Denaturalization

I'm leaving this country very soon, bound for my less-civilized, economically hardened country of origin. The taken for granted liberties I've been able to enjoy are slowly being removed day by day, and I am starting to feel as if I don't belong.

I no longer have a post office or bank account. No more can I have something delivered to my home address since I'm technically no longer in the city registry. I have since given my bike to an acquaintance who expressed sincere desire to save me the trouble of disposing of it. I no longer have internet. To write this entry I had to walk 15 minutes to school through my town, recently transformed into a sweltering jungle, where the humidity is such that it feels like I'm swimming through this thick air instead of walking.

I've been hearing that in a few days a typhoon will come. The constant partying that began weeks ago when friends and coworkers realized that I was soon leaving is wearing me down, and it will be good to be distracted by a meteorological phenomenon if only for a while. When it comes I will go down to meet it, and hopefully it has kind words for me.

In the meantime I've been trying to predict the feeling I will have when I'm back in my own country, communicating in my own language which has grown pitiful due to non-use. In one month's time I'm not quite sure where I'll be or what I'll be doing, and it's strange that the only feeling that describes me is not panic, nor anxiety, nor worry, but calm.

If I don't drown in this humidity from Satan's shower mist, I may be able to make a few more posts before I leave..

Euro 2008 Photos

I've finally posted pictures of my voyage to Europe. Colorful commentary included...

Click on Photos

Damn! Spain!!

After I came back from Europe I completely forgot about a bet I had made with a Japanese friend about which team would win the tournament; he duly reminded me upon my return. Apparently, Japanese people had a strange communion with the Spanish national team, because all of my friends had correctly presaged the Spaniard side would emerge victorious, while I once again had to witness Van Basten's Holland squad flicker and fade away like a dying star that once shone bright. Ironically enough, it was former Holland coach Guus Hiddink's Russian side that ended my dreams, and made for an extremely embarrassing situation..

The bet : if Holland wins, my friend Nori had to shave his head bald. Conversely, I had to straighten my hair, after which I would receive some sort of Nori Special. Not to worry, after a short shower, my curls would return, he politely mentioned as a side note, knowing full and well that if somehow I had won the bet there was no way he was going to shave his head.

A shot of me before straightening my curls...



Nori doing his thing...



Almost finished...



Presto...change-O...



And now for the Nori Special... I told my friend that I wanted to look like the catcher from a popular baseball-themed TV show about unrealistically-looking Japanese high school students called Rookies. After obliging, I looked like this...



As part of the bet, I had to keep that flashy hair-do for one whole night. I had a dinner date with a few Japanese friends later, and when they saw me they thought nothing of the fact that I looked like a time traveler from 1955. I also noticed that no other Japanese people were giving me strange looks which led me to believe they also thought my new hair style was nothing outlandish.

Superb! Now all I needed was one of those 50's style microphones and a guitar, and I would've been well on my way to performing a realistic version of Chuck Berry's Johnny B. Goode.

Back from the EU

It's hard for me to put into words how great my trip was. Instead I made another meaningless cartoon for you all to see.

Smile of a Child