two days ago I watched Game 5 of the World Series... at 1 AM. What a game! No, it's not because of the time difference. It's because I don't have cable tv. I already knew the outcome because I saw the results of the game on ESPN.com 6 hours earlier. It's strange though. I didn't really watch the game. At 1 AM, Japanese tv edits the 3 hour game to a 30-45 minute show. How? It's quite simple actually. Fast forward the game passed the batter/pitcher duels and show only the ball being hit. Cut it even further by showing only the innings where scoring happens and the game gets reduced pretty quickly. Well, sort of. If there's a Japanese batter, the entire at bat is shown... each one. So, in this case, whenever Shinjo starts, the game slows down considerably.
Ben Weber's pitching motion. What the heck?! It wasn't until this passed game that I saw this phenomenon. I haven't laughed so hard at 1 AM in a long long time. For those of you who are not baseball fans, I wish I could find a link somewhere on the web to show a video of this strange, strange thing. Instead, I have a link from a sports writer's website on ESPN.com that in part tries to describe the indescribable. It's toward the bottom of the page. My personal favorite is the Seinfeld one.

Yesterday, on the 22nd, courtesy of LIFE Ministries (the missions organization I'm with), I met up with a counselor to get... counseling for an hour and a half. My first time getting Christian counseling. I'd have to say that it was a positive experience. It was actually quite refreshing. Really helped me process things and see situations for what they really are. Gained a new perspective and came away with a better idea of what I can do. I've only been doing this "full-time Christian work" thing for a year, and already I'm seeing how helpful and useful a Christian counselor can be for those who find their vocation in Christian ministry. It's strange. You'd figure that somehow God would give special wisdom and guidance to people working full time for Him. I mean, God would be especially concerned if one of His "guys" is messing up or doing something wrong, right?
What I've found to be the case for me so far is that sometimes, somehow guidance gets lost in the shuffle. Actually, that it's quite easy for discernment to seem to "disappear" when being part of the "God squad." Full time ministry people are more busy that you'd think. I know they're busier than I thought they were. I know this has been said many times by many people but, somehow, the busyness squeezes out God's voice that would give that ever desirable "wisdom and guidance." Take me for example (though I may not necessarily be the best "case study" material).
In a week, I teach a total of 8 English classes. Most of those classes last for an hour, though a few last for an hour and a half. But naturally, when the class ends, for the most part, the people don't leave because the end of a class marks the beginning of hang out time. This isn't a complaint by any means. To me, those times are partly the reason for the English classes to begin with. Add in Wednesday night prayer meetings, Thursday morning Bible studies, Saturday afternoon gospel choir practices, and the occassional performance for a gospel choir concert, and gradually time starts to disappear. And that's not considering Sunday activities.
I do have Mondays off, however. But instead of doing things a "missionary would do" like praying for hours on end, reading books of the Bible at a time, or sitting in the quiet waiting to hear God's voice, I find myself doing mindless things just to be able to feel relaxed. On other Mondays I'll spend time with some people without much of an agenda in mind whether it be with locals or other missionaries. Somehow, the ideas of praying, reading the Bible, or spending time with God in general aren't the first things that cross my mind as being "mentally and physically relaxing activities." And to some extent, in some cases they aren't and shouldn't be. But at the same time, in the Bible, time and time again, God refers to Himself as being a refuge... a person where I can find rest.
In the end, once again, I find an area of spiritual immaturity.

Today I had a classic conversation with a 4 year old named Takeru. On Tuesday afternoons I teach English to preschool and 1st graders. Takeru is one of those students. After class was over, I went out of the church to see all the students off as they returned home. Takeru along with his older brother and mom were getting into their car. So here's the conversation as he's about to get in:
Takeru: Mr. Satake, do want a ride home?
Hideyo: No thank you, I'll walk home today.
Takeru: How'd you get here?
Hideyo: I walked here. And I'll walk back.
Takeru: But doesn't it take a long time to walk to America?
That conversation got me laughing pretty hard. A little harder than when I heard Hanson's "Mmm Bop" on the radio today. Just a little. Sheweedopbop mmm bop.

"More Western missions groups are looking for ways to work legally in China. There are 51 American Protestant missions agencies working inside China, according to the Evangelism and Missions Information Service." This quote is from this article from the Christianity Today website.
I remember, returning back from home, thinking about why there are so many missions organizations working in China while there are so few working in Japan. A while ago, after World War II, there were quite a few missions organizations working in Japan. What happened? According to the Joshua Project website, the percentage of evangelical Japanese is at 0.3%. Obviously, the work here isn't done... or close to being done. On and on, I wondered, "What's going on?" Why are the agencies pulling out of Japan? Why aren't the agencies looking for ways to work in Japan as they seem to be in China? I look at the congregations I've seen in Japan, and see that indeed the average of pastors in Japan is climbing to senior status. I listen to the congregations and hear that many if not most members have been saved through a missionary or some missionaries some years ago... and so, they themselves are getting to senior status.
The pessimist in me says that the excitement found in the amazing reports of the movement in China is the reason for the drastic shift in resources. But is that all that the Western missions movement is about? Going to where the "action" is? I hope not.

I'm getting very afraid. The mercury's starting to fall. Last winter was my first winter with snow. That was in Kaminoyama which is on the northern half of Honshu. It was very cold for this long time California boy. Oh sure, the first few days of snow were wonderful. At first, you see the snow fall from the sky, and immediately melt when it hit the ground. It was beautiful seeing the snow falling from the sky. I remember thinking, "So this is what it's like to have seasons." The temperature would hover around 30 degrees... which was definitely cold, but nothing 2 sweaters, a scarf, gloves, and a heavy jacket couldn't solve. As an added plus, I learned how to put on a scarf! For all the fellow lifetime Californians, no, you don't just put the middle of the scarf over your mouth and just swing the ends of the scarf around and around your head! Yep, that's what I thought before I was enlightened.
But then winter really hit. All the native people kept saying how that year was unexplainably "warm" and that the snow didn't come down hard. I don't know, but I consider having to shovel snow every other day, a lot of snow! As for the temperature... well, let's put it this way.
I homestayed at the pastor's house that winter. I lived on the 2nd floor, but had a separate fridge and pantry area down on the 1st floor. Naturally, if I was hungry and wanted a bite to eat, I'd go downstairs, grab the food, and cook it up in the kitchen. Well, one winter day, I felt like having some pasta. So, I go downstairs, grab the frozen pasta sauce from the freezer and bring it to the kitchen to thaw. After nuking it for a little bit, I go back to the pantry area to grab the pasta and olive oil. As I'm walking back to the kitchen, I notice that olive oil bottle feels pretty cold. When I put the glass container down on a table I notice that my oil is solid! No, it didn't just emulsify as oils might when the temperature drops a little. I opened the bottle, stuck a finger down the opening, and found that the oil really was solid... and ice cold! I had olive ice. It froze. I've never seen oil freeze until that point. Keep in mind that this is indoors! No I didn't put it in the freezer. It was simply on a shelf, in a room. I don' beeleef.
Now, the people of Kaminoyama all said that Hokkaido (the place I'm at now) is a lot colder than Kaminoyama. And I heard the same thing when I came here 6 months ago... but with a twist.
Upon my arrival in Hokkaido, with almost tears in my eyes, I asked the locals "Is it really true that Hokkaido is a lot colder than Tohoku (northern Honshu)?" To which I got a smirk and this reply: "Yes, that's true... but it doesn't nearly snow as much, so you don't have to worry too much." What kind of consolation is that? At least I can play with the snow. I can't play with sub-zero temperatures. Well, it looks like it's about time to start putting on that third and fourth sweater.

A couple days ago on the Christian Today webpage, there was a fairly interesting article that made me think quite a bit. The author of the article is using the success of the rock band P.O.D., as a marker to show the changing face of America and thus, changing face of the American church.
Recently, in the Christian world, there seems to be a great deal of intrigue into the idea of getting rid of the idea of ethnically specific churches and replacing them with diverse multiethnic churches. Urbana 2000 can ultimately be summarized by this growing trend of the plea to diversify the church of Jesus Christ. "Isn't it interesting that the most segregated day of the week in America is Sunday?" But, I've always been somewhat wary of Christian articles and speeches that promote the idea of the multiethnic church. And so, when I began reading this article, all the lights were flashing and the sirens were going off. I don't consider myself to be ethnically exclusive... or dare I say, racist. It's true that most of my friends are of Asian descent. It's true that I've gone to an ethnically Japanese church all of my life. So, maybe I should explain myself.
I would love to see a truly multiethnic church... and when I say church, I don't mean just one building or group but as a general given among Jesus believers. I suppose my "thing" is that I feel that all those feel good articles and speeches for the "desegregation" of the church are naive. Coming here to Japan has only further solidified my general pessimism for this movement. Why? Different cultures have different ways of leading and influencing people. The Anglo-American style of leadership would easily be considered as being pushy and bossy by Japanese standards, while the Japanese style of leadership would probably be considered as being weak and passive by Anglo-American standards. And I think most Christians would say that Christian leadership is neither characterized by pushiness, bossiness, weakness, or passivicity. The thing is that when used in its home culture, those very leadership standards are not perceived in the same way. The perspective is the only thing that's different. They work in each others' respective cultural circles, but outside of them, who knows?
This article from Christianity Today was interesting to me because it reminded me of how ethnically heterogeneous America is becoming. Not in the sense that other races are pushing out the whites, but that fewer and fewer people can claim a single ethnic heritage. However, I think that the article falls short as do many other conversations on the topic in that it doesn't challenge believers to become more aware of other cultures and their values before jumping into this thing called "the multiethnic church." I'd love to see it come to fruition. But before it can happen, we must consider such difficulties that are bound to occur. The biggest difficulty I believe isn't trying to convince hard-headed ethnically exclusive believers in the church to buy into the idea, but to get the existing church to be open to ideas and ways to do ministry that are not within the bounds of their own culture. To clarify: The churches of America must examine themselves to see if it is being controlled by Jesus or their surrounding culture. Only then can we seriously consider getting into the endeavor.

One thing I really enjoyed in America was musical worship. It felt so incredibly freeing to be able to sing to God, knowing what I was singing. My first taste was at Berkeley AACF large group. At that occassion, I was more trying to get over the shock of this sensation. I didn't quite get it... and so, for the most part I just mouthed the words. The second time around was at Joyfest, a Christian concert held at Great America every year. Most the acts were obviously performers, but when the final act, Third Day stepped up, the feeling changed. They turned it into a worship service and it was great. It's the weirdest feeling to do something you love to do that you haven't done in a while. (Does that last sentence make sense?) And of course, the following Sunday it was more of the same... it was great.
This passed Sunday was my first Sunday going to a Japanese Christian service since coming back. It was hurtin. When I first came here a year ago, I couldn't understand a thing and so, naturally, I felt incredibly lost. This time around was a completely different experience all together. I understood most of what was said during the service. I got the gist of the sermon and the lyrics of the songs from the hymnal. The language wasn't the problem at all this time. It was something different.
Actually, thinking about it now... it's hard for me to describe. It's much more than just the musical worship... and the atmosphere it brings. Coming back to Japan has made me realize even more that what makes church isn't necessarily the sermon or the songs we sing. I have both here in Japan... sort of. It's more the combination of the felt presence of God and community of believers. That's what I got back home that I'm not getting a whole lot of here.

Two days ago marks the end of my relationship with NTT DoCoMo. So, a while back I accidently crushed my old cell phone. Here's how it happened... please hold your laughter until the very end. I'm walking up to my car... when somehow, my phone drops on the ground. I have no idea what just happened because I'm just absent-minded like that. I proceed to back the car out and do my business. All the time, I'm wondering what happened to my cell phone. I come back... park the car and later realize that I crushed the phone when I backed the car out. Yes, I ran it over.
So, three days ago, I go to the NTT DoCoMo shop to see how much it'll cost to get a new phone. Please keep in mind that I have a history at this place. A couple of months ago, I was way overcharged. I'm pretty sure I wrote about that a while back. So, to continue the saga with DoCoMo... I ask how much for the new phone. The front guy punches a few keys on his computer, looks at me with a straight face and says "about 20,000 yen." That's close to $200 for those of you who have no idea what the exchange rate is. $200! I don't know what shocked me more: That a phone costs $200 or that he said $200 with a straight face. I wanted to ask, "Is that the special foreigner discount?" The discount that makes a $40 phone $200? Instead, I asked, "How much for the cheapest phone you have?" He punches a few more keys on his computer, looks up at me, and says, again with a straight face, "18,000 yen." Great, it got reduced down to $180. So then, I ask, "What if I start a new plan with you guys and get a new phone number?" Same process, and he says, "18,000 yen." But this time I figure I'm definitely getting the "foreigner discount" and so I say that I'd like to cancel my account. Go figure, he doesn't flinch, starts punching some buttons on his keyboard, and says, "Ok, that'll be 11,000 yen." Fee after fee after fee, and somehow when you add em all up, I still get the "foreigner discount." I couldn't believe it.
Anyway, so go immediately to one of their competitors... J-Phone and ask how much for a new account. 4000 yen. And that's with a phone that takes pictures, takes video clips, does email, surfs the web, slices, dices, and has a built in George Foreman grill. Slight exaggeration, but it's an awesome phone. And so, begins my feud with NTT DoCoMo. Now, I'm absolutely certain that I've been getting the foreigner discount at DoCoMo. I shake my fist at you DoCoMo!

For the passed week or so, I've been thinking about a small, little incident that's been bugging me. In the last few days of my vacation in the states, I went to the Richmond Costco with Kyle and Steve. I went to get some food gifts to give to people out here on my return. I buy the stuff, and of course, right there, is the hot dog/pizza/chicken bake stand. I decide to go get a hot dog. $1.50. $1.62 when you add in the tax. This is very important for the sake of the story.
I grab the hot dog, and give the cashier two bucks, a dime, and two pennies. $2.12. Somehow, the cashier doesn't see the two pennies and punches in $2.10 into the cash register. I see this and point it out... to which she decides to do the math in her head. She gives me a quarter, a dime, and a nickel. 40 cents. I didn't really think about it all to much (all I was thinking about was how much kraut I was gonna pile on the dog)... but it kinda felt wrong. So I say that I feel like I'm supposed to get more change. Here goes the dialog:
Hideyo: Umm, I don't think you gave me enough change.
Cashier: No... you gave me two bucks, a dime, and two pennies.
Hideyo: Yeah... ?
Cashier: So, you get 40 cents back. Don't question me, I know my math.
At this point I was kind of shocked that the cashier would give me so much attitude about such a minor thing. But again, all I could think about was how big the dog was gonna look after all the condiments are piled on... and so, I said "Ok," shrugged my shoulders and hurried off to fill up my drink and pile on the kraut.
Once I got into the car though, I started thinking about it. I think I did the computation at least 20 times... checking, double checking, triple checking. Of course everytime, I came up with the same answer. 50 cents change. This was when I started to get peeved. Not only did I get short changed, but I got punked for thinking that I got short changed. The 10 cents didn't bother me too much. The attitude, and trying to make me feel stupid bothered me.
But then, this was the Richmond Costco. What did I expect? A smile and someone saying "Thank you... have a nice day"? Ahh it felt good to back at home... sort of.

Finally... time to think and blog about my trip. You see, I came back on the night of October 7th. I had two classes to teach the next day, the 8th.
So anyway, instead of writing a big long blog detailing my trip (something only a few people would even bother to read), I'll do a top 10 list. I've already posted four pictures from my trip on my webpage. There's a few more to come. So if you want visuals to the top 10 list, they're there.
10. Going to Berkeley AACF large group... and Vietnam Village soon after.
9. Seeing Third Day in concert at Great America Joyfest.
8. Stuffing an In-N-Out 3X3 and half a dozen Krispy Kreme donuts down my throat on the ride back from Joyfest.
7. Cruising around the church in the JS 410.
6. Hitting 200+ baseballs in about 20 minutes with Kyle.
5. Playing Virtua Tennis until 3 AM with Ben Tao... fighting my jet lag with Vanilla Cokes.
4. Beating Steve in NCAA Football 2003 with a sack/fumble recovery for a touchdown in the closing seconds of the 4th quarter (the score was tied prior to the awesome defensive play).
3. Big BBQ bash at Jason/Danny/Cal's house.
2. Church youth group complete with a fabulous rib dinner by Peter.
1. Speaking non-stop English.
Nothing really extraordinary aside from the concert. I mean, numbers 5 and 4 involve video games. But that's exactly what I was hoping for! Nothing extraordinary. Just the familiar. The old routine stuff.

Yesterday was brutal. Flew out of SFO at 11:45 AM on October 6. Arrived at Narita/Tokyo, waited there for about 5 hours (it was supposed to be 4 but there was a delay), and flew out to Chitose/Sapporo. Took a train from there to Shiraoi where I left my car. Arrived at Shiraoi at about 11 PM (this is October 7 now). Then drove to my apartment in Date. I finally arrive on my bed at 12:45 AM. That car ride was a little dangerous. I can remember only one time when I was driving and more tired than I was last night. A couple years ago I was driving the day camp ended. I was driving out from the Santa Cruz mountains and realized that I was swerving from one side of the lane to the other. Realizing that I was too tired to drive, I got off the freeway, pulled over to the shoulder of the closest road, and slept for a couple of hours.
I didn't do anything like that last night, but once I arrived in my "parking lot," I picked up two bags (I left one in the car to pick up in the morning because it was too big and heavy), walked up the two flights of stairs, opened the door, dropped my bags, and plopped on my bed. I stunk. My breath was nasty. My clothes were dirty. No shower. No teethbrushing. No changing clothes.
I don't know what woke me up at 8:30 in the morning. It could have been a bunch of things. Jet lag, the sun peeking through the curtains, my own stench.
Anyway, I'll do a blog highlighting my vacation home later. I don't have the time right now. But in the meantime, here's a picture I took in Virginia when I was with Ben Tao. I thought it was funny. He thought it was funny. But I'm having a hard time finding another person who thinks it's funny. Are we just a bunch of weirdos?

It's now officially Friday. So I have all of today, all of tomorrow, and that's it. That'll be my vacation in the states. I had a list of things I want to do. I made it a couple of weeks before I came. I've now realized that for me to do all those things, I need an additional 2 weeks. Just to get into the rhythm again, to get in sync with the pace here took a lot more time than I thought it would. So, my apologies to all those I accidentally "blew off." Those who did see me would probably attest to the fact that I was pretty out of it during the majority of my time here. I just wasn't all that assertive. Most of it was just getting caught up in the whirlwind of things going on, and having little idea of what was going on.
Just makes me wonder what it's gonna be like when I come back for good. I'm getting a glimpse of it right now, and it's just completely strange. Already, I have a feeling that it'll be hard to get back into the rhythm and groove when I go back to Japan. I mean I love spending my time hanging out with people, spending time with them. And if that's how I spend most of my time in Japan it'd be absolutely awesome. But it's not. Half to a majority of my time is spent on English classes and Bible studies or preparing for them. Things that have a regularity, a rhythm.
I have a few interesting stories I'd like to share from my vacation so far, but it's getting mighty late, and considering the time i have here, I should go to bed soon. Thank you to all i've seen and talked to so far. And hope to catch up with a few more of you guys!

America so far has been interesting. Spent some time with the family today. It was nice. Went out to San Francisco and ate some Chinese food out in Chinatown. Here'sa picture fresh off the press.
Other than that, I've realized that coming back to America has felt as natural as hmmm... as natural as Ken Griffey Jr.'s swing. Nice and smooth. Things just seem to pick up from where they left off. Only thing not nice and smooth are my eyes. They're still rather ugly and coarse. Well, the skin surrounding my eyes. The eyeballs themselves aren't ugly and coarse. That would be really bad. Strange thing is that I was feeling horrible at Narita Airport in Tokyo, sneezing all over the place and wiping my eyes with toilet paper and paper towels. But as soon as I touched down in Chicago O'Hare, the sneezing stopped. My eyes were still watering because they were drying out from fatigue and maybe some leftover pollen or something stuck in my eyes and sinuses, but I was feeling better. Plus, my eyes aren't swelling as much anymore. Yes! I don't look like a Simpson character anymore!
Going back to America... I'm enjoying my time so far and hope to see and catch up with many more people! Send me an email, gimme a call, IM me... I'm around til October 6th.

First entry from the America trip. The last night at Virginia. Today, I was driving my friend Ben Tao's car. I was going 45 in a 45 zone. I looked at my rear view and saw that there were a bunch of people tailgating me. The thing is that I thought I was blazing down the road... at 45 miles per hour. You see, the car I drive back in Japan isn't very fast. Actually, that's an understatement. But for the longest time I didn't think much of it because I couldn't convert my speed from the metric system. The speedometer is in kilometers per hour. So, when I'm in fifth gear, flooring the gas pedal, I am at 90 kph. I feel ok about it because all I see is "90". I sit in Ben's car... the first thing i look for is the speedometer, because most American cars have both the mph and kph written. 100 kph (the speed at which my car in Japan starts shaking because it's going too fast), was only 60 mph! Out goes my ego.
So back to the story. 45 mph felt incredibly fast. To go any faster to me, seemed utterly ridiculous. So, I kept crusing causing the people behind me to speed past me. I don't think they were all too happy.

Well, I'm packing up to go to the land of cowboys. At the same time, I was surfing the web and found this awesome link courtesy of the UC Berkeley page. The link is a researcher's page on the effects of 9/11 on young people in America. Actually, it's a page devoted to the issue of relations between America and the Middle East and what young people think of it. But of course, 9/11 stuff is there. I think the page does a good job of showing what young people really think, by having mini-video clips of them talking through an interview. Go check it out... high bandwidth is highly recommended though!

Today is the beginning of the LIFE Hokkaido Team, Day of Prayer retreat. We'll be starting 4 hours from now and be going for 24 hours from that point on. Pray for a good time of fellowship... and of course for protection. And join us! After the retreat, I'll post some of the prayer requests shared on the prayer page. For the meantime, you can go ahead and check out the prayer page and pray for me! Woo hoo!

Oh yeah. If you look at my friend Danny's website... you'll see that it looks like there's gonna be humong-o bbq bash. October 5th, in honor of both Danny and Isaac Chu's birthdays, as well as my homecoming for vacation... there'll be a good ol' American barbeque. I can't think of anything more American... well, with the exception of maybe Costco. I love both. And I hope to do/see both many times over during my two weeks for soaking up Americana. I desperately need it. I didn't know it'd be possible but it could be possible that I'm losing my American-ness.
Just yesterday, I realized that some of my clothes are getting dangerously close to being classified as "close to skin tight." I've been entertaining thoughts of not cutting my hair until I come back to Japan from my trip to the states (I last cut my hair about a month ago). I'm starting to feel bad whenever I eat and walk at the same time. And yes, anytime there's a camera pointed in my direction, I have an unexplainable, uncontrolable urge to make a peace sign with my hands. What's happening to me?!

When I first found out about Cal beating Michigan St. I thought I was dreaming... literally. Earlier in the week, I found out from Ben Tao, a friend of mine, that there's a live link on the web that lets me hear Cal football. Immediately I got all excited. But then, I thought about the time difference... and I found out that the Saturday 9 AM PST kickoff time would be 1 AM Sunday here. To put this all in perspective, all I really have to say is, I am a missionary here. If I show up at church Sunday morning looking crazy tired because I was busy listening to a college football game until 4 AM... well, it won't be a good situation. Regardless, I was prepping up to listen to the game... until somebody put my head on straight. So, at about 1 AM I went to bed... but with the computer on, playing the game.
It's the weirdest thing, to be all excited when your body doesn't want to move because it's too tired and is already in the "get ready to sleep" mode. For those who followed the game, I was still awake for Jameel Powell's punt return for a TD. But I was definitely in bed. I had enough energy to maybe clinch a fist in celebration. But inside, I was jumping around with my mouth wide open... flailing those plastic blue and gold pom poms. Yes, inside, I probably looked like a complete idiot.
I was also awake for Christian-Jensen's 50+ field goal. I have to say, that guy's gone a long way. Last I saw him, he couldn't kick a 20 yarder. He had a reputation for kicking the goal posts... the actual posts. Yeah, you don't get any points for hitting the posts. It has to go between them. It was uncanny. I remember a home game in which he hit a goal post 3 times. 3 different tries. 3 consecutive tries. 0 points. After that game, anytime the Bears were within 30 years of the end zone and in a 4th and long situation, I'd go into "Madden mode" screaming at them to go for it. For those of you who aren't familiar with the football video game world, Madden mode means 4th and long situations are opportunities to chuck the football downfield hoping that a receiver'll catch it. 9 times out of 10, you'd get a 1st down. Maybe there are some things that don't carry over into reality from the video game world... but it didn't matter. Seeing a scholarship player not only miss a 15 yard field goal... but miss it by hitting the goal post is excruciating. I mean the only thing this scholarship player does is kick the ball... supposedly through the uprights (although you couldn't tell by watching the Cal special teams). He gets a free ride to school because he supposedly has an exceptional ability to kick a football. Anyway, the 50+ FG was another fist clencher. Maybe I squinted my eyes a little harder.
Everything after that was a blur. Somewhere I lost consciousness. But the game played on on my computer. And I swear i heard the final score... but that would've been sometime around 4 AM here. At the time I thought I was dreaming, so when I really did wake up in the morning, I checked ESPN and saw that it was reality! This has definitely become a different brand of Cal football. These guys actually win! "Gimme a C. Gimme an A. Gimme a L. What does that spell? Who are we? Who's gonna get ranked? Who just beat Michigan St? And who's gonna beat Air Force next week? Goooooo Bears!" (Yeah, I've become a bandwagon jumper)

So a continuation of the allergy saga.... One of my eyes look fine now. The other one's recovering. As a positive side effect... I think I have the smoothest eyelids in the world. They are silky smooth. Oh yeah!
However, it looks like the effects are moving down my face. I've now got the forever clogged nose condition. I'm sure many of you have had the same thing at one time or another. It's like this: My nose feels like those hamster water bottles. Anytime I put anything at the opening and apply pressure... the fluid comes out... otherwise, nothing. Kinda gross I know... but that's what it's like. I'm sure my nose isn't special. There must be people who know what I'm talking about here.

I've always liked doing those little surveys that try to figure out who I am. I found this one thanks to John Poon's weblog. It's an interesting one. "What pre-1985 video game character are you?" Here are the results.

I am a Breakout Bat. I am an abstract sort of creature, who dislikes any sort of restraint. If you try to pigeonhole me, I'll break the box, and come back for more. I don't have any particular ambitions, I just drift, but I am adept at keeping life going along. What Video Game Character Are You?

I dunno. Is this true of me?

Here's an article from ESPN.com about NBA GMs. Actually it's not really an article at all. It's a ranking from #1 to #29 of GMs around the league. When I first saw the article, I didn't care who ESPN ranked at the top... I scrolled all the way to the bottom to see if Garry St. Jean was there at #29. I was surprised. Wes Unseld of the Wiz beat him out for the bottom spot. The thing is... I don't see why. He was able to pull off the trade for Stackhouse not too long ago. Sure, Stack'll probably be around for only a year... just like MJ, but at least they'll be interesting for this coming year. And besides, they'll unload a bunch of money for free agency the following year. Hughes, Stack, Russell/Jordan, Brown, Haywood. That's maybe a marginal playoff team... but then I think well, what do the Warriors have to show right now? Arenas/Welsch, Richardson, Dunleavy, Jamison, Dampier. Comparing the two, I'd have a hard time saying that I'd pick the Warriors. There's still no reason to put the words Warriors and playoffs together.
Somebody might argue... well that's not St. Jean's fault. Anyone who says that hasn't been watching Warriors basketball. A few words to explain. Exhibit A: Mookie Blaylock. Picked up Mookie instead of drafting Jason Terry because at the time St Jean was quoted as saying something like "We have the chance to win today... not the future." Always the optimist. Always the optimist beyond reason.
Exhibit B: Antawn Jamison. He's a good player. But the max contract? Is really a franchise player? I don't think so. Very few people think so. Shaq, KG. Jamison? I don't think so.
Exhibit C: Marc Jackson. The Warriors finally accidentally stumbled upon a quality center. And he leaves. In return the Warriors get Dean Garrett. Enough said.
And that's just recent history!
Finally, here's a quote from St. Jean I found... he made this not too long ago! "We don't have Jason Kidd, but look what happened with New Jersey. They turned it around in one year. I look at other teams that have made 10- and 15-win jumps. That's not out of the picture for us." Do I have to say anything to that? I didn't think so. But suppose, the impossible happens and the Warriors make a "15 win jump." Last I checked, the Warriors finished with 21 wins last year. That brings the Warriors to 36 wins. Still not playoffs! Especially in the West.
So, forget trading players and signing free agents, hiring and firing coaches. The Warriors need a revamping of the front office. The Griz had the right idea.

Wow. It's been exactly a year. But somehow, it seems feels longer than that. For me, so much has happened in the passed year... that there's indeed reason why it feels like it was so long ago. But then again, I don't think I'm alone in these feelings. For many people in the US, it's been quite a journey since that morning of complete confusion. But at the same time, I don't feel all that changed from the incidents. Maybe it's because I'm not from the East coast. My space wasn't invaded. I read all these articles and saw all these TV programs right after the incident saying that Sept 11, would be a historical time that would forever change the psyche of Americans. Now that a year has passed... I wonder, has it? The New York Times has a great article that really seems to reflect how i think about the attacks on the Twin Towers... a year later.
It's kind of chilling to think that I've "gotten over it." Especially considering that so many people died... on American soil. It's chilling to think that the amazingly horrific pictures of the planes crashing into the buildings have for the most part subsided from my mind. Have I been changed by the events in New York? Or has it just become another thing to add into my experiences bag... along with learning how to drive and graduation?
When i think of things that have changed my worldview, I think of my Berkeley accountability group, my uncle in Japan dying, even the 1989 World Series in which my Giants got swept by the A's (I hate Dave Parker!). Apparently, things that change me, have to directly affect me. And quite frankly, the Trade Tower attacks didn't directly affect me. This sounds completely selfish, considering that it hugely impacted thousands of families around the world, but it is the truth.
More than ever, I realize how much incompassionate I am. And as a result how much I need Jesus to continue to change me. Maybe this is how my psyche has changed as a result of the attacks.

Every Tuesday, the pastor and I get together to pray. Prior to praying, we talk about news we have, as well as any kind of questions we might have for each other. It's kind of an update each other kind of thing... and then pray.
Today was kinda weird. Not this passed Saturday, but the Saturday before, my supervisor, came by to the English coffee house we hold on Saturday nights. My supervisor said that he wanted to see me in my ministry setting, and so, I suggested that he come Saturday because then, he'd be able to participate with everyone in speaking English (he's American by the way). So, Tim (my supervisor) came, and as he walked in, he said that he wanted to say hi to the pastor. They talked for a little bit until the coffee house began.
So where's this all going? Today, the pastor asked a lot of questions about Tim coming on that Saturday. Although last Saturday was the first time Tim came by, I could tell that the reason for all the questions wasn't curiosity. Me, being me, I didn't think all that much of it at the time. And it wasn't until I came back to my apartment after teaching a class, that I put all the pieces together.
Given the nature of the questions and their context, I'm guessing that the pastor might have thought that I was unsatisfied with the ministry situation, and asked Tim (with his supervisor title) to come by and talk to the pastor to straighten it all out. Why would I be unsatisfied? Well, of the three churches here in Hokkaido that LIFE Ministries is working with, ours, the Date church is probably the one furthest behind in terms of actual church planting. Amazingly, however, this hasn't been a point of discouragement for me... mainly because the pastor's talked to me about it, and his hopes/plans for church planting. I'm actually quite satisfied with the ministry that I'm involved in, seeing this time as an opportunity to really build a repoire with the church members and the people of this city, and to build the groundwork so that in the near future we would be at a place to be able to plant a church.
Looking at today's conversation in hindsight, I smile thinking about all the things that the pastor probably wanted to ask me... but couldn't because of Japanese manners/customs.

Right now, I'm watching a video tape of American TV shows thanks to Tim Clark and whoever sent him the tape. I'm not really watching it all that intensely. I'm walking around the apartment, doing odds and ends, occassionally looking over at the TV. But, just a few minutes ago, some ads ran. There was the Carls Jr. ad showing their "Six-dollar burger." You know, the one where there's the two guys sitting down in a restaurant that looks like TGIFs... eating their burgers when the waiters and waitresses start singing their trademark Happy Birthday song a few tables away. As soon as I heard the guys munching on their burgers... I stopped and stared. My mouth dropped to the ground. Maybe some drool ran down to my chin.
After the initial shock, the first thought that ran through my head was "That McDonalds' burger I had yesterday has nothing on that monster of a burger." Add Carls Jr. to the list of places I want to eat at when I come home for 2 weeks.

As soon as I got back to my apartment tonight, I checked ESPN to see how them Cal Golden Bears did against New Mexico St.. I was once again very pleasantly surprised. Given, New Mexico St. isn't a football powerhouse, but Baylor was picked as one of the worst 10 teams in Div I football. The commanding win against New Mexico St. was equally impressive. I don't think Cal ever scored 34 points (was that how many they scored today?), in any game that I watched as a student. I've seen them score more back when I was in high school, selling cokes at Memorial Stadium... but that was back when they actually made bowl games every now and then. Russell White. Dave Barr. Skip the years with the dominating defenses led by Regan Upshaw and... i forget... but anyway, as a student at Cal, I don't think they've ever scored 34 points. The closest might have been 20.
So, looking at the schedule, to see how they play next... i was horrified. Michigan St.. Wow. Aren't they ranked? It's time to really showcase the brand new Tedford era. Which reminds me, with these passed two games, it is now completely solidified... Holmoe will never get a head coaching position ever again. Some might argue that his head coaching career was over with the 1-10 season last year. But people could point to his players and say that he didn't have the talent to win. "Maybe Holmoe was just a bad recruiter... that doesn't take away from his ability to coach." But after seeing how this squad put up 70 points last week and 30+ points this week... there's no doubt. Holmoe was a horrible coach.
Well, they're going against some real power next week. Roll on you bears!

Every Saturday, at the church, we have an English coffee house. In it, we start with a previously chosen topic, and talk about it in English. At the end we do a Bible study in English. The importance is that it's all in English... so basically, it's provided for people who want to practice speaking the amount of English they know... and maybe learn a little more along the way. Anyway, somehow or other, today, we ended up talking at length about dish washing methods. You see, most Japanese people don't have dishwashers... and so, everything is hand washed. Apparently, there's a correct Japanese way to wash dishes. I had no idea. I thought it was up to the person who washes the dishes. But i was mistaken. Lemme explain.
First, you take out two fairly large bowls. You fill up one of the bowls with regular water and dish soap. This is station #1. Station #2 is the sink with the faucet and running water. The other bowl is station #3. You fill up this bowl with hot water. And finally, the dish rack is station #4. So, this is how it goes.
You take your dirty plate/cup/whatever, and dunk it into station #1 with the dish soap. Pull it out and bring it to station #2 (the sink) to rinse off the soapy residue. Then, you send the plate/cup/whatever to station #3 with the hot water and dunk it. This is for the sake of sanitization and drying purposes. Finally, you bring the thing to station #4 (the dry dish rack) to dry it.
This just seems like a waste of time and space to me. But apparently, anything less, is considered unsanitary by Japanese standards. Amazing. The standardization of behavior here in Japan never ceases to amaze me. This goes way beyond folding garbage into pretty little bows (see 8/20).

So, I'm almost finished with the Book of Proverbs in the Bible now. I finished all the proverbs of Solomon (up til chapter 29). Yes, chapter 31 about the virtuous wife is still left unread this time around. But that's besides the point. Everytime I read through proverbs, a get a sense of a running theme. The thing is that, each time I get a different theme. For example, the first time I read it through, I remember feeling like the theme was in my own words of course, "Listen to people who correct you." Another time, it was "God has a plan for your life... let Him lead it." This time was kind of crass, "Shut up and listen." Yeah, those exact words aren't written anywhere in Proverbs or in the Bible for that matter. But it was like God was highlighting all the verses about knowing when to speak, the virtues of keeping my words to a minimum. As it is later written in the Book of James, "be quick to listen and slow to speak."
I'm sure some of you out there are probably rejoicing after reading this, saying something like "Hideyo's finally got it! Woo hoo!" I know here in Japan, this is an area of my life that I've been working on. But then, it's easy to be quick to listen and slow to speak when you're in a foreign country. I don't have a firm grasp of the language so, I don't... lemme correct that, I can't speak my mind all the time. So naturally, I'm a lot slower to speak. I guess the true test'll come when I come back to the good ol' U.S. of A.
So here's a notice to all of you. Keep me accountable to this "new" lesson. If, at anytime, I become obnoxous because I'm talking to much, lay down the law like Mr. T. "Quit yo jibber jabber." Or go Different Strokes style with "Whatchu talkin' bout Willis?" Or go Biblical, "Proverbs." Say something so that I'll remember what God has taught me through his Word. And so that I'll be less annoying.

So, today's gonna be an update on my eyes... or what used to be them. It doesn't look like I have Jabba the Hut sitting on top of my eyes anymore with all the folds in my eyelids, but because of all the wiping, and drying, and whatever, I sort of look like a raccoon now. Jabba or raccoon? I dunno which looks worse. All the folds made it hard on me... but apparently, everybody thinks it looks worse now. Looks like I'm gonna go to the hospital tomorrow to get it checked out. Oh boy. My first adventure to the hospital in Japan. They'll probably won't speak in conversational Japanese, and so, to start I won't understand most of what they're saying. But that's not my biggest concern.
Back at Berkeley, I almost finished a public policy minor. One class away. Because of that I think I'm the biggest slacker (or idiot) in the world. Anyway, one of the public policy classes i took was devoted entirely to health care. And we compared the US system (go capitalism) to other systems around the world. Japan was one of them. I don't remember a whole lot of specifics about Japan's health care system but i remember coming away from the class wondering what Japan policy makers were thinking. I mean if you think the FDA takes forever to pass drugs through... here in Japan, the Japanese equivalent of the FDA is yet to make Tylenol over-the-counter. Acetaminophen still remains prescription. Don't tell any Japanese people, but I've got a stash of Tylenol in my bathroom. Illegal drugs! Doesn't really matter. I don't think the police station has a narcotics department. Or a homicide department for that matter.
Anyway, add in the "horror stories" we read in class about ALL the paper work, ALL the bureaucracy, the LONG waiting time for an exam room, the SHORT time seeing an actual doctor, sometimes not getting a private exam room, and I think it's nuts. This is all before I even step into one. We shall soon see if everything I learned about Japan's health care is true.

Dude, my eyes are killin me. So, Saturday, as soon as I walk into the church, I start sneezing uncontrollably. This is 3 PM. This goes on until 11 PM. 8 hours of sneezing, watering eyes, and drippy nose. Fluids were leaking out of me. I have the trash can full of tissues to show for it. The next day, Sunday, was a lot better, but once again the tissue box was my best friend. I wake up on Monday, and try to wipe away that nasty stuff that builds up around your eyes sometimes when you go to sleep, for no real reason. Well, this time, they don't wipe away. I walk up to a mirror and see that the skin on my eyelids are peeling! They're peeling! I was like, "YUCK!" And because they're peeling, I noticed that my eyelids don't fold the right way anymore, and so, it forever looks like I just woke up. This started Monday. It's now Wednesday night. The Visine I got from my mom not too long ago has helped with the itchiness, but I seriously gotta find a way to get my eyelids to fold the right way again. And on top of all this, they itch too. I've tried some vaseline skin moisturizer on it... and it helps soothe it, and maybe it's doing something for the peeling, but it still feels like I have 4 eyelids everytime i blink.
So, it's official. Allergy season for Hideyo Satake has started. It's just too bad I don't know what I'm allergic to. It's great. Recently, when someone sees me, they either a) recoil in fear, b) do one of those look-at-the-weird-eyes-but-pretend-like-it's-not-a-big-deal things, or c) start itching their own eyes. After which, they ask "What are you allergic to?" It's amazing. It's a guarantee. I don't think I've held a single conversation with someone without them asking me what i'm allergic to. And because i don't know, I say that I don't know and that's the end of the conversation. Well, sort of. There's no more talking, but the other person usually ends up reverting back to one of the original reactions listed earlier... with a tendency toward choices b and c.
As a side note, a kid today asked me, "Why are your eyes purple?" I thought about talking about my allegies, but decided to not to.