Goodbye's are beginning
Mood:  blue
Saturday, June 11th, was probably my last visit to Kyoto. How sad.
I stopped by for one last bow at the Nishi Hongwanji (Jodo Shinshu?s Mother temple) and there was a service going on. What an eerie sound the flutes and other instruments produce! When i close my eyes it sends me to Tibet. Weird. A few tears came as i bowed out for the last time. I will miss the feeling of kneeling on tatami in such an ancient edifice and listening to a service whose roots go back hundreds of years. It?s a powerful, wonderful experience.


I managed to find the little shop that hand makes ojuzu (probably the world?s first rosary beads). I had a wristband restrung (i?d bought it when i first arrived in Japan). Now i had to choose the perfect ojuzu as a present to myself. I chose some cat-eye beads from So. Africa. It was a difficult decision. He had some gorgeous fossil beads that were such a work of art but a bit out of my price range. I did a whirlwind shopping spree for some gifts for the temple and friends back home and then off to meet my meditation buddies for a ?goodbye? lunch. Somehow we will rendezvous again either in California at the Meditation Retreat Center or back in Japan. Who knows what is in the future, but we will see each other again. I am sure of it.


Temple this Sunday morning in Nishinomiya was extra special. One of the gentlemen who lives just a few doors away brought his video camera and taped the whole service. Toyohara-sensei chanted the whole Wasan, which is a very long sutra just because i had requested it. We had been trying to learn it when i left Spokane 2 years ago. Now we will be able to follow along with him and really get it right. Also, it will be so wonderful for everyone at our little Buddhist Temple in Spokane to be able to hear and see an authentic Buddhist service from Japan. After the service the ladies asked me to stay. There was a lovely breakfast for one of the members who had been in the hospital for the last 3 months. They welcomed her back with coffee, croissants, a luscious custard cup, and a cream pastry. Well there goes my low-fat breakfast idea! Hah. I got some lovely photos of everyone. We even took some photos inside the temple of the Toyahara family. I am so pleased. I had asked if i could get some photos of ?The Boss? as he calls himself. I will miss this spiritual family. Even though i can?t speak their language well our hearts and spirits are united. What a great feeling.

The Rainy Season Begins
Mood:  on fire
It's 88 degrees today and 45% humidity. Hotsui!
The rainy season is kicking in.
Thunderstorms and rain are predicted tomorrow.
Goodbye cool evenings and sunny days.

Ah, well, we knew this wonderful springtime weather couldn't last.

Dental Health Day
Mood:  incredulous
Yesterday we had “surume” (squid) in our school lunch. It was fried with egg and onion in a tempura. I really had trouble chewing it, but it was delicious. Today the nutritionist told me that they are doing dental check-ups today and that they intentionally cooked surume to have the kids practice “chewing” at lunch! What a clever idea!

Black Clouds Parting
Mood:  chatty
Ya don't know how much pain you are in until it goes away. My new PT has worked on me 6 times in two weeks, and i feel like a new woman. My forearm was so sore that i was constantly rubbing it. What a relief to be back almost to normal. Then a note came in the mail and it seems like i'm getting about 2/3rds of my money back that i paid to the hospital. That's a good chunk of money! yahoo. That makes me feel even better.

I am going to PT on M, W, and F after school. Running on T, Th and Sat. and swimming on Sunday. I am determined to get this arm as close to normal as possible by the time i leave for Spokane. No insurance when i hit home and besides it's a pre-existing condition so it will be awhile before insurance will cover it anyway.

I just purchased a Mama-san bike (bright red). I am having a box made for it. It will fly home with me to Spokane and be my primary mode of transportation to and from work. I am so excited. I can wear my school clothes while riding it because of all the guards on it. Yippee Hooray.

My New Teaching Assignment in Spokane
Mood:  surprised
Now Playing: Accent the Positive
My new teaching assignment was a shock at first and my initial reaction was, "Oh, darn, that's not what i wanted." My mind began spinning off into negativity city. Luckily i have been working on slamming on the brakes. Now wait a minute o-out-of-control-mind. Let's look at the good parts of this job. Didn't you say your first priority was to be within walking distance of your home? So isn't Shadle high school in walking distance? Why, yes, it is! And weren't you worried about transitioning from a slowed-down Japanese life with very few work related stresses? Why, yes, i was worried about dealing with angry kids and tough classes. But a DI room is a pretty laid back environment where i will constantly have to slow down and take a new pace with slow but eager learners. Well, all be danged, that's right!
Amazing what a little brain training can do.

Since that initial shift i've talked with two of my most special friends in Spokane. Rhonda was my guardian angel at the Skills Center and was my very own Ed. Specialist for a few years. She not only helped me immensely with her expertise, but we developed a real friendship. I now count her as a true bicycling and skiing buddy too. Well, guess what. Rhonda is going to be my Ed. Specialist at Shadle. Yippeee. We are both so very excited to be working together again. And then there is my friend and former co-worker, Lorraine. She has been so dedicated to the DI population. We worked so well together for quite a few years at the Skills Center where she was able to help me slow down and appreciate this happy and hardworking group of kids. Lorraine will be one of my most honored and true friends and now mentor when i return to Spokane.
Lucky, lucky me. They say that if you let go of your own WILL that things will turn out better than you every could have planned on your own. Lesson learned again!
PEACE AND LOVE TO YOU.

Sports Therapist
Mood:  celebratory
Yahoo. A new therapist and he knows what he's doing!

And to think that i could have beleived Dr. Mean who said, "You have a permanent disability. Get used to it and just adapt to your limited use of your left arm."

This new therapist is NOT gentle but he is breaking loose the adhesions that are limiting my shoulder motion. After only 4 sessions with him (one week) i have virtually no pain in my forearm for the first time since the accident in Feb. I can reach over my head pretty easily and i can tell that the rest is yet to come. What a relief. Lucky for me, that this time, my stubborn personality has paid off. I just couldn't accept the first diagnosis. Whooopppeee.
I'm going swimming.

Mood:  lyrical
Now Playing: By the Japanese group SMAP
Here is a quote before SMAP performed their song at the end of 2003: "Everyone please close your eyes and think back over the year 2003. This year, too, many precious lives were lost around the world. And many things hideous to behold took place. What can each of us do in such times? We believe that a happy future awaits us all if we can all learn to be kind to one another." Here is just one single line to this song: "You don't have to be Number 1. You've always been the one and only one."

Please take the time to read all the words by clicking on this link SMAP
Peace, my brothers and sisters!

The link isn't very reliable so here are the words:

"I was looking at the flowers lined up in front of the florists
We all have our favorite perhaps, but aren't they all beautiful?
Never vying with each other over which is the best
They all stand tall and proud in their buckets

Why are we human beings always trying so hard to compare ourselves?
Trying so hard to be number 1 even though we're each unique and different?

It's true--we are each the one and only flower in the world
Each of us holds the seed of something different
It is enough to give everything we have
To bring that flower into bloom

Smiling with indecision, one customer hesitated a long while
She couldn't help it, I'm sure--any flower that struggles into bloom is beautiful
When she finally came out of the shop, she held in her arms
A bouquet of every color, her face beaming with delight

I did not even know her name, but she smiled at me that day
Like a flower blooming in some forgotten corner

It's true--we are each the one and only flower in the world
Each of us holds the seed of something different
It is enough to give everything we have
To bring that flower into bloom

Small flowers and big flowers
Not one is identical to another
So, you don't have to be Number 1
You've always been the one and only one"

Email woes
Mood:  irritated
Email is so wonderful when it works. When it doesn't it can drive you crazy. It's extra difficult due to the language barrier. I bought a virus program last night on-line. My order was confirmed this morning, and tonight i will do a virus scan. I think it's my email server but want to make sure that i don't have something bad on my machine.

So sorry if you are trying to contact me. It seems as if i'm receiving about half of my messages and that about 80% of my messages that i am sending are being received. GRRRR.

Osaka with the Osawas
Mood:  energetic
What fine memories were made today with my favorite family. Ro, Tamie, Taku, and Mei took me for a day in the big city. Ro and Tamie have driven me to some incredibly exciting junior high baseball games in the past. They have twin sons who were both in baseball last year. Their team made it to the "state" championships and we enjoyed cheering them on with scores of 0-0 in the 7th inning more than a couple of times. Taku was one of my most dedicated English speaking boys at my first school in Japan. He is a first year high school student now and has switched happily to basketball. His sister Mei is studying to pass the entrance exam so that she can attend her favorite college.

Today we saw some of the sights that i would have never found on my own. We ate kushikatsu (a delicious meal of skewered meats, fish and vegies dipped in a batter and deep fried). The sauce that we dip these in is delicious too. We walked along the road where the Hanshin Tigers fans marched when their team won the championship. We ate takoyaki overlooking the Doutonburi Bridge where crazy fans jumped into the river to celebrate this most momentous occasion. We also visited America Mura where i got a great photo of some of the typical "dress-up" costumes famous for this area. We watched men playing Mah Jong, and Igo and a form of Japanese Chess in parlors that i had heard about but never seen till today. Taku, Mei and I played Smart Ball which is a primitive version of our pinball machines. It was funny to note the signs saying that there was noone under 18 allowed but to see kids under 10 playing the machines! Ro says there just aren't any rules in Osaka. hah. I have some great photos of the Hitachi Tower. It seems that every big city in Japan has to build a tall tower. There's a really ugly one in Kyoto and the one in Tokyo is a version of the Eiffel Tower.

This part of Osaka is the older section and is Ro's favorite part of the city. He likes it because it looks so exotic and Asian. The food is cheap and the streets are filled with wonders like the game machine where you can try to pick up a lobster with a little crane (yes the lobster is alive and you get to keep it if you can catch it!) I agree with Ro. Sometimes it looked as if i could have been walking down the streets of Zanzibar or Dar es Salaam or maybe even Mexico. It looks and feels a bit third world but it still is definitely Japan. They say it can get a bit dangerous at night and that the Yakuza (the Japanese mafia) still have a presence here but in the daylight it felt perfectly safe to me. There were signs of homeless people and some questionable looking street people "hanging out" though so i was glad to be in the company of some native speakers who knew this place well.

We strolled the gardens on top of the Namba Parks building. They have a tile on the top floor representing where the pitcher's mound was when it was still a baseball stadium way back when.

What a great day.

Katsushika Hokusai
Mood:  lyrical
What a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon with two great friends at an inspiring art exhibit. Hokusai, Japan?s best-known artist, is ironically Japan?s least ?Japanese? artist. He lived from 1760-1849. As one website put it: ?He was a thoroughly Bohemian artist: cocky, quarrelsome, restless, aggressive, and sensational?? Maybe that?s why I have had his most famous piece on my wall in one form or another since the 60?s. It is called the BIG WAVE

Hokusai began studying woodblock printing at the age of 15. I really liked the fact that he signed his pieces: ?The Old Man Mad About Drawing? at the end of his life. On the average Japanese only moved once in their lifetime, Hokusai moved 93 times in his long life. The series 36 VIEWS OF MT. FUJI are certainly the best-known Hokusai prints.

Hokusai was one of the most prolific of all ukiyo-e artists. At the end of his life he had produced more than 30,000 print designs. Shinobu, Yoshie, and i got to enjoy studying over 200 of his best works. I was most enthralled with his illustrated books. I am quite sure that they were the precursers of the ever popular Japanese manga. We three all wanted to break the glass and turn the pages of his books they were that enthralling.

I just love this quote of his: "From the age of five I have had a mania for sketching the forms of things. From about the age of fifty I produced a number of designs, yet of all I drew prior to the age of seventy there is truly nothing of great note. At the age of seventy-two I finally apprehended something of the true quality of birds, animals, insects, fish and of the vital nature of grasses and trees. Therefore, at eighty I shall have made some progress, at ninety I shall have penetrated even further the deeper meaning of things, at one hundred I shall have become truly marvelous, and at one hundred and ten, each dot, each line shall surely possess a life of its own. I only beg that gentlemen of sufficiently long life take care to note the truth of my words."

May we all continue to grow and develop as well and enthusiastically as Hokusai did.


Love, love, love - love is all there is.

I have to let go of the need to know so much. What we can know is so small—the holiness around is so large. Now I trust in simplicity, simplicity and love.

HINDU SAGE