Batzirra?

Today's meaningless post comes to you via The Canadian Press.

It seems that unbeknownst to me, there was a Batman craze over "here" in Japan in the sixties, and the comics drawn were quite bizarre and disturbing (much in harmony with Batman's character). So for the true Batman afficionado, I give you, "Bat-Manga! The Secret History of Batman in Japan"! And if there are any Batman-addicts out there who purchase this manga, please DO let me know what you really think of it.

I also hope you have a wonderful New Year's Eve.

I love you!

The Christmas Catalyst

It all started back in September or October of this year...

I was thinking that this year for my Dad's 71st birthday I would surprise him by showing up at their door on the eve of his birthday. I spent a fair deal of time searching the Japanese internet for good flights that would offer me some sort of flexibility at economic prices (very hard to do these days). In the end, I opted to get my ticket via Osaka - Detroit - Minneapolis - Winnipeg (NWA) through Carlson Wagonlit Travel, the travel agent my mom and dad have been using for years here in Winnipeg.

I purchased and paid for my non-refundable discount ticket in October... and then the financial sector of the USA tanked, the American and Canadian dollars fell, and the yen rose... Of course had I waited the exchange would have made my flight much cheaper. But had I known this, I would either be in prison due to making millions of dollars on insider information re. the stock market... or I would ... or I would nothing!

I only told a very small group of friends I was doing this. I didn't even tell my brother Bruce who can absolutely keep not one single secret in the world from anyone... however it was Bruce I needed to come and get me at the airport. I had planned for this in advance, of course and told Bruce that I needed him in front of his computer Friday night (Dec 19th) so that I could show him some of the stuff that I was sending to my parents for Christmas, and explain some stuff to him. He was there, waiting for me.

Vonage (public payphone) in Minneapolis rejected my mastercard... rejected my visa... rejected my american express... and then it was time to board. So...I ended up taking a taxi to the head of the street, paying the cabbie the $35 for the 30 minute drive, and pulled my suitcases up the street at -28C (before windchill adjustments) to the house and rang the doorbell. I didn't want them to accidentally walk past the living room window and see a cab pull up with me getting out as it would ruin the surprise so I did it this way.

When I rang the doorbell, my mom was just about to come upstairs and go to bed. I looked downstairs through the thick plate glass window and smiled. She looked upstairs through the thick plate glass window and was dumbstruck. I guess her brain wouldn't register ME standing there because I was supposed to be in Japan! Well, she suddenly came up the stairs, flung open the door and hugged me as I stepped in. Then the "fight or flight" reflex took hold and she had to run off for a pee!

Dad came up with a big smile as I handed him his personally delivered birthday bottle of Suntory Old whiskey. He wanted to shake my hand, but I would have nothing to do with that nonsense, so summarily gave him a great big hug.

It isn't nearly as cold here as I had hoped it would be; I want the -40C + windchill bringing it down to the low -80s of my youth, but I guess with global weirding, that is no longer to be...

We just opened the Christmas presents and will have dinner at our friends across our back yard tonight. Tomorrow will be Boxing Day open house and all of my parents' friends will be coming by. I enjoyed this exactly two years ago as well (and then I went down to Fargo to meet with Robin, Adrian and Steph, and subsequently got stuck there an extra night in a snowstorm, if you recall!)

All of this traveling and visiting people in 2008... this is my third trip this year (thus I got a glorious upgrade to first class on the 1.5hr flight from Minneapolis to Winnipeg!!) and I have really had a great time meeting a lot of people.

I have been to Tim Horton's coffee several times to enjoy the coffee and listen to the weird Winnipeg Accents and hear all the Canucks using the word "eh". I have visited Sears and the mall to buy a bunch of towels (we can't get good towels in Japan that last for 20 years like our towels from Canada have). I went to SupeValu to stock up on anti-perspirant (can't get in Japan) and allergy meds (too weak in Japan). I did all this walking back and forth from the house, enjoying the bite of the wind on my face as it tried to crack my exposed skin...and wished for colder weather yet.

This past Sunday I visited my old best friends and their families for brunch. Then we went back to his place and enjoyed a hot tub party in the night at -38C. You can see the video on YouTube, entitled, "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDZZvFXYiEY".

On this trip, I am "stepping into my fear" to meet my high school friends and stop feeling indifferent to them due to the extreme bullying I got during those school years (hardwired into the brain... this time I choose to see things differently). There is an informal gathering of anyone from our graduating year who wants to pop into a (forget) place about 7pm on the 29th. And I intend to just pop in unannounced! Other than that, it is time with family, and time with anyone else who might like to meet with me (I haven't had a chance to contact them all yet but will).

(In case you are wondering where Mayu might be.. she has stuff to do in Tokyo at year end so I'm on my own on this trip. I'm hoping that we don't get too much snow while I'm away over the new year and that is the reason why I worked on the special snow protection before I left.)

The economic situation around the world is really difficult for us all. As strange as it may seem, the collapse of the American Empire has dramatically affected my business in the tiny village in which we have lived for the past 15years. So much, so, that I really don't know if we will even be in Kamishii for the full year next year. It seems that perhaps it is time to leave our Shangri-la and move on... And who knows where the future will lead, right?

I have asked my parents if they might like to come for a visit next May or June when the weather is nice. I know we will be there until June for sure as I have a little bit of contract work that keeps me tied to Fukui. As long as I have work in Fukui we will stay in this home as it is beautiful for the small amount of rent we pay. Sure we could leave it for a tiny apartment somewhere, but the space would be dramatically reduced, and the rent would dramatically increase, so why bother, right? I will see what they say as 2009 rolls in...

So with that.. I would like to once again (as I always do), open my home (while we have it) and my heart to anyone and everyone who might like to experience Japan not from a "tourist in a hotel life" perspctive, but from a relaxed, country living view. We could move in and out with ease, wining, dining, laundering (clothing not money), laughing, walking, talking, driving, RELAXING and most of all moving about through time as if we are LIVING and BEING in the NOW moment with no hotel-life restrictions.

I welcome any one of you who might think you would like to visit my beautiful Shangri-la. Feel free to write me privately and let me know you are interested. I would be more than happy to adjust my schedule for you, help plan stuff, and offer you suggestions on the best times to come. I am, and have always been serious. Just as Paula took me up on my suggestion over 2.5 years ago, I hope that in 2009 at least one person out there in our community will say, "Yes, I think I seriously would like to come and see your wonderland, Cam."

Consider this post a "catalyst", something that gets you started on a new adventure in 2009. I plan to have MANY new adventures in 2009 with many new challenges work-wise and life wise. I hope to grow, and expand physically, mentally, educationally and especially spiritually as I challenge myself to new heights, never-before experienced. That is what life is all about, right? As Mayu so aptly put it recently, it's time we "stopped just sucking air". And I agree. Ever onward, ever upward!!

And on that note, I wish you a most wonderful and Merry Christmas for 2008, I hope your Boxing Days are full of joy, and that on January 1st, 2009 you are not praying to the porcelain gods!

I love you as I always have and always will: UNCONDITIONALLY.

Cam

Hogwarts Uses Canada Post!

Well, this will be attempt #3.... I will have to roll back and delete this Internet Explorer Ver. 8 Beta I am testing as a HUGE blog I just wrote got all scrunched up into one line when I tried to add a photo... and it was gone! Poof! Just like Harry Potter might make a cockroach disappear. And then gone again... POOF POOF!!! (now I need to add photos...)

This has been a very busy two weeks; We've been winterizing, and getting ready for the new year. Last week Mayu and I took a mid-week driving trip to Tokyo for some family business (no worries, no condolences needed, thanks). This week we have been busy winterizing the house in a different way than usual.

When we get heavy snowfalls, the snow from the roof of the house can break things if it breaks off. Three winters ago, the sunroom roof exploded when a big chunk fell off the peak of the roof onto it. Also, as there are barely any overhangs, when the snow hits the deck, it is often perilously close to the sliding glass doors. And if it falls or bounces the wrong way, we could be looking at major damage.

It hasn't snowed much at all since that huge snow of three years ago, so we could be getting some big snow this year. It often happens that our snow patterns follow North America by about two weeks. So if you look at heavy snowfalls in the midwest, two weeks later we often have ours. And I don't want to be out there changing my tires, or cleaning glass out of our living room just because a big chunk decided to fall the wrong way.

I took these leantos you can see here, and affixed them to the deck, and to each other. But because we also get winds here, due to the angle, they can easily blow off. And if they are affixed only to the deck, that means they will go vertical, then fall the other way, damaging the deck as they crash against Dickhead's concrete wall and explode, quite possibly bouncing into our glass doors, and exploding them, too. That wouldn't be nice.

So, I took our bazillion kg deck chairs that even Mayu can't lift and bound the leantos to the three chairs, and now I cannot budge them. SO... I think we are good. The added benefit is that during the day the sun reflects off of them and Dickhead's Dad cannot come peering in like he often tries to do. I like these so much that I may even keep them up until the end of March!

Today I went into town to pick up my video camera that needed some repairs. On the way in I saw a store I hadn't noticed before and took a stop for a look-see. They had a lot of really great furniture, knicknacks, pottery, beds, wall hangings, drapes, fabric, and a ton of other stuff. I really enjoyed visiting.

The thing that caught my eye, though, was THIS plastic post box!

I was attracted strongly to it, however the $400 price tag is too rich for my blood. And really, the inside box is only good for letters, not for boxes, or any care packages that people may send this way.

But I loved it! And the first thing I thought became the title for this blog: Hogwarts Uses Canada Post!

Have a great end of the week, and I hope you don't freeze your asses off in the winter!

I love you!

Cam

Snot Quite What I Expected

Last week I finally decided to try and auction this Karcher Steam Cleaner on Yahoo Auction. We had originally paid about JPY 35,000 ($350) for it at the home center many years ago.

In the old house, using kerosene heat, the entire area would get a thin film of oily greasy dust that was never easy to clean off, and clung to everything. Add to that the mud walls, and you have the perfect conditions for greasy living.

I can't remember exactly when we purchased it, but it may have been a few years before we finally moved out of the old house into this one. We used it for one final steam cleaning of all of the floors, etc. cleaned it up, boxed it up, and never used it again.

We decided to let the auction begin at JPY 8,000. One week later we had amassed 631 people who had accessed it, 59 who put it on their watchlist, and finally sold it for JPY 21,500 (about $215)! We sold it on the auction! Yaaay us!

Today we needed to take it to Lawson's Convenience Store to send it off using the Yahoo YuPack Postal network tie-up (very cool system). I wanted to wrap the box up so decided to use a few of the kimono paper wrapping bags that all of my most recent batch of kimono came in. I went upstairs to the spare room where all of the bags are sitting, grabbed two, and taped them nicely to the outside of the box.

My nose felt a bit runny from the musty smell of all the kimono, but I had kind of expected that. What I didn't expect, however, was that for the next 30 minutes a green, bubbly, frothy liquid kept dripping, and sloshing out of my left nostril! Every time I blew the tissue (*salivation has begun here...*) turned this bizarre yellow-green, and then all of a sudden it would pour ot of my nose!

Thirty minutes later I was finally able to stop the flow, but Mayu had to take the package to my car, and we drove with the windows open to Lawson's in order to get rid of it! And now, just from that 30 minutes of foamy green flow, my nose feels like it is burned as if I had been blowing it for days!

I need to back up a bit here and give you some history now....

***** SHIFT! Back to July *****

In July I got the shingles. I'm still struggling with scars on my face, and a tickling itchy sensation that runs through the nerves on my face, but I guess I can get used to that. However, as the information on shingles says, it can take often over six months to completely heal, and energy is often down, while the immune system is also often compromised for long periods of time.

I have seemingly had one cold after the next from August on. It got especially bad in September, October and November with my sinuses completely clogged, tons of coughing, phlegm and such. I assumed it was due to a compromised immune system. Then in November I started getting severe sinus pressure over the left eye in that sinus cavity, in and around that eye as well. It was so bad that several times I had to sleep because I couldn't do anything. I KNEW it was a sinusitis of sorts as I used to get it regularly as a child because I suffer from a deviated septum in the left nostril which is often the one that gets plugged and has caused me the most trouble through my life.

I wanted to go to the doctor and get antibiotics but that was just at the point where Mayu and I had our "human docking" medical tests and I didn't want to interfere with the testing. As soon as that was done, I went and got five days of antibiotics. It didn't seem to help and I was really wondering what was going on because the pressure in the sinus cavity and my eyeball was intense (left one only, nothing in the right cavity) every day, about the same time of the day (between 2-4pm).

One day while I was doing my ab exercises I noticed the huge amount of dust under the piano, and I thought, "Aha! That must be it!" So we spent a good half day pulling, pushing, rocking and rolling the piano just enough to clean out the dust. It didn't help.

Nearly every day about 3pm I would start to get the pressure headache over my left eye and wondered why. Normally I am here from morning until night, and then shut down about dinner time, and come and go after that. One night I was here reading until 2am and I found that about 1am I started to get the exact same pressure headache! So I knew it had something to do with this room...

To make a long story shorter, eventually it dawned on me that the piles of vintage, MUSTY kimono in the closet next to my computer were causing me to have an allergic reaction! So I took them all upstairs to the spare room, put them away in clear boxes, cleaned out the drawers in my closet, and all of the congestion, all of the headaches, all of the watering eyes, and phlegm, and coughing and general malaise of the past three months disappeared!

And life was good...

**** SHIFT! Back to this morning *****

Well, after having that green frothy, foamy, bubbly, pouring liquid attack coming out of my left nostril and soaking the front of my sweater... I decided to ask Mayu to throw away all those papers!

I soo wanted to use them in a recycled way and let them become my wrapping papers for ages to come. But after that attack... to hell with recycling!

Now it's time to see if I can start another auction to sell off one of our two industrial kerosene heaters that get the rooms so roaringly hot that we have never been able to use them in this house at all! These babies rock!

You may be wondering why we have two... well, one year in February, the coldest month of the year, our old beloved one kind of went on the fritz. And we had no heat exactly when we needed it. We could not live in our house with no heat in the coldest time of the year, for three weeks while they overhauled the components.

But that's life, I guess... Now we have two, and both of them sit in storage so it's time to try and sell them off!

I love you!

Cam

Terror in Mumbai

Last night, Rob (Dunnster) and I had a little chat about what we thought really happened over in Mumbai during the past few days. We both agreed that it couldn't have been some desert bootcamp trained uneducated zealots that alQaeda uses because the operation was too professional. Of course, these were just our thoughts and musings, from two dumb guys with too much free (night) time on our hands.

Then I wrote to my good friend Shivdeep who lives in Chandigarh, India (up north). And we had a good discussion. I wanted to make sure that he, his family, friends, customers were OK. They were. And that is good. Here is the convo. You may be interested in reading the link at the end, as it comes from a different news source than most of us in the west ever read. It is nice to get news from different angles; it helps to see the bigger picture without so many cloudy obfuscation getting in the way. (Did I use that word, properly?)

It seems that the general thought is that the commando attack squad (we like to call them terrorists) acted very much like a specially-trained group of soldiers that were put in place by the American government when Russia was invading Afghanistan. Interesting... Nicaragua, Cuba, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Pakistan..... all forces initially trained to be specialists, by the American government, and then set free... interesting.....

I love you!

Cam

***********************

Shiv,

How are you doing? Did the terror over the past few days in Mumbai shock you? It shocked me.... Are you and your family and friends OK? I hope so.

You know... those 10 guys were WAAAY too professional to be some Afghan Desert Terror camp trainees... The stuff they seem to have pulled off with the professionalism they did it leads me to believe that it was some SOG special operations group ... or a group of mercenaries... They were just too efficient to be your ordinary terrorist.

Tell me what you know that isn't coming out on Propaganda World News...

What does the Indian government and other special interest groups really think happened?

Cam

***********************

Hello Cam

Indeed they were not the regular bomb and run sort of people that we have seen in the past. What they did was quite intense, aggressive and professional. I guess I had trouble sleeping and still do because I have had this sudden realisation that if a person enters a place with an automatic rifle there is not much you can do about it.

Strangely I was thinking about you and how you always wanted to stay at a Taj hotel when you came to India. Overall the government here is saying that these people came from Pakistan (which is likely according to me) through the coastal route and basically they were trained commando style, to be more specific marine commando style. The Government is also saying that they had enough ammo to kill 5000.

It is a massive security breakdown when it comes to India. I hope the government now gets less lax, till now they had been butchering ordinary people on the streets but this time their targets were the high and the mighty. The westerners and the people who apparently matter. There is a lot of anger among the people here now and I just hope that it does not result in some further problems.

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/terrorists-trained-by-special-forces--pounced-killed/79435-3.html

This link echoes your earlier thoughts quite uncannily.

Everyone I know is fine. There is nothing to worry about for me personally. I do some business in Mumbai and all my clients and their families seems to be fine as well. Do let me know of your news and how things are progressing for you.

Regards,

Shivdeep

A Sucker Born Every Minute

I thought I would slip one of these little chocolate sucker guys into every kimono sale I get on Etsy. Just as a little extra thank you! (while quantities last)... Doing my duty to get people high and shaky on cheap chocolate and too much sugar....

These guys are the main characters in the kids' cartoon series, "Anpan Man".

I love you!

Cam