Sunday, 12.28:

Yesterday, headed out to Ochanomizu to meet up with Ikko and Hide. From there, took the express to Shinjuku which was hella fast. Walked for about 5 min before findin' the bar/lounge where Hideki was performin'. Akiko greeted us @ the door and handed us some fliers. We took our seats just as the first performance was startin'.

We ordered some drinks, fries and a pizza. The first 3 performances were a little too hard for my ears. By the time Hideki came on, the place got pretty packed. As a result, it was hot as hell in there! Hideki performed a few songs from his new CD and also had a drummer for the first time. It was so nice to hear some acoustic after hearin' all that hard electric stuff. Soon after Hideki's performance, we headed out.

From Shinjuku, headed to Shibuya to meet up with Bryan, Sean and John. We all went to Tower records to do some shoppin'. All the guys picked up some CDs and DVDs. Sean headed home while the rest of us went to Bryan's friend's party in Aoyama. When we got there, the place was pretty dead. After chattin' a bit, some of Bryan's friends came through and slowly the place was gettin' packed. John noticed this one girl who he wanted to talk to, so Bryan volunteered me to be the wingman. I thought I did an ok job of keepin' her friend occupied, enough so that John could get his game on. Since John was determined to get the girl's digits and Bryan & I had to head out, Bryan elected his buddy Junji to act as the new wingman.

We then headed out and went back to Shibuya and Bryan helped me find where to meet up with Yu. After a little bit of miscommunication, we found them and Bryan headed home cuz he had to work the next day. Yu and Ai-chan met me and we headed to the bar where everyone was at or goin' to. It was a tiny place, maybe seats for about 12. When we got there, I knew some of the folks from before. A-chan, Ichiro and Hide were there. Ichiro and I were talkin' about lots of stuff while he kept on tellin' me that Ai-chan was crazy...which isn't a lie...especially when she's drunk. Later on some other folks came through. we all headed to this small room downstairs where there are turntables and another small side room. Everyone started to perform, mostly Hide & Chi-chan, a little bit of Ichiro, Flaeki (sp?) and I told of them that I never heard Yu chan perform in Japan yet. So I finally got to hear Trident. It was pretty dope! After chillin' down there for a while, headed upstairs to get some air and another drink. Kicked it A-chan & Chi-chan who were both pretty drunk. Kinda interestin' how Chi-chan (who lived in NY for 10 years) would speak to me in Japanese while A-chan translated in English. A-chan and I finished off the last bottle of Tantakatan there, so we had to settle for some Aomori sho chu which wasn't even a good substitute. We all were pretty hungry so I asked who was all down for some ramen. Ai-chan quickly responded by sayin' meran tabetai which I had no clue what it was. Yu told me that it's Ai-chango. meran is ramen. After some of the places we tried to go to were closed, we decided to go to a cafe. Ordered some herb chicken which took sometime to come out. When we got all of our food, a lot of our food was cold. Hide's tonkatsu and my potatoes (thanks to Ai-chan for findin' out for me) were pretty cold. I couldn't believe A-chan ordered a beer... I quickly inhaled my food, which Ai-chan constantly pickin' at it. @ this restaurant, everyone on our side of the dining area were all out like a light. I should've taken a picture but I was too into my food. Since I was still hungry, ordered some karaage which was gone in a matter of seconds. We all headed to the station and Yu and I headed home. He said that he didn't want to sit cuz he would instantly pass out so I gladly took the seat for him. Next thing I know, were Funabashi and Yu tells me not to sleep through my station. The next thing I know, one of the train workers nudges me to wake up. I was like no no no...I'm probably in Chiba again but to my surprise, the train's final stop was Tsudanuma. I think from now on, I'm gonna take that train. It was about 0800ish when I got to Yakuendai, came home and went to bed.


Monday, 12.29:

Woke up @ around 1500 and emailed Yu to see what was up for tonite...to see if we were still goin' to hang out with his friend from Hayward. I got a mail from Daisuke, sayin' to meet up @ Jane's hotel in Shin Nihombashi. So Yu told me that his other friend Elliot, from CSUH, was here in Japan and stayin' with Minako. So we all met up @ Funabashi station and headed to Shin Nihombashi. Met up with Daisuke, Ryo (another CSUH student from Japan) and Jane. We headed over to Watami and had tons and tons of food. It was a pretty weird experience because everyone @ the table had or is currently goin' to CSUH. The funny thing bout all this was that I misread the katakana for Jane as John which caused some confusion when we were plannin' this dinner. Because both Yu and Ryo knew a John from Hayward, it made for some funny email conversations. Daisuke had to leave a little bit early to go see his significant other and we stayed there and chatted it up for a while. Got a text later from A-chan sayin' that she didn't make it to work...which Yu and I knew was gonna happen regardless. We all headed out @ around 2200ish and I got back to Yakuendai around 2245 and then headed to Serenade to say hi and get something to eat. Tanaka was the only one there and later Hashimoto san came through. Another man came thru who I later found out that his brother is an enka singer by the name of Aoto Ken. Mama wanted everyone to sing so it went around about 2-3 times. Hung out there til about 0200 then Hashimoto san took me to another bar across the way called Cha Cha. Another small snack place. Met some koo interestin' peeps. The mama there is so funny. She easily killed a whole bottle of wine while we sat there talkin' for no longer than an hour. We finally headed out @ around 0400 and went to the convenience store to get some food and called it a night.

Kaz out...

Just got in now and I'm too tired to finish my update. Will update tomorrow, aite? Til then...pz!!!

Kaz out...and totally exhausted from the past 2 weeks!

Just got back from a crazy night in Tokyo. Will update later. Now I must get sleep...peace out yo!!!!

Kaz out....like a light!

Sup sup. So how'z everyone's holidays goin'? Mine's just chillin'. Yu came over for the first time to kick it. Watched the Zion I dvd then headed over to eat some okonomiyaki and then stopped by Ikko for a drink and miso shiru. My friends all that Yu was a friend from America. Kinda funny situation.

Anyhow...just started up playin' True Crime today. It's a pretty koo game. Much like GTA, but based in LA. I tried to find my uncle and auntie's house in Los Feliz but it wasn't there. Bah! Oh wellz...I'm off to Shinjuku tonite for Hideki's live performance with Hide & Ikko. Then, probably goin' to head to Shibuya to party with Bryan Tanaka and folk. Then, maybe meet up with Yu cuz he's gonna be in Shibuya too. Another all nighter baby!!! Ya'll know the routine, next update after I get home tomorrow. Hopefully there won't be any snow. Til then...pz!

Kaz out...

Yo! Sorry for totally laggin' on updates lately. Just been busy as hell. I'll try to summarize the last week for ya'llz.

Friday, 12.19: Sensei Bonenkai

All the faculty were able to go home early today so that they can take the train to the bowling alley. I really didn't know where the place was so I asked some parkin' attendants and they gave me the wrong place. Sure, it was a bowling alley but it wasn't in business anymore. Met up with Takahashi sensei and we found our way to the boruingujo (bowling alley) and got right into the current game. Was surprised at the level of most of the teachers, espcecially Suzumura sensei. After a game and a half, I challenged Takeuchi sensei to air hockey. He was no match for me...unfortunately I broke my ring while playin'.

We then walked a half block away to the restaurant. Man, there was all kinds of food, including sukiyaki. Of course the best part of the night was that it was nomihodai (all you can drink). What was really nice about the night though was that all but 5 of the total faculty was there. In Japanese tradition, all the younger or new teachers had to make the rounds by pouring drinks for all the elder teachers. It's really interestin' to talk to the teachers that I normally don't speak to. They try really hard to converse in English but I usually just tell them that Japanese is fine.

About 2/3 thru the meal, the social director (I think he's called Kaji?) started the function off by namin' off the bowling rankings. Ito sensei ended up winnin'. Then was the gift givin' part. Everyone was able to choose a wrapped gift varyin' in size and shape. I ended up gettin' some slippers which would help a lot because my apartment is freezin'! But probably the funniest gift was what Abiru sensei (aka Abi chan) got. He got a pink, rabbit wash cloth. He then rewrapped and put it back in the pile for Sasaki sensei to pick. After speeches from kocho and kyoto sensei, our time at the restaurant was up. But Abi chan and I stayed to finish off the last 2 bottles of nihon shuu (sake). We then headed out...on the way, got a chance to talk basketball with Sasaki sensei (girl's bball coach). I think we see more on the same level now and our relationship is stronger because of that. While most of the teachers went to go sing karaoke afterwards, Takeuchi sensei and I headed over to Sala. That night it was packed!!! Tons and tons of foreigners. Even Santa Claus came. Since it was so packed, we had to share tables with these 2 girls. Takeuchi sensei was tryin' to hook me up with them. We talked for a bit but they were kinda wack. I also chatted it up with this one cat from LA for a bit. Around this time, it was gettin' a little late, so Takeuchi sensei and I bounced out to Aeon (huge new shoppin' center @ Shin Tsudanuma station) to take a look around. I saw the Sony PSX which looks pretty dope! It's a shame they rushed it out for the holidays and in the process left off hella features. Takeuchi sensei wanted to do some grocery shoppin' but he said that I could go home, so I hopped on the train and went home. Somehow ended up in Serenade and saw some of my buddies there. Had some wine with Master san and Mama and grubbed on some food. At around this time...I've been up for about 44 hours straight, so I headed home to crash on my futon.


Saturday, 12.20: Ballet Performance & Ikko Bonenkai

Had to get up pretty early to be at Futawa Kominkan (Futawa Community Center) by 0900ish to meet up with Yu to help out with his mom's ballet performance. The thing I didn't know was that the actual performance wasn't until 1630! But I got to see Yu's dad in action. Man, he is super handyman and artisan. He used to work on the stage of plays, so he knows the ins and outs of all the machinery. He made this house in one day which looked dope! Unfortunately...I didn't know at first that the house was what Yu and I were goin' to be movin' on and off the stage durin' the performance. Masumi had the easy job of cuein' the beats from the control room. After gettin' the stage set up, we had obento upstairs. The funny thing was that it was the dressin' room for all the dancers. So we to tolerate all the little topless girls walkin' around, gettin' their makeup done.

The performance consisted of 2 parts. Solo/group performances and then the Snow White and the Seven Dwarves play. After the rehearsal, the solo/group performers had their rehearsal, so that was my chance to get some much need rest. However durin' my nice little nap, I found out later that Masumi and Yu had some fun with the digital camera. They made this video of me which Masumi later edited on his PC. I was surprised to see some of these girls poppin'. I told Yu that these girls are little young to be hip hop dancin'. Tryin' to do all those sexy moves and stuff. It was kinda funny to see.

So 1630 comes around and we start the performance. The solo performances went well, had some popular songs by artists such as Crystal Kay, Utada Hikaru and BoA and even some Enya I think. After a little intermission, Snow White was underway. Yu and I had to move the house on and off a couple of times, BUT, when it was onstage, we had to stand and hold it up the whole time. Couple that with the hot lights and it wasn't an easy job. All in all...I think the performance went really well. I even got to see Yu's mom have a little solo near the beginnin'. She played the evil witch. I must say she really impressed me with her dexterity. When the performance ended, Yu and I got stuck havin' to hold the house for the final ovation and all the pictures afterwards. We had Masumi come to hold the house for me cuz I had to head over to Ikko's Bonenkai. On my way out, Yu's dad handed me a little envelope and thanked me for helpin' out. I tried to refuse it but in Japanese tradition I respectfully bowed and said my goodbye. His facial gesture was what probably persuaded me the most though.

Made my back to the station and headed to Kita Narashino. Caught a bus to Kowagama High School and Kohiyama san picked me up. Got the restaurant and everyone was already over! I finally got to see Takahashi san after walkin' him home from Ikko that one night way back. He was one of the first peeps I met @ Ikko. He calls me aniki (older brother) which sounds so weird coming from him. Chi Mama wasted no time in puttin' on a long blonde wig. Sat down and grubbed on all the food. Everyone was constantly pourin' my drink and ordering me to catch up. It was weird to make more connections between people. I found out that Kumi san is Ken chan's wife! Man, I was surprised to find out. Another totally off the wall match. There was karaoke and even some live odori (Japanese classical dancin') from Mama and here friends. There was a lot more that happened that night but wouldn't be appropriate for some of the eyes that read my blog. At the end of the night, we all hopped on the charter bus and headed home. Kohiyama san invited me over for some tea. Got to meet his daughter who's 24 and pretty cute... Crashed there til like 0600 and then I headed home to crash.

Sunday, 12.21: Boy Scout Christmas Party & Dinner w/Mikie and Junko

Woke up from a call from Mama @ around 1100, askin' me if I was still goin' to Sakamoto's boy scout Xmas party. I almost forgot about that! I told her I would meet her there. It was @ Yakuendai Kominkan, the closest community center to me. It was my first time there, so I walked around the place and found the little gym. They have bball courts! But, they looked a little low and it's nowhere near being a half size full court. Met up with Sakamoto and he introduced me to all the leaders. Mama arrived with Kita san and we were introduced as special guests. Takahashi san even came...but he was already drunk...this bein' @ around 1400ish! @ a boy scout function!!! WTF was he thinkin'!?!?!? Anyhow...the boy scouts (whom consisted of boys and girls) did their performances (trivia, singin' and even magic show) and we played many games. During this time, Kita san kept tellin' me to take pictures of this one boy scout who was a girl that looked half Filipino. I was wondering why the heck he wants me to do that. I found out later that girl was his daughter!!! One being a game where one of the leaders would blow a whistle and dependin' on how many times she blew it, would correspond to how many times you were to turn. 1 blow = turn right, 2 blows = turn left & 3 blows = half turn. We did this for a while and then we had to close our eyes. It was funny to see where everyone was turned after a series. Some people were turned all over the place. Definitely a sight to see. Another game was one I played as a child. Where you tie a balloon to your ankle and try to pop other people's balloon. Sakamoto stopped me for a while because I had to go change into the Santa Claus outfit. I'd thought I'd never do that again but since I'm in Japan it was all good. I handed presents to all the kids while sayin' "Ho ho ho, Merry Christmas!" Afterwards, I introduced myself and most of the people were shocked to know that I was a Japanese American. Since when I spoke English, I was gettin' a lot of blank looks, I resorted to Japanese which was received with many oohs and ahhs. After takin' pictures with all the kids and had to quickly change and head out to go meet up with Mikie and Junko.

Met up with Mikie and Junko @ Narashino station and then headed to our normal restaurant, Yumean. I think I've been to all of them in a 8km radius of Yakuendai. Mikie brought some stuff from Hawaii for me: Lion's coffee, macadamia nuts and some other candy. She was gonna get me some hammertite (sp?) rings but she forgot what it was called. She also showed me her certificate for finishin' the marathon there. She ran the first 30km but walked the last 12km. Junko was normal 'ol Junko. She cracks me up sometimes with what she comes up. I taught them some new words/phrases and corrected their pronunciation for words they already knew. They taught me a lot about how the Japanese celebrate New Year's which was quite interesting. I learned some new stuff I hadn't known before. we ended up chattin' for like 5 hours! Came home and


Monday, 12.22: Closin' Ceremony, Shoppin' & Nagasaki Chanpon

Today was the closin' ceremony for school. All that really happened was the students got awards and the principal gave this speech that was way too long. For lunch, all the 7th grade, male teachers went out to eat lunch together. The food at this place was pretty good. Definitely a place I'll go back to. After lunch, headed back to school to play bball. I stayed later to practice with the girls. 4 hours was a little too much on my body I think.

After practice, Takahashi sensei took me shoppin' for my kotatsu blanket and mat. We went to Ito Yokado and on the way home, stopped off at this Nagasaki Chanpon restaurant in Narashino. I thought it was pretty good. Being cold and all...it really hit the spot. Had some gyoza too. Came home and set up my kotatsu.


Tuesday, 12.23: Cleanin' & Kickin' it in Matsudo

Woke up pretty early and started my year end cleanin'. Cleaned up my whole living room and had movies on in the background. Texted Ko to see if he wanted to kick it and found out that Marty texted him like 10 min after me. So we decided to meet up in Matsudo, which is convenient for Marty and Ko and I. In Matsudo, went to shoppin' for books, video games, music and dvds. Ko picked up the 12 Girl Orchestra and some books while Marty got some games and other books for omiyage since he was goin' back to Missouri on Christmas day. Ko and I also split the cost of the special edition Azumi. Came out to be like $60 but the special edition came with tons of extra stuff. Ko refuses to watch the movie because he's currently readin' the manga series. He's only on like vol.20 of like 30. Marty also picked up all kinds of little stuff @ Ito Yokado while I hit up the gacha pon machines. I saw the 4th series of the kaeru and got some pretty koo ones. I put the influenza frog on my ketai. For dinner, we headed to Doma Doma (the same place Yu's friends and I went for our bonenkai) and got tons and tons of food. Marty as usual, ordered his cheese mochi and other crazy hakujin dishes much to the dismay of Ko and I. The natto omelette wasn't that good. @ around 2200ish we called it a night and Ko and I got back on the Shin Kesei train for the long ride home. Matsudo is the last station on the Shin Kesei line and Ko's station (Shin Tsudanuma) is the 2nd to last with about 20 stops in between. On my way home, as I came up to Narita Kaido from MatsuKiyo, I heard these 2 loud voices near the crosswalk. When I looked to see who it was, I was surprised to see that it was Shacho and Sakamoto, drunk off their @$$es. Since I had my beanie on, they didn't recognize me and Shacho even yelled, "What the hell do you want!?". It wasn't until I took off my beanie that they realized who I was. Kicked it with them and helped Sakamoto escort Shacho home. What would have been only a 5 min walk, turned out to be about 35 min cuz we had to take all these little breaks for Shacho. We must've sat down to rest like 6-7 times. When we finally got back to Shacho's house, we were met by his daughter. She thanked us for bringin' him home and while Shacho ordered us to come in for some tea. While we were talkin', Shacho kept on tryin' to find a reason for us to drink more sho chu. It was funny how he took all these different angles, tryin' to convince us that it's ok to drink some more. Since arguin' with Shacho is no win situation, we ended up havin' one drink. Shacho is also funny because he always calls me "Ken" for some reason. I don't make a big deal about it cuz it's Shacho, but Sakamoto was always correctin' him to no success. Shacho also officially invited me to his house for his New Year's party...like 20 times. Came home and crashed out.


Wednesday, 12.24: Azumi & Ikspiari

Woke up kinda early for some reason. Got some more cleanin' done and watched Azumi. That movie was pretty dope. Had a pretty cool special effect that I've never seen before. The movie was a little long but was very interestin'. Had some natto and gyoza for a late lunch. Later that evenin', Takahashi sensei called me up and asked if I wanted to go to Ikspiari. I had no idea what he was talkin' about. Ikspiari is the Japan equivalent of Disney Downtown. So Takahashi sensei, his wife and youngest daughter and I headed to Tokyo Disneyland. On the way there, which was probably one of the most mind irritatin' experiences. Since Takahashi sensei drank some alcohol @ dinner, he couldn't drive there...so his wife drove. Man, don't get me wrong, I think she's a great person, but when it comes to driving...man...I can easily say, without hesitation, that I would rather be in the car with my mother drivin' then Takahashi sensei's wife. I had to give my condolonces to Takahashi sensei since he has to deal with that every single day. We finally got there, after tons and tons of traffice. Walked around, saw some hanabi and stopped off for some coffee and snacks @ Rainforest Cafe. On the way home, with Takahashi sensei @ the wheel, there was so much traffic. It took 40 min to get there, but about 2 hours to get home!!! Came home and crashed out @ around 0300ish.


Thursday, 12.25: School Concert, Shoppin' & Ikko

Merry Christmas!!! My school had a joint concert @ Funabashi Bunka Hall @ 1100. They've been practicin' with Narishino Dai Ni Elementary for the past week. Luckily they performed last cuz I was runnin' a little late. Since it was a joint concert, only the 7th and 8th graders performed and you can easily tell when they played Lord of the Rings that it didn't have the ummmph it normally does. Right after the concert, saw kocho sensei (principal) who was in a hurry to get to a meeting. Went to have some coffee with Takahashi sensei and then helped the students pack the cars with all the instruments. Chatted with some of the 8th graders afterwards and some of them were complainin' that they were hungry, so I gave them the rest of my katsu sando. I escorted them back to the station and then went to do some shoppin'. Sent out some mass Merry christmas texts and called Atsuko san. Went to Uniqlo (which I like to say is the Japanese version of Old Navy) and picked up a wool coat, which was originally about $100 for about $40. I also got picked up some other stuff @ LAOX and then headed home. Ko texted me sayin' that Marty might miss his flight cuz he overslept! I can't believe that...how you gonna oversleep for your flight home on the holidays. I'd just stay up the whole night. I was able to get most of this blog done @ that time and was chattin' with Tri when I get a call from Mama tellin' me to Ikko.

Headed to Ikko and saw Kita san, Yoko chan, and Yuasa sensei with her husband and daughter. It's always a pleasure to hear Yuasa sensei sing karaoke. She sounds like a pro. Kita san and I even sang Silent Night. We also watched the video from the bonenkai while Kita san would not stop about what Chi Mama put on my head when I first arrived there. Nakamura sensei and Kobi chan came through a little bit later. Yuasa sensei introduced me to her daughter, Kiyomi, and I found out that she was a student of Kocho sensei and Honda sensei when she was in junior high school @ Narashino Dai. It was funny to hear her call Kocho sensei, Kataoka chan and Honda sensei, Honda chan. We chatted for a long time. We exchanged ketai mail addresses and after a while, realized that we were the only people left in Ikko. She's a really cool girl and were supposed to hang out sometime soon. Anyhow, helped her flag down a cab and then I headed home to get some sleep.


Friday, 12.26: Tantakatankai & Garam

Decided to rest up today in preparation for the oru suru. Met up with Yu @ Funabashi station @ around 1830 and then headed to Shibuya. Got to Shibuya station and met up with Hide. Then we met up with A-chan and headed over to Torikaku, our favorite place...well for Tantakatan. We were lucky to get a table because this was the last work night for most people. Everyone after us who didn't have a reservation, were turned away. This was A-chan's bonenkai cuz she didn't make it to the last one. She also broke up with Setochi earlier that day, @ work and by text message!!! What the hell is that 'bout? Anyhow, we didn't mess around with orderin' individual drinks, we just got the whole bottle of Tantakatan while Yu drank his oolong tea. We put a little bit (like a couple of drops) of Tantakatan in it and he quickly got buzzed. The food of course didn't disappoint. Since A-chan and I were still goin' strong...we ended up orderin' another bottle of Tantakatan. A-chan then proclaimed that this wasn't a bonenkai but a Tantakatankai!!! Give or take a few glasses that Hide had, A-chan and I pretty much killed off a bottle each! Hide had to take off a little bit early to prepare for the performance tonite while Yu and I went back with A-chan to her place to feed her dog. We then took a cab to shinjuku and headed to Garam, the same place I went last week. Got there I met up with the rest of the crew: Hanzo, Kazu, Daisuke, Daiki, Ai-chan, Ayuchi, Utako, etc... This was my first time @ a reggae performance and it was off da hook! It was crazy to see all the guys perform. They were like totally different people when they perform. Now I'm really curious to hear Yu perform. @ around 0330, I was feenin' for some ramen, so A-chan, Ayuchi and I headed out. Was surprised that it was rainin' so we quickly went into the nearest ramen shop. we ate decent ramen and some gyoza and then headed out. A-chan took a cab while Ayuchi and I took the train. We took the same line but different ways. Put the headphones on and I was out instantly. Woke up @ Nishi Funabashi and was so happy that I didn't oversleep! Transfered @ Shin Tsudanuma and around Maebara station I thought my eyes were trippin' out because....there was SNOW everywhere!!! There wasn't any snow in Tokyo so it heightened the effect. It probably snowed about and inch or so, at least! Came home around 0730 and crashed instantly.


Aite ya'llz...I'll try to post more on a regular basis.

Kaz out...

HOLY CRAP! IT'S FRICKIN' SNOWIN'!!!

Well...because sleep has priority over this blog I was unable to finish my update. Now I'm goin' to Shibuya to hang out with Yu & A-chan then head to a reggae club. So it's another oru suru. Will update tomorrow afternoon/evening. Til then...take care and Merry Christmas.

Kaz out...

Not really in da mood to for an upate. I will definitely try to tomorrow. In a nutshell...the last couple of days are goin' to go down in da history books.

Kaz out...and tryin' to recover

Wellz...just got home from Ikko's bonenkai. Crashed @ Kohiyama's for a bit and then came home. Will try to update later.

Kaz out...

It was another crazy day! Will update later. Gots to get goin' to Futawa Kominkan to help out at Yu's mom's ballet performance.

Kaz out...

Ouch...what meant to be just a nice dinner and some drinks somehow turned into an all nighter. I think now I know why I don't do these during the week cuz I'm really payin' for it right now.

But all in all...it was worth it...I think. Had a blast last night. Ate good food and kicked it with koo peeps.

Not sure how I'm gonna function at tonite's bonenkai...we'll see.

Aite, gotta go to class now.

Kaz out...like a light!

I'm just feelin' in the writin' mood now. My students from 2-3 (8th grade, 3rd class) wrote me Christmas cards. They had some interesting and funny things to say as well as nice, cute pictures. From most sayin', "We hope you come back to our school next year" and "Have a nice winter vacation", "Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year" to one sayin', "I Love Kevin, I need you".

I went around the after school clubs to take some pictures. I played some soft tennis, which, is nothing close to being like real tennis. I also took some pics of the soccer, baseball and softball teams in action.

Wellz...gonna head out now. Peace!

Kaz out...

Here's something my mom sent me the other day.

WISE WORDS

Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you
have to eat them.

Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in
the middle of it.

Drive carefully. It's not only cars that can be recalled by
their maker.

If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.

If you lend someone $20, and never see that person again,
it was probably worth it.

It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to serve as
a warning to others.

Never buy a car you can't push.

Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because
then you don't have a leg to stand on.

Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance.

The early worm gets eaten by the bird, so sleep late.

When everything's coming your way, you're in the wrong
lane.

Birthdays are good for you; the more you have, the longer
you live.

Ever notice that the people who are late are often much
jollier than the people who have to wait for them?

If ignorance is bliss, why aren't more people happy?

Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once.

Don't cry because it's over; smile because it happened.

A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on
a detour.

Happiness comes through doors you didn't even know
you left open.

Have an awesome day, and know that someone has thought
about you today....

Last night, kicked it with Ko, Marty and Alex. We met up in Kinshicho and had some soba then headed over to Lotte Plaza for some battin' cages and bowling. The battin' cages were koo, they actually had a screen which displayed a video of an actual pitcher, pitchin' the ball. Kinda trippy....it took me a while to make contact...the inconsistent pitchin' also made it more difficult.

We bowled 2 games, Marty just barely beat me in the first game, winnin' by only 2 pins. So in the second game, one would think that you'd improve, but for me, I totally got worse! First of all...bowling 5 gutter balls in a row didn't help my self esteem one bit. I ended up with a score of 59!!! I can't remember the last time I bowled this bad. Hmmm.....you know what I think it was....I can't remember the last time I bowled sober.

Headin' to Shibuya tonite to go have dinner/drinks with Yu and his friends. It's always fun to drink with A-chan and teachin'/learnin' Japanese/English with Setochi. And of course, gettin' Yu to drink is always what I do best...hehe. Aite then,

Kaz out...

So...after gettin' most of the interviews done today, I've come to the conclusion that most of the boys who are a little geeky/nerdy/etc... are all on the table tennis team? Is that comparable to being on the tennis or bandminton team back home? Let me know what ya'll think, k?

I'd like to take a moment of silence for Oshige san, who passed away this past week. He was part of the Ikko family.


Fantasy Football Update (as of 12.16.03):

Joe Horn! I just wanted to thank him for callin' me after he scored his TD!!!

Playoff Picture
Week 15 matchup: Spam Jam (Tri)

Goin' into MNF, I'm up, 72-35. But Tri has Westbrook but not sure if that guy can score 7 TDs and gain some major yards.

Championship Bracket

Poopsie Liver Butts (Marty) #1 vs. Scruffs Minions (Don) #4
Current Score: 91-61

japanimal (Ko) #2 vs. Feo Football (Marc) #3
Current Score: 82-87

Consolation Bracket

Sakamoto Samurais #5 vs. Spam Jam (Tri) #8
Current Score: 72-35

wholly shet (Matt) #6 vs. Macs Silver & Black (Jim) #7
Current Score: 35-87

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Fantasy Basketball Update (as of 12.16.03):

Record: 42-26-2
RESULTS
Week 1: 6-4 W, japanimal (Kotaro)
Week 2: 6-3 W, Dribblin' Balls (Jookie)
Week 3: 6-4 W, Scruffs Thugz (Don)
Week 4: 6-4 W, Gsytle (Gee)
Week 5: 5-5 T, Prima Hooligan (Hooli) (My toughest opponent so far. Out of all the teams that I've played, I have the most respect for this one.)
Week 6: 6-4 W, Macs Kings (Jim) (Even though I more than doubled his pts, rebs, steals, assists, blocks...I also more than doubled his TO's and Techs.)
Week 7: 7-2 W, wholly shet (Matt) (He didn't even have a chance!)

Week 8 Matchup: Spam Jelly (Tri)
As of right now, I'm up 7-3.

So Ricky Davis gets traded to the Celtics. Not sure if it's a good or bad thing. Right now it's a bad thing because now I have 3 Celtics.

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Current Book Status:

Cryptonomicon
The Best American Short Stories 1999: pg 15 Sorry Ha chan, but that book was kinda wack yo!
Count Zero: pg 112
Was able to get some readin' done this past weekend but the story
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The Past Week

12.11.03
Normal day @ school. Left early for my ALT meeting @ City Hall. Nothing really much goin' on: some ALTs left, some new ALTs, winter vacation news and new year's concert. Kicked it with the International Relations department for a little bit and on the way downstairs, I saw Takun, whose office is right down the hallway from the International Relations department. Talked to him for a sec and then headed downstairs to meet up with Sam and Mark. Since it was gettin' a little late, and both
of them had stuff to do, we decided just to hang out another time.

Decided to head over to Aeon and LAOX. Got some wine and spam from Aeon and bought myself my Christmas present. The Braun Activator 8585. Came home and had some of my leftover sukiyaki. Yummy!

12.12.03
Another day @ school. More interviews. After school, went to Ikko and had some dinner. Kicked it with Tamaki chan, who cracked me up the whole night. Headed over to Serenade to drop off some gifts to Master san. Met up some other new peeps. Hashimoto san swung through later too. Came home and crashed out.

12.13.03
Woke up around 1130ish and tried to get ready for the Christmas concert @ school @ 1300. Stopped by 7-11 to get some snacks and headed to school. I didn't realize there was tennis practice and the baseball team's picnic too. Got to the gym and noticed that the concert was nowhere near to startin'. Hung out with Takahashi sensei and chilled with the students. Some of the students that came were in street clothes. It was hard to notice them at first. Anyhow, the concert was great! Megumi chan, being 1st violin, warmed up the orchestra and they got underway. Yamazaki sensei came out in a Santa Claus outfit for the first half. 1st song: Lord of the Rings, followed by Hotel California, Mission Impossible, Tequila, Mambo #5(with the 7th graders dancing w/pom poms) some old and new Japanese songs. They even played our school baseball team fight song, makenaide. There were also some solos done by some 9th graders. The drum solo was off da hook. There is a lot of talent in our orchestra. Overall is was a cool concert. Also got to meet Na-chan's older sister, who was pretty cute. ;b.

After the concert, headed home to pick up some stuff and then took off to Asakusa for Hide's BDAY party. Got to Asakusa @ around 1730ish and was shocked at all the decorations and food that were prepared @ Kaoru's restaurant. Ikko, Kaoru and Hideki made a feast! Aki, Tetsuo and I helped where needed. Hide arrived @ around 1830ish and we started the party. All the food was grubbin' and we had everything from champagne, beer, wine and cocktails. Hide was pretty over when we all decided to go sing karaoke. On our way there, I piggy-backed Hide up the flight of stairs so he wanted to return the favor on flat ground. As we got goin', I slowly feel like we're fallin'...and sure enough we are. I jump off while Hide proceeds to do a head first slide on the ground. It was a sight to see! After karaoke, we head back to Kaoru's to pick up our stuff and Hideki, Hide and I walk Ikko back home. On our way back to Hide's, Hide has this idea that we're chinese acrobats and decides to try to get all of us on his bike. Me being the smallest, I get stuck in the middle where I can't see anything. Hide takes the front and Hideki rides the "pegs". We get goin' for only about 20 meters and then I notice that Hideki has jumped off. Since he can see, I figure we're gonna crash. But luckily Hide saves us. Anyhow as we get back to Hide's place, it looks totally different from the last time I was there. He's got a computer and an entertainment center in the bedroom. It looks more like a college apartment. We stay up for a bit while watching some movie about Picasso with Anthony Hopkins. Crashed out @ around 0345ish.

12.14.03
Had to wake up early, around 0730 cuz Hideki had to go to work and Hide was meetin' up some friends. Came home and went back to sleep til like 1500ish. Did some laundry and @ 1545, headed over to Yanase's for a shabu shabu party. Miyahara and her husband, Katsuta, Oshima, Tajima and Kazue, and later, Hori. Man, Katsuta, Oshima and Miyahara can drink! They were puttin' down beer, wine, champagne and Kubota like it was water! I couldn't hang! I got to try some fugu for the first time. It was grilled, so it kinda tasted like any whitefish. I'm anxious to try the sashimi. Kazue also made her famous gyoza which was the bomb! After takin' a nap, I headed home @ around 2130. On my way home, stopped over @ Ikko to have some ocha. Kita and Sakamoto were there and they were tellin' me about the boy scout Christmas party next Saturday. Kita san was also teachin' me some crazy Japanese gesture while Mama and Sakamoto were tellin' me he's drunk. After chillin' there for a while, came home and crashed out.

12.15.03
While watchin' the news in the morning, found out that Hirose Ryoko is pregnant and engaged now.

At school, during the first period, Takahashi sensei and I were teaching the 7th grade, 4th class when Ito sensei (7th grade, 4th class' homeroom teacher) respectfully excuses himself by entering, grabs the nearest boy and throws him outside into the hallway. And in style, respectfully excuses himself and proceeds to discipline the boy outside in a voice that I've never heard from Ito sensei. Man...I got hyped from that! Made my heart start pumpin' yo! Let me reiterate that I love the Japanese school system!!!
Another day of interviews with the 8th graders. Almost done. Hope to be finished by the end of this week. This week's schedule is all jacked up because the 9th grade teachers are havin' appointments with the parents.

Played bball after school and noticed that like 5 graduates came to play. It was fun to play with them, however their level wasn't what I expected it to be. But all in all it was fun.

12.16.03
More interviews. I'm surprised at the level of the 5th class. The boys, for the most part are all scoring high.

Played some more bball again. Since the girls only had a light, late practice, I challenged Mika chan (the 9th grade girl's bball captain) to one-on-one, with the rules we used last time but she quickly yelled out "muri". So I taught her how to play HORSE. Unfortunately, she beat me...twice! She definitely has a future playin' ball in high school. She'd easily make startin' PG on any varsity squad back home. When the boys team startin' doin' shootin' drills, I teamed up with Saeki kun. Basically the drill goes like this, one person rebounds while the other is the shooter. After shooting, you must run back to the half court line and come back to receive a pass from your rebounder, then shoot again. Do this 20 times, then switch. After only thinkin' we were only goin' to do 3 sets, for some reason, we did like 7 sets of these. Then we scrimmaged, but I was only able to scrimmage til about 1615, cuz I had a dentist appointment.

Went to my dentist appointment and then headed over to Life to get some groceries. Came home and had some salmon sashimi and cooked up saba and sauteed some asaparagus and mushrooms. Got stuck watchin' CDTV Japan's year end music special. They went through the top 10 songs startin' from 1990 til 2003. It was pretty natsukashii for me to see the songs from early/mid '90s. When I wanted to clean up my apt, London Hearts came on, so I was stuck watchin' that too. After gettin' some stuff done, crashed out @ around 2315ish.

Kaz out...

So Saddam Hussein has been captured. I really hope that it's really him. We shall see...

My update will come tomorrow, aite?

Kaz out...

When ya'll get the chance, check out Tri's new Project Pink
----------------------------------------------------
Woke up at: 06:15
Mood: Chill
Listening to: The Next Movement by The Roots
Weather Report: Clear but cold
Japanese Word/Phrase of the Day: ___ no ue ni = on top of the __
Japan News: TOKYO - Shipments of "happoshu" low-malt, beer-like beverages for general household consumption are expected to surpass those of beer in 2003 for the first time since happoshu was launched in 1994 in Japan, industry data showed Wednesday. Such shipments of happoshu by Japan's five top brewers - Kirin Brewery Co, Asahi Breweries Ltd, Sapporo Holdings Ltd, Suntory Ltd and Orion Breweries Ltd - during the January-November period came to 176.93 million cases, compared with 156.57 million cases of beer shipped during the same period.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fantasy Football Update (as of 12.10.03):
Record: 7-6-1

It's playoff time! Unfortunately, my lost to japanimal this past weekend moved me from the championship bracket to the consolation bracket.

Week 14 matchup: japanimal (Ko)
Sakamoto Samurais: 61
japanimal: 68

Playoff Picture
Week 15 matchup: Spam Jam (Tri)

Championship Bracket

Poopsie Liver Butts (Marty) #1 vs. Scruffs Minions (Don) #4
japanimal (Ko) #2 vs. Feo Football (Marc) #3

Consolation Bracket

Sakamoto Samurais #5 vs. Spam Jam (Tri) #8
wholly shet (Matt) #6 vs. Macs Silver & Black (Jim) #7

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Fantasy Basketball Update (as of 12.10.03):

Record: 35-24-1
RESULTS
Week 1: 6-4 W, japanimal (Kotaro)
Week 2: 6-3 W, Dribblin' Balls (Jookie)
Week 3: 6-4 W, Scruffs Thugz (Don)
Week 4: 6-4 W, Gsytle (Gee)
Week 5: 5-5 T, Prima Hooligan (Hooli) (My toughest opponent so far. Out of all the teams that I've played, I have the most respect for this one.)
Week 6: 6-4 W, Macs Kings (Jim) (Even though I more than doubled his pts, rebs, steals, assists, blocks...I also more than doubled his TO's and Techs.)

Week 7 Matchup: wholly shet (Matt)
As of right now, I'm down 5-3.

Made some changes to my roster. I dropped Travis Best, Scottie Pippen and Ron Mercer and picked up Jiri Welsch and Ira Newble.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Current Book Status:

Cryptonomicon
The Best American Short Stories 1999: pg 15 Sorry Ha chan, but that book was kinda wack yo!
Count Zero: pg 82
Haven't been readin' too much since I haven't been ridin' the trains lately.
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News:

TECH:

- DVDs, drives don't mix, says government study. Recordable DVDs stand a substantial chance of being incompatible with DVD drives, but the situation is improving with new models, according to an ongoing government survey. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), a division of the U.S. Commerce Department's Technology Administration, said its tests proved DVDs and DVD drives to be compatible only 85 percent of the time. "This means that if a recording is made on 10 different brands of DVDs, the odds are that at least one will not work," the institute said in announcing the results Thursday. "The problematic results range from DVDs that do not work at all, suddenly freeze, or have video or audio 'drop out.'" read more here

- BlackBerry aims to go Wi-Fi. Research In Motion is working to allow its BlackBerry devices to connect to Wi-Fi wireless networks, anticipating demand for the feature from its target corporate customers. With the gradually growing number of Wi-Fi wireless network installations in large businesses and voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) trials on those networks, the Waterloo, Ontario-based RIM has been testing built-in Wi-Fi connectivity in its BlackBerry devices, the company confirmed Monday. The capability should be available sometime after spring of 2004. read more here

- Game industry leads race for digital 'uberdevice' One of the most heavily touted concepts of the Internet boom was "convergence"--the notion that practically all consumer technologies, from television to instant messaging, would be housed in a single box. read more here

SPORTS:

Baseball News

• Kazuo Matsui agreed to a $20.1 million, 3 year contract w/the Mets


• Akinori Ostuka agreed to a 2 year contract worth just under $2 million


• Shigetoshi Hasegawa resigns for $6.3 million, 2 year contract w/the Mariners


• Eddie Guardado signs a one year deal with 2 option years


• Tim Worrell agreed to a $5.5 million, 2 year deal w/the Phillies


• Bartolo Colon signed a $51 million, 4 year contract w/the Angels

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Cleanin', ESPN BBALL, Dinner w/Makuhari family, School, Shopping w/Takahashi sensei, Yakiniku

12.07.03 Sunday

Didn't get much...well maybe no sleep because I was so into the 24/7 mode of ESPN basketball on my xbox. I literally played it for like 8 hours straight!!! During some breaks, I did some laundry and cleaned up some more. For lunch, I had some curry rice and ran a few errands. For dinner, I headed out to Makuhari to meet up with Ami & Sho and the Muraguchis. Mama, as always, made some slammin' food. This time, it was a kimchee nabe. Towards the end, she put some fresh mochi that her and papa made that day. So it was kimchee mochi! It was the first time that I've had it and it was da bomb!!! Got to talk to Hide more about geek stuff. He got the latest Tungsten. It's pretty dope. Can't belive it has 50somethin' MB! I'm really jockin' Palm OS 5.2 now. Especially with the Japanese software upgrade. Anyhow, I gave them all their omiyage and Ami and Mama especially liked the cinnamon cookies from Las Vegas.

12.08.03 Monday

Natto, the breakfast of champions! Another day @ school spent interviewing the 8th graders. Played bball with Aso san, who finally played which was koo to have somebody who knows how to play. Afterwards, went to Laox (an electronics store like Best Buy) to go buy a heater. I ended up gettin' Hide's BDAY gift...Equilibrium DVD but the name was changed to Rebellion. Don't know why they axe the names to some movies. Takahashi sensei and I also bought some USB flash drives. After droppin' me off, I headed over to Ikko for dinner. Had some saba and miso shiru. Came home and played some of my 24/7 baller. If I don't play a lot, my baller's skills deteoriate. Just like real life. I need to get my defensive awareness up cuz I'm gettin' jooked to easily. I also tried out my new heater but it only worked for like 30 min, before flickerin' and turnin' off. WTF!!! Gonna have to tell Takahashi sensei bout this!

12.09.03 Tuesday

Yet another day of interviewing the 8th graders. During lunchtime, while the kids were playin', Iwase kun accidently broke one of the windows in the classroom and was cut really bad. When I went to teach the 8th grade class after lunch, I noticed Sunayama sensei, Yamazaki sensei and some other students cleanin' up the floor. I didn't realize they were cleanin' up blood until I was standin' in it. I helped them out but was shocked to see so much blood on the floor. I thought it was just a nose bleed or something but when I found out what really happened, I was shocked. The whole window was broken and these windows aren't small. As I was cleanin' up the blood, I brought out my elven ranger skills and was able to track the path Iwase kun took. From the window, to the hallway, to the bathroom, back out to the hallway, then down the far staircase. Since Takeuchi sensei had to take care of all the logistical stuff, I proceeded to our classroom to make sure the students are ok. They all were pretty shocked/sad/concerned about what happened and kept askin' me if I knew the details. I enjoy the 8th graders a lot more because they're more willin' to try to talk to me. Though the language barrier is still there, it's a lot smaller than it was when I first started. I can probably communicate @ about 80% understanding now with them.

I also got to try out my new USB drive. For some reason, it crashed my notebook. I got a frickin' blue screen on Windows 2000!!! WTF!!! I then tried to use Takahashi sensei's drive and it crashed my system again! We tried it on Ito sensei's notebook with the same results. Frustrated as hell at this point, Takahashi sensei and I went back to Laox and we exchanged my heater and then went upstairs to the computer department to see what's up with our USB drives. After listening to our problem, the guy that helped us tested our USB drives on the store computers with no problems. He then said that because I have English windows, it's not going to work. What kind of crap is that!?!? That's like sayin' my US floppy disk won't work in a Japanese floppy drive!!! Basically the result of this trip was: I returned my USB drive and Takahashi sensei kept his. With it being Tuesday night, when I came home, I watched my favorite programs. I cooked up some grubbin' sukiyaki, tried out some new games on my Xbox and called it a night.

12.10.03

Natto, the breakfast of champions! Washed down with some vegetable juice. Yummy!!! The school's internet connection is finally back up after a hiatus of about 5 days. Once again, another day of interviewing 8th graders. Finally started interviewing the boys. For 4th period, 8th grade science elective class had these two ladies come in and demonstrate how to make japanese sumi paper. I made two pieces that are currently on the sciene room window drying. They'll probably be dry by the end of the week. Chatted it up with Ishihara sensei at lunch today. We talked mostly about the volleyball (he was the volleyball coach at our school) and about oshogatsu (Japanese New Year's). Had another class of interviews and then just chilled in the teachers' room til about 1700ish and then headed to Yakuendai eki to go to Funabashi for yakiniku with Suga and Ralph. Ralph is back from Peace Boat, where he was on a boat for 3 months that went around the world; from Japan -> Taiwan -> India -> Australia -> Kenya -> Egypt -> Italy -> Spain -> NY -> Alaska. He's been back for about 2 months now but will be goin' on another excursion for the Peace Boat beginnin' on Christmas. I also met Hatakeyama san, who lived in NYC and San Mateo for about 7 years. Her English is really good and she surprised me with her knowledge of the states...more specifically Vegas and Macys. Kinda trippy. Had some grubbin' Korean food and some makolee, which is like Japanese Doboroku...or unfiltered sake. Miyazaki also came through a little bit later and it's always interesting to have him and Uenohara (Ta kun) around as a team. Caught the train with Miyazaki and @ Kesei Tsudanuma, we saw that they're installin' new sign boards for the Shin Kesei line. Much more modern than the ancient signs they use now for the train times. The new ones employ full graphics! Came home and watched my show with Manami Konishi in it.

Well...it's gettin' late...so I'm callin' it a night.


Kaz out...

Sorry for the 2 week layoff from posting. But here's the latest since returnin' from California...


Sunday 11.30

Arrived @ Narita @ around 1700ish. Felt koo to not have to wait in the foreigner immigration line. No problems goin' through customs either. Sent my box from kuro neko ("black cat"; the UPS/FedEX of Japan) which only cost about $15 to send, next day, to my apartment. When I came home, I just put all my stuff on the floor and called it a night @ around 2200ish.


Monday 12.01

Couldn't believe I felt fine this morning. No jet lag at all. I was anxious to see everybody at school. During the 7th grade classes, I told all my students about my trip and then they would have to try to figure out what I did. We also handed back the final tests that they took the week before. At the end of the day, I went to play bball and was surprised that I didn't really lose a step. Wanted to go to Ikko to see everybody but I had to wait for my package that's supposed to arrive between 1900-2100. I was waiting and waiting, and finally @ around 2145, my doorbell rings and it's this man who has my box on his shoulder. By this time, it was way too late to go to Ikko. Oh wellz... I ended eating some natto for dinner and then crashed out.


Tuesday 12.02

A busy day at school, had 5 classes with the 7th graders. I continued with tellin' my story to the classes that haven't heard it yet and we returned the test to one more class. After school, came home and did some laundry and went out to eat with Mikie @ Yumean. She liked the omiyage (souvenir) I got for her and we just chilled for a couple hours.


Wednesday 12.03

Started the interview tests of the 8th graders. It seems as though I can only test about 5-6 students each period, so I see this project going on for another 2 weeks! Got a text and call from Kohiyama san askin' if I returned yet and why haven't you contacted Mama because she was worried. Since I had to go to the concert tonite, I didn't have a chance to stop by Ikko. I'll probably go tomorrow.

Went to go see the Roots perform in Omotesando with Yu, Setocchi, A-chan, Keita (Setocchi's DJ) and Mike (Yu's friend from CSUH, goes to Waseda on exchange program, from Oakland, hip hop head) I and hit it off pretty easy cuz we're both from the same hood. The venue for the show was @ this nice blues club/bar. What was kinda weird was that everyone was seated. The show was pretty koo even though they Scratch didn't make it which meant when they did the Next Movement, it was a little wack. They did bring out 2 new guitarists, one from SF named Martin Luther. Jaguar Wright also performed with the Roots. This was probably the closest I've ever been to them. Ordered a Glenfiddich, on da rocks w/a lemon twist but was very disappointed because they didn't understand what a lemon twist was. What they gave me was a lemon WEDGE which made the scotch taste like a scotch sour. As for the performance, Hub's solo was the best I've ever seen. I was hoping for a solo from ?uest Love or Kamal, but it didn't happen. The 2 guitarists' solos were off da hook too. Jaguar Wright came out around the halfway point and got everyone up out of their seats. I wish we could've gotten up earlier. After the concert, Mike and I talked with Martin Luther for a bit and took a pic with him. On the way out of the club, I saw Kentaro, Brian and Rick's friend who I met on Halloween. Chatted with him a bit and found out that he only got to see like 15 min of the show PLUS he had to go back to work afterwards...OUCH! We all decided to get something to eat, but really, A-chan and I wanted to drink. We headed to torikaku, the same place we had A-chan's birthday dinner at. I kinda lost track of how many tantakatan hais A-chan and I had. She just kept ordering them cuz we were the only ones drinking. Yu and I headed out @ around 2300ish to catch the last train back to Funabashi. On the way back home, decided to stop off @ Serenade to say hi. Saw Mori san there and we sang karaoke and had some more to drink. It was a long day yo!


Thursday 12.04

Another day of 8th grade interview tests. The 8th graders seem to be more willin' these days to talk to me. It's mostly the girls, cuz the guys are still a little shy. I made a pic CD for one of my students who used my camera to take a picture of this other student @ gassho sai.

After school, headed over to Ikko finally. Mama, as usual, hooked it up. I really missed her miso soup and so did the other guys. They said that since I was gone, Mama never made miso soup. So they're glad that I'm back now. It was good to see some of the crew there: Endo, Sensei & Kita. Had some grubbin�� kotechan, atsu age, wieners and miso shiru. Came home around 2100 and watched 2 Fast 2 Furious. I've seen bits and pieces from when I was back home, but this time I got to see it from the beginning. I didn't realize it til near the end that the girl was Rocky Aoki's daughter. I thought she looked familiar.


Friday 12.05

Saw Mama @ the intersection which usually means that I'm runnin' late to school. She always says osoi (late) when we see each other in the morning. So I jammed to school to find out that I wasn't really that late. Had this little headache during the day which was quite bothersome but after interviewing my students, it seemed to go away. This teaching thing is totally different than working @ Prima. I really never knew how this Japan thing was goin' to turn out. But after 8 1/2 months, I starting to see and feel the reward of educating youth. It's something that's hard to describe, the best way to know what it's like is to just do it. The kids are all so unique and have so much energy, it's hard for you not to absorb some of it. When I think of it now, my trip back home was more rewarding than while I was there. First, I got to see my family and hang out with my friends. Second, I got to eat all the food that I missed. Third, which now I think is important, is that it gave me some time to reflect about my job which before going to America was kinda @ a low point. I came back refreshed and with a new attitude. Do you all understand what I'm sayin'?

Went drinkin' with Takeuchi and Takahashi sensei @ Shirakiya. Not sure why I accepted the bourbon from Takeuchi sensei but since he paid for the whole meal...I can take one for the team. Came home and crashed out.


Saturday 12.06

Got to sleep in finally! Woke up @ around 1100ish and biked over to Kita Narashino to go the post office and bank. Went to go check out the ramen shop that Takahashi sensei recommended me but when I finally found it, there were like 25 people waitin' outside!!! Aaarrgghhh..oh well...I know where it's at now so I'll definitely check it out later. Biked home and decided I wanted to eat some sushi, so I headed over to the nearest kaitensushi and had a feast! On my way home, stopped over @ Ikko cuz I noticed the shutters were open. Talked to mama for a bit and had some ocha and oshinko with Kuro chan and Sensei. Came home and cleaned up my apartment a bit. Got a call from Atsuko san and she invited me over for dinner. Biked over there and it started to rain a bit. Helped make the gyoza for dinner and with the left over wraps, I made cheese gyoza. They came out pretty good, especially good with some good Chilean cabernet. Took a nap which lasted for about an hour or so and then headed home. Pretty tired now so I'm gonna call it a night.


Kaz out...

Sorry for the lack of updates. Been really busy since comin' back. Will try to post tonite, aite!?

Kaz out...