Jungian Phone Call

While preparing dinner tonight (saute'ed chicken strips with a Thai/honey/garlic vegetable mix) I had an overwhelming urge to call the guy who took over my position when I finished my first one year contract in Japan. I don't know this person very well. We have spoken on the phone a few times since he took over my former teaching position but that is about it. After a brief conversation about how things were going for him he informed me that the guy I used to work for had died a few days ago. I had a really strong urge to phone someone I barely know. The result of the phone call is learning that a person I had contact with daily for almost a year has died very recently. It felt strange to learn this news in this way.

Rocket Launcher Tourism

A guy I work with has spent some time in Cambodia. He was describing how you can get access to many weapons and fire them off for a fee. One weapon choice offered is a rocket launcher. For a slighter higher fee they provide a moving target for you. They release a live cow and the person shoots at it with the launcher. Prices may vary.

Golden Week

In less than a week it will be the Golden Week holiday here in Japan. The entire country goes on vacation. Everything travel related doubles in price as anyone who is able to gets away somewhere during this time. I am heading south, way south for the 5 days that I have off.

'According to my agent...'

I forgot to mention that I have a literary agent. I submitted some of my written material to several different agencies. One of them took the bite. I feel like such a player, talking about my agent. My agent. They walked me through the copyright process before I submitted samples to them. No worries.

An odd thing happened to me today. I was talking at a payphone and when I looked up I saw a smallish jewelers bag sitting on top of the telephone. The bags look like dime bags from my Cheech and Chong days. In this little jewlers bag was a massive pearl ring. It is set in silver and absolutely huge. If the thing is real it is worth a small fortune. I'm going to wait until my next vacation in Canada and have it assessed by someone there.

Police Chat

I went a little manic with the phone calls home yesterday. Stood at a phone booth and called a great many people. One of whom is a cousin who I talk to all the time. I have reached him on his cell phone a number of times while he is working as a police officer. It is always strange for me to be chatting with him while he is processing a crime scene or handling a criminal of some sort. You can hear the police radio chatter in the background. Feels neat to be in that loop.
I have had more contact with my friend in Hong Kong. I mentioned she's a Doctor? Intern, actually. She's off to India shortly to help out medically in some way. F-ing hot, too.

O...k...

I am trying to get to Hong Kong for a short trip to visit a friend there. A local travel agent quoted a Japan Airline price. She then came back to the counter and explained that the price she quoted me only applied to Japanese people and that I would have to consider another airline. She was serious.

Trip Coming

Short holiday coming. Plan to take local trains a very long way from here in Kofu and back. At least one day will be spent relaxing on a beach.

I am currently reading The Footprints of God by Greg Iles. He presents a lot of interesting concepts in the novel. Also very engrossed in the bit torrent files of the television series Six Feet under. They presented an incredible combination of life circumstances on that program.
A Japanese friend leaves for Italy on May 19th. She will be working as a model. She has been told to lose some weight. She is already extremely thin. I have a place to stay in Italy if I visit there in the next little while.
I have just assured copyright of all of my creative writing. I own every last word that has come out of this head. It's a good feeling. Having a lawyer brother will come in very handy if anyone ever tries to steal my material and gain from it. That's an awfully arrogant thought process for someone who has yet to even submit any material. There was some movie about a guy who stole another guy's novel and then the first guy had the thief killed before he could get it published under false circumstances or something. Great story line.
I spent the day in Tokyo again today. It kind of bored me. Meeting some very interesting people, though.

Penguin Performance Art

When I asked my students today what they wanted to be when they grew up one of them said she wanted to be an animal trainer. She specified that she wanted to train penguins to do tricks on cue. I showed her a photo of a penguin to make sure she undrstood what she was saying. She was firm. She plans to train penguins to perform shows with her for a living.

Extreme Culture

Very cultural day yesterday. Started early in the morning. Visited 3 of the local museums and took in an absolutely incredible festival in the evening.
I was offered two jobs yesterday. One in New Zealand and one in Sapporo, a city way in the north of Japan and close to some of the best skiing in the world. Turned down both jobs. Where I am is fine.

www.TrailerParkBoys.com

www.trailerparkboys.com

Canadiana at its best. It's so funny because it's so true.

Female shaving and directions issues

Many women in Japan regularly shave their faces. It's an industry here. You see ads for places offering the service. If we could only get them to trim elsewhere we'd be all set.
It has come to my attention that I have been facing the wrong direction on the rare occassions when I used an Asian squat style toilet facility. Oh well. It all goes to the same place.
I have started running in the mornings again. My route is glorious. I go along a grass trail right beside a small river with fish and bird life visible, and in the distance stands Mt. Fuji.

Following the cherry blossoms

A friend of mine recently took a vacation touring around the islands down by Okinawa. That region of Japan has a large bohemian population. Stressed out Tokyoites go down planning to stay for a week or two and never leave. One Japanese couple he met in Okinawa were camping on a beach for a small fee. They worked odd jobs here and there and even sometimes caught their dinner from the ocean.
Japan has a cherry blossom season during which gorgeous trees come to life for a brief period. The blossom season depends on when spring arrives in each area of the country. The young couple hanging out down in the southernmost part of Okinawa plan to gradually make their way to northern Japan, following the cherry blossoms the whole way north. The pace they travel at will depend on when these cherry blossoms start to take effect in different regions. That might make a good book.