A Good Man is Hard to Find

If you know whats good for you, then you better know that a good man is hard to find. If you are not aware then please allow me to inform you that we live in a very dark twisted world. As America is waging war in six different nations, as international bankers are ruining the notion of nation states, as many societies find themselves in a condition of revolution or near revolution...the band plays on in Japan. No...the kids are not alright.

You know, Japan has given me many things. I can be thankful to Japan for the life I enjoy today. I can be honest, and human enough, to admit that. Will I bow down to Japan and pretend this is the greatest nation on the planet? Fuck no! Japan is no better than America. The same vile N.W.O. control grid bullshit which is so common in the U.S.A. is going on in Japan. Any fool who refuses to see and admit the truth is a fucking dumb ass. I could sit here and cite example after example of what is really going on in our modern world, but I spend enough time doing that else where on the web. Wake the fuck up and research this shit for yourself. I am not your fucking mother. 

Yet...there is hope for our twisted world. And it may come from the most unlikely of places...Tokyo Japan.

As hard as it may be to believe, there are a few shining lights in the center of greed, lust and social sickness that is Tokyo. I have met one of those shining lights.

His name is Paul.

By day is works damn hard in the Japanese corp. world. He deals with the systematic outdated business models which have left Japan in a state of motionless progress for the last 20 plus years. He out performs his co-workers daily. In fact, he dances circles around them. Yet, in the evening he does something totally different. He becomes the owner and head bar tender of Vega.The bar is really nice. It has got the prefect atmosphere. Plus you can remote connect to a huge play list songs via your iphone. I had a lot of fun digging though Vega`s play list.

It is Paul and his Vega bar which offers a glimmer of hope in the dark twisted city of Tokyo. Paul treated me in a way I am not used to. He actually treated me like a human. He was very warm and welcoming to me. An actual real human. He made me feel like I belong in Tokyo. It had been so damn long since I had met someone who was real and kind that I damn near cried right there at the bar. I held it back and played it cool(I teared up a bit on the train ride home. Yes I can admit it) His general nature is so rare in Tokyo. In my experience, most folks in Tokyo are stubborn assholes who would rather spit on you than look you in the eye. I am sure Paul would never do that to anyone unless they really deserved it.

I know a few decent folks in Tokyo. They are funny and I think they at least care somewhat about other people. For the most part this hand full of folks are alright. Although they do tend to have a chip on their shoulder due to misplaced pride and ego. Hell, I have a bit of a chip on my shoulder as well. After you live in Tokyo for a few years, the shit of the city gets into your soul and fucks your head up to a certain degree. It happens to a lot of people and I have not been spared.

Yet, after meeting Paul I can see that some people are able to retain a high amount of goodness in their heart. Paul is still real and kind to his fellow humans. Such a man gives me hope. A hope that there is still a chance for humans to turn things around. Maybe...just maybe we have not completely screwed ourselves.

Helping a Drunken Tokyo Fool

Recently, I did a post about a drunken bastard with his face beat in for doing something fucked up at a hostess bar(according to his drunken Japanese). While I did not have much mercy for him, there are others I do feel sorry for, enough so that from time to time I help them out a bit.

Case in point was my arrival at my home station of Aoi earlier tonight. The work day had been good enough. No major problems to report other than feeling like a man on an island; which I have experienced before with the company I work for. I was feeling in a odd mood on my train ride home. My recent wave of self-awareness has heightened my understanding of just about everything around me. I am usually very self-aware but recently it has gone into overdrive. I feel myself transforming so far beyond the stomach zombies which surround me daily that I am shocked by just how much most people miss around them.

Anyway, after fighting to step off the train at Aoi station I noticed this fella sitting on a bench in what appeared to be a drunken coma. Judging from his plain cheaply produced business attire, he was not a rich man by any means. I was pulled toward him as if something had taken control of my mind and body. I was not acting on my own accord. As I woke him up it was as if I was watching the actions of someone else from a first person perspective. I said to the man in Japanese,`Hay. You okay. You live in Aoi? Stop sleeping! Last train is coming.` When I touched this man he was suddenly filled with energy and sprung back to life. I could not tell if he was speaking to me in Japanese or if I was having one of those moments when I understood Japanese so well that it seemed like he was speaking in English(remember I am not the master of Japanese by no means). He said,`Aoi is not my home. Aoi is your home?` I pointed to the train arrive sign and said,`Go home okay. Your wife is waiting.` I don`t know how I knew he was married but he agreed that his wife must be missing him. I hold him to take the next train and I left. He tried to follow me but I had gotten on the elevator before he could catch up with me.

I did not feel in full control of myself until I had gotten to street level. As two local young Adachi gals stared at me, I lit a smoke and took a deep breath. I hope that damn fool is thankful I woke his ass up.  

Stiffing A Bar in Shibuya

Sometimes you end up doing fucked up shit due to suddenly being caught in a fucked up situation. Now, yall should know that there will be people who get really pissed off after reading this post. What I ended up doing at a bar in Shibuya one night is considered `not cool` by most people`s standards. Hell, it is not cool by my standards! I should have kicked my own ass for doing this, but sometimes you got to do things in order to keep from getting totally fucked over. Case in point is one night in Shibuya when I choose to hang out with a Shibuya Gyaru.

These ladies known as `Shibuya Garu`are not to be trusted. Anyone keen to the street culture in Tokyo knows this to be very true. Partying with a Shibuya Gyaru is like drinking with the devil; your soul is targeted for suffering from the first hello. These unique brand of J-gals are keen and rough. Usually such a lady would be interesting to me. The problem is Gyaru`s in Shibuya is that they usually have no morals. If they think they can get away with something, you can bet your bottom dollar these ladies will try to pull it off. Yet, I fucked up and partied with some of them.

Anyway, it all started when I got a call from my buddy Akio.. He wanted to party in Shibuya all night. Akio is a good friend of mine so of course I was all game. When I met him in Shibuya, he took me to an odd live house with a huge bouncer at the door. The damn bouncer was so fucking big and mean looking that he could easily eat a man whole. We got past the bouncer and paid the 2,000 yen cover charge. The cover charge ended up being an entrance fee to see some psychedelic bands play. Fair enough I thought. Akio disappeared for about 30 minutes. When he showed up again he had three Gyaru`s with him looking to drink and be crazy. One of them started buying drinks for everyone. She kept saying, `I buy drinks. Who wants to drink?` Hell, I thought if this chick is going to buy drinks all night I will let her. What I did not know was that this chick had an underhanded plan to get drunk all night and put the bill on everyone else.

She seemed alright at the live house. She was throwing money around like water. There were four of us and she must have bought five rounds. The bar was C.O.D. as to prevent any monkey business. I like C.O.D. service actually. It keeps the bar from tossing in hidden charges. Anyway, after the bands stopped playing one of the Gyaru`s passed out from drinking too much. It must have taken over an hour to finally get her up and out of there. Once the four of us finally left the live house, things started to get weird. Akio said that the ladies wanted to go a bar and drink some more. No problem for me because I was stuck in Shibuya until the trains started running again. Again the Gyaru said, `I buy drinks lets go.` We go to one of those over priced bars in Shibuya which has a DJ playing hard rock music. Damn gal started ordering round after round and I did not have time to say no. I downed so many shots of Tequila that I am surprised that I was even able to think straight. As the night wore on it became clear that this chick was waiting for someone to show up. That person ended up being her boyfriend. I am married so no biggie for me. The problem came when everyone bailed the same time she did. She had attracted about seven people at that bar and they all bailed when she did. This left me and Akio alone at the bar and the fucking bar tap. That damn devil women left us with the fucking bill! It was her plan all along. She hooked up her `friends` up at the live house only to set up the gaijin and his buddy later so her and all her friends could drink for free. I was so pissed off I wanted to kill that chick!

I had enough money to pay for myself but not for seven goddamn people! Lucky for me, Akio is a keen motherfucker. As soon as I told him we had been set up, he started to carry out a plan to get us out of the situation. Akio simply said, `be cool. wait a minute.` So I had a smoke and tried to play it cool. After five minutes I get a text from Akio which said,`don`t talk to anyone. Come downstairs.` I went down stairs but staff noticed. I saw Akio out of the corner of my eye. He was hiding around the side of the building. Yeah, Akio was planning for us to stiff the bar and get the hell out of there. The staff came down stairs and I told them I was coming back. I needed to make a phone call. They left and I bailed. I know it was fucked up to do that but it was more fucked up that bitch tried to trick us into paying the tap for seven fucking people. No way in hell was I going to pay the tap for seven people I had just met and did not really know.

So yeah, I stiffed a bar in Shibuya once because of some fucked up Shibuya Gyaru. Lesson learned I guess.

Don`t party with fucked up people and you will not have to do fucked up things in order to save your own ass.

So Drunk I Cannot Remember...This Shit Needs to Come to an End

Getting drunk is fun. I will never say that it is not. I have had plenty of good times, and a few bad times, getting wasted. I have endless tales of my drunken adventures I could share, if only I could remember exactly what happened. Yep, I tend to get so drunk that I have trouble remembering exactly what happened. It is a problem that needs to be dealt with. You see, I know a lot of people who get hammered on a regular basis. They will never admit it. Instead I am sure they would rather point the finger at me then face up to their own problem. It is damn easy to be a crazed drunker in Japan and get away with it. Heavy drinking is part of the culture. People get shit faced daily here. I am not the best person to give advice on drinking. I have drank myself stupid so many times that I cannot say to anyone, `You need to slow down.`

Lucky for me, I do not drink everyday. I don`t have that kind of issue with drinking. I do know a few folks you do drink everyday. That is their business and fine by me. What I am tired of doing is getting so damn drunk that I cannot remember most of what happened. I am usually able to remember everything until the point in which I either blackout or start to feel like I want to puke. After that point everything becomes fuzzy. I am simply tired of doing it. It guess binge drinking is a way to deal with the daily stress of living a very large urban area. The isolation can take its toll on me at times. I keep a lot of shit pinned up inside of me and it finally comes out though drinking or when something finally happens that pushes me over the edge. I am sure that the damn binge drinking is not a good way to deal with a mass amount of stress which has been bottled up for a while. I only end up drunk as a skunk and unable to function. Yeah, the stress gets released but I am doing more damage then good. So, I have two options: stop drinking all together or teach myself how to be a social drinker. Both sound like pretty good options to me so I have no problem making alcohol a much smaller part of my life.

It is all part of a larger process I am going though. There are things I desire to change about my life. Not putting up with people`s shit is one them and I am getting that handled currently. One of the other big things is binge drinking. It may be a normal thing here in Japan but I cannot do it anymore. It is not fun anymore. It fucks up my body and makes me a hard person to deal with. There are plenty of other things I could spend my money on than getting trashed. I am lucky I don`t do it everyday or I might be dead by now. At least once a week I have been getting shit faced beyond any acceptable level. It is going to end. I know it will make me a lot more healthy. It will also let me get inside my head easier. I would rather drink a nice cup or bottle of tea to relax than get drunk to the point of no return.

A Tokyo Life: Welcome to the World`s Largest Rat Race

The suns raises at 4:30 a.m. and already the city stirs. There is a man riding around the hood on a loud scooter dropping off the morning paper. A few gals and guys are rolling in from a long night of partying. Old men hobble along the street spitting their guts up while making their way to buy some cheap sake. In a few hours a sudden mind numbing sound makes your ears bleed. Your eyes open and are burned by an already punishing morning sunshine. You smack the alarm clock like a red headed step sister and reach for a pack of Lucky Strikes. Your day has begun.

After a cup of coffee and hacking up something nasty from your lungs it is time to shit shower and shave.The process is the same everyday. You rush to get though the daily personal hygiene ritual in order to have enough time to smoke another cancer stick, suck down another cup of coffee, and check your e-mail. With 20 minutes before you have to catch the train you throw on your suit like a coke fiend; leaving just enough time to fix your hair. You run your ass to the station and get on the train just before the doors coldly shut. The journey to work has begun.

You have to transfer three times to get to the hell hole called a job. The mass of merciless business men and crazed city dwellers push, punch, poke, grab, and cram onto the trains like a pack of starved cannibals fighting over virgin flesh. You are the virgin flesh offered up as a human sacrifice. They are the hungry masses foaming at the mouth. You must fight for your life or be eaten alive before you even get the change to sell your soul the waiting slave master.

You somehow arrive at work in one piece. Everyone is just as pissed off and on fire as you. All of your fellow slaves are hustling to prepare for another day of thankless service to the all power company. Big Brother is watching of course and he loves you dearly. Don`t fuck-up or you will have to be reeducated with a trip to the Hello Work office. As the work day progresses you feel as if you are one day closer to jumping in front of a train; then lunch break arrives. You run away from the place of your torment to the nearest restaurant that serves up food which would make the average person kill over. You eat with joyful glee and stare at the other customers with a cold glare.

When your slave master finally releases you from your daily habit of S&M bondage known as work, you dash to the nearest low down bar to drink until you cannot feel feelings anymore. You have developed the ability to drink and smoke enough poison to kill an African elephant during your time in Tokyo so far. The natives dare not try to out drink you for fear of death by alcohol poison. The waiter always looks at you with a hateful glare when you order the all you can drink option. They not making any money off of you tonight because you always drink enough to get 20 navy boys from Yokosuka drunk.. Somehow you make it out of the bar just in time to catch the last train home. The cannibals are almost as drunk as you hence not as hungry for your virgin flesh. 

When you arrive home you spend a good hour emptying your stomach of the poison which did not manage to infect your body. After which you pass out with you head resting on the toilet seat for a good 30 minutes. You finally make it to your bed when you are awoken by the sounds of a fight on the street; but don`t remember how you managed such a feat. You are at peace for now.  

Don`t Call It A Come Back!

Hello Japan! You motherfuckers! Yeah, that is right my ass is still here. I have been keeping my head low for a while. A lot of crazy ass things have went down. A hell of a lot of stress and general bullshit kept my attention away from The Ghost Letters Blog.. I have collected a few good tales during my absence; some are worth sharing and some are not.

Anyway, my ass is still in Tokyo going strong. Despite all the insanity, low moments, fighting, drinking and tears I have survived all that Tokyo has thrown at me. I have pretty much come to point of `Fuck most of shit people in this city try to pull on a daily basis` kind of mindset. People can be damn brutal selfish assholes in this city. I used to smile and try my best to put up with all the sociopath like behavior I deal with. Not any more! I really can`t put up with it anymore yall. If I am going to keep calling Tokyo home I have to draw a line in the sand. At this point when someone pulls that brutal selfish shit all I can do is let them go their own way. I don`t even have to be rude for someone to take a hint.  All I have to do is simply stop the good time with them as soon as they pull any shit with me. I tried it recently and it worked like a charm.

Well, besides dealing with sociopaths I also been doing a lot of drinking with many different people. It is good to feel people out from time to time. Folks lighten up a bit after a few drinks. I get to see what kind of person they really are. I have found that most gaijin in Tokyo are totally in a near constant state of stress. I can relate for sure. People do some pretty shitty things in order to purge their stress. Some of the stuff they do is understandable but others things are really unacceptable. Yet, I can`t life their lives for them so I say, `have at it you`re a big boy.` You know, it is like when you hang-out a few times and all of a sudden they do something so horn-dog that you can`t look at them the same way anymore. What happened to simply hanging out with friends? I can recall so many evenings in which I just wanted to hang-out and have a few beers. Sadly, what ends up happening is I get to watch someone hit on chicks they will never get and basically babysit their drunk overbearing ass.

Hell, not everyone is fucked-up and crazed in Tokyo. I have met some really good people here. I know some people I would trust with my life; a very short list might I add. I wish I had more good-hearted funny down to earth people around me. I like going out and having a damn good time but all the horn-dog shit is really a drag. I don`t mind people going out and looking for a gal to fuck. Getting laid is a very good thing indeed. I am married so I don`t really care about picking up chicks so much. I am happy with what I got at home.

Any damn way, my ass is back and blogging again. I am also going to start taking a more active role in the English speaking J-web again. I miss a few folks here on the web so I look forward to reconnecting with a few of yall. So until next time, have a cold one for me.

50 Yen Beer Is Worth All The Trouble

Some things just cannot be resisted. Even when you know it may turn out bad somethings are worth any potential problems. This is what I thought when I got an e-mail at work for an invite to go to a 50 yen beer bar. Yes that`s right; down in Gotanda there is a 50 yen beer at the back end of blowjob ally.

I would have never known about this down and dirty part of Gotanda if not for my drunken co-worker`s never ending quest to get hammered in the worst places in Tokyo. My co-worker`s share my love of getting drunk on the cheap. They know full well that no matter how fucked up the location; if the drinks are cheap I am game. So after a few rounds of exchanging e-mails between two different company branches, the night had been set.

It had been a long day of teaching and working closely with my Japanese counter-part doing sales. He is a great guy and all but his English skill is very low. Despite our languages differences, we communicate pretty well and find a way to make some money together. I also had to file a few detailed student reports. I was damn ready to get drunk.

When I meet up with my co-workers at Gotanda station, they are very eager to get good and plastered. Actually, they gave me a little shit for being the last one to show up. It is all in good fun because I dish out twice as much shit talk on a regular basis. Gotanda is not my regular stomping grounds so I was a little more mellow than usual.

To tell the truth, Gotanda is usually the turf of Alex the Brit. I met Alex a little over a year ago though work. and he have been drinking buddies ever since. He has gotten shitty drunk with me on many outings in the concrete jungle of Tokyo. I have been so wasted with this guy that there were a few times I wondered if we gonna be able to handle ourselves on the train.

Anyway, Alex lead the way as Damian(another co-worker) and myself followed. As we are walking down the street Damian takes a quick liking to the area, while I still was trying to feel the place out. It did not take long for Alex to make the infamous comment, `Oh lads! This bar in at the back end of blowjob alley. You can get a BJ around here for 3,000 yen.` At first I thought he was joking but soon enough I saw that he was dead serious. When we turned down the alley to get to the bar it was lined with just about every kind of sex business one can think of. It makes perfect sense for a 50 yen beer bar to be in the thick of such a seedy back street. Some over worked and under sexed salary man can get totally smashed for about 2,000 yen and then stagger out the bar and right into a BJ for 3,000 yen. For 5,000 yen said salary man can get drunk and buy himself a little action.

Anyway, I had zero interest in paying for sex of any kind. I wanted to get drunk for cheap. When we rolled up on this place there were two chicks from Kansi waiting for us. They were friends of Alex. Apparently, they live in the same apartment building as Alex. In usual Kansi style, they were relaxed, friendly, and lacking an uptight attitude. A nice change from the usual gal running around in Tokyo.

Once we got into this down and out bar, we were instructed to go to the third floor. I was a bit surprised the place actually had several floors instead of one massive hall of drunken fury. None the less, Alex was getting all excited about drinking 50 yen beer. The cheaper the beer the more excited he gets usually. So, we sit down and a young Japanese guy walks up asking how many drinks we wanted. At that time, we find out a few requirements. We had to order at least one small dish and could only order one beer at a time for each person. We were able to get away with not having to order something to eat for each person but the one beer per person a round was a set in stone policy. A `no two fist of glory` policy sucked but for 50 yen beer I did not complain. I order one small dish of baby soy beans and played ball. 

It seemed that Alex was interested and getting drunk and chatting up his two lady friends from his building. Fair enough I thought, Alex has been trying to enjoy life a bit more anyway. He is trying to get the most of living in Japan and life in general. Damian seemed to have a different agenda all together. He wanted to get drunk and get laid. He pulls this stunt way too often. Any women who looks at him he will size-up he chances of sleeping with her. He will also hit on just about any women. I actually find it kind of funny until I start to get drunk. Once I get drunk I want to pal around a bit. It can be a challenge to keep him focused on hanging-out while at the same time handle my drunken state. He is a cool dude despite his never ending raging hormones.

Anyway, as the night went on all of us got pretty drunk. Alex had a good time getting shit faced and talking to the Kansi chicks. Damien got kind of hammered himself yet failed in his efforts to pick-up any chicks. He did not work up the balls to actually put the moves on any gals that night. As for me, I was completely hammered. For some strange reason I was a bit of an angry drunk that evening. I did not go off or anything but I did feel a bit aggressive. I guess it came from a long day of worked combined with an argument I had with someone the night before. Kind of freaked me out actually. I kept my shit together but I felt as if I wanted to smack the dog shit out of someone the entire night.

Overall, it was a pretty good night. I got drunk with some buddies from work for damn cheap. The only thing was, I really do not remember how the hell I got home. While this is normal for me, waking-up completely confused is something which usually does not happen. Oh well until next time...

Awamori Shochu from Okinawa is the Devils Drink

I have never been one of those `sake expert` types. For me, a good drink is a good drink(if it is cheap it may become a great drink LOL). Despite my habit of trying to get drunk in the most inexpensive way possible, I have found an odd drink which is worth shelling out some extra yen. A few months back my Japanese sword dancing teacher took me out in Kita-Senju for drinking and introduced me to Awamori.

I am not big on drinking sake but this stuff is something different. This fire water from Okinawa will fuck you up good and proper. It reminds me of moonshine and tastes about the same. After my first drink I felt like I had just swallowed a million African fire ants. After the second drink I realized this stuff is a real man`s drink. The more I drank the more my sword teacher kept laughing and encouraging me to drink more.

He kept saying in Japanese, `Drink the Zanpa! Be a man! Awamori shochu is good for blue eye Samurai.` Yeah, blue eye Samurai is his nickname for me. After drinking a whole bottle of Awamori, the izakaya  manager finally politely informed us that it was time for our drunk loud asses to leave.  Well, the old man had not had enough. He takes me to a karaoke place for more drinking. Being a crazed drunk old man, as soon as we get settled into the karaoke he orders a damn bottle of Awamori and starts singing Japanese folk music! I am not big on Japanese folk music. I have always though it sounds like a dying cow begging to be shot in the head. Yet, the old man loves the music of old Japan.

We finish off half the bottle of Awamori in about 30 minutes. In that time span, he had already sang three songs and being a right proper drunk bastard. He drags me into the fun and I end up singing those damn folk songs with him. Get this picture in your head, an old Japanese guy with a greaser gaijin drunk off their asses singing(poorly) traditional Japanese folk music in a karaoke booth. It was like a scene right out of lost in translation. Hell, I don`t even remember exactly how I got home. I think his son, and my good buddy, Akio helped us to get back to our respected places of living.

After that night I have been hooked on Awamori. It gets you drunk as fuck and stupid as a ho in Texas. When I roll up into a bar and want to get retarded drunk I skip the beer and go right for the Awamori shots. It is a bad habit I know but at the regular price of around 360 yen  a pop I cannot resist. My love of Awamori has become so infamous among my Japanese friends that I was given a big ass bottle of it at our end of the year party!

So if you want to get a proper falling over drunk going on grab a bottle of Awamori!

I turned 30 and got Drunk

It had to happen soon or later. The God of Chaos has allowed me to age just a bit. It is official; as of January 5th 2010 I am 30 years of age. All my life it has been beat into my head that turning 30 is a big deal somehow. When you reach 30 you should be a `full grown adult.` I am suppose to be a `productive member of society` and all that jazz. Somehow by turning 30 I can`t mess around and do crazy shit just for the fuck of it anymore. I must be a mature person with a career and many responsibilities. Wait a minute...Fuck All That!

I turned 30 and got drunk off my ass. I was really in the mood to get drunk that day too. I had not had a drink in two whole days so my stomach was pissed and my liver a bit too happy. What the hell does turning 30 mean anyway? I don`t feel any different. It is not like I become a different person overnight. I like me just the way I am. Turning 30 may be a milestone, but I look at it differently from the way I was raised to  view the big 30. More or less, I view it as a time to reflect on where I have been and where I am going. Even so, I think it is a waste of time to dwell on it too long. Hell, I still have a shit load of living left to do.  So, in the spirit of reflection without harping on the past I will spend one blog post taking a look at where I am have been and where I am going.

WHERE HAVE I BEEN
  I have been to some low and high places so far. Hell, I was born dirt poor in West Virginia for Christ sake. Growing up in such a situation did give me a lot of unique experiences that most people miss out on. I have even thought about starting another blog just about my days in West Virginia.

I went to college which was a big surprise even for me. Despite, mass amounts of partying I ended up for a degree in journalism. Said degree did land me a lot of freelance work yet I just could never handle working on any paper as a full time writer. There are just too many assholes in the media biz.

I have done a fair amount of traveling but there are still a lot of places on my list to check out. I have been to a lot of places in America but there are still many international locations left to go. Lucky for me I am in a good position to travel around the world(living in Japan has its advantages).

I`m married to a Japanese gal! I never expected in a million years I would end up marring a chick from Japan. It has worked out pretty good so far. There are good days and bad days but overall it is a good deal.

I have had a damn good time overall so far. I have gotten into some wild crazy shit. Sometimes it was pretty shitty at the moment yet looking back at everything I was loving every second.


WHERE AM I GOING


The road ahead looks promising yet twisted as all get out. My current gig keeps things interesting professionally. Although, the more fucked up things get the more I ponder how much time and energy I really want to put into my current job. For now, I am still willing to give it my all.
 
I am still loving writing. I find myself writing more in one week than most people do in a year. I am getting a pretty good stock of shot stories and such on my PC desktop. It might be time to start looking at the option of getting a collection published. My online novel is ready to come back to live again. Yall be on the look out for some new editions of The Life and Times of Johnny Blade to be available for your reading pleasure soon. 

Blogging is still a passion of mine. I keep doing the whole blogging thing because it is fun. My main blog, which you are reading right now, is my creative outlet to share my strange life with the rest of the world. Some people love it and some people hate it. I have learned that the internet is full of more assholes then in real life. It used to get on my nerves but a tthis point I realize folks on the internet will talk shit no matter what you write.

I might want to spawn another life into this fucked up world in the near future. The gal and I have talked about it a few times. Trying my hand at fatherhood might just be the greatest thing I could ever do. Having a kid of some real heavy shit so I will just have to see when the timing is right.

My life could still go in about a million different directions. For now, I am just trying to enjoy the ride and do what brings me happiness.

Cheap Ass 7-11 Beer Gets You Drunk!

For all of you who currently live in Japan, I know you have seen it. That vile looking six pack of beer costing only 687 yen at the 7-11. Your better judgment guides you directly away from anything with a 7-11 logo on it calling itself `The Brew.` You take one look at it and say, `Fuck that I got standards.` Well fuck you too! Some of us need to drink for effect not taste or pride. In such situations our good friends at 7-11 have teamed up with Suntory to offer up the Japanese version of Redneck beer called `The Brew.`

Yes my friends, the brew is cheap as shit and will get you drunk. Throw taste completely out the window. Also, give up your pride when slapping a six pack of this stuff in front of the young gal working at your local 7-11. Trust me, you are not the first over worked and underpaid gaijin to buy this shit. I have even seem a few Japanese dudes go for it a few times. You know, in these hard economic times cheap beer is good for the soul.

Actually, I am no stranger to cheap beer. Back in the mountains of West Virginia we were known to get drunk on Natural Light very often. We made no bones about our intentions when picking up a case of `Natties.` Natural Light is true Redneck beer and 7-11`s The Brew matches it on all levels:

5% alcohol
Watered down flavor
Taste like the crap on the floor of the brewery
Gets you drunk!


When you want to get drunk and do not care about the quality of the beer; 7-11 beer is for you!

On My Own In Tokyo

For the past several weeks I have been on my own here in Tokyo. The little lady decided she wanted to get the hell out of Tokyo for a while. Tokyo is a real intense experience for her. Sometimes this city really kicks her ass causing her to need a break. So while she has been hiding out in her home town, I have been holding the fort down here in Tokyo.

I have been keeping our place in mostly decent shape. I need do a full cleaning from top to bottom before she comes back next week. You know, just come basic maintenance. There are a few small messes I have been overlooking. I account this to the natural laziness of the male condition. Although, I have been handling the laundry pretty good. I have a new found appreciation for her skill at using a clothes iron. I am straighten out my dress shirts well enough, but my suit pants are a different matter all together. I cannot get the crease right in my suit pants. So in order to maintain decent looking formal pants I have been hanging them up preventing from from developing wrinkles. I may have to still give in and take a few of them to dry cleaners.

Cooking really has not been a problem. I am a decent cook. I have been eating good almost every night. Actually, I had some pretty good meals recently because I can cook exactly what I want. Eating Japanese food every damn night kind of gets to me after a while.

While I have been completely on my own I have been drinking a bit more. I guess it is just a way to pass the time after work. I noticed it was getting a little out of hand so I slacked off the past few days. It is no fun going to work feeling like shit and hung over too many days in a row.


Any damn way, I am up real early today. I had a little trouble sleeping and only got in a few hours. Coffee and Heavy Metal is my wake up call this morning. I might get in a bowl of cereal a little later.

The gal is expected to arrive back in Tokyo Monday or Tuesday of next week. I miss her. It would be good see her again.

Cheese Flyes

From time to time I am sure every good man dives head first into a drinking binge. Sometimes it take a while for all the stress and anger to build up to the boiling point; yet it always does. Instead of going ape shit crazy, most guys simple hit the bars for a few days to blow off steam. This is what I have been going the past several days.

It all started Monday when it became my mission to drink the stress away. I met up with Jordan from Chiri mo tsumoreba. We hung out in Shibuya at a 300 yen boor bar on center gai. We got a pretty good beer buzz going before wondering around the local area.

While at the 300 yen beer bar I noticed something on the menu which is completely new to me. `Cheese Flyes` seems to be the house special. I know I should not give the Japanese too much crap for their English skill; yet sometimes it is too funny not to mention. They were trying to spell `Cheese Fries` although they spelled it according to the Japanese ascent so they wrote `Cheese Flyes.` Such misadventures in English provide cheap laughs when drunk.

Shiso Pepsi: Has Pepsi Finally Scored a Hit?

I have been waiting for several weeks for the new pepsi drink to hit the shelves. Unlike in the states, Pepsi gets creative with their drink flavors here in Japan. This year pepsi has decided to combine Shiso together with their classic pepsi blend. In the past, a lot of folks have despised pepsi`s ventures in cola experimentation. Even this year`s offering is getting some heat.

As for me, I actually kind of like Shiso pepsi. Hell, when I am hanging on the streets of Tokyo I usually go for two kinds of drinks; beer or soda. Well, it is not always the best decision to grab a beer. They say in Tokyo, `Remember T&P(time and place).` So, when I cannot have a beer I go for a soda. When the new pepsi showed up at my local quick stop I had to give it a go.

Well, how does my no good southern taste buds take to Shiso Pepsi? I actually found Shiso pepsi to be pretty good. My taste buds must be as adventurous as my general nature. It reminds me of an odd Mountain Dew kind of taste. It has a sweetness to it yet the after taste is surprising. The first time I drank it I ended up having a second round. Although, after a few days of Shiso pepsi being my soda of choice I am starting to have trouble getting through an entire bottle.

I guess Shiso pepsi is another temporary cheap trill to get the summer started off on a lighter note. I will end up having at least a few more bottles of the stuff before it is pulled from the shelves.

By the way, it is a good drink to have with Ramen. Drink it with your next bowl of Raman and leave a comment telling me what you think. Also, please feel free to offer your overall opinion about this odd offering from Pepsi.

Eki Beer

Slowly my habits have changed since moving to Tokyo. I find myself doing things which I have never had the habit of doing before. Case in point is the after work Eki beer. I know that some people would make a big fuss about drinking a beer on the train after work. I don`t understand why some people get upset about it; but they do all the same. Anyway, usually I grab a tall boy from the local 7-11 on my way home. It is easy for me as well as convenient. The train ride from Nerima to Bukudo is lonely as not so many people are using the local train when I get off work. So, I can get a whole car to myself to relax and a tall cold one.

I have been doing the `Eki beer` thing for several months now. It is kind of like an after work tradition for me. I really do not feel like I have gotten off work until cold beer passes across my lips. Well, after a while all traditions must be modified just to keep things fresh. So, recently i have had more interaction with instructors and management. This leads to many more chances to go out and get hammered. Sadly, getting totally smashed everyday after work really wears me down. A solution to this is the Eki beer at the station. Recently, when I have a partner for the day we usually end up have an Eki beer after work. When we arrive at bukudo we hang out for a bit at the station and finish off our beers. While this is fun nothing beats buying a few cans of beer and slamming then down at front of the JR Yamanote central entrance. I have caught several good buzz right there at the JR Yamanote gate.

So, remember kids if you really want to relax after work grab yourself cheap beer from the 7-11, find a good seat on the train, and slam down a cold one. Even better plan a meet up with a drinking buddy for a few rounds at the station. A change of pace is good for everyone.

J-Blog of The Week #7 Good Beer and Country Boys

Last week there was no j-blog of the week. Sorry for that but I have been caught up in a few things. Well,this week I am going back to my roots; sort of. As many of us know, there is an endless amount of blogs about Japan. Almost every topic and situation is covered on the English speaking j-web. From maid cafes to bentos, the English speaking j-web has it all.

I have found a great blog ran by two southern boys from Kentucky. Good Beer and Country Boys is this week`s J-blog of the week.

I love a good beer but these boys might love it more than me. They travel around Japan looking for the best beer. It is a hobby for sure and one hell of a way to spend your free time. Hell, a lot of people in Japan spend their free time getting tanked so a blog about it seems natural. Even more natural is two southern boys in Japan having a blog about drinking. Some thing are just meant to be together.

Anyway these guys know their beer in Japan. One might think that they are keen on drinking in Japan. I for one cannot blame them. Japan does have a damn good selection of beer from all over the world. These guys even introduced me to Yebisu Silk. Even though they might not be a fan of Yebisu I find that most of their beer is not all the bad.

Actually, they are so serious about beer that they will turn down a down a six pack of Seiyu special. When I have had a tough day at work I do not care about taste or quality; it is the effect I am after. Although, I do see their point. There is no substitute for a fine ice cold ale.

I know there are many `beer` lovers in Japan. Country boys are the experts concerning beer. So, unless my logic is wrong; people who live in Japan and love beer must also love Good Beer and Country Boys blog.

The Local Hang-Out

As I will be traveling around Tokyo at least once a week visiting different branches, I have decided that I must find a good local hang-out in each area. I have decided to do this for two important reasons: 1) I need a place to throw down a few rounds after a long day. 2) I must gather information about the instructor to get to know them better. So, I can kill two birds with one stone. Knowing a good place to relax after work, I can have a few beers while `feeling out` the instructor.

The challenge with this idea is trying to find the time to search out a good drinking spot. I could just go to the area on an off day and scope out a good place. This way I would appear to be knowledgeable about the area thus earning me some quick trust points with the instructor. The problem with scoping out a spot on an off day is that it would be taking away from my off time. The other option I have is arriving in the area very early, on the day I am to visit the branch, and finger a decent spot. Well, showing up presents an issue of timing. For most of the branches I will be showing at a time when all the bars and cool places will be closed to the public. I can walk around and see the outside of all the different hang-out spots, but I will have no idea what it is actually like.

My third option is to ask the if they know of a good place. The advantage of doing this is employee empowerment. They will feel like they are leading me. You know, `I showed the boss whats up` kind of thing. Hell, the instructor in the area should know better than me concerning a good place to have a few beers. If they can show me a good place that is a sign that they actually spend time in the area for other than working. It is good that instructors out into branch area. It is a easy way to get our name out into the community. Maybe some of the locals might think, `Look! Its those cool teachers from ----. I bet they give interesting lessons. Maybe we should go and sign up.` As long as the instructors are not raising too much hell having them out in the community is a big plus.

In the end I will most likely end up doing a combo of my three options. Some areas you only have to walk down the street and take your pick of the places to drink; while others take a bit of gum shoe work to find a decent spot. Still, I am sure I will go to an area in which only a person who has hung out there would know of the best hang-out spots. Anyway it is just a minor, yet important detail, that is all part of the fun of my job.

Warning: Down Time

Recently, I have been trying to have a little down time. You know, not doing much of anything except relaxing at home. Currently, I an on the tail end of a transition in my daily work schedule. I have been enduring tight all day meetings, along with, making sure everyone is to to speed with everyone else. I have backed off the independent teacher stuff for a while. I cannot balance my duties at work with trying to teach students on the side. Besides, my day job is gonna fill my days pretty well; leaving me little time for any side work.

Anyway, I have somehow been able to squeeze out some much needed down time from my schedule. I need these few days to get my head clear and focus myself for what will prove to be a very busy March. I will start traveling around the Tokyo area to manage several different branches under my responsibility; starting from March. A lot of work has already went into getting the system set up, and we are pretty much ready to lock and load. I do expect a few tough spots during March but six months from now the area manager system should be running like a well oiled machine.

Everyone is focusing on a different part of branch operation they want to improve. For me, I am going to put a huge focus on improving professional appearance, increase sales by increasing the variety of lessons offered, developing a closer bond along teachers, involve teachers more in the daily operation of their base branch, etc... After looking at what I am up against I feel that I get at lease get some improvement out of all parts of branch operation I want.

But anyway...enough of that work stuff. I am getting tanked! Oh yeah, instead of running around Tokyo looking for something to get into, I am relaxing at home getting wasted on big bottles of Kirin Beer classic. I have had little desire to venture out into the depths of the city as of late. I know exactly what is out there. As of late, I just have not had much of a desire to jump head first into the madness of Tokyo. Maybe this is good for me due to all the stuff I been working on recently. Staying out of trouble has it advantage.

SO, how many of you out there like to get tanked at home as a way of letting off steam? What is your favorite drink to get smashed on at home?