Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah
I spent my thirtieth birthday singing all day -- really -- from 80's New Wave songs in the first few hours of the morning as I procrastinated sleeping, to J-Pop/J-Rock in the afternoon while working on my computers, to Evanescence and Nakashima Mika while driving back from dinner with my sister Cathy, to Hayashibara Megumi and Norah Jones as midnight struck. Nothing compares to driving down the highway, singing. That's my bliss.
I know I said I was going to fast for my birthday. I managed to go for about a day and a half without food. I meant to fast through the weekend, but Cathy wanted to take me out to Kaygetsu, an excellent Japanese kaiseki ryouri restaurant hidden in away in a quiet residential community in Menlo Park. Our love of food is our best common ground, and still I was surprised when Cathy took me to a restaurant that served exactly what I wanted. (Finding a good restaurant in the South Bay is like finding money in a pair of washed jeans: a welcome surprise that happens only once in many, many loads of dirty laundry.)
Unlike typical strongly flavored/heavy American Japanese food -- chicken teriyaki, shrimp tempura, ramen -- kaiseki ryouri is formal (high-end) Japanese food known for its subtle flavoring. The experience is as much ceremony as eating. The foods are simple, mostly vegetables, but the flavors are amazing. Each piece of food has a light, yet complex flavor you just cannot find in any other restaurant dining experience. Our six course prix fixe meal was excellent, and I will be post a detailed review with pictures later this week. It was so good...
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I took the day off, spending most of the day playing an soon-to-be-released massively multiplayer online game, migrating data between hard drives, and Dr. Frankenstein-like transplanting parts between my old computer and the one I bought/built yesterday. I've always built my personal computers by hand. The transition from Lego's to computers was natural. There's a wonderful sense of satisfaction about actually being able to use your creations that conventional artists will never never understand.
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Thank you for all very much the warm comments and emails -- XOXOXO. My phones were also ringing non-stop today. My baby sister Aimie in New Zealand called me right after midnight, Pacific time. We always call each other at midnight the day of each other's birthdays. My Dillon even called. Dillon says all the growing up you do for the entire year happens in one night, the night before your birthday, as you sleep. The world keeps growing up, and here I am, just a boy up too late and suddenly one year older.
I may indeed be one messed up boy, just out there in comparison, but at the end of today, I'm certain I can say, at least I'm doing things right.
Nothing has gone as planned. Who would imagine I would spend the morning hours of my thirtieth birthday playing as Peter Pan the Pirate Mouse? ^_^ (Yes, very silly. Too much time spent playing Square-Disney's Kingdom Hearts this past week...) I certainly imagined of a different Today, a lifetime ago. I have changed over the years, and my path has changed, and I am exactly where I want to be today, and I will be singing tomorrow. I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each. Fuck them. I'm singing my own song.
Everyone is so quick to accredit everyone else for their misery and happiness. Every decision and indecision we make shapes our story, and we are the only ones ultimately responsible. I proudly present my story.
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Perfection is in just Being. The Girls complain, "You never smile [in your pictures.]" I only smile in earnest. Even then, smiling is an act of sharing, giving up a piece of light. When I'm happiest, I'm usually just in the company of myself, and there is no need or desire to share. Sometimes, when I'm really happy, when the World and All the Stars are in the heavens, I breathe deeply, and smiling would cheapen immortality. In that moment, I'm in on The Secret, and sharing would break the spell.
I know I said I was going to fast for my birthday. I managed to go for about a day and a half without food. I meant to fast through the weekend, but Cathy wanted to take me out to Kaygetsu, an excellent Japanese kaiseki ryouri restaurant hidden in away in a quiet residential community in Menlo Park. Our love of food is our best common ground, and still I was surprised when Cathy took me to a restaurant that served exactly what I wanted. (Finding a good restaurant in the South Bay is like finding money in a pair of washed jeans: a welcome surprise that happens only once in many, many loads of dirty laundry.)
Unlike typical strongly flavored/heavy American Japanese food -- chicken teriyaki, shrimp tempura, ramen -- kaiseki ryouri is formal (high-end) Japanese food known for its subtle flavoring. The experience is as much ceremony as eating. The foods are simple, mostly vegetables, but the flavors are amazing. Each piece of food has a light, yet complex flavor you just cannot find in any other restaurant dining experience. Our six course prix fixe meal was excellent, and I will be post a detailed review with pictures later this week. It was so good...
---
I took the day off, spending most of the day playing an soon-to-be-released massively multiplayer online game, migrating data between hard drives, and Dr. Frankenstein-like transplanting parts between my old computer and the one I bought/built yesterday. I've always built my personal computers by hand. The transition from Lego's to computers was natural. There's a wonderful sense of satisfaction about actually being able to use your creations that conventional artists will never never understand.
---
Thank you for all very much the warm comments and emails -- XOXOXO. My phones were also ringing non-stop today. My baby sister Aimie in New Zealand called me right after midnight, Pacific time. We always call each other at midnight the day of each other's birthdays. My Dillon even called. Dillon says all the growing up you do for the entire year happens in one night, the night before your birthday, as you sleep. The world keeps growing up, and here I am, just a boy up too late and suddenly one year older.
I may indeed be one messed up boy, just out there in comparison, but at the end of today, I'm certain I can say, at least I'm doing things right.
Nothing has gone as planned. Who would imagine I would spend the morning hours of my thirtieth birthday playing as Peter Pan the Pirate Mouse? ^_^ (Yes, very silly. Too much time spent playing Square-Disney's Kingdom Hearts this past week...) I certainly imagined of a different Today, a lifetime ago. I have changed over the years, and my path has changed, and I am exactly where I want to be today, and I will be singing tomorrow. I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each. Fuck them. I'm singing my own song.
Everyone is so quick to accredit everyone else for their misery and happiness. Every decision and indecision we make shapes our story, and we are the only ones ultimately responsible. I proudly present my story.
---
Perfection is in just Being. The Girls complain, "You never smile [in your pictures.]" I only smile in earnest. Even then, smiling is an act of sharing, giving up a piece of light. When I'm happiest, I'm usually just in the company of myself, and there is no need or desire to share. Sometimes, when I'm really happy, when the World and All the Stars are in the heavens, I breathe deeply, and smiling would cheapen immortality. In that moment, I'm in on The Secret, and sharing would break the spell.