Start: 12:25 PM CST
Hello to all you guys! Like I said yesterday, Happy Tanabata! What's Tanabata? Well, if you didn't visit my page yesterday, then go and read up the explanation! The Archives might be messed up though...
Edit: Here's a link to it...
http://www.myotaku.com/users/miasmamoon/posts/1162435
I woke up around noon today, and I decided to go with Alex to do my Tanabata thingy! You see, I wanted to take my mom's bamboo tree and turn it into a Tanabata Tree! But then, I wanted to get my friend's wishes as well, so I decided to go on a journey to get my friend's wishes!
First, I took some old construction paper and cut them out into strips. I didn't have many colors: only yellow, green, and orange. Then, after that, I asked my mom to write some wishes on her tree. She wrote SEVEN!!! They were more like regular things, such as "good luck" or "children obeying their parents" and stuff like that.
Alex was at the store and she found a bamboo tree, but it didn't have many leaves...
So off I went, to Alex's house! I would get there earlier than when she got home, you see. I dug around the neighborhood's forest, and I could NOT find one plant that could take the place of bamboo. However, I did find secret tunnels that I could use to get into the forest part of my neighborhood. It's really cool, actually!
I got to the school and continued on waiting for Alex (I found a small palm branch on the way there!), but no luck. There was a guy jogging, probably for training for track or a sport, and that's all I saw who passed. The clouds started to get really dark, so I decided to bike to Janice's house: that's where I saw Alex! I told her to bike back, get the palm tree leaf that I left at the school, and head back at Janice's.
Now, I didn't expect Janice to come out of her house when I pulled up to her driveway! But anyways: I told her the story of the Tanabata, asked her to write her wish, and then I sang the traditional Tanabata song. It got REALLY windy, and all the leaves started kicking up, and my bike fell to the ground!!!
Janice went inside to get a hole puncher so I could punch holes into my strips of paper. Her mom came out, and I told her the story of the Tanabata too.
After that, we headed over to Sue's house, and I told her the story of the Tanabata: however, Sue finished the story before I did. Well, Sue does know it...hmm.
She had a hard time on what she wanted to wish for, and then...the rain started to pour like crazy! I told him that it was the lover's tears, and they accused me of being crazy! Hehe.
I made more strips, however, this time, it was made of computer paper. Alex and me waited and waited, but the rain didn't seem to let on.
Alex and Sue started going through other people's wishes, and they found my mom's wishes: a bunch of colored strips of paper with four syllabic sayings written on each of them.
Then, the most AMAZINGEST (not a word!) thing happened!!! Sue went upstairs, and then later emerged downstairs, holding something. What was it? Golly gee, it was her Chinese book!
Oh my gosh, it was so shocking! She took a strip of paper and started writing Chinese on it! Oh my gosh, oh my gosh! It was so exciting! I know, I know, it seems so crazy, but here, I'll tell you why:
When Sue was younger, she lived in Nebraska, and she told me she was constantly being made fun of her Chinese culture. As she grew up, she began to reject her culture to the point where she didn't even speak the language. She still doesn't know the language, but if you try to ask her something about her Chinese culture, she would try to beat you up.
To see her do something Chinese on her own will... It's so amazing.
Well, the rain sort of let up, so me and Alex decided to bike to Awi's house! Yes, you heard me! We biked in the rain! We didn't remember where Awi's house was, so we biked a bit farther to Nam's house. (We almost got lost!)
At Nam's house, we rang the doorbell, but no one picked up. So I pulled out my cell phone and called. He didn't answer, but he opened up the door.
I told him about the story of Tanabata (in a sort of rush) and asked him to write his wish. He did it, and then we talked and talked. He hadn't left his house in a week! Gosh, that's so creepy! He's a very...unsocialistic boy.
He then asked me if I wanted to go to a soccer game with him: he has extra tickets to go with his dad, but his sister doesn't like soccer. So he asked me. I decided right there, and said, "Uhh...sure." Really, I know nothing about soccer, but it might be fun, ya know?
Oh yeah! He also offered to bike with us to our other friends' houses!
We headed to Nickkie: not there.
Vy was home! She just got back from Colorado today, and I told her about Tanabata. She told me in Vietnam that it was called Nu Lan Chang Quyen, I think. (I can't remember the last two words, so I made those up!!!) She wrote her wish in Vietnamese so that I wouldn't understand, so...okay.
We left soon afterwards: it was almost sunset! We all quickly biked to Melinda's house, where I just told her to write a wish (without really explaining the story), and she couldn't really decide! She was being sarcastic at first, and yah... But she finally decided. Nam, on the other hand, was messing stuff up. Grrs. (He slipped on their door mat, and grabbed the door knob, making a loud noise.)
Well, we all parted ways after that. I, decided to take a shortcut home until I realized that I was taking the LONG ROUTE home! Oh gosh...
My dad came home today! Yay! He seemed tired, but I gave him a kiss, and I asked him to kiss me back, and you know what he said?! "How much money do you want...?" I can't believe it! I can't hug him without getting money in return?!
I stringed up my friends' wishes up to my mom's bamboo tree. Then, I lit two candles, brought the tree and candles outside, and started to sing the song.
I saw the tree and I realized when I started singing the song, the wishes started spinning like crazy! However, there was really NO wind! Wow, so cool! I kept singing the traditional Tanabata card, and some of the cards started falling off. (Funny thing was: there was no strong wind.)
Awi called me in the middle of the ritual! Bah! I had called her earlier to ask where she lived, but she said that earlier, she was at a family gathering. Ooh.
I felt so very pagan when I was doing the entire ritual. I don't know, it felt so out of my religion, and yet, it was so fun to do at the same time!
I prayed (wow, I'm mixing Shinto, Buddhist and Christian beliefs!), and then I blew out the candles, brought them in, and left the tree outside.
My mom, however, brought the tree in because she was afraid her glass vase (which the bamboo tree was in) was going to break. Eh.
I noticed that only three cards fell off.
I think it's the cards that fall off that happen...I think.
Well, out of curiosity, I read some of the wishes! (I shouldn't have done that!)
Some were normal, some were funny, some were a bit crazy, and there was one that was just a bit mean. I won't tell you any more about it though.
Then there was one that captured me: "I wish for world peace." Aww...that's so nice. Truthfully though, I don't think that's coming up any time soon.
After that, I called Alex, talked to her about the Tanabata ritual, and then I went to go shower, where Nam called me in the middle of the shower, probably to call about the soccer match. No matter, I didn't pick up.
I called him back later, and he didn't pick up. Grr.
Well, I hope all of you have a Happy Tanabata! Remember guys, love is a wonderful thing, but if you let it consume you, then you will end up one of the saddest people on earth.
May all of your wishes come true!!!
Good night all!
End: 12:57 PM CST
© 2004-2007 MiasmaMoon. All rights reserved.
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