rain rain rain........

It is Saturday, September 24th exactly 5:56 p.m. It is raining in Las Vegas. 

I love the sound of rain. It is soothing.

I love the smell of rain. It is, for some reason, calming. 

( I have a fetish for "funny" smell. We'll save this topic for later)

I also love the fact that I can sit here in front of my computer typing away while catching up on "Dexter" not worrying about stepping outside in the rain. 

I do have to make a quick run to the grocery store but that can definitely be procrastinated until tomorrow.

Today is my "no-outside-work, Saturday."  

Now, if you have caught on with my verbiage; 

Yes, I am implying that I have TONS of "inside work" to complete. 

Funny story:

I grew up having to go to a Japanese school after public school four days out of the week. I had school from 8 in the morning to approximately 8 or 9 in the evening (12 hr shifts). My Japanese school was in my interpretation, "pretty hardcore." Every year, in the beginning of November, we had what was called, a "Kanji Contest ." Kanji is a Japanese way of saying, Chinese characters (if you didn't know, Japanese people do use Chinese characters in written form of communication). Since it was a contest, our scores were pretty vital to our reputation at school. Growing up, it was a family business to pass this test. I remember my father creating a poster for me with hundreds of Kanji characters. It was the "osmosis method." The poster was suppose to allow smooth absorption of characters. 

I'm not sure what happened to all the motivation but when I reached the fine year of six grade, I decided to not give a "rat's butt" about this so-called, contest. I could careless. What was this test going to do? Pay for all of my Roxy Clothes (my favorite brand back then)? The answer was: No. So, I decided not to study for the test at all. I ended up with a failing score and I was scheduled for a retake. I was the only one in the class that didn't pass. Was I embarrassed? Not really. I actually felt kind of cool for beating the odds. Even though being rebellious added to my coolness factor, I really had to pass the test the second time. I studied and prepared for the retake. 

A few weeks later, finally the ever-so anticipated retake-day approached. I even brought my kanji list to my middle school and studied during English and Social Studies. It was my prerogative to pass the test. After school, I headed to J-school and was sent to a special room with a special proctor to retake the test. Guess what, was I able to write all the characters? No. I had ten left. I needed those ten to pass the test. So, what did I do? I bribed the proctor for answers. 

I said, "I"ll bring you 12 pieces of your favorite sushi if you give me answers of these ten characters. Since, we're the only ones here, as long as I don't tell anyone, no one will know."
The proctor responded, "What kind of sushi are you talking about?"

Of course, I said, "Any kind You like. (good thing my father was a sushi chef)"

So the proctor said, "Its a deal, I haven't had sushi in a while and I know your father is a fine chef. How about you get me two fatty tuna, two regular tuna, two salmons...... (the list went on)." 

So, my intention was to promise him the sushi, forget about it and, pass the test.

Well, so my mother came to pick me up from school. The first thing she asked me was, "how did the retake go (surprisingly, she wasn't so concerned about me not passing the first time)?"
I said to her, "I passed."

My mother said, "How can you be so sure?"
So, I laughingly told her that I bribed the proctor for answers.
My mother now furious said to me, "You cannot betray a hungry man! If you promise someone food, you have to bring it to them." What was surprising and actually comical is the reason why my mother was angry with me. It was not because I bribed the proctor (should be considered sinful in my family) but that I had promised him something and that I was about to betray him. My mother  immediately drove me to my father's restaurant, had me explain the situation to my father and beg for sushi. My father being the nice-one of the family, packed 14 sushis instead of 12. My father actually complimented me for my cleverness but said he would have appreciated it if I had told him my plans in advance. My mother drove me back to school immediately (at this time, it was already 9:30 in the evening) in order for me to deliver the sushi. 

Lesson learned, if you promise someone food, you better give it to them or else, my mother will come after you.