Now here is a true rant:
I have the ultimate love/hate relationship with this city. there are days when i hate it and days when i love it. these days, i'm hating it. first of all, the whole damn city is so handicap unfriendly. there are tons of stairs and you really gotta get your walk on in order to get anywhere. escalators and elevators are fairly far apart for a one legged english teacher and the bathrooms leave you with either choosing to wait for a "western style" toilet or peeing down your leg and into your cast if all they have are squatters. restaurants pack in so many tables that a person in my current condition can hobble between the tiny crevices between tables which leave you no space for your crutches. oh the joys of trying to eat in a restaurant in tokyo.
but the worst part of this damn city right now are the fucking people. people refuse to get out of my way despite the fact that most of the time, i can only go straight. crowds of drunks commune in masses at night leaving me to attempt to hobble around them. HELLO? WHAT PART OF "I AM ON FUCKING CRUTCHES" DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND? middle aged women and all the olds stare at me with sneers wondering why i'm moving so slowly or why i'm in THEIR way. Gee, if ya take a glance at the fucking cast of my leg and the crutches which are keeping me from falling flat on my face, you'd kinda get a picture. but the public transportation bugs me most of all. These selfish little tokyoites (in PERFECT HEALTH, mind you) refuse to make space for me on the trains, buses, and elevators even when they are in the PRIORITY SEATS which are designated especially for people like, oh let's just say, ME. i like the sad little attempts that the few karmically guilty people make to give up their seat to me WHILE THE BUS OR TRAIN IS MOVING. Ya know, i think i'll pass cuz if i let go of this pole that i am HANGING ONTO FOR DEAR LIFE WHILE THE VEHICLE IS MOVING, I'LL DIE. but thanks anyway. This is an official notice to let you know that your karma sucks and you are all going to hell.
We have this one student at my school who is handicapped and he's always angry. he's like one of the angriest little men on two wheels that i've ever met in my life. i always used to think to myself, "dude, why is that guy so pissed off?" but now i know why. he's pissed off because HE LIVES IN TOKYO. i've become him. but i have it easy because, God willing, i will have my cast off in another month and i won't have to keep hobbling around this damn town. I am a tourist (much the same way that people go gay just for their college years); and although i'm hating this city right now, i go to bed at night with the comfort of knowing that this is not a permanent situation for me. my angry wheelchair-bound student doesn't get to go to bed with that thought. so in a sense, i am lucky.
i am currently sporting a walking cast but i destroyed the soft rubber stopper like hoof at the bottom of my cast in less than a week so i had to redesign a hoof for myself today. i chose cork but we'll see how long that lasts. if it lasts a week, i'll be surprised. but that last one that the doc put of me was a piece of crap. and i went around littering tiny pieces of rubber as i hobbled around the city. not good. i've even had to buy a door knob cover to put on it when i get home because it's just kinda yucky. and they don't make shoes for stumps. i wonder what people with peg legs do.
at any rate, i am trying my best to lead my normal life minus the mobility factor. i am working at full capacity again (although not at full speed) and i'm starting to eat out the contents of my packed pantry because i'm too lazy to hobble to the super market. and yes, i'm back to using the retard backpack so everyone can see me coming from a mile away. where's yoko? oh, she's the one with the BRIGHT RED BACKPACK and the CRUTCHES walking like a very bad impression of the hunchback of notre dame meets paddington bear (cuz i always wear my trench coat).
let's hope the cast comes off soon lest i really do find myself doing my rants from a real asylum.
3.10.2006
Karaoke, Snowboarding, and Breaking My Damn Foot
Post Jamaica lifestyle was extrardinarily hectic as all the work i had done before i left was completely unraveled by the time i got back. Damn, i need another vacation.
So the Train's friend, James, was in town for a few days after i got back which was nice. we got to hang out and do some drinking. on his last niite (valentines day -- barf) we went out for drinking and karaoke at the amataro which was indeed a top nite. i got trashed, yet again, and i think a few of them continued the celebrarions well into the wee hours of the morn but i went home and crashed as i had an early morning the next day. felt rather seedy until my requisite mickey D'z breakfast. but i think the most memorable part of the evvening for me was the feeling that the "new family" was really pulling together. it felt good as solidarity was something that's been missing for a while.
to further ensure that solidarity (not really, we just wanted to go), the train, julie, sue, ads, alisa, and i went snowboarding last week. we went back up to adatara where we went last year. of course we were the loudest people on the bus ride up and we got told to shut up the entire time but we just played the role of the ignorant gaijins and talked and drank the whole ride up. the slopes were really icy but we were able to meet up with our former snowboarding instructor/friend Hideo. he said he would teach us how to turn. but because of the ice, er snow, conditions, we were all pretty much wrecked by the time we could check into the hotel. we soaked up the onsen ( a first for leilani who was actually VERY nervous but pulled through like a champ despite all the naked chicks) had dinner, and hung out in our room all nite. like complete foolios, we forgot to pack a deck of cards, uno, jenga, the pirate in a barrel game, or anythin g else which may have proved entertaining for us; but ads got to tell some good riddles, i got to tell some lame ones, ther were shitty magic tricks and very cheesy "psychic connectons." but we all eventually got to sleep thanks to the soothing snores of alisa.
the next day, we all warm up and hit the gondola to get to the top of the mountain. we get down alright despite an extremely icy patch in the middle which really burned me, sue, and ads out. we hung out while the rest of the crew went for a few more runs. it was getting close to lunch time so sue and i decided to go down the intermediate slopes a few more times to practice our turns before breaking for lunch (ads decided his ass was too sore and he needed to recoup by getting his cancer on). on the second run coming down, i turned onto my toeside and hit a rough patch of ice. my board wouldn't stop and after a few very hard crack, crack, CRACKS, i felt something in my foot pop and a tremendous shot of pain went running up my leg. i couldn't move for a couple of minutes. i knew i fucked something up in my foot really bad. so i turned back around to my heel side and slowly made my way down the mountain and straight to ski patrol. pulling off my boot was one of the most painful moments of my life and i was told i was done, i needed to ice it, and go straight to the docs when i got back to tokyo. on my way to the bus going home, i slipped on a patch of ice and ate it again whichg was even more painful than the boot coming off my foot. i actually broke down and bawled (something i haven't done since watching that movie about the dog in shibuya). but i pulled my crap together and made it onto the bus. we chilled all the way home and i called in sick the next day.
i get the x-rays and talk to the doc who tells me i've broken one of the big roundish bones in the arch of my foot. he thinks it's a strange place to break my foot but it's all the same to me. i had to have it taped up for about 4 days while the swelling went down and got my cast yesterday. it's really heavy, and most of the time when i'm home i hop around without the crutches which is starting to take it's toll on my ankle. i swear i'm falling apart.
so i should be in the cast for about 4 weeks. my doc says i'm looking at a totaly of 2 months recovery time. by then my left leg will wither away and my right leg and arms will be tompletely buff. yes! i can look like a circus freak again!
but big props to the friends who got me though this ordeal. they have been super nice and helpful, bringing me pressies and dinner and keeping me company and covering for me at work (i've been out for 5 days). i really love them.
so call me gimp for the next few weeks. i'm hobbling along this long windy road of life at the moment. will let you know if i pick up speed anytime soon . . . . .
So the Train's friend, James, was in town for a few days after i got back which was nice. we got to hang out and do some drinking. on his last niite (valentines day -- barf) we went out for drinking and karaoke at the amataro which was indeed a top nite. i got trashed, yet again, and i think a few of them continued the celebrarions well into the wee hours of the morn but i went home and crashed as i had an early morning the next day. felt rather seedy until my requisite mickey D'z breakfast. but i think the most memorable part of the evvening for me was the feeling that the "new family" was really pulling together. it felt good as solidarity was something that's been missing for a while.
to further ensure that solidarity (not really, we just wanted to go), the train, julie, sue, ads, alisa, and i went snowboarding last week. we went back up to adatara where we went last year. of course we were the loudest people on the bus ride up and we got told to shut up the entire time but we just played the role of the ignorant gaijins and talked and drank the whole ride up. the slopes were really icy but we were able to meet up with our former snowboarding instructor/friend Hideo. he said he would teach us how to turn. but because of the ice, er snow, conditions, we were all pretty much wrecked by the time we could check into the hotel. we soaked up the onsen ( a first for leilani who was actually VERY nervous but pulled through like a champ despite all the naked chicks) had dinner, and hung out in our room all nite. like complete foolios, we forgot to pack a deck of cards, uno, jenga, the pirate in a barrel game, or anythin g else which may have proved entertaining for us; but ads got to tell some good riddles, i got to tell some lame ones, ther were shitty magic tricks and very cheesy "psychic connectons." but we all eventually got to sleep thanks to the soothing snores of alisa.
the next day, we all warm up and hit the gondola to get to the top of the mountain. we get down alright despite an extremely icy patch in the middle which really burned me, sue, and ads out. we hung out while the rest of the crew went for a few more runs. it was getting close to lunch time so sue and i decided to go down the intermediate slopes a few more times to practice our turns before breaking for lunch (ads decided his ass was too sore and he needed to recoup by getting his cancer on). on the second run coming down, i turned onto my toeside and hit a rough patch of ice. my board wouldn't stop and after a few very hard crack, crack, CRACKS, i felt something in my foot pop and a tremendous shot of pain went running up my leg. i couldn't move for a couple of minutes. i knew i fucked something up in my foot really bad. so i turned back around to my heel side and slowly made my way down the mountain and straight to ski patrol. pulling off my boot was one of the most painful moments of my life and i was told i was done, i needed to ice it, and go straight to the docs when i got back to tokyo. on my way to the bus going home, i slipped on a patch of ice and ate it again whichg was even more painful than the boot coming off my foot. i actually broke down and bawled (something i haven't done since watching that movie about the dog in shibuya). but i pulled my crap together and made it onto the bus. we chilled all the way home and i called in sick the next day.
i get the x-rays and talk to the doc who tells me i've broken one of the big roundish bones in the arch of my foot. he thinks it's a strange place to break my foot but it's all the same to me. i had to have it taped up for about 4 days while the swelling went down and got my cast yesterday. it's really heavy, and most of the time when i'm home i hop around without the crutches which is starting to take it's toll on my ankle. i swear i'm falling apart.
so i should be in the cast for about 4 weeks. my doc says i'm looking at a totaly of 2 months recovery time. by then my left leg will wither away and my right leg and arms will be tompletely buff. yes! i can look like a circus freak again!
but big props to the friends who got me though this ordeal. they have been super nice and helpful, bringing me pressies and dinner and keeping me company and covering for me at work (i've been out for 5 days). i really love them.
so call me gimp for the next few weeks. i'm hobbling along this long windy road of life at the moment. will let you know if i pick up speed anytime soon . . . . .
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