*some call it stealing*

My nose is red and cold, I wore three layers today... it's officially fall. I welcome you fall, with arms wide open and a cup of hot cocoa in one hand. Hooray! I thought you would never get here.

This random blog is dedicated to Miss Jean Vacha who is a closet blog reader of mine. Jean, I'm forcing you to come out into the open and comment on a blog or two of mine. I can hardly believe it's been a year since you've been here. I feel like you just left yesterday. Where has time gone?
This blog is also dedicated to Jean because of the random man she took a picture of last year at Tsukiji. Wow, we were impressed by his bright outfit. I am a fan...

I always get myself into the weirdest situations here in Japan. A loooong time ago I bumped into a neighbor lady of the Roods near MY house. Interesting. She has a friend near by so she gave me her friends number and insisted we get together... I never called her. I know! I know! I am a bad friend but after the last incident of embarassing myself and shaming the family name at my neighbor's house (who never invited me over again after that stinkin' "welcome to my store" incident) I get a little queasy when it comes to long afternoons spent awkwardly trying to sputter out Japanese. Basically, I am a chicken. I love talking to my friends and I love people on staff... it's just the random strangers that kind of threw me for a loop. I would LOVE to spend an afternoon struggling through Japanese with my friends, their families, and even some of our own staff.... but the random neighbor friend of a friend is a bit more intimidating.

Anyway, I managed to escape. UNTIL TONIGHT!!! On my way home, I was trapped. Her dog encircled my legs with its little leash and I was caught in a trap. BLAST!!! She managed to get my NUMBER this time (blast) and talked to me for a full five minutes. five words of which I could understand. All I could think of was, "Well, it's dark, so if I send Mary in my stead, maybe they'll never notice." (i know i have a black heart but I just get nervous about afternoons talking in japanese!) And in that five minute conversation I heard the words for "i'll call you" "let's hang out" and "next week" (double blast). So I'm going to go to her house when she calls, bring Mary with me so she can practice for her Japanese test, enjoy some green tea and cookies, and smile the entire time because that is me. I am deep down a nice person... I just don't let that side come out often... in Japanese at least. I'm sure I'll do something so embarassing I can blog about it later. I'm such a punk.
Speaking of being a punk... I am officially unofficially a part of the Chuo University Snowboarding Club. Okay, so I technically only have the members t-shirt but it's a members only t-shirt. :D I sweet talked a couple of members into letting me have a t-shirt. :D And technically, to all of you who have had your shirts, sweatshirts, jackets, hooded sweatshirts and other clothing items *borrowed* by me, it's not technically stealing a club's t-shirt because I paid for it. So no teasing me about the weird habit that is me.

They gave me a t-shirt with the message, "Come join us!!" ha ha!! I'm psyched for this year's snowfall. And can't help but get giddy when I think of the possibility of multiple trips snowboarding. (woo hoo~ Utsu BEST invited me to join them again this year) The Tokyo BEST trip is my favorite trip we take every year. If I go on it I'll be sure to wear my cool new t-shirt.... Yatta!!
So SKYPE has this cool new thing where you can take pictures while you are skype video calling. Jordan was giving me a tour of his and Rochelle's new place in Denver (and my new bed on the couch in Denver) when I snapped this picture. Just thought the fam might want to get a sneak peak into the new place. :D

Can you believe, only three more months of Mary being in Japan?? YABAI (yikes)!! I am a little nervous about living in Japan without Mary. I know that sounds silly but I really rely on her. She is the calming peace behind my sometimes tornado personality. She is the quiet and stillness that balances the randomness and hilarity of my life. I've been pondering about what I want to do with the apartment because I'll be staying an additional five months after Mary leaves. I'd prefer to move into temporary housing which is closer to the Roods and Witthofts but I don't think that is the best financial choice for me. Oh, Mary! I don't think it's hit me yet that when she leaves that is the end of our team as I have always known it. After she leaves, I leave.... blast! Let's not think about that just yet.

Here's a blog I wrote a year ago at this time about my bad moods... it made me laugh. Click HERE to get to it. :D Oh and speaking of Chris Ebbers... he is (Lord willing) joining our staff in March. Woo hoo!! I like Chris. He is hilarious. As you can tell by the post which if you didn't click on above you can now catch HERE.

Lately, I've been reading a devotional on prayer... and I was inspired by a prayer the author quoted by Thomas a Kempis... I close with this thought, "Give us, O LORD, steadfast hearts that cannot be dragged down by false loves; give us courageous hearts that cannot be worn down by trouble; give us righteous hearts that cannot be sidetracked by unholy or unworthy goals. Give to us also, our Lord and God, understanding to know you, diligence to look for You, wisdom to recognize You, and a faithfulness that will bring us to see you face to face."