Four Weeks Till Twenty-nine

In less than four weeks I will be 29. That leaves just one more year of my 20s. I'd better make the most of it! It still surprises people to learn that I am 28. Something about a youthful appearance or good skin or whatever. I guess we are just blessed -- my family, that is.

Attitude, habits and worldview have something to do with it too, though. It is my belief that you can maintain vivaciousness and vitality through decisions that you make regarding all manner of inputs. Low stress levels, less chance of cancer and a greater regard for meaningful things occur as a result. Appearing youthful is just a God-given bonus.

Not much to report on the school side of things from last week. I have been asked to prepare the entire first years' lesson for tomorrow. Having no school today will easily allow me to do that, though. I continue to avoid using Japanese at shougakkou; and it continues to work out well.

On Saturday night, a number of JETs converged on K-town to attend a Taiko concert, of which Candice and Laurel were a part. The whole thing played out well, and was very cool to watch. The children were amazing. It was a great cultural experience overall.

After the concert, we met at a yakiniku joint to eat, then crowded into Candice's place to sit around and enjoy each other's company. Michael and I crashed at Laurel's house, and everyone else stayed on at Candice's.

I attended church on Sunday morning. It was part of my plan in staying overnight in K-town. It will be a while yet before I am able to afford a suitable car, so I continue being resigned to missing a lot of church services, due to the inconvenience of travelling between Taisho and Kubokawa.

However, the future is always bright and full of promise. There will come a time when I don't need to purchase anything else of note for my comfortable Japanese living. At that time, all that will remain is paying my student loan off completely. Then, I will be free of all financial burden.

If I do consent to pursue post-graduate study this year, then that is another cost that will be loaded onto anything else. Travelling does take a chunk out of your salary, but if one was to not travel at all, one would solidify into a state of stagnation and crumble into dust and debris with the passing of time and the scouring force of howling winds.

Timotheos