Oni wa Soto!

Please forgive me my long time off, as I mentioned two posts ago, I haven't exactly been in the mood. I've been feeling overwhelmed lately, with so many unfortunate things to take care of... and on top of that all the other stuff. So posting had to take a back seat.

However, last Sunday was Setsubun, the Japanese holiday marking the beginning of spring.

The traditions include, apparently, heating dried soy beans and then having the head male of the household throw them out the door while the family shouts "Oni wa soto, fuku wa uchi!" Out with the demons, in with good fortune!" Well, fresh out of head males, I myself just threw them out the door, directly out of the bag I bought at the grocery store. Some of them hit the door frame and bounced back inside, which I think would account for my small bits of bad luck which are tarnishing the Good Things that have happened since Setsubun. The next morning, the ones that didn't make it over my car were still there, iced onto the roof. Ah, Good Times.

The second part of it is to eat one soy bean for each year that you've been alive. In my own rendition of that custom, I've just been snacking on them as it strikes me to do so.

Well, my good friend Nishio-sensei had told me that according to Japanese tradition, the real New Year didn't start until Setsubun, so I had only to wait until then for my string of Bad Luck to be wiped out. The day after Setsubun, my new camera arrived, sent by my generous brother, Todd. He and my parents split the cost three ways with me, so I could have a digital SLR. It's an older model, but it's way awesomer than the no model I had before. I haven't had much of a chance yet this week to take pictures, as I've been so busy, but hopefully this weekend I can hook it up. I'm looking forward to getting more serious about my pictures again. As much as I love my little Powershot, it's rather limiting in the creative department.

On that note, be looking for more, better pictures this coming year. And hopefully I can get my spirits up high enough to post more often!