Archery

My sister-in-law, my wife, and I decided to test our skills in archery. So far, I’ve been enjoying it a lot. Today, I practiced my visualization skills. I imagined that all of the arrows were tightly grouped in the yellow section. It worked! Whatever you can imagine, you can achieve!

That’s me above.

That’s my wife.

That’s my wife’s sister.

There will be a competition in two weeks. I’ll post the results here.

木 から 気 を貰う

I think Tokyo has some of the most beautiful parks and gardens. Today I went on a field trip with my Japanese class, “Kotoba no Hiroba.” We went to Higashi Gyoen.

There were lots of colorful flowers and beautiful trees. In the middle of the city, it’s nice to have an oasis where people can relax and get energy from nature.

木 から 気 を貰う!

Until next time...

Balancing Rocks

This was one of the most impressive things I've ever seen. About four years ago I was visiting San Francisco when I saw this man on the shore taking great big rocks and balancing them in seemingly impossible ways. I watched as he carefully stacked the rocks. Occasionally, they would fall, and he would have to quicly jump out of the way. However, he would persistently hold the rocks in place until he found their "center of gravity." He would finally let go, and the rock would stay as if glued.

Pretty amazing! I was so impressed with this guy that I did a search and found a video. Check it out here: Balancing Rocks

A Japanese-Style Haircut Experience

I got a haircut today. I never had a haircut experience like this until I visited Japan for the first time in 1992. Now that I live here, I go every couple of months. The place I go is called "Wave," and it is the best hair salon that I've ever been to. In the states, I'd spend about $10 and be finished in 20 minutes or less. In Japan, I spend about 2 hours in the salon. I get a shampoo, a perm, a shave, a massage, and of course, a haircut. It costs about 4 times the amount of my cheap haircut in the states, but it's worth it!

My New Life in Japan

I came to live in Japan in October of 2008 (I lived here once before from 1999-2002). I changed my career from being a teacher for over 20 years to being a full-time writer. I've always wanted to be an author, but not very many new, unknown authors get the chance to receive a monthly salary along with the freedom and time to stay at home and write. Well, I was offered this "opportunity of a lifetime" that I could not pass up. So, here I am in Japan, sitting down at my computer starting my very first blog. I know. I know. As a writer, I should have started a blog a long time ago.

I was trying to determine just exactly how I ended up here, and I guess I can say that I'm here now because about 9 years ago, I was feeling a little down--not quite totally depressed, but, you know, just not feeling very happy. I was wondering what life was all about... why bad things happen... why good things don't. Maybe you've been there before... Anyway, I was feeling a little down, so I wrote a story. Sometimes, for me, writing is good therapy. I had no idea at the time how this little story would steer my life into a totally new direction.

In January of 2008, my story, A Wonderful Thing , was published in Japan by Sogo Horei Publishing Company . About 8 months after that, I was working for Sogo Horei and living in Tokyo. One thing led to another, and now I'm working as a writer for Palkids . It just goes to show that there is a reason for everything. Life is most certainly a mysterious and wonderful thing.