The Utah Jazz: The One True Team? *

I got a kick out of this article.  I especially thought it was funny that the Deseret News pointed out that the Jazz went on a 27-11 run after President Monson tapped Jerry Sloan on the shoulder.  HA!  And, I Gotta hand it to any guy who wears a suit and tie to a Jazz game, too.

* [Editor's Note: The title change reflects Donna's fine suggestion in the comments] 

 

Happy Obligation-Chocolate Day!!!

Anyone who knows me knows that I love Japan.  I’m going back there in a couple of weeks, and in preparation for the trip I have spent some time brushing up on the language, customs, prior memories from living there, etc.  In doing so, one interesting aspect of Japanese culture that came back to me was ‘Choko-day’, which is their equivalent of Valentine’s Day, also celebrated on Feb. 14. 

Yup, you guessed it, the word ‘Choko’ means chocolate.  So for them, this is the day for giving chocolate to friends, family, co-workers, strangers, missionaries (score!), etc.  And of course it is also a day for giving large sums of casholla to ‘choko-ya’ (chocolate makers).  But what’s interesting to me is that Japanese folks are very upfront about labeling the relationships behind the giving on choko-day.  For example:

• Tomo-choko (友チョコ) is the chocolate that one gives to a friend (tomo).  Usually kids give tomo-choko.
• Taku-choko (宅チョコ) is the chocolate that a member of a home/house (taku) gives to the home itself (it is then usually gobbled up by the kids in the home, since houses don’t actually eat chocolate, FYI).
• Koi-choko (恋チョコ) is the chocolate given by a girl to a secret crush (koi). 
• Giri-choko (義理チョコ) is obligation chocolate, or chocolate that is given out of duty born of professional or societal roles.   E.g. workers are ‘obligated’ (giri) to give giri-choko to their bosses and sometimes students give giri-choko to their teachers.
• Honmei-choko (本命チョコ) is the chocolate given to the most honored of loved ones, truly and sincerely, from the heart of hearts (the honmei). 

I have no market data to support this, but my guess is that the largest amount of chocolate given on Feb. 14 in Japan is giri-choko, and at first blush, this might sound like a bad thing.  But please note, the notion of ‘obligation’ in Japan means something a little different to a traditional Japanese person.   

The components that make up the word ‘giri’ are ‘gi’ (justice, righteousness, morality, honor) and ‘ri’ (reason, principle, right, truth).  So, adding a little of my own understanding of Japanese culture, I believe a more complete translation for a gift given of ‘giri’ would be ‘a demonstration of service to one’s superiors with a sense of self-sacrificing devotion’.  This, in my book, is a very good thing – assuming your superiors are honorable, of course. 

But as with all giving, regardless of terms, definitions, semantics, and what-not, obviously the true value of the gift comes from the intentions of the giver.  Even in Japan, duty and obligation can be, and often is, automated and void of traditional intentions. But still, to many over there, devoted service is a way of life. 

So, to make a very long story only slightly longer, to my friends and colleagues wherever you may be, I wish you a happy ‘Obligation-Chocolate day’, along with my sincerest hope that I might have the opportunity to serve you well in the coming year.  

But lastly, and definitely most importantly, to my beloved wife: only you will receive my gift of honmei-choko.  From my heart of hearts, and with everything that I have inside, there is nothing more important to me than you.  

Cheers,
jph3

Welcome

Greetings Family and Friends!

Welcome to my little slice of humble blog pie.  Here you will find no promises, commitments, answers, or solutions to life’s most perplexing problems.  Nor will you be able to leverage this platform to further the quest for truth, justice and the American Way.   

However, I do hope that you visit periodically just to see what’s up with us, and maybe also get a glimpse of our thoughts, feelings, and whatever else happens to be on the plate d’jour.  That said, please have a look around (even tho there ain’t much here yet) and drop us a line sometime.

Merry Christmas to you and yours,
jph3