From Amy

Amy is a former colleague of mine in Okayama. I'm sure you'll be charmed by her essays. Hope you'll join me in supporting her in her new endeavor. (UG)
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Thanks to all my friends and Japan Lite newsletter subscribers (all 2,693 of you) who have been with me for so many years (14 to be exact!).
While I continue to write my Japan Lite column for the Japan Times, I have also been blogging for the Huffington Post since March. This considerably expands the subjects I can write about, so it is a welcome addition to my work with the Japan Times. Look for articles on Japan, Bali and Australia on HuffPo.
I need reader-support more than ever right now as I work to establish myself in a completely new market. You can help me by...drum roll please...READING MY ARTICLES! I know, it sounds too easy and way too cheap, but it's true. Who says there's no such thing as a free obento!
You can start now by going to this link to see all my articles so far http://www.huffingtonpost.com/amy-chavez
While you're there, click on the "like" button. If you want to receive a notification every time I post a new article to HuffPo, click on the "fan" button.
Now, click on "This Crazy Weather," my latest post. From there you can "Share" the link on Facebook, "Tweet" the post to Twitter, or "email" the article to any of your friends. Lastly, the greatest thing about HuffPo is that you can leave a comment! Commenting is really fun and I'll be sure to answer your comment. With comments you can ask questions, debate a point in the article, or merely say "Hi!" But be careful, comments on each article "close" several days later and after that no one can comment anymore. For some samples of comments, please see my article "No Looting in Japan" at
http://ow.ly/57ieN
which generated 39 comments (and 67 Facebook shares, 97 Tweets, and 11 emails).
Commenting is still open on This Crazy Weather
http://ow.ly/57iiy (which as you can see, needs more Facebook shares, Tweets and comments, comments, comments!).
I hope to see you on HuffPo and interact with you there, or in the amazing new world of social media.
Lastly, I have two books on Japan coming out with Volcano Press. Both are on the Shikoku Pilgrimage. The first one is about my 6-week, 900-mile run of the pilgrimage to all 88 temples and how the experience transformed me (from the fire-breathing beast I used to be to the loving, cuddly bovine lover I am now). The second book is a guidebook to the 88 Temples. More on all this (publication, pre-orders, etc) in the near future. If you have an organization you think the book could help fund-raise for, let me know and I can hit up the publisher for special order discounts where your organization can offer the book at a discount and keep the profits. But NOW is the time to contact me about this. Don't be shy to email me about your ideas.

The Japan Lite newsletter will continue as it has for the past (gulp, burp) decade.

Again, thank you so much for your support and I hope you'll join me on my way to, well, to wherever this all leads me/us! Which is hopefully to "the top!" But remember, I can't do it without your help. Without you there is no me.

Thank you.

Cow cuddles,
Amy Chavez
amychavez2000アットyahoo.com