Good morning, sunshine.

The title is a bit misleading since it was actually cloudy when I woke up and it still is. In fact, I woke up at 8:40am to a text from Hitomi saying ゆきー!!雪雪雪雪雪!!! (which translates as "snow!! snowsnowsnowsnowsnow!!!")

"Ughh", I thought. "My bed is warm. I don't care." But I got up anyway, looked out the window and saw beautiful white fluffy flakes flying and twirling down from the sky. It still is. None of it is settling though.

So early morning and heavy snow meant I couldn't go to the supermarket and thus had a lot of time to faff. Or catch up on the things I didn't do during the week, like watch Obama's inauguration speech.

WOW. What an amazing speech-writer and speaker.

I also had a chance to read John Piper's article titled "The President, the Passengers, and the Patience of God" (Thanks to Larry's post on Photizo).

Which made me look up videos on Piper's view on the election and abortion. Which then made me look up on Obama on abortion etc.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7847651.stm


I'm not sure what I think about it all. There's too much running through my head right now. But I do agree with Piper - we can never be certain when life starts, be it at the time of conception or time of first movement or time of first breath. We can never be certain whether or not abortion (however early or late) is an act of taking human life. But I also think it is better to be safe (ie not conduct abortion at all) than to err on the side of uncertainty.

This also brings in another issue, regarding how government and christianity (or any other belief system) or even simply morality should interact/be engaged with each other. How much moral responsibility should a government have? Where should society look to for moral guidance? What about the church?

On the other hand, shouldn't the church's main focus be on the Gospel, not on moral education? What's the balance between the two?

....So maybe snow and early morning text isn't so bad afterall. It got my brain moving. Sort of.

I suppose it is called extreme sports for a reason....

...because I was in extreme pain for 2 days after my first snowboarding attempt on Saturday. If my muscles could literally scream with pain it would make a Steven Tyler high-pitched scream seem like a pathetic squeal. At the moment still can't walk properly without looking like I've just been hit by a 50-tonne lorry, still can't rotate my neck properly and still can't put trousers without nearly falling on my face.

Call me a hypochondriac, but I might actually have done some damage to my knees. Maybe going snowboarding with already dodgy knees wasn't the wisest decisions of all. I probably won't be boarding again for a while, if not ever...

I should probably stop whining. But I won't.

Sleeping isn't easy, as it hurts to turn in my sleep. I no longer need to 'slow down' whilst walking up and down the stairs with my JTE (japanese teacher of english) to class. I've started doing what my JTE does and putting heat patches on my neck to ease the pain. I have to leave a good few minutes earlier in order to give myself more time to bike to school, as well as more time to actually get on and off the bike.

...yet I'd love to go back and carve up those snowy slopes though! Ohh cruel world*

*Note that I don't actually mean it since I do understand that there are much more cruel things in the world than not being able to go snowboarding.

The time has come

...to make a decision.

Do I want to carry-on my Japan Journeys for another 20 months, or put an end to it in 8 months time? Both ways involve a gamble. The only difference is what's at stake.

I honestly don't know. I can't decide. The answer is not there. My mind says one thing, but the heart says another. I need a revelation!!!!

not advertising...

...but to go to Bangkok and not stay at this unique little oasis in the middle of this scarily dense city would be a loss.

I sipped English tea with the hotel owner (aka dad) by the pool whilst tasting his own hand-made sponge cake. (He also makes carrot cake and apple crumble and all kinds of "once on the lips forever on the hips" sweet things). I stuffed my face with too much Thai food from the hotel restaurant not because I didn't have to pay for anything. Afterwards I worked it off in the pool that was just cool enough to bear in the Thai 'winter'. I also worked off my wallet (a bit too much) at Jatujak weekend market and Suan Lum night market. After too much walking and shopping at the night market I still managed to take the underground and then the sky train back to Phloen Chit, but had to hop on a little 10-baht motorbike-taxi to take me down the soi back to the hotel, to save some of the little life that is left in my battered feet so that I could walk up one flight of stairs to my lovely little single room.

Dad making cakes












Ariyasomvilla















Tea by the pool

Home sweet

I don't want to count the days, but the truth is I've been home for 3 days, and only got 3 left (excluding the hop-over to Bangkok for 3 days) :(

In the past three days I've slept about 16 hours in total, eaten shanghainese vietnamese cantonese sichuanese hongkong-ese. I've met up with more people than can be counted with fingers and toes. I've watched a movie. I've combed the Central side-street markets. I've been to IFC Mall twice. I've stayed up til 3am in LanKwai. I've been to 2 church services. I've met people I've known for 18 years, as well as people I've known for the very first time. I've been asked countless times about life in Japan. I've eaten at home once. I've played badminton. I've been on facebook 3 million times. I've kicked myself over 9 thousand times for being a dufus and booking such a short trip.

Sweet home.

How much more can I fit in in the next 3?

In love with the messenger man

Despite darling little kid's daring confessions of his feelings for me, I must confess myself...that there is someone else.

Awful hair, awful glasses, but an enthusiasm and cheerfulness that brights up any day preceding the dawn of hell the second he walks into the staff room.

His shinkansen-speed "gozaimasu" blurbs brings bundles of laughter (to me) everytime, without fail. The shuffling of his feet on school slippers round and round the staff room distracts (me) from procrastination. His unbearable politeness is always entertaining (to me) as he bows and greets every single person in the room, and excuses himself 3 times as he leaves the room.

This is no fictional character.

This is the messenger man.

♥

Confessions

Wednesday, 4:15pm: School's over, I got on my bike, was just leaving school as I passed a few of the 2nd grade boys waving goodbye to me...except one of them wasn't waving, but kissed the tips of his fingers and saluted me.

Friday, 4:37pm: School's over, I got on my bike, was racing down the school drive-way when I passed the same few 2nd grade boys waving and saying bye to me...except for that same boy, who waved, said bye, and just before I turned the corner yelled "I LOVE YOU!!"

That made my day.

That made my coming all the way here all worth it.