Change

After spending three years at the University of Rochester studying Japanese language and culture, I came to the conclusion that of all the things in the world, there is only one real constant and that is change. Everything in life is fleeting and transient, and that (as some of you may know) is the topic of many major works in Japanese literature, namely "Genji monogatari" and "Heike monogatari." Even newer Japanese works like Kikuchi Hideyuki's "Vampire Hunter D" touch on the topic of transience and impermanence.

I used to think that death was also a costant of this world. I used to call death and change the only two immortals that existed. As shown through literature, even 'immortal' gods can die, and no one knows if death itself can die, hence death's immortality. Also, since there is no way for any being to permanently evade death, it is even more so an immortal. However, in my Death, Dying, and Beyond class, I eventually came to the decision (and wrote about it) that someday death may die. The two basically are fighting. If death kills change then death is the one true immortal, but if change is truly immortal, it will have to change the way death works, or even the fact that death exists. For now, I'm hoping for the latter.

Anyway, after many years of thinking that change was the only thing that won't ever change, I realized that there is actually one true immortal that was unaccounted for. That is the fact that airline food will always taste horribly. Their green tea was ok (Is it possible to make bad green tea?), but I can't now nor will I ever be able to stomach enough airline food to get me through a sixteen-hour trip. It really was awful. If first-class riders get a better meal, that is definitely a good reason to stop getting seats in coach! Oh well. If I did it once, I suppose I can do it again... .