Ep. 18.1 Attack of the Killer Baby

Friends make the world,
They link arm in arm
with bonds most covalent
that lead to no harm.


The Japanese rail system: a thing of beauty and tranquility. Normally. A place for profound thoughts and profane tots. Witness today the most terrible of toddler incidents for, viewed by our hero today, an incident occurred. There he stood on a train, bound for beauty and bedlam when, across, entered a Mother, holding her infant progeny. At first all was well, but then our hero noticed a subtle glint of utter malice and babinicle forthought in the child's eyes. Suddenly, quick as a flash, the terrible toddler lashed out towards its mothers eyes with intent to kill. But...what's this? It's attempt at murderous matricide were thwarted by none other than her protective eye ware, code name: GLASSES (Geeky Looking Article Subtly Saves Eyes fromE Smashing). Though its attempt was in vain, it did manage to knock out a single lens, which it then took advantage of by pulling off the glasses and throwing them to the floor. The mother, now aware of her child's intent, managed to sooth it back into a sense of tranquility. But what knew and dastardly despicable thoughts rock upon the bow of baby's brain? I pity the mother.

So, yeah, I went to Kamakura today and, on the way down, watch a baby pretty much destroy its mother's glasses. Nothing actually broke, and she managed to snap the lenses back in, but it was still slightly terrifying to watch. I will update this later with fun stories, but as it is getting late and I want to go to bed ASAP, I will leave pictures instead. Having said that, one thing that did not get captured--aside from evil babies--was my lunch. Due to schedules and things, half of the group was a little bit late. So, the half that was already there went out and got something to eat and explore. After wandering around for a bit, we finally found a place with a decent price. For what amounted to $10.50 each, we got some of the best Indian food that I have ever had. We each got a meal that included a salad, a huge bowl of curry, a ginormous piece of freshly made naan, a drink, and a dessert. I am really glad that I ate so much, because we spent a good deal of time hiking; but that's a tale for a later day. Now: pictures.

Not quite ready for a photo yet with the Buddha.

The four of us with the Buddha

The outside of the Buddha.

The inside of the Buddha.

More outside of Buddha.

Stairs, or Why My Legs Will Hate me in the Morning

Oh...and rocks and trails and things...we went hiking!

Which led to pretty views...

Nurse logs...

Squirrels...

Fall colors...

And fantastic views!

One quick note about this picture. So, we found this amazing view (just look at it!) and we were discussing how to take a picture with all of us, when we saw a guy walking along the side of the road. So, we asked him for a picture, which he took. However, my phone has a shutter thing where if you hold down the photo button, it will take pictures ad-nausea until the shutter is released. This picture is actually the combination of 29 different photos, all of which are saved on my phone. Yes, it is a little full now. He then showed us to the shrine that we were trying to find, and we even met the little stray tabby (named Ginger) that he looked after.

Another great view.

I really like this photo...

But I like this one too...

More evening glow...

Well, those look familiar.

Here we have a black koi and a white koi swimming next to each other in opposite ways. Avatar fans go nuts.

So, those are my photos so far of Kamakura. More details later.


Quixotic. It is rare to find such a good scrabble word with such an easy and visual definition: Oregon weather. Or, I guess, possible Pacific Northwest weather, but I can't really speak for the other parts very well. Only in Oregon have I ever been rained, hailed, snowed, and sunned on in the two minutes it took to walk back to my dorm from class (in that order, with no sleet). Only in Oregon can it be raining and not have a cloud in sight. Oregon is the land of micro-climates, where you grow up always having a shell layer. However, Oregon is not Japan. In Japan, if it is raining when you wake up, it will probably be raining when you go to bed. If it is sunny when you get up, it will likely be sunny when you go to bed. I have never lived in a place with such dependable, predictable weather before, but I now understand why Oregon weather could confuse so many of my friends. It's kind of freaking me out, actually, but it's still a good experience for me to go through. If you still don't know what it means, then think of Don Quixote, the character who is also the namesake of the word. If that doesn't work, then it's probably because you don't fall into the handy Venn-diagram that I have made with words (Oregon weather Don Quixote). Regardless, I have gone from Don Quixote to Sancho Panza, and though it does make packing for the day much easier, it also makes it much less exciting.

On a final note, Merry Christmas. Now that Thanksgiving is well and truly passed in all parts of the world, I can finally say it. To celebrate, I went out Christmas shopping for decorations and gifts. One of my higher items was a tree. Not something fancy or big, but something small that I could personalize if I wanted to...something that might make a nice center piece. I found it alright, but there was one little issue:

Wait...what?!?!

This lovely specimen, the simplest in the store, would have done well in a live play of a certain holiday favorite. It couldn't have been more than a foot and a half tall, and was plain as vanilla. It was even colored the appropriate shade of green which, being in Japan, is a rather amazing occurrence. None of this changes the fact, however, that this fake tree nearly costs as much as the shipping on the box that I sent to the US last week. For those who don't know the conversion, this is a $45 tree. Aside from the price, it was perfect, but I'm really not comfortable on spending that much money for something that will only be up for about a month. I did end up finding per-decorated trees in a corner that not only came pre-strung but were less than half the price. One of them is the current center piece for my table. Quite why it was so much less is beyond me, but then again, in the same store I also saw this:

Uuuuhh...x-mas trees don't go that way...

So I have decided to give up on how Japan deals with Christmas Trees. I have one, it was reasonable if gaudy, so I am thankful for that.
Anyway, this has been another exciting Adventure in the Austentatious. If you like me, tell your friends; if you hate me, tell your enemies; if you didn't care either way, then tell everyone. And now, good night.