I flew back in economy, which just reinforces my determination to adopt a child and force him to be an airline pilot. i have no intention of flying back there and paying much for it. you just don't get your money's worth. i did make a friend, which was exciting. he's my age, talkative, and a little eccentric. we got along quite well. he was also flying standby, so we swapped stories. and now, if i ever take a wrong turn and end up a thousand kilometers south of here, i have a place to stay!

It's also exciting that i have a place to stay right now, though. i came back to japan not really knowing much about my living situation, other than that i had no intentions of dying, so appropriate arrangements had to be made. after a brief stint of living on my office floor, i am now living closer to campus than i ever have before- about a 10 minute walk- with a rather capricious band director. i used to think that we were the 2 most different people that have ever existed; that if you took a picture of my DNA, turned it inside out, and made a person, you would have him. unsurprisingly, i suppose, as i've spent more time with him i'm finding ways that we are more similar than i originally thought. still quite dissimilar, but not polar opposites. It's not "home" yet, but it's getting there.

Speaking of home, i realized on the train home from the airport that japan definately gives me the feeling that belonging somewhere gives you more than america does. the train doors would open and the air conditioning would be assulted by the humidity, and the sound of the semi's (cicada's) rhythmically invading my inner ear, all made me feel that i was where i belonged. i don't know if that has to do with being in the place that i have a life (i.e. transportation, work, friends, etc.), or if it strikes a deeper part of me that has more to do with my childhood. i don't really care either way, actually. all i know is that it's good to be back.



as a post-script, here's one of my favorite pictures i took while on my brief hiatus