10 Things of This Week.

New blog slogan maybe: "A monkey in every entry. Guaranteed!"

There are some things that I read/think/see/hear about in the space of a week that I believe are worthy of mention but not in their own blog entry. Hence the emerging trend of the 10 things list. I guess I do have a tendency to break stuff down into lists on this blog-thing and it only recently became apparent to me when a friend sent me an email with a breakdown of recent events in list form in response to reading my blog. And... I really appreciated the clarity of the email, even though it lacked emotional depth. (I always did test in the practical ranges of those personality tests)

So! Life on the island is wonderful/stressful/horrifying/confusing/scary all at the same time, which makes me into one hot mess. This week has been no exception as I have simultaneously experienced what the eye of the storm looks like from the ground and learned of the existence of ground leeches. Also, poisonous centipedes (ムカデ) in my room? How awesome! Let's take a look at this week...

10 things this week:

1. Happy Birthday Mr. J! This guy I know (I think his name is Jom?) turned a year older this week. I gave him his birthday present the last time he came to visit (herpes... of love).

2. There are these old fishermen who spend all their days in cedar canoes out on the ocean with bamboo fishing poles. They would be the picture of quintessential prewar Japanese lifestyle except for that they usually have BOOMBOXES on their boats, and they pump out old Japanese throaty-war-opera music at an incredible decibel. I never thought I would find the equivalent of a low-rider rolling by blaring reggaeton in the Japanese countryside, but... there they are.

Also, you can stare daggers at them from the shore but they will just turn up the volume and cackle at you maniacally. They are my personal heroes.

3. Arnold Schwarzenegger is so awesome. I read an article in the NY Times about a new green policy he is pushing, and the pitch for it was: "Save the planet. OR ELSE." Hahahaha! The TERMINATOR thinks YOU... should separate your recyclables! Free us from fossil fuels!

On a sidenote, while the governator was campaigning for his original candidacy, he visited California college campuses to encourage the younger vote. Dear old Arny delivered a speech about important government stuff at my friend's college campus and ended it with, "'Asta la vista, baby." Awesome. Just awesome.

4. The thought that most commonly pops into my head while I'm trekking in the forest is, "Who am I? And how did I get here?" I still have yet to answer these questions.

5. Have you ever stumbled across a random blog and thought to yourself, "God! Shut up already!" Whenever I can't sleep because of the looming poisonous centipedes and giant spiders, I read blogs and think this all the time. But never about my blog. Never.

6. There is a general reverence for nature here at the station. The monkeys are left to do what they do, the deer are tolerated for being brainless tufts of fur/fleas, and the GIANT SPIDERS that live in the station are not smashed and gently shooed off the dining table. Now, nature is all fine and good.. but that's not how I do things in my personal space. I've killed about 10 giant spiders in the past few days and have taken out a personal vendetta to kill ever last one of them after midnight when everyone else is asleep. Starting with the shower spider:

I cannot tell you how much I hate this spider. Whenever I finally notice it, I am always vulnerable and naked in the shower. And I can feel all eight of its eyes on me.

It has fangs the size of cat claws. And they don't use webs; webs are for wussy spiders who can't pounce on their prey and smash through its skull with their pincers. These spiders are gangsta' and eat birds.

Yes, I killed this sucker, and it felt good. Also I killed it human-style, using about half a can of bug spray. Human > Nature.

7. The huge and scary heap of gaijin (foreigner) furry that is Niraffe visits on Monday! I can't wait to have conversations that do not revolve around monkeys and how wonderful organic vegetables are. It will be a nice break from my spiral into insanity.

8. Hi Casser! Plootch rules!

9. Last night was absolutely amazing. First, the power went out on the entire island. That meant no laptops, no reading lights; the perfect excuse to not do any research. It was a clear night yet we could hear the thunder rolling in and the lightning seemed to be coming from all directions at once. We ventured out to the beach (about 20m from the front door) and saw that we were in the eye of a massive storm. Since there were no lights anywhere on the island, I could see more stars than I ever have in my life. I must've seen about 20 shooting stars/satellites/UFOs!

In every other direction (besides directly over our heads) there were dark clouds that were illuminated every few seconds by spectacular cracks of lightning. And the wind blew in fantastic gusts and the thunder was absolutely deafening. There really are no words... sometimes nature > humans.

10. There is this stuff here called natto (pronounced queef-farts) that smells of death and tastes of... death. There are reasons why poison dart frogs are brightly colored and rattlesnakes have rattles: this is nature's way of letting us know that if you fuck with them, they will kill you. It's the same principle with natto and its smell/taste/appearance, yet everyone here at the station eats it everyday, sometimes twice a day. I. Don't. Understand. This. And I'm, like, really understanding of other cultures, or whatever.

And in closing:

1. Next time, I will write a good entry about the monkeys and include some pictures and reflections on their behavior. Prepare for your mind to be BLOWN (by cute monkey pictures)!

2. The look of this website sickens me. If any of you can help me out by teaching me some web design stuff I promise to make a poorly-executed virtual shrine to you utilizing those skills.

Also, a honest to goodness typhoon will be coming to the island on Saturday. I might die, but I'll try to live instead.

Looooooooooove!