The Sad Stuff

Kind of real post here.

When you go away, you need to know that things will happen. Unchangeable things. People will die. Pets will die. Your parents will move and your childhood home will belong to someone else. Yeah, the backyard fort too. 

You might even feel that somehow this might all be tied to you in someway. You feel responsible for for it and might try to move back. Perhaps you are right. In one of my cases I had a love bird who was pretty young, only 3 years old. And barely that. My sad news of his death came last November. I didn't even get to see him at Christmas. And his death was pretty sudden too. He lacked for no food and no drink and was entertained by another nearby bird. He showed no signs of sickness, but was one day irrevocably dead. I have been gone for years now, but that didn't stop my dream that I was going to go back and pick up things where I last left them. My bird would love me and cuddle me again, my dog would not be an old lady, Gwen would still hate me and the world. Well at least the last one would still be true for now. And perhaps if I was indeed home, it would not have happened, perhaps Goose died from lack of emotional attachment. Who knows really. You can't go back and change it sadly. But moving back now? After the fact? That won't change anything. 

Another sad story was just before my first year ended abroad. It was July 4th and I was in Korea, my grandfather died. Good Ole Granddad, a world war two vet and a model train enthusiast and probably one of the people that convinced me to see the world, had been having lots and lots of trouble lately. He had been suffering cardiac arrests, strokes, arthritis  and I think even his last stroke was so bad it left him in a terrible state where it was hard for him to do much besides sleep. He wasn't really expected to make it too long but I still had hope that he could make it until I saw him one last time. That didn't happen. But our goodbye was perfect and memorable and he was still fully functioning and I am sure he would want me to remember him that way. Being home instead of in Korea would never have changed his condition, but it might have eased his burden a small bit, he wouldn't have to stress and worry about the only adventurous grandchild to go out into the world alone and forget her sword. But either way, it was his time soon. You can only struggle for so long. 

Now my greatest fear is something happening to my wonderful cook of a grandmother. The one who makes me the worlds best cheesecakes every time I visit. The one who would entertain me for days upon days so my parents could get the Christmas shopping done. The only one I have left. I am lucky though that she seems to be in perfect health, weak at the joints, but fine otherwise. Christmas' are still the event of the year. 

The last one I mentioned about parents moving from your childhood home, that hasn't happen yet, and in fact it isn't really even my childhood home, but the one I identify with most (also it is seriously awesome), but they tell me it will happen. They tell me it will happen before I make it back home permanently even. Just another shoe waiting to drop.

And now what has happened to make me write this post. My dog has cancer.

 You might think oh but you still have have time to go home and see her one last time. Sadly I don't. Her cancer is terminal and  it is so rapid that in less than one week it has began and swelled to such a size that for a normal vet to call it inoperable. We will take her to a specialist soon and see what they say, but the future looks pretty grim. It had probably first started with this cell mass that we saw back in November and had removed and then in December, she was coned the entire month. She then had a cracked tooth in mid January which we had to get pulled. And after that, my parents came to visit me in Japan, unfortunately, when they got back at the end of January, just a few days later, the tell tale lump was waiting for them. And it is additionally really sad since we had a vet assistant coming and feeding her and walking her every day since she was on drugs for the tooth while my parents were gone. Since it was noticed it was quintupled in size and spread from her neck to an area just behind her ears. Her time is short and my parents and brother are doing their best to make sure that it is the best possible for her. 

Going abroad you have a choice. You have the choice to leave it all behind and be selfish, experience culture, mentally grow in exponential proportions, and let us not forget, have the adventure of a lifetime. But things will change. People move on, pet move on, your friends will move, your parents. When you go back it will almost be like starting over. You need to properly grieve for everything, miss them, and love them, but not regret anything. So going abroad is not for the weak of will, or overly emotional. But I can promise you, living abroad is not something I have once regretted. 

Pet Shop of Surprises

I can't resist a good pet shop.

In general pet shops in Japan and America are the same. They have you usual puppies and kitties and insanely high prices. I have not actually found a breeder here yet or anyone selling animals in general. It seems like once you buy it, you are stuck with it...even if you don't want it. I think that might be one of the more interesting things to me. When I first got here I searched up and down for a bird or dog that someone was selling (getting rid of) and needed a new home. However they were not to be found. Japanese people either really love their pets or they just don't give up. It is a touch inspiring.
But back to the pet stores! You can find pretty much the same things as an American store with a few exepctions. Those exceptions being meerkats, owls, and monkeys. But yup! Pretty similar.
I must admit, when I first saw the meerkat I thought to myself what an oddly restless and unbeautiful dog. It was no dog. It was right next to the dogs. And in a dogs kennel. And evidently people buy them and want to have them, as in three weeks time it was sold. The monkeys are small I-fit-inside-your-hat type of monkeys. And are adorable and a bit reserved. For whatever reason I did not find it incredibly odd they were there. Well, I mean they were no longer odd after I found the meerkat. Lastly, when visiting and playing with the birds as I always do, I came upon a very large barn owl cooped up in a darkened cage that really seemed way too small for it. Now this was surprising. I thought you had to have licenses or something to own one? Perhaps you still do and need to present it upon purchase. The owl was beautiful and it seemed to have been there a while as it was immune to all the noise and hubbub that filtered in from the busy street. It could be that pet owls became a popular item after the Harry Potter movies. I can't say.
In addition to the few featured unusual pets, the pet stores differ in that they are exceedingly expensive. A Shiba Inu dog can set you back nearly 200000yen. The older they get the cheaper they are as people prefer them to be very young at the time of purchase. And thus you can buy one for 98000 or so yen. Other dogs are less in demand or perhaps they are just in surplus and are typically cheaper, but not by much. I actually did not look at how much it would be to own an owl or a meerkat. But I promise to do so upon my next visit.