One Counterplot

Downtown Victoria has become a little creepy in these days,
but I found one way of passing over those scary homeless people, to sing a children's song with a happy face.

With this, those people think that I'm mad and don't come closer.
I'm sure that if I add dazed eyes, it would be better.

Lady Bird Johnson

"Where flowers bloom, so does hope. - Lady Bird Johnson" - from my last year's January calendar.
Mm, nice phrase.
...

I didn't know who the Lady Bird Johnson is, just before writing these sentences (I even didn't know what the ladybird is), but when I was about to write like 'Though I don't know who the Lady Bird Johnson is...', I thought that "I, at least, would better to search some information about this person."
Then, after I put the name on Google, I got some knowledge about her.
She seems to be one of the greatest women in the U.S.

To write this post, I searched, and now I have new knowledge about a great woman.
I like this way of knowing.

Character and a Habit

When I was reading a small booklet today, I found a very interesting phrase.
It's said, "One's character is one kind of his/her habit. ~ It's a habitual way of thinking that has been patterned."

I've never imagined that my character is one of my habit.
If my character is a habit, then I can correct its bad aspect, and become a bit brighter person...
It's really a good thing to know about this...

A Book About Hope

I'm reading an interesting book called (Japanese) that may change my attitude towards my life.
I think I have to study a little more seriously, but first of all, I give great thanks to the author.

Several Month Ahead

In these days, I've seen lots of blossom buds on many trees.
It's interesting that I imagine lots of flowers blossoming in the middle of winter. But I've been doing this -- imagine several months ahead from the time I'm in. I imagined autumnal leaves and shorter days of winter in the middle of summer.

One friend said I'm imagining too further.
Maybe she is right.

Already in Haste

Classes began from today, and I'm already feeling some uneasiness since I didn't do any preparation this time.
Well... I just need to study.

From Tomorrow

Today was the last day of the winter break, and tomorrow, classes start.
~~~ I don't want to go school--

One Minute

Oh, my god!
I just missed one minute for January 2nd's post.

I realized for the post at 11:59, and pressed the power button. The computer was on 'stand by,' so it shouldn't take too much time to recover, but I guess my computer has become too old to deal all the security software's checks within some seconds.

Well... I'd better remember this and press at least two minutes before midnight for the next time.

A Happy New Year!!

A Happy New Year!!!
I wish we all have a little bit good year.
I wish we can find small flowers anytime anywhere.
I wish we can find happiness inside our home, and in your friends.
So, have a good year!

New Year's Eve

I'm going to a New Year's Eve party at a friend's house now.
Yeey!
I'm sure that I'll come back around midnight, so that I'm writing today's post now.
I hope you have a good New Year's Eve and great New Year's Day too!

First of All

There are lots of things to do, but the most important and the first thing I have to do is to calm my mind.
Anything good can not be done without calming my mind...
Oh, the fridge noise stopped just now. Good timing.

Strong Wind

It's been windy at night in these days.
I don't know why but the strong wind at night somehow makes me nervous.
Maybe it's from the animal-like instinct.

The Phone Charge

What did I want to write today?
I had some idea but suddenly my head becomes blank.

...

Oh, I remembered!
I wanted to write about telephone.
Today, I got phone call from my aunt in California.
She sometimes calls me since she is the closest relative in North America, and since she don't have to care about the call charge. She said that because her husband works at a phone (or a cable) company, they have some advantages for the plan. It said that the calling charge within U.S. and Canada is free.

In general, the phone charge in these days is getting really cheap, so in the near future, it might become totally free on the house phone.

At Every Meal

In these days, I say not only "Itadakimasu (I gratefully accept it)" but also return thanks at every meal.
I feel better when I do it, and also I feel the meal is somehow tastier than before.

Five Days Left

Christmas is over, and now we have only five days left for this year.
When it comes to the end, even though I thought that some days were very long, I really feel that time passes like an arrow.

Did time change its speed?
Maybe yes, ... inside of me.

Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays! Merry Christmas!
I wish you have great holidays.

New Year's cards

Today, I set many New Year's E-cards for the New Year's Day.

I made so many mistakes, so it took about one hour and half, and I still have some more people to send to. However, it's still much much faster and easier than writing by hand (and in anyway, I can't get Japanese New Year's cards in here.).

Rewards

The people who like nurturing plants seem to be very happy people, and it's the same as the people who like taking care of animals or children.

When we love something without seeking any reward, we already have enough rewards in our minds.

Thunder

Just about an hour ago, when I was curling up on my small couch with a book, I saw lighting flash over the page. Then, within some seconds, I heard the rolling thunder.

This is the first time in about a year (I guess), we have had thunder.
How amazing the sound was!
We, humans, would never be able to produce such a huge, ferocious, and gorgeous sound.

Nature is certainly great.

Art Pack

Today, when I went to the book store in the university, I found some interesting playing cards.

It says "art pack" on the package with the drawing of famous Mona Lisa. All 54 cards has different paintings on their faces, such as Da Vinci's Mona Lisa (as I mentioned already), Botticelli's Birth of Venus, David(?)'s Napoleon Crossing the Alps, Michelangelo's Creation of Adam, etc. The back of the cards is Monet's Waterlily Pond.

It's so exciting to have this pack.

The Evidence

We all have some worries, but it could be said that these worries are the evidence of living.

English 099

I failed that English 099 course.
Oh, well. My gut was telling this result when I got the thick paper dictionary instead of my electronic one.
Anyway, I'll try to meet my English teacher.

Sayaka Shoji

There are so many great people in this world.

Today, I learned about a Japanese violinist called "Sayaka Shoji."
It said she is younger than me, but already a professional violinist who won the Paganini International Violin Competition (? ...I'm not sure for the English name of this contest), and she seems to have a very strong and deep mind.
I may search for her CD and listen to her music.

In Every Person

Every person has its own music in him/her.
Some one plays rock and another plays classic.
But these are all music.

Handel's Messiah

Today, my friend and I went to a concert, Handel's Messiah.

I had gotten a 2 for 1 ticket, which allows me to choose any concert during a specific period, from my violin teacher, so last Saturday when we were talking by phone, we chose today's Messiah.

This is the first time I saw The Messiah, and I was very moved by the soprano and bass. Their voice were really really nice. This was the first time I ever heard such a good soprano in person.

My friend was also delighted by this concert. She said like this Messiah was much better than the one she had seen last year at a church.
I was graddened by her words.

Ecards

Today, I wrote many greeting Ecards for Christmas.
Ecards are very convenient and interesting.
It has animation and music, and we can even set the exact day for delivering.
Oh, I give thanks to the people who conceived those cards.

The Bible

Today, I bought the Bible which has both old and new testament together.

I've been wanted to read the Bible in detail, because it's the longest seller in this world. I read the child version when I was about Grade three or something, but I've never read the thick one.
The Bible I bought today is written in today's English, so it's very easy to read compared to other Bible that written in old (?) English.

I'm sure that by reading it, I can understand the Western culture more deeply.

Christmas Illumination

In these days, the sun goes down around 4:30 pm, and at 5 o'clock, it's already dark.
But because of the Christmas lights, my heart doesn't become dark,
so I give thanks to Jesus.

Visual Image

Today, I found the Manga that I used to enjoy reading it several years ago in Japan.

I found the title at the international section of the central library downtown, but it was not in Japanese but in Chinese. (I heard that Japanese comic books are very popular in China.)
I couldn't read Chinese, but I enjoyed reading it since I remembered many of the lines with those drawings.

I'm sure that it's very effective to remember something with its visual image.

The Abacus

The day before yesterday, I also bought a small book about abacus.

I've been wished to learn abacus for a long time.
I once learned it for about one month when I was in Grade 2, but I had to quite the after school because of moving. Then, after that I didn't go any such school for abacus.
But now, with this book, I can learn to calculate all of these: addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

It's said that if someone trains really hard, the person can have a marvelous calculation ability such that he/she can perform more than 5 figures of addition or subtraction really quickly in his/her head. (Of course such person can do multiplication and division at sight too.)

But I, at least, want to be able to perform addition and subtraction of 3 figures in my head.

A Tuner

Yesterday, I bought a very interesting thing, a tuner.
I readily went to a music store after the exam, and bought it.

It's really interesting because it shows the note of the sound around me.
For example, I found that my phone sound is G#, the refrigerator noise is about C, the buzzer of my radio clock is F, my analog clock ticking is A, etc.

I played with this about half an hour, I guess.

Finished!

Today, I finished my last final!
Now, I can check every emails, clean my room, and do some practice for violin!
I'm so happy that I can practice violin for more than five minutes.
(I've been playing only five minutes these days.)

Tomorrow's Final

Tomorrow's final is the last one!
This week was like the longest week in this term.

A Globe

There is a globe that my friend gave me in front of my PC, and now, it's facing Japan toward me.

When I was glancing casually at the globe, I realized that the size of Japan is not as small as I had thought.
It's interesting to look at the globe.

Eat Chocolate

Well, I'll eat chocolate and study a little more.
Tomorrow's final is Math!

English 099 Final

Today, I took English 099 final alone in a small room.
I took the exam earlier because I have another exam, Math, on the same set day.

I thought I wrote well, but there was a problem about my electronic dictionary.
In class, we were often told that we are allowed or actually encouraged to bring our electronic dictionary on the final essay writing. (Maybe because this class is a non-credit course and mainly for the International students.)

But today, when I asked about this to the English department people, they said that I'm allowed to have a paper dictionary but not an electronic one. They didn't know about the English 099 course. I strongly argued with them, but because the teacher had already gone for the extra class and I didn't remember what was the classroom number was, I couldn't win in this argument.

Therefore, putting aside the big heavy paper dictionary they lend me, I wrote the essay. I thought that if I had the time, then I would have checked the spelling with this," but in the end, there was no time for spell checking. I didn't open that dictionary at all.

I should've remembered about the dictionary when my teacher introduced me, but now the only thing I could do was to have some hope for allowances made for my misspelled words (because at least I explained this matter to my teacher when I finished the exam.)

I really hope they will discount one or two wrong spellings for me.

Heavily Illuminated Trucks

Yesterday, about 7:00 pm to 7:20 pm, there were lots of lots of gorgeously illuminated heavy trucks running slowly in front of my apartment building road.

The load is one way, and it's heading toward downtown, so I guess those gorgeous trucks were going to attend some Christmas parade at there. But I still don't know whether the parade were actually held or not. (May be I should ask a friend.)

Anyway, Christmas illuminations makes me very happy.

A Bubble Gum

When I went to a Japanese food store yesterday, I got small snacks that brings back memories.
It's called a "Fusen (bubble) Gum." I always saw its small square package (about one inch square) in a small candy store, and I often enjoyed eating it.

When I found the same packages in front of the cashier, I blurted out "Wow, what a familiar thing!" and then the clerk said, "Yes-- It's very familiar right? It's a present we give to our customers right now, so please take one or two."

So now, there are two of these gum on my coffee table. And because these were free, one of them will go to one of my Japanese friends who seems to be really delighted by having this.
Um... but who is the best to give this...?

Classes Are All Finished

Today, we finished all of the classes.
And, by exactly in one week (on next Friday), I finish all of my finals.
A bit more to go, then I'll enter the winter break--- Yay!

Just After

Just after I decided to fess up and respect a person, she said good things to me.
How interesting.


-------------
December 1, 2:10 pm.
The first snow in this winter.

Escaping

Which is better;
playing Freecell game for hours and don't study, or browsing social networking site for hours and don't study?

Both are bad; I know. But when I compare them, I feel the latter is a little better.
Today, I did the first one and now feel bad.
(But I know that even if I erase the game from my computer, I will find another game to escape from my study... and social networking is still on my list.)

-- I need to be stronger...

Quietness

Thinking in a quiet place makes me feel centered.
That's why I like quietness.

Minor Mistakes

I finally realized why I couldn't get a good score on Math.

This is because of minor mistakes that I commonly make, such as forgetting a negative sign, doing strange addition or subtraction, or changing a number when I write it in another page.

I've been making these mistakes when I'm solving equations, but I hadn't had recognized that this is a problem as serious as forgetting a formula.

We often take our minor mistakes lightly, but when they accumulate, they could be a really big problem.
I finally realized this, so I can make an effort to correct them.

The Interesting Textbook

Within the all four subjects I'm now taking (Math, Physics, English and Anthropology), Anthropology is the only subject that I'm not bored when I read its textbook.
It's interesting to know various things about various cultures.

Maybe

There is noting that remains eternally in this world.
Therefore, in 5,000 years of future, people may argue that
"It's the ancient characters!"
"No! It's just someone prepared to spoof us!"
in front of some stone monuments.

Slowly

To realize lots of things is certainly a good thing.
But, it shouldn't be done with haste.
Understanding things one at a time is the best way to improve ourselves.

Try

I grateful for my existence because I can even try something that looks impossible to solve.
The percentage of success may be really low, but I think if I work very hard, then I may achieve success.
I can decide whether to try or not.

Ate a Lot

I went out for dinner today for the first time in two months and ate a lot.
Now I feel like I'm ready to explode.

Moderate Problems

Maybe I have become a little strange because I feel it's more fun to solve the practice problems of Math or Physics than just reading their text books.

Maybe I have fun because I'm solving only moderate (I mean, not too difficult) problems.

Always

To be happy or to be sad is really determined by this particular mind of mine.
Therefore, I always want to choose to be happy.

Fog

Today was a foggy day, so it was like a different world than usual.

In a fiction, we often see something extraordinary appearing from the thick fog.
We feel that kind of thing near ourselves on a foggy day.
It's the world of the subtle and profound.

Multiple Quizzes On a Web

Nowadays, we can even try some multiple quizzes on the text book's homepages.

Some of them also provide the feedbacks of the quizzes according to our answers, so we can study even further.

The Internet is convenient.

The Pictures

Today, I got the pictures of the last month's wedding ceremony from my mam.

Those are pictures of my cousin, who was the heroine of the wedding, and me, who was wearing Kimono to celebrate.

I was relieved when I saw those pictures, because I photographed better than usual.
So, I guess, I could made my grandma happy because she is the person who lend us the Kimono .

Newly Arriving Email

Hearing the notice of newly arriving emails is a kind of fun, even if they are mechanical mails from a company or something.

Maybe that's why I don't quit subscribing from some mailing lists.

Well Balanced

I want to be a person who doesn't look down on something because it's easy to deal with and who doesn't give up easily even if the problem is too difficult.

It is hard to maintain the balance.

A Good Excuse

Wow, I forgot to write a post before midnight because of my study!

This is the first time that I have had a good excuse for forgetting about this blog. When I forgot to write a post, usually that's because I was busy playing or chatting.

I hope I can concentrate like this until the mid (and the finals) finishes.

Blue Sky in Two Weeks

Today, we had a very beautiful blue sky for all day for the first time in two weeks.
Rain or gray sky may calm our minds, but I sure like the blue sky.

Some Beautiful Patterns

I don't like suffering by solving a difficult Math question.
However, I do like seeing some beautiful patterns like flowers or snow crystals which some equations produce.
It would be good if I could pass the exams by only looking those patterns. (Never happens. I know that.)

A Dream Which Has Sounds

Today, I had a dream that had a realistic sound.
In my dream, I played some scales on the violin in my teacher's house. It was a very realistic sound. (Not a beautiful one, though.)

Although my dream are in full color now, it is very rare have a dream with such raw sound. I guess, this is the second time I have had such dreams.

The Old CD

Right now, I'm listening a CD that I bought about ten years ago.
Sometimes it's good hear the old CDs. It reminds me about that time and also there are some new discoveries I didn't recognize ten years ago.
It's interesting.

The Guardian Angel

Have you ever felt the existence of a guardian angel?
About a week ago, I felt that existence.

I was so concerned about my study after the midterm tests, and was crying.
Then, for one moment, I felt a warm air with words like "Don't cry..."
I was overwhelmed by a warm feeling, and then cried again; this time from happiness.

The angel was always looking after me, so I think I'm OK now.

Reading Break

Today, we entered Reading Break.
This time, we have three days off from classes, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Including the weekend, we have five days off!

So, now I can read text books all day long (If I try really hard... ), and catch up on the classes.
I really have to catch up.

With a Constant Effort

If everything already exists in me, then I really don't need to hurry, since I can eventually catch the thing that I want.

Like a Sleeping Pill

I wonder why I feel so sleepy when I'm reading a Math text book.
I shouldn't sleep!!!

Internet Radio

On the last Wednesday (The day I had the difficult Anthropology midterm, and sprained my right ankle.), I finally found how to listen to a radio on my computer.

I had tried several times on the Windows Media Player before, but somehow I couldn't find it. I could download some TV or music clips on the Internet, but that was all I could.
But now, I know how to do it, so I can listen various songs anytime without having irritated by the annoying noise, and even more, I can check the title of the piece that I want to know!

This is really good.

...

(Am I tardy in figuring this out? - Yeah, I guess so...)

Practicing in My Room

Recently, I've got a lot of nerve for practicing violin at home.

I couldn't practice it in my apartment suite when I started to learn, but recently I practice it fifteen to twenty minutes everyday. And today, I practiced even longer, 45 minutes!
I still put on a mute on my violin and practice in softer sound, but if I become more bolder, then I may practice it in full sound someday... (It IS too much, I think.)

Inside

It's warm inside my room, and I'm now full.
Oh, how happy am I.

Testing Hours

Even a very easy problem looks difficult when it's presented as a test.
The testing hours must be under some magic spell that makes any problems appear as difficult ones.

A Misfortune Or a Fortune?

I wrenched my right ankle when I made a false step climbing down stairs.
It hurt a lot at that time, but I could walk. Fortunately, I didn't have any classes after that, so I went grocery shopping as I had originally planned, then came back home.

The place I felt strong pain didn't look bad at all when I first checked at home. But now, it's swelling up a little, so I put on compresses as the instruction of first-aid treatment for a wrenched ankle (on the web) suggested.
This looked to be very common care for my case.
And now, I should rest my foot until it's healed... maybe about a week.

One very very good thing for this incident is this;
A really nice looking guy, who I had seen in a corridor just before, came and spoke to me.

I forget my pain at the moment he said, "Are you OK?" I replied I'm OK, and slowly stood and started walking. But it was hard to keep a grin off my face just after that.
That was very nice.

The Guitar

After I started leaning violin, my ears became more sensitive, so I became more sensitive to the sounds of other instruments.

One of the instrument to which I had never paid attention is the guitar.
I catch much more clear and pretty sounds from the guitar, and it's much prettier than the violin's plucking sound. The harmony is so beautiful too.

I'm just surprised how I missed the beautiful sound before.

A Small Halloween Celebration

Today is Halloween day.
This is the first time for four years that I didn't go any party for Halloween, mostly because of the big mid on the day after tomorrow.
But, I put a light on a cute, small, tin pumpkin lamp, which I found from a box in a closet, and placed on my old TV. So, now I can see little Halloween in my room.
It's cute.

Multiprocessing Ability

If I can read, write, and calculate more efficiently while I'm talking by phone, I could finish my assignment in this morning and early afternoon!

I talked with a very talkative friend over the telephone for more than five hours today. And since it's much efficient to do something while we were talking, I finished some multiple choice quizzes for coming Wednesday's Anthropology midterm.
But, that wasn't enough.

... Well, I'm now training for this multiprocessing ability, so hope I can do more in few years.

The Grand Canyon

Today, I got a phone call from my aunt in California.
We were talking about the pictures at the wedding ceremony of my cousin, and her and the other aunts' trip to Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon.

She seemed so impressed by the tremendous view of the Grand Canyon, and that really made me think about the place. If there is a chance, I want to go and see the great landscape of another creation of the mother nature.

Two Communities

These days, I'm absorbed in two communities in the social networking site that my oldest friend invited.
One is the community of the beginner violinists, and another is the community of the people who like the sky.

I don't have any friends who just started to learn violin in here, but now I have some (actually, lots of) fellows! I can read the bulletin boards and know how other beginners think.
And in another sky community, I can see lots of beautiful pictures of many kinds of skies, which the members moved and liked to put their pictures up.

I really enjoy reading the bulletin broads of these communities.
It's fun.

Before and After ?

It's a wonder that I become a good student (eager to study) just after a test finishes.
(Maybe it's because of the laziness before the test.)

The Refrigerator

When the noise of the fridge stops, my room (bachelor) is filled with silence, and it lasts about twenty minutes before the fridge starts working again.

I am always relieved when the noise stops.
Sometimes, I hope our manager to change this noisy fridge to a more quiet one.

But still, this is the fridge which made me realize the importance of quietness.
So, I guess, I have to give thanks to it. (It would be terrible if there is no fridge in my room too.)

Rain

It's strong raining now.
...I wonder whether this 'rain' is common or not so common in other planets.
I've heard that in Jupiter, there is sulfuric acid rain.
... Maybe 'rain' itself is not so rare apart from the substances.

In Jealousy

The people I'm jealous of is only exist in my world.
They even look different from others who have different values, and they might feel jealous for a person in such groups.
Things are always relative.
So, there is no meaning for having jealousy for others.

One Law

When I feel lazy to study,
... my kitchen becomes clean.

Let's Shrink That Part

Today, I realized very clearly about one of my biggest fault: idleness.
There could be more faults that I'm not yet realized, but this is the biggest one I should start correcting from right now.

I heard that faults should be corrected one by one, so I decided to correct this first.
I know that I don't feel good when I'm bone lazy, and I don't like that part of myself either. So, I decided to shrink that part.

May be it's impossible to erase that part completely, but I believe that it can be shrank as small as an ant. Then, it would not be recognized by other people so easily, and not affect my current study or future job.
So, I'll try.

From the Nature

It's also important to stop thinking and feel the nature for sometimes.
The nature accepts every part of you.
It leads you to your larger self and to the deeper wisdom.
Then, you'll know the most important things you need to know.

I learned a lot by looking the sky, feeling the wind, and inhaling the clear air.
I give thanks to them.

To Move Again

When the desire to go further is infinitely strong, we sometimes feel tired.
When we feel tired, it's better to compare ourselves with the ones from few years ago. Then, we'll notice that the present self is certainly better than the ones from few years ago. Think like this, "I want to improve more, but the ability I have now is just enough for present situation." and exhale deeply. If it's not enough, take a bath or a nap.
Then, you'll be refreshed.

vs. Kids' ability

I've been living in Victoria for about four years now, but I still can't talk English as fluently as a four-year-old child.
A Kid's learning ability is surely amazing.

Pro & Con

Some parts of myself against me so hardly, but the other parts agree with me.
When the ratio of these two become fifty-fifty, it's very hard to live.
When the con part occupies more than half of my mind, it's impossible to maintain a normal life.
Therefore, to create a peaceful mind, I want to keep the ratio, 8 (pro) - 2 (con).

On Reflection

About my sleep;
Last year, I wrote many about how hard my study were (I really stayed awake for three days without sleeping during the week, and got some sleep on the weekend), but now, I know that I was too lenient.
One of my friend became a doctor, and I've read many of her posts on the Internet. She really seems to have only 2 - 3 hours of sleep every day. And I guess she's keeping this pace for more than several years. (To become a doctor, the person need to study so hard too.)
How am I lenient?
Oh, but I can't improve myself so suddenly.
So, walk one step per day.

Sleep

Today, I slept about fifteen hours!!!
The day is almost done with this sleeping.
...Well, it's said "The Middle Way" is important by Buddha, so it's OK since I hadn't slept enough last week.
"The Middle Way" sounds very wise...
(Of course, it's the word from Buddha!)

The Sound of Practice

I'm hearing a piano sound from outside of my suite now.
There is a person who has a piano in his/her suite, and I often hear the person's practicing sound. The sound is not as beautiful as a CD, nor the melody is perfect, but I somehow feel very comfortable.

Actually, I don't feel good for the piano harmony when I hear it from CDs; from them, I feel more comfortable with the sound of synthesizer or other instruments. But from somewhere outside, the sound is not so clear; therefore, it's OK. Moreover, I feel good for knowing that someone is making his/her effort tirelessly. It gives me some energy to work my own study.

Crashed on My Sofa

Yesterday night, around 9 o'clock, I lied down on my sofa knowing that it would be dangerous.
Then, about six hours later, I wake up thinking like "Oh, I did it again." (That's why I'm writing for yesterday's post now.)

These days, I often crash on the sofa. I succumbed to a feeling of weariness and fell asleep on it, even its size is not as big as my whole body (it's a love sofa).

Well, maybe it's a good thing because in this way, I get up very naturally without loafing around in my bed over half an hour.

Great Friends

It's a good thing that I still have so many great people around me.
I can emulate their excellence, and improve my ability.
Their existence are helping me to go higher.

Only a Small Portion

When I looked down the landscape from the airplane ten days ago, I realized how small portion of the sky we always look up was.

The sky that we always look up from the ground was really really a small portion of the whole. It might be only a pert per million or even per trillion.
From high up the sky, it felt so silly; determining my feelings by only such a small portion of the sky.

Today is rainy, but I now know that this black clouds are only above the small city called Victoria, and not even covered one-tenth of the island.

My Mind vs. African Violet

Do I really progress even 0.5 mm every day?

While I closely look my African Violets, I often think like this.
My African Violet is now blooming one after another, but I don't recognize its movement. I know it's too slow to catch the growing by our eyes, but even with this slowness, the buds are opening one by one, and imperceptibly became a bunch of flowers. They are certainly slow to grow; I think that they don't grow even 1 mm per day. But can I really say that to them? Do my mind grow faster than them?

I hardly imagine my mind grows 1 mm per day. I can't observe my mind from outside, but I imagine it grows only like 0.2 - 0.3 mm a day.

A Gem

There is nobody who is perfect.
Every person has at least one fault.
So it's not good to accuse he/she by that fault. Rather, we should find good aspects of that person.
Then, the person become a gem for us.

Relaxed Time

Today (actually, yesterday), I went to my friend's apartment and ate Thanks Giving dinner.
Well, they are all Japanese, but we just mimicked the dinner to have fun. Then, I stayed at them until around 12:30.
...It's good to have a relaxed time at whiles.

A Special Name

There are some special words for every person.
Especially the name of a person one loves is special for him/her. Only murmuring the name, we recover from our fatigue.
It has such a powerful energy.

The Basic

Because I've never worked, all of the money I'm using now is from my parents, but sometimes, I also get money from my relatives.

Today, I was going to use some amount of money from my relatives casually. I was thinking like, "With this money, I can buy something like a free present, because it's from my relatives." But since I couldn't find the right one I wanted, I didn't use.

And now, I'm really grad that I didn't use that money with such a silly thinking. Even though that money is from my relatives, I shouldn't use it so casually. There is no difference between the money from my relatives and the money from my parents. They are both giving it because they care about me.

So, the source of the money is the same. It's love. All of my money is from Love.
I really shouldn't use it so casually.

Way Off Base

I sometimes miss the point when I'm writing an essay.
I did this again today.

We were given a topic, "What was the attitude of your parents or your friends when you decided to go to UVic?"
I started writing about my feeling when I decided to study abroad, then continued how I prepared, and then wrote about the attitude of my parents.

The first two, my feeling and the preparation were not being included on the topic. I realized about this after I wrote these, and thought "Oh, my gosh. I was way off base. But there is no time for rewriting whole of this. What do I do now..."

Then, what did I do? I wrote few sentences in the beginning of these spurious paragraphs, and made some kind of connection to the topic. But I'm sure that my teacher will notice it.
I have to make a plan more carefully before I actually start writing.

"Happy Birthday!"

Today is my mom's birthday.
So, to say "Happy Birthday," I called my aunt who are currently with my mom and other aunts. After the wedding ceremony last Saturday, they start traveling other places and now they are in Las Vegas and Grand Canyon.

I wasn't sure whether the call from Victoria (Canada) to the cell phone in Las Vegas would get through or not. (I've never called to a cellphone in the US from here.) However, only after the second waiting tone, my aunt took the phone and we started talking. The voice was surprisingly clear too. So, I was very amazed by the technology.

It's very good if I can say "Happy Birthday" to a person in any part on this earth. And I'm sure that in the near future, we can all say this to a person even if he/she is on the opposite side of the earth.

Midterm Attacks

One third of the fall term has already finished.
And now, I'm just in the middle in the midterm attacks. O oh, it's so hard! Can I survive this?
Well, I have to survive. So let's study!

The Direction

In my mind, everything exists; from Christ like loftiness to Hitler like madness.
If I choose, I can drive someone insane, but I know that that direction isn't the right one.
Love is the direction we are all following.

At the Wedding Ceremony

I come back from California today at 6 o'clock.

Yesterday's wedding ceremony was very impressive. It started about 4:30 pm at a park. The bride (my cousin) and the broom exchanged their wedding vows by the lead of the bride's younger brother (I've heard he has the license(?) to do this.)

My aunts and I wore kimonos, but after the ceremony, It became so casual. We moved to a hall in the park, and had so much fun at the reception. We even danced to the music of both Okinawan traditional dancing music and American rock music.
It was a really good wedding.