weird sunday

I had a really confusing day yesterday. I woke up rather tired, even though I had plenty of sleep, more than 7 hours. While making breakfast I left the kitchen once or twice and noticed my bag lying in a spot that’s not so easy to see from where I was preparing my meal. “Don’t forget your bag when leaving the kitchen” I said to myself at least three times.

Around 12:00 I went downstairs to have a shower. I carried my laundry to the laundry room and threw everything into a washing machine on my way. Pretty good so far. As I was about the enter the shower, I noticed that I didn’t bring a towel… So I went back to my room to get that, and saw the bag that I mentioned before (for carrying around food) still lying in the kitchen. I finally brought it back to my room this time, I got my towel and had a shower. Already two things that I screwed up thus far.

About an hour later I was about to take my laundry out of the machine. That was when I remembered that I didn’t add any washing powder before starting the machine ^_^; One more round of laundry then - this time with powder. I went out to do some grocery shopping, returning about 30 minutes later. I did some financial planning (is that the right expression in English?) and hung out in my room for a while.

Another 4 hours later I got this strange feeling, that I might have forgotten something …LAUNDRY! Here in our sharehouse you’re supposed to clear the washing machines right away if possible, so other people can use them (max. 90 minutes after the machine stopped). Luckily none of the other machines were occupied, so I didn’t get in anyones way by leaving it there for the whole afternoon.

What a great day…

a stroll along the river

After this troublesome afternoon, I went for a stroll around the neighborhood, enjoying the already very dark evening (it was only a little after 5pm). There’s a river nearby and it was fascinating to see how peaceful such a crowded city can be. I’ve seen a lot of joggers, people waking their dogs, riding home from various club-activities, someone was playing the guitar and there was even someone practicing martial arts outside.

Close to the martial arts guy there was someone playing a whistle or flute. He was either a beginner, just playing whatever felt right to him, or he might have been playing an Arabic tune of sorts. I’m not used to these kind of harmonies and scales, but I enjoyed it none the less. The unfamiliar melody was accompanied by the constant chirping of cicdas, complementing the scenery of the dark and spacious path next to the river. The only source of light was the moon, appearing unusually large and in a dark-yellow / orange color that evening, and the fact that I couldn’t see, but only hear the flute player made the atmosphere even more beautiful. Without realizing how much time really passed by, I stayed at that place for a while.

(It’s hard to capture the moon with your smartphone camera)

I love how nobody gives you that annoyed look when you’re doing something that’s “out of the norm”, like the one that you get in smaller towns like where I am from. I know, you’re supposed to just not care about these people, but it’s still an unpleasant feeling… If anyone reacts to what you’re doing in Tokyo, it’s either with fascination or encouragment. Everyone here seems to know that you’ll annoy your neighbors, if you practice your instrument at home, so there aren’t too many options on where to go. If people don’t like what you’re doing, they just walk on.

It’s hard to figure out the reason behind this difference in thinking - maybe it’s the anonymity of the city, the religion or something cultural. Perhaps it’s a mix of it all and some factors I forgot.

I might go there and play my ocarina or guitar there sometime. I want to learn Arrietty’s song and watch the anime to it until then. This has been stuck in my head all day…