New Years eve

Wow.. I can't believe its New Years Eve already. Time has gone way too fast this year. I honestly felt that this whole year went like a blur. I guess it is true on what they say, the older you get, the faster time passes by. Damn.. that is depressing... Anyways, this will be the first time I am spending New Years in Tokyo. The other New Years eve I've experienced in Japan, I was either in Tottori or Yokohama. I don't have any New Years plan other than eating soba tonight and watching/recording all the New Year special K-1 fights and multiple hour music specials. I may or may not go to a Shrine/Temple tomorrow which is traditional in Japan to visit during at the start of the new year. Unfortunately, I will be working tomorrow, so my plans will all be dependent on how busy I am.

Speaking of work, my work laptop that I got back in 2005 started breaking down last month. I asked the IT guy to replace my laptop but made a request to get a non Japanese laptop as my work laptop used a US style keyboard. Whenever I type on a Japanese style keyboard, I always have countless typos and find myself spending too much time trying to find different characters like quotation marks. Luckily, he fulfilled my request, which I was surprised because other international employees that had similar requests got stuck with Japanese laptops; however, he replaced my laptop with a European equivalent. Its not the same as the US keyboard layout but most keys are in their similar location.

Finally, I have taken the next step in trying to play more basketball in Tokyo. Saturdays playing with the junior and high school kids are great, but I want more. I found a basketball club that plays somewhat near where I live on the internet. From their site, their ages range from mid 20s to early 30's. They rent out a Junior High school gym and usually play on Sundays which is perfect for me. I gave them a quick e-mail in horrible Japanese asking if they will accept a funny looking foreigner in their group. I am currently awaiting for their reply.