while I’m being vague, it’s because…
Coming back from the Hot Springs with guests seeing me off and guest welcoming me back home upon roundabout barely-survived arrival with several more groups following and several more groups on tap, collectively filling my exhausted head with gratitude for all the people come to visit us (as there’s so much time I felt disappeared)
But to continue to be interesting, there’s a balance, ya see there’s this creative soul that needs a bit of nurturing as the time away sparked a mighty geyser of projects to start, move along and finish… Yet at the same time, I’m physically, mentally and emotionally wiped the effff out
And of course, as I always remind myself and others, my {obnoxiously inserting and often incorrectly use Japanese term} ikigai is being a great husband and dad, and in order to do that I need to take diligent care of my health which means all the medications, injections and sleep routines and oxygen and pacing and blah blah blah
Annnd, part of being a great husband and Papa is also getting things done around the house that I can do easily at my pace (laundry, dishes, rice and tea, bath and other DIY tasks), and as importantly, being fun, Yep… I know I seem fun right ha ha but I mean using the energy pellets, limited as they are, to do things with the family as there are many activities that I simply can’t do and have to bow out
Of late: We did an outing to a big band jazz festival, we’ve got a trip lined up for a single day visit to expo 2025 in Osaka (the world fair that no one seems to know about), there are preschool activities to the end of the year, there’s some family swimming lessons/pool time and a few other micro excursions
And about all that creative stuff: I’m doing it! in tiny little snippets of time: poetry chapbook and/or zines; various videos – both long and meandering and comfortable but may be lacking a point, as well as short, succinct and purposeful; and (secretly) I’m making some songs as a way to understand how to connect the wires from audio interfaces into old refurbished robots, and play along with myself with ukulele, guitar, spoken – singing and drums ~~ it’s tricky pushing the buttons and playing along with (especially since I always insist on complicated time signature is) myself but “I’ve got this gift “meaning I’ve got things to say and I really want to them
All this is a way of saying “I can’t use my pellets telling you are fantastic – but I’ll try to remind you by a postcard from time to time (especially you, you know who you are) and please know all these things I’m making, I’m making to try to surprise you, impress you, amuse, inspire you, delight you – does it work?
In the meanwhile, here are further evidences of existence:
- made a batch of egg carton, soy wax, & sawdust fire starters, with added benefit of pinecones, various herbs and aromatics – learned from my mother, made with my son
- made batch of “Misasa Sojourn poetry and musings” zines, each one with minor imperfections, printed, folded and cut from a single A3 washi sheet with a bit of binding and finishing
- repaired two knives which a few days ago had broken handles and rusty blades and, thanks to laugh-in with a hilarious wizard codger in an otherwise tidy hardware shop are now refurbished and lovely (and even used to cut the delicate paper above)
- purchased a fountain pen, Sailor brand made in Hiroshima, an innovator of the cartridge and the plastic barrel with lovely gold knives as a special gift for a Beat professor for his retirement (in lieu of a fishing vest), the sparkles make up for the lack of inscription
Please accept my humble offerings
