Not much new

Hi folks,

I'm still in Tsuda staying with the Kawamata family. I've had a fairly quiet week, spent a lot of time studying. I've setup my computer so I can make music on it, and I'm working on a song. It's been great to do something creative again because I put that on hold while I was at uni.

The other day I was looking for the vacuum cleaner and I couldn't find it. It turns out that Obajaan (the grandmother of the family) is a big fan of the Giants (a baseball team), and the Giants lost their game. They've been on a bit of a losing streak recently, and Obajaan got cranky and chucked the vacuum cleaner out the first floor window. Apparently she has a history of doing this, and the vacuum cleaner has been to the repair shop many times. I'm told the father of the family also has a penchant for hurling the vacuum cleaner when his favourite soccer team loses games. I'm looking forwards to seeing it happen, I slept through the last episode, I hope to get some exciting photos if it happens again :)

Last week I built a platform for storing hay on. It took a long time because I have to do a lot of cleaning and a lot of digging, but I'm happy with the job I did. I also remodelled part of their garden. Living here is like a bogan version of one of those backyard renovation shows, everything is done on zero budget and so recycled materials are used exclusively (with the exception of the bamboo which we grow here). So there are a lot of things stacked up on bricks and tied together with twine. When I was a kid I used to like these stories about a guy called Rusty Rimkin, he was a pack rat trash collector, he flew around in a hot air balloon made from junk, lived in a house made of junk, etc. The work I've been doing reminds me of those stories. I'm bringing a kind of Mad Max aesthetic to this backyard, it's great. As part of the process I've also learned how to make a fire that shoots flames four metres into the air, using nothing but bamboo. It sounds like a gas stove when it's really going.

No new photos this week but I'll make certain I put some up next week.

Bye,

James