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  07.29.02
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My favorite thing about Japan is how incredibly
safe it is. In my four years here I have
never been threatened, not even once.
Let me give you a few examples of what
I
mean by 'safe.'
Tokyo coffee shops are constantly crowded,
and it is often difficult to get a seat.
Consequently, people will try to 'reserve'
a table by putting their bags or jackets
on the chairs. They will then go to wait
in line and buy coffee. Sometimes people
will even leave their purses on sidewalk
tables for 10 minutes or more while they
are inside standing in line. Apparently,
no one steals these purses.
If you walk down a dark alley at night in
most parts of Tokyo and you chance to come
upon a disheveled group of teenagers odds
are the worst thing that you'll hear from
them are the words 'excuse me,' if they happen
to bump into you.
Finally, one thing I've noticed about Japan
that is very different from Canada is that
when people get drunk they actually become
nicer. Don't ask me why this is. You could
almost say that your average salaryman becomes
'normal' when he's drunk. By 'normal' I mean
sociable, jovial and interactive.
I'm sure there are many reasons why
Japan
is so safe, but I'm not going to speculate
on those right now.
All I know is that the pervasive sense of
security is something that I'm going to miss
when it comes time to leave Japan.
 07.27.02
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We had such a hectic week that we decided
to stay home this weekend and relax. It's
too hot to go anywhere anyway.
We've been spending our time playing with
all of Jack's new toys. Thank you to everyone
back home who sent them out to us.
 07.24.02
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I'd like to say happy 1st birthday
to my
baby Jack. He's definitely the best
thing
that's ever happened to me. He's a
saint
of a baby.
One year of fatherhood has taught me a lot.
For one thing, I learned to get my head out
of my ass. Like many young, single people
of my generation, I was much too self absorbed.
It's actually a relief not to be the exact
center of the universe anymore.
I have also come to understand my own father
better. I see now why he loved me so much
when I acted so indifferent to his attention.
I see how much I took him for granted, and
how he never complained about it. I see now
how much a bit of reciprocated affection
can mean.
Thanks Dad. I'm sorry I didn't tell
you how
good of a father you were before now.
------------------------------------
I was planning on having a new movie
gallery
up in time for Jack's birthday, but
I haven't
had the time.
However, here are two short ones for now.
I've recorded them in two different file
formats: AVI and MPG. The MPG is bigger,
but should play on all Windows machines.
The AVI is smaller, but you might need to
have Quicktime installed in order to view
it.
Let me know if you have any problems.
Jack movie one: (AVI - 344KB)
Jack movie one: (MPG - 1.5MB)
Jack movie two: (AVI - 306KB)
Jack movie two: (MPG - 1.28MB)
07.22.02
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I've been thinking about selling prints on
Hunkabutta. A few people have asked me for
posters, but I'm going to start off with
print sizes 8x10 and 11x14.
The number of choices for prints will be
limited. I'm wondering if you can help me
choose which pictures to put up for sale.
Which pictures do you like the most? hWhich
ones do you think people would probably want
to have framed and hung on the wall?
Thanks.
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