Oct. 21

Some numbers for you:

I just got home after my 6th Thrift Shop. For the uninitiated, Thrift Shop is a staple of CAJ life: twice a year (once in October, again in April), the PTA organizes a two-day event in which community members can bring unwanted furniture, clothing, books, etc (especially useful in a missionary community in which a family may need to move and get rid of many household items in a hurry), and those items are sold for incredibly low prices. Over the course of the week (really, in the course of an evening), the CAJ gym undergoes an impressive transformation: tarps are laid down on the floor, shelves brought up from storage and all of the items that will be sold are put out and hung up. The gym is unrecognizable by the end of this process.

On Friday, the Thrift Shop is open to the CAJ community: students, teachers, parents, etc. The students (seniors/sophomores in the fall, juniors/freshmen in the spring) sell concessions and the Korean moms make and sell Korean Barbecue (personally my favorite part of the whole Thrift Shop experience). Various musical ensembles play (this year it was the band, the jazz band and "High Maintenance", a staff ensemble primarily made up of maintenance workers). On Saturday, the Thrift Shop is opened to the broader Japanese community, along with the concessions. As anyone who has worked at Thrift Shop on a Saturday can well attest, this is a hectic and busy day (I am usually responsible for making hot dogs and this job is responsible for my hatred of hot dogs).

So yeah, just got back from my 6th Thrift Shop. It's crazy to think I've been here that long, though I suppose for some in the community, the number is well over 60 or 70.

Another number: Yesterday marked 8 weeks since school started. This means the year is just under a quarter of the way finished. Scary thought... I have so many goals for this school year and I'm reminded of the fact that time is ticking. I can't afford to coast!

Well... I have to head out--meeting friends for dinner... but I do hope to write more this weekend in the absence of a cross country meet. I love cross country, but I can't deny that having Saturday open will be a good feeling!