Elektric!

Wasn't able to post "from the show floor" like I said I would in my last post, but I will give an update at a later date. Too much catching up to do.

But, I spent last week in Japan (after spending a whole day at home after E3!!!) giving presentations and whatnot, but on Saturday, I attended the burial of my grandfather. He actually died back in February, but we've kept him on ice since then, as the planet alignment wasn't quite right for a proper burial (just kidding... he was cremated, and it takes a while to get through all the paperwork and whatnot to go through with the actual burial in Japan, despite the fact that my grandfather had actually purchased a plot of land over 30 years ago).

Since most of the grieving happened back when he actually died, while the ceremony was certainly somber, it wasn't depressing. In fact, it was actually quite pleasant. I got to see family that I hadn't seen since I was in grade school, and a few family members that I used to be really close with that I hadn't seen in close to 10 years. While tears were not scarce during the actual burial, afterwards, people were smiling, laughing, and sharing stories about my grandfather. I think he would have been very happy to see people remembering him so fondly...

Now, onto the subject title! My mom's cousin (who is only 36, so she's closer to my age than my mom's) had moved to Kyushuu a while back, got married to a half-Japanese guy, and had a daughter about 5 years ago. The last time I saw her was about 8 years ago, so seeing her on Saturday was a pleasant surprise, as we used to be fairly close. She brought her little girl, Hana, who was the most adorable little ball of energy I ever met. Strangely, she came running up to me (despite never having met her before) and began talking to me like I'd known her since she was born. She held my hand, followed me everywhere, and even demanded to sit on my lap when we got into the car to go to the restaurant where we were having lunch. Her mom thought it was cute the way we got along and she asked Hana why she liked me so much, and her response was, "Because he's so handsome and I want to marry him!" So adorable! She even asked her mom to marry me so we could all go home together. Maki (my mom's cousin) tried to explain the whole "incest" thing without being too straight forward, but I think it was lost on the poor girl.

However, during lunch, Hana started talking about her father... then began saying how much I looked like her father and how she wished I was her father. Poor thing. Her father left the family for another woman, which is why they moved back to Tokyo, and I'm sure she misses her father dearly. I felt compelled to protect her, but at the same time, I didn't want to overstep my boundaries and make things more difficult for her mom. Though, I did promise her that I would take her out for lunch and to the park next time I'm in Tokyo.

(And she drew a picture for me! Her mom faxed it to me the next morning... it's on my refrigerator door now. I'm such a sap... I guess that's why I'm The Cheese, though.)