March 09, 2009
Losing my mind
A funny thing happens when you uproot a 17-year-old mid-western lad who lived his entire life in a town of 1,100 people, and you plop him in an Asian metropolis of 23 million people. The funny thing that happens is, he loses his mind. Believe me, it's not pretty.
This picture was the perfect storm of unfortunate circumstances. Obviously, my face is riddled with stress acne, and my smile has all the combined concerns of the last three weeks etched upon it. Also, that very week, I had been touring Kamakura, and I lost a damned contact lens (keeping in mind, this was back in the day when you had one pair, period). So, I had to rely on the "Twin Windshields of Doom" to get me by until new prescription contacts could be sent from the States. The only way I could have looked more uncomfortable in this picture was if there was a ninja standing behind me about to lop off my head.
As horrible as this picture, it really drives home just how out of my element I actually felt. Try to imagine, a gawky, overwhelmed teenage boy walking around Tokyo with his jeans pinned around his ankles. I stood out, man. Like a sore thumb just struck by a hammer.
Oh, also, I was in an all boys school, with a dress code. So, you know, keep that in mind.
Posted by Ryan at March 9, 2009 07:34 PM | TrackBackYou also appear to have begun the slow painful process of losing your hair. That sucks.
Posted by: Jeff_McAwesome at March 9, 2009 08:31 PMIt wasn't all that slow, and it wasn't all that painful. It was just something that happened. And I dealt with it, in an odd sort of way. But that's a different story.
Posted by: Ryan at March 9, 2009 09:37 PMI think you were just cute as hell in your pictures, and now I feel like a creepy cougarish old lady, heh.
I'm kinda enjoying it, lol.
Oh, you put up a tough front. But I'm sure you're crying on the inside.
Posted by: Jeff_McAwesome at March 10, 2009 07:52 PMIs it just this picture, or are your ears slightly uneven?
Posted by: Joshua at March 10, 2009 11:26 PMMy ears are uneven.
If you look at my face in general, you'll see it's pretty uneven, right down to the teeth.
Posted by: Ryan at March 11, 2009 08:42 AM"I think you were just cute as hell in your pictures, and now I feel like a creepy cougarish old lady, heh.
I'm kinda enjoying it, lol." Donna
I don't know who Donna is, but I'm finding I agree with her. It's like she read my mind.
Posted by: Tina at January 25, 2011 11:15 AM
Stumble It!
