I ran aground in a harbour town, lost the taste for being free

Where to start. We had an excellent trip to Kyoto, Nara, and Osaka, although it was hard not to feel that it was all a bit overshadowed by the depressing and baffling Bush victory. We watched four hours of BBC election coverage from our hotel room in Osaka (can't say I've seen much of that city...), during which a wave of hope, that lasted about five minutes, washed over me and was followed by what felt like crushing despair. Later that evening, during our three hour wait, I found myself wandering the airport aimlessly humming the Cowboy Junkies "Lonely, Sinking Feeling." It's funny how, at certain moments, the most appropriate song can seep its way into one's consciousness.

"Just when I think I've uncovered the secret to peace and tranquility
That lonely, sinking feeling creeps up on me."

I've read quite a few hopeful Democrat assessments of the election, and some of them make me feel a little better. At 3 a.m. this morning, a loudspeaker blared an announcement we couldn't understand, (the town loudspeaker announces everything from typhoons to sales at the local market on daikon) and was followed by about fifteen minutes of blaring sirens. Grant thought it was an earthquake, and woke his mother to make sure the huge bottle of sake on the cabinet above where she was sleeping wouldn't crush her in such an event. It all seems quite amusing now, but I felt a wave of fear as I was roused from some apocolyptic dream that featured none other than "our great leader" W. What a disaster.

Comment on the blog! You don't have to register now--- it's easy breezy Japanesey (sorry, I couldn't resist. Those are the lyrics to a song that's popular here at the moment --"Cause you're easy breezy and I'm Japanesey." No joke.) Seriously, do it. My family members, especially, have no excuses. Love you.