http://ruth.ingulsrud.net/blog a view from the trees Thu, 07 Feb 2008 07:33:25 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en "I am living in the land of Lamentations," I said to myself last summer. I was sure of it. Joel had lost his job; his whole division had been dropped. The sponsoring company was not going to renew the work visa. I had not been able to secure the full-time ... http://ruth.ingulsrud.net/blog/2008/02/07/the-land-of-lamentations/ Here in Japan, on the eve of Setsubun, I am pondering the significance of "oni wa soto; fuku wa uchi," which is loosely translated "out with the devils, in with good fortune." Every year on Feb. 3, people throw beans out their front doors at the "oni" or "demons" which ... http://ruth.ingulsrud.net/blog/2008/02/01/out-with-the-devils-in-with-good-fortune/ I can post! Good for you. http://ruth.ingulsrud.net/blog/2007/08/25/test-post/ I am enjoying the perfect dog nap. Cozy and furry with that friendly dog aroma settling around me like a blanket. Breathe in. Breathe out. For a long drowsy moment it does not matter that I seem to have lost my life's focus, or that I am desperately trying to ... http://ruth.ingulsrud.net/blog/2007/05/19/a-perfect-dog-nap/ So we've lived here in Tokyo for almost a year... hasn't it been a year yet? Sometimes it feels like a lifetime. I guess I'm in a contrary mood, grumping about this inconvenience or that, although, to be sure, we don't have it so bad. Food, shelter, chocolate; we have ... http://ruth.ingulsrud.net/blog/2007/05/15/you-gotta-sing-or-it-will-burn/ If I were to ask anyone, "Which do you consider to be more dangerous, a spider or an earthquake?" they would most probably answer, "An earthquake." Then they would avoid any further conversation with me because only a loopy person would ask such a silly question. Yesterday, my ten-year old daughter, ... http://ruth.ingulsrud.net/blog/2007/05/09/the-spider-vs-the-earthquake/ It is embarrassing to write this, but honesty is more important than dignity...I suppose. After ranting at my ten-year old for leaping out of a tree and onto a wall and doing her Humpty-Dumpty impersonation, I went and did the same sort of fool-hardy thing. I guess the tree doesn't ... http://ruth.ingulsrud.net/blog/2007/04/28/like-daughter-like-mother/ So I am biking home from the women's clinic, slowly, against the wind, with my throbbing kidneys, when I get the phone call. It's hard to answer the phone while biking, I think, there's enough going on without having to flip open the phone and field a call. My kidneys ... http://ruth.ingulsrud.net/blog/2007/04/21/if-she-would-just-stop-falling-out-of-the-trees/ If someone had asked me, eight months ago, if I would enjoy having a companion whose idea of fun was to hunker down in a field, chewing on a piece of cow poop, waiting with a twinkle in his eye for the chase and the scolding to begin, I would ... http://ruth.ingulsrud.net/blog/2007/04/17/golden-blues/ I'm finishing my last online class to obtain my clear credential; Health Education. One assignment was to create a fact sheet on a health issue facing the students of our schools. Most of the other teachers hail from the USA so they are all dealing with the issue of obesity. ... http://ruth.ingulsrud.net/blog/2007/02/13/third-culture-stress/