After a night spent reading my journal from when I started it back in 2002 up until I came home from Japan in 2006, I can officially say that a.) I’m glad I’m no longer a twenty-something, b.) I’m SO glad I went to Japan and grew the hell up (well, at least a little) and c.) I miss Japan like a phantom limb.
Christopher Barzak
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Christopher Barzak 
Usually kittens bring sweetness and light but in the week or so since Yuki and Kokoro came to live with you I notice your posts have become darker. I wonder, is it the grittiness and ennui of the city or baby demon cats?
Seriously though – thank you for expanding my vocabulary – I have learned three Japanese words yuki, kokoro and sabishii. Sabishii in particular engaged my interest – I don’t think there is an English equivalent.
I looked the definition up in the “Cojak Hanzi” dictionary which because of my age and dorkiness I will now refer to as the Kojak Fonzi dictionary.
I think you need to come to Cleveland for “Tsunami Thursday” at Sushi Rock – 1/2 price sushi and music so loud it makes everything irrelevant.
The kittens are bringing sweetness and light, but I’m in the midst of final edits on my next novel, set in Japan–hence all the Japanese words lately, I think–and I think I’ve just reached my fill of the political stuff that’s around at the moment. Tsunami Thursday sounds awesome, but tonight I have to go on the Louie Free radio show. I hope he doesn’t ask me to talk politics! 😉
Oh and, Sabishii–closest English equivalent is lonesome.
🙂
It is a great word – I am going to add it to my collection of favorite words.
Your friends in Japan miss you a lot, too. So try to visit here again, maybe for our local cons. SF Seminar in May 3rd, for example, is willing to pay you some, if you give us a lecture or join our panel discussion. I’ll try and find some tidbit works for you again, probably enough to pay the flight. Also you can see a bunch of our fans at Wiscon or Worldcon in Denver. Maybe for those your publisher can split the flights. So don’t despair. Japan won’t vanish nor sink.
Oh, thank you, Yoshio! I will try to come for the seminar in May if I can! But if I can’t, I will definitely visit Japan again. I absolutely have to, many times over and over again for the rest of my life, hopefully.