I'll Start With a Quote

Years ago as a missionary, I came across a quote that I really liked. It was given by President N. Eldon Tanner years ago at a General Conference. When I heard this I immediately took to liking it and wrote it down. The quote is as follows:

The tongue is the most dangerous, destructive, and deadly weapon available to man. A vicious tongue can ruin the reputation and even the future of the one attacked. Insidious attacks against one's reputation, loathsome innuendos, half-lies about an individual are as deadly as those insect parasites that kill the heart and life of a mighty oak. They are so stealthy and cowardly that one cannot guard against them. [CR, April 1972, p. 57]

Today I was caught off guard and said some things that I probably shouldn't have. Not only that but, I was totally out of character when I was saying it. I am not sure how the receiver received it but I, the deliver, have felt like crap all day long. It goes back to this quote. Once you say something you can't take it back and unfortunately once every now and then you've got to re-learn this the hard way. I've always been one who has tried to keep my opinions to myself but, for some reason today I thought I had to speak my mind. There is another saying I've come to liking that goes something like

"The best thing I've ever said came ten minutes late".

How many times have you said something only to run the conversation through your head over-and-over only to come to the conclusion of how you should have said it thats where I am now. Well, c'est~la~vie; All I can do is apologize and keep on keeping on.

On a different note, today I spent three hours scanning important documents onto my computer so I don't have to bring the hard copies to Japan with me. These are things like taxes, bank information, Ayumi's green card application stuff etc. Things I'd rather have a copy of in case they come back to haunt me. I scanned about three hundred pages and tried my best to organize it so if I need to retrieve it (which I hope I don't) it won't take me too long.

I'm now just realizing how little time I have and how much I have to do. Ayumi is plugging away in Japan trying to find us a place to live. The school over there provided an apartment for us which Ayumi went to see but, we can't have our cat there. It turns out o.k. though because Ayumi told me it was in bad shape and the current tenant tells us there is quite a mildew problem. She's been looking around in Shima and the nearby cities and may have found a gem. Waiting for more details.

The sunburn on my back is finally starting to crack and peel. The past few nights, in order to sleep all I could do was lay on my back with arms crossed on my chest (just like Dracula) to sleep without hurting. You know when you burn your tongue and it hurts for the next day. Seriously it was like that all along my back and shoulders. Something I haven't experienced in probably over ten years. Growing up it was second nature but, when you don't get it too often you lose your tolerance to it.

I went to the library today and got a Bing Crosby CD. A little more dated than I thought. I was thinking this was going to be the Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin genre... wrong. Although nice, this music sounds like it was recorded in the twenties and the voice sung into a shoe box. I like old-timey music. I think it would be so cool to sing with a full band behind you. Yet another dream I'll never realize. (Not with this attitude!) I'm off to bed!