| My Work posted by Matt at 10:57am CST on Tuesday, September 29 2009th |
| So I've been doing the work thing for a while now; 8-5pm, cubical desk, dark room... And what do I have to show for it? Well, finally something to be proud of!
My project for the last...five months has been creating a new website for the company, Luggage Pros. It seemed so far off back in March and yet here it is. Two days before October and we just finished. Now, it's not my proudest product ever. I could go into detail on things I didn't like, but overall it works, and it was finished on time (almost). So, for all your luggage and travel needs, without further ado, I present the new and improved www.luggagepros.com! Maybe you'll even find some great deals yourself. Just make sure to talk to me first, if you know what I mean. ;) |
| Garden Varmets posted by Matt at 7:08pm CST on Saturday, July 18 2009th |
| Nik and I have been having a problem with some of our garden plants. They've been losing parts of leaves, losing all their leaves, and sometimes disappearing all together. The most notable casualties have been with the sunflowers, which have had their numbers halved by the mystery snatchers.
Our first though was small children. The height was correct, their unnaturally long arms would be prefect for ripping off leaves or even pulling plants up by the roots. City kids fit the MO as well. Bored, perhaps scared of things like nature. Probably had never seen food grown in their lives and assumed they were pulling weeds. But having never seen a kid in our yard we started thinking it was something else. Nik said raccoons, but I was sure it was a fox. I had seen one when we moved in anyways. The teeth marks were perfect for a foxccoon. And I bet they'd even get inside our high-security fence perimeter. Better buy some BB guns or tranquilizer darts. I could use a raccox hat, too. Too bad neither of those animals would eat our worthless green garden plant. So we're back to square one. Then some of you mentioned we should setup a web cam to watch the garden while we were away. Silly idea, eh? I didn't want to bother running the cables and wires, and certainly didn't want my camera sitting in the rain. But, what else was I going to do? The footage was surprising! Absolutely astonishing! It all makes so much sense now. We had just writing off the little critters as harmless and adorably cute. Who would have thought? 
But, what is even scarier, is what we saw, using the camera's built-in night vision, after the sun had set. Move your mouse over the image to see the HORROR! |
| Growing Time posted by Matt at 10:46pm CST on Friday, May 15 2009th |
I meant to post on here eight weeks ago with my dreams for a potted house garden, complete with herbs, vegetables and pineapple. The first thing to fall through was my posting on here, followed by the herbs and pineapple.
In the beginning I was so excited and hopeful as the first radishes started popping up, then the cilantro and tomato, followed by the pepper and, and...I don't even remember what I planted in that one. Every morning before work and evening before bed I'd be amazed at how much progress the leaves had made since I was last amazed. I started naming the leaders of the pack and taking bets on the winner. Sorry Mary fans, but she's just no match for Fred. Caught up in all the excitement, I didn't even notice the terrible thing that was happening... They were all dying. Every one of them, keeling over, throwing in the towel. Ok, so not that bad, but some of them certainly stopped growing. The radishes looked as if they'd been mauled by rabbits. I thought of putting up a fence. The herbs started falling over. Spearmint didn't even make an effort to sprout, probably knowing what terrible fate lied ahead. There is one exception. I must have found the right tomato seeds, specially mutated to grow to unnatural heights within unnatural environments. I'll sit on the phone and by the end of my conversation the plant (Fred) will have taken a new position; sometime it seems to follow me when I'm not looking. The only plant that absolutely won't fit in our potted garden is doing phenomenal. 
Eight weeks later I think the problem has to do with light. Our window faces south, but has the added protection of a ten-foot overhang. The sixteen hours of 36 watt florescent we provide just isn't cutting it. They need to be free. Out in the wild. So Nik and I had a sit down meeting with our landlord and his family. To make a long story shorter, he gave us the go ahead and we celebrated with cupcakes for his mother's birthday. So that's where I'm at now. Planting season began and I have a lot of grass to roll up. Feels like a living shag carpet. I guess there's not much else yet. More later as the garden slowly engulfs the building. 
The not-so-distant future Oh, and I watched the first half of "When the Levees Broke." Sobering. |
| Care Packages posted by Matt at 12:56pm CST on Thursday, April 30 2009th |
| From time to time Kate will send me the most wonderful care packages. They often have some sweet treats, usually a masterful drawing, finger painting or photograph, and always a letter worth reading at least twice. And my reaction is every time the same: unabated exuberance and gratitude. I can't appreciate her enough for the time and thought she puts into these gifts.
As I was daydreaming of future delights (I'd really like a rock sculpture) I wondered if God was in the business of sending care packages. I'm thinking something different than blessings for healing or forgiveness or guidance. I'm thinking of blessing, like a care package, that serve no purpose beyond saying "I love you, have a wonderful day." I started thinking and the ideas took off in my head; how would God do this? What would they look like? Have I received any of these divine deliveries? The advantage I have with Kate's gifts is that they come with a return address, signature and distinctive handwriting. It's obvious who it came from. But I imagine that if it were God doing the mailing, the address and signature might just be kept anonymous; God strikes me as the mysterious, humble type. So I still can't think of any solid proof of what care packages from God would look like. Though as I ponder on it more...God must have some pretty distinctive handwriting. Perhaps if I could only learn to recognize it, I'd start seeing random, exuberance-filling gifts of love just piling up around me. I start grinning just thinking about it. And as amazing as packages from God must be, I'll certainly never stop appreciating what comes by ol' USPS. ;) |
| Man's Best Friend posted by Matt at 12:36pm CST on Sunday, April 19 2009th |
| Here's a short one to get things going again....
I was driving home from work on Thursday when I looked into the car next to me--sometimes a scary thing to do. Driving the car was an old man, looked like the grandpa type, and sitting upright next to him in the passenger seat was a nice English Setter. The two seemed to be having a conversation of sorts; tuned into to the same thing (hopefully driving). They seemed to have a connection with each other that transcends species and generations. Noteworthy enough as this was in itself, it wasn't until I saw the two grandsons in the back playing their video games that I laughed out loud. That'll so be me some day, except I'll make the dog drive while I play video games, too. |
| snnooooowww posted by Matt at 8:16am CST on Tuesday, March 4 2008th |
| Something I missed last year here in Osaka was snow. Not that Minnesota or Iowa have seen an abundance of the stuff lately, but to not see a single flake made me pretty homesick. Might as well have canceled Christmas, too (perhaps a noteworthy idea, but some other time). I had thoughts of moving north to Tokyo.
It turned out I wasn't the only one looking for a snowball fight. One warm December morning I left the apartment for work, turned the corner, and staring straight at me was the queen of all snowmen. Confusion. Was there a late-night snow just around the corner I wasn't invited to? They certainly do some things differently in Japan, but the weather? Ah, never mind, I got it. This snow didn't fall from the sky, it was relocated from the underground ski rink, courtesy of Zamboni. What a riot! 
Sans the spectacular Japanese-style snowman, Osaka's weather left me underwhelmed last winter. Well, apparently whoever's running the show wanted more than an effigy of scraped ice this winter. Thank you :) I can't explain how much of a joy it was to meander the streets taking pictures and making snow angels. So without further ado, here it is, back from sabbatical: Snow.   
  
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| bamboo flute posted by Matt at 10:48am CST on Sunday, February 10 2008th |
Seems this has turned into a weekly broadcast. Sorry if anyones checking this daily. Last Sunday we took a field trip to Kyoto (Malcolm and I) and took part in a multitude of local musics, arts and ceremonies. My favourite had to be the calligraphy. Frustrating to this perfectionist at first, it has grown on me over the week. (scary photo! concentrating too hard I guess)
  
To wash down the taste of mediocrity I tried my luck with the incense smelling contest. I might stand a chance there! Was it...plum? YES! (I just got lucky) In a bowl, covered in ash, is a hot coal. They poke a little hole down through the ash to let heat rise, put a thin glass on top and then tiny pieces of wood on top of that. Pine and bamboo and plum for us here. 
Afterwards, the bamboo flute was a riot as I almost passed out onto the sensei. He assured me this happens a lot. :S But I was still pretty red in the face. Is this what flute players have always had to endure or was my technique just that terrible? That's Malcolm on the Shamisen.  
and Malcolm made a new friend on the way home 
We grabbed some grub and soaked in one of Kyoto's public sentos (baths) for a couple hours before heading off. The book I brought with me became a casualty of the steam room. Do they make waterproof books? As if that weren't enough, I forgot the book on the shoe locker and didn't realize it until the second train station, so I went back, which was great for a couple reasons. I saw a female train conductor. Maybe that sounds silly, but it turned out to be a big deal for me; just really lifted my heart. The discrimination built into the system here (think America in the 50's) can go unnoticed, until you see the pattern broken. This also makes me hopeful for a more open future. The second thing was even sillier. Almost back to Namba now our train pulls into a station just as another is pulling out, and I catch eyes with a stranger on the other train, nod at him, and he nods back as they roll away! I couldn't believe how happy that made me! What's wrong with me?? I aught to nod more often. There's some more exciting Osaka news to add, but that'll have to wait. It's just too exciting for one post. |
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