狼男のホテル

Relocation

2010-08-12T03:06:00.000+09:00

The Werewolf Hotel

Welcome to the United States of America.

Funk & Wagnalls

2009-12-24T21:54:00.002+09:00

Merry Christmas!

Look that up in your Funk & Wagnalls.

OneFortyStory: The Silver Sun Incident

2009-10-20T21:00:00.003+09:00

OneFortyStory is a Twitter project. Everyday for 140 days brings the reader a 140-character tweat continuation of a short story.

The Silver Sun Incident by David M. Morini

"A mysterious package lands in the town of Silver Sun, next to the Paradise Commons gated community. For the next 140 days find out what happens as Silver Sun’s citizens grapple with what to do with their unexpected surprise."

Starting November 1st, 12:00 PM Pacific standard time.

Follow OneFortyStory on Twitter here:

http://twitter.com/OneFortyStory

Enjoy! And comments generously welcome!

Vessel Log: 2009 10 17

2009-10-17T23:59:00.000+09:00

: first Saturday not hungover in a while; use this time wisely to clean my living room, erase the laziness that’s heavy; watch Gohatto (Taboo) in the afternoon; at the grocery store buy meat and vegetables to go with a curry but settle on donburi instead; find myself gathering clothes and making it to a near empty Super Soya train; riding into Sapporo at night, darkness and the steady lights outlining the bridge; walk to Hearty listening to Fleetwood Mac and Stevie Nicks; I’m the first one there; S. and I talk; “There were many people here last night. Always after 12:00 this place gets busy.”; people trickle in; a girl came in, it was her birthday; I walk back to the train station, hoping to miss the train; I let fate decide whether I return to Hearty or go back to Iwa.; I make it to platform; the train heavy and full; I pass car after car and see an opening; my headphones blaring Fleetwood Mac; I check my cell phone.

Vessel Log: 2009 10 16

2009-10-16T23:59:00.000+09:00

: ride my bike to the train station, a chilly and bright morning; on the local train eat towards Taki.; sitting in a booth with C., K., and J.; we’re loud and chatty while high school students and businessmen sleep or punch buttons on cell phones to the rocking of the train; mountains and flat rice fields; a factory painted with a mural; the chill, the sun, the small cold station reminds me of Boston; the vending machine kicks out a hot can of coffee; I tell the driver to take us to Taki. South High School instead of East; pumpkins on the stairs; a day of communications, meeting new teachers, the differences in work ethics; B. passes a group of girls hitting a softball off a T; he asks to try; taking a swing, he breaks the T, snapping it in half; kaiten sushi with E., T., J., B., and K.; Taki. looks a lot like Iwa., the canopied sidewalks, rusty poles, quiet night; back in Iwa., we call A. and plan to go to Thriller, surprisingly J.’s first time; ginger-whiskies; R. comes by an hour later; we sing and eat spicy potato fries and drink; riding home A. and I stop at Mos Burger; she tells me Kristin Chenowith is in the episode of Glee I hadn’t seen yet.

vessel Log: 2009 10 15

2009-10-15T23:59:00.001+09:00

: Aki grills us on pronunciations; now I know how my students feel, correcting their English, picking on the slightest drop or misuse of the tongue; hot latte from the vending machine, sugared and wired; ginkou; hard not to imagine today as Friday with tomorrow being a conference.

vessel Log: 2009 10 14

2009-10-14T23:59:00.000+09:00

: a dream of shattering a pint glass in the sink; though the backyard is slick in golden light the clouds above are a stressed slate blue; I drop a plate in the sink and nearly break a glass; B.’s at the bus stop; 2-nensei sing two songs as a chorus in the gymnasium; they were supposed to sing last Friday but because of influenza, it was cancelled; their voices combined into a powerful sound; one was the Tabibito song; after, there were comments from the teachers, their only audience; M-sensei was moved to tears; seeing them come together from rambunctious, squeaky kids to alto-strengthened and soprano-light chorus was pretty amazing; work with F-kun and S-kun for their recitation; the sun sets so early, light erodes on my way home; continue with HIStory; at home, a quick meal, tuna melt, and the urge to eat anything and all; Japanese TV, a kids program, two stars from the show help with a fune race; A. and I ride to yoga; I like riding to the station in the cold; stretch, pull, partners, hamstrings, meditation; priorities are all askew, or are they? Christ, who knows or Christ who knows; later, at 7-11 an okashi run, chicken nuggets and ice cream; overwhelmed with the daily falling down a flight stairs; an episode of Fringe while eating the nuggets with honey, then ice cream, then shower and get into bed by 11:30; reading Tokyo Doesn’t Love Us Anymore.

Vessel Log: 2009 10 13

2009-10-13T23:59:00.002+09:00

: restless sleep; dreaming of falling over, unable to get up, bugs and ants; dark but I can hear cars; don’t want to know what time it is.

* * *

: the dream was Dexter S04E01 inspired; unexpected rain spikes the autumn color quotient; reading Harriet, Amber Tamblyn wrote about artichoke town in California; remember being there with J. and N.; the mountainous plumes of burning brush and the giant artichoke outside the restaurant; wearing a short-sleeved shirt in this weather is mentionable; K-sensei, like a sweet mommy, wonders if I’m chilly; recording for the listening test, I fub the word sushi; picking up trash from the sides of the roads, white woven gloves and navy blue metallic grips; walk around with S. 3B, always amusing smarties; barely any trash to be seen but they return with so much; hiding under a wooden board, a pile of pill bugs, dark as asphalt, squirming; walk home with Michael Jackson’s HIStory; the park looks too dark to walk through… and so what; the orange-purple public lights; horseshoe prints in the gravel; see R. in the dark by his open car door; the cat’s silhouette in the window, he takes her off the sill; these carrots are turning; help B. with his stove, hand him a TV like a looter; under a snowman blanket, Dexter and FlashForward; retire an hour earlier than usual feels fantastic.

2007

Vessel Log: 2009 10 11

2009-10-11T23:59:00.000+09:00

: in a half hour the weather flip-flops; kinoko party in the woods; A.’s at my front door while I’m battling a stone monster; gather belongings and wits we hit the wind and ride to the virgin forest; stop at Super Haruki; the trail is muddy; picnic tables, barbecue pits, miso mushroom soup in two large kettles; a tempura station with fifteen different types of wild mushrooms handpicked by professionals; pumpkin and meat; new faces, about forty people; in the woods, eating mushrooms, slipping on loose and wet soil; T. brought a friend M. who brought Dorian candy; a very unique flavor, spicy and heavy; crawling from the woods, leaping over a mud puddle, J. and E. are also coming along to Sapporo; riding home, rushing to get ready, make the 2:26 train just in time; costume shopping; Don Quixote, We Go, some army navy stores; Freshness Burger where we’re overheard and understood by the girls working there; in Pivot we shop around the housewares stores; FrancFranc A. and I buy bento boxes decorated in wild flowers; Potato Circus; Gypsy, Groovy Kind of Love, Secret, Somewhere Over the Rainbow; walking to the station we pass a girl in an overgrown skeleton mask and we have our picture taken with her; the train is near empty; we’re all tired; A., E. and I ride our wet bikes back home; I play Super Mario Galaxy for a bit before bed.

Vessel Log: 2009 10 10

2009-10-10T23:59:00.000+09:00

: I spill my drink; ask for a club soda or a tonic water; at 7-11 J., A. and I gab loudly in front of the frozen custards; outside my house we say goodbye and still plan for Asahikawa tomorrow; collapse in bed, unshowered, unwatered.

* * *

: this could be bad; yes, this could be bad; A. sent a message, Anyone up yet? and that was an hour ago; the trip has been canceled, for now; all day on the couch, glad to have bought some food provisions before hand at 7-11; Aquarius, sweet bread; watch the pilots of some new shows; Eastwick, Cougar Town, Trauma; thunder and lightning, the sky a smooth and dark velvet gray; both A. and I want to have dinner but don’t want to leave the house, craving Chinese take-out; get B. to come for ramen; in the rain we walk; this ramen shop has a giant bowl for 1500 yen, if you finish you get it for free and your picture on their wall; hungry but I need to take it easy; B.’s dish is scarlet red, 50 point heat out of infinity; I try it, get some on my hand; last time he tried 100 and could barely eat it; housemade gyoza and onion ramen I couldn’t finish; B.’s sweating and getting quieter; the place is dark wood, warm, cozy; drinking beer, hair of the dog; A. manages to finish her meal; I take the rest of my gyoza home; stop at Bulldog, the Spencer Gifts of around here; tasteless toys and designer accessories; ice cream at Sunkus; taking a shower I feel a mentholated sensation on my hand from where it made contact with that hot sauce.

Vessel Log: 2009 10 09

2009-10-09T23:59:00.000+09:00

: at K., 2-nensei is out because of the flu; M-sensei shows me video of the competition; during cleaning I spent time with 3-nensei talking with a few of the boys; quick clean and laundry before S-sensei’s party; walk to the restaurant with B., A., J., M., and T.; a Japanese quiz game; with help I won a snow hat; then to Karaoke Box; we sing and sing, man, we sing; I’ve Got You, Babe (with Jared), Freedom ’90, Spotlight, Twist and Shout.

Vessel Log: 2009 10 08

2009-10-08T23:59:00.000+09:00

: curry rice for lunch and a quick overview of their speeches; rain over the contest; the hall is full of students sitting school-by-school, teachers and few parents; first round with 1-nensei, then 2-nensei, and finally 3-nensei with ten minute breaks between for practice; E. and I play a Jeaopardy style game; putting them in groups is like moving water with your hands; the questions come out, they stare back in grouped confusion; some shutting down entirely; they’re tired, shy, and nervous; 5 of 6 of my students get placement with 4 moving on to the next round; 2 slices of pizza and a bag of chips for dinner; Japanese class, a new student, A. from Germany visiting her family in Iwamizawa for 9 months.

Vessel Log: 2009 10 07

2009-10-07T23:59:00.000+09:00

: full day at Yutaka, split classes, and listening practice after lunch; glad to be in a good mood; after school, listening practice before tomorrow; picking vegetables from A-Coop; A. wants to meet for sushi with J.; we fill ourselves, enjoy company and conversation; at home, I leave my cellphone in hiding; but messages come through that say the evening was enjoyed.

Vessel Log: 2009 10 06

2009-10-06T23:59:00.000+09:00

: a text from N., their train arrived later that supposed so they’re free for dinner tonight; thinking the soup curry, ET restaurant I heard about; the daily influenza report; dozing on a hot train can be rejuvenating; getting lost, turned-around in the Oodori Subway Station; outside Tanukikouji 3, looking for N. and maybe two other people; a phone call from someone I don’t know; unexpected rain; eventually met K. and their other traveling companion outside the Mos Burger where we wait for N.; together we talk, their experiences and impressions; reminds me of my first time; TK7 is quiet and amber lit, turn the corner to Ouchi, the curry and gohan house; K. has a hard-stock card with Japanese that reads that she’s allergic to fish and nuts but can eat shellfish, shrimp, octopus, and squid; it’s been a tough go for her in Japan where almost everything has some kind of fish base; unfortunately curry being one; cozy and warm place; I love Ping Pong; wonderful to show outsiders a unique taste of Hokkaido; “Has anyone from SF visited you yet?” Would you believe you’re the first one! “That’s an honor.”; we part where I began at TK3, tomorrow they go to Lake Toya.

Vessel Log: 2009 10 05

2009-10-05T23:59:00.000+09:00

: former Minister of Finance who, back in February, was possibly drunk at a major financial summit in Rome was found dead in his home, victim of suicide;

“In 2000, after winning re-election to Parliament, Mr. Nakagawa turned up seemingly drunk to greet supporters and the news media at his campaign office.

Following tradition, he took up an ink brush to paint the eye of the auspicious “daruma” doll, a staple of Japanese political campaigns. Candidates paint in one eye before the campaign, and the other following victory. Painted by Mr. Nakagawa’s unsteady hands, the daruma’s eye soon appeared to be shedding a long stream of black tears.” -Former Japanese Finance Minister Is Found Dead, Hiroko Tabuchi, October 4, 2009, New York Times;

teach poetry to 3-nensei; Jack and Jill, The Red Wheelbarrow, and have them attempt an acrostic poem of their own; collating tax forms, signing, asterisks, notes, addresses; ran into Y. on his way home; plan to meet for Monday so I can help him with his speech; meeting at E.’s for the recitation contest game; then to the post office; the stars are beautiful on a cool evening; walk past the Sports Center; the streets are full of students on their bikes; use EMS to ensure my forms arrive on time; then grab dinner at Mos Burger; outside B.’s place T. is sitting; “He lock you out,” I ask; we talk for a while about school, the job; Fringe and then The Sopranos; a late night trip to 7-11; as he walks by me, his bike has patches of torn metal and rust, I turn around to glance and he does too.

Vessel Log: 2009 10 04

2009-10-04T23:59:00.000+09:00

: standing on the train, looking down at the Timberland boots, three layers of shirt, scruff off the chin, the frequency curves of his lips, horn-rimmed glasses, dirty cap; or the salaryman in business suit, dozing off against a metal pole, grabbing himself; stop at 7-11 for food; an episode of The Sopranos before bed.

* * *

: ride my bike to the farmers market; a plastic bag of apples, potatoes, and carrots; some Y. 2-nensei in kerchiefs and aprons selling udon; omuraisu and bread; later a trip to the grocery store for wine and other essentials; moving through Sopranos episodes; A. wants to meet early for soup curry so we can go to K.’s surprise birthday party; we arrive at Obar’s early, hang on the couches; Y. (Toriaizu) hand us “crackers”, paper cones that shoot confetti; we gather in the dark corners and wait for K. to arrive; she’s the owner of the place; A. tells me about her friends, M., who reminds me of Gail Simmons on Top Chef, her mother owns a bar across the street; A. was there, went for a picture, hung around with some patrons; some men get a little touchy; we talk about this small town, how these people are very friendly, that they’re very interesting to us; a boy with a loud, colorful, comic print jacket wearing a black hat with white words that say “Fuck Babylon?”; so we call him Babylon; we wait for K., A. and I hold a handmade sign that says, “Happy Byrthday Kaory!” flanked by two palm fronds; she arrives, the crackers sound off, a Happy Birthday R&B song; drinks all around; free tequila shots, no thank you; songs I remember from junior high; sign a booklet of photos; a DVD of birthday wishes from many people; I leave around 10:30; Project Runway and Models of the Runway before bed.

Vessel Log: 2009 10 03

2009-10-03T11:59:00.000+09:00

: karaoke at the bar; a group of guys drunk and sing a long with us; arms around shoulders; a man’s shirt I read out loud, poking him in the chest; Spotlight, Crazy For You, Dreams, Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around, (You Had A) Bad Day chosen for us; walking home, feet dragging; stop at 7-11 for onigiri, melon bread, and instant coffee.

* * *

: a little too much everything last night; if I never eat another melon bread; need protein; may have to cancel the baseball game; a smile can help aid the eradication of a hangover (and three month old Aquarius); Storms and Gypsy loud followed by Seven Wonders and Little Lies; want a tofu burger at Freshness Burger; the train ride a typical standing affair; 2009 playlist mix; at HMV examine the differences between Madonna’s Celebration album and try to recall the iTunes deluxe version; sweatshirts decorated in birds and beads; with an iced coffee walk to Tanukikouji to search for Freshness Burger; the blocks look so much the same; Yamazaki Hako; it’s open 24 hours; the girl behind the burger counter has a half-shaved head, nose and lip ring, and no eyebrows; walk back to the station, the setting sun burning to my left; back at HMV and buy the Japanese version of Celebration; meet J., L., and A. outside the Gap before heading into the basement for the subway; meet E. at the end of the line; Sapporo Dome in dusk merges with the sky except for a thin line of reflecting sun light; like a landed UFO; the crowds move like water, up steps, across the walk-above-the-streets and filtered into the stadium; the game starts without warning; the visiting team’s fans are loud, compacted into one section of seats; different chants for every player; the fans are quiet, pinned on hats and lanyards, gray Mohawks with headband ears; boys and girls carrying barrels of beer on their backs hike and up and down the steps; the hunt for a pair of those ears and Mohawk; cheap meal; cell phone charm and two noise-bats; foul balls, “In the face!”; heavy flow of the crowd from the stadium to Fukuzumi Station; L. and I get separated from J., A., and E.; I get off at Hosui Susukino Station; a cotton candy vendor sees my baseball bat noise makers; “Fighters! Fighters!” he yells. “Did they win?” Yes, 11 to 1; Hearty Café is busier than last week; I sit by S.; purchase my first bar bottle of souchu; I share a drink with him; write my name in fluorescent pink marker; talk with the other bartenders, S. and the husky one; when I get up to leave S. says he’s happy I came and would like to drink together again; me, too.

Vessel Log: 2009 10 02

2009-10-02T23:59:00.001+09:00

: it’s either exhaustion or the flu or a limbo balancing act of the two: no problem calling in sick this morning; rest, clean the house because puddles of clothes can be depressing and depressing can make you sick; cancel a meeting but manage to grab Italian with A.; a bottle of wine, pasta, pizza, garlic breads, salmon salad; met B. and T. at the chain izakaya for nomihodai; we’re nearly the only patrons and we get loud; hot sake, glasses of beer, hot pink shrimp chips; move across the street to Babylon.

Vessel Log: 2009 10 01

2009-10-01T23:32:00.000+09:00

: the schedule is pencil and squares and arrows and times and cross-outs; “B., is Japanese difficult for you?” H-chan asks. “I like grilled meat,” he says.

Vessel Log: 2009 09 30

2009-09-30T23:59:00.000+09:00

: a gripping feeling as the clock eases towards 4 PM; I can only relax in a classroom; after school recitation practice; cancel yoga instruction; gripped with a tiredness; go for soup curry to appease the chill and ward off the voodoo; Star Trek 2009 but I dose out before the end.

Vessel Log: 2009 09 29

2009-09-29T23:59:00.000+09:00

: morning meeting, talk and discussion of influenza, perhaps irritation among the rank; the hawks move in closer to the parking lot.

Vessel Log: 2009 09 28

2009-09-28T23:59:00.001+09:00

: one teacher is missing, neck related problems, in hospital for a few months; one student is made to wash his hair in a sink, then he’s walking out the door; no one tells me anything; it’s prying eyes and guess-work; after school work with S. students for recitation contest; dark walk home around 5:00 PM; slight, suburban rain; the leaves are blushing; Haruki market for lettuce, bread and mushrooms; R. on his bike, we chat in the drizzle about his cat, about getting together soon; tofu sandwich with near frozen tomato, a salad; Bat For Lashes: Two Suns; clatter of rain; finish the night with the comforting but lazy stories; Spooks and the Sopranos.

Vessel Log: 2009 09 27

2009-09-27T23:59:00.001+09:00

: on the train, traveling while standing, listening to Middle Cyclone, mouthing the words; guy in mint coveralls, engineering patch, nodding out; read the Iliad and listen to Liz Phair; A. meets me at the station, hang outside of 7-11; a drink at O-Bar’s before karaoke, meet a man from Kenya, living in Sapporo, spinning records; Spotlight, 山崎ハコ, Single Ladies, Eternal Flame, Against All Odds, Clumsy; 星ポテ; back at O-Bar’s, the smoky dark, the boys on the microphone; tallsy rapping, a guy in a business suit, the lights come up; the bartender layered in LA tattoos, dark eye make-up, a baseball cap with patches and writing, wiry arms like nuts and bolts; ride to 7-11, the sun rises a dense band of orange against dark blue; another game of modeling before returning home.

* * *

: brief seconds of happiness when waking up, the comfort of chilled air, the sound of leaves and cawing crows; 11:30; text message from across the planet; immediate reaction is emergency; try to return to sleep but focused on potential disasters and airplane tickets; pajamas, junk food, crisp and wet pear, The Sopranos; an afternoon shower, throat scratchy, deep and used; need to disengage from the internet; Mariee Sioux; Hope Sandoval and a new album soon; outside the apartment I wait for A.; a patch of nightsky dense with starlight; watch satellites travel like dim roaming stars; one brightens slowly, stronger than Venus; maybe a missile; then dims before disappearing behind clouds; perhaps Iridium-39; soup curry is more delicious now than ever; Project Runway, FlashForward, Fringe; go to bed earlier than usual.

Vessel Log: 2009 09 26

2009-09-26T23:59:00.000+09:00

: raisin toast with peanut butter, scrambled eggs, instant coffee; gathering clothes with day-wear, evening-wear in mind; Rudy’s shirt, gray blazer, pink sweatshirt, dark jeans, white belt; a Vivienne Westwood mission; at the station I worry about the gas stove; riding back and forth passing road construction; through the turnstile a group of four Y. students; I remove my sunglasses so they know who I am; Where are you going? I ask them. “Karaoke”, one boy answers, the one who always tells me he’s hungry and sleepy; T.’s able to meet for lunch; wait for her at the tables outside Starbucks near Daimaru; reading the Iliad, wondering if the man with the Sapporo map is capable; T. and I walk to the café, chatting about school; Lohas Raw Food Café: plate of salads, wraps, a chocolate frozen mousse; wander the Junkudo bookstore; wanting 2666 and others; T. and I part ways, go to Parco to peruse the men’s shops; We-Go; Sinners Café for a chicken burrito and a glass of wine; two British boys holding a new map, consulting the Northern Star of Sapporo Tower; we talk about places for live music, the North Island Bewery; wandering from impulse to impulse; stop at Lawson for a bottle of water and mints; walk to the Beer Inn for Sierra Nevadas; VH-1 Classics top 20 countdown for best soundtrack; winner being Rocky Horror Picture Show; then Dee Snider in Sturgis, South Dakota for a car race and live concerts; young girls and moms in a beauty salon below Hearty Café getting their hair did; upstairs reintroduce to S.; lingering over vodka tonics, conversations mixed and peppered; singing to myself, walking to the station.

Vessel Log: 2009 09 24

2009-09-24T23:59:00.000+09:00

: does my phone really say 8:02?!; a hasty breakfast eaten in the style of Kobayashi the eating champion – bread in mouth, dissolved with liquid instant coffee; ride to the train station; lunch with 2-B; beating the rain, rode my bike to city hall to pay rent and my school lunch bill; gave BOE omiyage I brought back from Tokyo, banana treats; M. gives me a small Halloween bag with sweets she got at Tokyo Disney; stop at Tsutaya on the way home, picked up the Pet Shop Boys: Disco 2, Destiny’s Child: #1’s, and GReeeen; ebi-ten oroshi at soba restaurant; no Japanese class, or so I thought; got a text from H.-chan wondering if I was going; later I go back to Tsutaya, return CDs and flip through magazines, look at video games. Vouge Homme Japan; stop at A.’s, she picked me up a giant jar of peanut butter; we tell each other about our trips.

Vessel Log: 2009 09 23

2009-09-23T23:59:00.000+09:00

: perhaps absolutely nothing; trip to the grocery store; buying okashi or not; simple construction of food product; endless streaming of the Sopranos.

Vessel Log: 2009 09 22

2009-09-22T23:59:00.000+09:00

: singing in Fuji; the woman next to me is Japanese from Brazil and part Ainu; she sings Portuguese songs; J. buys rounds of tequila; not ready for home; take the elevator to Monsoon; not ready for home; the morning streets, concrete wet, party town in bed for the night: Sunkus for water and others who are winding down; walk towards the west and sniff my way home; in the subway station people sleep in shopping entrances, lines and groups of men, some in the early stages of homelessness, laying on strips of cardboard.

* * *

: don’t want to do this, don’t want to leave; a warm afternoon; J. and I spend the rest of my trip talking and laughing; eat lunch at Freshness Burger, tofu burger amazing; it can be lonely and exhilarating starting a trip by oneself; still get confused in Shinjuku Station; trains to Henade Airport; Tokyo Banana omiyage; never know which train to take at Chitose; 2 hours later I reach home.

Vessel Log: 2009 09 21

2009-09-21T23:59:00.000+09:00

: let’s go shopping! or something like it; Tokyu Hands, up and down the floors looking for access to Kinokuniya; I need a new book having finished Oscar Wao; buffet lunch; the man next to us makes good use of his money, piling plates and going up for fourths and fifths; while waiting for J. this morning I started reading the fourth book of Stephen King’s Dark Tower series; foreigners in bookstores holding Dan Brown’s new hardcover; looking for Margaret Atwood or Stephen King; settle on the Illiad much to J.’s surprise; he recommends Steppenwolf and Cat’s Cradle; we browse, picking up books, enjoying cracking jokes; through the department store we look in on Vivienne Westwood and Burbury; flashy underpants for 3000 yen, a pair of purple fingerless gloves and matching scarf; Tokyo is quieter than most; pass through Tsutaya; Madonna’s Celebration posters, a plastic sheet nearly falls on J. and it’s possible that the staff believe I threw it at him; he rents Yamazaki Hako’s best of CD; back at his place I watch kids go to cram school from his balcony; we wait for M.; he arrives in pink shirt and shorts and sandals, tired from a day fo playing Dragon Warrior; we walk through Shinjuku towards a park lined with nice restaurants; one in particular serves gorgonzola and honey pizza; two bottles of wine, pizza, olives; there are tequila shots.

Vessel Log: 2009 09 20

2009-09-20T23:59:00.000+09:00

: J. and I go to a closet-sized bar devoted to Nakajima Miyuki; Mama-san is a big guy from Okinawa, serves us Awamori, a strong kind of souchu that, after a while, makes me wince; I wander alone; 2-chome reminds me of the Castro too much and I return; the bar has been running for over twenty years; so small the owner needs to walk over patrons to use the restroom; back at Fuji; somehow I’m the sober one; I really need to hear Angela Aki; wandering home, he slurs and swerves; I stop for water and he keeps moving but I know he can’t get far; up ahead I see him ricochet like a pinball; laying down he apologizes.

* * *

: a lot of laying up in bed, I leave the house for a coffee but spend most of the day reading while J. sleeps; as he comes together we go to Sunkus for lunch; a curry noodle I should’ve microwaved, finding a pocket of jelly savor at the bottom; I tell him about the baby chicks at egg factories, how they discard the male chicks; we’re horrified and laugh through our disgust; talk of fish and their one eye; Subway later for dinner; back to Fuji; we grab some Italian food at a chain, pizza and antipasto; back at his place he plays Yamazaki Hako on endless repeat.

Vessel Log: 2009 09 19

2009-09-19T23:59:00.000+09:00

: J. gets up for work on a Saturday; having laid cramped between his body and the wall I stretch out, sleep to 10; walk towards Shinjuku Station; at the Starbucks by the bank I drink a coffee and eat a pastrami sandwich while reading The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao; take the train to Ginza; tall buildings built on Louis Vuitton, Yves St. Laurent; a lavender Swiss cheese structure; Ginza Street was closed off, tables and umbrellas; a man with three Hokkaido dogs of a leash; a toy store with six stories, a dream come true had I been ten; walk and walk; Natural Lawsons is a Lawsons in beige; 2nd floor sushi restaurant order a lunch set and a bottle of sake; pine wood walls; the only one for a while; back in the streets I take the subway to Shibuya; crowds and people taking photos of the crowds; like Haight Street on steroids and hormones; turning a corner I see a salaryman proposition a woman wearing headphones; she’s been wearing the same clothes for a while and looked extremely tired; passed Love Hotel Casanova, the colors of a cartoon birthday cake; looking for a movie theater I remembered; weaving around curving streets; pachinko, foreigners, hats and jackets, neon and shopping, head shops and sex shops; the theater is showing The Limits of Control in 20 minutes so I buy a ticket; need to pick a seat from a chart; the walls are poured concrete, they sell potato chips and popcorn; the movie was pertinent to where I was, a foreigner in a strange country and city, wandering around on foot and meeting strange people; difficult getting in touch with J. by movie’s end; at McDonald’s he reaches me; we plan to go to Fuji; we meet a Disney dancer, who reminds me of K.

Vessel Log: 2009 09 18

2009-09-18T23:59:00.000+09:00

: F-sensei gives me a ride home, she’s on her way to a meeting; we talk about the coming Silver Week; her son is bringing his girlfriend home for the first and she's nervous; I tell her I’m flying to Tokyo; she used to live near there; leaving the apartment dark and closed; my backpack and a tiring day; the train to Sapporo and then to Chitose Airport; watching people in furry ball hats playing Nintendo DS, drinking a beer, or using their cell phones; always, at Haneda Station, I never know what ticket to get or for how much; standing in front of a large board, all in kanji, and nowhere does it suggest Shinjuku; but the lines are run by different companies; pop my bag out from a crowd like a baby shooting into the surgical room; J. meets me near the Panda lockers; he’s tired, drank a few, and took a pill though its nearing 11:30 PM; stop at 7-11 for a couple of beers before walking back to his apartment.

Vessel Log: 2009 09 17

2009-09-17T23:59:00.000+09:00

: in preparing for a sojourn to Tokyo I cancel my Japanese class and worry about my back which may have been injured during a strange stretching experience from yesterday; English recitation practice; A. comes by for a chat after class, she’s going with Emma and a boy from Montreal to northern Hokkaido.

Vessel Log: 2009 09 16

2009-09-16T23:59:00.000+09:00

: getting ready I feel a little ill; miss my bus because of it; walk to S. on a beautiful morning felt great; look over the 20 page document of forms, numbers, and taxes; it never added my Japanese income as income; mountainous clouds of gray; more recitation contest preparations; “David, will you teach me English?”; walk through the festival; many 3-nensei girls in their blue/gray jumpers; a French Hot Dog; a K. student playing that wafer game; my name shouted through the crowd; two massive clouds that look like fighting toddlers; these fruit flies are driving me crazy; scrambled egg, tomato, and cheese sandwich; Aki picks us up for yoga; we stretch and pull; “Rotate the leg at the hip socket. Many toxins are stored there”; revenge of all those stretched and contorted Barbie dolls; the badminton kids watch us, amazed; this apartment requires too much attention.

Talking To Squirrels 02

2009-09-16T00:10:00.001+09:00

Talking To Squirrels 01

2009-09-16T00:07:00.001+09:00

Vessel Log: 2009 09 15

2009-09-15T23:59:00.000+09:00

: observed lesson day; B. and I ride the bus together; during class I see J., E., and L. making their way from the train station; the kids do well; did the hardest question first by accident, thought we were running out of time but we weren’t; discussions follow, mostly in Japanese; breads and sandwiches at the good bakery; a nap before diving into my taxes; impossible questions, the sheer intensity of these forms; three hours in I turn on Turbo Tax; it’s still not right but I print anyway; at 10 I call it and resort to The West Wing, The Sopranos, and a bottle of wine.

Vessel Log: 2009 09 14

2009-09-14T23:59:00.000+09:00

: on the bus I see the street running from city hall to the Sports Center is packed with tents; the festival is back; after lunch I help a student with her recitation contest; after school I make giant flash cards for the observed lesson tomorrow; maybe over tired, I nap on the couch, text messages from E., J. and A.; A. and I ride our bikes towards city hall; on the corner of route 12 and the Docomo I run into a few 1 and 2-nensei students; it’s great to see them in their non-school clothes, drinking Fanta, riding their bikes; colored t's with plaid shirts over that; the streets lined with booths; high school students in uniform and teased hair; parents with their young kids; A. and I eat on the curb by the Sports Center, okonomiyaki and fried potato; E. sits with us; we walk into the stream; pickled cucumber, spiral potato (nori and butter flavored), strawberry crepe, remone; play baby pachinko and a game involving a small wafer and a symbol that needs to be cut out; J. joins in after spending time with former students; everywhere I hear my name, shouts and hellos; a group gathers around; “What’s my name?!” “Is this your wife? Your girlfriend?”; at B.’s place he gives me a book B. left behind, The Erotic of Weimar Berlin.

Vessel Log: 2009 09 13

2009-09-13T23:59:00.000+09:00

: salsa and mariachi fused with LA latino gangster rap; fantastic to dance to; the room is peopled with friendly faces; the drinks are plastic cups and refreshing; I like the DJ’s t-shirt, a close-up of Our Lady of Guadalupe with a model’s face and headphones; Toriaizu Boy rubs his hand down her face in hello; dancing mixed with standing, watching, swaying; a stop at 7-11 before home, inhale a cup of potato sticks.

* * *

: all this day, all this day, waiting for soup curry; afterwards we ride to see if A-Coop is open; I look for the casino poster; finding it by Seiyu I go to take a picture; a man and woman walk by, the man says ‘hello’; he sees me snapping the photo and says, “You have a good job.”; an accusation? a warning? Is the casino rigged? Dangerous? Maybe the poster is looking for applicants?; A. and I mull this over the rest of the strange way home; Lynchian, to say the least.

Vessel Log: 2009 09 12

2009-09-12T23:59:00.001+09:00

: just shy of 9 AM; message from A. wondering if we should walk to Ayama Park; throw on some clothes, brush my teeth; snapping breeze and sunshine; we stop at Sunkus for breakfast – coffee, juice, onigiri; pass the construction workers; consulting a map printout J. rides up to us; the park is smooth greenery; we meet in a wood lodge for park golf; in teams we play the 9-hole course; I shoot my ball twice into the river; once wading feet first on slippery rock, my camera falls in; I enjoy my team; “A bit like pachinko,” a woman says. Do you like pachinko? “No, but my son does. Though he enjoys slot machines more.”; after two rounds we eat lunch together; a game of guess that national anthem; didn’t realize “My Country ‘Tis of Thee” is the same melody as the British national anthem; A. and I walk home with a member from her team, a special education teacher in Bibai; later we meet for the train; run into M. at the Starbucks in Stellar Plaza; we chat outside about Halloween costumes; Loft, then Don Quixote; a man browsing the French maid costumes, thin as a rail, shaved eyebrows, hairy arms; We Go, pants with sewn red plaid and suspenders, a black shirt; at Pete’s bar we order drinks and food; then a hunt for Buddha’s Bar; pachinko balls in the counter, a few raised to spell the name of the place; there are many times M. reminds me of J.; we three stand on the train, balancing; then A. and I sit, see a teacher I know, we chat to Iwa; A. and I go to Obar’s.

Vessel Log: 2009 09 11

2009-09-11T23:59:00.000+09:00

: hard to imagine that 9/11 was eight years ago; I expected to have to address it in class but it never came up; meet K. 3-nensei for the first time; they ask me questions; one girl always wondering why my eyes are blue; do I have a girlfriend; who do I think is cool in the class; that I couldn’t answer and they were near insistent; a gift of school-grown edamame; then invited to the kitchen where students prepared a potato mochi and sweet edamame paste sweet; I help shuck with some boys; Is there an Edamame-man? “He is Edamame-man!”; we shell some, we eat some, we pinch the dark coats off the bean; there were rumors of a quieter evening, a dinner and karaoke, that never came to fruition; just as well, need to decompress.

Vessel Log: 2009 09 10

2009-09-10T23:59:00.000+09:00

: we record the speaking test; at times like this it’s hard not to feel like a tool, or a shared pet; F.-sensei offers to give me a ride to the train station; head swimming, the walls vibrate in noise, but it’s cool and dark in here; in Japanese class we work on conversation skills; gather in the lobby; I need to leave. I need to leave.

Vessel Log: 2009 09 09

2009-09-09T23:59:00.000+09:00

: I love it when the bread lady arrives on Wednesday; a pizza-like and pepperoni with (jam!) and a chocolate covered custard bun; cranky and contemplate canceling yoga class but go regardless; Aki talks about splitting up the Japanese class; preoccupied mind, the jamming attributes of responsibilities; fall out of pose; Afia and I stalk 7-11 for a delicious chocolate parfait.

Vessel Log: 2009 09 08

2009-09-08T23:59:00.000+09:00

: restless dreams, drawing a number seven in blue chalk on a white board; agreed to a Saturday game of park-golf; my new nickname is Ponyo; give K.-sensei a copy of the Lady Gaga album; Remember that song I sung? You mentioned you liked it?; meet E. and L. for tonkatsu; a shop I’ve walked by many times but never been inside; clean and bright, cheerful, the opposite of what I assumed; upgraded our entrees to black pig; savory miso, perfectly breaded and fried pork cutlet with a haystack of shredded cabbage.

Vessel Log: 2009 09 06

2009-09-06T23:59:00.000+09:00

: later we weave from 3-jyo-dori, looking for interesting lights; Atlas by the station, plywood doors, wide floor space like an unfinished basement, pool table, dart board; “Thank you for coming to Hokkaido. Now I have the opportunity to meet foreigners,” said a patron; the bartender is an alumnus; then we go to Star Beach; busy night and we are alone for a while, order food and drinks; a guy sits with us, I dig him for information about himself; the silver light of morning.

* * *

: rain befitting for aftershocks of a food and drink evening; later in the evening we meet for soup curry.

Vessel Log: 2009 09 05

2009-09-05T23:59:00.000+09:00

: empty bus at 7:28 on a Saturday morning; they ride in packs; girls in dowdy, Puritanical navy blue; boys in classic white dress shirt and navy blue pants; a pink folder libretto, the words written in block and fine English; “Can you sing Ponyo? But sing it very poorly?”; a compact CD player, play the music and sing along; “Yes, but louder and very poorly.”; for the teacher’s skit, myself N.-sensei and T.-sensei will perform "Ponyo" wearing Ponyo cut-outs on our heads; we practice in the special education room; 2-nensei and their ghostly, bloody labcoat play; the boy in the duck-ghost costume crashes into the desk; riddled with Japanese gestural comedy; Chorus arrangements; 1-nensei sing フィニクス, 2-nensei sing 時の旅人; during lunch two 2-nensei girls sing Angela Aki’s 手紙; then 3-nensei rock band; get lunch from the home ec room upstairs with my coupons; onigiri, orange juice, espresso and milk, chocolate cake; 3-nensei play about anime characters and a bloody war; sawing legs off; Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask; teacher performance; K.-sensei asks me to guard the door for her while she gets changed; she comes out looking stunning in a red dress and pink shawl; not bad for a woman in her sixties; our Ponyo song goes over well; H.-sensei as crazy teacher in red wig, shorts, and a body stocking; K.-sensei sings to piano accompiantment; K.-sensei performs her “debut”; the mics go out; H.-sensei sings a song from Evangelion; K., M., (dressed in school uniform) S., and O.-senseis address the audience; O.-sensei makes a weird face and gesture like, “Wha-Wha-Wha What?!!?” like a cartoon; F.-sensei does a short rowdy speech; K., U., and I.-sensei perform a Yazima Beauty Salon song in full drag and dance moves; moving ping-pong tables across the gym; music room is locked and the search for the key; rearranging chairs; meet at the same restaurant from last year; everyone looks exhausted but happy; the fish has teeth; “It’s to gnaw on barnacles.”; conversation turns to pet food; “People from countries where they eat dog and cat get confused in different countries when they see labels for cat food and dog food. They believe it to be cat meat or dog meat.”; O.-sensei arrives to applause; she tells a story that almost leads her to tears; an empty, polished piano bar; karaoke, “Ziggy Stardust”; “Do you know Queen?”; so I sing “Bohemian Rhapsody”; “Poker Face”; K.-sensei says she likes that song; meet O.-sensei and some other teachers; always feels awkward, like I’m cheating on one school with the other; call A.; we settle into a soba restaurant and she meets us there.

Vessel Log: 2009 09 04

2009-09-04T23:59:00.000+09:00

: gray and cold, unlike last years suffocating heat; Hansel and Gretel by the English Club; cannibalism, attempted infanticide; beware the strong woman, she’ll either push to abandon children or will lure them in with sweets to eat them; a play about a girl who steals a CD; a play about a classroom, love and death; girls chorus was a crystalline arrangement; lunch in the gymnasium, Bingo; onigiri baskets, sweet breads, CC Lemon; the numbers are called; karaoke and dancing competition; arm wrestling; crossdressing skit; last minute touches on the installations; a giant model of the school; 2B’s haunted house is haunted; a darkened room, floating paper walls; a dragon cramped in one room; though tired I ride to the station with A. to meet with Akemi; she takes us to her favorite izakaya; down the alley I always hear enka karaoke; eat lightly crunchy shrimp whole; “It’s the eyes,” A. says; sashimi sanma, tofu cheese au gratin, edamame, fried potato, chicken, tuna salad; drinking chu-drinks; tomorrow will be Saturday but there’s another festival to attend.

Vessel Log: 2009 09 03

2009-09-03T23:59:00.000+09:00

: festival preparation all day; in the music room I help hang artwork; “You can use the ladder,” T. says. Please ask me to do anything. Ladders scare the s*** out of me; the boys snap plastic tabs to a dangling wire; 1-nensei signs about their hobbies, 2-nensei and their geometric 3-D landscapes; 3-nensei with MC Escher inspired dot drawing; catch an episode of Weeds when B. knocks; together we go to soba and then to Japanese class; B., A. and I go to Tlida for a few drinks; B. The Enabler; “One more for the roads.”; on the road I see a new sign; Café Poppers, lit against a concrete wall; we climb the stairs and open to a small bar peopled with construction workers; the walls painted Valentine’s, textured in French number words; a small plate of tempura fishes, seaweed and ika, cheesy popcorn; the owner comes out from behind a curtain, a bag of popcorn stuck to the hem of skirt; “Chotto bikkuri,” she says; she’s nervous; the place just opened, brightly lit, homey; as we leave she hands us a wrapped box, heavy, a present; we thank her, she thanks us; we ride our bikes home.

Vessel Log: 2009 09 02

2009-09-02T23:59:00.000+09:00

: busy day correcting notebooks and workbooks; their preparations take up the after lunch spot; giant Anpanman, a massive dragon in the room, haunted houses, newspapers, play rehearsals; at home I make a quick dinner of toast with tofu, tomato, onion, green peppers on top; inhale; A. and I ride across the tracks to yoga class; Aki compliments me on my poses, “You’re getting better after 3 months,” she says; in the 7-11 A. and I mull around, she’s looking at lunches for tomorrow, I’m picking up, holding, scrutinizing ice cream; settle on a box of chocolate covered almonds.

Vessel Log: 2009 09 01

2009-09-01T23:59:00.000+09:00

: further preparations; 2-nensei mosaics of a Japanese rooster print, the wave woodblock, and a woman lounging in a purple blanket.

Vessel Log: 2009 08 31

2009-08-31T23:59:00.000+09:00

: festival preparations; roam from room to room, inspecting, commenting, saying ‘hello’; magazine mosaics of a kabuki actor, Vincent Van Gogh’s sunflowers Did you know he cut his ear off?, and a Magritte; an 1-nensei student approaches me with his file, asking me every question in the book; “Are you from America?” “What’s your favorite subject?”; even with his limited English we manage to find out a lot about each other, he likes science and finds English difficult but interesting; “English… study… hard… but… interesting.” Me too, I tell him. Studying Japanese is hard for me but I think it’s very interesting. We’re the same. And he like this analogy.

Vessel Log: 2009 08 30

2009-08-30T23:59:00.002+09:00

: coming to into silence, a gray and ready, larval morning; the occasionally sweep from the front room curtains against the floor; Super Soya train into Sapporo, the one unreserved car overwhelmed; stuffy and difficult to breathe in the here; Lucinda Williams, "Words Fell"; book shopping, Junot Diaz: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Jao, Haruki Murakami: Underground, J.R.R. Tolkien: The Silmarillion, as well as some Japanese grammar books; a band festival or competition; school kids with brass instruments in matching track suits; a coffee while reading the Middle-Earth creation myth; a world developed out of music and vision; the raw food café is closed; record shops, clean and orderly, jazz LPs, American and British rock, have an urge for Peggy Lee; the spines remind me of used CD days; Korean, spicy pork; the cook and I chat about the books I bought; clothing stores, new slip-on Vans for school, a hobby and tobacco shop with Halloween masks and military paraphernalia in the windows; Pete’s Bar for a beer before heading home; run into E. on our bikes; back from welcome party, camping on Shikotsu-ko; a fluorescent and peach sunset; J. and I for soup curry.

Vessel Log: 2009 08 29

2009-08-29T23:59:00.000+09:00

: transportation bookie; the freedom to make a plan and alter it; sweatshirt coach surfing reading Out with chilled socked feet; breeze through white curtains tunneling with fading sunlight; the final roar of megaphone vans; snaking through streets sending out their messages like bats; from far away they sound like frantic evacuation announcements; loud enough to be imagined as light; call J. to meet at Mos Burger for dinner; a bicycle parked in the middle of the sidewalk; we chat to exhaustion, to the point where I crave orange juice; 4 1/2 hours; lives we left back home - his in South Africa and mine in the US.

Vessel Log: 2009 08 28

2009-08-28T23:59:00.000+09:00

: sunflower fields chopped down leaving behind felled stragglers; yellow heads with patchy petals; dense air, streets slick with rain; a 2-nensei boy has his head on his desk; crouch down next to him, snickers from students that surround him; Sleepy, huh? I ask. He stirs, returns my smile and says, “Yes.” Do you have your note(book)? If you write you will wake up, I lie; I always nod off studying into a notebook; He opens it and I tap his desk in Good Job code; roam from room to hallway to room; more newspapers; stencil art portraits of a Cambodian temple, a dragon, an autumnal river scene; “You look like Neville Longbottom!” a girl shouts; we shake hands, I get purple paint; the threat of a storm; grocery shopping for wine, chocopies, Australian beef; white corn, red pepper; housekeeping whirlwind; this night will be wine, The West Wing, and The Sopranos.

Vessel Log: 2009 08 27

2009-08-27T23:59:00.002+09:00

: a testing day for 1-nensei and 2-nensei; I’m an American Idol judge, sitting in the back of 3-nensei’s rooms, listening to their recitation of A Mother’s Lullaby, a story about a tree present and reminiscing about the bombing of Hiroshima and a young girl and boy it sheltered; the boy who hid under a bridge has come back from a long truant absence; Where have you been? “Home,” he says. I’m happy you’re back; he’s lucky to have the foreign language instinct; lunchtime I get great news from SHAMPOO; after the bell, chalkboard instruct the pronunciation difference between “lives” the noun and “lives” the verb; I’m quick, peppering my instruction in Japanese which they enjoy; wandering room to room; poster-sized newspapers, hand-drawn graphics, the construction of models, a haunted house, a giant Anpanman; soba down the road; just J., H.-chan, and myself for Japanese class; H.-chan gives a lesson on local town name etymology; derived from the indigenous Ainu language.

Vessel Log: 2009 08 26

2009-08-26T23:59:00.001+09:00

: swift, enchanting fall; B. approaches the bus stop dressed in black slacks and crisp white dress shirt; a female passenger in a passing car smirks with amusement; we part as I board the bus; L. wears sunglasses in the morning like E.; walking to school an elementary school kid trips, dropping his shoe; meet J. on my way to 7-11; plane tickets and such; cold ramen dinner; bike to the gym for yoga class; we’re in the kiddie room, primary color mats, stuffed animals, yellow plastic bricks shaped like Tetris; a wall is windows showcasing the gymnasium; high school boys play basketball and chuckle watching us pose, bend, and breathe.

Vessel Log: 2009 08 25

2009-08-25T23:59:00.000+09:00

: day two of politicians at a blue-gray desk, speaking into the camera with cultish authority; behind them a woman fiercely striking her JSL poses; then, eerie choral music with film of glaciers, their colossal arches planted in thirst-inspiring blue ocean, a mourning vocal for the murder of Frost Caesar; refinding old writings and projects; Stevie Nicks and Fleetwood Mac; bike-riding the moderate incline across route 12; we walk the mild evening to Bombay Blue; Sag Chicken curry, garlic naan; we might be done testing boundaries; when we first learned about sex – physiognomy, action, gender; is Shikotsu-ko in the future again; “I’d go up Mount Tarumae again if it wasn’t so cloudy.”; “Kind of like the Fairy Tooth Princess.”

Vessel Log: 2009 08 24

2009-08-24T23:59:00.000+09:00

: like the first day of school; bejeweled sun, youthful wind, sentinel clouds; O-sensei shows me the wild raspberries growing on the edge of the forest by the bus stop; visited 2A and 2C for the first time in a while; reading their compositions; natsuyasumi stories about visiting relatives, catching frogs, running from wasps; You haven’t been here in a while, I say to a student who’s from Korea, maybe 6 months new and whose English is quite good. Where have you been? “Home,” he says. Well, I’m glad you’re back; sit with 3-nensei students, tearing up pieces of magazine for their mosaic; I work in yellow; three 3-nensei boys are holding a printout of a girl in a French maid outfit; Is that for your costume for the school festival? “Yes,” they say. “This is Japanese culture,” they laugh; they paint crinkled malleable paper and shape it into patterns; red, brown, yellow, blue; the plans I excitedly generate fall backward into mirages; sudden burst shower; dinner indecision; this apartment is awkward adolescent.

Vessel Log: 2009 08 23

2009-08-23T23:59:00.000+09:00

: play card drinking games; escape to 7-11; riding back into the drive I spill on the gravel scraping parallel lines up my arm; “Where were you? What happened to your arm?”; not too much longer and I’m stricken with the urge to ride home; crash into a futon;

* * *

Asses the situation; this could be bad; blood stain on the bedsheet; breakfast of champions is frosted cornflake cereal and chocopies washed down with a sweet canned coffee; spaghetti; eating like a co-ed; iTunes geeking out, new playlists, sorting; waiting to watch Project Runway; A. and I ride to Seize the Day; afterwards we ride around town; up and down the streets we hear firework booms; we start for the train station; the sound is closer but nowhere near; see R. on his way home from Sapporo carrying Jupiter bags; stop in front of a barber shop; Kurt Cobain is the mascot for a haircutters union; talk about an I. zine; the frantic and polite voices of politicians over loudspeakers; we follow the sounds, a new game, of chase the candidates vans; waving red light sticks, swinging lanterns; they wave with white gloves while pontificating through the microphone, their voices ricochet off building faces; we follow the ghostly sound; near an ENEOS it catches us like a nightmarish sentinel, its bullhorn a weapon, its lights feverish; new drinking game – take a shot everytime someone cries on Project Runway.

Vessel Log: 2009 08 22

2009-08-22T23:59:00.000+09:00

: dancing on the seats; the too sweet wine; she evolves into spasms or a conniption or a possession, shaking her head, resting on the newly separated gentleman; elevator down and up; pizza, fries, and edamame at Nat’s; the slow ambling home with A.; exhaustion infused limbs; quick shower before bed;

* * *

too early for this; systems check; slumming it; still sticks and furry knobs scattered on the carpet; good day to rearrange, clean and launder; grocery shopping is a struggle against chocopies and chicken consumme flavored potato chips; meet B. on the front lawn at 8:15; ride to Mos Burger and pick up two boxes of fried chicken; E.’s pot luck party is fried chicken, tortilla pizza, cucumber salad and lots of booze.

Vessel Log: 2009 08 21

2009-08-21T23:59:00.000+09:00

: sunflower fields, use the train station skyway to cross the street; vice-principle meets me at the front door; classroom is wiry, bouncy, excitable; the castle game with elective students; M-sensei and I talk about the observed lesson for next month; brainstorming ideas; walk around the school; photo portraits of previous principles, PTA presidents; health posters that scare you into brushing your teeth; students paint a poster for their production of Dream Gate; sit down to chat until we’re too loud; intense sunshine for the afternoon; bread from the bakery; a quick nap before 6:30 dinner; our room is red tile with one corner a homestyle kitchen; meats and vegetables simmer in a shallow buttered pan over a gas grill; plastic pitchers of cold Asahi beer; Old Time’s Bar with the music teacher, art teacher and vice principle; meet A. and E. at Obar’s where they’re with two teachers of E.’s; proceed to karaoke where we steal L. away from her gathering.

Vessel Log: 2009 08 19

2009-08-19T23:59:00.000+09:00

: here comes the rain again; opening ceremonies; new teacher, student teachers, students; a few noticeably absent desks; the small one arrives late, carrying his chair into the gymnasium, wearing a flashy red belt; “He didn’t finish his homework.”; saw him yesterday, dressed in loitering flannel, entering the train station with two friends; a hodgepodge dinner of bread from the bakery and an orange; Aki-chan picks me up for yoga; stretching, contorting the body, opening blocked passageways.

vessel Log: 2009 08 16

2009-08-16T23:59:00.000+09:00

: cereal breakfast; R. and A. meet outside and we ride to the grocery store; it’s hot and sunny already; grilling meats, beer, tea, rice, potato chips; A. and I take a cab to Iwamizawa Park near Greenland; a small petting zoo; green grass, behind the roller coasters; there we see K., A., B., and E.; a day of lounging, grazing, talking or listening to others talk; met C. and his wife for the first; a gentle river, a wood and sunbleached obstacle course; amateur painter trees dotting the hill; we cab back early; another day to let it be.

Vessel Log: 2009 08 15

2009-08-15T23:59:00.000+09:00

: Korean soju and a cap flicking game; I knock it out of the park and chug 3 shots mixed with lemonade; round the table it goes; a girl with a perm, yellow t-shirt, and black suspenders; the thin and small boy who keeps saying she’s his girlfriend; tall guy works there, wears a white towel on his head, looks familiar, sits next to me; afterwards, we join Obar’s 30; B. hands me a Red Stripe; a hookah, dancing, T. looks confused; E., T. and I make it outside, the light is gray, it’s morning; on my bike I’m saying goodbye; A. left her bag in the izakaya, the cook took her there; riding home I realize I have the freedom to go to McDonald’s if I want; wait the fifteen minutes for breakfast to start; at home, eating a sausage and egg McGriddle, hash brown and coffee I watch an episode of Weeds;

* * *

: not feeling too bad; head to the grocery store for needed supplies; send E. a text, “Did you go/Are you going to Kitamura today?”; lounge around; A. wants soup curry which sounds fabulous to me; it doesn’t open for another hour; we ride around town, stopping at the art gallery, sitting at the fountain outside Ginza Pachinko; the soup hits well; bike soft cream to the cultural center and wait as the sun peels down; the sky a range of bruising colors; yellow, silver, white, blue, pink and purple; talk about her return from Canada, flash mob synchronized dancing; I walk down wooden steps that lead to the river; “This space was meant to be used.”; the rest of the night resting, watching program after program.

Vessel Log: 2009 08 14

2009-08-14T23:59:00.000+09:00

: just Kyoutou and Kouchou sensei today; a little like being watched by someone else’s grandparents; kyoutou-sensei asked me if I’d eaten any ice cream or drank any tea yet; sat alone in the teacher’s room, laughing with the “I’m All Like” script; curry at Bombay Blue; a stopover at Tsutaya for a few CDs; house climbs gradations of destroyed; sticks and twigs and pussywillow paws; sushi for dinner followed by a stop at MisDo; A. meets us at Thriller; big hugs; buy menthol cigarettes after running across the street in my sandals; many songs; we all go crazy with “Tubthumping” and “Paper Planes”; bike ride downtown; some of A.’s friends, join us at an izakaya; drinking games and sake bombs.

Vessel Log: 2009 08 13

2009-08-13T23:59:00.000+09:00

: welcoming rain; streets are car busy, the office is quiet; today is Obon; cars pull into the cemetery, the office is empty; Kyoutou-sensei shows me the contents of the refrigerator; “Please eat and drink.”; there is iced tea, Aquarius, jellies and ice cream; walk to an omuraisu restaurant; country-style, TV news the rotating clips of a Japanese celebrity caught with MDMA after a girl overdosed; a man smoking at the counter; the automatic doors are decorated in lattice; omuraisu – ketchup flavored rice wrapped in a layer of scrambled egg on a pool of beef curry sauce lightly lined with mayonnaise, on the side – a small cabbage salad flavored with a sesame dressing and a mug of chicken consommé; contemplate a trip to Tsutaya before heading home; download new St. Vincent album and an Indigo Girls album from emusic; is this new subscription model worth it?; I tire easily reading the complaints in their forums; Out on my chest, the door bell rings, the electric man is here but I stay on the couch with my eyes closed; dinner is a contest; ride to Seicomart and get myself a point card; finish the remaining thrilling though predictable episodes of Harper’s Island.

Vessel Log: 2009 08 12

2009-08-12T23:59:00.000+09:00

: workers lay black pebbles and stone; deliver it with a purple dump-truck, lay it with an orange distributor-truck, smooth it with yellow rollers, and patch it with a turquoise shovel-truck; an older woman in a kitchen’s apron clears the excess with a metal shovel; rinse, wash, repeat; lunch in the park near the red bridge; the subtle differences are wrinkles; two boys circle the pond with a skyblue net and a PET bottle; the silver blanket protects us from the Perseids like it did with the eclipse; two earthquakes in two days; the woman, the “girl-next-door”, the one in possession of illegal amphetamines and was on the run is always on TV, the same interview from earlier this month; Duffy: RockFerry; yoga is evidence that I have no connection to my body; A.-chan gives me a ride home; comes in to see the cat; we watch her emasculate the akai teru teru bouzu; “It is dangerous to go to the ocean during Obon. It is said spirits reside their and pull the living in.” Do people go to the ocean anyway? “Yes, but if I have friends who go to the ocean during Obon I warn them. I know people who have died in the ocean during Obon.”; the floor littered with red thread, bits of branch and pussy-willow.

Vessel Log: 2009 08 11

2009-08-11T23:59:00.000+09:00

: long row of glaring bicycles, like knives in sheaths; E. got engaged in Las Vegas by the Bellagio fountains, mom sent a text; S.’s movie scene involving JB’s makes me laugh; back in the wooden room, reciting lines from A Mothers’ Lullaby, The Hungry Lion, Can Anyone Hear Me, A Magic Box, and Freddie The Leaf; T.-sensei and T.-sensei and I have lunch at a neighborhood restaurant; tonkatsu; T. gives me some omiyage she got from her trip to Tokyo, postcard of an Edo era print from found artwork in Greece, a pack of kabuki performer print cards, and a bottle of organic olive oil as a birthday present; sweating through a new shirt; grocery basket the recommended color assortment; it clings to the curtains, climbing them with grappling claws.

Vessel Log: 2009 08 10

2009-08-10T23:59:00.000+09:00

: cold ramen lunch from 7-11; walk the purple ramp into the garden park I’ve walked by a hundred times; red footbridge, water lilies, cigarette filters stamped into gray gravel; water segregated by rock and boulder irrigation; vacuum the ripped and torn shreds of a willow branches; suddenly it doesn’t feel as crowded.

Vessel Log: 2009 08 09

2009-08-09T23:59:00.000+09:00

: a refrigerator of condiments, champagne, sliced bread, and sake; passive aggressive notes has me worried about a note that’s an invitation and nowhere near passive aggressive; like beer bust but not; trains and accents, unintentional aphrodisiacs; slow stroll towards the park, iced coffee in hand; gots me red hat and sunglasses on; each block sectioned off for a major beer company; Suntory, Asahi, Kirin, Sapporo; we gather with a mini-keg, order okonomiyaki, edamame, yakisoba, etc; air thick with heat; the man who sings mellow gold; J., T. and I peruse Uni Qlo and Right On; “You’re really fast at changing pants”; why is it always the ones you want that never have your size?; the three of us for Seize the Day; a karai bump; feels like I’m looking at the clock wrong.

Vessel Log: 2009 08 08

2009-08-08T23:59:00.001+09:00

: I look for my wallet out in the bike shed in my underwear;

* * *

cottonmouth; could’ve been a beer garden afternoon but I think I could sleep more; eggs and toast; even the cat won’t eat the processed fish semi-circle found in the 7-11 soba container; hot as; photos and flickr; playing catch up; Mos Burger for dinner; the cool evening; busloads of school girls leave the cultural center; squeals and laughter; a Takikawa bus rides by, some stand and they’re all eating; rewatch Citizen Ruth; the neighbors BBQ after midnight.

Vessel Log: 2009 08 07

2009-08-07T23:59:00.000+09:00

: moths, their wings, dragonflies, bees motionless on the tar; carried away by janitorial ants; spiders the size of guilt if you were to murder them; heat and glare; walk the distance to Bombay Blue for lunch; pleasurable heat of a curry meal; walk the distance back through an archaeological drive and parking lot; 30 degrees now means hot instead of frigid; stop by city hall on my way home; omiyage for the office, squid-ink chocolate; a chat with J. about her back, etc; coated in shine; an early evening shower before the 5:56 express; meet T. in front of Daimaru; three stops too many on the subway; as the sun sets, the breeze picks up; this side of town is seagull territory, I wonder if the crows know this; K. in front of the shop; we’re given a small bag with a child’s drawing on the flap; a 2 hour lecture with short video and pictures about a small village in Cambodia, the building of a school and animism; not the izakaya and beer we were promised; scoff an onigiri in the 7-11 parking lot; meet L., T., and E. at Tlida; Hisashiburi!; then to a chain izakaya; since last month it’s been completely redesigned; no longer open and cruiseable; then karaoke at the box.

Vessel Log: 2009 08 06

2009-08-06T23:59:00.002+09:00

: the 64th anniversary of the bombing at Hiroshima; on TV a young boy and girl take turns orating a memorized speech; is everyone wearing white?; camera view of the wrecked dome and piles of brick; yellow flowers and Aso-sama bowing before an archway; just make the train; assist students with pre-recitation contest for a school mini competition; F.-sensei and I talk about Hiroshima, how it is or isn’t taught in Japan and America; riding home a group of high school boys, tan on bikes, say hello; one of whom was maybe a former student but his hair is shaved and much thinner; tell B. about soup curry at Goyen; hot sunlight, movie trailers, folding laundry, washing dishes; the floor is littered in litter, dry cat food; conversation is loud; table for six is a table for eight; a prelude to the coming year.

Vessel Log: 2009 08 05

2009-08-05T23:59:00.002+09:00

: this one is for the bird; popped against the school’s window; a ball of fluttering black and white feathers; vice-principle brings water to shock it back to flight; a drop on the fragile skull; its mouth open, panting, blinking eyelids; a curled and retracted twiggy leg; kowaiiso; we kill the flies and save the birds; read about Antony, eating lunch (salad, onigiri); Tonda, N.-sensei announces; the bird flies toward the windows; resting on a sill, staring inside, its mouth gaped open, its wings beating;

"As I was raised Catholic, I was raised with a very rigid sense of what had spiritual content, of what was valuable. Human beings had soul. The Earth didn't. This place was a holding cell for people to figure out their spirit value," says Antony. "There was this whole idea that we had separated from nature. I think that's all fallen down for me. As I've gotten older, I've returned more and more to my environment." – Antony Hegarty, August 4, 2009, article by Grayson Currin;

the stop motion animation of small and mid-sized shovel trucks; kinjiki, forbidden colors; the man with a farmers’ tan at the eyebrows; apples, Out, a nap under curtained window; meet B., the new neighbor; I worry about R.'s cat being seen; we walk to soba; the owner gives me box of canned coffee drinks as a thank you.

Book Review: The Procession of Mollusks

2009-06-08T17:52:00.002+09:00

The Procession of Mollusks by Eric E. Olson

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
A Pacific Northwest, coastal town is seized by its passion for the phylum Mollusca as seen through the varying lucid eyes of an ex-reporter who believes he’s a reporter and a young boy coming-of-age in a docuphile society. Olson created a neapolitan tale; weaving magical realist happenings, noir scenes of a Lynchian motif, and science lessons had Timothy Leary teamed up with National Geographic.

I’m not ashamed to admit that this book gave me nightmares. Or feral dreams, rather. Olson convincingly sculpted a spiral illustration while tweaking the nerves that lead to those primal places once suppressed after agriculture and architecture were born. Stirring these neglected tidepools, left behind puddles teaming with its own isolated eco-system, disturbs some of the more unexpected imaginables. Olson explored this sticky territory and had the brass to record a map for others to find their way in and back out again.

View all my reviews.

Vessel Log: 2009 05 31

2009-05-31T23:59:00.001+09:00

: the rain is a good excuse to stay indoors; slept to the sound on the roof; work on a story; chat with Mom and T.; ran into S. at Mos Burger with M., former ALT; A. and I go to Seize the Day and talk about TV movies we remember; want to watch a horror movie but all I have is Clue.

Vessel Log: 2009 05 30

2009-05-30T23:59:00.001+09:00

: didn’t sleep as well as I wanted, restless; B.’s having a yakiniku BBQ outside our place; I see him clearing the weeds and growth outside, pouring poison; but it’s canceled; laundry; need to buy a new cloth; riding to beat the rain; the bus terminal window is closed and they have my Nautica umbrella; Nitori, two boys walk in together and they’re shopping for bedding; A. comes over to print out a sheet before we go to S.’s for dinner; her apartment hot and smoky from cooking; four dishes, one of quail’s egg, squid, shrimp and a spicy sauce from Singapore; we spend near five hours talking.

Vessel Log: 2009 05 29

2009-05-29T23:59:00.000+09:00

: kids from H. Elementary are synchronized dancing to the Japanese remake of the Pet Shop Boys’s “Go West”. In the middle of class, I laugh to myself; the wind picks up, waves of brown dust, heat of the sun and wind from the Russian north; ni-nen-sei and san-nen-sei practice for next week’s Sports’ Day; I stretch with 3C, much to their amusement; M. says, Ichi! Ni! San! Yon! We yell back, Go! Roku! Nana! Hachi! Then, for me, he does it in English; relay races, three-legged races, chain gang runs; I’m awkward in my dress shirt and pants; T.-sensei gives me a ride home and I tell her about California judges’ Prop 8 ruling and she’s equally appalled; B., A. and I ride to the train station; B. and I ride the straddle section of the cars; Otaru Beer Garden in the Parade Building; feels like drinking and eating on the Mezzanine; J. and J. come by; we stay longer than planned with a four hour nomihodai.

Vessel Log: 2009 05 25

2009-05-25T23:59:00.000+09:00

: bad hair, bright light, harsh wind; “Sensei!” Yes. The boys put their fingers against their crotch, “We have guns!” Yes, we do. We have many guns, don’t we. Now, from the girls: “Question.” Yes. “Do you know Boy’s Love?” (written on a file) Is that a band or a group? “No. Not band. Homosexual.” Huh? “Do you know?” What a strange question to ask. “Sorry,” they say. No, well, I lived in San Francisco and there are many homosexuals there. “Really?!”; another mid-faint star traveling unevenly on the scrim of the sky; this time through the handle of the Big Dipper; can’t finish that movie.

Vessel Log: 2009 05 23

2009-05-23T23:59:00.000+09:00

: a window left open, the clammer, halt, and spur of construction trucks; humidity and its 8:30 in the morning; Bills, Bills, Bills loops in my mind for the next few hours while I wade in the shallow end of sleep; to go or not to go; train to Sapporo, A. just makes it last minute; the caramel store in the JR Tower basement, the one with the usually long lines; HMV for Abnormally Attracted to Sin and a Japanese single for a song called 名前の無い色, listening to it on a station; Boycott and bought pants with a zipper in the back that opens just because; Right On and Uni Qlo; dinner in a small restaurant with huge portions; Kinokuniya, outside all gray and dark water, the scent of spring, the cool air; fashion magazines, loud-talking western girls “I know where you’re going!” “I see pretty!”, comic book of Jesus and Buddha as buddies or brothers; Starbucks for ground coffee and a blended drink which I never get and I remember why, their sugar has such a horrible aftertaste I wonder why no one mentions it; train alone back home to write, which I do, for a bit and listen to music.

Vessel Log: 2009 05 18

2009-05-18T23:59:00.000+09:00

: could’ve ended badly but didn’t. Overslept, my bus leaves in 11 minutes; Bleeding green, wet and warm, sky like a dry and rocky Maine shoreline. How the air curls the hair; puddles and dry patches; the ability to cook soup on demand; falling asleep with a book in hand, Letters to Cleo followed by Lewis Black; a chocolate trip to the convenience store.

Vessel Log: 2009 05 17

2009-05-17T23:59:00.000+09:00

: Big House on a Sunday afternoon; lines by the cash register in Daiso; rain approaches so buy the wine, chicken, raisins, almonds; slices of time; a breakfast, lunch, and soup curry dinner; Afia comes over to listen to music; the two-hour fifth season finale of LOST; there’s no way the bomb exploded, remember QUARANTINE; sad how Juliet died; the abusive father from Dexter; Fringe before bed; passing text notes in the middle of the night; tonight, the wind has a voice forged from a temper.

Vessel Log: 2009 05 16

2009-05-16T23:59:00.000+09:00

: the pat on the back for not feeling as awful as you could; bike ride to Homac for nothing in particular – maybe a houseplant; to Daiso for a blindfold, he in grey sweatpants; MaxValue plays the Can-Can on a loop; buy bread and blueberry jam; A-Coop for vegetables and fresh ramen; make cold ramen salad and watch Twilight; campy flick, the fear and allure of desire; would I have loved this movie over fifteen years ago?; the town of 3000 with a rather large and well-populated student body all of whom model on the weekends in the city; their eyes contorted in confusion, twitching with MDMA adolescence; stay away, come here, stay away; glittering like diamonds in the sunlight? That’s why? Really?; to Mos Burger for A.’s birthday.

Vessel Log: 2009 05 15

2009-05-15T23:59:00.000+09:00

: bowling two games, spill to the wax coated lane; I Just Called To Say I Love You, Feel Good Inc., Proud Mary, Sweet Home Alabama; Money Changes Everything, Scar Tissue, Aaliyah, Let’s Get It On, Son of a Preacher Man, Spellbound, Natasha Bedingfield: These Words.

Vessel Log: 2009 05 13

2009-05-13T23:59:00.000+09:00

: sun bright, damp ground, wet plants; darkening of the clouds, spilled gastropod ink absorbed by cotton; lightening and thunder rolling over Greenland Mountain.

Vessel Log: 2009 05 12

2009-05-12T23:59:00.000+09:00

Well, the saying says / an elephant never forgets. – Neko Case: People Got A Lot Of Nerve

: two students approach the classroom, summon me over; “Every day, he writes for roughly eight hours on the public computers at the library at NYU (his alma mater).” Who has that kind of time in a day? Is it jealousy or inspiration? Maybe both, wrote Not Quite What We Expected;

If you ever touch a hair on their heads / if you ever look at them the way you do me – The Mendoza Line: Since I Came

Rain strikes moderately; dandelions on the front patch bloom, recede, and burst with shiraga heads; patches like sea urchins; spiders, some big enough to name, hide in the bathroom, under the eave; A. and I walk to Seize the Day but it’s closed; “Sometimes they’re closed like the first or second Tuesday of the month,” she says; We walk to Goyen, I’m clutching my pants to keep them up; we talk: over-reacting the swine flu; the way the homeless are treated; stop at 7-11 for more treats, we enable each other; glass of wine, The West Wing, and Roseanne.

Vessel Log: 2009 05 08

2009-05-08T23:59:00.000+09:00

: in damaged Japanese I attempt to explain; inverted conditions of happiness; they wrestle in the grass outside; carry shovels to the flower beds; takoyaki in English Club; the post office to mail Mothers’ Day cards to Nana and Mom; they’ll be late; I look cute in a new blue sweatshirt; take the slats from the windows, disturbing spiders in the process; skim research on creationism; Vertigo but sleep is overbearing.

Vessel Log: 2009 05 07

2009-05-07T23:59:00.001+09:00

: the air is dust, wind, and petals; a pile of pink blooms gather in a corner by the 7-11; facing down procrastination; a shameful realization; how many people need to die before the lesson is learned?; a bike ride to Big House for red wine and red meat; the suburban, well-stocked aisles; freedom in movement off the grid of traffic signals; Concrete Blonde; a concoction of Australian meat and vegetables, enough to feed a family of four; The Weather Underground; those people remind me of people I know but not in a pleasant way; is it the 70’s all over again?

Vessel Log: 2009 05 06

2009-05-06T23:59:00.000+09:00

: it takes one swift movement to get the ground clear; oppression of the disorderly; the neighbors could be gearing up for a party, the tables are lined, the grill exposed; dandelions and wild daffodils; ebitenoroshi soba for lunch; bus ride anxiety stirs nausea; Sapporo Factory, wandering thirsty; T. found a cheaper theater and meet at the Junko bookstore; Finally, Milk on the big screen; all that has changed and all that has stayed the same; Prop 6 could be Prop 8; Anita Bryant and the states are the states of marriage; Harvey Milk needs more than a school and a statue; “I saw The Times of Harvey Milk on TV when I was in high school and it totally affected me.” made me want to move to San Francisco (and the Tales of the City mini-series); where are we now? I was the only man in the theater; amber streetlights, trees with leaves, a cool night in the city; does the station remember me? Heartbreak, all this beauty lends melting; after that movie, I realize, I have no reason to lose.

Final Installment of The Beard on NameCalling

2009-04-26T11:13:00.005+09:00

NameCalling has published Part 3 of a story I wrote called, The Beard.

A little blurb about NameCalling:

NameCalling.Org is a creative non-fiction online journal. Read tales of humor, tragedy and everything in between as authors explore name calling-for better or for worse. Check out the archives or search for your your name. Stories are posted every week. You’ll enjoy them all!

Best,
Corisa Moreno
Editor

Though my little story is not (exactly, as far as we know) CNF, Corisa was gracious enough to publish it.

Enjoy, please leave comments, please.

The Beard, Part 1
The Beard, Part 2
The Beard, Part 3

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

2009-04-26T11:11:00.000+09:00

My Brightest Diamond: Inside A Boy

2009-04-19T15:04:00.001+09:00

Vessel Log: 2009 03 16

2009-03-16T23:59:00.000+09:00

: [dis]tance. The pill-bug stops still, waits for me to (1) not notice or (2) go away. [dis]interest. Arrows of sleep, the mincing effect of internet 3 minute video. [dis]realization, [dis]personalization. But out of kitchen rubble comes a ray of light. Cruise through the music of 2009; Kristin Hersh: “Gin”, Kylie Minogue: Boombox, M. Ward, Maria Taylor: “Time Lapse Lifeline”, Neko Case: Middle Cyclone. [d]is comfort. Thaw makes for sluggish, muddy behavior. [dis]turbia. Spider/Kumo rounds the elbow of a water pipe. “Christ! You’re a leaper!” as it jumps to the pale yellow shower-room wall. [dis]play. Stand back and observe; repress the urge to soak it in water and let drown in the soapy water below.

Vessel Log: 2009 03 12

2009-03-12T23:59:00.000+09:00

: Y. graduation day. The hallway by the gymnasium hung with felt sakura, the back wall a sweep of paper flowers, side walls a collage of geese, messages, and taped petals. One by one, as one, san-nen-sei walk up to the podium on the stage, balanced with a bouquet of flowers and two flags. The flowers are gorgeous, like they’re exploding, imploding, shattered atoms. K.-sensei, in traditional garb, fights back tears as she calls her class up from their seats for the last time. I nearly choked up myself. Outside the school, a hallways created by students, they cheer and clap for san-nen-sei as they pass through, handing out gifts. Pictures taken in the halls, out among the slush and mud. But the sun feels charming, the wind refreshing. T.-sensei drives me home in her car and I take my lunch indoors before a 2 hour nap. Japanese class tonight.

Vessel Log: 2009 03 11

2009-03-11T23:59:00.001+09:00

: Y. graduation rehearsal day. They’re three hundred voices singing in four-part chorus. “This music. We play it during American weddings.” Marches, bows, acceptances, speeches, ups, downs, start again, perfect unison. “You should wear a costume,” K.-sensei said. “Like Superman.” “I’ll bring my Batman suit and fly into the ceremony.” Festival meeting in a board room lined with photographs of a lake gazebo. A., E. and I walk to Mos Burger. They give us yellow cards to grow our own peppermint. Dishes have colonized my kitchen. My night a string of Top Chef.

Vessel Log: 2009 03 10

2009-03-10T23:59:00.000+09:00

: take that step back. Rehearsal for the graduating S. san-nen-sei; their suited dark uniforms. “I want to go to Hollywood.” There’s a brimful of snow looming in the north. Ride my bike to the grocery store. A feast of salmon, potatoes and a salad. Fell asleep. M. Ward, Maria Taylor to usher out the final hours. I still avoid folding my laundry.

Vessel Log: 2009 03 09

2009-03-09T23:59:00.000+09:00

: weather permits one sacrifices routine to winter. The long arm of Orion and the pearl lighted on a metal roof. Hoarders. What a little night music can do.

Vessel Log: 2009 03 08

2009-03-08T23:59:00.000+09:00

: there is an outside and it’s melting. Pull my bike from the shed; forget where the lock is, the headlight is. Swerving in the road and the cool wind captured by the mouth of my jacket. Seiyu empties, Muji empties, but the 100 Yen shop is still fully stocked. Clay Pigeons. Met Afia for our weekly soup curry dinner; teaching credentials; our lives as a situational comedy ripe for television “Okay, my show was on NBC and yours just jumped to Showtime.”; a party to plan. Battlestar Galactica, LOST, Six Feet Under, the final leg.

Vessel Log: 2009 03 07

2009-03-07T23:59:00.000+09:00

: the couch a welcome addition to nesting. Survey the premises and make a mental list of things that could be done. A sudden squall, winter fights for time. RuPaul’s Drag Race. Like a true queen I’m near an hour late. Charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent. Getting lost in the basement of JR Tower; ivory hallways and corner boutiques. From I. to the microbrewery in Sapporo in 45 minutes. “What do you know about the origins of your alphabet?” Delicious food and beer; Change locations; a small modern bar in Susukino. From where I sit I can see the shoes of counter patrons. Rush to the train; in the back of the cab a commercial for The Closer. “She’s married to Kevin Bacon,” I mention. We run through the station, jam our money into the ticket machine, and race up the steps. No one is behind me. The car is crammed and I’m in the blue room again. A verbal fight, holding each other back.

Vessel Log: 2009 03 06

2009-03-06T23:59:00.000+09:00

: haunted by a song, “The Pharaohs”, some times I disappear into it. Eyes train on the far-off snow layered mountains, hum the tune, mouthing the words… I disappear. Wind howls. From one student’s writing exercise notebook: “We are alone alone alone alone alone/ far far far/ better/ far away.” The wind has grasps, strangles the clear umbrella. A man on the bus reads “Murder Casebook Magazine”. A graph of lights on a dark background. I get translated; tell the stories that’ve been on my mind. Moving to California, 9/11, casual car pooling, violence in Oakland. Later, we discuss Haruki Murakami and T.K. tells me about his book related to Om and how that cult terrorist action changed Japanese culture and mentality. The 10:00 Super Kamui train, walk home to Tanya Donelly.

Vessel Log: 2009 03 05

2009-03-05T23:59:00.000+09:00

: no more high school kids on the bus, not today. Mouth the words, hum the tune, I’m the second to last. School is a buzz of test time, reams of paper, flash card construction, the high school entrance English exam. “You see the walls we have to climb? We're not teaching at a conversation school.” “I know that. I’ve known that.” Gave T-sensei that This American Life CD with the two transgendered children. The difference between “Which” and “Who” regarding cartoon characters. “I understand grammar. Your explanations are so alive. I can understand that,” F-sensei said. Sing-a-long time: You were married in the mirrored hall/ when I sixteen… / “I love girls in white leather jackets.” … / You said I was your blue blue baby and you were right… The kids of 1A making yellow sakura out of construction paper. That boy needs his own TV show. “How many CDs do you have?” Correcting tests in red pen; I get to only mark correct answers; like good cop. The 7-11 is an all-male singles party. The boy in front of me, with the tattered black Converse and cranberry colored stud, buys a can of light beer and Camel smokes.