it's not life that matters but the journey...

I need to post some more thank yous, some of these are long overdue:

Thanks to dawnie1970 for the three virtual gifties on my profile page - the santa bear and candy cane are perfect for the holidays, and the hugs coupon I will definitely keep for times when I need it... how about now?
And thanks also to jojobruin for the virtual candles and the virtual snowflakes! The candle will help light my way through the decisions and things that must be done at the beginning of the new year!

Also a big thank you to dragonsrmd for the gorgeous Christmas card I got in the mail the other day. It's really a beautiful card - it looks home made. If so, I'd love to know how to make something so pretty! And also thank you to wolfpurplemoon and bayareajenn for the Christmas cards. I don't want to take down my tree and put away all the cards I got this year - they're all so lovely!!

Yesterday was more productive than Monday... In the morning we drove to Numazu to meet with some ladies about the classes we're going to start teaching in April. I guess we'll be doing two classes, one with 1st-3rd graders and another with 4th-6th graders. I have lots of time to prepare - it will just be twice a month for three months on Sundays, so it won't be too much work. If we get lots of students, we can make up to 10,000 yen in a day (which is about $80 at the current rate), which isn't bad. They will also be putting my picture and a little mini-bio in their insert which goes into the Shizuoka newspaper - which is great publicity for me and my new school!

In the afternoon I studied a little bit of Japanese - I really need to study more, like up to 2 hours a day! Then in the evening, my friend Akiko (who used to be my supervisor at the high school 12 years ago) came to pick me up. We ended up meeting her daughter Emi, who's 26, at the Chinese restaurant in Shin-Kambara, the town where I used to live! The dinner was great, and we had dessert (I didn't get a picture, I ate it too quickly), and I ended up with a new student! Emi wants to study English with me, and she's starting on January 15th! So as of now, I have two private students! Hopefully with enough time, this will double, then triple, then... well you get the idea!

There are moments when we feel overwhelmed with all that has to be done. But we really want this to work!

So today I'll finish my cards and packages and get them in the mail. Then focus on writing lessons, blogs, and studying Japanese. If only I could organize my time - it's already Wednesday and my vacation will be over far too soon!

Thank you to toadflax234 for the Christmas card I got in the mail yesterday!
I've still got to do mine - I don't know if it will get done today though because...


I'm sick again!!!!!!!

Dammit!!!!!!!!

I had a bad sore throat and cold a week ago, and it went away and I felt fine. Until I went out last night and got sick again!! And now my lower back hurts like crazy too - I don't know why!
We were going to go out for a walk today and try to get some exercise, but now I think I'm stuck at home resting up - because I still have a week of classes before I'm free for winter break! Ugh!

Anyway - briefly I'll tell you about the concert I attended last night. One of the English teachers at my Junior high school invited me about a month ago to a special Christmas Gospel Choir concert at the local theater. It's a group called Voices of Japan, and they're a gospel group that tours nationally, and has some very famous singer with them. The teacher at my school, Mr. Oka, wanted me to come to the concert because his local gospel choir would be singing a couple of songs during the show. At first I said I'd think about it - but I really didn't think I wanted to go, since the tickets were quite expensive and of course I can't drive here so I have no way to get there (my husband definitely wouldn't want to go).
But Mr. Oka kept asking me about it, so I eventually said I'd go - so I arranged to go with the young female English teacher, Natsuko. She picked me up at 5 p.m. yesterday, and we ate a delicious dinner of ramen and gyoza at the the ramen shop across the street from my house and then got to the concert just as they were closing the doors! I enjoyed most of the show - the Christmas music was really beautiful, and they are a very good choir, very professional and very good singers. There are 12 in the group, 8 women and 4 men, and some of the women had outstanding voices. They sang many traditional Christmas songs in a mix of Japanese and English, and some original songs too. Most of the Christmas songs were "gospelized" - which means of course that they were mostly upbeat, with dancing and lots of hands raised. They were really copying the traditional black gospel style, which I love - but of course it's a bit unusual to hear American Christmas songs sung in Japanese, in a gospel style. But overall I did enjoy the show, and it was nice getting out. Except for the getting sick part!!!!

anyway - that's enough of my babbling. Happy weekend everyone. I'm off to finish my lesson planning and sleep!

I love Christmas time! I got my first three holiday cards this week - two today in fact! Thanks to dawnie1970, serialbathera and burningchaos for the beautiful cards - they're under my tree now!

Also thanks to Dawnie for the virtual milk and cookies on my profile page - yummy! I wish I had some real milk and cookies right now!

And thanks to selvatica for the pretty virtual present - sorry I am so late in thanking you for this! I love presents, even virtual ones:)

I've got a lot to write about, but not necessarily today. I had a great day Sunday at the JALT meeting (Japanese Association of Language Teachers). I met some great people who are hopefully going to help me in my search for a good job in the future (if I stay here in Japan). Also, they gave me some great ideas to get started writing and publishing some academic (or at least educational) articles. We had a presentation (by a guy who teaches at a university in Chiba) for 2 hours and then a dinner buffet at a department store restaurant near the station - all you can eat dinner and drinks for just 3000 yen (less than $30.00). the food and the wine (I had three glasses) was fantastic! It was really fun! And I did my Christmas shopping while I was in Shizuoka - I love that city! So much to do there!

Masahiko's been working really hard on the logo and website for our English school - he's bought a website building program and put up our sign again, and will start to make a pamphlet soon too. I'm getting excited for it and hope it works out!! I've got lots more to write about this when I have more time. I've been so busy lately with my job and thinking and planning... plus trying to catch up on shows. Most of my shows are either done for awhile, or on hiatus for the holidays. I hated to watch the last Dexter - that show owns my soul, and it's not back for almost another year! Speaking of shows... does anyone know where I can find information about when shows are returning from winter? Glee, for example? And when is White Collar back? is it just two more episodes?

anyway - I should get going and do some exercise and some reading before I sleep. Busy busy busy!

thanks for putting up with my mood swings lately. things seem to be looking up at the moment.
I hope that since I have enough postcards now, and most people's addresses (though a few of you didn't reply to my address request post), I can start writing and sending them this weekend. It's Christmas in just over a week, after all!

have a great week all!

how about your cat? Here's a video showing you how to gift-wrap your furry feline!

this is really funny!

Backgrounds


Merry Christmas to anyone out there who celebrates - while Christmas day is just beginning for many of you, it's already the end of my Christmas day and here's what I did today: I applied for another job online, walked to the hyaku-en store (100 yen store, which is similar to the Dollar store) to buy a cat brush, and I also helped my friend Akiko with some of her work. She came by my home tonight and we drank coffee and I helped her grade some student papers. It would have been nice if she'd paid me, but since she's a friend, I didn't mind. It's nice to have a friend to talk to:)

Before I sleep, I have to send out some thank you's:

Thank you dawnie1970 for the Christmas card I got in the mail yesterday! Also thank you for the e-card!!

Thank you to toadflax234 for the adorable Christmas stocking and the chocolate and the card - I got your package today in the mail!! The stocking is hanging on my tree, and the chocolate was happily consumed by me and my husband!

Thank you to jojobruin for the virtual snow globe. I love snow globes!!

And Thanks to EVERYONE for all your great comments lately - moving to Japan has been a big adjustment, but all the support and friendship I've gotten from my LJ friends has been so great! And all the Christmas cards have been fantastic too - I think I've gotten more cards this year than last year.

Anyway, Happy Holidays to all and to all a good night:)

Before I post a few more pics, I thought I'd answer today's writer's block question since it's Christmas Eve here in Japan:

If you celebrate Christmas, what will you do this evening? If you don't will you still do something festive, or is it just another night?

Well, for many reasons, Christmas Eve is just another night for me, and it has been for many years. I do enjoy Christmas decorations, and I send out cards (most years), and I even love some holiday movies (like Elf !)... but I haven't been into giving gifts or doing the whole Christmas celebration for a long time. For me, Christmas only has meaning if I'm with my family in America, and only if I'm able to just enjoy being with them, and not obligated to buy gifts. I'm not stingy - in fact I love giving gifts to friends and family - but I just don't believe that Christmas should be a commercial holiday. It should be about sharing good times, love, and good food with our loved ones - it shouldn't be all about buying stuff that people don't want or need. For the last three years, I was not with family for any holidays, as I was living in Chicago. And this year, we're back in Japan, so I won't be with my family for Christmas or New Year's. Of course Christmas doesn't have the religious meaning in Japan that it does in other parts of the world (although I would argue that the holiday has really lost it's religious significance in western cultures lately as well); but sadly Japanese people have absorbed the "kitsch" of Christmas into their culture, and you can find holiday decorations, lights, and horrible "muzak" versions of Christmas songs in almost every store and restaurant. Lots of houses are even decorated with lights and reindeer and Santas, and of course some younger people, especially couples, celebrate Christmas by making or buying Christmas cakes. We had our own little mini celebration tonight, though - we decided that we'd been eating too much cake lately, so instead of cake, we asked Masahiko's mom to buy sushi. We we ate delicious sushi and chicken and miso soup for dinner, and I'm so full and satisfied!!

New Year's Day (正月 O-Shogatsu) is a much bigger celebration in Japan, and has much more cultural significance. My mother-in-law will be making Mochi and we will probably be eating Soba Noodles . Most Japanese people visit a shrine or temple, and it's also the time of year for house cleaning (like our spring cleaning in the states).

And speaking of New Year's, most people also send 年賀状, nengajō (New Year's cards), to family and friends. I finally sent my cards out today (29 of them!) - I had meant to send them yesterday, but it was a holiday (the Emperor's birthday). So, please let me know when you receive your cards:)

I'm planning to write some posts in the next few days about Japanese living, and my house, etc., but for now I'll leave you with a few more pictures I took when I was walking today and yesterday. The weather has been gloriously warm and sunny, and I had to get out and stretch my legs and get some exercise. It hasn't looked much like winter lately - sorry for all you folks in snowy parts of the world (unless you love the snow!)... anyway, here's some pics:

( cut for photos )

Happy Christmas everyone! I'll be around a lot the next few days - nothing to do!!

I received another Christmas card, this one from willow_m_w - I've put it under my tree to! Thanks so much Willow!!

And I just had to share this amazing (unusual??) version of Santa Claus is Coming to Town by a Bahamian Folk Guitarist named Joseph Spence. My husband and I found this on YouTube when we were searching for the chords for this song (hubby played it at his gig a week ago)
This guy is an amazing guitarist, even if his English is a little weird. Enjoy!

[Glitterfy.com - *Glitter Photos*]

a special thank you to my wonderful friend pnksaph who sent me a handmade Hello Kitty scarf! it's so warm and cozy and I love it! it's so special that she made it especially for me! Thank you so much!!

warm christmas wishes for all of my wonderful friends out there. stay cozy, stay safe, and have a beautiful day!! *hugs* and cookies to you all!!