October has been a raw-ther stressful month. I try not to sound whiny all the time, which is why I haven’t blog-vented, but I will summarise by saying THREE tropical storms in two hemispheres have conspired to stress me out, plus we had to get rid of our car because of a combination of taxes, inspections, repairs that cost three times the price of the car, buying a motorcycle (that have no key to…don’t ask), etc. Sprinkle on some jet lag and constant cold, windy, rainy weather—oh wait, that’s covered under the tropical storms. See? Whiny. How annoying. I spent more than 60 hours in planes, airports, or in transit to or from airports in the last two weeks. I have no money in any currency and I have no idea what time it is. Chris had to deploy three days or maybe 36 hours early…I forget which, but that meant all the stuff he was going to take care of after I left for TX to be in my friend’s wedding and attend my Grannie Annie’s memorial service had to be done by me at the last minute before I left. That is one of the reasons we had to get rid of the car, because it couldn’t wait two weeks to be dealt with thanks to base restrictions or Japanese law…who knows, both entities love bureaucracy. The point: Chris left early because of Tropical Storm Melor (Malaysian for ‘jasmine’…how nice) and I spent the next day at the airport listening to flight after flight get canceled before mine left. Yikes! Coming back to Japan, I had a half-hour to catch my connection in Dallas thanks to the tropical storm camping out over the Texas plains and delaying my first leg of travel, and ever since I got back to Japan it has been cold, windy and rainy nonstop thanks to Tropical Storm Lupit (Asian for ‘this is a dumb storm.’ Update: it means “harsh, merciless, wicked” in Tagalog. Also accurate). Wondering whether it’s uncomfortable to ride a scooter in “heavy rain, gale, flood” conditions? It is.
Beleaguered by Tropical Storms Etc
Ok, the end of that. I’m always like, “What am I doing here alone in Asia away from Chris and family? What’s the point of life?” Well who knows, but I do know this: Ephesians and Philippians say over and over and over to be thankful, that thankfulness is God’s will for our lives. That verse in Philippians that people (like me sometimes) use to encourage themselves to all kinds of silly, out-of-context things—“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Phil. 4:13)” is saying something more specific in context. Paul tells the Philippians that he has learned to be content in all things, then lists a bunch of corresponding good and bad sides ways to be (well fed vs. hungry, in plenty or in want, etc) and concludes by saying he can be content BECAUSE he can do everything through Christ who gives him strength. That means I can be un-whiny regardless of the first paragraph. Yes we can! …am I still allowed to post this post…??
Thankful shout-outs:
1. Thank you Erin for picking me up at the bus stop and taking me home and feeding me and taking care of my cats. I was all like, “Why am I back in Japan?” and you were like, “Because.”
2. Thank you Ansley for loaning me your car and keeping me out of the rain! Sorry about that call from security.
3. Thank you Tammy G for giving me that heater when you left last spring! It’s the next best thing to a fireplace and 2 ft in front of it is my new favorite place to be.
4. Thank you Mum for not screening my calls!! 🙂 And thanks Chris for being blah along with me. You meet me where I am. No wait, I go where you are. Right.