I am setting in the confides of a little box at an internet cafe in Shibuya. This is first time to send some time at one of these places. It has proven to a most excellent place to get a little sleep, relax, and nurse a hangover. I have pretty much everything I need to slow down for a bit. I can listen to music, surf the net, have a bite to eat, and take a little nap. The reason I am hiding out in this odd little hole is because I have been in Shibuya all night and half of today.
Thursday evening I met up with my co-worker Hamed. This guys from India and has a most interesting character. Really cool guy for sure but he still has not been out and about in Tokyo after almost of year of living in the city. From what I can gather he has been holding up in a love nest with a little Japanese gal. He is still on the first year of marriage. Well, our little venture was a first for Hamed to wonder about in Shibuya. I decided to show him around the area.
The first stop on our little gonzo adventure was a head shop down a back street. I got two packs of spice and suggest that Hamed do the same. Hamed was a little surprise that we were able to get a hold of some kind of `legal` drug in Tokyo. He did have his doubts even though he did not express it. Every time I go to this head shop I an amazing by now low key the shop keeps itself. Not even head shops in the States are this low key. The damn back street looks like the kind of spot you beat somebody up in or sell coke out of. All the place needs is a back door to a girl bar and it would be like something out of a gangster movie!
Well, after buying some spice we went to a coffee across from 109 to prepare for smoking. We did not brother buying a cup of coffee as it was not part of our agenda. Smoking is allowed on the third floor. I had Hamed take a seat and chill while I made a trip to the bathroom. The process of rolling spice is something I have only recently learned. You must mix the stuff with tobacco. It takes the edge off and helps to cover the smell. After rolling it up I left with Hamed and ended up in a out of the way spot in between two buildings. It was easy smoking and in short order we had the stuff smoked up. Hamed enjoyed the buzz as he has not been high in a long time.
Until around 11:30 we went from bar to bar getting drunk and have some cheap laughs. We ventured to the Hobglobbin, Hub, Gaspanic and some random japanese drinking bar. It has been a while since I drank so much beer. By the time Hamed left I was feeling pretty drunk. So, I decided to spent the night in Shibuya just for the hell of it. I went back to the hub and drank some more beer. I started up a good conversation with some guy from Germany. He was funny and kept me focued and not passing out like a fool. We drank and talked until the staff tossed us out at closing time.
After I parted ways with my drunk German friend I was really out of my wits. I wondered around Shibuya and ended up chilling in front of HMV. I got real relaxed and passed out. I must have been asleep for about an hour when a cop woke me up and told me to move along. No problem for me because I hate sleeping outside on the street. I staggered to an internet cafe and slept there for about six hours.
I left the internet cafe at around 9:00 am. I had a splitting headache and felt kind of confused. I wondered around Shibuya trying to wake up and get my head right. I hung out at a coffee shop for a while drinking coffee and smoking cigs. The morning in Shibuya was actually not bad at all. It was calm and not so many people. I saw no real point in going home so I went back to the internet cafe; which is were I am now. Just another day in Tokyo.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
A Tokyo Blur
I am coming off the heels of a Tokyo Blur. What is a Tokyo Blur? Well, it is when you fall into a dark hole of work and play. In Tokyo is seems all too easy to live a lifestyle so fast and full of twist and turns you can become lost in all the madness. Even now, as I sit here writing this blog, I am struggling to remember exactly what happened over the past week. While I am no stranger to fast times Tokyo does have ability to eat your soul more quickly then most large cities. Almost every pleasure and desire can be fulfilled in this godless city.
My trip into a Tokyo Blur stated last Sunday. When I got off work I got a call from my baby M.K. She and Fumika arranged for a meet up at a nice bar/restaurant type of place in Shinjuku. I was feeling tired but also feeling like a cold beer to go down my thirsty mouth. I remember forcing myself to shake off the stress and tension which comes with work. After work I usually get into two different moods. Either I am gun ho crazy or tired asshole with a taste for beer. Last Sunday evening I was feeling somewhere in between my usually after work moods. I wanted to hang but did not want to deal with a load of bullshit. M.K., Fumika and I have been friends the age of 19 so I cannot turn an invite to hang with my two favorite girls in the whole world.
We met at the Shinkuju station at something called the 7-8. I am not used to hanging out in Shinjuku so I cannot give good direction of exact location of this place; but it was cool none the less. It always feels good the hang with M.K. and Fumika. Hell, I married M.K. so I see her everyday but a I feel a certain magic when the three of us get together. They know me better than anyone else in this world. I have known these gals for most of my adult life.
We got into the usual drinking and merry making. I always feed off Fumika`s very high level of energy. She can be a ball of excitement at times. Even in the worst of times this gal can smile and laugh. I really respect her ability to put a happy face on even the darkest of situations. Lately, she has been dealing with some rally fuck-up shit. I feel sorry for her and what she is having to go though in life. Although, she can still smile which is good.
The three of us talked about old times. There is so much history between the three of us you could write a book! All those crazy days in college and insane drunken nights in Tokyo make for a close friendship. We ended up getting pretty drunk. I do not really remember how I got home.
From left to write: M.K., Fumika
The next morning I woke up to the sound of M.K. blow drying her hair at 7:30 a.m.! Tuesday was my day off and the last thing I wanted to hear was the sound of a blow dryer. I had a splitting headache and M.K. was in full blown `getting ready for work mode.` I let out a sad long morn, which was answered by M.K. saying, ` You stupid drunk bastard that is what you get. Get the fuck up!` I guess I am the only person in the world who understands M.K.`s crude sense of humor. Out of spite I actually got up and unplugged her blow dryer. She threw the blow dryer at me and attempted to tickle me but I was ready for her. I pinned her down and tickled her until her said sorry for calling me a drunk bastard. She gave in only because she had to get ready for work. Usually a tickle match is serious business for M.K. and it is rare for her to loose. I enjoyed the moment as the victor with a little dance. M.K. vowed revenge and flipped me the bird.
All of the early morning hi jinks did nothing for the pounding in my head. I took a warm shower, which only relieved my pain sightly. The only real cure for a hangover and death black coffee and dumplings. As M.K. was putting the finishing touches on her makeup I brewed a evil pot of coffee I tricked her into having a drink from my cup. She hates really strong coffee. She took a big drink and then quickly slapped me across the face. Of course I just laughed it off and gave her a kiss. She loves me so all was forgiven. She did told harbor from emotions as she left for work because I was cooking my kick-ass dumplings.
Anyway, after eating good damn cook fried dumplings it was time to get in some web surfing. I checked out japansoc.com for a while. japansoc is becoming my favorite place to visit. It really has a great community and always provides great blogs written by gaijin living in Tokyo. There is also the interesting news articles and photos as well. If you have not got yourself an account at japansoc you really are missing out on one the best online communities with a focus on Japan. So, get an account jack-ass!
So, around 1:00 pm I finally left the house. Now I have to say the TX is one of the best yet one of the worst trains to deal with in Tokyo. The damn thing is very clean and fast but at the Aoi station the wind issue drives me crazy. As far as I know Aoi is the only station on the TX line which has wind issues. Every time a train passes the entire station becomes a mimi-wind tunnel. If you put effort into your hair everyday like I do Aoi station is a nightmare. Aoi station and I have been at war for a while now and it is still a dead tie. I will win in the end you just wait.
Well, I ended up in Harajuku. It is actually one of the my usual stomping grounds in Tokyo. I go there mostly because if you are a `different` person like myself people will accept you. No body gives me any shit there and I do not have to put up with off color comments from soaks without a clue. I headed down to Jack`s to get a jar of grease for my hair. Jack`s is my favorite retro-graser shop in Tokyo. It is a little shop off a side street on main street in Harajuku. They have the best hair grease for that instant cool look that all greasers strive for. I got myself some extra hard hair grease called `cool grease.` I also talked to the guy working the counter. Ends up that he is the base player for The Rizlas(a super cool rock a billy band). We talked about hair and music a little bit before I left.
My next stop was in front of the temple to meet up with Tommy the painter. Tommy is a guy from Vietnam. He was the first person I became friends with after moving to Tokyo. He is a laid back kind of guy. Real easy to talk to. If you ever go by the temple in Harajuku check out Tommy`s paintings and buy one please. Anyway, the first thing Tommy says to me is `do you want to get high?` Well, hell yes I wanted to get high. So, Tommy leaves his painting in the care of one of his friends and all we go to Shibuya. Once in Shibuya he takes me to a head shop in a back street in Shibuya. The guy working behind the counter looked high as a kite and happy as a pig in shit! Tommy asks me how many I will take. Hell, I had no idea what I was about to buy so I was one. Tommy get two and I get one of something called spice. A 100 percent legal drug sold over the counter. Well, this is good for me because I have been wanting to get high for months!
We get the stuff and head the Yoyogi park to prepare this strange drug for smoking. We find a spot in the woods. Tommy takes the pack I bought and empties it on my hat. He then removes all the tobbaco from a cig. After that he mixes the spice and the tobacco together and put it back into the cig. it is time to go! We talk back to the front of the temple smoking this spiked smoke.
At first, I did not feel anything and wondered if it was going to work. Tommy just winked at me and said, `any second now you are going to go on a little journey.` Well, Tommy boy was right on the money. By the time we were back at the above ground subway elevator I felt as if I was about to trip my ass off. The stiff hit me like a ton of bricks! Maybe it was the fact that I had not been high for several months or `Spice` really was that good. I felt a strong feeling of floating on air. I totality lost my sense of placement and awareness of myself or where I was at. The only thing I knew was that I was in Harajuku, Tokyo and I was high on some strange drug I bought at a head shop in a back street in Shibuya. I felt so happy damn happy. I could stop smiling and laughing. Colors were very vivid. At some points it almost hurt to look at the world around me. I experienced a connect to the city that I had never felt before. For the first time I felt one with Tokyo. It was as if I was apart of the city itself. I can sum up the experience as a mix between a coke, acid, and a pot high all at once.
High with Tommy the painter
Around 7:30 M.K. calls me. I was slightly relieved because I was damn hungry. Tommmy was totality out of his wits and all too happy to sit on the streets of Harajuku until the late hours of the night. I, on the other hand, was itching to move to somewhere else. I agreed to meet M.K. in Ginza to grab some food and catch a movie. The train ride to Ginza was interesting to say the least. The real effect of the drug hit me while on the train. Now, I do not know exactly this shit is or where is comes from, but it really turns your head for a loop. While on the train I started to look at everyone and they started to change. All the people`s yellow skin looked orange. Their eyes looked like little black 8 balls. It was not an extreme hallucination but I did not expect it at all. I just went with the flow and my mind accepted the slight change in perspective quickly. You can image how happy I was to see M.K.
I did not tell M.K. that I was on this strange drug. I thought is would more interesting to see her from this different perspective. We grab some pretty good curry from a ramdon shop in Ginza. The food was really good and help me come down from this very strange high. I have an odd love of curry. Actaully, I could eat the stuff everyday and ever set sick of it. Although, my stomach might start to hate me for all the spicy food. The movie we saw are the The Dragon Kingdom. This was the best movie I have seem this year. It is loosely based on the legend of Goku the monkey king. If you have not read the The Monkey King you really need to check this piece of writing out for sure. The flick has Jackie Chan and Jet Li together for the first time in the same movie! They work well together. They both have very different fighting and acting styles. Jackie displays his funny and skilled art of drunken boxing while Li shows off this mater kung-ku skills. An added bonus in this movie is that Jet Li plays the role of the seeker and the monkey king! He does a great job of bring the monkey to life. The monkey king is meant to be a funny, happy, honest, tricky, and a little stupid kind of character. Jet Li pulls it off like a master actor. Watch this damn movie!!
Anyway....the next two days were kind of a haze for me. It was just teaching and getting the soft treatment from M.K. The gal does have her moments. I really feel she is a very special person in this evil world. At times she can be a fireball of pure fury from hell while in some moments she can as gentle as a kitten. She can breath fire that smells like the sweetest rose. We are as tight as white on rice. I am lucky to have found her in this life.
Thursday night brought an evening at my favorite local bar. Every man needs his place to get drunk and be left the fuck alone; even in Tokyo. My place is a mis-sized bar(by Tokyo standards) about two blocks away from my apartment in Aoi. It really is the kind of place in which everyone knows my name. I am a regular to this dive so the bartender knows exactly what I life to drink. It is rare for me to ask for me first drink. He knows that I want a tall cold Ebisu Black. I am keen on black beer. I usually enjoy the dark stuff. Ebius black is one of the best black beers in the world. It has a nice sweet taste flowered with a gentle bitter after taste. If you have not tried a Ebius black then go and have one asshole! I got pretty drunk that night. I always a good drunk.
All good and drunk
Friday saw an evening in Shibuya. Now, my only goal in Shibuya was buying some more of that spice stuff. The first thing I did when a arrived in Shibuya was go to the head shop and buy two packs of the strange little drug that Tommy turned me onto. I was able to find the little shop in quick order. I bought two packs of spice and left the place. The problem presented itself as to how and where to smoke the shit. I had some papers on me so I decided to smoke it like a joint; but where to roll it and where to smoke it. I could have walk to Yoyogi and roll in smoke in peace but I did not feel like talking that far. Instead, I went to a coffee across from the 109. I did not brother to buy a cup of joe. I went straight to the bathroom. Once inside the bathroom I took a pack of spice and empty the contents on the sink table. The stuff looks just like pot! I did not waste time. I rolled this crazy stuff up into a joint. One pack actually will give you about a dimes worth. After rolling it up I got the hell out of the coffee shop.
Something called spice
I choose a side street to smoke my little strange smoke. I felt really odd to be smoking a joint of `legal` drugs on the damn streets. It make a heavy stink which did nothing for my nerves. It smells like burning wood chips in a brush fire. I lit a cig to try and cover the odd smell. It not take long for the shit to take effect. Smoking the stuff full blown as apposed to mixing it with tobacco is a big difference. About half-way though the joint I started to feel real funny. My head was about to leave my body. I had to put the shit out and left a good sized roach for later. I have to say it was a damn good high. I wondered around Shibuya for a while trying to get my wits about me. After a while I simply gave into the drug. I struggled to walk abound but I did not stagger. I ended up at the Hobgoblin. The Hobgoblin is the best bar in Shibuya. It is a little expensive but well worth the extra price of the beer. They got the finest selection of beer! I got a good drunk going to add to my buzz while I chatted away for the bartender. It was a good time for sure.
Around 9:00 M.K. finally called me home. To be honest the only thing I remember from this past weekend was work and a lot of wild ass sex. I am not going to go into details because it is a wife after all. So, I will leave it to your our sick mind to fill in the details.
Don`t worry I will get the all the gonzo insanity started up on Thursday. Until them be like pop and not like sis, flip the lid before you piss.
My trip into a Tokyo Blur stated last Sunday. When I got off work I got a call from my baby M.K. She and Fumika arranged for a meet up at a nice bar/restaurant type of place in Shinjuku. I was feeling tired but also feeling like a cold beer to go down my thirsty mouth. I remember forcing myself to shake off the stress and tension which comes with work. After work I usually get into two different moods. Either I am gun ho crazy or tired asshole with a taste for beer. Last Sunday evening I was feeling somewhere in between my usually after work moods. I wanted to hang but did not want to deal with a load of bullshit. M.K., Fumika and I have been friends the age of 19 so I cannot turn an invite to hang with my two favorite girls in the whole world.
We met at the Shinkuju station at something called the 7-8. I am not used to hanging out in Shinjuku so I cannot give good direction of exact location of this place; but it was cool none the less. It always feels good the hang with M.K. and Fumika. Hell, I married M.K. so I see her everyday but a I feel a certain magic when the three of us get together. They know me better than anyone else in this world. I have known these gals for most of my adult life.
We got into the usual drinking and merry making. I always feed off Fumika`s very high level of energy. She can be a ball of excitement at times. Even in the worst of times this gal can smile and laugh. I really respect her ability to put a happy face on even the darkest of situations. Lately, she has been dealing with some rally fuck-up shit. I feel sorry for her and what she is having to go though in life. Although, she can still smile which is good.
The three of us talked about old times. There is so much history between the three of us you could write a book! All those crazy days in college and insane drunken nights in Tokyo make for a close friendship. We ended up getting pretty drunk. I do not really remember how I got home.
From left to write: M.K., Fumika
The next morning I woke up to the sound of M.K. blow drying her hair at 7:30 a.m.! Tuesday was my day off and the last thing I wanted to hear was the sound of a blow dryer. I had a splitting headache and M.K. was in full blown `getting ready for work mode.` I let out a sad long morn, which was answered by M.K. saying, ` You stupid drunk bastard that is what you get. Get the fuck up!` I guess I am the only person in the world who understands M.K.`s crude sense of humor. Out of spite I actually got up and unplugged her blow dryer. She threw the blow dryer at me and attempted to tickle me but I was ready for her. I pinned her down and tickled her until her said sorry for calling me a drunk bastard. She gave in only because she had to get ready for work. Usually a tickle match is serious business for M.K. and it is rare for her to loose. I enjoyed the moment as the victor with a little dance. M.K. vowed revenge and flipped me the bird.
All of the early morning hi jinks did nothing for the pounding in my head. I took a warm shower, which only relieved my pain sightly. The only real cure for a hangover and death black coffee and dumplings. As M.K. was putting the finishing touches on her makeup I brewed a evil pot of coffee I tricked her into having a drink from my cup. She hates really strong coffee. She took a big drink and then quickly slapped me across the face. Of course I just laughed it off and gave her a kiss. She loves me so all was forgiven. She did told harbor from emotions as she left for work because I was cooking my kick-ass dumplings.
Anyway, after eating good damn cook fried dumplings it was time to get in some web surfing. I checked out japansoc.com for a while. japansoc is becoming my favorite place to visit. It really has a great community and always provides great blogs written by gaijin living in Tokyo. There is also the interesting news articles and photos as well. If you have not got yourself an account at japansoc you really are missing out on one the best online communities with a focus on Japan. So, get an account jack-ass!
So, around 1:00 pm I finally left the house. Now I have to say the TX is one of the best yet one of the worst trains to deal with in Tokyo. The damn thing is very clean and fast but at the Aoi station the wind issue drives me crazy. As far as I know Aoi is the only station on the TX line which has wind issues. Every time a train passes the entire station becomes a mimi-wind tunnel. If you put effort into your hair everyday like I do Aoi station is a nightmare. Aoi station and I have been at war for a while now and it is still a dead tie. I will win in the end you just wait.
Well, I ended up in Harajuku. It is actually one of the my usual stomping grounds in Tokyo. I go there mostly because if you are a `different` person like myself people will accept you. No body gives me any shit there and I do not have to put up with off color comments from soaks without a clue. I headed down to Jack`s to get a jar of grease for my hair. Jack`s is my favorite retro-graser shop in Tokyo. It is a little shop off a side street on main street in Harajuku. They have the best hair grease for that instant cool look that all greasers strive for. I got myself some extra hard hair grease called `cool grease.` I also talked to the guy working the counter. Ends up that he is the base player for The Rizlas(a super cool rock a billy band). We talked about hair and music a little bit before I left.
My next stop was in front of the temple to meet up with Tommy the painter. Tommy is a guy from Vietnam. He was the first person I became friends with after moving to Tokyo. He is a laid back kind of guy. Real easy to talk to. If you ever go by the temple in Harajuku check out Tommy`s paintings and buy one please. Anyway, the first thing Tommy says to me is `do you want to get high?` Well, hell yes I wanted to get high. So, Tommy leaves his painting in the care of one of his friends and all we go to Shibuya. Once in Shibuya he takes me to a head shop in a back street in Shibuya. The guy working behind the counter looked high as a kite and happy as a pig in shit! Tommy asks me how many I will take. Hell, I had no idea what I was about to buy so I was one. Tommy get two and I get one of something called spice. A 100 percent legal drug sold over the counter. Well, this is good for me because I have been wanting to get high for months!
We get the stuff and head the Yoyogi park to prepare this strange drug for smoking. We find a spot in the woods. Tommy takes the pack I bought and empties it on my hat. He then removes all the tobbaco from a cig. After that he mixes the spice and the tobacco together and put it back into the cig. it is time to go! We talk back to the front of the temple smoking this spiked smoke.
At first, I did not feel anything and wondered if it was going to work. Tommy just winked at me and said, `any second now you are going to go on a little journey.` Well, Tommy boy was right on the money. By the time we were back at the above ground subway elevator I felt as if I was about to trip my ass off. The stiff hit me like a ton of bricks! Maybe it was the fact that I had not been high for several months or `Spice` really was that good. I felt a strong feeling of floating on air. I totality lost my sense of placement and awareness of myself or where I was at. The only thing I knew was that I was in Harajuku, Tokyo and I was high on some strange drug I bought at a head shop in a back street in Shibuya. I felt so happy damn happy. I could stop smiling and laughing. Colors were very vivid. At some points it almost hurt to look at the world around me. I experienced a connect to the city that I had never felt before. For the first time I felt one with Tokyo. It was as if I was apart of the city itself. I can sum up the experience as a mix between a coke, acid, and a pot high all at once.
High with Tommy the painter
Around 7:30 M.K. calls me. I was slightly relieved because I was damn hungry. Tommmy was totality out of his wits and all too happy to sit on the streets of Harajuku until the late hours of the night. I, on the other hand, was itching to move to somewhere else. I agreed to meet M.K. in Ginza to grab some food and catch a movie. The train ride to Ginza was interesting to say the least. The real effect of the drug hit me while on the train. Now, I do not know exactly this shit is or where is comes from, but it really turns your head for a loop. While on the train I started to look at everyone and they started to change. All the people`s yellow skin looked orange. Their eyes looked like little black 8 balls. It was not an extreme hallucination but I did not expect it at all. I just went with the flow and my mind accepted the slight change in perspective quickly. You can image how happy I was to see M.K.
I did not tell M.K. that I was on this strange drug. I thought is would more interesting to see her from this different perspective. We grab some pretty good curry from a ramdon shop in Ginza. The food was really good and help me come down from this very strange high. I have an odd love of curry. Actaully, I could eat the stuff everyday and ever set sick of it. Although, my stomach might start to hate me for all the spicy food. The movie we saw are the The Dragon Kingdom. This was the best movie I have seem this year. It is loosely based on the legend of Goku the monkey king. If you have not read the The Monkey King you really need to check this piece of writing out for sure. The flick has Jackie Chan and Jet Li together for the first time in the same movie! They work well together. They both have very different fighting and acting styles. Jackie displays his funny and skilled art of drunken boxing while Li shows off this mater kung-ku skills. An added bonus in this movie is that Jet Li plays the role of the seeker and the monkey king! He does a great job of bring the monkey to life. The monkey king is meant to be a funny, happy, honest, tricky, and a little stupid kind of character. Jet Li pulls it off like a master actor. Watch this damn movie!!
Anyway....the next two days were kind of a haze for me. It was just teaching and getting the soft treatment from M.K. The gal does have her moments. I really feel she is a very special person in this evil world. At times she can be a fireball of pure fury from hell while in some moments she can as gentle as a kitten. She can breath fire that smells like the sweetest rose. We are as tight as white on rice. I am lucky to have found her in this life.
Thursday night brought an evening at my favorite local bar. Every man needs his place to get drunk and be left the fuck alone; even in Tokyo. My place is a mis-sized bar(by Tokyo standards) about two blocks away from my apartment in Aoi. It really is the kind of place in which everyone knows my name. I am a regular to this dive so the bartender knows exactly what I life to drink. It is rare for me to ask for me first drink. He knows that I want a tall cold Ebisu Black. I am keen on black beer. I usually enjoy the dark stuff. Ebius black is one of the best black beers in the world. It has a nice sweet taste flowered with a gentle bitter after taste. If you have not tried a Ebius black then go and have one asshole! I got pretty drunk that night. I always a good drunk.
All good and drunk
Friday saw an evening in Shibuya. Now, my only goal in Shibuya was buying some more of that spice stuff. The first thing I did when a arrived in Shibuya was go to the head shop and buy two packs of the strange little drug that Tommy turned me onto. I was able to find the little shop in quick order. I bought two packs of spice and left the place. The problem presented itself as to how and where to smoke the shit. I had some papers on me so I decided to smoke it like a joint; but where to roll it and where to smoke it. I could have walk to Yoyogi and roll in smoke in peace but I did not feel like talking that far. Instead, I went to a coffee across from the 109. I did not brother to buy a cup of joe. I went straight to the bathroom. Once inside the bathroom I took a pack of spice and empty the contents on the sink table. The stuff looks just like pot! I did not waste time. I rolled this crazy stuff up into a joint. One pack actually will give you about a dimes worth. After rolling it up I got the hell out of the coffee shop.
Something called spice
I choose a side street to smoke my little strange smoke. I felt really odd to be smoking a joint of `legal` drugs on the damn streets. It make a heavy stink which did nothing for my nerves. It smells like burning wood chips in a brush fire. I lit a cig to try and cover the odd smell. It not take long for the shit to take effect. Smoking the stuff full blown as apposed to mixing it with tobacco is a big difference. About half-way though the joint I started to feel real funny. My head was about to leave my body. I had to put the shit out and left a good sized roach for later. I have to say it was a damn good high. I wondered around Shibuya for a while trying to get my wits about me. After a while I simply gave into the drug. I struggled to walk abound but I did not stagger. I ended up at the Hobgoblin. The Hobgoblin is the best bar in Shibuya. It is a little expensive but well worth the extra price of the beer. They got the finest selection of beer! I got a good drunk going to add to my buzz while I chatted away for the bartender. It was a good time for sure.
Around 9:00 M.K. finally called me home. To be honest the only thing I remember from this past weekend was work and a lot of wild ass sex. I am not going to go into details because it is a wife after all. So, I will leave it to your our sick mind to fill in the details.
Don`t worry I will get the all the gonzo insanity started up on Thursday. Until them be like pop and not like sis, flip the lid before you piss.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Polysics--Japan`s Kings of High Tension Pop Rock
As we all know there are a lot of things about Japan that many Gaijin kind odd and sometimes even strange. Japan is a very different place in the world which is all apart of the charm which attracts so many people to the kookiness of the land of the raising sun. I do not look down on Japanese cultural for their odd ball ways; actually I admire them. I kind it amazing that entire culture of people have mellowed themselves out to the point of just wanting to have fun, laugh, and live in peace as much as they can.
Japan is not a perfect culture by any means. They have their problems just like any nation. They are facing the same negative effects of globalism, increasing pressure from the UN, and the raise of aggressive policies on the international front. Despite all of these things the Japanese take to silly humor and creative ways to relieve stress and adjust to a vastly changing world.
Case in point is the band Polysics. This pop rock outfit from Japan has been able to put the expression `high tension person` into music with a blend of DEVO smashed together with J-pop to create a sound and look unlike any band before them. There fans are crazy for the band. They dress up just like the band for each show. Their live shows are more like a release superhyper people. A Polysics show is like a rubber room for the `high tension person.`
Check out these videos of the band who ate too much candy! Ploysics
New Wave Jacket
I My Me Mine
Ah Yeah!
Japan is not a perfect culture by any means. They have their problems just like any nation. They are facing the same negative effects of globalism, increasing pressure from the UN, and the raise of aggressive policies on the international front. Despite all of these things the Japanese take to silly humor and creative ways to relieve stress and adjust to a vastly changing world.
Case in point is the band Polysics. This pop rock outfit from Japan has been able to put the expression `high tension person` into music with a blend of DEVO smashed together with J-pop to create a sound and look unlike any band before them. There fans are crazy for the band. They dress up just like the band for each show. Their live shows are more like a release superhyper people. A Polysics show is like a rubber room for the `high tension person.`
Check out these videos of the band who ate too much candy! Ploysics
New Wave Jacket
I My Me Mine
Ah Yeah!
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
The Nu-Nova Teacher
So, for the past few weeks I have been getting used to working in Japan. It has been a interesting experience so far. I have learned very quickly that I have so many bosses that I am pretty much owned by everyone. The layers of BS one has to go though to get an answer can cause a person to stop asking questions all together. There seems to be a system for everything in this country! Even if a detailed system is not needed the Japanese tend to set up a complex way to achieve even the most simple task. This useless way of getting anything done would drive me crazy in the states but I try my best to humor the Japanese and their cultural differences. With that said I am one of the few, the brave, the Nu-Nova teacher.
I must admit that I had my doubts when first accepting a position with a company with had a complete meltdown due to one greedy bastard. As the old saying saying goes `shit flows down hill` and greed can infect an entire company from top to bottom. As the dust settles and a new company, G-Com, is attempting to revive Nova from the mess it got itself into I find myself coming into a company which to learning how to walk again. G-Com has been in a mad rush to get the company back up and running. This mad rush has caused a lot of confusion within the company as a whole. I usually have to ask at least three people before I get a straight answer about anything. There seems to be a feeling that Nova wants all teacher to just, `trust us and do what we say. Everything is gonna be ok.` I expected this kind of attitude from a Japanese company. It was explained to me by several people that in Japan the workers are not to complain or even ask questions. Loyalty is the name of the game and I have never been loyal to any company in my life. I know better than to trust someone who tells me they are my boss.
As for the job itself I do not mind it at all. It is actually fun in someways. It does feel good to be working a steady job again. Although, wearing a suite and tie and playing it straight all day is a bore for me. I have to deal with a lot of squares on my way to work, but they usually do not brother me. We are all just in a hurry to get to a place none of us want to be. My first two weeks I taught way out in B.F.E. at a place called Sagamihara. It is all the way past Yokohama. I had a tough two hour train ride to and from work for the past two weeks. It is a real bitch but I did it. I have been moved to Oji which is much closer to Adachi-ku. Actually, for the time being, I will be at Oji three days a week and another place called Nerima two days a week. Off days are Tuesdays and Fridays. The off days are a real drag but I can get used to it over time.
The students have proven themselves to be very nice. They actually took a good liking to me. The Japanese tend to be easy to teach, at least at a private English school. Some are shy while others are very talkative They do tend to want to keep their head in the book too much. It is a challenge to get them to focus on listening and speaking English rather than looking at the book the entire time. The lower level English speakers are real sweet and break my heart at times. They try so hard to speak English but due to their lack of experience with the language they struggle so much. I avoid saying they are doing a bad job because I want them to enjoy the lesson and being taught by a native-speaker. The Japanese can be real sensitive and up-tight at times so I have to walk on egg shells with some of the students.
Overall the experience is ok for the most part. It will take me some time to get used to, although I will never like it, daily working life in Japan. I did want adventure and a new direction in my life so now I have it for what it is worth.
I must admit that I had my doubts when first accepting a position with a company with had a complete meltdown due to one greedy bastard. As the old saying saying goes `shit flows down hill` and greed can infect an entire company from top to bottom. As the dust settles and a new company, G-Com, is attempting to revive Nova from the mess it got itself into I find myself coming into a company which to learning how to walk again. G-Com has been in a mad rush to get the company back up and running. This mad rush has caused a lot of confusion within the company as a whole. I usually have to ask at least three people before I get a straight answer about anything. There seems to be a feeling that Nova wants all teacher to just, `trust us and do what we say. Everything is gonna be ok.` I expected this kind of attitude from a Japanese company. It was explained to me by several people that in Japan the workers are not to complain or even ask questions. Loyalty is the name of the game and I have never been loyal to any company in my life. I know better than to trust someone who tells me they are my boss.
As for the job itself I do not mind it at all. It is actually fun in someways. It does feel good to be working a steady job again. Although, wearing a suite and tie and playing it straight all day is a bore for me. I have to deal with a lot of squares on my way to work, but they usually do not brother me. We are all just in a hurry to get to a place none of us want to be. My first two weeks I taught way out in B.F.E. at a place called Sagamihara. It is all the way past Yokohama. I had a tough two hour train ride to and from work for the past two weeks. It is a real bitch but I did it. I have been moved to Oji which is much closer to Adachi-ku. Actually, for the time being, I will be at Oji three days a week and another place called Nerima two days a week. Off days are Tuesdays and Fridays. The off days are a real drag but I can get used to it over time.
The students have proven themselves to be very nice. They actually took a good liking to me. The Japanese tend to be easy to teach, at least at a private English school. Some are shy while others are very talkative They do tend to want to keep their head in the book too much. It is a challenge to get them to focus on listening and speaking English rather than looking at the book the entire time. The lower level English speakers are real sweet and break my heart at times. They try so hard to speak English but due to their lack of experience with the language they struggle so much. I avoid saying they are doing a bad job because I want them to enjoy the lesson and being taught by a native-speaker. The Japanese can be real sensitive and up-tight at times so I have to walk on egg shells with some of the students.
Overall the experience is ok for the most part. It will take me some time to get used to, although I will never like it, daily working life in Japan. I did want adventure and a new direction in my life so now I have it for what it is worth.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Japan`s Pinko Government forces me to allow it to steal from me.
Before I sat down to write this I needed a few days to calm myself as to not go off on a rant filled with profanity. My experiences with government have very few times been a pleasant one. As I have learned only a true fool trust any government to actually help them to take care of them in way shape or form. For example, if you want yet another reason to get angry with the US government just go to the US Embassy in Tokyo to try and take care of any kind of personal business; after leaving you will want to punch someone. With all of that said the government of Japan has a system set up in which I am forced to allow them to steal from me. I did not know how much this system really angers me until this Friday when I went to the central government building in Adachi-ku to sign up to be robbed.
I wake up early on Friday and my wife takes me to the government in Adachi-ku in order to sign up for my government pension and government issued health insurance. I found the idea of this very odd because in America the only people who really depend or sign up for these kind of things are those who are too poor to pay for insurance or those who have spent a life time making really bad money decisions and look to the government to take care of them. In Japan if I do not sign up for a government pension and government health insurance I can be fined, jailed, and even deported! When it was first told to me that I have to allow the government of Japan to reach into my pockets and take money from me order to `help take care of me` I was shocked.
It is an insult to me that the government forces me to be apart of such a program. It is like saying to me that I am too stupid to plan for my future so the government has to do it for me. I know for a fact that I can make more money for my retirement then the government can. I can take the same money which they are stealing from my pockets and invest it and make a killing all the way to the bank and have a huge stash of cash to live on when I retire. Instead, according to the Japanese government, I am too stupid to be able to invest my money wisely so they are going to steal from me and get up a pension fund for me which I will have no access to see how my money is bring invested. Truth be told, the money they steal from me is going into the pockets of someone else. My government issued pension is not a single account but a collective account in which I end up paying for other people`s retirement. I am in effect taking care of someone who I have never met and have no connection to what so ever. When I retire in Japan, which I will because I am married to a Japanese gal and Tokyo will be our lifelong home, I have have to depend on the then current working generation of people to pay for my retirement pension. It is never wise to depend on other people, who are total strangers, for your future. This system is doomed to failure. This pinko commie social program depends on assuming that there will always be enough people paying into the system. If the unemployment rate gets too high then the collective account will go into default and the entire system will fail; leaving thousands of retired people who little or no money to survive.
Not to fear the government of Japan has a fix for the huge fault in this system. The law states that if you are alive, able, and of working age you still are required to pay the pension tax even if you do not have a job. If you do not pay the pension tax they can throw you in jail and you worked off your debt to the government by doing unskilled hard labor. So, I currently owe the government of Japan six months in unpaid back taxes into the pension program. I have until the end of the year to pay for back tax, in one lump sum, or a very high fine could be imposed on me or worse I can be jailed. I start my first job in Japan Monday so the regular pension tax is still required to be paid by me at the same time as the back tax looms over my head. Lucky for me I have enough money in reserve to pay the back tax with no problems. This does not change the fact that the government of Japan is stealing from me to provide for some other person`s sorry butt!
The government health insurance is also theft but in a much larger scale. It is a fact that socialize health care does create fascism. All the companies which provide medical supplies and health equipment have guaranteed profits because there is no open market in which they have to compete. They can rise prices as high as they want while the government raises the health insurance tax and the health companies rake in all the profits. This is pure fascism. It is government and private business working together for shared benefit.
The odd thing about Japan`s socialized health insurance is that people who are healthy and almost never go to the hospital are really getting robbed. Again you end up paying for some other person`s health care needs. A person who you do not know and have no connection to what so ever. Even worse is that a person cannot buy over the counter meds unless they go to a special government regulated business which will sell you over the counter meds at a very high price. There are only a few companies which, approved by the government, that sell the basic over the counter meds and their stories close very early in the evening. So, if it is 11 pm at night and you have a pounding headache and have to headache pills you have to go to the hospital or else suffer until the morning. How the whole system makes any sense is a mystery to me.
Being that I do not want to go to jail I signed up for this pinko system. Don`t worry I treated the people at the government office like a bunch of thieves holding me a knife point. I showed them no respect and made them explain to me, in English, every part of the process and exactly how the system works. I know that may have been very rude and childish of me but the more time I spent getting signed up the more angry I got. So, now the government is `helping` me like a old trusted friend. Dammit!
I will make sure that in the rare case that I actually have to go to the hospital I will give every person working at the hospital pure hell and be the worse patient they have ever had. I know that will not be very adult of me but hell I at least should get my money worth.
I wake up early on Friday and my wife takes me to the government in Adachi-ku in order to sign up for my government pension and government issued health insurance. I found the idea of this very odd because in America the only people who really depend or sign up for these kind of things are those who are too poor to pay for insurance or those who have spent a life time making really bad money decisions and look to the government to take care of them. In Japan if I do not sign up for a government pension and government health insurance I can be fined, jailed, and even deported! When it was first told to me that I have to allow the government of Japan to reach into my pockets and take money from me order to `help take care of me` I was shocked.
It is an insult to me that the government forces me to be apart of such a program. It is like saying to me that I am too stupid to plan for my future so the government has to do it for me. I know for a fact that I can make more money for my retirement then the government can. I can take the same money which they are stealing from my pockets and invest it and make a killing all the way to the bank and have a huge stash of cash to live on when I retire. Instead, according to the Japanese government, I am too stupid to be able to invest my money wisely so they are going to steal from me and get up a pension fund for me which I will have no access to see how my money is bring invested. Truth be told, the money they steal from me is going into the pockets of someone else. My government issued pension is not a single account but a collective account in which I end up paying for other people`s retirement. I am in effect taking care of someone who I have never met and have no connection to what so ever. When I retire in Japan, which I will because I am married to a Japanese gal and Tokyo will be our lifelong home, I have have to depend on the then current working generation of people to pay for my retirement pension. It is never wise to depend on other people, who are total strangers, for your future. This system is doomed to failure. This pinko commie social program depends on assuming that there will always be enough people paying into the system. If the unemployment rate gets too high then the collective account will go into default and the entire system will fail; leaving thousands of retired people who little or no money to survive.
Not to fear the government of Japan has a fix for the huge fault in this system. The law states that if you are alive, able, and of working age you still are required to pay the pension tax even if you do not have a job. If you do not pay the pension tax they can throw you in jail and you worked off your debt to the government by doing unskilled hard labor. So, I currently owe the government of Japan six months in unpaid back taxes into the pension program. I have until the end of the year to pay for back tax, in one lump sum, or a very high fine could be imposed on me or worse I can be jailed. I start my first job in Japan Monday so the regular pension tax is still required to be paid by me at the same time as the back tax looms over my head. Lucky for me I have enough money in reserve to pay the back tax with no problems. This does not change the fact that the government of Japan is stealing from me to provide for some other person`s sorry butt!
The government health insurance is also theft but in a much larger scale. It is a fact that socialize health care does create fascism. All the companies which provide medical supplies and health equipment have guaranteed profits because there is no open market in which they have to compete. They can rise prices as high as they want while the government raises the health insurance tax and the health companies rake in all the profits. This is pure fascism. It is government and private business working together for shared benefit.
The odd thing about Japan`s socialized health insurance is that people who are healthy and almost never go to the hospital are really getting robbed. Again you end up paying for some other person`s health care needs. A person who you do not know and have no connection to what so ever. Even worse is that a person cannot buy over the counter meds unless they go to a special government regulated business which will sell you over the counter meds at a very high price. There are only a few companies which, approved by the government, that sell the basic over the counter meds and their stories close very early in the evening. So, if it is 11 pm at night and you have a pounding headache and have to headache pills you have to go to the hospital or else suffer until the morning. How the whole system makes any sense is a mystery to me.
Being that I do not want to go to jail I signed up for this pinko system. Don`t worry I treated the people at the government office like a bunch of thieves holding me a knife point. I showed them no respect and made them explain to me, in English, every part of the process and exactly how the system works. I know that may have been very rude and childish of me but the more time I spent getting signed up the more angry I got. So, now the government is `helping` me like a old trusted friend. Dammit!
I will make sure that in the rare case that I actually have to go to the hospital I will give every person working at the hospital pure hell and be the worse patient they have ever had. I know that will not be very adult of me but hell I at least should get my money worth.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Japan Number one downloader in Asia of FireFox 3.0
The Japanese apparently love FireFox, at least by Asian standards. From FireFox`s download day website Japan has downloaded the new FireFox 3.0 the most times in all of Asia. Currently(6/19/08 2:34 am JST) Japan has downloaded FireFox 3.0 just over 400,000 times! This total is far and beyond any other nation in Asia. The internet addicted South Koreans have only downloaded v3.0 slightly over 44,000 times while China has downloaded it a shy over 167,000. Asian countries in which internet may be out of reach for many common people are also downloading v3.0 in much slower rates e.i. Vietnam(38,000), Cambodia(285), and Tailand(26,000).
Why are Japanese going ga-ga for FireFox 3.0? One of the reasons may be the ease at which one can find webpages and bookmark them. With v3.0 you never have to remember the address of that website you were looking at but forgot the bookmark. All it takes is to simply type in a keyword in the adress bar and FireFox displays in a little pop-up window all the site you have visited which match the keyword. So if a teenage Japanese guy was looking at sexy cosplay pics when Otosan walked into this bedroom offering a rice ball and he had to close his browser, when she leaves all he has to do to type in the keyword `cosplay` and FireFox will take him right back to what he was doing. This feature allows a user to have privacy in an instant; which will be a big plus for many Japanese. With the speed at which life can travel in places like Tokyo having a browser which will remember what you look at in encase you were too busy to bookmark, or just wanted to get those directions to a punk bar one more time, v3.0 will be a huge plus for Japanese users.
The only questions now remains is how long will it take japan to hit the one million download mark?
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
The changing face of Post-Modern Japan
While the western world looks at Japan from the outside, admiring all the odd inventions and lifestyles, the nation is in a cultural crisis as it struggles to adjust to a post modern world.
The culture and mind set of Japan is changing so fast that the Japanese are at a cross roads in their history. From dealing with the slow change in the relationship between company and employee, a increase in the growing gap of `haves` and `have not,` and several other changes the Japanese are having to become more self-aware of their culture and the direction the nation is going in as a whole.
The change in the relationship between company and employee has been a slow, and often, painful process for many in Japan. The days of the loyal salary man is slowly becoming a thing of the past. While most Japanese men still consider bring a salary man as a much desired goal in life, there is a change, from the employee standpoint, as to defining loyalty to the company. In recent years the salary man has been turning on his company when the company is involved in wrong doing. Bring a `company rat` is a very new idea in Japan. Those who do roll over on the company cite that they wanted things to be done the right way. It is still a big risk to report wrong doing. Those who have went to the police reporting illegal actions taken by companies have suffered grave rewards for their actions. Many can no longer find work in their chosen profession. Even worse some even end up homeless because others companies will not hire. The good news is that the government passed a law making it illegal for companies to attack employees who report illegal actions. In time many see the Japanese company salary man becoming the independent salary man.
The raise of workers demanding more rights and resisting company policy is also making its way into the cultural fabric of Japan. This is not to say that Japan lacks in workers rights. Japan does have over all the basics of protecting workers for the most part. The difference is that workers themselves are coming together apart from any government laws meant to protect them. The growth and strength of worker unions has lead to more successful strikes and improvements in pay and employee input. Slowly employee are becoming more brave in break from the traditional feudal bonds of loyalty with the company.
Starting in the 1990`s a new sub-cultural emerged in Japan; the freeter. In the west a freeter is know are a slacker; but in the Japan the raise of the freeter is very different. A freeter does not actually choose to be a freeter in all cases. The raise of the freeter was due to the economic melt down which occurred in Japan in the 1990`s. Suddenly many young people found themselves unable to attain stable decent paying jobs. Not wanting to simply live at home or go back to school many of the youth started to live a hand to mouth lifestyle. Working one temp job after another, sleeping in all night internet cafes, or opening up a small second hand clothing store, the Japanese slacker was borne. Content to make just enough money to survive and enjoying a beer and a cup of instant noodles for dinner, freeters are leaving their own mark on Japanese culture. The raise in popularity of internet cafes are due in large part to freeters. Lacking a place to call home many freeters will bed down for the night in a internet cafe. Most net cafes in Japan now offer small private rooms complete with a computer, shower and cheap food. During the day hours in Tokyo it is common to see people walking the streets with one small bag of luggage on wheels; the mark of a freeter. Their entire lives and all their belongings crammed into one bag of luggage. Freeter is fast becoming the lifestyle of choice for many young people in Japan.
Another new cultural development in post-modern Japan is the social status which working women have gained in recent years. While women`s lib has been apart of the social fabric of Japan for decades only in recent years has a new generation of young women emerged who relish in their social status as fully independent working women. A fast growing number of young women in today`s Japan are choosing to live on their own and unattached by the bounds of relationships. Young women are now enjoying, more than ever, some of the social perks traditionally reserved for men. Many young women are becoming a force in the business world and finding it much easier to break though the class ceiling. They are also taking the stance of `love on my time` which is traditionally an idea that a salary man would take. Oddly enough many working women are preferring freeter men because they usually have more time on their hands and can be available when women want and need them. Many young women say they don`t mind paying for dinner as long as he can spend the amount of time with her that she wants.
The culture of post-modern holds with it many new ideas and lifestyles which are not part of traditional Japanese cultural. The new face of Japan is slowly emerging.
The culture and mind set of Japan is changing so fast that the Japanese are at a cross roads in their history. From dealing with the slow change in the relationship between company and employee, a increase in the growing gap of `haves` and `have not,` and several other changes the Japanese are having to become more self-aware of their culture and the direction the nation is going in as a whole.
The change in the relationship between company and employee has been a slow, and often, painful process for many in Japan. The days of the loyal salary man is slowly becoming a thing of the past. While most Japanese men still consider bring a salary man as a much desired goal in life, there is a change, from the employee standpoint, as to defining loyalty to the company. In recent years the salary man has been turning on his company when the company is involved in wrong doing. Bring a `company rat` is a very new idea in Japan. Those who do roll over on the company cite that they wanted things to be done the right way. It is still a big risk to report wrong doing. Those who have went to the police reporting illegal actions taken by companies have suffered grave rewards for their actions. Many can no longer find work in their chosen profession. Even worse some even end up homeless because others companies will not hire. The good news is that the government passed a law making it illegal for companies to attack employees who report illegal actions. In time many see the Japanese company salary man becoming the independent salary man.
The raise of workers demanding more rights and resisting company policy is also making its way into the cultural fabric of Japan. This is not to say that Japan lacks in workers rights. Japan does have over all the basics of protecting workers for the most part. The difference is that workers themselves are coming together apart from any government laws meant to protect them. The growth and strength of worker unions has lead to more successful strikes and improvements in pay and employee input. Slowly employee are becoming more brave in break from the traditional feudal bonds of loyalty with the company.
Starting in the 1990`s a new sub-cultural emerged in Japan; the freeter. In the west a freeter is know are a slacker; but in the Japan the raise of the freeter is very different. A freeter does not actually choose to be a freeter in all cases. The raise of the freeter was due to the economic melt down which occurred in Japan in the 1990`s. Suddenly many young people found themselves unable to attain stable decent paying jobs. Not wanting to simply live at home or go back to school many of the youth started to live a hand to mouth lifestyle. Working one temp job after another, sleeping in all night internet cafes, or opening up a small second hand clothing store, the Japanese slacker was borne. Content to make just enough money to survive and enjoying a beer and a cup of instant noodles for dinner, freeters are leaving their own mark on Japanese culture. The raise in popularity of internet cafes are due in large part to freeters. Lacking a place to call home many freeters will bed down for the night in a internet cafe. Most net cafes in Japan now offer small private rooms complete with a computer, shower and cheap food. During the day hours in Tokyo it is common to see people walking the streets with one small bag of luggage on wheels; the mark of a freeter. Their entire lives and all their belongings crammed into one bag of luggage. Freeter is fast becoming the lifestyle of choice for many young people in Japan.
Another new cultural development in post-modern Japan is the social status which working women have gained in recent years. While women`s lib has been apart of the social fabric of Japan for decades only in recent years has a new generation of young women emerged who relish in their social status as fully independent working women. A fast growing number of young women in today`s Japan are choosing to live on their own and unattached by the bounds of relationships. Young women are now enjoying, more than ever, some of the social perks traditionally reserved for men. Many young women are becoming a force in the business world and finding it much easier to break though the class ceiling. They are also taking the stance of `love on my time` which is traditionally an idea that a salary man would take. Oddly enough many working women are preferring freeter men because they usually have more time on their hands and can be available when women want and need them. Many young women say they don`t mind paying for dinner as long as he can spend the amount of time with her that she wants.
The culture of post-modern holds with it many new ideas and lifestyles which are not part of traditional Japanese cultural. The new face of Japan is slowly emerging.
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