Battle Hymn of the Apartment (4b)

"Luminous" Meinohama, Fukuoka, Japan - When you stop caring, you often do your best work. Or at least the most enjoyable work. I remember a hockey game when I was in Bantam. It was either in a tournament or actually more likely a one- off exhibition game. We were playing against St.Bruno and thus were expected to win, being from the big city (Jonquiere) and all. My defensive partner and I decided it would be fun to play the whole game skating like goalies. You know, short, stomping strides. I think we also yelled out ridiculous words or sounds whenever we went into the corner with an opposing player. That worked surprisingly well, throwing them off guard and taking them out of the play. Much more effective than my 110 lbs. body checks. The other guy gave up skating silly after a while but I kept it up for most of the game.I probably enjoyed myself more that game than almost any other I played. I usually couldn't enjoy the games in the moment for reasons including, but not limited to, my over-competetiveness, being surrounded by teenage boys and adult hockey coaches (both members of intersecting sets) who are generally assholes, the pressure of my father watching from the stands, and general teenage unhappiness. I scored a goal and got two assists.

My time in Meinohama was kind of bonus time. After deciding to leave Nagasaki, the company I was working for asked me to fill in for a couple of months in Meinohama, a part of Fukuoka city just on the outer reaches of the center of the city (NDG like?maybe further out than that?Not rich but nice and family oriented while still only 15 minutes on the subway from downtown.). I said I'd do it as long as I could still take a planned trip to Vietnam. They said sure and threw in some extra cash, and a free apartment. Ok! You win!

 Compared to Nagasaki the apartment was huge. The bathroom and the kitchen were nowhere near each other and where I slept and where I ate almost felt like two different rooms. Clean, bright and despite there being no restaurants or bars within walking distance it was a pretty good place to live.

I came back from Vietnam bearded, tanned, and refreshed. At the new school I had no obligations toward or entanglements with the staff or the students and I could just teach unencumbered. It was nice to be in a city again as well. If I could live anywhere, it would be Fukuoka. Perfect size, beaches, weather, conveniences, hot ladies, and good food. Relaxed and happy, I realized I like teaching, quite a bit. I'm good at it. It seems to be a useful thing to do. It makes some difference in people's lives and allows you to do a bit of thinking. Not bad at all.