What ever this guy is doing I’ll double it and send out to my peeps in Japan.

Ottawa Update 36

Yo, I’m back.

I’ll have to check the Guinness Book of World Records, but I’m almost positive that what has happened since we last spoke was quite possibly the fastest three weeks in all of human history. I can’t believe that time has ever gone by faster than what I’ve just experienced. If I could have one wish in life it would be to gain some kind of understand of how time works and then try figure out a way to use to my advantage.

I’m certainly not doing that now. I am always crazy busy these days and likely wouldn’t be writing you today either, but I just felt I had to after what went down in my beloved little Japan last Friday.

It is no secret to anyone who knows a little about the place, that the four things the Japanese most fear are tsunamis, earthquakes, nuclear fallout (be it from bombs or blown out reactors) and Godzilla type monsters climbing out of the ocean and destroying Tokyo. Now here they have three of the four rolled into one kick ass, yet somewhat tragic, event unfolding minute by minute on our TV screens.

Horrible as it all is, from a purely spectator point of view, you just can’t beat a disaster that happens in a part of the world where every single citizen is always attatched to at least one HiDef camera and loves using them like the Japanese do. There certainly is no shortage of rad new footage coming out of the country. And through it I’m also starting to understand exactly why my mother never let me play with tsunamis in the house. Those things can do some serious damage when pointed in the wrong direction.

I should say that Risa, her family and everyone else I know are all okay. I should also say it’s hard to really put into words exactly how shitty I feel at not being able to be there to help her out in any way at this time.

After talking to people many, many people in Japan this past weekend, I’m slowly discovering that it isn’t so much the horrific events that tsunamis and earthquakes inflicted upon people that causes them the most distress in situations like this. Of course they cause untold hardships, but we can all overcome a single life changing event.

What is the worst is the long term uncertainty that comes along with these events. When people can’t sleep because they don’t know if the next earthquake is going to be the ‘big one’ or if they are too afraid to take an elevator again or if they think that they will never be able to buy food again. It is when all those little things that we do every day and take for granted and never gave much thought to suddenly become almost life and death type decisions that people start to crack.

Anyways, I guess that if this had to happen there really isn’t a better country that this could have happened to than Japan. Japan is rich, they have been preparing for this for decades, they have the US military right there ready and waiting to help out and most importantly they are a peaceful, cooperative, sacrificing people who will beat whatever get thrown at them.

Wow, what a year it’s been! North Africa is in flames, airport bombings in Moscow, New Zealand second biggest city in rubble and half of Japan obliterated. I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait for April start.

It is kind of sad that it took an epic disaster like this to get me back here, but then again this whole blog is about my life and till this point there isn’t a much bigger disaster going on anywhere than it is. Till we meet again, take care and don’t ever forget to remeber how lucky you are.

Dan.