It’s another scorching hot summer day, although it’s wonderful to see the blue sky again and watch the curtain dancing with the gentle breeze through the open window.
Summer is my favorite season, but honestly I am not sure how we are going to survive this coming summer without air conditioning. But it seems we have 2 options here, either a total meltdown of our nuclear power plants, or living like fish swimming around in their own sweat. Yuk!
Julie has a fantastic theory about this summer. She believes the nation-wide pant-up energy from the earthquake is slowly being released and people are steadily going crazy now. Maybe that’s also why we need so many summer festivals where we can dance, eat, and get semi-comatose drunk with the crowd.
Last year I took a traditional Japanese dance lesson, but chickened out on the day of festival. This year I have promised myself that I will definitely go and dance. But I am not sure if I will wear the traditional Japanese “bathrobe,” yukata. I know it’s cute, but it’s so hot, and I can’t show off any of my legs or boobs!
Or I might just wear the summer dress I bought in Forever 21 last week. It’s got excellent ventilation.
When I tried on that dress in the shop, I liked it so much that I wanted to wear it out right away. So I went to the cashier, still in the dress, and asked to pay for it. But the girl told me I had to first take it off and then pay. I wasn’t allowed to just pay and leave in it.
Of course I had to know why. But the poor girl couldn’t give me any reason at all, except repeating like a parrot that it was their store policy. I always believe rules are there to be broken. But that day was too hot for any rational discussion, so I was ready to follow any rules if there were any good enough reasons.
Finally the girl called for help, and the manager came and told me it was OK. So I paid and left, but I didn’t feel like celebrating my small victory. I’ve been here in Japan for a long time, but something never changes.
When I first came here, I couldn’t get a cheese hamburger without cheese in McDonald’s because it was not allowed. I couldn’t speak any Japanese at that time, so I didn’t demand to know the reason. And after all these years, I still wonder why sometimes!
They always stick to rules. Is it because they are afraid to use their own brains?
