King of Misfortunes
Since time has passed so quickly, my series "Stories of Terrible Misfortunes" has reached its 10th story, but I think this'll be the last one for the series.
There are 3 reasons.
One, as the 10th story it's a good place to stop and have a renewal.
Another, I think 'I have to face forward in life right!'
Another, I was visited by a misfortune that's suitable for the last one...
That's right... The King of Misfortunes happened to me...
Every day I seclude myself in my room and make an effort at pre-production, and though I may be called 'hikikomori', this is my livelihood so it can't be helped. Speaking of going out, whether it's voice training or casually going to the convenience store in the dead of night to stock up on my food supply, when I go out I'm in a state of being disconnected from the sun. But even though it may be a human sorrow, my stomach diminishes and I simply have to go consume my daily necessities. Therefore when something is a necessity, it's about money as you'd expect.
When payday comes I have a habit of withdrawing everything. For some reason, perhaps because I find a lot of things troublesome by nature, it's annoying to go to the bank several times, but it's useful to have money on hand one way or another, and it's senseless to withdraw it at the convenience store because they take out a processing fee, so there are various reasons but when it's all said and done, it's a trouble.
Even when I think about it now, it seems likely that staying at home is a divine punishment that fell on me, but nevertheless I needed one month to get myself back together...
It happened at the end of August. It was when I was fed up with a heat wave that wouldn't lessen whatsoever.
That day, I was grudgingly going to the bank to check the money I had been paid, and push the Withdraw button and stuff the cash into my wallet. Then I went to the supermarket to buy enough general goods to use for one month, tissues and toilet paper and a great amount of toilet sheets for my boys. Anyhow, there was an absurd amount of sheets. There were four bags with 40 sheets to a bag, that is to say, I need 160 sheets in a month. However, for better or for worse, my boys don't always go relieve themselves at the same place, and so if I don't change the sheet each time, the damage will extend to my furniture and equipment. (It's unusually easy to aim at high things...) Taking this into consideration, that's the minimum quantity that I need, at least.
Carrying my bags with both hands, and looking quite like Marshmallow Man from the Ghostbusters, I finally made it back to my house. I opened the door and set down all my bags, then I suppose my usual bad lifestyle cursed me, my stamina ran out and I helplessly collapsed right where I was.
For a little while I was in the entranceway gazing up and trying to get my breathing in order. When I somehow got fired up, I then put the huge quantity of goods I had bought into the kitchen, and went to my room to change into house clothes.
"Hm?"
I had a vaguely uncomfortable feeling... Stopping right where I was, I looked around, but the cause of my uncomfortable feeling didn't seem to be in my room... "What is it?" I was thinking, as I subconsciously took my cigarettes, room keys, and mobile phone from my pockets.
"Ah!!"
Then I finally noticed. Could it be that I didn't have something important? Yes, my wallet...
Could this month's living expenses, or rather, everything I own, be in that wallet? I felt the blood drain quickly from my whole body. I slipped on my sandals and burst out of the doorway, hurriedly backtracking the road I took, while looking around restlessly, all the way to the supermarket. Thinking about the things I had bought, I searched all around inside the store. But, nothing. I tried asking the old ladies at the cash registers too, but nobody had turned in a wallet...
After I had finally made as much as 10 trips to and from the supermarket, I headed for a police box in the neighbourhood and filled out a report for form's sake, then returned home while shedding tears in my heart.
However, this was the question, my head was full of wondering how on earth I'd live from now on. Whether or not it was a small blessing in a misfortune, I'd already bought food for my sons and had nothing but that and their toilet sheets.
The question after this was the cost for food in one month... Since I can't cook for myself at any rate, if I don't have rice I won't have vegetables either. I support myself on bento from a convenience store every day, so in a day or two I wouldn't have any food... is what I was thinking.
Therefore I thought, 'That's right!! For now I'll sell something!! That way I'll make ends meet!!' but this is how my own nature ruins me. Things I can sell and turn into money are my personal treasures; I can't expect to part with equipment I've had from the very beginning and collections that I've accumulated with many years of hardship. Next I thought such things as, 'That's right!! A daytime job!! I'll go work at a construction site!!' but up until now I haven't been concerned with "Toraichi" so I drowned out that idea right away.
After my various worries, I couldn't help but break open my 'piggy bank' or rather, 'sake bottle bank'. I had occasionally been dropping coins into a sake bottle that had been drunk dry.
I went into the garden and carefully struck the bottom of the bottle with a rock until the bottom cracked off, and taking care to not touch any of the glass, started scraping together and counting the small change.
2785 yen. No matter how many times I counted it, the amount didn't change... This was now everything I owned. From this amount I would have to work out the budget for cigarettes, food, and train rides. It is most necessary for train rides, because if I can't haggle there's no way I could ride free of charge. When I thought about that a bit, I took 1000 yen.
And cigarettes. For this, it's not that I'd die if I don't have them, but to me it's a necessity. Nevertheless, I can't get out of an urgent problem without making a sacrifice...
'This month I'll do my best and get through on just one pack!!'
That being said, 300 yen.
Which means the remaining 1485 yen would be my food expense, but in usual circumstances I'd use that up in a day or two... After I thought about it, I went to the Omoidefuki Supermarket and bought 7 packs of 3-pack udon noodles for 150 yen each. With this, deducting the train fare from my remaining money, I had 435 yen. Nowadays elementary school students would be more rich than me...
But somehow, I was full of determination at this time like 'Yoiko no Hamaguchi' who leads a surprisingly poor life and still says "You can do it! If you try you can do it!!" and challenged himself with a pure fighting spirit.
As a result, I lost 10 kilos in one month. For better or worse, I slimmed down. Now that I was able to fit into clothes I had been wearing several years ago, the change was like a formal meeting with friends I haven't met in a long time... Ahh, at least I was able to conquer the misfortune. If you say all of that serves me right, I'm still living one way or another.
'Ah!! Which reminds me, tomorrow is the payday I've been waiting for!!'
The end...
It may be how I planned it, but I'm still loved by misfortunes... This is the second time I wrote this manuscript... Immediately after I wrote it the first time, Gucci turned off my power...
Ah... stories of terrible misfortunes.
There are 3 reasons.
One, as the 10th story it's a good place to stop and have a renewal.
Another, I think 'I have to face forward in life right!'
Another, I was visited by a misfortune that's suitable for the last one...
That's right... The King of Misfortunes happened to me...
Every day I seclude myself in my room and make an effort at pre-production, and though I may be called 'hikikomori', this is my livelihood so it can't be helped. Speaking of going out, whether it's voice training or casually going to the convenience store in the dead of night to stock up on my food supply, when I go out I'm in a state of being disconnected from the sun. But even though it may be a human sorrow, my stomach diminishes and I simply have to go consume my daily necessities. Therefore when something is a necessity, it's about money as you'd expect.
When payday comes I have a habit of withdrawing everything. For some reason, perhaps because I find a lot of things troublesome by nature, it's annoying to go to the bank several times, but it's useful to have money on hand one way or another, and it's senseless to withdraw it at the convenience store because they take out a processing fee, so there are various reasons but when it's all said and done, it's a trouble.
Even when I think about it now, it seems likely that staying at home is a divine punishment that fell on me, but nevertheless I needed one month to get myself back together...
It happened at the end of August. It was when I was fed up with a heat wave that wouldn't lessen whatsoever.
That day, I was grudgingly going to the bank to check the money I had been paid, and push the Withdraw button and stuff the cash into my wallet. Then I went to the supermarket to buy enough general goods to use for one month, tissues and toilet paper and a great amount of toilet sheets for my boys. Anyhow, there was an absurd amount of sheets. There were four bags with 40 sheets to a bag, that is to say, I need 160 sheets in a month. However, for better or for worse, my boys don't always go relieve themselves at the same place, and so if I don't change the sheet each time, the damage will extend to my furniture and equipment. (It's unusually easy to aim at high things...) Taking this into consideration, that's the minimum quantity that I need, at least.
Carrying my bags with both hands, and looking quite like Marshmallow Man from the Ghostbusters, I finally made it back to my house. I opened the door and set down all my bags, then I suppose my usual bad lifestyle cursed me, my stamina ran out and I helplessly collapsed right where I was.
For a little while I was in the entranceway gazing up and trying to get my breathing in order. When I somehow got fired up, I then put the huge quantity of goods I had bought into the kitchen, and went to my room to change into house clothes.
"Hm?"
I had a vaguely uncomfortable feeling... Stopping right where I was, I looked around, but the cause of my uncomfortable feeling didn't seem to be in my room... "What is it?" I was thinking, as I subconsciously took my cigarettes, room keys, and mobile phone from my pockets.
"Ah!!"
Then I finally noticed. Could it be that I didn't have something important? Yes, my wallet...
Could this month's living expenses, or rather, everything I own, be in that wallet? I felt the blood drain quickly from my whole body. I slipped on my sandals and burst out of the doorway, hurriedly backtracking the road I took, while looking around restlessly, all the way to the supermarket. Thinking about the things I had bought, I searched all around inside the store. But, nothing. I tried asking the old ladies at the cash registers too, but nobody had turned in a wallet...
After I had finally made as much as 10 trips to and from the supermarket, I headed for a police box in the neighbourhood and filled out a report for form's sake, then returned home while shedding tears in my heart.
However, this was the question, my head was full of wondering how on earth I'd live from now on. Whether or not it was a small blessing in a misfortune, I'd already bought food for my sons and had nothing but that and their toilet sheets.
The question after this was the cost for food in one month... Since I can't cook for myself at any rate, if I don't have rice I won't have vegetables either. I support myself on bento from a convenience store every day, so in a day or two I wouldn't have any food... is what I was thinking.
Therefore I thought, 'That's right!! For now I'll sell something!! That way I'll make ends meet!!' but this is how my own nature ruins me. Things I can sell and turn into money are my personal treasures; I can't expect to part with equipment I've had from the very beginning and collections that I've accumulated with many years of hardship. Next I thought such things as, 'That's right!! A daytime job!! I'll go work at a construction site!!' but up until now I haven't been concerned with "Toraichi" so I drowned out that idea right away.
After my various worries, I couldn't help but break open my 'piggy bank' or rather, 'sake bottle bank'. I had occasionally been dropping coins into a sake bottle that had been drunk dry.
I went into the garden and carefully struck the bottom of the bottle with a rock until the bottom cracked off, and taking care to not touch any of the glass, started scraping together and counting the small change.
2785 yen. No matter how many times I counted it, the amount didn't change... This was now everything I owned. From this amount I would have to work out the budget for cigarettes, food, and train rides. It is most necessary for train rides, because if I can't haggle there's no way I could ride free of charge. When I thought about that a bit, I took 1000 yen.
And cigarettes. For this, it's not that I'd die if I don't have them, but to me it's a necessity. Nevertheless, I can't get out of an urgent problem without making a sacrifice...
'This month I'll do my best and get through on just one pack!!'
That being said, 300 yen.
Which means the remaining 1485 yen would be my food expense, but in usual circumstances I'd use that up in a day or two... After I thought about it, I went to the Omoidefuki Supermarket and bought 7 packs of 3-pack udon noodles for 150 yen each. With this, deducting the train fare from my remaining money, I had 435 yen. Nowadays elementary school students would be more rich than me...
But somehow, I was full of determination at this time like 'Yoiko no Hamaguchi' who leads a surprisingly poor life and still says "You can do it! If you try you can do it!!" and challenged himself with a pure fighting spirit.
As a result, I lost 10 kilos in one month. For better or worse, I slimmed down. Now that I was able to fit into clothes I had been wearing several years ago, the change was like a formal meeting with friends I haven't met in a long time... Ahh, at least I was able to conquer the misfortune. If you say all of that serves me right, I'm still living one way or another.
'Ah!! Which reminds me, tomorrow is the payday I've been waiting for!!'
The end...
It may be how I planned it, but I'm still loved by misfortunes... This is the second time I wrote this manuscript... Immediately after I wrote it the first time, Gucci turned off my power...
Ah... stories of terrible misfortunes.
Notes:
1. You may have heard the word Hikikomori before. Basically means someone who spends all their time inside.2. Toraichi is a company/brand name that makes a lot of clothing such as construction and workers' gear.
3. Yoiko Hamaguchi is an actor, I think.