Addendum to yesterday's post...just a few more things that happened, but slipped my mind when i was writing it. first, my supervisor unintentionally acted as my wingman (wingwoman?) with cute colleague. we were talking about social media, or social network services (SNS) as they're known in japan. i offhandedly said that i didn't really use line, and that my contacts list was kind of empty. she followed up by telling cute colleague, "you should add each other!". totally unplanned and unexpected. so, he's on my contact list now. as a result, i know his birthday (public on his profile), and how he looks maskless. i think he got thinner since his profile photo was taken. but anyway, that was an unexpected surprise. unfortunately for me, i think he's straight, so he may not be a romantic prospect. still, i feel like i owe it to myself to remove all doubt before writing him off.

the next surprise was a bit less pleasant. so by chance, i stumbled upon a profile of the ex. in it, he made a reference to being on the lookout for recreational drugs. not judging, but it's not something i approve of. it's a bit of an unfair statement, considering i don't have first-hand experience with drugs, and thus can't really present a balanced argument. but i know enough about how destructive addiction can be. although that's questionable too, since i don't know the addictive potential of whatever he's looking for. still, i'm grateful for the distance between us now, because i don't want to be tangled up in that sort of mess. in the spirit of trying everything once, i have thought about doing things like smoking and taking drugs before. at the same time, i think that the potential costs outweigh whatever benefits that there might be in my particular case. so, if i do it at all, it'll be when i have much less to lose - say, like when i'm on the verge of death or terminally ill. for the record, i don't feel anything for the ex. i'm concerned about him like i would be for any other human being, but i'm not about to interfere in his life, or rush to his rescue, or render any help even if he asks.

finally, the last surprise has to do with age. there's this guy i know from work. he's not with the board of education, but in one of the other departments in the town hall. he speaks good english because he used to date an american girl, but he ended up marrying a japanese girl. i even met his wife and kid (bumped into the whole family shopping at the supermarket). all this while, i'd always thought he was younger than me, because he looks young and has a one year old kid. so, kind of like at the stage of just starting his family. while we were talking yesterday, he casually mentioned that he had been to singapore when he was in primary 6, 25 years ago. do the maths, and you'll figure out that he's 37 years old! i swear, he looks 10 years younger than his actual age. i think it might be the fresh air, good food, and low-stress lifestyle here. actually, although mine are low, i don't know how other people's stress levels are. that's because as a JET, i sort of exist outside of the normal japanese hierarchy. it's good, because i can get away with doing things that would be unforgivable for a regular employee to do...like getting greetings wrong, or using wrong keigo. that probably won't be the case if i work for a regular company, so i guess i'd better learn while on JET.

-random thought of the day: Nice relaxing day today.-