Went out for a run for the first time in over a week today. Losing my job, and having the marathon I was training for canceled really fucked with my spirits. Now one of the biggest fireworks shows in Japan, which takes place near my home in August, has also been canceled. The Olympics being canned means that basically everyone is pressured to cancel their shit, too, and social pressure here is kind of everything.
So not only was the April marathon I was gunning for scratched off the list, I also expect my long term goal of running the 100-mile, Shinestsu Five Mountains Trail Ultramarathon in September, to be foiled. After seeing so many events which bring joy to people’s spirits axed, and now seeing businesses I love forced to close down or cut hours, I’ve been in a funk. To put it very lightly. I suspect even my favorite city-wide summer festival — the Duke Ellington Memorial ‘Niigata Jazz Street– is also toast.
So what do I do? I can’t fucking sit around just feeling like shit forever. So here’s to the new pirate summer.
When the beach is advised against, or illegal as it is in some places now in the world, and the only businesses trying to stay open have to remain somewhat secret, enjoying summer becomes more of an agorist art. And nature something of a commodity to be looted from the prevailing powers and social pressures that be. The sunlight is gold. The sea is diamonds. A cold beer with friends in nature is sacrilege.
Anyway. I feel a little better after running today. Waiting on the seeds in the garden to pop up as green seedlings. Thinking of alternate ways to make money, barter, and trade, but it’s overwhelming as fuck at times. That said, I’m alive now. I’ve also been writing a bit. If you’d like to read my latest piece,
Dear Social Distance Warriors: ‘Responsibility to Society’ Is Meaningless Without Self-Ownership
you can do so here.
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