Those afflicted with OCD would understand that i have a bizarre obsession with the screen covers on my iPhone. If the cutouts aren't aligned perfectly or there is some obnoxious dust caught underneath in clear view, a jittery uneasiness consumes my body. So when during an intoxicated night out in Shimokita where i dropped my phone AND ran over it with my bicycle, an opportunity to replace the screen cover arose.

Fitting the cutouts perfectly over the home button and camera, while time consuming, is not terribly difficult. The dust that inevitably gets caught between is bearable unless it so happens to be right in the middle of the screen. After some research online, i discovered that some people found success in circumventing this dusty predicament by installing the screen in the bathroom with the shower running.

Admittedly i peruse forums all the time for useless information and am skeptical of 90% of them yet i found myself trying them out anyways. To my pleasant surprise, it actually works. Small pleasures like these are what keeps me hopeful in life.

This excerpt from Haruki Murakami’s book “Norwegian Wood” was brought to my attention once:

「天気の良い日に美しい湖にボートを浮かべて、空もきれいだし、湖もきれいというのと同じことです」

which roughly translates to “Drifting on a boat on a lovely day, the beautiful sky and beautiful lake are the same. “

This is the protagonist’s metaphor for the feeling of justification/torment of loving two people at the same time.

Can we really truly love only one “soulmate”? What is true love anyways? Does it even exist? The rampant divorces and cheating in our society will attest to the contrary. Even scientific research shows that chemicals released by the brain when people "fall in love" recede after 1-3 years.

Undeniably love comes in various states and attitudes and consequently affection can be felt for multiple people, albeit a different state as it is for food and music, etc. Perhaps it's the Disney-fed rose-colored glasses Hollywood bullshit that we are inundated with, combined with the torrents of weddings this year (that's what happens when you approach your mid-30s) that i find my faith in true love caught between a rock and a hard place so to speak.

Statistics, science, and personal experience will point otherwise but since when has that stopped anyone in believing in the intangible you know to be true. It may not exist after all, but for better or worse, faith is the one thing that makes us human.