From March 4, a Day Without Internet

The Day of March 4, 2010

I wonder what the deal is with me. Is it with me or other people? One of the things my ex-girlfriend found difficult to deal with was the fact that on vacation, I didn’t really loaf. However, she preferred to sit and do nothing on a vacation, sleep in until whenever, and then maybe do something. When we were in Amsterdam and London, I was in full-on accomplishment mode. Waking at ten was wasted daylight, especially when many places closed at 4 or 5. She didn’t like it and she couldn’t hack it.

The same thing went for the last couple of days.

Kel was part sick and part foot-hurty from lugging around her backpack, so she couldn’t really stick to her normal pace. I think I must be some unheard of lanky lowland plains sherpa because I strap on a heavy pack and I slog. I trudge. I plow forward through sickness and thirst and hunger and fatigue. I think I’m a mutant. I’m definitely stubborn once I get the notion to get moving. And I find it extremely difficult to slow down.

“Foot-hurty” makes it seem like either Joss Whedon or a Joss Whedon wannabe is writing my life dialogue. I could do a lot worse than having Whedon write my dialogue.

Our lot is in an area of Nagoya I’ve passed through before. We’re in Shirakawa Park just a stone’s throw from Osu Kannon temple. Nearby is also a system of arcades that creates a constant whoosh of the sound of money being sucked from my pockets. Some days I’ll win, some days the arcade will win. I have no illusions about that.

Next to the park is the Nagoya Science Museum, so because of my most recent “normal” job – which I hope someday to be able to reclaim upon my return to the Twin Cities – and because of a dinosaur exhibit, I shall be heading over there to check it out. I’m taking bets about whether or not they have anything like our public programs department.

When walking about or exploring, my transport of choice is subway and then I prefer to bridge the rest of the distances in between with walking. I like walking and it feels good. I maintain a medium brisk pace, so I feel like I’m accomplishing at least a little bit of exercise. I like to think that if some day I find myself unable to walk, I’ll not have the regret of not having walked more.

I prefer not to take taxis. It means I spend less money, which means I have more to put to bills or to save.

Or to spend like I did today. I dropped an unexpected amount of money in a few places. I admit up front that – CDs included – it was spent on dorkitude. Mind you, some of it was presents for other people. Everything I picked up was a find that is difficult-to-nigh-impossible to get in the US for a smart price, and each and everyone of them was fulfilling a specific request. In the long run, I feel I came out ahead. In the process I found other gift items for other people, each one a surefire winner!

OH MY LORD, one of the pieces I found was something I’ve been looking for each and every trip to Japan. I always came up empty-handed. Today I stumbled into this shop in Nagoya and I found three of what I’ve been seeking. Each was a bit different than the others, so I made an executive decision based on my personal experience and years of experience in dealing with this particular person for whom the gift is intended. I think I made the killer choice. I would say what the gift is, but I’m sure this person may likely look at this blog, so I’d not want to spoil the surprise. I wish I could be there to see this person’s face. It is a treasure that fulfills and hearkens back to a childhood dream. That’s how special this find is.

As I was returning home, I saw one group of adults preparing to practice some type of martial arts activity. On the other side of the fence, there were groups of younger people engaged in some other type of martial arts activity. However, it looked like they were practicing choreography. I liked to think they were working stunt fight choreography. No matter what was going on, it was cool.