We made our downpayments to join a group of JETs traveling to the Phillipines in March. The plan is to spend one week building houses with HFH, and one week lounging/sightseeing. How exciting!
http://www.habitat.org/ap/
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
"The Horse Bones" -- Peacemaking Music
I have been rehearsing with a small group of musicians for an upcoming performance on Culture Day, this Saturday the 3rd. The leader of the group is an English teacher at a nearby school. Although I don`t understand much of what we sing (in Japanese), it is peace that we sing about. I will be performing `Blowing in the Wind` and `The Water is Wide/Though I May Speak` (in English).
`Though I May Speak with Bravest Fire` is a song out of the UU hymnal, to the tune of `Water is Wide`. The first two verses are very Buddhist, I think:
Though I may speak with bravest fire
And have the gift to all inspire
And have not love, my words are vain,
As sounding brass, and hopeless gain.
Though I may give all I possess,
And striving so my love profess,
But not be given by love within,
The profit soon turns strangely thin.
It is a pleasure to sing for something I believe in. I miss you, Mo, RCA, and Portland UUs!!!!!
Tomakomai Temple
While in Tomakomai last weekend, we randomly stopped to take photos of a HUGE temple. A monk, driving into the compound in his little K-car, invited us in to take a look. It was one of the most incredible experiences I have had in Japan, yet. He spent about an hour showing us the temple, trying out the giant singing bowl, ringing a huge wooden bell-like thing, playing taiko drums, and teaching us how to sit zazen for meditation. The tatami mats in the temple were soft, green and shiny. The golden hanging chandaliers were spectacular fire-breathing dragons. The buddahs were diverse and lovely. And in the air was a feeling of sacredness that I have deeply missed. I was overwhelmed to be in a house of worship/meditation again.
We learned that if you rub the Buddah on the body part where you have illness, you could be healed. If only I`d known that a couple months ago. . .
And the Buddhist temple has a Religious Education program! Below are some Buddahs that the children colored. Hooray for RE!
Halloween in Japan
Halloween lasted a long time here. Because I am one of the token foreigners, I was expected to host/coordinate/enjoy Halloween parties ALL MONTH LONG. I now feel an expert on the history and traditions of this holiday.
I'll attach some pics of the halloween parties around town (with the kids)
And some pics that I took, on October 31, of a Japanese graveyard.
I'll attach some pics of the halloween parties around town (with the kids)
And some pics that I took, on October 31, of a Japanese graveyard.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Autumn in Hokkaido
What's the weather like, you ask?
Hokkaido is the northern-most of Japan's four main islands. Although the islands are all very near eachother, Hokkaido is on a completely different air stream, direct from Siberia. So while my friends in Honshu are wearing sweaters or light jackets, I wear a wool hat and winter coat every day. All October we've used the heater in evenings and early mornings. I take a nasty but effective Chinese medicine to help my circulation. And wear multiple sweaters.
The autumn colors have been spectacular. We have been graced with shades of gold, crimson, firey orange, brilliant red. . . I took the waterfall pic Oct 7, and the shrine gates on Oct 13. And the next two at the end of October.
And oh!, the mountains ringing our valley are all snow-capped. It is breathtaking and, admittedly, intimidating. I know winter is coming very soon, and for a long time. The first snowfall in town was October 12, but nothing serious yet. http://www.snowjapan.com/e/daily/furano-now.php
The trees in our town have been ruthlessly pruned to their trunks. The bushes are wrapped in winter bindings, so they won't break under the impending snowdrifts. Those on the first floor will put plywood against their windows so the piles of snow don't crash through the glass. People have already put snowtires on their cars (required for all vehicles). All kinds of winter goods are for sale, though we don't know what is necessary: shoe-racks for our snowy boots, extra blankets to lay on the floor, foam sealants for every window/door. . .
Last week the yukimushi (snowbugs) visited Furano. Apparently their arrival means we should expect snow very soon.
Hokkaido is the northern-most of Japan's four main islands. Although the islands are all very near eachother, Hokkaido is on a completely different air stream, direct from Siberia. So while my friends in Honshu are wearing sweaters or light jackets, I wear a wool hat and winter coat every day. All October we've used the heater in evenings and early mornings. I take a nasty but effective Chinese medicine to help my circulation. And wear multiple sweaters.
The autumn colors have been spectacular. We have been graced with shades of gold, crimson, firey orange, brilliant red. . . I took the waterfall pic Oct 7, and the shrine gates on Oct 13. And the next two at the end of October.
And oh!, the mountains ringing our valley are all snow-capped. It is breathtaking and, admittedly, intimidating. I know winter is coming very soon, and for a long time. The first snowfall in town was October 12, but nothing serious yet. http://www.snowjapan.com/e/daily/furano-now.php
The trees in our town have been ruthlessly pruned to their trunks. The bushes are wrapped in winter bindings, so they won't break under the impending snowdrifts. Those on the first floor will put plywood against their windows so the piles of snow don't crash through the glass. People have already put snowtires on their cars (required for all vehicles). All kinds of winter goods are for sale, though we don't know what is necessary: shoe-racks for our snowy boots, extra blankets to lay on the floor, foam sealants for every window/door. . .
Last week the yukimushi (snowbugs) visited Furano. Apparently their arrival means we should expect snow very soon.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Ocean, at Last!
Although we live on an island, we finally made out first trip to the coast this past weekend. We visited the city of Tomakomai, known for shopping, bars, and curry ramen. The ramen was awesome.
Tomakomai is on the southern edge of Hokkaido. I wondered if I would be able to see the shore of Honshu just south of Hokkaido, but I wasn`t. The waves were suprisingly small, but the sound of the crash was a comfort. We were so happy just to be there. An ocean sunset always takes my breath away.
The most significant disappointment was the environmental quality of the beaches we visited. Tomakomai has a paper mill which chokes the air with pollution. The city`s river, running toward the ocean, leaves garbage littering the riverbanks. And the beach was. . . cement. Large cement blocks, shaped like jacks, are positioned just off the coast in order to protect the beach from further erosion. Very little sand remains, although we did find a few lovely shells. Fishing ropes and garbage litter the cement blocks.
None-the-less, Hayden, Nick and I were very happy to be at the coast for a breath of fresh air. We needed it.
Kimono 101
This past weekend I had an opportunity to take a Kimono class from a classical Kimono school. It was amazing! We were able to try on a kimono (formal, restrictive, usually silk, always gorgeous) and a yukata (traditionally worn in summer, more casual). There were many to choose from and the colors are amazing. I am suprised at how restricive the dress is: so many layers of fabric, wrapped around the waist, made it very difficult to stand/sit/move. They wore this every day!?
After the class I visited a second-hand store and purchased some obis (the belt for the kimono), on sale. This could be addictive.
Goodbye, Audrey
What times we had! The thrill of the open road! Freedom to explore Hokkaido! National parks and farmers markets all within reach! Alas. . .
Nick and I were in a rather serious car accident last Wednesday morning on the way to catch the train to Sapporo. We are both okay but had some whiplash. The hospital gave me meds (painkillers and muscle relaxant and some weird topical patch things to wear). It was really scary and our car is a total loss. The whole process of junking the car is very expensive, and although I do have insurance it will not cover my car or med expenses (!>#%&). OUCH. But my supervisor, once again, was a hero and came to help us minutes after the crash. We are healed now and feeling fine, although upset about totaling our car.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Artistic Attempts
This month I have been expanding my activities to include visual arts. What a treat!
I have signed up for a weekly ikebana (flower arranging) class, in the very traditional Ikenobo style. Ikebana isn't like American-style flower-arranging, which my teacher calls "gorgeous" (but means to say, "too much"). It's sparse-looking yet very complex. lIkebana is an art that all Japanese women were required to learn, in the past.
The teacher of the ikebana course (a tiny woman of at least 80) will also teach a Tea Ceremony class later this month, to which I am invited. An honor!
And this week I started embroidering a quilt piece with a group of older ladies. Each week in our town library, a rotating art dislpay is featured. This week featured spectacular quilts from all over the world. They have a table set up for locals to try their hand at the embroidering. Makes me think of Grandma Isabelle!
I have also had numerous opportunities to sing in Furano.
At the favorite watering hole of many Furano English-speakers, Nick and I were asked to lead in singing "Imagine". That song is always inspiring.
And often in classes I sing with the students. Today with elementary students it was "Head Shoulders Knees & Toes" and "If You're Happy and You Know It". With one particularly cool peace-nic teacher at a junior high, we sing songs like "Blowin in the Wind" and "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing". I have also sung Backstreet Boys songs, but let's not mention that. . .
Next weekend some of my vocal recordings will be part of a school ceremony. I sang an old Girl Scout song in both English and Japanese. The words are:
Make new friends but keep the old.
One is sliver and the other gold.
I have signed up for a weekly ikebana (flower arranging) class, in the very traditional Ikenobo style. Ikebana isn't like American-style flower-arranging, which my teacher calls "gorgeous" (but means to say, "too much"). It's sparse-looking yet very complex. lIkebana is an art that all Japanese women were required to learn, in the past.
Ikenobo ikebana includes line, movement and color. All three elements must be within the arrangement. For example, in the one above dated 3/3/08, the 'line' is the spiky leaves, the curved 'movement' is the white flowers, and the 'color' is the yellow and pink.
And this week I started embroidering a quilt piece with a group of older ladies. Each week in our town library, a rotating art dislpay is featured. This week featured spectacular quilts from all over the world. They have a table set up for locals to try their hand at the embroidering. Makes me think of Grandma Isabelle!
I have also had numerous opportunities to sing in Furano.
At the favorite watering hole of many Furano English-speakers, Nick and I were asked to lead in singing "Imagine". That song is always inspiring.
And often in classes I sing with the students. Today with elementary students it was "Head Shoulders Knees & Toes" and "If You're Happy and You Know It". With one particularly cool peace-nic teacher at a junior high, we sing songs like "Blowin in the Wind" and "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing". I have also sung Backstreet Boys songs, but let's not mention that. . .
Next weekend some of my vocal recordings will be part of a school ceremony. I sang an old Girl Scout song in both English and Japanese. The words are:
Make new friends but keep the old.
One is sliver and the other gold.
Top Questions
Most common questions from my Japanese students:
1. Do you have a 'rubber'? (that is, do you have a Lover?) - Yes.
2. How tall are you? - Guess. . . .
3. Do you eat sushi? - Yes. Lots of people eat sushi in America.
4. Do you eat natto? - Yes, but I don't like it.
5. Can you use chopsticks? - Yes.
6. How tall are you? - Um, the same height as you.
7. Sign, please. (this means they want me to give them an autograph. I sign dozens every day for excited students. Multiple for each. Where do they keep their collections of gaijin autographs?)
8. What is your favorite color? - (I change it daily to trip them up.)
9. Are you from America? (apparently all foreigners, uniformly, are assumed to be from the USA) - Yes. Nebraska-shu, Omaha-shi.
10. What is your favorite Japanese food? - When I reply "umeboshi" everyone is SHOCKED. How could a gaijin appreciate this Japanese delicacy? Unfathomable.
11. Do you eat sushi? Um, yes. With chopsticks.
12. What is your blood type? - I don't know. To this, the children gasp. Apparently they consider it absolutely frightening and unsafe to NOT know. There is also a tradition of believing people's personality traits can be attributed to their blood type, like we use horoscopes.
13. A common question from adults: How long are you visiting Japan?
The kids are a delight, but it sure is a unique experience to be likened to a 'movie star'. When I lived in South Africa the kids would climb all over me, sing for me, dance around me. . . but they didn't ask for autographs or squeal if I blinked. Yet their curiosity is charming. Japanese children seem to be more open-minded and warm-hearted than their parents -- but I wonder if this isn't the case for all children everywhere?
1. Do you have a 'rubber'? (that is, do you have a Lover?) - Yes.
2. How tall are you? - Guess. . . .
3. Do you eat sushi? - Yes. Lots of people eat sushi in America.
4. Do you eat natto? - Yes, but I don't like it.
5. Can you use chopsticks? - Yes.
6. How tall are you? - Um, the same height as you.
7. Sign, please. (this means they want me to give them an autograph. I sign dozens every day for excited students. Multiple for each. Where do they keep their collections of gaijin autographs?)
8. What is your favorite color? - (I change it daily to trip them up.)
9. Are you from America? (apparently all foreigners, uniformly, are assumed to be from the USA) - Yes. Nebraska-shu, Omaha-shi.
10. What is your favorite Japanese food? - When I reply "umeboshi" everyone is SHOCKED. How could a gaijin appreciate this Japanese delicacy? Unfathomable.
11. Do you eat sushi? Um, yes. With chopsticks.
12. What is your blood type? - I don't know. To this, the children gasp. Apparently they consider it absolutely frightening and unsafe to NOT know. There is also a tradition of believing people's personality traits can be attributed to their blood type, like we use horoscopes.
13. A common question from adults: How long are you visiting Japan?
The kids are a delight, but it sure is a unique experience to be likened to a 'movie star'. When I lived in South Africa the kids would climb all over me, sing for me, dance around me. . . but they didn't ask for autographs or squeal if I blinked. Yet their curiosity is charming. Japanese children seem to be more open-minded and warm-hearted than their parents -- but I wonder if this isn't the case for all children everywhere?
You Should Know About: Events in Burma
A Letter from Burma: Witness to Enduring Protest
[Note: The friend of a member of the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee shared this information with the UUSC. The writer is currently in Burma.]
October 6, 2007
Dear Friends,
The events of the past weeks are shocking, barbaric, and unbelievable.
I was moved to tears to see the overwhelming support of the international community, especially since today, Saturday, is the Support the Monks' Protest in Burma Day. I wish the people in Burma had access to the news to know how many millions around the world are gathering in solidarity. I will most certainly relay this message of support upon my return. Information has been cut off to most of the country. Some people have been arrested for listening to the BBC and VOA.
I am aware that the news coverage of Burma has declined over the past days. This is primarily because the Internet was shut down. The BBC received 20,000 images in one day, they received but 12 the next, when the government shut down the Internet for the entire country. The violence has not stopped. So many are being taken away at night, beaten, and detained. I have eyewitness accounts from several Burmese saying that the violence is continuing in neighborhoods during the night. These incidents aren't being photographed because only the soldiers are allowed on the streets during curfew hours.
Here are a few stories that aren't making the news:
One man I know posted negative images of the regime on his blog and escaped just before the authorities came to his house. He and his family are safe, back home in Korea.
Demonstrators identified in the international news such as CNN and the BBC are being arrested at night, beaten, and taken away. One long-haired Burmese man seen on the BBC is in hiding. He came in the middle of the night to my friend's house, asking that he cut his hair to hide his identity.
The monasteries are empty. We don't know for sure where the monks are.
Many of the wounded demonstrators came to a health clinic I know about. The army demanded that they board it up within 10 minutes or they would be arrested. A friend saw several corpses, and many arrests are still being made at night in the houses of her neighborhood.
The hardest thing to deal with right now is the lack of reliable information and the complete lock down of the Internet, which has been down for over a week. Though all the major news items of the past weeks have happened within a mile or so of my house, the lack of information/news journalism is paralyzing. The paradox is that we continue with our daily life: we still go to school and to the fruit market, passing truckloads of armed soldiers.
Life, strangely, goes on, which seems, somehow, so very surreal, as if we're all dreaming.
Through it all, we have been deeply moved by the brave in heart, the demonstrators and monks who risked their lives for peace. The exuberance of the Burmese people in the streets those first few days of mass demonstrations was palpable; it was as if a weight had been lifted off of the country: everyone was happy, and smiling in the streets. The lid of oppression had been temporarily lifted. It was so inspiring to see the demonstrations and to see the people standing up in unity after all these years.
One of my friends was a teacher at the University of Rangoon during the 1988 uprising. She saw all her students taken away. Though I long for home, I want to be a witness for what is happening. Just being here matters.
I strive to be like the monks in the streets by being as peaceful as I possibly can. As truckloads of soldiers roam the streets, I look at their faces. Some of them are terrified, having been forced to join the armed forces. They are asked to "kill or be killed."
We are all assessing the risk factors and are being pushed outside of our comfort zones in these times. We are taking calculated risks. We are not discouraged by the suppression of the demonstrations; there is a deep, deep dissatisfaction among the people that still remains. Over the past two decades hundreds of thousands have died in struggles to create independence and democracy, and it is not over.
Many of you have called or e-mailed asking how you can help.
One way to help is keeping informed and spreading the word about what is happening in this country. The Internet offers much better commentary than the television media, with many support groups forming overnight to organize campaigns and peace vigils.
Please forgive the somber note of this letter. I'm usually much more upbeat and optimistic. But, I'm finding it difficult to be cheery these days, and I walk around with a deep, deep sadness for the nation of Burma and the people who I love so dearly.
Thanks for your prayers and support,
In Peace,
(Anonymous)
[Note: The friend of a member of the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee shared this information with the UUSC. The writer is currently in Burma.]
October 6, 2007
Dear Friends,
The events of the past weeks are shocking, barbaric, and unbelievable.
I was moved to tears to see the overwhelming support of the international community, especially since today, Saturday, is the Support the Monks' Protest in Burma Day. I wish the people in Burma had access to the news to know how many millions around the world are gathering in solidarity. I will most certainly relay this message of support upon my return. Information has been cut off to most of the country. Some people have been arrested for listening to the BBC and VOA.
I am aware that the news coverage of Burma has declined over the past days. This is primarily because the Internet was shut down. The BBC received 20,000 images in one day, they received but 12 the next, when the government shut down the Internet for the entire country. The violence has not stopped. So many are being taken away at night, beaten, and detained. I have eyewitness accounts from several Burmese saying that the violence is continuing in neighborhoods during the night. These incidents aren't being photographed because only the soldiers are allowed on the streets during curfew hours.
Here are a few stories that aren't making the news:
One man I know posted negative images of the regime on his blog and escaped just before the authorities came to his house. He and his family are safe, back home in Korea.
Demonstrators identified in the international news such as CNN and the BBC are being arrested at night, beaten, and taken away. One long-haired Burmese man seen on the BBC is in hiding. He came in the middle of the night to my friend's house, asking that he cut his hair to hide his identity.
The monasteries are empty. We don't know for sure where the monks are.
Many of the wounded demonstrators came to a health clinic I know about. The army demanded that they board it up within 10 minutes or they would be arrested. A friend saw several corpses, and many arrests are still being made at night in the houses of her neighborhood.
The hardest thing to deal with right now is the lack of reliable information and the complete lock down of the Internet, which has been down for over a week. Though all the major news items of the past weeks have happened within a mile or so of my house, the lack of information/news journalism is paralyzing. The paradox is that we continue with our daily life: we still go to school and to the fruit market, passing truckloads of armed soldiers.
Life, strangely, goes on, which seems, somehow, so very surreal, as if we're all dreaming.
Through it all, we have been deeply moved by the brave in heart, the demonstrators and monks who risked their lives for peace. The exuberance of the Burmese people in the streets those first few days of mass demonstrations was palpable; it was as if a weight had been lifted off of the country: everyone was happy, and smiling in the streets. The lid of oppression had been temporarily lifted. It was so inspiring to see the demonstrations and to see the people standing up in unity after all these years.
One of my friends was a teacher at the University of Rangoon during the 1988 uprising. She saw all her students taken away. Though I long for home, I want to be a witness for what is happening. Just being here matters.
I strive to be like the monks in the streets by being as peaceful as I possibly can. As truckloads of soldiers roam the streets, I look at their faces. Some of them are terrified, having been forced to join the armed forces. They are asked to "kill or be killed."
We are all assessing the risk factors and are being pushed outside of our comfort zones in these times. We are taking calculated risks. We are not discouraged by the suppression of the demonstrations; there is a deep, deep dissatisfaction among the people that still remains. Over the past two decades hundreds of thousands have died in struggles to create independence and democracy, and it is not over.
Many of you have called or e-mailed asking how you can help.
One way to help is keeping informed and spreading the word about what is happening in this country. The Internet offers much better commentary than the television media, with many support groups forming overnight to organize campaigns and peace vigils.
Please forgive the somber note of this letter. I'm usually much more upbeat and optimistic. But, I'm finding it difficult to be cheery these days, and I walk around with a deep, deep sadness for the nation of Burma and the people who I love so dearly.
Thanks for your prayers and support,
In Peace,
(Anonymous)
You Should Know About: Chaos in Congo
The following article excerpts are from the NYT: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/07/world/africa/07congo.html?th&emc=th
Eastern Congo is going through another one of its convulsions of violence, and this time it seems that women are being systematically attacked on a scale never before seen here. According to the United Nations, 27,000 sexual assaults were reported in 2006 in South Kivu Province alone, and that may be just a fraction of the total number across the country.
“The sexual violence in Congo is the worst in the world,” said John Holmes, the United Nations under secretary general for humanitarian affairs. “The sheer numbers, the wholesale brutality, the culture of impunity — it’s appalling.”
While rape has always been a weapon of war, researchers say they fear that Congo’s problem has metastasized into a wider social phenomenon.
“It’s gone beyond the conflict,” said Alexandra Bilak, who has studied various armed groups around Bukavu, on the shores of Lake Kivu. She said that the number of women abused and even killed by their husbands seemed to be going up and that brutality toward women had become “almost normal.”
Eastern Congo is going through another one of its convulsions of violence, and this time it seems that women are being systematically attacked on a scale never before seen here. According to the United Nations, 27,000 sexual assaults were reported in 2006 in South Kivu Province alone, and that may be just a fraction of the total number across the country.
“The sexual violence in Congo is the worst in the world,” said John Holmes, the United Nations under secretary general for humanitarian affairs. “The sheer numbers, the wholesale brutality, the culture of impunity — it’s appalling.”
While rape has always been a weapon of war, researchers say they fear that Congo’s problem has metastasized into a wider social phenomenon.
“It’s gone beyond the conflict,” said Alexandra Bilak, who has studied various armed groups around Bukavu, on the shores of Lake Kivu. She said that the number of women abused and even killed by their husbands seemed to be going up and that brutality toward women had become “almost normal.”
Friday, October 05, 2007
The bodhisattva IT help line
[This is an email forward, but I enjoyed it very much. tk]
The bodhisattva IT help line
Customer Service Rep: Yes, Ma'am, how can I help you today?
Customer: Well, after much consideration, I've decided to install love. Can you guide me through the process?
CS Rep: Yes, I can help you. Are you ready to proceed?
Customer: Well, I'm not very technical, but I think I'm ready to install now. What do I do first?
CS Rep: The first step is to open your HEART. Have you located your HEART ma'am?
Customer: Yes I have, but there are several other programs running right now. Is it okay to install while they are running?
CS Rep: What programs are running ma'am?
Customer: Let's see, I have PAST-HURT.EXE, LOW-ESTEEM.EXE, GRUDGE.EXE, and RESENTMENT.COM running right now.
CS Rep: No problem. LOVE will gradually erase PAST-HURT.EXE from your current operating system. It may remain in your permanent memory, but it will no longer disrupt other programs. LOVE will eventually overwrite LOW-ESTEEM.EXE with a module of its own called HIGH- ESTEEM.EXE. However, you have to completely turn off GRUDGE.EXE and RESENTMENT.COM.
Those programs prevent LOVE from being properly installed. Can you turn those off ma'am?
Customer: I don't know how to turn them off. Can you tell me how?
CS Rep: My pleasure. Go to your Start menu and invoke FORGIVENESS. EXE. Do this as many times as necessary until GRUDGE.EXE and RESENTMENT.COM have been completely erased.
Customer: Okay, done. LOVE has started installing itself automatically. Is that normal?
CS Rep: Yes. You should receive a message that says it will reinstall for the life of your HEART. Do you see that message?
Customer: Yes I do. Is it completely installed?
CS Rep: Yes, but remember that you have only the base program. You need to begin connecting to other Heart's in order to get the upgrades.
Customer: Oops. I have an error message already. What should I do?
CS Rep: What does the message say?
Customer: It says "ERROR 412 - PROGRAM NOT RUN ON INTERNAL COMPONENTS." What does that mean?
CS Rep: Don't worry ma'am, that's a common problem. It means that the LOVE program is set up to run on external HEARTS but has not yet been run on your HEART. It is one of those complicated programming things, but in non-technical terms it means you have to "LOVE" your own machine before it can "LOVE" others.
Customer: So what should I do?
CS Rep: Can you pull down the director y called "SELF-ACCEPTANCE" ?
Customer: Yes, I have it.
CS Rep: Excellent. You're getting good at this.
Customer: Thank you.
CS Rep: You're welcome. Click on the following files and then copy them to the "MYHEART" directory: FORGIVE-SELF. DOC, REALIZE-WORTH. TXT, and ACKNOWLEDGE- LIMITATIONS. DOC. The system will overwrite any conflicting files and begin patching any programming. Also, you need to delete SELF-CRITIC. EXE from all directories, and to make sure it is completely
gone and never comes back, you will need to empty your recycle bin.
Customer: Got it. Hey! My HEART is filling up with new files. SMILE.MPG is playing on my monitor right now and it shows that PEACE.EXE, and CONTENTMENT. NET are copying themselves all over my HEART. Is this normal?
CS Rep: Sometimes. For others it takes a while, but eventually everything gets downloaded at the proper time. So, LOVE is installed and running. You should be able to handle it from here. One more thing before I go.
Customer: Yes?
CS Rep: LOVE is freeware. Be sure to give it and its various modules to everybody you meet. They will in turn share it with other people and they will return some similarly cool modules back to you.
The bodhisattva IT help line
Customer Service Rep: Yes, Ma'am, how can I help you today?
Customer: Well, after much consideration, I've decided to install love. Can you guide me through the process?
CS Rep: Yes, I can help you. Are you ready to proceed?
Customer: Well, I'm not very technical, but I think I'm ready to install now. What do I do first?
CS Rep: The first step is to open your HEART. Have you located your HEART ma'am?
Customer: Yes I have, but there are several other programs running right now. Is it okay to install while they are running?
CS Rep: What programs are running ma'am?
Customer: Let's see, I have PAST-HURT.EXE, LOW-ESTEEM.EXE, GRUDGE.EXE, and RESENTMENT.COM running right now.
CS Rep: No problem. LOVE will gradually erase PAST-HURT.EXE from your current operating system. It may remain in your permanent memory, but it will no longer disrupt other programs. LOVE will eventually overwrite LOW-ESTEEM.EXE with a module of its own called HIGH- ESTEEM.EXE. However, you have to completely turn off GRUDGE.EXE and RESENTMENT.COM.
Those programs prevent LOVE from being properly installed. Can you turn those off ma'am?
Customer: I don't know how to turn them off. Can you tell me how?
CS Rep: My pleasure. Go to your Start menu and invoke FORGIVENESS. EXE. Do this as many times as necessary until GRUDGE.EXE and RESENTMENT.COM have been completely erased.
Customer: Okay, done. LOVE has started installing itself automatically. Is that normal?
CS Rep: Yes. You should receive a message that says it will reinstall for the life of your HEART. Do you see that message?
Customer: Yes I do. Is it completely installed?
CS Rep: Yes, but remember that you have only the base program. You need to begin connecting to other Heart's in order to get the upgrades.
Customer: Oops. I have an error message already. What should I do?
CS Rep: What does the message say?
Customer: It says "ERROR 412 - PROGRAM NOT RUN ON INTERNAL COMPONENTS." What does that mean?
CS Rep: Don't worry ma'am, that's a common problem. It means that the LOVE program is set up to run on external HEARTS but has not yet been run on your HEART. It is one of those complicated programming things, but in non-technical terms it means you have to "LOVE" your own machine before it can "LOVE" others.
Customer: So what should I do?
CS Rep: Can you pull down the director y called "SELF-ACCEPTANCE" ?
Customer: Yes, I have it.
CS Rep: Excellent. You're getting good at this.
Customer: Thank you.
CS Rep: You're welcome. Click on the following files and then copy them to the "MYHEART" directory: FORGIVE-SELF. DOC, REALIZE-WORTH. TXT, and ACKNOWLEDGE- LIMITATIONS. DOC. The system will overwrite any conflicting files and begin patching any programming. Also, you need to delete SELF-CRITIC. EXE from all directories, and to make sure it is completely
gone and never comes back, you will need to empty your recycle bin.
Customer: Got it. Hey! My HEART is filling up with new files. SMILE.MPG is playing on my monitor right now and it shows that PEACE.EXE, and CONTENTMENT. NET are copying themselves all over my HEART. Is this normal?
CS Rep: Sometimes. For others it takes a while, but eventually everything gets downloaded at the proper time. So, LOVE is installed and running. You should be able to handle it from here. One more thing before I go.
Customer: Yes?
CS Rep: LOVE is freeware. Be sure to give it and its various modules to everybody you meet. They will in turn share it with other people and they will return some similarly cool modules back to you.
Pics in Place!
Finally managed to post some pics on this blog, altho I am having trouble positioning them correctly. But you can look back at old posts and view pics from our first two months in Japan. Enjoy!
Thursday, October 04, 2007
Fun Japanese Websites
http://www.quirkyjapan.or.tv/ The name says it all.
http://www.shukubo.jp/eng/index.html You can stay overnight at temples/shrines.
http://hokkaidoguide.com/ Much of the contents of this page are sponsored, but the maps are awesome.
http://www.shukubo.jp/eng/index.html You can stay overnight at temples/shrines.
http://hokkaidoguide.com/ Much of the contents of this page are sponsored, but the maps are awesome.
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