Tonight we signed up for baseball and we had to sell candy. We called our relatives and they bought some candy.
(Length: 0:11 / Size: 242 KB / Format: mp3 128 kbps)


Yumi and I go in to the office; over to Ted’s to study; after Don leaves, Ted and I get back on the topic of “god-in-a-box”; spend hours conceptualizing miniaturized worlds; Yumi upset to lose our Sunday evening together.
Music: UA “プライベート サーファー (puff fishy mix)”
(Length: 3:04 / Size: 2.9 MB / Format: mp3 128 kbps)

Clear and beautiful — but hot!; everybody down at the beaches; Casey called in the morning; thought about classes for next semester — also about minoring in Philosophy; I need to think about getting a job; called Mom and talked about how Owen’s wedding went; in bed at 11:00 but couldn’t sleep.
Music: Bill Evans “April in Paris”
(Length: 1:40 / Size: 1.6 MB / Format: mp3 128 kbps)


Brunch at McDonalds; take the bus to Quebec; sleep along the way; Fred and I picked up by Mme. Champagne; at her house, we’re both scared — now it’s real; dinner with the family; help daughter with English homework; watch Nordiques game on television; Connie calls; Fred and I retreat to our hideout in the basement.
Music: David Bowie & Pat Metheny “This Is Not America”
(Length: 4:29 / Size: 4.2 MB / Format: mp3 128 kbps)

Today we started the hockey tournament and we went to Andy’s house. We played with his slime and had loads of fun.
(Link: Slime Monster Game television commercial)
Background: Slime Monster Game television commercial / floor hockey sounds
(Length: 0:34 / Size: 610 KB / Format: mp3 128 kbps)

Kids show at Kuumbwa; Miki comes down from San Francisco with her boyfriend; study kanji at the library; dinner over at Eisuke’s apartment; Yumi and I watch Juzo Itami’s The Funeral; Miki’s car breaks down in San Jose; they phone at 2 a.m., but the connection is lost; nothing we can to do help them.
Music: Pizzicato Five “Week-End”
(Length: 4:19 / Size: 4.1 MB / Format: mp3 128 kbps)

Sleep most of the day; finish Farewell to Manzanar; go for a ride; stop and listen to drum circle; missing Meggin; feel foolish for wanting to chase skirts; read essays on culture and technology; will I be able to make it all work out?
Music: Milton Nascimento “Estrelada”
(Length: 2:00 / Size: 2.0 MB / Format: mp3 128 kbps)


Sightsee around Montréal; dinner at Bavarian beer hall; stop in at “Le Club Sex 969″ to ask directions; cute coat-check girl; night of clubbing at The Business and The Passport; head back after not getting in to Thursdays; sleep through alarm in the morning.
Music: The Smiths “How Soon Is Now?”, Sly Fox “Let’s Go All The Way”, Pet Shop Boys “West End Girls (Dance Mix)”
(Length: 6:507 / Size: 6.3 MB / Format: mp3 128 kbps)


Clean out old files from computer; PCS wants $120 from Yumi for breaking the lease; the What-Nots (Kevin Northcutt’s band) playing down at Whole Earth; call Case but we don’t have much to talk about; we’re both changing; stop by Kuumbwa; Yumi out playing poker with friends.

Music: Parliament “Tear The Roof Off The Sucker (Give Up The Funk)”
(Length: 2:37 / Size: 2.5 MB / Format: mp3 128 kbps)



Arrive in Montreal; rooming with Fred, Dean, and Dan at our hotel; go out for pizza with some of the girls, then Fred and I walk up and down Ste. Catherine street; Montreal is cool because the people speak perfect French and English.
Music: Julian Lennon “Too Late For Goodbyes”
(Length: 2:35 / Size: 2.5 MB / Format: mp3 128 kbps)


Yumi and I take bus up to campus to eat breakfast; Lisa getting an HIV test, in a funk over finishing her dissertation; have one of Grandpa’s navy pictures on my computer desktop; receive an email asking for The Last Vaudevillain review a.s.a.p.; see Yumi at Cabrillo.
Music: Bunny Berigan & His Orchestra “Caravan”
(Length: 2:25 / Size: 2.3 MB / Format: mp3 128 kbps)

Group-project is frustrating, and I’m confused about the major; first V.A. check finally arrives; Meggin calls with the news that Plouffis has died; I think Hal is growing weary of burying pets; call Mom to pass along the news; she and Tom are making cakes for Owen’s wedding.
Music: Marian McPartland “Long Ago and Far Away”
(Length: 2:18 / Size: 2.2 MB / Format: mp3 128 kbps)

Rich goes away for a week to an intensive Forum “camp”, to get over his fear of heights; he says that he’s going to cross over a rope bridge spanning a gorge; Claire is hysterical, saying that he’ll kill himself; when he comes back he’s pretty quiet about the whole thing, and I wonder what happened.
Music: Les Paul “Cookin’”
(Length: 1:06 / Size: 1.1 MB / Format: mp3 128 kbps)

Miss Poly Sci and French because I oversleep; because I need to finish research on a paper, I also miss English; Mrs. Delaney tells me the work is inadequate, and to get my life organized; race home to pack for Canada; Fred’s parents take us to O’Hare; have time to think about how to straighten my life out.

Music: Wang Chung “Let’s Go”
(Length: 2:48 / Size: 2.7 MB / Format: mp3 128 kbps)


Scan family photos at Amy’s desk; in the market for a DV camcorder; Yumi and I go to classical guitar concert on campus; Joseph is the stage director; I am “monkey hand”; talk of Marcel contributing rent; Yumi resorts to “American” medicine.

(Canon ‘Optura’, not Elantra…)
Music: MURO “ルパン三世 愛のテーマ (MURO’S LOVE BANK MIX)”
(Length: 4:52 / Size: 4.6 MB / Format: mp3 128 kbps)

Struggling with Hume; guest speaker in class from Shoshone Nation; cool guy, reminds me of Grandpa; beautiful sunset; attend talk on Hubble telescope; interested in space, once more; night walk.
Music: Joni Mitchell “Passion Play (When All The Slaves Are Free)”
(Length: 2:40 / Size: 2.5 MB / Format: mp3 128 kbps)

Go to Naval Reserve Center to find out what I need to do for summer training; they’re going to put me on a frigate based out of Treasure Island, in San Francisco; during my physical, the doctor detects a heart condition: mitral valve prolapse; I’m told to lay off strenuous exercise.

Music: John Delafose “Broken Hearted”
(Length: 1:47 / Size: 1.7 MB / Format: mp3 128 kbps)

Grant and I go to Jodie’s birthday party in Streamwood; it’s been ages since we’ve seen her; Jodie shows us her pictures of the Europe trip, which bring back a LOT of memories; even Grant is feeling nostalgic; suddenly want to talk to Ann.
Music: The Police “The Bed’s Too Big Without You”
(Length: 4:23 / Size: 4.1 MB / Format: mp3 128 kbps)


Here it is, barely an hour into my 40th birthday and I have to say that it doesn’t feel much different from 39
(Why am I up so early? To watch Stage 1 of the Tour de France, of course! I can’t think of any better birthday present each and every year — and one that lasts for three weeks, no less.)
I started First Forty one year ago and to date have posted 235 episodes. The earlier ones are a little tough to listen to — back before I’d adopted a more positive tone and learned how to suppress vocal pops and clicks — but I hope things have improved a bit since then. As I’ve said before, there’s a mountain of material left to get through; I look at this past year as an easing or breaking-in period.
Now for the announcement: being that July 8, 2007 is the pre-determined end point of this project, I’m using this event to take a time-out and put things on hold for the next five weeks or so. Not only have I got a mountain of work to do before leaving to teach in Japan, I also need the time to get a related project up and running. So stay tuned, and look forward to more episodes in mid-to-late August. See you then!

Amy furious at Baytree for tracking her down while on vacation; Japanese class is a real train wreck; Tajima sensei is great, but totally disorganized; Ted, Don, and I are ready to take out some of the younger punks; Muria has already promised the garage as a practice space for some friends of hers in a band.
Music: Isaac Hayes “Run Fay Run”
(Length: 3:05 / Size: 2.9 MB / Format: mp3 128 kbps)

No one in Section can agree on a topic; Prop 187 hunger strike planned for the weekend; don’t tell me what to do; $7 massage; movies on Western Shoshone; finish National Geographic article on the Universe, which puts everything into perspective; message from George.

Music: Juan Garcia Esquivel “Mucha Muchacha”
(Length: 2:49/ Size: 2.7 MB / Format: mp3 128 kbps)

Decide to get hair-cut at barbershop on Larchmont; while there I meet Huell Howser, from KCET; we get to talking and he wonders if I wouldn’t mind working with him on his next project; we exchange information, but I don’t expect anything to come of it.

Music: The Couch Potato All-Stars “The Andy Griffith Show”
(Length: 1:48 / Size: 1.7 MB / Format: mp3 128 kbps)

Go to another meeting at Stu’s; stop by Yorktown to see Grandma and Grandpa at the show; while there I pick up re-mixes of “Sweetest Girl” and “Our House”; ask about getting Madness videos; Grant and I play Subbuteo; Jodi calls me out of the blue; she’s having a party and would like Grant and I to come.

Music: Madness “Our House (Stretch Mix)”
(Length: 2:15 / Size: 2.2 MB / Format: mp3 128 kbps)


Yumi and I have breakfast at Cowell; B.J. spots us and comes inside; he needs help with some translation and tells us about an international job fair he attended; he says I have the right “look” for Japan and says JET is a waste of my time; work in the office a bit; Virginia and Cheyenne drop by and Virginia is pleased that her daughter and Yumi can finally meet; Mose Allison show at Kuumbwa; tell Nina and Shinya of my plans to move into the garage.
Music: Mose Allison “Ever Since the World Ended”
(Length: 3:49 / Size: 3.6 MB / Format: mp3 128 kbps)

Gorgeous day!; Tom takes the TR-3 out for a spin; pick up hotel brochures for Mom; ride up to campus; before riding down, stop to take in the beauty; Meggin calls; tell her that I’m tempted by the women at school; she has similar feelings about the men around her; she tells me to just be careful, if something DOES happen; what!?; talk about my issues with sex and guilt.
Music: Milton Nascimento “Seis Horas Da Tarde”
(Length: 3:33 / Size: 3.3 MB / Format: mp3 128 kbps)


Grant back from Pennsylvania; blood pressure still a little high; Grant goes out with Ann to movie; she’s mad at Amy, too, and says I’m acting childish; head over to Pauls’ after work; Grant and I go to Wag’s but he’s in a weird mood so I just drop him off and go to bed.
Music: Scritti Politti “Sweetest Girl”
(Length: 1:58 / Size: 1.9 MB / Format: mp3 128 kbps)


Spend day with Ted, watching movies; see American Beauty first at Cinema 9, then Totoro at his place; Ted has redecorated his apartment; he tells me of his idea to hawk desktop shrines; raining all day; WWII propaganda film; Ted relates his fated meeting of Masako in Tokyo.
Music: Bobby Darin “Don’t Rain On My Parade”; “Totoro Theme”
(Length: 4:18 / Size: 4 MB / Format: mp3 128 kbps)

Run into Michael at library; he must think I’m following him; watch Angel Island and bell hooks videos; bike parts come; finally clean room; Case goes out with both Maureen and Amy; he’s worried about becoming an alcoholic like his dad.
Music: Tears For Fears “Gas Giants”
(Length: 2:02 / Size: 1.9 MB / Format: mp3 128 kbps)


Change out of Calculus to Government; so many awesome girls at the Field House; cleaning “party” at Stu’s; John and I are assigned to the inside the ice-maker; grades come — they’re not good; measure blood pressure in class and mine is 150/50!

Music: Billy Ocean “Carribean Queen”
(Length: 3:48 / Size: 3.6 MB / Format: mp3 128 kbps)


Yumi goes to San Francisco with Ted to watch Chinese New Year celebrations; have brunch with Chad, Denise, and Chel; Chad and I play soccer up on East Field; Samba Ngo at Kuumbwa; nice coming home to a quiet house.

Music: Los Super Seven “El Ausente”; Samba Ngo “Midid Passe”
(Length: 5:08 / Size: 4.8 MB / Format: mp3 128 kbps)


Taking classes through UCLA Extension; drop “Music” after one meeting, but stay in “History of the West” with Roger McGrath right up to the end; guy harangues me about inferior vitamins at drug store on Larchmont.

Music: Dream Warriors “My Definition of a Boombastic Jazz Style (Echo Mix)”
(Length: 1:31 / Size: 1.5 MB / Format: mp3 128 kbps)




Basketball driving me crazy; read, run; bottle of Stoli cuts into my food budget; Celtic rock band at Live Soup; cut on over to Red Room, dance to DJ cuts; drinking vodka that I keep in my socks; what a cheap bastard…
Music: Deee-Lite “Party Happenin’ People”
(Length: 1:36 / Size: 1.6 MB / Format: mp3 128 kbps)


Drive John to Goodyear; Todd cuts off his mohawk; he’s being more himself than ever; “flame off” at work in order to complete my scripting requirements; pick up Dad at O’Hare and drive to see the Sting play Dallas (they lost).
Music: Bruce Hornsby and The Range “Down The Road Tonight”
(Length: 2:28 / Size: 2.3 MB / Format: mp3 128 kbps)


Talk to Kris at Japanese class about his JET interview; Tajima sensei tells us her experience in Japan with domestic violence; Ted and I have a long talk after class; he tells me about lingering sleeplessness related to his father, and his plans to move to Japan.
Music: Tom Waits “Get Behind The Mule”
(Length: 3:00 / Size: 2.8 MB / Format: mp3 128 kbps)

On the road to San Francisco by 11; meet Claire and Jesse at Mandarin Oriental hotel; we walk around North Beach, go to City Lights; I get the feeling the girls don’t want me around so I take off after only 4 hours; night ride home along the coast makes up for everything.
Music: Violent Femmes “Blister in the Sun”; Joni Mitchell “Night Ride Home”
(Length: 4:35 / Size: 4.3 MB / Format: mp3 128 kbps)

Sean comes out for a little over three weeks; he works with me one day but decides that the work is too hard; he next finds a job working at a patisserie but he only lasts there an hour; Sean flies Debbie out for the weekend; Kirsten also comes out for a few days; Patti and I hike along the ridge of Topanga Canyon.
Music: Lyle Lovett “The Blues Walk”
(Length: 2:27 / Size: 2.3 MB / Format: mp3 128 kbps)

Employee meeting at Fox Valley Stuart Anderson’s; kick soccer ball around at WWHS; car breaks down on Plamondon; Jim and Beth drive by, but don’t see me; run to John’s, leave car there; John’s dad talks me through the repair the next day; it’s “a nothin’ thing”.
Music: John Fogerty “The Old Man Down The Road”
(Length: 3:11 / Size: 3 MB / Format: mp3 128 kbps)


Peace and beauty at Coit Tower; woman who resembles Meggin takes our picture; I remark upon this and Yumi gets upset; drive over to Marin side of the Bridge; walk along restaurants near Pier 39; decide to eat dinner back home.
Music: Stereolab “Velvet Water”
(Length: 3:06 / Size: 2.9 MB / Format: mp3 128 kbps)

Meggin and I enumerate the reasons why we’re NOT working; she wants to fly me out to Boston so we can talk face-to-face; great panel discussion in Native American Experience; importance of knowing who you are; what are my traditions, stories?; call Meggin to share my enthusiasm.
Music: The Who “Who Are You”
(Length: 4:19 / Size: 4 MB / Format: mp3 128 kbps)




Yumi looks at clothes; anxiety over not having enough “start-up” for Japan; think about ways to reduce my share of the rent; Yumi suggests I stay with Ted; a better solution is to move into the garage for $200 a month, since all I need is a place to sleep; let the subject rest and move along to Coit Tower.
Music: Limp Bizkit “Take a Look Around”
(Length: 5:14 / Size: 4.9 MB / Format: mp3 128 kbps)

Case and Maureen separate; he’s coming out for spring break; ride up to campus in the rain; can’t muster the same anger as my classmates; dreamy atmosphere by the East Field; chanting in meditation class is great.

UCSC campus shrouded in fog, by nitric3098
Music: Sarah McLachlan “Fumbling Towards Ecstacy”
(Length: 3:21 / Size: 3.2 MB / Format: mp3 128 kbps)

Lucy comes out to L.A. for a few days; we go to Mother’s and meet up with O’Neil crew; Lucy and Brian hit it off; Patti and I follow them to some pool party but Brian misses the exit; we leave them alone and just go home.
Music: Jungle Brothers “I Get A Kick Out Of You”
(Length: 1:21 / Size: 1.3MB / Format: 128 mp3 kbps)

Fall asleep while studying; cram for final in one hour; Calc final is a joke; Dad happy that I’m thinking of going away to school; Grant decides to resolve the “Pape situation”; he clears things up with Amy.
Music: Peter Gabriel “That Voice Again”
(Length: 2:56 / Size: 2.8 MB / Format: mp3 128 kbps)


Can’t find Yumi after the interview; she tells me she’s lost her wallet (again); just as she’s about to cancel her credit card, I locate her wallet pinned under the seat; go bowling at the Japan Center lanes; head over to check out the new Metreon complex.
Music: XTC “I’d Like That”
(Length: 3:54 / Size: 3.7 MB / Format: mp3 128 kbps)

Read about Kyushu in National Geographic; excited to travel the world; thinking about the girl who waved to me last Friday; Meggin having nightmares about me and other women…; Sean gets info on our high school reunion.

Music: Laurel Aitken “The Ska is the Limit”
(Length: 2:04 / Size: 2 MB / Format: mp3 128 kbps)


I woke up at 10:30 and remembered that I was taking Todd to the Sting game at noon. We made it in time, though. The game was TOO cool! We had a great time. I’m going to try to get tickets for the 27th when they play Dallas. They won 9-6. At least I got to do something with Todd.
Music: The Art of Noise “Beat Box [Diversion One]“
(Length: 1:26 / Size: 1.4 MB / Format: mp3 128 kbps)


JET interview commences; glad to see Mariko Watanabe there; all three panelists very sociable, and the interview is more conversational that I’d expected; answer a barrage of questions; leave feeling confident about how things went.
Music: Shomuni OST “Big Company”
(Length: 5:20 / Size: 5 MB / Format: mp3 128 kbps)



Grant brings his Mustang over but it won’t start again; drive around all night, completely bored; run into Don Eaton; call Papes’ but Chad is not there; get scared at Galaxy World; Gina Salemi is our waitress at Wags; going away to school looking better all the time.

Music: Talking Heads “Road to Nowhere”
(Length: 3:39 / Size: 3.4 MB / Format: mp3 128 kbps)


Wake up at 4 to cram for interview; make it to the Radisson Miyako with one minute to spare; other applicants equally nervous, but I find out the interview won’t last more than 20 minutes; felt like I was waiting outside the room forever; tried to focus on breathing and keeping my cool.
Music: Shomuni OST “Main Theme”; “Business as Usual”
(Length: 4:10 / Size: 3.9 MB / Format: mp3 128 kbps)

Write Plato questions; do these kids ever stop playing basketball?; some guy wearing a silver lamé suit (with wings!) is being filmed on the roof behind us; go running; girls dancing topless on the beach to drums; I love this town!
Music: Groove Collective with Bernie Worrell “Rent Strike (D.J. Smash Remix)”
(Length: 1:35 / Size: 1.5 MB / Format: mp3 128 kbps)

Heat wave descends upon L.A.; while on the scooter, it feels like someone is holding a hair-dryer to my face; drop Vespa at Kentucky Fried Chicken drive-thru; wake up splayed out on the floor; Cherie gives me money to buy a helmet.
Music: Erasure “Too Darn Hot”
(Length: 2:06 / Size: 2 MB / Format: mp3 128 kbps)



Preparing for JET interview; brief overview of Japanese culture and education system; no time to review TESL course notes; run to de-stress; make photo for my interview voucher; spend an hour ironing shirt and shining shoes.
Music: Kahimi Karie “Good Morning World”
(Length: 3:03 / Size: 2.9 MB / Format: mp3 128 kbps)

Wake up feeling a bit out of it; finish “Barrio Boy”; play guitar; get the bike out; go running, make dinner; write short paper from AMST but can’t find the motivation; too tired to concentrate so I go to sleep; Descartes would have done much the same.

Music: Towa Tei “Dubnova (Part1&2)”
(Length: 1:21 / Size: 1.3 MB / Format: mp3 128 kbps)


St. Patrick’s Day; buy college guide; consider Bradley and Millikin as possible future schools; call Beth; says she can’t go to soccer game with me; Jim won’t “let” her go…; Mom and Dad having another talk with Todd; while talking about schools, Mom gets the wrong idea about the classes she’s taking.
Music: The Smiths “I Want The One I Can’t Have”
(Length: 3:02 / Size: 2.9 MB / Format: mp3 128 kbps)


Get some things for Yumi at the bookstore; I have to go to San Jose to get me suit fitted but Marcel and Muria have the car; end up going on my scooter; Yumi made a cake for me at Kiyoko’s the night before, as well as an origami bouquet; what a sweetie.
Music: Sakura “Tell Me”
(Length: 4:36 / Size: 4.3 MB / Format: mp3 128 kbps)

Good Philosophy discussion section; meet with Brook at Oakes after class; go to a couple of events that fizzle; I’m tired, but go to Redroom; upstairs this girl is throwing herself at me to make her boyfriend jealous; I’m out; spend $30!
Music: Delroy Wilson “Doing My Thing”
(Length: 2:23 / Size: 2.3 MB / Format: mp3 128 kbps)


Think more about being “stuck in DuPage county”; feel that I’m being left behind; realize that I need to get away from Wheaton; maybe go to another school in Illinois with Grant?; Mom supports this decision, knows that Todd and I are aware that she and Dad are having problems; time to do something different.

Music: Sting “Consider Me Gone”
(Length: 4:18 / Size: 4 MB / Format: mp3 128 kbps)


Grace leaves her wallet at Kuumbwa, calls to ask if we can help her out; Yumi and I have breakfast at the Silver Spur; Yumi studies with Kiyoko while I try to write; watch Japanese quiz show by myself as Yumi doesn’t return home until after nine.
Music: Pizzicato Five “Such A Beautiful Girl Like You”
(Length: 3:44 / Size: 3.5 MB / Format: mp3 128 kbps)


Move Case into new apartment (with Beau); we catch the bus north to Chicago, listening to Digital Underground; go to Blues Fest Saturday and Sunday; good vibe in Grant Park; ball joint on Todd’s car breaks; mood turns sour on Sunday, people arguing; Case almost spills out of the car onto expressway; fly back to L.A.
Music: Digital Underground “Doowutchyalike”; The Lonnie Brooks Blues Band “Two Headed Man”
(Length: 4:33 / Size: 4.3 MB / Format: mp3 128 kbps)

Too much has happened today; Sessie tells Grant all kinds of things about Amy that we never knew before; neither of us have any respect for her; oddly, Amy calls me for consolation; see Ann at the library; stop by Papes’ house and the situation is tense; talk with Scott Stone about North Central and realize I’m not happy there.
Music: Joe Jackson “Soul Kiss”
(Length: 4:42 / Size: 4.4 MB / Format: mp3 128 kbps)


Breakfast with Ted at Zachary’s; he and Yumi go to Yaohan while I try to write at the office; Mom says George mentioned something about a “transplant”; go to birthday party for Eisuke and Kiyoko; Ted and I the only non-Japanese there; misspell Kiyoko’s name and everyone laughs; better get used to it…
Music: Utada Hikaru “Never Let Go”
(Length: 4:00 / Size: 3.7 MB / Format: mp3 128 kbps)

Run into girl from Africa class at SMC; talk by prospective HistCon prof is both daunting and ridiculous; this is NOT what I want to become; skip meditation; Meggin is hoarse; I need to grip to somebody!; go for run at night.
Music: Juan Garcia Esquivel “Anna (El Negro Zumbon)”
(Length: 2:14 / Size: 2.1 MB / Format: mp3 128 kbps)

Fly to Birmingham to see Casey; running and swimming; up to Vulcan; Adam Ant headlines “Doo-Dah Day”; small time event in park, but we don’t care; crash car into median divider after show; Case wants to walk away, but we salvage car; lunch with Trish.
Music: Ice-T “I’m Your Pusher”; Adam Ant “Strip”
(Length: 4:37 / Size: 4.3 MB / Format: mp3 128 kbps)