Dartboard

The doors in my apartment have come down. I’m officially accepting the coming of spring.

That could be a song title… Bringing Down The Doors.

I write the title, you write the song.

This morning was the junior high graduation ceremony. I went “kakoi” in my white suit, purple shirt and pink belt. I got lots of compliments. It started out with Japan’s national anthem. National anthems always give me shivers. I’m glad. I like that I'm the kind of person who gets shivers from national anthems. I think that says something about who I am.

But I’m high on psuedoephedrine right now. Later I might deny I ever said that.

Today’s exchange rate is 104.5392546391 yen to the dollar.
So make sure they don’t cheat you and only give you 104.5392546191 yen for that dollar.

I’ve been home since 1:30 today. I was getting hot flashes and coughing up my lungs at school and they told me to go home. I had my radio show at 12:30, then they said to leave as soon afterwards as I could. I didn’t have any classes anyway, so I came home and slept.

Getting ready to take my next dose of acetaminophen, chlorpheniramine maleate, dextromethorphan hydrobromide, and pseudoephedrine hydrochloride.

It sounds like I'm hearing everything from distant speakers. Like it’s all been pre-recorded and I’m just getting the echo. You know how that happens when you’re sick and your ears get all plugged up and no matter how much you swallow they never quite unplug.

That’s it.

I hope I can sleep tonight. That’ll be even worse if I can’t sleep through the night then have to get up for work and be awake all day again. Will just have to steal a nap in one of the beds in the nurse’s room. Did I ever mention that? One day I slept for 3 hours in the nurse’s room. The beds there are so comfortable. Last Friday I took another two hour nap in the teacher’s tatami room too. Woke up just a couple minutes before 4 p.m. Somehow I always manage to wake up just before it’s time to go home… Good timing, I say. Good timing.

I’m looking around my apartment. All sick and no movies to watch. I’ve watched out my apartment, I think. What did I do before movies? I did something. Probably the dishes…and my laundry. Both are overflowing now.

On Rice

Rice.
Warm and moist.
Hot out of the cooker.
With sesame seeds.
I love rice.

Maybe I’ll read. Or study. I’ve completely neglected studying for the past few days.

I just found this picture in some old files on my computer. It’s me during a soccer game at Linfield. My coach is knealing next to me and that's the trainer behind him.

I loved soccer my senior year of college. I played so well. To my potential, I think. I got all the glory as forward and goal-scorer too. That probably helped. But no, really. I think by the time I was a senior I just stopped caring. I spent too many years on a team, where I was a nervous wreck. Too nervous to play well and lacked all confidence. As soon as I stopped caring, I didn't have to be nervous anymore. When I wasn't nervous, I played like I played in practice. Like a god. Not really, but it felt good to be good. To have all those underclassmen looking up to you. For the coach to pay attention to you. I loved Brian, the coach. I thought he cared about me, and he always wanted me back in the game when I came out. This picture reminds me of those times.

And this is my friend Steven (the Steven who asked the “kiss me in a park” question). He’s a George Fox student now, but was in the Air Force for four years before that. We’ve known each other since 5th grade—when we worked on this Endangered Species project together and he drew pictures of turtles and Asian elephants. We didn’t become friends until our senior year of high school when my best friend lived at his house. He calls himself a “lucky side-effect” to our relationship. I agree! My best friend didn't last, but he did.

Steven in Kuwait. This must be his special pose.

Steven’s been a great friend recently. I seem to go in and out of these internet-relationships with friends and family back home. I’ll talk to some people online religiously for weeks and then we don't talk for months. Steven’s been my Flavor of the Month, I suppose.

Going to start laundry and make dinner. Let's hope I can sleep tonight!
Love, Sierra

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