I am what you call.... a binge drinker {in australian accent}

okay so the game is on. who is going to win the purple heart, for injuring themselves during the work christmas party? whos going to win the tank, drinking the most while keeping composure?, whos going to win the whale, drinking the most, period. who is going to win the akward award. the list goes on. it is nova work party 2007 at nova. Yaki Niku (korean bbq), .
nomihodi, all you can eat and drink. the night was wild. for details and a christmas present, the first person to post a comment gets a gift in the mail, authentic japanese shit, from me. be quick, be fast.

my birthday was pretty smuch the same, a drunk night, ate okonomiyaki with my buds, spencer and phil.

i am lovcing japan. next post will be aFTER new years, its goiung to ber wild in tokyo with kevin, . what you shinkansaying

peace out, a town

remembering the great hanshin earthquake

i have three days off, specifically sunday, tuesday, and wednesday.

tuesday: earthquake memorial day it is. i wake up and head to kobe harbour, and examine the perserved part of the harbour from the earthquake. it is sad to witness. that day, on jan 17th, 1995, over a thousand people lost their lives. here i observe over 10 years later, the damage of that day. it is truly horrific.

i head to the earthquake museum to learn more. I watch a recreation of the earthquake. sugoi. what a terrible experience to undergo. my heart goes out to the earthquake victims. the suffering is unbelievable. People losing relatives, having to live in school gymnasiums for months. My empathy for the great city of Kobe grows. I listen to personal stories of the surviours. a man in a wheelchair survives, having to pull himself out of the rubble. I am amazed.

i finally understand where the mutual respect and character of this city comes from. i always wondered why, if you loose a bag filled with cash and valuables, will it be returned the next day with nothing missing. now in understand. this city has developed a ridiculous amount of trust and compassion; people have so much integrity. this city is awesome. rock on.

wednesday

i go to an outlet mall in tarumi. the mall is amazing. the worlds largest suspension bridge lies in the background. sugoi. inside, lacoste outlet store sucks me dry. i walk out with a winter jacket, a long sleeve shirt, and a sweater. amazing prices though, 50 percent off most merchandise.

at night i go to the most beautiful cafe ive ever been to. lit trees and nice decor surround me. i eat cheese cake and coffee. happy b-day boo-bi (bobby in japanese).

High in the Lands of the Inca

Sunday was an eventful day. I met with Spring, her roommate, and her sister, and we went to Kobe Museum to see an exhibit on the Aztecs, Incas, and Mayan peoples. But the great part was that before we went there, we smoked some kick-ass, paranoia-free, dope. It made the experience so much better. In Japan it’s jail time if you get caught with dope, that’s why it costs 50 bucks a gram Seeing the history of these people (who unfortunately were exterminated by the Spanish Conquistadores, something the politically-correct exhibit failed to mention) while being high allowed me to travel through time and actually feel as if I was in 3,000 B.C in Central America. Some of their mass sacrifice rituals, as well as rituals such as the removal of a live child’s heart, was really shocking.

At night we were supposed to go to a gyoza party, but it got moved to our place. There were about 11 of us, and we all helped make gyozas and then ate them together. Much fun. We also made shrimp tempura. Phil got excited about Mango Juice, which sounds very similar to something in Japanese, which may be inappropriate to mention here.

On Wednesday night we went over to a co-workers house, Katie, and we made burgers and pizza and played drinking games. It was lots of fun.

Today I taught my first lesson in two months, which was nice. All this time waiting around wondering what was going to happen is officially over. It feels nice to have job security once again. Getting fucked over by a corrupt corporation was an interesting experience. In the end I learned that patience is the greatest virtue, and waiting it out through the tough times instead of giving up and going home paid off big time. I now work in a wicked location, sweet deal in terms of my work intensity, and am getting paid my unpaid wages. Life pays out great rewards to those who wait, at least most of the time.

I watched Sopranos last night, the episode where Christopher dies, and I came to new realizations I never noticed the first time I watched it. Tony, when high on peyote, sees the world from a different angle, and comes to new realizations. When he wins 4 lucky hands in a row playing roulette, he says “he’s dead, he’s dead” and falls to the ground from laughter. He actually believes that his bad luck streak is over because Christopher is dead. In the end, he yells “I get it” to the great desert landscape and jumps to the sky trying to reach it. The peyote makes him spiritual, and I feel the same when I am high. Now I understand the Rastafarians use of marijuana.

Fingerprinting Gaijin

Japan, starting Nov. 20th, plans to fingerprint every foreigner under the banner of "fighting terrorism." It is a sad day for human rights. Please sign the petition: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/fingerprints-japan/

also check this blog for more info:
http://reentryjapan.blogspot.com/

Please! one more word!

So today was my second day back at work. It is awesome working in Sannomiya, it is the equivalent of working at King and Spadina in Toronto. It is also great cause it’s a 10 min walk from our apartment. It is a cool group of teachers there, I can smoke in the kitchen, and there are so many bars close by that it is always convenient to go for drinks after work. So far there is no work because students have not signed back up yet, so it is mostly just sitting around and shooting shit. I got paid yesterday for the first time since I’ve arrived. It was 51,000 yen deposit, equal to about 500 bucks. It was also for doing nothing, waiting at home on standby until we got called into work, so it’s free money, although much needed. I love Kobe and love my job and location. It is the shit. Now that I have a secure job I can relax. Our unpaid wages (equivalent of 4,000 bucks) should take about 6 months to arrive.

I am really excited about being in Japan. It is sooo interesting and fun. Everyday is something different; you meet someone new, learn a new word or phrase, discover a new place, learn about a new cultural reality. It is one great adventure. Everything is different, from the food you eat to the way you flush the toilet. The Japanese language is like crack, people get addicted to it and its all you talk about and think about. You practice it when you walk, eat, shit, and sleep. I try to calm phil and spencer down but they cant stop they need their dosage. I’m getting hooked. Watashiwa nehongoga skoshi wakarimas, demo, jousou jarimasen. I speak a little Japanese, but, I’m not skilled at it yet.

I am planning on going to Tokyo for new years with Kevin, maybe spencer and phil will join. I am not thrilled about going, since I think I will hate Tokyo, and would rather go to a hype natural spot like Nagano, but whatever. I have money now so its okay. I am planning a Gyoza party, which is a party where you sit around and make dim sum together, for Sunday. That will be fun.

The weather is so warm. It is 16 degrees here, you don’t even need a jacket. In Toronto they had a blizzard yesterday. It is -5