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  09.21.01
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Yeah, I know, I know...It's been a few days
since my last post and a few of you out there
have been hounding me for your next hunkabutta
fix. Well, here it is, the run-down on my
life.
Work has been painfully uneventful, so I
won't even talk about it.
Some of you know that my mother is staying
with us here in Tokyo so that she can spend
some time with our new baby Jack. She's been having a pretty good time so
far, I think, and the pictures above are
from our visit to Sensoji temple last Sunday.
Mom's leaving in a few days and so far I've
gotten her to sleep on the floor, eat raw
fish,and mingle with hordes of strangers
on the train. The only thing that we haven't
got her to do yet is try out a Japanese toilet.
The new news (if that's possible) is that
Karen and Jack are going to Vancouver next
weekend so that Jack can meet all of the
family there. I miss him (and Karen, of course)
already, but I'm happy for his grandparents
living there because I know that they're
going to be crazy about him. He really is
a charming baby.
So, all of you hunkabuttajunkies are going
to have to make due with these two little
life-updates for another day or two until
you get your next fix. I'll try not to keep
you waiting for so long next time.
Seriously though, thanks for taking the time
to visit...I LOVE YOU GUYS!
 09.17.01
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Happy birthday from Japan Dad.
 09.16.01
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We finally managed to pry the baby out of
my mother's hands so that we could leave
the apartment and show her a bit of Tokyo.
So far she's been pretty content to just
stay at home and play with Jack.
First we took her to a little cemetery
near
our local train station and had her
pose
in front of the big Buddha that they
have
there -- corny, I know, but easy to
do.
Then we went down to Electric City
in Akihabara,
the electronics district, and looked
around
for a deal on a new digital camera
for me.
No luck.
We walked around and checked out all the
gizmos and gadgets, the robotic pet dogs,
the shiatsu massage chairs, and then got
back on the train and headed for Ueno.
In Ueno, a seedy entertainment district
that's
quite near our house, we ate dinner
at the
Asian Kitchen restaurant -- same place
we
took Karen's dad Gary and his friend
Jean
when they were here. I must say my
mother
was pretty adventurous -- she even
ate the
Tom Yam Khung soup (spicy Thai shrimp
soup).
All in all a very satisfying afternoon and
evening out. Have a look at some of the pictures
above.
 09.13.01
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It seems hard to move on, to get past Tuesday's
attacks. I don't know why I still feel so
out-of-joint, reading about the rescue efforts
on the train to work this morning almost
made me cry (okay, okay, it did make me cry, but I tried to hide it). The
personal accounts are the ones that really
get me.
I want to continue with business as usual
on hunkabutta and give you updates on my
life, tell you all about my mother's visit,
after all, that's what this site's about
-- "A stranger's life in pictures."
The problem, however, is that I feel vain
and petty talking about myself and my inconsequential
life when such dramatic and Earth-changing
events are unfolding back in North America.
I know that people have better things to
think about.
What's really been bothering me though is
that I can't remember ever having felt this
way before. Every day on the train I read
about death, loss and misery. Why didn't
I feel this way for the Albanians getting
shot in their homes by bigoted Serbs? Why
didn't I feel this way for bomb victims in
Israel? For the people trapped in rubble
by the earthquake in Turkey?
Have I really become that callous and insensitive
that it takes the mass slaying of middle-class,
English speaking North Americans (i.e., people
just like me) before I can feel any real
emotion? And really, deep down, I know that
in some weird way I feel sorry for myself
because the untouchable fortress I grew up
in -- the continent of North America -- is
no longer a safe haven from all of those
terrible things that always seem to happen
'somewhere else far away.'
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