YOU CAN'T KILL WHAT'S ALREADY DEAD

To start off, looking back at the last few posts my blog may seem a bit, how shall I say, lacking. There isn't much Japan-related funness, or band stuff or exciting news, just kind of me trudging about my everyday life. Well, what can I say, not a whole lot to write about. I think in the future I will stretch out posts more and avoid writing just for the sake of it, to try and keep things exciting.

Also, in reference to the title (besides being Entombed lyrics or being mistakable as a quote from numerous zombie movies) it's just about halloween time. Halloween, like so many western traditions has morphed into its own ravenous monstrous self over the years here in Tokyo, and I am definitely going out to see what I can see next weekend. I want to get a costume, but am still lost on that front, for now.

Today I had a very long day, I got up at 8am which is about 4 hours earlier than usual and made a B-line for the gym. As it turns out, even over here there are gym rats/snobs who like to watch what you lift and obviously compare it to their own stats, perhaps even moreso here since I'm a foreigner. All I have to say is: "weird mid-40s ex-bodybuilder-lookin' dude with the sideways ponytail who was gawking at me while doing curls, I'm not in a competition with anyone, I'm really just trying to stay healthy. So suck it."

I made my workout and shower quick and hopped a train for Shinjuku for an extra 2 hours of training. Thanks to recent union victories, mandatory training outside of normal work hours now pays our normal hourly wage, instead of just a measily $10 an hour. Sweet.

The school I worked at was about a 15 minute walk away from my training area, so I hooved it. By this point I was feeling tired again. I stopped in at First Kitchen (a chain fastfood joint) to squat for the 3 hours I had to kill, because A) they have a delicious double bacon cheeseburger which puts McDonalds to shame B) they have "flavor potato" fries with various powdered flavorings you shake in a paper bag and C) they have a comfortable seating area where I have before and did this time take a power nap. Oh, and I wanted a Melon Soda, that stuff is a bitchin, coma-inducing injection of sugary goodness.

I'm not incredibly proud of the napping bit, but dozing off in public places isn't really unusual here. Hard as it may be for you people back in the States to fathom, people regularly sleep on trains, in fast food joints, coffee shops - wherever they can get a break. And I needed one, as was obvious by the fact that I can't often sleep sitting up, but awoke with a start and some drool on my hand at quarter to 3. Smooth.

Oh, and while I was eating my meal, a teenage girl walked into the automatic door. Well, not quite automatic - you touch a panel and it opens like some sci-fi fantasia land from the future, but perhaps she thought it was touch-free. There was a loud thud which startled me and the rest of the room, and she walked back to her friend's table hand-over-mouth dying of embarrassment. This might not seem all that blog-worthy, but there's more. Not even 10 minutes later, the other girl from that table walked back toward the door and did the exact same thing, if not clunking even harder. My brain was like an old Nintendostuck on the resest-button and coming up blue screen for a minute. Huh, and why? It almost seemed too comedic to be another accident, and far too coincidental. Either these two had been huffing glue early (not likely) or taking shots of vodka they stole from their moms cabinet (more likely) or perhaps the one girl was trying to detract from the others' embarassment by making an ass out of herself? I don't know, just, weird man.

Work was today and I needs mention yesterday a breeze. I had collectively the number of classes in two days I would normally have in one, and I really can't complain about that. Chalk it up to students not showing up or just having free slots. I also explained the concept of "being in debt" and "I owe you one" to a fun student of mine, who isn't the highest level but does try his absolute best. When he finally picked things up I found myself raising my hand, and said: "If you were one of my younger students, I'd give you a high-five, that was perfect."

On the way out of class, he raised his hand and high-fived. Keepin' it posi guys.


"Climb out from all the lies, and distractions of the world. You've seen what they can do, but you can't see a way out... What is the point, to carry on where?" - Quicksand

"It's allright to tell me what you think about me I won't try to argue or hold it against you" - Blink 182 (yes I went there)