Entries this day: Dream Flash carla_byebye_party

Dream

9:57am JST Sunday 3 December 2006 (day 13402)

At a party and a bad guy came. We didn't know what he looked like, but we knew he would be coming, so when I noticed him (coming to stalk the hostess of the party), when she came back toward the front to meet him (not knowing he was a bad guy), I walked toward her and gave her the finger (which I would never do to her otherwise) and she breathed, "I've got it," as we walked past without making eye contact. She walked past the bad guy also without making eye contact, and I went to the back of the party where a girl was upset that our friend might be in danger.

She was a student, so I didn't know if I could touch her, but she said, "just hug me," so I did and I told her not to worry because our friend knew about the guy even before I told her about the guy, so she must have a plan in mind. I was just making it all up as best case scenarios type stuff, but I didn't actually know if it was true; just hoped it would be true.

For our own safety, we stepped into an elevator to go up out of the building, but it turned out to be a downward-going elevator only, even though we pushed the topmost button, the elevator headed down and stopped at each floor to let on passengers, and people tried to get on, but when I pushed the door-open button, it turned out to be the door close button, and closed the door in their faces. One guy got on anyway, as the elevator was down past his floor and the doors half closed, he slipped in like a flexible shadow, and he showed me why my door open button wasn't working.

When we finally got down to the bottom floor, I didn't recognize anyone as the bad guy, so it seemed we were safe. People down here were pretty close friends, and all computer nerds of some sort. They were preparing a feast of some sort and recreating puzzles and complicated scenes from nature that represented ways the food could have been grown, though it was obviously not a natural fruit or whatever. Like a three tiered cake made of grass that was a miniature three tiered slope of grass fields and goats cutting the grass by eating it and the internals of the slope visible for inspection or consumption.

It was all very cool, and I even got into the spirit by making something, a single layer puzzle made of graham crackers that were cut into jigsaw puzzle shapes with a water laser, the only way to precisely cut graham crackers.

The party was about to begin, and people were snacking on various treats, so I was looking forward to eating, and then I realized I was late to meet Tariq, so I ran upstairs and got there about 5 minutes late and he was like, " you've got to maintain boundaries with these people," as in he was upset with me, but not going to say it particularly harshly. I still felt bad because I am never late, but just after he told us he was going to crack down, I was late. Grr.

Flash

4:16pm JST Sunday 3 December 2006 (day 13402)

Been working on this stupid flash thing all day; I'm mad cause I don't know what I'm doing, as in I haven't taken any flash classes or such.. no real experience in how to go about making things. Just trying shit to see what I can do, and what I can do I know won't match up to Tariq's expectations. Damn.

Have one more hour to work before I'm going to men's group party.

carla byebye party

4:48am JST Monday 4 December 2006 (day 13403)

Last night was Carla's byebye party. (( and she wasn't in tears!! )) It was just 5 hours ago that I was chillin' with her, but I've slept 4 hours since then so I say last night.

She and Maria had a party in Shibuya at The Ruby Room and Sonoma, places I've been to before but didn't remember until I saw them.

Lots of PB peeps there, including Adriana (whose name I remembered this time), Dan (long time no see, brother (last night)), Natalie (with whom I haven't really chatted since her voyage), Jeremy (who I met upon the arrival of 54th voyage), and others I didn't really talk to: Stacy, Yuki, Kentaro, Kyoko-n-Maruan (now married!), Chris (GET Coord for 56), Maho (whose name I only knew because Carla had just said it), Robento (didn't ask about future plans), and Mariko (who I only saw as we were all outside after the bar totally closed on us) and her b/f Hiro (who she introduced as Hirokun, so I was like, "Hiroko?" and then immediately ah shit, of course not! "what???" and I confirmed that she had said Hirokun, which threw off my silly brain. HIRO is the name.) ... and probably others I'm forgetting. Like Tomoyo (who gave Carla a bright orange bracelet with 東京 kanji embroidered on it). あっ! and Levi, the man of the beautiful blue eyes who rode his bicycle from 高田馬場 to 渋や。

Ah jeez, and Carla's "twin" Maria!! It was also her byebye party as well!

Also some NOVA peeps were there: Masayo (whose name I didn't remember, and the guy whose name I never remember, to the point that it's become an embarassing joke, because the last time I didn't remember (pre PB days, so over 20 months ago), he refused to tell me, so this time I didn't remember I didn't even ask, nor talk to him past, "ah shit; no I dodn't remember.")

Mostly I talked with Jeremy's friend Mark, from Melbourne, who was talking to Natalie when I stole up to hug her. She saw me before I could surprise her, and she gave her Natalie-ポイ "I see you" smile. At first I gave hugs to Natalie and Adriana whose name I proudly remembered, and my hugs were complimented, so I offered one to Mark ("I'm an equal opportunity hugger,") who accepted.

I explained the technique: "no pounding pat-pat-pat on the back, but a real solid physical connection with a heart to heart connection to go with it." Mark and I talked about the diffs between Melbourne, Austin, Sydney and Houston. I'm hella proud to be able to have such a discussion. It was his 4th day in Tokyo (just to see Jeremy), and he has a whole itinerary planned for using the JR Pass around Japan from Kyoto to Sapporo.

At the very least, I wanted to sit for hours talking to Carla; I want to hear and share all the stories and all the goodness. We got to say a decent "see you soon" in the street after we were kicked out of Sonoma. She thanked me profusely for having told her about PB (thank you, profusely, Genki Man Dan!) and I thanked her profusely for having shown me how to enjoy life to the fullest (even if I don't implement all her techniques yet); we confirmed we would always be friends, and that I look forward to her stories.

(I was pleasantly surprised when she mentioned Skype as a connection technique!! Carla was computer illiterate when I met her. PB was the first time she used a computer, and we don't have Skype (no internet) on those machines.)

Walked arm in arm with her down the hill and across the street at Book First, surrounded by Tomoyo and others as we tried to catch up with the group. Over a five minute period punctuated with interruptions, as she is hugely popular in any group, we found Levi on his bike across the street as Carla told me how she wanted to see Aiko in Okinawa, but hadn't been able to afford tickets.

Story finished, I disengaged from Carla as I felt obliged to head home and be responsible around the Flash project (and my date). More huge and huger hugs and cheek kisses and kisses to Maria who promised to take care of Carla (as they will be traveling together at first) and watched them go around the corner near the angular police box in the fan of streets behind Shibuya crossing.

Huge props to Carla; thank you; see you; love you.