Meese, Moose, and Dr. Seuss

Language is a funny thing. My cousin Hayato tells me that English is difficult, and I have to agree with him. For instance, take the word moose. When moose is plural, it remains the same. More than one moose are still moose in proper English. Goose, however, is another matter entirely. Multiple goose are geese. If that isn't confusing enough, we have the mongooses. A singular mongoose is a mongoose, but when we are talking about more than one, the word becomes mongooses.

A moose is a moose.
There are no mooses or meese.
A goose is a goose.
There are no gooses, just geese.
But a mongoose is a mongoose -
There are no mongeese.
Only mongooses.
And I feel like Dr. Seuss.

Nonsensical. Absurd. But this is true. In order to speak correctly, we must observe that the moose, geese, and mongooses are much nicer than plain old moose, goose, and mongoose. Just a bit of useful information that I felt like sharing...

Fireflowers 花火

Tonight was magical. After I got off of work, I spent the evening with wonderfully amazing people, whom I love and cherish. God painted a cotton candy sunset in the sky. When theit grew dark and the lights dimmed, I witnessed a spectacular display. My eyes beheld willow-tree fireflowers that fell like stardust from the night sky. With each successive explosion came a new burst of light, a different pattern on the canvas of the sky. I was physically tired, and almost drifted off to dreamland as I gazed upwards.

The best part? This is just the beginning. Fireflower displays are starting to come into a full swing. Oh, how I love summer! May the magic never end... I am slipping into sleep even as I write this. Sleep is a welcome friend to me now. I think I will embrace it.

So Sweet

I love words. Language is a wonderful thing, and I see it as a challenge to find the perfect words to describe my thoughts and feelings. A friend of mine recently lent me a book that she thought I would enjoy. In her own words:

I loved the language of this story. Simply, I loved the way he put words together. As a fellow lover of words, I expect you will love it too...

The book is entitled The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, and that is quite a mouthful. I had only laid eyes on the first few pages before I knew that I was going to love soaking in this book. I sunk my teeth into a scrumptious, delightful treasure. I have been reading it out loud to my sister, and the two of us are immensely enjoying the wonderfully written tale. I love the way that the words roll off my tongue.

I never knew that books could taste this delicious. This is a must read for philologists. If you love words, you will adore this book. Sweetness is a delectable treat of literature that does not rely on dialogue to support it's vivid cast of characters.

Coming Down from the Clouds

And after an extremely long hiatus, I have returned home once more. My time in Okinawa was wonderful, subarashii, but it feels good to be back where I belong. I love to travel, and my sense of adventure is always up for something new, but it is nice to rest in a place that I know is truly my own. Where things are familiar once more. Where the trees stand still.

I took nearly 500 pictures during my stay, and considering that I was in country for just about 3 weeks, this should not be shocking news. For the sake of my blog, I chose my favorite shots and posted them here. In pictures, here is a glimpse of Okinawa through my eyes...

Short Eternity

Please don't
Say goodbye to me tonight
Just say
Till I see you again
'Cause goodbye sounds so final

They say
Distance makes the heart grow fonder
I say
My heart's already fond
I just might love you too much

// Promise me
That you'll look at the starry sky
Gaze up high
And when you find the brightest star
Send me a greeting from where you are
I promise you that I'll do the same //

To me
It seems like a short eternity
Just like
An age without you here
I can't wait to say hullo again

// Promise me
That you'll look at the starry sky
Gaze up high
And when you find the brightest star
Send me a greeting from where you are
I promise you that I'll do the same //

image source