The first month was bad. very little money and too much partying... ok maybe not that much partying, but this month is worse. not because i have been spending my moneyfoolishly, but because i only received a half months pay on my first check, and i did quite a bit of sightseeing this week, enough to warrant two separate entries, so here it is, bread and water part one:
Up to this point i have been feeling very down about the fact that i dont have many people to hang out with other than my roommates. they are ok, but one has a girlfriend that he is with all the time, and the other seems to always be cheating on his. im doing neither, and i m not made of money, but this week i got fed up with it, took matters into my own hands and sent out mass emailings to my acquaintences here in the area, and made solid plans, or almost solid.
so on my first night off this week i called up my friend jill, a fellow nova person, and went out drinking. we stayed out until last train, then crashed at her place to wake up early for the next days activities which were... to hit up Tsukiji fish market, the largest and busiest in the world. see you have to get there early and i live a hour away, while she lives 15 minutes. so we got up around 645 and headed to the market. imagine my surprise when i realized that wednesdays are fisherman holidays around here, which means the place was dead. i had slept on a cold floor with no bedding, sacrificed my morning to sleep in for nothing. actually, we did see about 5 men there, (the hardcore fishermen) who continued to work on the holiday. from what i saw in about 15 minutes from one fisherman, bashing the heads of the fish then throwing them on the floor, i realized that i have to see it when its really busy, it must be crazy!
we also saw one fisherman who was removing the previous days catch from his 40 below freezer (thats celcius folks) and cutting the huge beast with a table saw. it looked and sounded like wood cutting, but im sure the saw dust doesnt smell as good.
after the lesson in fish cutting, jill and i decided to head out and eat. in the middle of breakfast we decided to check out the imperial palace, where the emperor lives. good idea. since i have been here i am constantly on the look out for a break from the hustle and bustle of the city. found it. the imperial palace grounds were gorgeous! i have a feeling that they werent that spectacular, butr when you live in the most densely populated city in the world, any grass helps, and here they had plenty of it. i slept for a half an hour on the palace lawn, always wondering if the guards were going to kick me out. they didnt, and im glad. it was so peaceful there, and very quiet. sure, the buildings were still everywhere, but the people werent, and i loved it.
sidenote: on the way to the palace we stopped at the tourist info office. as we stood there i noticed that the brochure stand was shaking, no one else seemed to notice and i started laughing. the subway station was right below the building, so i thought nothing of it, until...
i got home that night. turns out that he shaking of the brochure stand was in fact another earthquake. a 6.0 to be exact, and i had fact it again, but blown it off. that seems to be the trend here, because as of now i have officially felt four quakes, only one of which was a quake that i recognized as a quake, and not my own dizziness or figments of my imaginination. so... dont worry folks, odds are, if they are that bad, ill know. and ill run.
part two comes soon... Nikko...
o, and im doing well. i have very little money, but i get paid in two weeks, and im frantically searching for new accomodations. i dont enjoy spending the amount that i am in such a filthy, small environment.
and now that tthe dollar has dropped in value, i make an extra $850 a year. may drop more, and i may stay longer... we shall see.
SSDD-
take care-
Scotto san
Friday, October 29, 2004
Sunday, October 24, 2004
engrish of the day.
Because the thing which a ball appears most in Shinjuku SUCH A THING IS. Our supporter in this store. The way that a ball like the sun bursts open is the order in this store. Love a ball is. if anyone knows what this means, let me know.
Saturday, October 23, 2004
not to scare anyone...
but the earthquake that i felt tonight was 160 MILES away. wow. if that had been anywhere near tokyo... bad news. my building definitely shook quite a bit. i stood up dropped all of my paperwork and ran to the stairwell. students were as well. our staff didnt know what we were doing but they quickly understood. kind of ironic, but all day we had been feeling the building move because of somenearby construction, so at first we thought it was just more of the same. it wasnt. the windows started banging, the scaffolding on the side of the building was slamming up against the side of the wall, and there was a nice sway. i must admit, it was exhilarating, but next time i hope im at my apartment.
Yahoo! News Story - 6.8 Magnitude Earthquake Shakes Japan
TOKYO - A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.8 shook northern Japan on Saturday, injuring several people and rocking buildings hundreds of miles away.
The quake, which struck at 5:56 p.m., was centered in the Niigata prefecture about 12 miles beneath the earth's surface, the Meteorological Agency said. Buildings in Tokyo, 160 miles to the southeast, swayed for nearly a minute.
Authorities received reports that several people were injured by objects that fell from shelves, public broadcaster NHK said. Other media reports said the shaking was so severe in some places that people couldn't keep their feet.
The Meteorological Agency said there was no threat of tsunami, potentially dangerous waves triggered by seismic activity.
The temblor came just days after Japan's deadliest typhoon in more than a decade killed 77 people. More than a dozen others were still missing.
Typhoon Tokage, the record eighth typhoon to hit Japan this year, ripped through the country earlier this week with high waves and rapid mudslides, demolishing homes and flooding dozens of communities in western Japan before losing power and disappearing over the Pacific Ocean.
Japan, which rests atop several tectonic plates, is among the world's most earthquake-prone countries.
A magnitude-6 quake can cause widespread damage in a heavily populated area.
The quake, which struck at 5:56 p.m., was centered in the Niigata prefecture about 12 miles beneath the earth's surface, the Meteorological Agency said. Buildings in Tokyo, 160 miles to the southeast, swayed for nearly a minute.
Authorities received reports that several people were injured by objects that fell from shelves, public broadcaster NHK said. Other media reports said the shaking was so severe in some places that people couldn't keep their feet.
The Meteorological Agency said there was no threat of tsunami, potentially dangerous waves triggered by seismic activity.
The temblor came just days after Japan's deadliest typhoon in more than a decade killed 77 people. More than a dozen others were still missing.
Typhoon Tokage, the record eighth typhoon to hit Japan this year, ripped through the country earlier this week with high waves and rapid mudslides, demolishing homes and flooding dozens of communities in western Japan before losing power and disappearing over the Pacific Ocean.
Japan, which rests atop several tectonic plates, is among the world's most earthquake-prone countries.
A magnitude-6 quake can cause widespread damage in a heavily populated area.
Thursday, October 21, 2004
Message from SkyMail
typhoon 22 killed 7 people. last nites typhoon 23 killed over 83 and 25 are still missing. crazy.
Tuesday, October 19, 2004
i have done my civic duty as an american and voted. while at the embassy i also watched the thrilling conclusion of the sox/yanks game. they tried to kick me out in the bottom of the ninth, but i just looked at them and stared and said ~you have to be kidding me.~ the american staff let me stay. heh. go sox!
dilemma
hello?
sweet mother... someone is barfing all over the stall next to me in the internet cafe. good lord this is gross. my text has just been erased again. this is very frustrating. to make it short. .. i can travel home for the holidays, but it will cost an ars load. IF i travel 2 weeks earlier or one week later, i would only pay about 500 or 600 dollars round trip. but ... since i have no vacation, this is difficult. ill get back to you later.
on the other hand, i have reached a good settling point here in japan. i know where most things are and know more about the country than most of the other foreighners who have been here for years. i have a four day weekend in december where i think i might go skiing. until then i really have no big plans. the fall foliage is suppossed to be great around here, but so far i cant tell.
i still havent met many people. i want to hang out with some of my coworkers, but they seem to always be busy as well as having different off days. i hear there is a bouldering gym nearby, i might check it out a nd see who i can meet there.
no new food. when you are on a budget and literally get down to your last 30 yen, you cant eat the eel. but i will try something by the next update for sure.
japanese classes: i must not have learned from college. i need a swift kick in the groin. it is impossible to learn the new week's lesson, if you didnt learn the previous week's, so i have a lot of studying to do this week. i can officially read one of the japanese alphabets. but that doesnt mean that i understand it. it just means that i can sound it out and ask my japanese coworkers what it means. hey, it s getting somewhere. but like i said, if i study, it will surely help. here is the japanese for the day: Biru o nomimas. meaning: i drink the beer. enjoy.
i missed another earthquake. this one was at 3 in the morning and i was dancing in a bar. go figure.
typhoon is set to hit the area tomorrow or thursday. i cant wait, and on my day off too.
no t much else to say.... oh yeah... met a drunk homeless man the other night. we had drinks ,mumbled in our native languages, and had a few beers. probably the best japaneses conversation to date. yes.
take care all, and i hope all is well
oh yeah and congratulations to the coxs, who will be having their first child in may. deedle deedle.
scotto san
sweet mother... someone is barfing all over the stall next to me in the internet cafe. good lord this is gross. my text has just been erased again. this is very frustrating. to make it short. .. i can travel home for the holidays, but it will cost an ars load. IF i travel 2 weeks earlier or one week later, i would only pay about 500 or 600 dollars round trip. but ... since i have no vacation, this is difficult. ill get back to you later.
on the other hand, i have reached a good settling point here in japan. i know where most things are and know more about the country than most of the other foreighners who have been here for years. i have a four day weekend in december where i think i might go skiing. until then i really have no big plans. the fall foliage is suppossed to be great around here, but so far i cant tell.
i still havent met many people. i want to hang out with some of my coworkers, but they seem to always be busy as well as having different off days. i hear there is a bouldering gym nearby, i might check it out a nd see who i can meet there.
no new food. when you are on a budget and literally get down to your last 30 yen, you cant eat the eel. but i will try something by the next update for sure.
japanese classes: i must not have learned from college. i need a swift kick in the groin. it is impossible to learn the new week's lesson, if you didnt learn the previous week's, so i have a lot of studying to do this week. i can officially read one of the japanese alphabets. but that doesnt mean that i understand it. it just means that i can sound it out and ask my japanese coworkers what it means. hey, it s getting somewhere. but like i said, if i study, it will surely help. here is the japanese for the day: Biru o nomimas. meaning: i drink the beer. enjoy.
i missed another earthquake. this one was at 3 in the morning and i was dancing in a bar. go figure.
typhoon is set to hit the area tomorrow or thursday. i cant wait, and on my day off too.
no t much else to say.... oh yeah... met a drunk homeless man the other night. we had drinks ,mumbled in our native languages, and had a few beers. probably the best japaneses conversation to date. yes.
take care all, and i hope all is well
oh yeah and congratulations to the coxs, who will be having their first child in may. deedle deedle.
scotto san
Friday, October 15, 2004
Message from SkyMail
quite an anomaly. rice is a staple of japanese food, yet it is very expensive. oh yeah, PAYDAY!
Wednesday, October 13, 2004
Message from SkyMail
must be 1000 people in line 4 the US embassy. my vote wouldnt matter in texas anyway.
Sunday, October 10, 2004
day of the dead umbrellas
so much to say... so little time. hope everyone is well, i am, considering the gambit of natural disasters that have hit here in the last week... let me start with the quake. turns out it was pretty big, a 5.8 on the scale, amazingly enogh, no damage, to anything. almost evryone felt it except those of us who were returning on the train from a night of 500 yen all you can drink sho-chu and juice. one of my friends from australia said he 'Shat his pants'. sorry mom. but, being the good geologist, i felt nothing. UUURRRGGGHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!! is it strange to want to feel you first earthquake? it cant be. its like an aerospace engineer riding in the vomit comet, or a sculptor seeing michelangelos david. i know i will get my chance though, hopefully not while in my office, as i have been constantly told that "the building is old, get out fast". hhmmm pleasant thoughts.
o yeah... and the umbrellas. well, typhoon 22 hit the tokyo area yesterday. the strongest typhoon in tens years!!! what a load of garbage. the damage? well only about 1000 homes were damaged, few enough to where they could say the actual number of damaged homes in each city. some trains were delayed, two people were killed, and MAYBE five injured. note on deaths: an older man went outside to look at the flooding waters, was swept away and died, and another older man walked into his backyard to check on his plants and was killed by a landslide. the injuries? well, they include the two deaths, and two different men who thought it would be a good idea to get on their rooftops BEFORE the storm. they fell off. thats it. all preventable. note to allyson in florida: before the next hurricane, dont get on your roof. dont get me wrong, the wind was strong, approximately 110 km an hour (wussy). my final assessment: many dead umbrellas, and many more scared japanese people, afraid of a storm that couldnt even match the fury of floridas weakest hurricane this season.
honestly not much else to report today. my days off were spent in yoyogi koen (park) visiting the most beloved shrine in tokyo. it was again very interesting and peaceful to get out of the craziness of the city. but overall it was my attempt to see more of tokyo and not spend a lot of money. the next day i checked out mp3 players, as i feel that i need one. everyone has an mp3 platyer here. even the older people. i guess it gives them something to do while their not talking on the trains. and believe me, the mp3 players here are really cool. alas, i have no money until friday, so it will have to wait.
work... going well. i think that many students like me and we definitely have fun in class. my reviews from my boss have all been positive, so thats good.
food front... umm... bagel sandwiches and cereal? and a lot of curry. like i said, trying to save money.
Random front... my roommates are geeks who want to start a ninja colony, because they have been playing too much ninja gaiden on xbox.
i saw breakdancers in the train station right before the earthquake, i wonder if they fell over or if the shakin earth kept them upright?
i need to get a haircut, but if i cant get a good one even in the states, what can i expect here?
i have discovered the free three minute international phone call, thanks mcdonalds!! family, be ready for quick chats!
i have not yet received any mail from overseas, but no worry, i cant find the postoffice to send any back home.
times about up folks. remember to keep reading.
scott
o yeah... and the umbrellas. well, typhoon 22 hit the tokyo area yesterday. the strongest typhoon in tens years!!! what a load of garbage. the damage? well only about 1000 homes were damaged, few enough to where they could say the actual number of damaged homes in each city. some trains were delayed, two people were killed, and MAYBE five injured. note on deaths: an older man went outside to look at the flooding waters, was swept away and died, and another older man walked into his backyard to check on his plants and was killed by a landslide. the injuries? well, they include the two deaths, and two different men who thought it would be a good idea to get on their rooftops BEFORE the storm. they fell off. thats it. all preventable. note to allyson in florida: before the next hurricane, dont get on your roof. dont get me wrong, the wind was strong, approximately 110 km an hour (wussy). my final assessment: many dead umbrellas, and many more scared japanese people, afraid of a storm that couldnt even match the fury of floridas weakest hurricane this season.
honestly not much else to report today. my days off were spent in yoyogi koen (park) visiting the most beloved shrine in tokyo. it was again very interesting and peaceful to get out of the craziness of the city. but overall it was my attempt to see more of tokyo and not spend a lot of money. the next day i checked out mp3 players, as i feel that i need one. everyone has an mp3 platyer here. even the older people. i guess it gives them something to do while their not talking on the trains. and believe me, the mp3 players here are really cool. alas, i have no money until friday, so it will have to wait.
work... going well. i think that many students like me and we definitely have fun in class. my reviews from my boss have all been positive, so thats good.
food front... umm... bagel sandwiches and cereal? and a lot of curry. like i said, trying to save money.
Random front... my roommates are geeks who want to start a ninja colony, because they have been playing too much ninja gaiden on xbox.
i saw breakdancers in the train station right before the earthquake, i wonder if they fell over or if the shakin earth kept them upright?
i need to get a haircut, but if i cant get a good one even in the states, what can i expect here?
i have discovered the free three minute international phone call, thanks mcdonalds!! family, be ready for quick chats!
i have not yet received any mail from overseas, but no worry, i cant find the postoffice to send any back home.
times about up folks. remember to keep reading.
scott
Friday, October 08, 2004
Message from SkyMail
typhoon 22 is expected to hit here approx. 6pm tomorrow. i love mother nature! scott
Wednesday, October 06, 2004
Message from SkyMail
apparantly i just missed my first quake.i was on the train and didnt feel a thing. sorry guys!
Monday, October 04, 2004
tacoyaki
i just spent 45 minutes typing something here that was not published. thus i wasted a lot of time and i am very frustrated. i am sorry for theshort post but now im angry and very tired here are the highlites...
i am now 27.
i had too many drinks on two occasions this week and woke up with half of my clothing off and the other half still on(see shirt and pants with one arm and leg inserted)
i ate tacoyaki, fried cheese octopus balls.
i went to the park and saw many museums.
i saw mt fuji for the first time.
the guy who used to live in my apatment visited and stole my flatmates hairgel and toothbrush
i take my second japnese leson tomorrow.
thats it! enjoy!
scott
i am now 27.
i had too many drinks on two occasions this week and woke up with half of my clothing off and the other half still on(see shirt and pants with one arm and leg inserted)
i ate tacoyaki, fried cheese octopus balls.
i went to the park and saw many museums.
i saw mt fuji for the first time.
the guy who used to live in my apatment visited and stole my flatmates hairgel and toothbrush
i take my second japnese leson tomorrow.
thats it! enjoy!
scott
tacoyaki
so it seems that im not going to be able to write as often as i would like, considering the fact that i have no computer and my roommates had the internet disconnected because they didnt pay the bill. which means that i will be writing at least once a week, but unfortunately not much more, any short bites that i send are from my phone cant be that long.
but... for this week... on the age front, im a yearolder. 27. i cant believe it. TWENTY SEVEN! im old. i celebrated by going out to dinner with my roommates and the guy whose place i took in the apt. we had a lot of fun and all i remember is waking up at 7 in the morning with one pant leg on, my shirt unbuttoned, and a hangover from hell. oh yeah, and i ate a whole fish, head and all. according to my parents thats the way you are suppossed to eat them, not bad actually.
on my days off it rained, making it difficult to do much of anything, but by the afternoon of my second day off the weather had cleared and actually became beautiful outside. i headed to Ueno where there is a large park and many museums. The museums were ok, kindof boring really, but just getting out of the hustle and bustle of downtown tokyo was nice. on the way back though was the real treat. as i walked back to my apartment i saw, for the first time... Mt. Fuji. it was such a rare site that the TV reported it as well later on that evening. dont get me wrong, it wasnt a spectacular view, but just the fact that i saw it from that distance gave me goosebumps.
the next few days went off without a hitch. dan, the guy whose place I took, left on thursady, and took my flatmates hair gel and tothbrush, for which my roommate confronted me about. i said i didnt take them (he had good reason to wonder though, ive been a madman throwing things away that look old and not used in this century) So it turns out that dan HATES steve, my flatmate, but acted nice to get a place to crash for the week. sadly, i think i like dan more than the people i live with, so i was sad to see him go. o and dan is bald, so it was no accident that he took the hairgel.
last night i met a friend in downtown yokohama for the annual Oktoberfest. i had many beers and sausages and kept one of the mugs, heh. afterwards was when we hit the karaoke place. dont get me wrong, i dont mind karaoke, but i already had 3 large beers and i then come to find out that drinks are free for the first hour at the karaoke place. time for a math lesson. 3 large beers + free drinks+ loud singing+scott = HELL. im not saying much after that except to say that i woke up at 9 am with one shoe on (the other was by the front dor where it was suppossed to be) my contacts still in, and im not going to have another drink for a few days. sorry mom. but i did make it home ok, and to work on time so no real problems. (also considering the fact that evryone has different days off, it was nice to hang out with someenglish speakers and not wandering around by myself)
tomorrow i have my second japanese lesson. i dont know how it will go, but ive been looking forward to it all week.
Food of the week- tacoyaki- tacoyaki is deep fried cheese and octopus in a convenient ball shape. not bad actuallly.
word of the day- genkan- the place where my shoes should have been this morning.
ttfn-
scott
ps check the qa section for answers from last weeks questions
but... for this week... on the age front, im a yearolder. 27. i cant believe it. TWENTY SEVEN! im old. i celebrated by going out to dinner with my roommates and the guy whose place i took in the apt. we had a lot of fun and all i remember is waking up at 7 in the morning with one pant leg on, my shirt unbuttoned, and a hangover from hell. oh yeah, and i ate a whole fish, head and all. according to my parents thats the way you are suppossed to eat them, not bad actually.
on my days off it rained, making it difficult to do much of anything, but by the afternoon of my second day off the weather had cleared and actually became beautiful outside. i headed to Ueno where there is a large park and many museums. The museums were ok, kindof boring really, but just getting out of the hustle and bustle of downtown tokyo was nice. on the way back though was the real treat. as i walked back to my apartment i saw, for the first time... Mt. Fuji. it was such a rare site that the TV reported it as well later on that evening. dont get me wrong, it wasnt a spectacular view, but just the fact that i saw it from that distance gave me goosebumps.
the next few days went off without a hitch. dan, the guy whose place I took, left on thursady, and took my flatmates hair gel and tothbrush, for which my roommate confronted me about. i said i didnt take them (he had good reason to wonder though, ive been a madman throwing things away that look old and not used in this century) So it turns out that dan HATES steve, my flatmate, but acted nice to get a place to crash for the week. sadly, i think i like dan more than the people i live with, so i was sad to see him go. o and dan is bald, so it was no accident that he took the hairgel.
last night i met a friend in downtown yokohama for the annual Oktoberfest. i had many beers and sausages and kept one of the mugs, heh. afterwards was when we hit the karaoke place. dont get me wrong, i dont mind karaoke, but i already had 3 large beers and i then come to find out that drinks are free for the first hour at the karaoke place. time for a math lesson. 3 large beers + free drinks+ loud singing+scott = HELL. im not saying much after that except to say that i woke up at 9 am with one shoe on (the other was by the front dor where it was suppossed to be) my contacts still in, and im not going to have another drink for a few days. sorry mom. but i did make it home ok, and to work on time so no real problems. (also considering the fact that evryone has different days off, it was nice to hang out with someenglish speakers and not wandering around by myself)
tomorrow i have my second japanese lesson. i dont know how it will go, but ive been looking forward to it all week.
Food of the week- tacoyaki- tacoyaki is deep fried cheese and octopus in a convenient ball shape. not bad actuallly.
word of the day- genkan- the place where my shoes should have been this morning.
ttfn-
scott
ps check the qa section for answers from last weeks questions
Sunday, October 03, 2004
Message from SkyMail
Its strange, but i honestly STILL cant believe that i am in a foreign country. scott
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