So, I don't have school tomorrow. The water isn't working. Reason: the pipes froze. Do I really need to continue this post? I think I've said enough. But I'll keep going anyway. Yes, Tammy was sent home early today (I work at Segawa on Tuesdays, and with her at Funehiki on Wednesdays) because apparently they made the pipe discovery sometime before lunch. When you have about 500 people to "facilitate", no running water is a problem. So, tomorrow I don't have school. I could go on and on about how this wouldn't happen if there was central heating in the schools, I could tell you how much money the school would be saving if they would just insulate the building, I could rant and rave about how they're losing precious keroseine funds (something we've been told the school is short on this year) because now they have to shell out for pipe repairs. But I won't. I'll just enjoy my day off. And then make it up on Saturday. Yes, folks, the "mild winters" that I was supposed to experience in Japan I have yet to see. Everyone keeps walking around, repeating to us over and over, "Wow, it's unusually cold this year." Of course it is. I find it sickeningly ironic that my home town is now experiencing weather in the 40s and 50s. That's about how warm it is INSIDE here. Seriously. I'm not exagerating. Two days ago I looked at my thermometer in my bedroom after the heat had been on for a half an hour (we turn it off at night to save energy), and it said 49 degrees F. The hallway at my school today was -7 degrees Celcius. Some of the rooms were even colder than that. I'm not sure what that converts as...something like 15 degrees Farenheit. Sick. Just sick. Apparently Funehiki is not the only part of Japan that's been cursed with a rough winter. My mother wrote me a concerned email today and asked if I was anywhere near "all the snow that hit Japan." I went online to BBC and discovered that this year, of all years, Japan has had its heaviest snowfall on record. On record. Did I ever mention that I hate winter? Sick. Just sick. Speaking of snow, at least kids can have fun with it. Making things like, you guessed it, snowmen. I did some snowman making of my own this year - the edible kind. It was revealed to me before I went home for Christmas that "Japanese snowmen" (up until this point I was unaware that snowmen had nationalities) have 2 balls, not 3. Some of the teachers were literally shocked when they found out that Americans make snowmen with 3 balls (at this point, I didn't have the heart to tell them that Americans make snowmen with as many balls as we feel like. I stuck with 3). So, since this little cultural difference created such a stir, for my omiage (gifts of food that are brought back as souveniers after a trip away - such as to America for Christmas) I decided to make "American snowmen" cut-out cookies...for 120 people. The first step was making the dough. I got a recipe from Patty that said it made 3 dozen when doubled. Knowing that I'd need at least 10 dozen, I decided to do the recipe times 7. This particular dough is unique in that it requires melted margarine, so I melted two containers of margarine, mixed in the sugar, then added the 2 BAGS OF FLOUR to the concoction. I wondered at its runniness (dripping off the spoon), but figured it just needed to chill, so I stuck it in the (well, Tammy and Lis', mine was too small) refrigerator overnight. The next morning I skipped down to their apartment and pulled out the dough, eager to begin baking. However, my fears were confirmed and the dough was, in fact, still too soft. So, I stuck the whole bowl (about 15 pounds at this point) in the microwave, remelted the margarine, and added another bag of flour. By this time, I could hardly hold the bowl for more than 30 seconds. Heavy would be too mild a word to describe it. But anyway, I put this overweight bowl outside , postponing my baking attempts a few hours so the dough could re-chill. A few hours later I drug the bowl inside, hopeful that I had a good consistency this time. It was, to my dismay, still a bit soft, but this time I pressed on, and just rolled the flour in. So it began. I rolled, and rolled, and cut, and cut, and baked and baked....tray, after tray, after tray, after tray, after tray. I didn't bother to count. That is, until about 3 or 4 hours into my cookie-making adventure. I decided to stop and put a count to the cookies of my arduous labor. And there were a few more than I expected. 160. Not too bad, especially since I was supposed to get 10 dozen. Except for one thing. I still had half my dough left. I stood in my kitchen in bewilderment and confusion, exhausted at the thought of baking the rest of the dough's worth of cookies. So I didn't. I heard once that you could freeze the stuff....Tammy and Lis' freezer now houses about 10 pounds of cookie dough. Valentine's Day is coming up. I wonder if anyone has a heart cookie cutter...