Round 4.1 - Day 103

I'm watching the American Biggest Loser. It's emotional. There was one lady, pretty fat, and when they did the weigh in I was, you know, disgusted, like I was meant to be. Then they showed a clip of an interview with her and she was talking about how her three year old son died of cancer. Man, if one of my boys died of cancer, I hope the only thing I did was overeat a little. So I kind of teared up when she was talking and they showed pictures of her and her beautiful son and she talked about how at the end they were sitting on the rocking chair in his hospital room and she fell asleep and when she woke up he had died in her arms. That's so sad, but is there a better way for a child to go? Safe in the arms of their sleeping mother? I'm emotional thinking about it.
There's a girl in Will's kindergarten class, she's just had a leg amputated because of cancer, and there's a fair chance she will die from it before she reaches Elementary school. I don't know. Kids with cancer. If you believe in God, and you want to try and convince me to believe in God too, then you've got to account for that. Explain to me why your God gives children cancer and why you think that's okay.
This lady was one of three contestants chosen to represent their area, and they had to run one mile, and the loser didn't get to go to The Biggest Loser camp. So they start the race, and half way through, she's screaming "Oh my God! Oh my God! I'm going to die!" The woman trainer, Jillian, I think her name is, is trying to get her going, pulling her, motivating her, but she wouldn't run! It was pathetic. So again, I'm disgusted. It's an emotional roller coaster, and that's why I love it.
One guy, before the mile run, said "I'm going to run and run no matter what, until my body gives out." Sounds good, but then when he collapsed ten meters from the finish line and lost, I thought, hang on, that's exactly what you said you would do. Why didn't you say, "I'm going to run and run, and finish first"? I am convinced being fat, and I don't mean a bit chubby, I mean so obese that you can't get out of a chair, is totally mental. Genes, DNA, whatever, might make it a little more difficult to lose wieght, but come on. 200 kilos? That's years and years of negligence and indulgence. Stop eating so much. Do some exercise. It's not easy, but neither is eating three pizzas, and they do that all the time. I would rather go for a run that overeat now. The last time I overate was when we went to a yakiniku restaurant for Jo Jo's first birthday, and I ate too much meat. That was in March, and I haven't eaten yakiniku since. The smell turns my stomach. I hate that feeling of being full.
So less than two weeks and we'll all be in Melbourne! Holy shit, it's gone fast. I'm going to have to get off my ass and book a round of golf and organize a night out with my mates.
I'm looking forward to a lot of things. You know what's a shock after living here for so long? Seeing people who are obviously in a lot of trouble but not really aware of it. Every time I go home it amazes me seeing stuff like junkie couples arguing in the street, or people begging for money. Basically, people with no shame. Here, shame is huge. There's too much of it. And the thing about people without shame is that they are so confident! It's like they've got it all figured out, but they still need two dollars for a bus ticket. I love it.
One afternoon a couple of years ago, I was getting a bus home from Knox, and I caught the wrong one, so I went the long way around Ferntree Gully before getting to Bayswater. On the bus a guy was drinking, a real bogan, chipped teeth, beenie, shitty beard, tracksuit pants, Collingwood supporter. The driver told him to get off the bus. The driver was Middle Eastern, so the drink guy denies drinking (even though he's got a can of Jim Beam and Coke in his hand) and said that because we were fighting in Afganistan the bus driver should be grateful to us Aussies and the bus driver stopped the bus and told him to get out and then the drunk guy called him a terrorist and the bus driver started screaming "You are rasicm! You are rasicm!" and calling the bus depot and the drink guy's yelling "I'll call the Cops!" trying to dial on his mobile phone, and meanwhile me and another passenger, a young woman, are just sitting there. She looks scared, and I am fuming.
I'd never done anything like this before, but I yelled, "Hey!", and they both looked up. "You!" I pointed to the drunk guy. "You're drinking, man. I can smell it. You shouldn't be drinking on the bus. You!" I pointed to the driver. "We just want to get home. Can't you two sort this shit out later?!" I managed to make them agree to sort it out at Boronia Depot and we got moving again. Then the drunk guy's like my best friend, saying stuff like "I was going to Boronia anyway," or under his breath, "fucking ragheads". The bus driver is talking to me like I'm going to back him up at the depot, saying "He is drinking, yes?", "He said racism, yes?" Yea yea. I got off at Boronia and caught the train to Bayswater and walked home. The point is, when I go back to Australia I find that I have very little tolerance for scumbags, and I'm worried that it might get me into trouble one day. I think it's because you just don't see them here in Japan, but at home they impact on just about every facet of your life. In shops, on the road, at a restaurant or club, they are everywhere. Drug addicts, losers, dipshits, racists, assholes, you name it. Last time I was down, it was impossible to walk past a talking scumbag without hearing the c-word. Impossible. Here, I can't remember the last time I met an idiot. But when I go home I am liberated by being able to understand and be understood, which is huge. Here I can yell "Hey, what the fuck are you doing?!" but if they answer back, I might not understand what they say, so that kind of makes you think twice before confronting anyone. You can't say "Hey! What they fuck are you doing!?" and then ask them to repeat what they said back to you because you didn't quite catch it and could they speak a little slower this time please.
2010. Not an eventful year for me. A trip to Hawaii, that was nice. I rode my motorcycle a lot. No golf, which is a shame. I might be able to squeeze a round in right at the end, though.