Ceremonial Fluff?

The human desire for ceremonies is interesting. I recently went to a friend's wedding, where I was a part of the ceremony (the BridesMAN if you must know... and no, there was no dress to wear). Mind you, it was nice to be a part of it and a great honor to be a big part of my friend's life like that. However, why do we need ceremonies in the first place?

Imagine this: a world without ceremonies to fluff up the reason to do something. Wanna get married? You just declare it. period. Wanna get divorced? You casuallly mention it to someone. Graduation? Certification is in the mail. The world would be so much more efficient.

But I think it'd also be sterile. I think something in our emotional core craves the excitement of a "big event" ala ceremonies. A "show" if you will to make things more memorably by adding stress to the particpant's lives (memories are consolidated better when there's a strong emotional association with it). I think without ceremonies people would feel empty of accomplishment.

But I still think it'd be funny to consider a world without ceremonies. It'd be the anti-climactic world :) "people have voted - and mr XXX is the new president... now get to work!" or "you two like each other? You're married!"

Photo(n) Torpedoes Away!

Set up a link to my yahoo album(s) site. For those of you who are mouse-handicapped, or are just too lazy to find the link itself, here it is:

http://photos.yahoo.com/jtobayashi

Found Wallet!

Jo Jo has been found! Hurrah! He was hiding in a pile of laundry, just waiting to pounce on the unsuspeting cash pile that would happen to come by (he hasn't been fed in a while).

Lost Wallet

if anyone finds a black wallet with little cash and lots of scraps of paper, please email me. His name is Jo-Jo. he's been gone since last night and is very missed.

Road Trippin' 101

So this post is a week late - I apologize to my fans (all 3 of you) for doing this...

The 3-day weekend was spent in Arizona this year with Steph and another climbing buddy. We did (what else?) some climbing on some rad limestone in Flagstaff, checked out the mystical wonders of Sedona, and woke up early to see the sunset in the Grand Canyon. Not bad for 72 hours.

So, this is what I propose to all future road trips: A road trip is NOT a road trip unless the following conditions have been met:

1) You have an intelligent (intelligent is up for debate) conversation with a local. This conversation must last for at least 15 minutes or until one party starts imbibing alcohol, which ever comes first (should be easy in Australia).

2) You must see an absolutely bizarre object that no one "back home" would believe i.e. a Big Rig on stilts (approximately 40 ft up) on the side of Interstate 40, in Arizona.

3) Get drunk

4) Have an adventure (advenure = when the shit hits the fan and you escape unscathed)

5) Make fun of tourists (you can do this by acting like a tourist for a day and taking pictures)

Did my trip meet these criteria? Most definitely :)