09.05.11
Baby Pictures
Here are some cute pictures of little William.
Addendum
I apologize for that horribly stuffy term I used in the title. I much prefer the word “pudendum.” Anyhow, here is a really cool family photo that I just had to post. Oh, and did I mention that I am now a huge fan of the old 1970s Kung Fu episodes starring David Carradine? I’m not kidding you, this show really teaches you most of what you need to know in terms of how to treat other people.
09.04.11
Moving (Back Home?)
Yep, as you might have guessed from the title of this post, we’re moving. We’re heading to Canada, back to my hometown of Vancouver. The only thing is, I’m not sure whether Vancouver is “home” any more. Indeed, after 12 years of living in East Asia, I’m not sure I’m able to say that any place in the world is “home,” although some places are admittedly dearer to my heart than others.
Moving back will definitely prove to be something of a mind bender—I was tempted to use a foulmouthed term, but, because I am job hunting, I have to be careful with my reputation—not least because I will have to deal with “re-entry syndrome” or “counter culture shock,” or whatever term you deem most appropriate.
Yeah, going back is always a big shock: “Wow! Big open spaces! Wow! Big people! White people! Fat people! And lots of them!” Me being about 170cm, I feel like a complete midget over there. I remember heading to the local Choices grocery store a couple of year ago and saw this really tall Finnish couple, with a baby on one of their backs. The lady had to have been about 182 or 183cm. Man.
And now that Vancouver has changed so much, I feel even more like a stranger in a strange land. Here’s a sampling of what has changed:
– Security guards at banks. Check.
– A babel of languages being spoken at the airport—by the staff! Check. (When I bought a bottle of water at the Tim Hortons donut shop, the cashier turned around to banter with her co-worker in Tagalog.)
– A whole new light rail network. Check.
– A booming (ridiculously overpriced) real estate market which basically means unaffordable homes for all the hoi polloi. Check.
– Even more petty (and not so petty) crime, which just serves to add to the mountain of evidence that the war on drugs is a lost cause. Check.
Don’t believe that horsepucky about Vancouver being the best city in the world to live in. It ain’t. Want some proof?
1. Theft galore
Where I worked at Utsunomiya University, people can and do leave their cell phones and wallets lying around (in the often empty gym, for instance). On the other hand, when I was attending Langara College in Vancouver, one girl entered the ladies room, put her textbooks next to the sink, and returned from the stall a minute or two later to find her books gone for good.
People in Vancouver will steal anything that isn’t nailed down. Oh, and also there is a huge number of losers who enjoy smashing glass bus shelters just for the hell of it. Vandalism in Japan, by contrast, is a helluva rare thing.
2. Super crappy weather
Yes, the winters are mild, I will hand that to Van. But that’s only a bonus if you can deal with an extreme lack of sunshine. Once, I counted only six or seven cloud free days from the beginning of November until the end of February.
3. Overpriced out the yin yang
How can a place be the best place to live if it is so darn expensive. Nuff said.
Well, I needed to write something after such a long absence. Hope this suffices. Wish me luck! More later.
