JAWing On – Life on Okinawa

Well, here we go again. The very relaxing week vacation is over. Just as we were finally able to get our entire yard trimmed and all the debris cleaned-up, another typhoon is on its way. The poor event organizers are really having a rough time of it this year. It seems as if every tropical cyclone system is bound and determined to visit on Sundays and/or Mondays. The only time it’s fun to have typhoons this frequent is when you are a student and able to get out of the daily rigmarole of classes. Otherwise, all typhoons do for one is push the workload into a compressed time period. Then you are stuck playing catch-up and clean-up. On the bright side, we are being provided another opportunity for getting our weekly work-out in nature’s sauna box!

It always amazes me how some people get so caught up in hype. You know, the people who are so easily swayed by image, who buy into the fame game, fanatics or more commonly called “fans”. It’s not that I don’t think that persons of accomplishment are due their just respect. Oh contraire, if it weren’t for the people who strive to make advances in our world we would be stuck back in the caves. However, I feel that it all should be kept in perspective. If I were in need of advice on acting, for example, then I would go to the Actor’s Studio and judiciously focus on every spoken word of the experts in the field. However, I don’t feel that the expertise in one field extends to all aspects of life. In other words, I wouldn’t go to the same facility to gain information on the best way to dispose of a community’s public waste. For that I would go to the experts in the field, the seasoned “trash man”. And it is true that there are some people in our world that are blessed with the potential to excel at any endeavor they choose to focus on. But these people are few and far between, and no one person can be an expert on everything. The way I see it is unless I am seeking advice or further knowledge on a particular subject, that “expert” and everyone else are the same. We are all just people and each one of us has their own potential.

I’ve been keeping my eye on CNN satellite news for a few days because Ivan was heading towards some of my loved ones. Later this afternoon, Taki was watching Japanese afternoon news and I became so frustrated with the whole thing. Isn’t there anything to report on other than depressing news? Is it any wonder there is so much despair in people with this constant barrage of the negativity of the human character? Surely, there must be something to report on other than hatred. Then it came to me. I grew up in the sixties when TV journalism was just taking hold of our daily lives. Back then journalists were always looking for the “hard core” stories in order to be taken seriously. With the world the way it is, couldn’t someone use the same theory and apply it to finding the true good Samaritans of this span in time. Why couldn’t Oprah, or someone in the journalism field, take the “Angel Network” idea and expand on it. Have journalism interns use the same investigative techniques used in “serious” reporting and provide a nightly dose of “Angel Network News” showing the positive aspect of the human character. Or is it just too hard to find selfless, caring people in the modern world anymore?

For the last few weeks life a has been quite hectic over here. Finally, this past week we were provided a break in the weather, and various other things. Taki said JET’s Osaka performance went well. All the members were pleased. Although slightly humid, the weather allowed us to finish cleaning-up the remaining debris left by the last typhoon. And we were finally able to have our first family barbeque with Jaco, our 15 week-old pup. It’s always amusing to see a new puppy’s first reactions to B-B-Qs. They’re never quite sure what to make of the dancing flames of the charcoal. As pleasant as this week has been, it’s still typhoon season so we know there will probably be more storms to deal with, especially with this year’s weather! So for now, we just enjoy the eye of the storm.

For a long time now I’ve had a saying, “‘God’ is a she, Mother Nature that is!” These past few weeks she has shown her power over the daily lives that we try so hard to place some type of control over. Japanese and Floridians have experienced the greatest amount of disruptions in the well-organized plans that millions labored to adhere to oh so religiously. When you view the televised version of “Mom” at work, one can actually visualize the earth with the massive turbulent atmosphere dancing over its surface. And in the midst of this incredible display, stand reminders of mankind’s feeble attempts to force its desires on earth’s canvas.

Sometimes people just have one of those weeks. This happens to be one of them! First, the island is just missed by a super typhoon. The next day my computer gets hit by a trojan. The following day, someone tries to poison one of my dogs. Two days later, we get word another super typhoon is on its way. The next day, my water heater breaks down; etc, etc. The only good thing about these kind of weeks is just that, it`s just another week. This one will pass and the next one will come full of its own challenges and surprises. And so as Friday begins, I am well aware that the week is almost over, and another one bites the dust….

As mentioned before, there is an aspect to the local culture that many people are unaware of due to their limited knowledge of the language. The all too frequent insult masked as some polite comment or compliment. In example, as I was busy performing my work duties at the club this past weekend a local customer expressed her “appreciation” to my husband for providing her and her friends with the opportunity to see “an American” working. I don`t know of very many people who wouldn`t consider this an insult! Yet, because it is masked as a compliment to my husband`s “control of his woman,” it is not considered a direct insult, therefore it is inappropriate to directly act upon it. The locals, being non-confrontational, use the passive-aggessive method instead and such a comment would never be said straight to my face.

1) If all you have to talk about in life is me, you have a very pathetic existence.

2) The bar is just that, a night club. I am not there for your viewing enjoyment and ongoing commentary. I am there to do a job, in this case prepare drinks and clean the club. If you want to watch animals, go to the zoo!

3) Americans have been on Okinawa for 60 years. If you weren`t so closed-minded maybe you would have had the opportunity before now to see first-hand that there are many similarities between people fulfillng work roles, even if the techniques are different.

Recently, I had a visit at Live Music Bar JET from Mike, one of the Traveling Poets Society’s “Eat-Write Café” members. It was a pleasant reminder of several years ago when Bar JET hosted the group every other Saturday. As he filled me in with the current whereabouts and going-ons of the society, I received the exciting news that one of the members, David Allen, had just released a published collection of his works. If anyone were deserving of this honor, it is David. If you are interested in this type of thing, this talented man’s insights are a must read. Check-out some of his writings here: The David Allen Poetry Page

Ah, the joys of learning how to set up the various aspects of a web site from scratch. To many people, computers can be a frustrating experience. I, however, tend to enjoy the challenges associated with learning a “new” creative activity. Although personal computers have been around for a while now, most of the people of my age on Okinawa really aren’t that experienced with the intricacies of the various aspects of setting-up an original web site. As a complete novice, learning the written computer language has been fairly simple. If you have been following this site for the past three months, you are very aware of the numerous changes that have been incorporated. The one aspect I still seem to have some difficulty with is the web mail set-up. One day the mail system works the next it doesn’t. Just trying to implement the system is, for some reason, a confusing mixture of user names and passwords. Yet, I look at this challenge with an anticipation of gaining a better understanding how computers systems work.