existing in the city as a neon sign

Originally from an old server that is now gone. Reposted in September 2006.

and other random rants for a blog


...being a minority in a big city gives a person a lot of reasons to rant and complain, but before I start let me explain that this has nothing to do with Tokyo being in Japan, this is simply a rant about being a "neon sign" (that shouts: not japanese!) and what it feels like sometimes, it has nothing to do with my current place really, instead it has to do with being a foreign minority... a situation others deal with almost anywhere you go, so here is my perspectives of being a neon sign, followed by an after thought.



I was walking back to the train station, from work, the night had already draped over the day, and I was a bit tired. As I walked past a drunk man, he said (In drunken Japanese of course) "So whhhere areee YO-uu comin' from?" I just laughed and said "Your drunk." and kept going. Near the station, a woman working for a host club said (with a accent that was clearly foreign herself, maybe filipino, but it wasnt a chinese accent [the biggest minority in Japan i belive, does anyone know?] because I can hear that clearly now because of all the chinese people I have met that are learning japanese...) "Goodevening, please take this." I looked up and she let out a shocked gasp, backed away, and said to her pimp (who was watching the three women pass out flyers) "He's not Japanese." It was one of those neon-sign moments. Yes, I know I am not Japanese. And now my after thought, before it even seems like an afterthought... both of these experiences are explainable, the drunk... well, he was drunk and curious, no hard feelings. The hostess was maybe told by her pimp (do you call the boss of a hostess a pimp? or a trainer? or boss? whats the right word?) to only give the flyers to japanese businessmen, so no hard feelings there either... I just think life as a neon sign is interesting.



Another rant before I disapear. A few days ago, on a whim, I decided to go to Nagoya today, to have lunch with Yamamoto. On the way there I forgot the name of the shinkansen station that was closest to Nagoya, so I went to the closest ticket window and asked. He said he wasnt JapanRail, which was true, so he couldnt tell me. I asked him if he could just tell me his personal opinion, and he said his opinion was I should ask JR... I asked again and he said he didnt know, I asked if anyone there knew because I am stubborn and didnt know why someone couldnt just tell me... his boss came over and said that even if they did know they wouldnt tell me because they werent JR, which I thought was silly, a perfect example of big city politics... anyway, I went over to the JR booth but no one was there, and so I waited... a JR guy came out of the backroom, I stopped him, asked my simple question, and then he continued to exit the JR booth... as I watched he went over and entered the booth I went to first, and he either took a turn at the ticket desk or atleast was hanging out with those not-JR people... if they can hang out together why cant they answer questions about each others train lines? It was strange... but yeah, thats life in a big city, what do you expect?



Oh, and that was funny, going all the way to Nagoya for lunch (an hour and a half on superfast shinkansen train). Yes, I know I am crazy, but sometimes you have to do crazy things to keep balanced, or anyway, thats what I think.



SAMPAI JUMPA LAGI



22:17:00 | permalink | comments (13)


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Dansen - I have an idea of how you feel physically standing out. I have often felt the same way here in New Mexico... people keep asking me if I'm Irish and saying how pail I am :p It's weird for me.
Steph


Thank you for the postcard Dansen, I love you
Diego


I guess what I meant is how do you feel, I know you went into it a little, mainly through your description of the events...does it effect you every day? Do you feel like people treat you much differently all the time or just on these particular occasions? You see I will be a neon sign with out much Japanese at my disposal, I will learn and I will love to do so but just bracing for impact so to speak. I have tried like hell to start a few convesations up out of the blue with some Japanese students out here but my Japanese isn't good enough and they stare at my like I am attempting to murder them. Makes me feel like an arse and quite stupid as well. If I must feel like that everyday in Japan I want to be fore warned. I am going to Japan regaurdless, it is an adventure I would not soon pass up and I want to experience the neon sign phenomanon, I guess I am just mining you for information. So on that note and with out any real clarity of what I was trying to say, I better get back to work.
trench


I've had some experience in being a minority, and still am. I think that in Japan, the discrimination is out in the open, very direct and obvious, sometimes not even bothering to hide it. In American, it's very subtle, under the radar, and hidden. Sometimes I don't know which is better.
Diego


Difficult to put into words what I mean. I can't get onto JAN JAN anymore, I keep recieving an "Internal Server Error". Any way. Hope to see you soon. July. I will be in Montana after June 14th so my internet access will be limited.
trench


trench... experiences? did you miss my second paragraph?? :p its all about two experiences I had!! and Tanya (one of my ex-coworkers) gives a great experience of being gaijin in tokyo (in these comments, scroll down) if you want further, you'll have to wait for another post in the future! woo! :) ^.^;
Dansen


I guess am an fishing for information, experience and anecdote. I too will soon be a neon sign so I am a bit rabid over information or your take on it.
trench


First off, Aaron... Korean-Japanese arent what I meant, they are an important part of Japanese society, and could be considered a minority, but I ment Foreign Born nationals, being born in Japan qualifies you as Japanese in my book... and of us foreign borners, I think Chinese are the most? I'm not sure. Tanya, I have also had situations of being with Asian-American friends and (i speak enough japanese) have met the situation you explained, its one of those things, no hard feelings for anyone, I guess its just the way things are sometimes... Trench.. what didnt I relate? You expand and I expand... and Ted, what are you talking about? Oh, the train thing? Yeah, I understand that, it just seemed like he could help me... but i guess I was annoying. Aaron, you have brown eyes? I thought hazel.. no? anywaysers, yeah, i had a little student telling all about "foreigners" and what they expect which isnt really fair... because thats why I like to point out there is a wild rainbow of cool foreigners here! woo! anyway, peace, thanks for all the beautiful comments, any more are welcome too.. peace! ^-^
Dansen


I had some kids the other day telling the teacher about how I have blue eyes because I'm a foreigner, and the teacher was like, "What? He doesn't have blue eyes!" and just kept talking about my blue eyes, so the teacher said, "look at his eyes, they're brown, just like yours!". It was interesting.

But usually, I don't feel any more like a neon sign here than anywhere else. I think that it's actually more quite and peaceful. I can't understand most of what people are saying unless they are talking directly to me, and I can't read most of the advertisements, so the people talking just turns into white noise, and the advertisements, even though the are so much more prevalent than in America, turn into a mass of colors. I had a hard time dealing with all the noise and everything the first time I returned to the states after a year in Japan.
Aaron


I have been a minority MANY times in my life. I just seem to fit into waht ever situation I am in though. I understand about the guy not wanting to answer your question. They prob get upset about all teh people who come up and ask them about stuff that they are not reesponsible for. It seems like a simple thing that they could just give you the answer and it really is no big deal to others, but if you work at the place and constantly get asked a question about somewhere else it would prob begin to gratee on you
Ted


Elaborate. How do you feel being neon? You related your expereinces but not fully what it made you feel. I am curious.
Trench


Well, Dansen I had the opposite problem. I felt like a fake, a phoney, a wolf dressed in sheep's clothing. When I wen out with foreigners that know more Japanese than me and said "Nihongo wa amari hanase masen" they completely ignored the foreigner next to me and kept talking to me in Japanese. I don't mind so much but usually the person next to me gets really pissed off.

Then in voice they used say stuff like, "We are glad to have you we feel more comfortable because you are like us". Then I used to question why and they would say stuff like the first time they meet foreigners they're really nervous and are surprised and shocked by their blue eyes and blond hair and they can't believe that there's an actual foreigner in the room like they see in movies. Then it's strange for me because I used to have to try and tell them they should really look beyond that yet I could sort of understand that it is a strange thing for them.
Tanya


The biggest minority in Japan is Korean.
He's a pimp.
You're crazy.
It not really hot today, but it was soooooooo humid.
Aaron

doing nothing is something

Originally from an old server that is now gone. Reposted in September 2006.

summer is coming this way


It was (and will be when he stops by again) fun to see Seth, but after a week of being a host again, I found myself needing some alone time. I didnt make any plans, and just woke up early. The warm pre-summer sun was shinning outside the window, life was alive; kids making noise, cars passing, neighbor's music. I laid there for awhile thinking about nothing important. My new hobby is playing around (I cant play it) on a slick black guitar... so I woke up and played a little noise, stopped and opened my window and listened to life somemore. I finished most of the book (in English, Seth gave it to me) "Lost Japan" if you didnt read that book, you should check it out, a lot of deep thoughts about old japan stuff.... recently, my opinions of being here have evolved a little. I used to never really feel like I was in a "foreign" country, and no matter how weird this sounds, I still dont really feel like that... but recently, I have been feeling a little bit more awe for old stuff. I'm not really someone interested in samurai or geisha or anything, but I am slowly thinking about history and is implications on now. history makes the us that is the now that is the us that we will become. or something like that, more on that when I cook my thoughts further.



today while i was walking around doing nothing i took two pictures and captured them in the little box known as my falling apart digicam (I dropped it several times while in New Zealand, and now only tape holds it together). I shared these captured moments here:


[[missing files]]


teman saya.... DAAG!


01:35:00 | permalink | comments (8)


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aaron dont be getting jelous and bombing me or something... ^.^;; anyway, anyone who comes here looking for you will find me and then you so its all cools.
Dansen


Googlefight
http://www.googlefight.com/cgi-bin/compare.pl?q1=getoutfast&q2=neonvirus&B1=Make+a+fight%21&compare=1&langue=us
Aaron


Someone did a search for "getoutfast" on msn, and your site comes up first, and mine is fourth!
Aaron


tanya, here mentions that topic at the end of his last book, I am going to try to have to read... i do disagree with a lot of what he says though, but he is interesting! Aaron re: imgspot.com... its kind of weird that the images go to a site with no control, what if you want to delete them or something? and that wouldnt work for keitai (i solved my keitai problem for the moment) .. why should i get trackback? and diego, your " i like to hear children playing thing" was cool, made me think "wow, he is a daddy now" and then the next kinkywinky remark made me think you still arent THAT matute (phew! i was worried!) ..best regards to all
Dansen


The second Alex Kerr book "Dogs and Demons - the rise and fall of Modern Japan" is quite good too. It kind of goes behind the politics of how Japan ruined a lot of it's beautiful nature due to politics and the government. It is kind of strange how you can get mobile phone reception almost anywhere in this country except for an izakaya located in a basement, but you can be in the middle of a forest and still used your phone.
Tanya


Take a gander at http://www.IMGSpot.com/
Aaron


You should get trackback from Haloscan.com
Aaron


Don't drop the digicam, man! I love the sound of children playing. So carefree and wonderful. Brings me back to childhood when I used to hear children play in the distance.

Alone time, eh? Use lotion.
Diego

seth is here and cellphones

Orginally from an old server that is now gone. Reposted in September 2006.

time is buzzing past me


Well, Seth got here! He has been sleeping on one of my thin futons for about a week now. (I feel sorry for him! I like thin futons, but most people think thats uncomfortable I guess.... I hope he survives!) On my off days, I have been taking him around Tokyo area, and introducing him to some of my friends... its been good for me to get out and see parts of Tokyo I dont get to that often! (and we saw an awesome sunset near the Rainbow Bridge, see a low quality picture of that in my "japan" album!) The sun was so perfect, the light golden and crispy, and the air was lush and soft....Seth will finish visiting me someday soon, and continue on his journey.... (for a day, Aaron was here too, that was three people in my one room appartment, it reminded me of when Evan and Nick visited my "youth hostel" !!)



The other day I was walking home from my train station, with Seth, and we walked past this car that had a ringing cellphone under it. There was a man slouched down inside, and the phone just kept ringing. I couldnt help my imagination... I thought it would have been funny to pick up the phone and answer it (in Japanese of course):
Me: Hello?
Caller: Hello?? Satoshi??

Me: Oh no. He threw his phone under his car, you must have pissed him off... do you wanna talk to him?
Caller: [crying] give me satoshi! satoshi!
Me: [nocking on the window of the car] hey, someone wants to say hello...

OK. That was stupid, but something like that really did come into my head. Anyway, in the morning when I was walking to work I saw the cellphone and it was smashed to peices in the same place... he must have got tired of hearing the phone ring or decided never to talk to the caller. Awww.. such is life.



Anyway, thats about all I have to say for now. Belive in peace. DAAG!



23:54:00 | permalink | comments (1)


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Running into situations like that are for lack of a better description, the spice of life. You catch a fragment of someone elses life and you build a story around it...I am going to put your experience in a short film, it would be a cool series of shots....
trench

summer starts to crawl this way

Reposted from other source in 2013.

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So I am reading this "scary" book in Japanese called "Monster Cat Restraunt"... and yes, it's only a middle-school book... I know a lot of people can read kanji better than me, don't make fun of me, but anyway, its nice to read just for fun. Let me explain chapter two to you, its a fairly weird book. So theres this guy who has the hots for this girl (he really likes her) and they see each other a lot, but she says to him "I like hanging out with you, but dont come over on Fridays!" So, like a dork, he gets the urge to see her one Friday night and decides to go over. Its one of those creepy moonlit nights, and when he gets near her house, he crosses a bridge... and on this bridge he sees a huge group of cats dancing and singing. He thinks its kind of creepy, and one of the cats comes over to him and starts meowing, and he thinks its annoyingly noisy so he pulls out a sword (that he just happened to have with him??) and he cuts off the cats leg! The cat screams in pain, and runs off. He thinks its kind of cool, so he picks up the severed leg and puts it in his pocket. He takes his time, but eventually gets to his lover's house. He opens the door and she is laying in bed groaning. He is worried about her so he rushes over, and (lets not think he was being horny at a time like this!) he pulls back her covers to reveal that her leg has been hacked off!! He steps back, startled, and reaches in his pocket to pull out the cat leg but instead he pulls out her leg!! (this is where the story lost me, how could you have a woman's leg in your pocket and not notice?!) Anyway, in a morbidly cool way, these stories are fun. (Its a collection of short, shocking, stories...) I also bought Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn (in Japanese of course, but I havent started that one, a 100YEN at BookOFF!) I also saw Little House on the Prairie, but for some reason it was translated "Little House in the Big Forest" ... is this just a different story in the same book series, does anyone know? I was thinking maybe it was hard to translate prairie into kid Japanese, since there isnt really any places like that here... hmmm. (I looked it up, in Japanese it looks like the word for prairie also means moor which totally makes no sense in the context of the story I guess? Anyway, something like that. woo woo)

On Saturday I went to Yuco's birthday party. It was an all-you-can drink party, and she had invited a lot of people from her So-So club. I went to one of their parties before (remember hearing about that last Christmas?) and its always so fun... its like a frat-party with drinking songs. I was working the next day, and for some reason I am a responsible teacher, so I didnt drink that much... but some people drank so much. Whole bottles at a time, beer seeming like water... well, I couldnt even drink water that fast. The atmosphere, was very international, people from all sorts of countries speaking Japanese and English. Aaron is in Japan now, and I saw him there! (He looked genki as ever, and so did Yuco...!) It was a warm, interesting party, even if I had to leave early because I was working the next day.

Summer is getting closer, and so I guess the Matsuri festival season is coming...? Today I worked in Irumashi (sometimes known as Iruma) and they were having a big festival... a lot of cool old, traditional-style, drums and at night they had the cool chochin lanterns... it was cool. I put some pictures of it in my "day-to-day Japan" album, and I'm going to try direct links on my page today, groovy! (click below)

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Other than that, nothing much new to report. My life is alive. With the sound of music. Heeee haw! ..... Belive in peace. DAAG!

that sucked

I just typed about not knowing what to say, and then I pressed submit and it was eaten by the random chaos of the universe... my entry is forever gone. A quick summary of what i mentioned... on Sunday, I saw a very cool documentary about the Theremin instrument... if you dont know about Theremins you should follow the links to learn about it. It was an electronic instrument invented in 1919, its played by moving your hands around a box, in the air... its really freaky and interesting I think. I also said I was affraid of posting a totally boring entry (because I couldnt remember what i was going to say) so I would sign off with: Seth called me, he is coming up to Tokyo to visit on the 27th until the 5th! Cool... and also, the web is amazing if you let yourself sink into the surf... they think jesus died in japan...! and they are actually fighting about what to feed a rabbit!?! And this amazing painting of Japanese-American nisei babies in an American concentration camp (link ref). I love the net... its endless... SAMPAI JUMPA LAGI...

seeing friends and drinking goodbyes

Reposted from other source in 2013.

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Another week. On monday I saw Yuco, Satomi and Yuco's friend Kumi. It was really good seeing them again, I hadnt seen either for a long time. We just went to a bar named Soul Food in Seibu-Shinjuku. Me and Diana used to go there, so it was cool to see the place, which looked kind of different this time. I forced them to speak only English, I didnt say anything in Japanese, it was an English day... afterwards I felt a little guilty, because I am in Japan, I should be speaking Japanese, but its good English practice.... speaking Japanese in Japan brings me to another story, which I'll mention soon, but first I want to say I saw Marykoh again, on Tuesday, after I hadnt seen her for awhile. We talked about life, and ate pizza, but then I realized I would be late for Tanya's goodbye party... I need to try not to squeeze too much into one day, anyway, I ran to my station and when I got there, I ran into another teacher, Nathen. He asked me where I was going, said he would come along... first he suggested we get some beers at the convience store, and I was coming late to the goodbye party, and I thought everyone would be very drunk, so I thought having a beer first wasnt such a bad idea... but we get to the store, and he must have been drunk already, because he starts talking in weird English to the cashier "Can I buy this beer? Thank you very much, I dont want a bag please!" really loud, and (I thought) strange. A Japanese man (maybe he was drunk too) behind him said loudly (in Japanese) "Shut the f*ck up asshole, your in Japan, speak Japanese!" I didnt agree with the mean words, but I agreed with the idea, but Nathen just decided to go over and talk to the guy, comfront him in English or something. I decided to start walking to the party, didnt feel like being around that. Later Nathen caught up to me... we started to walk together, but he stopped at a bus stop and started talking to some Japanese people in loud English. I didnt wait at all this time, and I just told him I was going to the party. It makes me think. Is this rude of him? Is it rude of me to not speak to Japanese people (that I dont know)? Is he being friendly? Should someone speak Japanese in Japan? I think so, why do I think so? Anyway, this made me really think about my opinions and everything. I'm interested in what others think. I got to Tanya's goodbye party, and it was wild, so much beer and drunk people. It reminded me of college, and going to someone's dorm and sitting around talking in a drunken haze. I dont really do this so often here in Japan, I'd rather just have friends over at my house.. have a few drinks and watch a movie or talk or something... I guess thats my personality. It was a funny party though... the waitor came in to tell us we had to leave soon, and we (the party people) talked him into chugging (drinking at one time) THREE (yes I said 3) beers ... and he was still ok afterwards, I was impressed, his boss must have trained him on drinking with customers or something? I would pass out if I chugged that much. Life continues. DAAG!

Cool plans are bubbling!

Originally posted on a different server, reposted here for history in 2013.

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finally, an update!

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Well, I am finally taking the time to sit down and WRITE in my journal/blog/diary thing (whatever this is?)... I was using the computer the other day, but it was writting about Japanese adjectives for Trench (if you want to see, click the "do it here" link at that site) and making a board game for my students....

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Anyway, I am finally writting. So what has been happening? (I added a poorly compressed picture, I had to use a bad program to do it, of pretty clouds in Higashimuriyama, to my day-to-day Japan album!) Uhm... I had a lot of things I wanted to write about it, but I have that problem ... when you sit down you forget what you wanted to actually say.

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I have this kid's class, and the kid's are really bad (dont misunderstand, most of the kid's classes I have the kids are wonderful....! but not in this one...) The kids are really evil, they used to rip up my lesson plans and draw on each other (they are about 11 or so I guess)... Recently I have become strict with them and they aren't acting bad, but now they are talking bad. I of course always only talk English with them (once I forgot and said the Japanese "OK, ready!" word when I was making them something, I dont think they noticed conciously but it was amazing how powerful your native language controls you... they obyed me in that moment more than they ever had...!) Last week one of the students called me a "shit head" (in Japanese of course, loose translation) and one of the other student giggled/gasped and said (in Japanese also of course) "You shouldnt say that to a teacher!" and the little girl who had called me that name said "It's okay, he can't speak Japanese." I wanted to tell her a few things in Japanese about how she should behave, but I think they should be encouraged to use English and will get more lazy if I speak any Japanese. Anyway. Sigh.

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Cool plans... Evan (from my college in America) will visit me with his friend Nick, they are coming on the 19th (until the 25th)... less than a week! They will stay at my place....! Next week I will see someone who used to be one of my e-mail students, Sanda, and try out a cool resturant in Shinjuku, Wolf Gang Puck's resturant... ! And after that from March 30 to April 5th I will be out of the country! I am going on vacation with Yusuke... I dont want to jinx myself and say too much now before I finish the plans... but what you can know now... we plan to hitch hike where we go, we will be there for about 6 days and we plan to see most of the place, and it wont be super expensive... where do you think we are going?? ^_^*;; After that, Seth says he is still coming here to visit me too, he will be on a tour in Kansai area, but will make it up here to Tokyo area for Golden Week holiday. (And Christina, from my school in America, said she will be coming here to Tokyo with her mom in September...!) So many people visiting, so many plans... wooo! ok.. thats it for now...

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SAYA LUCU!?! DAAG!

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22:51:00 | permalink | comments (9)

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syrinx, there is no clear "rule" we cant, the strong rule of not speaking japanese with my students is my own. I'm a stubborn ox! ^.^; Dansen

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Here's an idea - don't speak Japanese to the students, but maybe say something in Japanese to a coworker right after class, loud enough for the students to hear as they are leaving. Enough to plant the seed in their minds that you know Japanese too, without breaking the rule of only speaking English with students. Syrinx

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I still agree with Trench and I. I think it's okay to let them know that you know. If they know that you know, then you will know that they know that you know and it will be less distracting. Aaron

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Dear "Joe"! Would you belive that I am such a freak that i WANTED to do that? Is it a flaw in my design? I like how it shakes up the pages on some browsers and on others causes all sorts of other havoic, it feels like the virus name in my neonvirus.com address... any other opinions on this matter? o.O thanks for the thoughts tho! Dansen

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You know how when you hover over a link and it gets bigger? You should change your a.hover to 12px. Joe

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I respect both of your opinions, but I think that its important to create a "you must speak English" atmosphere, so I only speak English with all my students, young or old, bad or good. And Diego, I agree with you... they are testing my boundries so to speak! ^.^; Dansen

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I agree with Trench. Let the little shit heads know that you know when they are calling you a shit head. Aaron

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Sorry to hear that some of your students are being disrepectful. That's kinda tough being a non-native speaker and they just automatically think you don't know what you're talking about. They're testing your boundaries - just let them know that they can't walk all over you. Tips from a parent! Diego

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I think it's ok to let a few well placed japanese words slip with your class, in an informal situation, such as parting or what not. Might help. Maybe not. Thanks for the help with Nihongo Trench

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NZ Vacation Diary Update

This was originally typed up a few weeks after returning from my trip to New Zealand with my college friend Yusuke. I typed it up from a hand written diary I wrote in a "passnet" notebook. This was originally on a different server that has been lost to time. Reposted on June 25, 2013.
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...(long!) typed from written records...!

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March 30th - In Malaysian airport
Me and Yusuke woke up early, pulled sleep out of our eyes and forced ourselves to get on the train that would take us to the airport. Recently, I have lost all hope of being a morning person and so I was lost in a sleepy haze. We got through customs fairly quickly, and then up, up, up and away. Airplanes never stop feeling weird to me. Tons of people stuffed in a bottle thats hurtling through the air. We were flying on Malaysian Airlines, and I was surprised how nice they were to us. They had those TVs on the back of every seat, showing movies or allowing you to play Nintendo games. We tried to sleep while hung against the sky, but at least I had a hard time falling asleep... too many in flight snacks, and too many entertainment options. As we approached our first lay-over in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) I noticed several things. In the "arrival card" I wrote "Japan" in the "country of residence" box, which had some sort of effect on me, even more so because I am moving to Korea next year. After that, Yusuke opened the window shade and we could see the most beautiful cloud-forest I have ever seen. Huge, fluffy, columns, that somehow reminded me of exploding mushrooms. Our airplane slide slowly into this massive white forest, and any other words cant really explain the serenity of those moments. This serenity was separated by the quiet realization of flying into a new country when the co-pilot made an announcement, "I'd like to remind you that brining illegal substances into Malaysia is a serious offense, which is punished by a mandatory death sentence." I didnt have any drugs, but this was a strong enough warning that I would wonder why anyone would bring any. At the moment of writing this me and Yusuke are sitting down waiting for our connecting flight to New Zealand.... Only one more hour until it gets here!
March 31
Flying into Auckland was another amazing cloud experience. Rows of cabbage-shaped clouds quickly moving over the crystal teal-blue oceans and softly rolling hills. Then later, as we approached the city, a million houses topped with tile-roofs. It took awhile to get through customs, longer than I expected anyway. Afterwards we just stood in the main airport entrance, the wonderful fall weather shinning in on us. We could smel the new country. Since I was 14 or 15 I have had a pen pal in New Zealand named Annabelle. She'll be going to England soon, to be with her boyfriend, but since she was still in Auckland we arranged to meet for lunch. (She was working that day, so lunch was the only time possible.) After I figured out the local pay phone, I gave her a call and we arranged to meet "downtown." I had no idea where downtown was, but it seemed findable. Me and Yusuke got on a bus to the city, but it turned out to be an unlucky bus... it ran out of gas and had a lot of problems, and the driver would get out of his seat and talk to the passengers at red lights. Culture difference? Eventually, we got to what seemed like "downtown" Auckland with a lot of artsy shops and a giant phallus-symbol tower (think: Seattle space needle). We called Annabelle again and turned out to be calling from only about a block from where she was working. We met for lunch at a hip little restraint on K street, and also saw a friend of hers. It was good seeing someone who had existed mainly in letters grow, morph, into a real flesh and blood person imprinted on my memory. After lunch, Anna led us back downtown, through a beautiful park. Me and Yusuke decided to take a bus out of Auckland, to a smaller city called Hamilton... about 2 hours away. So we said goodbye to Anna and walked down to the bay, were the buses stop. We got tickets from a burly man and then sat down at the edge of the bay, sunshine streaming down and warming our cheeks. We were so tired by the time we got on the bus we fell asleep, on and off; endless green hills, and sandy tropical clumps, streaming past the windows. We got to Hamilton as light was fading from the sky. We found a local bus, with another insane driver (hed open the entrance door while driving) in order to get to a youth hostel. The hostel was on "stop 5" so we asked the driver to tell us when we got there. We sat on the bus for a long time, wondering what was taking so long. Eventually, the bus driver turned off his inside lights and looked back surprised. He said he "forgot" about us, and that hed finished his route. I told him we were new to the area, and didnt have any idea were it was. He felt bad I guess, because he dropped us off infront of "stop 5" on his way to the bus parking lot. We stayed at the Flying Hedgehog Backpackers Inn, sharing a room with two other guys. One guy was from Scotland, the other one from Australia.
April 1
The next day we were walking to the inter-city bus station again, and stopped at an intersection. While we were waiting at the light a sports car with a young guy pulled up. He rolled down his window, flipped his middle finger at us and shouted "Go home!" When I was a student in the states, I used to go on walks with friends from other countries, sometimes dorks would yell similar things at us, so this New Zealand kid didnt bother me at all. We decided to take the bus to Taupo. Once again countless green hills, pushed past the window, although this time we also cut through a beautiful pine forest. We got to Taupo about 2 o'lock, and walked to the lake. It was massive, soft translucent water stretching to the horizons. Me and Yusuke sat down on the moss-gross near the edge of the water, and soaked in the sun like two toads on a log. It was so relaxing to just lounge there under the massive clouds and sprawling tree branches. After awhile we walked along the pebbled beach, causing ducks to quack and slowly scuttle into the water. As we walked around, literal thick sun beams visibly streamed down from clumped clouds, they looked something like a UFO beam shooting down to earth. We decided to look for a hostel we had seen earlier and ended up walking through the town forever. Eventually, we stopped at a public pay toilet, called super loo, and after Yusuke paid NZ 20 cents to use it, asked directions. We found the place, checked in, and went to a local Chinese take-out (or "take-away" as its called here) and took away full boxes of various Chinese food, paying another 20 cents for the chopsticks. Right now, we cant decide where to go tomorrow. And while I was writing this a third hostel guest (me and Yusuke were the first and second in this room, which fits up to eight) came in. After a brief conversation, I guessed he was Australian, he learned I came in from Japan, and he said that his brother had lived there for 2 years. So I said that Japan is a nice place, and asked why his brother left, and he said that his brother "had to get back to reality." Which surprised me and made me begin thinking about how we humans divide "Real" from "Unreal" and about why we sometimes think foreign things are not real. Are foreign people in Japan living inside a dream? Which side of reality are Americans, Canadians, Australians, etc, in when they are inside their own home countries? Is this way foreigners in Japan sometimes do such crazy things?
April 2
We decided we had enough free time, so we stood outs beside the road for a long time, trying to hitch hike. Eventually, it started to rain so we decided to just take a bus instead. The bus ended up taking almost the same route as when we came to Taupo, so a lot of things looked similar. Although this bus was driving at night which felt a lot different to me. I would sit the watching the shadows of trees, bushes, and sometimes houses, float past the window, amazed that even in the dark I could sense that this wasnt Japan or the States. I looked to the right, and I could see the upside down moon appearing to be pulled along by our bus. Thin, wispy, grey clouds filtered over the its surface and a dark night, with visible stars. The stars, of course, looked different than my expectations. Tomorrow, we plan to go to an island near Auckland named Waiheke. Tonight, we went to a restraint called "Masato Sushi & Kebabs" and then after checking in at the youth hostel, we went to Auckland's large Korea Town and used a cheap PCBAN.
April 3
We got to the island in about 35 minutes. The water was so clear, and the island looked really tropical, green trees clinging to hills sharpened by cliffs. Once we landed we decided to rent a car to check out the island. Yusuke brought his international drivers license, so he was the driver. Shortly after getting on the maze of roads threaded through the island, we noticed that most of the roads were tiny one lane paths that wound around steep valleys and twisted atop tall cliffs. Lets just say that driving was a bit risky. We drove for awhile, and eventually stopped at a beach somewhere. The small bay was surrounded by old lava-rock flows, and the water, although a little cold, was vibrant. We wandered around the beach, collecting cool shells, and walking on the old lava rocks. Yusuke shouted into the wind (in Japanese) "this is so beautiful!" and accidentally disturbed a topless sunbather we hadnt noticed. We continued driving, winding through the island, and eventually decided to look for the hostel. Awhile later, we found it, but they were full. They told us about another one, on the other side of the island, so we took off looking for it. We drove for awhile, but couldnt find it. We stopped at a small general store, and asked directions, but they directed us to one that was closed. We asked a local old man, his accent was thick, but we tried to understand. We continued along tiny spider-web sized local roads until we finally got to the hostel. They didnt have any rooms left either. They offered us a tent setup in the back yard, and we accepted because we heard it would rain that night (so sleeping on the beach or something wouldnt really work). We returned the car, went back to "downtown" (a few restraints and another general store) and ate a very good pizza for dinner. We went back to the hostel (without the car of course) as it became darker and cooler. The bumpy ground of the tent was my bed.
April 4
We couldnt help but wake up early, because the tent was a bit cold. I hadnt slept so well, mainly because a couple next to us decided to consummate their love for each other, vocally, for a good part of the night. (or in rougher terms, they were jumping on each other all night long yo!) As we woke up, we examined our mosquito bites, and decided to take the bus back to the ferry terminal. We walked to a remote bus stop, and waited. Eventually a completely crowded bus came, and drove for a distance and stopped at the beach. We asked the bus driver why the bus wasnt going to the ferry terminal and he laughed, the side of his scared face shaking. Apparently we had taken the wrong bus. He said, "Enjoy the picnic boys, I dont leave for the terminal for another 30 minutes." So we walked over to the beach. We were just in time for some local festival. Locals were vending home-made food (we ate steak and onion sandwiches) and a few minutes after we got there they had a cool horse race across the beach. The sun was sparkling off the wet sand and you could hear the horses thundering past. Eventually, we got on the ferry back to Auckland. The wind was blowing against us, and we could see the multi-colored sea (teal in splotches mixed with splotches of dark blue). When we got to Auckland, we walked around downtown for a few hours then went to the hostel. We planned to meet Anna after her work, but Yusuke said he needed a shower and he'd meet us a few hours later in the park. I met Anna and we just got tea and walked around. Talking about whatever (New Zealand, the weather, stamps, her boyfriend, shoes, anything) and then we went to the park to meet Yusuke, but he wasnt there. We waited for a half hour, eventually we decided to walk down the road looking for him. We found him in a different park, he had been waiting and talking to a Maori man who was also in the park. It was late, and Anna was tired, so we said our goodbyes, and she headed home. I felt bad Yusuke had missed hanging out but walking back towards the hostel he excitedly told me about his conversation with the Maori man. It sounded like he had a really good talk, so maybe it worked out ok for him. We decided to go to Auckland's huge Korea-town again before going back to sleep. There were a lot of cool Korean restaurants, and when we finally ate at one, it was really good. (The old lady waitress just laughed and shrugged when Yusuke tried to use English, correctly, in the store, so I used my broken Korean skills, and got our beers and food.) After that we went to an Irish pub further downtown, and then came back to the hostel. Right now everyone in this room is snoring loudly, will I be able to sleep? I hope so! Tomorrow is Malaysia!

April 5
I barely slept at all. The snoring was so loud, and random, I never closed my eyes for long. In the morning, we took a bus to the airport, and were jetting into the sky before we knew it. The next 12 hours were spent watching movies (ohmygod! Was I the only one to think Pay Check was dull and predictable?) and playing videogames on the little screen the airplane provided. We got to Malaysia at about 8:40 in the evening. Customs was really easy, compared to New Zealand, and then we took the "Sentral Ekspres" (spelled that way because of the Malay alphabet) to what we thought was downtown. It wasnt really, but we walked around for awhile anyway, trying to find a youth hostel. We didnt find one, so we stopped by a hotel to check the prices. The cheapest room was listed as costing about Malaysian 90, but the manager said hed give it to us for 60, which is very cheap (I guess about US$20 or something). After we checked in, we went on a walk through the local streets, pulling more stares than I even get in Tokyo. It was dark, and we both felt really foreign. We didnt really know any local culture, didnt know the area, or much of the language (I speak some Indonesian, and Malay is similar so I could read some signs). It was cool to be surrounded by such a different culture, before returning home to Japan.

A little news about now, after my trip:
The other day I was bored on a train and wondered how long my cellphone calendar would work. I started flipping the months and years up, 2010, 2034, 2057... I started to have visions of setting alarms for the far distant future so that people in 3040 could read my advice on world affairs, written in 21st century Japanese, but then it stopped at December 31, 2099. Theoretically I could outlive my cellphone. That sucks. Also, Kayo's little sister gave me a Super Famicon (think "Super Nintendo") that I have been wanting for a long time. I dont really like video games that much, compared to some of my friends (you know who you are!) but I am really interested in old technology and how technology changes so as soon as I get the AC adaptors setup and find some game cartridges, I'm going to be happy. (If your wondering, Im not sure, because I never owned one, but I think the Japanese version looks a lot different than the American version.) The last piece of information is this took forever to type and now my internet cafe bill is going to be super expensive...ughhhh... oh well. oh yeah, you can see a quick preview of three NZ vacation pictures in my "anything else" photo album, but most of my photos (and videos) are on my Korean page because I dont have enough space here....! BELIVE IN PEACE! SAMPAI JUMPA LAGI !!

snow and dreams

This was originally posted on a different server that is now lost, reposted for history in 2013.

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but not snow in dreams

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First off, I want to mention snow. I didn't really snow hard in Tokyo this year (maybe we will get a hard snow later this year, but I dont think so...) However, today, in this area we got a quick surprize shower this afternoon. I was talking to my Korean friends about that, and apparently they got dumped on. It snowed so heavy today, over there across the ocean. Made me jump back into my memories again. Childhood was the first snow memory that came to mind. I lived in the country-side, forests, trees, and big hills. One year, me and my friend Samuel climbed up a steep hill behind his house. The air was bright, I remember the sun shining on the snow, and honestly, the day right now is kind of lost in the haze of my bad memory... but I do remember the thrill of being up on the top of a tall hill, and just dropping down down down over newly packed snow, roaring down, watching the trees slip past. The next snow memory that randomly slipped into my mind, is when I was in college... I think it was my senior year, and I was helping Nakayama with homework. Nakayama has a very impulsive personality and after homework suggested we try to slide in the newly fallen snow. We didnt have a sled, so we just used bags and slid down on our butts. It was such fun, being silly and just getting muddy and wet from the snow. I like snow.... so, I know the snow in Korea must suck, but I am somehow jelous... maybe I wont be next year when I have to go to school in it, live in it, push my way to the bus in it. Snow!?

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Dreams. I have weird dreams. A long time ago I stopped having scary dreams when I learned how to control my dreams. I dont always control them, but when something goes wrong in the dreams, my self-edit mode normally starts and I can turn off the bad part of the dream, or if its really bad I can switch it litterly like a TV channel, and sometimes I even reboot it. (all these words are litteral devices I use in controling my dreams.) When I really have to, I can even turn my dreams off and wake up. If you didnt think I was crazy before, maybe you think I am now? ^.^; Anyway, the other day I had this dream with the back of someone's head that seemed really creepy, so I changed it, and it changed back to that shot, so I changed it again, and it changed back, so I switched the "dream channel" and the channel switched back, and I was just annoyed, so I decided to wake up. I woke up and laid there and then suddenly fall back asleep and was back in that dream and the person turned around and started pointing at me. I tried to switch it again and it didnt work, so I turned it off and woke up. Once again I feel back asleep too quickly, so fast in fact. It was kind of weird. This time the person was pointing at me and laughing and saying I made a mistake. It was really creepy. I tried to change, and tried to do all my normal things... and then it hit me, why was I falling asleep so quickly? And remembering my dreams so clearly? I was asleep still, I wasnt really turning off my dreams, my sub-brain was tricking me! When I realized that I was able to really turn of the dream and wake up for real. Weird huh? Final creepy thought... if I was able to reprogram myself to control my sub-brain (control my dreams) could it reprogram itself to control my awaking time? Is that madness?? Ahhhh!! ^^; Anyway... thats enought about that. Any questions?

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SAMPAI JUMPA LAGI !! GUE LUCU!!

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23:54:00 | permalink | comments (11)

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Dansen-- I was just thinking, I think you've got the year mistaken, unless you're calling the year you graduated your super-senior year. Because the time that it snowed really hard was the year before you graduated. Don't want to sound nitpicky, just thought you'd want to be able to properly contextualize your memories. Evan

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It's not really illegal if no one knows right? It's like Yuka's theory that if we don't know how much we owe in loans, then we shouldn't pay them. I just need away to survive for a few weeks until I get my Visa and start working. The job in Kanagawa is with the same company, but the Yokohama branch instead of the Tokyo branch. If it's in Yokohama, or near, I will take it. I may have to commute a little, since I still want to live in Tokyo. The problem that Ai doesn't seem to understand is that if I go to Japan before I get my visa, I will have to go to Korea, which I can't afford. I also wanted to by a one year open ticket, but I don't know if I can get one of those without a visa. Aaron

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aaron working illegally? why? differetn comp? same? will they let you?? no time now, i promise cool update soon!!!! Dansen

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Looks like I might be teaching in Yokohoma instead of Machida. It's actually not much further, maybe even closer, by Ai's perception is that it is farther, and she didn't seem very happy. Then again it was 1:30am when I was talking to her and she wasn't very coherent. I'll probably be there in mid April. I might work in a somewhat shady fashon for a week or two if she can find me something. Aaron

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Ok I am now on JAN JAN JAN, posted a question there. I am going to ask my brother in law if he will let you distribute his learn kana program, it's very small and really helpful, think you would like it. Three months and some change....almost there. Trenchy

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Yeah, the fake waking up thing has never happened to me. Usually, if I start to dream about something I don't like, I'm able to wake up. That is a thought to ponder. . .. Xal

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aaron you lost track a long time ago ^^;; and i want that book, need to brush up i do... and xal, weird thing wasnt the lucid dreaming it was the mind tricking fake waking up thing that got me... and ted, same kind of thing triggered my lucid dreaming, wonder if its a trend! hmm! ^^ dansen

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I just found the Illustrated Dictionary of Japanese Onomatopoeic Expressions in the library. It's fun. Aaron

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That doesn't seem strange at all. in fact I belive it has a neme. yeah. . . lucid dreamer. it's a subconcious thing. Good luck with it! -Xal

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I will sometimes have dreams where it's bad, so I wake up, only I didn't actually wake up and it goes bad again. Or sometimes when I am awake and walking around campus or something, I will remember something that I did or that heppened or that someone said, only I have this strange feeling that it didn't really happen. Eventually I realize that what I thought happened was actually in a dream. It feels like I am loosing track of what's real and what's not when I am awake. Aaron

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I am the same as you in that I too can control my dreams. It just happened one time when I was younger and being chased be wolves in a dream and I just stoped running and said the hell with it what is the worst that can happen.. and as it turned out I did not die. From that day on I could control my dreams. Lucid Ted

Life and another day

This was originally posted on a different server, reposted for history in 2013.

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thoughts or something like that

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I have been living, working, existing. (surprize?!) A few days ago, I saw a friend I hadnt seen in about 2 years. We met in Ikebukuro, after my work. My friend, Horikoshi, looked a little different to me... of course time changes people, but it was really good to see her. We went to a cafe and just talked about how Bush is stupid and other topics like that. Horikoshi bought me a sandwhich and stuff and then we had to each leave, we each had to get on our trains before it was too late.

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Diana is leaving Japan soon, she decided to quit her teaching job... So I was hanging out with her yesterday in Kichijoji, and she decided to get her hair dyed and stuff. That takes a lot of time, it was going to take about 5 hours to do it, so I walked around by myself... for about an hour I walked around in a really relaxing park. There park had a huge lake that I wandered around, on the far side was a small hill with plum trees in blossom, it was softly beautiful. (I took a few pictures of it, most are on my Korean page, but you can see 2 of the good ones in my day-to-day Japan album.)

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After walking around the park, I walked around the city of Kichijoji, and suddenly I remembered it was the first of the month. That meant that movie tickets were cheap, so to kill time I went to Lord of the Rings (its a 3 and a half hour movie after all!) ... it was a fun movie I guess, although it had a lot of holes in the story, unexplained things that confused me... but I guess those are in the original too... I did enjoy it though, but I couldnt help wonder about those kind of battles... how would you know who the enemy is? Too many people fighting! That was a half-thought brought to you by me. What?

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Oh before I forget... me and Yusuke plan to go on a vacation in a month. We had this cool plan but now he is saying he dosent have enough money for that... so I guess I should wait to say the plan until its final... but I'm excited!

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Anyway... time to go and clean my room. Its messy.

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SAMPAI JUMPA LAGI !!

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I still haven't gotten the time to see The Lord Of the Rings. . . NO FAIR! Amber

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That's a great park. I spent many hours there. Pretty soon every one of those trees around the pond will have cherry blossoms. I will probably miss it. I want to go to some hanami parties this year! The plums are starting to bloom in B'ham too. It's almost spring! Aaron

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hope you read this Trench... *boku* is totally not rude, in fact often its humble, so dont be affraid to use it.. however, syrinx should be discouraged from using it, since in sexist japanese it has male sounding qualities. women can say *atashi* (however over use of *atashi* can be odd, something like ultrafemine or some such) ... on a side note I WOULD LOVE TO DISCUSS this in my superfunky BBS made JUST FOR THIS kind of conversation, its on my JAN JAN JAN page, click on the "do it here" link near the bottom and lets begin learning Japanese! ya ya! if thats too annoying, here is fine too. ^.^;; ..I did make that BBS for sharing thoughts with yall though!! dansen

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Ok...question...is Boku rude? As in Watashi wa etc... could I not just say Boku wa or is that too informal? Loosing my mind learning Japanese. Boku wa hetta Gaijin desu. Trench

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Nice photos, very well composed. I'm jealous of your kick ass camera! Diego

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I like the new orange side bars! Steph

® NEON VIRUS! ®

Its weird, and out of the blue, but its time to update your bookmarks or whatever. I've decided to pack up my bags, and leave this blog for now. I wont delete it, because I will maybe return at a later date.... and I have over a YEAR in history (that you can read by clicking the archive link) but I'm moving in real life, and so I thought why not move my blog to something more shiny. I wanted to mix the idea of "homepage" with "diary" and the result is www.neonvirus.com .... for a half explenation of that title's meaning at the moment, please read the first entry. Keep in mind, I might return to this blog here from time to time and post stuff, its not fully ignored, but mostly it will be an archive from now on I guess. Keep in mind, my Japanese diary and my learning japanese diary and my cellphone's picture upload page will still remain on the web. They aren't being replaced by neonvirus. Anyway, thats that. Please go THERE from now on, if you want to read my English diary! Enjoy...

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ok now for a few words to help search engines help people find my page: neonvirus is a homepage made by Dansen also known as Dansen Waters or when he was a kid he was sometimes called Danny Waters. He lives in Tokyo, Japan and he used the old name maisui sometimes when he had another site, and now he wants you to remember the words NOVA, and learning, homeschool, and WWU, and WCC, and Western Washington University, and finally Japan Radio that was in Bellingham.

OK. I know that was stupid, but maybe someone will be able to find me because of those weird words! oh yeah. So now go enjoy the transmission already in progress...!

TEMAN SAYA, SAMPAI JUMPA!!

A new month, Asia University Festival, and etc..

Well, I just did that annoying thing that everyone does every now and again... typed a big chunk of text and then accidently lost my post to a traveling group of monstrous robots. Damn, I guess I have to type it again. Anyway, I was saying, its November... the weather is changing, I can feel Winter slowly crawling this way. Pitter-patter, flutter, wudder... as some could say!? Anyway, the day before yesterday (monday) I went to a festival at Asia University (if you don't know... I went to Western Washington University, and while I was there I met many different cycles of Asia University students [called AUAP students] some of them I hung out with, a few became friends) It was weird to see the campus, I felt like I was suddenly in a role-reversal. On my campus, there had been tons of American students and some Japanese students... on the AU campus there was tons of Japanese students and even less American students (I counted maybe 3 others besides me) ...it was fun to see things that way. It was a fairly nice day, not too cold. I met USK at his food booth (they were selling a kind of pancake with sweet bean paste inside... USK had named his club Park Life, which was interesting I think) there was tons of other booths selling things, kind of like a Japanese Matsuri festival. I went around, tried some of the food, and stuff. I sat down and one of the guys who was at the radio show last week saw me and was talking to me in Japanese... suddenly Mutsuko came up and said "Hey! Why you speaking French?!" in Japanese... (you can see her with fake grandparents on my keitai page) If this seems confusing, its because I would always call Japanese as French when they were in America, and pretend I couldnt speak it (I know, I'm silly) and although she maybe knew I could really speak it a little, she was surprized I guess. So I walked with them (mumumuchan and friend) to a kimono place, she tried on a cool kimono (while waiting for mumumuchan me and her friend met another AUAP student I had known, megumi or something? selling this food that was a mix of korean and mexican food.. interesting!) when mumumuchan was done getting on her kimono we all walked back towards the direction of USK... thats when we ran across this little kid that was lost (said his last name was SATO or something?) and we tried to help him find his mom. We still hadnt found his mommie by the time we got to USK's food booth. The kid came up to it and said "Mmmm whats that?" in Japanese and then we told him and he said (way too obviously!!) "Wow, I really like sweet-bean paste!" It was clear he wanted it, so... I was a sucker. I gave USK the 190YEN for one, and asked USK to give him one. The kid came over and said "wooh, are you sure its ok?" and I said something like "sure sure, eat it." and he said "Wow, thank you!" and I say your welcome... and then he went off with mumumuchan to find his mom. I thought he was a silly kid, and thats why he comes into my mind now. After that me and USK went and checked out Satoshi's duel techno DJ performance thing... heavy eruo-beats with trippy psychedelic screens pulsing weird tripped out pictures.... cool! and then we went outside to this stage performance that was starting, just as the rain started to crash down. The dancers had a lot of guts though, they had practiced really hard, and weren't going to let a little thing like rain stop them... they sloshed and slid through their amazing brake-dancing inspired dance routines (althoughbeing soaked by rain was a negetive thing for those wearing thin white clothes or who tried to spin on their heads...) but their determination impressed me... although a few people almost broke their necks while sliding on the slick stage. After that, me and USK went to a room to listen to his friend play punk DJ. What? Well, a DJ like for hip hop.. but instead it was punk music... do we have that outside of Japan too? I'm not sure... the last thing we checked out was a final party thing that was inside this huge auditorium... it was really cool, because someone had given most of the crowd green glow sticks... so when everyone was excited they would wave the glow sticks in these waves, it looked so cool (I tried to capture it with my cellphone, but you couldnt really see it, so I didnt put it on my keitai page,... if you want to see what I did capture, to try to get some idea, click here...! The picture only shows the first wave, there was people all threw that bottom part of the picture that is just black in the picture...and the white hole in the center is the stage with the performance announcer.) Anyway, the "final party" thing was fun... some audience games and stuff... one of the performances was this young female comedian, and I actually understood some of her jokes, so I thought that was cool.... (one of her things was this song she made up where she sang something like "Ok, yeah, whatever" as a reply to anything... it was funny! and hard to explain.) The next comedians were kind of complicated, so I emberessingly fell asleep for some of it (hey! it was dark, it was a little tired, what can I say!) but I did get some of it. At the end, the behind-the-stage helper-people came on stage, so I could see my other friend Satomi on stage! Salt-omi didnt get to say anything, and she looked nervous, but it was fun to see another friend.... .. but, the weirdest performance that day must have been the opening act though... a bunch of guys ran on to the stage in their underwear (not sexy underwear, just normal fruit-of-the-loom underwear) and began dancing to Japanese 80s music while waving pom-poms, and then suddenly a dude dressed in a cheesy dinosaur outfit also ran on stage and joined them. They did this for a bit, with matching flashes of light, and etc,... really weird, and then when they were all done (fairly quickly) the stage curtains dropped and they just stood there.... and then the announcers came on stage and were like "uhhh, yeah, do you guys have something to say or something?" and they were like "AHHHH!!! NO!!!" and ran away throuh the crowd. The announcers were puzzeled, so was I, and I guess a lot of the audience (although people were laughing also, because it was just so damn weird!) ...anyway, that was that. Tomorrow another week of work starts, one week closer until I have my paycheck and move into my new place. Wooo. Life will be changing again, I guess! wooo! anyway, please feel free to comment but only if you really have a thought or question I guess... or whatever, but yeah. BIGGLES!

SAMPAI JUMPA!