Day 103 - Moving Day II

Me and Bobo after I wouldn't let go til she smiled

July 19th, 2015

The day begins with me eating these frozen dumplings/gyoza that I have been ignoring for the past week. Bobo knows what they are, and accepts my gyoza gift. “Thank you, God” she says. I am a Gracious God.

Everything is mostly packed and it’s not clear when Lee will show up to give me a ride to my new digs: Shimou’s place. I figured I should go there - at her invitation - instead of pay for another week since Bali is this Wednesday. There’s something about moving out that’s generally depressing to me. A room that used to have personality looks so pathetic when it’s been stripped down and made barren. It’s like the soul has been completely sucked out of it, and, in some sense, it has. I’ve always had a weakness for nostalgia.

Winterland Perth is still going on, apparently

Turns out I had to give 30 days notice to cancel my gym membership, so it looks like I’ll have it until after I’m in China. Bobo intercepted me as I came back to the house, saying goodbye. I gave her a hug, spinning her in the air, and commemorating the moment with a couple bad selfies. Post gym glory on a rainy day. Pathetic fallacy much?

Lee arrived with Ella in tow. He helped me load my stuff into the car. After unloading and putting everything away, I ate the rest of my lunch meat while I can eat bread. Did I mention that I’m able to eat whatever I want one day a week? Shits going to spoil if I don’t eat it now. Ella asks if I want some noodles and seems like she wants me to take it, so I accept. Former housemate Sandra said she wanted me to try the Thai bubble tea and was taking the same line it would take for me to get to town. I want to buy groceries. Two birds with one train.

A restaurant I passed by ("Hello & Welcome")

After forcing myself to quickly eat Ella’s delicious food, I’m on the train and catch Sandra at Perth station, apparently on the same car as me. We talk about Buddhism, as I wondered what the Taiwanese perspective on the Dalai Lama was. She said she didn't really know much, just that some people hated the religion because there was some sex-based rite of passage for the upper levels. Since it’s a higher-level practice, it’s much less likely to be abused than, say, an entry-level passage, right? People at that level of practice would have some idea what they're getting into and would hopefully be consenting adults, right? She points out that there are a lot of people practicing, and some are bound to abuse it. True, but that’s not the religion's fault. Hearing me say this may surprise people if they know me from my undergrad years. My perspective has changed on religion, though I am still not religious. Shh, don't tell anyone. To counter Sandra’s point, I bring up the molestations by priests and current furor around islam, neither of which are written in the holy texts themselves. Generally, it’s someone who wants to be important/have power twisting scripture to manipulate people. Her bus pulls up, and we hug goodbye. The tea was pretty good, and reminds me of hong kong tea I had years ago.

I wander around in search of junk food, but find most of the stores are closed. Damn it. I forgot it was Sunday. An Asian convenience store will do. Back on the train to Shimou & co’s house. Once there, I lay on the bed and relax while reading comics and debating doing more writing and editing. Part of me wants to do nothing, but I've decided that during my stint in Bali, I will do double releases. By the time you're reading this, it'll be over, but that’s a lot of editing. Oh well. Like anything, doing one gets you in the mode and it’s easy to do another five after the momentum starts. Here we go.

Spicy Duck Foot snack that Lee gave to me.
It was very bony.

Idea of the day: I read The Go Giver by Bob Burg and noticed that I had shifted into a scarcity mindset. Things are rare; stuff is hard to come by; don't give too much because you have next to nothing. It’s easy to justify because I'm running out of money, but small gestures go a long way and ultimately won’t break the bank. If you want to be a pragmatist, you'll likely get back whatever you give to people. The laws of the book are basically to help people by giving as much value as you can to everyone. I try to put as much as I can in these blogs. My hope is that they will help people by reading my personal struggle/progression to see that it’s entirely possible for others. I am probably boring, fumble my words, and talk about uninteresting things from time to time, but I’m doing my best and hoping that it reaches someone that finds it useful. What else can we do?

I highly recommend the book, or at least glancing over the “5 Laws of Stratospheric Success.”

Current Listening: "Don't Stop This Train," by Modern Jazz Quartet (couldn't find the much better, longer version, but it's on the album "A Night at the Opera" and just shy of 6 minutes of glory)