And you and I

Go ahead, finish that thought. Sing that mid-90's pop hit.

Well, I'm taking a break from packing at the moment to reflect on my time and experiences in Tokyo. Ok, really I'm just tired of packing. This week has passed in an insalubrious haze; I feel very strange, my environment, the area I have called home for the past 6 months, feels foreign once again. I've been burning the candle at both ends, falling asleep long past midnight, and waking up long prior to the break of dawn. Perhaps my body is anticipating the onset of jetlag and trying to get it out of its system. Let us hope so, anyway.

I don't really feel stressed, but, in addition to losing sleep, I contracted a rather nasty case of mouth herpies, which quickly spread all over the left side of my face. It looked like I had a tumor, and a menacing one at that. I began to receive discount coupons for chemotheropy at the train stations (guranteed to rid you of that nagging tumor, or your next cancer treatment is on the house!). It was only later, when the canker had so advanced, nearly overtaking my left ear, that I began to entertain the thought it might not be herpies, and in fact discovered the tumor was really a bad allergic reaction to the cold sore medication I was taking.

Tumor gone, I now look healthier and a lot more attractive.

It's odd, I have little desire to remain behind here in Tokyo, but I can't help but feel a bit saddened by my departure. Ends always seem sad, even if it's a conclusion to a not wholly pleasant experience. It's the feeling of a recurring fall, a constant sunset: there's beauty, oh God there's beauty, but it's fading, fleeting like water to the sea. The feeling's iterative, the same emotional state I felt when graduating from college, when moving to new cities--it's the end of an era, and perhaps in part a fear of what's to come.

Ah well. I cannot wait to come home; I've been counting the days ever since I arrived.

Goodbyes, like other ends, are always difficult, and I've said many today. And now I must say one more, a goodbye to my blog readers. But do not fret; I'll be on hiatus for a mere 2 weeks, and I promise better material when I return, a revisting of the wacky, nonsensical crap from my earlier posts. No one seems to pay attention to the normal updates on my life, which is inconsequentially boring, so it may be time to scrap those. In any event, I suppose I'll be seeing some of you stateside soon enough, others when I begin work in Kumamoto, while still others I don't imagine I'll be seeing for quite some time. I'm melancholy at the thought but look back fondly on the past 6 months.

Thank you for your friendship, Cheryl.

In the woods.


Again, in the woods.


Recently emerged from the woods.


Whoops, back in again.


Fall colors.


Me, sporting the Han Solo man-purse, back when the hair was short.

And when we're done with that, let's go urinate on the living room rug.

After watching Raiders of the Lost Ark for the umpteenth time this evening, I made a startling discovery: it's "head piece to the staff of Ra". Before tonight, I was certain it was "staff of Rod" and always wondered who Rod was and what he did to derserve having a staff named after him.

Went to Tower Records after class and was delighted to find two CD's for which I'd been searching for nearly two years. The first is a new-age, avant-garde classical work of sorts entitled Chrysalis Requiem, by Toby Twinning. I own his only other album that I know of, the strange but intoxicating foray into the a capella, Shaman, comprised of a series of unaccompanied, world music selections which thrust the human voice into new spheres of musical expressionism. I haven't listened to it yet as I've been enthralled with my other purchase: Guillame De Machaut's Messe de Notre Dame, the preeminent medieval work, which marked the first excursion into 4-part polyphonic text-setting. It is performed by perhaps the best early music ensemble, Ensemble Organum, a group which specializes in all manner of chants, particularly non-Gregorian (Old Roman, Ambrose, Milanese, Sarum etc.) and which strives to discard the Solesmes interpretation of Gregorian chant (the one to which most are probably accustomed) and reach back through history to rediscover Gregorian chant's Byzantine roots. It has an earthy quality, almost Arabesque, as--and I know I'm preaching to the choir on this one--what we think of as Arabic music comes originally from Greece, shanghaied during the 1453 sack of Constantinople along with math, science, and body odor.

Later went to see Finding Neverland, and was enchanted by the beauty of the storyline, the superb acting ability of Johnny Depp and those cute little British kids (did I mention I'm going to have me some of those?) and the majestic movie score. I cried, but only a little.

Went to The Dubliners Irish Pub in Shinjuku for dinner and was in my element listening to British and Irish accents all evening. They even played a little Peter Gabriel and Sting, which, if I can't have my Irish jig music that meshes so well with pub ambience, is the next best thing.

Later ran into my first Japanese albino. She was not as kind as I had hoped--one conjures up images of the Rousseauian noble savage when imagining "differently abled" people--but this may have been due to the dousing I gave her of Holy Water.

Had my first dream in Japanese that night. I'm not sure what this means, but perhaps I'm adjusting to life over here. I only wish I could understand Japanese as well in real life as I can in my dreams.

All in all a good night, except for the albino part, that was scary.

So, inquiring minds want to know, how do I spend my day; what is it I do with my time? Well, I'll tell you, it's not terribly exciting. I made note before that 4 hours of my day is taken up attending class and gym; chalk up 2 more hours for travel time, and that's a mere 10 hours of free time, assuming I get the full 8 hours of sleep. And sometimes it's hard to find time for sleep when you live a life as full and riveting as mine.

The bulk of my freetime, about 40%, is spent on the ACCboards (chiefly the Wake boards), a forum for all things ACC, and, frankly, my primary source for all news and current events, which would explain why my only knowledge of the goings on in the world is recent sports scores, trades and acquisitions among sports teams, and Wake recruiting. 30% of it is spent blogging (shocking, I know, given I only update my own blog about twice a week, but much of this time is spent reading and posting on other's), and the rest of my time is spent divided in equal parts between Nintendo, reading, and watching movies. Sometimes I go to the bathroom, but now that I've purchased myself a colostomy bag, this should no longer be a problem.

Though the Accboards is not necesarily a forum for political and social topics, fans often end up sparing over various pressing issues. Just the other day several of us got into a heated exchange over the Joel Collesium--Wake's basketball arena--going to a non-smoking venue. Now, I want to clarify that I do not smoke cigarettes and do not particularly care for overly smokey establishments, but our aim in debate should be truth and not the satisfaction of our own preferences. As such, I sought to debunk myths of--or at least cast doubt upon--the hazards of 2nd hand smoke by presenting various critiques of the statistical methods used to compile this "medical data" and that, to this end, have gone into policy making, what has been termed "junk science".

Incidentally, this term has also been made into a great website, and one that I tried to link to my title above, but it seems my HTML skills still need a little acumination. So, I'll link it here--peruse it for the latest garbage studies on corporate subliminal messaging, the hazards of breast implants (looks like they're safe!), and global warming. With reference to this last point, there are two counters at the top of the page that indicate the costs and benefits of the Kyoto protocol. God it's cold outside.

Anywho, here's the debate:

The Joel Collesium purportedly goes non-smoking

By about the 3rd page you begin to see a rising star, an intellectual giant among a bunch of freakishly deformed midgets: Conanthedeacon. That's me, my avatar--the Scottish flag--flying bravely amidst a sea of digital nescience, an immovable, unshakable buttress to truth. As you'll notice, I am one of few who cares anything for proper scientific method. However, there were a few with some modicum of intelligence--including some from the other side of the debate, who simply attack my sources rather than my argument--and shortly after the deliberation, I received this message from a fellow truth-seeker:

Conan,

I wonder if we know each other. Are you an attorney with a large firm in town? I was until last summer.

everytime

Well, it was cool to be confused with a lawyer in any event. I actually have been giving quite a bit more thought to law school recently; I had been leaning heavily toward getting my MBA, but I enjoy argument and debate so much, and have found myself involved in many recently, that this seems like it might be the proper route for me. I don't know, I've still some time. But it sure would be cool to tag "esq." on to the end of my signature.