Monday, October 11, 2010

Wake-up Bell

I should have known something was wrong when I didn't see this morning's fukudo in the bathroom when I got up, as I usually do. When I didn't hear the bell, I went downstairs, already in my full robes, and rang it - wouldn't you know that it was warm again this morning...
I had already found a note left in the middle of the night by the light-up chiden saying she couldn't sleep and didn't think she would be around this morning. I had figured that I could pass that job onto my new head doan, Tanya (who was also the fukaten when I was tenzo, so we have a good working relationship), and she was on her way as soon as I could get the instructions printed out - which the computer was reluctant to do, and which occasioned some swearing on my part, as I am not good at dealing with too many things not going smoothly that early in the morning...
It also turned out that our shoten was missing, so the fukudo, who appeared, apologetic, right after the wake-up bell, after an alarm failure, ended up having to do double duty for the first period of zazen, before I drafted in a replacement. All this before six o'clock.

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