Just Me And My Music

Hanami and The Cross Dressing Ninja Cat

2007-04-07T23:06:00.000+09:00

Every year at this time, no matter where you go, sakura (cherry blossoms) consume the streets. The light shades of pink and white have a way of veiling the green which is soon to come. Hanami parties are a popular spring event where people get together for drunken picnics in crowded parks and ultimately leave after making fools of themselves in front of their friends. Perhaps I am being to general... Last weekend I opted out of a few hanami parties for a nice walk and a bit of exploration through what to me was a new section of Tokyo, Ebisu. What a great place! Sophisticated and yet with out the ritzy feel of Roppongi or Aoyama, some place I would like to see more of in the future. I guess it was easy for me to take a pass on the parties and come to Ebisu after the morning I had. I got up early on Sunday morning, full of anticipation and excitement. The night before a friend had emailed me and asked me to come to a festival with her in Kawasaki the next day, she said it was a penis festival. My interest was peaked and decided to go. As soon as I got there I knew I was in the right place, the festival was actually held in a town close to Kawasaki on a small train line, when I saw that half the passengers on the train where foreigners (putting 2 and 2 together) I figured I was heading to the right place. Its kind of hard to explain but I kind of felt like I was in a different world. When I got to the train station I called my friend, when we finally met up it was at the intersection next to the cross dressing ninja cat! After we met up we went into the shrine area, (by the way, there may be some inappropriate material here, so please be cautious, though I will do my best to keep it clean) there where vendors everywhere, selling everything from sake in bottles shapes like penis' to Viagra, to chocolates of different anatomical shapes. I bought the chocolates and passed them out to all my friends! When I bought the chocolates, the man in the weird costume told me I was the most beautiful women he ever saw, I wonder how many he said that to on the particular day? The parade soon started and out of the shrine came three different penis statues. The first two seemed very Japanese. Dark wood, covered, sophisticated (if that's really possible) and the third, well, the third was bright pink and screamed "look at me!" We followed as the parade led us to a beautiful temple which was down the road. This particular temple is famous for its smoke pit which is supposed to release the demons from your soul. I stood engulfed in the smoke for a long time... we shall see! The temple was beautiful and we walked around for a while. I was a little taken back by the women vendors on our way to and from the temple holding out little candy penis' and acting like it was nothing, I just kept thinking about what would happen if they did that back in the states, what people would think, and at that moment, I appreciated it so much more. As for the rest of the summer, I am sure there are many festivals to come, fireworks and all night outdoor dance parties, but this was a once in a life time thing and something I will never forget!

If You Must Tweeze, Proceed Cautiously

2007-03-16T23:59:00.000+09:00

I'm not really sure how to ease my way, wittily, into this one. There seems to be nothing in my head that I can think about telling you that would create the passage I had hoped so I will just throw it out there. Today on the train I watched as a 50 some year old man tweezed his ears most diligently on the train. This is a first for me. A first to actually acknowledge that people do in fact tweeze their ears and a first to realize that it is considered acceptable to do such a thing on the train. Not only did he have the tweezers and the mirror to ensure the careful plucking of specific hairs, but also a cloth that I watched him continually wipe the tweezers with. Right about now I am sure more than a few people are wondering why I am even sharing this story, it really has no substance past the fact that it perpetuates the stereotype that there are things about this country that we will Never understand as foreigners. To be honest, I write about it because it wasn't so much the occurrence that has left me unsettled, it is the reaction I had as it unfolded. Maybe it can be chalked up to time, 'see more, expect less', but what really got to me was the whole safety issue. All I could think about was 'what if the train stopped suddenly and this man got his tweezers lodged in his ear? As one of the people closest to him, would I have to try and dislodge them? Would the most exciting thing that happened to me on this Friday night really have to do with ear hair?' These are the questions that went through my head as the train jetted forward... and yet, perhaps these are the thoughts that are supposed to go through one's head when amazement has worn off and comfort sets in.

A Little Late Non New Year's Resolutions

2007-03-05T19:13:00.001+09:00

I am just about to reach the 9 month mark on my adventures in Japan. It has taken a while but reality has once again become somewhat of a hindrance on my daydreams and fantasies of life abroad. Japan is an interesting combination of east and west and it is a combination that does not help foreigners feel like they are ever really at home. I spent the day in Harajuku with a friend catching up and talking about all of the things that life over here brings or doesn't bring to the table. For a little while now I have felt anything but myself, I have locked myself up in side to hide away from the cold, creating a life more suitable to someone 3 times my age, and yet, at the time I was content with it, I didn't want to do anything, the fantasy had worn off and here I was, working full time, living away from my family and not really sure what my next move is. (For anyone who knows me well, I am compulsively planning my life in what seems like yearly increments) Perhaps this would have happened sooner, a lot sooner, had I not had someone so wonderful to spend my time with. To be honest I don't know if I would still be here if it weren't for him. And yet here I am! The winter cold is finally past, harder than most because it was so unfamiliar. The Plum trees are blooming and in a week or two the cherry blossoms will come out and the world will turn on its side again in its constant rotation through the seasons. I didn't do any New Year's resolutions this year, if figured they are usually made up on the spot and just as quickly forgotten. In holding with that, I will make no resolutions here. I will not expect existence as I know it to change because of a few thoughts written, but lets just say I have some goals to accomplish in the new year, some are big and some small, but all are things that I will be the better for doing. 1. I want to get better sleep, I want to sleep through the night and not only that, be able to fall asleep within the first hour after my head hits the pillow 2. I want to dance more. 3. I want to learn more Japanese, I understand that I will not become fluent in a year, but I want to feel comfortable in simple conversation. 4. I want to climb Mt. Fuji, hey, if my parents can do it, so can I!! 5. I want to run more, do yoga more, lift weights more and feel more at peace with my body. 6. I want to let go of my fear of new things... mainly fish type entities, often considered delicacies in Asia. 7. I want to start planning my trip through Asia and then my life back in the states after that. 8. I want to keep in better touch with my friends, it seems no matter how much I love them, I have the hardest time writing them. 9. And last but not least, I want to get to know me better, I still don't understand half the crap I do and sometimes I could just shoot myself for the things I say, I want to become quieter and listen to me and not those around me. While I understand it is customary to make lists out to be 5 or 10 or 100 or something, 9 fits me just fine, I am sure there are many things that I am forgetting but I think this will be good for now... and I am sure my dad, after reading this, will help me to remember anything I forget!!!

Translations Gone Wrong

2007-02-22T01:12:00.000+09:00

I almost hate writing anything for this one because I have no idea what this is, I guess the translation is something along the lines of "please be respectful of the people on the dance floor by not smoking" the translation however seems to fail to capture the nuances of the English language. To be honest, this wouldn't normally have such an effect on me except it was a bar predominantly for foreigners. I guess I will leave it up to you to decide.

Japanese Rocket Launcher

2007-02-22T01:07:00.001+09:00

I keep this around just in case things get serious, I know were to go to take action...

CROCS... Now "Made in China"

2007-02-22T00:31:00.000+09:00

This one is for Heather. After working at The Bradley, I do feel a slight connection to that silly little rubber shoe. I was very excited the first time I saw someone else in Japan wearing them. I still have mine, bright orange and begging for attention, I wear them anyways, if you own a pair you understand why. I was walking through Tokyu Hands one day, (Tokyu hands is kind of like the catch all Wal-Mart esque store that has just about everything) and I notices a display of CROCS. I was really surprised to see them there, after all, I still thought that they were produced in Boulder. And then it happened, I turned the shoe over and there is was... the label I never thought would reach a Boulder based company and yet there it was, "Made in China." It was at this moment that my heart sunk and Globalization took on a completely new meaning to me. Who would have thought that a rubber shoe would change my way of thinking more than years of study in political science and philosophy. Perhaps again, I am being a bit dramatic, I just never thought that the shoe that represented everything "Not Made in China" would take the turn.

Not So Much Valentine's Day

2007-02-22T00:13:00.001+09:00

I was trying to write this last week but every time I would write, I became a bit too cynical and extreme. I won't be the first to admit that when I don't like something, sometimes I let it go too far and so I decided to let it set for a week and then write about it. Here's the deal. I don't like Valentine's Day. In the states, I never had a Valentine and so perhaps I am a bit bitter toward the holiday as a whole but I can't help but be a little upset when the first Valentine's day that I actually have a valentine, the tables are turned. Confused?... so was I. It turns out that in Japan Valentine's Day is a holiday where the women give men gifts, chocolate and so on. The men are not expected to do anything on this day, and not until March is it reciprocated, though only to the women who have given you something on Valentine's Day. This "new" holiday is called White Day, and from what I hear most men don't even remember it! From what I can gather, the Hallmark holiday making agency that was set out to conquer Japan realized that they could never sell a holiday like Valentine's Day to the men and had to market it to the women. And so it go that this is the story of my first Valentine's Day in Japan.

Just Me and My Blogger... in English

2007-02-21T23:55:00.000+09:00

Today, I thought I would be productive, after booking a hotel in Kyoto for when my parents and brother come to Japan, and organizing all of my music after a complete PC overhaul, I felt motivated to continue on my drive. I went to the blogger site as I usually do to access my blog account only to find that it was all in Japanese. I have seen this happen a lot in the last couple of days because all of my old settings were lost. It was touch and go for a couple minutes when I couldn't read the Kanji to understand where to go to create a new post. Luckily, good ole' blogger hasn't failed me yet and the help section is still in English no matter what locale you are in! I guess my point is that even though I live in a foreign country and every day I am reminded of it in everything I do, somehow, when I am in my room, sitting at my computer, Japan becomes only a name and I remain an American, speaking English normally and scraping by in Japanese and a site dictated in Japanese still scares me more than a tarantula in my bed... and yet, for all its worth, I wish I could keep the settings in Japanese, just to prove to myself that I could do it.

Akiba Server Store

2007-02-05T23:59:00.000+09:00

Akihabara is one of those places that is entertaining to go to every once in a while, and then, only if you are in the mood to go and have a specific and directed purpose for going. In Akihabara you can find cross dressers, maid cafes and a plethora of "geeks." I say that, but I am pretty sure it is something you have to see to believe. Imagine a bunch of small streets lined with stores housing thousands upon thousands of rewritable cds, cables and things I don't even want to know about. Now, gathering around these hubs of electronic mayhem are men, dressed in pocket protectors and a love of fantasy gaming. This is Akiba summarized. I have never and will never have a reason of my own for going to a server store, and so, when I ended up at one I felt it was only necessary that I take a picture, knowing that I may never be back... god willing.

Winter Lights

2007-01-25T23:30:00.000+09:00

Christmas in Japan isn't like it is at home, it seems as though Christmas is for friends and New Years is for family over here. A bit of a change for me, but one I enjoyed very much. I will write more on that later, but one thing I will say is that Japan is a great place to be if you want to see lights on the trees for an extra month out of the year and want to know what a society looks like when it has become obsessed with a misconstrued conception of western culture. And, to be on the safe side, let me explain the last statement, I don't mean that they are obsessed with everything, just with the idea that ALL Americans eat FRIED CHICKEN on Christmas. Please don't think I am crazy, I'm not making this up, I'm pretty sure I couldn't make this up, and yet here it is. In order to get your KFC dinner on Christmas, you have to actually reserve it a couple weeks in advance. Haha, I love it! In any case, getting back to the lights, Satoshi and I went to a winter lights festival right before Christmas and it was pretty cool, they even had a live band... the lights were better than the band, but at least they tried right?

Ho Ho Ho!!!

2007-01-11T23:37:00.000+09:00

Just in case anyone was concerned that Santa didn't come to Tokyo, a little something to put your minds at ease.

The Best Comb Over in Japan

2007-01-09T10:44:00.000+09:00

I rarely turn my tv on. Almost every time I do, I am reminded why I don't. With one exception, I know the picture is pretty bad but I took it with my cell phone and it is of the tv. I think this man has the best comb over I have ever seen, I just thought that was something I needed to share...

Appreciating the Little Things

2007-01-06T23:12:00.000+09:00

I love Japan, I love feeling independent and as if I can take on the world. What I don't love is letters showing up saying that someone is using a credit card of mine that I myself have never had the pleasure of using, the IRS telling me to redo my taxes and yes, the kicker, a computer that works when it feels like it and then gives me the blue screen of death in the hours I need it the most. At some point soon, I will be able to upload some more pictures and get everything back to normal, for now, I am going to try to get back to writing and hope for the best. Its amazing how much I have taken for granted a local US telephone line, how my life would be a bit let complicated and yet, if it were easy, it wouldn't be part of the learning experience. That being said, tax forms can be sent, credit cards can be cancelled and computers can be restored, but moments of despair linger and I will not let a day go by when I don't think to myself, how lucky I am to be so far away from home and still so close to the ones I love. Perhaps without them my little mis-steps would turn into something not quite manageable from such a distance. As the new year comes and the last year is ceremonially dragged into the past, I remember all of those people who have helped me along the way. May the new year bring you all health and happiness, smiles and laughter in the new year!

Halloween, Not as Cool in Japan

2007-01-03T20:50:00.000+09:00

Ok, so here's the thing, you know how when you first move somewhere and everything is new and exciting and you just want to tell everyone about every little thing that happens no matter how insignificant it really is? Well, I started out that way and after awhile everything started to seem normal and it didn't really interest me to write about it. Looking back over the last couple of months I realize that I have been lazy and that in all honesty, I have been doing a lot of things and having some fairly interesting adventures. So.... at the request of my father, I am going to try and start back where I left off. That would leave me at about Halloween. Ah yes, just when you thought you had finally gotten rid of the costumes for another year, one more flash back into what turns out to be a fairly (unfortunately) tame holiday. In a previous post I had talked about one of my favorite, actually, favorite might be too strong of a word, lets go with most entertaining clubs. Holloween, like most days in October was filled with precipitation, if I ever actually believed they could, I would say it was raining cats and dogs. So we all met in Shibuya and took the bus to the club where we waited out in the rain for about 2 hours. I believe that we finally got into the club around 1:30. Needless to say, as most of my friends back home know already, I have a very difficult time staying up late and so after being there for about two hours fell asleep on a chair facing the stage, was periodically checked on, and then called it a night around 6. Holloween was a bit different this year, but I will say... I loved my pink wig!!!

Finally in Kamakura

2006-10-24T23:14:00.000+09:00

I think I have tried to go to Kamakura at least 10 times since I have been here. It seems like every weekend I make a plan to go, and every weekend something else happens. Good or bad, I was starting to notice a trend, a little while back I just gave up on it and decided not to plan it in hopes that someday I would just "end up" there. Surprisingly that isn't far from the truth. I wasn't planning on going, I was going to go to Hakone for the weekend. When plans fell through we decided to go to Kamakura and I am so glad we did! Kamakura is a beautiful little town on the southern coast of Japan. There are some cool temples and a very large Daibutsu (Buddha) as well as a lot of really cool little surfer shops! We went to a really great homemade soba restaurant for lunch and walked around all day. We finished sight seeing around 6, just in time to watch the sunset from the beach. The sunset was incredible and it was the perfect end to a perfect day!

My First Trip to Disneyland

2006-10-24T23:04:00.000+09:00

I LOVE Disneyland. I feel like that sentence should have been written at least 13 years ago, but yes, it has taken me 23 years to have my first Disneyland experience. Now, after stating how much I enjoyed the "land" I feel like I should elaborate a little more on why that is. First, I am pretty sure my reaction would not be the same had I been in the states. There is something about being in a Great American Tourist Destination... in Japan. There is, after all, the character, Belle and Snow White, and so on, all of which are Western actors and of which have very poor Japanese skills, and lets not forget the music, they seem to be able to translate part of it, but apparently the chorus is off limits, yes, all parts of a song that are sung endless amounts of time must be sung in English. Sounds like free English lessons if you ask me. I must say, my most memorable experience at Disneyland was not the rides, while I did enjoy them, I have been to Cedar Point and nothing... Nothing tops those rides! No, it was the Curry Popcorn that I loved the most, well, not the popcorn itself but the massive line that was always forming around the curry popcorn stands. I have never in my life seen so many people waiting for popcorn, and man did it smell like curry. Haha... only in Japan!

An Extreme Adventure in Gaming Technology

2006-10-04T11:02:00.000+09:00

Last weekend, actually about a week and a half ago now, I went to the Tokyo Game Show. No it isn't a TV game show or anything like that. It's basically a huge convention held every year to show off all of the latest video gaming technology. I'll admit, I don't play video games and have never owned a gaming system, though after this, I am pretty sure I want the new Playstation 3... and the new Nintendo. The set up was pretty cool, they had huge projector screens to watch the games, some of which had more intricate story lines than movies I've seen recently. And the costumes, well, the costumes were by far my favorite part. There were so many people at the show and there was a place where everyone who dressed up went and people took pictures of them. I mean, these costumes were incredible. Any excuse to get dressed up right? Oh, and this last picture is just for kicks, I'm not sure where else this sign would be acceptable, but hey, I'm not here to judge!

No, I Haven't Dropped the Edge of the World

2006-10-02T08:55:00.000+09:00

So I decided that the period of laziness has to end. Not that I have been doing anything of great importance lately, but I have been really busy and have managed to stay away from my computer, partly because my email isn't working and I am really not sure as to how to go about fixing it. I have taken quite a few photos and wanted to post them. I went to follow up training about a month ago and was able to see a lot of my training mates who I hadn't seen in a while. We had conveyor belt sushi for lunch and what I considered an overall good time! That next weekend, Simone had a big barbecue at her house. For Japan, I have to say she has a huge balcony. We actually had two blow up pools in one area! There was a lot of food and great friends, and some one gave Yadira a yellow balloon... Don't ask, I don't know. Ah yes, and then there was Ageha. Ageha is a club/warehouse located on what feels like the other side of Tokyo. I met my friend Rae in Shibuya and a free bus came and picked us up. First, I think I should mention that it was myself and two other girls that went. Second, it was gay night, and third, it was by far one of the most fun nights out in the club I have had in a while. I guess there is just something to be said about going to a club and not having to deal with drunk men hitting on you! The club is huge though, I saw at least two different dance floors and then there is the upstairs dance floor, which is actually on the roof top with a great view of the harbor. The club is literally right on the water. We met a ton of really cool people while we were there. Surprisingly, a lot of guys from Hong Kong and even some people from NYC. Gay night at Ageha coincided with the Madonna concert so I think the international crowd was exceptionally large. Oh Tokyo, you never cease to amaze me!

Azubujuban Festival

2006-09-07T23:26:00.000+09:00

Although there were no more fireworks festivals, there was one more festival to go to in Azabujuban. Yes I did have to look that one up because for the life of me I cannot remember it. Even with all of the fireworks festivals I had been to this year I hadn't had the chance to wear my yukata, this most likely being the last time I would be able to wear it this year I seized the opportunity. The festival was really cool. There were tons of people and more foreigners than I would have probably cared to see, though being one myself I really can't complain. The fact that we were right next to Roppongi I am sure only contributed to that fact. The bear with really big... Hehemm, well, you know... is supposed to be good luck. There were also these really talented drummers who would play to traditional Japanese music while people danced in a circle below the stage. I saw the most adorable girl dancing and I had to take a picture of her! Right as we were getting to the festival the marching band was just finishing up. It was really cool and reminded me of my parents so of course I had to take a picture! As we walked I saw all the octopus and wasn't really sure how I felt about it, so like I do with everything else, I took a picture and moved on. By the end of the festival my feet were killing me. Along with the yukata I wore the traditional shoes that go with it. It was the first time and most certainly the last. They may be cute but cute just isn't enough!

Summer Vacation Pt. II

2006-09-07T12:42:00.000+09:00

The rest of my summer vacation was really nice, less walking and more photos. On Saturday we went to Yokohama, it was raining when we got there but stopped shortly thereafter. Yokohama is one of my favorite places so far. Located right next to the water, there is a great park that overlooks the ocean and is right next to Chinatown. Chinatown is pretty cool, tons of cool shops and one of the first Chinese shrines in Japan. Towards the end of the night we stopped and sat down to watch one of the street performers, an American with nearly perfect Japanese. I took a picture of him with my cellphone. Come to think of it, all of the photos in this entry are from my cellphone. Anyway, if you are unsure as to what you are looking at, yes that is a surgical glove on his head and yes, he does blow it up so much that it pops while still on his head. On Sunday I went to Odaiba to see the fireworks. We sat right next to the water and listened to music the whole time. Looking back, I'm pretty sad that there will be no more fireworks festivals this year. This is a picture I took of the Statue of Liberty. I sent it to my dad and I don't think he believed me when I said it was a gift from France. But apparently, ours is not the only Statue of Liberty, it is a little bigger than this one though... Monday was a good day too! I met Mia and Istvan (Mia's boyfriend) in Harajuku for some shopping and to check out the Meiji Shrine. While we were there Mia told me that Istvan had proposed over the weekend! Congrats again to both of you, I am sooooo happy for you! Later in the day we went for a walk to see the Prada building, the architecture was supposed to be really cool, and it was, sort of... personally I think the building next to it was much cooler. So we did that and were heading back to the train station when we saw this man walking his four little dogs, I guess that would have been no big deal but the were all wearing sunglasses and it was something I just had to take a picture of. So there you have it, that was pretty much vacation, ahhh, good times, good times!

2 Days in NIkko

2006-08-25T10:25:00.000+09:00

Summer vacation has come and gone, but in its passing new memories were formed. Vacation started on a Thursday, needless to say we all wanted to cram as much stuff into 1 week as we could and so bright and early I left my house, setting out for a little town called Nikko. Nikko is about 2 1/2 hours from Tokyo and is famous in Japan for its temples and beautiful scenery. The picture of the REALLY big temple (I tried to stand as far back as possible and still couldn't get the whole thing in the photo) is Rinno-ji Temple. It is the largest of the temples in Nikko. Inside the temple is a large statue of Amida Nyorai, the Buddha of the Western Paradise, on its right, Senju Kannon, the goddess of mercy and on the left by Bato-Kannon, who is known as the protector of animals. All three are lacquered in gold and date back to the early part of the 17th century. All of the temples were truly beautiful. At the bottom of the hill, before we got to the temples was the Sacred Bridge, the bridge was cool, though none of us wanted to spend the money to walk across it! Though really, what I like the most was the vivid blue water the flowed underneath it, it almost looked as though someone had been dropping gallons of blue cool-aid into it! While we were going through our first temple of the day, we kept hearing what sounded like fighting going on, turns out there was some sort of practice going on, I took one photo, but didn't want to be disrespectful, so after watching them for a couple of minutes we quietly moved on. There were so many things going on and I took so many pictures it was hard to decide which ones to put up here, so there are kind of a lot! Oh, and anyone who is doing a lot of traveling and is looking for a fairly inexpensive place to stay that has a cool staff and a good vibe should definitely check out the Nikko Park Lodge, its run by some 2 guys, one is a Zen monk and he does a yoga class every morning, they also serve a vegan dinner every night! So we were in Nikko for only two days, and we tried to fit in as much as possible, we went back to the temples on Friday morning and then headed out the Kegon falls. Kegon falls is the country's most famous waterfall and is what attracts many visitors to Nikko every year. The photos I have up here are from a hike we did in the mountains about the waterfall and lake. As usually, it was pretty hazy that day, so the pictures aren't as clear as I like them to be, then again maybe it just adds to the scenery... who knows! I was a little sad to leave on Friday night, while I was really tired and my feet hurt from all of the walking, there was something about that place that was very peaceful... NOT like Tokyo! Coming back to reality on Saturday and all the people was also a nice surprise though, I think it is good to have a little bit of everything in one's experiences.

Chillin' at Onjuko

2006-08-11T23:47:00.000+09:00

I feel it neccessary to put a bit of a disclaimer on this one... here it goes, Materials in this blog post may not be suitable for children under the age of thirteen due to the sheer randomness of some of the photos (not inappropriateness, as some may argue), in anycase, reader beware! Lovely Onjuko beach, located approximetely 3 hours away from my house and interestingly enough, right next to Mexico. Giant cactus in Japan? Nope, doesn't surprise me one bit. The man in the speedo who seems to embrace the things other men would be insecure about, that actually surprised me a little bit oh, and the fake boob that washed up during a really high wave, that surprised me a bit too. All in all, a very good day at the beach. Unfortunetely we did not get in as much time in the water as we would have liked. The lifeguards kept coming over the loud speaker telling everyone to get out of the water,apparently there was a giant storm out at see that was causing the big waves that brought in the fake boob, and there were typhoon conditions which made it dangerous for us to go swimming. We stayed at the beach until there was almost no one left, I am seeing more of a trend everytime I go out in Japan, it seems that the people are all on these internal clocks that tell them when they have to leave, no questions asked, and one minute they are there, and the next, poof! The only ones left are the Americans and Canadians sitting on the beach drinking some beers... oh and wait, here they come, the random foreign guys carrying a boombox, I knew we were forgetting something. And we wonder why they stair at us on the train...

What's in a name

2006-08-11T23:18:00.000+09:00

I think it is about time that I finally explained the title of the blog. I am always interested in the reasons people have, to decide the name of their blogs, books, even screen names, so today I thought I would explain one or two things about myself to maybe take some of the mystery out of it. If you like mystery, please skip this post and move directly to the next one. In the case I haven't written anything else yet, stop reading and don't start again until I tell you otherwise! It's pretty much no secret that I love music. All types, from jazz to hip hop, classical and oldies, Latin and eastern European, even some techno on occasion can be heard on my iPod. I take that thing with me everywhere I go, when I said goodbye to my parents at DIA, I immediately turned on my music. For the next 18 hours straight, (with a 2 hour charge in Seattle) I listened to my music. I listened to songs that made me cry, songs that made me want to get out of my seat and dance and all the while feeling like I wasn't alone, like an old friend was there with me and always knew what to say. Everyday I wake up in a place I don't even pretend to understand and everyday, as soon as I wake up, I turn on my music and start my day, it puts a smile on my face and these songs become the background music for the memories that occurred in their presence and the potential for those to come. My music is an outline of the stories of my life.

Random Photos

2006-08-02T23:30:00.000+09:00

Here are a few photos I have taken that didn't really fit into any story I had, the first couple were taken in and around Tokyo, the last one is of my sick nasty alarm clock which I am sure you all wish you had, I just wish I knew how to change the alarm time, I am over getting up at 8 and not going to work until 2.

At the Imperial Palace... Sort of

2006-08-02T22:36:00.000+09:00

Before going to Shinjuku on Sunday to meet some friends, I decided that I needed to do something with my day other that sit around, though that was an extremely enticing option! Instead I hopped on the train and before I knew it it was at Tokyo Station. Designed by Kingo Tatsuno and completed in 1914, Tansuno was one of Japan's first modern architects and had modeled the station after the train station in Amsterdam. I bring this up because I know many of my friends have been there and I can't seem to rememer what it looks like and was hoping you could refresh my memory, so... what do you think? There is a really amazing water structure as you are walking toward the Imperial Palace, I spent quite a bit of time just standing in front of it, admiring its beauty in all of its simplicity. I kept walking and finally reached the moat, oh that moat, never once did I actually see the Palace, but I got a great view of some really high walls and a lot of water. I mean seriously, do they really have a problem with foreign people walking all over their sacred grounds? I just wanted to take a peek! So that was that, don't get me wrong, the parks around the grounds are truly beautiful. Oh, I had to put this picture up too. This really tall, boring building made completely of cement is the police station. First of all, the Japanese police really scare no one, don't get me wrong, they definitely keep things running smoothly, but they kind of seem more like security guards you would see at a mall in the U.S. Anyway, do they really need such a dominating structure... I think not.

The Well Behaved Crowd

2006-08-02T11:39:00.000+09:00

This one is really short, I just wanted to amend and perhaps extend an earlier post I had written about fireworks. I went again on Saturday night, after work, to the fireworks in Tachikawa. Yokohama has nothing on Tachikawa when it comes to fireworks, and the people... wow. I had to post this picture, it's of the train station about an hour and a half after the fireworks. The police officers were allowing people into the station in a Very systematic way. One girl actually tried to climb over the barrier and the police man stopped her and said she couldn't do that. When she asked him why, he said, "It's very dangerous, you could get hurt." (In Japanese of course, it was later translated for me!) The thing about it was that they all listened, its like at the end of a festival and the police tell everyone to go home... and they actually do! You would never see that at home.

My Birthday

2006-08-01T23:10:00.000+09:00

Last weekend was my birthday, well actually, Monday was my birthday, but you get the idea. On Sunday Mia, Rae and I went to Kasukabe to see out friend Cash and go to a gaijin barbecue in the park. The weather was nice, it only rained for about 10 minutes the whole time we were there. (Sidenote: apparently the rainy season is officially over and while the weekend was clear and blue, it is still cloudy, really cloudy, during the week.) We met a lot of cool people and we played some volleyball, I mean, they played volleyball, somehow I got into a discussion about history and religion, go figure. After the bbq as I am sure we can guess, came the kareoke and then a night cap at this fun little bar near Cash's house. A bar with leather comfy chairs, blankets and interesting stuffed animals, oh, and a dart board too! All and all, not too bad a birthday! I thought it would end there, after all, a birthday comes once a year so logic would suggest to me that it be celebrated hmm, once a year. This year I was lucky enough to keep it going a bit longer! On Wednesday, after work, I went to grab a drink with Mark we met up with some people I knew through the school. After about 2 hours of hanging out and having a good time, the lights went dim and a song, which I couldn't repeat if my life depended on it, were sung and a piece of cake and fruit was brought out. It was a great time, especially because I finally got to see Crazy Bob in full affect. As far as I am concerned, he looks like Asian Jesus but that's neither here nor there. Good times, though I was a little tired the next morning. This Sunday I went to Shinjuku to meet up with some of my friends from training, all I have to say is that I have a blast every time I see them. We drank, we laughed, we talked about our experiences here and made plans to see each other again during out vacation next week. I will be honest that when I got here I figured that I wouldn't know anyone and that my birthday would pass with no more that a blink of an eye on an island so far from home and unfamiliar, instead I had a fantastic time and got to spend time with some great people! Oh, and to all my friends who left me messages on my myspace or facebook, thank you! It was wonderful to here from the people I love on my birthday!

Firworks in Yokohama

2006-07-29T00:03:00.000+09:00

Fireworks. In the states, it is pretty common to go to fireworks once a year, July 4th. Everybody and their mother comes out on one day to see them, then they go home and wait another year for it to happen again. Not in Japan my friends, oh no, if you miss them one week, you can always see them the next, or the next or.... you get the point. Summer in Japan does not just consist of humidity, rain and the occasionally inappropriately dressed old man. No, there is another world in Japan that I have only had a small dose of, the world of fireworks. About 2 weeks ago I went to Yokohama, the second largest city in Japan, to see fireworks with about 200,000 other people. A few words on Yokohama, I know it is a little hard to see, but the picture that vaguely resembles a ship is actually the first ship ever to come into the port at Yokohama from the west. England actually. I thought it was funny that they actually moved the ship inland an made a monument out of it, I guess what it symbolizes to some is not what it means to everyone. Also, the photo of the decently sized building is actually the tallest building in Japan. I was warned before I saw it, so I wasn't too disappointed, given the earthquakes and all I guess it's not that bad, but I think they could have at least added a few more stories. The harbor in Yokohama is beautiful. The fireworks lasted for and hour and a half and it wasn't until I came here that I decided to buy a yukata. (A yukata is the summer kimono that the girls in the pictures are wearing.) I did buy one, but more on that when I finally wear it! As it goes and is typically the case. We didn't make it back before the trains stopped running (or rather chose not to make it back) and ended up at kareoke until 4:30 when the trains started running again. Needless to say I fell asleep at kareoke, and on the train... when I woke up there was a full train of curious on lookers, what can I say, everyone is interested in gajin who sleep on trains during rush hour! Oh, those crazy Americans!

The Welcome Party

2006-07-18T22:22:00.000+09:00

First, I would like to say that just because most of my pictures are taken while I'm out at night, it really hasn't been that common since I've gotten here. Sure, I have been to kareoke enough to average out to one a week for every week that I have been here but what can I say, this is a land that loves to sing, whether they know the words or not. Last Saturday (about a week and a half ago) We had our work party. This was a big party with a lot of the students and almost all of the teachers. I had a ton of fun and got to know some of my students better. I think this post is mainly just going to be photos because they pretty much speak for themselves. Oh, I would like to mention that the hat I am wearing (and others throughout the night) was a gift from two of my students, well actually, only one, the other is Tyler's student. The hat is a soccerball and the bill is the German flag, since it wouldn't surprise me if the symbolism in this was lost, it was from the World Cup that was held in Germany this year! The Japanese are huge soccer fans and the World Cup was a pretty big deal here. So I wore the hat pretty much all night, and when I wasn't wearing it, someone else was. Good times, Good Times!

What exactly is a "quasi-national park?"

2006-07-15T22:16:00.000+09:00

It is my goal while I am in Japan to see and do as much as possible. I feel that while I had a lot of fun in college, it is time to really step back, look past the partying and really appreciate my surroundings. It is my goal to make every weekend I have contain some new adventure, something that I can look back on and think, I am so glad I did that! During this particular weekend I had accidentally left the door to my balcony open about an inch and by the time 5 AM rolled around I was covered in mosquito bites and hadn't been able to sleep most of the night. So at 5 AM I got out of bed and got ready to head out to Mount Takou. I arrived at the foot of the mountain at about 7 after getting of a train where I shouldn't have and taken a bus I should't have, I finally arrived at my destination, unscathed by a morning of mishaps I prepared myself for my first hike since leaving Colorado. At the bottom, right next to the gondolier of sorts that will take you to the top of the mountain for only 3000 yen (about $33) is a sign showing the route to get to the top of the mountain, it was official, I was entering my first quasi-national park. To someone who lives in Japan this is a pretty normal occurrence. Japan is a bit different from the US in that if there is buildable land, they build on it, protected or not, if they can make a profit they will, I guess they figure that because there is so little usable land, any that they can use, should be used. So I begin my journey. I will admit that I haven't always been the most enthusiastic hiker but I went into this one with guns blasting, I was going enjoy this in every way possible. As I started up, the trees were unlike I had ever encountered before on a hike, so tall that I felt that they were at times going to engulf me and as green as emeralds sparkling under the fresh morning dew. The path was all paved in stone and began to get progressively steeper until I thought I was just going to give up. I was standing by a creek catching my breath for a moment when I saw an old man, no less that 70 walking down the mountain, he looked at me and I looked at him and I knew nothing was going to keep me from the top after that. I finally reached the top, passing temples and statues I understood why they had built a shrine at the top of this mountain, the whole walk up I felt like I was in a dream world, when I finally reached the top I sat for an hour and wrote anything and everything that came to my mind. What a magical experience!

My first trip to an Izakaya

2006-07-15T19:59:00.000+09:00

What could be a better way to experience my first traditional Japanese izakaya (bar/restaurant where you set a menu and drink limitlessly for a set price)? The week after I arrived in Tachikawa some of my co-workers took us out to celebrate. Myself and Risa's arrival and Rie's departure (she is getting married and is moving on, and even though I have only know her for a couple of weeks, I will miss her!). We had a great time getting to know one another. The two non-Japanese looking gentlemen in the photos are Mark and Tyler, my fellow foreign teachers. Many of you may not know, but recently I became a vegetarian and have had a much harder time than I thought I would finding food that didn't have meat in it. I'm sure it would help some if I was able to read the menus, but I am not entirely certain that even that would help. So at dinner, a salad was placed in front of me, it was a big bowl that we all shared, I looked at Mark and said, "is this chicken or tuna?" He said it was chicken of the sea. First of all, I know that Tuna IS chicken of the sea. It doesn't help my case much though because he then proceeded to try and convince me (successfully for a time) that this was different, it was actually chicken grown in the sea. (I would like to say now that I was thinking they lived near the sea and that they got the name because they were fed fish... or something like that. In all honesty, I was just being naive and have learned my lesson, and well, at least I got a fairly entertaining story out of it!

Pretty sure my dorm room was bigger than this!

2006-07-14T23:26:00.000+09:00

First, I would like to start out by saying that in NO way am I complaining, actually, I really like my apartment. I do feel it necessary, however, to give at least one or two pictures so that anyone who knows what my last apartment looked like can see just how flexible I am with living arrangements. To be honest, I have never been such a clean freak as I have been since moving here, partly because any mess is a big mess when you have so little space and second, well, really there is only the first, but that is enough for me. This weekend I bought a plant and I have a nice little water fountain for ambiance. I am finally starting to settle in. I sleep on the floor and I can't remember the last time I have slept so well. I may never sleep on another bed again! Sometimes I get ambitious and I turn on my TV, hopefully, if I time it right I can catch one of the Japanese soap operas (they are always on) at the beginning and hopefully by the end I have some clue as to what is going on. I tell myself that it is helping me learn Japanese, though I know I am kidding no one. I have a washing machine but no dryer. I hang all of my clothes on my balcony, I learned that you shouldn't keep your clothes outside hanging for too long during raining season or else you are just going to have to put them back into the washing machine because they will smell like mildew, gross! And say goodbye to homemade cookies, no baking because I have no oven, and one burner, it's either be creative or go out to eat a lot. I won't lie, the latter happens more than I would probably care to admit. I live right next to a Bud-dhist temple, it is truly amazing how peaceful I feel here, all I have to do is go outside and I am in a beautiful courtyard with a laughing Buddha. Whenever I am feeling anxious all I have to do is take a walk through the temple and my mind softens. There is truly something magical about this place. I feel so fortunate to be able to walk to work every morning and feel blest to be here. Just look at him, how can you not be happy when he is laughing?

A little place called Bar Underground

2006-07-14T22:41:00.000+09:00

Now I have been to theme restaurants before, Casa Bonita always comes to mind as a good time, even the guys on South Park have been there. Nothing, however, compares to Bar Underground, as a foreigner with absolutely no Japanese under my belt I found it particularly entertaining. To start with, in order to get to the restaurant, you have to go through this crazy underground tunnel in almost complete darkness, there is the usual prison cell with a skeleton in it, the mushy ground patch that feels like you are going to sink and the door at the end that leads you to the restaurant that opens at the precise moment you stop thinking it is going to open. When inside, we were lead up a skinny staircase to a room where we had to duck in order to walk to our seats. Upon opening our menu's and to our surprised it appeared as though we were no longer going to be able to order drinks, science experiments were a better description of what we were looking at. At this point I knew we were in trouble, how can you not try every drink on the menu, they came in beakers and test tubes! I'm convinced Cash's drink was pure Skol Vodka, fortunately mine tasted good and had bright colors, a requirement of any drink that fits into test tubes. Oh, and the music, how could I forget, all night long they played this really mellow, quasi lame English music, I think I am remembering a little Boyz II Men. Then, towards the end of the meal (the cheese fondu is awesome) the lights started to flicker and the music turned to the hate music of such personalities as Rob Zombie and Marilyn Manson. A hand came out of the window behind Mia's head and freaked me out pretty badly! Did I mention that there was a prison door that kept us from the outside world, anyways, at one point three different monsters (men in masks) came in and tried to scare us. I will admit I jumped and yelled when the first one came in. The best was when one of them came in after the show and wanted his picture taken with Cash, fantastic. All in all a very good night. I really wish the rest of our training mates could have been there to experience it with us. It was the Saterday after we had finished training and I am pretty sure sleep was on the agenda for most people. Next time my friends, next time!

In the beginning, there was Omiya

2006-07-14T10:45:00.000+09:00

Ah yes, let's go back to the beginning. After a very long plane ride which spanned two days I finally arrived in Omiya, Japan. A very nice town about 1/2 an hour north of Tokyo. Little did I know that the next week was going to be one of the busiest and most intense I have experienced hmm, maybe ever. There were 17 of us at training and we lived in pretty tight quarters, needless to say we all got to know each other pretty well. It was Saturday night and we had just finished our first full day of training, a little tired, we headed out on the town, first to a beer garden and then to kareoke. I think it was fitting that the first night I actually go out in Japan was spent at kareoke, could it have been any other way, I think not. At training we learned a lot of techniques for teaching English, anyone that thought that just being able to speak the language qualifies you to teach is sadly mistaken. *side note: I noticed about a week after arriving at my school that some of my higher level students understood English grammar better than I did. My immediate reaction was to run home and brush up on prepositions, and the like. I soon learned that was pretty standard and that all questions grammar related should be directed to the Japanese teachers at the school. After all, they actually had to study the language, they didn't grow up just 'speaking' English. As intense as it had been, I was happily surprise by how much fun I had when I started teaching and I had made some incredible friends in the process. One last thing about my training experience. Lawsons. The convenient store that is truly convenient. Countless breakfasts were purchased there and the occasional beer was consumed right outside the entrance doors. And the food, well, much better than the standard US 7/11.

Has it really been a month?

2006-07-14T10:09:00.000+09:00

Hard to believe, but I have already been in Japan for over a month. I have been having a great time and have been working hard. I am teaching English at a private school that has about 5oo students. Each class is 50 minutes and there are somewhere between 1 and 8 people in each class. I am having fun but I continue to struggle trying to remember everyone's name. The people I work with are all really nice. I work with two other foreigners, thank God they speak Japanese, because I am well below beginner level and am using my common sense to get me through most conversations I have with locals. For the most part everything so far has been smooth sailing, I am still waiting on my alien registration card but after I get that I will be able to get a cellphone and be able to talk to all of friends that I made in training.