Monday, April 21, 2008, 6:29 a.m., D.S.T.~

Dear Journal~

Ohaiyo!  Genki deska?  Genki des!

As you can see from the opening, it's just li'l ol' me, Michiko Osaka, writing.

I just moved back into my house after spending weeks in a temporary shelter.  House sustained heavy damage from the tornadoes of February 5 of this year.  Second time I've been in a tornado.

Maybe I need to move to somewhere--like ALaska??  The only storms they have there are magnetic; the worst damage they can do is mess up your radio/tv/Internet! LOL

A tornado is how I lost my vision.  Glass got into my eyes, haven't been able to see anything but shadows since (and that's when I'm in a brightly lit room); any other time all I see is grey or even black. 

Now I have my seeing eye dog (or my cane) to get me from place to place.  I think I am coping with my blindness pretty well most days.

The last time I wrote I was fighting a terrible head/chest cold.  I have since recovered from that, haven't had too many problems since then, thank goodness.  I've been able to return to work, feels nice to be making money again!

Also feels good not to worry about gas prices, seeing I walk everywhere!  I can't drive; I'm blind!! LOL

I am still working; was off briefly when I was in hospital with pneumonia, that hurt the ol' paycheck.  Had to scrimp/save every penny, every dime, for a week; it was not easy!  Now I'm back in business, work Monday-through-Friday, then off on Saturday and Sunday.  Perfect for me!

Yesterday my brothers Kenji and Kaz (Kazuhiko) (as well as my sisters Aama, Hiroku, and Kyoko) came over; we went to the park, where we had a nice picnic lunch.  The weather was beautiful:  sunny and pleasantly warm, just perfect springtime weather.  We were there all afternoon; we spent the day talking about each other's lives.  It was a most satisfying afternoon.  

We will have to do that again some time; now that the cold weather has left, we can.

Well, I am going to have to let the dog out; he's acting like he has to go out in the yard, do his thing.  Don't want him messing up in my room; knowing my luck, I'd step in it, which is nothing short of disgusting! EWWW! LOL  Take care and may God bless you!

~Love, your friend, Michiko O. :)