That was a heavy down pour...

...followed by an earthquake hours later.I'm not one to post about earthquakes or fear them. I was five when the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake hit the Bay Area. I had one Japanese person say, "You're lucky that America doesn't have earthquakes." Say WHAT? o_O When I told them I've experienced an earthquake back in 89', I was told it probably wasn't as bad as the Hanshin earthquake, which actually was the same magnitude as the Loma Prieta. Go figure. o_O

That random down pour this morning was a sign of typhoon season is starting. I don't really mind typhoons, except that they bring floods. (I don't like wet shoes, much more my home being more than wet.) That I don't like. I do like the feel of it raining and it being humid. It's better than a cold, wet, hurricane. That's worse on your health.

Well, it has been awhile since I posted. I met up with a friend I haven't seen in awhile and we went to the batting center to bat away pent up stress. The muscles in my arms don't hurt, which surprises me since I batted about seventy-five times. It's my abs, lower back, and shoulders that are in pain. I managed to hit the ball a couple of times (yes a couple). Somehow, I swung the bat and the knob hit the side of my forearm, resulting in a small bruise. I told my students about the bruise and they went, "How'd you do that?!" It puzzles me just as much as the students. Well, since my abs are giving me trouble, an excellent time to make a come back to the gym after being sick on and off since February. I finally kicked my cough, so I'm back in action.

I feel bad since I haven't mailed anyone back for awhile. If I haven't mailed you back, sorry. Lately, I've been busy with a lot of things which is why I haven't been updating this blog as much as I would like. Fear not, I plan to take it easy this weekend, and hopefully the next, to get back on track. But for now, I need to recover from the batting center.

One good thing about the added stress that I have is that I've improved in my Japanese class. I got about seventy-five percent correct on my practice exam...that I didn't know about until I walked into class. I bombed in once section because I totally skipped over it when I did the homework. (Which is SO me! Whoops!) Seventy-five percent isn't bad for not knowing I had a test. The N1 Listening exam however is a totally different story. (For those who don't know, N1 is the highest level of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test and it is ridiculously difficult beyond belief. The N2 certificate is needed to work for Japanese companies, but recently the companies require N1.)

Thought for the day: How do you release pent up stress?