UNIQ: YESTERDAYS WRITING

Dear Reader,

 

Yesterday, I received my last known pay check.  It’s probably time now to rejoin the world of work.  We all need to eat, right. 

Anyway, Ive been busy.  In the week since I joined Facebook, I have “friended” 14 paople.  Actually, for the most part, I consider almost all of them people I like and would like to trust.  Some of them, I know a little less than others, but I think I know enough to say that none of them are a member of the Bildensburg group (whatever, its called) or the illuminati. 

              They seem normal people, like me.  Well, probably a bit more normal, but I have stuff that normalizes me.  Last night, I went to a saxophone recital by a man called Naoki Ito.  He used to teach my wife the saxophone.

              I was a bit bored, mostly because he was palying classics.  But I drew a couple of really cool sketches of the guy at the mike, and later playing his instrument.  I also drew a picture of a guy following a lion, crawling towards a circus tent, while a director sits in the background, calling out the shots, calling out Action.  It was just an exercise in drawing that I decided to occupy some spare attention with, while I was bored.

              I must say, it really helped me to appreciate the role of music more.  I thought a couple of realy cool things, too.  Way back when, I was 21, back in the day, I used to smoke a little bit.  Not too much. Probably less than most.  But I remember listening to Tricky and his Maxinquaye , which at the time was my album of choice.  My parents were out and so I let the music flood the room, and my very much befuddled brain.  I remember getting up to turn the CD off because I thought that two CDs were playing.

              So, anyway, now I have a small piece of my sanity back, I’ve been thinking about actually doing that.  About playing two CDs at once, to make my own music.  The way to do this, it occurs to me, the only way it would probably work, would be to play one normal piece alongside something very minimalist but beautiful.  I think I will listen to the Divine Liturgy of St John Chrysostum alongside the shakahachi, or the native American flute (Kater and Nakai, would be a good choice.)  After that, I’ll probably end up bathed in red light, calling out crazy stuff like Tom Hanks in the movie Philadelphia.  If that doesn’t happen for me the first time, I will keep experimenting, with music, until it does.  Why?  Because everyone deserves to experience things like that at least once, in their lifetime.

              Sio here’s some more stuff on my to do before I die list.  Learn to draw.  Learn to play the blues harmonica.  Howl at the moon.   Learn at least two really good magic tricks.  I will leave “riding a unicycle” to someone else, although that would be cool as well.

              I probably should have gone straight home, but instead I sat down and drank a couple of Chuhais and listened to some Aimee Mann.  When I went to go home, I started talking to a young man, 21 years old, about what it means to be small and powerless.  I had drawn two real life sketches.  One of a woman, standing upright, and carrying a bag.  She symbolized for me, at the time, the gift of giving.  And another of a man, hunched over a bicycle, riding as fast as the wind, God knows where, in a bit of a blur.  He symbolizes for me the act of running away, pointlessly, from life and all its problems.  I also had written a message, which goes like this: “Please God, Help me, Because I don’t know where I am going and I don’t know whay.”  Granted, this might be just projection- seeing other people the way one is (I am) afraid to see oneself (me).  Yet, I have always thought that stuff was pretty universal.  Anyway, I think I made an activist, by the very act of being unafraid, by demonstrating that.  That single conversation was probably one of the weirdest one’s that young guy has ever had.  For that reason, in his own way, he will incorporate it in some positive way into his life.  After that, I stopped by one of my old hauns, one of my old haunting places, one of my haunted houses, just because I am not brave enough to let go of everything all at once.  I have to retrace my life step by step, bit by bit, back to where it was just a little more normal and a little more fun.  I can’t do everything at once,.  I have to erase my mistakes one by one.  But here’S the kicker.  I actually met some pretty cool people.  The bar tender is trying to become a writer.  Another guy took a whole bunch of my scribbled bar room philosophy notes, and understood something about the problems of this world, most specifically, nationalism.  My key note went like this.  “Most Japanese people think Japan is the most important.”  He wanted to erase that “most” and write “some” or even “many”.  But the truth is, as I pointed out, if I wrote “most Chinese” or “most Koreans” or, even “most Americans” or “most Australians”, he would probably agree.  Yet, he feels the need to defend “his” country and “his” people.  I made a friend.  He likes Secreatriat and Man o  War.  I like Sea Biscuit, most of all, and also “Phar Lap.”  So big up to big red 346.

AFTER THAT

March 20, 2013/03/20

 

After last night’s misadventures, I woke up at about 11, and wrote about my experiences

My wife is very tired, and exhausted.  She wanted to talk to me after she woke up.  We talked ffor a short time.  I checked my Facebook account and my emails.  I posted my diary entry on my Facebook page.  I checked up on some old school friends. At first, I couldn’t post my diary entry.  I wrote an email to the team at Facebook, and then tried again.  I took Sera for a walk.  I saw a whole bunch of empty cans in a bush near the conbini.  I thought I’ll take them down to the park and find the one person who wants these.  Right at the corner of the park, I saw an old guy pushing a trolley loaded up with hundreds and hundreds of cans.  He was pushing it up the main road.  He was an old guy with a long white beard and matted salt and peeper hair.   I gave him my cans.  I played ball with my dog, and called 2 people from work- Simon and Jason.  Then, I thought I should call someone else.  So I called Diego, my Italian representative.  I explained to people my ideas for SkypeMe English.  Pre reading tasks, phone call.  Blank monitor.  Feedback.  I read two pieces aloud to my brother in law, Ben.  Ben loved my stuff.   A guy I group up with has confirmed me as a friend.

Things to write about.  Yenev.  My dream before I came to Japan.  Share housing.  Self intros.  Kris.  The two Ls.  Daniel.  Jan n Park.  Kevin.  Brian.  Sharon.  Stephen.  Libraries.  Mrs King.  Cricketer.  Cat, Tiger.  Batman.  Kim. 

I'd really love to get a small cassette player to record my voice.