"Every day I am looking at the market developments with a sense of alarm and urgency," the paper quoted Nakagawa as saying in reference to yen volatility in an interview. Reuters.

Me too, though not about the yen volatility that Nakagawa was talking about. So for the last week, I have been trying to avoid newspapers, the Internet and anything else that could cause current events to ruin my day.

This seems to work as I am able to take a more relaxed view of life. A few days ago when I saw some fine students from a nearby private girls school force a little old lady using a cane to come to a stop and squeeze herself up against the wall so that she would not interfere with their hogging of the entire sidewalk, I was barely bothered. I resisted the thought of grabbing granny's stick and using it on the young queens, but instead looked at the bright side---since they do the same thing to me, it meant that I was getting no special foreigner treatment. I was so pleased with that thought, that I entirely forgot about them and was unable to stop and squeeze myself up against the wall. This resulted in collisions and confusion. The confusion being mostly mine as they barely broke pace but continued chatting and giggling and looking for someone else to trample.*

This know-nothing state is so nice that I believe I'll continue it until 2009. I actually know a few folks who always seem to be in such a state. Perhaps they have learned something over the years.

*I now understand why some older folks are so pushy and aggressive in crowded places. Sixty years of being pushed and shoved tends to make one a bit tired of enduring it passively.