Rooftop sunrise

7.26.08, 4:45 AM

Hot pickup

Brand new Summer '08 Nike Court Force's, fresh off the shelf from Osaka. Cut low for the square in me, in watermelon colors for the beach.

Last call

Took one last road trip with the gang to Kansai before tears are shed and the revolving door starts moving again. Hard to say goodbye to Grandma Bessie, for sure, but these two are gonna take a little more time to get over. An overdue thank you to Casey and Tracy, the two peas who share my pod, who not only make me a better person, but also just flat out make me look better.











With love from Kobe and Osaka...

Great scott!

Here's reason number 5,428 why Nike is the best producer of shoes in the world. Earlier this month, the shoemaker released a limited edition teal version of their new Hyperdunk shoe in an attempt to appease long-time fans of the Back to the Future movie trilogy. Unofficially dubbed "Air McFlys," the shoe bears a striking resemblance to the one worn by Michael J. Fox as he water-skimmed his way away from Biff and the gang in the series' second installment. As someone whose only unflinching truth through life has been a promise to peacefully retire from existence once hoverboards go into mass production, I better start making the most of my days. If Nike's nostalgic yet forward thinking move is any indication, I may not be here long after all.

More cool stuff

A big thank you to Casey Blasman for bringing this beautiful piece of foam and fiberglass through my door on Friday. Loeb's in for the week gracing me with his company, so I think we'll play hooky tomorrow and see how she looks in the water.

Hmmm...

What's wrong with this picture? From an ESPN.com article about Brewers' outfielder Corey Hart being voted into the MLB All-Star Game:

Hart got the news from Brewers manager Ned Yost as he walked into the Miller Park interview room with his two young children after Milwaukee's 11-1 win over Colorado. A couple minutes into his news conference, about a dozen of his teammates rushed into the room and sprayed Hart and his children with beer, loudly cheering his first-time selection.

Sprayed his children with beer?? This doesn't strike the author as being strange or inappropriate at all? Only in a league as messed up as the majors I guess, and for better or worse, only in Brew Town.

Hooah

Consider this one snagged from the "waiting to be posted" file. 3+ hours of hula for my girl Tracy's last performance before she kicks it back to Hawaii, and not a tense soul in the house. If not for the lack of couches, I would spend every Sunday recovering this way. Here's some pics.


the young


the old


groovin'


with the teary dancer after the performance

Spending season

Another year older, but I find the coolest thing about having a birthday these days is that I finally fully appreciate the "real" presents. That and I get to buy myself cool stuff. This year, I decided go retro and buy myself something really Japanese. Check this out:



I was 12 when I first got one of these, so I figured it was time to give it another go. Here's hoping Wave Race is still cool enough to make me fake a sick day.

And America too

While I'm celebrating the fourth with a BBQ and some overpriced Budweiser, please enjoy the rest of your third listening to some good old all-American music. To get you started, here's a cover song that doesn't suck from John Mayer, off his new live CD/DVD Where the Light Is: Live in Los Angeles.



Happy time gap, everyone.

What's next?

Exactly eleven months ago, just after stepping off the plane upon my arrival in Tokushima. The memory isn't stale yet, but it's fun to look at through slightly smaller glasses.

I somewhat inadvertently took the last month or so away from the blog and out of my own head to get a better feel for the space I'm in and the canvas that lies ahead. I made some new friends and started watching more TV and eating more cereal, and what I found is that the conscious internal decisions I make and the little mice that run around in my head make little difference to those outside myself until I choose to do something about them. I may be thinking about how weird it is to mentor student teachers less than a year removed from being one myself (albeit half a world away), but nobody can see the little bubble in my head that says "Oh shit..." Instead they tap their foot wondering when I'm going to give them advice, because hey, nobody's waiting for me to catch up. And that's important to know.

When I arrived here last August, I put forth the challenge to myself to treat the following eleven months as if they would be my last in Japan. And while there have been days when I've been disappointed with myself, to be sure, there have also been a good number of those in which I remember to look at the mountains a little longer or to go ahead and ask that cab driver about their day, because neither of us is gonna be here forever. And well, why not? So even though I've since re-newed the lease on my life here, the challenge for the next eleven months is to keep looking. And not just at the mountains or the sea or the pretty girl whose desk is across from mine, but beyond them to something inarguably newer and more challenging. And while I won't always write about my goals, I hope and plan to at least write about them as they're being completed, which hopefully means less bullshit and more interesting stuff from here on out. And if anyone is reading, I at least owe that much to you, and to myself too. Please wish me luck, and please send me Combos.