The Poetist

A Special Message

2007-10-28T02:06:00.000+09:00

*for my full blog visit http://adelleM.wordpress.com

This morning I received this message from one of the Japanese staff I used to work with at Nova:

” i must tell bad news to you.

NOVA went bankrupt today.

its only this now to understand.

every staff is confused now.

i tell you immediately if i get some information about your salary.

sorry adelle.
dont dislike Japan.”

At one of my friend’s branches the staff had been spending their day calling students asking them to cancel lessons, because there were no teachers.

But it finally happened. Nova has declared bankruptcy. Late Thursday night the Nova board of directors ousted the president, Sahashi, and then declared bankruptcy on Friday. The company filed for protection under the Corporate Rehabilitation Law, nearly ¥44 million in debt. Nova’s shares on JASDAQ have been suspended from trading and it will be fully delisted by the end of November. At this point all of the Japanese staff and foreign teachers are missing a paycheck; the staff will surely get unemployment benefits from the Japanese government but it’s unclear if or when teachers will finally get paid. Unfortunately the goverment seems to be emphasizing the inconvenience to students, but this puts teachers in a really tight spot. Nobody has been paid since September 15th! Luckily for British and Australian teachers their governments are getting involved - there’s more information on that in my last Let’s Japan link below.

I’m going to try to get in contact with more of the staff and some of my former students to get a Japanese perspective on this. Until then, here are more sources:

From Let’s Japan
Coup d’Etat: Sahashi Fired
Nova’s X-Day Arrives
Media’s Reaction to Nova’s Bankruptcy

From Ken Worsley at Japan Economy & News, his piece in Metropolis.

The Collapse of a Giant

2007-10-25T00:03:00.000+09:00

In about 1 hour it will be 12:01 am in Tokyo; the morning of October 25th, the day that Nova instructors have been promised their pay. Do I expect it? Of course not!

Rumors had been surrounding Nova for the entire time that I worked there. I began in a period of ‘contraction’. The company had expanded too rapidly and was scaling back… but that didn’t mean anything. Still, people hypothesized, conjectured and gossiped about Nova’s viability but every discussion ended with these claims:
*Nova has enough assests to weather any storm
*Nova has such a huge market share that it couldn’t collapse
*Nothing has happened yet…

I’ve talked with some friends still *teaching* in Tokyo, and most of them already ceased going to work. Some decided to call in sick, some just quit outright. One friend gave his business card to the students at his branch in hopes of acquiring some private students. I have other friends who are trying to get home but they can’t because flights are booked solid. Any way you look at it it’s over. Nova is being evicted left and right. Teachers are quitting en masse forcing schools to close. Whether or not bankruptcy is declared, whether or not the faxes promising paychecks keep coming, whether or not a small minority of teachers continue to go to work, Nova is over. It’s over.

The number of mis-steps and management faux-pas that it took to get to this point is staggering. Here are some of the latest stories:

My question: where was the effort to retain students?? Contract cancellations are a huge part of this mess. Nova might have been able to survive with a significantly reduced cash flow but the loss of contracts put too much stress on the company. So why didn’t Sahashi do anything to keep students from leaving? How about free voice tickets? Bringing a friend to Nova for free? Having a month of free Level-Up lessons? Free special Ginganet lessons? Or heck, a free keitai charm? All these things should normally cost students extra money but in a situation like this is it not better to freeze profit but keep students? Then at least you’re not losing millions of yen in canceled contracts. Rather, Sahashi chose to lose money, lose students, essentially lose everything - and take all his employees down with him.

*all the above links are from Let’s Japan.org. Here are stories from the Japanese media:

Cash Strapped Nova Fails to Honor Contract to Public Schools After Teacher Exodus - the Mainichi Daily News
Labor Standard Watchdogs to Question Nova President Sahashi - Japan Today
Nova Gets the Web Talking - the Japan Times

Part III: Life on the Other Side

2007-10-25T00:02:00.000+09:00

I can buy magazines anywhere, I don’t have to go to a special store.

I can read menus and actually choose what I want to eat - I don’t just have to point to pictures!

People here voluntarily engage in conversation. I don’t have to pull it out of anyone.

Everyone speaks English!

I now understand what the obesity epidemic that I’ve heard about means. I’ve seen some OBESE people. It’s ridiculous. How do these people find clothes that fit?

I don’t wear shoes in the house anymore.

After sleeping on futons for over a year my soft mattress felt like a waterbed. Seriously.

Did I mention that everyone speaks English? It’s pretty cool.

Mexican food!!!

Twix and skittles! Apple pie!

My American cellphone can’t do as much as my Japanese cellphone. There’s no copy and paste function. There’s no colored, blinking light that tells me when I’m getting a message/call or when I have a message or a missed call. Comparable functions (like the internet) cost more in America. And the graphics/animations are woefully inadequate as tools to enhance my text messages.

My Japanese microwave was better too. It had a sensor and calibrated the cooking time to whatever was in the microwave. Here I actually have to enter the time in. It feels so tedious.

Navigating the video store is much easier - new releases are displayed so you can see the front; not just the spine.

I really miss my friends in Tokyo!

I miss 7-11 too, and the ABC boutique at the foot of Mitaka station.

I keep forgetting to change the time on my watch, but all I have to do is subtract an hour when I look at it.

I don’t look different. I don’t speak differently; but I feel different.

A Time of Great Transition, part II: The Leaving

2007-10-21T00:51:00.002+09:00

*you can read the play-by-play or skip to the bold where the story gets good.

Leaving Japan proved to be quite an ordeal; leaving with all (or most) of my stuff, that is. Around 11pm last Monday night I sent an email to my friends and family declaring that I had 12 hours left before departing from my home, and had some serious packing to do before then. To myself I declared that by 3am I would be finished with my 2 suitcases and 2-3 boxes. In the preceding days and hours a couple of friends had come over to help me out, and as a result I had 1 suitcase and 2 boxes waiting by the door. Dispensing with the amount of stuff that remained in my room seemed slightly daunting but I sincerely believed in my ability to git ‘er done. I had to believe, because I had a laundry list of things to do before leaving my house at 11am.
Around 6am I began to wonder if it might be more cost effective to spend the money to check a 3rd suitcase rather than to send boxes through surface mail. After more than a few moments of dazed hesitation I undid the work that my friends and I had labored through not such a long time ago and transferred the contents of 2 boxes into a suitcase. After the fact I realized that wasn’t going to help me deal with the things that remained in my room. I hit a wall, mentally and strategically. At 7:30 it was time for a nap. I woke up at 9 mildly refreshed but even more stressed. Looking around I started to doubt my chances of making the 11:30 airport bus out of Kichijoji. At that point I decided to take the extra suitcase on the plane and ship boxes home. I hadn’t yet seriously considered how I might get the boxes to the post office, or how I might get my bags to Mitaka and on the Chuo line for Kichijoji.

Lucky for me I have awesome friends including one (Yuu) who happens to be my neighbor. He and his girlfriend (Sunao) came over the morning ready to help. Before setting out I mentioned that my plan had been to be on the 11:30 airport bus from Kichijoji; they looked at me, then we all laughed. There were 3 of us and three boxes - together we carried them to the post office and with Yuu and Sunao translating the process went pretty quickly. They even helped me fill out the customs forms - I filled out the information on the first form, they copied the writing for the other two.

Back at my house they had coffee and chilled with my housemate Tony while I, ahem, finished some last minute packing and cleaning. A good friend of mine, Sean, my Meidaimae twin, was taking over my room and I had wanted to clear everything out for him, but as it stood I left empty boxes, about 8 pairs of shoes, a couple of bags, a stack of clothes, a piece of artwork that cost too much to transport, and my walking stick from Mt. Fuji. So I vacuumed. He came over to get the house keys from me and then it was really time to say good-bye. I hugged Tony, holding back tears. I’m sure everyone would have understood if I started crying but I didn’t want to start something that could become uncontrollable. Including my carry-on I had 4 suitcases so together Yuu, Sunao, Sean and I wheeled them out to the main road so we could hail a cab to Mitaka station. We were able to fit the largest and smallest bags in the trunk, one in the front seat, and the 4th sitting across our laps. Before giving myself over to the cab, to my last departure from my home in Tokyo, I hugged my British brother, one of my longest running friends in Tokyo, and said good-bye.

All morning I was awash with gratefulness toward my friends who were helping me; it would have been physically impossible for me to transport 4 suitcases from the taxi, up to the station, through the turnstiles, down to the tracks, onto the train, out of the train, down from the tracks, out of the turnstiles and to the bus. I made it to the bus with one suitcase at 12:27, three minutes before departure. The doors to the baggage storage area underneath tbe bus were open and they were still accepting passengers. I looked behind me but I didn’t see my friends! How did we get separated in less than 30 seconds? I left my bag at the bus to dash into the station and look for Yuu and Sunao but I couldn’t find them. I went back to the bus, it was 12:29 and the baggage storage doors were closed. Yuu called - not knowing that I could buy my ticket on the bus they had gone to the ticket kiosk around the corner. The bus attendant was adamant that the bus would leave on time - with or without me, or possibly with me but not all of my bags. I tried to explain the situation but all I could muster was ‘my tomodachi have my suitcases, they are coming! My tomodachi! My tomodachi!’ accompanied by lots of frantic gesturing.

I heard a voice - “can I help you?” - and I turned around to see a woman leaning her head outside of the bus window. I explained to her that my friends had the rest of my suitcases, and they had mistakenly gone to the ticket kiosk but that they were coming any second now. She communicated that to the bus attendant and then relayed to me that he was already one minute late and wasn’t going to wait any longer. Just at that moment I saw my friends round the corner with my bags, shouting and waving their free arms, and I breathed out a huge sigh that I hadn’t even realized I was holding in. The attendant asked my friends how many bags. Four, they said. How many people? One. One?! One?! One person - 4 bags?!?!?! The man was seriously about to have a heart attack. He stood like he was ready to pounce, clutching his claim tags, hovering over the suitcases, eyes darting back and forth, totally overwhelmed by this turn of events. Finally he chose one, tagged it, and moved down the line. These were my last moments. I hugged my friends, thanked them profusely, and boarded the bus. Making my way towards an empty seat I saw the woman who had translated for me and I thanked her as well. She replied that she was just happy I got on the bus. I chose a seat where I could see Yuu and Sunao from the window and as the bus pulled away we waved at each other until we lost the line of sight. Then I started crying.

Oh, but there’s more. On the bus I got to thinking about my suitcases. I had forgotten to do a final weigh-in at my house, but I was dead sure that at least one of them would be over the 23kg weight limit. Unfortunately I had taken all but ¥277 (less than $3) from my Japanese bank account and after sending 3 boxes to the United States (not cheap!) I was left with ¥20,000 and some change. Just enough to get my 3rd suitcase on the plane, but not enough in case something was overweight. I had a card linked to my American account but it was a brand-new replacement after my last one expired and I hadn’t been able to activate it using a phone card. So… aside from the cash in my wallet I didn’t have access to any other money. Remembering a friend who had recently been in a similar predicament vis-a-vis overweight baggage and missed her flight, I thought to myself - I might not have enough money to get my suitcases on the plane… it’s quite possible that I might not be able to get on the plane in time… and if that happens I won’t even have enough money to leave the airport. My heart sank a thousand depths and I began hope and pray for something serendipitous. Then I fell asleep.

Once at the airport I had to pick up my tickets from the travel agent’s counter before going to the check-in. As I was wheeling my suitcase loaded cart up to the counter I glimpsed Amber, the friend that I was flying with, and her boyfriend Jim. She was talking with an airline staffperson but I called her phone, waved, and he came over. I was so SO relieved to see them. After I got my tickets we convened and she told me that checking a third bag would cost ¥22,000. I was like - oh, it’s not ¥20,000? Nope, she said. Do you have enough? I hope so! …I have some change in here. Well, just let me know if you need any. Ok, I said. Thanks!

20 kg. 25kg. 32kg. The airline staff lady ’serviced’ the second suitcase (didn’t charge me for it), but there was no getting around 32kg. My total was ¥25,000. I gave her ¥20,000 and showed her my ATM receipt displaying ¥277 left in the account. I told her sorry, this is all I have… and I can’t access my American account. She asked if I came with anybody who could give me money and the conversation I had with my friend 5 minutes earlier popped into my head. Yes! I said. Chotto mate… (just a minute). Amber was busy canceling her phone but I managed to get Jim’s attention. I explained to him that I needed ¥2000 more to get the third bag on the plane and ¥3000 because the bag was overweight; but, I added, I could just take stuff out of the bag instead of paying more money for it. He gave me ¥5000 in a heartbeat. Without him I’m not sure what I would have done.

The three of us spent a little more time together, just a few minutes of chatting, then Amber and I had to go. It had been hard for me to do my own farewells, but it was a different kind of difficult to watch Amber and Jim say good-bye. Going through immigration the officer was puzzled by my passport. I had a 3 year extension on my visa but no re-entry permit. Are you finished with your work? he asked. Yes, I replied. Holding his stamp he looked at my passport, looked at my Gaijin card, then back at my passport. He took the card, stamped my passport and let me through. We reached the gate just as they started to call for the first class passengers to board the plane. We stopped and stood in line chatting as if this were any place, any time but when they called our section Amber and I continued on, taking our last steps out of Japan.

The Fat Lady is Out, the Greek Chorus is In!

2007-10-21T00:51:00.001+09:00

Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don’t

I’ve noticed that on a lot of online forums and message boards people criticize teachers who have not quit Nova, but that can be a tough call to make. Sure they’re not paying paying teachers so in that respect it behooves everyone to get another job. BUT if you voluntarily terminate your contract with Nova you are not eligible for unemployment benefits - even if the company’s situation indirectly drives you to unemployment because it’s a more secure position; at least you can spend your time looking for a job rather than wasting time in one that no longer pays. News reports and blog posts talk about how Nova must pay its staff, creditors/students and teachers. Somehow former teachers don’t seem to figure into this. Why we’re not considered creditors (they owe us for labor, according to the contract) or employees (again, they owe us according to the contract) I don’t know. Even when students cancel the contract they’re supposed to get the money that they are owed, so how come when teachers resign we don’t get the same rights and consideration? That seems like an unfair penalty for just trying to make a secure living. In American law you can ‘plead the 5th’ - that is, to engage in self-preservation by refusing to provide information that could incriminate you. It seems as though teachers will now be penalized for engaging in self-preservation, for refusing to work for a company that will not pay them.

In light of that I don’t find it so remarkable that some teachers are choosing not to quit.
Nova Update
Oh Nova. There is yet another development in the Nova story… there will continue to be developments until they finally file for bankruptcy and just end the suspense. Until then…

Teachers received another fax on Friday (oct 12) saying that paychecks would not come on the 15th (Monday) but would be delayed until the following Friday (Oct 19). Before this fax however, plans for a walkout were already being arranged through another wordpress blog, http://novawalkout.wordpress.com/. The walkout was scheduled in the case of non-payment by 3pm Monday. I can only assume it still happened; the last posted comment is at 1:36pm and by now its about 8pm there.

Just in case there was some glitch or slip-up I checked my Japanese account and sure enough nothing had been deposited. And just for the record, the union is planning “legal action to demand wage payment.”
Additionally, news about Nova in the Japanese press is increasingly being reported in crime section of various newspapers. Most recently, someone posted this information, from Yahoo Japan, at letsjapan.org:

“This guy named Nishida has been arrested for stock manipulation,and there are now strong suspicions that he has been involved “in an attempt to raise funds for a different JASDAQ-listed company this month.” (Any guesses as to what the name of that company might be?) This unnamed company “has been hit by scandal this year and seen its business suffer, with its share price at one point falling to just 15% of its 2007 high. The company has announced a massive injection of capital to take place this month in an opaque deal using two companies registered in the Virgin Islands.”

Also, “Prior to his arrest on the 11th, Nishida was scheduled to meet with the president of the company in Tokyo.”

Oh, and Nishida is reportedly involved with crime syndicates.”

That information exactly mirrors the details of Nova, although of course, without confirmation everything is more or less just speculation.

*a note about the title: I’m more or less referring to an earlier post at LetsJapan.org, “The Fat Lady Hums a Few Bars.” What/who is the Fat Lady? I’m thinking an official declaration of bankruptcy. The Greek Chorus is all the bloggers who provide the information that doesn’t come from Nova or the mainstream media. Maybe the Fat Lady is singing somewhere, softly; but the Greek Chorus is certainly drowning her out.

I Stand Corrected

2007-10-21T00:49:00.000+09:00

Thanks to Garrett from TransPacific Radio who called me out on my How I learned to stop worrying and love Nova post (see his comment here). Apparently METI is being fair in prioritizing student refunds. Aaaand, I knew that Japanese staff had been regularly paid late for the past few months but I wasn’t aware that there were still outstanding paychecks for Japanese staff. Given all the mis-information that is out there I would hate to be another source of it. So Gaijin aren’t being targeted by METI, but am I right that the situation still sucks?

How I learned to Stop Worring and Love Nova

2007-10-11T02:37:00.000+09:00

view my full blog at http://adelleM.wordpress.com

I’ve been asked by a number of people recently how things have turned out with Nova and getting my paycheck. Well, I won’t know anything for sure until October 15, but here is what I have recently learned:

This past Saturday I had lunch with one of my private students. She’s works for an international company and is a reliable source of business news. We talked about Nova for a little bit, and I mentioned that the day before Nova had to submit a report to JASDAQ (the Japanese NASDAQ) but as of Saturday afternoon I didn’t know how it had been received. She told me about something that came out in the Japanese press, (maybe the business press) but that I hadn’t been able to find in English. Apparently the government (presumably METI, the Ministry of Economics, Trade and Industry) basically told Nova to get it’s act together. It gave Nova these priorities: pay Japanese staff, pay customers refunds, then pay foreign teachers.

I got so angry when I heard that, and it still makes me angry. Pay foreign teachers last?! Without the teachers there is no product, no Nova. And if you don’t pay teachers and they walk out, well then you’re going to have more students cancel and you won’t be able to pay anybody!! Furthermore, neither the company nor METI should differentiate between employees like that. Either customers should come first or employees should. It’s wrong to disrespect and penalize foreign teachers in this way.

Nova’s still in hot water, and it seems close to boiling. According to a post from the Let’s Japan blog Nova’s president, Nozomu Sahashi, “just mortgaged the future of the company for 70 million yen.” And this money is not enough to cover the billions of yen the company needs to pay teachers. Here are two posts that provide more information about the current situation:
Nova All Out of Options at Let’s Japan.org
Nova Checkmated? at Japan Economy News & Blog
And coverage in the Japanese news:
Nova raises 70 million yen issuing share warrants in the Japan Times
Nova struggling to pay refunds, wages in the Daily Yomiuri

As of my last post my two most immediate options seemed to be to see a lawyer and go to a ‘bankruptcy watch consultation’ meeting offered by the Tokyo Nambu branch of the (Nova) General Union. I decided not to see the lawyer. The consultation would have been expensive, and I just wasn’t convinced that the laywer could provide more/different information to me that could warrant the price. I had planned on going to the union meeting, but honestly I just couldn’t wake up early enough to get out to Shimbashi on time. I kept pressing to snooze button and when I finally woke up it was after the meeting began.

Some people have asked me if I’m glad I came to Japan, or if I was happy to work for Nova. Yes and yes. I wouldn’t have done anything differently. After I graduated from college I wanted to experience a new environment and make money, and working for Nova allowed me to do both. It was a great opportunity to live in Japan. I got to live in Tokyo - for a year! I had a good job, met so many GREAT people, and had a year full of incredible, once-in-a-lifetime experiences. I learned early on that Nova, which some people say stands for NO VAcation, didn’t treat its employees well. Nova was out for Nova and you had to be out for you. The company had an almost unending supply of teachers and that was apparent in the way they treated their employees. It bothered me sometimes, but I signed the contract and both sides stuck to it. I signed away my right to sick days, government holidays and a number of other things, but at the end of the day I had a good job and a good one in Tokyo at that.

There are a lot of companies that mis-treat employees, but I don’t think that’s necessarily a formula for late- or non-payment of employees and possible bankruptcy. Without seeing the bigger picture - which, due to the language barrier and general lack of transparency was difficult - how could it be predicted?

The fact that I still have a Japanese bank account greatly increases the chance that I’ll see my last monthly paycheck from Nova, but at this point I’ve more or less resigned myself to the idea that I might not get paid. It was hard, because it goes against everything that I, and most people in the world have been taught. The only guaranteed way to make money is to have a job, right? It’s not like Nova teachers are out playing the stock market or buying and selling real estate. They’re putting in real time and labor. Since when does that not equal payment? What culture, religion or proverb does not teach its children that working hard is the way to succeed? Nova and METI would have you believe that your labor means nothing, especially if you’re a foreigner.

Back in the USA!

2007-10-11T02:36:00.000+09:00

view my full blog at http://adelleM.wordpress.com

I’m back in America! Wow, I almost can’t believe it. When I think about my regular habits and haunts in Tokyo it seems so far away, like it was another world or another lifetime; well it practically was another world and lifetime.

Door to door - Mitaka to Chapel Hill - I was traveling about 22 hours, and the longest segment was the 11 hour flight from Tokyo to Houston. It was pretty sweet though, because not only did I get to sit next to a dear friend of mine, each person got their own tv screen in headrest in front of them! There were over 300 movies to choose from, and in addition to that we had access to hundreds of tv shows, musical albums, and even games! You could control everything by touching the screen or by using a remote control that popped out of your armrest. Man, I’m really living in the 21st century! I watched Chocolat, Edward Scissorhands, What Not To Wear, Everybody Hates Chris, Big Love and College Ladies. I started watching Motorcycle Diaries but I began to fall aleep, and it’s not the kind of movie you can watch while dozing off because it’s subtitled.

I was up all night packing. A couple of different friends had come over in the past few days to help me pack but I actually ended up unpacking the boxes, putting stuff into a 3rd suitcase, and then packing more stuff into different boxes… in the wee hours of the morning. I finally sent 3 boxes home, and checked 3 bags with a combined weight of 77kg (170 lbs). Quite luckily for me I had 2 friends who came over in the morning and helped me with all my boxes and bags; without them I really would have struggled!

At this point I’ve not had any reverse culture shock, but I haven’t even been in the country for 24 hours. I’ve spent most of the time so far sleeping, but I’m sure once I venture outside things will start to get wierd. Rest assured, I’ll blog about that too. ^_^

Nova Nova Nova, geez.

2007-10-03T01:02:00.000+09:00

*see my full blog at http://adelleM.wordpress.com

Ever since September 15th when I found out that some Nova teachers hadn’t been paid trying to understand the situation and figure out a course of action has been a primary concern for me. Information comes slowly and from different sources… The initial shock seems to have passed, but Nova’s problems - and their serious effects on teachers - are nowhere near solved. The most immediate issue is teacher payment, but of course that is linked to questions of Nova’s viability as a company. Here is an update:

Titled Instructors (assistant trainers, block trainers, etc) were finally paid last Friday, I believe, 2 weeks late. That’s more than unacceptable for a monthly paycheck. Apparently Nova’s president Nozom Sahashi had to take out a loan or something to pay teachers. Part-time Japanese staff were recently paid on time, but full-time Japanese staff have not been, as of a couple of days ago. Nova has basically made it a priority to pay those who are most likely to walk out due to late payment; although in many cases that backfired with the titled instructors. Many - but not necessarily most - of the teachers I’ve spoken with think that they will probably get paid on Oct. 15… but at the same time they’re not holding their breath. My two (former) co-workers have both already began searching for other jobs and they currently have something worked out with another English school (Gaba) where they will work there part-time for the time being, and then when/if Nova does go under they can go full-time at Gaba. It’s my understanding that the majority of Gaba’s new applicants are current Nova teachers (even my former block trainer!) and even though Nova has not officially collapsed or declared bankruptcy the market is already flooded with teachers looking for work.

As for me, I’m pursuing a different field of inquiry. What a lot of people don’t seem to know (or care about?) is that Nova seems to have decided that former teachers don’t have to be paid. 3 former teachers that I’ve recently been in contact with have not been paid. 2 friends worked early in June, left later in the month, and are still owed the paycheck that should have been issued July 15. That paycheck is 2 months overdue. The 3rd friend left in the middle of July and has yet to receive payment for working in June or July. As I said before Nova is paying those teachers who are at-risk for walking out; late or non payment of former teachers carries absolutely no risk. Unfortunately for me, Sept. 29 was my last day on Nova’s payroll, so as of Sept. 30 I am a former teacher.

I’m trying to ascertain my chances of receiving my next and final paycheck, but that task seems to be ridiculously herculean. I have called the American Embassy - they told me to speak to a lawyer. A friend referred me to a legal clinic with reasonable rates (5000 yen consultation) and translation services for foreigners. I called but no one there spoke English - seriously not a word. I found a listing in English for a law office (10000 yen consultation) and I briefly went over the situation with the receptionist but she was unable to give me any information today. I mean, not even a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ as to if I could get a consultation. I don’t really want to speak with a lawyer though - I shouldn’t need one! I did the work, Nova needs to pay me… I’m not sure what a lawyer could accomplish. Would any of my law school friends like to comment on that?

I think I was lied to by someone in the payroll department today. I called and asked if I would be paid next month. I wasn’t expecting a straight answer but I figured I should go through the motions of asking. She told me that nobody had changed the date that paychecks are issued so I will receive it on the 15th. So then I mentioned my friends to her. I said, well… I’m asking because I’m no longer a teacher and I have three friends who are former teachers who left in June who have not received their final paychecks yet. She replied that I would get it immediately if deposited into a Japanese bank account, but that depositing into overseas accounts could take 1-2 months. I don’t believe her for 2 reasons: other former teachers I’ve spoken with say it does not take that long to receive the last paycheck, even with the overseas account factored in; and payroll has lied to employees before. In fact, when teachers in the countryside had not yet been paid earlier this month the stated reason was that it was taking longer to transfer the money because the teachers were in the countryside, and that supposedly delayed the bank transfer. That’s just not true. It was a bald-faced lie. There is one more option - I can attend a ‘Nova Bankruptcy Watch Consultation’ on Sunday.

At this point I don’t know what to think. Maybe I’ll be paid because I’ll still have my Japanese bank account. Given the situation, however, given that Nova’s priorities are to pay teachers and staff who might walk out, given that money had to be borrowed in order to pay teachers, and given that Nova has a negative cash flow, really what are my chances? I don’t want to be needlessly anxious, but I certainly don’t want to underestimate the potential for disaster.

Insolvency. Bankruptcy. Collapse. Since Sept. 15 these words have entered - and quite violently at that - my personal vernacular. So what is going on with Nova anyway? The question of assets is key. Most Nova teachers can be divided into two groups: those who think Nova has assets and those who don’t. I used to be in the first group until recently when I spoke to Ken Worsley (from Trans-Pacific Radio) about the issue. Because he’s more or less familiar with Nova’s official financial situation he was able to tell me that the company sold all of its assets between April and June of 2006. There have been countless rumors of buyouts and financial injections, and Ken does a great job of assessing those possibilities in his TPR blog. He also interviewed a number of Nova teachers (yours truly included) about the situation. You can listen to it here (I’m minutes 15-20), and big thanks to Ken for speaking with me and including my segment on his show!

So, that’s what’s up. If you know anything I invite you to comment.

Just an idea/Music executives are you listening?

2007-10-01T03:29:00.000+09:00

you can get the basics here but see more at http://adelleM.wordpress.com

One of my favorite pastimes is browsing music at Tower Records, or really any music shop with a wide selection and plenty of headphones. I think I might be one of the few people left who enjoy buying cds. I like to buy cds, and I often do if a good one costs $15 or less; but I’m also completely wedded to my iPod and the 20GBs of music it lets me cart around every day. Buying through the iTunes music store is all well and good, but it lacks the immediacy and physicality of listening then buying at a store. So, here is what I think:

You should be able to buy music at a record store and have them immediately upload the music to your mp3 player. That way you can have all the fun of an afternoon at Tower while not giving up the convenience of digital mp3s. This could work even better at the Apple store. They could have a digital library of all the albums that they offer in the online store, and keep a few hard copies of the latest and/or most popular albums on display. They wouldn’t need to stock the cds so they could save so much space on inventory but you could have the fun of walking around and looking at albums.

… you saw it here first ^_^

Notes from the Tall Yellow TOWER (Records)

2007-10-01T03:27:00.000+09:00

you can get the basics here but see more at http://adelleM.wordpress.com

Somehow on my way back to Mitaka from brunch in Harajuku/Omotesando I found myself listening to music at Tsutaya and Tower Records in Shibuya. I quickly passed a few hours listening to the latest from:

Kanye West, Common, Unkle Jam, Kelly Sweet, High School Musical 2, the Brian Setzer Orchestra, James Blunt, the Foo Fighters, Jill Scott, and New Found Glory, among others.

Kanye West/Graduation: I’m drawn to his song ‘Stronger’ because a) I love the Britney Spears anthem of the same name and b) he samples a song by Daft Punk that I enjoy - ‘Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger.’ I read what the Rolling Stone had to say about the album - they essentially said that you start out liking this album and then it grows on you. Honestly I wasn’t so impressed with the few tracks that I caught auralglimpes of but I do trust Kanye and his musical talent. I wasn’t moved to buy it.

Unkle Jam/Unkle Jam: This musical group has been featured on MTV Japan’s international hit list, but they haven’t made it into the U.S. iTunes music store. Which is too bad, cause this group is FABULOUS! They’re an example of what I consider a new trend in crossover dance music - various genres that produce quality tracks which you can also dance to. The best current day example I can think of is Under the Influence of Giants. I think the key element is the addition of funk to other genres; rock in the case of UIG, I’m not sure what the base genre of Unkle Jam is, Tower Records listed it as (I can’t quite remember) either soul/black or hip-hop/black. A good example from the past might be Sly and the Family Stone. But I’ll get on with it…

I jotted down notes on the first 5 tracks. The 1st track exemplifies why the music is so awesome: they combine falsetto singing with a good solid baseline and the upper range sounds often found on dance tracks. It works. The 2nd track provides a very interesting sound - but not so much so that it’s too distracting to dance to. In fact, it’s perfect to dance to because there is a beat for every dance ability! The beat is sub-divided and then the tracks laid on top of each other to create a kind of 3-part harmony. So instead of hearing 3 different tones you hear the same tone expressed in 3 different note lengths. It’s hard to describe, but absolutely brilliant to listen to! The 3rd track really sucked. A ballad, it sounds like it was sung by an earnest high schooler trying to express his elementary love for some cute girl at school who probably likes him back. The vocals are just bad, and the lyrics ridiculously cliched: “you are like a flower, girl, blooming in the garden.” To give the group credit some people can get away with songs like this (R. Kelly/Dream Girl from the Chocolate Factory), but they can’t. Ultimately it’s the type of song only a mother or doting girlfriend could appreciate.

Track 4 was good. Track 5 provided another ballad this time sung by a tortured soul, singing to express himself when he thinks no one can hear him. This soul can sing. Aaand I felt compelled to note the 11th track. Do you remember City High? It’s like most of their songs, but worse. Do you know that Black Eyed Peas song ‘Anxiety’ from Elephunk? That’s the level of quality I’m talking about here. The song starts off with a list of hurtful actions (presumably towards an ex-girlfriend) that the singer introduces with “I never meant to…” Sounds harmless enough but then the hook: “It’s something that I learned from daddy…” A little part of me vomited inside when I heard that. I mean, really… The tone of the song really didn’t fit the rest of the album, and if they were trying to make a social commentary on the lack of role models for young males they just came out sounding incredibly stupid. Great album though - I want to buy it.

High School Musical 2: I barely got to listen past the first song - which was AWESOME! What time is it? It’s summer time… Time for our vacation! Those days are long gone for me now, but I still love to hear about it. Surprised that I love this bubblegum pop? My favorite movie of all time is the Disney movie Newsies, and I have a soft spot in my heart for the Mighty Ducks (all 3) and the v-formation. I couldn’t finish listening because some 12 year old girl was standing -no- hovering behind me obviously trying to hurry me along. She was accompanied by a little sister and her father, who helped her out by reaching in front of me to grab the cd. I took the hint and left. Later I was listening to a more adult album and I saw that little girl creep up behind me. I shot her a look that said ‘hey little girl! Don’t even think about making me move.’ Or at least I just looked at her and she walked away.

Foo Fighters/Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace: Have you seen the music video for ‘The Pretender?’ It’s incredible, so powerful. But then again, the Foo Fighters are a powerful band. I only gave this a quick listen as I trust the Foo Fighters and was already won over by the first track (the Pretender). The Rolling Stone featured a quote from Dave Grohl talking about how the band moved beyond the basic rock sound to include other musical influences, which is usually a good move for mature bands. I bought it.

Jill Scott/Words and Sounds Vol. 3: I barely had a listen but I trust Jill Scott. Come to think of it, I trusted Joss Stone and was sorely disappointed by her sophomore album (Introducing…). But I really really trust Jill Scott. I’m not in a hurry to buy it but ultimately I would like to.

New Found Glory/Brian Setzer Orchestra: I forgot the album names for both groups, but they did essentially the same thing: provided new versions of previously recorded songs. NFG’s version of songs like ‘Kiss Me’ (Sixpence None the Richer), ‘It Ain’t Me’ (Johnny Cash), and ‘Stay’ (Lisa Loeb) were like empty calories: fun at the time but offering no real fulfillment. BSO on the other hand, gave the big band/swing music treatment to old classical favorites, and it works! I could easily recognize songs like ‘Fur Elise,’ ‘William Tell Overture,’ ‘Hall of the Mountain King,’ and ‘Eine Kleine Nachtmusik’ - they weren’t sampled or masked - they were played! I want to buy it ASAP, and I would right now if I were able to activate my new debit card.

Other albums I still really want (and that I may have previously reviewed): Timbaland/Shock Value; Chris Cornell/Carry On… and before I leave Japan - SMAP/Arigato.

Another bone-headed moment

2007-09-25T12:36:00.001+09:00

I did an amazingly stupid thing yesterday. Something that usually only happens in movies - or so I thought.

I was eating dinner at one of my favorite places last night - Ootoya - and after I had finished I started rummaging around in my bag looking for my wallet. Although it's kind of big it often gets concealed underneath a fold or behind a notebook I always carry around. This time it wasn't there. My heart sank. I started having visions of washing dishes in the kitchen, or better yet creating a diversion then making a fast break - maybe to surreptitiously return with the money.

Instead I calmly walked up to the cashier and asked him if he spoke English. He didn't but another staff person did. I tried my best to explain the situation... uh, I need to pay but I left my wallet at home. I live nearby... can I give you something to make sure I'll come back? Then I'll go home and get it. I'll give you my Suica, my phone, my camera, my iPod... She took the Suica (my train pass, with my commuter information printed on it) then asked if I had any i.d. I told her that it was also at home - in my wallet. She looked at my Suica, which has my name on it, then at the other guy, and they both kind of nodded. She said ok, and I was like THANK YOU - I'll be right back. I probably should have thrown in a couple of 'suimasen' but my head was in English mode. Thankfully I was using my bicycle that evening so I rode home, grabbed my wallet and came right back. I gave them money, got my Suica back, and was on my way.

Eeek! Things do not look good

2007-09-24T11:52:00.001+09:00

view my new blog at http://adelleM.wordpress.com

We received a brief fax from the Nova president (on Friday), basically saying teachers shouldn’t worry and that there would be no delays in next month’s paycheck. I am worried though, because after 9/29 I’ll no longer be employed by Nova and so I’ll no longer be a paycheck priority. As I mentioned in my last post I have friends who left Nova in June whose last paychecks are already 3 months overdue! Unless Nova can scrape the money together to pay them and current teachers, I doubt I’ll be seeing the fruits of my September labor anytime soon.

The Japan Times finally covered the story on Friday; and in addition to Australian news, New Zealand and Cananadian news outlets have picked up this story as well:
The Japan Times
Canadian TV
New Zealand Herald

The End is Nigh?

2007-09-24T11:50:00.000+09:00

*view my new blog at http://adelleM.wordpress.com

Nova is also being reported on in Australian news: the Sydney Morning Herald. It came out today that still some teachers (Assistant Trainers and Block Trainers in Tokyo) will not be paid until Tuesday - 11 days late! Please keep in mind that in Japan we are only paid once a month. Also, a friend of mine who left Nova/Japan in late June said that neither she nor her boyfriend have received their July paychecks yet! My former AT who left Nova in April is convinced that this is the end and that I won’t receive my October paycheck. I sincerely hope I do because Nova will owe me over $2000.

More articles on the topic:
threads from letsjapan.org
article from Japan Economy News & Blog

For the record

2007-09-06T12:04:00.001+09:00

I've signed up with a new blog site. One Tokyo can now be accessed at http://adelleM.wordpress.com. I also just started importing my blogspot blogs into my Facebook account. The blogspot site will still function, and I actually plan to post everything here, but it will also be published on wordpress, which is the address I'll mainly use.

Again, This is My Employer

2007-09-05T23:19:00.000+09:00

(follow-up to June 16.)
Nova is in trouble. Real trouble. I'm not even angry, I just want to know what's going on. The company itself is not a reliable source of information - you could barely call it a source, but here is some background on the situation, and what is happening now.

Two months ago Nova was forced to partially suspend business for 6 months because of illegal and unfair cancellation policies. I knew this could create financial problems for Nova because the company only makes money when students buy bulk lesson packages. So, a student buys 150-600 points (150-600 lessons) up front and Nova gets money; but they don't make any money off of that student until she buys more points. The bulk of the money Nova makes from month to month is by selling kids lessons, new textbooks, or an assortment of other relatively small purchases. Recently, with the partial ban on new contracts and a flood of cancellations Nova is reporting huge losses. More specifically, "Nova's 2008 first quarter financials showed a loss of 4,300,000,000 Yen, and a %19 decrease in sales compared to the previous year period and overall %19 decrease in reoccuring profit.^[15] Nova cited a decrease in the number of students and deterioration of its image as an explanation." *

What I know has been cobbled together from corroborated rumors I've heard from other teachers, Japanese staff, and information I've found on the internet. I'm only listing the rumors that I think are credible; Nova has not confirmed or denied anything to its teachers so until they do everything is a rumor. So without further ado...

The August 15th paycheck to instructors was late.
For two months Japanese staff have been paid late, and they did not receive their usual summer bonuses.
New instructors are being told that their salary advances will be late.
Nova is closing a number of branches in Tokyo.

(from the internet)

NOVA has been late in paying its suppliers/business partners
NOVA fell into arrears for printing costs at the end of July
NOVA failed to pay an advertising firm on August 10
Scheduled bank repayments have ceased

As I mentioned before there is no official word from the company to its employees as to what is happening. I did get a chance to speak with a block trainer about a week ago, and he was disappointed that Nova wasn't attempting to communicate with employees he was also confident that the company bwould be able to stay in business. Apparently he spoke to another instructor who, before joining Nova had worked in the financial industry in London, and had somehow gained access to Nova's financial profile and decided that Nova possessed enough assets to be able to stay afloat. I was mildly convinced by that story (which I of course paraphrased), but I've also heard rumors that Nova has few assets.

It also seems as though Japanese staff are getting more information than the foreign staff. Case in point (in addition to the exchange between me and the block trainer) my co-workers recently spoke to a titled instructor at another school who hadn't been notified that her school was closing, yet I've spoken to a number of Japanese staff who could quickly rattle off a list of schools closing by the end of September. Apparently a teacher a school a couple of train stops over quit because Nova wouldn't answer his questions about what is going on.

And then the next step is speculation. Nova is apparently the largest employer of foreign nationals in Japan.* What will happen to the teachers? Of course, some will go home and others will just flood the Japanese market for English teachers; but then again so will the students left adrift if Nova goes under although I wouldn't be surprised of some of them have no desire to learn English after dealing with Nova. I asked one Japanese staff member what will happen to the Japanese staff and she told me that people would "retire."

For more information on the situation check out the following articles/websites:

Nova (English School in Japan) - Wikipedia
Is Nova As Good As Dead? - Japan Economy and News Blog
Toyo Kezei Article: Is Nova Running Out of Money? - Let's Japan.org
What Nova Got Nailed For Part 3 - Let's Japan.org

NYT - "Before Models Can Turn Around, Knockoffs Fly"

2007-09-05T09:51:00.000+09:00

"Before Models Can Turn Around, Knockoffs Fly"

This New York Times article is one in a growing chorus of complaints from American designers that lower-end retail stores are copying their clothing. The Council of Fashion Designers of American (CFDA) is lobbying Congress to extend copyright protection to garments and individual designers are sueing stores, such as Forever 21, who they think have copied their clothing too closely.

I think the designers are being a bit ridiculous. I understand their indignance at being copied but do they think they're actually losing money? Do they think that the shopper who spent $25 on a dress at Forever 21 was actually going to buy the designer version for $250? Or $2500? The consumer base doesn't overlap - not even the other way around. A shopper who can and will pay $200 for a shirt doesn't want the cheap, low quality massed produced version for $20.

Now, I realize that the proliferation of knock-offs could potentially reduce the exclusivity factor. A boutique may carry only 5 of an item while Forever 21 carries 5000 so instead of being the only one on your block to have something, everyone on the train has it. I admit, that kind of sucks. But what would the designers have - 1% of the country looking like class and the rest looking like trash?*

If the CFDA and its designers want to recapture the market they will need a new business plan, a plan which a small handful of designers have already adopted: collaboration. Collaboration. Whether with Target, KMart, H&M or whomever, it can give shoppers the access to designers that they ultimately crave while still allowing designers credit for their work and some degree of control over the quantity that they put out in stores.

At this risk of sounding trite, this is the 21st century and the internet has changed the way consumers interact with producers. It changed the music business, and it will change the fashion business regardless of what designers do; however, if designers stopped whining about being copied they could make the internet and mass distribution work to their advantage.

*That line came from what song, by which artist (female group), popular around 1998/2000? Bonus points for album name.

Tokyo Writers' Salon - Meet Joan

2007-09-01T22:13:00.000+09:00

From time to time I post stuff that I've written when I go to the (monthly) Tokyo Writers' salon. The group welcomes, works with, and encourages all genres and types of writing, but personally I always choose to do non-fiction. That's what I'm most comfortable with and generally interested in producing. At last weeks' meeting, however, the organizer gave us an exercise wherein we had to create a character. We had to write a character and then we had to do something with it, so here is my attempt at fiction:

Joan, 31
brown eyes
lives alone in a 3 bedroom house
her car is not fuel efficient
she has a boyfriend of 2 years that she's hoping will become a fiancé
she's ok with having kids at a late age, say 37 or 38 cause she believes in medicine
her vacations alternate between visiting family and going somewhere warm
she prefers to relax over sightseeing
she's ok reading books about faraway places and cultures, she doesn't feel the need to go there.

The directions: imagine a coat. Imagine the pocket of the coat. Imagine what's in the pocket. (your character is being followed)

Joan has a nice coat. Stylish but not trendy. Expensive but not flashy. Boring, some might say. Classic, say others. The inside of the coast has a convenient pocket. Joan likes to put relevant pieces of paper there when she's running errands. I'm not sure what is in there right now because Joan is running many errands today. But I do know that Joan is being followed.

She doesn't notice. She's quietly chiding herself for the resurgence of one of her many imperfections. An imprefection that her boyfriend would dismiss, as would and did anybody else who knew her because she was a very capable and accomplished woman. But the imperfections bothered her, and in those moments her slight imperfections dwarfed the world.

Joan was going nowhere special. Nowhere out of the ordinary. She wasn't afraid because she was comfortable living in a city. Completely comfortable - not like those other people who tell their families elsewhere that the city is 'so safe', but then are too scared to ride the bus alone after dark. No, Joan wasn't scared today, but she should have been. And had she known she was being followed she would have been. She wasn't scared of the city or the people in it, but she was scared of one person. If she knew she was being folllowed she would have been scared, but she would also have the plan.

She has a plan. She was given a plan, because she also has secrets.

HELP!

2007-08-31T13:26:00.001+09:00

I don't know what happened to my pictures online. There wasn't enough free space on my computer so I transferred all of my pictures to my external hard drive. The Picasa program that is installed on my computer finds pictures that are all over my computer AND my external hard drive. When I moved the pictures the Picasa on my computer still found them, but the albums somehow got erased. So I moved the folders with the pictures back into their original location on my computer and the albums didn't come back. There's more. I tried to create a new photo album of pictures from Mt. Fuji - pictures that I downloaded to my external hard drive and NEVER moved, and that album appears in the Picasa on my computer but NOT online!

What happened? What do I do? Can anybody help me? >_<

JK?

2007-08-29T11:13:00.001+09:00

Nevermind... I think Picasa is just being retarded today. I hope that's it, at least!

Uh-oh

2007-08-29T10:22:00.000+09:00

Crap. I reshuffled all of my pictures - moved them from my computer to my external hard drive - and now they've disappeared from my Picasa online picture album.

Crap. Craaaaaaaaaaaaaaaap!

Fuji, Part II

2007-08-22T10:07:00.000+09:00

Where I left off in Part I my friends and I were resting at the 9th station. We were about 5.5 hours in and so almost at the end - the summit - in time for the sunrise. People who climb Fuji during the summer season know that it will be crowded; common knowledge that floats around advises people to allot extra time going from 9-10 because the sheer number of climbers on the mountain really slows things down. It was no different for us; I estimate that there were hundreds if not just short of a thousand people on Fuji-san that night. As a result, moving up was slow going; literally stop and go. We had passed the hardcore rock climbing section at this point but the trail was still part rock and part path so in areas I would literally put one foot up on a rock and then stop mid climb; wait half a minute if not more, then continue with my other foot. I might make it a few steps before repeating the process a few minutes later. While we were doing this routine the sky began to lighten. Although the moon was still out the bottoms of the sky started transforming from midnight black to a deep, deep, pre-dawn blue. We could see the summit, but we could also see the thick zig-zag trail of climbers winding up the path so we decided to find a good spot on the side of the mountain from which we'd be able to observe the sunrise. And observe the sunrise we did. It was stunning! I've seen sunrises before, but never from so high up. Being 3,750-odd meters above sea level offered an unrivaled experience, an unparalleled view of the true expanse of the sky, an opportunity to see the sunrise, in all its deliberate and glorious beauty, face-to-face.

We came. We marveled. And then we rested. We hopped back on the trail intending to power up to the top but the way was still ridiculously crowded so chose another spot where we could eat, drink, have oxygen, and rest. It was so nice - just hanging out, talking, joking and eating with my friends but with an amazing view as both backdrop and centerpiece. We were all pretty tired - of course, because we had just spent over 5 hours climbing up a mountain, but also because we had essentially pulled an all-nighter! All of us woke up Thursday morning as usual, but none of us were that successful in taking a nap; personally I got about 40 minutes of sleep on the bus. So finally we slept. We slept on the side of Mt. Fuji after witnessing an incredible event, and then literally basking in its glow.

There was still a little bit of a crowd left after we woke up (we didn't sleep very long), but it didn't take us inordinately long to reach the top. When we finally got to the top we walked around a bit and then Amber and Jim went off to look for a bathroom. I sat down with the bags... and fell asleep. When I woke up Jim was back but Amber wasn't, and I felt sick; really nauseous. I put my head down to sleep but I just kept feeling sick. I took some oxygen but I just felt overwhelmingly sick. After a few minutes I was able to sleep a little bit, or rather, I closed my eyes and found space in my head to forget my discomfort. After a little while I woke up, felt better, looked around and found Amber and Jim sitting not far away. I joined them and then we got up to take a look around the top of Mt. Fuji.

There was quite a bit of a marketplace up there, and I considered some souvenirs but exploring was a much higher priority. I was still feeling mildly nauseatic, but nothing too strong. We walked down and peered into the crater, took some fun pictures, then walked over to some torii (wooden gates signifying a shrine) and took more pictures. Next up: the post office. The post office at the top of Mt. Fuji is the second highest in the world, and all three of us had postcards to send. We asked an old man where it was and he pointed towards a small hill and said to go up there and then about 25 meters; that’s where the post office would be. By then the altitude sickness had kicked in again and I didn’t feel up to it. Amber offered to take my postcards up for me, and I found a nice rock in the sunshine to sleep on in the meantime.

I woke up feeling worse than before. It was bad. Nearly simultaneously I felt like I was going to faint, and then vomit. I shot my hand out to the nearest rock to steady myself as I felt my head getting light and my vision cloudy. I clutched my hand to my mouth wondering if I was going to see the trail mix and peanut butter and banana sandwiches that I ate earlier. After those moments passed I thought ok, what am I going to do? I can’t just faint out here on the rock. Nobody’s going to notice, much less help me; and I can’t let my friends find me crumpled and unconscious on some rock. I can’t vomit out here either. I’m not in the midnight streets of Tokyo, where nobody chastises the retching salaryman or the dangerously wasted student – because that was them last week, or will be in the future. No, I couldn’t stay out there. I was reluctant to go to the bathroom – because they charged you for it – but go there I did. Between gathering my money and handing it to the attendant I put my head down on the small counter to steady myself, and briefly passed out. He started shouting at me and so I woke up and went to go hug a toilet for a little while – just in case. But these were traditional Japanese-style toilets (a hole in the ground), and while I wanted to vomit I was in no way in a state of mind that would allow me to take the necessary precautions. Basically, I was too sober to camp out next to the toilet. Luckily there was a wide wooden bench right inside the entrance that I conveniently passed out on.

Wake-up! Wake-up! You’re sick - you have to go down! Down the mountain! The old man was shouting at me again; no doubt he’d seen this happen before. Another man was standing nearby; he spoke English and attempted to explain to me what the old man was trying to communicate but I already understood what was going on. I explained to him that I knew I was sick but that I couldn’t leave because my friends weren’t back from the post office. Such a helpful man, he offered to take me to a little inn that was part of the market elsewhere on the mountaintop. I wanted to leave a note for my friends though, just to let them know that I wasn’t in the vicinity of the bathroom, and as I was doing that I looked up and finally saw them walking down the hill. As it turns out the post office wasn’t 25 meters, it was 250! I quickly explained to them that I needed to leave ASAP and leave we did. Eschewing souvenirs we peeled off our mountain-at-midnight layers, stuffed them into our bags, and began the descent to the 5^th station.

PS

2007-08-16T09:32:00.000+09:00

According to CNN yesterday the yen was at a 4.5 month high against the dollar. I had been monitoring the yen myself for a little while and I knew it was the lowest in over 30 days but I didn't realize yesterday's rate was the lowest in a span of months! And at 117.52 it's even lower today! I must say, it felt really cool to see important international business news on tv so closely parallel my life; especially because it's important to my personal life as well! Let's hope this trend continues until next payday; or least resurfaces!

Fuji part 2 coming soon, for real. But first it's off to a friend's beach house - without internet - for the next couple of days!

How do you like THEM apples?!?

2007-08-15T10:49:00.001+09:00

I'm so happy right now. The exchange rate of the yen to dollar is 118.39 AND it's payday. 118 is the best exchange rate I've seen in a loooooooooong time!!

oh, and Fuji update part 2 is coming soon.

Sometimes I Like to Climb Mountains (Notes from Fuji-san), Part I

2007-08-11T13:32:00.001+09:00

From August 9-10 I climbed Mt. Fuji with 2 friends, Amber and Jim. We left the 5th Station (2305m altitude) at about 8:45pm and planned to climb to the top (3776m) to see the sunrise. The trail up the mountain is puncuated by stations, with a hut at each station and scattered between. As promised to my family and friends in an email, I promised to write about climbing Fuji-san when I took a rest at each station. Those notes are in italics.

6th Station, 2390m
Was supposed to be 45, we took 30 - although I tend to walk about 10 paces behind. We saw fireworks somewhere from the path.

On the rough map of the mountain that was passed out to climbers just outside of the 5th Station were estimates of how long it should take to clear each section of the trail; the approximation from 5 to 6 was 45 minutes. Oh, we were all so excited and in good spirits at the beginning! We were walking pretty briskly and passing up a number of clusters of people and I asked if we should maybe pace ourselves but Amber was confident that our pace was fine. Well, we quickly fell into our own speeds, which basically meant that I walked a few minutes behind. At one point going up we were able to see fireworks in a distant or not-too-distant prefecture; we could also hear them! That was the first of many incredible things I saw on the mountain.

We started out making conversation as we went up but it didn't take long for my voice to falter as I concentrated on breathing excercises as a distraction to my physical discomfort and monotony of the trail (it hadn't gotten interesting yet). Amber and Jim, however, were up ahead singing '99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall,' and they even had a little bit of a syncopated rhythm/comedy routine going on. At one point I called out - save a bottle for me! I think that they gave me bottle 32.

7th Station, 2700m
Took maybe 40 mins. I partook in some singing - "ants: hurrah" then bits of Grease. We got sticks stamped. Gotta eat something. Jim is carrying my water, how nice! Man, this is difficult though. I hope I make it to the top!

The suggested time between 6 and 7 was 60 minutes, we took 40. Even with my slower pace we were making really good time. At some point after a rest I was able to keep pace with Amber and Jim for longer than usual, and we started singing 'the ants go marching...' It also served as sort of a marco-polo type excercise where Amber would start singing 'the ants go marching one-by-one, hurrah...' and then from behind I would call out - 'hurrah!' So, for anyone climbing around us I guess it was like surround sound singing.

At the 5th station you can buy sticks that can really help you as you climb up (and on the way down); there are places at each station to get them stamped, and of course at the top. We all got ours stamped; in fact, we treated the stamps like rounds of beer. Each time we got a stick stamped one person paid for all three, a different person at the next station, and so on. We also shared snacks and water. You can buy food, water, batteries, oxygen and anything else you might need at huts on the way up the mountain but it's mad expensive. I decided that to avoid that I would bring a 2L bottle of water and a 1.5L bottle of some ion-replacing sports drink (Pocari Sweat). Unfortunately I hadn't thought about how they would weigh me down. Jim was super nice though and took on my water bottle for me! This is also around when the trail started getting difficult - more steep and more of a challenge to decide where to put my feet. It was also between 6 and 7 that I saw a shooting star!!

8th Station, 3020m
It took is the full 100 mins - but this was the longest segment of the trip that we'll have! A couple of British girls we've run into are looking for their friends Lucia and Jenny. I guess they fell behind? So now it's pretty much just climbing rocks, sometimes holding onto the chain, sometimes going along with hands on rocks. The 3 of us stopped at one point and admired the view - we could see the clouds above the mountains. They were different shades of gray and purple - it really felt like being on top of the world. PS - this climbing is hard work!

This was the longest segment and we took the full amount of time, but it was also the most interesting. Fuji-san is a volcano so the terrain isn't vegetation; it's rock. From 7-8 the trail was pure rock, and we had to scurry, lunge and climb up the rocks. There were chains and poles on the side and poles scattered up the middle to help us out. At one point there was a big rock right in front of me - too big to step over, too smooth to provide a foothold, and too vertical to step on. For a couple of seconds I hesitated thinking, I'd have to be Spiderman to be able to stand on this rock! But then I noticed that I was right next to the chain, so I grabbed on and gave it all my weight so I could clear the rock. I certainly felt like a superhero but the source of my powers was no secret and neither were they mine alone.

The view was absolutely beautiful. At some point the three of us took a break and just sat on the side of the mountain admiring the night sky. I've never seen anything like it - the clouds were beautifully deep and variant shades of gray and purple. It took my breath away. And I really felt like I was on top of the world.

I think the break after 7-8 is when we also started taking oxygen. Sometime around the 7th Station I started feeling a little naseous and getting mild headaches; oxygen is supposed to take care of that. And, I'm not going to lie, there were a few 'puff puff pass' jokes.

9th (original 8th) Station, 3360m
I'm cold and tired. I just put on a 2nd pair of pants, hopefully when we get moving I'll warm up. We just sat to have or have been sitting down for a good sized break out of the wind. I ate a pb&b sandwich, had one ion juice and took a number of hits of o2. It's 2:15, sunrise is around 4? We have a lot of time. Oooh, but frankly right now I'd just really like to be sleeping. 1 more station!

I don't remember how long 8-9 was supposed to take, but by this time we had all added to our layers and were getting a little tired. We were getting up there on the mountain and in addition to the thinner, colder air it was getting windy. I said "one more station" but really that was the last station and the next would be the top! I don't remember much about this section except that I saw a second shooting star (!) things things had started to slow down a little. The Fuji sunrise is an incredibly popular destination and the mountain was really crowded. It provided for cool visuals - you could see all the headlights snaking ahead up the mountain, and headlights below zig-zagging up behind you. I wasn't making a whole lot of mental notes though; I wouldn't say I was miserable, but it was certainly unpleasant.

Adventures in Immigration, part II

2007-08-07T23:59:00.000+09:00

The lastest chapter in my immigration adventures began in earnest this past weekend. I went to Nova on my day off to pick up my visa extension pack and... sign a new year-long contract. The visa extension pack is pretty awesome. It contains:

a little booklet outlining the process in 4 easy steps
a copy of the contract to submit to immigration
a piece of paper with Japanese written on it that immigration officials like to see
a photo copy of the forms I need to fill out, with a star by the required sections - which is great because apparently half of the form isn't important, AND
key information filled in, like the official "status of my residence" (specialist in humanities), my "reason for extension" (to be engaged in a teaching position), and information about Nova, such as their "capital" (5 billion yen), "number of foreign employees" (4,611), and other such information that I don't know.

And in addition to the extension pack, at my request Foreign Personnel faxed me a map and directions to the two immigration offices in the Tokyo area, which was incredibly helpful.

Because of travel issues I outlined a couple of posts ago (I got 99 problems...) it was imperative that I start the renewal process immediately and my original plan was to do that on Friday, and if not Friday then Monday. But I realized something. When I moved in February I never updated the address on my Gaijin card, and without an accurate address there is no way the Japanese government would even accept my visa application. I never updated it because I imagined that it would be a huge convenience, and I certainly hadn't intended to submit any more visa paperwork. Not knowing how long the update would take worried me, but I knew it would take as long as it would take so early Monday morning I cycled over to the city office hoping that I wouldn't spend the whole morning there, and that it wouldn't take more than a week to get a new Gaijin card. Well, I was anxious for nothing. The whole process took maybe 10 or 15 minutes and I left with my card; all the lady did was write my new address on the back!

Crisis averted on the Gaijin card, but I knew I might not be so lucky at the immigration office... but still lucky to some degree. Nova cautions against going to immigration on a morning before work in case things take longer than expected, but as I start work at 1pm on Tuesdays I wasn't inclined to follow that advice. I also took a gamble on which office I chose. There are two bureaus in Tokyo - in Shinagawa, which is at least 45 minutes from my house, and Tachikawa, only about 20 minutes away. Foreign Personnel gave me directions to both offices but they weren't sure which one I should go to; the man I spoke with recommended Shinagawa just to be sure but in my head I was like, I'm already waking up early for this. I'm not going any further than I absolutely have to go! I got to the station without a hitch - I've been to Tachikawa before - but as I was wandering around the massive station area I started to doubt my choice. I thought crap - what if I really did have to go to Shinagawa... By the time I get there it might be too late to get anything done before work, and I don't want to wake up early again tomorrow... etc etc. I seriously walked around the station for a good 15 or 20 minutes before I found the correct bus stop, which I could have found in 2 minutes had I been paying closer attention. But the upshot was that I actually knew the Kanji (Chinese characters) for the bus route that I was looking for - even though I didn't know where it was I felt so empowered!

At the bus stop an Indonesian woman asked me if this was the correct bus to the immigration office; I told her that it was, and feeling a good samaritan moment I told her which stop we should get off at. As it turned out she'd been there before but had only forgotten which bus to take; and anyway when the bus started going an announcement was made in English, Chinese and Korean that this was the bus to the immigration bureau. The voice indicated which stop it was and right after the stop before said, 'the next stop is... get off here for the immigration bureau... please press the button next to your seat if you want to get off. If you don't press the button the bus will not stop.' I thought that last part was great; it's nice to know that even the most clueless Gaijin is being accounted for. The woman I met actually ended up helping me out. When we got off the bus it REALLY wasn't clear where immigration was located (there was a map on the bus that I didn't see - talk about a clueless Gaijin), and she wasn't going directly there but she made sure to point me in the right direction, which I really appreciated. The walk wasn't far, but there wasn't a whole lot to indicate that I was approaching an important government building so I started to get a little anxious about the distance I might possibly have to cover. I started thinking crap, maybe I shouldn't have tried to do this before work after all!

The Indonesian woman came in while I was still filling out the first section of my forms, and noticing that she took a number before completing her forms (albeit for a re-entry permit, not a visa extension) I decided to take the same gamble. I was feeling pretty good about it until I realized that I had made a few mistakes AND totally not realized there was a 3rd page to be done. And my number was up in two turns. I started to get a little frantic and just at that moment the woman came up to say good-bye. I thanked her quickly and said good-bye. I wanted to give her a better thanks but I was also really intent on trying not to screw anything else up with my paperwork. She kind of stood there for a few moments and I wasn't sure if I was supposed to be making some kind of conversation, but by this time they were on the number right before mine and the information I needed I couldn't just copy from the sample form. Well, she soon left but as it turned out my frantic-ness was for nothing; the number before me took more than enough time for me to complete everything.

When my number was called I was still worrying that something would be wrong - I had everything: the paperwork, my Gaijin card, passport and a required tax form that came with my last paycheck - but still I was holding my breath that everything would be accepted. It was. And the immigration agent told me that I could expect to pick up my new visa in 3 weeks! I was definitely happy to hear that, and to boot the whole process took no more than 40 minutes so I had more than enough time to relax in Tachikawa before heading off to work.

Adventures in Immigration, part I

2007-08-07T18:26:00.000+09:00

These past couple of weeks it seems as though there have been few things on my mind, mainly anything and everything pertaining to when I'm leaving this country, the countries I might visit before I do and the visa status I'll have when I do so; which is funny, because the past 2 weeks have been pretty eventful in their own right...

... I recently had the opportunity to wear a yukata (summer kimono) to a fireworks festival and outdoor party with friends. Wearing the yukata was really fun, I felt so beautiful and Japanese! Putting it on was a little complicated though; I looked at the directions that came with it (in Japanese but with pictures) and I looked at more directions online (in English), but I still needed a (Japanese) friend to help me put it on - especially the obi, the sash that goes around the waist and ties at the back. That in itself is like origami!

... I also got to go to a Japanese baseball game! While the game is of course the same, the experience of the fan greatly differs. For starters, you're allowed to bring food and drinks into the ballpark. Not only that - if you buy beer they'll pour it into a cup for you! It should be noted that I brought in a couple of Coronas and they had to hunt around for a bottle opener; glass bottled beer is not common over here (much to my dismay). I think the best part of Japanese baseball is the cheering. Each player has his own cheer and is cheered for the whole duration that he is at bat, even if the ball is being fielded. I don't know who makes them up, but the crowd seemed to have memorized each one, with accompanying hand motions and what seemed like full body dances. Not only that, there was small pep band in the back of the stands, and a real cheerleader in front. I mean, this guy was really a cheerleader! He had one drummer next to him and a megaphone in hand, and was leading the crowd in the cheers and gestures. It was deliciously interactive, except on a few occasions I got so into following the dances that I completely missed the play!

... and Thursday I CLIMB MT. FUJI!!!! As exciting as this sounds it has honestly been at the back of my mind for the past few weeks. In fact, just today I emailed one of the friends that I'm climbing with like, uh, shouldn't we buy bus tickets to Fuji soon? I guess she was spacing out on it too. We're doing what most Gaijin climbing Fuji do, which is arriving in the evening, climbing overnight, catching the sunrise and then hiking back down. As of now I'm about halfway prepared: I have a head flashlight (to keep the hands free for climbing), cannister of oxygen (in case of altitude sickness or something), and I'm pretty sure I'm good for cold weather gear, as it's pretty darn cold at sunrise on the top of Fuji. I still need: to buy the bus tickets, write out some postcards so I can be ready to send them from the summit, buy water and granola bars (or some other trail snack). If I'm inspired and have time I might concoct my own trail mix!

In response to June 15th

2007-08-06T10:31:00.000+09:00

June, 15 2007.

Today the exchange rate of the Japanese yen to the U.S. dollar is 118.59!!! That's the lowest it has been in a good while. After continually being frustrated at high rates such as 124 and 124.63 I decided to sign up email alerts when the exchange rate hits a certain low. I chose 119 as my ideal rate, and this morning I received an email notifying me that today JPY 118.59/USD.

This is exciting. Obviously not to 99% of the people reading this, but hey - I'm a Gaijin in Japan and this is my life. And in my life a weak dollar/strong yen is a great combination! Now, if only this occurs on payday (8/15) and again against the South Korean won when I go to Seoul (9/10). That would be fabulous!

I'm Fuming

2007-08-03T11:40:00.000+09:00

I am so angry right now, I have a number of bones to pick and I'm going to pick them clean!

First, what is up with this bridge collapsing in Minneapolis?? Bridges in America should not be collapsing! Why is there not more money being poured into infrastructure? You want to talk about HOMELAND SECURITY? well then secure the fucking homeland! Who is the head of the Federal Department of Transportation? Probably some moronic college cokehead friend of George W's who doesn't know the first thing about bridges or roads.

Second, let's talk about rescue. The current rescue and recover teams are making valiant efforts in extremely dangerous underwater conditions but it seems as though at times the water is too dangerous for even trained professionals. But I'm pretty sure there are teams trained for even conditions such as these... too bad they're in the fucking DESERT in Iraq.

People - make the connections! The president wants to keep taxes low, fund a massive war, and basically divert important resources away from every sector in this country AND THESE ARE THE CONSEQUENCES:
'Hurricane' Katrina - it wasn't the hurricane that caused the damage. It was the flooding that resulted from insufficient levees. And what hampered the rescue effort? The rescuers were fighting in a desert halfway across the world.
A Bridge falls in Minneapolis - the money, support and pressure should have been there for infrastructure projects. The rescuers should be there, but they're otherwise engaged. The resources should be there, but they've drowned in the bathtub along with the government. Yeah, I said it. You drown the government, you drown the resources too.

Enough about politics, on to the 24-hour news cycle. After it's repeated so many times it fails to be news, it's just information. And you only need so much information. You know what will happen? People will watch CNN, or MSNBC or their local news over and over and over and they won't get any new information; they'll just get scared. I don't know what the solution to this is, but let it be known that the 24-hr news cycle pisses me off!

And the New York Times, anyone who knows me or has received an article from me knows I'm a fan, but even they have aroused my ire. I check the NYT every morning; in fact it's my homepage. I checked it late yesterday morning AFTER the bridge collapsed and there was nothing on the front page about it. In one of my lessons later that day I was teaching students vocabulary for urban landscapes and when one student learned 'overpass' she said 'oh! An overpass collapsed in the US yesterday, somewhere near Chicago, I think.' And indeed, when I checked the NYT this morning I saw coverage of DAY 2 of the events. Where was day 1??? And this isn't the first time. On CNN I saw reports of floods in China and massive heat waves in Europe, nothing of which I had seen in the NYT.

One thing that did make me happy was that I saw all different backgrounds of people interviewed in Minneapolis - a Mexican immigrant, a white lady, a latino man and a young black male teenager. Because honestly, from living in a foreign country I get the feeling that people think all Americans are white. And who can blame them? I mean, techinically I'm not American, right? I'm African-American. The only people who don't have to hypenate are white people.

I'm still mad, but I'm done picking bones now.

This really happened

2007-08-03T09:54:00.000+09:00

Yesterday I was eating my lunch/dinner outside of McDonalds and I noticed a small group of old people sitting nearby, eyeing me: 2 old women with small dogs and 1 stooped and stubbly old man. The old man got up with some trash in his hand, took a few steps, looked around, and then stopped short. I was sitting between him and the trash can. He could walk past me to the trash can or he could go inside McDonalds, which was slightly more inconvenient. I could tell he was thinking: walk past the Gaijin? or go inside? walk past the Gaijin? or go inside? He decided to walk past the Gaijin. And when he was next to me he spoke. I couldn't understand what he was saying - even if I knew the words I think his Japanese was moderately unintelligible - but he seemed to be muttering some question about Nova and pointing in the direction of where I work, so I answered yes.

Now, it's not uncommon for people to speak to me, especially old people. Usually they're smiling and they repeat their words a few times. Not this man! He didn't smile and what he said to me he said only once. I'm pretty sure it was offensive. As an English teacher and a functionally illiterate resident of Tokyo I've gotten pretty good at non-verbal communication, and yeah, I'm pretty confident that this man really wasn't a fan.

I got 99 problems and my visa ain't (but) one*

2007-08-02T12:21:00.000+09:00

My Japanese work visa expires on 9/13. After the 13^th I’m not allowed to work in Japan, and without a visa I’m not actually allowed to stay here either. If I overstayed my visa they wouldn’t necessarily deport me, but I might not be allowed to set foot in Japan again once I left. To solve that problem I planned my trip to Korea to happen while my visa expired so I could return and simply be issued a regular 90 day tourist visa (Seoul, 9/10-9/14).

Problem solved? No! I was originally thinking that I would leave in late September or early October (9/24 or 10/1). But then I decided that I might stay through part of October to either a) visit China with a friend after her visa expires on October 10^th or b) stay in Tokyo until Columbus Day weekend when my sister will be able to be in NC the same week I get home. Either way it could be at least three weeks from the time that my work visa expires to when I want to leave; but if I’m going to be here for 3 week then I’ll want to be working. So resign with Nova and go with a tourist visa or renew my contract and stay for another month? Because of the time it takes to process a visa renewal I had to notify Nova if I wanted to resign or renew my contract. To gain the most flexibility I decided to renew; as my block trainer reminded me, I can always change my mind once I say yes to a new contract, but it would be difficult to do the opposite. So renewing my contract and visa is all well and good, except… Enter problems #3-5:

I’m not allowed to leave the country while my visa is being processed. It might be Sept. 12 or 13 before I get a new visa; I have a flight to Seoul booked on the 10^th.

I would want to continue working up until the last week of September, or as late as the 2^nd or 3^rd weeks of October, BUT I have to give Nova, the sponsor of my work visa, 4 weeks notice before I leave. If I gave 4 weeks notice in late August or early Sept. would they even continue the visa/contract renewal process? Would I be able to work that extra 2 or 3 weeks?

Whatever the answers to these questions are, the default is to go home sooner rather than later. But luckily, I think there are some answers.

Yesterday I confirmed with Nova Foreign Personnel that I’m not allowed to leave the country while my visa is being processed. I immediately called the person in charge of my visa/contract renewal, my regional assistant area manager (RAAM), and spoke to him about it. He told me that there’s a good chance I can get a new visa before I leave, but that technically Immigration allows up to 6 weeks to process visas. He guessed that I might need it to happen in 3-4 weeks. Luckily for me, my RAAM called the Nova Head Office in Osaka to try to fast track the Nova side of my visa renewal. Here is what we came up with: he thinks that he’ll have all the materials by Friday, on which day (my day off) I can pick up the papers, do my part to complete them, and ideally bring them to Immigration the same day. That gives them/me 5 weeks in order to be able to pick up my new visa the Friday before I leave. My RAAM also suggested that I bring a copy of my flight reservations and make some sort of explanation/apology for the situation in hopes that they might make an effort to issue my visa sooner rather than later.

If this doesn’t work I’ll go to Korea and forfeit my contract and work visa; and probably return to the States ASAP… which I hope doesn’t happen because a) I’m not wild about the idea of booking last minute (I consider 2 weeks as last minute) international air travel, and b) I would feel really bad if I couldn’t give Nova 4 weeks notice. I don’t so much feel like I owe Nova anything, but I’d hate to put my RAAM in a scheduling bind.

If it does work, then I’ll have found myself in quite the sweet spot! There are still a couple of details I have to confirm, but it’s possible that once Immigration has my visa papers that Nova can’t touch it, regardless of when I quit. With that I can continue to work and quit any time I want! Now, if only I could decide what I wanted to do.

*the title of this post is a reference to which song? bonus points for artist and album.

kore wa cho muzikashi desu

2007-07-29T00:35:00.000+09:00

This is very difficult.

My decision is at the same easy, hard; and very clear.

I need to leave Japan. I want to. I'm going to. But on nights like tonight, I can't. I went to a fireworks hanabi (outside party) tonight, and I had such a great time. I wore a Japanese yukata (summer kimono) and I met so many interesting people. I felt like this was something I could do again, and these were people I might like to do something with. I've been going to a monthly writers' salon on and off since November and I really enjoy the people there as well. I love that I can go, share my writing and listen to others share; and that's another group of people I could spend more time with. There are a number of people I'm loathe to say good-bye to, but that alone can't keep me here.

I'd have to get a new job. My issues with Nova notwithstanding, my schedule is so not conducive to building relationships. I essentially work nights and weekends. I have Saturday off, which is fantastic, but I generally work from 1-9 during the week, and I do not get time off on national holidays. That really makes it hard to spend time with anybody who is not a Nova teacher, and I do not want to live in the Nova Bubble. I haven't been, and there are a lot of great Nova teachers, but that's not the point. If I were to live here, I would need to live here. Right now, and how I often feel after a particularly good day, is that I'm beginning to live here, I'm learning my way around, really figuring out what I like and don't like and so on. It takes a while to really SETTLE. Not just to be comfortable, but to SETTLE. But I know enough to know that I can't commit to settling here. It's not worth it.

I have a lot to go back to. What I have in Japan is very obvious to me; it's what I'm living. What I have in the U.S. is much less present... Nevertheless I have not forgotten what I have. I have the best friends in the world. Whenever I think about leaving I think about how hard it will be to say good-bye to all the people here that I've met, spent time with, and invested in - however much it happened to be. But then I have to think, if it will be so hard to say good-bye to people I've known for 12 months or less, how wonderful will it be to say hello to people who I've known and loved for years?!

And there is life waiting for me; the life I see myself in. The one I want to create. I just found out today that American politicians are on the Facebook. The other day I was flipping through the English language cable channels and I came across a broadcast of the CNN+You Tube democratic debates. These are wonderful developments in American political participation! Thanks to MoveOn.org and the New York Times I can stay mostly informed on what's happening in American politics but being informed is not enough. I want to be active. There are, in fact, a lot of things that I want. I want to sleep on a real mattress. I want cereal. I want brownies, apple pie, and anything else cooked in an oven. I want hair products and shoes that fit. I want to date people.

This past Tuesday I went to a travel agency to put down a deposit for my trip to Seoul. The agent and I had spoken earlier on the phone about flights to RDU but I had another question to ask her about it. She got on the computer and offered to book me on that flight then and there. She gave me the opportunity to commit to going home. A one way ticket. one way ticket. one way ticket. Leaving, it means possibility and adventure. But in my head that day, returning meant the uncertainty of leaving a fantasy life and returning to the real world; whether or not that was an actual reflection of reality. I didn't book the ticket. I couldn't do it.

But I will. That's clear enough to me. There are so many nights when I question if I can bring myself to leave Japan. Coming home is an easy decision! It's leaving Japan that's hard.

I wish I could end it there. But the funny thing is - I don't even like it here! I mean, I'm having a great time and I love so many people here (I'm truly a people person), but I'm really not a fan of Tokyo. It doesn't make my top 5 list of cities to live in. I find Japanese culture interesting and intriguing but not something I want to be a part of. Nothing here really addresses my long term interests. I feel like all the evidence should point to an obvious conclusion. Let's do a recap: 1) as much as I love people, they're not enough to keep me here. 2) I'd have to get a new job but making the effort isn't worth it. 3) & 4) I have a lot going for me in the U.S. And yet there is 5) In the moment of truth, I cracked.

This is difficult. Because it's easy. and hard. and yet, very clear.

And things that are not of consequence

2007-07-21T23:42:00.001+09:00

To non-Japanese speakers I 'speak' Japanese. To non-native Japanese speakers I don't speak Japanese. To a great deal of Japanese people my "nihongo wa jouzu desu!" Japanese is good. Here is an example: one time I was ordering food at a bar and I said "suimasen... hai, beeru Weistephaner desu, to... tabemasu, onagaishimasu" and the bartender said "tsugouii, nihongo wa jouzu desu!" Well, what did I say in Japanese? "Excuse me, Weistephaner beer please, and... eating"

I tell this story because today I helped a lost tourist while I was waiting for some friends to meet me in Akihabara. I was pointing stuff out to him on his little map and a Japanese man walked up and said "dai jo bu desuka?" I immediately said "dai jo bu desu, arigato" and the tourist man looked at me and said wow, do you speak Japanese? Oh, if only... but that's another story for another time.
*

And speaking other stories, in Of Tremors... I alluded to buying a new umbrella. Umbrellas are a thing here. It's hard to describe, but you might get a slight idea from this picture album. Also, I'm following this list and while I'm good for about half of them I wanted to cross off number 17. When I was in the store I realized that are things I might not have known about buying an umbrella. When it comes to other accessories like shoes, bags or jewelry I have certain criteria and some sense about what is or is not a good idea. Realizing how little I knew about umbrellas, and imagining that there was probably a lot more to know, I texted a Japanese friend. The conversation went like this:

me: do you know of a good place to shop for umbrellas? I'm at OIOI and I can't decide if I should get one now
my friend: umm, now I have one from Afternoon Tea, one of girl's Zakka stores. If you'd like feminine style, try it :) I don't really buy umbrellas cause I forget them everywhere. I'd say 2000 yen is average --- (picture of her umbrella included)
me: ooh ok thanks! do you think a long pointy umbrella is something I could take on a plane?
mf: what does a long pointy umbrella look like? no problem, i think
me: um, just an average umbrella I guess. that part is not as important. do you know if there is one material that is better than another? like some umbrellas feel silky. are those just for sunny days or rain too?
mf: um sorry don't know. but I've seen many people who have silky ones on rainy days.
me: ok - thanks for answering my questions! :) (cartoon picture of an umbrella) I think I've found one to buy!
mf: looking forward to seeing you soon :) (cartoon picture of an umbrella)

And now I can assuredly report that there is actually little-to-no important knowledge for buying an umbrella.

... And Tremors

2007-07-18T01:28:00.000+09:00

On Monday following the typhoon, a Japanese national holiday, an earthquake struck at about 10:15 am off the coast of Niigata prefecture, northwest of Tokyo. Pictures in the media showed families sitting outside observing the wreckage of their collapsed wooden houses, and news reports told of a nuclear power plant that shut down as planned, but still somehow leaked radioactive water into the sea of Japan. I don't know of any damage in Tokyo. When I got to work and one of my co-workers asked - did you feel that earthquake?? But I hadn't! I was on the train, or in the station, or something. But apparently everyone who wasn't felt it. I read in the news about an aftershock sometime between 3 and 4 pm, but I didn't feel that one either. Later that night I was chatting with one of my housemates in our kitchen and he looked at me and said - did you feel that? And guess what? I didn't.

There was one memorable earthquake that happened between 1 and 2 months ago. It didn't do any damage nor did it make the news but I was sitting outside when it happened, and I think that made all the difference. It was an absolutely gorgeous day outside (before the rainy season) so I brought a chair out the the back garden to enjoy it. All of a sudden the ground started shaking! I clung to the chair or else I could fallen off. I hardly noticed though, because I was so in awe of what I heard: I heard the earthquake! It was so incredible to hear the ground move. I can remember the sound in my head but I don't know what words could describe it.
*

For more information on the Niigata earthquake:
Earthquakes in Japan Kill 8 and Injure Hundreds - NYT, the basic information.
Earthquake Shakes Japan's Northwest Coast - NYT, includes info on the nuclear waste.

Of Typhoons...

2007-07-17T23:52:00.000+09:00

These past few days in Tokyo have been very prominent for Mother Earth. Over the weekend typhoon #4 came through. It's been cool and rainy for a couple of weeks now, but at some point the rainy season morphed into typhoon season (apparently typhoons signal the end of the rainy season, although typhoons just bring more rain). On Friday or Saturday one of my housemates mentioned to me that a typhoon was headed for Nagoya but he didn't seem to think it would affect Tokyo. Well, on Sunday it came through. Early, early sunday morning I awoke to the sound of heavy, quickly falling rain. As it was too early to be awake I went back to sleep hoping it would be over by the time I needed to leave for work. It wasn't. It was much too heavy to ride my bicycle, but I had rainboots and an umbrella so I felt equipped enough to walk to the station. Needless to say, I got wet. Really wet. It was extremely windy so the rain was coming at me from all sides. I passed up the chance to take the bus, not understand how truly wet I could get. The walk was about 15 minutes and at the end I was absolutely soaked. I mean soaked! Through and through. I could have wrung out half of my shirt, and the water in my pants could have filled a 2 liter bottle of water. Slight exaggeration, but it actually took me over an hour to completely dry.

And that was only the first half; a typhoon, like it's identical twin the hurricane, has two halves with the eye in between. In one of my last lessons on that day I got to talking with my student about the typhoon and he said (not verbatim) that we could expect the second half around 6pm. Then he showed me the weather report in the newspaper which tracked the path of the typhoon - down to the hour! And sure enough, it was due to hit Tokyo at 6pm on Sunday. I had planned on running some errands after work but he strongly cautioned against it. I was convinced - I certainly didn't want a repeat of the morning! After the lesson I relayed this information to the other teacher working that day and he said that he too had heard the same news. 6:00 came and went, however, with no rain. After work I reconsidered running errands - it still wasn't raining that hard and I could hypothetically cut my trip down to less than 10 minutes, so I went for it. I dashed out of the station, down the street and into the store. I zeroed in on my intended item and swiftly made the purchase. That might be the fastest shopping trip I've ever made. Except then I saw the umbrellas. Umbrellas are a highly developed accessory in Tokyo and I really enjoy observing parades of umbrellas on rainy days, and parasols on the sunny ones. Thinking it was still the rainy season I thought to myself, I've seen so many pretty umbrellas... I want one too! I quickly glanced outside in a feeble attempt to gauge the weather (rain can quicken or slacken on a dime; looking outside was pretty ineffective) and judging it to be sufficiently non-threatening I decided to buy one. Which is another mild story in itself. It might be ironic if I had left the store with two umbrellas in a downpour - still getting wet because one umbrella can only do so much, but of course you can't use two - but it actually never poured. As it turns out the second half of the typhoon veered away from Tokyo.

and then I found 10 yen. (today)

A Collection of Things

2007-07-02T12:16:00.000+09:00

If I were a tree climber I’d climb that tree.
Look at that easy foothold there. Look at those branches – They’re pretty thick; they look great for climbing. If I were a tree climber I’d love to climb that tree.

If I were an academic I’d have loved my classes.
Regardless of other details and distractions I would have sought refuge in learning. If I were an academic, I would have been the best student.

If I were a guy I would read Esquire magazine and wear slim-fitting vintage-inspired t-shirts. I might also do these things if my girlfriend bought them for me. If I were a guy I would email that amazing girl I met in Tokyo.

If I were organized I would have a water-tight budget.
I would never try to change the dates of a shift-swap signed and stamped. I never would have used a credit card and I would have visited 6 new countries by now. If I were organized.

If I were other people, other things, I would have said more, done more, seen more and saved more. If I were other things I would be other things; but there would always be a collection of things I am not.

Public Service Announcement

2007-06-24T00:23:00.000+09:00

I'd just like to say that Japan does not do Daylight Savings Time. In fact, I think only America does. Which is why the other morning I received a call at 7:45am, when the caller thought it was 8:45. I don't know what your particular time zone is, but I'm in GMT+9. One more thing - please don't call before 9am if you can help it. I won't get mad if you do, but it's generally hard for me to function towards the end of my work day if I wake up before 9. THANKS (^_^)

Epilogue to An adventure I don't want...

2007-06-23T22:50:00.000+09:00

An adventure I don't want to have.

After finishing that post I decided that there was absolutely no point in seeing the Japanese doctor. I called my insurance company and they told/assured me of a clinic in Roppongi where the staff are fully bilingual. In addition to checking with the insurance company, when called to make the appointment I asked as well. I went Tuesday morning and sure enough everything was in English. It was so wonderful to speak full/non-broken English with somebody who could legitimately provide me with information. It also felt good to spell my last name (m, c, capital E...). The doctor told me that the stuff in my finger is a mild allergic reaction to something but it's too mild to warrant allergy testing. My skin is really sensitive, so basically it's my skin sensitivity flaring up again; just in a new and initially alarming form. Crisis averted!! But thanks to everyone who was concerned. (^_^)

Hierarchy +

2007-06-21T12:53:00.000+09:00

A little while ago I had the really cool opportunity to visit a local university and talk with a college class. I became friends with a Gaijin that I randomly met at the Starbucks near my house and as it turned out he was a college English teacher who invited me to speak to his class as someone 'fresh' from America (he's been here for 7 years). The students asked me about a number of things, including environmentalism, lifestyle, gun control/ownership, and equality.

At first I didn't understand what they were getting at with equality. I knew that Japanese society was very hierarchical but I thought, are people not born equal in Japan? Then my friend explained to me that they were asking about the Sempai/Kohai relationship. The best approximation of the Sempai/Kohai is a mentor and mentee, but in Japan it goes deeper than that. A Sempai is someone in a social group who is older than you and who most likely entered the group before you did; it's more or less automatic. Generally this means that there is always a person to whom you must defer, and a person who must defer to you. Hierarchy is built into everything. For example, a friend told me the story of another teacher at her Nova branch. This teacher was leaving Japan and so she was having a good-bye party. She invited the Japanese staff from her school to the party, but because the Sempai wasn't going, the other staff, considered to be his Kohai, didn't feel that they could go.

I thought about this a little further after a conversation with a student. She was telling me that she really liked the other students in Nova (businessmen, students, office workers, housewives, etc), but if she saw them in public she wouldn't speak to them. "I'm too shy," she said. "I wouldn't know what to say."

Politeness is essential in Japanese culture and society, and it's built into the language as well. In every language there is friendly or street language that differs from words you use in business or in the classroom. In many languages it's common to find one or two polite declensions or pronouns, like the French 'vous' or the Spanish 'ustedes.' But in Japanese there are entirely different sets of language for being polite and friendly; in addition to that there is a system of bowing where the depth of your bow indicates your position relative to the other person. As there are so many rules, I would also imagine there is a lot of room for mistakes; except mistakes in this area aren't socially acceptable.

A lot of Japanese people claim shyness, but given all the rules, if I were Japanese I'd probably be too shy too!

More players in the game

2007-06-21T11:17:00.000+09:00

The Chinese footpoot growing across Africa (The International Herald Tribune)

This article highlights evidence of the growing involvement of Chinese individuals and organizations in the development of Africa. I'm not surprised at this, to me it's inevitable. The rich western nations aren't the only ones with money; they don't have a monopoly on aid, or funds for business and infrastructure development. If they continue to act like they do they will really be left behind when the rest of the world successfully partners with African nations and the political capital of the G8 and international goodwill towards them sharply plummets. The author made an interesting observation that the bulk of the western presence in Africa is aid workers, researchers and the like; while the Chinese presence is comprised of business people and investors. He noted that the West often regards Africa as a place of failure, while Chinese people see it as a place of opportunity. The G8 countries are becoming political dinosaurs of archaic thinking; and their days are numbered.

An adventure I don't want to have

2007-06-18T10:38:00.000+09:00

Adventures in medicine are not the kind of adventures you want to have in a foreign country. That being said...

A couple of weeks ago I was doing something totally unremarkable when I realized that thing hurt my middle finger. I looked at the palm of my finger and saw a couple of black spots. I figured it was a splinter that I somehow acquired, and didn't think more of it. And then the black spots didn't go away. They multiplied. I started seeing these little white lumps turn into black spots. I started with 2, and now I have 6. And to boot, my arm has been feeling funny too (although maybe I'm sleeping on it too much?)

So I went to a clinic on Thursday. I called my insurance company, told them the problem, and they found a clinic near my train station and (more or less) made an appointment for me. My doctor spoke a little bit of English. Enough to ask me questions, but not enough to explain anything to me. She looked at my finger and basically said the problem was "too weak" to be able to tell what it was. She couldn't decide if it was a splinter or an insect bite, and said that I should put ointment on it and come back Tuesday.

I was like, something is in my finger. What is ointment going to do??? She said that it would make my finger softer, so she would better be able to tell what the problem was. I asked her why she didn't know, and what she was looking for but she said she couldn't explain it to me in English. I looked at my finger again and noticed that two black dots had actually grown to four. So I asked her to take another look at it. I said look -before there were two dots and now there are four! She offered to get a needle to try to dig it out - whatever it is. (In retrospect it seems odd that a doctor would willingly go poking around under my skin without having any idea what's under there.)

I, however, am deathly afraid of needles. Just to give you a picture of this: in high school I had to get a shot for some reason (vaccination?) and after the fact I fainted. I had been so nervous about getting a shot I fainted as soon as it was over. In college I went through a time where I was pretty consistently getting poked and prodded, and when it came time for a shot my veins collapsed. I was so nervous that my veins literally disappeared and it became difficult for the nurses to find a vein large enough to use. It's pretty serious for me. So while the nurse went to get the needle I started freaking out. I almost started crying and then in my head I was like 'Adelle, get yourself together. You can't cry about this, something is in your finger.' The doctor came back and the needle actually wasn't the long scary kind, it looked more like a sewing needle. I was still pretty apprehensive though. She took another look at my finger, claimed that it was impossible to know anything, and then told me that I had two choices. She could use the needle to investigate, or I could take the ointment and comeback Tuesday.

I chose the ointment.

Although I must admit, I haven't been that serious about putting it on. The pharmacist spoke better English than the doctor, and she told me that the ointment was an antibiotic; something I'm sure the doctor could have communicated to me as well. I've been showing my finger to anyone willing to look - it's not gross, just strange - and one of my friends said that it might be calcium deposits, which happen to people who don't get enough calcium. Another friend suggested that I go to Web M.D., which I did. The symptoms don't entirely match up, but it looks like I could have a finger infection. I'm going to go back to the clinic tomorrow and hope that the doctor knows something. And if she doesn't, I'll just have to find an English speaking clinic, which hopefully won't be too hard. All I want is a person who knows what she's doing and can speak English... two things I didn't see on Thursday. Maybe I'll just bypass this clinic/doctor and ask my insurance people to find me another place. Yeah.

This is my employer

2007-06-16T23:53:00.000+09:00

Nova dealt penalty for deception. (The Japan Times)

Nova boss weighs assistance options. (The Daily Yomiuri)

Editorial: Nova suspension order. (The Asahi Shimbun)

Nova has been in and out of the courts for a few months now. In my opinion (and that of many others) Nova treats their students, staff and teachers very poorly. I doubt they will ever be investigated on the latter two, but now the company is being punished for its shady business practices in dealing with students. For the infractions committed, Nova cannot sell any long-term contracts for 6 months. This is a pretty big deal because Nova is kind of like a shark in the water - it must always keep moving - keep signing up students to make money. Although, while this will certainly impact the company I HIGHLY doubt that it will influence my job security. And if it does, well, maybe I'll just go home earlier. (^_^)v

Oy Vay

2007-06-15T13:29:00.000+09:00

The exchange rate today is HORRIBLE - $1 costs 124 yen!!! That's a high for the past 5 days and the past 30 days. That means if I transferred 50,000 yen to my American account, I would barely get $400. For every $4 exchanged I lose the next $1. So, $4 to me, $1 to... to... I don't know where it goes. Well, I'm not transferring today. That's just ridiculous.

turningjapaneseithinki'mturningjapaneseireallythinkso

2007-06-12T01:35:00.000+09:00

2 nights ago I mastered the art of riding my bicycle while holding an umbrella!! People here do it all the time. It was a little tricky at first, and I'm still not ready to do it every day of the rainy season, but it sufficed for a small round of errands around Mitaka. The key is to lean forward on the bike, so you can grip the handle and the umbrella at the same time. Otherwise disaster strikes when you try to brake. If you try to brake with one hand it's pretty easy to fall off the bike; and, as braking is usually a quick and sometimes unexpected action, if you're not already holding the handlebar it's quite difficult to adjust your grip on the umbrella in a way that doesn't injure yourself or passerby, in enough time to brake. I should try to get a picture of this.

And by the way, I think the rainy season is here! It's been raining for the past few days, but so far so good - I'm staying sane! So now I'm about to find out which is worse: always being cold (a Chicago winter) or always being wet (the rainy season). Wish me luck!

This doesn't really matter, but

2007-06-12T01:21:00.001+09:00

I can't believe I don't have Big Pimpin' in my music library!!! How can that happen? I need it for my latest playlist - 'straight thuggin ghetto music'. ::nudge nudge:: ::wink wink::

I also need

Who Let the Dogs Out by the Baja Men. Yeah, it's important (for the summer).
You's a Ho by Ludacris. For the memories. It would also be useful for my STGM playlist.

In other playlist news, tonight I'm retiring Motor City (motown/doo-wop); Power/ballad (power ballads); and Gospel Rock (a term I got from Rolling Stone, heavy rock ballads); but I have a couple of new longtime favorites that I discovered through these playlists: Midnight Train to Georgia by Gladys Knight and the Pips (?) and Renegade by Styx.

!Recent Discovery!: Macarena is actually a pleasant song to listen to, if you and a bajillion other people aren't trying to do some silly dance to it at the same time.

I don't have nearly enough Tina Turner in my music library.

And in case all of this seems really random, it might be useful to know that I have over 5,000 songs in my iTunes. I'm a little obsessed.

Chocolate + Espresso = luv

2007-06-05T23:08:00.000+09:00

I had a really awesome moment today. It started this morning when I woke up to the sounds of children playing (screaming) and birds chirping (hardcore cawing and crowing) coming through my open window. At 6:30am. Given my work schedule, 6:30 is way too early to be awake. Most unfortunately, I couldn't go back to sleep.

Fast forward to 6pm, I'm on my dinner break at work and I really need a pick-me-up to make it to 9pm. I don't like to drink straight-up coffee, so I go to Starbucks for a mocha. (At this point ordering at Starbucks is a non-issue for me. Whether I speak in English or broken Japanese I'm always understood.) So I walk in, find the picture of the 'premium hot chocolate' on the menu and point to it - accompanied with words of course. Every time I order that I marvel at how much more expensive hot chocolate is at Starbucks compared to other places. So I'm letting my eyes wander over the menu, and it's just then that I notice Starbucks actually has plain old hot cocoa on the menu. Having finally figured out how to save money on Starbucks hot chocolate I switched my order and felt a small pang of triumph.

A minute later I'm walking down the street sipping my cocoa and feeling good when I'm like wait a minute - I wanted a MOCHA!
*
Yeah, I was tired.

Top Survival Tips for the Japanese Rainy Season

2007-06-02T18:00:00.000+09:00

According to my Rough Guide to Tokyo, June is the rainiest month, with 305mm/12in; this is known as the rainy season. Luckily today was beautiful, but I'm bracing myself for the rain. September, the month that I arrived, is 2nd rainiest month (typhoon season) with 279mm/11in. I distinctly remember disliking the large amounts of rain, and wondering what Japanese people did about it. So I found out. The following is a list of suggestions from my students. If you have ideas please post a comment! (^_^)

1) go to the library to read books

2) go abroad (to a dry country)

3) go swimming/to the gym

4) drink beer

5) wear casual clothes to work (if you can)

6) eat ‘strong’ food (spicy food, cold noodles)

7) drink a genki drink

8) carry a fan

9) keep dry socks at your office

10) take a towel to work

11) go to the movie theater

12) wear cotton dresses/breathable fabric

13) study English at home/go to Nova

14) eat ‘natural’ food (avoid fried and spicy food)

15) plan your (post rainy season) summer vacation

16) take showers

17) buy a pretty umbrella

18) listen to music at home

19) watch DVDs at home

20) exercise at home (especially to fit into summer bikinis)

21) talk on the phone

No Music, No Life*

2007-06-01T16:42:00.001+09:00

Today I spent a delightful afternoon listening to music at Tower Records. They have listening stations all over the store that let you listen to as much or as little of an album as you want. Some highlights:

Sergio Mendes/Timeless
I currently have one song by Sergio Mendes in my music library and while I certainly like it, I had no idea about how beautiful and interesting his music is. I caught an aural glimpse when I started playing the first track, Mas Que Nada. Unfortunately the Black Eyed Peas starting making noise - ahem, singing. They're a pretty mediocre musical group; fun, at best. They weren't particularly worse than usual but their style didn't particularly complement Sergio Mendes, or vice versa. It sounded like two different events going on, like the Black Eyed Peas were out having fun or messing around on the microphone while Sergio Mendes is playing in the background. It doesn't sound bad, but it doesn't sound good. Will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas produced almost every single track on the album, which is too bad. There were a couple of successful collaborations: Berimbau/Consolacao featuring Stevie Wonder, and Timeless, featuring India.Arie. I actually did enjoy listening to this album, but Will.i.am's vocals are featured on at least half of the tracks, which is 50% too many.

Jennifer Lopez/Coma Ama Una Mujer
At first I was wary of Jennifer Lopez's first 'all-Spanish' album. I've found that with artists who speak two languages, they often sound better in the one they originally recorded in. Take Shakira - she sounds waaaay better in Spanish. In English she sings with a pop sound, but in Spanish she is a true rock musician. Or Christina Aguilera - technically the only songs I've heard her sing in Spanish are translations of some of her well-known English songs but given the fact that that seems to be a practice she has discarded, I can't imagine her Spanish album did well either. But back to J. Lo. From what I heard at Tower, this is a good album. She has a strong voice that is actually better accompanied by true guitar music, and not repetitive dancebeat tracks. Que Hiciste is the first single and it's made a pretty strong impression on me. So here's one artist who has actually done better venturing into new language territory.

Timbaland/Shock Value
The first song on the album opens with a sample of Nina Simone's famous track, Sinnerman. I was just like whoa - what is he going to do with this? At first I was unsure about the smash-up that is Oh, Timbaland, but I like it. It's creative, and I love hearing snippets of Nina Simone's strong distinctive voice pop up on a Timbaland based track. The album is really contemporary and he collaborates with his usual buddies - Missy Elliott, Justin Timberlake, etc, but he also covers new ground working with the Killers, Fall Out Boy, and Elton John. I enjoyed the Killers and Fall Out Boy tracks - their own musical style was apparent, but not in a competitive way; this is the difference between a producer like Timbaland and a producer like Will.i.am. Basically Timbaland knows what he's doing. And one more thing - the track with Elton John BLEW me out of the water. I didn't know what to expect because Elton John has many musical incarnations, but I was rockin out in the store. Foot tapping, head bobbing, body swaying; 2 Man Show is a smooth powerhouse. I didn't listen to every single song, but from what I heard the whole album is most excellent.

Christina Aguilera/Back to Basics
Christina is a vocal powerhouse. I find it unfortunate that in her early days she was often compared to Britney Spears, Jessica Simpson, and the like; but those days are over. This is a fun album; not the most vocally interesting, but it's important for fun music to also be quality. I've been wanting this album for quite some time so I don't have the first-time-listening perspective, and I don't think I learned anything new about Christina's talent or the albums nuances, but I can say that two really fun songs are Ain't No Other Man, and Candyman.

*Joss Stone*
I'm so excited for her latest album, Introducing Joss Stone, released on March 20th. I listened to snippits in iTunes. Sounds good!

*Gym Class Heroes*
Who are these people? They sound like the musical love child of MC Lars +Blink 182.

Want more musical recommendations? See Let Them Have Music.

*This is the slogan of which music store? Hint: I go there about once a week.

Adventures Outside the Prefecture: an epic in 4 parts

2007-05-24T11:58:00.000+09:00

*The companion pictures to this story can be found here

On April 20^th I took a day trip to Nikko, in Tochigi prefecture. This trip was months in the making. I'd left Tokyo a number of times with visiting houseguests, but I had never left Tokyo 100% of my own accord; plus, my Meidaimae twin is crazy into traveling - he's been to Hiroshima, Osaka, Kyoto and the usual spots outside of Tokyo, plus he recently returned from a 9 day trip to China - and I felt inspired to take some initiative in traveling. Back in February I gave someone a shift swap for March resulting in a 3 day weekend for me in April. It was then that I planned to 'do something'. Something big. I had already seen most of the greater Tokyo area sights: Yokohama, Kamakura, Hakone; so I decided to knock a different one off my list. The major selling points for Nikko were cherry blossoms and wild monkeys. Thanks to the flu + a 12 day work week I all but missed cherry blossom season in Tokyo. Because Nikko is a few train hours north of Tokyo I figured the sakura might be in bloom up there; and as for the monkeys... well, who wouldn't want to see wild monkeys?

In the weeks leading up to Nikko I got most of my information from my traveling co-worker. One of the most important things he told me was that the day before I left I should go to the train station in Asakusa and buy a combination ticket that included round trip train fare and inclusion to a spate of World Heritage Sites. And the ticket office closed at 3. So, on April 19^th I duly woke up with every intention of going to Asakusa, buying the train ticket combo and making a day of it seeing the sights of Asakusa. A couple of hours later I was intent on going just to get the train tickets. After my roommate invited me to join an at-home sushi lunch with him and his friend I became intent on simply enjoying myself at home. Later that night however, I did think to look up Nikko in my Tokyo Rough Guide. At that point it crossed my mind that although I had been 'planning' this trip for a couple of months, it wasn't until the night before that I made any effort to figure out where I was going or what I might be doing.

Adventures Outside the Prefecture 2: Am I there yet?

2007-05-24T11:56:00.000+09:00

*The companion pictures to this story can be found here

Friday started out swimmingly. I successfully met up with a friend to borrow her camera, left the house at a semi decent day-tripping time, and even made it to the correct station about 15 minutes before the hourly departure time. I was so excited for my day of sightseeing I sat at the front of the very first car so I could see everything the train passed by. One of the first things I saw was what appeared to be a big yellow ball sitting next to a big yellow building. I was excited!

The ride was going smoothly – I was seeing cool things, and the train was progressing on time. I checked my guidebook a couple of times and it said that sometimes travelers had to transfer trains at a certain station before continuing to Nikko, but nobody I spoke to at the station had seemed to try to indicate that to me, so I figured I was ok; I kept checking the signs at train stations, and they confirmed that I was going in the right direction. Then all of a sudden the train started going really slowly, there was only one track and the signs saying ‘to Nikko’ appeared on the other side of the track – going in the opposite direction! What happened? I guess I was supposed to transfer after all. As soon as I was able, I got off the train hoping for a quick reversal.

Enter the safety mirror photo shoot. The station was incredibly desolate. I had no idea when the next train would come, but I figured it couldn’t be horribly long; I had forgotten one of the cardinal rules of living in Tokyo – never assume you know what’s going on. I started to pass the time by taking pictures of myself in the traffic safety mirrors. Once I tired of that I started to look around, and quickly realized that there was nothing interesting to look at. I suppose the situation could also be described as calm and peaceful, but I was really frustrated with myself for my mistake. I thought to myself – people are always talking about taking time to slow down in life, and think and be peaceful, this is a great time to actually do it! So I sat down on bench to try and enjoy the peace of the countryside and deserted station. I feel like I gave it at least 5 minutes, although in reality it probably just lasted 30 seconds; I was just too agitated. Finally I heard the signaling bells start dinging to announce the coming of a train. In the near distance I could make out the fancier, more expensive train – the one I didn’t take. This train had reserved seats, but I figured when the doors opened I could jump on and then feign ignorance/confusion when the conductor would inevitably tell me I was on the wrong train. As the train pulled in I was plotting the moment to make my move, but the doors never opened. Two trains arrived at the station only so they could pass each other on the single track. 45 minutes later a train came and whisked me back in the other direction. 15 minutes later I was back at the station where I should have transferred. So, an hour later I was back in the right direction, with nothing to show for my delay.

Adventures Outside the Prefecture 3: On the right track

2007-05-24T11:54:00.000+09:00

*The companion pictures to this story can be found here

I got off the train at the correct station and started wandering around a bit. An intercom announcement seemed to say that a train to Nikko was arriving on track 2; I was on track 3. Just to be sure I checked out the signs to see if they were saying the same thing; I’m sure I looked massively confused. A Singaporean couple approached me, asking if I needed help. I told them I was going to Nikko and they said ‘oh, you don’t have very much time!’ I had left the house at a semi-decent time, but my little detour into the middle-of-nowhere,

Japan

cost me a good deal of time. As it turned out they were going to Nikko as well, it was a favorite vacation spot for them whenever they came to

Japan

. They explained to me that you didn’t actually transfer trains. The 4 car train split apart. The first two cars went towards Nikko, the last two cars went in a different direction.

Talk about a WTF moment. They themselves weren’t sure what track the train was coming in on. I thought it was track 2, but since they weren’t sure I assumed I had heard wrong. Once the train pulled in we realized it was indeed track 2 and we ended up having to do a little jog to catch the train.

Arriving in Nikko well beyond my target time, I headed straight for the information center to get map of the area. Unjustifyingly confident in my navigation abilities, I headed up towards the World Heritage listed shrines and temples. On the way up, as is usual in areas of this nature, I passed a small shrine; this one nicely accented by cherry blossoms. I also saw some really nice and wintry looking mountains. Not foreboding, but they provided a nice mountain setting. Around the same time I started getting hungry, and I realized that usually the main road leading up to the attractions usually have snack stands and gift shops. Where were the snacks? So after turning the corner past the small shrine I walked to the intersection and broke out my map – tourist style.

A little old man rode up on his bicycle and asked where I was trying to go. When I pointed to the area on the map he said first, ‘oh, you’re on the wrong road!’ then ‘you don’t have very much time.’ I was slightly aware of the former, and fully aware of the latter. Thankfully he showed me a still relatively easy way to get there. I thanked him and started walking; actually trying to walk as if I had a heightened interest or sense of purpose in my destination because he had actually urged me to hurry. A couple of minutes later he pedaled up further to me and said ‘well, since you don’t have very much time I want to show you where you can go.’ He proceeded to scribble over places on the map that I didn’t need to see, and circle the important places. He was such a cute, helpful old man! After maybe 15 minutes of walking and wondering, I rounded a curve and found myself opposite a beautiful bright red bridge with gold accents. Surely something of historical significance!

Adventures Outside the Prefecture 4: The treasure hunt

2007-05-24T11:51:00.000+09:00

*The companion pictures to this story can be found here

After crossing the street I finally reached the treasures. I was welcomed by an engraved rock announcing the presence of World Heritage listed shrines and temples. Now, the day before I had passed up the chance to buy a combination ticket in advance. Had I made the trip to Asakusa on Thursday I could have bought the train ticket and admittance to all the shrines and temples for a really good deal. But I hadn’t felt like going. So, I had to buy a ticket. As I didn’t have a lot of time, I dutifully tried to follow the old man’s advice and skip the unimportant stuff. On my way to the ticket area I passed a really awesome fountain. I’ve seen a good number of fountains, and this one was by far the coolest. The first ticket place seemed to only sell those combination tickets that I didn’t want so I proceeded through a hut-like structure and up a small hill (and past a few more cool looking things) at the top of which I was welcomed to Nikko in 11 languages. I didn’t see any more ticket booths, but I did see the first set of Torii (the gates before you enter a Shinto shrine). It was pretty woodsy at this point, so I was hoping to see some monkeys – or at least hear them, but I didn’t even see a sign warning me about them.

There are a number of famous images enshrined at Nikko, including the 3 monkeys of ‘see no evil, speak no evil, hear no evil’. I was interested in seeing that and a few other sights, but it really seemed like I could only buy a combination ticket, which I wasn’t interested in because I would have time to take full advantage of it. I decided that this was a place I would probably like to come back to so instead of seeing only a couple of things I decided not to see anything, so that when I came back nothing would be a repeat. I was enjoying the fresh air and the scenery anyway, so I just walked around taking pictures of shrines and temples (and a bright red pagoda) through the trees. After maybe an hour of walking around I thought to myself – you came all the way out here! You should really try to see at least one thing; otherwise why did you come? So I made one last effort to buy a ticket, maybe even a combination ticket. I went up to the ticket booth to try to buy a ticket, any kind of ticket – and she said they were closed! So I was like well, I guess I’m just really not going to see a temple or shrine today!

And then I realized how hungry I was. Since I took the wrong route up I never did get a snack, so I turned my attention to finding some food. On my way down from all the sights I passed an inviting gift shop. There were some cool trinkets and souvenirs in there, but I wasn’t moved to buy anything since I more or less planned on coming back. I still did a full tour of the store though, examining anything and everything that looked interesting to me. In the end all I bought was some candy to tide me over, and the saleslady gave me a really dirty look. Further on the way down I happened upon a Japanese-style garden near the entrance that I hadn’t seen before. It was beautiful! It was also at this point that I discovered the ‘landscape’ function on my friend’s camera, which let me take much greener pictures. I still wasn’t seeing any monkeys, but I did see cherry blossoms!! I love cherry blossoms; even further down I saw something else that I love – waterfalls. This one was tiny, just an afterthought next to the downhill path.

At the very bottom I ran into some Gaijin that I had noticed in the gift shop, and we started chatting. As it turns out the guy I was talking to was Nova teacher in Tokyo, from Florida! We parted ways when I decided that continuing my search for food was more important than continuing the conversation, especially because I was walking and they were waiting for the bus. Luckily the first restaurant I saw, Hippari Dako, came highly recommended by my guidebook. It was a cozy little place with an exuberant proprietress who spoke English pretty well. The menu was really cute – it helped travelers learn survival Japanese! I couldn’t decide if I wanted to order yakitori (meat on a stick) or meatballs on a stick, so the woman let me mix and match and have both. The food was really good; if I came back to Nikko I would go there again in a heartbeat.

Adventures Outside the Prefecture: Epilogue

2007-05-24T11:38:00.000+09:00

*The companion pictures to this story can be found here

The successful dinner put me in a good mood, and it carried me down the rest of the hill and into the train station. I successfully got on the train and all that, then I remembered something – I was told that I initially went in the wrong direction on the train because I hadn’t been in the first two cars. But I was! I specifically sat in the front so I could get the best view possible. At that point I was like wow, sometimes this country really screws you and there’s no two ways about it. In the end, though, I really enjoyed the day. I didn’t see any shrines or temples, but I didn’t need to; once you’ve seen about 4 or 5 they start looking the same. I didn’t see monkeys either, but I enjoyed walking around in the fresh mountain air, with beautiful scenery to boot. Will I go back to Nikko? Probably not… unless I’m 100% sure there will be monkeys. (*^_^*)

More Encouragement

2007-05-22T23:12:00.000+09:00

I am so excited! The movement to fight climate change is growing and growing. It is so encouraging to see individuals from both the public and private sectors making this issue a priority. The latest - a carpet tile executive commited to greening his company, and encouraging other businesses to do the same. Check it out: Executive on a Mission: Saving the Planet.

Also of note: Wolfowitz gone, World Bank seeks new identity: "The entire international economic architecture established after World War II... is buckling..." I'll say! This is the post-cold war world. Maybe even post post-cold war. The World Bank and International Monetary Fund are waaaaaay outdated in their policies and practices (two different things, of course). Anybody who knows what I studied in college probably already knows how I feel about this. I also think it's interesting that the U.S./Bush administration thinks it should continue to choose the president of the Bank when a) poor judgement in picking people for leadership roles is now the norm, and b) the U.S. contribution to the Bank is less than other countries.

And that brings me to Al Gore's latest book, the Assault on Reason; a book which I had actually dreamed of writing myself, and which I certainly want to read ASAP. Al Gore is much better as an activist than a politician. He has a lot to say about the Bush administration - but this stuff needs to be said, without fear of impunity.

Live from New York!

2007-05-17T10:56:00.000+09:00

This is so exciting - world leaders and many of the leading urban cities in the world are joining together with multinational banks and other companies to retrofit older buildings to make them much more energy efficient and contribute that much less to climate change. This is incredible! I am also very proud because among the participatory cities, both Chicago and Tokyo have signed on.

(International Herald Tribune) Coalition to invest billions to save energy
(New York Times) Global Coalition to Make Buildings Energy Efficient

Adventures in writing

2007-05-16T00:34:00.000+09:00

Sometimes, when I’m not interested in teaching a regular Nova lesson, I have my students blindly choose from a list of phrases (found in the teacher’s room) and have them create a story from the phrases. I did a lesson like that today, but this time I participated as well. Each story was written in 10min.:

One night I was walking home from work, jamming to my iPod as usual. Before I knew it, sharp teeth plunged into my neck and I sank to the ground. And then – it was only then – that I noticed a dark shadow had fully encompassed my neighborhood – streetlights and barking dogs included. The next thing I knew, I woke up! I was on the Chuo line pulling into Mitaka station. A little disturbed by my dream, I put on my music to power myself for the walk home. Rounding the final corner before my house I noticed another pedestrian in the street. In that moment I realized that I hadn’t been dreaming, as I leapt up to sink my teeth into the neck of my neighbor.

Required phrases: before I knew it, sharp teeth, and then, a dark shadow, the next thing I knew.

A strange noise pierced the cold wind swirling around their secluded country home. The family was gone, leaving only the dog to register the eerie noise. The floorboards began to creak and faint voices and shuffling noises could be heard – as if this strange turn of events was straight from a terrible nightmare of Tim Burton or Stephen King. All of a sudden the front door of the house swung open to reveal a long dark road that in the daytime functioned as the family’s private driveway. The whimpering dog witnessed a parade of the undead file into the house. They silenced the dog, and waited for the family to return.

Required phrases: a strange noise, a cold wind, a terrible nightmare, all of a sudden, a long dark road.

This really happened

2007-05-15T10:50:00.000+09:00

Yesterday...

I got on the train on the way to work and this older (60s) Japanese man with a long ponytail kept stealing glances at me as I was reading my book. Right before the next stop (which happened to be where I got off) he looks at me and says,

Do you know Jimi Hendrix?
- Uhhmm, yeah.
Yeah! He is an excellent guitar player. The greatest!

Then he did some air guitar and got off the train.

Welcome Home, Casio

2007-05-13T23:53:00.000+09:00

I'm so excited! I bought a new digital camera tonight!! My good ole' Vivitar - the one with the black rubber band holding the batteries in - finally gave up in March after a long and protracted battle with functionality. Some highlights of the experience:

I had planned to only look at models, jot down notes and then look them up online, but a very helpful salesman spoke English! Thus negating the need for any legwork on my part.

He spoke enough English to give commentary and help me compare. Like, 'this one has a wider lens, but this one has a better zoom. If you want a wider picture you can step back.' Or, 'this one has a hand-shake function, but you can only take 200 pictures on the battery. With the other model (without the hand-shake function) you can take over 300.' Very helpful.

I was very surprised that a Casio was one of the best models in the store. I told him, I've heard of Panasonic, Sony and Nikon, but I didn't know Casio made cameras! He said they were the best and very popular in Japan.

The camera was on sale, plus he gave me a 5% discount (for being foreign?) so I saved about 7,000 yen. PLUS he gave me a carrying case for free.

And another employee gave me a red carnation.

I'm so psyched! I can take pictures again!!!

ps - I just checked online, and I got the camera for waaaaay less than it costs in the U.S. Go Japan!!!

... oh man! the carnation is fake! (>_<)

One Tokyo

2007-05-12T20:54:00.000+09:00

Today was one of those days where I wake up, and just don't feel like doing Tokyo. I challenged myself to put these feelings in words; This is what I came up with. I titled it as the name of my blog on purpose. The former title, Carrying the Banner, also had an associated poem.

One Tokyo

Tokyo…
Is not mine
Flashy, but not exciting
Trendy, but not thoughtful
Tokyo is not mine
Not something I can relate to
Or wish to aspire to

Tokyo is
Money and old Edo
Overworked salarymen and lonely housewives
Working. Drinking. Shopping.
Showy yet secret
– and in its secrets deeply flawed, and
Incredibly proud
Full of traditions yet lacking in community

Tokyo wildly embraces the new
Leaving layers of the old hidden beneath the surface
This is not my city
But I am only one person
And this is only the Tokyo seen through my eyes
This is just one Tokyo.

It may not be mine, but this is the Tokyo that belongs to me.

A staple food for the 21st century

2007-05-11T10:47:00.000+09:00

I love Grape Nuts! I mean, I love all cereal, but grape nuts in particular. Like, if way in the future there were an anthropologist or historian for some reason examining my life/eating habits they might speak of me as such people now speak of people way back when saying,

The staple food of her diet appeared to be cereal, most notably Grape Nuts, bowls of which, on particularly rushed or extremely lazy days, were a substitute for meals. Said food was often accompanied with edamame (soy beans), apples, and a cultural phenomenon called PB & J, which means peanut butter and jelly, which our subject preferred to eat with crunchy peanut butter.
Our records show that the subject spent a year outside of her native habitat, where Grape Nuts were not a naturally occuring substance. She didn't show any particular signs of withdrawal, but rather adjusted well to the local staples of raw fish, marinated grilled meat and a phenomenon called Freshness Burger. After 8 months of relocation, however, a box of the cereal found its way to our subject's adopted habitat in the hands of two visitors and our subject once again became dependent on her former staple food, however small and dwindling its reserves were. At the present time our team is unable to determine the fate of our subject after she exhausted her supply of Grape Nuts.

*I will be making a real post soon - i'm working on an epic that should be up in a few days

The truth about Japanese fashion

2007-05-01T13:06:00.000+09:00

Do you want to know the truth about Japanese fashion? Here it is:

Pantyhose are IN! in in in in in. Japanese women looooooove them some pantyhose. They wear it every day. Do they wear pants, or even stockings in the winter? No, skirts with pantyhose. When it's nice outside do they go without? Nope. Open-toe sandals, closed-toe shoes, it's all fair game. I have even seen a number of women wear hose with long pants and completely closed shoes! Why? As I can often be heard saying in Japanese, wakarimasen (I don't understand).

The funny thing is, when I wear pantyhose (a must at work) I truly feel like a Japanese woman - like I'm one of them. It's so universal here that I feel like I've tapped into something... that even though I'm so obviously Gaijin I'm just like everyone else on the train, coming home after a full day of work.
*****

Now if only I could maneuver in hose like Japanese women can. I've mastered riding my bicycle in work clothes and heels, but I tore my 2nd (of 3) specially imported pair of 'soft brown' hose on the pedal of a very nearby bicycle when parking my own the other day. So now I just need to learn the secret of 30s bicycle parking in a crowded lot while wearing pantyhose - before I'm out of 'soft brown'.

Talk About Longevity!

2007-05-01T13:02:00.000+09:00

The End of a 1,400 Year Old Business

Read this article!

2007-04-17T12:36:00.000+09:00

in its entirely. please.

It's not about RED STATES or BLUE STATES anymore. It's about a GREEN COUNTRY: The Power of Green

Inconvenient Laundry

2007-04-13T10:07:00.000+09:00

In Tokyo 'clotheslines' are the norm but in other parts of the world (read: America), some people hang clotheslines to fight global warming.

Ever since I saw an Inconvenient Truth I've been conscientiously trying to reduce my own 'carbon footprint', as they say. Given that I already don't drive a car I feel like I'm starting out ahead, but I do try to do things like turning off my computer instead of letting it run all day and keeping the heat low and wearing a hoodie to make up the difference.

In my old apartment using a dryer was a no-brainer. We didn't have one! Everyone in Tokyo airs their futon on the balcony (which everyone has), and dries their clothes, towels and sheets on some variation of a clothesline. But my new landlord, in his infinite generosity, installed a dryer for us in the house. (!) So now I have to make a decision...

...(please humor me, I feel a digression coming on) This reminds me of the time in college when I had a brief existential crisis over buying toothpaste. I was at the Walgreens at 55th and Lake Park in Chicago, wrestling with the choice of buying the expensive but environmentally friendly Tom's of Maine toothpaste or the much cheaper but non-evironmentally remarkable standard toothpaste. I must have spent at least 15 minutes in the toothpaste aisle trying to make the decision:
I care about the environment, right? Well this is my chance to make a difference! C'mon, its just toothpaste! And it's so much more expensive! Yes, but if I really care about it I should be willing to make a sacrifice. Oh please, all this over toothpaste? This is ridiculous! Well no, it's a small thing but it's the principle of the matter. Am I going to put my money where my mouth is?
In the end I bought the Tom's of Maine. It tasted disgusting. The tube was already pretty small, and I don't quite remember if I finished it. But whether I did or not the next tube I bought was certainly the standard toothpaste that probably also tasted really minty and whitened my teeth.

So back to the dryer question. For my first couple of laundry loads I refused the dryer, but then I used it once, with a bit of guilt. I've (obviously) given this some thought - probably moreso today because I'm doing laundry - and I'm wavering between two solutions: to use the dryer only for towels or to not really use the dryer for anything, but to put my towels in there to soften them up after drying outside.

If there is one thing I learned from my Tom's of Maine experience - besides the fact that I really am a Crest girl - it's that you can't force environmentalism on yourself. While guilt is a powerful and useful tool you can't guilt yourself into a habit that you'll be unable to keep, or even worse, resent keeping; especially when there are so many ways to reduce your carbon footprint. So, maybe I will put my towels into the dryer... and maybe a linen skirt too.

http://www.climatecrisis.net/takeaction/

Epilogue to the Nippon 5-0

2007-04-10T23:13:00.000+09:00

In a recent post I mentioned how in Japan crimes against Gaijin are often not taken seriously. Case in point, a recent article in the Japan Times, Reported stalking cases likely just tip of iceberg. This is actually a current issue as a British Nova teacher was recently murdered in the home of one of her private students. I've heard a few different versions of the police investigation, that
a) when the police went to question the man he somehow got away
b) when the police went to question the man they let him get away
or, the most infuriating but quite possibly true
c) the police questioned him but did not arrest him, then he escaped who knows

I can't find a link to any of the related articles, but of course who knows if the article would be protecting the police or telling the actual story.

How do you know when you're home?

2007-04-08T12:16:00.000+09:00

A new teacher at my branch recently asked me if I felt at home here. I do and I don't. It's hard to feel completely at home in a place where I can't buy hair products for curly hair, pantyhose for brown skin or shoes for larger feet. On the other hand, I'm waaaay excited about the most recent development in Tokyo's transportation system - the Passmo card!

There are something like over 60 companies in the Tokyo area that operate different buses and trains. While some companies operate on the same ticket system, there are a few different systems. Going to work I use two different companies: JR and Keio. So, I have my commuter pass (tekky) for the JR lines (on a Suica card), my tekky for the Keio Inokashira line, AND I have a Passnet card that covers the Keio line (for when I can't use the commuter pass), Tokyu Tokoyo line, the Tokyo Metro lines, Keihin Tohoku line, and a few other lines. So at any given time I have 3 cards, but it's actually more complicated to transfer using 2 different cards than it is using tickets. The Suica card is re-loadable, but the Passnet card is not; neither is my Keio tekky.

So why is the Passmo so great? You can use it for EVERY single line in Tokyo - and it can be your commuter pass - and you can store money on it. So all you need is one card to ride any train or bus in Tokyo. It's incredible! It gets better. Previously, you could only use the Suica card on the JR lines, but now that too can be used for any line. And I already have a Suica card!

Without knowing anything about the Tokyo transportation system I'm sure this is all ridiculously confusing; but trust me - it's also very exciting! And that might be something that only a person who feels at home in Tokyo could say.

The Nippon 5-0, or, a Run-In with Japanese Police

2007-03-29T02:13:00.000+09:00

Just an hour ago I was still at the police station, answering questions.

I don't even know where to start telling the story...

I met up with a friend for a couple of drinks in Shibuya, and around 12:30am I was back at Mitaka station, bending over my bicycle to unlock it. I noticed two huge and beautiful dogs a few feet away from me, so I paused to look at them, and when I turned back there were two police officers walking in my direction. I didn't think anything of it; then one of them spoke to me.

Are you a university student? no. He was smiling, and I thought he just wanted to practice English. He turned to his partner and spoke, and then turned back to me and, in Japanese, asked to see my Gaijin card. It's something Gaijin (foreigners) always have to have. If you don't have it, it's grounds for arrest. I had mine. I showed it to the officer, he smiled and said, ah - Americajin! Then they both started poking around my bike. One officer - the younger one - was inputting information into some handheld computer thing. The older one was asking me questions, including - where did you get it? Tomodachi (friend), I said.

All Japanese bicycles are registered. Mine isn't. A friend gave it to me, and she got it from a Japanese man who got it from a recycle shop. It's not been registered. I wasn't too worried though. I didn't do anything wrong, and I figured it would become obvious to the officers that I hadn't stolen it. But they were taking a while to come to that conclusion. I asked if there was a problem with my bike, and the elderly officer indicated that I was to accompany them to the koban, the area police station. This whole time he was apologizing to me - gomenne (gomen nasai - I'm sorry), sumimasen (excuse me). Gomenne, gomenne. At first I was like, daijo bu, no problem. But after a while I got confused, then angry. Why are you apologizing? Stop apologizing. You obviously think I'm a criminal. Either do your job and don't apologize or let me go! This was all in my head, of course.

At the station I started freaking out a little. I knew I hadn't done anything wrong, but it's common knowledge among Gaijin in Tokyo that the police are often racist against foreigners. If something happens involving a foreigner and a Japanese person, it's automatically the fault of the Gaijin. If a crime is committed against a Gaijin, it's not uncommon for the police to hardly feel bothered to investigate, much less make an attempt to prosecute. To add fuel to my mental fire, in last week's Metropolis (a widely read English-language magazine) ran an article about police mistreatment and downright neglect of Gaijin and crimes against Gaijin.

At the station the older officer led me into a back room, all the while dropping gomenne, gomenne. They started asking me more questions, in Japanese, and an officer who spoke a little office came to the back and attempted to communicate. At that point I thought to call a Japanese friend who lives in Mitaka, near the station. I texted him, called him 3 times, and left a message. I couldn't get a hold of him, and I was trying not to get frantic. I mean, yeah I was sitting in the police station but I knew there was nothing they could get me on. My bike is unregistered but that also means I didn't steal it. But still, it was hard not to freak a little bit.

So, I was back there freaking out a little bit and growing in anger. The old officer was sitting across from me, smoking, still saying gomenne, gomenne. Although to his credit he did offer me something to drink. During my unsuccessful attempts at reaching my friend (tomodachi nihonjin I told them, pointing to my phone) they called around and found an office where someone spoke English. So, I spoke to an officer in English. He bombarded me with questions!

Your bicycle is unregistered, where did you get it? Where does that person live? When did they leave? Where did they go? When did you get the bicycle? Did you pay for it? Was it free?
I explained to the officer that I got it from a friend who got it from a Japanese man who got it from a recycle shop. She gave it to me before she left Japan to return home to Oregon, a couple of weeks ago. I answered all of his questions except the ones about payment. In fact, I asked the officer why that was relevant. He never answered, just indicated that I should return the phone to the nearest Japanese speaker. Shortly after that the officer got up and left the room saying, gomenne, kiotsukete (take care). I was just like ok, so I can go? No one answered, so I got up and left. On my way out the small crowd of officers there were all saying arigato and kiotsukete. Not one person said a thing to me about registering my bike - no words of caution, no information on how to register. They didn't even ask the person on the phone to tell me.

At this point I was pretty confused and angry, but I returned a couple of kiotsuketes, a thank-you, hopped on my bike and left; propelled home on my anger, smarting from the experience.

Because Misery Loves Company

2007-03-22T21:58:00.000+09:00

I'm not actually miserable - maybe an approximation of it, but not the real thing. I have the flu! And I am so far from home. I don't really think this post is going to be interesting, but if you have nothing better to do, please humor me for a minute (or 5).

I didn't really realize how sick I was for 2 days. I went to work, and I was really tired, and achy and coughing, etc... then somebody I know mentioned the flu and I googled it - and lo and behold! The symptoms for the flu matched what I had.

So I called in sick today, which sucks because that means I won't get paid, but that's the preferable option over going to work and actually feeling miserable.

The thing is - I'm really bad at being sick. I never know what to do, and inevitably I try to pretend that I'm not sick which results in actions like going to work for 2 days and not getting better, if not getting worse.

So, what is it like being sick in Tokyo? Well, first of all, I don't know the first thing about what medicine to buy here - which is why I brought a small sampling of medicine with me - NyQuil, DayQuil, and Sudafed. I also don't really know anything about seeing a doctor. I considered talking to the Nova Foreign Personnel about it when I called in sick this morning, but the man on the other end of the line practically cut me off in his rush to hang up.

Thankfully, I was able to get advice from some people. One student told me to be sure to wear pajamas. Another student recommended that I eat rice seasoned with garlic, soy sauce and hot water. A couple of American friends also gave me advice - sleep a lot and drink lots of water! It seems simple enough. So, that's what I'm trying to do, and there is another piece of advice I could give myself - don't forget to eat!

Americana

2007-03-09T15:10:00.000+09:00

I was in Kichijoji earlier today, just chillin, ambling towards Tower Records when I happened upon a J. Crew. !!! I was so surprised and so pleased. Gap is all over Tokyo, and I've seen a couple of Banana Republics, but this was the first J. Crew. When I walked in it was like a breath of fresh air washed over me. I saw ribbed tank tops! Polo shirts! Twin sets! There were classic collared button-down shirts and madras prints galore.

Now, you're probably like, wtf Adelle - you're in Tokyo and you're that excited over J. Crew?

Well, let me tell you something. While Tokyo trends certainly are interesting, they certainly are not the be-all end-all of fashion. For one, within Tokyo, everyone dresses the same. There are about 4 or 5 uniforms that float around, with little-to-no variation on a given uniform.

the above-the-knee 3/4 sleeve bubble-hem dress, worn with EITHER a long sleeve turtle neck underneath OR a long sleeve button up shirt trimmed with lace - most often up the placket - and a cropped collar; usually accompanied with knee high socks and embellished pumps or slouch boots and a long multi-strand bauble necklace.

the tunic with leggings and slouch boots; underneath the tunic is the long sleeve turtleneck or the laced-trimmed, cropped collar, button up shirt; same bauble necklace.

and the girls who look like whorish Barbie dolls. Lots of make up, super teased hair, short tight skirts, knee high socks, embellished heels, tight shirts; lots of lace and super-girly touches. In America people would assume you're walking the streets at nights; in Tokyo you're just going shopping with your friends - in the middle of the day.

Living in the midst of this, I do appreciate American fashion sensibilities. Less can indeed be more, a concept which seems altogether foreign in Tokyo. There is even a segment of American style that is immune to the runway. Browsing both J. Crew and Banana Republic today I realized that there are styles that American stores will continue to offer regardless of the trends. I'm not just talking about basics like ribbed tanks or cashmere sweater sets; or even the concept of preppy. American dressing is often clean, fresh; accented, but minimally adorned. Even on the runway - look at Calvin Klein, Michael Kors, Ralph Lauren. There is a consistent aesthetic - one reminiscent of preppy but that certainly goes beyond it - independent of international trends. When at times I become numb to the Tokyo uniforms, it is that independence and individuality of sorts that I find most refreshing.

World Briefing

2007-03-08T11:08:00.000+09:00

Reports of failed states and war-torn societies dominates most of the news on sub-Saharan Africa, but there are also great examples of highly successful states. Here are three:

For one, Botswana is highly successful - with steady elections since the 1960s, a functioning economy and a government that offers social services; plus, they've refused aid from the World Bank and the IMF, choosing instead to have full control over their government and policies.

The upper region of Somalia, Somaliland, is "The Other Somalia: An Island of Stability in a Sea of Chaos." Although not internationally recognized as independent, they have a separate goverment, currency and passport from the rest of Somalia. They have a functioning economy and even offer social services. Clan violence, which plagues the rest of Somalia, has largely been solved by a legislative system that includes clan elders and elected representatives. And again, they have done all of this without international aid.

In Niger, "Trees and Crops [are Turning] Back the Desert." What a victory for the people and the environment!

An Intentional Accident

2007-03-05T01:11:00.000+09:00

Something happened on Saturday - and it didn't really involve me, but it's been on my mind ever since.

A friend and I were on the train, on our way to meet up with a friend in Shibuya, when the most annoying thing ever happened - an impromptu announcement was made. Some people got off the train, and yet others continued to get on. Inevitably these unplanned announcements are about delays but we never really know what’s going on. Except that we do. In Japan trains run on time but sometimes there are accidents; accidents being the neat Japanese euphemism for suicides.

Japan has one of the highest suicide rates in the world, and as grotesque as this will sound, the trains are the number one method to this end. One of the train lines that I live on, the Chuo line, is dubbed the ‘Suo’ line because it’s the most popular line for suicides. Why? Because it is the line with the cheapest clean-up costs for the family. Sometimes people talk about a ‘chuo-cide’ and (urban) (Tokyo) legend has it that there is one stretch along the Chuo line with the highest density of ‘accidents’ because that is where the express train reaches top speed and thus where death is potentially the most quick and painless.

It’s peculiar to participate in this. While referring to suicides as accidents certainly removes people from the reality of the action, everybody is drawn in. For example, although the Chuo line is the most frequent line at my station I don’t take it because it is also the most unreliable. If there is an ‘accident’ I could miss my connection and be late to work. It’s not that ‘accidents’ happen every day, but especially because I can’t make an educated decision about what to do when there is a delay (I just don’t have enough Japanese) it is not a risk that makes sense for me to take.

When I am caught in a delay, I’m immediately annoyed and worried if I’ll be able to get to my destination on time (the majority of the delays I’ve experienced have been on my way to work). But to stop and think I realize – somebody just died. Not only did they die, they were so miserable they killed themselves.

Granted, suicide doesn’t have the taboo in Japan that it does in America, and misery might not have the same meaning. It can certainly arise from a completely different set of circumstances. Ritual or honor suicide is embedded in Japanese history and to this day conformity, honor and shame are extremely potent in modern Japanese society. I know that I understand relatively very little of Japan’s past, but even knowing that context I feel that people kill themselves over issues that do not merit suicide.

In my nearly 6 months in Japan I’ve experienced a small handful of delays, but Saturday was different. My friend and I were sitting on the train weakly attempting to weigh the situation after the announcement ended; hoping aloud that somebody would tell us in English what was going on. The woman next to me turned around and said “there has been an accident; they don’t know how long it will take.” She then exited the train.

That is what got me thinking. This is the first time I’ve heard a Japanese person talk about the so-called ‘accident’ at hand. The ease with which she explained it really struck me. In Japan train ‘accidents’ are accepted as a fact of life. In fact, not too long ago a student and I were discussing the relative merits of the Keio line versus the Chuo line and while I was measuring their worth by the time of their last train, he simply stated, ‘the Keio line has less accidents.’ This is just one small example – and many instances like this have passed without unduly capturing my attention – but that particular moment spoke volumes to me. Maybe the woman rushed off the train to hide her emotion, perhaps to shed a tear; she probably didn’t. But honestly, I can’t say that I did either.

Great Moments in Japan

2007-03-03T16:00:00.000+09:00

About 10 minutes ago I had just come downstairs to silence the whistling tea kettle and enjoy a nice cup of sweetened green tea. I put the water over the tea leaves, let it sit for a few minutes, poured it into the cup and added sugar. I took the first sip, ready to enjoy the tea. But intstead of being nice and sweet it was gross and salty! I immediatly spit it out, it was digusting. Instead of putting in sugar I had put in salt. It's not even that I reached for the wrong white granulated substance - I bought the wrong white granulated substance! The funny thing is, I've successfully purchased sugar before, but I've never bought salt. Well, now I guess I have.

I am an Aunt!!!!

2007-02-28T02:03:00.000+09:00

Kyo, watashi-wa oba-san desu.

Today, I am an aunt. My first nephew was born February 27th at 6:30 am EST in Raleigh, North Carolina.

I got the news while I was enjoying my first visit to Gary's One Shot Bar down the street from my house. About an hour earlier I became friends with the bartender and one of the patrons - Ueno and Atsushi. Ueno had already given me a cocktail on the house earlier, but Atsushi bought me another drink, and we all toasted a round of kampaii (cheers) and omedeto (congratulations).

Wow, I'm an auntie!!!

Let Them Have Music*

2007-02-19T23:52:00.000+09:00

Anybody who knows me knows that I love music; and right now I'm going through an intense album phase. Lately I've really been respecting the concept of the album - while artists certainly can't depend on songs being played in any kind of order I like to think that the order matters to them. Listening to an album as a piece is like looking at a series of works by one artist, looking at all of the pieces in a single collection by a fashion designer, or listening to an entire concerto by a composer. Each song, outfit or what-have-you is beautiful and interesting on its own but in the group you can see a theme, how each piece acknowledges it, and how each piece differs from it. In the specific context of music, I really enjoy listening to the different sound variations contained on one album.

These are recent albums I've been eyeing:
Nickleback - All the Right Reasons
Fall Out Boy - Infinity on High
Christina Aguilera - Back to Basics
Rodrigo y Gabriela - Rodrigo y Gabriela
Jill Scott - Collaborations

I recently bought these albums:

Joy Denalane - Born & Raised: thoughtful, soulful music with a slightly 70s sound; good songs are Be Real, Change ft. Lupe Fiasco, Start Over
Paolo Nutini - These Streets: rock vocals with jazz/rock instrumentals; listen to Last Request, New Shoes, or everything. His voice is beautiful.
John Cougar Mellencamp - Freedom's Road: heartland rock with a conscience; some of the best songs are Rural Route, Jim Crow, and Forgiveness

I recently re-discovered Sly and the Family Stone and Three Dog Night. great music.

I'm also really intrigued by iTunes' Power Ballads compilation. I haven't quite made up my mind about it, but it did remind me that I can/should update my own power ballads playlist.

Also, if you haven't checked out the All-Star Tribute version of Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On," you really should. A link to the You Tube videos here: the original and the updated.

*This is a movie. Have you seen it?

From 1 to 60

2007-02-19T10:54:00.000+09:00

In the Sunday Times the magazine cover story is titled "From 0 to 60 to World Domination" about the rise and immense global success of Toyota. This makes a good epilogue to my last post, about how Americans can create ideas but the Japanese run with them.

One element of the article that really interested me was Toyota's relentless pursuit of developing a full-size truck for the American market. Trucks just seem to be so American, so entrenched in the American psyche; and while many people appreciate mid size or compact Toyotas, Hondas or Nissans, driving a foreign truck is an altogether different matter. Most foreign car companies produce an SUV, but have you seen a truck by BMW, Hyundai, Honda or Mercedes?

And this reminds me of a topic I've thought a great deal on in Japan. What is American? Or rather, what is exported image of America and what is really American? The other night a Japanese friend was asking me about food that I missed from the United States and at one point he was like - oh, but there is McDonalds! I was just like, that is hardly a good example of American food. I regularly see McDo, Gap, Starbucks, and even Denny's. I feel like these do reflect one aspect of America's character - we're good at producing and exporting things for immediate consumption. That is very American. At the same time the images of America that are perpetuated abroad are not often reflective of people's daily lives. As with any other country, they're often stereotypical or reflect a small segment of the population.

Trucks are very American. So are guns. It's amazing how many people bring up the issue of guns with me - not just Japanese people, but Gaijin too. Apparently every American owns a gun. I had a long discussion with a (Japanese) friend the other night, where I was almost surprised by my perspective. I had to really think about why guns are so valued by Americans, and how that could come to be. I didn't defending the culture of gun ownership but for maybe the first time I did give it some legitimacy.

America had very rough and wild beginnings. When pilgrims/puritans/explorers arrived from England they were entering a VAST unknown. Forget a feeling of security - guns provided actual security, and it was an efficient way to kill potential food. Futhermore, individuals owning guns were an integral part of the Revolutionary War. Yeah, the militias that the 2nd Amendement provides for (which is now essentially the National Guard) were instrumental in beating back the British, but so were individuals hiding out in the woods, picking off British soldiers. Guerilla warfare, although not often lauded, was important factor in the Revolution. It was individuals with their guns.

I'm not sure when the last continental state was fully settled, but I do know that the frontier was explored and pushed for decades; and the frontier mentality has long outlasted any material border with wilderness. As long as memories of the frontier exist, gun ownership will too. Maybe Toyota can develop a new American gun for the 21st century.

You Know It's Bad When...

2007-02-11T23:22:00.000+09:00

Vladimir Putin accuses the Bush Administration/America of "undermining global stability."

In other news, I was recently discussing with a (Japanese) friend America and Japan's respective talents in the global economy and my friend said something really interesting. She said that the Japanese can take an idea from 1 to 100 but they can't go from 0 to 1; Americans, however, can create something from nothing.

That really encouraged me because I've grown increasingly frustrated with American policy in almost every sector (foreign, environmental, education), so I feel like hey - if nothing else, we still got ideas! at least that is something.

For Your Consideration

2007-02-03T01:56:00.000+09:00

Please go to the January archives/January 11th and read the post "Harriet Rosa Mayfield Bledsoe, or The Revolution Will Not Come Through Your iPod".

I started it on the 11th so that is when Blogger posts it, but it's something I've been working on for a while, and I just finished it tonight. I'm really excited about it, so please take a look!

Thanks!

A Shining Moment

2007-02-03T00:26:00.000+09:00

I had one of my shining moments in life today...

My roommates and I are just chilling today when Amber brings out some whisky-filled chocolates (apparently one of her students gave them to her). She offers one to Stephanie, who promptly eats it and starts gushing and exclaiming about the smooth shot of whisky that erupted when she bit the chocolate.

So then it's my turn. Amber gives me one of the chocolates. I look at it and think - this is kind of big, I'm supposed to eat the whole thing at once? Being the bright child that I am, I bite into the edge. I feel a slight crunch, then a second later I have syrupy whisky dripping down my face and onto my clothes.

I just sat there, stunned. First at the situation - why was there liquid on my face?? Then - a split second later - I was like, HOW DID I NOT SEE THIS COMING???

Definitely one of my greater moments in life ;)

Tokyo Writers' Salon - "I don't remember"

2007-02-02T16:59:00.000+09:00

I don't remember my Arabic. I'm getting rusty on French, and my English breaks a little more each day. I don't remember the last time a saw a Twix or the last time a magazine came to my home without being picked up in the 'Imported Magazines' section at Tower Records first.

There is a lot that I don't remember. Maybe it's for the best, as to clear out space in my head for the cache of memories concocted every day in Tokyo. Being repeatedly bitten by a male model in a club. Walking around Azabu-Juban, Moto-Azabu, and Roppongi for an hour trying to find a building whose address I didn't have, helped by a Filipina with her own interesting stories to share. Mistakenly walking into a hostess bar with my roommate then naively sitting down with the ladies for "1 drink" because certainly they wouldn't charge women for their company.

On a very basic level I don't remember anything but confusion; I certainly don't remember what it is like to not be confused, or at least to be unaware of all that I don’t know. Every day is really an adventure - a comedy of errors, really. But this daily uncertainty combined with my inclination to fully indulge my curiosity is, I think, worth far more than remembering the taste of a Sunrise biscuit; or remaining in any of my stateside habits.

Guest post

2007-01-28T09:42:00.000+09:00

When Adelle asked me to write a guest post last night, I thought, "oh, yeah, that'll be easy, I have so much to say." Which is true, but after a week of relative wordlessness, it is surprisingly hard to put my faith and feelings into language again.

In the beginning, all I could feel was the child-like vulnerability of illiteracy and cultural ignorance. I sat in a Euro-style cafe, after believing I might never eat again because I had no yen (until I found the citibank) and no communication skills, and just watched people. I stared at every person who walked by and tried to find something in their walk or in the way they looked around that I could understand. Finally, some comfort came when a young Japanese woman in the cafe casually threw her purse over her shoulder--"aha!" I thought, "that is a familiar gesture: this life is normal to her, she is on her lunch break and to her, this is nothing special." And seeing that was both comforting and eerie to me: comforting in that it was just circumstance that made Tokyo so unfamiliar to me, and eerie in that I could not possibly imagine in that moment the distance from where I was to that woman's casual acceptance.

When Adelle's work week ended and we began to be out in that cultural ocean together, I felt my emotional frequency level go down. Everything began to settle, and some semblence of peace and security entered my overwhelmed consciousness. In addition to the natural comfort of being with a good friend, (it becomes like family, I've found, these college friends we visit with--you know you need nothing and to do nothing extra in their company,) there was the fact that she DID know what was going on, and did know how to get around.

By today, sitting in her tiny Tokyo apartment, (with 'cubicle walls,' as a Navy boy we met described them,) I find that my focus is not on the strangeness of this foreign land, but on the beauty of the day-to-day life Adelle has created here. I've met many of her friends, and they are really good people. Lovely people, likeable people. She has that traveler's capacity for spontenaity and trust in strangers--exemplified by our going for a drink with a Japanese man we met in the train station last night--but also a solid base of people and things she knows well. She has found the balance between the sort of "fuck it all" free-spirited mentality of 18-year-old European backpackers and a more mature, liveable mindset that can support her whims and wanderlust. My Shakespeare teacher talks about technique as the trampoline on which you jump, to go higher than you thought you could. I think Adelle has a solid base for bounding up to the highest heavens of freedom in cultural exploration.

So, I will return to the States impressed with my friend and excited to know of one more world I do not yet understand. Some poet said, "What will you do with this one wild and wonderful life?" or something like that. I am marginally closer, because of this trip, to knowing what I might do, what is possible in this wild and wonderful world.

Oh! And I will miss Adelle! It has been so good to see her.

When in Rome...

2007-01-18T23:31:00.000+09:00

forget everything you were ever taught about safety. Or maybe just when you're in Tokyo.

Walking alone in empty streets after dark jamming to my iPod? check. Accepting rides from strange men? check.

Thursday night I got lost on my way to the train station after seeing a friend in a part of Tokyo I had never visited. When I first got to Tokyo I hated to appear 'lost'. I was reluctant to ask for directions, or even consult my incredibly comprehensive Tokyo street atlas. Somewhere along that way that changed, and on Thursday I unabashedly held my map in plain view as I stared at buildings and signs trying to make sense of where I was. I had just decided to continue in the same direction when a Mercedes pulled up and a salaryman got out. He started speaking to me and gesturing, and while I couldn't understand I figured he was probably trying to help me. So I said, Waseda-dori (wa doko desuka)? He indicated that it was parallel to the street that I was on. Takanodababa? The other direction. Then, although he was only a few blocks from home, he offered to take me - "Takanodababa, I take you. Practice English." I was simultaneously hit with my (American) better judgment and my increasing (Japanese) sense of safety. It seemed so wrong to jump into a car with an older man in a confusing city when I can't speak the language. But he offered me a ride to the station; and I was lost. It seemed so right!

I jumped in, with a few gracious thank-yous and a couple rounds of arigato gozaimasu. En route to Takanodababa we did indeed practice English... He told me - in very broken English - about how he loves golf, and now that he is older and in a senior position at work (the president of his company, in fact) he can leave work early to play golf in the afternoon. He also offered me his number, saying something about dinner in Shinjuku. I was like, oh - you like to eat dinner in Shinjuku? That's nice!

I let him write down his number but I left it at that. I'm not above trading rides for English, but thus far in my Tokyo adventure I’m not interested in upping the ante to dinner dates. I still have a few shreds of my better judgment left.

Pet Peeves

2007-01-13T20:35:00.000+09:00

One of my biggest pet peeves occurred this morning -

I'm on the packed morning train, as usual, when all of a sudden the huge mass on the train empties and individuals are furrowing their brows and noticably recalibrating their morning commute.

Technically its not ALL all of a sudden - it is in response to an announcment, but since I can only understand about 1/6 of what is said on the trains (up from 1/10!) I view most responses as random.

It's just totally one of those c'mon!!! moments. Like, even the Japanese people look confused; what is an illiterate Gaijin to do?

Harriet Rosa Mayfield Bledsoe, or The Revolution Will Not Come Through Your iPod*

2007-01-11T22:40:00.000+09:00

On Friday, January 5th, my maternal grandmother died; at 92.

In her life and after her death, I continue to marvel at all the history she experienced. History for me, life for her. In her lifetime occurred:

World War I
Women's Suffrage
the Harlem Renaissance
the Great Depression
World War II
Civil Rights/Integration/African-American Suffrage
the Space Race

... and the birth of so many modern technologies. I started thinking - the 20th century was so jam packed! Revolutionary, really. So many facets of life - culture, politics, and education just to name a few - were transformed, some rapidly, others over the course of the century. I thought, even I live as long as she did, I'll probably never see as much as she did. The chances of having another packed century are slim to none.

Then I thought, why not? Why can't we make the 21st century totally remarkable? iPod phones are now a reality, as are computers for the developing world that cost under $150. Hybrid cars and efficient solar homes are both efficient and a reality. Why can't we drastically reduce global poverty? Why can't we bring education and technology to remote locations around the world? Why can't we fight AIDS and cancer? Why can't we have standard technology that is environmentally sustainable? We can. Cancer deaths in America have dropped for the 2nd straight year. Carbon neutral solar homes are taking off in California. Now that we have modern technology, let’s make it available. Let this be the century where modern medicine is affordable. Where wealth does not remain isolated, but can be used to affect change wherever resources are lacking.

And then last week I finally watched An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore's documentary on global warming. The question 'why not' became 'we must'. It's not about politics, or economic development, or military action, or American leadership. All of those have failed. It's about you and me. It's about recognizing the issue, and making it a personal priority. Each individual contributes to global warming, and has collectively caused the problem. And yeah, it has been contributed to by humans since the industrial revolution. But guess what? They're dead, and they can't do anything about it, except turn in their graves that we have not learned from their mistakes.

The good news is that individuals can solve the problem. In fact, we are the key. Last Saturday I was out to dinner with friends and we got on this subject. One of my friends said, well, what can we do? It’s all up to the government and the big corporations. In that moment I got so excited because, as I told her – IT’S NOT! Turning off your computer during the day makes a difference. Sharing rides makes a difference. Using energy efficient light bulbs makes a difference. Are hybrid cars great? Yeah! Is mass transit great? Yeah! Are they practical for everybody? No (not yet). The problem is massive, and requires radical change; but here is what’s really radical: the sum of the solution is greater than its parts. THE SUM OF THE SOLUTION IS GREATER THAN ITS PARTS. So it’s you and I - you, I, our families and friends that are going to solve global warming. I’m there, are you with me? Let's make this century exceptional!

*No guessing about the song/artist/album. Listen to “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” – Gil Scott-Heron; “iGeneration” – MC Lars; “Change” – Joy Denalane; visit www.climatecrisis.net, and of course, watch An Inconvenient Truth!!!

A Writing Disorder?

2007-01-11T22:11:00.000+09:00

Some people binge drink (hello Tokyo!). Some people binge eat, or even binge shop... I binge blog. As much as I would like to be regular about it, and as I much as I think of things to write just about every other day, I don't. Until nights like tonight. And I still haven't checked the NYT!

uh, maybe the writing disorder lies in writing AND posting my random ramblings...

So I'm Not A Reporter...

2007-01-11T21:02:00.000+09:00

Apparently on December 20th I started a post where I decided to chronicle any instances of Christmas celebrations. Not only did I only write about one such happening, I didn't even publish the post. Until tonight - so take a look at Kristmas Karaoke (December archives).

So here are the rest of the holidays until now:

Christmas Monday was like any other Monday in Japan, so Nova was open. But it's not as if any Nova teachers come from countries that don't celebrate Christmas, so every branch closed early to at least give us the night off.

I brought my Santa hat with me to work, in case I felt festive. I actually never wore it, but Saori (one of the Japanese part-time staff), and one of my students wore the hat. The student randomly wanted to take a picture with me and Sean (maybe he celebrates Christmas?), and I was like ok - if you wear the hat! And he did.

I had dinner in Roppongi with the other two children of Meidaimae (Sean and Allison) and Sean's roommate, Aidan. Quite a few restaurants and pubs were advertising Christmas Dinner specials, so we all went to a place called Paddy Foley's. While the back part of the pub was decorated and done up, it was still very much an Irish pub in Roppongi. Towards the end of dinner Aidan started chatting with the manager of the bar who ended up sitting down with us for I don't know how long. Aidan was really enjoying his company, but he also had a few more drinks than Sean, Allison or I. This was my 3rd time having a traditional holiday dinner out of the country, and much like the 1st time (but not the 2nd), before I began eating I tried my best to identify the colors, shapes, and textures on my plate. As it turns out I think the Japanese (or maybe the Irish) translate the concept of stuffing into meatloaf.

New Year's Eve turned out to be a series of party fouls, but there were a couple of highlights:

my sister roommate and I had a fun photo shoot on the train

we joined the huge party at the busiest intersection in the world (in Shibuya, featured in Lost in Translation), for the countdown. No countdown ever materialized, so 'HAPPY NEW YEAR' cheers spontaneously erupted from various pockets within the crowd. It was happy and chaotic.

You Don't Actually Have To Read This

2007-01-11T20:07:00.000+09:00

So many times I have grand plans to blog - maybe about a recent adventure or a fresh idea. I often get foiled by two things: the New York Times (my homepage), and hunger (it's like sitting down at my computer makes me hungry). I have successfully bypassed the NYT (although I do plan to come back to it); but I've decided that, instead of eating all of the mini-custard-filled-bread-things my sister left to the apartment, I'm going to attempt to cook something. Yes, further postponing the most recent spate of blog posts itching to make the jump from my head to a much more adventurous destination: cyperspace. I fully intend to return to the computer, unless I decide to engage in an even more worthy distraction than food - my Japanese homework. I know this one has you on the edge of your seat. Stay tuned!

The Flipside

2007-01-04T12:24:00.000+09:00

Living in a foreign country, especially one as foreign as Japan, really makes me aware of how many little things in life I have taken for granted. Sometimes accomplishing these little things is difficult. Sometimes it is impossible.

Dry Cleaning: I dropped off trousers and a silk scarf at my local dry cleaners, the materials aren't particularly exotic, so I didn't expect any problems. But when I gave the clothes to the lady behind the counter she frowned and gave them back to me, pointing at the tag. Although it said 'dry clean only' it wasn't in Japanese, so she didn't know what to do with it. I thought taking it to the dry cleaner was enough, but apparently there is more to it than that? She then kept shaking her head, pausing, and trying to explain in very simple Japanese (kind of an oxymoron). Finally, she produced a very long and reasonable sounding explanation. She spoke slowly and clearly, looked directly at me, and paused to make sure I was following her. It was so compelling; I just had to nod in return. But I didn't understand a word she was saying. At the end she said, OK? and gestured like she could take the clothes after all. I said, ok? She nodded, so I said OK! I gave her my clothes and hoped for the best.

Asking Questions: I can ask for directions in Japanese (x wa doko desuka?), but unless the answer involves copious amounts of pointing and gesturing, I can't understand the answer. I can ask 'how much' (ikura desuka?), but I can't ask if it is on sale or not. I recently cobbled together a passable question for 'what is this' using one of the words for what (nande) and this (kore). Between my roommate, the saleslady, and I, and using broken English and broken Japanese, we were able to piece together the answer.

Cotton balls… I have yet to see them in the store, but I don’t know how to ask if the store carries them or where I go to get them.

Concert tickets… every link directs me to a webpage in Japanese. I went to Tower Records to ask where to get tickets, and they directed me to the second floor of a mall that exclusively sells women’s apparel.

Small things, all of them. But it’s these little things that sometimes make me long for the ease of picking up the phone and knowing I can understand the person on the other end. Or being able to ask if I’m confused or need information. Or simply being able to understand the situation and make an informed decision, instead of saying OK! and hoping for the best.

Kristmas Karaoke

2006-12-20T00:00:00.000+09:00

In an effort to really look at the depth of my Christmas spirit, I've decided to document my festive experiences (effective now, not retroactive).

Last night my friends and I an awesome night of karaoke in Shinjuku. There had been talk of a special Christmas karaoke night for a week or so, but it finally materialized the morning of. As usual we walked the night streets of Shinjuku until we found an acceptable deal - usually no less than Y1500, nami hodi of course. The first place we great. lots of people, lots of drinks, a friend's parents (her dad was getting into it), and tambourines. i think i've felt my true musical calling - a tambourinist. i was playing the hell out of the songs. a few hours later my hand was bruised. it stayed so over 24 hrs later.

we only signed up for 2 hrs - the plan was to catch last train, but with about half an hour left word was spreading around the sauna sized room that some people we going all night. basically anyone who didn't have to work at 10 the next day. so when it was over the group poured into the street at a good drunken space, light our friends with early shifts. on the street deciding the next move a group of really friendly Japanese guys approached us. The ring-leader, White Glasses, spoke first saying, EXACTLY!!!!! I'm assuming that's the first English word that came to mind. As is our custom, we made friends. Sean and I started switching clothes with them, Sean and White Glasses practically traded outfits. Two of the guys really liked Allison.

Eventually we moved onto the next karaoke place. as it turns out 7-11 never has after-hours for my bank. There seems to be only 1 711 in Shinjuku, but thankfully it was near the karaoke booth. On the way back I noticed Santa hats displayed enticelying outside of a store, so i immediately bought one. I re-entered our karaoke booth in this festive manner, and I was greeting with rousing cheers. And it all went downhill from there...

The Meidaimae family sticks together, but 2/3 of the children of Meidaimae got horribly wasted. Let's just say I helped clean up bodily fluids AND solids. I came home and I told my roommate (one of those who we lost to the early schedule) that I became the caretaker of the evening. She was like wow, things must have been bad! cause i was pretty drunk too... I'll just file it as one of the more mis-adventurous nights.

Epilogue, or The Night Keio Line Shut Down

2006-12-18T01:22:00.000+09:00

The background nuisance of ATM ‘after hours’ became palpable a couple of Wednesday’s ago. Coming home from Shibuya a little ahead of last train, I transferred as usual at Meidaimae, the place where I work. In Japan the trains are always on time, so I immediately knew that something was wrong when the timetable of incoming trains was hours behind and a completely empty train was sitting on the tracks. After a few minutes spent racking my brain for the proper thing – anything – to say, I looked at the station agent and said “Fuchu???” He said something that sounded urgent – and I understood ‘Shimokitazawa’ and ‘taxi’. I started to worry – was I supposed to take a taxi from Shimokitazawa? I left Shibuya before last train, but by this time if I was going to Shimokitazawa I had to do it fast, or else I might be sleeping in the Meidaimae station. That’s when I spotted a Jamaican Gaijin on the platform – on the phone with a Japanese person. He handed the phone to the train agent, and after a few minutes his friend gave him the translation. Apparently something happened to a train on the tracks, and NO TRAINS could move! Keio line was shut down for the night!

We were all supposed to take cabs home, and they were suggesting that we did it from Shimokitazawa. It’s not uncommon for Gaijin in Tokyo to ignore each other, so I was happy to have this Jamaican around, especially since he had access to someone who spoke Japanese. Ignoring the question of how to pay for a cab with only ¥2000 on me, I wanted to figure out the Shimokitazawa question. The Jamaican, however, had a different priority. Still on the phone with his Japanese connection he was getting angry that he had to front money for something. It appeared that his trip was being sponsored (common for Gaijin – many come here on tours, etc), and he hadn’t expected to have to pay for anything – even though Keio line was obviously reimbursing everyone. I waited a minute or two for him to calm down, but he just grew angrier. I got so annoyed! I was thinking – forget about the money! We may not even be able to get to Shimokitazawa!

At that point I left the platform to see if anything in the station made sense. At first all I saw was a mildly chaotic crowd, and then a confluence of factors saved me. I spotted Akane, one of the Japanese staff at my branch – she was just then leaving work. I was so relieved to see her!! I rushed over to her, my frantic words practically pouring out of my mouth. She was really calm (probably because she could understand what was going on), reassured me and explained as much of the situation as she was told and could relay in English. I didn’t have to go to Shimokitazawa for a taxi, a makeshift taxi-stand materialized in Meidaimae for the occasion. At that point I realized that I didn’t know how to pay for a cab. It was way after-hours; I was thinking that maybe Keio line would provide us IOUs to give the cab drivers, but I knew that was an empty hope. I wasn’t yet figuring out how to explain to a cab driver where I live – the streets of Tokyo are so chaotic (often nameless) everything requires a map and very specific directions – but with Akane there I felt that crisis was a little less imminent.

She is the reason I got home. Maybe the most crucial and serendipitous detail of it all: Akane lives two stops away from me on the Keio line. Not having money for a cab was no problem. Not being able to tell the cab driver where I live was not an issue. My background state of disorientation would not keep me from getting home. Akane and I found a cab together, she explained to the driver where to take me, and before she got out gave me enough money to cover the ¥8000 ride home. All I had to do was take a deep breath, and remember to get the receipt.

What You Don't Know About Tokyo

2006-12-18T01:03:00.000+09:00

I recently did a lesson where the students learned how to debunk myths about cities and tourist spots. “People think that… but…” So I asked them to come up with the top 3 things that people don’t know about Tokyo. What they said:
1 – Not all women wear kimonos
2 – Minors are not allowed to stay out past 10pm (a law that is not enforced in the slightest)
3 – Tokyo is NOT in fact, a concrete jungle (fooled me!). Apparently there are a lot of parks and green spaces. I actually saw some postcards that had a view of the skyscrapers from some park, but I’m not going to buy it until I can verify its existence.

I would like to add another one.
4 – When using the ATMs there is such a thing as ‘after hours’. Essentially, the ATMs close, and you cannot get money. My bank has online banking in English, which is great, but the worst ATM hours of any bank in Tokyo. This has caused problems on a number of occasions.

One Sunday night in Shinjuku I had just unknowingly spent my last thousand or so yen on magazines. I was ¥60 short to get on the train, so I went to an ATM. A few minutes past 9:00, most stores had just closed, but a few were open. I went to the first ATM and everything was fine – it took my card, took my password, and made noises like it was producing cash. It then spit my card out – but there was no money! I went to 3 ATMs and started freaking out that something was wrong with my account before I remembered that it was after hours. How did I get home? I asked a stranger for ¥60. It was definitely one of the more soul-withering moments I’ve had in Tokyo.

The Holidays, Looking West

2006-12-11T23:50:00.000+09:00

This whole 'holiday season' thing over here in the East is pretty interesting. Thanksgiving was the first of holidays not shared by the people around me - not the Gaijin, and certainly not the Japanese. In America Thanksgiving more or less officially kicks off the holiday season, and everybody knows about Black Friday. At work today my co-workers were comparing notes on when their families put up Christmas trees, and for Dan (from England) Christmas preparation was totally unrelated to Thanksgiving. I mean, obviously, but I certainly paused for a minute to think – here is someone speaking English, but November 23^rd is a complete non-issue for him. I wonder if Great Britain has a holiday kick-off.

The vacation is of course, different too. I got Thanksgiving and the day after off from work only because I always have Thursday and Fridays off. I'm working on Christmas day. Christmas is not really a big deal here. The major stores have light displays and play Christmas music, but nobody knows what it’s about or celebrates it. Christmas Eve is a big night for couples (think Valentines Day), but the real celebration happens around New Year’s. This is when everybody goes home to their family, makes special food, and exchanges gifts. This is also when Nova closes for 8 days!

Even though the holidays are going down really differently over here, I am getting the most important stuff. I could not find brownie mix (much less the ingredients to make it from scratch), but I am getting one thing that the holidays are really all about - family and friends! I feel really lucky and blessed in this respect: I live halfway across the world, and yet I'm able to be with family and friends for the holidays. Rob, a friend of mine from college, works for Nova near Nagoya (a few prefectures away) and came up for Thanksgiving! It was great to see him and to be able to spend time with somebody from my previous life. A couple of days after Christmas my sister arrives in Tokyo (!!!) and she will be here for almost 2 weeks! Tokyo better get ready for two McElveens… In the extended holiday season (the time from New Year's to my birthday at the end of January) I'm getting another visitor - Sarah Doe (!!!) the week before my birthday. I’m already pumped.

Wish You Were Here*

2006-12-06T00:24:00.000+09:00

Per a conversation with a friend tonight, here is what I miss about the U.S.

Question: "what do you miss about the US? shopping? tokyo must have good shopping"
Answer: actually - yes and no. it does, but i can't fit into anything
(brief discussion about online shopping)

Question: "so what do you really miss about the US?"

cereal
tv
options
good beer
parks
brownie mix
bisquick
hair products
hair dressers
house parties
but i do love karaoke...

*Bonus points if you can name the song title, artist, and album this is in reference to. Post a comment!

Dancecapades, Part III; or And Then There Were Two

2006-11-26T23:04:00.000+09:00

When I came down from the bar the Rock Factory became an entirely different place. Now everybody was dancing – my friends, the other people in the bar, and the band! The dj put on more dance music, and everyone became friends. The dj was so impressed with me and Amber that he bought us and all of our friends a round of shots (the New Zealanders were long gone). We were all having a ridiculously good time… and then we remembered last train. All of us except for Mark and Ben had to work early Sunday morning; Mark was staying out, but Ben definitely had to catch last train for other reasons. Mark convinced Sean to stay out, Sean encouraged Christian to do the same, Christian talked me into it, and then I got Amber to stay out too. Christian, Amber and I had bought our tickets and were on the train platform when we all somewhat collectively thought – we’re having so much fun (and those shots were kicking in), we can’t go home now!

After a couple of phone calls the 5 of us reconvened outside of the station and made our way to Vibration, another bar in Roppongi. As soon as we walked in I zipped straight to the bar to make my request. The dj didn’t have any Scissor Sisters, but he was really friendly and played some music he thought I would like. He came out and danced with us a number of times. At this bar we were also meeting and dancing with random, fun Japanese people. The dj played great music, and he honored a lot of my requests (Bhangra – twice!). Around 3am we were losing a bit of steam – we had been going for about 6 or 7 hours at this point! The dj – I wish I remembered his name – noticed our lagging spirits (and the fact that I was yawning) bought us all a round of shots. We stayed for a little while longer, but the guys wanted to go to a much larger club so we thanked the dj, said good-bye to our Japanese friends of the evening, and went to Vanilla.

The Rock Factory and Vibration are bars with dance floors carved out from the spaces between counter-tops, stools, dj booths and the like. Vanilla is a huge corporate behemoth of a club – multiple floors, roped off dj booths, and packed on a Saturday night! Whatever floor my friends and I found ourselves on I made a beeline for the dj booth to request ‘I Don’t Feel Like Dancin’. It was huge – it completely lined the back wall, had something like 6 turntables, and small crowd milling about. After a few minutes of craning my neck and gesturing I managed to get someone to talk to me. After 20 minutes and 3 different people I finally took no for an answer. The 3^rd person to say no suggested that I come back on not a Saturday night, and maybe I could get my song.

Over the course of the night we lost Christian; he blacked out and wandered away and we couldn’t find him when the club closed at 5am. So the 4 of us, Amber, Sean, Mark and I, made our way to the station. We joined the crowd that had gathered to wait for the first trains to come and take everyone home. Sean was really out of it, and he walked away right as our train pulled up. So the 3 of us made our way back to Shinjuku together to catch our connecting trains. Mark lives on a different line so together Amber and I sleepily clambered onto the train for the last 40 minutes of our 10-hour night; and less than 3 hours later I woke up to get ready for work.

Dancecapades, part II; or I Don't Feel Like Dancin'

2006-11-26T03:01:00.000+09:00

*'Dancecapades, part I' was posted on the date of the original draft; you can find it between Goldalization and Nippon Karaoke. Stay tuned for ‘Dancecapades, part III’.

For Saturday night (10/21) I had organized a group trip to Roppongi for a concert at the Rock Factory, by an Eigo-speaking band called Invago. There was no cover but the drinks were exorbitant. Luckily, early on I left our seats and came back to find my roommate Amber surrounded by 3 tall, burly New Zealand men. They seemed to really enjoy our company, and bought us beers all night. Amber and I actually came to the bar with 4 guys (Sean, Mark, Ben and Christian) who more or less left us alone after the New Zealanders appeared, so it was like a girls' night out and a guys' night out.

The band was so-so; nice to listen to, but not so good that I wasn't calculating how I could hear the Scissor Sisters' 'I Don't Feel Like Dancin'. During one of the band's breaks I tried to find the dj to make my request, but I had to settle for leaving a note with the waitress. My roommate Amber speaks Spanish, and over the course of the night she discovered that the dj did as well. After Invago finished their final set my roommate convinced the dj (in Spanish) to play the Scissor Sisters! He downloaded it on the spot for me. As soon as he put it on I grabbed Amber and was like - it's time for a dance break! I was going all out, and we were actually the only two people in the bar dancing. It was absolutely magnificent, so much fun.

Not surprisingly, the dj saw me (as did everyone else in the bar). Afterwards we started talking, and in my head I was struggling to think of what I could say to convince him to play the song again. And THEN he said, 'if I play the song again will you dance on the bar?' I was like 'are you kidding me? Of course I will!!' How could I say no to an offer like that?! So, he put it on again, and I hopped up on a stool and swung myself up to the bar. I didn’t know I could enjoy the song any more, but dancing up on a bar top made it absolutely incredible. This time the people in the bar were getting really into it too – doing little dances, clapping and cheering. It felt so awesome to be on top of the bar. It was kind of narrow and half the time I was holding on to the ceiling so I couldn't really go all out, but it was totally euphoric; a completely awesome experience.

Happy Thanksgiving

2006-11-23T10:42:00.000+09:00

It's Thursday morning and I'm really excited, because it's Thanksgiving and I love Thanksgiving. I'm also having a party later tonight – this is my first time truly hosting anything for the holidays! I’m having a drinks + dessert party, so I suppose I should cook something. I’ve been searching import stores for the past few days – I wanted to find brownie mix/cookie dough to supplement a pie or two, but I haven’t been able to find much so now I’m just going to go with any dessert that I can find the ingredients for.

Most of the people I’ve invited aren’t American – they’re English, Japanese, Canadian, etc – and many of them have told me that they’re looking forward to seeing how Americans celebrate Thanksgiving. I feel I should give them a disclaimer because this is certainly not a typical or traditional way to do Thanksgiving. We have 2 of the 4 F’s – friends and football (on DVD), but not really family or food. And of course, I will be asking people what they’re thankful for.

Happy Thanksgiving! What are YOU Thankful for?

On being Gaijin

2006-11-16T20:28:00.000+09:00

I wonder sometimes, what it is like for some of the Japanese people I encounter in my daily life. In America people often tell stories to their friends or family about encounters they have with strange people. Do people do that in Japan too? If so, I wonder what some people I've had run-ins with might say...

Two weeks ago my friend Jen and I had lunch at an okonomiyake restaurant. Okonomiyake is a dish where you mix together meat and vegetables in a thick liquid, pour it onto a hot griddle and cook it like a pancake. Each table has a mini-griddle, and you mix the ingredients yourself. So, on with the story - from the perspective of, let's say, Yuki.

So two Gaijin came into the restaurant today. When they entered they bowed and said konnichi wa, so I thought maybe they spoke some Japanese. I was so wrong. I gave them the menus, and they looked really confused. They were talking - it seemed like they were discussing what to get. I didn't understand most of it but I was able to make out okonomiyaki - albeit in a very un-Japanese accent. Finally they pointed to a picture of a monjomiyake set for one. I thought to myself, ok Gaijin, whatever. There were two of them, but I didn't say anything.

When I brought them the food I offered to show them how to mix and cook but they just wanted to do it themselves. I walked by a couple of times and they seemed to be doing fine pushing the monjomiyake around on the griddle and cooking away the liquid, but then after a little while they waved me over. They started frowning, pointing to the monjomiyake, gesturing wildly and jabbering in Eigo – and I totally didn’t understand them! Finally one of them looked at me inquisitively and said ‘egg?’ Then I realized – they wanted okonomiyake! Those Western fools.

I took out one of the menus, pointed to the monjomiyake, and then pointed to the okonomiyake, which they promptly ordered. Thankfully at that point Taro came in, and he speaks better English than I, so I passed off the clueless Gaijin to him.

Christmas in November

2006-11-15T10:17:00.000+09:00

They say good things come in threes...

My first real paycheck was deposited midnight

My power cord arrived this morning and I'm using my laptop for the first time in weeks

The Monday Night Social Club is meeting in Shinjuku tonight for all-night karaoke

stay tuned for more... I have a gajillion blogs stored up in my head

Technical Difficulties

2006-10-31T09:38:00.000+09:00

My laptop is sitting cool and quiet on my windowsill, it has not been turned on for days...

because I can't turn it on! My power cord literally broke overnight, and it looks like I'll have to order a new one from America.

So until then, its back to pen and paper, and I'll post when I can.

Fashion Week at #606 Claire Fuchu

2006-10-23T03:36:00.000+09:00

I just watched the final episode of Project Runway and I feel so inspired. I really liked Laura Bennet’s line, and a few pieces from Uli inspired me as well. Both of the women, Jeffrey and Michael had very distinct points of view. People tend to think of Jeffrey as the most innovative and in many respects he is, but every designer exhibited some innovative characteristics. The prints that Uli tends to use have an inventive spirit. I think Michael did very well infusing his fresh, urban aesthetic with the requirements of the challenges and his clothes always look cool; but the line he showed looks like merchandise that is already on the market, there is nothing inherently new.

When I first saw Laura’s line aired in the episode I thought ‘what great clothes, it’s too bad her aesthetic is for older women, I would love to wear her clothes designed for a twenty year old.’ But when I looked through the photos on Bravo’s website, I realized that she actually did design for younger people, and I think she is arguably one of the most innovative designers from the 3^rd season. I really respect that she had a theme in mind for her show. Although I would love to see her take on casual/sportswear, she does great things for dressy. Within the sphere of evening and cocktail dresses she mixed fun and classy and produced the kinds of clothes that you buy first and then find a place to wear them. While some of her pieces were very much for older women, a number of outfits were in fact, very young. As the judges mentioned, her clothes are ones that you buy and keep for life. A number of things she presented could be aged forwards or backwards with different accessories. Jewelry, bag, shoes, scarves; a number of things can transform an outfit. You can visit http://www.bravotv.com/Fashion_Forward/photos/laura/index.shtml?slideshow=pr3_laura&pic=1#picAnchor to see Laura’s show.

I loved a number of her outfits, but #9 (in the slideshow) was my absolute favorite. It is certainly a young outfit. The use of shorts for the cocktail hour is very now, and the gold cropped jacket with a gold chiffon bow and sash is beautiful. It is the classic, put-together look that Laura does so well, but in a very fresh way.

My second favorite was #3. This is a fabulous little black dress. A halter dress with an empire waist updates a classic look. The upright feathers at the empire waist are fun and flirty and the fringe at the hem adds more playfulness to the look.

#13 is a gorgeous piece that can be transitioned for many years. The black lace is timeless, but the deep-V is daring. The overall silhouette is exquisite and flattering without emphasizing one particular element so much that the piece gets stuck in a particular trend or decade. This is certainly a piece which is always beautiful, but whose age and mood can be influenced with accessories.

***
The winner of Project Runway, Jeffrey Sebelia, said in his exit interview that he would like to use his prize money to start a secondary line that would be available to a mass market. While I am generally not a fan of Jeffrey, I applaud his idea. Project Runway is great at unearthing design talent, but inspired designer clothes can be very difficult for regular people to come by. There are an incredible number of talented and inspired designers out there and I would certainly like to see more of them taking steps to mass produce, and to see more large retailers courting independent designers. Jeffrey’s idea is a good first step, and I hope more people in the industry agree and follow suit.

Nippon Karaoke

2006-10-23T02:19:00.000+09:00

Wednesday the plan was to meet in Shinjuku and take last train to Roppongi for night of mayhem, Nova style. We (Christian Beth and I) missed that train, and stayed in Shinjuku for the night. On the search for an Ego-speaking bar we met a group of friends also deciding what to do for the evening. Surprise, surprise, we sang karaoke!

Out of 5 people about 1 1/2 of them spoke English. Thankfully, karaoke + gin tonic > language.

We tried to find songs that all of us knew, but do you really have to understand to be entertained? I think not.

In Japan they call Y.M.C.A. "Young Man"

It was also this night that I discovered the joys of the tambourine. My life might never be the same.