Hey Beautifuls!

Well it’s apartment-move-in official: Yuuki and I have moved back to the Midwest.

I may talk about why in a later blog, but I don’t really want to write about it right now. It’s just been awhile since I updated here and we finally have internet in our apartment and I’m happy to be here.

Still have many of the same issues from money, difficulty finding a dependable job, student loans, personal shtuff, and most of my friends are gone from the area. Not to mention our new apartment is technically in a basement with ants and literally next to a train…but besides that it’s a nice place, we’re living with one of my good friends, and everything all seems a little more handle-able than when we were in Pennsylvania. The sun seems to shine a little brighter now. Or maybe I’m about to fall flat on my face as the next round of bills comes up. I dunno. But for now it’s nice to be “home.”

In a way it feels like a step backwards, but as one of my friends put it, it’s kind of like pressing the “reset” button. Not erasing the unfortunate stuff but learning from it and starting anew.

As an added perk, there are a few grocery stores near us that sell Japanese foods and after we got off the bus for one of them, two elderly men literally took their hats off to us for no apparent reason and wished us a good day. Then as we passed under the railing of an apartment building, a middle-aged woman called out to us, “Hey, beautifuls! Makes my day to see you two so happy!” as if somehow she’d known. It was nice to be called out in a way that made me feel good instead of vulnerable. Now I want to use that as a cursory greeting.

The grocery store had a small restaurant and Yuuki also got his first real ramen in two years (tonkotsu).

This also made him happy, so he may have been a bit biased when he also talked about how much better he feels being back here. I warned him winter may change his mind, but then again it got pretty damn cold where we were in PA too and if you missed a bus you usually had to wait at least an hour for the next one. Nothing was nearby without a car. Here there are trains, buses, bikes…and while none of them are without fault or even on par with their Japanese counterparts, there is life outside of cars. There is respite.

Speaking of which, Yuuki also got his first bike in three years. He finally committed to it after being yelled at for driving around the aisles in Walmart…whoops.

For my part now that things are getting settled I’m trying to develop good habits, including studying kanji and Russian every day, writing every day, and sketching every day. If you want to see my sketches (and other random photos) feel free to follow my Instagram here. My last one of Amaterasu is a real gem.

Anyways, hello Minnesconsin. For all the crap I’ve given you over the years, I guess I missed you.