journal features

woke up saying so

the journal of Michael Werneburg

twenty-seven years and one million words

Kawasaki, 2020.04.19

I woke up from a mid-day nap by happily announcing, "I'm awake!" I then wondered aloud who I thought I was talking to. In unrelated news, today marks three weeks since I've had a conversation with anyone face to face. The only conversations I've had recently have been with grocery store clerks, and they go something like:

clerk: "Something"

me: "I don't need a plastic bag, I have a backpack."

me, later: "I'd like to pay by credit card."

clerk: "Something"

me: "One time."

Mari and I were laughing about the potential variants.

clerk: "Oh, that's my favorite natto."

me: "I don't need a plastic bag, I have a backpack."

me, later: "I'd like to pay by credit card."

clerk: "You're new in this neighborhood, aren't you?"

me: "One time."

rand()m quote

On the endless saga of Rob Ford, mayor of Toronto; "It shouldn't have had to come to this. I'm so tired of getting up every morning and wondering, 'What will it be today?' I'm so tired of giving the benefit of the doubt again and again, only to be let down again and again.... Somewhere a responsible adult has to appear, draw a bright moral line, tell the truth and say unequivocally what won't be tolerated. Somebody has to do the right thing."

—Denzil Minnan-Wong