Irrelevance Glorified

Update 2/14/2007: More Memories!
It is one of life’s most bitter lessons that all things must come to an end, someday. Even mountains, monoliths of cold and unyielding stone, will eventually be worn down by wind and rain. The Earth that we all know will one day be a casualty of the inevitable death of our sun. But that knowledge doesn’t make it any easier when people that we have known for the majority of our lives pass into the night. Today, we mourn the eminent death of Bachelor Yusuke.

Yusuke has been one of my closest friends ever since high school at IMSA, (yeah, I’m a nerd) when we were paired as roommates our first year. For the next eight years, he followed me, much like a small puppy dog, before he grew his wings and flew back to Japan. A little over two years ago (although it seems like yesterday), he e-mailed me to let me know that he met someone. For a while, I was pretty sure that this woman was fictional, since she refuses to let herself be photographed. But this past summer, I saw her with my own eyes, so I know she’s legit. And just a week ago, I signed the witness section on wedding documents that he plans to file tomorrow, February 7th, and forever leave behind a portion of his life. I couldn’t think of any better way to commemorate the good times than to root through my hard drive and dig up all the moderately amusing pictures I have of him. Enjoy!

This is a picture of Yusuke, freshman year in high school. For whatever reason, he is dressed up as a mummy for a class project.

Here is Yusuke with Bruce and Jesse before Winter Formal, probably senior year in high school.

Here is Yusuke, Bruce, and their Winter Formal dates. Yusuke’s date is Brande, in the red. Quite a match, huh?

Here is Yusuke threatening to knock me off a log. In a National Park

Here is Bruce avenging my death. In a National Park.

Yusuke and his best friends near Mammoth caves.

Here is a picture of the time when we got mad at Yusuke for not spending enough time with us and “punished” him by filling his room with lots and lots of balloons. Because I am truly evil, I bought some stale conversation hearts on sale (it was just past Valentine’s) and filled the balloons with them before blowing them up, to discourage rapid popping.

This must have been senior year or so in undergrad. Yusuke was preparing some feast for J-net, and is always up for manual labor.

Yusuke was always up for being a Grillmaster. I think it was mostly so that he could be close to the food and perhaps eat some without anyone noticing. Notice all that gel in the hair! I’m not sure if he should be getting that close to fire.

Okay, I’m really not sure what he was trying to do here. Perhaps he was dancing. But it always reminded me of the Austin Powers bit where he’s trying to get Rebecca Romijn (Stamos!) to act like a lemur.

This is Yusuke and his good friend Lola. This is not photoshopped. The best part? Lola was a gift from his little sister.

Some of you may ask : why is Ranjeet taking pictures of Yusuke sleeping? Answer: Yusuke is hilarious even when sleeping. He is sleeping on the only uncluttered strip of real estate in his entire room.

Not much to add here.

I think this is supposed to be Yusuke arching an eyebrow, looking alluring or something. I’ll let you decide whether or not it’s successful.

Yusuke worked at Mobil over a summer. He stole things.

If I was ever to make a Yusuke action figure, this would probably be one of the looks. Darth Maul approves.

Seriously, this was his room our senior year in undergrad. It was a complete disaster area.

Yusuke getting a ride from Cameron. He looks very happy, I have to say. This was in the Dos Reales parking lot, so it could just be the margaritas.

Whenever Bruce, Yusuke, and Jesse (left to right) get together, good times are had by all.

Because I love Domokun, Yusuke got me one from Japan.

It looks like he’s treating this camping stove like he would treat a snare drum.

Here is Yusuke trying to seduce a prairie dog near Black Hills, South Dakota.

This is Yusuke’s attempt at camouflage during a camping trip. If you’re having trouble seeing him, he’s right in the middle.

Here is Yusuke pretending to be some sort of wild animal, basking on a rock.

Here is Yusuke gazing off into the distance at Badlands National Park.

Here is Yusuke swinging an axe haphazardly. And beaming.

We have moved on to Japan Yusuke. Here he is in his old Yokohama apartment, approximately the same size as a VW Rabbit. He is brandishing BB-gun paraphernalia.

Yusuke sings “In My Life” somewhere in Japan. Maybe Yokohama.

Here is me and Yusuke at Senso-ji temple in Tokyo. Would you want to mess with such badass mofo’s?

Much like Hachiko, Yusuke is very loyal. And furry. But not bronzed. Yet.

Yusuke only smiles like this when he’s thinking of food, so just imagine something completely disgusting to the American palate, and he’s probably thinking of that.

Here we are at Bruce’s wedding. Yusuke is a stereotypical Japanese man; highly portable.

Here is Yusuke next to the golden pavillion in Kinkaku-ji in Kyoto.

Here is Yusuke standing in front of a painted screen at the Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine in Kyoto. The screen is painted because it’s covering up a pavillion that is being renovated, and it’s painted like it will look like when it’s finished. But I digress from the main point. That is a MAN PURSE.

Yusuke is pretty darn sexy in his yukata.

This is a recent photograph, and as you can see, he has been domesticated.

Yusuke strikes a pose with darts in Kawasaki.

Well, I hope this was sufficiently embarrassing for all involved. Good luck with the married life, Yusuke. Call Bruce for any advice that you need.

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