This is the sunrise, from the first day of 2010. Some New Zealand friends in Tokyo (Cathy, Andrew, Andre and Ellie) hired a van and filled it with futons. Hannah and i joined them at the last minute. We watched the sunrise with the boot up, out on a headland in Chiba. People amassed and clapped and prayed as the sun came up; there we many people, maybe hundreds. The futons were an ingenious idea, but the metal van got so cold that i was able to fully recall the sensations i felt the last time i almost froze. That was in the middle of Russia, riding a train from Kazan to St. Petersburg with a broken heater and a double layered window where one layer had been smashed by delinquents (aka ‘gypsies’) en route. It got down to -45 Celcius. Two old people took pity and put their blankets over my brother and I when they left for their stop. Being uncomfortable does wonders for the memory. I read somewhere recently that children used to be beaten when an important or notable event took place, in case the children were required to recall the event in court. I will never forget the first day of 2010. Although, it didn’t actually get that cold over New Years Eve—probably only about minus one or two, but my body temperature plummeted against the metal; half frozen, unable to fully fall asleep or fully wake up i remember intensely fantasizing about hot cans of coffee in each of my pockets.