President Obama if you please

Wow. I don't know what else to say. Within the last three days I have watched "The Hurricane" and "Remember The Titans". Two movies set in a racially charged U.S. within the last 50 years. I know this isn't the best example, but just watching these movies with the knowledge that we have, as of now, elected the first black president is amazing to me. It has charged me up. I have been telling my students, who don't really get it, how significant this is all week. I have high hopes for Obama, hopes that he will have to be amazing to live up to, but that is what he has been promising, hope and change, and I am ready for it.

The biker

Have you ever had one of those days when you thought you were going to just hit something? I don't mean punch something or karate chop something I mean hit something, like crash into it on a bicycle. Now, don't get me wrong this is not an aggressive state I was in. It was more like fear. All day, unavoidably people vehicles and parts of buildings have been throwing themselves in front of my bicycle. Mostly this is due to the elderly, who are at any moment prone to stop and radically change directions at speeds that would belie their age. I lost count how many times this happened today, but it was a lot. I will quickly recount the top three. I am riding my bike and old lady in front of me is walking hers. At the exact second that I went to pass her, she performed a maneuver that was similar to something you would expect from a Argentinian bolero mounting his horse, and kicked her basketed bicycle to life. I had no choice but to screech to a grinding halt. The other options were no good. One would have been to crash into the old lady, which I was unprepared to do, and the other would have been to dive head first through a plate glass door, which also seemed undesirable. The second near miss was an old man that, no matter how far I swung out to the right, was determined that he was going to go farther, forcing me to swoop dangerously in front of him at the last second while swearing. Last but not least, on my way home from work I came to an intersection and saw headlights coming, despite the fact that this street requires drivers to stop, I decided to yield my right of way. It was a good decision because just as I came to rest, a city bus came barreling to a stop a good ten feet beyond the line and definitely across my sidewalk pass. I gave the driver a dirty look, and he gave me an apologetic wave, which I appreciated until I realized that this little incident made me miss one of the longest lights in Fukuyama. I try to stay good natured, because this happens frequently, but today was one for the records, and I hope that it stays that way.

Thursday

Hello again dear readers...wait, what has happened to all my post from the last 9 months??? Did you ever see them?? My god, have I been typing to myself this whole time? Man, how unfortunate, most of you probably thought that I just wasn't updating my blog, when actually it was this highly unlikely internet glitch that deleted my blogs as I posted them. Wow, I am glad that I was gifted with the mental prowess and logical capability to figure this all out as I am typing this. Well, here is a quick rundown of the last 9 months, that would have been yours to enjoy if only it wasn't for this nigh impossible glitch that some how destroyed all of my dedicated posting...

January, it was cold. I drank a lot at local bars.

Febuary, met a girl, started hanging out. Went to Fukuoka (big city) for a party, fought a penguin. Lost.

March,...can't remember, maybe I was drinking a lot.

April, ah spring, started warming up. Drinking.

May, went on vacation to Mt. Aso (see photos on facebook). Camped. Tent was freezing at night, and burning hot in the morning. No screens. Rode a cable car to the top of the volcano, crater smelled like a park bathroom. Beautiful place. Big crater.

June, broke.

July, travelled to Osaka to meet my old crew at a friends wedding. Spent $700. Great time. Broke up with girlfriend, great decision. Travelled to Colorado for my cousin Carrie's wedding. Beautiful place. Beautiful wedding.

August, broke.

September, bought a bicycle called "Vegas", spent more time at the beach (all summer, even the broke times). Decided to update my blog under the weak pretense that it had somehow been deleted.

October, the future.

Thats about it. I mean, a lot more happened in there, but those are the highlights. There is an outside chance that I will be home for about two weeks in December and January, but it is still questionable. For more info, please comment...


Peace.