A family discussion
I met with a fella named Mikio Shinagawa in February of 2012 for a project that never happened.
We met after hours at his restaurant Omen and he offered me some tea that I took. This was back when I was still someone and not the broken, but high-functioning, charming alcoholic nobody you all know and love.
He passed away recently. Told him that I’d come back some day to try out his restaurant with my wife. He laughed and said he was looking forward to meeting her and that he’d treat us like royalty.
Never saw him again.
Another part of my possible pasts. He seemed like a nice fella. Fucking cancer.
We’ve had a lotta new students in the gym and I’m reminded just how different people that regularly train are from everyone else.
Him: What about you? How long have you been doing this?
Me: (thinking) 17 years?
Him: 17 years!? Wait, how old are you?
I’ve actually been studying kali for 17 years, 8 months, and 6 days.
Me: This is the longest I’ve gone without holding a weapon in my right hand.
Him: That’s a sentence that I don’t think I’ve ever said.
Speaking of the gym, one of our guys got COVID and may have given it to Chad, or the other way around.
Or maybe it was me?
See, about a week-and-a-half ago, I dropped the kid off at school, came home, and was so tired that I decided to take a nap at 8:45AM.
The next thing you know, it was 12:30 in the afternoon. I can’t remember the last time I slept in/overslept. I attributed it to my being out and about all week.
At the same time, I had a sore throat that I attributed to my (exceedingly) dry room.
Once I turned on my humidifier, everything seemed to go away and it was – at most – a 24-hour thing, so I didn’t think anything of it.
That is, until Chad called me to tell me he was gonna shut down the school.
Looking into the Omicron variant, because its symptoms seem to be milder, and because it doesn’t have the lack of smell/taste indicator, I wonder if that’s why it’s so contagious: Because it doesn’t act like the COVID virus we’ve all grown accustomed to, people don’t think they have it.
In any case, I took a PCR test, but even after three days, I don’t have the results yet. It seems that the company that gave me my test is so bad at getting results back in time that the NYS Attorney General just issued them a warning two days ago.
Which means that my luck remains true to form.
2021.12.24_08:34 Edit: Got my results – negative
Speaking of luck – and not being able to hold a weapon in my right hand – I’m running into Mouse randomly all the time; by no machinations from either of us.
We both happen to see the same physical therapist and we both happen to have appointments at the same time. Me for my hand, her for her leg.
But it’s been nice talking with her without all the weirdness that happens after a breakup. She’s (very) active in the gym and one of the rules I have is: Let true things be true.
The truth of the matter is that she’s now part of the fabric of my life, and that of my friends, so we both have to be adults about the whole thing.
Which, let’s be honest, isn’t really saying much as it pertains to me.
Location: hopping out of her car at 34th Street to get the kid
Mood: nostalgic
Music: Look at you through kinder eyes, kinder eyes (Spotify)
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