Fight Your Funk!!

Winter depression is a thing, and I know it kicks me right where it hurts. How about you?

Well for anyone out there looking for some zaniness or a good challenge to keep motivation up and spirits high, I suggest Fighting Your Funk. By that I mean a GISHWHES inspired short list of a few weird but fun challenges. Do one a week. Do one a day. Do one and see how it makes you feel.

There are no prizes for this other than the achievement of pulling yourself out of your funk.

For me, that's already a pretty big prize, so let's get going.

Here are 15 challenges of varying levels of difficulty. The only one responsible for laws you break or damage you incur is yourself, so choose carefully. You need not do all or any of the tasks. This is for entertainment purposes only.
When you complete a task, upload the pics or video to imgur/youtube and share them on twitter with the tag #FightyrFunk so we can all share in their awesomeness.

Here's the first list. Expect the second list in 2 weeks.

1. Re-enact a scene from a classic 1980s film using sock puppets. (like Amanda Palmer's LABYRINTH with SOCK PUPPETS )
2. Be Ironic. Donate blood while dressed as a vampire.
3. Make Mayhem. Literally. Sew, craft, weave, or otherwise decorate something with the word "Mayhem" in as many languages as you can. *(Bonus points for accurate kanji)
4. Tackle a problem you've been avoiding. You know which one I mean.
5. Volunteer at a soup kitchen while dressed as a superhero of your choice.
6. Dance in a public place where dancing is not normally seen (i.e. bookstore, supermarket, Wall Street). Music optional.
7. Send three postcards to people you have not seen in six months or more.
8. Write down five things you are thankful for. Every day. For a week. Take a picture of the 35 sentences all together.
9. Your bed is now a pirate ship. Dress yourself and your ship accordingly. *Extra points for a full crew.
10. Find 3-5 object in your home that are in good condition but rarely if ever used. Give them to someone who will use them. Objects need not go to the same person.
11. Learn a new skill and demonstrate it within a 24 hour period.
12. Teach someone your new skill from 11.
13. Come up with your own Random Act project to benefit people or a person in your area and fill out a form to make it come to life at this website.
14. Perform a short play comprised only of lines from an English phrasebook. A limit of one line per page of the book can appear in the play.
15. Make a geoglyph exclaiming, "I am fighting my funk!" Geoglyphs must extend at least 15 feet in one direction.

*Except there are no points here. We are all winners.

Have fun! Fight your funk!

Arm Warmers and Ways to Help (My Mom)

I've made a little progress in the way of arm warmer making. Video to be posted as soon as I can make that work. In the mean time, here is a picture of the completed pairs. All are completely available for $10 per pair! Free shipping!

1. The first from the left is a lightly quilted number depicting rabbits and sakura blossoms. Wear it and say, "Come on, Spring!"
2. The second is a set with illegible kanji, save for the big white characters that are parts of the names of famous Japanese military leaders. Wear it and say, "Yeah, you can't read it either, buddy!"
3. The third is a fleecy pair, short but stretchy. Fun and funky.
4. The fourth is a longer, stretchy silver pair. They remind me of Amanda Palmer, and putting them on makes me feel like a rock star.
5. The fifth is a larger set for larger arms, made with charcoal fleece and a black dragon print on light gray. Good for a dragon lover!
6. The sixth is a longer set with orange dragons on white with a tan knit insert. Again, good for a dragon lover!

I have 2 pairs of the kanji, which is lined in white. I also have enough fabric to make more of the dragons. If you see something you like, let me know. If you aren't sure about sizing, send me an email and I'll do my best to make sure you get something you can wear.


Other Ways to Help

As you can see, I'm working on making fundraiser items to help support my mom in her quest to complete her associate's degree in IT. In order to do this, she needs transportation. With no job, no money, and no car, things are pretty bleak. This is where you come in.

Things you can do to help my mom:

• Contribute to her campaign on this website. A credit card is required. If you have paypal, contact me or her to work something out.
• If you're in DFW, give her a ride when you can. Check in on her. See if you can help her when she needs it.
• Buy arm warmers from me! $10 for something to keep your arms warm.
• Buy a sock monkey from me! I can still make sock monkeys, especially those with specific Japanese themes. Ninja monkeys will be available from $10 starting next month. If you've got another theme in mind (geisha, samurai, etc.) contact me for more details.

Happy 2015 and Crafting for a Cause

Happy 2015 Blogverse!

This year, I will tend to you more regularly.

Also, this year, we're starting things off a bit wonky but focused.


I am still finishing off the last of the sock monkeys from my Endure for Kindness thing back in October, and once the last one is ready to be shipped I plan to dive right into my first ever Crafting for a Cause project: Arm Warmers to benefit this amazing cause.

For anyone who isn't already aware, my mother has fallen on hard times financially and the lingering, expensive death of her car was nothing easy to withstand. Now she has to make it across her city to finish her degree at the only campus of the community college she is attending to offer the classes she needs to finish this semester. Without transportation, she is helpless. Public transportation doesn't run late enough to get her home or conveniently enough to get her there.

Unfortunately, I have settled on the other side of the world and as a housewife no longer have the disposable income I would need to be able to help her. But I do have cloth. Cloth and craftiness and friends.

So I am going to be making arm warmers. For a $10 donation to my mom's cause (via the website listed above or preferably paypal), I will supply you with arm warmers to keep your forewarms happy and warm this winter. This donation includes shipping and my heartfelt thanks for helping my mom in any little bit that we can. The selection will be limited but interesting as all materials for this project as straight from right here in Japan. I'm collecting funds either in person or via paypal. For more information, email me.

This fund raiser runs from now until the end of January, so get your donation in today! First come first serve for selection and I will have pictures listed here and on my twitter account.

Thanks so much for your support!

Reservations, Limitations, and Politics

One of the members of my GISHWHES team, a person whom I had never met and will never meet, baffled me a bit and made me think. His middle name on Facebook was changed to Imsecond, which seemed peculiar as I have been living abroad for the last 6 years and catch up on little news in the way of conservative or religious developments stateside.
Not being one to waste too much brain power on what other people want to insert into the middle of their name, I made the basic albeit vulgar assumption that the name related to order of partners in oral sex, meaning that he preferred to act first and receive second. My mother, also on my GISHWHES team, let me know the real meaning of the term and it didn't make me feel less puzzled.

The idea that Jesus or God is first so I am second actually makes even less sense to me, as many parables within the bible say to put others first, to give the meek or the poor or just your fellow man a position you might otherwise covet. In that vein, a "true" Christian might laugh at the idea of being second, as they would be much further down the line. "I'm last" might be a more accurate statement for one following the word so closely.That might be only how this appears to me, granted.

After GISHWHES ended, I saw no need to unfriend all my group members. Why bother? Then the conservative's posts wound up on my news feed and I was forced to witness some disturbingly inaccurate and offensive material directed at all followers of Islam, some of whom I count among my friends.

I was offended and I quietly removed him. If I honestly thought someone who could share such things would be capable of discussing their repercussions and inaccuracies, I might have spared a moment to message him, but this was not worth the time.

I post this here because this event made me think about reservations and limitations. This concept that the only path that can be satisfying, just, or correct is the one that I personally am following religiously, emotionally, financially, or however is just so very limited. So basic. So lacking in compassion for the very fellow man so many holy books say to help. Yet this seems to be the point of view present time and again when dealing with ultra-conservatives, or ultra-liberals for that matter.

But that is another issue too, and touches more on the political side.

I consider myself a liberal and one of the main reasons liberalism appeals to me is that there seems to be inclusion of differences present in the liberal spectrum that doesn't usually exist within the conservative sphere. I've known a few conservatives who were comfortable with liberal friends only when there was a Republican president. When power changed, they could no longer stomach being around people with such apposing viewpoints, even if we never discussed politics as a group. It could just be me but I haven't run into as many liberals with the same problem.

My main point in all of this blather is only a tiny bit of perspective. I would never dream of limiting the whole of human consciousness and understanding to the tiny bit of life that I find enjoyable or even acceptable. Sometimes I have a hard time wrapping my head around someone else's point of view, admittedly, but when you choose to belittle another person's perspective, especially a main facet of their experience like what they choose to believe in, I can not stand by you. It's not okay. It shows such a lack of understanding and respect, I genuinely hope to never fully understand it. The point of view is far too limited.

A different friend of mine recently included in a status update the idea that a musician I am a fan of would be "the first against the wall when the revolution comes" and about this I was also a bit offended. This artist tends not to be controversial, so the need to post this confuses me. The phrase itself seems to be a running gag from origins unknown (to me anyway), but even so this seems extreme. The artist in question writes silly songs and parodies. Will the revolution really want to destroy that?

This friend was merely placed out of sight for the time being, partially because I have known him longer and partially because his turn of phrase was more confusing to me than offensive. The person I unfriended cannot understand alternatives to his own normalcy, and I most definitely fit into that category. The later guy may just have a different taste in music.

In either case, I lack the time and energy to fully communicate with either individual and instead post my ramblings here. Thanks for reading.

GISHWHES, Random Acts, and Mantis Shrimp

Hello out there, internet-land! Sorry for my frequent delays. Here's what's new for me:


GISHWHES, the Greatest International Scavenger Hunt The World Has Ever Seen was AMAZING! I have been considering making a video of my comments and tips for future Gishers since the end of this year's wild rompus back at the beginning of August. This will be done shortly, but probably not today.

I strongly recommend GISHWHES to anyone. Really anyone. If you have a little spark of madness and a little bit of time/money to spare, this is for you. I am still in shock as to how 1 week of craziness transformed how I feel about life so completely. I'll explain more in the video, when that happens.

GISHWHES benefits Random Acts, and charity founded by Misha Collins in support of making the world a better place through Random Acts of kindness. The kindness need to be entirely random. If you have an idea for something really nice you'd like to do or have done in your community, write them a proposal on their website here and if they like it, they may choose to fund it, at which point you would put it into motion and make things happen. Real change in small steps.

Now the question is, where does this funding come from? GISHWHES participants each pay $18.99 to be a part of the scavenger hunt, and this goes straight to running costs for GISHWHES and Random Acts. Random Acts is a charity and does accept donations. They encourage donations. And now here's something even more fun.

Endure for Kindness, E4K, is a fundraiser for Random Acts. Traditionally, a charity might hold a marathon and have each runner work to get sponsors who would pay a certain amount of money per mile to the charity. The last time I did something like this, it was the Math-a-thon in sixth grade, in which people (my parents mostly) pledged a certain amount of money per math problem I got correct and proceeds went to St. Jude's Children's Hospital.

Today I heard about E4K in this silly video and decided to check it out. I'm not a runner and would not have the ability to put my baby aside for a day of running. Nor would I have the time for swimming, jogging, dancing, or many other of the continuous, hours-based marathon exercises. What I do have is a bunch of worn out socks, and an idea.

I know how to make sock monkeys. I can push myself to make as many sock monkeys as possible in the time provided (a 24 hour period of my choosing between October 18th and October 19th) and ask my sponsors to pay per monkey completed. That would mean if I really work hard and make 15 monkeys and one of my friends pledged $1 per monkey, they would then give Random Acts $15.

In appreciation for their contribution, I shall send them one of the completed monkeys. Choices for specific monkey should be on a first come, first serve basis.

In other news, my serial Vampire novel Strange Fangs is back up and running at Jukepop. Check out Chapter 8.

Also,this week I burned my leg. It was a cooking accident, as most of my burns are, caused in no small part by exhaustion. I now have a personal rule concerning the number of pans or pots that I can have in usage for dinner preparation with fewer than 5 hours of sleep.

The last time I burned my leg, it was much worse. It was also caused by exhaustion, and the naive notion that if I didn't provide complete and absolute sustenance for my then boyfriend, he would inevitably leave me. Of course, that never happened. We're married now. He did prove his worth even then by rushing me to the hospital, getting me meds, and being mad at our mutual employers for not actually providing me with insurance so much as a promise of eventual reimbursement perhaps. We worked everything out and I actually didn't even wind up with any scarring, which was great.

This burn is a lot less severe, but I am keeping it lubricated and under wraps nonetheless.

After burning my leg, the previous Halloween costume idea I had been working on (weaving can tabs into a mermaid tale) seemed rather ludicrous, so instead I have opted to change gears and create a Mantis Shrimp costume. They are amazing creatures, praised by both Ze Frank and the Oatmeal, and are pretty freaking colorful.This should be fun.

I have a feeling that I will be able to find a way to use a Mantis Shrimp costume next GISHWHES. Hehehehe.

Onward and upward!

On Robin Williams and Depression

When I first saw the words Robin Williams Suicide on facebook, I assumed it was a hoax. I literally did not believe it. Just like when people start saying Jackie Chan has died. It's just a rumor, right?
After confirmation from a major media outlet, I still didn't want to believe it. How clever this would be if it were a stunt pulled for depression awareness and suicide prevention, I thought. But it's not.

The funny man is gone. I can't express the sorrow this brings me. And I know I did not know the man. His work spoke to me as it spoke to so many others. He made me was to be a comedian when I was a kid. He was just so damn funny.

And while I did not know the man, I've seen a shade of his adversary. The little voice-- if you're lucky, only a little voice-- in the back of your head that tells you to stay in bed and cry because after all, you're worthless and no one wants you. Not for a friend, not for a lover, not for a partner. Hell, you wouldn't even make a decent enemy...

Except that it is you, and you are your enemy.

I've battled through a depression or two but without a supporting group of friends, I wouldn't have made my way out.

Here we see a man of financial means who could likely have afforded the best care possible should he have seen it as a necessity. He had several children, a wife, a life worth having. Depression isn't logical. It's not about the haves and have-nots. Not really. You could have all the love and wealth in the world at your feet and none of it means anything.

I think of it like losing sight over time. One day you wake up and half of the colors are gone. You almost notice, but things seem normal enough. The next, the world is black and white. That's different, but what can you do? You go on. The next, your lightest white is what a medium gray looked like before. Something tells you it's darker than usual, but you can't really place what light and color are supposed to look like. This keeps going, your vision tunneling, until all you have is a couple of shades of gray and black. You might be able to see the happiness in other people, but you can't feel any of that. It is out of your spectrum now.

It isn't that our funny man could not have gotten help because he could not have afforded it. It's more likely that the parts of him that should have realized he needed help, that should have inspired him to pick up that phone and make that call, were instead wasting energy beating him up, or pulling him into the muck. It seems safe to assume that the call went unmade, as we are here now in a world without him, his jokes now finite.

That's what the hell of depression looks like to me. If you are suffering or know someone who is, get help. Find a physician or counselor or friend. If you need medication, find a way to get it.

And don't forget the little things. Taking care of yourself is so important and so easy to forget. Don't go overboard and spend all your savings on random crap you don't need, but do take a moment out of the hustle and bustle of your day to appreciate yourself and all the good you do. Just as a reminder. Just to keep you pointed in the right direction.

If you're sinking, call for help. A friend, a neighbor, even a stranger. Call for help. More people have fought this beast than you know. Some have won. Some have lost. No matter what, you're not alone. Don't let it convince you otherwise.

Overdue Update--Chapter 6 is Ready and Checkups in Japan

The big positive note today is that after a 2 week hiatus, Chapter 6 of Strange Fangs is up and running at Jukepop Serials.

Otherwise, my husband and I have both come down with a strain of the stomach flu. It hit my husband like a truck, actually. Luckily, our infant daughter is just fine and we're taking precautions to ensure that she stays that way.

I'm just about healed now, but spent the better part of the last two weeks being stressed about Julia's 7 month checkup and then being depressed because of the outcome. These check-ups are not merely medical checkups as we would have in the states, but take into account various socioeconomic facets in order to ensure that you properly fit into what can be considered "Normal."

Which, of course, we don't. Why would we? The mother of the family is not fluent in Japanese, bad at housework, mediocre at cooking, and not going to cook anything for the family that she herself can't or won't eat, meaning mainstays of the Japanese diet like tofu and mushrooms are right out.

The father is "normal" in that he is a full-Japanese over-worked, under-paid sort of guy. The kicker here is that he is a funeral director who may get home from work any time between 6PM and 10PM  with no discernible pattern and he does not get even one regularly occurring day off. This means that we can't just have Sunday for example be family day as he won't have every Sunday off, or even many Sundays off. It usually depends more on what's going down at his office and his schedule can change any day.

I want my daughter to have a strong bond with her father. I also don't want my fumbles in the kitchen to result in injury to my child. This means that food is prepared for dinner after my husband comes home, whenever that is. Then we feed the baby, bathe the baby, feed the baby again, and go to sleep. My goal is to have everyone in bed by midnight. This doesn't always happen, but it's my plan.

Of course, this falls way outside normal parameters. The chart they gave us to illustrate our normal feeding schedule doesn't even cover an option like this. At the checkup, we had to wait through 2 separate lectures on the topic of how we, specifically, were failing in this right. In order to properly shame us in true slow-grade-school-student fashion, we were made to wait for all the successfully normal Japanese families to leave so that we could enjoy our second elongated lecture.

Admittedly, I tuned out once they started telling us that the way we were doing it is wrong, partially because I don't have the most fluent grasp of the language. There's a part of me though that was always an overachiever, looking to ace any test I could, but I never can here. I can't even pass their tests here because what they are looking for I can never be. A "normal" Japanese housewife isn't even something I can strive to be. Not me.

I'm not saying it's a bad thing to be. I've known quite a few amazing women who happened to be Japanese housewives and they were all sharp, funny, and sweet people. It just isn't for me. I don't enjoy housework and honestly cannot clean as well as they would want. I can't abide putting that much energy into the presentation of dinner. I'd rather spend it writing. I can't even get my daughter to nap somewhere other than my lap long enough for me to regularly update this blog or write in general, which are things I genuinely enjoy doing.

My husband and friends admit that my system isn't crazy. Neither me nor Julia have any pressing business before 9AM on any given day. There is no one who needs to get ready for school or any such stuff yet. While I agree that over time this tradition will have to change, that we will have to have her in bed earlier to help her internal clocks adjust and ensure she has enough rest for the day, right now it's just not necessary, regardless of what other babies are doing.

I'm aiming to change this, of course. One day, we'll be waking up bright and early so that we might have a family breakfast with Daddy before we run off to school or wherever. On those days, we will have an earlier bedtime and an earlier wake-up time.

But not yet.