Ascent Countdown: One Week To Go!

J120 Monday August 20th

I can't recall much of what I did today. I know I painted my sketch a little. But, of course, that required I create a palette for my paints. I fished around in my trash box (what once held my printer, and is now stuffed with the bits of paper and plastic from a dozen discarded containers and wrappers) for a suitable slab of cardboard. I found one from the box that carried my copy of Harry Potter book 7. With careful, lazy strokes of my go-to Exacto razor blade I fashioned a thumb hole.

My easel was also made of cardboard. Unfortunately, one design flaw I had not foreseen was the relative lightness of cardboard. For one to apply acrylic paints with a brush, one needs a fair amount of weight in the object one is painting. Paper on cardboard do not push back with nearly enough Newtons of force (take that, D in physics!) to allow me to paint "hands free" as it were.

So, my freshly crafted paint palette lay upon the keyboard, whilst I held my easel-cum-back board.

My high school art classes came back to me in lurching jumps. As I painted I recalled, in precisely the incorrect order, how to paint something with acrylics. Reflecting upon my art classes in high school, I am amazed at the relatively tiny amount of art I produced in those days.

I wasn't a lazy artist. My lack of production was related to fear, fear that I would make a bad piece of art. My friends and classmates all seemed to be supremely talented, producing works of beauty and depth, whilst my attempts at creative expression resembled fingerpainting at best. I found some outlet in sculpture as my hands and mind were better suited for expression in more than two dimensions.

I hadn't given up on drawing after high school, but I did put it on the far back burner. I'd sketch or doodle in college classes, but nothing ever seemed to come out right. In my last summer semester at Georgia Tech I finally found an art class offered by the college. It was a Basic Drawing Options class, held every Thursday evening. My instructor was a truly unique woman, having built a restaurant, lived in a South American beach side tree house, and managed an art gallery in her life. She taught me a little trick that I've used ever since, and that is to draw what you see.

I'd heard this trope a few times before, but under her tutelage I found I actually have artistic talent. My painting skills still need work, but given enough time I can make a good, rough sketch of almost anything. Making it clean, or quick, or any other aspect of artistic beauty I'm working on, but with practice I know my skills can improve.

Sorry, tangent. I spent an hour or so painting, that much I remember. I know I relaxed at home for most of the day, and I can't recall going out in the evening.

J121 Tuesday August 21th

Some weeks prior, plans had been made for a portion of the Gang to scale Mt. Fuji. I had been asked if I was interested, to which I had replied 'yes', not really knowing what I was getting in to. Mt. Fuji was a large mountain of some sort, and climbing it involved walking uphill. Tonight, as it turned out, was to be a small planning meeting for the trip.

I went through my classes easily enough. No big surprises or pitfalls. When the evening rolled around I biked up to G-Bros to meet my companions. There was a healthy crowd of foreigners at the bar, but few Japanese patrons. Still, G-Bros is one of those places that really makes you feel at home and comfortable when you go there, so it was all good.

Josh was amongst the patrons there that night, and he and I caught up. He had left his spatula at my apartment after crafting his delicious burritos. I offered to return it to him, but he said that he was in no rush. Hopefully it will not become one of those artifacts that is destined to sit, patiently, in my kitchenware drawer, never to see the light of day again.

With Josh as a geek-out buddy, I participated very little in the Mt. Fuji discussion. Recommendations and figures were thrown about, stations to leave from, places to visit, paths to take, trains and buses, stuff like that. I didn't pay much attention to it all. In retrospect, that may have not been the best of ideas, but I survived the ordeal intact.

Truth be told, the rest of the gang weren't doing much in the way of Fuji-san talk, either. Most of the conversations were the standard English Teacher fare. Job status, odd students, frustrating moments. I headed home before too long, to sleep and awake the next day, refreshed.

J122 Wednesday August 22th

Nothing really big happened on this day.

J123 Thursday August 23th

Ditto, with the only exception being that I met Erin's friend Katie in the evening as I rode home. The two girls had been friends in University, apparently, and had applied for Amity jobs at the same time. They were not employed at the same location, so it would seem. I cannot recall where Katie works now, but I do know it's a fair ways off, making her visiting time rare.

Plans were made to have an evening at Second Earth the next night, Friday. Katie and Erin didn't know where the bar was. Being on my bike, and thus privy to higher mobility, I offered to show the two ladies where it was. I walked my bike alongside them as we chatted softly in the night. A short stroll westward found us standing before Second Earth's unique facade. It has a front section that is crammed with Western stuff. Apparently they buy a lot of their wacky merchandise from the only Costco in Japan, somewhere in Tokyo. As a result, they're the only place I've seen in the entire nation that sells Jiff peanut-butter. Ohhhh, how I am so very tempted to buy a jar.

Having fulfilled my duty, and feeling sleep beckon me with her siren's call, I made sure my two companions knew the way back to their home. I bid them good evening and set off down the back streets of Hitachi, toward my apartment. My favorite route along the back roads brings me behind the large shrine I'd found months ago. At night, its otherworldly atmosphere extends beyond the tiny forest that acts as its buffer to the normal world. A feeling of alien calm settles over the roads that touch its foundation, and my rides home through the shrine's shadow are always enjoyable.

J124 Friday August 24th

Recall, faithful reader, that I was helped in the purchase of my Tokyo bus ticket by a Japanese woman and her American coworker? I ran into them again on my way in to them this morning as I rode to work. Her name escapes me at the moment...Sahi? Shari? Something similar. It's so simple I forget it easily. We caught up in the few minutes I had before work began, telling one another of our exploits since we had last met. As we said our goodbyes and I turned to walk up the stairs leading to my office, I turned back. I caught up with the gaggle of young women that Shari was a part of and extended an invitation to Second Earth to her. I figured it wouldn't hurt, her being another new face.

That bit of Vortex happening finished for the day, I attended my educational duties. Work was, as always, uneventful and pleasant. After work I headed for home to clean up and change, and went back out to Second Earth. I really like Second Earth. It has a very different feel from G-Bros, but it's still very friendly and inviting. It feels like someone's living room rather than a restaurant. Y'know, if you could somehow ignore the bar and grill.

Billy Banks, the Tae-Bo guy, was on the big projection screen as the night's moving entertainment. Mr. Banks has come to Japan and become somewhat of a sensation. His exercise programs are all the rage now, and he has released several Japanese-language versions of his old material as well as new routines. Many, many of my students talk about him. It's kind of odd, really. And funny.

Katie and Erin showed up for the get-together, as did just about the rest of the Gang. I indulged in a triple berry smoothie (scandalously flavorful) and an order of tacos. I originally ordered a cheeseburger, but they had only one patty left (a common problem for many Japanese eateries, I've noticed). My coworker had ordered before me, also a cheeseburger, and so I gave up the coveted meat-cookie to him. I wasn't that partial, to be honest, I just wanted delicious food.

There was little Fuji-san talk that night, though some of the discussions about the mountain I actually listened to. I began to write up a mental check list of items to procure and pack for the adventure, slowly realizing it would not be a trivial task to climb a 3,700 meter mountain.

Stay tuned as I continue my agonizingly slow catch up! Not that I agonize about these entries; they're awfully fun to write. I just have some trouble getting up motivation to sit down and write them. However, I'm making good progress, and should be caught up within the week.