For maximum enjoyment, please maintain no affiliations with reality

I just got back on XBOX Live again, so here's to my system not breaking any time soon. If anyone wants to play me at some Worms, my gamertag is BennyB518.

I have been on a serious gaming kick, between my DS on the trains and my consoles at home. Not having homework and getting to do whatever I want with my free time is an almost deadly combination.

I'm getting my guitar and external dvd-burner from Ian tomorrow. THANKS IAN.

I'm also going hiking on Mount Takao with my British mate Dan, so expect some picture from that.

This is a video made by a fellow English teacher, Renee. It's pretty much very awesome:





"Put on flesh and wring it through, the things you love they will destroy you" - Most Precious Blood"

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)

I don't wanna work, I just wanna bang on dee drum all day

I just don't feel like going to work. I should be hustling and bustling but neither of those words are appealing to me right now. I walked to the store and bought another 10kg bag of rice, because I have actually managed to demolish the one I bought 6 weeks ago. Damn, I consume a lot.

My broken-glass toe isn't bothering me much, so that's a good sign.

ALSO, BILLS WON AGAIN! 5-1 5-1 5-1! I have always taken a passive interest in football but for some reason while I'm over here I am looking forward to the game every weekend now, and I always watch at least 3 of them. I think my passion is partly sparked by my undying devotion to the Bills and enjoyment of the game of football, but also because it is like a link to my Americanness, in case I forget.

Time to make the donuts. Luckily for me, there is no actual donut making involved.

Bemusement

I found a very accurate description of what studying Japanese character compounds is like:


Sunday, I dicked around for most of the day and then went to the show. I was really impressed, all the bands were good but most notably Gallhammer, an all-female black/death/sludge metal band who are apparently huge in Europe but not so much in Japan. Regrettably I forgot my camera, so I present to you a quick list of highlights from that night:

-A drunk British dude telling the bass player of Gallhammer that ice cream is not metal

-Discovering that there is a canned beverage at convenience stores for the equivalent of $2 with 8% alcohol, simply labeled Chu-Hi STRONG

-Cheersing the aforementioned drink with a bunch of metalheads. Afterwards the drunken Brit mentioned how "we don't have Chu-Hi in Britian," "Not in America either!" I said. He replied with taihen! (literally: emergency or tough situation!) I found it funny, you might not.

-Seeing a bunch of drunk dudes circle-pitting slovenly to some black metal, one fat dude smash two guys pouring beer down each others throats and the fat dude taking a beer shower afterwards, all of them laughing the whole time

-I found out you can legally pee in the street in Japan if (and this is crucial) you can prove you are drunk. There is apparently an infamous street in Shinjuku that always smells rank. While finding public bathrooms can be a challenge, it isn't much more than any normal city, and all the stations have lots of them, so I haven't resorted to said means. Yet.

"The world is my toilet" - Fran.

And stuff like that. The weird thing is that I should have been tanked but I only slept 5 hours, arising at the ungodly hour of 6:30 and unable to get back to sleep. I spent the morning playing videogames and enjoying my day off, when I made the sort of clumsy "epik phail" mistake I am so accustomed to: I stepped backwards onto a glass I had left on the floor. I happen to also be barefoot, so when I broke the glass I sliced open the bottom of my middle toe. Believe it or not, this does not qualify as the dumbest way I've ever hurt myself: That would be when I shut a door on my big toe, ripping the nail 70% off.

I wrapped it, thanked myself for having the foresight to buy bandaids, and looked up the Japanese word for antibiotic. It didn't hurt too much and shouldn't be as huge a nuisance as if I'd cut my foot on the bottom of the heel. I went out and paid my bills, went to the town ward to take care of Insurance stuff and went technology/grocery shopping. On my way, I saw a new ad in the subway featuring George Clooney's face, two sentences and some red sporty car. It said: " I deserve a good car. Because I'm a man." I had to laugh not only at how silly the ad was, but also at the fact that I cannot think of one instance in recent memory where a celebrity endorsed a car in an American advertisement. We're thick and slow, but not quite that thick. And slow.

Tech-shopping I scored a USB-hub and a 640GB external hard drive for collectively about $150. None too shabby. I also got a lot of much needed groceries and was very content with myself on accomplishing something. I spent the remainder of my free day lounging, watching football, playing games and chatting with friends. Somehow it has turned into 2am, I've been up for 20 hours and for some reason I don't want to sleep. But I'm gonna try.



"No man is much higher than another no matter race or creed or gender" - Killswitch Engage

"Me thinketh the lady doth protest too much" - Hamlet

"Time won't change for me, it's healing nothing and im learning to live with that" - Guns Up!

Nerds doin' nerd things

One of my prospects in moving out on my own was more time to myself. It's a blessing and a curse, too much of anything is not a good thing, and more cliches like that ring true though. In other words, I need to get out. I can't just lounge and read or watch football or play games during all of my free time, it gets old. I get cabin fever even in my luxorious mini-apartment that actually is big enough to swing a cat in (a popular method of measuring apartment-sizes here). Just like back home, the show gives me a good reason to leave my comfort zone and see something worth seeing, a few good bands.

It's a death metal show in Koenji tonight (the Chinese characters used to write the name literally mean "my money time") featuring Coffins, so it should be amazing. My only qualms are a) I dont' know anyone else who's into this kind of stuff here so as usual I'm going by myself and b) it's a really small club and I'm sure it'll fill up with smoke in no time. Hopefully for the sake of my health there is re-entry.

Just a quick post to feed my need. It's too bad you aren't here Gabe or Dave, you would be way into this show. Later fiends

Fond memories

I nostalgically recall last Spring, a week before finals. I was just finishing up classes and trying to cope with the idea of being possibly done with college forever. I was half excited, half petrified, half disappointed that I would no longer receive amazing lessons from the venerable Kaya-sensei.

Kaya-sensei is a woman who changed my life. Every one of her classes was laugh-out-loud funny. She had a knack for patience, interesting teaching techniques, a great sense of humor and most of all a brutal honesty about her. She wanted to enjoy the class just as much as we did, and I think that made her a great teacher. She didn't want to grimace or watch us squirm in pain as we tried to recall vocabulary, she just wanted us to learn and have fun at the same time. This kind of learning is naturally the most effective, in my humble opinion.

I got on well in those classes, and for the first time in my life I was genuinely dedicated to learning a foreign language. I had apathetically weaseled my way through four years of Spanish in Junior High and High School, and I must have been determined not to retain anything, because I don't. This time things were gonna be different is what I told myself right from the start. I had doubts at the beginning of course, like "can I even learn a new language? Will it be too much work on top of all this reading?" I eventually came to find out that learning something concrete like core language and grammar is the perfect yin to the yang of abstract literary studies.

I will never forget the very first day of class. "I don't know why Japanese is so popular all of a sudden," she said meekly in front of the class. A wry smile twisted on her lip as she said forcefully: "I tell students to take Chinese instead!" This ability to transform from mild-mannered into a force to be reckoned with is also quite the notable trait. Don't think that a 5'5" middle-aged Japanese woman could intimidate you? She has a look that will bring you to instant attention, an amazing aspect if you really think about.

Without getting grossly bogged down with details, I really liked the class. We wrote 4 page speeches in Japanese the last semester, and I did mine on a real bit of personal history. I told the class about how I had epilepsy for 11 years, and was in the hospital as a candidate for brain surgery when they finally remissed, lucky me. Most people were sort of taken aback or didn't know whether to pity me or be impressed as I understood there reactions. I was satisfied with myself, that's all that mattered; I had the ability to express so much in a language that was not English, it was amazing to see how far I had come.

Back to the aforementioned week before finals. I bought Kaya-sensei a chocolate cake with her name written on it - She though it was "really cute" - and most of the class ate it with her as we talked about our respective futures. I think she was really proud of us, as she should be, having taught us so much in 2 years. When I had first told her that I got a job in Japan she was ecstatic, like a kid on Christmas morning. I guess seeing the the fruits of your labor so clearly as to see a student employed in another conutry is enough to make anyone ridiculously happy. I was glad too, not only because of the beginners level Japanese I had attained, but also because I thought if I could ever conduct a class half as well as Kaya could, if I could make my students laugh and learn at the same time, I might make a good teacher.

--

On an unrelated note, I found this video on Japan Probe because it features the now-famous Tama the Station Master, a stray cat who saved a near-bankrupt community. As it turned out, the video also references my hometown of Rensselaer, NY:



I hope someone lost their job over perpetuating such a stupid parallel. What's in a name? Apparently everything. -_-

No beginning, no end, again and again

Everyday I think real hard about what I'm gonna do for the rest of my life. It may seem stupid, and maybe it is, but I think about it just the same. I think about how this job should eventually reach one of two ends: Either its going to reel me in for the long haul out of complacency, or be a springboard toward bigger and better things. "I taught in Japan for X years" looks great on a resume and all, but if I ever expect to find work back in the states I'll need more schooling first. Having this job under my belt won't make me any more or less eligible to manage a Starbucks, I'm afraid.

Might as well face the facts: An English Bachelors' Degree doesn't carry much weight at all in America. It might get me into a cushy and worthless state job (where I don't want to be) but that's about it. And that's not to say I loathe the idea of Graduate School - I really miss the academic world in fact. Something just seems to be odd in my life when I don't have homework, and I have to make my own reading lists. And even though I'm technically teaching now, it's not always how shall I say "intellectually stimulating." Sometimes it's trite, repetitive and boring. So this all begs the question: why not?

There are several reasons why I'm not taking the plunge: I have been schooling non-stop since Kindergarten, I'm not crazy about getting into debt and I don't know what I want to go for. The biggest qualm is really the last one - What do I want to do for the rest of my life? My current employment is great because it varies so much: I get to teach university students, adults, pre-teens and junior high kids, I get to teach private lessons and larger groups. Going to Grad School for something like American Literary Studies is appealing in some ways, and dreadful in others. Dissertations aside, I would be committing myself rather exclusively to some kind of Professorship. And while this is somewhat desirable, I don't feel myself leaning so far in that direction, at least not yet. Here's a brief list of Graduate school focuses I've pondered:

-Japanese Language, History and Culture - pick one out of a hat and roll with it.

-A focus in Classical American Literature - I enjoy Hawthorne and Faulkner and all that.

-Education - Great for the ultimate goal of *shudder* Teaching. In. Public. Schools. (suddenly Starbucks sounds mighty appealing)

-Children's Education - Let's face it, they are the future. They are also fun at times, and as far as my experience goes they seem to want to learn more genuinely than most of us adults.

-Education and Administration - if this even exists. I would make a righteous Principal.

-Philosophy - probably not going to happen, but it seems strangely tempting. I do like to discuss shit that no one can ever possibly know.

But like a ball of indecisive goo, I can't pick one I like enough, not yet. Lucky for me this decision isn't staring me in the face, but it looms, oh how it looms. I've always been a hyperbolically forward thinker, so this is nothing new, but it is the rest of my life we're talking about here.

And on different days I feel swayed toward different paths. Today for example, I had an amazing kids class. The kids were so well behaved, enjoyed all the games and activities I presented, and really seem to like learning. They made me laugh and vice versa. When I showed them their homework they wanted to start it then and there, not wait until they got home. My Junior High class later that night was also fun, as we played custom Tic-Tac-Toe out of "things you like," which was a mix of Disney characters for the girls and video game consoles and weapons for the boys.

I might have more in common with Japanese adolescents than the entire human race.

Come what may, the quest continues. I am gaining valuable experience now and am definitely not standing still, I just want a better grasp of where I'm going. I do feel like my dream job would be teaching at a University, the kinds of classes I want to teach, like creative writing or literary studies, something people could really sink their teeth into and maybe even enjoy. Only one question remains: what country is that going to be in?


"Everyone's afraid of their own lives If you could be anything you want I bet you 'd be disappointed, am I right?" - Modest Mouse

"We are fixtures... barely passing as living human beings. Wake up wake up, we're losing everything... Do we really want to face reality?" - Achilles

Boosh

I finally joined the gym on Tuesday. It was another hour-long process of filling out forms and trying to understand what various thing meant (much like my cell phone acquisition) but it was worth it. For the first time in months I had a proper workout, and the facilities are actually quite impressive! The my only complaints are that they don't have a rowing machine and tattoos are supposed to be covered at all times.

Yes, you read right - supposedly showing that you have a tattoo can lead to instant cancellation of your membership, if any member "reports" you. I have my doubts as to whether or not this would really happen, and in any case, what is the purpose of such a policy?

Well, for those that don't know, tattoos are most closely associated with yakuza in Japan, or gangsters. The thing that baffles me is that gangsters get very easily recognizable tattoos, often full back-pieces if not larger, of dragons and swords and the like - it's not like anyone could ever mistake my wolfopuss for that! But as always I err on the side of strictness and just deal with it, carefully avoiding any exercises that expose my thigh... But really, what a silly rule. Even if a gangster were to become a member of the gym, would anyone actually have the gall to tattle on him for having a *gasp* visible tattoo?

I think this is a prime example of the kind of thing that would be considered blatant discrimination in America, but passes as fairly normal over here. It's not like it's really that bad, merely an inconvenience, but I felt the need to vent about it a little. This blog won't be on a downward spiral of Japanbashing any time soon.

On the subject of tattoos, there are way more young people with them here than I had thought. It is slowly going the way of America and they are becoming more and more common - I even saw some ridiculous guy on the train the other day with face tattoos, metal spikes on his arms, huge boots and a shirt that said Tokyo Punk. A trifle overboard in my opinion.

On a completely unrelated note, here is a clip of the latest thing I'm watching, a rifftrax of Memento:


*cough cough.* - Electric Wizard

Hardcore lives in the adult district of Shinjuku

I'd like to start off today's blog by saying that the shift from New York to Japan has been a big one for many different reasons: New food, new job, new living situation, new country, and so on to infinity.

Infinity

There is one thing that hasn't changed though: Wherever I go I can meet people who like the music that I do, who want that release that only a hardcore show can give you. For people who don't understand the appeal to the music, it's a hard concept to explain. For those of us that know, we know all too well.

What's going on in the above picture would probably look like a riot, a massive fight or just total chaos to most people, but to those of us who are familiar, it's a mosh pit. This idea has been misidentified and incorrectly defined most especially in the last 10 years on the internet (thanks youtube), and I'm not here to give you a proper definition: it's the kind of social spectacle you have to witness for yourself to try and understand. The energy is as amazing here as anywhere else, and I find the atmosphere to be especially positive.

Tokyo is also perhaps unique in that (as one older teacher so poignantly said): "No matter how niche or obscure a band is, they'll have a following in Tokyo." I've already talked to a few people here about "troycore" - a word for hardcore from Troy, NY a somewhat impoverished yet historical city across the river from Albany and the original home of Uncle Sam. I talked to a fellow named Akira at this show about Burning Human, Stigmata, Dying Breed, Dissent and Cutthroat, and some of those troycore bands rarely if ever even played out of New York. All but 1 are long defunct, being at least 10 years dated if not more. My point is the fact that I can have a conversation about my hometown bands all the way over here made me feel especially happy, and perhaps a little less completely out of place. Akira said he was also glad someone else knew these bands.

"I want to go to Troy," he said.

The club that the show was held at, Shinjuku ACB, is smack between the adult district and the hotel district of West Shinjuku, which is kiddy corner to a 20 story hospital. I suppose this all made sense to someone at some point in time. Before the show I stopped in an arcade and took the drumming picture above, and also tried Guitar Freaks, which is basically Japanese Guitar Hero (I'm pretty sure they thought of it first). And I stumbled upon some event at a public square which involved taiko (drumming) and dancing:



I later returned in between bands to view a political rally in the same spot, which must be described in words since I was staunchly told by security that no pictures were allowed to be taken. From what I saw, a band finished playing some vigorous number and a man with a microphone entered into a speech. There must have been at least 2 or 300 spectators. There were 4 flagbearers holding ridiculously huge flags, must have been 25 or 30 feet long, and I'm guessing they were of a political party. I also didn't understand much besides the word "government" in the speech. Once the man was finished, 2 cheerleaders came out and started a choreographed dance routine. There were at least a dozen private security guards in sight holding flashing batons (very deadly, I'm sure) and crouching strategically around the rally. There was also a barricade, and in between it was a "hypeman" who ran back and forth, encouraging everyone in a rabid fashion to applaud, applaud, applaud. I even saw some white tourist-looking guy clapping, and thought to myself that it was kind of sad. It's no wonder they think we're all stupid.

The band that played later, taken before the rally started.

I don't know where else to stick them, so here are a few pictures of bright and busy Shinjuku on a Sunday night:

And without further ado, pictures from the show. Enjoy.

As We Let Go again. Excellent hardcore that makes you want to move.

The True Path. I'm not gonna lie, these guys were a Bury Your Dead rip-off band, from the guitar-tones to the silly stage moves. They traveled 4 hours to get there though and were decent.

No Choice In This Matter. Pretty posi, seem to be a big draw. Fun and energetic, plus on-stage karate kicks!

Loyal to the Grave. Can't say enough good stuff about these guys, they are my favorite local band so far and really good dudes. They also bring the mosh.

Random fat drunken Brazilian dude at the show, insisted on rocking on stage.

Blacklisted. I didn't take many pictures, I was too busy dancing.

In closing, I'd like to say that I am very excited to start a new band. All the pieces are coming into place, and my friend Ian is as of today on his way out of Afghanistan onboard several long flights which will eventually bring him back to his wife and kid, here in Japan. He is also my future drummer, and boy do I ever miss having a band. My Dad just shipped out my guitar (thanks Dad) and I should be getting it in a few weeks. I was just watching a video from my band Damnation Alley playing in July and was remembering how fun that was....hard to believe that was only 3 months ago. If I can get that same feeling again over here, then I'll have everything I need.


"It has been so long since any piece of this made any kind of sense" - Lamb of God

"When the shadow of the sash appeared on the curtains it was between seven and eight oclock and then I was in time again, hearing the watch. It was Grandfather's and when Father gave it to me he said, Quentin, I give you the mausoleum of all hope and desire; it's rather excrutiating-ly apt that you will use it to gain the reducto absurdum of all human experience which can fit your individual needs no better than it fitted his or his father's. I give it to you not that you may remember time, but that you might forget it now and then for a moment and not spend all your breath trying to conquer it. Because no battle is ever won he said. They are not even fought. The field only reveals to man his own folly and despair, and victory is an illusion of philosophers and fools." William Faulkner, "The Sound and The Fury."

Holler for a dollar, shout for some clout!

The weeks just seem to be flying by now. I've only been working a full month, only been in Japan about 7 weeks, and everything is sort of falling into place. It feels like an eon ago when I first landed, dazed and incredulous that I had finally reached my destination. I like it here. I'd better not get too comfortable or I'll become a lifer, eh?

So I went out with Dayn and another teacher last night to what I thought might be a cool place - Wakoshi. It was only 3 trainstops away and seemed lively from the station, however when we got there we realized there was one street of restaurants on each side of the station, some bars and pachinko parlors and that was about it. Next time I'm gonna do more research!

But still, we went to an Izakaya - a casual restaraunt that serves beer, liquor and various food at reasonable prices. Whenever you are ready to order (or order more) you just hit the gameshow-looking button on the table to call the waiter or waitress over. Neat, huh? It's little things like that that wow me in Japan; Why doesn't NYC have vending machines every 30 feet?

"Probably because they would get vandalized," a student once said. She was probably right.

Anyway, the place was good, and jokingly one cohort suggested during my indecision on ordering that I get sakuraniku. It literally means red meat, and I didn't know what to make of it until they proclaimed it was raw horse. The both shook there heads in disgust while I said: "Sweet! That's what I'm getting!"

So delicious. Like sashimi (raw fish) but chewier! Yum!

Since there wasn't much else to see in Wakoshi, I decided to do some documentation on the evils of Pachinko parlors - popular gambling buildings that are incredibly ubiquitous in Japan:

Visually appealing designs like this are made to suck you in.

Apparently Gaia, the primal Greek goddess of the Earth, wants you to blow your paycheck this week.

Proof of teh evil! And that guys' face just screams: "I can't stop, please...help...me...."

OK, so in all seriousness I'll never understand Japan's pachinko fascination, but by the same token I've never been much of a gambler. I visited my ex in Las Vegas twice, and I did play some video poker but after losing $100 I pretty much decided never to gamble again. There are much better ways to waste ones' money, like music and video games.

Behold it in all its glory.

After returning from Wakoshi, I grabbed one of these badboys and Dayn showed me around some more of my town that I'd never seen before (that's a diet beer. STYLE FREE!)

I had to post this just because it said "Black Sebbath."

So there's a 24-hour jeans store a mile from my house. In case I ever need jeans at 4am. Huh.

And that's the long and short. Today is Sunday, the first day of my two-day weekend. Going to the hardcore show tonight, and probably will post pics some time tomorrow. Adios muchachos



"Another day goes by to reflect our eyes, guess I realize that I'm losin my mind" - Stigmata

"I bought a pack of carefree sugarless gum and I was still worried... IT NEVER KICKED IN!
And if you have dentures, never use artificial sweetener cuz you will get a fake cavity." - Mitch Hedburg

I used to hate eggplants, now I just hate car accidents

Yesterday I was jogging and somehow managed to hurt my left knee. What does this mean for me? No more jogging for at least a week, and limping up and down all the stairs to and from the subways. Even the microwave and the toilet are a downstairs trek from my apartment. NO FUN.

I also managed to pay last month's rent, after discovering that the money was still sitting in my account this month. It's an understandable mistake I think, I mean the menu on the ATM is all in Japanese! (and if you take more than 15 seconds to try and read something, it assumes you've walked away and cancels your transaction) What got me was 3 options at the end about keeping receipts and yadayada, 1) was no and 2) was yes. Usually it's the other way around, at least where I'm from.

You may be wondering about the ambiguous title, so I'll get right down to it here. About 2 weeks before I left for Japan, I had planned one last roadtrip with my friends Rich, Laura and Gabe to Virginia Beach. The day before we left I had a tattoo appointment in Saratoga to get this little number done:

It's a Wolf-o-puss, of course!

We had already done outlines and most of the color in a previous appointment, this was just about 2 hours of "finishing touches." So it was raining, and I was in kind of a hurry to get to Saratoga, which is about 45 minutes from where I lived in East Greenbush. It had just stopped raining, and as I took the 270 degree exit ramp from 787 to route 7 at my normal speed if 40mph and began to straighten the wheel, the car started fishtailing. I wasn't paying proper attention and the roads were still really wet, so I must have lost traction. Trying to brake did nothing, and as I spun 180 degrees I watched incredulously as traffic was coming directly at me. About a second later I smashed into the guardrail, myself completely unscathed and with only my rear right blinker knocked out, and the bumper a little dented.

This was incredibly lucky. The cars coming just happened to be too far away for me to have collided with them, so it was a real close shave. I had driven as a pizza guy for almost a year, 6, 8, 12 hours a day and had went on countless roadtrips. Therefore I had total confidence in my driving ability, but all it takes is one slip up like that to bring you back to reality. I got off and the car was fine - I was a shook for a little while and drove very carefully to the tattoo place and back home later. The fun part was getting the lights replaced (much thanks to my step-brother for helping me, no garages would have been open on a Sunday) and wrapping the corner up in red tape to make it look a little better. Not perfect, but better.

The next morning I was driving down the Jersey turnpike and all was well. There were no hitches in the trip and it was a time to remember. Car accidents however are a very real danger that I don't regret leaving behind. While train accidents do happen, they are not nearly as frequent - and it wouldn't even be my fault! And yet, I still somehow miss owning a car and being able to drive, but not the copious maintenance and insurance payments that accompanied it. Or the danger factor.

I'm off to work. I hope you enjoyed this entry, I've been saving it for a slow day.

Act your age!

Today was a great day for teaching. If it wasn't for these periodic headaches I get every night due to my sinuses acting up, and the fact that I lost to the same stupid boss AGAIN in Final Fantasy 4 on my way home from work, I'd be in an especially good mood. Oh, and speaking of FF4 and general nerdery, I was playing it on my break today when one of the staff peaked over to see what I was doing. He whipped out his cell phone to show me "FF4: The After," a Japanese cell-only sequel! It didn't mean too much to me as I'm no superfan (it's my first time playing the game) but I'm sure Rich or John will shit their pants upon reading this. There are rumors of an eventual DS port.

But I digress. During one of my breaks I had an interesting conversation with a fellow teacher about career choices, gaming being such an ordinary pass-time in Asia (and the sport of the future) and most importantly the dilemma of the American youth. It's a hard time for us younger people to be taken seriously, let alone accomplish much of anything, when the propagated attitude is to be as apathetic, rebellious and destructive as possible. I know firsthand way too many people back in NY who prided themselves on their complete ignorance and ability to ruin just about anything good. I maybe agreed with this mindset when I was 14, but I definitely feel very differently about it now. There is something to be said for being a part of society, even if it means "just another brick in the wall." Ruining things for other people is not only selfish but pointless, if you take a moment to think of it from the perspective of the other guy. And so, with my current job I'm doing something I enjoy, getting paid for it and able to help some people achieve their goals. It beats utter nihilism or "anarchy," both of which are fun to entertain until you realize how completely useless they are in any real life situations.

But, I can still bang my head, mosh or play heavy music. I can still be angry about a lot of things. I can still express myself in all the same ways, I merely have to determine the proper time or place. Namely H20 and Blacklisted this Sunday @ Shinjuku ACB. YES!

Back to school. I have a wonderful pair of higher-level students I see every Wednesday night. One is a dog-loving, middle-aged woman who cackles with laughter a lot and is always asking questions, which I like. The other is a young guy who enjoys skateboarding and punk rock when he isn't wrapped up in his suit and tie. The conversation got so comical when I gave an exaggerated example of sarcastic tone of voice that the woman said that I should have my own T.V. show. This was of course very flattering, but strangely enough not the first time I have heard this from someone. I guess I can make some pretty strange faces and know how to control my vocal dynamics enough to entertain people.... And I had stuck my head out the window in an imitation of the opera-technique where people sing out of windows, so maybe that had something to do with it.

Age also came up, and I mentioned how I am 23. The woman was surprised, saying that she thought I was older.

"Well I've always been mistaken for being older, especially if I grow my hair out at all."

"It's not your appearance, it's the way you act. You talk with such confidence."

This again was really flattering, but it is what I have been going for all along: To at least appear professional and like I know what I'm doing. How about that, it worked!

And so ends another day where I think I have the perfect job for me. I've definitely never been this happy working at any other job in the past: McDonalds, Wendy's, Subway, Price Chopper, Stewarts, Mobile or Paesan's Pizza. The runner up would be the last one though: I got paid to drive around and listen to metal all the time. Still, it's nowhere near this.

And speaking of driving, that reminds me: In my next post, maybe I'll talk about how I got into a car accident and almost died a day before my roadtrip to Virginia Beach, a week before I moved to Japan! Yea!

The end is nigh

"Bush is a war criminal, we are in the midst of a coup and the state is shifting toward fascism."

These are the claims of Naomi Wolf, feminist critic and author of a book I felt I needed to order after watching the following video: "Give Me Liberty: A Handbook for American Revolutionaries." Whatever your opinions on the upcoming elections or politics in general, if you don't support police states, marshall law and dictatorships, you will agree with me that this is important viewing:



My political fervor has grown in recent years, but especially as of late. It would seem that separating myself physically from America while retaining my citizenship has almost paradoxically emphasized the importance of understanding where I'm from...If not for me, then for my family and loved ones.

Again, regardless of your beliefs, parallels to Mussolini- and Hitler-era dictatorships should not be ignored by the public. George Bush now has access to his own private army that answers only to him, and Congress, the House nor the Senate has no authority over them.

I seriously fear for the future of my country.


"The great Americans defined America as a chance for us not to flatter but rather to confront ourselves. They did not define patriotism as a smug legacy of entitlement, but as a universal challenge that always included the demand for self- correction. But we are so used to being raised on a rhetoric of artificial patriotism--the kind that you get to tune in to in a feel- good way just because you were lucky enough to have been born here and then can pretty much forget about--that this definition seems positively foreign today." - Naomi Wolf on "Fake Patriotism."

Yoyogi Park and Hokkaido Festival, in pictures

A fun day, so many amazing music acts, great food, good times. Too much was seen to be properly explained, so here are some stills:

100 meters from Yoyogi Park is Takeshita street. Both are a popular destination on Sundays.

I really don't get it - "Young People for Change"

Choreographed drumming and dancing: Taiko

A fake old man. He was funny!

I must have seen 200+ dogs, easily.

All of us are English teachers except one. CAN YOU GUESS?1?!?

Large phallic clock of doom

OK, so I get that a Hokkadio Festival means good dairy products, but really...

Dreams come true.

I also had one of these Chicken Filafels. IT'S GOOD ISN'T IT JORDAN

!!!

Even after stabbing me in the back with his gun, he was still pretty cute.

REAL BUTTER!

Awesome reggae band, Solar Lynch. I bought their cd.

Sweet kit!

Everything from Woody of Toy Story to Spike from Cowboy Bebop.

No thanks bro.

Pompadours are out of fashion? Nonsense!

Note the dragon tattoo on this guy's back - Definite Yakuza (Japanese gang-member)

Still busy.

In other news, I decided to axe CD of the week since a) not many people come here to read band reviews and b) it took time and I am lazy. Also skipped out on the live Japanese football game today, instead deciding to sit home in my underwear and watch NFL and just relax. I made the right decision.

I found the post office in a trek I made to the yet-unexplored regions of Tobu-Nerima, and also a "random stuff shop" that Dayn had told me about. I saw a Space Invaders coffee mug for $3, and in retrospect I don't know why I didn't buy it. There were also countless bits of anime paraphenilia and all that crazy nonsense. I'll take pics some time soon.

And, as suggested by my former band-mate Chris, here is a video tour of my apartment:


Be warrned that the wobbly camera-action may induce motion sickness.

Any other requests? I do listen, sometimes!

"When I scream, is it for machismo? Not intimdation no, or gender segregation, I just needed more from the words I sang but you can't understand.... According to you: A song should separate all the girls from the boys" - Polar Bear Club

"Squeedly-squeedly-squeedly-squeedly-meedly-meedly-meedly-meedly-meeeEEEEEE!!!!!" - Strongbad.