premature hybernation

so the mittens only lasted 3 days. no, actually only 2...i just pretended they were useful on that last day. the cold was short-lived and left in the same way that it arrived: abruptly. i actually started turning my heat on at night, and then one morning i left my apartment wearing too many clothes (another one of those didnt-check-the-forecast days)...it was almost like winter had come and gone while i was asleep and now it was spring. but i wasnt the only one tricked; i spotted several puffy coats and even an earmuffs sighting during last week`s `frost`.

now for the past 4-5 days it`s been around 60-70 degrees, even after sunset. it`s hard to believe it`s december when people are surfing on a warm beach 10 minutes away from me. winter in kyushuu doesnt sound so amazing anymore. i already have nice weather, beautiful clear starry nights (i found a constellation map for the month), fairly warm beaches, ocean and mountain views everywhere i look including from inside my apartment...i might actually miss this little city someday.

but ive always been a winter=snow=snow for the holidays fan so in between the traditional end of year celebrations i`m planning to spend a few days in the snowy western mountains for some cross country skiing, snowshoeing, and of course hot springs :) maybe itll be winter in hitachi by the time i get back.

........

saw a brown person in ayukawa tonight. he was definitely brown black, not brown indian. i got to this big intersection just moments before the light changed and he drove by in his japanese car, and considering the look on his face as he stared back at me, several times, he was probably wondering the same thing i was: what in the world are you doing in hitachi? probably just driving thru after spending the weekend in the tohoku area, now on his way back to tokyo. but what if he was headed towards the yamaya? :) unfortunately i didnt look back to see; he caught me completely off-guard and there was nowhere he could stop and pullover anyway. my first non-asian foreigner encounter up here in ibaraki and it too is unexpected and fleeting.