Fun week! After a bumpy start...

J128 Tuesday August 28th

I forgot to mention last time that, while in Ueno station, I purchased a few books. I found a book shop one level up from where my train waited, and I had some time after acquiring my badly-needed cash. I purchased a novel by Haruki Murakami, a Japanese author that I've enjoyed before, and a copy of Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse 5. I've never read any of Vonnegut's work. My American coworker is quite the bibliophile, and I've felt rather underexposed to the classics of literature from my home nation (and abroad), so I picked them both up. Besides, by that time I had exhausted most of the literature at my apartment, and I was hurting for a good fix.

Anyway.

Tuesday morning I awoke, amazingly sore but quite alive and well. I had fallen asleep almost instantly the night before, and had gotten a good 8 hours of sleep.

The previous week, my coworker, M-sensei, recommended I watch a movie. He had watched it on the Internet, the film being available in its entirety for free. It is called Zeitgeist, and it is about three conspiracy theories. The first is a fascinating exploration of Christ as a mythological/historical figure. The third is a spooky look at the World Bank. The second one was what...colored my day. It was about the September 11th attacks.

In all honesty, I hadn't thought much about that day...ever. I remember where I was when it happened; the morning's events are quite clear in my mind. I remember the fear and ill-ease that swept through me. But through it all, and my subsequent consumption of media relating to it afterwards, I was never deeply *disturbed* by it. I knew that it was a tragedy, and felt sorrow and loss for those families most directly affected by it. But until I saw this film, I had never felt true horror toward the act.

I had left my bike at the station the night before, and thus had no quick way to get myself to work. I left a little late and walked to work. I was afraid I wasn't going to make it, and thus I sprung into a light jog. My muscles complained at first, but I soon fell into a rhythm that was sustainable. My legs worked out some of their soreness as I ran. I drew air deep into my lungs an then pushed it out completely, emptying them in a breathing technique E.J. had shown me once. Every deep breath enriched my blood with oxygen, and I felt quite invigorated. At the end of my jog I was quite near my workplace, and I marveled at my fitness. I wasn't winded. I was breathing deeply, to be sure, but I wasn't a sweating wreck. I looked back at my path, hardly believing I had actually run that far.

The day's work was thankfully light. I had only 4 classes with an ample break between my morning and evening assignments. That evening I rode my bike back, my legs once again complaining but soon quieting as their kinks were worked out.

At home I once again scoured the Internet for information on the days of September 11th. It was like...a magnet. I couldn't stop myself. At 3AM I spread my futon, desperate for sleep, but found that I couldn't reach a mental quietude. I tossed and turned, and finally did the one thing I knew I needed to do. I called my Mom. Or, more accurately, I asked that she call me.

We talked for the better part of 30 minutes. I told her of what I'd seen, of how it had affected me. She listened, and offered her own advice. Her voice, though, was the true balm to my hurts. It's funny, being grown up now, how soothing a mother's voice can be. Not just any mother, my mother. To call her a pillar of strength is a vast understatement, akin to commenting that space is big. I big her good night and drifted off to a peaceful slumber.

J129 Wednesday August 29th

I slept until 10:30AM on Wednesday. I felt quite rested and refreshed, and the events of the previous day did not weigh heavily on my mind. As always, I struggle to leave my apartment on time, and was almost late again. I sped to work on my bike, meeting my first student for the day as I rode in. I bid him farewell as I peddled to work, and managed to get to my company before he did. The rest of the day was uneventful; a perfectly normal work day. I caught my paper journal up to the day after my first class. My D&D game was slowly getting more and more organized, thanks to my creation of a Google Group (terribly useful, those) and a few emails that had been sent whence.

J130 Thursday August 30th

I realized today that the new Evangelion movie premieres Saturday, September 1st. I am so going to see it this weekend. Happy day!

J131 Friday August 31st

Friday night, after another uneventful day of work, I installed Dungeon Runners. Dungeon Runners is a free MMO developed by Richard Garriot's brother. It's essentially an updated Diablo II clone, but it handles the genre with a very humorous tone. The item names, randomly generated, are laugh-out-loud funny, and the gameplay is well balanced. It's a solid little game. There is an option to pay $5 a month for extra features, including the ability to equip some of the better items of the game, but it's quite playable for free.

I also learned that two new teachers would be arriving on Saturday, and that a plan was in the works for a beach BBQ to welcome them.

J132 Saturday September 1st

My excitement about the new Evangelion movie grows with every passing hour. The day's classes, a massive stream of 7 classes, passes quickly with the knowledge that tomorrow will rock face. Part of my lessons involve a warm up, with my default question being weekend plans. I include my own as a conversation starter, and this week was no different. My students were surprised that I was going to see the movie, even though it would lack subtitles. One of my new students was delighted; himself a big Evangelion fan.

That night I logged a few more hours playing Dungeon Runners. I went out for my customary drink at G-Bros that night, but since nothing big was going on, I didn't stay more than two hours. I got to sleep at a reasonable 1AM.

J133 Sunday September 2nd

I woke up leisurely, browsing the Internets as is my custom. I found the website of the theater I'd be attending, and discovered two showings that would be perfect. One was at 2:40PM, the next at 4:50PM. I planned to attend the 2:40 showing.

During my morning I watched the week's episode of Gurren Lagann, the latest TV serial from Gainax, on broadcast TV. I've been following the series via fansubbers online, but the chance to watch it real-time was too great to pass up. That it comes on Sunday mornings right when I normally get up was too good to be true.

Alas, the train schedule is an unpredictable beast. I got to the station at 1:45, reasoning that the 30-minute train ride would begin near the top of the hour. I got to the station with mere minutes to spare, though, as the next train was departing around 1:48. I hastily purchased a light lunch (riceballs, yay!) and dashed to the platform. I enjoyed the sunlight-soaked day as the train trundled southward, munching my onigiri and washing it down with tea.

The train gods didn't smile on me, though, and I found myself being delivered to the station at 2:35. I dashed to the movie theater, cursing my choice of flip-flops for the day's footwear. I purchased a ticket and hurried to the theater, stuffing my backpack with all of the gear that filled my pockets. I silenced my phone, and walked into the dark theater. I was lucky; the previews were still going on.

The theater was packed. There was hardly any room, but luckily my seat was near the aisles. I settled in to my seat and was bathed in the cool glow of the silver screen. I saw the trailer for the new CG Appleseed movie, which looks awesome. A trailer for a jidaigeki (samurai period-piece) anime, Sword of the Stranger, was next. Looked interesting. After the trailers ended the lights dimmed to darkness. For a second the theater was pitch-black. Not a sound was to be heard in the acoustically absorbent room. Then, without preamble, a simple title came up. Red on a black background, the card merely read: "New Evangelion" in Japanese.

For the sake of those who do not wish to be spoiled, I will not discuss the particulars. The film was, in a word, excellent. It was a retelling of the first 4 or 5 episodes of the Neon Genesis Evangelion anime series, one of my favorite works of animation of all time. The characters were well-acted, the animation top-notch. The fight scenes were stunning. The sound was a significant factor of the film, with emotionally or thematically intense events being coupled with especially sweetened sound. Screams of rage or pain and the sounds of battle were clear and powerful.

I left the movie theater with a smile on my face. The film was simply amazing, and I was quite happy with the work Gainax, the film's creators, had produced. It was now nearing 5PM, and I decided to do some leisure shopping before the festivities of the evening. I took the train back toward Hitachi, but stopped one station south of the town. I walked in the fading light of day north, arriving at the mini nerd heaven of Wonder Goo and K's Denki. I perused both stores for a while, purchasing a USB game pad for my PC. Some of my games required such an input device, and I had none.

I decided to walk back to Hitachi, rather than catch a train. I set off north, walking along the roads that connected the towns and villages of the Ibaraki prefecture like veins. I passed factories, houses, office buildings, and schools. I stopped in to a large grocery store and picked up a few morsels for the evening's cookout. I arrived at my house not long after, but decided to keep walking to the station, where my bike awaited me.

Nearly an hour after I started walking from K's Denki, I arrived at the train station. I hopped on my bike and peddled down to the beach, where the party was beginning.

I arrived after most of the others, but nothing had truly started yet. I added my food, bread, hamburg patties, and some dango for desert, to the immense pile of consumables. I met the new teachers, both working for Amity, my company's sister school. One, Candice, was from Cleveland, Ohio, while the other, Jo Ann, was from New York City. They had gotten to the town literally that morning, and were still a little overwhelmed at everything.

I assisted with the fire and cooking, sitting in the sand alongside Matt as we tried to coax our little grill to life. Matt and M-sensei had managed to get a fire going, but it refused to stay lit. We did our best, though, grilling as much meat as we could, but after an hour and a half the fire had died out to embers. Everyone had managed to procure food, though, so no one was left hungry.

One of the party goers had had a bit too much spirits, and I assisted a few in getting her to her apartment, which was luckily nearby. That signaled the end of festivities for me. When I returned to the beach the fire had been all but extinguished, and I gathered up my things. The group wanted to explore the lighthouse, a tiny tower perched atop a concrete sea break, but I had had enough excitement for one day. One of the Japanese teachers from Amity was walking home, and I accompanied her, bringing my uncooked hamburg with me in my bike's basket.

We walked mostly in silence, talking about work and the future. I've come to realize that many people in Japan really aren't happy with their jobs. Businessmen, Office Ladies, Engineers...they all wish they were doing something else. It sort of makes me glad that I'm not going to be here forever, and that I'll be heading back to school (if all goes according to plan).

After I finished walking the Japanese teacher home, I bid her farewell and set out on my bike for my own apartment. I love taking the unlit backroads home, especially the ones that take me past the big shrine. There is something otherworldly about the darkness that pools around the raised earthwork the shrine is built upon, and it always fills me with peace when I pass by.

Upon returning home, I deposit my spoilables in the freezer, knock the sand from myself with a quick shower, and head to bed. The first meeting of the D&D group was the next day, and I there was much I needed to do to prepare.