December 30, 2003
I'm not dead, my time has just been heavily occupied by Yuko and the holiday season. I know, I know, I haven't mailed ANYTHING to anyone. This will be taken care of soon, and people will be receiving late Christmas gifts. So far, not much is new. I'm visiting Yuko's hometown in Mito, Ibaraki. We're staying for three days, then going to an onsen to enjoy the hotsprings. Right now we just finished watching some anime. Andrew recently recommended, "Ebichu," so we downloaded it and watched a few episodes. Wow, it is an adult "Hamtaro." Yuko nearly fell off the couch laughing. It's basically about this hamster that cares for this 25 year-old woman's apartment as she attempts to lure in a husband. It's nuts, I can't describe it, and likely few of you will be given the opportunity to see it. Speaking of media, the DVD is almost ready. I've been recording insane Japanese TV commercials, and after my trip to Ibaraki, I'll wrap it up and mail it out. Till then, Merry Late Christmas to all!
fig. 3: Yokohama Station, covering the walls were strange psychedelic characters chasing each-other with food
December 17, 2003
I'm sorry for not updating the site for a while, I've been occupied with Christmas shopping, work, and girlfriend. Brian and my friend Stephe is here visiting until December 30th. We had a really good time at Bar Samo on the first night we met. I introduced him to my girlfriend and we had a fun time. This Sunday, hopefully, he'll be able to join Yuko and I at a holiday party in Ginza.
I've been working hard and getting sick. I caught a cold a few days ago, and it really nailed me last night. Runny nose, coughing, sore throat, I got the whole deal. I've been doing my best to take care of myself. It doesn't help to be crammed into a tiny room with four eager students waiting to learn as my nose changes to faucet mode. I've been eating a lot of soup and laying off the alcohol until my system clears up.
So, last Sunday, I finally got a chance to visit Yokohama's Chinatown. It was amazing, and refreshing, to experience a new environment. In fact, it was almost familiar, as it brought back more memories of Hong Kong and the smells of New York and Boston's Chinatown. Yuko and I had yamcha(a.k.a. dim-sum), and enjoyed fried radish cakes, roasted pork, and tapioca drinks. I bought a lot of groceries before I left, and have been using them to cook for the past few nights. Yokohama's Chinatown was really clean, and well organized. The food even looked familiar, unlike the strange "Japanese-style" Chinese food I keep finding around my local area. It was really nice to have real shumai and dumplings again.
fig. 2: Entering Yokohama's Chinatown in the early evening
December 6, 2003
It's hard to say goodbye, my friend Katrine and her boyfriend, David, are leaving to return to England tomorrow. I'm going to miss them dearly, and hope they keep in touch. Katrine was my first close friend since I got to Japan. We would always hang out and have interesting conversations over a cup of tea or a drink at the Seco-Bar in Shibuya. I'm looking forward to visiting her and David in England though. I wish them a safe trip home tomorrow morning. Till next time, Katrine and David, farewell!
fig. 1: A night out in Shibuya with my friend Mike
December 5, 2003
Getting ready for work now. It's almost 10:30AM and I'm still tired, I need to stop being lazy and buy a pair of running shoes and start getting outside more. I've been getting some really nice e-mails from my friends in America. I miss them so much, but it's really reassuring to hear so many nice things from them. I'm going to miss everyone this Christmas, but I've already begun making plans with a special someone to have a nice Christmas here in Tokyo. I'll try to mail everyones gifts out by next week, I hope they get there on time!
December 4, 2003
Romance.
December 3, 2003
I have a date at 7:30PM, in Omotesando with someone incredible.
