Thanks for Voting!

Was bored, climbed a tree

Thanks for voting in my useless poll. It looks like Bunt prevails as the ultimate blog, followed closely by AJ and I scissoring to our hearts' content. That was a slight reference to South Park, which I am watching full episodes of online at www.southparkstudios.com. If it works in Japan, it should work in Canada hopefully. Some really fine episodes recently. My favorite line so far from Go God Go: "Know this time-child; I shall smash your skull like a clam on my tummy!"

Yoyogi Park

It's pretty clear I want to be like these guys
To Japanese people, it's probably 'just another park.' I still don't really have a firm grasp of the culture or what their thoughts are on a park where ALL the kids hang out so as a foreigner, it was pretty amazing. My first thought was, 'This park is FILLED with hipsters.' But all Japanese youths are hipsters. So really, the park was just the coolest hangout ever. To make a Vancouver comparison, it had the 'come look at me' vibe of Kits Beach, the 'I'm cool and want to hang out here' aura of Third Beach , and the 'everybody who's anybody comes here' look of English Bay. But it was a park, so if people weren't tossing the frisbee, they were playing badminton. If they weren't in a drum circle, they are dancing in a makeshift rave. If they weren't Japanese, they were white. If they weren't skateboarding near the entrance, they were getting their hair cut on a tree stump. It was bonkers I tell you. And it goes down EVERY Sunday.

By the way, Golden Week starts today. It's a week of holidays crammed together so I don't have to work (or make money!). The weather looks really good this week so I have to figure out something fun to do with all this time off.

Two Words: Quebecois Cockblocker

Notable Quotables from this outrageous la douchebag:

1) It's Matthieu. But you're going to pronounce it wrong anyways so just call me "Mashew" like the Japanese do.
2) How old do I look?
3) "What's your favorite movie?:" You're actually using that line? (right in front of me and a girl I was asking standard questions too, note the language barrier)
4) I'm from Quebec.

I crammed onto my first train today. Factor in a delay due to an accident, and that it was probably the last train of the night, and you got yourself human Japanese sardines. You literally get PUSHED the fuck out of the car. Some girl got knocked to the ground upon exit and nobody cared! I tried to catch her like a hero but, ya know...

This post is about squat toilets and upset stomachs so be warned

Take your mind of this post...
So I was forced to used the squat toilet twice at work today. Add to that the fact that I probably ran through some bad gyozas last night, and you got yourself one Grumpy Gaijin. Does anyone really know how to use those things? I did some Googling and thought this page was funny: http://www.banterist.com/archivefiles/000348.html. Either way, I had to do this with my pants off.

1997 Hip Hop

Worked my first day today. Prreeeeeety easy job. The only difficult/strange/impossible situation was trying to teach teenage Japanese girls. They DO NOT look like they want to be there. They NEVER talk. I tried my darndest to make one girl read a sentence out loud. She didn't do it. Than then other girl barely read the next sentence. Then the first girl finally followed her example, but barely again. Good thing the class was only 30 minutes because otherwise I would have strangled myself.

The best thing about this job is that I can grow my beard out again!! My boss is cool!

Hanakin

The works
Yeah, so for $6 you can get this huge ramen bowl that you can customize to your liking. Toyo told me I should try it with full-on everything. So it just gets stacked with sprouts, lettuce, loads of GARLIC, some sort of glutinous substance, and some sliced bbq pork. I finished it with moderate pain.

Happy Birthday to Me

27

Things to do on my birthday:
1) Take that job* (x)
2) Make my birthday tacos* ( )
3) Play Mario Kart Wii all night* ( )
4) Sleep off the rest of this cold* ( )
5) Survive another middle of the night tremor* ( )

* denotes 'by myself'

Girls on Film

Someone famous?
As I have a cold, I'll keep this brief. Toyo brought me to a Duran Duran after party last night. Duran Duran made their appearance as they were paid to do so. I didn't get any free-flowing Dom P.

Better Use the Generator

Setting Sun in Land of the Rising Sun

I went for a bike ride today. See?

I set course to what I thought was west and began exploring the tiny streets of Japan without a care in the world. The sun was shining, the breeze was light, and I was just cruising. Then I got royally fucking lost. I phoned everyone I knew and only two people answered their phone. However, none were able to figure out where I was either. Then I found a police box. There, I got my bearings and realized I was southeast of my home, like way the fuck out southeast. I think it took me about 3 hours to find my way back. Various maps on the street helped show me where the train station was and I just followed the tracks until I recognized the neighbourhood. Of course, if you're in the middle of nowhere, not all maps will be big enough to show the station that you live near by. It was dark by the time I got back home.

Black Silk, White Cotton

SOS

For those of you who don't know, my friend Toyo whom I am staying with is the lead singer of a electronic industrial metal band called New Breed. We were driving to a show in Chiba on Saturday when the van starting blowing a lot of smoke from the exhaust. To be safe, we called a tow truck to take us the rest of the way. I rode in the van when it was ON the tow truck while learning the Japanese for "Holy Shit!" What the fuck?!" and "Bullshit!" from guitarist Tama. Bassist Tommy was riding in the cab with the tow truck driver.

The venue was K's Dream. The K stands for Kurt, as in Kurt Cobain. The way the Japanese pronounce it sounded like "Copa Cobana." The whole bar had a Nirvana theme with posters and other paraphernalia all over the place. The poster for the show looked liked this:

New Breed sound like this on stage:

And this in the van driving back home:


We went to an Izakaya place after the show and Tommy proceeded to make love to a pillow:

Therefore, in the ride home, he was naked and out like a light:



I had to get up the next morning to meet up with some Japanese traceurs in Yokohama. Definitely a nice bunch of guys to train with and I look forward to continuing my training with them.

But what really made my day was the jar of individually-wrapped KitKat's I bought from a vending machine. I was expecting a drink but this was better because I get to keep the jar.

And Mario Kart Wii is dope. And I just saw a show where they see what your dog would do if you fell down a simulated well. Some dogs went for help. Some threw a rope. Some walked around and some took a piss. Very cute.

Sakura

So I went to the Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden today. I KNOW! Me?! Gardens? Some of you may be aware that I can appreciate a good garden now and then. So, when it's sunny, you're unemployed, and you plan to attend a large cultural institution in Shinjuku, what's the harm? For $2 admission, I spent a good part of the day (1.5 hours) snapping photos and enjoying the weather. It was everything I hoped for and well worth it.

Continuation...

Dave (B): last photo's for you, of course.

Untitled

Curry Katsu is becoming a staple in the world of vending machine ordering.

So I went to the National Art Center of Tokyo today. I KNOW! Me?! Art? I told Sonia in the past that I wasn't too keen on art appreciation and I'm still not. However, when it's rainy, you're unemployed, and you happen to stumble onto a large cultural institution while wandering in Roppongi, what's the harm? For $10 admission, I took in the NACT Annual Show of Contemporary Art. It was everything I hoped for and well worth it. I accidentally exited the exhibition before seeing everything and attempted to re-enter. Though they said that there were no ins and outs, I just continued speaking in English (secret weapon) and went right back in there. I found out that I actually didn't miss that much: like 5 more photos that weren't worth the effort. Better luck next time, Polixeni Papapetrou. Props go to Hiroe Saeki. Of course, the building was nice and I was tempted to buy many things in the gift shop. But alas, I needed to save those pretty pennies (or "good-looking yens") for the Silent Hill arcade game.

What two qualities are needed to teach children?

It was kinda windy yesterday.

Simon: "Um...enthusiasm and...what's the word....'tolerance?'"
Interviewer: "Yes, energy and patience."
Simon: "Right. Of course. That's what I meant."

Had a good interview at a good school that has good pay and good hours. I hope I get this job. All in all, I left the interview in a good mood finally. It was sunny again, I wasn't cooped up in my room like a was for the last two days and my foot was getting better. I applied for my alien registration and found out that zucchinis can be $1.50 if you just shop around. Maybe I CAN cut it out here!

Lawson Station

We went bouldering a couple times on the weekend. Great fun.

Dude, you should have been there today. I was heading home from Shinjuku station on the Chuo line, tired from walking in the wind and rain after my interview. Lots of wind too. Like, turn your umbrella inside-out twice kinda wind. Anyway, the train stopped at Nakano station and everyone got off. I thought, "Sweet. The whole train to myself." Then after 10 minutes, I realized that the train had started off in the opposite direction and was heading BACK towards Shinjuku station. So before I knew it, I was back where I started.

Now I'm back home RICEing my foot, watching Japanese TV (as per previous post), reading up on my camera, and debating if I want to take the part-time work that I have been offered. You hear a lot of horror stories about certain companies and it makes me apprehensive.

20 mins on, 40 mins off

This TV personality currently has my undivided attention.

Still D.R.E.

I had a job interview yesterday with this company called RCS Corporation. They recruit teachers and dispatch them to elementary and junior high schools around Tokyo. I took the wrong train and was 15 mins late. I had left the house 1.5 hours ahead of schedule just in case. Today, I have an interview with International Education Services and tomorrow I have one with Kokusai Gaigo Center, a conversation school (I think).

Slightly jaded over trivial things, I've been in Tokyo for 4 days now and it's raining hard today. Maybe 5 minutes per day I get slightly excited about living in my own apartment, meeting other teachers or real Japanese people, and just having a daily routine. Just 5 minutes though. Things will change, of course. Oh yea, I paid $4 for a little zucchini last night!

I was walking all day in dress shoes yesterday and somehow injured my right foot. Can't lift my big toe without pain. I didn't ice it and it's kinda red along the big toe bone today. Regardless, I have more walking to do today so what's the use. I'm going to bring a change of shoes this time.

To sum up this initial post, my hosts Toyo and his mom have been really helpful as I stay at their house. I have a cell phone of my own and a digital camera to take photos with. After I get through the 200 page instruction booklet, be sure to see some great pics on this page.