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.'
Saturday, June 30, 2007
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!