Let the Madness Begin

I’m about to go to try to sleep. I have to be on a train at 5:45 for my 7:05 flight. I know that’s cutting it close, but I have no choice. I’ll just be sweaty when I get on the plane from all the running I will have to do. But then I will be in Tokyo! As Ozzy would say, LET THE MADNESS BEGIN!

I’ve been studying hard all day because I want to impress the coworkers. Stupid I know. But still it would be a nice feeling to be the Japanese Consultant lol. We’ll see. I’m taking my laptop so hopefully I will still be able to post but I actually have no clue. I told coworker I would text her during the break, and she quickly said no emailing her phone is better. So I said I will email her in all Japanese so that’s my Japanese project to have done before the new years. Yeah I could say My name is…. I’m happy.. but I want it to be good lol.

Random Japanese Observation: Almost every TV show  in Japan has a “Reaction Cam” in the corner of the screen. So if a celebrity is on, there is constantly a little box showing her/his reaction to what is going on.  I’m not sure how important it is or the actual purpose of it, but I don’t mind it. I do find myself watching it occasionally lol.  Here’s an example;

Alright to much talk about that already. Apartment clean. Clothes clean. Bags packed. Let’s blow the popsicle stand. Goodbye Home, Hello Tokyo. For 6 days lol. Later!

Music of the Day is Andrew W.K. ” We Want Fun” and we wanna get WAAAAAASSSTTTEEED!

New Phone!

So today me and coworker went to get me a new phone. It’s sweet. We went to Softbank, which has the funniest commercials of all time.

 

It’s so Japanese its awesome lol.  So anyways, with my coworker as my translator it was easy, but it still took about an hour. The base plan is pretty cheap, around 20$ a month, but the add-ons add up quickly lol. I wanted to have extra internet time, insurance, and text messaging. So total it will be about 35-40 bucks a month. It’s called the WhitePlan, and it’s taking over Japan supposively.  But anyways the best part is the weird things they give you. I recieved a pillow, a random prize drawing which I’m not sure what I actually won, candy, and cleaning products! Its so awesomely random that it rules. But the phone is pretty sweet. I’m still trying to figure out all the features. Pictures are below.

UPDATE: Ok i figured out more lol. One cool thing is the brightness level is decided by the ambient lighting. So at night the back light and key lights are bright, but during the day they aren’t on. The Screen is clear as hell. I figured out to watch a movie or tv, the antenna should be up lol. Also you can use the internet better while the “double switched” feature is on. Alright more playing around with it when I should be getting ready for Tokyo….

               

Today before work, I had another Japanese lesson. This time my teacher was much more active. Instead of being in class room, we walked around Fukuoka and she would  randomly say ok….. ask that person where the post office is. It was very very stressful, but I definitly learned a lot of useful sayings. Sometimes she would point to the HOTTEST of people too and I would be like well…. um…… she would then say GO DO IT! It was crazy. One time I said wow sensei she was cute. She instantly told me to tell her. I of course rejected the idea but she persisted and I did it lol. A very awkward conversation followed.

Me : Anata wa kawaii  ( You are Cute)

Her: (Surprised) Arigato ( Thank You)

Awkward pause…..

Awkward pause…..

Me: Mata Ne! ( Seeyou!)

Her: Ja Ne! ( Seeya)

It was awkward city lol…

Music of the Day is something I might be called a little Brokeback Mountain for, but i love this song ( T.V. show not bad either but I haven’t seen it in a while now.) I know any sense of musical dignity I might of had is now gone, but this song is catchy! Enjoy. Hannah Montana with ” If We Were a Movie”

Let me tell you why I suck

So today I wake up, check my email and realize…. FUCK I totally forgot my Japanese Lesson was this morning. In my head it was tommorrow. Her email back was soooo nice too it made me feel even worse. She didn’t care and just wanted to know if I was ok. I will totally pay her anyway. I feel so bad. I suck.

So only one more day till Tokyo! I’m so pumped. I should get my phone tommorrow as well, but I’ve been told that before. Just got paid as well. All in cash since no bank acct, yet. My wallets fat. I have no real plans on what we are going to do (me and the other teachers). I just want to make sure I see Hachiko for sure. I read that story like 2 years ago and I totally knew I wanted to see the statue. The true story is that a dog met his owner at Shibuya station everyday. Even after his owner died, he still would come to the station and wait. He did so for 10 years untill his own death. I’m not really a dog person, but that story is just cool.

On a downer note, I broke my Nintendo DS somehow. I have no clue how, but water got on it and now it won’t turn on. I don’t even play it that much, but I JUST ordered a Kanji dictionary for it and of course now it will be useless unless I go to the endless treasure trove that is Don Quixote’s and get new one…. sounds like a plan.

Music of the Day – Inflames with “Evil in Closet” from the album with the best title ever, ” Soundtrack to your Escape” Cool Lyrics too.  \m/

Christmas is Over..

Well Christmas is over here in Japan. First Christmas I had to work. First Christmas I didn’t get a lot of presents. First Christmas it didn’t feel like Christmas. To be honest, I’m not a real gung-ho Christmas guy and it didn’t really feel like it today at all. It’s also just so warm here it doesn’t feel like it. The worst part was ALL my students, of course just trying to be nice, asking me about if I am missing Christmas lol. But it’s cool. At least for New Years I’ll be in a party atmosphere in Tokyo.

So today me and the coworker spend a lot of time together. There is just so many mixed signals. But I’m looking for any signs of interest, so it’s probably me just creating something in my own head. According to this article, men overestimate women’s interest and I am sure that is what I am doing. I just don’t know the way to procede really. In America, I would make my move and deal with the consequences. Here I am nervous about fucking something up at work. So I am left to doing nothing. That’s worse than being rejected.

 

I’ll stop being a whiny bitch now…..

 Only two more days of work! Going to study Japanese hard untill I go to Tokyo. On Wenesday my Japanese teacher told me we are going to various places and she will listen to what I say and correct me when I fuck up. I am nervous but no better way to learn I guess. Maybe it will allow me to get over my feeling of insane stupidity when people at stores asking questions I can’t understand. Alright I’m out for now.

Took some Christmas Lights Pics tonite… Check them out on my Flicker…

Music of the day is this awesome song I just found…Olivia Lufkin – “A Little Pain”

Mrerys X-ma Everyone

Don Quixote is the best…

So I went to Don’s again since I saw a big thing detergent there for like 15 bucks the first time I was there. I have been using what the last guy had, but I hate how it was unscented lol. I like my clothes to smell good. I want to be this bear.

                                

But anyways, so anyways I find the detergent, but then this store like sucks into buying a million other things. I spent 50 bucks QUICK. I would of spent more, but I was scared of how much I could carry in my backpack and bad ass bike basket. Mostly food I really wanted, but I got a USB controller for my computer, a big mug for my nightcaps, 10 cokes since they only cost a dollar, and other various food items I may or may not of needed. I was SOOO tempted by the electronics section but I resisted. Also oddly enough as I was looking through DS games, I arrived at the porn section. There are no covers or anything on the magazines, videos, or posters. It is just flat out naked Japanese girls. While I am of the age now where I’m satisfied but just catching a quick 20 to 25 minute glance, but when I was a kid I would of been in heaven. It’s crazy. But this store is really like Walmart except its compacted into a space that is 1/3rd the size. And it has way more random stuff. I also saw a pillow that was just two boobs, complete with little nipple protrusions hanging from the ceiling. Almost was tempted by that for the comedy, but it was 10 bucks. But the moral of this story is the store is awesome but I need to limit my Don Quixote visits to once a month, so I don’t go broke.

I was also looking for a present for my two coworkers, but could not find anything I was happy with. I know a normal person would of just gotten chocolate or something and been done with it, but I need something a little better than that. A little stuffed santa or something would of been perfect but they only had big ass ones for $20 bucks each. They had santa costumes for 10 bucks but no stuffed animals that were less than $20. Ugh. But as soon as my clothes are done and I hang them to dry, I’ll be going back out to find the perfect gift. ToysR Us probably, but well see. Also I still have to go to 7-11 to pay my bill… Alright thats it.

That was a rambly post I know, but you can handle it.

Music of the Day…… I found this last night…Mika Nakashima – “Seppun” The most INSANE video you will watch all day. Song is ok, but I’m telling you this video is as crazy as it gets. Her eyes are also insane..insanely seductive haha bye

Japanese Regis = Solid

Got back form my lesson in Fukuoka and turned on the TV. To my surprise, there was Who Wants to be a Millionaire? on. Except here it’s called Super Millionaire. The host, Norio Minorikawa is all business, and he does look oddly like what a Japanese Regis Philbin would look like.

The Final Answer routine is the same, but their are a few differences. First the top prize is only 10,000,000 yen which is about $87,573.34. So the title of the show is a little misleading…. Also, the phone a friend has morphed from call in for one person for help, into calling four crazy people in a room that can pretty much help at any time. After some research I found out it is against Japanese law to give one game show contestant more that 20,000,000 yen so those four people are needed to split up the top prize money to make it legal. Weird. Also when a contestant says final answer, the host rips up the garanteed money check they won’t be getting. So harsh. The US version tries to hold onto that ” Is she right?????” moment out as long as possible, but in Japan its is easily triple that. Ads even come up on the sides of the screen as you wait to find out if she was correct or not. It’s funny how long they hold this out.  And then occasionally even after this insane wait… they cut to commercial. Observe.

My Japanese teacher asked me after about 10 minutes, “So you haven’t met a girl have you?” I was a little surprised by the question, and I told her no not really. She goes “I can tell you are studying Japanese too much!” It made me LOL. But she’s probably right.

Music of the Day – Yui again – Rolling Star. Her Voice is soothing or something. It’s good.

Another Day Another Dollar

Got paid today for the first time. Got to admit it looked pretty nice. Not that I have a bank account yet, but I was promised I would have a phone before next Friday.  I really want to have it before I go to Tokyo for the New Year just in case I get lost or something lol.

The most satisfying thing about studying Japanese as hard as I do is when Japanese conversations go on around you, you recognize more and more words. It’s like that Eureka!moments that make it worth it. Even though I’m probably .03%(repeating of course) completed my learning, it’s nice to feel like your actually learning something. Especially since I’m such a crazy person about it. Some people are OCD about clean hands, I just can’t throw away any mail until I write all the hiragana and katakana words out. I stop a million times on my way to work becuase I want to read every sign, which has led me to sometimes looking at the ground if I’m in a hurry. I can’t leave my TV on at night becuase if I hear a word I don’t know that I think I should, I have to check my dictionary. I realize I sound like a bitch at this point and it’s a problem I am making myself. I just want to learn the language so bad. I don’t do many things in my life half-way, and this is just another in a long list of dedications, Guitar, Cooking, the Band, Hockey, Getting to Japan, and now Japanese. I’ve been successful in all the rest, so I WILL be successful at this.  ‘

Side note if you want to check out my old bands songs….Go Here…

Alright tommorrow is Japanese Lessons in Fukuoka, paying my bills for the first time in a 7/11, and who knows what else. Later.

Music of the Day is “Guilty as Charged” by a band named Fallen. The guitar player? Me.

Click ME!

Nice Old Lady

So like the stupid gaijin I am, I was the only person in the world that didn’t have an umbrella when it was raining. So at a crosswalk, an old lady sort of pushed her arm into me. I took it as an accident and ignored it. She did it again so I said what?? She wanted me to hold the umbrella. Like all elderly people here, she was literally like 3 feet tall ( I think they shrink) so I held it over the both of us for the 5 minutes it took us to walk across the street. She never once looked at me but it was a very very nice gesture. The rest of my non- umbrella having walk home didn’t seem that wet.

I’ll write a post tonite but I got to get ready for work. Stupid early day Saturday. Blows.

Music Selection Gackt – Last Song. Another Sad one but sweet video.

Samui!

 It’s not that cold people. Everyone here is wrapped up like its 20 below. It’s amazing how comfortable a winter this is for me, and I’m not even from that cold of a place (maryland,usa) I wonder if that happens in every culture, the calibration of what is cold and what is hot in each individual is based on their own locations extremes? I think my head just exploded thinking about it.

Funny thing today. In class I had a question about who do you live with? To be funny, I said I live with Mika Nakashima. He laughed and I said ok your turn. His response, i live with Jodie Foster. LOL. I mean she’s ok… but a little old for a couple of early 2o’s guys lol. It was just surprising to me. There are plenty of better American stars..kruek…portman…but I guess Jodie is ok lol.

In my kids class today the craziest thing happened. We were flipping coins and learning about heads and tails. So when we first started, tails came TWENTY times in a row before heads was landed. Crazy.

Ian Malcom ur thoughts?

             

      “The odds of that happening are .0000009%.”

Order of importance in Jurassic Park: 1. Ian Malcom, 2. Dinosaurs, 3. Dr. Grant

I’m tired so time for some music….Kamelot with ” Ghost Opera” Rock Out. Later.