After waking up very early & very disoriented for the second time in a row & having another night of weird dreams (not precipitated by fiery wasabi or vindaloo like in Tokyo or London…)…
I’m just now realizing how little I was talking/listening while I was away & spending many days solo. My broken Japanese probably had my word output averaging under 150….Unless I stumbled upon an especially chatty gaijin traveller or enthusiastic English-learning kids
(which didn’t happen at all at the 2nd hostel, it was primarily a Korean businessman’s reststop)…& the language barrier kept me from one of my first loves…eavesdropping…
Although I could understand that the freaky dread-wearing & orange-tanned clubbing teens
were squealing over the same things that I’d overhear working at Urban Outfitters, I just couldn’t enjoy the embarassing & gory details…&, in turn, ended up zoning out - not to iPod land either, I made a concerted effort to listen to everything - traffic, advertisements, sirens, nature, and people…but the chatter mushed into a small part of the hum of the city & I daydreamed around it…
Not that I was a complete hermit, but I was pretty much deaf/dumb to the world on the eves/afternoons/mornings when I wasn’t hanging out with Aya, which consisted of two long afternoons that I was lucky to share with a Tokyo pro & University of Texas alum, one spent in kooky-trendy Harajuku & one spent at the Tower of Tokyo 
& in chaotic Shibuya
; or Toshi & Hiro, which included three very beautiful, restful and indulgent latenight weekday dinners that will forever stand out - aside from the amazing road trip around Japan on the weekend- as a great times to hear their thoughts on life, family, partners, careers, work and friendship…& of course, music & movies
& books.
It was surreal seeing Toshi & Hiro ‘after work’ since our living together in Texas. Back in the day, they were the ones with flexible schedules as students - cooking up a storm, roasting DVDs & CDs, wrapping up dissertations & coursework, going out mad-late on weekday nights & taking risks on weird concerts. My whining about non-traditional/long hours & working events/weekends seem pretty petty after thinking about how many hoops they must’ve jumped through to get a Friday off work….
Anyway, this post was intended to say that I have been dreaming with the sound off - no language whatsoever - for two nights in a row & it’s a bit off-putting. Figures come & go & they’re usually unrecognizable, I’m usually in transit or lost or both. I’m sure it will pass, but until I re-calibrate my word output - I’m sure that this helps, too - I don’t expect ‘talkies’ anytime soon….
Peace
meegs
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