Another Brick in the Wall

The purpose of this blog will be nothing more than an update on what I'm doing here in the great nation of Japan. As the days turned into weeks and the weeks turned into months, I have developed a level of comfort which stunts my creative juices, and therefore hinders the creation of original ideas that would otherwise be shared in this forum. So, alas it seems that I am forced to scrounge the bottom of my mind in order to find a topic that is not only interesting to write, but also one that is worth the five minutes needed to read it. Despite this, there does seem to be hope. I have recently started a new job teaching English, and the encounters I will experience promise to add a healthy dose of the ridiculous that will motivate me to seek an audience for mocking the Japanese at their attempts to learn English. As well as this, my constant desire to find new and interesting music will be suitable insurance for any time that the Japanese fail to make a mistake big enough to generate appropriate jokes. It is with this in mind that I intend to share my latest musical taste as well as details about my new occupation.

To begin, I will start with my new job at Nova Group. Last week, I stayed in Okayama so that I could participate in a week long training session. While there, I was the unfortunate victim of an information onslaught that can only be described as a tedious exercise sprinkled with monotonous detail. Upon leaving Okayama, I was positive that my new position would adequately fill the ranks of my previous jobs, and in fact be quite comfortable sitting next to "cashier" and "cook" on my already illustrious resume. This sense of foreboding continued to ferment over two days as I desperately tried placing a positive light on a situation that seemed to be devoid of any advantageous aspect. I dragged myself into work on that first day expecting to be greeted with the same sense of dread and deep seated hatred that had usually accompanied me to work during my days with Wal-Mart. I was surprised to discover that all of my internal debate was rendered obsolete by a rather pleasant experience that not only cleared my conscious of apprehension, but also reignited the spark of teaching that had been extinguished by four grueling years of university work. This new found outlook has not only made my daily trips to work much less strenuous, but it has also improved my general mood. Despite this, there remains a dark part of my soul which continues to whisper about the inevitable moment that my new occupation will join the ranks of Burger King, Subway, Reese Brothers, Wal-Mart, and that lame job at the house factory. I only hope that my negative conscious will be slow in adding Nova to the obstruction that clouds my optimism and forces me to succumb to a seemingly ever present negative view of society.

On a more positive front, I have recently yielded to an almost inevitable event. It is with a proud heart and a clear conscious that I finally come out of the closet and admit that I am a Pink Floyd fan. For many years, I had purposefully avoided this revelation due to all the losers I had met who listed Pink Floyd as one of their favorite bands. I had long equated listening to Pink Floyd as a bi-product of those who wanted to increase their high while on some type of drug, and felt that my urge towards progressive rock could be placated by the phenomenal bands Rush and Yes. Throughout university, I believed these truths to be self evident, and possessed a copy of "Dark Side of the Moon" for the explicit purpose of watching it with "The Wizard of Oz" (in case it ever came up in conversation, I assure you I was not lame enough to just pop it in on a Friday night just to marvel at something that seems to defy coincidence). In any event, my recent conversion must be attributed to the television show "South Park". After reading about the show on wikipedia, I discovered that the inspiration for Cartman's common phrase, "charight you are" was the Pink Floyd song, "Pigs (Three Different Ones)." Out of curiosity I downloaded the song, and was immediately hooked. I quickly acquired the rest of the album, "Animals", and put it on repeat, hoping to absorb every nuance of the brilliant album. Realizing that I could not deny the urge anymore, I opened the flood gates and bought "The Wall", and "Wish You Were Here" (These are obvious albums I know, but I've only begun to reacquaint myself with the band. I will move on to more obscure albums once I'm sure of exactly what I'm looking to take from their music.) While not having the same impact of "Animals", I loved "The Wall", and have decided that this album easily tops The Who's rock operas "Quadrophenia" and "Tommy."(My opinion may be the result of a growing animosity towards "The Who" centered on a personal dislike of Pete Townshend, but I feel that in any case "The Wall" has better songs than "Quadrophenia" and a darker more subtle tone than "Tommy.")

Pink Floyd's rise to prominence in my musical hierarchy was a long time coming. Every time I discover the connecting themes within "The Wall", the moment I hear the sounds and production elaborated on in "Shine on You Crazy Diamond", and even now as I listen to the brilliant complexities inherent in "Animals", I realize that I was mistaken when making the decision to avoid this band for so long. It is with great joy that Pink Floyd will be the next, but far from the last addition to the ever growing list of bands that continue to mold my personality. Their vast musical catalog will be welcome during the long commutes to my new job. It seems that in their own unique ways; both Nova and Pink Floyd are just another brick in the wall.