Japanese Real Estate

Today’s outfit, along with its events, was a bit of a surprise. The eye starts out seeing something very neat, polished, and professional, with a black blazer and solid navy top underneath. And then… BAM, the eye landed on the hippy-dippy-trippy skirt, full of flow and colors. As great as this contradiction of an outfit was, it was not fit for the yard working project my school had planned for the day (which nobody told me anything about of course). Instead of bringing me a change of clothes however, my mother decided to whisk me away so I could witness my very first real estate closing. Good thing I wore a blazer… surprise!

Now, speaking of real estate, let’s talk  about Japan (if you’re wondering how I made that transition, I can only tell you it was a writer’s version of trail-blazing). I’m sure all of you have at least heard about the terrible earthquake that just struck, and many of you have seen photos and videos of buildings rocking back and forth before finally crumbling. You’ve also probably heard that it’s now snowing, and many people are out in that snow with no place to go. Like you, I’ve seen the pictures and heard the stories. But when I saw this picture it made me think about things a little differently.

Usually when we think about natural disasters, or any kind of disaster really, we usually imagine a Haiti-like situation, where the disaster occurs in a third-world country whose government is too corrupt to do very much to help. Because of this, some of us, at first, might imagine that the situation in Japan is similar to this. We might think that since places like Japan and Haiti are so far away from us geographically, or that because we are stable in our jobs, homes, and families, something so tragic could never happen to us. But look at these women. They are well dressed, put together, most likely very successful women, who were not bereaved until their world was shaken. They probably never thought this would happen to them either, but it did.

I don’t mean to sound pessimistic or apocalyptic, but I think that the earthquake in Japan should serve as a wake up to us. We have our homes, our families are safe, we have computers to waste time and blog on, shouldn’t we appreciate that? We should remember what we have, and enjoy it! Today, I went on a walk unplugged from the iPod that usually disconnects me from the world around me, and I got to enjoy the sights and sounds of my city with a new awareness. Take opportunities to be aware and thankful of what you have.

I urge you all to send positive energy to Japan in any way you can, whether it be through prayer, a donation, or just thinking of the people there and sending them light and love.

Sorry for the long post, but i felt this was important to say.