I never had to wear a school uniform, although I remember I longed for them in junior high school. I didn’t have very many clothes and was stuck wearing a lot of baggy shirts and grimy shoes. No Limited, Too, Abercrombie, and Gap for me. But if I grew up in, say, Japan, where school uniforms are required, I wonder if I would have liked junior high school more? Probably not. Probably I would be like that girl in the middle, ashamed and scorned for a lack of bangs.
Yesterday I met up with Satou Rei (佐藤澪) in Kichijoji. We went to Inokashira Park, near Studio Ghibli (aka Miyazaki Hayao land). It was a bit cloudy and very windy, but it didn’t rain (!), so I could see the lovely hints of green and could do a bit of people watching.
We drew this picture sitting on a bench. Rei drew with a blue pen, and I drew with a black pen. It’s a depiction of Inokashira Park with various other locations and countries floating upwards in the sky. The blues singer we saw near the pond blows on his harmonica. Elmo’s umbrella is broken, but he doesn’t seem upset by it. An elephant stares at another elephant across the park. Rei sleeps while I go to war with a piranha plant hungry for a fly. Mika ponders the swine flu. Nattsu the tiger cat watches all the going-ons of the park and says his trademark “Hoi!” (ほい！)
Please click the drawing for a closer inspection.
Zaa zaa – it’s been raining throughout Golden Week, and I couldn’t go to the park today as planned! A time to pout and make the following face: ;_;.
Though I didn’t venture out much today, when I finally ambled out of my apartment, I felt proud of my preparedness. While in olden times I let my feet get soaked and carried around flimsy little umbrellas- the wetness sending cold chills into my bones – now I wear big waterproof boots and wield a large, sturdy umbrella. I’m thus kept reasonably dry & warm and can chuckle heartlessly at the poor souls I see getting wet (maybe).
Drawing in the curtains, I watched about an hour’s worth of Once Upon a Time in the West and drew a few drawings based on some of the characters. Never thought I would actually enjoy spaghetti western and cowboy fare, but now I’m getting lured into it – Spain, Mexico, American television actors, Italian directors galore.
I went to see carp banners (koinobori) today. The carp banners paint a lovely painting against the backdrop of the sky, and the mixture of colors lovingly mimics the kakigoori I ate, as well. But it’s the rustling sounds the carps make as they fly together that I like the most.
Rustling noises tend to belong to the category of All Things Nice, do they not? The sound of a small woodland animal rummaging through the forest, the swish-swish noises of a ruffly skirt…
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