Just Like Starting Over

It has been 70 days since I came back home in Japan. The days I spend here are "extraordinary in the ordinary" and "ordinary in the extraordinary" at the same time.

Our loving father has left us on March 23, and to me, it feels as if the captain of our ship has been kidnapped by pirates. We now have to learn how to operate the ship without him, and we have to set the course for the ship. Hopefully one day we can reunite with him on the shore of a beautiful island...

I am so grateful that I was able to be with my dad and my family for the very last month of his life. Thanks Nathan for making it possible. Thanks Jen for giving me the courage to drop everything and leave in February. Nothing is more important than your own family in the end. Nothing.

Never Give Up!

It is mid-February, and our life is as exciting as ever. Nathan is working at the top speed to finish up his dissertation which is due in 10 days. After that, Chana goes to Power Tripp for a couple of weeks hanging out with bunch of border collies while Nathan and I spend some time with my family in Japan. Nathan will be busy preparing for his oral defence, but hopefully some Japanese treats will help recuperate from his thesis writing.

Life is full of challenges and obstacles. It is never boring. I am glad that my parents raised me to be persistent about everything I do. Persistence can be a negative attribution, but it is a great asset for me as I am naturally a bit too optimistic and easy going sometimes. Now facing some hurdles ahead in my life, I am fairly relaxed and calm about it. I guess I feel that way because I know I can manage things as long as I don't give up.

So today, I found something I lost last week! Persistence paid off! I lost (well Chana lost) a ball in the field covered with snow. Yes, it is a simple dog fetch toy, but I do not like losing things. Although I was told to wait until snow melts, I decided to go back to the field again for one last time...shuffling the snow with my feet while Chana ran around wondering what I was up to...

Well, now I feel greatly motivated to work on things.

Hot Scent

A lot of things happened this month. A lot. One of my dear friends said that it ought be this way making reference to the Mayan calendar... However, my theme song these days is "Always look at the bright side of life~," so let's talk about Chana :D.

These days in our obedience training, we are working on something called "articles." In the real trial, you would need dumbbell shaped items made of wood, leather, and metal. As Chana is new to this training, we are using two sets of each of leather glove, wooden spoon, and cookie cutter. One set of items are attached to a mat, and I would put one randomly picked item on the mat. Chana's task is to find the item that has my scent which is loose. Well, all of them have my scent on it now, so she is supposed to find the one with the strongest scent, also know as "hot scent."

I saw another classmate with more advanced dog does it, and I thought "No way. Chana would just go for the gloves" as she likes gloves particularly of our guests'... But! She is doing it! Using her nose and successfully bringing back the item that I recently touched and left on the mat...

To dog owners out there, you should explore the world of obedience! You would find amazing talent your lapdog has in him/her!

Happy Birthday Chana!

Chana turned 4 years old today. According to the Pedigree Dog Age Calculator, she is 32 years old in human age. That make three of us the same age, and this is very very special as dogs age faster than humans. This means that she will be the eldest in our household next year... I think I have to call her "Chana-san" as a polite Japanese would do to respect seniority.

Chana was a litter of six, two of the last pups when we went to see her. The other one had hernia, so we chose the "healthy one" who in the end developed umbilical hernia (belly button). Chana often had a fit when she was young, loved to eat so called "wild delicacy" aka goose droppings, and traumatized a couple o

f young puppies by pinning them down to the ground and growling like a mad dog...

Luckily she has grown out of all of that. Four years ago, we got a "dog." Now we have a "partner" in agility and obedience training. I would like to thank all of my trainers who helped us come this far and showed Nathan and I how to enjoy Chana to the fullest.

This is what I want to do!

http://www.wildearth.tv/static/bearden

Hibernate! En japonais, 冬眠 (too min), "winter sleep."

So snuggly~.

Two heart warming stories

Nathan and I have cable service provided free by the university, but we only watch two channels: CBC News World and Food Channel. From the coverage of "the balloon boy" to the gloomy report on economy, CBC News World does an excellent job keeping me up-to-date. I can keep watching it until you start seeing the third rerun of the National at midnight.

And today, it finally did it! It made me cry! Twice! Two heart warming stories were reported, and I would like to share it.

1. Winnipegger Rescued by Shiny-Shoed Stranger

It is a story of a good samaritan, "pay it forward", people helping each other for no return... Just beautiful.

2. Guardian Angel

Again, dogs. How awesome they are!

New Year's Day

The New Year's Day is the biggest holiday in Japan. It has been a tradition of the Sekita's to have extended family over for a big meal. This year, we were blessed to have our close friend T&A and their son TyTy join us celebrate the day. Although I would never be able to put together a big meal that my mom usually does, we had "gomoku chirashi sushi" a traditional homestyle vegetarian sushi, "mochi" pounded sticky rice cooked in two different soups (soy sauce base and sweet bean base), etc.

After their visit, I delivered some sushi over to a few good neighbours of ours. In return, we got delicious sweets from J&S and Biryani from A&A. The beauty of reciprocity made both my heart and stomach full. Biryani is an Indian/Pakistani rice dish that I love, and I am going to learn how to make it this year!

あけましておめでとうございます。キリスト教の影響が強いカナダではクリスマスに比べてお正月はとても地味ですが、関田家の伝統を受け継ぎ、お年始をしました。お友達のT&A夫婦とベイビー君を招き、五目ちらし、お餅、なぜかペペロンチーノ風エビなどをにぎやかにいただきました。関田ママのようなご馳走は作れませんがみんなで食べるとそれなりにおいしいかったね（はず）。

食べた後は近所にお年始回り（笑）でお寿司を届けました。そのお返しにおいしいケーキやビリヤニというインド／パキスタン料理をいただき気持ちもおなかも満杯です。今年はビリヤニ作れるようになりますように〜。