Happy New Year - and don't say thank you in a foreign tongue unless you know who you're talking to

Welcome to 2009! My eldest is beginning his first job this new year, Robbie Knevil is about to make some kind of jump over a volcano and my children actually stayed up to say, "Happy New Year." It's kind of like when I turned 30 -- I looked in the mirror, said, "Oh, well, the face looks the same as it did yesterday when I was 29."

I can't help but feel a little hopeful for this new year, though. I don't know why, but I do. I feel this way twice a year...with the onslaught of a new year, and the beginning of a new school year. So, if you're planning a good year, may you place God first and foremost and may His plan come to pass for your life.

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So, a few weeks ago my family and I went to the mall. In the food court, there's a Japanese place; a man who worked there was passing out chicken. My eldest is learning Japanese, so a few words have rubbed off on me, and I wanted to try out my Japanese. So, I said, "Thank you," in Japanese. The guy looked at me like I was crazy. So I repeated "Aragato." There was the look, again. I asked, "Did I say it right? Did I say 'thank you' right in Japanese?"

He looked me square in the face and replied in a broken accent, "I no Japanese, I Chinese."

I should have eaten crow instead of teriaki chicken.