Reminder: Life is short

I was shocked to find out this week that one of my former co-workers at the Tokyo office passed away. He apparently died of a heart attack and he was only 41 years old. I wasn't close with him, actually I hardly spoke to him at the office. I did share a drink once or twice with him after work with other co-workers but as I got to know him I realized that we could never see eye to eye on a lot of things. Anyways, this unfortunate incident is just one of many in my life that is a reminder on how short life really is. As a good friend told me, live your life now as you are never guaranteed to live tomorrow.

Moving?

I had Monday and Tuesday off this week, but I didn't get a chance to really relax as most of my time was spent either looking at places to move or thinking about moving. This wasn't planned at all when I asked to take my days off, so everything was pretty hectic. A lot of the stress was the "thinking" more so than actually looking because the total cost of moving from my current place to a place that is a bit further but bigger and at a similar price range literally costs an arm, a leg, and a torso. I almost pissed in my pants when I heard some of the figures. I don't know how average people can afford to move in Japan without company assistance. I initially wanted to buy my own mansion/condo but I've been told I would need to have a permanent residence status which would take me a few more years to get to even qualify for a loan. Anyways, I really want to move out of my current place into a place that is bigger and in a cleaner and more quiet environment. I just have to debate whether it is worth severely denting my bank account to do so.

In other news, I never got a reply from the basketball team that I e-mailed a few weeks ago. They had an open session on Sunday which didn't need prior permission to participate but I was doing the whole apartment hunting thing. Luckily, Thursdays is basketball night at the Shibuya Sports center. I never played there before but I did try to go two weeks ago, but that night the gym was closed and the website failed to mention that. I heard it was pretty competitive and there are also some foreigners who play there. I may go tonight if work is not too busy and it stops raining.

One more bday dinner

My diet took a minor detour last night. Some of my coworkers took me out for a wine tasting dinner at Park Hyatt in Shinjuku to celebrate my birthday.



I was quite surprised with their efforts to be honest. I ended up drinking a lot more wine than I wanted to but luckily I didn't get completely pissed drunk and did not experience a hang over this morning. So tonight, I definitely have to work hard at the gym to burn the unexpected thousands of calories that I absorbed. On another note, I'm debating whether or not to go to the movies tonight after the gym and watch the new James Bond flick. Yeah.. I know Quantum of Solace came out in the states like a few months ago, but it just arrived to Japan today. I loved Casino Royale, so I have high expectations for this one, even though I read mixed reviews.

Celebrating getting older with good food

I celebrated getting older this past weekend. It was great but I can't believe that I am that much closer in hitting the 30's. I have calmed down a lot in terms of partying and everything in the past couple of years, but I really want to enjoy the rest of my time while I am "officially" still in my 20's. Anyways, I had the pleasure to indulge in some of my favorite foods this past weekend. It totally killed my diet/workout regiment, but I will just have to make it up in the next couple of weeks. Here is a sneak peak of some of the "yumminess" that entered my mouth:

At a cozy french restaurant in Denenchofu:









Teppanyaki at Shirokane:

Breaking news...Tokyo is crowded!

One of the most exciting aspects about the first days of the new year are the plethora of sales most stores have including the expensive boutiques. Since this was my first New years in Tokyo, I had to see what the hype was about. I experienced Black Friday in the states numerous times, so I knew how to deal with crowds.. at least I thought I did. I went to Isetan Men's (Popular department store) in Shinjuku and saw some awesome sales however everyone and their grandmother saw them too. I literally felt like I was shopping inside a train during rush hour... and you know rush hour in Tokyo is no joke. If I wasn't being stepped on while looking through the clothes on display, I was shoulder to shoulder trying to navigate through the aisles. There was even a waiting line to use the escalators. It was crazy!

As I mentioned in my previous entry, visiting a shrine during New Years is a tradition for most. I really wanted to check out the very famous Meijijingu near Harajuku. Since this is one of the popular shrines in Japan, I anticipated the peak of the crowds to occur during the first two days of the New Year, so I strategically went on the 3rd day and at an off time. Unfortunately, like my shopping experience, the place was packed like a can of sardines.



I felt like I was at a "Put your favorite band's name here" concert. It was insane! Actually walking through Takeshita Dori in Harajuku earlier in the day was more insane. I'm hoping to get a few extra days off sometime this month since I had to work during the holidays so I can hopefully take a trip out of Tokyo. I definitely want to go somewhere in the countryside where I won't have to battle these crowds!