February Update

Things here have been going well, nothing exciting but life hasn't been too boring. One thing that has kept me on my toes the past couple of weeks was working on my U.S. tax return. I've actually never done my taxes before. Every year, I always gave my accountant back home the appropriate documents and he would prepare everything in a nice envelope for me to send. Since I do not have that luxury here, I tried to do my taxes on my own. Not surprisingly, I had a ton of questions and I was doubting myself on the content I thought I knew. I soon found myself researching for some tax accountants specializing in US tax in Tokyo. I actually found a lot, but their fees were through the roof compared to what I was used to paying back in the states. Luckily, last week I found a coworker at the office who is a pro at US tax and he agreed to help me with my paperwork. The lifesaver helped me complete everything last weekend and all I have to do now is send the package to Uncle Sam.

Other than that nothing notable has been going on. I'm still doing well at the gym going a few times a week. I am still trying to figure out the best time of the day to go. I try to go when there is the least amount of people because my goal is to get my workout done as quickly as possible. However, I've been unfortunate and have always picked times to go during the "house wives" rush hour, where I'm surrounded by old women taking their sweet time in the limited amount of machines.

I'm still playing basketball but I haven't been back to the Shibuya Sports Center. I wanted to go the past couple of weeks, but I had work related events during basketball nights there. Tonight is basketball night, but actually I'm sore from yesterday where I played 2 on 2 full court basketball. I know.. 2 on 2 full court?? I don't know either, I mean back in the states, every time we had less than 4 on 4 we played half court games. All the games in Japan, they always want to play full court regardless of how many people playing. Oh well.. I can't complain because I don't have any basketball friends anyways so I got to take whatever I can get. This leads me to the college kids I thought I befriended a while ago at the local community center. At that time, we exchanged e-mails and even talked about going to an izakaya for some drinks. However, almost every week for the past few months we would play with each other and it seems we have fun, but when I try to talk to them about other things, they keep brushing me off. The e-mails have also stopped as they haven't responded to me anymore. One of the college guys seem to have emotional issues, where one week he seems happy and comfortable talking with me, the next he seems annoyed and has this fake attitude with me. Oh well, I don't really mind and have quit making any more efforts with them but I honestly was really looking forward to making some new friends. Recently, I actually got along better with the Junior and High school students who play there than the college guys. Its too bad I can't ask them "Hey wanna get a drink at the local bar sometime?" Maybe I an change it up to "Hey wanna get a juice box later?"

Playing sports and working out has allowed me to eat out more without feeling guilty. I've actually been eating out at least once or twice a week. My local area has lots of restaurants but unfortunately, the majority of them suck. One of my coworkers was surprised to hear that you can get bad food in Japan, which I was too because food in Japan in my opinion, is best in the world, but I think my part of Tokyo is an anomaly. So this weekend, my coworker who loves the Latin culture scheduled a night out at a good Mexican restaurant she recommends in Hiroo. I haven't eaten good Mexican food since I've been in Japan, so I'm definitely excited. The only thing I'm not looking forward is she wants to do Tequila shots and the last time I did Tequila shots I re-enacted the whole vomiting scene from "The Exorcist".

Too Cold!

Its getting too cold here. I usually wake up before my alarm clock but these days, its so cold that I don't even want to get out of bed. I have to admit though, it is not as cold as it was when I was living in the countryside of Japan. Back then, I could see my breath no matter where I was in my apartment. I don't see my breath now, but since I'm living in a concrete structure, there isn't much of a difference between the temperature outside and inside. Thankfully, it is February now so I estimate about a month left before Spring and its warmer temperatures to come back to life.

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!