Return to Normalcy?

So it's been a little over a month now since my return. Japan has now started to seem surreal, much like home seemed surreal when I was there. I find that I ask myself, "Was I really there?"

Yes, yes I was. It was an incredible experience. It will shape the rest of my life, I'm sure. Even now, I find myself launching into a story that starts with, "When I was in Japan..." with some sort of obscure and rambling anecdote following. I had an interview about Japan actually. She wrote everything down. I think it filled three or four notebook pages.

So things have settled back into my normal life. I go to class, do homework, call friends, go out, you know, all that good college kid stuff. But then I realize that this is my last year. No, not even a year, 6 months. I graduate in June. Weird.

I finally have my big computer back. This thing is huge compared to the computer that I've been using for the past 4 months. However, my car broke. Transmission. Balls. You win some, you lose some. So it goes, as I've become fond of saying. My father called me on that saying. He asked where it was from. I told him. He was suitably impressed. This, of course, launched us into a discussion of literature. Both he and I think Cat's Cradle and Slaughterhouse 5 are necessary reading. I added Sirens of Titan, but that one is optional. He mused about passing the made up title of something about Literature Expert or something silly to me. I'm slowly becoming my father. This isn't a bad thing, I suppose. He's healthy, happy, and about to get married actually. Weird. I'm his best man. I should start to think about a speech.

When I was talking to Dad, I told him of my job prospects. He said that it was truly unfortunate that I happen to be entering the job market at roughly the same time as he had 30+ years ago in the mid-seventies. He started to ask questions about the jobs; I didn't know how to answer. I told him what I could, but I'm just starting this real world person stuff. He agreed that this was the time for me to have an adventure. I'm single, with no real prospects, I'm used to living in small spaces, I don't have that much stuff. He figured that as long as I have enough money to pay the bills, buy food, and have some left over for a little bit of entertainment, I should be golden.

It's a little romantic to be able to tell people, "I have no idea where I'll be in 9 months." It's also incredibly nerve-wracking. Oh well,
So it goes.