5 October 2004

Well, well, well... Mr. Glenn is all cozy and tidy up in Japan. 

It took a while, and it took a nation of millions to push me out of HK, but finally I just up and left that place, on Monday, 27th September 2004. 

Now, to make it perfectly clear, all the charts and graphs, all the systems of pulleys and levers, the plans big and small -- all of which were designed to aid my preparations for leaving HK -- ALL of them eventually fell worthless on the floor. I had gone to great lengths to ensure that I might be able to do everything myself and not have to bother others except in extreme cases of need, and I honestly thought I could do that.

Oh, Grenn -- you so foorish!!  

It was humanly impossible for me, by myself, to finish everything -- packing, saying goodbyes, etc. -- but it all happened because of ONE GROUP OF PEOPLE -- Fonna and my other friends in HK. 

Seriously, if it wasn't for Fonna, this dear sister from Xi Lin CP Church who lives in the same building -- if it wasn't for her, I'd just be a big splat on the sidewalk of Tin Shui Wai about now, a whimpering mass of unpacked, not-ready-to-go-to-Japan garbage. She, her sister Iris, and Kam Miu, and about 15 OTHER people all pitched in -- and I'm telling you, they made it happen. 

THEY... MADE... IT... HAPPEN!!

They even rented a van, and on Monday morning they all went with me to the airport -- on top of everything else, they go to the airport with me!!

It was just amazing, a truly moving gesture that was only marred by my own extreme sickness about halfway to the airport, just past the Tai Lam Tunnel, when we actually had to pull off to the side of the road for me to get sick. 

Now, I know they were pretty worried, and they should have been -- I was rather terrified myself. I'd been having some problems for a couple of weeks, and it bothered me, but nothing so serious -- until that drive to the airport. It wasn't stress, geez, I felt great! But anyway, whatever it was, it was a bit freaky. 

(I'm FINE now, so just forget it)...FORGET IT!!!

Anyway, we made it to the airport, all 5 of us: me, Fonna, Iris, Kam Miu, and Ken. And there we were joined by pastors Grace (Yao Dao CP Church) and William (Xi Lin CP Church), and later by Thomas, Michael, and Barry (from Shatin CP Church). I even got phone calls from Tom and Him Sir, also from Shatin Church. 

It was TRULY a sad time for me, saying goodbye there at the McDonald's in the airport, but despite my fear of getting sick during the trip, I was able to hold myself together and finally get on the plane in dignity, ha ha... 

. . .

OKAY, jump to Japan.

I've officially been here a WEEK now, and it's been really nice. I've tried to get out and about, doing my best to explore -- as best as one can do with no maps or money, ha ha. Tokyo is just so cool, and so far I'm right back in that exciting stage I remember when arriving in HK 3 years ago, where everything is new, and trying to do even the most simple things leads to gut-wrenching anxiety and fun -- at the same time, of course. 

Anyway, I've put up some photos for you to peruse, please do so at your considerable leisure. 

I've also been thinking about how "new" everything is for me here, so I've put together a little list of things of note about life In Japan -- if you are bored out of your skull, check that out, too. 

6 October 2004

I have a prayer request/report -- Pastor Sesoko from Japan Presbytery passed away this morning at about 10am. He was formerly the pastor of the Kibogaoka CP Church, but about 11 years ago he suffered a debilitating stroke that left him unable to care for himself. 

I never really knew Pastor Sesoko, but I did meet him and his wife (and stayed in their home) two years ago. At that time, Pastor Sesoko was stable, and while not able to walk, speak clearly, or even feed himself, I nevertheless understood that part of him was "still there" and that he was certainly able to relate to those around him... 

However, in recent days his condition had worsened considerably, it seems, ending in this morning's events. 

Please, those of you who are pray-ers, remember his family and all the pastors of Japan Presbytery who will help in the arrangements in the coming days. I am told he was quite a man when active, and that many will miss him dearly. 

. . .

Sweet Tea, Sweetie?!?
Wow -- that was fast! Someone here (in Japan) has already read what I wrote (In Japan) and offered me a theory. 

I said yesterday (in In Japan) that you just can't get tea that's sweet enough for my taste (not in Japan, you can't). 

My friend Satoh has offered the explanation that in the traditional Japanese tea ceremony, one is FIRST served sweets -- which are, by all accounts, quite sweet indeed. Therefore, his theory goes, if the tea were ALSO sweet, it'd be a kind of "sweetness overload"... 

Now, as you can see by my girlish figure (imagine a bowling pin with jeans and t-shirt), I am all in favor of the occasional sweetness overload. Americans are practically raised on sugar. However, for Japanese people in particular, it's just too much. 

FORTUNATELY, he was also willing to support his theory with a little hard-boiled "field research" -- we bought some traditional sweets and "investigated" their sweetness thoroughly, alongside some Japanese tea. It was very scientific, and no animals were harmed (that I know of). 

CONCLUSION: Satoh's theory is reasonable and supported by the evidence. 

(However, I will probably need to do a little more research, now that I know where to buy those sweets.) 

. . .

Now THIS is rock and roll!! (click on link, or right-click and "save as")...

7 October 2004

I had some crazy dreams last night (see HERE), but the craziest part of my evening wasn't a dream at all. It was REAL. 

Tokyo was hit by a strong 30-second earthquake last night at about 11:30pm, measuring 5.8 on El Scalio De Richter (I'm trusting the news on this one, since I sold my "Porta-Richter" long ago). 

Now, I've experienced three quakes before. One was quite a few years ago in Louisville. I was at home, watching TV, sitting in my dad's big, beat-up, orange chair that he had then (this was at our old house). Anyway, I'm sitting there, completely "home alone", feet propped up, enjoying myself, when suddenly I feel the chair rocking back and forth. And it's funny to this day, because I jumped up thinking that my sister had come home and snuck up behind me and was trying to scare me. Can you see that? I mean, the chair was rocking so hard that I knew something was up -- so crazy!!! It really freaked me out a bit, and for the next few minutes I was completely unsettled. Fortunately, the news broke in about 3 minutes later with a special bulletin, "We just had an earthquake!"... whew!

The second one I experienced was just a few weeks ago in HK. As I often was during those last months in HK, I was up VERY late that night trying to get all my work done. I finally went to bed about 2:30am, and just as I had laid down and started to relax, I feel myself rocking back and forth. Now, I lived on the 35th floor of a 37-floor building -- and in 3 years of winds and gusts and typhoons and who knows what else, I had NEVER felt that building move so much as a centimeter. NEVER. So I'm lying there, and for just about 10 seconds, I'm just ever-so-casually rocking back and forth. And the FIRST thought that comes to me is, "Wow, this is an earthquake." But I had asked this question many times before, see? -- "Does HK have earthquakes?" -- because you can't help but see all the skyscrapers and suspended bridges and all, without at least ONCE thinking, "Man, a good strong quake would bring this whole city down in about 30 seconds!"

"Oh, NO!!! We never have earthquakes!" was always the answer. And I was settled in that. 

But what, then, was making me shake in my bed at 2:30am?!? It had to be a quake, and it got my attention FAST. Understand, post-9/11, the idea of being on the top of a 37-storey building when it's shaking back and forth is NOT appealing. No joke, friend, I started praying like crazy! I was dead tired, it was 2:30 in the morning, but the idea of falling 35 floors to land on a pile of 34 floors worth of rubble suddenly focused my mind, if you see what I'm saying. 

Of course, I eventually went to sleep, after no more rocking, and no falling 35 floors, etc.... And ironically the next day I had COMPLETELY forgotten about it, until that night, when watching the news at a friend's house, where they announced the quake. (I felt so vindicated, by the way -- "I KNEW it was an earthquake!!")

Well, the quake last night certainly woke me from my "sweet" dreams -- man, I've never been in anything so weird. But THIS time, in the very heart of "Earthquake Central" -- Japan, in other words -- I almost didn't even get excited! I mean, it was a HARD quake, and you could hear the whole WORLD rumbling, dude, it was weird, and the church was shaking like mad, and not "violent" per se at all -- it wasn't a violent shaking -- but it was FIRM, you dig? And it was rather LOUD I thought. And 30 seconds -- man, that's a LONG TIME, you know? 

But I just kind of laid there, thinking, "Oh, an earthquake"... (yawn)... and after it was over, I just glanced up at the clock so I'd know what time it was this morning when I checked the news. And I was promptly off to sleep.

Anyway, all is well, the birds are singing, and I have much work to do... 

. . .

Man, I am totally stupid. 

So, okay, I go to this restaurant for lupper, or dunch, or however you should call that meal that's not lunch, or dinner, or supper -- it's lupper, right? I mean, we have breakfast + lunch = brunch, so that's lunch + supper = lupper, I think... (As long as it's not supper + dinner = sinner)... ha ha, little missionary humor there... 

But I check this place out, seems fairly reasonable for a once-in-the-day meal, not too nice, but decent enough I know they'll have photos on the menu (a key point, at this point). 

The waitress takes my order, and it's VERY rough going, and I'm not sure why, but somehow it just wasn't going so hot, and I'm feeling all dumb and everything... and then after I order the FOOD, I'm like, okay, and I want a DRINK, too... So I make the universal hand sign of drinking ("air drinking" is the technical term, I believe), and I point to the menu list of drinks. Except, EVERY drink is in Japanese. No symbol for Coke, or Pepsi, or Lipton, or anything... So I have no idea what they have, except for the obvious assumptions. 

Okay, you're bored with this story already, right?

Anyway, so in my complete idiocy, and lack of ability to communicate anything, I'm trying to express that I'll just take a cola slash soft drink slash coke slash Pepsi... And I'm trying all these words because she is looking at me like I'm the most stupid person she has ever seen. I mean, she's trying to HIDE it, right? That's the polite, Japanese thing to do. She's smiling and she's saying, "High!" ("Yes!") over and over, but the furrow in her brow is saying, "What the..?!?"

Okay, finally she seems to understand, and she says, "Duh-LINK-oo?!?" -- which is Janglish for "Drink?" -- I'm like, "Yes!" and big smiles all around -- and in a second she brings me a Pepsi. And for the record, I didn't really want a soft drink --  but being a beggar, I felt it highly inappropriate to attempt being a chooser. 

But here's why I'm the biggest idiot to hit Japan since, uh, whoever... let's say Howie Mandel, if he's ever been here... 

But about 10 seconds after she puts the drink down on my table, this couple of hippie teenagers next to me goes waltzing past with their glasses, and they walk right up to the -- BOING! -- the self-service drink station. 

DOH!!!

And it's at exactly this moment when I remember being here two years ago, and going to someplace, maybe Denny's or whatever (Denny's is HUGE in Japan, by the way)... but I suddenly remember their self-service drink station. 

Man, I am totally stupid. 

12 October 2004

FIRST, watch this VIDEO (click to download, or right-click and "save as").

THEN, please marvel at "the fastest growing new sport in the country" ("country" meaning the USA, obviously):

HERE!

19 October 2004

So I'm sittin' here, eatin' these chips, see? And all I can say is that these are the loudest, crunchiest chips I have ever set my stupid teeth upon. 

And I have approximately ONE MILLION things to tell you about -- SERIOUS things, I say -- but I can't even THINK straight, these chips are crunching up in my head so loud. 

God forgive me, I'm gonna have to eat these chips first tonight -- and get all this crunchin' and stuff up outta from my jaw -- then come back and hit y'all with an update tomorrow. 

Ebina Station Taxi Stand