Its Friday here and another week has passed, well almost. This week was pretty busy at work. We had a few complications and I found myself working several hours straight without a lunch and bathroom break. Yesterday was an exception. Things were slow and I was bored out of my mind. I did manage to talk to a few coworkers which eased the boredom, but most of the time, I was just reading up on some random Japanese tutorial sites. Last night I went to Ebisu. I enjoyed good conversations and good food. I ate at some random yakitori (pieces of various parts of the chicken on a stick) restaurant. The majority of the food was was pretty good but I did have some difficulty in chewing and swallowing a few of the pieces. I was not really sure exactly which part of the chicken those pieces were since I let my friend order everything. Afterwards, I headed to Shibuya to meet Mr. A&F before heading home. I was very surprised to find that the trains were really crowded even though it was around 11:30 ish on a Thursday night. It felt almost like the morning rush except there were more drunk people.
I'm pretty stoked for tomorrow. I'll be meeting friends that I have not seen in 3 years when I last lived in Yonago. I'm hoping the weather will cooperate tomorrow. I've seen mixed forecasts indicating rain or just cloudy. I hope it will be the latter.
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Monday, August 27, 2007
Bombed in Shinjuku
On my way to the office, I usually have to pass a half mile corridor to get to my office. The walk is not so bad because it has a skywalk, like the ones you find at the airport. Well anyways, I was walking on the skywalk minding my own business and I noticed a disheveled old business man about 20 feet ahead of me. I see plenty of those everyday, so I thought nothing of it. Well as I drew closer to him, we were both walking but he was walking a bit slower than my pace, a vile and heinous oder infiltrated my breathing space. The guy busted some major ass and I was the first of the dark cloud's casualties. I couldn't believe that a smell like that existed in a human's bowel. It was like smelling horse manure, who just ate really bad Chinese food, up close, on a very hot and humid day. It was so bad that my eyes started watering. Before my vomit started to come through my esophagus, I took a deep breath and picked up my pace to pass the nasty guy. To my dismay, he picked up his pace as well and didn't let me pass him. I got frustrated and got off the skywalk and finished walking through the corridor skywalkless. I will never forget that guy or that wretched smell. If I ever see him again, I'm going to be prepared and have a bottle of Febreeze handy to spray that sucker down.
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Earthquake Machine
On my way to the office, I heard loud noises coming from where the taxi stands were located. I turned my head to see what was going on but a small crowd had gathered and blocked my view. I detoured from my normal route to check out what the deal was.
It was an earthquake machine and volunteers were asked to try it out. In return, they would give the volunteers a small gift bag. I saw one run through and fear ran down my spine. The machine shook the volunteers so hard that they could barely stand. It was like an amusement park ride gone terribly wrong. The realization that I live in a place that is suppose to get the "big" one soon slapped me hard in the face. The phrase that I heard from the Discovery Channel a few months ago about Tokyo as, "the city waiting to die" kept playing over and over in my head. I mean I have already experienced some earthquakes in my short time here, but they were nothing. Most of them I didn't even know were earthquakes until I had to confirm with other people that they were indeed earthquakes and not another case of my indigestion. I know I may be over thinking the situation, but coming from the Washington D.C. area where earthquake is not even a part of our vocabulary, gun violence is less frightening than the ground moving uncontrollably. I really hope that I will not get shaken up like a martini when the "big" one does hit Tokyo.
It was an earthquake machine and volunteers were asked to try it out. In return, they would give the volunteers a small gift bag. I saw one run through and fear ran down my spine. The machine shook the volunteers so hard that they could barely stand. It was like an amusement park ride gone terribly wrong. The realization that I live in a place that is suppose to get the "big" one soon slapped me hard in the face. The phrase that I heard from the Discovery Channel a few months ago about Tokyo as, "the city waiting to die" kept playing over and over in my head. I mean I have already experienced some earthquakes in my short time here, but they were nothing. Most of them I didn't even know were earthquakes until I had to confirm with other people that they were indeed earthquakes and not another case of my indigestion. I know I may be over thinking the situation, but coming from the Washington D.C. area where earthquake is not even a part of our vocabulary, gun violence is less frightening than the ground moving uncontrollably. I really hope that I will not get shaken up like a martini when the "big" one does hit Tokyo.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Raining
Doh! I spoke too soon. It is now raining in Tokyo. From the weather forecast I saw earlier, it was suppose to stay hot/humid and partly sunny until next week. Oh well, I guess you can rely on the Japanese meteorologists the same way you can about the U.S. ones.
Slow times
Hot and humid days. This has been the theme for the past 2 weeks in Tokyo. Actually I believe last week Japan broke several high temperature records. I haven't seen any rain in weeks now, which I am not complaining but it would be nice for the temperature to go down so I don't have to abuse my AC units everyday. I haven't seen my electric bill yet, but I bet its through the roof.
As for my life, these days have been pretty quiet for me. This week was suppose to be really busy for me at work, but the projects that was suppose to go live got canceled due to miscommunication with the testing and deployment teams. I have taken advantage of this slow opportunity and the fact that I am allowed to work from home to focus on my Japanese studying. Yep, I started my Japanese "boot camp" recently. I got myself a 3 level intensive Japanese course. I never took any formal Japanese classes before, so even though I can somewhat communicate with the locals, my language ability is really rough around the edges. I am hoping this will assist me in building my foundation with the language. I also recently bought a pearly white Nintendo DS to help me study Japanese. I bought this elementary school game with it that helps me with writing and reading Kanji, the Chinese character part of Japanese writing. I found that this game coupled with my electronic dictionary have been effective in increasing my vocabulary.
I also had the recent opportunity to ball at the community center near my apartment. It was not bad but the best part was that it was FREE, which is really hard to find in Tokyo. There were two older guys and a couple of ghetto junior high school kids at the court shooting the ball around. I started out shooting with the older fellas. They were ok, but I ended up getting rejected when they telepathically decided to play 1 on 1 with each other. It was so random, I mean, they didn't speak to each other at all when they were laying their bricks and all of a sudden they were going at it while I was left watching on the sidelines like young English orphan in front of a candy store. I ended up intruding the junior high school kids on the other side of the court. Yeah, they were smaller than me and much younger, but I didn't care, I just wanted to play hehe. I asked to play 2 on 2 and they happily agreed. One kid thought he was a part of one of those And-1 videos, always doing spin moves and dribbling behind his back while he went to the basket. I have to admit, he had some pretty good dribbling skills for a junior high school kid, but his shooting was really weak. I on the other hand was rusty with everything. My shots were flat, dribbling skills were non existent but the worst thing was my stamina or lack thereof. These kids were running circles around me, but I was not about to let them win. My team did end up winning, by a large margin too, but it was mainly thanks to my team mate. I was glad that I ended playing with them rather than the older guys.
On a last note to this post, my working from home streak will end this Friday when I have to go to the office. There will be a big reshuffle in terms of cubicle locations, and I have to take my stuff and move to another part of the office. I was just getting used to my location too. The best part was that I was only steps away from the break room where I would go frequently to get free tea and juice. Oh well, I guess good things can't last forever.
As for my life, these days have been pretty quiet for me. This week was suppose to be really busy for me at work, but the projects that was suppose to go live got canceled due to miscommunication with the testing and deployment teams. I have taken advantage of this slow opportunity and the fact that I am allowed to work from home to focus on my Japanese studying. Yep, I started my Japanese "boot camp" recently. I got myself a 3 level intensive Japanese course. I never took any formal Japanese classes before, so even though I can somewhat communicate with the locals, my language ability is really rough around the edges. I am hoping this will assist me in building my foundation with the language. I also recently bought a pearly white Nintendo DS to help me study Japanese. I bought this elementary school game with it that helps me with writing and reading Kanji, the Chinese character part of Japanese writing. I found that this game coupled with my electronic dictionary have been effective in increasing my vocabulary.
I also had the recent opportunity to ball at the community center near my apartment. It was not bad but the best part was that it was FREE, which is really hard to find in Tokyo. There were two older guys and a couple of ghetto junior high school kids at the court shooting the ball around. I started out shooting with the older fellas. They were ok, but I ended up getting rejected when they telepathically decided to play 1 on 1 with each other. It was so random, I mean, they didn't speak to each other at all when they were laying their bricks and all of a sudden they were going at it while I was left watching on the sidelines like young English orphan in front of a candy store. I ended up intruding the junior high school kids on the other side of the court. Yeah, they were smaller than me and much younger, but I didn't care, I just wanted to play hehe. I asked to play 2 on 2 and they happily agreed. One kid thought he was a part of one of those And-1 videos, always doing spin moves and dribbling behind his back while he went to the basket. I have to admit, he had some pretty good dribbling skills for a junior high school kid, but his shooting was really weak. I on the other hand was rusty with everything. My shots were flat, dribbling skills were non existent but the worst thing was my stamina or lack thereof. These kids were running circles around me, but I was not about to let them win. My team did end up winning, by a large margin too, but it was mainly thanks to my team mate. I was glad that I ended playing with them rather than the older guys.
On a last note to this post, my working from home streak will end this Friday when I have to go to the office. There will be a big reshuffle in terms of cubicle locations, and I have to take my stuff and move to another part of the office. I was just getting used to my location too. The best part was that I was only steps away from the break room where I would go frequently to get free tea and juice. Oh well, I guess good things can't last forever.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Friday, August 17, 2007
Welcome party recap and food news
Yesterday, I had my welcome party. I was pretty much left in the dark on the actual plans until 10 minutes before. The whole day I was pretty busy with work and skipped lunch. It turns out that skipping that meal was a bad mistake.
The party was held at a restaurant called 音音 (Sound Sound) in Shinjuku. The restaurant was about a 10 minute walk from my office building. As you can see from the pictures above, the place was pretty elegant. I came with the first wave of people. So we started the night early. I let my co-workers order my food and drinks. This proved to be a fatal mistake. I was handed beer after beer. the food that was ordered was non-oily and non-absorbent. This combination started my demise for the night. When the second wave of people came, they quickly ordered Japanese sake. Of course in Japanese culture, you cannot refuse anything that is given to me. The guy offering me the sake was very happy go lucky and was very eager to find out how strong I was. By the time the 3rd and final wave of people came to the party, the volume of sake increased and my happy go lucky friend soon started to order various sake from the different regions of Japan. The one from Aomori prefecture was like a dagger to the heart. I was quickly finding myself laughing to every joke regardless if I really understood it or not. I also found myself speaking Japanese, not knowing if I really made any sense. Yep, I was trashed. There was suppose to be a second party at a club in Roppongi, but I could barely walk, so I said I couldn't do a nijikai and we all went home. I honestly don't know how I made it home. I did take the train home, but it is a fuzzy memory to me.
This morning, I was paying the price. My head was spinning and my stomach was in shambles. Thank god I have the opportunity to work from home, or else I would have had to use a sick day. I was happy that I survived my first nomikai as a "salary man". I know there will be more of this in the near future, so I have to be more smart about it next time. I definitely need to eat bigger meals beforehand and not to mix any drinks.
In other news, I finally went to a kaiten sushi near my house.
Oh yes, Kaiten sushi. I love sushi, especially when it is cheap. I'm always on a quest to find the best kaiten sushi. The quality at this place was decent, but that was because I was comparing it to the quality found in rural Japan. The service was outstanding and the chef was really friendly and talkative. They even gave a 10% off coupon for the next time. I was impressed with the service and will be coming back.
I also tried out a Thai restaurant near my apartment. The restaurant is located in a small alley. The only reason why we found the restaurant was because my friend spotted the Thai flag hanging outside. The restaurant also had the menu outside. The price was not so reasonable. I was going to try the restaurant sooner or later, so I decided to indulge myself and take a chance. I was greeted by a Thai lady with really bad Japanese. I knew I would be getting authentic Thai food so I ordered a lot. It turned out to be a mistake. The food was shit. The spring roll appetizer was really small and bland. The curry was too oily and Tom yum soup lacked flavor. I was very disappointed but at least I know now and will not be going back to that place.
Finally, I found a community center near my place, actually about a 15 minute walk that has an indoor basketball court. The best part is that they do not charge an entrance free. The big draw back though is that the court is only opened Monday through Saturday from 12:00pm to 1:00pm. Luckily, I work at home some days, so I think I may drop in when things are slow hehe. Now I just need to buy a basketball and get some friends to play with and I'm set. I guess the latter is easier said than done. Is there anyone in the Setagaya ward of Tokyo who likes to play basketball and is free during 12 - 1??? Please leave a comment :D
The party was held at a restaurant called 音音 (Sound Sound) in Shinjuku. The restaurant was about a 10 minute walk from my office building. As you can see from the pictures above, the place was pretty elegant. I came with the first wave of people. So we started the night early. I let my co-workers order my food and drinks. This proved to be a fatal mistake. I was handed beer after beer. the food that was ordered was non-oily and non-absorbent. This combination started my demise for the night. When the second wave of people came, they quickly ordered Japanese sake. Of course in Japanese culture, you cannot refuse anything that is given to me. The guy offering me the sake was very happy go lucky and was very eager to find out how strong I was. By the time the 3rd and final wave of people came to the party, the volume of sake increased and my happy go lucky friend soon started to order various sake from the different regions of Japan. The one from Aomori prefecture was like a dagger to the heart. I was quickly finding myself laughing to every joke regardless if I really understood it or not. I also found myself speaking Japanese, not knowing if I really made any sense. Yep, I was trashed. There was suppose to be a second party at a club in Roppongi, but I could barely walk, so I said I couldn't do a nijikai and we all went home. I honestly don't know how I made it home. I did take the train home, but it is a fuzzy memory to me.
This morning, I was paying the price. My head was spinning and my stomach was in shambles. Thank god I have the opportunity to work from home, or else I would have had to use a sick day. I was happy that I survived my first nomikai as a "salary man". I know there will be more of this in the near future, so I have to be more smart about it next time. I definitely need to eat bigger meals beforehand and not to mix any drinks.
In other news, I finally went to a kaiten sushi near my house.
Oh yes, Kaiten sushi. I love sushi, especially when it is cheap. I'm always on a quest to find the best kaiten sushi. The quality at this place was decent, but that was because I was comparing it to the quality found in rural Japan. The service was outstanding and the chef was really friendly and talkative. They even gave a 10% off coupon for the next time. I was impressed with the service and will be coming back.
I also tried out a Thai restaurant near my apartment. The restaurant is located in a small alley. The only reason why we found the restaurant was because my friend spotted the Thai flag hanging outside. The restaurant also had the menu outside. The price was not so reasonable. I was going to try the restaurant sooner or later, so I decided to indulge myself and take a chance. I was greeted by a Thai lady with really bad Japanese. I knew I would be getting authentic Thai food so I ordered a lot. It turned out to be a mistake. The food was shit. The spring roll appetizer was really small and bland. The curry was too oily and Tom yum soup lacked flavor. I was very disappointed but at least I know now and will not be going back to that place.
Finally, I found a community center near my place, actually about a 15 minute walk that has an indoor basketball court. The best part is that they do not charge an entrance free. The big draw back though is that the court is only opened Monday through Saturday from 12:00pm to 1:00pm. Luckily, I work at home some days, so I think I may drop in when things are slow hehe. Now I just need to buy a basketball and get some friends to play with and I'm set. I guess the latter is easier said than done. Is there anyone in the Setagaya ward of Tokyo who likes to play basketball and is free during 12 - 1??? Please leave a comment :D
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