`Willows Are Never Broken By The Snow` (Ancient Japanese Proverb Nobody Knows)

7 February 2005 Monday
February 3... Setsubun.Supposed to be the start of Spring in the traditional Japanese calendar.Of course it coincides with the coldest week of the year weatherwise.We had snow Wednesday.About 5cm.Just enough to be irritating.Trains were delayed.The balcony was covered in a thin layer of powder snow.My cacti sulked.

Random Thoughts.
Went out for dinner this week.Out by subway for 20minutes into the depths of Nagoya.One of the outer most suburbs.Complete with its own Gap, English schools, supermarkets and coffee shops.
Which got me to thinking..Where does one take girls who work at Starbucks for coffee?
Me: You wanna go for a coffee.?
Her:Duh thats original havent you noticed Im working as a slave for 800yen an hour serving overpriced mediocre lukewarm bean dust in paper cups ?

(sigh... probably wasnt going to work anyway)

During the week I watched the classic western "The Big Country".Gregory Peck`s character was nicknamed "The Dude" on account of his fancy clothes by one of the uncouth tobacco chomping cowboys.I wonder if the character in the Coen Brothers movie `The Big Lebowski` is a nod to that movie..a kind of homage of sorts.

Ive been parking my bicycle besides this old battered blue womens bicycle for the last 3 weeks or so.Its been carefully locked and has another chain and lock tethering it to the metal gate.It doesnt appear to have moved since I first noticed it.
How did it get there?
Why is it still there?
What happened to its rider? Was it stolen?Is it abandoned?
To be left.Collected by some zealous city worker .To end its days rusting.In North Korea.Where it will no doubt be sent to spend its final days.