I'm feelin' a little bit better now. Takahashi sensei came by from school to drop off some medicine, food, drinks and some of these Japanese ice pack thinga majiggys. He's been a life saver.

Anyhow...I changed my comments from Shout Out to BackLog. Pretty much the same thing, but now you can leave feedback to feedback. I'm working on putting some more stuff on the page, so stay tuned.

Oh yeah...

HAPPY 28TH BIRTHDAY BRIAN!

Not sure what he's doing, but I think it's like the first birthday that I'd ever missed since knowing him.

Well...I'm gonna go eat some food now.

Kaz out....

Went to Tokyo Disney Sea yesterday. Probably wasn't the best thing for me after a heavy night of drinking. But I must say that Disney spent a lot of money on this place. All the props and themes were done to the extreme. All in all...it was ok. I did see one of my students there. She's a 8th grader who plays on the softball team.

Besides being pretty warm, I began to get a pretty bad headache. I think it was caused from one of the workers who was yelling constantly into my ear. Got to hang out with Val and her host family. Ami is a really nice lady who's english is not bad. Her husband Sho, doesn't speak too much but somehow we were able to communicate at times. After seeing pretty much everything, we all went out to dinner with Val, Ami, Sho and Ami's parents. We went out to eat some yaki niku. I tried not to drink but was pretty much persuaded to because everyone else was. I only had one beer and I think even that wasn't good for my system.

Which was probably the longest walk from my station to my apt...I finally got home, took a shower and crashed out. Unfortunately for me, I couldn't sleep and when I did sleep, I would wake up every 3-4 min. This went on from about 10pm - 8am.

That's why I called in sick today at school. So I've been relaxing the whole day now. Drinkin' tons of water and tea. There's sometimes I still feel my headaches, but for the most part, I'm a whole lot better than this morning.

Well...gonna go take a nap.

Kaz out...

Right now I'm sick. I think I have the flu. I'll give ya'll the update from yesterday and today when I feel better. Pz...

Kaz out...

Well....I'm pretty drunk with my buddy Mark. We had a lot of drinks and grubbin' food in downtown Funabashi and now we're back at my apt. drinkin' more! This is a pretty koo cat. He was born and raised in Arkansas but moved to LA after college. He has some pretty interesting stories when he was teaching in English in Korea. It's totally took me by surprise. If you would like to know bout that, you gotta email me personally. Rather not post this to the public cuz it's totally off the wall.

Mark is totally surprised that I'm down with the brotha's. He was shocked that I own the Brown Sugar DVD. He's is surprised that I'm down with the blacks. Anyhow...this is a koo kat. He has many interesting stories of what he's been through. Many of them I can't even comprehend.

Ok...I'm pretty drunk and I have to wake up early to go to Disney Sea tomorrow morning. Not sure how I'm gonna wake up tomorrow by 7am.

Well...I'm gonna log off now and drink some Jinro. Peace out ya'll!

Kaz out...

Rain, Rain and more Rain...

So what do you all think of the rain? I really enjoy when I can chill at home drink some ocha and watch movies or play some video games, but when you have to travel in it, it really sucks! Since it's summertime, it's pretty warm while it rains, very similar to Hawaii. And also since I'm hot-blooded (not warm-blooded) I tend to be very sensitive to heat and especially humidity. So having to walk a lot and then either go inside trains or stores where it's feels like a furnace.

Well today I went to the keitai shop and payed for my phone. Afterwards I had some miso ramen and kurimu anmitsu (a Japanese dessert my sister introduced to me). Hey nechan! This place's cream anmitsu wasn't all that, plus it was pretty expensive.

Stopped off at the 99 Yen shop and picked up some laundry stuff and snacks. Upon coming home, I noticed I got my notice that my Yahoo! BB service is activated. Unfortunately I can't seem to get my connection working. Well...we'll see...hopefully I can get it hooked up shortly.

Well...gotta go clean up my apt...my buddy is gonna crash here tonite cuz he lives in Tokyo and we're gonna get some food and have some drinks. I also have to wake up early tomorrow to go to Disney Sea with Val and her host family.

Kaz out...

Ok...I wanna kinda apologize for the little ranting I did the other day. To my great surprise...I have fount that my Shout Out program is down for the time being...so I guess ya'll can't leave any comments. But as soon as it gets back online, ya'll better hit it up, aite!?

I FINALLY GOT A KEITAI TODAY!!! HIP HIP HOORAY! HIP HIP HOORAY!

So I finally did it, I got my P504Si! Here's the link if ya'll are interested:
Docomo Follow the links to mobile phones, then select 504i series, and then choose the mova P504iS.

Well today was the final day of finals at school. I really didn't do too much cuz the tests today were: Social Studies, Japanese & PE/Industrial Sciences. However after the tests, we had a practice jishin (earthquake) drill. The funny thing about it was that as we waited to hear the announcement over the PA system, the teacher who was in charge, played a CD of earthquake/fire sounds before he gave the announcement to begin the drill. Very similar to back home when you get under your desks...the interesting thing is that the desks are so small...it barely provides any protection. Takahashi sensei, being the comedian that he is, held his towel to his mouth as if there really was a fire and commanding the students to be quiet and quick. As we proceeded outside to the field, we picked up the pace a bit. I stayed behind to make sure all the students made it. As the last student turned the corner before the field, he slipped a little bit and suddenly went horizontal! I wish I could've taken a picture of that moment.

Anyhow after eating a grubbin' bento, I took a little nap outside. The weather was great today! A whole better than yesterday. After my nap and chattin' w/Takahashi sensei, I decided to go play some ball. It was pretty frickin' hot inside the gym, so I became fatigued pretty easy also because I haven't played in over a week! We started off by playing 5 min games with 3 squads. After losing the first two games, I decided to take more of role. Had to show them that I wasn't too old!

After school, headed home, took a shower then made my way to Yakuendai eki...destination Shin Tsudanuma. The keitai place I went to is right next to JR Tsudanuma eki, based on the recommendation of my buddy, Ko. After fillin' out all the necessary paperwork, the workers (which I must say we're pretty darn cute!) told me to come back in ichi jikan gurai (about one hour, I guess they had to set everything up and make sure my service is connected, etc...). So I headed to the GAP and got some pretty good deals, saved about 65%! Upon pickin' up my keitai, I then headed home. While on the train, I realized that I forgot to pay for the phone. The girl just gave me my bag and said thank you! What I am supposed to do? I'm a foreigner! It's not my job to ask for money!!

As I made my way to Ikko, my keitai rang and it was the keitai shop calling me to come back sometime to pay! After getting off the phone with them, I saw that I had 4 missed calls! While on the train, I'm usually listening to my MP3 player so I wouldn't have heard the previous calls. Oh well....

At Ikko, I found out that I went through my 2nd bottle of sho chu! I can't believe it...it really hasn't been that long! I had my usual Yamakake and some saba. I thought I'd celebrate today since I DID get my keitai. Can you blame me??

Okay, I must reiterate the fact that I love Japanese TV. Right now, they're showing all interesting beaned batters this season and focusing on all their reactions. What's funny is that they dub in the what the players are saying with some pretty amusing phrases. For some reason...it's the foreign players that seem to get mad most of the time. There was this one pitcher that was covering home and got all mad and this one foreign player that made a play at the plate! What kind of crap is that? I think that if the pitcher wants to take the risk of covering home, he must be prepared for the consequences. After the collision, he even tried to kick the guy! Another play was with another foreign player named Rhodes that got hit, but was in good spirits and even smiled as he trotted to first. The next batter also got beaned and I guess something there was a little altercation, and out of nowhere, Rhodes comes in and totally blindsides the pitcher. The pitcher flew about 2 meters! (about 6 feet for you metrically challenged).

Well...I'm gonna call it a night...I think I'm going to Disney Sea tomorrow...but I think it's going to rain....oh well...

Kaz out...

Oh yeah...almost forgot.

HAPPY 26TH BIRTHDAY GEE!!!

You're officially more than halfway to 30 now! Hehe!

Woke up really early today, probably because I passed out @ around 10 last night. Anyhow, was awoken by my internal alarm around 5ish. Couldn't fall back asleep so I decided to check the net to see if anybody was online and to check my email. Was able to get a hold of Tony and Tri. Tony had to fill me in on our current inventory and I placed an order for Yu to bring back to Japan in a week. They're mostly for my good friends out here as well as Takahashi sensei. He's totally stoked bout buddhapparel and is probably our #1 fan in Japan! Spoke with Tri a little bit and it made me happy that he enjoys reading my blog. He told me that N8 Dawg aka. Nathan Owens (a former co-worker @ Prima and former JET teacher) left a Shout Out. It's nice to know that some people are actually reading this because I feel this is the best place for my daily thoughts. Thanks N8 Dawg as well as Tri for the only 2 people who have left me a Shout Outs!

SO THOSE OF YOU ON MY JAPAN UDPATE MASS EMAIL LIST, DON'T EXPECT TOO MANY MORE UPDATES CUZ IT'S TEDIOUS FOR ME TO PUT TOGETHER MY LATEST HAPPENINGS IN AN GENERAL EMAIL WHEN YOU GUYS CAN JUST CHECK OUT THIS BLOG. SO DON'T GET MAD AT ME FOR THE LACK OF UPDATES, CUZ I SENT THE LINK TO MY BLOG IN MY LAST EMAIL UPDATE! PLEASE LEAVE A SHOUT IT, SO I HAVE SOME KIND OF IDEA OF WHO'S TAKING THE TIME TO ACTUALLY READ THIS. THE BALL IS IN YOUR COURT NOW! YOU GONNA PASS OR FINISH STRONG?

Whew! I just had to get that off my chest. Sorry for venting, but hey, it's better now than later, ne!

So let me tell ya'll bout my day...

I think today I did my personal best time biking to school. Since getting carried away from chattin', I had about 10 min. to get school. Luckily I made the signal on Narita Kaido 296 (The main street in my neighborhood), even had to wait for 2 trains at the tracks, zipped by some students (almost running into them) but in the end, I made it to school before 8am, which gave me 5 min. to spare and relax.

Since today was the first day of exams, we only had 3 periods. Not sure if it's all middle schools, but they way mine is, the whole school takes the same subject test at the same time. So first it was Math, then Science and then English. So for the first period, just chilled and talked with Takahashi sensei. For the second period, Takahashi had to chaperone one of the classes so I kicked in there while checkin' out the students' progress. Some student's surprised me in their knowledge of Science, guess they don't show it too much in Eigo kurasu (English Class). When that was over we had to prepare for the listening part of the English test. This was one of the coolest things that I've done. For the Ichinen Sei (1st year students, 7th graders) Takahashi sensei and I had proceeded to do our skits over the PA system. Right after that, I did the listening test for the Ninen Sei (2nd year students, 8th graders) w/Takeuchi sensei. Shortly afterwards, we found out that during the Ichinen sei listening test that Takahashi sensei's voice couldn't be heard. So we had to go to each of the 5 classes and redo our skits live. It probably was a little bit easier because the students are used to seeing us and our gestures as we teach.

Since today was a short day, we didn't have kyushoku...but we were able to order some bento. I had my favorite, Karaage. It was of course grubbin' and shortly thereafter I had to take off for my meeting.

I had my monthly ALT meeting @ City Hall today. We talked about our summer work schedule and other events that are takin' place in the next 4 months. Most of the ALTs seem pretty wack...maybe it's just me. I really have no desire to get to know most of them. Besides this guy from LA and another guy from England, I don't really get any good vibes from the other ALTs. However there's this one cute happa ALT from Australia.

Ihato sensei (my boss) helped me out with my keitai paperwork so now I think I can finally get a keitai (Cell Phone)...but until I have it in my hands, I'll belive it.

After taking a quick stop at the 100 Yen Shop to pick up some knick knacks, I hopped on the Express Keisei train back to my house.

Made a quick stop at Mastumoto Kiyoshi aka Matsu-Kiyo for some groceries and then headed to my local bar. Hey, it's on my way home!! @ Ikko (the local bar that I go to), I had some Koi Coroquette (Momma san's special recipe), Yakko (Cold tofu with bonito flakes and onions) and Yamakake (Maguro with yama imo, a kind of creamy potato...it's was da bomb!) and to drink had just 1 Oolong Hi and some ocha and it all came out to be only Sen en (1000 yen = $8). You can't beat that anywhere, not even back home! While enjoying my feast and chattin' w/my buddies, there was this long 'ol TV program about kabi (Mold), the many different kinds of them and how they can get you sick, the places where they lurk and the ways to get rid of them. They were all these people who were getting sick and didn't know why. The Japanese even grow this special kind of nori (seaweed) that when you eat it for a couple of days, it helps clear the passage ways within people's throats! Japanese comes up with the darndest things!

For some odd reason it started to rain when the weather report clearly stated that it wasn't going to. But I thought nothing of it, however I totally forgot that we're in the midst of the rainy season, so when it rains, it rains! Unfortunately for me I forgot my umbrella but since I live so close, it shouldn't be a problem. Boy was I wrong! It was frickn' pouring outside. So I put my hood up and started to run. After going for about 100 meters (yes, the metric system is slowly seeping in) I realized that I had my MP3 player clipped to my waster...however it wasn't there anymore. So I had to backtrack in the rain and luckily it was right in the middle of the street! By this time, I'm drenched. I then started to sprint again and finally made it to the safe haven I call my apartment. As I reached to get my keys out of my backpack...I was in total shock that my front pocket was fully unzipped!!! ARRRGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!! Luckily my keys were latched on as well as my PDA, but everything else was gone! My clothes are soaked now, so I quickly changed, got my umbrella and retraced my steps. About 70 meters from my apartment I see a couple of business cards just floating in puddles! Aiyah!!! A little bit further down I see more business cards...however the main thing that I'm looking for is my jisho (dictionary). Just a little bit further down the road I see my jisho, luckily it was lying flat on it's cover so it didn't get that soaked.

So that was my day today...How was your day??

Kaz out...

Not really sure if I'm in the right state of mind to be writing now...but here goes...

Today at school....really didn't do too much...just preparing for the finals tomorrow and also preparing paperwork when the Funabashi board of education visits our school on July 3rd. We had to put together all these pamplets which the Kyootoo sensei really didn't have an idea of what was going on. It was easy but tedious work which kept me at school til about 6pm. Anyhow...I made my way to Matsumoto Kiyoshi, a popular drug store but the one near my house is also a grocery store. So I bought some more rice (used all of my original supply last night on my curry) and some more jam.

On my way home, stopped by my local bar and had some Oolong Hi's and some grubbbin' food while kickin' it with the locals. Am I considered and alcoholic if I have my own Sho Chu bottle there?? Just been thinkin' bout that lately....but I guess it's ok since I DO I have my own Sho Chu bottle labeled in Kanji, "Sakamoto Kazuo". It's kinda nice going there because they calll me Sensei.

As for school today...I kinda wish that I chose the A lunch cuz it looked a lot better than what I had. @ school, the girls seem to be fascinated with my hair and everyday they try to find an opportunity to touch my spikey hair. I've been pretty good at dodging their attempts but since there are some many of them, they somehow find a way to achieve their goal.

Well...I'm a little...actually really drunk right now, so I'm gonna wrap it up.

Kaz out...

All it did today was rain, rain, rain. To top off it off, I forgot my keys at school, luckily Takahashi sensei was still there to bring them to me. He's definitely one of my dawgs!

At school today...still grading the 8th graders. But we had the 9th grade elective class today and had them do "Show and Tell". This one girl named Haruka totally baffled Takahashi sensei and I as well as the rest of the class. She was born in Germany and lived there for 8 years, so her English is by far, the best of any student @ Nanabayashi. If I were to close my eyes and just listen, I wouldn't be able to tell if she was a Japanese student!

In Japan, if you could come up with a catchy theme/slogan, you're going to be on every TV station. Right now, one famous duo is these guys called Testu and Tomo. Testu is always dressed up in a red jumpsuit and Tomo in a blue one. Their catchy slogan is "Nan de darou" (pronounced 'Nan day darow'). The have this funky dance and their little verses are some of the funniest things that I've seen in Japan. On one TV program tonite, they did their worldwide version in Spanish, Korean, Russian with the appropriate modified dances to match. They never cease to amaze me with their original style!!

Another show that is totally amusing is London Hearts. It's another duo who has these hidden camera situations, kinda like the Jamie Kennedy show. But this show has a little more Japanese flair to it, which I think makes it even funnier. Part of today's show had to do with being a "su ke be" or pervert. They would have this whole restaurant rigged w/hidden cameras and have this girl, rigged w/an earpiece being coached by the duo. They would start off with 1000000 yen and everytime the guy would take a look at the girl, the money decreases. It's pretty much a competition to see how long the guy can go before losing all of his "money". One catch to the show is the famous 3 count, which occurs when the guys stares for 3 seconds straight. When that happends, the guy automatically loses. Today's show seemed like a wrestling match with many "almost 3 counts!". But the funny thing is when the guys loses all of his money, the duo cues the girl to leave while cussing the guy out for staring at her too much. Then the duo comes out from the back and surprises the guy and then places this big ol sticker on his head. I guess you guys just have to see it first-hand...

A show that's on right now is showing these ladies and seeing how much their wardrobe costs. The last lady's wardrobe equaled 8320000 yen, which roughly comes out to be about $65,000!!! What kind of crap is that!

But I must say that the highlight of today was getting an email from my big bro Russ. It's the first time that I've heard from him since coming to Japan. His email came w/an attachment and after it finally loaded (yes, I'm still using 56k right now!) the picture was an ultrasound of the 3 month old fetus!!! I couldn't believe my eyes! It definitely brightened up my day!

Well...I'm a little tired right now, so I'm gonna call it a night.

Kaz out...

Another Monday and not much really going on. Still grading the 8th graders and tomorrow should finish up the girls and get started on the boys. Today's lunch was pretty good, had spaghetti with a Japanese flair to it. This week is finals week for the students, so that means no team practices...so I'm not sure what I'm gonna do this week to stay in shape. Might just have to run @ night or in da morning.

Found out the days that I have to work during this summer vacation. It's only like 5-7 days which means I have a lot time to travel. Not sure if I'm gonna make it home this summer because I really want to see the rest of Japan and maybe visit some other Asian countries.

Started watching Robotech: Macross Saga and I must say that it still keeps me interested despite seeing it so many times. It really makes me want to start playing the video game again.

Tonite for dinner I made curry (I was able to use the potatoes Takahashi sensei gave me) and bought some Salmon sashimi. An overall tasty meal and I'm pretty stuffed. Well I'm off to take a bath now and then call it a night...

Kaz out...

Well...I kinda just got in. Was supposed to come back last night, unfortunately the partyin' last past the last train. So I ended up stayin' @ my friend Hide's house.

As for yesterday, I met up with my friends in Asakusa and worked on our friend Heyan's birthday gift. We got him one of those small, wooden xlophone type thinga majiggy's. Anyhow...we drew pictures of ladybugs, flowers and other cutsey stuff. We then headed to this little restaurant called Blue Gill w/a little club in the basement. Heyan performed first, so we got to be in the front row. I must say, hearing somebody then watching them perform live is a great experience. Heyna's style is rock/alternative w/some ballads. He's a funny guy to begin with, but on stage, his personality really comes out! Afterwards, we prepared things for his surprise party...ie. when should bring the cake out, set off the confetti, etc... Our plans were almost thwarted by one of Heyan's friends. We gave him the confetti and as Heyan walked in, he set it off right in front of him, much to the great dismay to my friends. Fortunately, Heyan was a little too drunk to really notice it. But when it came time to do everything, everything went well. The cake was made by my friend Iko. It was hella good. The food we had was pretty good...probably because I was starving! It was your basic Chinese food...nothing like back home. On our way back home, we all got on the subway, however Heyan's girlfriend wasn't doin' too well. It reminded me of the times back home, having to take care of the drunkard of the night. Upon walking everybody home, Hideki, Hide and I went back to Hide's house to crash. For some reason, we started to drink more and his mom brought us some grubbin' sushi! We ended up drinkin' and talkin' to like 3am! This morning, Hideki had to go to this convention in Makuhari so we walked him to the station and afterwards went to Kaoru's chinese restaurant for some noodles.

So that pretty much wraps up what happened to me today. Kinda tired...gonna go take a nap.

Kaz out...

Yesterday was an interesting day. At school, I had to test the 8th grade girls in reading pronunciation as well as comprehension. It was the first time that I had to do this. I graded a little hard at first which is why I feel kinda bad for the first class.

When I came home yesterday, I was shocked to see that a house near my apartment is completely gone, replaced by a parking lot! It took but 2 days to clear EVERYTHING away!

This weather is really getting to me. I think I'm getting these rashes from the heat and humidity. But now I know that while I'm at school, I can go to the office to cool down. It's the only place that has A/C!

David Beckham is in Japan right now and the Japanese treat him like a GOD!!! I swear, he's one of the most famous people in Japan, despite being a foreigner. The Japanese refer to his new hairdo as "samurai" like. Even his wife, Victoria (Posh Spice) is pretty popular. A coverboy for J-Phone(A division of Vodaphone) his face is everywhere. With his new contract with Real Madrid, not sure how that's gonna affect his endorsements because Real Madrid is sponsored by Siemens Mobile.

Just found out that Brandon is able to take some time off now to come to Japan. Hopefully he can get on the same flight as Thuy.

I really need to clean up my apartment...it's getting a little messy. Maybe tomorrow.

I also broke down and bought my Air Flight Huaraches. They finally came out with the OG colors. However, it's a little different. Not exactly like the originals but will do.

Today I'm off to Tokyo for a friend's birthday. His band is performing in Roppongi, but we're also throwing him a surprise birthday party.

Kaz out...

Ok...I'm a little bored right now so I finally did one of those profile thinga majiggys. Here goes...

Full Name: Kevin Kazuo Sakamoto
Nicknames: Sakamoto, Sak, Saki, Kaz, Kazu
Age: 25
Birthday: Jan 10
Astrological Sign: Capricorn
Chinese Zodiac Sign: Horse or Snake depending on the what calendar you use
Pets: None at the moment, but I did have 2 dogs a long time ago
Height: 5'4 7/8" (164 cm)
Weight: 138 lbs. (62.9 kg)
Eye Color: Brown
Hair: Black (No chapatsu here!)
Piercing: None, but I do have this fold in my ear which looks like I had an earring pulled out
Tattoos: None, but still debating whether or no to get my Mon (Family Crest)
Favorite Color: Grey
Birthplace: San Leandro, CA USA
Been in love: Yes
Been to Europe: yup, Italy to be exact
Been toilet papering: Of course
Been toliet papered: Yup, revenge is a biatch!
Loved somebody some much it made you cry: Hmmm...yeah
Been in a car crash: Yup my fault too
Color of socks: White
Favorite Number: 5
Movie: That's a tough one...I like movies that make you think
Food: Too many too count, but I love Japanese, Chinese and Italian
Days of the week: Friday and Saturday
TV Shows: 24, Alias, That 70's Show & London Hearts
Toothpaste: Don't have a favorite one, but right now I'm using G.U.M. (A Japanese brand)
Favorite flower: Hmmm....I would have to say orchids
Sport to watch: Being in Japan, I've grown an appreciation to soccer
Fast Food Restaurant: Jack in the Box (Too bad they don't have any in Japan)
Favorite drink: Right now it's all about the Oolong Hi and any single malt scotch, preferable Glen Fiddich on da rocks w/a lemon twist (Thanks Dad!)
What color is your bedroom carpet?: No carpet. I have tatami mats.
Where do you see yourself in ten years?: Good question...have a career in business/computers or video games, have a house, hopefully be married and maybe have a kid.
What do you do when you're bored?: Hmmm...surf the net, play video games
Friend how lives the farthest away: All of my friends back home in the states
Most annoying thing?: Having people talk fast to me in Japanese and expecting me to understand everything they said
Best thing: Family & Friends
Bedtime: Since I have to work by 8am...I usually go to sleep by 1am
What book are you reading now?: None at the moment, but will begin The Rules of Attraction soon
What's on your mousepad?: Nothing, I have an optical mouse
Favorite board game?: Hmmm....it would have to be Monopoly or Trivia Pursuit
Favorite magazine?: Don't really have one, but I do enjoy reading Maxim, Stuff, ESPN Magazine and any computer/video game mags
Favorite smell?: uhhh....never really thought of this
Least favorite smell?: Hmmm...too many to llist
Worst feeling in the world?: Disappointment
What is the first thing you think of when you wake up in the morning?: "I can sleep for another 10 min.!"
Do you type with your fingers on the right keys?: Of course
How many rings before you answer the phone?: 1, because I hate a ringing phone!
What is the most important thing in life?: Family and friends
Storms, scary or cool?: Cool, only if you don't have to bike to/from work!
Do you like to drive fast?: Not really
Is the glass half empty or half full?: Both
What's under your bed?: Tatami mats
If you could meet one person in the world, who would it be?: I really don't know
Coffee/ice cream?: Ice cream. Coffee goes right through me
Chocolate/Vanilla?: Chocolate
Blanket/Stuffed Animal?: Blanket, stuffed animals are for girls!
Silver/gold?: I like both
Tobacco/alcohol?: Both, they go hand in hand
Coke/Pepsi?: Coke w/alcohol (thanks Jookie) but by itself, Pepsi
Love/Social Live?: Both
Do you think you have a lot of friends?: Not really, cuz it's all about quality than quantity
Are you outgoing?: I would like to think that I am
Are you fun?: Ditto
Do you consider yourself better than other people?: No
Are you popular?: I don't think so
Flirty?: Not really
Pretty?: What kind of question is that?
Do people tell you you're pretty?: Uhh...
Who are you crushing on?: No one at the moment
How are have you gone?: What exactly does this mean?
Are you negative?: To a certain degree. You can say that I'm a pessimist because I don't want to be disappointed

Hobbies...
Do you attend church?: Not anymore
Do you like being around people?: Yup
Last person you kissed?: My mother before she went back to California
Last thing you said?: Hmmm..."Gochisoo sama deshita" = It was a feast!
Last person you talked to?: Momma-san @ Ikko (the local bar)
Last person you talked to on the phone?: Atsuko-san
Last person you talked to online?: MIA aka Jason
Last person you hugged?: My mother
Last person you got an email from?: Eko, it was about my Huaraches

Who...
Do you argue with the most?: I don't really argue anymore, it's a waste of time and energy
Do you always get along with?: Right now it has to be Takahashi sensei, he's my dawg!
Is the most trustworthy?: Not sure
Makes you laugh the most?: It's a toss up between Brandon or Tony
Has the coolest parents?: Brian & Brandon. Aunty Nancy and Uncle David are the best!
Has the coolest siblings?: Don't know
Is the smartest?: Hmmm...this guy's head is gonna get big, but I must say my buddy Tri

In the last 24 hours have you...
Cried?: Nope
Been kissed?: Ditto
Felt stupid?: Yeah
Wanted to tell someone you loved them, but didn't?: No
Talked to an ex?: Nope
Missed an ex?: Not really
Talked to someone you have a crush on?: Nope
Had a serious talk?: Nope
Missed someone?: Of course
Hugged someone?: No

[Spell your first name backwards]: Nivek
[The story behind your email address]: Kazuo (my middle name) 5 (my bball and vball number)

Describe your...
Shoes: A lot, but nowhere near the number of my friends. Mostly Nike, some Adidas and Pumas, a pair of Sketchers and some dress shoes.
Favorite Pants: It would have to be my Old Navy Cargos pants/shorts
CD in stereo right now: No stereo, but how bout what's on my MP3 player? Hip-hop, Trance, R&B and some Japanese
What are you wearing right now: Adidas shorts (it's pretty frickin' humid right now!)
In my mouth: nothing
Wishing: That I could be back home chillin' with my friends
After this: Gonna go take a bath and watch Seven Samurai
Talking to: No one at the moment
Some of your favorite movies: The Rules of Attraction, Equilibrium, The Matrix 1&2, Lord of the Rings 1&2, Friday, Office Space, Half Baked, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Robotech: Macross Saga
Something you're looking forward to in the upcoming months: Goin' to my friend's BDAY party in Roppongi, traveling all around Japan and having my friends come visit me
4 words that sum you up: Work hard, play hard!

Ahh...what a long day! To start, I went to get a stomach check today. I had to take drink Barium so that my stomach would expand so that technicians can take x-rays of my stomach in every angle imaginable. After that, I headed to Shinagawa to update my status to Education Instructor which means that I can finally get a keitai (Cell phone). Upon talkin' with the NTT Docomo people, I found out that I need my bank stamp to complete the process. So in the end...I ended up not being able to get a keitai. I then went to Akihabara to look for a 128MB memory stick for my Clie, however the prices were a little high. Might have to just order from Buy.com and have it shipped to Japan.

Just got back from my local bar. Had some sashimi and nasu miso (eggplant w/onions & green peppers) and of course...4 Oolong Hi's. A little buzzed right now...

Anyhow...nothing more I can think of in this state of mind...but I might add something later.

Kaz out...

I just realized that my special postcard from the Tokyo Immigration Office came yesterday. Looks as though I'm gonna go to Shinagawa today to get my all important visa stamp. This means that I can finally get my keitai (cell phone). Gotta run, need to take off soon.

Kaz out...

Today in class we showed the kids those eye puzzles that you have to look at for awhile before the image "pops" out. The kids were totally crazy bout those. To see their thought process as they tried to figure out what the hidden image is was something that I had to preserve. I have some pics and vids from today that'll I put up sometime in the future.

Today was also the Funabashi school meeting. We got to see a demonstration of an english class at one the local middle schools. They were pretty high tech...using Powerpoint w/pictures. Definitely a different style that I'm used to. But all in all...we jetted out early to get some coffee.

Went to go buy a mosquito killer. Gonna need that especially when this darn rainy season ends in a couple of weeks.

Tomorrow I have my stomach check at the local clinic. All city employees can take it for free. I'm getting a lot mixed opinions about it. I'm gonna have to take Barium. I have a funny story about that....when my English sensei Takahashi was tellin' me about the stomach check...he mentioned that I have to take "Va-li-Um"....I was like, "I get to take Valium?!? No way! This is gonna be koo!" Of course, I had no idea of what the process of a stomach check was! Soon after telling me, Takahashi sensei quickly perused his jisho (dictionary) and to my great dismay....it ended up being Barium! Darnit!!! He also tells me

I now only have 2 mores hours to eat before I go on a 13 hour famine....no food...not even any liquids! What kind of crap is that!?

Oh well....gonna go get my grub on now.

Kaz out...

Ahhh...I'm a little tired now. Just got back from an Art Party. Was able to meet some local artists and see their work. I now have a little more appreciation with Art, of course in the general sense. But I must say, the food they served was off da hook. I've been fortunate to have all of my father's friends in Japan looking after me.

As for school today, it was the same ol same ol, nuthin' really new except for the fact the periods were cut short a little bit for a teacher's meeting after school (which I didn't even attend). Tomorrow is the Funabashi school meeting where all the schools get together for and talk about trivial school stuff.

Right now American Beauty is on TV. It's a little strange to hear it in Japanese.

As for the weather....it's getting more humid as the days go by.

Nothing much more on my mind right now...maybe something will come later. Off to take a bath.

Kaz out...

Well...I just got back from work. Played bball for like 3 1/2 hours with the guys and girls team. The girls' team is so fundamentally sound it's hard to believe that they're only junior high school students! Playin' in 100% humidity is a big change from dry California. I must say that I'm exhausted! Anywayz, bout to go cook some sukiyaki cuz I'm starving!

Kaz out...

I really didn't do too much yesterday. Just stayed at home to catch up on my ZZZzzzz... Oh...I did get to finish my Robotech: New Generation anime series. Next thing on my movie list is the Kurosawa DVD box set.

I got a little upset @ school during the first period. I actually had to slam my hand on the desk a couple of times because the students we're not giving my Eigo Sensei any respect. They immediately hushed up and listened.

Today's kyushoku (school lunch) was a lot better than it looked. I wish they had this lunch while I was going to junior high.

The weather is kinda strange...sunny one moment, then cloudy, then a little bit of rain, then back to some sunshine but besideds the constant changing...it still is mushiatsui (humid). It's only the beginning too. July and August are WAY worse.

Well...that's all that's on my mind right now....

Kaz out...

Matrix reloaded...

Yesterday I went to go see Matrix Reloaded. First of all, I have to say that watching a movie in Japan is really expensive. It cost me about $17!!! To make things worse, the sound system sucked! But about the movie, it was kinda slow in parts but I must say the action scenes really impressed me. The story got a little complex when I started to read the Japanese subtitles. All in all...the movie was ok. I think I need to go see it again to make a better opinion.

After the movie, I went shopping at the Lalaport. One of the biggest malls in Japan. Most of the stores ya'll probably never heard of. It's definitely a mall that one can easily get lost in. It also has one of the greatest food courts that I've ever seen, however they don't have anywhere to sit for you to enjoy your food.

On my way home, I stopped off at the local bar and downed many oolong hi's with the locals. I even sang my father's karaoke song, "My Way" in both English and Japanese!

This page will eventually have some pics...but for now, enjoy the text, aite!

Kaz out...