Christmas Travels

There's an old proverb, "Every cloud has a silver lining."  I also like the equivalent, "It's an ill wind that blows no good."  Both of them, of course, mean that you never, or hardly ever, have something really bad happen without someone getting some real good out of it, that would not have happened otherwise.

One of the good things that resulted from the abrupt, unwelcome ending to my Korean adventure, is the opportunity for me to spend the holidays with my family.  Thanksgiving was spent at my parents' house, with a merry crowd from both sides of the family.  For Christmas, my parents are flying out to North Carolina to visit with my Uncle Dan (my dad's eldest brother) and his family for a few days.  I will fly out later to Baltimore, and take the train to meet them near New Freedom, PA, where my sister's in-laws live.  Then we'll spend Christmas with my brother-in-law's family.  I'm looking forward to that.  My sister married into a pretty neat family.

Speaking of which, a little bird told me that some of my family are still wondering about Christmas gift ideas for me.  (Fortunately, some of them follow this blog.)  For me, at this point, that's a difficult question to answer.  The things I want most in my life are not things that can be purchased, wrapped up in shiny paper, and placed under a tree.  Or, if they could be purchased, they would be prohibitively expensive for my family, who are not millionaires.  Or, I wouldn't have the time to enjoy them.  For example, I really want/need a good teaching job, a loving and supportive wife (I'm single), financial freedom (or even just debt freedom), a trip to visit my friends in Korea, martial arts classes from a Christian instructor,....  You get the picture.

This fall, I was forced to scale down considerably, and I still didn't reach my material weight-loss goal.  I got rid of a lot of clothes, a lot of books, and a lot of other junk.  Some was sold, a lot was given away, and some things were thrown away or recycled.  A few things were left in Korea when I didn't have room for them.  However, I still have too much junk holding me down.

So, I don't really need, want, or expect much in the way of material things from people this Christmas, and I don't want to be obliged to buy things for people that they don't really need or want.  I feel that Christmas has been turned into a guilt-ridden spending orgy, and I refuse to participate in the materialism.  I would like to adopt the gift policy of C.S. Lewis, who decided to only buy gifts for children at Christmas.

I'll tell you what I don't want.  I don't want people to spend money on me just for the sake of tradition, or just because they don't want to feel guilty.  There's no need to feel guilty.  My parents are buying me a plane ticket and a few nights at a hotel, so I can spend Christmas with them, and with my sister and brother-in-law.  That's really all the Christmas present I need.  (BTW, I'm getting tears in my eyes and a lump in my throat as I write this.)  Seriously, that's all I really want.  If you really want to get me something, see the list below.

Here's something else I don't want.  I absolutely, positively, don't want something that was made in China or Taiwan or the Philippines because the labor costs are cheaper there, and the U.S. doesn't have enough import tariffs to motivate domestic production.  Seriously, I have everything I need, and if you're adding to our national trade deficit by buying me an imported gift, I'll take it back.  If you really want to get me something physical, I would highly prefer something handmade by a local artisan.  You can be the artisan too, that would be wonderful; if so, please use domestic materials.  (Sadly, many of my possessions were not made in the U.S.  I'm not a hypocrite, but when I buy necessities, I don't always have the freedom of buying domestic.  Gifts, however, are not necessities.)

Gift Ideas
What about some concrete ideas?  OK, here goes.  I like handmade wool items, like socks, scarves, and sweaters.  A stylish wool hat (not a beanie) would also be good.  I have enough ties, but they're currently hanging on pants hangers in my closet; so, a handmade wooden tie rack would be appreciated.  Ditto with belts.  Cedar would be the best choice of wood for either rack, as they will be sharing a closet with wool and silk items, and cedar helps keep the moths away.  If there's not enough time to finish these items before Christmas, I'll happily take a rain check.

If someone needs to shop online because of distance or time constraints, please consider a sponsored donation to a worthy Christian charity.  One of my favorite organizations, the Rafiki Foundation, is in the process of transforming Africa for God by providing healthy orphans with a loving home and a Christian education.  In forty years (God willing), these children, raised in Christian families, will be the new leaders of several African nations.  Their website is http://www.rafiki-foundation.org/, and they sell donation cards at various levels.  They also have an online exchange, which markets the crafts that the kids learn to make, so they earn money for the foundation but do not compete with the local craftspeople.  Anything from there would be good, and if I can't use it, I'll give it to someone who can, knowing that the money went to the Lord's work with Rafiki.

So, that's the story with me and Christmas.  Now, I just have to practice what I preach, and get some appropriate, affordable gifts for the people who really mean the most to me.

Prayer Requests
I'm sure you read, earlier, the list of things that I want or need, that can't be gift-wrapped.  Please pray that God would show me His will in these things.

Right now, I need to get to sleep.  Good Night.  Thanks for reading, and thanks for praying.  God bless you all.

Layover in Japan

Japan was the first Asian country that I seriously considered visiting.  A few years ago, I was studying Judo, "the gentle art of self-defense", the modern Japanese martial art that, of all the martial arts I am aware of, focuses most on using the opponent's strength and movement to defeat him.  I was really into Judo, and I dreamed about having enough money to go to the Kodokan, the home of Judo, in Tokyo, to study there.

Considering that, I find it ironic that, when I finally did get to Japanese soil, not far from Tokyo, it was only a two-hour layover in the international terminal of the Narita airport.  It's even more ironic that, by the time I got there, I had a rather jaded view of Japan.  From my three months in Korea, I had become more sympathetic to Korea, and the harm that they had suffered under Japanese occupation from about 1910 to 1945.  I had also learned that, adding insult to injury, the Japanese government still refused to apologize to the Koreans for the lasting harm resulting from that occupation.  Moreover, I had been trying to learn Korean for three months, with some success, and here I was now, in Japan, with a language and writing system that I had never seriously studied.  But the most important emotional association was probably the fact that Japan and Japan airlines were my path away from Korea, where I really wanted to stay.

So, when I arrived in Japan, and during the whole time I was on Japan Airlines, I didn't have a very friendly feeling toward the language or the culture.  Of course, I didn't show any hostility, but I felt like a stranger on unfriendly ground, much more so than I had in Korea.  In Korea, the people had been very friendly.  In Tokyo, I saw a sign warning travelers about pickpockets and luggage thieves, which are not considered significant hazards in Korea.

Adding to this feeling of hostility, when I got to the gate for my connecting flight, I saw something rather disturbing on the television.  Of course, it was all in Japanese, so I didn't really know what the show was about, but what I saw on the large screen was a little Japanese girl, a toddler really, in the process of getting dressed.  I suppose the show was narrating her dressing activity.  My discomfort stemmed from the knowledge that Japan, like Korea, does have a problem with sexual exploitation of young women, and even sexually immature girls.  I feel that such a show would be likely to contribute to that problem, even if the content of the show was entirely innocent in its intent.

At any rate, I didn't have to watch that show.  The TV closest to my gate was showing a sumo tournament, which didn't really need narration.  An American gentleman on my flight sat down near me to watch, and explained some of the procedures, like the required ritual posturing and ceremonial scattering of rice.  Since the boarding call was a little delayed, we had time to watch the grand finale, which was good.

On the flight, I got an aisle seat in the center section of the 777-300ER, and my own little movie screen.  The only irritating thing was that the screen stopped for every announcement, and the announcements were in both English and Japanese, so it took twice as long.  Also, unlike on Singapore Airlines, I did not get a comfort pack (toothbrush, toothpaste, knit socks).  Despite the slightly delayed boarding, we caught a strong jet stream, so we made good time.  Since I would be arriving in the morning, I tried to sleep, with a little success.

After a little catnap, I checked the time in San Francisco, and decided to get ready for that time zone.  So, I set my watch and checked the movies.  I got to watch the new G.I. Joe movie, which was quite good.  I also got to watch most of the new Transformers movie, which I had already seen once, before the movies were turned off for landing.  Breakfast was decent, and the landing was quite smooth.

Immigration/customs was no problem, as I was not bringing back enough cash for them to be concerned about.  I did have to answer a few questions from one officer about the purpose of my visit.  Baggage claim took a little while, but I made friends with the attendants and helped them keep the baggage running smoothly.  I did have to wait at the curb for my mom, but I expected that.  Of course, she took me to lunch at Nona's Kitchen, a fabulous restaurant on Highway 1 in Pacifica, not too far out of our way.  (It's owned and run by Joreth Toropov, who is married to my cousin Virginia.)

After lunch, my mom drove me to her house in Brentwood, in East Contra Costa County.  I unloaded my luggage into the guest room (henceforth my bedroom), took off my nice clothes, and crashed on the bed until dinnertime.

Prayer Requests
I've pretty much gotten over my jet lag by now, which is harder going east when crossing the International Date Line.  What I need now is paid employment.  Please pray that I would find work.  I don't want to work retail during the holiday shopping rush, because most retailers are open on Sunday.  I want to teach, so I need to start by getting a substitute teaching credential, and applying at all the nearby school districts.  I also need to look at the private schools.

More importantly, I need to know God's direction for my life.  I've been on a rather circuitous and indirect course thus far, and while it may have been God's will, it's very trying to my parents as well as me.  On Sunday, I enjoyed a sermon from Pastor Larry at GHCC on that subject, which reminded me that it's my listening ability, not God's communication skills, that interfere.  Please pray that I would listen to God as He shows me His will for my life in this area.

Thanks for reading, and thanks for praying.  Now that I'm back in the U.S., I probably won't be updating this blog very much, unless I have something major to report.  If you have any questions, I'm sure most of you know how to contact me.  Otherwise, comments to this post will get e-mailed to me, and I will get back to you.