My Japan-Man

As you all know I am somewhat obsessed with Japan. I am still planning to go next March but until then I am just gonna have to make due with Japansese tv shows, food, and a special visist from my only friend in Japan. I am so excited! How we met can only be by God cus it was just a total case of "random happenstance".

So I was coming home from work one day last February and I had a present for one of my friends in my car. I decided last minute that I just couldn't wait to give it to him so I called and asked him to meet me at the church so I could give it to him. (He wouldn't let me near his house for some unknown reason) Anyway, I pull up into the church parking lot and see my Pastor (who lives on the church property) out by his trailer a good ways away from where I had parked. I waved to him when I got out and then stood patiently waiting for my friend to come. To my suprise the pastor comes walking over and asks what in the world I'm doing there. So I tell him and he smiles and says "Oh, well we just got back from picking up our old foreign exchange student from the airport." Apparently, the family had once had a foreign exchange student from Japan stay with them for a year and he had just arrived for a couple weeks to visit.

As soon a s he said "Japan" and "He" in the same sentance I got really excited, but I figured I would have to wait until Sunday to meet him. Not! I'm not sure why but Pastor continued on saying that they were just cooking dinner and did I want to join them and meet this boy (Yuma). The offer came out of nowhere and though I was nervous about having dinner with the Pastor and his family I accepted and went in. He introduced me to Yuma and we ate dinner. I barely said two words to him but he seemed like he was a really nice guy, quiet and reserved. Then after dinner I was invited to a concert with the Pastor, Yuma, and the guy who I was supposed to give the present too. We went and when we got there I had a chance to run some of my very limited Japanese by Yuma. It was alot of fun but a very late night.

The concert ended and I actually had the nerve to ask if I could take Yuma out the next day to get to know him better and show him around Sacramento. Pastor Mike asked Yuma and he said he would love to go but that he wanted the Pastor to go with us (Don't blame him, a scary new girl asking if she could steal him for a day lol) but it ended up that Pastor Mike couldn't go. I told Yuma we wouldn't be alone as my roomate/bestfriend would be coming too. He agreed.


So the next day we pick up Yuma early in the evening. Pastor Mike asked us how long we would be out because Yuma was a little tired from the jetlag and going to San Francisco that day. We told him we wouldn't be long and then took off for Scandia. Scandia is a miniture golf/arcade/batting cages/go-cart fun center. It was so much fun, we did everything that Scandia had to offer and I think he beat me at mini golf too. We also got him to sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star in Japanese which was really neat. I thought we got him home at a decent hour but all the missed calls on my cell from Pastor Mike and the relieved look on his face when we got back to his house said otherwise psh old people lol. Apparently, there had been a horrific car accident somewhere near us and Pastor Mike had called the police asking if my Toyota or 2 girls and a Japanese guy had been involved. I really did feel bad once I heard that.

Anyway, we exchanged e-mails and have kept in contact since then. We even mailed eachother presents. I sent him a wooden box that I had painted and some candy, he mailed me a cd he'd made of his favorite songs and a red pillow lol. Well I talked about him so much and got so excited when he e-mailed me that all my friends started teasing me and calling him my Japan-Man.

He's coming to visit soon and I just can't wait! But it's only gonna be for three days so I don't know how much time I'll actually get to spend with him.

Artists

So... where to begin?

Every once in awhile I get a bug. Not a bad bug but a bug none the less and once I get one I love and I mean LOVE spreading it around to all my friends and just whoever I happen to come into contact with, including random strangers. So what is this bug that I have caught? It is the ARTSY BUG!

I first caught it in my late teen years when I figured out that I could draw any anime character as long as I had a picture to sight-copy it from. I have a couple sketchbooks to prove I could actually do it.


Then that faded and a couple years later came back but as drawing the characters and then taking it one step further and painting them. I have a couple canvas' to prove that lol


The next bought came when I was in the Hospital and one of the therapists did an art therapy class where she brought in mandalas and colored pencils also there was a puzzle that someone's family member had brought in and rather than listen to the insane rantings and get caught up in all the wards drama I would sit and quietly put together the puzzle with whoever wanted to join me.

This latest outbreak has been just recently in the last week or so. Nicole talked me into going to a restaurant called Fresh Coice and after we had dinner I wasn't feeling to good. I started feeling anxious and like I wanted to just cry. So we went on a walk through Joanne's Fabric store. I had no idea that they were a craft store and sold more than just fabric. Anyway, we were looking through the painting section to try to fin some little boxes to paint when we came upon the puzzle section. The puzzle all fairies and butterflies but it looked awesome so I picked it up. Then we came across a section that had all the painting supplies.


Isn't it pretty? But before you say or think that I did it all on my own I have to let you know that the picture is a paint by number set. lol Yes I know it seemed very kid-like to me to when I fist picked it up but now I love it. It lets me be artsy without having to be really creative, kinda an oxymoron I know. What's even better is that I got one of my really great friends to buy one to do when we are together.

I went over to her house to spend the night and after dinner I brought out my butterfly and paint and cup of water and brush and started in on the painting. As soon as she watched me mix two of the paints together she announced, "OK I have to get me one of those." There were no art stores open as it was eight o'clock on a Sunday so we got in the car and headed to Walmart. On the car ride over she talked about the many arts and craft projects that she used to do, everything from pillow making to drawing. She talked about how much she missed doing them and how she was so excited to be getting back into it, even just a little.

Then she said something that I have found to be true in my own life. She told me how important it was to keep being myself even when in a relationship and eventually in marriage. She (Caterina) was telling me how she used to love and be very much into arts and crafts but her husband is not so she slowly stopped buying them and working on her many projects. I found that very sad but unfortunately very common. I started thinking back on my last relationship and saw myself doing the same thing. Although my boyfriend had encouraged me to be artsy and creative there were other areas where I didn't recieve the same encouragement and understanding. At first I stood up for my individuality and pressed on despite his oposition, but eventually it just became too hard and I slowly started conforming and limiting myself to the "together" or "mutual" activities.

At first it wasn't even that bad and I enjoyed most of the time I spent with him but as time went on I began to feel more and more stiffled. The closeness became entrapment and I honestly began to miss myself. Even now I'm not quite sure how to be in a relationship and maintain yourself wholey or even if you are supposed to, but learning is half the fun right.