happy, but still jumpy
i am incredibly buzzing today after finding out i was granted volunteer leave for my trip to papua new guinea. i am so lucky to be blessed with such a great employer (the shibata BOE) who understands how important this trip is. to be fair, the students are out of school during this time anyway (spring break), so if i were to stay in japan i wouldn't have had to come to school anyway. so now, with more days left of nenkyu (payed holiday), i am able to have more flexibility with regards to where i spend golden week (in may). but at the moment i am torn between holland (really want to go, might get to see mj, long overdue for a visit) and kyushu (will get to see my friend tasha, will be much cheaper). is it really realistic for me to go to thailand, papua new guinea, and holland within 5 months?
on a different note, it turns out that none of us are really completely over the earthquake. the other night there was a small group of us sitting in immigrant's cafe (a restaurant in niigata city) and there was a sudden rumbling. the five of us jumped out of our seats, i yelled 'holy f$ck' as i felt my heart thumping in my chest. it was only someone falling down the stairs, but the guy beside me said, "you thought it was an earthquake, didn't you?" and we all chimed yes in agreement. it's something i'd never experienced before, and although the last of the major ones was over three months ago (not including the smaller one the other day), every time there is any kind of a loud noise or shaking, it's an automatic reaction to freeze, and my heart just goes wild. everyone i know has been going through the same thing. i wonder if it's partly because so often we were jolted awake during deep slumber to our apartments shaking. being 10 seconds before in a deep dream, we would sit up straight, and grip the blankets, wondering if we should stay inside or go outside. fight or flight. feeling it start with a low intensity and either become stronger and last for what seemed like eternity, or automatically stop after only several seconds. absolute adrenaline pumping through your veins. the same feeling after running from the waves. every muscle and joint throbbing, feeling the blood pumping, pumping. being on the verge of tears, red faced, deep breathing, every inch of you tingling and charged. not knowing what's going on or what's about to happen.
on a different note, it turns out that none of us are really completely over the earthquake. the other night there was a small group of us sitting in immigrant's cafe (a restaurant in niigata city) and there was a sudden rumbling. the five of us jumped out of our seats, i yelled 'holy f$ck' as i felt my heart thumping in my chest. it was only someone falling down the stairs, but the guy beside me said, "you thought it was an earthquake, didn't you?" and we all chimed yes in agreement. it's something i'd never experienced before, and although the last of the major ones was over three months ago (not including the smaller one the other day), every time there is any kind of a loud noise or shaking, it's an automatic reaction to freeze, and my heart just goes wild. everyone i know has been going through the same thing. i wonder if it's partly because so often we were jolted awake during deep slumber to our apartments shaking. being 10 seconds before in a deep dream, we would sit up straight, and grip the blankets, wondering if we should stay inside or go outside. fight or flight. feeling it start with a low intensity and either become stronger and last for what seemed like eternity, or automatically stop after only several seconds. absolute adrenaline pumping through your veins. the same feeling after running from the waves. every muscle and joint throbbing, feeling the blood pumping, pumping. being on the verge of tears, red faced, deep breathing, every inch of you tingling and charged. not knowing what's going on or what's about to happen.
posted by Justine at 7:20 p.m.
4 Comments:
Nice one...pleased you got the volunteer leave...im v jealous.
Remember tomorrow ok? 2 mins silence at 11am, then respectful and thoughtful throughout the day.
RIP walter
xxxx
kat, maybe we could plan the whole night around His honour. i mean, he meant so much to so many people - it's a very emotional time. are you sure you, lindsay and holly are going to be stable enough to meet up? we could always reschedule our girl's night. although maybe we should all be together at a time like this.
To Walter, RIP.
Esther's mum:
I would not hesitate to fly at the least rumble! that is so scary!
and Justine, to post photos, click on the little icon next to the photo you took and that Mag posted on the Proothams blog, and follow instructions to download Hello! It's a bit unintuitive, but if I managed it, you can too.
thank you, mireille. i have this bad habit of skipping over information, not quite reading it properly. finally figured it out!
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