Welp

This is my last post from Japan. I never really wrote anything before so I'm not sure why I'm doing it now. But this is it basically. I'm going to pack up my computer here in the next couple of minutes and then finish cleaning my room. For those of you in the Seattle area: see you soon! For those in the Japan area: sayonara I guess. I'll be back some day... maybe.

I don't need Freud to help me with this one

I had a crazy dream last night. In my dream I was in jail. I'm not sure why exactly I was there but I was pretty sure it was for something I didn't do. In my jail cell was an old escape hole that I suppose the previous occupant created. One night, when the lights were out I thought I would give it a try. It was very dark and confusing like some sort of byzantine conduit. Eventually I found my way to the end which happened to come out in a secret door behind a shower stall in what turned out to be my friends house. Needless to say he was quite surprised to see me. I explained to him that I had just escaped from prison. He told me that I should keep running but I thought that if I did they would always chase me and I couldn't ever rest. So instead we just decided to have some beers and watch TV and I returned to the jail cell later that evening before the guards realized I had left. And this was to be my life, escaping and re-escaping only to end up in the same place; having to spend my days in a jail cell only to get out once or twice a month when the sleepy guard was on duty and the conditions were just right.

Sooner than I expected.

Have you ever been in one of those relationships where you are only doing it because you have nothing better to do? Well I haven't, I just thought it would be a good analogy to my life. But you know what they say, "necessity is the mother of all invention." Unfortunately what I need to invent is a new situation. I'm coming up on the beginning of my 3rd month here and to this day I have probably only spoken about 100 sentences in Japanese. That probably equates to about 22 minutes of speaking time. Granted, speaking practice was only about 70% of the reason I came here. It's true that if I weren't as shy that speaking time would be alot higher but maybe about 2 hours at best. You all know the story, I don't mean to always focus on it but hey, it's my blog so thhhhbbbbttttt!

So let's see, good stuff, good stuff, hmmmmm... I went to some fire and earthquake information building in Ikebukuro where they have a cool earthquake room and a smoke maze. In the earthquake room they have a simulation of an earthquake and you have to run around and turn off the gas and stuff while walking around like a drunkard. It was fun but the smoke maze was the best. The have a fake office that they fill up with smoke and you have to crawl around to find your way out. It's all about safety but it's still fun and the best part is that it's free.

Recently there have been alot of Christmas decorations put up all over the place. I thought there would be some, but there are actually alot here. (You may have seen some of the pictures from my previous post.) So to get in the spirit I put some in my room too. Unfortunately, it just makes my room look like a depressing retirement home where nobody comes to visit the senile old man that thinks everyone is his grandson. It's a nice ambiance I guess, but it also creeps me out a bit too.

Anyway, that's it for now. I'm still doing my thing. I'm just not sure why.

Ok ok

Here's another post. I know you are all on the edges of your seats so I'll try to "bring it" with some brevity. If you haven't looked already I've added some new photos to my picassa thingy. I'll cover some of them in detail as I go on. First of all is the matter of my life here which inevitably involves the status of my job. Let's just say it's "ok". It's not the most interesting job ever and the awkward schedule keeps me from having a life. I get out from time to time but it's usually by myself. Which of course leads me to the matter language learning. I mean you all know the reason I came here was to learn Japanese. Don't get me wrong. I've learned alot and I've gotten some chances to improve my speaking, but it's not what I expected. So far my greatest achievements are opening a bank account (which is way harder than you might imagine, what with all the documentation in squiggly Japanese writing) and getting a decent haircut (at least I think it is.) In fact, I had a great conversation with a very cute stylist.

So in my free I just tend to wander around and see what I can find. I picked up some nifty stickers for my phone at Tokyu Hands, which is now one of my favorite stores. While I was walking around I was surprised to find there are actually quite alot of Christmas lights around. Tokyo is really quite pretty this time of the year. There are also many cool "ghettos" with lots of cool things that you would never expect. There was even a shop that was full of plushies from the Gremlins movies still in the original packaging. And even some cool game references. (This one's for you Nate.)

Although many of the things here are good I've got to get some things off my chest. So here is my list of things that suck in Japan.

Trains (that's a given)
No Mexican food (is Japan a land of savages?)
Last train at Midnight but last call is at 5:00AM (WTF! LOL BBQ!?)
No Cheddar cheese (again: savages?)
A troubling lack of garbage cans (how does it stay so clean?)
Popular comedy is still based on vaudeville (no lol)
Napkins are made of plastic (try wiping your hands with a garbage bag)
$7.00 cup of tea. (Take that $5.00 milkshake)
Xenophobia (boo!)

I'm sure I could go on for a while, but I gotta save some material for my next post.

Stuff has happened!

I just wanted update you all to let you know that since I've been in Japan, stuff has happened. Not much stuff, but stuff none the less. I have started my training as this Monday. It's not too hard, and the days don't really seem that long, surprisingly. But at the end of this training I have to give a lesson and pass a test, etc. So there is a little stress involved. But I will be a bit happier when I get done with this training because it's in Shibuya and I have to ride the train everyday in the morning and it sucks. IT SUCKS!!!! Bgghghhghgllaaalla! (Like Ah-nold) IT SUCKS SOOOO MUCH! Living on the busiest line in Tokyo is not a very fun thing. I wouldn't be surprised if in a few years it becomes social convention to stick your hand up someones butt just to get some more space on the train. But yeah..... god I hate it. I really don't want to be here that much but it kinda feels like I have to stay, for me, to prove something to myself. You know, that sorta drivel.

In other news: I went to the Tokyo Motor Show last weekend. It was ok. I thought the cars were pretty amazing but I was brought there under false pretenses. My friend invited me to go and I thought it would be an interesting diversion before I started my training. I thought, of course, he's a car nerd, right? But what it turned out to be was an excuse to go around photographing the boothbabes. I had heard that hobby was pretty prevalent in Japan, but to see in action was something else. It was a bit awkward but I dismissed it as a cultural "feature". I have some pictures of my own that I think I will post. And yes, they have boothbabes in them, it was kinda unavoidable.

Oh yeah, and what's up with the reporting here.

Boy, this is going to be a long year.......

It finally happened!

I finally had my first dream in Japanese! The best part is that no one could understand me. I'm sure it's not a sign of anything in particular. :) It's not about self conscience or anything. Right? Oh well, it was fun anyway. In part of it I was trying to order a Mega Mac. I'm surprised a country like Japan would have something like that. What's even crazier is this monstrosity. (Scroll to the bottom.)

I haven't had one yet but I'm tempted to just to say that I had one. I hope it won't kill me.

Well, I'm Here

As most all of you know, I'm in Japan now getting ready to work at Berlitz. I start in about a week and of course I'm super nervous. I haven't totally adjusted to being here yet. It's not a culture thing, I just feel more comfortable at home speaking a language I'm good at. I've been goofing off for the last 2 weeks doing nothing in particular, just visiting friends and trying to figure out this crazy country. I've put up some pictures for you all to look at if you wish. I haven't taken as many as the last time I was here. Maybe it's because it's not really a vacation. I'm sure I'll take more during the time that I'm here. So you all better come to this site to see what I'm up to. Oh yeah, here's the pictures:

Living in Japan

I hope you enjoy them. As soon as my job starts I'm sure I'll have more to say. But until then, have fun and enjoy all the mexican food you can because you don't know what you have until you lose it.