ICONIC QUESTS

Back in Santa Barbara winding up a few last-minute quests, such as buying some clothes that fit my foreign body, a few pairs of genuine long-fingered work gloves at Home Depot, whose store could contain several local villages near my house... The gloves actually come in small, medium and large sizes, as actually indicated right there on the package! Judging by the generically sized work gloves in Japan, everyone there has the same size fingers and hands (which isn't true, but don't ask me why nobody asks for gloves that fit); my fingers quickly push through the ends. Got some running shoes that fit my alienly long and narrow feet, too.

I'll be heading back to Japan on Friday, where I'll have time to digest the deep flash of this whole experience. Haven't had much sit-down-solo-and-ponder time here, a blur of iconic quests.

Heard from Keech, now back in Seattle, who with his buddies spent some time in Yosemite on their way back.

And as it happens, the very day I will be leaving, my brother will be going into surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff caused by doing too much real estate fixing-upping. I leave the country for one minute...

Kasumi, Kaya and the twins M&M are now in Shiga; I look forward to seeing them when I return to other of integrities' many forms...