|
04.24.06/23:11 the drying system
This picture depicts the forefront of the revolution.
The indoor drying system is comprised of a pants-presser, three plastic crates, and half of my outdoor drying pole. It keeps clothes suspended just inches over the ground, and in a semi-dry environment free of wind and rain and locusts.
I've patented this invention, but if you'd like to use this technology within your company or home, I'm open to negotiations. For the time being, it will merely be a means to ensure I have dry underwears and shirts. Thank you for your time. Stay tuned for further developments. 04.14.06/01:00 rest in peace Everyone has their own story about how they first found him. Mine is pretty much like yours probably is, so I'll keep it short: I started reading his stuff during my most awkward phase of high school, and I felt like I had a friend.
With him and HST gone, the world is a little less magical, and a little less irreverent. So it goes.
... 04.10.06/00:12 and by the way...
That is all. 04.09.06/23:25 oh, hanami
The latest Hanami party was our unofficial work party, which the manager refused to endorse, acknowledge, or otherwise associate with, knowing the kind of hijinx that me and the other teachers get up to. So it goes. 04.04.07/00:24 today
First off, there were people FIGHTING in the train station today. Two young Japanese guys were beating the holy hell out of each other in front of the ticket machines, and the station manager was watching, wholly uninterested. People kept telling him about it, and he simply didn't care.
Going through the ticket gates, things got weirder. The trains were in a random state of flux where there were no schedules, just randomly appearing trains at indeterminate intervals. Kind of like a normal day in America. Here's some wisdom from my bartender:
Me: Do you think it was because of a jumper? Him: Nah, they usually clear that up pretty quickly. Most likely it was an accident or a snapped cable or something.
Crazy. And things didn't get any less weird when I arrived in Tokyo. Akihabara contains two of my FAVORITE things in the WORLD. They are: maid bars and SUPER POTATO. Maid bars are bars where you're served by girls dressed as maids, and Super Potato is 3 levels of video gaming bliss.
It has old consoles for sale, systems that never made it to the 'states or didn't last too long if they did, like Virtual Boys and a host of others I can't even remember. You can buy games, as well, and merchandise. Comic books, guides, controllers, anything. And the top level has an arcade with old console games. And you can SMOKE there.
Shit is crazy.
Finally, we went to Ueno Kouen to do some late-night hanami. Hanami is a word that means 'flower viewing' and it pertains to the cherry blossom trees that exist all over Japan. Ueno Park-style hanami involves picnicking in this huge park and drinking lots of alcohol, and apparently extends until the wee hours of the morning.
There was no part of today I didn't like...and no part of it I understood. Full moon? It's in two hours...maybe? No?
Also, I bought a video game. I hope the language barrier doesn't do too much to prevent me from enjoying it. From now, I plan to shower and sleep, and stop using phrases like 'from now' in totally Engrish contexts that make me feel and appear stupid to my readers and friends. 04.01.07/20:53 katsutadai, dochi e?
My first attempt to inflate my tires ended in utter disappointment, evidenced by the almost immediate destruction of my first tire pump, a 300 yen piece of junk that couldn't withstand my mighty gaijin powers. My next investment, a 500 yen pump, proved to be much more durable.
With tires and lungs full of air, I charged blindly into Japan, and only after about one hour did I realize I had no idea where I was. It was kind of frightening, but I continued to press ahead until things got increasingly desolate and isolated. At least the sakura trees were pretty...
I went in and recharged, ate some karaage, drank a coke, and contemplated my new life there, standing in front of Lawson, feeling confused. I calculated how much money I had with me, and figured I could stay there for about a week without starving to death.
Then I made an important realization: I could ask the store clerk how to get back to Katsutadai. It was only after he told me he'd never heard of it when I reasserted my original assumption that I was going to die.
Did I tell you I bought a new guitar named Lolita? Well, I did. Were there other important developments in the last few weeks that I've failed to mention? It's possible, but it's now impossible to know, now that all this time has passed. Such is life. |
|
The
weather here has been kind of teh suck lately. For two straight
weeks. If it happens to be sunny, it's sun with gale-force winds
that blow the paint off your car. So, with no clothes dryer, this
has posed a kind of dilemma for me. Enter the great idea, stage
right: the indoor drying system.
I've
done hanami four or five times now, hitting Jouza Kouen, Yukari Kouen,
Ueno Kouen, and the rekishihakubutsukan in Sakura, a town which, despite
having the name Sakura, utilizes different kanji. Hanami is looking
at cherry blossoms, but, sadly, it's drawing to a close. Hanami
season only lasts for about two weeks, and it's one of the most Japanese
things that the Japanese do.
Today...shit
was crazy. I don't like cursing, but those three words put together
to make the phrase 'shit was crazy' is the only way I can describe today.
Linguistically, nothing else will do. And now, I will attempt the
impossible task of explaining why:
So
today, I decided to take my bicycle for a spin. I've had it for four
months, but I've never felt the need to actually ride it until now.
Also, the climate was not conducive to bike-riding until today.
However, in order to make this epic step, I required a bicycle pump.
It
was when I saw a lone Lawson Station with nothing else for miles in any
direction when I realized I was going to die.
But
I didn't die. Eventually, I made my way back to Fululu Garden and
scored some Maku and some Hello Kitty guitar picks. All in all, it
was a pretty productive day. The comic? It's been archived,
moved to the link