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Monday, October 28, 2002
Man oh man am I exhausted. Charlie just went back today to the countryside, and I just finished classes. Here`s how the week went:
On Thursday, a gang of us foreign students went to visit Hakone, a peaceful and beautiful city located just past the outskirts of Tokyo. The first stop was the Kirin / Seagram alcohol factory. Oh OH! We got to tour the whole factory before reaching the spot otherwise known as the `Make Your Liver Happy Area.` Yes, a vast array of whiskey was waiting to be taken advantaged of right before our eyes. The whiskey ranged from the cheap college student status range to the more expensive investment banker range. Although they didn`t have all the liquor available, enough was there to make our stomachs warm at 11:00 in the morning. Next we stopped by a natural science musuem, and everybody had a pretty good time, many thanks to the earlier kirin factory stop. Then we arrived at our hotels and were able to do whatever we wanted, although everybody decided to relax in the public bathhouses, an experience one should go through before God tells you to slow down. The night was spent with strange liquid substances called b-e-e-r and v-o-d-k-a until the crack of dawn, when we had to get up to enjoy more culture.
On Friday night, I came back from the trip just in time to shower and rest a little before Charlie arrived. Oh wait, that`s what I wanted to do. I actually went drinking with the Koreans at a local bar ( DQ was there, but no drama this time ) before rushing two stops over to meet Charlie. We went back to my place so that I could shower up and left for the club around 12:00. Clubs in Japan don`t start to jump until this time anyway. We end up going to a club in Roppongi where half the people are dressed in costumes and all were pretty friendly. If only the music stayed with hip hop instead of reverting to trance and funk. Then Saturday night, Charlie and I met some other friends to visit a club in Shibuya called Harlem. The music was definitely up to par but what made the night interesting were the five Black Russians Charlie met and the seven Black Russians I bumped into. Man, 90% vodka, 10% Kahlua ( thanks for the introduction Tommy) sure do make one good looking couple. On the way home at 7 in the morn, Charlie and I fell asleep while on the train and missed our stop. It ended up coming around another half hour later. Thank god the tracks run in a cycle and don`t just go one way. Sunday night was spent recovering and later at an all you can eat ShabuShabu and Sukiyaki restaurant. I think I ate enough cows to start a farm that night and I crashed almost instantaneously when I got home. Overall, I had a blast with Charlie and I know the next time he comes, it`s gonna be even more crazy. All I can say is what did I tell you about Shibuya Charlie? =D
Tuesday, October 22, 2002
I finally moved into my new apartment this past weekend! It`s funny because in Japanese, my place is considered a mansion, but to an average American, it would be comparable to trying to convince someone that Whiskers is actually a fearless lion. The usual images conjured by the word mansion would be nowhere near the vicinity of the canvas that delineates the reality of my apartment size. But, just like Dorothy tells Toto how they aren`t in Kansas anymore, I have to remind myself that I am in a different country with different standards. So I guess in Japan, where everything is so compact and narrow, my apartment could be defined as a mansion. Even shrimps come in jumbo sizes too right? =D Nonetheless, after receiving most of my furniture, I can honestly say that I am satisfied with how my room has turned out. I dressed my stark naked mansion with just enough upholstery to make it seem classy, yet still hoochie. ;)
The only thing I have to wait for now is the refrigerator and my microwave and I`ll be able to cook myself some good home meals. Ah, just like how mom used to make it. Well, not quite, but it`s the nostalgic sentimentalism that counts right? Okay, better end this short and get some rest. Tomorrow about a 100 of us foreigners are going to the countryside to bask in the onsen (bathhouses) and no doubt get tow up from the flo up from different kinds of fermented sugar and yeast. (U kno what I mean) Sadly I caught a cold yesterday so I need to recover enough so that I can pace myself with the rest of em crazy Germans and Russians, not to mention those inciteful Koreans. Also, Charlie is coming to visit me all the way from Hiroshima. That`s like having somebody from Texas visit you in Cali. Man are we are going to party like tomorrow already passed. I`ll update more when I get the chance. Peace to all those reading this and make sure you look both ways before crossing the street.
Monday, October 14, 2002
****This is a continuation from the previous post****
DQ and I go outside and I`m walking her to the train station when she suddenly bursts into tears and won`t stop. So after a new river has formed, I try to reason with DQ, telling her that I am interested but it`s just way too early. This obviously doesn`t calm her down and I`m scared that Tokyo will soon be flooded so I try to comfort her but she pulls herself away and wants to be left alone. That`s when I tell her fine, but this is a little strange. How did me enjoying a drink escalate into me observing a new ocean being created? So I go off on my own when I feel a little tug from behind. It`s DQ. And she wants to talk. GOOD LO! So we end up talking about what just happened and I told her that I think she`s attractive but that I really don`t know her personality. And all this time it`s as if she didn`t understand the words from my mouth because she kept repeating You don`t like me. I can see this is going nowhere so I tell her to just let things take their course, and that we should go slow.
She then responds by telling me she`s also scared that I will be going to the States and she asks me if this is true. I tell her that I will probabaly return to the States in a year, but that`s in ONE year! She tells me that it will pass by fast, which is true relative to what you`re comparing it to. It is this moment that I start to realize that this girl wants to start something serious.. seriously long that is. To add to the fact that we just met, she`s already thinking about the future a year from now! So, I don`t know what else to do so I end up repeating what I said earlier - to take things slowly.
Maybe it was the alcohol, maybe it was a full moon, maybe it was pick- a- soulmate- before- the- hour- is- over- day, but I was taken back a little by all of this. DQ is really down to kick it with and I can see myself being her friend, but I think that`s about as far as I, or any guy in the near future for that matter, should go. WaTCH out Now!
Friday, October 11, 2002
Guess who I met the other night? It`s weird because I don`t remember who`s friend she was, but meeting her was definitely a big fat buzz kill. The first name was Lotsa, and the last name was Drama. Geeeeeeeeez. I went drinking at a local pub during happy hour (big surprise eh?) and after knocking back a few, two of my girl classmates starting asking a flurry of questions that evolved into me meeting Lotsa. (Ms. Drama if you`re nasty)
I brought one of my classmates I met last week ( Let`s call her DQ ) to the bar and everything was fine. DQ is one of those girls who acts really friendly around certain people. I`m sure you all know the type: clinging on to people`s arms while walking, being extra touchy during conversations, blah blah blah. Some people might classify this as being overly flirty while others consider this as just being friendly. I consider her to be the latter. So, once we walk into the bar together, my other friends start whispering amongst one another. Yes... two girls and a guy. You can be sure if it was all guys, this would not be happening as it did. (sorry girls) So then later on as the night progressed and the restraints to hold back boiling Curiosity weaned, two of the girls started talking to DQ about me. They were asking her if we were dating, if she was interested in me, yadayadayada. I guess DQ was taken aback and finally admitted to liking me before pleading my two friends to not tell me because she didn`t want me to know yet. And all this time I know the topic is about me and that there is this big supposed secret. After I leave to go to the bar to get some more drinks, I come back and one of my friends is talking to DQ while the other friend approaches me.
The friend tells me that DQ likes me a lot and then asks me if I feel the same way. I answer the obvious. I don`t know. I think she`s cute but I really don`t know her. We just met last week. Then the friend goes and starts talking to my other guy friend. The whispering continues for thirty minutes. (Thirty minutes too long in my opinion) So in the end, DQ has this really uncomfortable look on her face, and I don`t blame her because something that was supposed to be a secret ended up becoming common information. (Imagine having your private syphilis problem being hacky-sacked around the table. Ok, maybe it isn`t that extreme but it made DQ uncomfortable) So, I decide to end this all and told DQ we should go and have a talk outside. **** I can`t fit everything on this post, so I will continue this on the next post.****
Friday, October 04, 2002
Dayang, today I feel like crap... literally. Last night, I ended up going out to drink with some newly made friends from my class. It was Chris` birthday and on the way to the bar, I happened to bump into some other people from class and invited them. It was such a last minute plan, but people were down so it worked out better than planned. The night started at 5:00 because in Japan, happy hour is from 4 to 7. (go figure) I ended up drinking against an alcohol goddess, although I didn`t know this at the time. Her being a big korean should have made me think more carefully, but I merely brushed it off. To sum up the night at the bar, I ended up drinking waaaaaaaaay too much... and by this description, i mean to the point that compares to the time I got mild alcohol poisoning three years ago. The korean girl and I ended up leaving early and headed home with our stomachs full of liquor.
I don`t remember all the events that happened after I stepped off the subway, but I do remember some memorable moments. (or should i say unmemorable) I yacked right when I got home, slumped over the toilet and stayed there for a good two hours. My host dad returned to find me passed out next to the can and asked if I was okay. I responded and embarassingly moved to the living room when my sleeping bag was. I woke up early in the morning, around 4, and remembered the crucial piece of information to avoid hangovers- drink water to rehydrate the body. So I decided to drink about three cups of tea and thought that it would help me when I woke up later. WRONG. I ended up waking a mere 30 minutes later and yacked all the liquid out in the living room. I cleaned the mess up before my host dad would have the chance to discover this new development, and passed out until 9. Then as I was washing my face, I managed to yack yet again! The feeling of wanting to yack remained with me throughout the whole day, and is actually still lingering as I type this. I haven`t eaten anything today because I`m afriad I will yack it straight out. But I will have to eat eventually, and I`m planning on making that day tomorrow.
In less than an hour, there will be this welcome party that I`m going to. It`s going to suck though because food and drinks will be there for the looting, but those are the exact things I should be avoiding. SHoooT. Honestly I should just skip this party to avoid getting myself into any more situations, but I`m going for sure and I guess we`ll have to see what happens. =P
Tuesday, October 01, 2002
Last night I experienced my first typhoon... and it wasn`t quite what I`d thought it would be. I thought that perhaps nature would proclaim its magnifence through the embodiment of a tempest and wreak havoc, subjugating the fearful inhabitants of Japan.... but all it ended up being was a storm with gusty winds. =P Well, it wasn`t a strong typhoon and maybe if it was, I would have a different opinion of this matter, but it was certainly no worse than a rainy day in Cali when El Nino was around.
Today in japanese oral class, as an icebreaker, everybody had to give a five minute speech about whatever happened to be saturating in our minds when we got called on.... Man, I can`t believe I actually ended up free styling... It wasn`t the most eloquent speech or so profound that it would have won me a haiku accolade, but nonethess I managed to pull something out of nothing and finished my presentation! Good LO! Today also marked the first day I actually went to the library to study japanese for a lengthy period of time. I managed to look at some study guides the library had to offer and realized ( actually remembered ) how much there was I had yet to learn. It`s funny how the more your know, the more you discover how much you don`t know. To prevent this sad revelation, I suggest not studying at all. That way you wouldn`t know how much you don`t know, and this would then lead to happiness because everybody knows what ignorance is. If you don`t know what it is, you must REALLY be happy. =D
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