The mystery of three stones (Dec, 27)

 

The mystery of three stones.
 

  This morning, when I got to my school, I took a picture of an interesting composition of three stones at the parking lot. I noticed them a couple of months ago, but this morning, in the slanting beams of morning sun those stone objects looked even nicer than usual, and I couldn't resist to take a snap shot.     Three stones, each of them is a little bigger than a fist, are sitting on a small cement pedestal. The whole composition looks like "Uganjyu", a prayer spot on Okinawa. Each of the stones has a description on the base. The first stone marked as "Bijyuru-Gami", the second - "Yo-Gusai-Gami", the third - "Kuni-Gusai-Gami". "Gami" or "Kami" means "god", so that is obvious that stones symbolize stone idols. But those three signs didn't tell me much about particular details.  

   I found some information about "Bijyuru" gods. "Bijyuru" or "Binzuru" is a name of one of the sixteen Buddist saints, Rakans (arhans). "Binzuru" means "Immobility" or "Firmness". I knew also that Okinawa Island has 91 places of worship this stone god Binzuru. It's believed that Binzuru protects from nature disasters and illness, helps to conceive or to raise healthy children, and also provides safe sailing or travelling by land (safe driving in our time).        

   I could't translate the other two. The word "Yo" means "Generation", "Kuni" means "Country" or "Kingdom", but the second syllable "Gusai" is still a puzzle for me. I am going to do more serious research at the library about stone idols. Today I just want to guess, why the school of professional training from the deparment of employment security office might have such a spot for praying? (Praying for a new job? - my friend suggesting!)         

   The most popular prayer there should be "safe labor, high wages, full benefits". Putting this in ancient words, it could be like this "peace, prosperity and protection".     

   Okinawa islands are full of legends and prayer spots. Trees are believed to be very powerful and protective, and it's really nice indeed to take a walk in the park under soothing green branches. The smell of trees and wet soil is very relaxing. On the other hand, rocks and caves are considered to have dark power and sometimes they could be even agressive! They can make you feel uncomfortable if you came with some rejecting thoughts.     

   I wonder what kind of energy is enclosed in those three stones? They look very friendly to me.

      

Dreaming about the ultimate CAD software (December, 26)

Dreaming about the ultimate CAD software.

What do you do first, when you open a new software (program application)?  Do you try to imagine what can you create with it from scratch, and how easily it could be done? Do you check all the menus, all the operations or options in drop-down lists? What is the most important for you in the program's interface, a simple wizard or plenty of toolbars with colorful buttons? What would be a “user-friendly” design for you?

I think that among millions of appications we use now, there is no particular software which could be called really "user-friendly".
You can't use most applications intuitively. For example, if you are going to create a drawing, you can't use CAD as easily as you use your pencil and ruler.

So-called "user-friendly" applications don't learn user's habits. On the contrary, they make us, users, to adjust to the software rules, remember how to use it, and know all the settings and options. It can pretty much be called "brainwashing".

And there is the biggest delusion about "user-friendly" programs. It comes from advanced
users who have mastered some common software, like Microsoft Office, or Adobe  Photoshop etc.
When you have gotten or have become used to some particular software and can use it like your right hand, you start to think just like developers, who created the program. And when you try to use something new, which has something in common with programs you already have mastered,
you think that this new program is "user-friendly", because you know in general how to use it.

I tried to imagine the ultimate program, for example, CAD for drawings and 3D design.
What would it be like, and what is the best way for? the operation?
I would probably prefer to use my fingertips instead of mouse or keyboard. This function is already has been realized on most tablets. But also in the case of CAD it would be nice to draw on several tablets at the same time, designing small details on one screen and checking the whole picture on another.
In addition, it would be easier to operate help and menus with voice. And last, the most important thing for me, if the camera could scan some object and converse it to the 3D model on the screen, you could easily create and modify so many things that already exsist. There are more things that need modifying
rather than developing from scratch. You can’t invent a bicycle, but you can improve its design and
functionality.

For those who create music, audio scan and converting into score could also be helpful.
Again, if you connect several tablets into one system, you could have your own orchestra.
For me, scanning, voice recognition and operating several devices simultaneously are the keywords for my vision of ultimate software (in the scope of present technologies, of course).

I think we will say goodbye soon to "windows", "dialog boxes", keyboards and mice.
Instead of that we will have more "skinship" with our devices and gadgets in more intuitive (or intimate?) way. And in the end those devices, connected into one network by the same software or application, could have their own algorythm of dealing with their users (i.e. some kind of artificial intelligence). And then it will be our turn to be “application-friendly” users!

Saying goodbye to the old apartment (December, 24)

Saying goodbye to the old apartment.


There is an old apartment building in our city, white with blue lines. Its design with sharp edges of balconies reminds you of a big ship. I have lived there for two and a half years.


At first, it used to be my second home and place to work. I rented a quiet two-bedroom apartment on the first floor. I went there during the day and did my software development work. Also it was good for practicing music on sanshin. I think my neighbors liked my singing, because nobody complained about that. Well, I didn’t dare to ask their opinion, too.


My friends, who came to visit Okinawa, also stayed there for summer. Thanks to them, my old apartment became more comfy. They bought some kitchen appliances, curtains and other homey stuff. I tried to stay there overnight and liked it. I start to spend more and more time there.


Finally I moved there with my younger son. He also liked the atmosphere of the apartment. What was so good about it? First of all, it had very high ceiling, three porches on each side, spacious living room and two cosy bedrooms. Second, in the morning you could listen to the birds chirping outside. From the main porch you could see huge grass field. Everthing was quiet and inspiring for creative work.


I always saw interesting and colorful dreams in my cosy japanese bedroom. In the morning sunlight came just into my window! The name of the apartment was "Asahi Homes", which meant "Apartments of Morning Sun".


After I spent a year there, some things had started to change for the worse. A bar was open nearby, so the voices of young male waiters, greeting their customers, could be heard until 1 or 2 in the morning. Next, the beautiful and pristine lot in front of my main porch, full of grass, flowers and butterflies, finally found its new owner. And the owner cut the grass, brought tons of gravel and cement, and in two months he created an enormous, dusty and ugly parking lot just in front of my windows.


My apartment of "Morning Sun" was also sold to a new owner, who changed its name to "Da-Kapo Maeda" after some ancient rock or pop group of 80’s. I didn't like the new name. My eldest son, full of irony, renamed the place to "Dasahi", combining two names, old and new. In Japanese "Dasai" means "Ugly", or "Rustic", or "Old-Fashioned". It was a good word, describing how bad the new name sounded for us, liking our "Asahi".


Soon my apartment became covered with green and black mold. It was because of the new parking lot outside. It was never dry, the gravel and cement absorbed all rains and underground wetness and kept the humidity level very high. It was time to move somewhere else. When I mentioned it to my new landlord, he offered me to move on the fourth floor of the same building. The ceiling there was normal, not high, and rooms weren't so spacious, but the rent was much cheaper. I also liked the view from the roof. I moved there and started my new chapter of my life in "Dasahi".


The landlord decided to demolish my first apartment on the first floor, because the humidity was just awful, and probably nobody would want to live there. Instead of renting my old apartment they created a parking lot for six cars. It was weird to look at my old spot, where I used to sleep or work, now demolished and covered with cement.

The second apartment had a problem, too. The ceiling was covered with pop-corn painting, and it started to fall down like snow. I asked the landlord to scour it off and re-paint again. In a few months the second apartment became comfy and nice. It was quiet and full of sun. The roof balcony was good for observing moon and stars and for playing sanshin outside.


This year I moved to condo, which I bought a year ago. My family is back together, but all of us just keep doing our own stuff. Condo has a lot of rooms, so everyone is happy having their own space. It is now finally time to say goodbye to my old apartment.


Tomorrow I will hand over the keys to the owner and all will be memories!

Good timing is everything... (December, 21)

Good timing is everything...

   This summer, when I moved to my new condo, I had to bring 3 cars with me, while the condo parking lot was designed to park up to two cars parallelly in a row, like a ROM memory  - first in, last out.

   I easily thought that I could find a third parking spot somewhere in the neighborhood. Meanwhile I was going to park three cars in a row putting their bumpers as closer to each other as possible.

   First of all, it wasn't easy to find a spot nearby. When I was walking my dog, I checked all parking signs, made a lot of phone calls, but it was all in vain. No vacancies at all.

   It was also hard to park all three cars or, when some stubborn member of our family wanted to drive his own car, and it was unfortunatelly the first one to enter the parking and, eventually, the last one to go out, all three owners of our cars had to go downstairs and rearrange cars in the right order. We had a lot of problems. Usually, in a normal family we could even share cars and we wouldn't need three of them. But if we put our needs, abilities and wishes on the chart, it would be like this. We have a compact Toyota Porte, a small Suzuki and a very expensive French Renault.

The oldest driver - he can drive any car but he prefers only his French baby and hates any domestic japanese cars.

Me - I can drive any car but I don't like to be responsible for the French baby, because if I scratched her, the oldest driver will pursue me to the end of my days.

The youngest driver - he can drive any car but we don't allow him to drive anything but the old Porte, our scapegoat, full of scratches and dents.

With those complications we can’t easily share each other’s cars.

   So when I go out, it doesn't matter what to drive. But when the youngest is going to drive, and his car is in the end of the row, that's the problem.

   While we were parking our mini fleet in one row, we got a complaint from some jealous neighbor of our condo, that we should obey the rules and park

designated quantity of cars within designated white lines...

   When a landlords committee representatives came to me to deliver the complaint in person, I was going to ask them for their professional help with getting a good parking spot nearby. But actually they came to me with the same offer. They found one park spot for my small Suzuki, just 7 min walk from the condo. 

   I made a call to that realtor and made an appointment. The only thing I didn't like about it was that the one who should park his car far from condo was me, because the spot was skinny, and only my precious Suzuki could fit there. But I had no choice. Next day I went to the realtor to sign a contract.

When I stepped inside their office, the old lady was talking on the phone. I quietly waited. When she hung up and turned to me, I was surprised by her

words. She said, that a good parking space near my condo just became free, because the customer who rented it, just called them.

   Due to rental rules the better spot will be available to rent starting on February. But still it was good, because until February I can just park my Suzuki outside and then, when I switch to the closer spot, which is good for any car, I could ask other members of our family to take turns parking there. So my small baby Suzuki finally will rest at the condo parking spot, protected from bad weather.

   It was really good timing to go to the realtor. Recently there were several new condos built in our area, and parking lots within walking range all became full. Okinawan families have at least! two cars for the family and they need extra parking space for their numerous relatives who come to visit on weekends and holidays.

Conquering my insomnia (December, 20)

Conquering my insomnia

   I just finished writing about being sleepy in the daytime. Today I will describe the other side of the problem - sleeping good at night.

   I don't think that I'm the only person in the world who has problems with sleep. Our lifestyle, especially with a lot of information coming from our electronic gadgets, affects our biorhythm, so our brain is still active when it’s time to get rest. Writing this post, I only want to share my experience and some solutions I found, and I also want to describe one of my projects related to sleep.

   When I try to sleep I care about proper light and good back-ground music. I like when light dims gradually, until it turns off. Also I like to listen to some slow music or audio books. BGM and proper lighting help me to relax and get sleepy. The problem is how to turn off my music player or light in my room after I have successfully fallen asleep. I could use a timer on my light but if I set it for 30 minutes it would bother me thinking about how much time was left for it to turn off. My music player doesn’t even have a function of turning off after certain time.

   While I was thinking about how to solve those problems, the teacher in my programming school gave us a task - to invent an idea of some small, useful, and easy to build home device which could be controlled by a micro-computer. That's when I thought about my “Sleep-o-matic” robot! It could have color LED lights to create soft, dispersed light in my bedroom. It could also have speakers to play my audiobooks, slow music, or some sounds of nature - the rustle of trees or sound of the surf. I could also implement a movement sensor inside it, so my robot will know when I slept, because when people fall asleep they don’t turn over for a while. So my robot could wait until my first turn over and switch off light and sound. In addition, it could have an alarm function to wake me up in the morning with the sound of chirping birds.

   I’m going to announce my idea tomorrow. I hope my classmates will like it and join my sleep-o-matic team!

Good night to everyone. Don’t forget to turn off the lights and music!

Conquering my drowsiness (December, 19)

Conquering my drowsiness December, 19

   If you ask me what is the hardest part for me in attending my programming school I wouldn't mention difficulties in learning two programming languages within 8 weeks or spending 6 long hours at the school all weekdays. The hardest part to handle is my persistent drowsiness during

the lessons. When I have good sleep at night, I get a little bit sleepy only in the afternoon, just a couple of hours before my school ends. It's relatively easy to overcome that. But when I had a busy evening doing some work on the computer and as a result went to sleep later than usual, I suffer a lot on the next day. I drive to school hardly keeping myself awake, sit at the lessons and try to focus on studying but my sleepy hell

continues all the day. And it disappears only when I go to bed, when I need to be sleepy!

   I read about several methods on how to help staying awake. The first one is very old but reliable - to bring a thermos filled with strong black coffee and drink it at school during breaks. It helps to keep your head clear but the drawback of drugging myself with caffeine is also huge. You spend all the day at high tension, with your heartbeat pounding in your head, but in the end you're worn out and yet not sleepy at all when it's time to rest. The bitter taste is also not my favorite. Coffee reminds me medicine - yes, it works but you have to be ready for its side effects.

   There are some more methods to wake your brain. For example, do some exercises in the fresh air, expose your eyes to bright sunlight. In theory it's supposed to work perfectly. But it didn't work in my case. Walking outside in the soft and warm sunlight makes me feel even more relaxed and sleepy. Working out also makes me tired, so when I return to my class room, my sleepy hell starts to carry me off from reality.

   I read about methods like taking a hot shower or taking a short nap, but it's impossible to practice those at school. Just for a starter, they don't have hot water! And they also don't provide students with pillows and blankets. I laugh imaging students, napping in the class, just right after taking a hot shower!

   But I still feel "proud of myself" because however sleepy I am I can still stay awake, while some of my classmates totally surrender to drowsiness and sleep as if dead right in front of the teacher. Not only do they sleep but also they snore and drool. And that audacity puts me out.

   Unfortunately my neighbor to my right sleeps all the time. Sometimes I try to slam the desk drawer or shut my textbook just to see whether it wakes him up or not. I found out, that his morning sleep is pretty bold. Even our teacher failed to wake him up by calling his name. I wanted to suggest to the teacher to hit the sleeping buddy on his head, but I didn't want to ruin my own reputation, being so bloodthirsty.

   Our "good guy" teacher finally gently patted the sleeping jerk on his shoulder until he woke up. The other teacher, "smart guy" really got mad at my neighbor once, but he didn't touch him at all. After he woke the student by calling his name (more than 10 times, I so wanted to put it to and end by using brute force!), the "smart guy" threatened the jerk in very low voice but in very harsh terms. He described all the consequence and I think that the  threat kept my buddy awake until the end of the day.

   Despite our teacher's hot speech, on the next day, everything was just like before, no improvement. Morpheus won again. Yawn...

The Sunday full of music (December. 18)

The Sunday full of music  (December, 18)

   I waited all week for this Sunday. Last week was pretty tiresome.

It started from saying goodbye to my friend at the airport on last Saturday.

For a couple of days I lived automatically. I lost my taste in doing any kind of

activity. Playing my favorite 3-string instrument (sanshin) was the only thing I could quietly enjoy.

   Everything at school felt frustrating and boring. Visiting my friend, who wanted me to take her big aquarium, in the middle of the week brought some change into dullness of my everyday's routine.

I was looking forward to the weekend, as always. I wanted to stay at home, watching movies, doing some chores. But Saturday turned out to be just another busy day because some unexpected urgent matters needed to be solved, and I ended my precious Saturday driving back and forth, meeting people, making phone calls.

   Sunday was on the same pace but a little bit nicer. I went to two concerts, my son's X'mas concert and

Ryukyu classical music and dance concert performed by Nomura association.

   My son's elementary school together with its related organizations (junior-high school from Nago, Okinawa and high school from Hiroshima) organized a big Christmas charity concert in the biggest concert hall in our city.

   Even kindergarten pre-school kids participated in this event. Teachers and high-school students played the grand piano while the rest of the students sang and danced on the stage. Some songs were acapella, some songs were performed with hand bells only. I was amazed by the highly professional performance.

They put all their soul into the music. High school girls were singing with shining smiles on their faces. It looked really professional indeed! They were very confident and probably enjoyed the singing.

   After that concert I hurried to Naha to the next concert. I was 15 min late but I started to watch from the third number called Nufaa-bushi which was very essential for me to watch. This number is played solo, one person sings and plays the sanshin, another one just accompanies on 13-string instrument called koto. And this number is what I'm practicing right now for my sanshin performance exam. Listening to Nufaa-bushi I thought that I wouldn't be able to play and sing like that, even if I practice every day. But my teacher so wants me to take that exam that I don't want to disappoint disappoint her. I still have a half of a year to practice but I don't think I will pass the exam.

   The rest of the concert was very educative, too. I was listening to the music and thinking about my life in general. Ryukyu classical music always puts me in a trance. I thought about centuries that have passed since that music was composed. I tried to imagine what feelings were inside the hearts of ancient people who listened to the same tunes I'm listening to right now. Ryukyu music is not sad, it's rather graceful and soothing. But today I suddenly felt tears in my eyes.

It was a strange nostalgia like I forgot something important and couldn't remember it, while the music was trying to give me a hint.

   When the concert ended I drove home still thinking about the flow of time and my little annoying everyday problems.

   How nice it would be to stop the time and disappear for a while and get away from it all.

Classical music is so powerful, but overdosing might be harmful!

Bitterness was sweetened... (December, 17)

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Bitterness was sweetened... 
   I had a quarrel with my eldest son several days ago. It was really nothing to be mad about, but in the morning when the quarrel arose, we were already agitated,  both of us having a lot of other problems to solve. Only one spark was needed to cause an explosion. The only thing that I did was to mention that I didn't like the way he was talking from behind me. That was enough for us to start yelling at each other. After that my son left the house, slamming the door. 
   When I returned home in the evening, I found out that he hadn't returned home yet. I thought that he might had his part time job after his school, so he probably would return home after 11 pm. I wanted to talk to him again and soothe our feelings. However, even at midnight he didn't come home. I had already started to worry when I remembered him saying to me several days ago about his small research trip to the north with his school group, where they were planning on staying overnight. 
   Finally I slept, hoping that he would return soon on the next day. When the next day came I felt something good in the air. Despite the cold and windy weather, it was a feeling that everything was going to work out the best way. I went to my school, spent a plain day there and returned home. 
  My son came home right after my arrival, looking very happy and well rested. He said that his trip was interesting, they did some social research in the area,  and finally they went to the biggest Okinawan sweets store. He bought plenty of sweets to bring home. 
   The first thing he said to me, while giving me a big colorful box, was that he was sorry about our quarrel and that he wanted to buy something sweet for me to make me feel better. Even knowing his secret motives to put me on his good side again, I still felt happy. 
   It was plain happiness without accepting or denying things which caused our disagreement. Sometimes it's so hard to be a mom of a grown-up son. If I could, I would hold him in my arms, kiss him, and stroke his hair, like I used to do when he was my sweet little baby, and all the problems could be solved that way. But with a boy of age, it’s not so easy to express to him my feelings, both bitter and sweet.

Big drama under the water... (December, 16)

Big drama under the water...

   Two days ago I visited my friend Yulia who lives in Chatan town, close to the school I attend.

Yulia is going to leave Okinawa soon with her new husband Gordon.

They will move to New York in January, where Gordon has his new assignment.

   I didn't visit just to say goodbye. She asked me to "adopt" their tropical fish (the big tank, snails and sea weed are included!) when

they will depart. Before making a decision I needed to know the dimensions of the tank. I also wanted to take a look at the fish, whether or not it was  worth it to bring the whole system into my condo. I left my visit with a good impression. Gordon had definitely spent a fortune on his aquarium set up.

I had also heard of a dramatic story about the "snails" war in the tank, which helped me to make up my mind.

   The story started very plainly. A couple of months ago, Yulia's friend gave her a bunch of "snails" for

the goldfish tank, saying that those creatures will clean the glass by eating the green moss in the tank. I will call the mollusks "snails" because I don't know the correct name for them. 

   Yulia put all of the snails into her big aquarium at the same time, which later turned out to be a crucial mistake. Gordon and Yulia found out pretty soon that snails have very high reproductive potential rate. Soon the tank bottom was filled with small snails and their eggs. Yulia rushed to the nearest tropical fish shop and asked the specialist about what could be done.

   The solution was to buy a bunch of "killer" snails which could eat those reproductive fellas. Yulia purchased the killers squad and put them in the tank.

In a week the tank bottom became covered with empty shells of the original snails. Their eggs were gone for good as well. The problem seemed to be solved. Killer snails occupied the tank bottom and looked so proud of themselves. But who could imagine that killer snails also like to reproduce? Their population started to increase dramatically. The only thing that kept them from total domination

was their lack of food  - the first kind of snails, because the killers nearly ate them all. Now starvation killed almost all of killer snails

but that wasn't the end. Some eggs of the first population managed to survive. Without killers they managed to grow up and reproduce again.

But some of killers survived the starvation, too. So in result they had their food (the first snails) again.

At the moment Yulia showed me her tank, there were representatives of both species, lazily crawling on the tank bottom.

  She said that if I took over her goldfish I would have a chance to observe continuation of the snail survival wars.

It sounds very enthralling, doesn't it? By the way, I must say that the tropical fish in the tank were also  good to have. A couple of big ones, several

small but colorful tiny fish, and one at the bottom, which looks like a small whale. I wish I knew their names! So most likely I would take the tank even without the ongoing snail issues inside it.

I can't wait until January!  

When it's hard to make a choice... 2016-12-15

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2016-12-15
When it's hard to make a choice...
   Today I want to tell you about two teachers whom I met in my school of professional training.
My learning course takes six months during which students study two programming languages, C and Java, and basics about embedded systems on microcomputers. Needless to say that this course requires that teachers have a high level of professional knowledge in a wide field. Our class has two teachers for different disciplines.
   I discovered very soon that both of our teachers have very high skills and experience. It made me confident about enhancing my knowledge. However their ways of teaching are very different from each other. That's why I can't help from comparing them all the time, and today I want to describe both of them.
   First of all, I can't say which one is better. I respect both of them for their dedicated work in our class, especially considering the fact that more than half of the students are not willingly attending the course.
   The first one is "good guy". He is positive in many ways. Having a high-school mathematics teacher as a wife and a son who makes big success in playing baseball in the high school team, he is probably content with his life and proud of his family. His "being-a-good-family-man" lifestyle influences his way of dealing with us - taking care of those who needs his help, and making things right.
His way of teaching is slow but thorough. He doesn't leave any complicated topic in the textbook unattended.
He involves everyone into the depths of a subject. Sometimes his lessons might be boring but they are never complicated or confusing. Everything is clear, and you feel confident and comfortable at the end of the day.
   The other one is "smart guy". It's hard to explain why I put him at the opposite side when comparing them. He is well educated, smart, and polite to students. His lessons are never boring. He doesn't follow the textbook thoroughly as the "good guy" does. He uses textbooks as guidelines and creates his own lesson, flexibly adjusting it to the students level.
He asks questions and keep the audience tense and nervous. Everything looks good.  He is the smartest teacher you could ever imagine. But I don't feel comfortable with his lessons. First of all, however hard you try to accomplish your practice task,
he will always show you a way in which it's better and more optimal. His huge field of experience and maniac attitude toward programming makes him unbreakable. It is interesting that in theory this kind of teacher is supposed to inspire you into studying. However in real life it turns out to be quite different.
   When studying something, you need to acknowledge your small goals. When you are happy about what you have achieved, you can move forward without thinking of how imperfect you still are in this field. Especially when studying language. Even when you are far from a fluent level, you can enjoy short conversations or simple songs.
Small happiness encourages you to keep on going.
In the "smart guy"s case, he never leaves you satisfied about your work. His attitude subconsciously
makes you feel desperate because you can see that your skill is a far cry from the teacher's , and probably you will never be as perfect as he is. I notice that he never says that. I think that the problem is that he can't be on the same level with us while our "good guy" can easily switch to an easier way of explanation when we are not yet familiar with the subject.
   When I compared my progress with these two teachers I surprisingly found out that I have made the same progress with both of them so far. Getting along on good terms with a nice thorough teacher leaves you a bright and clear image of the lessons, while putting up with the super-smart teacher teases your brain and makes you work out some way to challenge him.
Even if I had to make a choice, I probably couldn't choose between them, so it's nice to have them both!
 

Living full life? December, 14



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Living full life? December, 14
   This morning started with the sound of stormy wind blowing through my open window. I even thought that a typhoon suddenly strucke our small island while I was sleeping.
   Well, the weather wasn't that bad when I shut the window. But unpleasant surprises just kept coming to me one after another.
   During my breakfast I tried to make a polite conversation with my elder son, asking him about his student's life. It seems that among three big attributes of full life (war, poverty and love),
he is experiencing only sweet one, and he can't talk about anything else but his precious girlfriend. He started to describe his lover's recent events (which I didn't mind listening to) and I still could put up with the topic.
   But what put me out was his way of talking, standing behind me so I had to look at him over my shoulder.
   When I politely suggested to him that he should move his position to a less painful position for me (i.e. in front of me sitting at the dining table), he suddenly got mad at me, saying that I don't care about him or his girlfriend, and he just hates to continue our talk.
   I stood up, faced him, looked into his eyes, and explained to him that we could sit down together at the table, and that I would love to continue our talk without the risk of choking on my coffee. But he just didn't answer at all, and avoided my eyes. Finally he left the house, slamming the front door.
   The last bad surprise for me was to find out that my dog Amelia got sick. She didn't want to eat, and kept shaking and whining as if she was in pain. I spent all morning trying to help her with drinking water and using the toilet and was almost late for my school.
   The only good thing which made me feel much better was to have a chance to talk to my dear friend on the phone for a couple of minutes before my school started.
   Maybe I am the one who is living full life, having my fights and romance every day.

Make a habit, make time... (December, 13)

(Make a habit, make time...)

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    This morning I was listening to my favorite English course on Youtube.
The teacher was giving tips on how to achieve your goals more efficiently.
Among the several methods there were two that I remembered and agreed with most.

    The first tip was to make a habit of learning English everyday.
So it could be done automatically without forcing yourself into it.
It's like brushing your teeth or take a shower. The teacher also said that
motivation could make you start things, but it's hard to be motivated all the time.
Only a habit could make you keep going to do something continuously.

    The other tip was about difference between having time and making time.
The point was that you should be creative and make some time for
studying  even if you don't have much spare time for that.
Well, I think that I could spare several minutes a day to focus
on learning English. Also, I'm going to make a habit to read English books
out loud before I sleep.

    So I'm making habits, time, and promises,
and not making any excuses for not making those things happen.
I'm also not going to make up any stories about anything that I didn't actually do.

A concert tour to Ishigaki island day 2

Our stay on Ishigaki island was 2 days and 1 night. First day was busy with arrival, rehearsal and night party after the concert. Night party ended past midnight. Okinawan people like parties and making friends over a few jugs of beer or "sake" (Japanese alcoholic drink made of rice).
Second day was full of fun. Among our group there were many people who visited Ishigaki for the first time, like me. For newcomers was scheduled a bus tour with a guide lady.

Nice ocean view from the hotel window.

Day 2 started with a nice view from my window and hot green tea. Breakfast was buffet style down in the hotel's restaurant.

Green tea is good in the morning!

 

Breakfast. Nothing special but fresh and good.

First we visited "Yaeyama palm tree grove", a famous spot of Ishigaki island. This palm tree grove located on the northern coast of Ishigaki, at the base of Mt. Omoto. Palm trees rise to a height of around 10 meters. It was interesting to know that most of that palm trees have age of more than 100 years. To calculate its age you should look at the horizontal rings on the trunk. Each year, when palm tree drops old leaves, a new ring adds to the trunk, so the number of rings approximately shows tree's age.

Our lady guide in the center. A funny guide and a wonderful person who really likes Ishigaki.

My teacher's blouse was a perfect match for the forest.

Is blue a color of the month? (Joke)

Next stop was Kabira beach with boat riding. Boat had glass bottom so you could see tropical fish, corals and sea fauna through it.

Our powerful guide again! Made all gentlemen dizzy! (With her jokes?)

We could play Sanshin together on the beach!

Kabira bay

Weather became worse. Forecast showed thunderstorms in the afternoon but at this point nobody believed that.

Kabira bay has beautiful beach but swimming there is prohibited because of the black pearl cultivation near the bay. I visited pearl showroom and shop. Pearl accessories were really beautiful.

Sign on the left says "Gifts from the ocean".

Last stop was at the "Minsa Textiles" museum and shop. The traditional weaving pattern known as "Minsa" was used in the past as an engagement gift. It has "Four-Five" pattern in the middle which in Japanese phonetically represents "Yours Forever More". Today Minsa has many ways of using in neckties, bags, table cloth, shirts and many more everyday items. 

At the entrance of the Minsa shop you can try on Ryukyu mnational costume and take a picture together with big wooden masks of Granny and Granpa, symbolizing long living.

On the blue sign you can see Minsa patterns of four and five squares, and the sign says: "I will love you forever". To whom should I send this message? Perhaps, to Ishigaki island? Yes, I would like to visit it again and spend more time there.

My teacher also took a "love message photo" but it was a secret to whom she would send it. Who is that lucky gentleman? She looks so naturally beautiful in Ryukyu traditional clothes.

Finally we got to the airport. Our powerful guide sang a farewell song and made everyone smile.

We will miss you, mrs. Keiko Sunagawa!

At the moment of our arrival to the airport terminal heavy rains had started. Our flight was delayed for 2 hours.

The plane arrived with delay but they loaded baggage very quickly and we were on board pretty soon after the plane's arrival. 

Landing in Naha. It's no place like home!

A concert tour to Ishigaki island day 1

In April 2016 I participated as a performer of Sanshin (okinawan three-string instrument) because I became a member of ”Nomura-style Ryukyu classical music preservation association" and there was a memorial concert on Ishigaki island celebrating 55th year of foundation of the association. Main performers were experienced teachers and they could bring his favorite students (apprentices) with them. That is how it happened I went on the stage to play Sanshin and sing.

In the morning all musicians and their students gathered at Naha airport. More than 60 participants were to go to Ishigaki memorial concert. We used JTA (Japan Transocean Air) flight which was very comfortable (Boeing 737). 50 min flight to Ishigaki.

Approaching the runway of Ishigaki island.

 Weather on Ishigaki island was as hot and humid as in Naha. My teacher who was brought up on Ishigaki said, however, that the wind smells different here and reminds her of her childhood years.

 Before the concert we had a rehearsal.

 All of them are very experienced teachers and performers.

Lunch was in "Bento" style, japanese lunchbox.

 Huge hall looked very intimidating even without the audience.

 To kill some time between the rehearsal and the performance we went around the town. Visited local library which is proud of largest quantity of books among all libraries in Japan. The concert hall had a small exposition of Chouhou Miyara, famous okinawan composer.
Here the photo of Sanshin score composed by Ch. MIyara, "Hashino Uta" (The bridge song)

 In front of the city library. (I look surprisingly fat in this shirt!)

 While we walked around the town we visited my teacher's relatives house. An old pinscher dog was clever enough not to bite me.

 Shopping mall in the center part of the Ishigaki city. "Minsaa" checker ornament on the pavement.

 Put on the performance uniform for the first time in my life. All belts were so tight I couldn't catch my breath.

 Performance went good. I wasn't the only foreign-looking person on the stage. It was nice to find out that people from another countries are also interested in Ryukyu classical music and their performance was on very high level.

 

This concert was mentioned in the morning newspaper. I'm sitting in the second row right behind the Koto players in blue kimonos.