Saturday, January 18, 2003

*... what the, huh? ...*
No snow. No rain. No wind. No temperatures in the negatives. I woke this morning and thought maybe I had time-warped back to some time in fall. I only needed *1* layer of pants and *3* layers of shirt-y types when I went out. I woke my bike from its winter hibernation and actually got a little sunburned (and not windchapped!) across the cheeks. Strange! Must be those melting polar icecaps...

Last night I was hanging out with a bunch o' Japanese people who are super fun. The kids seem to love to jump on me and scream questions (in japanese, of course) in my ear, most of which I can't understand from sheer volume. I have one girl who likes to come up and roundhouse kick me in the butt for no apparent reason, and gets rather upset if I stop her from doing it (by catching her leg or moving outta the way). She's a clever little one, bound to be a troublemaker (but in a good way) when she gets older than her 8 long years. Turns out that she and I have the same birthday, too, although I didn't believe her (we had a 5 minute conversation with me saying "nooo" and her saying "Honto!" (it's true!) and then me saying "nooo...", etc.) and had to check with her dad. (I knew she was special! hehehe) The night also brought my very first Japanese flirtation, a moment that caught me completely off guard. Not that I am being 'prettyprettyprincess britt' who is soooo used to guys flirting with her (not at all!), but it was pretty random and left-field after five months of being convinced that I am the last person in their world that would evoke interest. I won't explain the entire context here, for fear of boring you, but let's just say it was rather refreshing... ; )
5:46 PM

Wednesday, January 15, 2003

*... a tribute to Sir Mix-A-Lot ...*
this morning I made my very first snow angel in Japan, although I must say that it was entirely not by choice. As I was shuffling to school through the freshly fallen ice, I was reflecting: "Hmm, i'm really glad Mom & Dad sent me these shoes from home because they are pretty good on the really icy sn-..." BOOM. Down I go, along with the 2 bags I'm wearing, 3 I am carrying, and my umbrella. In the middle of the street. With a car coming. Now of course this was a way for the Powers-That-Be to tell me not to take anything for granted. And I suppose the Powers have some compassion along with their warped sense of humor, as they made the car slow down long enough to allow me to flail in the ice and scramble to gather my things just before it almost clipped me. The Powers also directed me enough to fall on my butt rather than my tailbone, as I have seen so many others around me fall victim to. And (carefully) reflecting on this fact, I thought of Oscar, and how he insists that I have a ghetto-booty (my friend Leslie called it "perky", a term I much prefer, though I am not confirming or refuting either term's existence in relation to me). I will not necessarily agree with Oscar's labeling, if you will, but I will say that packin' a little junk in the trunk saved me from a bruised coccyx. ((And as if I hadn't had enough irony for the morning, when I reached school, the principal (a man possessing a very strange grasp of the English language, if you can call it that) made a bee-line for my desk and told me "it get slippy. take careful-ality." ...righty-o, chief.))

I have fallen/tripped/slipped/etc more times in the past 4 1/2 months than I ever have in my life total. I don't think there is a major change in altitude or water in my ear or toxic fumes (well... actually...) that may be affecting my balance, so what IS it?! Hmm... maybe i have a brain tumor.
1:50 PM

Tuesday, January 14, 2003

*... something to be said for tradition, i suppose ...*
yesterday was "Coming-of-Age" Day here on the far east side. What does that mean (other than a day off of school!) exactly? Well, you're are officially considered an adult when you reach the ripe old age of 21 in Japan. So once a year, all those who have turned 21 in the past year get dressed up in kimonos and shuffle down to the temples with their families to pray for more fortune in turning old and to pray for clear minds when making decisions now that it counts for something. Then they shuffle over to the city hall where the state officially recognizes them as adults. Then they break open the sake barrels and get plastered, though they have legally been doing this for 3 years already.

Now Japan has lots of these kinds of little ceremonies... for example, SanGoShichi (3-5-7) Day, where kids of those ages go to temples with their families and pray for long life and health. But I guess some of the magic is lost in between age 7 and age 21. And mostly I think it has to do with the 10 tons of makeup applied and practically every one of the living dolls stuck to their cell phones. To me, that crosses a line from "cute" and "traditional" to "I-don't-know-what", but I feel a sense of loss about the whole purpose of the thing.
9:10 AM

Sunday, January 12, 2003

*... cliches 'r' us? ...*
Why is it that I can sit in an izakaya with Setsuko and am always shocked that 4 1/2 hours have somehow flown by? Why am I slightly disheartened when we literally pull ourselves away from the table as if bowing to some social influence of it being bad form to spend 5 hours sitting in one spot, drinking cassis beers and talking about everything and nothing at once?
4:27 PM