greetings from nasu

Eiko says...

Staying at the parent's place

My stay at Lodge Home made me appreciate so many things about my parent's place in the peaceful countryside. I don't have a problem with being busy, and I actually would prefer bordering on being too busy as opposed to being too relaxed. I like the 'up tempo' lifestyle because it gives me a sense of accomplishment and makes me feel like I'm actually doing something. But after taking a few steps back, I've realized how much I've been craving the peaceful environment. It's great to be able to just SLEEP, and not be worrying about anything in particular. It's been a very relaxing week in so many ways, I almost feel over rested. Too much of this will eventually get me edgy, but I haven't reached the point of being 'over rested' just yet, so I'm still good.

Health and stuff

In the past few weeks, I've noticed a strange pain in my back, and it's been bothering me for a while. At first I didn't think much of it, and that it was probably the work load, but it seemed to worsen after coming here to Nasu. It really caught my attention during a work out session, when I couldn't complete a certain exercise that I have been able to do without any problem before. The pain in back nearly paralyzed me! It almost feels like a strain, a dull pain, and if I bend over past a certain angle, my back gives in. The pain also occurs when I lay down, flat on my back. It's extremely uncomfortable.

Last night, because of the pain in my back, I slept on my side, only to wake up with my arm that I had used as a pillow, all stiff. I think my upper body is a pain magnet. My shoulders cramp up easily, and I get neck strains. I'm hoping this can be remedied by better posture, strength training and an overall healthier schedule.

Other than my back issues, I am happy and healthy. As I noted earlier, I am SLEEPING! I'm sleeping so well, I can't even drag myself out of bed in the morning! THIS is the life!! I am loving my sleep!

Reboot-ing

Being that my daily schedule is very relaxed, I have a lot of time to read and study the reboot material. With all the changes that are being addressed so suddenly, there will be people who will either love the 'new' TFI, or people who won't be so happy with the 'new' TFI and all the changes that are happening. I am among the ones who are lovin' the changes. But at the same time, I'm finding myself at a minor identity crisis. Notice that I said 'minor'.

Because although I'm very happy about there being more freedom in how we can live our faith, being that a big part of our lives have consisted of following rules and living up to standards, and our discipleship and membership being measured by how well we've been doing in those respects, when those things are so suddenly taken away, I feel a bit shaky and unsure about what exactly I want to do from now. I feel like the chained eagle, that had just been released from the chain! The chain no longer exists, but I've been so used to doing things in a certain way, that I think it will take a bit of time getting used to having 'wings' and learning how to use them. I feel like I want to explore these new changes. The problem is that I don't exactly know how to do that. Therefore, the 'minor' identity crisis exists. I'll be getting over it as soon as I get used to all this new stuff that's happening.

Art

For the 100th time, I'm giving up on art! I seriously suck at it. For one, my patience for art has gone way down. After the basic sketch and the first layer of shading, I'm board out of my mind with the picture I'm drawing1 Secondly, I'm simply getting bad at it. I'm losing the 'touch', and it's become pretty obvious. It's more difficult and it takes more time for me to get the proportions right, and my shading skills have dropped. More importantly though, I'm losing the desire to draw to begin with. I don't have the inspiration.

But although my skills have been going down the drain, the other Matsuoka artists have only been getting better and better! Akari and Yuya have been practicing and the results of their efforts are amazing! Check out their latests: a pencil drawing of Brittany Murphy by Akari, and the character of Richard Sharpe in color by Yuya at Matsuoka Art!

Okay, well, I'll blog more later, because frankly, I'm blank. Life has been pretty uneventful these days. Actually, I take that back. There have been some pretty memorable moments and events that happened this past week. But some stuff just shouldn't be read by people that aren't directly involved, which is YOU, so I'm keeping that to myself.