It is terrifying to think that over 10,000 lives have been estimated to have been lost already, and we still have the danger of nuclear meltdown as a looming threat. When I saw the videos of the water creeping over the land, engulfing houses and cars, it reminded me of the polluted river spirit from Spirited Away -- except the worst thing is that this all real. 10,000 people -- have I even met that many people in my life? I cannot even comprehend that number.

I didn't realize how much of a connection I have with Japan until this happened. Ashamedly, the previous earthquakes at Haiti and Chile felt so distant from me. This time, I found myself wondering if OLIVIA and Ai Yazawa were okay. With my facebook deactivated, I had to hunt down OLIVIA's twitter -- she and her family are fine. With Ai Yazawa, I have no idea.

Over the break, I had been complaining about how much money I spent making the stupid paddle. So naive. I went ahead and donated money this morning -- it feels like that's all I can do, as a college student on the other side of the country with no real skills and hardly any money.