tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70000157297852632212024-02-19T13:44:58.009+09:00Full ThangkaJeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15601227197137574887noreply@blogger.comBlogger390125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7000015729785263221.post-77337402580770578792012-08-23T21:12:00.001+09:002013-06-10T13:42:17.275+09:00Or, How I Survived My Midlife Ego Crisis
Welcome.
This is a blog chronicling a four year period from 2006-2009
during which I underwent what is commonly referred to as a midlife crisis. At that time I had been in Japan for 10 years
continuously, and for 15 years of the past 19.
Since 1988 I had been – and continue to be – a teacher of English as a
Second Language, initially at the secondary level and later in colleges Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15601227197137574887noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7000015729785263221.post-82114881680763455432009-09-20T17:23:00.004+09:002009-09-20T17:36:21.464+09:00Reality.Reality is not a thought. Reality is not what you think. Reality is not what you can think. Reality is what is immediately experienced.Reality is what it is. Truth is what it is. The real question is, what are you?Finding Freedom Beyond BeliefsSteve Hagen<!--Session data--><!--Session data-->Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15601227197137574887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7000015729785263221.post-72315544660181174162009-08-31T00:39:00.002+09:002009-08-31T00:43:19.048+09:00White Gompa 1978I ran across this photo while searching for something else and was impressed by the quality of the photo itself, as well as the complete absence of buildings surrounding the gompa. Those who have been there recently know the area is now entirely developed.The photo and accompanying story of the gompa's founding is here.#<!--Session data-->Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15601227197137574887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7000015729785263221.post-71501336519056643372009-08-19T00:39:00.004+09:002009-08-19T00:49:54.935+09:00L'ecole d'art tseringEarly this year when I was painting in Kathmandu a French film maker came to art school for a few days to shoot for a documentary. This evening I received a note from Yoji in Belgium that he saw me on TV and that the film is available for viewing online for one week only here.I feel somewhat melancholy seeing my old classmates, the temple, the school, and the neighborhood. Those were beautifulJeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15601227197137574887noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7000015729785263221.post-39787432364952293172009-08-14T21:39:00.002+09:002009-08-14T21:41:57.223+09:00A last look at Japan.Somewhere between Fukuoka and Osaka. #<!--Session data--><!--Session data-->Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15601227197137574887noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7000015729785263221.post-65683443327825139582009-08-12T16:27:00.007+09:002009-08-13T08:22:38.304+09:00And this bird you cannot changeSoon after publishing my wistful rainy morning post, a breeze from long ago blew through my in-box. It was the organizer of this year's 30th high school graduation reunion with an update on this month's event.Anyone who went to an urban US high school in the late 70's remembers three groups of students: geeks, jocks, and stoners. I was never in the second group and might have ended up in the Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15601227197137574887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7000015729785263221.post-55514774737339639162009-08-12T07:59:00.008+09:002009-08-12T08:33:57.612+09:00And then a rainbow.This morning I took my coffee on the veranda and watched the dark clouds roll over. The cicadas were chirping. A crane flew past, angling toward the river. A man came out to the park with his Shiba for the morning fag and constitutional.I was feeling a bit melancholy. Twelve years of my life in this city, in this apartment, and looking out at this view. One quarter of my life. And after Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15601227197137574887noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7000015729785263221.post-21060833926696656482009-08-09T14:26:00.007+09:002009-08-10T07:35:38.403+09:00Review: Kyoto (Japan) Vipassana Center.The Kyoto Vipassana Center was a veritable hotel.There was soap in the bathroom, detergent for washing clothes (by hand in a bucket), a spinner to save you the effort of hand wringing wet clothes, screens on all the windows, hot water on demand, clean futons, immaculate wood floors, a wide assortment of condiments (such as pickles, teas and sweeteners), insect repellent, salve for bug bites, a Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15601227197137574887noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7000015729785263221.post-41793517957580273062009-08-08T09:11:00.007+09:002009-08-09T08:01:49.471+09:00Saying Goodbye.This week I've been saying farewell to the people I meet on my daily rounds through the neighborhood, as well as a few friends and colleagues.The Fukuoka Giant Revive Club:cycling around Ohori Koen with cousin RandyThe postman (sorry to say, all these years later I don't know his name)Mr Shimizu, the neighborhood green grocerHiroyuki at Taguchi Shoten RecordsThe ladies of Fukuoka Foreign Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15601227197137574887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7000015729785263221.post-86540748288737299812009-08-05T11:54:00.003+09:002009-08-05T12:02:44.615+09:0010 hours to Dubai.My flight details came in yesterday. I was initially scheduled to fly Asiana to Seoul and then Emirates to Dubai, but I put in a friendly request and will now be flying ANA to Kansai (Osaka) and then on to Dubai by Emirates. This works out better as I can take advantage of Emirates' higher baggage allowance (which would have been impossible flying Asiana).If all goes according to plan, I'll beJeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15601227197137574887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7000015729785263221.post-9935596441485182772009-08-04T10:12:00.006+09:002009-08-04T10:19:59.452+09:00Stolen Tibetan Treasures.Back in April we attended an exhibit of Tibetan cultural relics organized by the Chinese government. It appears someone in Japan has at last decided to organize and do something to educate the media and the public. Good for them.Check out the website in English and in Japanese.#<!--Session data--><!--Session data--><!--Session data-->Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15601227197137574887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7000015729785263221.post-43485118007293045522009-08-04T09:24:00.006+09:002009-08-04T10:09:23.119+09:00Shiori (one and a half)I arrived in Fukuoka last night after a 10-day meditation retreat in Kyoto and a couple of days visiting with the in-laws. I will write more later about the Kyoto experience, but for now wanted to let you have a look at my niece.We still had some trouble communicating, as we have had since the last time we met. Besides her mother and grandmother, Shiori is wary of contact with anyone else, Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15601227197137574887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7000015729785263221.post-23596535813883678702009-07-18T15:59:00.006+09:002009-07-18T16:09:56.070+09:00Tsering's TaraIf you were with me back at the beginning of the year when I was working on my first thangka, you might remember pictures like this.On the left is my painting. On the right is my classmate Tsering, my friend and confidant who, as you can see, was working on a painting of Tara.Just yesterday she sent me some photos of the completed work, which I thought I'd share with you here. This is, as far Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15601227197137574887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7000015729785263221.post-56830075242276491102009-07-15T17:11:00.006+09:002009-07-15T17:18:51.710+09:00Ras al Khaimah at flickrRas al Khaimah, UAE, originally uploaded by jeffinmoscow.Click this link for a slideshow of photos from our new home. (Clicking on the photo will take you to the page for this photo only and not the slideshow.)#<!--Session data--><!--Session data--><!--Session data--><!--Session data--><!--Session data-->Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15601227197137574887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7000015729785263221.post-68873381569919116062009-07-14T16:10:00.005+09:002009-07-14T16:32:54.659+09:00Nagasaki: Daionji & Tomonaga-senseiYesterday Mutsumi had a couple hours of work in Nagasaki and as I haven't been in a while and as I'm unemployed and mostly ready to move to the UAE, we decided to make the trip together and rode out together on the 07:00 bus. While Mustumi was working I wandered around through Daionji, a 17th century temple which sits at the bottom of a mountain that we would later that day climb by taxi.I didn'tJeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15601227197137574887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7000015729785263221.post-27231748890689213212009-07-12T16:23:00.009+09:002009-07-12T16:49:23.769+09:00Moving to Ras Al KhaimahThe email for which I have been waiting has arrived and I can now announce that I will next month be moving to Ras Al Khaimah, one of the seven Emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates. Mutsumi will be joining me next year after completing her contract with her present employer.I will be teaching at the women's Higher College of Technologies, about which you can learn a little more on Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15601227197137574887noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7000015729785263221.post-50414079926603443542009-07-11T10:43:00.015+09:002009-07-11T15:12:58.161+09:00Limits of intellectionI don't know who Moeka Hiraoko is. Perhaps she's a student of Parissa Haghirian, an Austrian professor of management at Tokyo's Sophia University on whose website Moeka's essay is posted. Google didn't return much on Moeka except a Facebook entry, and as her essay is copyright 2009, and is about her experience studying in the United States, I guess she may even still be a student.Who she is, Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15601227197137574887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7000015729785263221.post-89760841356753456282009-07-10T10:06:00.002+09:002009-07-10T10:08:47.887+09:00Rainy seasonThe view from our balcony 07:00 this morning. Which could have been any morning this week. Wet, gray, and windy. #<!--Session data-->Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15601227197137574887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7000015729785263221.post-36498730601807950842009-06-30T21:10:00.005+09:002009-07-01T11:38:02.155+09:00The illusion of wealth and happinessWhile going through a box of books I found a 1999 copy of the Kyoto Journal, a rather special issue with articles on Donald Ritchie, homelessness in Kobe, and Princess Mononoke. But what caught my attention was a long essay titled "Buddhism and Poverty," whose author argues that the developed world's poverty reduction efforts, carried out through such organizations as the World Bank, the UN, Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15601227197137574887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7000015729785263221.post-7364816822871806582009-06-28T07:48:00.010+09:002009-06-28T10:10:36.253+09:00Finding Happiness.It seems rather intuitive.Follow the heart to happiness.Follow the herd to dissatisfaction.This is what researchers at the University of Rochester claim to have found in a small study examining intrinsic and external forms of motivation in 147 recent university graduates. Students that focused on achieving personal goals self-reported as happier than those who focused on socially defined goalsJeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15601227197137574887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7000015729785263221.post-77498641348567715662009-06-26T08:54:00.005+09:002009-06-26T13:10:20.399+09:00Shakin': Oita EarthquakeHere you see the chart from Yahoo Japan's Earthquake page, a regular feature of the weather section, with details of last night's quake in neighboring Oita Prefecture. While a pretty good shake at 4.6/7, there was no damage here, nothing falling from shelves, just a tremor to wake us from sleep.#<!--Session data--><!--Session data--><!--Session data-->Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15601227197137574887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7000015729785263221.post-33580961732717273632009-06-15T21:23:00.003+09:002009-06-15T21:32:03.034+09:00Patacara[I thought:]"Plowing the field with plows,sowing the ground with seed,supporting their wives & children,young men gather up wealth.So why is it that I,consummate in virtue,a doer of the teacher's bidding,don't gain Unbinding?I'm not lazy or proud."Washing my feet,I noticed the water.And in watching it flowfrom high to low,my heart was composedlike a fine thoroughbred steed.Then taking a lamp,Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15601227197137574887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7000015729785263221.post-79378213772034991292009-06-08T17:02:00.005+09:002009-06-08T20:57:06.837+09:00Thanks for the musicWe closed CDJam today, almost four years since we started in the late summer of 2005. Sales were always a steady dribble, enough to pay the cyber rent. A few artists recovered their start-up fees and made a small amount of money. For ourselves, I think we about covered our costs.It was fun while it lasted. It gave us a chance to meet many wonderful people, Japanese customers and overseas Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15601227197137574887noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7000015729785263221.post-25808015143889110832009-06-03T16:28:00.004+09:002009-06-03T19:33:24.574+09:00The Elephant ManI used to teach The Elephant Man to some of my university reading/writing classes. We read the graded novel (pictured), watched excerpts from the film and the students wrote a number of pieces from the point of view of the characters (Joseph Merrick to his mother, for example) or on parts of the story that invite reflection (was Dr Treves motivation for helping Merrick primarily selfish, was Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15601227197137574887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7000015729785263221.post-91279594916271830552009-06-01T20:21:00.006+09:002009-06-01T20:26:35.626+09:00My days at homeLooks rather tasty, doesn't it?This is what I do most days, make lunch. We're eating two meals a day, breakfast at around 06:30 and lunch at around 14:00. In between and after we snack. If Mutsumi is working, she'll have a bento at noon and whatever I had for lunch at around 18:30. Makes for a light stomach at bedtime, a sounder sleep, and an appetite in the morning.I've also learned a bit Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15601227197137574887noreply@blogger.com3