Can there be a Halloween Eve? Because isn't Halloween actually the eve of some other thing? I'm gonna look this up...
Dude, I was totally right, it's the eve of "All hallow's day" or "all saints day"! Sweet.
Anyways, it's been almost a month since last I wrote. Halloween is two days away. I figure this is as good a day as any to update. Life is good. I've been thinking today (also in general, but today more than other days) how much I miss Japan. I miss my friends. I miss Aya. I miss Yuki. I miss Taro, Tani, Otsuka, Natsumi, Ayumi. I miss going to izakayas or the Ruby Room. I miss living in the same building as Japanese, Chinese, Ghanan, French, and Brazilian people.
This morning I was reminded how much I miss heated seats on the toilet. brrrrrrr....!
Life's not all depressing, though. I went to the city museum on Friday night for their 10th Anniversary Party. it was a 21-and-over event, with bars and performances throughout the evening. We watched a band called "Earl" play some pretty good country music and they were
followed by a (bizarre) burlesque show. Perhaps it was a normal burlesque show (I've never seen one before), but it was really weird to me. And I tend to feel like I'm very comfortable with public sexuality, etc... hmmm. High point of the evening, however, was when I began to play the piano on the third floor. At first there was nobody around. The first girl that came to listen to me play looked to be about 30 years old, and after I finished a song, she came close to me and said "if you were about 10 years older, I would definitely fuck you tonight." I gave her a wink and a smile and said "I'd be a damn lucky man," and then she walked away. That was amazing. And then it got better. I drew a pretty good crowd with people coming and going, and then after maybe a half hour or so these 2 VERY drunk country boys, Tim and Stephan, came over and just ranted at me and at each other non-stop. At first I just wanted them to fuckin leave, but after about 5 minutes I was just cracking up because they were SO outrageous. They demanded I play ragtime or blues, or some "honky-tonk shit" and when Tim fell over in his chair, he picked it up, yelled "this shit is faulty! I need a new chair!" and grabbed a stack of two chairs and sat on top of those. Stephan yelled in my face to play some ragtime when I started playing the asshole song, so I just sang it right back into his face. Tim said he worked as a cement-layer for the City Museum and they were gonna build some new stuff, but the owner, Bob, didn't have the permit yet, but Tim said "I don't need a motherfuckin' permit! I'll lay cement piles bigger than Cahokia Mounds!" They were very entertaining, and pretty much made the evening for me.
Also, big shocker when Tiffany (Myra's (Brad's (My roommate) girlfriend) roommate) (<-- did you follow that?) started to sing along to "I do." I'm pretty sure I've never met anyone who knew about Jude before I told them, let alone someone who could sing along with some songs! Needless to say, I was impressed. We shall hang out more in the future.
In other news, my sister has requested I play piano at her engagement party/wedding. I'm not only more than willing to do so, but am REALLY excited to! I've always wanted to play for events like that, but I wouldn't really know how to go about doing it, so this is opportunity number one! heh. The only problem is that most of the songs I know are about breakups. I need to learn more songs over the next few months. I asked her to let me know if there are any songs in particular she wants me to play, but she hasn't given me any. All I've got is that my mom asked me to learn James Taylor's "Shower the people you love with love" (I'm not sure if that's the title of the song or not, but you know the song). I'll have to start making a list of possible wedding/love songs I know/should learn. So far, here's the list:
Shower the People, James Taylor (I looked it up, and that's the actual title)
The Luckiest, Ben Folds
Ice Cream, Sarah McLachlan
Secrets Revealed, Paul and Denes (?)
One Thing to Teach, Paul and Denes (?)
Here We Go, Jon Brion (?)
Can I Stay, Ray LaMontagne
Tomorrow, Sean Lennon (?)
There's probably more, but this is just for starters. I should maybe go for some of the cliche songs, if I can, like "At last," or "The Way You Look Tonight."
Suggestions?
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Monday night baseball
Well, how about the Rockies?! That was quite a goddamn game!
I'm writing now from my couch, on my brand new iPod Touch, watching
'Californication.' I am a creature of the now. All I need now is my
sister's Prius, and I'll have the yuppie collection complete!
Guitar lesson this morning. I'm afraid he thinks I'm better than I
really am because he gave me way more things to work on this week than
previously.
Note to self: all-nighters are bad news.
Also, this iPod is AMAZING
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Sacrifice the Fear
I'm sorry that I haven't updated in a while. Shit tends to get in the way. We have a blog for my Japanese class in which I must write every Tuesday and comment on the other posts all the other days of the week. It is, of course, in Japanese, so if you happen to read my blog, and happen to be able to read Japanese then go ahead and check it out: http://j462fa07.blogspot.com/
Tonight I am going to St. Peters to be in a horror movie called "Sacrifice the Fear." I will probably be killed. It sounds fun.
I've been doing the NYTimes crosswords more and more and I've been getting a lot better. I got over halfway through yesterday's (Friday!) puzzle. I'm really, almost unreasonably, proud of myself for that.
I should practice guitar more. I had my first lesson this week. I'm rather excited.
I should probably shower.
Tonight I am going to St. Peters to be in a horror movie called "Sacrifice the Fear." I will probably be killed. It sounds fun.
I've been doing the NYTimes crosswords more and more and I've been getting a lot better. I got over halfway through yesterday's (Friday!) puzzle. I'm really, almost unreasonably, proud of myself for that.
I should practice guitar more. I had my first lesson this week. I'm rather excited.
I should probably shower.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Car Talk
The most amazing thing has happened to my car:
Somehow, the wiper fluid spray nozzle for the rear window got bent. It no longer sprays onto the window, which is unfortunate, but instead sprays diagonally upwards, straight backwards. It is truly remarkable. I can punish someone behind me for being too close. I have known about this for a while now, but had yet to use it until today, when I pulled up to a red light at Clayton and Hanley, and the car behind me came right up on my ass. So right when the light turned green, I gave him a little shower and sped off towards home. It was soooooo gratifying. I must use this more often.
Somehow, the wiper fluid spray nozzle for the rear window got bent. It no longer sprays onto the window, which is unfortunate, but instead sprays diagonally upwards, straight backwards. It is truly remarkable. I can punish someone behind me for being too close. I have known about this for a while now, but had yet to use it until today, when I pulled up to a red light at Clayton and Hanley, and the car behind me came right up on my ass. So right when the light turned green, I gave him a little shower and sped off towards home. It was soooooo gratifying. I must use this more often.
Monday, September 10, 2007
New Semester, New Song
These are some new song lyrics I just wanted to get written down:
I remember the way you looked at me,
Shaky smile, glossy eyes as we said "goodbye,"
When you laughed, you touched me as if we were lovers and
You drove me mad; those things you said run through my head
You'll never know the way I feel
I always wanted more
I remember the way you sang with me,
Every note a whisper on my ear; I wish you were here,
With me; A picture's not worth a single word from you,
"Hello," or "goodnight," your voice is in my dream tonight
You'll never know the way I feel
I always wanted more
But I'll never get to know your feel
And you're always on my mind.
I remember the way you looked at me,
Shaky smile, glossy eyes as we said "goodbye,"
When you laughed, you touched me as if we were lovers and
You drove me mad; those things you said run through my head
You'll never know the way I feel
I always wanted more
I remember the way you sang with me,
Every note a whisper on my ear; I wish you were here,
With me; A picture's not worth a single word from you,
"Hello," or "goodnight," your voice is in my dream tonight
You'll never know the way I feel
I always wanted more
But I'll never get to know your feel
And you're always on my mind.
Saturday, August 4, 2007
Friday afternoon thoughts
I've been thinking a lot about my time in Japan. Mostly because I just miss it so damn much and cannot wait to go back. But seriously, when I think about this past summer and the people I met and the things that I learned there is one things that I have realized. For the first time in my life I actually feel like I am a part of something bigger. And that is so comforting. I have been struggling to create a path for myself and now I am finally seeing one open before me. I can't believe how lucky I am.
I feel like my ADD is killing my creativity. I used to be able to sit for hours in front of my keyboard or in front of a notebook and play or write until my fingers were sore, but now I can hardly sit still for thirty minutes just to write a few paragraphs or play a few songs. It's so goddamn frustrating to feel like I can't control my own mind.
Maybe I'm trying to focus on the wrong things...
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Back in the U.S. of A. (sung to the tune of "Back in the U.S.S.R.")
So, I'm back in my humble home in Saint Louis! It was an amazing two months and I certainly did not want to leave, but I am also glad to be back here in many ways. I got a haircut and trimmed my beard and I feel quite refreshed.
The final week was fun with my parents, but I have no pictures, and all of you who read this will probably hear about it from them so I am not going to go into too much detail. We basically just saw the sights of Tokyo (without walking too much as Father has foot troubles), and it was a really good week.
I may continue to update the blog with various pictures and stories from time to time, but I certainly do not intend to update it on a regular basis, so for all intents and purposes, this is the end. Thank you all for reading! to close out, I leave you with a few pictures from my final night at the Ruby Room, sent to me from my friend Natsumi.
The final week was fun with my parents, but I have no pictures, and all of you who read this will probably hear about it from them so I am not going to go into too much detail. We basically just saw the sights of Tokyo (without walking too much as Father has foot troubles), and it was a really good week.
I may continue to update the blog with various pictures and stories from time to time, but I certainly do not intend to update it on a regular basis, so for all intents and purposes, this is the end. Thank you all for reading! to close out, I leave you with a few pictures from my final night at the Ruby Room, sent to me from my friend Natsumi.
Sunday, July 15, 2007
An interesting few days
Thursday: Penultimate day of work at the Missouri Office.
Right after work Shino-san took me to the Tokyo Dome to see a hot match-up between the Tokyo Giants and the Hanshin Tigers. It was quite an experience. Shino-san got us really good seats on the lower level behind home plate. The gameplay itself was pretty different from watching St. Louis baseball. There were no big hits, nothing that even went to the warning track. It was all about the short game, which made it a pretty intense game. It ended up going to 12 innings, with the final score of 3 - 4 (Tigers won). The biggest difference, though, was the cheering from the fans. First of all, even though the Tigers were the away team, they had just as many fans present as the Giants, and both sides sat all together on opposite sides. Whichever team was up to bat, that teams fans did the cheering, and then when it switched they would shut up and let the other team cheer. And the cheers weren't just yelling and stuff like in the US. They had a whole library of set cheers. Cheers for each individual player, fight songs, etc. And people brought instruments. Taiko drums, trumpets, trombones... It was incredible. So much louder than any Cardinals game I've ever been to. And I had heard that the Tigers fans are notorious for being passionate and rowdy, but the Giants fans were pretty much matching their level of intensity.
There were also cheerleaders and stuff, and the beer vendors were all young cute girls in absurd neon outfits with short skirts or shorts and they sold the beer out of mini kegs that they carried on their backs. Yuki said its a really common part-time job for high school girls to do.
Friday: Final day of work (nothing exciting happened, but still).
Yuki came to Shimbashi after she got off work and we went to Echizen-ya, a yakitori place that we had been to a few times now and had become friendly with the owner and the waitress that works there. Also, when we went this time there was a man there (customer) who we had met last time we went, and so we all sat together and talked and had a grand ole time. His name is Kenta and his English is superb. He went to the University of Colorado for all 4 years of college, and lived in Denver for another couple years. He's 39 now so his English isn't as good as it used to be, he says, but it was still really good. After we were done eating at Echizen-ya, he invited us to come with him to a bar that he frequents in the area, so we all went to "El Amigo" together. It was really cool. It was very small, just the bar counter and no room for standing, and everybody in there knew everybody else. El Amigo is one of those bars that stays open all night for the people that miss the last train and don't want to pay for a taxi or anything, so they stay out until the trains start up again in the morning. The bartenders are, not surprisingly, very friendly cute girls and one of them, Chihiro, gave me a business card that she drew a ridiculously cute picture of herself on.
Kenta was intending to stay out all night, but Yuki wanted to leave to catch the last train, so she left on her own and I stayed with Kenta (since I live in Shimbashi, no worries about trains), and not long after Yuki left we were joined by Fumi, the owner/chef of Echizen-ya. So we stayed there and drank and had a good time until about 3 AM, and made plans to meet again at Echizen-ya the next day.
Saturday: I woke up late, as expected, and my head hurt (also expected), so I didn't really do anything until about 6:30, when I headed out to Echizen-ya. Fumi said that the place is usually empty on Saturdays and yesterday was certainly no exception. Of course, the situation was worsened by the wild downpour that was happening. There is a typhoon that is sweeping over Japan right now--supposedly the worst typhoon to ever hit Japan in July (the really bad ones typically come in September)--and so it's been raining non-stop for a few days now. Ayumi, the waitress at Echizen-ya, had the day off but she had planned to come there to eat with a friend, so we were all going to eat together. I was the first to arrive (aside from Fumi, of course) and so I just ordered a beer and sat down and chatted with Fumi a bit. There was one other customer in the place when I got there, but he left soon after. And just about 10 minutes after I arrived, Ayumi came with her friend, Mai-Mai. Although it turned out they were actually related to each other. Their grandparents are siblings, so I have no idea what that makes them (second cousins?), but they're the same age and went to the same schools and everything, so they're good friends. Ayumi showed me some pictures that she had on her phone from when they were in high school. Although, by "some pictures" I actually mean more like a hundred pictures. I couldn't believe how many pictures she had on that thing. Ayumi and Mai-Mai are both 21, so they're the closest to my age of all the people (excluding Lauren) I've hung out with so far in Japan. It was really fun, definitely one of the most fun meals I've had here. Later on Kenta showed up with one of his friends, and then Yuki came as well. For most of the time, we were the only people in the whole place and we stayed there until Fumi closed up at 11. After that we went to another bar that Kenta frequents, which was actually right across the alley from El Amigo. I can't remember what it was called, though. It was actually even smaller than El Amigo, with room for only about 8 customers (I think El Amigo could fit about 15 people total) on the inside, although I presume when it's not raining that they probably have people standing outside drinking as well. Yuki and I only stayed for a short while, though, because she had to catch the last train and I wanted to go see her off because I don't think I'll see her again.
Everyone is really impressed by how much I can drink without getting drunk and, frankly, I'm rather impressed with myself as well. Over the course of the whole night yesterday I drank probably 8 beers and was barely tipsy, and feel totally fine today. I have no idea how i got this way, I guess it's lucky?
Today I have no plans because I thought my parents were coming today, but it turns out they're actually coming tomorrow. I don't know what to do... Plus, it's raining still which makes me not really want to do much of anything. I suppose I could use a night off... Maybe I can just hang out with the people in my building, Mauricio and Eddie and Coby. It's been a while since I've done anything with them. We'll see. For now, I'm gonna go grab something to eat. I'm starving!
Right after work Shino-san took me to the Tokyo Dome to see a hot match-up between the Tokyo Giants and the Hanshin Tigers. It was quite an experience. Shino-san got us really good seats on the lower level behind home plate. The gameplay itself was pretty different from watching St. Louis baseball. There were no big hits, nothing that even went to the warning track. It was all about the short game, which made it a pretty intense game. It ended up going to 12 innings, with the final score of 3 - 4 (Tigers won). The biggest difference, though, was the cheering from the fans. First of all, even though the Tigers were the away team, they had just as many fans present as the Giants, and both sides sat all together on opposite sides. Whichever team was up to bat, that teams fans did the cheering, and then when it switched they would shut up and let the other team cheer. And the cheers weren't just yelling and stuff like in the US. They had a whole library of set cheers. Cheers for each individual player, fight songs, etc. And people brought instruments. Taiko drums, trumpets, trombones... It was incredible. So much louder than any Cardinals game I've ever been to. And I had heard that the Tigers fans are notorious for being passionate and rowdy, but the Giants fans were pretty much matching their level of intensity.
There were also cheerleaders and stuff, and the beer vendors were all young cute girls in absurd neon outfits with short skirts or shorts and they sold the beer out of mini kegs that they carried on their backs. Yuki said its a really common part-time job for high school girls to do.
Friday: Final day of work (nothing exciting happened, but still).
Yuki came to Shimbashi after she got off work and we went to Echizen-ya, a yakitori place that we had been to a few times now and had become friendly with the owner and the waitress that works there. Also, when we went this time there was a man there (customer) who we had met last time we went, and so we all sat together and talked and had a grand ole time. His name is Kenta and his English is superb. He went to the University of Colorado for all 4 years of college, and lived in Denver for another couple years. He's 39 now so his English isn't as good as it used to be, he says, but it was still really good. After we were done eating at Echizen-ya, he invited us to come with him to a bar that he frequents in the area, so we all went to "El Amigo" together. It was really cool. It was very small, just the bar counter and no room for standing, and everybody in there knew everybody else. El Amigo is one of those bars that stays open all night for the people that miss the last train and don't want to pay for a taxi or anything, so they stay out until the trains start up again in the morning. The bartenders are, not surprisingly, very friendly cute girls and one of them, Chihiro, gave me a business card that she drew a ridiculously cute picture of herself on.
Kenta was intending to stay out all night, but Yuki wanted to leave to catch the last train, so she left on her own and I stayed with Kenta (since I live in Shimbashi, no worries about trains), and not long after Yuki left we were joined by Fumi, the owner/chef of Echizen-ya. So we stayed there and drank and had a good time until about 3 AM, and made plans to meet again at Echizen-ya the next day.
Saturday: I woke up late, as expected, and my head hurt (also expected), so I didn't really do anything until about 6:30, when I headed out to Echizen-ya. Fumi said that the place is usually empty on Saturdays and yesterday was certainly no exception. Of course, the situation was worsened by the wild downpour that was happening. There is a typhoon that is sweeping over Japan right now--supposedly the worst typhoon to ever hit Japan in July (the really bad ones typically come in September)--and so it's been raining non-stop for a few days now. Ayumi, the waitress at Echizen-ya, had the day off but she had planned to come there to eat with a friend, so we were all going to eat together. I was the first to arrive (aside from Fumi, of course) and so I just ordered a beer and sat down and chatted with Fumi a bit. There was one other customer in the place when I got there, but he left soon after. And just about 10 minutes after I arrived, Ayumi came with her friend, Mai-Mai. Although it turned out they were actually related to each other. Their grandparents are siblings, so I have no idea what that makes them (second cousins?), but they're the same age and went to the same schools and everything, so they're good friends. Ayumi showed me some pictures that she had on her phone from when they were in high school. Although, by "some pictures" I actually mean more like a hundred pictures. I couldn't believe how many pictures she had on that thing. Ayumi and Mai-Mai are both 21, so they're the closest to my age of all the people (excluding Lauren) I've hung out with so far in Japan. It was really fun, definitely one of the most fun meals I've had here. Later on Kenta showed up with one of his friends, and then Yuki came as well. For most of the time, we were the only people in the whole place and we stayed there until Fumi closed up at 11. After that we went to another bar that Kenta frequents, which was actually right across the alley from El Amigo. I can't remember what it was called, though. It was actually even smaller than El Amigo, with room for only about 8 customers (I think El Amigo could fit about 15 people total) on the inside, although I presume when it's not raining that they probably have people standing outside drinking as well. Yuki and I only stayed for a short while, though, because she had to catch the last train and I wanted to go see her off because I don't think I'll see her again.
Everyone is really impressed by how much I can drink without getting drunk and, frankly, I'm rather impressed with myself as well. Over the course of the whole night yesterday I drank probably 8 beers and was barely tipsy, and feel totally fine today. I have no idea how i got this way, I guess it's lucky?
Today I have no plans because I thought my parents were coming today, but it turns out they're actually coming tomorrow. I don't know what to do... Plus, it's raining still which makes me not really want to do much of anything. I suppose I could use a night off... Maybe I can just hang out with the people in my building, Mauricio and Eddie and Coby. It's been a while since I've done anything with them. We'll see. For now, I'm gonna go grab something to eat. I'm starving!
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Ruby Room Finale
Last night I played at the Ruby Room for the final time. It was also the most crowded it's ever been when I've played there, partly because all of my friends came to see me. I wasn't at my best, probably mostly because I haven't played or practiced at all in the past few weeks, but I wasn't bad (I think) and I got some compliments from strangers (one guy even invited me to play in a battle of the bands he's organizing, but it's after I leave) so it couldn't have been that bad. Also, I asked one of my friends to play drums with me on a few songs, which was awesome. I've never played with a drummer before, which probably also contributed a little to the performance being not as good as it could have been, just because I wasn't used to playing with a beat, but I really liked it.
We had a hell of a time, but I was a bit quieter than usual (and I'm usually fairly quiet), I suppose because I knew it would be the last time I would see most of them for a while. I got everybody's email address and everything, so I'm set. Acco, the unbelievably cute bartender, was really sad too, but she gave me a free drink and asked me what I wanted and I asked her what she likes to drink and she gave me a glass of beer with plum sake mixed in and it was delicious. Also, Tatsu, the manager of the Ruby Room, made me a promise that if I come back within a year and need a job, he would let me work there! How awesome would that be?! I'm sure I won't need a job when I go back, but maybe I could work there part time. I would make a lot of friends, I'm sure.
Today, Shino-san is taking me to a baseball game after work!! I'm so excited. It was one of the things on my list of things I have to do before going back to the US. Of course, there were only two things on the list: play a concert, and go to a baseball game. I set my sights low. I like to make sure I can achieve my goals. haha.
Speaking of lists, I now have a short list (also only two items) of things I want/need to do (and the reasons why) before coming back to Japan:
1) Lose some weight (so I can fit into more clothes here because I absolutely love Japanese fashion)
2) Learn to play guitar (because it's far more portable than a keyboard and makes performing way easier--I could even perform on the street, which you can't do with a keyboard cuz you need power)
I am actually considering signing up for guitar lessons at Wash U, if I have time for them.
Take care everybody! Until next time...
We had a hell of a time, but I was a bit quieter than usual (and I'm usually fairly quiet), I suppose because I knew it would be the last time I would see most of them for a while. I got everybody's email address and everything, so I'm set. Acco, the unbelievably cute bartender, was really sad too, but she gave me a free drink and asked me what I wanted and I asked her what she likes to drink and she gave me a glass of beer with plum sake mixed in and it was delicious. Also, Tatsu, the manager of the Ruby Room, made me a promise that if I come back within a year and need a job, he would let me work there! How awesome would that be?! I'm sure I won't need a job when I go back, but maybe I could work there part time. I would make a lot of friends, I'm sure.
Today, Shino-san is taking me to a baseball game after work!! I'm so excited. It was one of the things on my list of things I have to do before going back to the US. Of course, there were only two things on the list: play a concert, and go to a baseball game. I set my sights low. I like to make sure I can achieve my goals. haha.
Speaking of lists, I now have a short list (also only two items) of things I want/need to do (and the reasons why) before coming back to Japan:
1) Lose some weight (so I can fit into more clothes here because I absolutely love Japanese fashion)
2) Learn to play guitar (because it's far more portable than a keyboard and makes performing way easier--I could even perform on the street, which you can't do with a keyboard cuz you need power)
I am actually considering signing up for guitar lessons at Wash U, if I have time for them.
Take care everybody! Until next time...
Monday, July 9, 2007
Kitazawa Music Fest and pics from Ayako
After a good rest at home yesterday I got a message from Taro asking if I was coming to the music festival, so I replied "yes" and headed out to Shimokitazawa (about a 45-minute train ride away).
There was a pretty good crowd there, although smaller than I expected, and it turned out that one of the bands that was playing was a band that I had seen and met before, so not only did I know one of the bands there, but I knew a bunch of people who were there to see them play, as well. So I was in good company at the festival, and afterwards a bunch of us (10 people total) went out to eat. We went to another place where you sit on the floor and take your shoes off, and the food was exceptional, and Taro would not stop ordering beers for the table! haha. But it actually ended up being really cheap after we split up the check -- about 12 bucks per person. Then after that they all wanted to go to a hookah bar (side note: the word for "hookah" in Japanese is mizu-tabaco, which just means "water tobacco"), which isn't really my thing but I was enjoying the company so I tagged along, but when we got there it was totally filled up so we went to a normal bar that was right next door, which was SO cool. the bar had 4 floors. The bottom two were more for dining purposes and the third floor was for live music. We went all the way up to the 4th floor, which was actually the roof. It was gorgeous. They had it decorated really well with some antique lounge furniture and christmas lights. You could see the tall buildings of Shibuya in the distance. It was awesome. I mean, seriously. I would start going there all the time if it wasn't so damn far away.
My time here is drawing to a close, for real. It's really sad, but I'm starting to become mentally ready to go back.
My friends taught me a phrase that they said is used fairly commonly here: 一期一会 pronounced ichigo-ichie. The meaning is sort of hard to explain, but in the simplest way, it means that it's a once-in-a-lifetime meeting--that we're extremely lucky to have found each other and it's something that we can treasure forever. I'm glad to hear that they all feel that way because I certainly treasure the friends I've made here.
On a related note, Ayako made a post on Yucca's (her band) blog about me, the going-away party, and ichigo-ichie. You all will most certainly not be able to read it, but you can click here to see it. There are a few pictures (some of which are also posted below), at least. In the post she says how we've become good friends and it will be sad to see me go, but that we expect to meet again in the future. She thought a little bit about the meaning of ichigo-ichie and how if you meet someone for a short time or for a long time, they can still have just as big of an impression on you. She writes that when she was in school, she had a dear friend who moved away and changed schools and when they had a going-away party for her, Ayako gave a speech in which she said, "In life there are meetings and there are partings--hellos and goodbyes-- and those are the things that make a person grow," to which her classmates responded with a roar of laughter, which shocked her and made her turn red. But she thinks the same way now that she did back then.
Alright, that may be boring to you all, but it means a lot to me. Now then, pictures from Ayako (not great quality, but hey, a picture's a picture--even the bad quality ones are still worth a thousand words):
There was a pretty good crowd there, although smaller than I expected, and it turned out that one of the bands that was playing was a band that I had seen and met before, so not only did I know one of the bands there, but I knew a bunch of people who were there to see them play, as well. So I was in good company at the festival, and afterwards a bunch of us (10 people total) went out to eat. We went to another place where you sit on the floor and take your shoes off, and the food was exceptional, and Taro would not stop ordering beers for the table! haha. But it actually ended up being really cheap after we split up the check -- about 12 bucks per person. Then after that they all wanted to go to a hookah bar (side note: the word for "hookah" in Japanese is mizu-tabaco, which just means "water tobacco"), which isn't really my thing but I was enjoying the company so I tagged along, but when we got there it was totally filled up so we went to a normal bar that was right next door, which was SO cool. the bar had 4 floors. The bottom two were more for dining purposes and the third floor was for live music. We went all the way up to the 4th floor, which was actually the roof. It was gorgeous. They had it decorated really well with some antique lounge furniture and christmas lights. You could see the tall buildings of Shibuya in the distance. It was awesome. I mean, seriously. I would start going there all the time if it wasn't so damn far away.
My time here is drawing to a close, for real. It's really sad, but I'm starting to become mentally ready to go back.
My friends taught me a phrase that they said is used fairly commonly here: 一期一会 pronounced ichigo-ichie. The meaning is sort of hard to explain, but in the simplest way, it means that it's a once-in-a-lifetime meeting--that we're extremely lucky to have found each other and it's something that we can treasure forever. I'm glad to hear that they all feel that way because I certainly treasure the friends I've made here.
On a related note, Ayako made a post on Yucca's (her band) blog about me, the going-away party, and ichigo-ichie. You all will most certainly not be able to read it, but you can click here to see it. There are a few pictures (some of which are also posted below), at least. In the post she says how we've become good friends and it will be sad to see me go, but that we expect to meet again in the future. She thought a little bit about the meaning of ichigo-ichie and how if you meet someone for a short time or for a long time, they can still have just as big of an impression on you. She writes that when she was in school, she had a dear friend who moved away and changed schools and when they had a going-away party for her, Ayako gave a speech in which she said, "In life there are meetings and there are partings--hellos and goodbyes-- and those are the things that make a person grow," to which her classmates responded with a roar of laughter, which shocked her and made her turn red. But she thinks the same way now that she did back then.
Alright, that may be boring to you all, but it means a lot to me. Now then, pictures from Ayako (not great quality, but hey, a picture's a picture--even the bad quality ones are still worth a thousand words):
Sunday, July 8, 2007
送別会 - "soubetsukai" - farewell party
Wow, I really haven't written since the 4th? I've got a bit of catching up to do...
On Thursday night I simply went to a bar in Shibuya with Lauren as a sort of one-day-late 4th of July celebration. Good fun. Good to speak English with someone for an extended period of time. That's about it. Not too exciting, but still fun.
Friday night I basically did the same thing only with Yuki. She came to Shimbashi after work and we went to an (very very tiny) izakaya that we went to last week (or maybe it was the week before?), which was fun because the girl that works there remembered us (even remembered my name!) and we had some fun conversations, etc. We also sat next to a guy who had lived in Denver for a while and his English was really good and he was quite nice. All around good times. Afterwards we took a walk and went to this foot-bridge that goes over one of the big streets in the area, which I have gone to quite a few times at night because it's pretty and peaceful, in a way, to stand over the middle of a Tokyo street and look at the lights/cars/buildings.
The thing I really wanted to talk about, though, was last night. My friends had a 送別会 - farewell party - for me. They wouldn't tell me what we were going to do, they just told me to meet them at Shinjuku Station at 7 PM on 7/7/07. July 7th also happens to be a big holiday here called Tanabata, the star festival, which celebrates the one day a year when these two gods (lovers) are allowed to meet, when they are normally separated by the Milky Way. It's a HUGE wedding day in Japan and I saw many many people walking around in very nice dresses/tuxedos/kimonos. Anyways, back to the story...
So I met up with Aya at the station and, honestly I don't know why they were so secretive about the whole thing because their plans were just to go to a restaurant and eat and drink a lot. It was so fun, though. This was one of those restaurants where you take off your shoes at the door and you sit on the floor. We got our own little room again and altogether there were 8 of us: me, Aya, Yuki, Shibata, Taro, Tani, Natsumi, and Sachi. Taro gave me a really nice set of chopsticks! I was so surprised, mostly because this was only my second time seeing him. I really like him, though. He is from Osaka, which I could tell right away because he speaks with that old familiar dialect. People in Osaka and Kyoto speak with the same dialect, so when I was in Kyoto I became very familiar with it. So I would occasionally use some of the dialect when talking to Taro, which he loved. Yuki gave me a mix CD, which I'm excited to listen to. Sachi gave me a necklace that she made out of clay, which is so cool, despite the fact that I'll probably never wear it. It's really neat, though. It's in the shape of a key and she said "it's the key to the door to your happiness," to which I just laughed and told her that was so cheesy. But it really is awesome and I love it. I can't believe I've made such friends in the short time I've been here. They gave me a poster (which you can see a picture of below) that has some pictures of all of us and they all signed it. I may have cried a bit when they gave it to me... It was an emotional evening. After the restaurant kicked us out, we went to a bar and drank for a while, until it was time to go to catch the last train. Except 4 of us, including me, missed our trains, so we ended up taking a taxi to Taro's apartment, which was nearby, and we slept there. It was basically a sleepover, which I haven't done in god-knows-how-long, but it was so much fun. Plus, it was really neat to actually see where one of my friends lives. It was a really nice apartment. I hope I can get a place like that when I come back *wink*!
Yuki told me about a free music festival thing that's going on today, so I may go to that, but I just got home so for now, I'm gonna rest and shower and stuff. I drank quite a bit last night so I'm not exactly in the best shape right now. Enjoy the pictures from last night! Aya took some, too, so I'm sure she'll send those to me and I'll send them to you all when they come.
On Thursday night I simply went to a bar in Shibuya with Lauren as a sort of one-day-late 4th of July celebration. Good fun. Good to speak English with someone for an extended period of time. That's about it. Not too exciting, but still fun.
Friday night I basically did the same thing only with Yuki. She came to Shimbashi after work and we went to an (very very tiny) izakaya that we went to last week (or maybe it was the week before?), which was fun because the girl that works there remembered us (even remembered my name!) and we had some fun conversations, etc. We also sat next to a guy who had lived in Denver for a while and his English was really good and he was quite nice. All around good times. Afterwards we took a walk and went to this foot-bridge that goes over one of the big streets in the area, which I have gone to quite a few times at night because it's pretty and peaceful, in a way, to stand over the middle of a Tokyo street and look at the lights/cars/buildings.
The thing I really wanted to talk about, though, was last night. My friends had a 送別会 - farewell party - for me. They wouldn't tell me what we were going to do, they just told me to meet them at Shinjuku Station at 7 PM on 7/7/07. July 7th also happens to be a big holiday here called Tanabata, the star festival, which celebrates the one day a year when these two gods (lovers) are allowed to meet, when they are normally separated by the Milky Way. It's a HUGE wedding day in Japan and I saw many many people walking around in very nice dresses/tuxedos/kimonos. Anyways, back to the story...
So I met up with Aya at the station and, honestly I don't know why they were so secretive about the whole thing because their plans were just to go to a restaurant and eat and drink a lot. It was so fun, though. This was one of those restaurants where you take off your shoes at the door and you sit on the floor. We got our own little room again and altogether there were 8 of us: me, Aya, Yuki, Shibata, Taro, Tani, Natsumi, and Sachi. Taro gave me a really nice set of chopsticks! I was so surprised, mostly because this was only my second time seeing him. I really like him, though. He is from Osaka, which I could tell right away because he speaks with that old familiar dialect. People in Osaka and Kyoto speak with the same dialect, so when I was in Kyoto I became very familiar with it. So I would occasionally use some of the dialect when talking to Taro, which he loved. Yuki gave me a mix CD, which I'm excited to listen to. Sachi gave me a necklace that she made out of clay, which is so cool, despite the fact that I'll probably never wear it. It's really neat, though. It's in the shape of a key and she said "it's the key to the door to your happiness," to which I just laughed and told her that was so cheesy. But it really is awesome and I love it. I can't believe I've made such friends in the short time I've been here. They gave me a poster (which you can see a picture of below) that has some pictures of all of us and they all signed it. I may have cried a bit when they gave it to me... It was an emotional evening. After the restaurant kicked us out, we went to a bar and drank for a while, until it was time to go to catch the last train. Except 4 of us, including me, missed our trains, so we ended up taking a taxi to Taro's apartment, which was nearby, and we slept there. It was basically a sleepover, which I haven't done in god-knows-how-long, but it was so much fun. Plus, it was really neat to actually see where one of my friends lives. It was a really nice apartment. I hope I can get a place like that when I come back *wink*!
Yuki told me about a free music festival thing that's going on today, so I may go to that, but I just got home so for now, I'm gonna rest and shower and stuff. I drank quite a bit last night so I'm not exactly in the best shape right now. Enjoy the pictures from last night! Aya took some, too, so I'm sure she'll send those to me and I'll send them to you all when they come.
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
Happy 4th!
It's the fourth of July and as far as I know that means absolutely nothing here. Just another Wednesday. Apparently on the 5th, though, every year the American Embassy has some kind of big celebration, so I'll have to look into that. It's been a slow week so far, but yesterday Aya confirmed that they are planning on having some kind of party for me on Saturday, so that's something to look forward to.
I will be playing at the Ruby Room again tonight. It's been two weeks since I've been there, so I'm sort of looking forward to that as well. It may also be my last performance, since next Wednesday one of my friends is playing a show and I sort of want to go. But I'm not sure yet. Either way, it's bound to be a good time.
I'm afraid that's all the news I have right now. Back to work. Love.
I will be playing at the Ruby Room again tonight. It's been two weeks since I've been there, so I'm sort of looking forward to that as well. It may also be my last performance, since next Wednesday one of my friends is playing a show and I sort of want to go. But I'm not sure yet. Either way, it's bound to be a good time.
I'm afraid that's all the news I have right now. Back to work. Love.
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Not Found
I keep reading about this clothing boutique in Tokyo called "Not Found" (and by 'keep reading' I mean twice now). It's apparently impossible to find--it's not on any maps, its address is not listed anywhere, there's no sign for it, all I know is the area that it's in--the only way to actually discover its location is to know somebody who already knows. Also, they only allow shopping there one person at a time, by appointment only, but they have totally unique one-of-a-kind products that are supposed to be amazing. Since I only have 2 and a half weeks left here, I don't think I'll be able to find it and get an appointment, but it is now one of the top items on my list for when I come back here. The interior was designed by Wonderwall (and their site is one of my new favorite things to look at), but they were not kind enough to reveal the location: http://www.wonder-wall.com/space/detail.jsp?id=0703
If you have time, its worth it to check out some of the other projects on Wonderwall.
So yeah, next time I come here I will be spending so much time wandering around Azabu-juban until I find that damn place. If I save up enough I may be able to afford one item of clothing from there, right?
Ping Pong Pictures
Awesome Alliteration!
Not much to report today. I did laundry last night--not so exciting--so I basically just stayed home and rested. Really not much planned this whole week. I'm not sure what to do with myself. I'll figure something out. Or I'll just stay home and get lots of rest. I'm okay with that, too.
Here's the pictures I took at ping pong. The girl with the hat is Sa-chan, the girl in the grey/blue-ish shirt is Aya, and the other girl is Kayo. As you can see, I played with all the girls. Where are the guys? They're not as cool as me and are playing at another table across the room.
Aya was hilarious because she got really into it and was literally bouncing around the table and would do an angry little run-in-place thing whenever she lost a point. Also, you can't really tell at all from the pictures, but she's still wearing her corset under her shirt from her skiing injury (like 4 months ago).
Not much to report today. I did laundry last night--not so exciting--so I basically just stayed home and rested. Really not much planned this whole week. I'm not sure what to do with myself. I'll figure something out. Or I'll just stay home and get lots of rest. I'm okay with that, too.
Here's the pictures I took at ping pong. The girl with the hat is Sa-chan, the girl in the grey/blue-ish shirt is Aya, and the other girl is Kayo. As you can see, I played with all the girls. Where are the guys? They're not as cool as me and are playing at another table across the room.
Aya was hilarious because she got really into it and was literally bouncing around the table and would do an angry little run-in-place thing whenever she lost a point. Also, you can't really tell at all from the pictures, but she's still wearing her corset under her shirt from her skiing injury (like 4 months ago).
Monday, July 2, 2007
Ayako's pictures!
Aya sent me her pictures from yesterday, so here you go! I'll upload mine later today (although I'm not in any of them, so they might not be as interesting to you).
Writing to stay awake
Man am I sleepy this morning. Totally worth it, though.
Yesterday was one of the most fun days I've had here so far, which is good because it totally redeemed the whole weekend that I spent basically sleeping. Not because I was being lazy, but I just still didn't feel like I was back to 100 percent and so sleeping seemed like a really good idea.
On Saturday night I texted Aya just to say hi, and it's lucky I did because she ended up inviting me to come with her and a bunch of friends on Sunday to play ping pong. Awesome. I hadn't played ping pong in a long time, so I was bad, but it was fuuuuun. We met at 5:00 and went to this place that had 9 floors with different things on each floor (arcade, bowling, cosmic bowling, billiards, karaoke, and ping pong). They had about 15 or 20 tables and you rented a table by the half-hour (paddles and balls were provided for free). It was so much fun. We got two tables because there ended up being 8 of us altogether, 3 girls and the rest guys. All the guys except for me drank lots of beer. I wanted to, but I was still a bit sick, plus I had work today, so I just had water with the girls, haha. One of the guys there, Taki, is actually a ping pong instructor at a school, and he is of course quite good, so he became 'sensei' to everybody else and helped us out with technique and stuff, which was also sweet. We played there for about two hours and when we divided up the cost of it, it only ended up being 850 Yen (like 7 bucks) per person! Great deal!
Afterwards we went to eat at an underground restaurant where we got a private room and everyone drank more and had great food and it was sooo fun. Some other people met up with us, too, including 2 English guys, George and Darren. who were both very cool. We stayed there until about 11, when they closed, and then went our separate ways.
I have been emailing a lot with Aya and become quite close with her and I wasn't sure I would get a chance to see her again because she works a LOT, so I gave her the CD I made her and she started to cry! It really surprised me. She said something like "Until now it had always just felt like you would stay here forever, but now it's really hitting me that you're going to leave." It was sad, but also very flattering and it made me very happy. She and Taki also decided that they are going to throw a "Sayonara party" for me, which will probably be this coming Saturday, so I'm so excited about that.
How's the USA? Have people gone iPhone crazy? They haven't announced when they're gonna release it here, I think, but apparently Steve Jobs (head of Apple) is really good friends with the head of one of the major phone companies here, so that company is going to get it. Lucky.
The other day Shino-san's phone rang and the ringtone was the "Sex and the City" theme song! It was all I could do to keep from laughing out loud.
I do have pictures from ping pong and Aya also has some from ping pong (some with me playing, I think) and from the restaurant, so as soon as I get all those together, I'll load them up for you.
Love, Lawrence
Yesterday was one of the most fun days I've had here so far, which is good because it totally redeemed the whole weekend that I spent basically sleeping. Not because I was being lazy, but I just still didn't feel like I was back to 100 percent and so sleeping seemed like a really good idea.
On Saturday night I texted Aya just to say hi, and it's lucky I did because she ended up inviting me to come with her and a bunch of friends on Sunday to play ping pong. Awesome. I hadn't played ping pong in a long time, so I was bad, but it was fuuuuun. We met at 5:00 and went to this place that had 9 floors with different things on each floor (arcade, bowling, cosmic bowling, billiards, karaoke, and ping pong). They had about 15 or 20 tables and you rented a table by the half-hour (paddles and balls were provided for free). It was so much fun. We got two tables because there ended up being 8 of us altogether, 3 girls and the rest guys. All the guys except for me drank lots of beer. I wanted to, but I was still a bit sick, plus I had work today, so I just had water with the girls, haha. One of the guys there, Taki, is actually a ping pong instructor at a school, and he is of course quite good, so he became 'sensei' to everybody else and helped us out with technique and stuff, which was also sweet. We played there for about two hours and when we divided up the cost of it, it only ended up being 850 Yen (like 7 bucks) per person! Great deal!
Afterwards we went to eat at an underground restaurant where we got a private room and everyone drank more and had great food and it was sooo fun. Some other people met up with us, too, including 2 English guys, George and Darren. who were both very cool. We stayed there until about 11, when they closed, and then went our separate ways.
I have been emailing a lot with Aya and become quite close with her and I wasn't sure I would get a chance to see her again because she works a LOT, so I gave her the CD I made her and she started to cry! It really surprised me. She said something like "Until now it had always just felt like you would stay here forever, but now it's really hitting me that you're going to leave." It was sad, but also very flattering and it made me very happy. She and Taki also decided that they are going to throw a "Sayonara party" for me, which will probably be this coming Saturday, so I'm so excited about that.
How's the USA? Have people gone iPhone crazy? They haven't announced when they're gonna release it here, I think, but apparently Steve Jobs (head of Apple) is really good friends with the head of one of the major phone companies here, so that company is going to get it. Lucky.
The other day Shino-san's phone rang and the ringtone was the "Sex and the City" theme song! It was all I could do to keep from laughing out loud.
I do have pictures from ping pong and Aya also has some from ping pong (some with me playing, I think) and from the restaurant, so as soon as I get all those together, I'll load them up for you.
Love, Lawrence
Saturday, June 30, 2007
"Stronger"
I am posting this here for a few reasons:
Mostly because it's my blog and I can do whatever the hell I want with it and none of you can do anything about it.
Also because I have been a big fan of Kanye West since his first album--I think he is one of very few unique voices in the hip-hop world--and his newest album is set to come out in August. Here's the video that just came out from the first single released off the new album. It's called "Stronger," and it samples, coincidentally, my favorite Daft Punk song "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" (it's not as dirty as it sounds). Not being in the states, this was my first time hearing the song as well, and I am very very pleased.
The last reason is probably most relevant to the content of this blog. You'll notice a lot of Japanese writing throughout the video, and that there are a bunch of weird scenes which seem to make no sense. For some reason (that doesn't seem to have anything to do with the lyrics at all, but I suppose fits with the rhythm and feel of the track), they decided to remake scenes from the Japanese animated film Akira (Certainly the most famous anime movie in the USA, one of the most famous in Japan as well) as live-action sequences. I like the movie Akira for various reasons, but don't absolutely love it. The comic, however, that the movie is based off of, is one of my favorite books in the whole world. It's a tremendous epic, actually, spanned across 6 phone-book sized volumes, and the movie (which was made by the same man who made the comic, Katsuhiro Otomo) only covers about half of what goes on in the comic. Anyways, I could talk forever about Akira and how much I love it, but the real point is to show how far Japan has penetrated into American pop culture. There's no indication in the video that the scenes are taken from Akira at all, you're just supposed to know. And I bet a ton of people will. Awesome. This country is the height of 'cool.'
Mostly because it's my blog and I can do whatever the hell I want with it and none of you can do anything about it.
Also because I have been a big fan of Kanye West since his first album--I think he is one of very few unique voices in the hip-hop world--and his newest album is set to come out in August. Here's the video that just came out from the first single released off the new album. It's called "Stronger," and it samples, coincidentally, my favorite Daft Punk song "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" (it's not as dirty as it sounds). Not being in the states, this was my first time hearing the song as well, and I am very very pleased.
The last reason is probably most relevant to the content of this blog. You'll notice a lot of Japanese writing throughout the video, and that there are a bunch of weird scenes which seem to make no sense. For some reason (that doesn't seem to have anything to do with the lyrics at all, but I suppose fits with the rhythm and feel of the track), they decided to remake scenes from the Japanese animated film Akira (Certainly the most famous anime movie in the USA, one of the most famous in Japan as well) as live-action sequences. I like the movie Akira for various reasons, but don't absolutely love it. The comic, however, that the movie is based off of, is one of my favorite books in the whole world. It's a tremendous epic, actually, spanned across 6 phone-book sized volumes, and the movie (which was made by the same man who made the comic, Katsuhiro Otomo) only covers about half of what goes on in the comic. Anyways, I could talk forever about Akira and how much I love it, but the real point is to show how far Japan has penetrated into American pop culture. There's no indication in the video that the scenes are taken from Akira at all, you're just supposed to know. And I bet a ton of people will. Awesome. This country is the height of 'cool.'
Friday, June 29, 2007
Welcome back
I guess it's been a few days, huh. I'll tell you why.
Illness.
Awful, awful illness.
On Wednesday I woke up with a severe headache and stomach pains. Luckily, I had some Tylenol on hand, so that took care of the headache for a while, but the stomach pains didn't go away. I couldn't even eat breakfast, it was so bad. I was alone at work that whole day because Shino-san was still in Osaka. My stomach pains only got worse, and as the day went on, some new symptoms arose: feverishness.
I underwent feelings of extreme heat and uncontrollable sweating, during which I would even take my shirt off (I figured as long as I'm the only one in the office, I may as well), and those periods would then be followed by the opposite. I would feel extremely cold, have to put my shirt back on and my whole body would shiver uncontrollably. This went on all day, and I decided to send an email to Shino-san and leave work early. Wednesday night was one of the worst nights I can remember having. At the beginning of the night I was having an episode of extreme heat and as I lay in bed, practically naked, I felt like I was swimming in a pool of my own sweat. I could barely sleep, and when I could it was only for 20 or 30 minutes at a time, at which point I would wake up either from shivering or from the need to go to the bathroom (diarrhea had reared its ugly head, plus I threw up). It may have just been dreams, but I think I even hallucinated a little... my mind was totally panicked. In the middle of the night I sent another email to Shino-san saying I'm really sorry but I just don't think I can come into work on Thursday. He wrote me back in the morning saying that's totally fine.
Horrible timing, by the way, for this to happen: I missed my own show at the Ruby Room on Wednesday, and then I missed Aya's show on Thursday. I was really looking forward to Aya's show, too, because I haven't seen her in like 2 or 3 weeks.
Anyways, Thursday (yesterday) was not much better. Still with the shivering, the sweating, the diarrhea and throwing up. By the time I went to bed last night, however, things started to feel a bit better. I hadn't had either a hot or cold spell in a few hours and my stomach didn't hurt terribly.
Today is even better. I'm still a little sensitive to temperature, but not nearly to the extreme that it was on Wednesday, and really the only problem I have left to deal with is the diarrhea, which is still just as bad as it was on Wednesday. Then again, I haven't eaten any solid foods whatsoever since Tuesday, so that could be part of it.
the point of the story is that I now know the Japanese word for diarrhea: geri.
I know this wasn't the most pleasant entry, but hey, you ask for my life, you get my life.
Love, Lawrence
Illness.
Awful, awful illness.
On Wednesday I woke up with a severe headache and stomach pains. Luckily, I had some Tylenol on hand, so that took care of the headache for a while, but the stomach pains didn't go away. I couldn't even eat breakfast, it was so bad. I was alone at work that whole day because Shino-san was still in Osaka. My stomach pains only got worse, and as the day went on, some new symptoms arose: feverishness.
I underwent feelings of extreme heat and uncontrollable sweating, during which I would even take my shirt off (I figured as long as I'm the only one in the office, I may as well), and those periods would then be followed by the opposite. I would feel extremely cold, have to put my shirt back on and my whole body would shiver uncontrollably. This went on all day, and I decided to send an email to Shino-san and leave work early. Wednesday night was one of the worst nights I can remember having. At the beginning of the night I was having an episode of extreme heat and as I lay in bed, practically naked, I felt like I was swimming in a pool of my own sweat. I could barely sleep, and when I could it was only for 20 or 30 minutes at a time, at which point I would wake up either from shivering or from the need to go to the bathroom (diarrhea had reared its ugly head, plus I threw up). It may have just been dreams, but I think I even hallucinated a little... my mind was totally panicked. In the middle of the night I sent another email to Shino-san saying I'm really sorry but I just don't think I can come into work on Thursday. He wrote me back in the morning saying that's totally fine.
Horrible timing, by the way, for this to happen: I missed my own show at the Ruby Room on Wednesday, and then I missed Aya's show on Thursday. I was really looking forward to Aya's show, too, because I haven't seen her in like 2 or 3 weeks.
Anyways, Thursday (yesterday) was not much better. Still with the shivering, the sweating, the diarrhea and throwing up. By the time I went to bed last night, however, things started to feel a bit better. I hadn't had either a hot or cold spell in a few hours and my stomach didn't hurt terribly.
Today is even better. I'm still a little sensitive to temperature, but not nearly to the extreme that it was on Wednesday, and really the only problem I have left to deal with is the diarrhea, which is still just as bad as it was on Wednesday. Then again, I haven't eaten any solid foods whatsoever since Tuesday, so that could be part of it.
the point of the story is that I now know the Japanese word for diarrhea: geri.
I know this wasn't the most pleasant entry, but hey, you ask for my life, you get my life.
Love, Lawrence
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
putting the "Wha?!" in Biwa
Something really cool I noticed the other day. Well, I noticed it a long time ago, but never figured out what it was until the other day. On my walk to and from work I walk in front of this store that has clear glass Japanese-style sliding doors at the front past the genkan (the recessed welcome area where you leave your shoes) is simply a wooden floor with a few tools along the wall and some shelves along the other wall, etc., but the floor is mainly empty. In the morning when I walk by, there is always a man (presumably the owner of the shop) wearing a yukata (summer kimono) sitting seza (traditional Japanese style of sitting on the floor: on your knees with your shins/feet tucked underneath) on the wooden floor reading the day's newspaper. When I walk by on my way home from work he seems to be always doing some kind of wood-crafting (still while sitting on the floor). The sign contained some characters I couldn't read, so I never knew what the store was. Until the other day, when I saw one of his nearly-finished products, that is. He is a biwa-maker! A biwa is a traditional Japanese instrument that's basically a lute. Soooo cool! I kinda want to go in and just talk to him, I bet he's a pretty interesting guy. Perhaps I will one of these days after work. You can read more about the biwa HERE.
That's all to report for today, really. I'm alone in the office today and for about half of tomorrow because Shino-san had to go to Osaka to meet a client or something. Lonely me!
Tonight I was going to meet up with Kie and help her practice her presentation that she's giving tomorrow (it's in English, hence the me helping part), but she canceled because she has not yet finished making the powerpoint itself! Cutting it close! She should be fine, though. Her English is better than my Japanese.
It's 4:30 now and I guess I could, theoretically, just head home now since I'm not really doing anything right now anyways. I guess I'll wait another 10 minutes or so and then head out.
I was trying to think of what I give to my friends here as a present before I left, that would be really neat and something they probably couldn't get on their own. I decided on mix CDs! Since they have all expressed interest in American music, I'll give them some of my favorite stuff. Whenever we talk about music, I always ask them if they know some bands that I like and the answer is usually know, so this gives me a chance to show them. I think that's a good, meaningful gift, right? And now I'm really excited about making them, so maybe I'll work on that tonight since I now have no plans.
Alright, Take care everybody! Love, Lawrence
That's all to report for today, really. I'm alone in the office today and for about half of tomorrow because Shino-san had to go to Osaka to meet a client or something. Lonely me!
Tonight I was going to meet up with Kie and help her practice her presentation that she's giving tomorrow (it's in English, hence the me helping part), but she canceled because she has not yet finished making the powerpoint itself! Cutting it close! She should be fine, though. Her English is better than my Japanese.
It's 4:30 now and I guess I could, theoretically, just head home now since I'm not really doing anything right now anyways. I guess I'll wait another 10 minutes or so and then head out.
I was trying to think of what I give to my friends here as a present before I left, that would be really neat and something they probably couldn't get on their own. I decided on mix CDs! Since they have all expressed interest in American music, I'll give them some of my favorite stuff. Whenever we talk about music, I always ask them if they know some bands that I like and the answer is usually know, so this gives me a chance to show them. I think that's a good, meaningful gift, right? And now I'm really excited about making them, so maybe I'll work on that tonight since I now have no plans.
Alright, Take care everybody! Love, Lawrence
Monday, June 25, 2007
Sky is Blue
Howdy.
I am quite impressed with one of my old high school classmates, Dora Magrath, who has made her own music and recorded and album. I've listened to some of it and really really enjoy it. Fun fact: Dora was the first girl I ever asked out on a date! Fun Fact: Dora was the first girl who ever rejected me! haha. Certainly no hard feelings, though. She was quite nice about it and we remained friends. You can check out her CD if you want, and listen to a little bit of it over at:
http://cdbaby.com/cd/doramagrath
Other news of high school classmates: Sam Altman and Rick Pernikoff have left school to start a company (with some other friends) in Silicon Valley. Their company is called Loopt and they have developed a social networking program for mobile phones that has already been picked up by Boost Mobile (a national mobile phone network). Again, really impressed with what my old classmates are doing these days. I can't imagine being able to do something like that.
So, the weekend was grand. On Friday night I went out? What did I do on Friday night? I can't remember. I don't think I had any specific plans, so if I did go out, it was probably just to a local bar or something. Oh, that's right. I did go to a local izakaya because I wanted to get to bed early so I could head out to Chiba in the morning on Saturday. Then I ended up sleeping until around noon on Saturday anyways, haha. I did go to Chiba, though, which was really cool. The convention center (called Makuhari Messe) is in a big commercial area, which is centered around a rather large outlet mall. It is also the location of the Chiba Marines (Chiba's baseball team) stadium. I thought I could go to a game after the convention, but they had an away game that day, unfortunately.
The mobile electronics fair was not what I expected. It was focused entirely on electronics for cars, which for the most part meant audio systems. It was neat, though. There were tons of cars lined up and you could go and sit inside each one and listen to the audio system they had. They also had big machines to pump air inside the cars. Pretty crazy. And, of course, campaign girls in small outfits. I have pictures, but I haven't even loaded them on the computer yet, so they'll have to wait. After the mobile electronics fair, I saw signs all over for the "World Hobby Fair," so I decided to check it out.
It was insane. I've never seen so many children in one place in my life. It was an enormous fair and pretty much jam-packed with families that basically just came to show their kids a good time. Apparently by "World Hobby," what they actually meant was "Children's Games." It was pretty neat, though. I'm glad I took the time to see it. I have a few pictures of that as well, which will go up at the same time as the Mobile Electronics Show pics.
On Saturday night I texted a few friends to see what they were doing because I had no plans. I only heard back from Yuki, who also had nothing to do and happened to be near Shimbashi, so she came over and we ate some yakitori and had some beers and walked around. We went to this little bar under the tracks called the "Budweiser Carnival," which I had seen before but never gone inside. It was pretty hilarious, and clearly geared towards men. The waitresses, called "Bud Girls," wore these cute little dresses that were about one size too small, and there was a random large black guy singing soul music on a karaoke machine. It was really strange. There were two drinks you could buy which the Bud Girls made right at your table (one was a mix of grapefruit juice and something else and they squeezed the grapefruit at your table while singing this ridiculous song; the other was something they did in a shaker which they shake at your table, again while singing a ridiculous song). There was a table full of Japanese businessmen that kept ordering those drinks over and over and eventually sang along with the girls. It was really hilarious. Also, the "large" size beer was enormous.
On Sunday I went and played some street hockey with the Tokyo Street Hockey Association. Ted plays with them every Sunday and invited me. I told him I'd be really bad and he said "so are we," so I figured why not. It was pretty fun. REALLY tiring. But there are some good people there. I may go back next week for round two.
Speaking of things being really tiring, I've noticed that I don't really get tired climbing up the stairs to my room anymore. I live on the 5th floor of my building, so every day, multiple times a day, I go up and down 4 flights of stairs. The first week here it was really brutal (yes, I know I'm massively out of shape), and would really take the wind out of me to go up to my room. Now, though, I can do it no problem. It's a good feeling. Enough to motivate me to exercise a bit more when I get back to Saint Louis? We'll see...
Anyways, after street hockey I went home, cleaned up, did my laundry, and then headed out to Shimokitazawa for my friend's live. This was a band I met a while ago, called 'golf' (I don't know why), and the bassist, Ando, is a really really nice guy. It was a really good show. The live was to celebrate the release of their new album, which I got. It's really good, I listened to it on the walk to work this morning. The two opening bands were also pretty impressive, and it turned out that Yuki actually helped out in the making of one of the bands' albums.
I'm just now noticing that I use the word "really" a lot.
Tonight I am meeting a guy I met last week, Naota, for dinner and maybe grab a drink or two afterwards. He works in Shimbashi, so I'm sure we'll just do something in that area, which will be nice and convenient.
Ted is now officially gone. He went to Missouri for a business trip (meeting some new clients, etc.), and then he's going back to his home in Colorado for a bit, and then he heads out to Hawaii for vacation. He'll be gone a total of 3 weeks, which, incidentally, is the amount of time left for my internship, meaning I won't be working with Ted anymore. Sad, yes, but I told him I'd probably bring my parents into the office one day after he gets back, so I'll get to see him one more time before I head home. So it's just Shino-san and me in the office now for the next 3 weeks. Could be interesting or could be boring, I have no idea. Ted gave me a few things to work on, though, which is nice.
Well, my friends, it's just about time for my lunch break. Sayonara!
I am quite impressed with one of my old high school classmates, Dora Magrath, who has made her own music and recorded and album. I've listened to some of it and really really enjoy it. Fun fact: Dora was the first girl I ever asked out on a date! Fun Fact: Dora was the first girl who ever rejected me! haha. Certainly no hard feelings, though. She was quite nice about it and we remained friends. You can check out her CD if you want, and listen to a little bit of it over at:
http://cdbaby.com/cd/doramagrath
Other news of high school classmates: Sam Altman and Rick Pernikoff have left school to start a company (with some other friends) in Silicon Valley. Their company is called Loopt and they have developed a social networking program for mobile phones that has already been picked up by Boost Mobile (a national mobile phone network). Again, really impressed with what my old classmates are doing these days. I can't imagine being able to do something like that.
So, the weekend was grand. On Friday night I went out? What did I do on Friday night? I can't remember. I don't think I had any specific plans, so if I did go out, it was probably just to a local bar or something. Oh, that's right. I did go to a local izakaya because I wanted to get to bed early so I could head out to Chiba in the morning on Saturday. Then I ended up sleeping until around noon on Saturday anyways, haha. I did go to Chiba, though, which was really cool. The convention center (called Makuhari Messe) is in a big commercial area, which is centered around a rather large outlet mall. It is also the location of the Chiba Marines (Chiba's baseball team) stadium. I thought I could go to a game after the convention, but they had an away game that day, unfortunately.
The mobile electronics fair was not what I expected. It was focused entirely on electronics for cars, which for the most part meant audio systems. It was neat, though. There were tons of cars lined up and you could go and sit inside each one and listen to the audio system they had. They also had big machines to pump air inside the cars. Pretty crazy. And, of course, campaign girls in small outfits. I have pictures, but I haven't even loaded them on the computer yet, so they'll have to wait. After the mobile electronics fair, I saw signs all over for the "World Hobby Fair," so I decided to check it out.
It was insane. I've never seen so many children in one place in my life. It was an enormous fair and pretty much jam-packed with families that basically just came to show their kids a good time. Apparently by "World Hobby," what they actually meant was "Children's Games." It was pretty neat, though. I'm glad I took the time to see it. I have a few pictures of that as well, which will go up at the same time as the Mobile Electronics Show pics.
On Saturday night I texted a few friends to see what they were doing because I had no plans. I only heard back from Yuki, who also had nothing to do and happened to be near Shimbashi, so she came over and we ate some yakitori and had some beers and walked around. We went to this little bar under the tracks called the "Budweiser Carnival," which I had seen before but never gone inside. It was pretty hilarious, and clearly geared towards men. The waitresses, called "Bud Girls," wore these cute little dresses that were about one size too small, and there was a random large black guy singing soul music on a karaoke machine. It was really strange. There were two drinks you could buy which the Bud Girls made right at your table (one was a mix of grapefruit juice and something else and they squeezed the grapefruit at your table while singing this ridiculous song; the other was something they did in a shaker which they shake at your table, again while singing a ridiculous song). There was a table full of Japanese businessmen that kept ordering those drinks over and over and eventually sang along with the girls. It was really hilarious. Also, the "large" size beer was enormous.
On Sunday I went and played some street hockey with the Tokyo Street Hockey Association. Ted plays with them every Sunday and invited me. I told him I'd be really bad and he said "so are we," so I figured why not. It was pretty fun. REALLY tiring. But there are some good people there. I may go back next week for round two.
Speaking of things being really tiring, I've noticed that I don't really get tired climbing up the stairs to my room anymore. I live on the 5th floor of my building, so every day, multiple times a day, I go up and down 4 flights of stairs. The first week here it was really brutal (yes, I know I'm massively out of shape), and would really take the wind out of me to go up to my room. Now, though, I can do it no problem. It's a good feeling. Enough to motivate me to exercise a bit more when I get back to Saint Louis? We'll see...
Anyways, after street hockey I went home, cleaned up, did my laundry, and then headed out to Shimokitazawa for my friend's live. This was a band I met a while ago, called 'golf' (I don't know why), and the bassist, Ando, is a really really nice guy. It was a really good show. The live was to celebrate the release of their new album, which I got. It's really good, I listened to it on the walk to work this morning. The two opening bands were also pretty impressive, and it turned out that Yuki actually helped out in the making of one of the bands' albums.
I'm just now noticing that I use the word "really" a lot.
Tonight I am meeting a guy I met last week, Naota, for dinner and maybe grab a drink or two afterwards. He works in Shimbashi, so I'm sure we'll just do something in that area, which will be nice and convenient.
Ted is now officially gone. He went to Missouri for a business trip (meeting some new clients, etc.), and then he's going back to his home in Colorado for a bit, and then he heads out to Hawaii for vacation. He'll be gone a total of 3 weeks, which, incidentally, is the amount of time left for my internship, meaning I won't be working with Ted anymore. Sad, yes, but I told him I'd probably bring my parents into the office one day after he gets back, so I'll get to see him one more time before I head home. So it's just Shino-san and me in the office now for the next 3 weeks. Could be interesting or could be boring, I have no idea. Ted gave me a few things to work on, though, which is nice.
Well, my friends, it's just about time for my lunch break. Sayonara!
Friday, June 22, 2007
Delayed
Man, I actually had enough work and stuff to keep me busy enough today that I didn't even realize I didn't write in my blog until just now. It's about 6:10 and I'm still at the office (not because I have to be, but because I have no plans and figured I'd stick around and use the internet for a little while longer).
I did indeed cancel going to the open mic last night because I was too tired, and then to make myself even more tired I actually played soccer yesterday after work with some of the guys who live in my building, who I'm just now becoming friends with. There was Mauricio, from Brazil, who actually works in the building (been working there for 3 years). And then Eddie, from Chile, who also works in the building and has been for about 1.5 years. And finally Coby, from Ghana, who seems to be very good friends with Mauricio and Eddie, but I'm not sure if he works in the building or is just staying there, nor do I know how long he's been here. I will work on finding these things out.
Also, I ate dinner at a ramen shop that I walk past pretty much every day and has always seemed to be pretty crowded. When I walked past it last night it seemed to be relatively empty (it was a bit on the early side for dinner), so I figured it would be a good time to go check it out. I got some pork miso ramen dish because the waitress told me it was the most popular, and it was fanTAStic! I'm totally gonna eat there like every other night from now on, haha. Not really, but I will certainly be eating there at least a few more times before I leave.
Tomorrow I decided I will go to a Mobile Electronics Show in Chiba (a 30-40 minute train ride). Mobile electronics is pretty much what this country has proven they do best in recent years, so it should prove to be pretty awesome. Hopefully they'll allow pictures. I think I'll go there early and then afterwards I can explore Chiba a little bit for the rest of the day. I have really no plans this weekend. I wanted to hang out with Kie (hehe), but she's going to her cousin's wedding this weekend. On Sunday there are a couple things, I suppose: A comic convention at Big Sight (I have always wanted to go to a Japanese comic convention, so I'll probably end up going there), there's some street hockey on Sunday afternoon (but it will most likely be unbearably hot, so I'm not too sure if I'll go to that), and a band I met not too long ago is playing a live in Shimokitazawa. I'm not sure what time it's at, but I've been wanting to revisit Shimokitazawa because it was a neat area so if it's in the evening I'll probably go to that.
It's about 6:30 now so I think I'm ready to head home. I'm getting sleepy already...
I did indeed cancel going to the open mic last night because I was too tired, and then to make myself even more tired I actually played soccer yesterday after work with some of the guys who live in my building, who I'm just now becoming friends with. There was Mauricio, from Brazil, who actually works in the building (been working there for 3 years). And then Eddie, from Chile, who also works in the building and has been for about 1.5 years. And finally Coby, from Ghana, who seems to be very good friends with Mauricio and Eddie, but I'm not sure if he works in the building or is just staying there, nor do I know how long he's been here. I will work on finding these things out.
Also, I ate dinner at a ramen shop that I walk past pretty much every day and has always seemed to be pretty crowded. When I walked past it last night it seemed to be relatively empty (it was a bit on the early side for dinner), so I figured it would be a good time to go check it out. I got some pork miso ramen dish because the waitress told me it was the most popular, and it was fanTAStic! I'm totally gonna eat there like every other night from now on, haha. Not really, but I will certainly be eating there at least a few more times before I leave.
Tomorrow I decided I will go to a Mobile Electronics Show in Chiba (a 30-40 minute train ride). Mobile electronics is pretty much what this country has proven they do best in recent years, so it should prove to be pretty awesome. Hopefully they'll allow pictures. I think I'll go there early and then afterwards I can explore Chiba a little bit for the rest of the day. I have really no plans this weekend. I wanted to hang out with Kie (hehe), but she's going to her cousin's wedding this weekend. On Sunday there are a couple things, I suppose: A comic convention at Big Sight (I have always wanted to go to a Japanese comic convention, so I'll probably end up going there), there's some street hockey on Sunday afternoon (but it will most likely be unbearably hot, so I'm not too sure if I'll go to that), and a band I met not too long ago is playing a live in Shimokitazawa. I'm not sure what time it's at, but I've been wanting to revisit Shimokitazawa because it was a neat area so if it's in the evening I'll probably go to that.
It's about 6:30 now so I think I'm ready to head home. I'm getting sleepy already...
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Part XXVII: A Pleasant Surprise
I was a bit disappointed in my show last night. I just felt off the whole show, like something just wasn't working right. But I think it's best not to think about it. Don't let it get me down. Plus, it could just be because I was so happy with my show last week that by comparison this one was worse, but maybe still okay. Who knows...
I met up with Lauren for dinner beforehand and we ate at a Chinese place that ended up being pretty good and we made it in right before it got filled up, so we were lucky. Lauren and I aren't good friends or anything, and we may never be, but it was still good to see her, and I was glad she could come to see me play. That was really nice of her. She had a friend who was going to meet us at the Ruby Room to see my show as well, but she got lost and didn't make it in time. We got to talk, though, afterwards and she was nice. Lauren came here a couple days ago to work at Tokyo University doing some sort of graduate research (shes an engineer). All my friends were very impressed because Todai (shortening of Tokyo Daigaku, or Tokyo University) is basically the number one university in Japan.
I had a pleasant surprise today at work: Kie came to my building and we had lunch together! Okay, so she didn't come here just to see me--she just got a part-time job that's right down the street from where I work and today is her first day there--but it was still a nice gesture that she thought to ask me to lunch. I'm beginning to like Kie, by the way (yes, like like). I need to start talking to her in Japanese, though, so I can actually practice. She is pretty adamant about speaking to me in English because she wants to practice (not that she needs it, her English is far better than my Japanese), so I always end up just speaking back to her in English. She's about to graduate so she's job-hunting right now. She's got an interview next week with an England study abroad office. She's really nervous because the interview's in English, but she'll be fine. I told her she just needs to show them how much she loved her experience studying in England (which she did, a lot) and that she can express that well to other students who could potentially want to go there. If she can do that, she'll be fine. Apparently that's what her job would mostly be, just marketing their programs to students.
I think it will be fairly easy for me to get a job here, even if I don't get the teaching job (with Jet or Nova, etc.), although that would be my first choice. There are SO many opportunities for English-Japanese bilinguals here. It does seem like lately, they've been shifting to give more of those kinds of opportunities to Japanese natives because more and more Japanese are learning English, but even still. I think the biggest hump would be actually moving here, and then things would fall into place pretty easily. If nothing else, I could always get a job at a restaurant (there are TONS of restaurants here that cater to foreigners and have foreign staff) or a hotel as a temporary thing. I think Ted might be able to help me get a job, too, because he used to work as a headhunter and he knows a lot of people/employers who would be interested in someone like me, he said. So that's excellent. I'm in good shape, I think.
Well, mes amis, I am off. Ted gave me a project to work on while he's gone (he's leaving this weekend and will be gone for the whole rest of my internship; sad, I know), so I'll get a head start on it in this last hour of work today.
Sayonara,
Lawrence
I met up with Lauren for dinner beforehand and we ate at a Chinese place that ended up being pretty good and we made it in right before it got filled up, so we were lucky. Lauren and I aren't good friends or anything, and we may never be, but it was still good to see her, and I was glad she could come to see me play. That was really nice of her. She had a friend who was going to meet us at the Ruby Room to see my show as well, but she got lost and didn't make it in time. We got to talk, though, afterwards and she was nice. Lauren came here a couple days ago to work at Tokyo University doing some sort of graduate research (shes an engineer). All my friends were very impressed because Todai (shortening of Tokyo Daigaku, or Tokyo University) is basically the number one university in Japan.
I had a pleasant surprise today at work: Kie came to my building and we had lunch together! Okay, so she didn't come here just to see me--she just got a part-time job that's right down the street from where I work and today is her first day there--but it was still a nice gesture that she thought to ask me to lunch. I'm beginning to like Kie, by the way (yes, like like). I need to start talking to her in Japanese, though, so I can actually practice. She is pretty adamant about speaking to me in English because she wants to practice (not that she needs it, her English is far better than my Japanese), so I always end up just speaking back to her in English. She's about to graduate so she's job-hunting right now. She's got an interview next week with an England study abroad office. She's really nervous because the interview's in English, but she'll be fine. I told her she just needs to show them how much she loved her experience studying in England (which she did, a lot) and that she can express that well to other students who could potentially want to go there. If she can do that, she'll be fine. Apparently that's what her job would mostly be, just marketing their programs to students.
I think it will be fairly easy for me to get a job here, even if I don't get the teaching job (with Jet or Nova, etc.), although that would be my first choice. There are SO many opportunities for English-Japanese bilinguals here. It does seem like lately, they've been shifting to give more of those kinds of opportunities to Japanese natives because more and more Japanese are learning English, but even still. I think the biggest hump would be actually moving here, and then things would fall into place pretty easily. If nothing else, I could always get a job at a restaurant (there are TONS of restaurants here that cater to foreigners and have foreign staff) or a hotel as a temporary thing. I think Ted might be able to help me get a job, too, because he used to work as a headhunter and he knows a lot of people/employers who would be interested in someone like me, he said. So that's excellent. I'm in good shape, I think.
Well, mes amis, I am off. Ted gave me a project to work on while he's gone (he's leaving this weekend and will be gone for the whole rest of my internship; sad, I know), so I'll get a head start on it in this last hour of work today.
Sayonara,
Lawrence
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Now to the real news
So as you can see, I wrote last night (see the post below). That felt damn good. I haven't really written any fiction in like a year. I haven't really had the time to, I guess. I wrote it over dinner at a Thai place that I discovered is right around the corner from a Chinese place that's right down the street from my place.
It's Wednesday! So it's back to the Ruby Room tonight. I love that place. Hanging out there on Saturday with everyone was really fun. I may have to go back there this weekend, if I've got nothing else to do. Lauren Linderman, one of my (now former) classmates from Wash U. is in town and said she'd probably be able to come to the show tonight! Exciting. I'm not real good friends with her or anything, but it's still cool to see somebody you know when you're a bajillion miles from home (I don't know the actual estimated distance, so I rounded up).
Today is the day we go to the bio-tech convention at Big Sight, so we'll be leaving for that in about 40 minutes. It's at least bound to be more interesting than the auto service show, right? Although this time we don't have any clients to meet up with or anything.
I've been drinking these one liter bottles of mandarin orange juice (my god, so good) just about every day, while at work. There's a little store run by this cute old couple that's right on my path to work that sells the bottles of it, and I stop by there almost every morning. 230 yen for a 1-liter bottle. It more or less just ends up becoming my breakfast. They know me now and pull out a bottle for me right away whenever I come in now. They're very sweet.
Completely unrelated to me and Japan and anything: Paul told me about this new HBO show called "Flight of the Conchords." Flight of the Conchords is actually a comedy-folk duo from New Zealand and they've performed all over the world. Their show is about an unpopular folk duo from New Zealand trying to make their way in New York City. The first episode is online at their HBO homepage (click here to go there), and I highly recommend everybody watch it. It is so funny. I watched it last night before I went to bed, and then watched a couple parts of it again because I loved it so much. There are also plenty of videos of them from other performances over on Youtube (click here).
All right. Have a good Tuesday night, everybody!
Love,
Lawrence
update: we're just about to leave, but I wanted to say I've been working on this story some more (again, see below), and I am really enjoying writing again. This will be my new thing to do when I'm bored at work now! I'll be sure to keep you all updated on it, too. Bye!
It's Wednesday! So it's back to the Ruby Room tonight. I love that place. Hanging out there on Saturday with everyone was really fun. I may have to go back there this weekend, if I've got nothing else to do. Lauren Linderman, one of my (now former) classmates from Wash U. is in town and said she'd probably be able to come to the show tonight! Exciting. I'm not real good friends with her or anything, but it's still cool to see somebody you know when you're a bajillion miles from home (I don't know the actual estimated distance, so I rounded up).
Today is the day we go to the bio-tech convention at Big Sight, so we'll be leaving for that in about 40 minutes. It's at least bound to be more interesting than the auto service show, right? Although this time we don't have any clients to meet up with or anything.
I've been drinking these one liter bottles of mandarin orange juice (my god, so good) just about every day, while at work. There's a little store run by this cute old couple that's right on my path to work that sells the bottles of it, and I stop by there almost every morning. 230 yen for a 1-liter bottle. It more or less just ends up becoming my breakfast. They know me now and pull out a bottle for me right away whenever I come in now. They're very sweet.
Completely unrelated to me and Japan and anything: Paul told me about this new HBO show called "Flight of the Conchords." Flight of the Conchords is actually a comedy-folk duo from New Zealand and they've performed all over the world. Their show is about an unpopular folk duo from New Zealand trying to make their way in New York City. The first episode is online at their HBO homepage (click here to go there), and I highly recommend everybody watch it. It is so funny. I watched it last night before I went to bed, and then watched a couple parts of it again because I loved it so much. There are also plenty of videos of them from other performances over on Youtube (click here).
All right. Have a good Tuesday night, everybody!
Love,
Lawrence
update: we're just about to leave, but I wanted to say I've been working on this story some more (again, see below), and I am really enjoying writing again. This will be my new thing to do when I'm bored at work now! I'll be sure to keep you all updated on it, too. Bye!
Work in progress
I don't know if you guys will be interested at all, but I had this idea for the opening of a story last night and so I just started writing. Here's what I came up with so far. I can't indent on this thing, so I just put an extra space in between paragraphs.
"In my dreams I'm less hairy," Peter told his friends Aki and Goldman.
Peter had recently been having dreams in which he was naked or topless for one of several reasons--sex, the beach, tattoo parlor, etc.--and it had been bothering him to notice when he looked down that there was a total lack of chest and stomach hair. He had also noticed that his belly didn't stick out as far, but this didn't annoy him so much as it actually delighted him. The hair, though... there was something disturbing about it not being there. Something unnatural.
Peter had begun to wonder whether this same thing ever happened to Robin Williams or to Indian people--anyone well-known for being hairy. Was the bearded lady beardless when she slumbered?
Peter himself was not particularly endowed with a full chest of hair, nor did he even enjoy the idea of having any hair at all besides the hair on the top of his head, but somehow it had disturbed him very deeply to look down in his dreams and see nothing but bare skin. He had developed a strange sense of pride about his body hair, in the same way that he felt strangely proud when he broke wind when nobody else was around and it smelled particularly bad. It was like a forbidden pride, something he knew he shouldn't be proud of, but there was some ineffable satisfaction in the whole idea of it.
"Less hairy," Aki repeated, half as an is-that-seriously-what-you-just-said question, half as an I’m-repeating-this-so-you-can-hear-how-dumb-you-sound remark. Laughing and trying to drink her beer at the same time, a drop of it fell down onto her chin and she turned her head to wipe it off with her shoulder.
Aki, being both female and half-Japanese, was certainly the least hairy of the three and couldn't remember any sort of dream in which hair was missing where it should have been. Nor could she remember any dream in which she had more hair than she should have, though she silently decided that would be far more disturbing than the former.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
You're so beautiful, you could be a part-time model, but you should probably keep your other job just in case...
Hi y'all. Sorry I couldn't write earlier, before you guys headed to bed (most of you, at least). There was some troubles with the internet in the building this morning. Apparently like half of the servers went down and so the whole building was running on half the amount and it was going rrreeeaaaalllllyyyyy sssslllllooooooooowwwwwwwwwww....
So we all got frustrated and went for an early lunch. But it's back now! And right now I am suddenly getting a stabbing pain in my left heel. weird.
When I got up today, I felt tingly all over. I realized very quickly it was goosebumps
because it was freezing in my room. The temperature regulation (or lack thereof) is probably the biggest complaint I have about my building (yes, bigger than the cockroaches). I don't know if it's because the system sucks or because the tenants keep changing the temperature setting, but every 5 hours or so, the temperature will shift from being about 20 degrees to about 25 degrees and then back again (in Celcius, mind you). When I went to bed last night I was so hot I laid down with no covers and only my boxers on and I was sweating, but when I woke up I grabbed all the covers on top of me and curled into a little ball to stay warm! It's central air and the thermostat is in the hallway right outside my door. I had never touched it until this morning when I went out and changed it from 20 to 22. It's really ridiculous. 22 is perfect. Basically room temperature. And I just wish people could keep it there. Argh. Or, even, just keep it cold or keep it warm. One way or the other, at least I know what to expect. The fluctuation is driving me crazy!
Yesterday, throughout the day, I somehow developed an awful awful headache, and by the time I got home from work it was so bad I didn't want to go out anymore, so I canceled (I can't believe that word only has one 'l' in it) my plans to go to the Rock Factory and stayed home. Well, actually, I ended up going exploring in my area, which I had only done a little bit of up until then. If you keep walking away from the train station from my place, there isn't much there. I walked that way first and got bored quite quickly. The further you get from the station, the less commercial and more residential it becomes. So then I went back towards the station. Passed up my apartment again, and wandered up and down every little alleyway I could find. I discovered 2 things:
a) There is a Mos Burger! (which, by the way, I caved and ate a Mos Burger last week; so good). I figured there had to be one in my area, but I had yet to find it and now I know where it is. I just gotta control myself and not eat it all the time (which really shouldn't be that hard cuz there's so much other good food around, too).
2) There are way more hostess clubs than I thought there were. When you really look, they're like everywhere you turn. And they have all different themes. I'm sure they have them in places other than Japan, but I've never really seen anything quite like what they have, so I'll talk about it a bit. You can probably guess from the term, but hostess clubs are sort of like gentleman's clubs, but usually there's no nudity involved. You pay by the hour to sit at a table and you can choose your hostess who will not only serve you, but sit and talk with you, etc. (There are host bars, as well, which I believe actually are an exclusively Japanese enterprise; they're basically the same thing for the opposite sex, although I didn't see any in my area). They can--and often will--be themed, too. I saw a sign for one that was beach themed, so all the girls wore bikinis. I walked by an entire strip of Maid Clubs, in which the hostesses are dressed in these elaborate and frilly French maid costumes (there are Maid Cafes as well, which is slightly less shady, in which the waitresses are all dressed as maids--but you don't have to pay just to be there and they're not paid to talk to you, so they generally won't unless there's like nobody else there, or something). I saw an ad for a cosplay club, as well. Cosplay is short for "costume play," and it basically means the girls will be dressed to look like characters from Japanese anime or videogames. Some of the clubs are a bit shady, but some of the clubs are actually quite high-class, and those girls make a TON of money. Ted said when he taught English here, one of his students worked at a nice club in Ginza (where all the really high-class clubs are) and she only worked 2 nights a week, but brought in almost 10,000 dollars a month! Plus, their loyal customers will often bring them nice presents, too. It's so wild. Probably slightly dangerous for the girls, too, though. I would really like to go and see what one is like sometime, but they are just ridiculously expensive, so nope. Not gonna happen.
Anyways, all in all I'd say I live in an interesting area. hehe.
Oh, I have some pictures that Aya sent me from way back when we hung out in izakaya in Akabane. I will post those right after this. Well, my friends. This has been educational. Enjoy your Tuesday. Mine's winding down already...
So we all got frustrated and went for an early lunch. But it's back now! And right now I am suddenly getting a stabbing pain in my left heel. weird.
When I got up today, I felt tingly all over. I realized very quickly it was goosebumps
because it was freezing in my room. The temperature regulation (or lack thereof) is probably the biggest complaint I have about my building (yes, bigger than the cockroaches). I don't know if it's because the system sucks or because the tenants keep changing the temperature setting, but every 5 hours or so, the temperature will shift from being about 20 degrees to about 25 degrees and then back again (in Celcius, mind you). When I went to bed last night I was so hot I laid down with no covers and only my boxers on and I was sweating, but when I woke up I grabbed all the covers on top of me and curled into a little ball to stay warm! It's central air and the thermostat is in the hallway right outside my door. I had never touched it until this morning when I went out and changed it from 20 to 22. It's really ridiculous. 22 is perfect. Basically room temperature. And I just wish people could keep it there. Argh. Or, even, just keep it cold or keep it warm. One way or the other, at least I know what to expect. The fluctuation is driving me crazy!
Yesterday, throughout the day, I somehow developed an awful awful headache, and by the time I got home from work it was so bad I didn't want to go out anymore, so I canceled (I can't believe that word only has one 'l' in it) my plans to go to the Rock Factory and stayed home. Well, actually, I ended up going exploring in my area, which I had only done a little bit of up until then. If you keep walking away from the train station from my place, there isn't much there. I walked that way first and got bored quite quickly. The further you get from the station, the less commercial and more residential it becomes. So then I went back towards the station. Passed up my apartment again, and wandered up and down every little alleyway I could find. I discovered 2 things:
a) There is a Mos Burger! (which, by the way, I caved and ate a Mos Burger last week; so good). I figured there had to be one in my area, but I had yet to find it and now I know where it is. I just gotta control myself and not eat it all the time (which really shouldn't be that hard cuz there's so much other good food around, too).
2) There are way more hostess clubs than I thought there were. When you really look, they're like everywhere you turn. And they have all different themes. I'm sure they have them in places other than Japan, but I've never really seen anything quite like what they have, so I'll talk about it a bit. You can probably guess from the term, but hostess clubs are sort of like gentleman's clubs, but usually there's no nudity involved. You pay by the hour to sit at a table and you can choose your hostess who will not only serve you, but sit and talk with you, etc. (There are host bars, as well, which I believe actually are an exclusively Japanese enterprise; they're basically the same thing for the opposite sex, although I didn't see any in my area). They can--and often will--be themed, too. I saw a sign for one that was beach themed, so all the girls wore bikinis. I walked by an entire strip of Maid Clubs, in which the hostesses are dressed in these elaborate and frilly French maid costumes (there are Maid Cafes as well, which is slightly less shady, in which the waitresses are all dressed as maids--but you don't have to pay just to be there and they're not paid to talk to you, so they generally won't unless there's like nobody else there, or something). I saw an ad for a cosplay club, as well. Cosplay is short for "costume play," and it basically means the girls will be dressed to look like characters from Japanese anime or videogames. Some of the clubs are a bit shady, but some of the clubs are actually quite high-class, and those girls make a TON of money. Ted said when he taught English here, one of his students worked at a nice club in Ginza (where all the really high-class clubs are) and she only worked 2 nights a week, but brought in almost 10,000 dollars a month! Plus, their loyal customers will often bring them nice presents, too. It's so wild. Probably slightly dangerous for the girls, too, though. I would really like to go and see what one is like sometime, but they are just ridiculously expensive, so nope. Not gonna happen.
Anyways, all in all I'd say I live in an interesting area. hehe.
Oh, I have some pictures that Aya sent me from way back when we hung out in izakaya in Akabane. I will post those right after this. Well, my friends. This has been educational. Enjoy your Tuesday. Mine's winding down already...
Monday, June 18, 2007
2 bits
I saw a guy actually cutting his own hair, with scissors, while sitting in his parked car while I was walking to lunch today. Apart from the bizarreness of the whole idea, and the fact that it's hard enough to cut your own hair with scissors when you have a proper mirror and enough space, all I could think of was "wouldn't that make a ridiculous mess in the car?!"
Happy Monday!
Sigh, another week of work...
I had a pretty good weekend. I went to a concert in Shimokitazawa by myself on Friday night. I was planning on going to a concert with Chu on Friday, but it turned out the concert he invited me to was actually on Saturday, so I ended up with no plans on Friday and I checked around online and decided I'd just head out and find something on my own. The concert wasn't great, but I met some nice people who may or may not come to my shows this week (of which there will be 3!!).
On Saturday I had no daytime plans so I slept in a little bit and then decided I would go someplace I haven't been to yet and walk around with no map. I picked Omotesando because it's a large street that has all the big designers' stores (Prada, Gucci, Dolce & Gibana, etc.), so I figured I'd see some very fancily-dressed people and some cool stores and that'd be fun. There were not very many people around the Omotesando Station area, so I was disappointed, and the only big designer's store I saw was the Prada store (which was pretty cool, but I was hoping for more). But I walked for a loooong time, and somehow ended up going in a big spiral shape. I went from Omotesando South-west-ish to Gotanda, then North-west-ish into Shibuya (but I stayed on the outside edge of Shibuya, away from the area I am normally in there), and then North to Harajuku, then South-east back towards Omotesando but I found a station before I got there (I dont know what station it was) so I just hopped on the train there. Somewhere in between Gotanda and Shibuya, I ended up in a very large Cemetary. It was four whole blocks and really pretty, so I spent about an hour there, walking up and down the rows
and stopping occasionally to rest. That was the best part of the whole walk. I didn't bring my camera, but I got one picture I took with my camera phone, which you can see on the left. I like it because you can see how nice the place is, and theres also a huge office building in the background.
On Saturday night I decided I would do the whole staying-out-all-night-until-the-morning-train thing, since I slept in in the morning and all. My friends Satoshi and Tatsu were going to both be DJ-ing at the Ruby Room from midnight until 5 AM, so I headed over there at about 10:30. The place was pretty empty when I got there and throughout the whole night there were only like 20 people there, at most. Adam, the bartender (from Australia) said on Saturday's it's usually no less than a hundred people through the whole night and this was really rare. It turned out to be a good thing, though, I thought. I got to have longer conversations with people and it was pretty cool. There aside from Tatsu and Satoshi, the people I really enjoyed talking to were Adam, Peko (another bartender), and Johnny (a New Zealander who also DJed a little bit before Satoshi and Tatsu started their sets). Since there were so few people there, Satoshi was able to bring me into the DJ booth and show me how the equipment worked. That was awesome. It seemed pretty complex to me and I was really impressed, but Satoshi said once you get the hang of it it's really really simple. I'd like to try sometime, but I have no idea how I would do that since I don't have the equipment or anything. I also discovered my new favorite drink. It's called Umeshu and it's a Japanese plum wine made from sake. It is soooo good. Oh, and the other good thing about having so few people there was that every hour or so Adam would make a drink for everybody at the bar, for free. It was a good experience, although I was dead tired on Sunday so I don't know if I'll ever do it again. Hehe. I also fell asleep almost immediately on the morning train (at about 5:30) and missed my stop by a long shot. I woke up like 8 stops past where I was supposed to get off!
Oh yeah, the cops were also out and about at 5/6 AM. As a foreigner, I have to carry my passport or a copy of my passport with me at all times. If the cops were to stop me for any reason at all (and they don't even really need a reason to) and I didn't have it on me, they could arrest me. So I always carry it just in case, although it's generally understood that the police would never actually stop you if you were just walking around like normal. I've never even heard of them ever stopping a foreigner for no reason, nor has Ted (my boss). But on Sunday morning when I got off the train at Shimbashi there were a bunch of cops just walking around, "keeping the peace," and luckily there was another white guy getting off the train, too, who was walking like 20 feet in front of me because the cop at the station entrance stopped him right away, and I just kept on walking. I mean, I had my passport copy with me and all, but I was a bit drunk and a lot tired and just didn't want to deal with that whole situation. So I got pretty lucky. I'm sure I would've been stopped if the guy in front of me hadn't been there.
I got to bed around 6:30 am and slept until about noon. I tried to sleep longer, but my body wouldn't have it, so I got up and did my laundry and cleaned up my room a bit. At 5 I headed out west to Kichijoji, which I had never heard of before--it's like a 40-minute train ride away--where I was meeting Kie for dinner. It was actually a really really cool area. There were just a ton of little streets lined with all kinds of stores and the streets were packed with pedestrians. There was also a pretty nice park with a lake, and row-boats you could rent, that we walked around. At the park there was an art fair going on, so the walkway was lined with people sitting on tarps with little crafts laid out for sale. It was neat. There were a lot of things I wanted to buy, but I was low on cash at the time and so ended up not getting anything at all. Kie wanted to take me to a very old and famous yakitori (grilled chicken-kebobs) place that was right next to the park, but there was a huuuuuuge line just to get in, so we decided to go across the street to a smaller place and we got to eat outdoors there, which was nice. I'm still not great with food names in Japanese, so I just let Kie order whatever she thought would be good and it was quite a spread: fresh prosciutto, octupus fried rice, some mollusks, shrimp (scary shrimp! you eat the head and legs and all), a bit of yakitori, and some pasta. I was proud of myself for trying all of it. The mollusks were pretty good, but the scary shrimp was a bit much. haha. Oh, the octupus rice, though, was fantastic! Afterwards we went to a nearby cafe for dessert: tea/coffee and ice cream. We got 3 flavors of ice cream for 400 yen (good deal!) and so we had green tea flavor, sweet cream, and chocolate hazelnut. It was quite good. We talked in English pretty much the whole time because Kie said she really wanted to practice (she's been studying English forever and spent a year in England, but doesn't get many chances to speak English anymore) because she has a job interview next week that is entirely in English. She's basically fluent in English, so she should be fine, but she does like to swear in English so I told her to be careful of that! haha.
This week we have one trade show we will be going to--I think on Wednesday--for bio-tech stuff, which could be pretty interesting. Oh, the Auto Service show last week turned out to be a bit more interesting than I thought it would be, and I got to meet our client, who is from St. Louis, so that was cool. After we were done at the auto service show we still had some time to kill before the end of the day, so we decided to check out the cable tv show that was going on at Big Sight at the same time, since it was free admission. That was sooo awesome. Half of the show was devoted to equipment/technology (HDTVs, HD cameras, DVRs, etc.) and the other half was devoted to programming. The programming side was amazing. Each channel had these crazy elaborate booths set up, and there were sooo many campaign girls in wild, skimpy outfits. haha. The baseball network had girls dressed in oversize jerseys and short shorts, and they had an interactive baseball videogame, in which there's a pitcher on screen and you swing this miniature bat and it registers on the tv, and if you hit a certain number of home runs they would give you a prize. There were a lot of people in line for it, though, so I didn't do it. Most booths, though, had little games you could play or something like that. The FOX booth was modeled after a prison, to promote their show "prison break," which is just starting here (it started a year or two ago in the US), and they had campaign girls in skin-tight police uniforms. The rest of the campaign girls weren't in such thematic costumes, but they sometimes had even less clothing than the "police-girls." One booth (for an action movie channel) had a cork-gun firing range game, in which you had to get 11 points in 3 shots to get a big prize. The targets were in numbers of 1, 5, and 10. The ten was small and actually behind the 1 targets, except for a very small sliver that you could, in theory, hit without having to knock over the 1-point targets, although it would really be basically impossible. Ted went up and on his first shot hit that very tiny sliver of the 10-point target! haha. All I got was 1 point, but I still got the consolation prize of a post-it note pad. Afterwards I was like "I didn't know you were such a sharpshooter! Should I be worried?" but apparently Ted didn't hit any other targets with his other 2 shots, so he didn't get a big prize either! Anyways, the show was all in good fun, and Ted and I went for a beer afterwards which was also fun. Although Ted and I are both quiet-ish people (I'm much less quiet than I used to be, but still...), so there were some long awkward pauses in our conversations. heh. oh well...
Okay, I think I've been writing in here for about an hour now, so I'm done! Love, Lawrence!
I had a pretty good weekend. I went to a concert in Shimokitazawa by myself on Friday night. I was planning on going to a concert with Chu on Friday, but it turned out the concert he invited me to was actually on Saturday, so I ended up with no plans on Friday and I checked around online and decided I'd just head out and find something on my own. The concert wasn't great, but I met some nice people who may or may not come to my shows this week (of which there will be 3!!).
On Saturday I had no daytime plans so I slept in a little bit and then decided I would go someplace I haven't been to yet and walk around with no map. I picked Omotesando because it's a large street that has all the big designers' stores (Prada, Gucci, Dolce & Gibana, etc.), so I figured I'd see some very fancily-dressed people and some cool stores and that'd be fun. There were not very many people around the Omotesando Station area, so I was disappointed, and the only big designer's store I saw was the Prada store (which was pretty cool, but I was hoping for more). But I walked for a loooong time, and somehow ended up going in a big spiral shape. I went from Omotesando South-west-ish to Gotanda, then North-west-ish into Shibuya (but I stayed on the outside edge of Shibuya, away from the area I am normally in there), and then North to Harajuku, then South-east back towards Omotesando but I found a station before I got there (I dont know what station it was) so I just hopped on the train there. Somewhere in between Gotanda and Shibuya, I ended up in a very large Cemetary. It was four whole blocks and really pretty, so I spent about an hour there, walking up and down the rows
and stopping occasionally to rest. That was the best part of the whole walk. I didn't bring my camera, but I got one picture I took with my camera phone, which you can see on the left. I like it because you can see how nice the place is, and theres also a huge office building in the background.On Saturday night I decided I would do the whole staying-out-all-night-until-the-morning-train thing, since I slept in in the morning and all. My friends Satoshi and Tatsu were going to both be DJ-ing at the Ruby Room from midnight until 5 AM, so I headed over there at about 10:30. The place was pretty empty when I got there and throughout the whole night there were only like 20 people there, at most. Adam, the bartender (from Australia) said on Saturday's it's usually no less than a hundred people through the whole night and this was really rare. It turned out to be a good thing, though, I thought. I got to have longer conversations with people and it was pretty cool. There aside from Tatsu and Satoshi, the people I really enjoyed talking to were Adam, Peko (another bartender), and Johnny (a New Zealander who also DJed a little bit before Satoshi and Tatsu started their sets). Since there were so few people there, Satoshi was able to bring me into the DJ booth and show me how the equipment worked. That was awesome. It seemed pretty complex to me and I was really impressed, but Satoshi said once you get the hang of it it's really really simple. I'd like to try sometime, but I have no idea how I would do that since I don't have the equipment or anything. I also discovered my new favorite drink. It's called Umeshu and it's a Japanese plum wine made from sake. It is soooo good. Oh, and the other good thing about having so few people there was that every hour or so Adam would make a drink for everybody at the bar, for free. It was a good experience, although I was dead tired on Sunday so I don't know if I'll ever do it again. Hehe. I also fell asleep almost immediately on the morning train (at about 5:30) and missed my stop by a long shot. I woke up like 8 stops past where I was supposed to get off!
Oh yeah, the cops were also out and about at 5/6 AM. As a foreigner, I have to carry my passport or a copy of my passport with me at all times. If the cops were to stop me for any reason at all (and they don't even really need a reason to) and I didn't have it on me, they could arrest me. So I always carry it just in case, although it's generally understood that the police would never actually stop you if you were just walking around like normal. I've never even heard of them ever stopping a foreigner for no reason, nor has Ted (my boss). But on Sunday morning when I got off the train at Shimbashi there were a bunch of cops just walking around, "keeping the peace," and luckily there was another white guy getting off the train, too, who was walking like 20 feet in front of me because the cop at the station entrance stopped him right away, and I just kept on walking. I mean, I had my passport copy with me and all, but I was a bit drunk and a lot tired and just didn't want to deal with that whole situation. So I got pretty lucky. I'm sure I would've been stopped if the guy in front of me hadn't been there.
I got to bed around 6:30 am and slept until about noon. I tried to sleep longer, but my body wouldn't have it, so I got up and did my laundry and cleaned up my room a bit. At 5 I headed out west to Kichijoji, which I had never heard of before--it's like a 40-minute train ride away--where I was meeting Kie for dinner. It was actually a really really cool area. There were just a ton of little streets lined with all kinds of stores and the streets were packed with pedestrians. There was also a pretty nice park with a lake, and row-boats you could rent, that we walked around. At the park there was an art fair going on, so the walkway was lined with people sitting on tarps with little crafts laid out for sale. It was neat. There were a lot of things I wanted to buy, but I was low on cash at the time and so ended up not getting anything at all. Kie wanted to take me to a very old and famous yakitori (grilled chicken-kebobs) place that was right next to the park, but there was a huuuuuuge line just to get in, so we decided to go across the street to a smaller place and we got to eat outdoors there, which was nice. I'm still not great with food names in Japanese, so I just let Kie order whatever she thought would be good and it was quite a spread: fresh prosciutto, octupus fried rice, some mollusks, shrimp (scary shrimp! you eat the head and legs and all), a bit of yakitori, and some pasta. I was proud of myself for trying all of it. The mollusks were pretty good, but the scary shrimp was a bit much. haha. Oh, the octupus rice, though, was fantastic! Afterwards we went to a nearby cafe for dessert: tea/coffee and ice cream. We got 3 flavors of ice cream for 400 yen (good deal!) and so we had green tea flavor, sweet cream, and chocolate hazelnut. It was quite good. We talked in English pretty much the whole time because Kie said she really wanted to practice (she's been studying English forever and spent a year in England, but doesn't get many chances to speak English anymore) because she has a job interview next week that is entirely in English. She's basically fluent in English, so she should be fine, but she does like to swear in English so I told her to be careful of that! haha.
This week we have one trade show we will be going to--I think on Wednesday--for bio-tech stuff, which could be pretty interesting. Oh, the Auto Service show last week turned out to be a bit more interesting than I thought it would be, and I got to meet our client, who is from St. Louis, so that was cool. After we were done at the auto service show we still had some time to kill before the end of the day, so we decided to check out the cable tv show that was going on at Big Sight at the same time, since it was free admission. That was sooo awesome. Half of the show was devoted to equipment/technology (HDTVs, HD cameras, DVRs, etc.) and the other half was devoted to programming. The programming side was amazing. Each channel had these crazy elaborate booths set up, and there were sooo many campaign girls in wild, skimpy outfits. haha. The baseball network had girls dressed in oversize jerseys and short shorts, and they had an interactive baseball videogame, in which there's a pitcher on screen and you swing this miniature bat and it registers on the tv, and if you hit a certain number of home runs they would give you a prize. There were a lot of people in line for it, though, so I didn't do it. Most booths, though, had little games you could play or something like that. The FOX booth was modeled after a prison, to promote their show "prison break," which is just starting here (it started a year or two ago in the US), and they had campaign girls in skin-tight police uniforms. The rest of the campaign girls weren't in such thematic costumes, but they sometimes had even less clothing than the "police-girls." One booth (for an action movie channel) had a cork-gun firing range game, in which you had to get 11 points in 3 shots to get a big prize. The targets were in numbers of 1, 5, and 10. The ten was small and actually behind the 1 targets, except for a very small sliver that you could, in theory, hit without having to knock over the 1-point targets, although it would really be basically impossible. Ted went up and on his first shot hit that very tiny sliver of the 10-point target! haha. All I got was 1 point, but I still got the consolation prize of a post-it note pad. Afterwards I was like "I didn't know you were such a sharpshooter! Should I be worried?" but apparently Ted didn't hit any other targets with his other 2 shots, so he didn't get a big prize either! Anyways, the show was all in good fun, and Ted and I went for a beer afterwards which was also fun. Although Ted and I are both quiet-ish people (I'm much less quiet than I used to be, but still...), so there were some long awkward pauses in our conversations. heh. oh well...
Okay, I think I've been writing in here for about an hour now, so I'm done! Love, Lawrence!