 |
| Sun breaking through the clouds - by Andrew Joseph |
No, wait a minute... I think I actually just broke up with my ex-girlfriend.
My ex-girlfriend who was a friend-with-benefits.
Why the hell would I do that? That sounds really stupid when you think about it... breaking up with a woman you aren't dating but get to sleep with on occasion... oh my god... I think I'm going to be sick.
Today is the 50th anniversary of Pear Harbour Day. 'nuff said. I've had enough sneak attacks and torpedoing in the past 16 months of my stay here in Ohtawara-shi, Tochigi-ken, Japan.
It's time to relax and enjoy doing stuff for me.
To begin, I try to phone a few friends to apologize for my past crappy behavior... but either they aren't home, or no one is answering: back in Toronto, it's Rob Jones and John Kutchera, here in Tochigi it's James Dalton and Amanda Goodsell. I've just been curt with them through no fault of their own. It was just me. Stupid old, immature me.
I also try to call Matthew - not to apologize for anything in particular, but just to talk about me breaking up with Ashley. Ashley is probably pretty confused right now... wondering how the hell one can break up with someone they aren't going out with - but, dammit, I have found a way!
Oh well... to celebrate my new found independence, I go out and get my hair cut over at Nakamura's. I give Mr. Nakamura a Canadian keychain (it had the flag and the word 'CANADA" on it) simply as a gift because I feel like it, but unfortunately, you can't just give someone in Japan a present without it being reciprocated in some fashion.
Dude... just give me a free haircut.
But no. Via Muneo - my actual hair stylist - he says that we will all drive up to Nasu-yama (Mount Nasu, maybe 20 kilometers north of Ohtawara) in January for a photo opportunity. He mentions Matthew will join us, but I am unsure if that means Matthew has already been asked, or if I am the afterthought. Whatever! It's all good! I'm not getting laid anymore so... hey!
 |
| Mt. Nasu is the tallest mountain in the middle right. |
I go home and grab my camera and walk out the door to start taking some photos around Ohtawara.
Usually I snap vistas from my balcony or the roof of my seventh floor apartment building... but this time... this time I went out at street level.
Simple stuff... everyday stuff... everyday perhaps in Ohtawara, but to me, it all seems fresh, exciting and new! Why have I not done this before? I always had something else to do, but that's a stupid excuse.
Heck, I 'discovered' a temple right next to a nearby 7-11. How the heck did I not see this place before? I guess I only had eyes for Slurpee.
At a small local shop, I purchase a black lacquered floral tea set and some lacquered miso soup bowls. Not that I will ever use it, but merely because they look 'Japanese' and I appreciate the craftsmanship that went into its creation.
Back home, I spend the rest of the day and night re-arranging my apartment - something I haven't done since I first moved into the place.
It's nothing spectacular, but once again, 307 Zuiko Haitsu is MY home.
Hey! Where the hell is Junko?! Oh well... perhaps she already knows I need to be alone. But truthfully, I just want to be alone in Japan with the Japanese. It's why I came here, isn't it?
Somewhere feeling myself,
Andrew Joseph
PS: I will post some photos of Ohtawara-shi tomorrow! I want to show you my hometown!
Today's blog title is by Traffic (and perhaps a better version by Joe Cocker):
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment