A real vacation

A surreal kind of escape, the type to surrender control to. Back to gravity and family. My adopted families here are deep rooted at a slow pace yet tolerant of endless snow drifts. As if the city doesn't have a big future and nature is fine with that.

Tokyo trapeze act

Well the euphoria of my family visit has passed. Back at the office
looking busy doing nothing for a week then more time off. Ready for
summer, trapped in the city. Imagine a way to escape and prepared to
do so. Perhaps not very far, perhaps far enough. Beach is preferable.
Not sure whether to challenge family in my private life, or abandon
them for new horizons. Seems like there is a hidden agenda on the
other side. Pretty obvious but nothing impossible to fend off, but not
without heartache.

Summer Breeze

I'm on fire. Have I finally hit bottom? Perhaps. Very nice weather
indeed. Summer breeze makes me feel fine,... pun intended. Hard to
believe this is the crest, but always feels like that before the wave
crashes over you. Gotta keep the windows closed or someone will catch
the breeze flowing through my place. Time to shine.

New car on hold, for now

Well, I tried, and can't get a new car for the time being. Nice to
know where I stand, and that my financial situation just needs a
little additional focus before I can invest in better transportation.
My daughter started her ESL classes and it will take time. She's just
a very happy spirit around me lately. Very nervous about my family
visit at the end of the week. It will be here very quickly especially
since I will have to get my workload in order, hand it off to someone
else just so I can be free. My diet is pretty good, and drinking kind
of under control. I haven't been to the gym in months, but have lost
weight. The gym got my metabolism back on track, and the healthy diet
took care of the rest. I still hope to make it back to the gym later
this month and continue to make progress on my health and shape before
the winter arrives. And distract me from my savings as I try to save
as much as possible and guarentee a better year to come.

Ready for that car

Family will arrive a week from now. And my funds are drying up too
quick. I must save for the next few weeks. Anyways, I want that car
now. Maybe I can't have it, but at least I know that I'll have it for
the remainder of the summer and plan accordingly. The dealership said
it will take about 2-4 weeks to deliver. That means the week of April
21st. I imagine I'll just set the Navi and head straight for the
coast, or the mountains. I'll need a tent, and my grill.

Recession Refuge

Wrote an annual budget for the coming year. Never count the chickens
until they hatch. Especially when there is a fox in the hen house.
I've been too generous. To my friends, family, and self. Cooking at
home and drinking less is easy said than done. Hangover. First a lot
of thinking, then a lot of drinking. But in my life's experience,
every time I've sat down to budget, the results are positive. Either
it saves me from bad decisions, or just saves a lot of money. I'm
under pressure from my extended family to provide more support, but at
least now I know my limits and what is and isn't possible to do for
all of them.

backstabbers

Well, a bit out of control, but you know I can't remember that the
last time haven't I been. Last night was interesting, ultimately
aimless. A college graduation and farewell party. The generation gap
is pretty apparent. I felt pretty old around all those college
students.

Anyways prior to that, I was with my Senegalese brothers were pretty
upset with a bad situation in their community. My friend invited a
guest from Senegal who overstayed his Visa. His guest never told him.
And was depending on many other people to hide his secret. Well, he
had a roommate with another Senegalese guy. This other guy brought a
girl home and basically started to rape the girl. The guest physically
stopped him and threatened him with a lash of a weapon. The guest
angrily left the house and the roommate called the cops on him and
told them he overstayed his Visa. They took them both to the station
and the guest is getting deported. The fallout seems pretty bad,
because the roommate is now the disgrace of the African community in
Tokyo. No one understands how one of us can call the cops on our
own... I think the guy is in a lot of trouble and can't show his face
in Tokyo ever. Meanwhile the Senegalese guest is sitting in a
detention center waiting to get deported. Sigh... My friend is under a
stress and pressure from his friends and family to help his guest out
and settle the score with the double-crosser.

Time after Time won't give me Time

Went car shopping yesterday to a Subaru dealer. Looking at the Subaru
Impreza Anesis 2.0i-s. Always feels good when shopping for a new car.
It isn't really a good time since my mom will be here in 2 weeks and
I'll have to purchase soon afterwards. I'd be better off getting my
things from storage. "...the pressure is on it will never stop." Party
with the ladies tonight. I really don't know if and how much I'll
enjoy myself tonight since work demands a midnight call and I doubt I
will be a good position to take advantage of the evening. No doubt
someone else will. I should't care since the car should liberate me by
the end of the summer.

The Wiz

I used to be a video game nut. It was my drug. My call sign was Wiz.
When ever I got on the top scoreboard, it was just a fast and easy
three letter name that suited me at the time.

It wasn't named after the movie the Wiz, but it was around the same
time. It was in that movie when Michael Jackson's adult persona first
caught my attention. Even as a pre-teen I wondered what happened to
that guy? I think we knew even then there was something peculiar about
him. However nothing was peculiar about his music genius that we grew
up to. How Off The Wall how primed the world for Thriller. But all the
love and pride of the black community couldn't shelter him or us the
embarrassment of his notoriety.

Recently my 11 year old discovered the Wiz, and used to opportunity to
tell her who Michael Jackson was. She turn to me and asked "Is he a
girl?" Honestly coming of age and the most visible male black star
resembled a woman puzzled me. But now we all know what an androgynous
and weird person he was, perhaps even gay.

On a day like this, one we knew would eventually arrive, we still
reel. But not from the end of his life, but what his music meant to us
during his life, during our youth. Songs from the Jackson 5, young
Michael, Off the Wall, and Thriller all wake up the extremely strong
memories of those days that have long since past. Memories his musical
legacy has etched upon the collective conscious of so many around the
world.

Well well, things are getting better

I had a nice date. Refreshing actually. Up front she was about needing
to return to the guy who is really after her. But nice enough to
invite friends who are ready to go out with me later. Stunning they
all were and imagine that my friends will remember the evening well.
Respectful and considerate was the neighborhood and hope this is a
sign of things to come. Computer crashed got a new one. Lost my mobile
phone got a new one. All refreshing.