I love Japan

update: I have determined that the following is exaggerated quite a bit- but since I'm too lazy to tune things to a more realistic and practical level- I'll have to ask you to figure out which parts are exaggerated for yourself.

In addition, my logic at the time of writing this was fatally flawed. so the parts about the love being consummate and deeper than the love people have for each other, pretend those lines never existed- I don't have the patience right now to filter it all out- the structure of the entire post in unfortunately based upon these misconceptions, so I'd have to rework everything from scratch, and right now I don't want to do that.

I love Japan- in fact, at the moment of writing this I have just realized that I love Japan more than most people of this world have ever loved each other. To be specific, I love Japan with a consummate love.

The acclaimed psychologist Robert Sternberg developed a model of the different forms of love, which is known as the triangular theory of love. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triangular_theory_of_love)
It is incredibly easy to understand, but the implications are very insightful. For starts, love is defined by three elements: Passion, Intimacy, and Commitment.

Infactuation= Passion, but no Intimacy or Commitment
Fatuation= Passion and Commitment, but no Intimacy
Romantic Love= Passion and Intimacy, but no Commitment
Companionate Love= Intimacy and Commitment, but no Passion
Empty Love= Just the shell of Commitment
Intimacy by itself is the defining aspect of close friends
Finally, Consummate Love encompasses all three aspects of love, the holy grail and ultimate ideal of those who seek it. And consummate love is what I have for Japan

Intimacy: I probably know more about Japan than 90% of the U.S. population put together- mind you, the general population tends to not be that interested in Japan, but you get the point.

Passion: Well, I wouldn't have to explain this portion if you know me, and chances are, if you're visiting this site you do. But to give a few examples:

1st sure sign- I've decided to write a book called "Remodeling Japan" to outline the many reasons why Japan, in spite of having a country with almost no natural resources, less than 15% farmable land, and on top of that a territory smaller than California (U.S.), was able to because the second richest country in the world. Ok, I'll try to resist the temptation to say more about it- I need you to have some reason to buy it when it comes out!

2nd sure sign- I've been thinking of wanting a tattoo for a long time, but after finding my name in japanese katakana (a kana variation), I decided that this would be my tattoo.

3rd sure sign- I am 100% positive that I want to give up my U.S. citizenship in exchange for Japanese when I get older. That's right- and I put a whole lot of thought into it.

4th sure sign- Well, have a talk with me and you'll see...

And the final element, commitment- I've committed most of my time the last few months to understanding, experiencing, and evangelizing Japanese culture. yes, I said evangelizing. Japan is my Jesus (well, I guess in this case it would be more appropriate to say Buddha since about 84% of Japanese claim Shinto Buddhism as their religion) other than that- the fact I'm willing to give up my residence and citizenship for one in Japan is a sure sign of my commitment to Japan

so that settles it- I have a platonic, unrequited, and yet consummate love for Japan. amazing, isn't it? Soooo... does this mean I can't fall in love with a woman because my heart in its fullness belongs to Japan? well, I guess we'll have to wait and see.....