Meet the Empress
For my very first official job in Japan, I worked without pay for the first 30 days. It was an agreement I made with Lena, the owner of a...
The still point of the turning world
finished the zoom marathon and it's time for me to post up a quick comment and photograph for today. I have to be honest and say that I'm...
The poet's curse
Today’s post isn't a story but a reflection. Don't try too hard to make sense of my words if they don't seemed clear. Your experience...
Turn off the lights!!!!!!
Shogo was a construction worker and kind of a comical Japanese redneck. He was also a very loyal and generous friend. That's why I was...
My green card marriage
I took this picture a few days ago. It looks like this young couple just got married. The father doesn't look too happy. Maybe that's his...
How I got a Japanese visa
My horrible experience at the immigration office filled me with a kind of desperation. I had another three months to make this work, but...
Eleven is the unluckiest number
During two of the greatest disasters in my lifetime, I was away from home. The first was 9/11. As those two airplanes were making their...
The good life
For the past 140 something days I've been writing bits and pieces of my life. I don't know why but it's very easy to write about hardship...
I rose from the ice and flames of hell
On the morning of my flight back to Tokyo, I sat in the waiting area of Incheon airport and thawed out my frozen body. Little did I know...
My machine guns say it's time for you to leave
Out of the frying pan and into the fire is a common saying we all know. I had jumped from the heat of the mobster situation. I could have...
