una

wow. I got back to the states all right - what a crazy ride that was. Actually it wasn't a ride at all, I had to be on the ball a lot otherwise I'd get washed away by the human currents of the train stations, the humid heat, or posh parties. That's right posh, little small town piss bear lovin una was thrust into the land of white japanese fashion models, real fur pillows and chameign, embassy kids and pretty austraillians. I found more chill people as my trip went on but I admit now that I have no residual love for glamour, wealth, or decadence. I almost lost a bit of myself there. Like my friend who I ws visiting, I used to think that there were things - ways of thinking- of which I was incapable of. Now I know that was a false assumption because I almost fell into that lifestyle and was quite loath to leave it, as I am loath to wake up from a dream. Definetely a world of fairies and wild spirits despite Tokyo's urban nature. I fealt I was becomeing like no-face in the bathouse in Miasaki's "Spirited Away". Those who live/have lived there, i.e. the Japanese or those born in that environment, were fine - but put a westerner in ther and they go ape shit on booze and debotchery, slowly your morals shift and you find yourself doing things you'd never ever do . . . Most of this rant is coming from my observations of my long time friend who I was visiting, I honestly didn't have time to make that great of a social transformation - but I could see it happen to me willingly had I stayed longer - I saw it happen to my friend.

do not fear change young ones . . . then you will not grow.

by the end of my trip I was afraid, irrationally afraid, to leave japan, I can't imaine what my friends going through.

I made some written journal entries while in Japan to I'll post those here in a bit, as my life will be returning to it's slow pace soon.

Also on the 20th I start my next adventure - a family trip to washington DC for my dad's 70th birthday. There will be posts about that too once it happens.


p.s. a note about friend requests - I'm admittantly not very social online, I have a lot going on usually. But I like having online friends that I talk to and keep up with when I can. If you have submited a friend request to me and don't try to talk to me - or don't respond when I try to talk to you - by mid september then I'm going to sweep out the closet of freind requests. On the other hand, once we start talking I'll add you no problem I'll keep posting this in my journals so ther is no confusion later.