clearly i'm not good at updating

I haven't updated in a while for multiple reasons.  Perhaps I find that nothing in my life is of interest or worthy of being shared.  Perhaps I've been busy lately.  Or perhaps, and likely the most correct answer, I've been lazy.

While looking through pictures of events to post here, I realized that quite a few things of interest have happened since my last post.  I don't know where to begin or in what order to organize them, so perhaps chronological order is best.

Let's start with Jelly Bean.  Fukuoka has a professional basketball team called Fukuoka Rizing.  They're terrible.  They also play a few home games in both Iizuka and Tagawa Gymnasium which is essentially the equivalent of a high school gym.  I'd even claim that high school gyms are nicer.  Anyway, it was an interesting experience to see Japanese watch basketball and reminder that Japan is a strange place.  Just for reference, the skill level was probably the same as a D3 college basketball game.  Oh, and Kobe Bryant's dad is the coach for the Fukuoka team.  Pretty cool? Or not.

The next most exciting event would probably be strawberry picking in Kumamoto.  All I can say is great times with great friends.  We first started with strawberry picking near Mt. Aso.  We then drove up to Aso and had lunch.  After that we decided to enjoy our times at an Onsen in Kurokawa.

The next big event would be the shifting of teachers at my school.  Japan, or at least Fukuoka, as far as I'm concerned, has a strange system in which after every school year (school years begin in April), teachers will move to various schools within the prefecture.  Teachers do not know when, if, or where they will move to until maybe 2 weeks prior to the new year.  It's quite sad and sudden.  Unfortunately, I lost 2 of my favorite teachers to other schools.  School has been much different without them but it's all part of the experience!  I will surely miss Oyama and Sakai sensei.  On a side note, in Japan "tea time" is at 10am and 3pm.  Therefore, during Oyama sensei last few weeks, I would make her tea, because why not.

Sakai Sensei

Tea Time

Tea Time.  The last tea time.

The first day without Oyama Sensei.  I still made tea and didn't know
who to give the tea to.

The most noteworthy event would probably be that my family visited!  My mother, grandmother, and family friend, Larry, visited me during the last week of March.  I was able to show them around Iizuka and Fukuoka city.  We then went to Yufuin and Beppu.

Last but not least.  Sakura season has come and gone.  I am very happy that my family was able to see Sakura and even experience a Hanami with Joel and Amy.  Thank you everyone.  

Other various things have happened as well.  So here are a bunch of pictures that remind me of good times.  Hopefully I'll remember to update this more often so that single posts are loaded with a million pictures.

So. Last but not least.  I've built up a music studio in my house.  Lots of free time.  So let's hope that some good will come out of this.  Expect some demos out soon.  Jutaku Records Kawashima!