Various matters

I've got loads to blog, so here's a catchup on a few trivial things.

• My quest to find something you can't buy from a vending machine gets more difficult today with the discovery of a curry vending machine in my town. No, really. You put in your money, press the button, and a can of hot curry comes out. Table 13-4 of the Japan Statistical Yearbook tells me that 6.3 billion yen worth of "motor vehicles and bicycles" were sold from vending machines last year. I stand in awe, and slight disbelief.
• Speaking of bicycles, mine was stolen last night. Boo.
• My alarm went off at 7 o'clock this morning. I turned it off, but it kept making noise. Then it turned into a voice saying "There has been a shindo 6 earthquake. Leave your houses immediately." Oh yeah, I remembered, Earthquake drill. The deputy community group leader went around confirming how many people were in each household, and then we met with our official Disaster Survival Bags (I'm not sure where mine is, so I sheepishly went without) to walk to the local park, where there was a roll-call and, for some completely inexplicable reason, we had a plate of white rice each. Perhaps it was to warm us up, since the whole thing took an hour of standing outside in the cold.
• I crawled back to bed for warmth, only to remember I would have to walk to church because of the bicycle theft. Boo.
• Today's a full day of church, I'm expected at all three main services. This is because today we have a lot of visitors, Japanese missionaries to Mongolia and Niger on deputation. Between the English and the Spanish service, I have an interview with my home church, during which I'm going to be utterly wrecked. And I have a cold. Boo. At least, perhaps for the first time in six months, I'm not preaching this week.

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