Dis?hsin, Revisited

Keeping the message alive

I publish all of my stuff natively on my Substack , which I am still, after a year of using it, pleasantly surprised with. But not everyone's on it, or heard of it, or even likes it, so every once in a while I repost modified versions of original creations to other platforms (obviously Linkedin, my own website , Ghost , etc.). It is, after all a whole bunch of work to put this stuff together.

Some folx will bemoan that "it's hard work" statement, but they likely create shit content lol. None of this stuff that I put out there is intended for anyone but myself; these are my reflections my hobbies, my inspirations, and as such, I dive pretty deep into the things I produce. Research, linking, photography, backstories, etc. Giving my experiences words and form for me to play with after the fact is a very excellent way for me to better understand what it is that I'm doing on any given day, week, month, or year, and where I'm headed.

I think they used to call that journaling.

But, I also recognize that it's possible others find this stuff interesting - thus these public releases on various platforms for you, dear reader, to enjoy if you please. But I must reiterate my firm belief that the seed of good creative output is your own interests, which you really can't force. That's not selfishness; that's just humanity, the core of experiential narratives, the raw form of which is, more often than not, pretty interesting to others. Without it, you're just creating content, which is vapid, daft, and hollow.

I walk a pretty hard line between those 2 and don't have much time for the latter. Incidentally, this is also why I'm not overly concerned with AI, but that's another story for another time.

Anyway, enough with the intro to old but modified content. Let's get this show on the road.

Go with the flow, man.

I was recently invited down to Ishigaki, way past Okinawa, by some friends in the IT sector to discuss a few specific projects and general trajectories from an international perspective, but also to, arguably more importantly, eat a bunch of local delicacies, drink plentifully from the deeply southern island’s unlimited supply of awamori , and dive with the wide variety of aquatic wildlife that the region is known for.

Arguably the best business trip I’ve ever taken.

An August Miracle

Even the flight was outstanding, 100% thanks to ANA’s masterful grasp of in-person customer service. Seriously stellar stuff, smooth as butter. Not that I often have bad experiences, but a notably good one is, well, noteworthy.

But before I get to that, I’ve gotta mention the lead up, which was anything but good.

I used to use Hopper a lot, especially in the US. My favorite was always Southern Airways and still is, but they only fly Cessnas, which don’t go to many large hubs, so I defaulted to Hopper back then. And apparently still have - or did - a soft spot for them even in Japan, though I can't really say why because I've used any number of other services quite successfully. Not this time, though.

Lemme save the space and just say, don’t do it. You’ll run into all sortsa hassles because - surprise - Japanese airlines have ridiculously out-dated and proprietary systems that don’t play nicely with anything and fuck it all up in a heartbeat.

But whatever. I got on safely, and ANA even had boxes (for free) for the guitar that I knowingly brought with me as well as the Leatherman multitool that I unknowingly brought with me. Talk about service!

Getting Settled in Kabira

Mostly good, a little bad, ultimately great, my flight ended and I got to the tropical climes of Ishigaki perfectly intact, and immediately got on a bus up north, to the backwater I was headed to, known as Kabira Bay, where the black pearls grow.

The bus ride’s about 45 minutes from the airport, and the hotel that I chose was only a few minutes’ walk from one of the few bus stops in the area. Which was great, because it had just started raining, and while I pack light and efficiently and even bring along rain gear these days, I don’t, you know, like being stuck in the rain.

So I quickly found the owner of the hotel who checked me in gracefully, offering amenities that I had ::gasp:: forgotten to restock on at the airport, entered my room to drop my gear off, and out onto the veranda to drink some local sanpincha , hang out with some feral cats, and watch the storm roll over us.

The storm subsided right around dusk, great timing for dinner. Kabira’s no joke when it comes to the rural experience: only a few bus stops, 1 ATM at the Post Office which closes at 6PM on weekdays and for the whole weekend, 2 very sparse proto-convenience stores, lots of cash-only operations, if you’re not careful you’ll find yourself hungry and shit outta luck.

Not me, though. I landed at a great local izakaya where I had a nice dinner of umibudo , gurukun , and champuru . After eating my fill, I went over to the only other open establishment, which had a very welcoming outdoor porch that a few locals were sitting at, talking and drinking. I dropped in for an hour or so of great conversation, and then headed back to my hotel for a deep, tropical sleep.

Into the Depths

Alright, showtime! After the others arrived in Kabira, we were ready to rock and roll. I got my diving license a few years back and while I’ve always felt really comfortable with it, I’ve only got 10 dives to my name. But hey, the only way to fix that is keep at it.

I actually got my dive license off the coast of the Izu Peninsula. It was a gray March day, a shore dive from a pretty gnarly wharf, and I had just broken up with my then-girlfriend. Visibility was low, and the wildlife wasn’t very chipper that day. Not really the sunniest memory, but it always comes to mind on other dives because those experiences are so spectacular compared to how my experience with diving started.

And Kabira was totally awesome. Best diving, bar none. We piled into that boat, ran out to see for a bit for an open water dive, then over to Manta Scramble for the most majestic sights in the ocean, and closer into shore to explore a reef and do some cave swim throughs. Absolutely breathtaking stuff, can’t recommend it enough!

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