Kompasu Update

Well this baby is on us now....think the eye just went over. I had to go out in it because I left some things at the house in the garage to pick up later and take to my friends for disposal and I was afraid that when the direction of the wind changed, they might blow into a neighbors yard or something so when I was pretty sure the eye was over us, I got in the car and drove over to the house (about 5 minutes from the hotel).

I got back just as the wind and rain was starting back up so I got a little wet getting out of the car but overall, it hasn't been too bad. Kind of nice to have a storm as long as everything is open back up tomorrow since I have tons of stuff to do!!!

I took some video on my camera earlier of these two idiots enjoying the storm just a little too much...noticed they had a big bottle of awamori in their hands so that might explain it...and no, they weren't Okinawans...I kept waiting for one of them to fall on their butt in the wind. I'll try to post it to youtube here shortly.

I was kind of impressed with the pressure of the wind on the car while I was sitting at lights...I could really feel it, that is for sure. I am glad I didn't stay out too long...too much time means too much of a chance that something will fly at and damage the car and since it isn't my car...that would be very BAD!!

Anyhow, so now I will watch a movie and work on some of my organization of stuff that has miraculously filled this hotel room, and see what more this storm might have to offer.

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Five Years Ago on In My Words...Order of Sandwiches

Kompasu Cat 3

Well folks....looks like enough of you didn't have your fingers crossed for me....haha. The storm is going right over us around 3pm this afternoon as a Cat 3 Typhoon now...which is gusts to 125 kt...not too bad...I am not worried about any of my stuff since I don't have anything outside at this time, but I am hoping that my shipment will go as planned and I am hoping that it will pass quickly enough that I can get some things done today.

So far there is no wind outside and the skies are still blue but the outer edge of it hasn't hit us yet. Looks like it was a good thing I rented a few movies yesterday...I better get moving...have a lot to do this morning before my movers show up and I am counting on them to come early since they'll probably be trying to get everything done quickly so they have less to reschedule.

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Last Year on In My Words...Progress or Maybe Not

Typhoon Kompasu

It isn't a typhoon just yet but should be by the time it gets to us....what do you want to bet that it will delay J's return flight from his business trip? Tracking is about the same only now it will be going right over us and a bit later in the day...hope my shipment still goes as planned....since that is the same day I am supposed to turn over the keys to the house....hmmmm.

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Four Year Ago on In My Words...In Other News

Typhoon Eight

So our first typhoon of the season (started in June) is upon us...and of course it is during one of the busiest weeks of my three years here...haha.

Typhoon Eight is not expected to get very big and if it stays on track and forecast, it should only be a Cat 1 when it swings within 17 miles of us on Tuesday early AM....I am hoping that most of it will be no big deal since Tuesday is also the day that the smaller of my shipments is set to go...fortuntately it is a really small shipment so it shouldn't be too hard to keep everything dry....

I'll keep you updated on the status of this little guy....keep your fingers crossed for me.

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Two Years Ago on In My Words...Out of Habit

Sony XBrite SDM-HS75P 17" LCD Monitor

I have this monitor. I LOVE this monitor. Lately this monitor has been having issues...keeps changing the input and then complaining that the cable is not connected. I figured that my video chip on my motherboard was going bad, but in just having two email conversations with Sony's Esupport on this, it turns out that they are not going to develop any drivers for this monitor so that it will function with Windows 7. Is that just crap or what? I mean, this monitor is only 4 years old and they aren't going to bother to keep all the customers that they have using this monitor that might be migrating to the newest operating system this year!!

This is just like Sony...so eager to force purchases and lock people into proprietary situations. Well I say NO....I am not going to buy anymore Sony products...I am tired of this treatment.

Microsoft is not one of my favorite companies out there but at least they support their software long after they are not even selling it....they still support XP and even Win98 in some cases...even though they are not making a dime off it, because they knowt that some day those same customers will remember that and continue to use their products.

Well obviously Sony thinks they have such a lock on the market with their Blue Ray and other products that they don't feel the need to show at least that level of customer support.

So I guess I'll be using this monitor for the next week (until my computer gets shipped) and then I'll be selling it to someone that is not on Win 7 when I get to Hawaii. If I had time, I would sell it now and replace it with another brand so I wouldn't have to ship it.


Grrr...this kind of thing just pisses me off!

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Last Year on In My Words...Making a Cup of Coffee

Sparsely Living

So our big shipment is gone and we are living with the bare essentials. We have done this before...in fact, we had to do it for 3 months while we waited to close on a house a few years ago so we are old pros at it.

Things that I can't live without or will make our live much easier than if we didn't have them include:

Chinese hotwater maker
French press
Rice cooker
Wok
Foreman Grill
Emulsion blender
Futon mats
Tatami chairs/cushions
Tatami tables
Grass mat
Small TV
DVD Player
MagicSing
Wii
Computer x2
Campchairs
Food trays
Pillows and sheets
1 set of towels
Snorkeling stuff
Golfing stuff
Swimming stuff
Yoga mat, balance ball, balance disc, resistance bands

Then of course we have clothes, food, appliances (that don't belong to us), and paperwork stuff.

I don't mind the simplified life...makes finding things super easy, that is for sure. The only thing is that my computer is still sitting on a borrowed desk and the camp chair I am sitting at is not tall enough to make being on the computer at all comfortable so I have a pillow folded in half now that I am sitting on top of just to get some height...haha.

Chase is down to her little cat tent (which will go in my suitcase), and her litter box and food dishes...on the 31st when our next shipment goes, she'll be down to just plastic ware for food and litter so we can ship the rest of it. She'll be at the kennel by then and we'll be in a hotel so it won't matter too much.

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Three Years Ago on In My Words...Hitting Bumps But Living Through It

Gettting Creative

A few weeks back, I had volunteered to make invitations for an event. I unfortunately wasn't able to attend but I heard it was a great time and I got a lot of compliments on the invites. They really weren't that hard...most of it was stamping the bamboo and assembly...the template for the printing part was given to me by a friend and I only had to tweak it a bit to get it work with my stamp set.

Anyhow, I had said I would post a pic of the finished product and I never did get around to it...so here it is in all is glory...heehee!!

Note that I had to smudge out the personal contact info the host...the real deal didn't have the smudged section.

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Four Years Ago on In My Words...Happy Birthday Grandpa This is cool since we are four years later and he just celebrated another one!!!

Moving Is Hard To Do

As most of you readers know, I am a bit of a perfectionist, have a tad case of OCD and suffer from procrastination...not a great combination...haha.

So since we are moving to Hawaii next month, I have had my hands full in so many ways. Fortunately, I have not let the procrastination take over but I think if I could be less of a perfectionist my life would be simpler.

This is a list of the things I have thus far accomplished for this move...there are still quite a few left but at least I am making headway.

• Handed over my two board positions with OIWC
• Updated and reprinted our household inventory sheets
  
• Organized a ton of paperwork required for moving from one country to the next
• Got all the paperwork, bloodtests and money sent to Hawaii for importation of our cat Chase
• Made flight arrangements
• Made two shipment arrangements
• Gave notice at our housing agency
• Purged, purged and more purging
• Sold, or gave away furniture, books, toys, decor and other accessories
• Prepared paperwork to ship our vehicle to Hawaii
• Contacted utilities for shut off and return of modems and accessories
• Created the "BIG MOVE BOOK"
• Started house hunting online
• Had all doctors and dentist appointments so as not to need to worry after move
• Cleaned up, reloaded and maintained giftstore computer
• Weedwacked backyard
• Sold friend's truck
• Found another friend a satellite dish for cheap
• Organized all items left in house for two shipments
• Found home for all plants, and fish
• Had premove inspection done
• Chased out 4 geckos
• Made hotel reservations for our time left here after we have vacated our beautiful home
  

Things that are still left to be done:

• Shipment appts
• Borrowed furniture pickup
• Appt with utilities for internet and phone disconnect
• Purging, purging and more purging
• Yardwork
• Pond cleanup
• Patio furniture cleanup
• Final organization of items for two shipments so that nothing gets mixed up
• Laundry
• Packing
• Car washing and selling
• Hand off of 4 board positions with another NPO
• July month end for giftstore
• Finish database build on store computer
• Repair of friend's computer
• Repair of friend's external harddrive
• Forest Adventure Park
• Several mandatory meetings and events
• Cat and carrier check at airport before date of flight
• Cat health certificate
• Flight to Hawaii
• Rental of car
• Cleaning
  
• Hotel reservations in Hawaii
• Return flight to mainland USA to ship vehicle to Hawaii in October
  
• House hunting in Hawaii
• Saying goodbye to my great friends that are still left here on this beautiful island

Not so much, huh?

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Three Years Ago on In My Words when we were just moving here...Moving Day

It Is That Time of Year Again....

18 years ago today, I married the man of my dreams...we were young and probably foolishly in love but we didn't care. No one was going to stop us from doing what our hearts told us needed to be done.

So, here is my tribute to that decision so long ago! I love you J!!

The To Do List

I am a list maker. Always have been, always will be. I have a few things coming up and I am using those events as motivators to get a few things done around here that just need to be done. I feel like I have several half done projects and I hate that. So my apologies right off because I am going to make an element box to link to the post right at the top for a bit so I can focus on getting some things off my plate, but I'll condense it so it doesn't take up my entire blog. I'll strike them out as I go.

Now


Update inventory sheet
Make dates for packouts
Pond
Patio table
Bank statements
Make items for giftshop
Month end for giftshop
Write up job description for bookkeeping
Umbrella
Pump in pond
Filing
Website update
Install DVD player
Sale Items
Paperwork to Hawaii for Chase
Organize shipments
Deliver rest of plants
Deliver fish
Database transfer
Invitations for coffee
Move book
Facebook account for org





Projects

Rebuild PC
Backup blogs
Pictures for Grandma
Update reading blog
Get new laptop
Pictures



Just For Me (most of these won't get crossed off, I just want to remind myself)

Work on Japanese
Stitch quilt squares
Exercise
Clean
Geocache
Beach
Sun

Feeling Good

Sometimes, just the act of doing something for someone else can make you feel awesome....and for me, if that act also allows me to be creative as well, that is just an double bonus.

I couldn't post this earlier because I hadn't given it to the recipient until recently but now she has it and I can show everyone what the "secret project" was...I had a ton of fun making it, and get some to sign it secretly...especially knowing how much JMMD was going to love it!!

And she did!!

This is a little photo album that I purchased at the 100 yen store. It started out plain brown but I covered it in washi paper, and made the pages with the images, quotes and sayings on them with plenty of room for people to sign. The images are from JMMD's time here in Japan and hopefully shows her how much we all love her and how much of an impact her volunteerism and determination has accomplished.

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Five Years Ago on In My Words...Dishonest Practices

Ikebana Lesson #4-Variation #1- Upright

Okay, so now that I have the basic upright and slanting down, it is time to start moving into the variations.

Once again the measurments for this arrangement are the same as those for the basic upright, length of suiban plus depth of suiban times 2 is the Heaven. Earth is 2/3 of Heaven and Mankind is 1/2 of Heaven. Supplemental flowers are 1/2 of their respective main counterparts.

In this case, the kenzan (frog) is centered in the suiban (shallow container) regardless of season. The Heaven, Earth and Mankind Main are set up in a triangle in the kenzan with Mankind being centered in the kenzan and forward. The supplemental flowers are then triangulated inside the Main's triangle.

In this one, we used a reddish Enkianthus, and yellow Chrysanthemum. Both lasted forever and came out looking really cool.

Now for the angles...the Heaven is set at 20 degrees Left Shoulder Forward (LSF), the Earth is set at 45 degrees Right Shoulder Forward (RSF) and the Mankind is set at 60 degrees Center Forward (CF). The supplements are inside of those angles.

We were taught a few tricks of the trade during this class as well.

If you are going to be placing items that have too narrow of stems to really sit in the kenzan as they should, you can cut a 1 inch piece off the end of a mum stem and slide the narrow stemmed plant into it as an anchor.

The water will still get absorbed.

All flowers should face upright towards the sun when placed in the arrangement.

Woody stemmed plants can be cut at an angle but the fleshy stemmed plants should always be cut straight across the stem.

Tape can be used around bunches of stems or just around one to strengthen them up.

This was a big arrangement and took some finagling to get in the backseat of the car for the trip home.

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Two Years Ago on In My Words...Chatan Summer Carnival

Cicada Are Coming

Okay, I heard my first little squawks from the cicada this morning...I have seen a few in the trees but the population is not big enough yet for them to all start making a lot of noise...but I know it is coming.

Last year, there were so many in the trees in my backyard that you couldn't hear the TV in my house with the windows and doors closed. I actually went out and hosed down the trees to force them out to just get some peace for a few minutes.

Don't get me wrong, I love the sound of them and it will forever remind of this place and the fact that summer is here, but last year was unbelievably loud and I am not sure I want that again. Even Chase couldn't stand the decibels in the backyard.

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One Year Ago on In My Words...Solar Eclipse Shrouds Asia

Fabric For Quilt

As you know from my previous posts on this subject, I am not a quilter. I did get involved with a group of women that were making a friendship applique quilt, and have been trying to work on it when I have time. I have made several different squares for this quilt and then I had those that we were each given by the other participants. I have made a paranko drum, a koi, a set of fans, a wave, and one with the word Okinawa on it in kanji. Thing is, I will be moving soon, so one of the things I needed to do before leaving was to get the rest of the fabric for the square borders, the field, the back, and the edging. I am no where near ready to start assembling this thing but I wanted to have the fabric before I moved somewhere, where the ability to buy the type of fabric I wanted, would be gone.

So the other day, in an attempt to knock a few odds and ends off my to do list, I managed to get over to Sanzo's and buy the rest of the fabric for my quilt. I was in the store for over an hour looking at different fabric that would be so cool to use and slowly working my way towards something that would go nicely with the busy front of this quilt, while still being very cool and unique.

So this is what I came up with. The geisha material is sage green, grey, green, black, and red compliments. I purchased the black fabric to border my squares, the green for the field and the red for the edging. The geisha material is for the entire back. I am pretty pleased with how cool they all look together and am even more excited to see this project complete (someday).

On another note, I decided to finally get some fabric to make one last square that I want this quilt to have that is very Okinawan, a shisa dog. So if, and I say this loosely, if I have time to get the shisa dog square done before I leave, I will post pics...otherwise, you'll just have to wait until after we move. I think it is going to look very cool...and that is part of what makes me want to work on it right now, even though my plate is very full with "have to"s.

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Previously on In My Words...Thursday Thanks

Just for my dad since this is his birthday month and today is Father's Day. I hope he knows how much I love him.

Ikebana Lesson #3 Basic Slanting

So this one is similar to the Basic Upright but there are some marked differences...

First off, the frog goes in the back right corner to adjust for the slanting of the flowers across the vase. There is no seasonal change on this one at all. On the frog itself the heaven, earth and mankind are on the front and right leaving only the back left quadrant as negative space.

The heaven is placed left shoulder forward by 45 degrees instead of 20 degrees, and the earth is placed at right shoulder back (which is the first time we have seen any go towards the back) at 20 degrees. Lastly, mankind is place right shoulder forward but at 60 degrees.

In the case of slanting arrangements, using a shallow walled container (suiban) is recommended since these arrangements are much wider but less upright than the previous ones.

The length of heaven (and hence all the other elements in comparison) is shorter. Instead of using the width of the suiban plus depth times 2, you are using the width of the suiban plus depth times 1.5.

In this arrangement, we used dark purple Chinese bellflower, peacock flower (aka aster) and pink peonies.

Unexpectedly, we used the asters as the main heaven, earth and mankind, with the peonies as the supplement and the bellflowers as filler.

I really liked the final arrangement...you can't see the bellflowers very well in here but they really did all compliment each other quite nicely.

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Three Years Ago on In My Words...Really, Who Gives a F*ck?"

Ikebana Lesson #2 Basic Upright

In this class we did the basic upright configuration for a second time so we would get some practice at this style (since a lot of the other styles we would be learning would build on this one's principles). It was a fun class, and the sensei expected us to be able to work a bit more on our own.

I had finally gotten an actual suiban and was excited to use it for the first time. The flowers we used were iris', carnations, and purple statice and a little bit of greenery (which I didn't get the name of).

In this arrangement, I had the iris' as my heaven, and earth but used the green leaves as my mankind. The carnations were supplement and the statice were filler.

We discovered that smaller stems might need to be grouped together and taped (in this case we used scotch tape) using flower tape.

Another tip, if you didn't cut all your flowers before placing (which you rarely do), is to turn the flower upside down to measure it against a flower that is already placed in the frog and arrangement...this way the excess stem is not in the way and you get a more accurate measurement.

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Five Years Ago on In My Words...A. Retentive, That's What I Am

PC Rebuild Part Two

Okay, so my newly rebuilt PC is up and running these days...and very well, I might add.

Once I started on the software side of it, it was just a matter of having the time to tweak everything as I loaded it and confirm that it was complete.

I finished installing the firewire card.

I reloaded from my CDs:

Office 2007 Pro
Quicken Home and Business
Macromedia Suite 8
Drivers for my printer, and webcam

I downloaded from the Internet:

Avast (virus protection)
iTunes
Windows 7 update
Office 2007 SP2
Sandboxie (tool I use for my volunteer job w/Google)
Spybot
Skype
Yahoo Messenger
Notepad ++ (tool I use for my volunteer job w/Google)

I was concerned that iTunes was going to be a nightmare but it really ended up being mostly okay. I was able to import the music from my old harddrive to my new harddrive and iTunes library pretty easily. I did have to do some reorganizing of things for it to be the way I wanted it but it seems to be nice and neat now.

I have a gazillion pictures to organize. Soon, I should be able to completely wipe the old harddrive to use as a clean external for storing backup of the data on this PC...I will have to keep pics and video back up on another external as well since none of them have enough room to be a complete back up.

Box is now shut, and system seems to run smoothly and quickly, which is fabulous. I am getting accustomed to Windows 7 and all its features, which will help me in the future with any tech support I do for others.

Overall this has been a great research and learning experience as well as a basic hardware refresher.

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Two Years Ago on In My Words...Flowers Galore

Ikebana Lesson #1 Basic Upright

Okay, so after a demonstration at one of the charity events I attend regularly, I decided to take a couple of classes of Ikebana arranging...and it is turning out to be a great experience. The sensei is amazing...so cute, so wise and so funny all while being 85 years old if you can believe it. When asked by another student what that student could bring back for her from the States, the sensei replied, "a new boyfriend"...haha.

So the school of Ikebana that we are learning is the Sensho Ikenobo School and the style is Moribana (flat vase). We had to buy a few things for this class...a flat suiban (container), a kenzan (frog), and a pair of good hasami (cutters). I didn't have a container yet so I used a pottery bowl for this first lesson. I have since purchased a total of 2 containers, and 5 frogs...some of the smaller frogs are just for using in upright vases to keep my flowers from slumping over (non-ikebana arrangments).

Keiko-san sensei is our teacher and she is very well known in the Ikebana community...she has students that have been learning from her for decades and I am honored to have a chance to learn from her as well.

I am considering joining Ikebana International...we'll see how I feel after my classes.

Okay, on to lesson #1- Basic Upright.

First we had to do some math...figuring out the length to cut, and the location and angle of the flowers is all by formula for each type of arrangement (my kind of arranging...hehe). We learned about the Heaven, Earth, and Mankind parts of the arrangement. The points of consideration for an arrangement which are line, negative area, movement, and depth. We learned that the flower is not always the focal point of the arrangment (Main) and is sometimes just the Supplement.

For this first arrangment we were told we were using English broom (which was our Main) and then supplemented with Japanese/Chinese Bellflowers (purple) and Peacock Flower (white aster) as filler. The Peacock flower looks a bit like a daisy flower...

We actually measured and cut all our flowers in advance, and laid them out in three piles. We put the frog into the container where it needed to go (depends on the time of year), and marked off our frog into quadrants so we would have the parts of the arrangement in the right spot. Then we started putting flowers in, using the formula and rules for this style of arrangement. The senseis were there to help us as we went. Once we had the Main, the Supplement and the filler in, Keiko-san would come by to check it...if it was good, she would nod and then ask us politely to take it apart and re-do it so we could learn it without help.

Once we did it again on our own, she came by to give us the nod and we were done. We all keep notebooks for the class. I take pictures as I go so I can put them in my notebook for reference later. Each arrangement gets resituated when I get home as well as water added to the container...I have been really enjoying have fresh flowers in the house and proud of the arrangements I have made!!

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Three Years Ago on In My Words...Back in the Land of the Living

10 Years of Mishka (5 Years Later)

I did this same post 5 years ago but figured since it was an anniversary of sorts that I might see how things have updated...you can click on the old version in my link below if you want to check it out.

10 years ago:

I was in between twenty-something and thirty-something.
I was living on the West Coast.
I had two cats, one named Madison, one named Chase, who we had just adopted.
I was getting ready to move to Japan.
I had a network admin certificate under my belt.
I had a pretty good job with easy hours and fun people.
I was playing soccer again pretty regularly.
I was living in the house we bought three years before.
I was spending a lot of time with my family.
I was becoming very skilled on computers.
I was not writing, singing, doing art, or playing music much.
I was too busy a lot of the time to really enjoy things.
I finally paid off my school loans and we were completely out of debt (minus the mortgage).

5 years ago:

I was thirty-something.
I was living in NC.
I was still working on my graduate program.
I had lost Madison in 2004 to old age but still had Chase and she was loving the sun room.
I had my house on the West Coast rented but was not happy with my rental company.
I was writing and reading more.
I was exercising more.
I was skinnier than I had been in a while.
I was missing my friends from Japan and hadn't really made any new ones.
I was playing soccer with two local leagues.
I was investing pretty heavily in our futures.


3 years ago:

I was thirty-something.
I was living in NC but jumping through hoops to come back to Japan.
I had just had a great Christmas trip to Panama, Belize, Costa Rica and Florida.
I had started shaving Chase regularly to keep both of us sane.
I had started looking at selling both the house in NC and the one in WA.
I was playing soccer.
I had just graduated with my master's degree.
I was officially volunteering for Google and getting lots of experience.
I was blogging a lot.
I was being creative again for the first time in a while.

1 Year Ago:

I was still thirty-something, but creeping up real close to forty.
I was living in Japan in a really cool Japanese house three blocks from the beach.
I still had Chase but we had fixed up the backyard so she could be outside part of the day.
I no longer had either home in NC or WA but owned one in OR that was being rented.
I had added two more countries to my list of travel places.
I was spending the majority of my time working for free for several non-profit organizations.
I was still volunteering for Google.
I was only being creative on selective days because my schedule was super tight.
I was not spending enough time enjoying the outdoors, singing or writing.
I was not playing soccer at all (due to lack of participants).

Today:

I am now forty and it is not as bad as I thought.
I am still living in Japan but getting ready to move to Hawaii in the fall.
I just got home from a great trip to Kyoto.
I have been able to see 8 of the Japanese islands so far and hope to get a few more in before we leave.
I am getting all my sh!t together so I can get a job when we move.
I still have Chase but she is getting older too.
I still have the home in OR and thankfully it is still rented.
I have not had any visitors from the US this time around and am looking forward to living a bit closer in the near future.
I am not writing as much as I want to, but am trying to work on that.
I am reading a lot.
I am on an exercise plan to get back to a fitter me as soon as possible.
I am getting ready to celebrate my 18th anniversary this year.
I am still not playing soccer (still no participants).
I am still investing pretty heavily in our futures.
I am not looking forward to saying goodbye to a bunch of my closest friends this summer.
I am looking forward to moving to a new place and having new adventures.
I am looking forward to being able to travel some more in this part of the world.

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5 Years Ago on In My Words...10 Years of Mishka

Kijimuna Attack

It is three in the morning. I am sleeping soundly...in fact more soundly than I usually do when I am in a new place. I hear a tap, tap, tap...I wake up. "What was that?" I think to myself, it must be Jocelyn...but I am not sure if she is tapping on the wall or on the door. I make my way to the door with no glasses, in the dark, in an unfamiliar room. Knowing how nights in her house full of animals can be, I am hoping that she is not just suffering from insomnia and in need of company as I really do want to go back to sleep. As I get close to the door, I forget that there is a step down and I almost kill myself falling towards it.

As I reach the door, I think I better ask to make sure it is Jocelyn at the door...and it is. I open the door, still feeling groggy and incoherent from being in such a deep sleep. She asks me if I am okay...I tell her I am. She looks back towards her room and tells me that something is in her room...a spirit or something. That it has woken her up on the hour for the last three hours. That the first time, it grabbed her hand, the second time it tried to smother her, and the third time it turned her TV to black screen and tried to wrap her up in the blanket so she couldn't breathe or move. I am a bit skeptical and still feeling the effects of my deep sleep so I ask her if she wants to sleep in my room. She says yes.

We walk over to her room and grab her bedding and pillow and drag it all back to my room. We make up the bed for her. She tells me again about what has happened to her now that I am more awake and can actually grasp it. We both lay down on our beds and turn out the light but continue to talk about it and question whether we could have disturbed some kind of spirit during our travels that day. We had been to several historical sites on our tour of the island, specifically a cave that had a shrine in it and was really dark and spooky.

While I have had my own experiences with ghosts/spirits in the past and am a firm believer, I am not sure how to take what has happened to her. I am hoping that it is over and we can both get back to sleep as we have another full day ahead of us. We continue to talk off and on as I get more and more sleepy. I do not realize that it is already past the 4 o'clock hour.

At some point I fall back to sleep. I am having this dream about Jocelyn, where we are in my room and it is now 7:20am and the sun is out, the room bright. I am thinking to myself that the night before must have all been our imaginations, and am about to tell her this when her daughter (Jocelyn doesn't have a daughter), walks into the room. She is about 8 years old, blond hair in a ponytail, and named Brianna. She walks over to Jocelyn's bed and starts talking to her. Jocelyn is playing with her hair and while this is going on, I am thinking to myself, "how did I not know that Jocelyn had a daughter considering how much we hang out?". Just as I have this thought in my dream, I wake up, open my eyes and realize that I was dreaming because the room is still dark.

All of a sudden, I feel these two hands pushing down on my blankets right over my hands and chest. Pushing hard, knocking all the wind out of me. I can't believe how hard the pressure is. I try twice to say Jocelyn's name but I have no air in my lungs and it just comes out as squeaks. I can feel myself not being able to take a breath in. I finally push my hands back from my chest and the pressure is released. I take a huge breath in and then say "oh my gosh". Jocelyn turns over and says, "what?". I tell her, "it just happened to me!!!". I grab my phone and look at the time...it is right at 5am. My heart is pounding...

She gets up and looks outside...the sun is just starting to lighten the sky. We talk for a few minutes but amazingly, I fall back to sleep. Minutes before 6am (which I expect will be the next attack), my phone starts to vibrate like I am getting a call (even though I am not and it is not set to silent). Right after that, Jocelyn's phone lights up like she is getting a call but she is not. Either the power of the spirit is diminishing with the coming of dawn or some other force is trying to wake us up to keep us from being attacked again at 6am. We wait out the top of the hour and then both doze back off until our alarms go off to get up at 7am...no more attacks that night.

We get dressed and get ready to meet Alex for breakfast. While we are drinking canned coffee from the machine and sitting on the seawall near our guest rooms, we talk over again what happened the night before. At this time, Jocelyn informs me that what happened to us sounds like a kijimuna attack. I know of the kijimuna but not the specifics of their attacks. I always just thought they were these little elf-like creatures that lived in banyan trees, and part of a myth. When Alex arrives, we relay the story to him (which sends him into fits of giggles) and then again when we get to breakfast at the other guesthouse. Irei-san tells us that kijimuna attacks are very common, and doesn't seem surprised by our story at all...in the course of the day, we meet several others that have been attacked in similar ways.

I feel kind of weird about the whole thing...honored that I have experienced this very unique thing but also kind of scared of the fact that what I thought was a cute story, is real. I'll never look at a banyan tree quite the same way.

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Five Years Ago on In My Words...Corona