The weather.com forecast had predicted a 100% chance of precipitation, but not the correct form thereof.  With my curtains closed, I didn’t realize that the flakes were still falling until I glanced outside during breakfast.  It explained why my room had felt colder than the night before and why I’d heard little squeals and shrieks outside when I woke at 5:30 am.  With snow on the ground, boys will be boys, and girls will be girls, whether they’re styled to the tips of their hair or not. 

Snow kept falling on my way to church.  I finally got into the story part of “Things Fall Apart,” but at times regretted bringing along that book and my Bible, because they obstructed access to my camera.  Fortunately, the snow is a patient subject.  Drivers had to practice patience, pedestrians caution.  A bamboo shoot cracked and fell onto the path in front of me, tiled surfaces became slippery, and cars sprayed mush. 

The sermon this morning was on 1. Corinthians 3:16-20, mostly on 18-20.  Yes, 1. Corinthians again…  This passage talks about becoming a fool in order to become wise.  I find myself conflicted over that.  On the one hand it should be obvious that a broken, corrupt culture can only be battled with a completely different mindset, but on the other hand, even a broken culture may act as a channel for true wisdom in some cases.  While some truly wise things will be regarded by the cultural majority as foolish, certainly some true wisdom will also meet approval.  My point is that we can’t dismiss out of hand everything the world does as ultimately foolish, nor does the church always have a corner on true wisdom.  But even if I’m right, I know that there are too many cases where I err on the side of fitting in where I should risk apparent foolishness.  Part of my problem is not always being able to discern true wisdom; part of it is a lack of courage. 

Big fat wet flakes fell during the sermon, which I struggled to understand.  I’ll know my Japanese is good when i can understand a sermon.  After church, two boys and Tim rushed outside to toss a couple snowballs and build a snowman.  People were worried about getting home, and one lady hesitated to leave the parking lot because her windshield wipers wouldn’t work.  Judith had access to a van with 4-wheel drive and winter tires, so the three of us made it safely to Dohtonbori, an okonomiyaki place.  People were beginning to shovel snow off their sidewalks, but it kept on falling. 

On my way home I tried to find different items, and atop that list a ceramic manekineko.  After a long search I found some that doubled as piggy banks and on top of that looked cheap, so I ended up buying none.  The same store, Tokyu Hands, also carried male wigs that would have made me look like the KAT-TUN boys, but alas, they were too expensive for that kind of a one-off gag.  The theme of chocolate wove itself through my whole shopping experience because Valentine’s day is coming up and this most Japanese of Japanese holidays involves heavy chocolate trafficking.  I almost gave in and bought a Wonka chocolate, until I realized it was made in Australia. 

So I went home, bought some combini food on the way, and the only thing keeping me from bed is this blog.  I still owe you pictures, now even more, but I’m having a hard time uploading.