A Bit Of Progress

 Since the end of April, I've been rather sick with a stupid cold.

I think the fact that my seasonal allergies kicked in at the same time really didn't help at all!

The past few weeks, I've had no energy to do anything beyond the very basics. Just making lunch or teaching exhausted me. I tried to clean outside or do more deep cleaning inside, but found it very difficult. 

I really wanted to set up my classroom but everytime I looked at the tatami room I just felt so drained that I couldn't be bothered. 

Tatami room

It doesn't look too bad, but the cats have peed on it. I've tried to keep it clean by cleaning up as soon as possible. But tatami soaks up any liquid.  I thought it would smell very bad but it doesn't.

Today I vacuumed it very well, got into all the corners, and then got Christopher to wipe it over with a damp cloth. Feels a lot fresher.

I wanted to buy some sort of cover, like lino but it would be very expensive as the room is rather large. So I'm going to use the old carpet that I had before. I asked Mikey to put the carpet outside just air it out, I hope tomorrow to put it down. Then get the tables and chairs out of the storage place.

One problem is the air conditioner. 

old air conditioner

This air conditioner was put in when the house was built, 33 years ago. It's never been cleaned! I wasn't going to buy one for this room as it isn't used, but if I'm going to teach in there, I need an air conditioner. 

This morning, I got brave and opened the front. It wasn't that bad. I took out the filters and washed them. Christopher used the vacuum cleaner to get some of the dust out and wiped down what he could. There is a special spray that cleans the deeper part of the machine. I'll have to get some soon. We turned the air conditioner on and it works!  It's old and doesn't have energy energy-saving mode, but it will do until I can make some money.

After all that, I made a nice lunch. Roasted pork chops, vegetables, and gravy!

lunch

I'm not sure what happened, but just as I started to put the lunch out, my energy dropped. David had to finish putting the lunch out.

I'm glad I could get a lot done this morning. I hope by the end of the week to have my classroom set up. My plan is to start teaching from June!  Wish me luck!

It's early evening now. I'm going to rest. I've realised that as I recover, I need to take it easy until my energy levels are stable. I tend to try and make up for the time I haven't been able to do things by doing everything at once. This leads me to getting sick again!  I'm going to try and be more sensible this time. 

Rainy Season

 According to the Japanese Meteorological Agency, the rainy season has started in southern Kyushu and Shikoku. This is the first time in 62 years that the rainy season has started somewhere other than Okinawa. Also, it's about 2 weeks earlier than usual.

Where we live, in northern Kyushu, the rainy season hasn't started yet!

But last night we had an awful storm, very heavy rain and wind.

In the old house, I never worried about these storms as there were no mountains or rivers nearby. Here we live at the foot of a large mountain.  

There have been a few landslides from this mountain range. I can see that part of the vegetation is stripped away up on the mountain. There were some blue tarps on some areas, those have gone! Moved by workers or washed away?

I think we are far enough down from the mountain, plus there are other buildings between us and the mountain, but it is a worry. 

Japan has a lot of landslides every year! Seventy percent of the country is covered by mountains. The small flat lands are highly developed, as the population has grown villages and towns have started to creep up the mountains, meaning that more and more places have the possibility to be hit by a landslide.

Add to that the weather, a rainy season and typhoons, and ground-altering earthquakes it is inevitable that landslides will occur!

What to do? 

Nothing! Well, not really nothing. I think being aware of the possibility of a disaster is wise!

Have supplies of food and water (and cat food in our case), have a first aid kit, and any medicines that you need at hand. Have a family plan, where to meet up, who to call for help, etc. Keep informed of the possibility of a problem.

My kids say not to worry. If it happens, it happens; worrying is not going to stop the mountain from falling on your head!

So I'm trying to not worry too much!!

This had me scratching my head the other morning!

Alan was staring at the wall.

He sat like this, perfectly still for about an hour. The other cats walked past him but he just didn't move.

I thought it was the resident ghost that he was watching! Turned out to be a big spider that was walking back and forth across the top of the wall. I think I would prefer the ghost!!

Happy

 One question I always start my classes with is "How are you?"

Most kids give the standard answers: "I'm okay," "I'm tired."  Sometimes they reply in Japanese if they have difficulty expressing things in English.

I have a 5th-grade boy who always answers "I'm happy."  No matter how busy he is at school, how bad the weather is, or any other external factor, he is always happy.

During his lesson this week, he told me about his Golden Week holiday. He went somewhere with his family.  It sounded like a nice few days away from the city! He was really smiling as he recalled his holiday. 

This had me thinking about being happy.

Do we lose our ability to just be happy when we get into adulthood?  Are the stresses of paying bills, meeting deadlines and long lists of things that have to be done robbing us of being happy?

Am I happy?

Actually, I'm happier than I thought I would be.  When we lost the old house, I went into tail tailspin of depression. 

In my diary, I wrote that moving to this house was a death sentence. I was that unhappy about being here. But somehow I'm not that unhappy about living here. Are there problems here, yes!! A long list of things that need to be fixed or changed.  Will they be done before the end of the year? Probably not!

Do I have the money I need to do all the things I want to do, plus some left over to do things I would like to do? Again, the answer is no!

So, how can I state that I'm happy?  Because I've realized that happiness has little to do with my surroundings!  I could live in the perfect house, with lots of money, in a vibrant city where I could visit museums or watch musicals, but still be unhappy!

I am choosing to be happy now! Every morning I wake and say to myself, "I'm grateful and I'm happy!"

I can watch my garden grow, scream at the bugs that are starting to crawl everywhere, play with my cats, cook nice meals, and the occasional treat! I have my kids nearby, we can talk and laugh together. 

Does this mean my life is easy? No, there are still challenges! My health is rather bad at the moment, allergies and a cold that seems to be going round and round here!  

We still don't have money, and aren't getting a lot of new students.  

I worry about all sorts of things, but in reality, it's not that bad.

The big question is, why did it take so long to get to this mindset?  

I knew about this, that finding happiness is a choice, but I never put it into practice before now! I guess better late than never!

The full moon the other night made me really happy. I love looking at the night sky. There is very little light pollution here, so the sky is very clear.

These photos were taken in the city, so not so good. 

Moon rising

Beautiful moon

I was going to wait until we got back to take photos, but I realized that it would be a lot later and the moon wouldn't appear so large. 

Now I've written this, I'm wondering what is going to happen to challenge my happiness!

Good News!

 Hannah and I got tickets to see the Les Misérables Arena Tour Concert!

This tour started last year. When I first heard about this concert tour, I thought we would have to go to Osaka or Tokyo, but it's coming to the city nearby. The local run is just 3 days! I didn't think we could get good seats, but we did! 

The only problem is the cost. 

One seat was 19500 yen, about £100.

I know that is crazy, I know our financial situation is not good, but I've been looking forward to this for the past two years! 

When I first read about this concert tour, I really hoped that our financial situation would be a lot better than it is.

But we are still struggling. 

I'm really determined to get new students. Life shouldn't be about just paying the bills or living month to month. 

There are so many things that I want to do. I want to shop without having to worry if there is enough money for next week. I want to see more of Japan, there are many beautiful places I haven't had the chance to go to. I want to help Hannah out more so she doesn't have to work two part-time jobs to pay for her graduate school.  I want to go to musicals with Hannah while we have the chance!  I would love to have this reformed so that it's more livable.

I don't mind working; I actually enjoy teaching. It's just getting students that is the problem at the moment.

I'm looking forward to this concert. I've seen Les Misérables twice, but both times in Japanese. This might be the only chance I'll have to see it in English!

The Japanese production was great. Even though I don't understand all the Japanese, because I know the story and the songs, I could still follow the plot.  

I hope the next good news is that I have new students!!!

Just a cat caught in mid-meow to finish with.

Fred is having a moan!

Outside

 Recently, we haven't done anything outside. 

When we have time, the weather has been bad, but when everyone is busy, the weather is nice!

Today, I pushed to go out and pull up a few weeds. I only did about 10 minutes as I still feel really rough. I think the allergies I've been down with became a cold. Or I caught a cold on top of allergies. Not sure, all I know is that my throat is sore, I have a headache, and I feel like just staying in bed all the time. I thought a few minutes out in the fresh air and sun would help. 

I'm tired now, but am glad I tried.

David and Christopher are doing a bit more.

David decided to cut down some of the trees that are growing next to the storage place. The trees were leaning on the storage place, not good at all. The storage is old, built in the 1960s, it's been through a lot of typhoons and earthquakes, I'm not sure how strong it is now!

David up the ladder

I'm glad that David can do these jobs, as I know I would never be able to climb a ladder like that!

I have lunch to make, so I should get off my computer!!

Not Sure....

 If there is more crime in Japan or if I'm seeing more Japanese news on YouTube!

The past 10 days, there have been 3 separate incidents that have caught the media's attention.

The first was on May 1st, when a 28-year-old man drove a car into a group of elementary children. The group of 7 children were 2nd and 3rd-grade kids.  Fortunately, none were seriously injured. According to the press, one girl had a broken jaw, the others were cut and bruised. Even so, it must be traumatizing for the kids and their families!  The young man who did this said that he was "fed up with everything" and wanted to kill someone!

Another incident, also involving a school, occurred this week when two men went into an elementary school and attacked staff. Again, no life-threatening injuries, but the two men attacked two teachers in front of a class of 2nd graders.  The whole incident was rather bizarre. That morning one mother went to speak to a teacher about something, the press didn't say what the problem was, the mother wasn't happy with the conclusion of the talk and asked one of these men to go to the school, the older man, in his 40's bought a younger man with him. One of them was carrying a green bottle. 

The same day, a man wielding a large knife was arrested on the Tokyo metro for attempted murder. He apparently attacked a young student on the head before being tackled by a police officer and a Nepalese man on the train. The Nepalese man suffered minor cuts on his hand. 

I'm shocked at these incidents. I know that crime exists in Japan, but it is a safe country. I always felt that in Japan, natural disasters were a big problem, not people.

I think one problem that Japan is facing is the lack of mental health awareness. Even though Japan has universal health care, mental health care is not talked about. It is still stigmatised in Japan; there are very few counselors or mental health workers. I know when my kids were in school, there was just one school counselor for five schools, but bullying and suicide were very high!

Seeking help for depression or anxiety isn't done; there is still a stigma to these problems, especially for men.

I don't know if the people in these news articles have mental health problems, maybe the first guy, but I have seen a tendency in recent years where people who commit violent crimes state that they have had enough. These are the ones that are making headlines; there is an increase in domestic violence and school/workplace bullying. Suicide is also very high among all age groups.

I have no answers. I wish I did. I suffer from depression, but as I've gotten older, I have found what works for me. I don't feel sad, but when I start to feel down, I lose energy and don't want to do anything, even the things I like to do. I've found that finding one thing I can do, such as reading a book or cleaning a small place, helps to move me forward. As I gain momentum, I can pull myself out of my depression. It's not easy, but I can manage. Part of writing this blog is to help with my depression. 

I hope that these incidents are just a blip on the social radar and that Japan will return to being a safe country, where the biggest threat is the possibility of an earthquake!

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Misery Loves Company

 I've felt miserable for the past week or so!

My seasonal allergies are extreme. Mikey is down as well today but he says it feels more like a cold. So maybe I have both, a cold and allergies. All I want to do is sleep!  I planned on making dinner but I really don't feel like cooking or eating!

Then just to add to my misery and stress I got a letter from the city hall about the land tax that we have to pay!  It's a lot more than I thought it was, the full amount is 10,3194 yen, about £536. Not a lot but more than I have. Looks like going to the city hall tomorrow and seeing if it can be divided into monthly payments! 

Problem is that my income just covers my national insurance. David is paying for everything else, which isn't fair on him. Mikey needs to save for a new car and to move out. Christopher isn't working, he's looking but there isn't anything near here at all! 

One good thing is that a friend bought me a flag for the front of the yard.

My new flag

There's a pole and stand as well. I'm really moved by this. This friend was my acupuncturist many years ago, we reconnected through Facebook.  I was surprised when he said that he had bought this to help me!  This simple act has restored my faith in people!! 

I'll have to get the front cleaned out more before I can put this flag up! David cut down some of the trees last week but he has hives on his face, looks like he is allergic to something but he doesn't know what!

I'm going to sleep again, I need to get over this cold/allergies as soon as possible as I have so much to do. I want to start teaching by June! So just three weeks but a lot to do!!!!