Entries this day: Bah Bike briefly

Bah

1:41pm JST Saturday 28 August 2004

Blah.

Blech.

Barf.

I don't want to study.

I have cracked my book open 3 times.

No energy for studying.

Don't know why.

Can think of several things that will help my studies; things I should do first. But... it's all just a charade; I don't want to study.

And I'm such a proponent of studying when I talk to my students. I get mad at students who don't study.

Bike

3:48pm JST Saturday 28 August 2004

Just went to the bike shop with Hitomi (during an extended remix lunch break during the day today) and the range of bike prices that I'm looking at is 160,000 - 200,000 yen (including all the upgrades (seat, saddlebags, etc) Hmm.

5800 yen for a lock.

11:40pm

After talking with Andrew about bike options, I don't think I want to get one of the cyclocross bikes (the above mentioned price). Cause when I went back and asked the guy if I could ride the bike down stairs he was like, "no."

I like to ride my bike down stairs. If, while I'm tooling around Tokyo, I can't ride down stairs, I don't want to ride. I would destroy the bike. Andrew says, "well, you have no choice, mate; you've got to get a mountain bike." Or a hybrid.

briefly

12:05am JST Sunday 29 August 2004

Briefly, cause I want to go to bed:

Today was the day my Saturday schedule for some reason had a huge gap in it so I closed the lessons (yesterday) and invited Hitomi to meet me and go to Nakameguro to scope the bikes at the bike place.

She did so, and I really appreciate her time.

We hung out in Denny's for a bit after that and didn't study, but I read the bike catalogues at what I might want to buy.

Went back to Jiyugaoka and tried to find internet access at McDonald's where they advertise they have free broadband wireless access, but either (1) it requires a password and the staff member didn't know the password, or (2) the password-requiring signal was not McDonald's and the McDonald's signal was elsewhere, non-existant, etc and the staff member didn't know. Hitomi tried to find out but it was not to happen.

Found the bike shop and when I was like, "I want to ride from here to France," they laughed. I was like, fuck off and nearly walked straight back out, which I would have done had Hitomi not been there, but I knew she wouldn't walk out like that and I didn't think I could quickly explain how that laughter meant they had no idea it is possible and much less any idea what bike could do it and much less do they have such a bike.

But it was more than that. That laugh pissed me off because it mirrors my own fears that I won't be able to do it, or that I'll just give up on this idea. Yet another *Big Idea* left to rot.

Not yet not yet; I'm still on this one.

- - - -

Today is *also* the day Shoko asked me to take some pics of her to send to a guy she has the hots for. Or something. The pics were fully clothed, polite, etc.

- - - -

Today is *also* the day I got Wende's wedding announcement. Throat lump. Nearly cried to see her name next to some other guy's name. That could have been me. I gave that up to be here.

- - - -

Now I *have* to ride across China and Europe. To make it worth breaking up with Wende.