Today was a rather uneventful day... but interesting none the less, for me at least.

I reacquainted myself with the public library today. I forgot that they have quite a few books that I want to read. Yes, I like reading. Yes, I am a nerd. Well, maybe a wannabe. So anyway, as I walk in I see the business hours posted outside. What's with these crazy hours? I understand with the fiscal problems and everything... but help make the business hours easy to remember! The closing times varied from 4PM to 8PM depending on the day. It's almost as confusing as those stupid Berkeley parking signs that say something like "No Parking Every 3rd Tuesday of the Month 12:30PM-3:30PM." Actually, confusing isn't the word I'm looking for. How do you say "Mendou" in English? Inconvenient? Who wants to think, "Ok what day is today?" as they're about to walk into a library? Or who wants to think, "Ok, is this the 2nd or 3rd Tuesday of the month?" after they've searched for a parking spot to no avail for the last 20 minutes?

I also went to the post office today. I went to send a CD of pictures to the LIFE Ministries office. So, I stood in line. When it was my turn, the clerk was very friendly. He cracked a few jokes, we talked for a while as he was processing my parcel, and wished me a good day. Nice guy. Yeah, in Japan something like that would never happen. There are nice guys there too. It's just that, well, I guess they're just not as friendly. It seemed like being a nice guy there meant that you kept to yourself and didn't butt into other people's lives. That was my reality for the last 2 1/2 years. So, when the clerk at the post office today started off by saying, "Hey, how're you doing? What would you like me to do for ya?" I was a bit overwhelmed... but in a good way. For a few seconds I wondered, "Which question am I supposed to answer?" Yes, I am a sad, sad man.