Ep 26. Under the Sea, Oh Finally

When last we left our exotic expat, he sat sipping cocoa while doling out deep thoughts to rival the inner workings of a gothically depressed middle schooler's diary. What then, of the week? Revelation! Incantation! Insemi---actually, not that one...Deforestation! Somewhere! Yes, speaking artfully and skillfully, our hero managed to mostly make myself barely understandable. But hope still remained, for through thoughtful introspection of himself and extrospection of his compatriots, the path to better skills presented itself. But such changes must wait, as with all things they take time. And before the day of implementation there will finally be a day of exploration to the darkest depths of the sea and the lightest un-land of the waves. Indeed, towards aquaria tomorrow we go; and what there will we find? I have no idea.

So, this week was again rather interesting. I started with an unusual issue and things sort of went up and down from there. We had...shall we say interesting times at work that may or may not be resolving themselves, classes were taught well, meetings were had, and I stayed up until 1:00am for the first time in a very long while. Yet, for everything, I would say that it was a rather good week...though I can't really think of a week that has been necessarily bad. Oh, there have been weeks that are filled with bad things, or things that I dread. But that's not really the fault of the week that events are bad, it's more the fault of the people and phenomena who do them. To say that a week is bad because it is filled with bad things shifts the blame a bit too much for my tastes.
However, there were some funny moments. Probably the funniest came at the end of the work week, when we all went out to an izekia. The conversation meandered hither and thither, from ponderings of the future to questions of the present when, suddenly, we came to the topic of 9/11. I don't know why, but we did. And we all started telling our own tales and memories one at a time. Most were along the lines of, "oh, I was in college when..." or, "I was 18" when, eventually, it got to me. I remember that day vividly. That was the day that I became aware of the rest of the world and decided that I should do my utmost to learn as much about it as possible. And so I began..."Well, I was in 5th grade..." and everyone lost it. Now, it's no secret that I'm easily the youngest member of the staff. I am so young, in fact, that I have found it necessary to hide my age to keep people from being made uncomfortable by it. And the entire staff know my age, but they were still surprised as heck by the fact that I was only in 5th grade when 9/11 happened. But that's life; we don't always understand the full ramifications of choices and facts until they become apparent. The best thing to do is to roll with the punches and make a good story out of it.
Anyway, my Sunday was very quiet (thankfully). On Monday, however, I finally made the trip--nay, at this point and with this many failed attempts, journey seems more appropriate--to the Hakkeijima Sea Paradise. This is the place that I have been trying to go to for months. This is the place about which, at age 8, I saw a Discovery channel special that became my driving force to come to Japan. This is the home of whale sharks.

It's bigger than you think it is...

a lot bigger...

Proof that I wasn't alone...a pic taken by someone else

Back in the past...both the picture, and the time table...

The Harbor!

The Harbor shrine!

I have no idea what this is for...candy gram?

Apparently it's the 20th

The walk-through dolphin tank

They were a little bored...

A sunfish.

 These guys are related to puffer fish and, like most of the larger mega-fauna (this thing is huge) consists on a diet of relatively small, nutrient poor critters. Because it's just plain better to be smaller.

Speaking of food.

One more whale shark.

It was playing with a ball...like a dog...

These swarming fish were mesmerizing.

 They really were. And it was amazing how if another fish in the tank were to enter their area, a hole would instantly open up around it. I could have stood there for hours watching the things move...

A walrus with crossed tusks.

 I'm not sure what causes this to happen, but it seemed an odd trait to me. I know that most rodents need to constantly gnaw on something, because their front teeth keep growing. If not adequately managed, they will eventually grow through the bottom lip, requiring either expensive surgery or painful death. I wonder if walruses face a similar issue. Regardless, this is not something you want to roll over on you.

Great jumping gigawatts! It's the flux capacitor!

The kelp forest seemed more a kelp graveyard.

Some sharks.

I don't know if the sound works, but a snowstorm of fish, it is.

Da jellies.

This is far more graceful in the film on my phone.

They floated perfectly, constantly moving.

 These guys also had some fairly impressive, though basic, bioluminesence. I'm not sure why, although I would guess to either draw in prey, fool predators, or a mix of both.

More impressive jelly fish.

 For such simple creatures, they can be truly deadly. A good percentage of the jellyfish in the world lack what we would define as a nervous system, yet they seem to move along just fine. It truly is amazing the variety in nature, and I am quite sure that it will never stop surprising us with its mysteries.

Pipefish, a relative of seahorses.

 For those who don't know, seahorses--or at least some species therein--are some of the few creatures where the male carries the babies until they hatch, at which point he expels them via contractions. I will let you draw your own conclusion about traditional gender roles from that.

A hermit crab

 And a rather large one. This one has an anemone for a home, creating an excellent symbiotic relationship. The crab is helped because few creatures want a mouthful of damaging anemone. The anemone is helped because the movement of the crab brings it into contact with more prey. Both benefit, and neither really loses. An incredible sollution.

Some nautilus.

 Nautilus are living fossils. We have found the remains of their ancestors dating back millions of years to the Jurassic period, when the seas rose and transformed much of the landscape into a giant archipelago. They might have been around before that, but I'm too tired to do research right now.

A front view of a nautilus.

These guys are related to eels. Can't remember a name...

I found Nemo!

A turtle and some sharks.

One last look across the bay at the sunset.

After exploring the museum, and getting my money's worth, I went home and the friend who I went with journeyed to his Tokyo abode. Sadly, the time was too late to try any new restaurants (an amazing student has given me many suggestions of vegetarian and vegan delicacies), so after a brief pit stop to compare some prices, I continued on the train back. Along the way, however, something interesting happened. At a stop, a fellow passenger collapsed. I would like to say that I dropped everything and ran over to help, but I didn't. I didn't even notice him until I realized that we weren't moving, and even then I stayed in my seat while the only thought going through my mind was, "he's not moving and his eyes are closed, why isn't someone talking to him to see if he's conscious or to see if we need to start doing CPR." Thankfully, one of my fellow passengers had some kind of training--either first aid or first responder--because she quickly took charge of the situation. And the entire time, I felt helpless. Not because I don't have a basic idea of what to do for injury--I've taken a few first aid courses--but because I knew that I would be more of a hurt than a help. The best that I could do would be to ask, "dijobu?" [are you OK?], and to start chest compressions if he didn't respond. I can't describe symptoms, or understand enough to know what the problem would be. I can't help him, because I don't know enough of the language, and that's terrifying.
Now, for some exciting news. After finally getting some concept designs, I am on the way to publishing a book. The title is, "The Vooligame," which I hereby copywrite. I will also post the first bit of what will one day be the book, which I also hereby copywrite. Here it is:
 

It started so small, the size of a pea;

who knew what would grow, just what it would be?

But the others gave scorn, oh boy did they scoff,

this thing could be special? Oh that was a laugh!

But did it bow down? Did it give in?

Did it listen to spittle, to spattle, to spin?

Did it shrink down to nothing at all?

No it did not, even though it was small.

It knew that the small could be more than their parts,

could be bigger in stories, in ends and in starts;

And so when they scoffed, to itself it would say,

"I will be important, I will be some day."

Anyway, this has been another adventure in the austentatious. If you liked it, tell your friends; if you hated it, tell your enemies; and if you didn't care either way then tell everyone. Good night.