Waxin’ Lyrical

So anyway, the girl in question has woken up and she’s busy playing Gyakuten Saiban on my DS when she should really be catching up on her reading/thinking about her essay she has to write. ;p

So. About Christmas so far.

This is the first Christmas I’ve spent away from my family. I’ve been asked by quite a few friends exactly why I chose to do that - why I chose to remain in a foreign land to celebrate the end of the year, instead of returning to the place of my birth where the company of family and friends would be assured. While it’s taken me a while to admit to it, I realise now that, despite all the other reasons I gave, the main reason why I stayed here in Japan was because, on some level, I had still hoped that she’d find a way to spend Christmas with me. I know, I know, it’s stupid, yes, I should give up all such silly thoughts, yes, yes, she no longer thinks about you in that way, blablabla.

I know all that.

But the feeling still persists.

Anyway. I was all set to spend these two weeks off from school by holing myself up inside my room, playing games, surfing the web, and generally being a sad depressed git. Imagine my surprise when I ended up recieving invitation after invitation to parties. It’s also important to note here that when I say parties I mean dinner parties, where friends gather at someone’s place, and food is prepared, and we talk. This is, of course, vastly different from the mass drunken stupidness that is normally termed as a party in frat houses all across America - parties of those kind I’ve tried to enjoy, but they’re just not my style. No, these were parties where people who cared about each other came together to celebrate a year gone by, to commemorate new friendships formed and cherish old ones upheld, and to rejoice in each other’s company. Maybe it’s just a Japanese thing, but this hospitality shown to me by people I’d known for a mere 3 months eclipsed even the thoughtful gestures of people I’d known for years now. It was this kindness, this willingness to spread a little cheer to someone who dreadfully needed it that prompted my earlier post on my gratefulness for my friends being there for me.

Now, for those who weren’t aware, Christmas in Japan isn’t so much a holiday for families as it is for couples - Christmas Eve, on particular, might as well be another Valentine’s Day (putting aside for the moment how differently Valentine’s Day is celebrated here as opposed to in, say, the United States). Of course, that meant no shortage of lovey-dovey couples unabashedly displaying their affection for each other in public. This being for me still rather a sensitive period, there were more than a few pin-pricks felt by yours truly, that much I will admit. However, there’ve also been quite a few displays of love that have warmed my heart. By this I mean not the overt “I want to tongue you in public” gestures that are so popular among people our age nowadays, but the quiet, gentle, subtle kind. The look a newly wed wife gives to her husband, as they describe exactly how they met, what they found so attractive in each other. The way a girl cheers on her boyfriend tackling Bing Crosby’s White Christmas in a karaoke joint. The expression on a guy’s face as he tells you how much he looks forward to seeing his girlfriend in a kimono on New Year’s Day. That voice of longing telling you how much he misses his girlfriend back in Hong Kong.

Again, it might just be my somewhat delicate state of mind at present, but I couldn’t help thinking, at all those moments mentioned above, that that was it. That was how it felt like to be in love. A simple, unadultered desire to be with that someone special, to be with him or her, and to never leave their side. It was a wonderful feeling, and for while, albeit by proxy, I got to feel it again, thanks to all of them. That, more than anything, was also what prompted my earlier post wishing all the lovers in the world a Merry Christmas.

Indeed, right, here, right now, I’d like to raise another toast to love. Here’s to love, and the lovers. May they last eternal.

Though friends (like the aforementioned girl - yes, we are just friends) are indeed wonderful to have, and life would indeed be so much sadder in their absence, there is no equal to love, no equal in making me feel utter contentment, utter bliss.

To love, and the lovers. May they last eternal.

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 28th, 2006 at 8:07 pm and is filed under Journal Entry. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.