I was taking some pictures for a lengthy comparison I had written on my two messenger bags, a Chrome Kremlin and Timbuk2 Laptop Messenger. I stepped out of the room for a moment, and returned to this grisly scene:
… the Chrome had eaten the Timbuk2. This… this is the only image of the carnage I can bring myself to publish.
Julia’s duck watches helplessly in the corner. What savagery will the voracious Kremlin indulge in next?
Today I gave my farewell speech to the students of Yoka Prefectural Senior High School.
This was the view of the sunset from my second-floor window. That is all I have to say about that.
I’m sick, so I haven’t been doing much. I expect that things will continue to be boring for a few days, so to tide y’all over here’s a picture of a gecko that dropped into the sink last night as I was doing dishes.
Geckos sure are cute.
Now is as good a time as any to point out my new photo gallery. It has the Shinosama photos, the L’Arc cosplay photos, and will soon completely obsolete the old gallery. Furthermore, if you act now, it comes completely free with a picture of me in a skirt. A skirt of badassery.
That is all.
As I mentioned in the previous post, I got my picture taken with a Takarasienne. Here it is.
I made it a point to be well-dressed this time around. I felt much less out-of-place on this second trip to Takarazuka. I dressed up, I knew the actors and the play, I had fan club tickets and one ochakai under my belt. I have a feeling that attending the theater could become something of a hobby, should I ever have the fortune to live near this town again.
Although I missed the bulk of the sakura, the countryside is still gorgeous in the springtime. Although the weather’s returned to its dim, oppressive routine of clouds and heavy rain, we had a run of warm weather. Shirt-sleeve weather. Early summer-like weather, but for the feeling of spring that hung light in the air.
I went for a walk and took some pictures. Although I’ve done a little bit of color-correction on them, they still don’t convey the vivid, living green that dominates the hills and neighborhoods. When the sun shines on that green, you can feel the hum as the metabolic processes of everything around you start to spin up. It’s nothing like the desert.
Regular updates will resume shortly, with pictures of Yoka in springtime, musical pulpit-pounding (The Bad Plus: holy son of buddha), and a discussion of the amazing video games I’ve been playing lately.
But in the meantime, enjoy this picture of Julia and I, taken on a train this winter by Junko when we visited her and Chris in Takarazuka.
Last night Jake and I had some delicious okonomiyaki, and were inspired to speculate as to possible new fillings. His idea was to throw some crack rocks in, call it “cokonomiyaki.”
I about died laughing, then suggested that pot-filled “tokonomiyaki” might be less narcotic.
We then saw this car:
…in the parking lot of a local Italian restaurant. That’s right, a Ferrari 360 Modena. It even had Himeji plates.
Quite a night.
Shortly after Julia left for Tokyo, I trucked down to Kyoto to meet up with Bianca. We then made for that shining Kyoto landmark, Kinkakuji, which is precisely as beautiful as it’s reputed to be. After meeting Chris, Junko, and Denzel there, we circumambulated the golden pavilion.
My family came through for me in every possible way for Christmas. Julia, who might as well be family at this point, is visiting, and as always her presence brightens my countryside apartment immeasurably. The arrival of the three boxes of Christmas cookies and gifts from home…
At some point, I believe, we actually opened the boxes and inspected their contents. At least, that’s what I have to assume, given that a dazzling array of really cool stuff now adorns my room. Thanks, Mom & Papa!