Day 316: Friday, January 20, 2012

This morning I woke up a little later than usual. I put a pot on the stove to make some tea but then realized that I had to take a shit, so I turned off the gas and went to the bathroom. When I was done, I opened the window, and then discovered that it was snowing.

Later I took a walk because it was beautiful out. I made my way over to Akimoto-san’s place and saw him outside. We talked about the weather as well as the Willy exhibition. He mentioned that on the message board outside my house that it said that anyone in the neighborhood could ask for a copy of any picture on display, and I said that was correct. He then asked if he could have the one of his mom with Willy, which left me confused because I had never met her before. After he explained exactly which photo it was, I finally made the connection and said I would make it as soon as possible.

Afterwards I walked over to Nakano Street where I usually buy my lunch, and today since it was snowing, all the bento ladies were huddled in the entrance of an office building seeking shelter, which was very cute. Our houseguest, Naoyuki, and I had lunch together and like always we talked about photography. During these conversations, Naoyuki always ends up regurgitating what his teacher, who is one of the most famous photographers in Japan, has brainwashed him to believe about what is good and bad art, which always makes me mad because art is relative to each person and I know that deep down that is not what Naoyuki really thinks. I ended up retorting that it’s more important to listen to himself than to others regardless of how famous they are because only he knows what’s right for him and what he really wants to do, but to no avail.

After lunch, I went back to work editing Modern Times on the living room floor. Ten minutes in, I was already very irritated because I was having trouble, which was when Ian knocked on the door and then came in. Since I was no longer in a talkative mood, I made no big effort to greet him. While I was hunched over with my back to him, he said, “My dad…” and trailed off. Immediately I felt guilty because I thought it was going to be bad news or something serious, so I turned around and gave him my full attention. He continued, “My dad and I were just talking about you…” which caught me by surprise again. “He and my mom both really like Barnacles. They’ve recently discovered it and have been following it everyday.” When I heard that my cold heart melted instantly and it made me happy- happier than it would hearing the same news from Naoyuki’s insanely famous teacher because, to me at least, it’s not that big of an accomplishment to please people who are just like you with the same interests, but, instead, what’s more meaningful is if you can reach anyone else.