Thursday, April 22, 2010

Cafe Marche and Baking ... stuff...

Eiko says...

I open the door to the 3rd floor where we bake all of the cafe's yummies, and I'm hit with the sickeningly sweet smell of sugar, vanilla, and chocolate, and I feel nauseous. After being in the kitchen all day baking cookies, muffins and the like, I feel sick just smelling anything in the baked-snack category! The worst part about the whole deal is that my room is situated right next to the kitchen, so I can't really escape the smell without breathing, and since not breathing is NOT an option, I am forced to smell everything that I've been baking all day. PLUS, the smell is in my hair and clothes!! Definitely no escape there!
I would open the windows wide for ventilation, but Mr. and Mrs. Narita don't like the warmth of the room escaping, and therefore, I am stuck in a stuffy, sweet-smelling kitchen, suffocating... slowly... slowly...

Like I mentioned before, we are extremely short-staffed. It's no secret. After giving the kids devotions tomorrow, I have 10:30 AM till 5:00PM to get as much baking finished as possible for the next day, and from 5:00PM till 10:00PM, I have a shift at the cafe. Everybody else is cooking the Home's meals, doing clean-up duty, taking a 5~7 hour shift at the cafe, teaching and caring for the kids, doing the dishes, home laundry, shopping, etc.

I am going to become a complete coffee addict.

I am going to start hating anything with sugar in it very soon.

I am desperate to find a way to keep my hair from smelling like whatever I was baking. Perhaps I should wear a hat of some kind while I'm in the kitchen?

I am going to have to seriously figure out a way to get my exercise time in there... Might start waking up earlier... or there's always the option of working out after we close shop.

This is my very random Cafe Marche/Baking-woes post.

balance

Eiko says...

It's so easy to let your physical and spiritual health go down the drain when things are crazy busy, and when there is no end to the things that have dead lines etc., but I realized that if you really do let go of your physical and spiritual health, and you try to become a human fix-it-all-machine, you come to the sad realization that there really is no end to the things that have dead lines, and the very best you thought you could offer will never be quite enough. And that really sucks.

Ever since the end of the Kids Camp, and getting sick, and moving to Lodge Home, I had pretty much lost all the balance in my life, and everything was suffering for it, and I realized that I was getting a lot less done than I could have, had I been taking proper care of myself, PLUS I was miserable because of it!

Being that our Home is trying to open a cafe and also being extremely short-staffed, with the Home to run and children to educate and care for, even just taking a few moments off for yourself seems quite selfish. But I realized that if you don't prioritize right, than you will just be a human-chicken with your head chopped off, accomplishing very little, and feeling like a ... well, a human-chicken with your head chopped off!
A.K.A STRESSING-ZOMBIE, READY 2 COLLAPSE!
Sad.

Anyhow, after a long day of baking for the cafe opening, and organizing a very unorganized and dirty kitchen all the way till 10:00 PM, my body was literally begging me to take better care of it. I decided to listen, and although it was quite late, I decided that a work out was a MUST!
After the work out, I felt like I was on the top of the world! The contrast was amazing!
Must get the balance back.
It makes the world of a difference.

If you've been cutting back on sleep, take a nap. If you've been neglecting exercise, than dedicate a chunk of time for it. If you'be been cheating on Jesus by putting other gods before him, well, that's not so smart, and will eventually be your grave.

I've got a lot to learn about balance and prioritizing, but I think the situation that I'm in now is gunna help me become better @ it.
Ganbarimasu.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Cafe Marche

Eiko says...

I want a camera!!!

I've been taking tons of super cool pictures of the Cafe Opening with my keitai, but I don't have a cord to connect my keitai to the computer, and sending pictures to my E-mail is way too pricey, so the blog posts from now until I get someone to send me pictures, will be BORING! Pictures are the LIFE and BREATH of a blog, especially when the blogger isn't so literate, like me.

Anyway, Cafe Marche is looking great, and dear Uncle James came to our rescue once again and added his artistic touch to the decor.

I was actually not so sure about how popular our cafe will be, but it seems like word had spread that we'll be opening a cafe, and there are quite a few neighbors that are interested in bringing their family and friends over. The fact that there aren't much "hang out" spots around, and that we have live music on the week ends is totally to our advantage. You all oughta drop by and give us and our cafe a visit. You'll be impressed.

And my mind is in complete confusion.

Writing a blog post during a home meeting where everyone is picking daisies, and no one is sticking to the pre-planned agenda is NOT a good idea. I'll write more faithfully from now on, so keep checking my blog out.

Will write more later.

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Proof of Life


Eiko says...

I'm alive and well. My cold is basically all better, and since I've now got the comfiest bed ever, sleep comes easily.

The other night, me, Aich, and Nina all chilled over some drinks and ice-cream on the roof, enjoying the beautiful Tokyo lights from the wonderful vantage point that the top of a 7 story building can offer. It's perfect up there, esp. in the summer when you can appreciate the cool breeze and beautiful view at night, and in the scorching afternoon, you get to work on your tan.

It's wonderful being able to live with girls my age, and not only are we all 19, but we get along really well! Woo hoo! Oh, yeah, Ken isn't really a girl, but he's also 19, and that makes 4 of us 19 year olds living under the same roof! David lives down the block and visits often. It's quite ironic that he's also 19.

And all that 19 year old stuff was quite irrelevant.

cheerz

P.S

AKARI!!
Hurry up and update me on life over there! NOW!

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Saigo Naito

Eiko says...

Last Night at Icthus
It's the last night I'm spending at Icthus Home, and the last thing I feel like doing is sleeping it off. So I won't--at all. Being that it's already 1 AM, I don't have much problem there, since Dad and I are heading for Tokyo come 5:30.

It's been real fun
It's been a wonderful stay here at Nasu. I remember the eagerness I felt packing up my old room at T.O.M home, vacuuming up all the dust bunnies, and throwing out a dozen garbage bags full of garbage, moving in to this house, carrying boxes and fit-cases full of stuff, organizing the kitchen, figuring out where things ought to be and where they definitely should NOT be, deciding how to fit two people in the tiny closet Boris and I call a room, exploring the neighborhood, naming the cows, enjoying the snow, being able to cook a variety of dishes due to the decrease in stomachs to satisfy and please, etc, and it's all been absolutely wonderful.

Moving On
Finding out that this place isn't exactly where I should be now was a tiny bit unexpected, but also exciting, and I will most definitely miss everybody here, the fresh, country/manure air, Boris, the cows, the friendly neighbors, Boris, the beautiful nature, ... did I mention Boris? Kinda irrelevant, but a very comforting thought is that so many things change and/or don't work out, or simply up and fail, but the Anchor is always THE Anchor, and It's proven to be dependable time and time again.

I'm recovering well
My cold is healing up nicely, thanks to all of you nice people who prayed for me. The head ache is completely gone, as well as the back ache and the dizziness. My throat only hurts in the morning, and my nose is also calming down and is disposing less junk. I have nasty coughing spells from time to time, but it's getting MUCH better. My voice sounds less raspy and ugly,... I'm like 83 % healthy, as opposed to my normal 95% health state.

I'm Looking Forward to
*Seeing Hiki
*Moving into my new room and arranging it
*Finding out my place in Lodge Home
*Boris visiting me at Lodge Home
*and a few more things and events

Aaaand, believe it or not, I will now attempt a computer game w/ Boris!! Computer games are so NOT my thing, but change and challenging yourself, and not being afraid to do-the-new are things that are healthy and good, and therefore,... staying up past mid-night playing a computer game after a few movies is a good thing. Yeaaaah...

That just sounds so wrong.

I can hear Mom and Dad snoring in the next room.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

packing the bags

Eiko says...

It's the day after tomorrow!!

I just started packing the bags, and getting ready for the move to Lodge Home, and I'm realizing all over again how much clothes I have, and how much of it I DON'T wear, but HOPE to wear someday, when the appropriate occasion arises.
I also came face to face with the enormous amount of sketch books I have with unfinished sketches scattered throughout the pages--some with potential of becoming something beautiful and awesome, and others with no potential at all.
And once again, I was forced to confront my dust allergy.
Whenever I do a major room clean up, or sorting escapade, the stirred up dust irritates my nose, and I can't stop sneezing, and my eyes get all watery. That plus my already present cold was not a happy combination.

I will miss my sweet family. Boris in particular.

I just recently watched A Perfect Getaway starring the hottie from Hitman (a.k.a Timothy Oliphant) and a few other famous actors and actress that are less than note worthy compared to Timothy Olyphant, and I simply LOVED every bit of it!
If you're looking for a thriller/mystery/drama, than this one is FOR YOU!
Basically, simply put, the story involves 3 couples, and one of the couples is suspected to be the murderous-psychopath-couple the latest articles in the paper are raving about, but you don't know which couple it is until the very end. Exciting, right?
Watch it!
You'll love it!

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Jason Mraz, U R LUVED!!

Eiko says...

I had just come back from the Kids Camp, completely exhausted and starting to feel the head and throat ache kicking in, when Boris pulled me aside for a little "pick-me-up" and showed me this vid!!
This little guy, (don't even know his name) is the perfect imitation of an Asian Jason Mraz! The only thing he's missing is the hat!! The kid's effing adorable, and I luv him!

BACK!!

Eiko says...

It's been a while since I've posted, but I've got a wonderful string of excuses:

*I was busy preparing for the Kids Camp.
*I was busy staffing the Kids Camp.
*I was busy getting sick after the Kids Camp.
*I was busy recovering from the nasty cold I caught from the Kids Camp.
*I was busy making excuses and being lazy.

By the way, a huge thanks to all of you who kept this Camp--and me in particular-- in your prayers. I did NOT die as I thought I would, the night bus thingie was uneventful in a good way (a.k.a no perverts), the facility's staff were accommodating, the food was edible, the kids were generally well behaved, and I had fun. I only sorta collapsed at the very end of the camp, in the car that took me back home.
No biggie.

After staffing last year's OC camp, I could barely pull myself out of bed for the next couple of days. I was completely void of any kind of strength, and I felt like a zombie lady. This camp though, I didn't feel like a zombie lady by the end of the camp, although completely exhausted, and I actually thought that I could get away without getting sick. I was very wrong.
First day after the camp, I was just simply exhausted. The second day after the camp, I felt a very strange, stinging in my throat. The 3rd day after the camp, I had a nasty cough, my head was throbbing, and strangely, my whole back ached, and I would feel faint and dizzy when I'd stand up. I definitely got sick.

And now, I'm getting better! Yay!

And here is some exciting news:
I am going to change Homes!

Nice!!

.