Ep 20. The Lull

Following many periods of preposterously perilous and perpetually puntastic adventures, our hero finds himself within a new stage in life, one where what was once exciting is now fruitless, where the unknown has become average and the zest of excitement has been toned down. Welcome to the Lull, a zone inhabited by the Dailies, the Hourlies, the Weeklies, and the Avergies. However, rather than being a time of tense and un-turbulent solitude, our hero sees this fact as an opportunity, for perhaps this Lull is but a break before bombastic and barbaric times set themselves into force. Or, perhaps his initiative, like his water, has merely frozen over.

Winter has arrived. Now, we have not gotten as cold as the Pacific Northwest, nor as cold as many other parts of the US. That does not change the fact, however, that I fell like I'm freezing my buns off over here. This is partially due to the fact that I really dislike being cold, but it might also be cause by the lack of central heating in apartment buildings over here. Now, I know that this is a fairly petty complaint, but given that many apartments also lack solid insulation or a sturdy build--sturdy tends to literally fall to pieces when the ground begins to rumba--it's a chill that I am not used to dealing with. Still, one must always look at everything with a grain of salt. Yes, I am currently sitting here shivering because I don't want to turn my heater on, but at the very least I will appreciate having central heating when next it is available to me.

So, I have not done much this week in terms of what some might call adventures. That is not to say that I did not do anything, nor that I didn't do anything new. Rather, so much has been new for so long that what I really need is a quiet weekend to just process and vedge. That weekend will have to be later, however, because these past two have been quite adventurous. Aside from the Tokyo trip, last weekend also included dinner with my other American co-worker. To be honest, though I do love my Japanese co-workers to bits, and am incredibly thankful to have them, it's also nice to know that there is someone else at work who has gone through many similar situations to my own, and in ways that can be understood in my own terms.
Actually, we have been spending more time together and talking more. Yesterday, we went to a weekly Japanese tutoring session that she likes to go to, and that I have been to once. Admittedly, my Japanese is a lot better than when I first went, and though I am fairly functional, I am nowhere near even remotely conversational. I was paired with an older Japanese man, who turned out to be one of the most excitable people who I have ever met. What proceeded was an hour-and-a-half flurry of information, detailing questions, statements, nouns, directions, introductions, etc! To make his point, he would stand up and gesture, and tried to do the teaching as much as possible in Japanese. I started by writing the new words in romaji, but when he noticed, he chastised me. "English is for eigo, hiragana is for Nihongo."Wise words indeed. The problem is that while I can read most hiragana fairly easily, I have little experience writing it. Thankfully, he was more than happy to write for me, and he gave me a lot to study for next week. I am, however, glad for the work, because it is giving me something personal to work towards outside of work. I even went out and bought a little kids book on practicing hiragana. I can't wait to show off my progress next week.
Following the lesson, my co-worker and I wandered the mall, looking at things. We found some good deals that I need to go back for--that will be next weekend's adventure--and were walking back to the train to go home when she got a text from a friend. Did she want to join him for some shopping? I was welcome to come along. So began our journey to Koshigaya-Laketown.
On first arrival, my primary observation was the lake, easily visible from the station. This is by no means a large lake, but it is still the first such body of water I have seen in quite some time. It even has a lake front park, which we immediately went to check out...and were met with wind. As I have spent some part of my life in Hood River, I am well acquainted with wind, and know how to deal with it. That does not mean that it can be readily enjoyed, however, when ones long johns have been left at home in the wash. I got my pictures, enjoyed the view, and then we skedaddled towards the mall.
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**Speaking of pictures, my phone is charging, so they will be added in later.
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Now, most stations in Japan have a mall close by. This makes sense: there's a lot of foot traffic, it will get a lot of business, everyone is happy. Indeed, I noticed the mall as we were leaving the station. I continued to noticed the mall as we walked towards the lake, and I couldn't help but notice the fact that the mall also had joined us at the lake, and extended along the bank perpendicular to us.
The AEON LakeTown mall bills itself as the largest eco-friendly shopping mall in Japan. While I'm not sure how I would verify that last part, it is certainly the largest mall that I have ever been to. This place is so large, that have split it into three parts: water, wind, forest. Shopping here is not like a normal shopping mall, where to meet up you have to find the right store. Shopping is more like a Disneyland parking lot: you have to know which one you're in, or you are never going to find each other. Still, what with our having just come from tutoring, my co-worker and I decided to get lunch. We ended up settling on a nice looking buffet place. The rules, once we got in, were simple: eat whatever you want, as much as you want, for 90 minutes; and they had a lot of food there. While standing in line, her friend joined us, and the three of us ate. A lot. The nice thing about a buffet is that you can see what you're eating. As such, for a vegetarian like me, it's relatively easy to find things. I say relatively, because in Japan you can find meet in the most unlikely of places. Take the vegetarian-tofu curry. It looked and smelled delicious, it was filled with tofu, and I could find no reason to doubt it. What could possibly go wrong (he naively thought). Just to make sure, I examined a few ladles. Sure enough, in every last spoonful, floating like a cackling child who has just stolen candy from a baby, were little flecks of beef. They made their tofu-vegetarian curry with beef stock, and had put extra beef in it. Welcome to Japan.
Post the delicious lunch, we got down to business. My co-worker's friend needed to shop for two separate holidays: an anniversary and Christmas. Thankfully, he had already found his boyfriend's birthday present, otherwise the trip would have taken much longer. For those who don't know, shopping isn't really my thing. My general approach to buying things is that I go to the store with exactly what I want in mind. As such, while many people like to wander randomly through stores, gasping at the purchases they want to make, I am more inclined to just sit back and observe. That's not to say that my interest cannot be piqued (see above for a good example) but more that I prefer to think about purchases before making them.
Having said that, I did buy one thing--though I saw many more interesting little gadgets. Mochi is a traditional Japanese treat and, while it can take some getting used to, is delicious if made right. What I was not aware of was mochi stuffed with ice cream. It's cold, it's hard for those with sensitive teeth, but it is delicious.
Anyway, we wandered in circles for a bit--even with a map, we got lost--until we found the shop that my co-worker's friend was looking for. Inside, he did indeed find the perfect gift for his beau...OK, writing that is a little weird, but not for the reason many people would use. Let me illustrate with a story from last year: a group of us were hanging out in a friend's room, talking, when suddenly someone says, "I just realized what's weird about you and your girlfriend" (this is Friend 1). The friend who this was directed at (Friend 2) looks a little confused, a feeling shared by most of the people there. We all knew Friend 2, and we all knew that she had a girlfriend. We also all knew that Friend 1 was not only ace, but fairly bi-romantic (if not pan-romantic) as well. However, Friend 1 cleared things up by saying, "it's because you have one." You see, dear reader, I did not go through college with people who were in serious, committed relationships--barring a couple of exceptions. It's not that we weren't interested in people, nor that we necessarily believed in free love (definitely not that most of us ever engaged, or really had ever engaged, in sexy-sexy-fun times), but more that being in a relationship was just not something we really did. We were having so much fun just being friends that nothing else seemed relevant (or, in many cases, was really possible). I'm still getting used to the fact that most people my age have dated, done things, or may be in a serious relationship at whatever level. Does that make me utterly naive about how romance and relationships and that sort of thing actually work? Absolutely yes. Would I change anything if I could? Probably yes, but I'm fine with how things turned out in the end. It has just given me a different view than many about what makes a relationship healthy. Still, it was really cute the way that his face lit up when he found exactly what he was looking for; it's that kind of reaction that reminds that there does indeed exist (relatively) innocent love in the world.
One final note on the mall, I did end up having fun. Will I now go out shopping? Probably not. Will I see my co-worker's fabulous friend again? I am inclined towards the negative, simply because I was not necessarily on my best behavior. That's not to say that I am a horrendous person, but that I can be a little much to handle when I don't watch myself like a hawk. Looking back, I do wish that I had kept a better hold on my quirkier self, but at the same time I am glad that I could express as much as I did. I am decidedly more reserved over here in both speech and action, but that visage cracked yesterday. Do I desire to not have that facade? Yes, but I must also contend with being a tad exhausting without it. In that case, a balance is needed, one which will need constant evaluation. Still, I am thankful for my co-worker and her friend for letting me tag along, and I hope that they had fun.

Speaking of buying things and having fun, I did end up making a more sizable purchase than might be considered wise (I'm still saving a ton, just less than I want to). I bought a bread maker and, having tasted my first loaf, am glad for the decision. It was so simple to pull off, it made my apartment smell heavenly, and it went great with my schocking dinner. Now, many will say that I am a fool for buying it, because such a device is a long term object. To those, I simply say this: yes, I bought a bread maker for myself. I am rather domestic, and enjoy cooking and cleaning (though I do enjoy a little clutter). As such, the bread maker--and next week's purchase if I decide they're worth it--is the perfect kind of thing for me to get. But I got it for another reason: I want this to be the best apartment ever, for everyone who works at my school in perpetuity. I did not get this wonderful (albeit regrettably hued) device merely for myself, but for my successors to give them options of what to do while here. Plus, the fact that my whole apartment now smells more of bread than man is a decided plus in my book, although I am wondering how I am going to get the mixing attachment out of my bread...
Anywho, this has been another adventure in the austentatious. If you liked me, tell your friends; if you hated me, tell your enemies; and if you didn't care either way, then tell everybody. And now, good night.