It’s always a surprise to me what the Japanese take very seriously that people in the US blow off. Today, it’s illegal parking. I “illegally” parked my bike (and illegally is in quotes because I’ve been parking in the same place for the last four months) and it cost me ¥9000 (that’s 83-84 USD). It did afford me an interesting trip to the police station, trying to understand the cop I was talking to. One of the other cops sat down and said to me, “Faster than a bullet, more power than a locomotive. I am Superman. Okay?”
But I’m listening to Jay-Z. He doesn’t like the law neither.
Things continue to wind down here. I will now be home in 11 days. On Monday, I saw Superb Dan and Suewan for the last time as they are moving to Hong Kong today. We hung out at an arcade, ate Ramen, and watched a band play on the street in Tejin. It was a good night, and I will miss hanging out with Superb Dan and Suewan. They are good people with genuine empathy and I think that’s a good thing. So good luck to them.
Things have been sort of in upheaval since about Thursday morning, but I don’t really feel like writing about them. I’m sure everyone will hear enough when I get home and we’ll talk it through.
I’m interviewing for a job next week that will require me to be back in Fukuoka on August 22nd which will end up cutting my vacation back by a week, but I think that’s okay. I’m not looking forward to flying standby though and missing a week of enjoyment. But I gotta feed the monkey.
And it’s so hot here.
Finally, I’m bringing back a couple of things to the States, but I think the thing I am bringing back for Bob Kurtz is hands down the best thing ever.