Six weeks before the graduation ceremony, I lost my friend in a car accident. She was like a bouncing little ball, full of energy, always challenging for new things, looking for an adventure. We arrived to the U.S. on a same airplane, went to the same university in Nevada, and were supposed to graduate on the same day.
“Hey, did you find a job yet? ” she said to me when I visited her house. She knew I haven’t. So she said it deliberately cheerfully.
“Well, I’m trying. You know I got a job interview at one of those casino. ”
“Yea? What kind of job?”
“They are looking for a designer who can make slot machine design.”
“You don’t like that sort of job, do you? ”
“Not particularly. But what can I do?”
I knew it was going to be hard to get a job when I decided to shift my major to fine arts. So, I took Spanish classes as well. I figured if I could speak three language, I could get a job. It wasn’t that easy.
“Well, that’s too bad.” There was a little silence. “Look what I’ve got!” she jumped up from sofa and grabbed a large thin book with a nice cover. “I’m going to study there after the graduation.” She looked at me with full of smile. It was a pamphlet of jewelry school in Las Vegas.
“Oh, you’re going to study more?”
“You know my parents own eye glasses and jewelry store in Oita. This school helps me to run the business.”
She knew exactly what to do with her future. I didn’t. I was totally lost.
“You could come with me, you know?” she said and looked at me. I did not answer.
She died three months after that.
Chapter One: A Mathematician
"Finding a right answer is not the purpose. The real purpose of mathematics is trying to find the right answer. The process is more important than the answer itself"
The man said he was a mathematician. I met him at the lobby of Daimaru Hotel in Los Angeles. His dream was to open a math cram school for junior high school students in Osaka. There were lots of dreamers in Daimaru Hotel.
"Dude, that’s so zen thinking." I said to him.
"You think? Feel the power of math-magician." We both laughed.
When I lost her, I wanted to chase my dream a little farther. So, I applied for a work visa to stay in the U.S.. While I was waiting for my visa, I took a short summer art class. It was a gallery installation class. The professor happened to be a head of digital media art. He let me use a PC lab so I can study photoshop and computer graphics.
Chapter Two: A Musician
There was a guy in Daimaru Hotel who’s always playing a guitar. His dream was, of course, to become a musician. He played well, even though he plays electric guitar without amps.
I started job hunting from San Diego, and moving towards Los Angeles. I slept in my car sometimes, and mostly staying in very cheap motels. In Little Tokyo, Los Angeles, there was a hotel called Daimaru Hotel. I started apply for a job and send my resume. Since my room was not equipped with a phone, I wrote down my contact information as a pay phone number in the hotel lobby. That’s why I spent lot of time in a hotel lobby and meet a lot of people there. It was very fun to talk to those people because they all have dreams.
Chapter Three: Ecuador
“Ecuador! Why Ecuador?” When he told me he was moving to Ecuador to become a citizen there, I didn’t understand.
“Well, it’s a long story. But somehow, it all makes sense if I move to Ecuador”
He had very dark skin unlike most of Japanese. He looked like South American, but he told me he was 100% Japanese, never had an ancestor outside of Japan. He stopped at Los Angeles just to transfer to Ecuador. That was when we meet.
He told me how it was like to jump into what he really wanted to do. He just had to do. So he did.
Pay phone in the lobby rang. That was a cue for my job interview. “Hello?” I picked up a phone and answered. It was a lady who was trying to find a painting instructor. We set a date for job interview.
When I arrive at her house, it was indeed a huge mansion. There was a Hispanic guy working in a garden.
"Welcome. Come on inside. May I offer you a drink?" She looked like a movie actor. Perhaps she was a movie actor. Everybody in Hollywood was in movie business.
“Water please.” I knew I was in a wrong place. I hesitated to sit down a beautiful leather couch with my torn-off jeans.
She showed me her painting. There was a bird on the branch. It was a kind of painting which looked good on a wall, but never get a good grade in school. “What do you think?” she said. “Um, good. I think.” I couldn’t tell her what I really thought.
“Well, I’ll call you the result in a couple of days.” When she said that, I already knew I was not going to get a job. Then something happened. As I go out the door, she said to me “By the way, are you interested in working for a jewelry company? I know a friend who’s looking for a photographer there.” That was the end of my job hunting journey.
Chapter Four: Job seeker
“I’m sick and tired now. As long as it pays, I don’t care what kind of job anymore.” He and I became close friend when we were staying in Daimaru Hotel. Both of us are searching for a job in Los Angeles. He was very irritated not being able to get a job.
“You know it’s not going to be easy. Just be patient” I told him.
“OK, you’re right. I have my own dream.” He said. But he took the next available part-time job position at one of the Japanese food restaurant.
I moved out the hotel to work for a jewelry design company. My title was a photographer, but I also managed to retouch photos using photoshop. That two weeks training while I was waiting for visa paid off. The job was good. The salary was not much but I didn’t care. I was just too happy that I got a job.
When I got a first paycheck, I had only 200 dollars with me. That was not even enough to get an air ticket to Japan. I was lucky to get a job before living on a street.
One day, I was looking at a book shelf in the office. There were many books related with jewelry business. I noticed one particular book. I picked up the book and had a deep exhale. That was when I knew I was supposed to be a right place. The fact that I decided to stay in the States. I was wondering around west coast and finally got a job in Los Angeles. Everything had the purpose. I was led there.
It was a pamphlet of the jewelry school which she showed me in college.
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