Yesterday, I had three class. Two of those classes I had a booger on my nose and NOBODY told me. Bastids. If it was JHS kids they probably would have said something, but I guess the students were keeping it as an inside joke between them. I mean, I probably would have done the same thing. If someone has a boogr on their nose, I wouldn't tell them. In fact, I would probably try to take some pictures or something. Luckily they didn't.
update: Got my xbox back. The turnaround in Japan is about 10 days. Pretty quick, I must say. Let's see how long it lasts this time. They changed the same things. algo-something board, and motherboard. I am always the lowest ranked guy in the games. Everyone must play this thing non-stop. I remember when there were only some people that had the ninja sword, or gold faceplate, but it seems like now, everyone has it. Except me that is. Everyone knows these cool hiding spots to ambush me at, too. I suck. Better keep practicing. That thing is such a time drainer though. I play like three games, and an hour has gone by. I don't start getting warmed up until like my fifth game, too. Anyone wants to melee a noob, look me up. gamertag: skubz
update on the update: xbox blows son of motherless goat. Red ring of death again. This time it lasted one day. What is it? Is the electricity in my apartment different from the rest of the world? That huge brick of a power adapter not doing it's job correctly?
mama-chari
Japanese people think of everything. What we have here is the electric chari, or grandma's bike. There is one major type of bicycle style in Japan, and you are looking at it. It has a basket in the front, and sometimes one in the back, too. It has big skinny wheels, and a bell on the right handlebar. It is does not look cool. Why they don't have a thriving market for cool looking bikes here I have no idea. Anyway, this is a special bicycle. See that white box thing on the frame? That's the engine. Yup, a bike with an engine. It's battery powered, and usually old grandma ladies have these. It gives you the feel and look of exercising while doing absolutely nothing. I don't think they go that fast because all the ones that I have seen I have passed on my non-electric bicycle.
the hostess
In my English conversation class there are always a few interesting people that I get to meet, whom I would never meet out on the streets. Today, in my introduction class we were going around and asking each other what we did for work, school whatever. The new girls said that she was a kabakura girl. Every couple months or so, a girl that works in a hostess club will come to class, but they usually aren't that fun for some reason. The new girl today has bleached out hair, wore excessive make-up (she is actually decent looking), had knee high boots (as do all girls in Japan this time of year), and a mini skirt (It's like 45 degrees today). She was pulling a Minnie Mouse carry on suitcase. It was hilarious. Anyway, the other two students (girls) were getting all embarrassed when she was a kabakura girl, and I was trying to get her to explain what that was, and what they did. Apparently, kabakura girls are lower than hostesses. Hostesses are what kabakura girls want to become, or something like that. I didn't ask her how much money she made, but she said that she goes traveling a lot including HongKong, so that she could go to Disneyland, which she said was mostly broken. haha. I told her about what hostess clubs are like in Hawaii (through second hand information of course), and she said that it's the same in Japan (borderline prostitution). Except for the clubs in Ginza, which are just for paying the big bucks for idle chatter. I'll ask her how much she makes next time. I didn't think about it this time.
Other than that. A cold windy day in the motherland.
Other than that. A cold windy day in the motherland.
Fergie/Carol/Mary
Picture using my ninja skills.
Saturday, I walked over to the super arena, to take in Kikkoman's three great american voices concert. I really didn't know what to expect because I don't listen to Fergie, had no idea who Carol King was, and the last time I listened to Mary J. Blige was I think in high school.
Let me just say that the concert blew all that out the window.
Fergie came on first, and I just picture her as the girl that sings with the Black Eyed Peas, who I don't really listen to anyway, but she held her own. Her song set was crazy. First of all, let me say that this girl can sing. I thought she was going to blow out the speakers, and she hit all her notes. She did all her new songs, and even the BEP songs. Then she sang some songs that I had never heard. She did a reggae song, which I thought was cool, then if that wasn't enough genre crossing she did a rcok song complete with headbanging. It was awesome. After Fergie came Carol.
I don't really know who she is, or why these three were picked as the 3 great american voices, but when Carol started to sing, I recognized her right away. Her set was more intimate, with just her, a piano, and two dudes playing acoustic guitars. It was like a lounge except with 8000 people, or however many people were there. Inbetween sets she threw chatted with the crowd, and even threw in some Japanese here and there. She had the best pronunciation of the three.
Then Mary came out, and she just blew the speakers out. It was like she was having labor pains or something. She was putting so much emotion into her singing, I didn't know whether to sing along, or rush the stage to give her a hug. She's the new whitney, 'cept that she's not that new. She's the new old Whitney. She did a cover of U2's "One," and it was fan frickin tastic. The end of the night, had the three come out to do a couple of songs together. All in all 8000 yen well spent.
the slump
Boy, the days are really dragging by, now. What is going on? It could be that I have been in the same place for two years now, which is pretty long for me. At about this time is when I usually move to a new place, change jobs, or buy a new toy. I don't have enough money for a juiced '64 impala, so I guess the new toy is out of the question. I could change jobs except that I'm in a country that doesn't speak English, and there are no pineapple plantations (Maui Pine all the way baby) around here. I could move, but I kind of like the area where I'm living now, and there isn't anywhere that I want to move to. I do want to move to a bigger apartment that is two minutes walk from the station, but I don't have the grand a month in rent that it will be. I wonder how long I can stand being an ALT. It's a fun, easy job, but it has no advancement opportunities. If anything the only way is down. Less pay, less vacation, less classes, crappier school. I'm gonna have to go to my fallback plan of making shafts for a living. Too bad diving is illegal in Japan. dangit! Which also rules out Corruption. Man, you could make a killing on corruption here. Nobody dives, so I can imagine what the grounds are like. Could probably make a killing on tako, abalone, vana, and lobsters. I wonder how much writing stories about something that no one has an interest in (diving) would pay? Probably not that much. Guess I'm gonna have to do what a man's gotta do in these situations. Become a professional Halo3 player. After I get my xbox back from the repair center that is. Fire it up!
It's been a while old friend
Went to ochanomizu over the weekend to look at snowboarding jackets, and stopped in to kua'aina for a taste of heaven. Bacon cheeseburger set. Good stuff!
