WHile hitchhiking in NZ

While hitchhiking, I got picked up by this guy, he was 82 and told me the story of his life.

He had been working as a sailor and got to go to many countries in Asia and South America. He was thrilled to meet people from distant lands. Lived by himself in a very remote area of New Zealand. Only 20 people lived in his town, so he was feeling a bit lonely.

He invited me to stay at his place for a few days and offered me some cookies and coffee. Was so glad to have someone to talk to, someone to keep him company. After some time, thinking about that good experience, I remembered another experience I had with the elderly.

It was about 3 or 4 years ago when I was in Perth. I had just finished some meditation at the budhist temple and on the way back, accidentally stepped in someone’s front garden.

A very old guy came out and started shouting “GET OUT OF MY PROPERTY!!” in a hostile tone. This leaves me to wonder how will I be when I’m 82.

Will I be a greedy person who is afraid of strangers or will I be a friendly guy who picks them up and invites them in to have some cookies?

If I’m the first one, I have to say sorry to you all.

You have to understand I’m this way because I’ve been hurt before and that made me afraid of people, especially people who have less than me, because I’m afraid they will take the things I worked so hard to achieve, ok maybe not so hard, but I worked for them.

I’m afraid they will take my precious.

And if I’m the second guy, I should say welcome to my house, this is my address: “—” and you’re all always welcome.

I’ve been helped by tons of people throughout my life, been given money, food, and shelter in countless countries. Been taken care of when I was sick, been kept company when I was lonely and given me a jacket when I was cold.

My experiences taught me I’m not alone. We have to be kind to each other and now it’s MY time to pay it back. Because it’s just the right thing to do.

 

 

The now cup

The now cup is a coffee cup, a mug that has the word “now” written on it, we use it to remind us to live in the present. Every time someone forgets what’s important and start worrying about silly things, I would make a cup of coffee or tea and the cup would remind them it’s now, not yesterday, not tomorrow. There’s just this, and this is what matters.

 

The one hour training program

The one-hour maintenance program consists of 4 parts of 15 minutes each.

15 minutes cardio, run or whatever to warm up and keep your heart healthy.

15 min strength work, pull ups, push ups, squats, etc.

15 min stretching, holding every stretch for at least 20 seconds.

And finally, 15 minutes meditation to calm down.

Why not try it for a few days and see how it works for you?

 

 

About kachu tenshin amaguriken

火中天津甘栗拳 was a technique in Ranma 1/2 that Ranma used to pick up some hot chestnuts out of a very hot place, he had to do it very fast otherwise he would burn his/her hands.

I learned that special move as a teenager after watching Ranma doing it and practicing it a bit, never really thought it would come in handy though.

Until this year in New Zealand, I had 2 jobs where I actually had to use to kachu tenshin amaguriken. The first one was at a farm picking kiwis, we were paid per bin, so the more kiwis we picked the more money we got in the long run. I just went berserk sometimes and picked them like a monkey.

Another job was at a chocolate factory where I had to place chocolate bars as fast as possible on a machine that would pack them up. In this case, I didn’t get paid per amount of chocolate, the thing was that they kept coming and coming all day so if I missed one chocolate, it would get accumulated and had to be put twice as fast afterwards, and after a few hours of laying chocolates it could get a bit tedious. But it was thanks to Ranma that I got the confidence to do those repetitive mechanic jobs.

Thanks Ranma and thank you Takahashi Rumiko for drawing Ranma so he could teach me.

 

 

Sitting is death

All recent scientific research shows that sitting in a chair daily for long periods of time is the single worse thing you could do to yourself. Maybe even worse than smoking. That’s why during the last 2 years I decided to spend as little time sitting as possible.
My only excuse for sitting is recovery time, when too tired after strenuous exercise.

First problem I faced was the internet, as most of you I spend too much time in front of the computer, writing stuff like this. This was easily solved by starting to use my
laptop while standing. Would just find a shelf to put it, or pile up a bunch of books or stuff for it to be higher up.

This helped my stretches also, as many times feeling tired after standing for a few hours my body would naturally adopt a leg split position. Not that I’m addicted to the painkillers my brain releases while stretching. It has nothing to do with that.

My second problem was people of course, as they would just not understand that sitting is bad for you and they would keep saying “why don’t you have a seat?” or “get yourself comfortable” because they think sitting is comfortable and standing is not. And so many people just didn’t understand and thought I was being rude. Others saw me as an idealistic and that was cool 🙂

We have to literally stand for what we believe in, even if it means going against the stream.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

About K-pop

Why do you do the things you do?

Like what?

Like everything, most things you do, they are things most people wouldn’t even dream them possible.

I’m not most people.

I know but there has to be more to it.

Alright, it took me a while to figure it out but I think it’s because I’m constantly high.

High on what?

On k-pop of course.

How’s that even possible?

You can get high on anything, whatever makes you tick right?

I guess, but k-pop, really?

When something makes you click you don’t care what it is and don’t care about anything else. In my case, I often think the only reason I’m in New Zealand is so that I can save money to support myself in Korea while auditioning till I get a part on a drama or become part of a boys band, kind of like those people who move to California with the expectation of getting discovered and making it big in Hollywood.

You know what, that kind of makes sense actually. I can see you as part of a Korean boy-band, except because well you know, you’re not Korean.

That’s like saying I can’t be a samurai because I’m not a 12th century Japanese noble male in his 30’s.

Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying.

But becoming a Korean pop star is my purpose in life, that’s why I live, you know?

But you’re not Korean!!!

So?

You can’t be Korean if you’re not Korean, duh.

I can try though.

Yeah but that’s just crazy.

And that’s why you love me right?

Guess so.

 

About veterans

???????: That’s pretty rude, my father was a veteran you know.

Bruno: Yeah soldiers are the worst shit.

Veteran’s son: They sacrifice their lives for you, for your freedom and you say they are shit?

Bruno: Worse shit ever, they don’t sacrifice anything for anyone, they go to wars and kill people. They think they are the good guys, but guess what, so do their so-called “enemies”. Your father was a piece of shit and so are you for supporting the army in any way.

Common friend: Wars are a problem, and soldiers are a part of it.

Bruno: No, they are not part of the problem, they are the problem, paid assassins, mercenaries who kill people for money like your father.

Veteran’s son: My father was a hero, the piece of shit is you.

Bruno: Yeah? Why? Because I don’t kill people? 

Veteran’s son:  Wars happen, but my father fought for peace.

Common friend: You know what they say…

Bruno: Yeah, fighting for peace is like fucking for virginity, and wars don’t just happen, they happen for a reason, and you know what’s that reason? Your father is that reason. The reason there are still wars is not the oil or the politicians, or the economic interests, or the borders or the religion. There are wars because soldiers go to war. People go to war, you know the politicians or presidents wouldn’t go to war themselves, wouldn’t risk getting killed.

Veteran’s son: You are pissing me off, I’m gonna break your neck.  


Bruno: Alright good man, come on punch me. You’re just gonna prove how retarded you are. Can’t have a serious discussion, can’t win an argument so have to resort to violence.That’s very mature.

Veteran’s son: I’m gonna kill you.

Bruno: Go ahead. You are no better than those soldiers. You kill because you lose an argument. So come on go ahead and prove everyone how intellectually inferior you are. Show me your big muscles, big boy. Grrrrr. Guess what, your father was a piece of shit and so are you for thinking violence solves anything.

Veteran’s son: …

 

About putting yourself out there

Why don’t you like Japan anymore?

Because people I’ve met there have no empathy and are oblivious to everything around them, makes me think it’s exactly the opposite I’m looking for.

Is that the reason you don’t watch anime anymore?

Oh, about that, I also don’t watch movies or anything else anymore either. Don’t feel the need to be entertained anymore and value my real life too much to waste it sitting in front a computer screen the whole day. So no more video games either.

Makes perfect sense, and it’s quite surprising actually, as most people I know still feel the need to be “entertained” by games, movies, tv shows, etc

I used to play Monster Hunter a lot, loved the part of gathering ingredients and materials, digging, climbing drilling and just seeing what you find, heading out
there and hoping for the best, plating the seeds and growing lots of food for your cats to make meals for you, yeah you make get eaten up by a dinosaur sometimes but it was totally worth it! so now I would rather go gathering to the forest or to the beach nearby where I am, scavenging and getting lost.
Monster Hunter is based on a prehistoric world but the countries I live in, New Zealand, south-east Asia are actually not so different from those prehistoric worlds.

Used to play lots of final fantasy when I was in Argentina, dreaming of this mysterious new places, being an adventurer, doing every day something new and meeting
new characters every day, that was the life I was dreaming of, and now is the life I have, what else could be better?

When I was at Simon’s place last week they always asked me what was I looking forward to, and I always said nothing, this is it, this is as good as it gets for me.
And developing relationships with those people you meet like in the game Persona, and letting them join you on your travels like in Suikoden, and getting scared while exploring your city at night like in silent hill and going dancing on the streets like in Audition, Bust A Move, Miku Hatsune. In Taipei is very easy to join the street dancers near SYS Memorial Hall, and in Osaka, they get together in Namba.

Possibilities are endless once you get off the couch and leave your place, I realized getting out there has countless benefits.
Once you are out of your house you get adventures x10, out of your city is another x10 and out of your country is another x10, that’s x1000 more adventure chances
just for leaving your confort zone, just for being out there, now if you’re actually looking for adventures you get even more bonuses, you get a x20 if you start talking to strangers everywhere, a +5 if you’re wearing something cool, a x10 if you sign up for random jobs or courses, another +7 if you carry an animal companion with you, another +30 if you learn to use Couchsurfing, meetup and other websites for getting together with people.

There’s no limit to it, really.

About a warrior

Driver: Where ya heading mate?

Me: Heading far towards the horizon, where the forest meets the sea, where the light fades away and only shadows shape the landscape.

Driver: Whatever, jump in.

Me: You have my gratitude and therefore shall be rewarded for your troubles.

Driver: Where are you from?

Me: From the forgotten territories.

Driver: Where’s that?

Me: It’s a different world, full of thieves, dwarfs, magicians, and assassins

Driver: And what brings you to New Zealand?

Me: Nothing but the unrelenting quest of a warrior’s true path.

Driver: Are you a warrior?

Me: A warrior I am indeed.

Driver: Yes you are.