3 posts tagged “murakami”

The things that occupy our time. We know they are large, important, cycle-sucking. But once you mention them to someone, say them out loud, these things seem to lose their power, their heft, their thorniness. That’s part of the magic of dialoguing: thoughts that are kept internal constantly keep you in a state of worry, gnawing at your attention like the throbbing of a stubbed toe. Once you say them, communicate them, you release that energy – the anxiety and worry surrounding that thought – and theoretically you feel more at ease. It’s a positive thing.

I’ve found for the most part this is true, and it is certainly good practice for a retentive, secretive, non-communicative type like me, but along with this little release comes a bit of a letdown, because just how overwhelming, stressful and soul-leaching these things are I am unable to convey. They don’t seem all that when I say them. Maybe it’s the way I describe them. Or maybe they aren’t all that big to begin with, and I’m just botching the management of my time.

“So, what you been up to?”

“Same old. The job, Mitsuki, family and the house.”

“You said that last time. You doing anything for fun?”

“Not a whole lot. A little writing, very little blogging.”

“You still doing music?”

“Just listening, studying. Not actual playing. It’s been a while.”

“Man, you were always into music.”

“Well, I still am, but in a different way now.”

Anyhow, that is all a long lead-in to where I am presently. Work has been kicking my butt for the last several weeks months. But my company has a shutdown for the week (July 4th and then some), so I am writing this from the cozy confines of a local coffee shop called It’s a Grind [Yelp]. Verbal frequents here. He said it’s a free Wifi hotspot, and the people are nice. And man, isn’t it true? The staff here is awesome. Fifteen minutes after my tall soy Carmel Macchiato was delivered to me, the girl behind the counter checked up on me, even remembering my name. Now if that doesn’t warm you up fifteen times more than your heated blueberry muffin, I don’t know what will. (She’s a student at the local state college, studying business and marketing.)

The chair I’m ensconced in smells nicely of leather, though it’s meant for relaxing rather than writing on a laptop. Perhaps once I’m done here, I will continue working my way through Haruki Murakami’s new book After Dark [Amazon], which I picked up yesterday. With some time to kill (after I dropped off Mitsuki at day care, and before all the shops opened), I snuck into Border’s hoping to find a cheap magazine to consume. But I came away with this new novel, which I had no idea of, instead.

After another 30 minutes, I shall return home. (I was trying to run into Verbal, since he mentioned he might be here at this coffee shop, but alas, he – being on call – is working from home.) I have a list of to-do’s around the house, which I am determined to finish.

Buy popsicle sticks
Clean the garage (1-2 days)
Buy vanity lightbulbs from the special lightbulb store
Clean the bathtub Jacuzzi with the system cleaner
Cut the grass (both)
Fix the toilet paper holder
Improve the side gate latch
Wash the window screen in the bathroom
Wash refrigerator shelves
Wash kitchen floor
Secure Ikea bookcase
Vacuum armoires
Clean clothes closets

So I’d better watch the clock and not spend too much time here – though it’s all too tempting – considering my time mis-management and all.

Ciao, for now.

I’ve always been big on lists, and the end of the year is always the time for these sorts of things.

Here are some of my "finds" of 2006. They aren’t necessarily new or even things you can buy. More like discoveries.

Vox.

The beautiful people I’ve found on Vox have restored some of my faith in humanity, and reminded me that:

• the world is large (I now keep in touch with people in the UK, Australia, the Philippines, and Malaysia, for starters);
  
• it is full of bright, open, creative, thinking people;
  
• America is not the world, but California is closer; and
  
• if you keep your door closed, no one will invite you to lunch.

“Love your enemies.”

Christ, I think, is attributed with this quote. And although this is the basis for world peace, everlasting harmony, blah blah blah, to quote Lenny Kravitz: “What I really want to know is…” what if the enemy is yourself? Well, this saying still fits this ugly shoe.

There’s a wide no-man’s land between self-flagellation and self-acceptance. But you must cross it in order for it to count as progress – even if you must drag yourself across the dirt, and reach one finger over the goal line. If you forgot to make an appointment with your accountant and now have to incur a large late-tax fee, you can certainly ask your neighbor to run you over with his car twice as punishment. Or, you can wrap your arm around your own shoulder and say, “You fvcked up this time, chum. But this is you. You forget things. So how do we not have this happen again? It’s easy. Write it down. When you think of it. Somewhere where you can see it.”

If you’re the teacher, you don’t kick the student into learning. Split yourself in two and try and pick yourself up. (Now, I obviously haven’t mastered this. But at least I have become aware of this idea.)

Ambulance Ltd., Athlete, Magnet, Metric, latest Cardigans, Graham Coxon, Sloan.

For all the work these two people have put into sharing music with me, I am eternally grateful. Repetition makes the heart grow fonder, and I just can’t get enough of these bands. Most all my Vox friends have schooled me in popular music, and to all of you: Thank you, thank you! Music is what keeps my economy afloat.

Haruki Murakami.

He returns with Kafka on the Shore, and thank goodness. Reading comments from other avid fans makes me enjoy his older works all over again.

2046 and Infernal Affairs.

Verbal hooked me up with these uber-cool brilliant movies. Both happen to star super actor Tony Leung. I don’t see many movies nowadays, so I’m lucky that of the few, these two were in the batch, instead of say two Lindsay Lohan movies.

This is what I've remembered so far. The good thing about lists is that you can always add to them.

It's been a while since I've felt this satisfied after completing a book by my favorite author, Haruki Murakami. Last night it was Kafka on the Shore. Like finishing a listen to a nice long piece of music – John Coltrane’s Giant Steps, for example, or Aaron Copeland’s Appalachian Spring – the ending of Kafka on the Shore had just the right dynamic, emotion and closure that left a pleasant, quiet sound resonating around me.

This is quite a feat, for the denouement was right quick, especially after the novel’s two story tracks hurled toward each other, into the climax.

(I’m not into spoilers, so I’m not going to talk about any plot details.)

Why was I satisfied with this novel and not with recent others? After the high EV (Entertainment Value) of Wild Sheep Chase and Dance Dance Dance, and the giant hybrid of The Wind-up Bird Chronicles, and the focused sci-fi of Hard-boiled Wonderland, I blew through two others novels of his that sounded like B-sides – sort of half-formed and derivative.

And his short stories in the New Yorker that I hoped would tide me over disappointed me. For an author who seems to eschew allegory, those stories seemed too light, without depth or weigh, like a children’s play tent.

Kafka on the Shore is a bit different. The allegory is downright obvious, with virtual arrows pointing to the layers. But the book resonates from the ideas, the philosophy, the allusions that the plot carries on its back. There are even dialogues that serve as mini-lectures, but they are entertaining enough not to be distracting.

I’m not sure where I’ll rank it within the Murakami oeuvre but for its ambition and execution it’s up with The Wind-up Bird Chronicles and Hard-boiled Wonderland. Wild Sheep Chase and Norwegian Wood are still, for the record, my sentimental favorites.