It was about two o’clock on Monday, my Chinese interns last day at our office, and things were moving along nicely. Two weeks had passed during which I had passed on as much knowledge and skill that could be absorbed (and understood) giving that she had absolutely no business background and was just starting grad [...]
“It’s you! Hello! Hello!” a loud and boisterous voice called from a brightly lit sidewalk restaurant as we passed by. It was 11:30pm on Thursday in a small Osaka suburb and my girlfriend and I were headed home for the evening. At first we looked around to see if they were calling to us, after [...]
My eyes snapped open as the second in a long series of sharp thumps emanated from the wall beside my head, orange lamps were still glowing visibly through the mesh canopy in the early morning light. It was 5am and time for the monks to do their rounds at the temple, including swinging the heavy [...]
‘One, two, three!’ The count goes on and on as as my muscles scream in pain, bringing the 1kilogram (2.2lb.) sword in a smooth ark from above my head to just above my navel over and over. The night is hot and humid as I practice in a small park near my house, an occasional [...]