Ga-o-o-o! Gr-r-r-r! Yea-a-ah!

Stress. It isn't fun.  It's also hard to get rid of sometimes.  Some people do yoga, some people go to the hot springs.  Some people go to karaoke or just hang out with friends and enjoy chatting.

My favorite way to relieve stress is to go to the hot springs in Mikawa, but since I can't do that since I moved back to the States, I have to release my stress in my second-favorite way.

First, let me explain one thing: I love sharks.  I love crocodiles & alligators. I love really big marine animals that could potentially eat humans.  I'm not sure why I love them so much, but they make me happy.  They make me so happy that I too want to attack things and bite stuff.   I also LOVE movies about giant sharks or crocodiles or alligators, or dino-sharks or dino-crocs, or... well, you get the idea.

When I'm really stressed out, and I can't go to Mikawa, the best way for me to release my stress is to watch these low-quality movies.  I drink beer and yell at the movie.  I complain when there's a scene with too much talking ("Come on!  I didn't rent this to see you!  Shut up and show me the shark!!"). I cheer when someone gets chomped in two ("Yea-a-ah!  More of this, please!").  These movies always follow the same basic pattern.  They always have a crusty charter boat captain, who'll help hunt the beast, but he'll only do it by HIS rules.  There's always a pretty scientist lady, and her creepy, jealous, overbearing boyfriend who gets eaten by the shark/croc/etc.  There is always, always,  an old drunk guy who stumbles around near the water and sees the creature.  Usually he survives to tell the townsfolk (there are always townsfolk to tell), but nobody ever believes him.  Sometimes he doesn't survive, but before he becomes dinner, he'll say something like "I gotta quit drinkin' this stuff."

These movies are so stupid.  They aren't original at all.  But because they're so-o-o bad, it's easy to enjoy just how silly and preposterous they are.  After 90 minutes of shouting and cheering and laughing (and drinking), I always feel relaxed and refreshed, and ready to take a bite out of my agenda.

This is a picture from about a year and a half ago, taken at an exotic BBQ in Amakusa.  Here, I'm turning the tables, and I'm the one eating part of a crocodile! It was delicious.