my life in boxes | 11:40 AM >

The first thing I should probably say is: wow. Blogger works like a fucking charm. I mean, it's one thing to claim to be the premier web logging service on the net, even after being bought by Google, but, I mean, wow. UTF-8 and email blogs with pictures? Sign me up! So maybe this means I'll be able to post things of more interest from my cell phone. I seem to be on the run too much, and what's the point of having internet-enabled cell phones if they're no good for communicating with people? For those who don't know, I'm moving. I'm not moving far -- just a few stops up the line, actually -- but a move is a move regardless of the distance. It can be summed up in one word: sodomy. But let me expound a little more. Before coming to Japan this time I was living out of boxes. Cardboard boxes, plastic tins, my suitcase... I never really bothered fully unpacking because I tended to move around a lot. University was four years of packing up and going somewhere else every 3-4 months. Then afterwards, I never felt at home in my mother's house so I kept things pretty packed up. I remember identifying strongly with the woman in Ian Banks' The Business, who carried a little monkey carving to place by her bed because she traveled so much. I thought, I understand that, waking in a bed and not feeling like it's your own. Then I came here. At first I remember wanting to do the same thing, thinking, "I'll only be here a year." But as time went on and I realized how much having Simon as a roommate was a blessing I didn't want to be without just yet, as I realized that there's gotta be some reason I'm here, on this god-forsaken island, as I realized I'd made some damned good friends, I started unpacking. I hung up my clothes. I collected postcards and put them up on my wall. I bought bedding. At some point I settled, just a little bit. Which is something I couldn't remember doing in a long, long time. This came as quite a shock to me, brought on by the sheer volume of crap and things I've bought and the realization that even though Simon and I are essentially getting a nice upgrade to our apartment, I didn't want to move because the squalid little hell-hole I'm sitting in as I type this has become home. So tomorrow I move. At noon a guy with a truck and (hopefully) a strong back is coming to help me shift my home to a new apartment in a town full of other teachers. I guess now that the packing's (mostly) done I can't wait. Might have to do a mission, though, involving ninja techniques and a certain amount of alcohol, to get the bikes to my new town though. I don't think there'll be enough space in the truck for both. Next topic is Sophie. I finished The Inflatable Volunteer (which is the kind of meditation on insanity that most people could live their lives never having read), and found a copy of Sophie's World. A lot of the intro questions are like first-year philosophy, but the author also takes a lot of neat angles on things, and I like how the beginning of the book focuses on the greek philosophers. Fills in a few gaps my Intro to Philosophy teacher missed. It's gotten me thinking about a lot of things, though, from the perspective of, I suppose, wonder. Gotten me back on track with regards to thinking about my lack of faith in God. Maybe I'll be able to reason myself back into believing that there is, in fact, a higher purpose. It's also gotten me thinking about other things. (If you're easily offended skip the remainder of this paragraph.) I was thinking the other day about why women like men with long penises. I came to the conclusion that it's a biological thing -- the closer the tip is the to the woman's cervix when the man orgasms, the less of a distance the little guys have to swim as that's where they're headed anyway. I know that seems totally unrelated to Sophie's World, but it was a conclusion I came to due to the way the book is making me think about thinking, so... Somehow there's a connection. Anyway, I should sleep. If you're currently not sleeping and wish to be further entertained, you should view this flash movie. Rag doll physics rule.