Post Vacation and Back to the Old Grind

Jamaica was fucking cool. ads and i had a 12 hour stop over in los angeles after a 9.5 hour flight from Tokyo before heading off to charlotte so cory picked us up and we had a very good breakfast at Roscoe's chicken and waffles. we did a quick tour of the studios in LA and then picked up crash at Dreamworks before heading back to their house for a bit of rest. after a mexican dinner we went back to the sirport where we boraded a red eye to charlotte NC and waited another 3.5 hours before getting on a plane to montego bay. by the time we got to jamaica, we didn't know if we were hungry or tired or insane so we piddled around our resort and then took a bit of a drive around the area in our rental car.

SIDE BAR: the rental car joint was insane. on the second story unmarked building there was one woman named Sharon running the entire operation. when she needed someone to bring a car around, she'd use her "PA" system which was Sharon yelling outside of her second story window in a very thick jamaican accent to "brang da kyar round mon." and she moved slower than mollasass. the roads in jamaica leave much to be desired as well. there are potholes the size of texas all over the place and many of the roads are not paved at all. drivers overtake or undertake where ever and when ever they like, and they honk their horns very liberally. they generally drive on the left side, as it is told in the Lonely Planet "da left side is the rite side, da right side is suicide." the speed limit is apparently just a suggestion.

Ads and i met up with Kuniko (sab's ex-roommate) and her friend Shiho who came traveling with her. Kuniko rented or villa in Montego Bar for us. it was a very nice, spacious place. a stones throw from the beach (Dr. Cave beach apparently) and really good jamaican breakfast. the jamaicans eat this "fruit" called Ackee which is a savory fruit that they pick after the ass of the fruit bursts then they soak it in salted water and cook it with a salted fish. it tastes like scrambled eggs. it was weird but good. Shiho and i were all about the jamaican food. Ads eats nothing and Kuniko was a bit weary as well but i thought jamaican food rocked. but stay away from the "rasta relaxers" a drinbk that is 97% rum. made me sick.


We went to Negril on our second day and also drove out to Roaring River or Rolling River where Bob Marley apparently "wash away da bad luck and wash in da good luck." we saw some nice little plants, goats, crops and marijuana plants which apparently "belong to da rasta man." everyone was high there. it was an interesting little trip.

we were led out there by out self appointed tour guid named Kevin. he says he works with the police to aid tourists but he didn't seem to be very helpful when i got pulled over by the jamaican cops. i didn't get a ticket; i think they were more curious about tourists driving around in a not touristy area and i got let off with a warning. Kevin gave us a little tour of the country side and took us to the river area then we parted ways after we "showed him our appreciation."

SIDE BAR: everone in jamaica wants a tip, and i ain't talkin' 'bout on how to keep your toilet sparklin' fresh. everywhere you go, please are asking you to "show me your appreciation." they prey on tourists and expect you to tip them for everything from using the PUBLIC toilets to pointing you in the direction of a good restaurant. Jamaicans are also good hustlers. even the sweetest unassuming little old woman knows what she's doing when it comes to tourists. they make you buy shit you don't even want or ask for. they are super pushy. i think they were more polite in thailand!

on the 26th, we drove out towards St. Ann's bay where Sabrina was getting married. it was a couple hours drive from Mobay (montego bay) and the area was quite nice. the closest town was Ocho Rios where we had to go to get supplies for our villa such as food, drinks etc. we settled in and met up with stuart and his wife and also sab's student tomonori and his weird taciturn friend with the super tight pants. we went on our excusion to Ocho Rios which is a nice little place. we did some souvenir shopping (i got everyone jerk seasoning. i swear the entire bottom of my suitcase was filled with jerk). Sabs had her rehersal dinner on the 27th and i got to meet all of her friends from college. she had some bridesmaids and they were LOVELY girls. i can see why they are all so tight.


the day of the wedding was unfortunately very windy. the weather wasn't espeically nice which was too bad but Sabs looked absolutely fantastic. she seemed to take the entire thing in a stride but i guess that's because it was pretty much the Sharon Shelton show (Sean's mother). The food was amazing, especially the Coconut Chicken Rundown which i am still trying to find a good recipie for. Lots of speeches and toasts, etc. Lots of rum.


we went out to Dunn's River Falls the next day to climb up the waterfall which was pretty fucking cool. the water was initially pretty cold but it's hot in jamaica and you get used to it. we did a bit more last minute shopping and went out for dinner on our last nite in jamaica to a pretty bad restaurant which had a nice view but super salty food coupled with bad service. not a good end. but overall, we had a great time in jamaica. and it was awesome seeing sabs again. i really missed her.

We flew back to LA the next day and had dinner with the family. We went to the rock bottom brewery where we met up with dad and ryan. I took ads all over LA and LBC. we had a big BBQ at the house one nite and a bunch of people came. i ran errands, i saw old friends, i went to the dentist. we also went out to vegas for a couple of days which he seemed to really like. it was nice to see dick and colleen as well.

anyways, we hoofed it back to japan on the 9th and got into narita on the 10th. we were both completely wrecked. 20 days everyday is a lot of time to spend with any one person but i think we both survived it ok.

now it back to the same old grind. i went 12 days straight without a day off when i got back and today is the first time since forver that i have gotten home before 9:00pm. grandpa and i have fallen back into our old routine plus one, i now make breakfast and dinner for him every nite. i had to fight with my uncle just to get one weekend off to go snowboarding with my friends next week. but it's a good thing. it makes me appreciate my time with my friends who i must give much credit to cuz they have been soooooo supportive and kind during the past few months while i have been inaccessible for much of the time. they've pushed back plans, rearranged schedules, and tucked me in at nite. i take care of grandpa and they take care of me. i love them.

to celebrate and give thanks, i'm having mexican dinner nite tomorrow for them and then we will have jerk chicken nite on the 5th. yummy! dinner always brings friends together!

JAMAICA -- here i come!

well, i will be leaving for jamaica in a few short days and i realized this only 2 days ago when my boss told me to make sure all my crap was done before then (only he said it much nicer). now it's crunch time. mom is back in japan taking care of grandpa for me now which is a major load off my shoulders. i love grandpa to pieces but his mental situation has deteriorated a lot over the past few months (very intensely so in the past few weeks) and i have been going to his house on my way to work every morning to make him breakfast and putting him to bed every night after work (at which i work overtime for no extra money cuz, again, i am an asshole). so i basically get home around 9:30 or 10, sometimes later depending on what has occurred with him that day. and the cycle starts again at 7:00 when my alarm goes off the next morning.

i have been physically and mentally exhausted for a while now, and have had no time to do the things i have set out to do for so long . . . my christmas/new years cards remain unsent and unwritten on my floor, my emails from people remain unanswered, the bills have yet to be paid, i still haven't sent my dear friend Nani her christmas present which has been ready to go but for a card which i can't seem to get around to writing, ironing all my damn shirts for work, oh yeah, and updating this blog.

the girls and i had a girls nite out last nite at the local chain izakaya where i leveled 2 liters (literally) of oolong-hi so i was completely trashed by the time we got kicked out and had to go to the cheap yakitori place. the girls are great, we have a nice time together (there are 6 of us) and it's good to just go and air our grievances, not necessarily about men, but life in general. it's a good support group.

if i can get through sunday without cracking open like a pinata i will be able to successfully escape to jamaica for a glorious week followed by about 10 days back home in los angeles (which was supposed to be a surprise for my family but now it isn't so poo on them and since my mom has information diarrhea, people know i'm coming home too which defeats the purpose of a fucking SURPRISE). my friend Adam will be going to both vacation spots with me so it will be new and interesting for him, although he has special dietary needs (he eats ABSOLUTELY NOTHING that normal people do; no strike that, he hasn't got the range of food that most people do) and most people who know the both of us ask me what i'm going to do with him when i go indulge in mexican, moroccan, and other delicious cuisines jamaica and cali can offer me. i dunno. i figure he can fuck off while i eat. we don't have that kind of relationship.

well, i must go start my day. only a few more days to go . . . .

Holiday wrap up, Trampoland, resolutions, and going back to work <--Boo!

well, i realize it's beena while so let's strat with the holiday wrap up.

Thanksgiving: had dinner at Fujimamas in Harajuku with my friends (fellow americans and curious australians and japanese folks). We had a nice turn out, about 12 people or so and we got to eat a bit of turkey and stuffing. i think i could have leveled an entire turkey by myself but i had to control myself. We got to spend a bit of time in the harajuku/omotesando area as well. before dinner, the girls and i stopped by the XBOX 360 lounge that has 8-10 game stations and a bar that we killed time in and after dinner, we saw a karaoke pimp who had the most fabulous mullet i've ever seen. it was all cropped on top but the party in the back was VERY long and he had it dyed in stripes ACROSS his head in a strange tiger like fashion. Now that's love of hair.

Christmas: it sucked ass. Tokyo has the misfortune of not caring about this holiday at all which makes the rest of us sad and homesick. i WORKED on christmas day and then i busted out of work as early as i could to host dinner at my house. no oven so no turkey but i mader a beef stew with mashed potatoes and veggies and a whole bunch of other stuff as well. several of my friends came over and we had the big christmas feast and did the white elephant gift exchange afterwards and then ate cake, candy, chocolate, cookies, and a whole lot of other stuff. it wasn't terribly christmasy but it was nice. and exhausting.

Work: so everyone at my branch who is in charge took off and handed me the reins which has been a giant source of stress for the past 2 weeks. marcus (a much more senior but incredible ineffectual buffoon of a trainer) is here but since he can't do a lick of work , i am forced to try to swim through this mess (lest i drown in the next couple of weeks which is a definite possibility). there is so much involved with regards to paperwork and scheduling at this new big ass school that i have a tough time wrapping my head around it all. i'm sure i will burn the place down to the ground in a matter of days. i can't wait for the other trainers to come back.

New years/New years eve: since i had such a crappy time waiting in line for hours doing nothing at the shrines two new years ago, i decided to skip it all and go boozing and dancing with my friends in the ponger (Roppongi: a place reknown for attracting a lot of foreigners, mostly military and other assholes, and slutty women). we went to a club called Vanilla and Leilani got to try her first shot of tequila. 4 shots later, she was puking her guts out on the floor of the club then the cops came and raided the club so we got kicked out a little after 3 in the morning. we crtawled home at about 4 and laid in bed until about 11:00 and then had a big greasy breakfast. mmmmm. could've leveled a mickey d's breakfast mcmuffin but it was probanly closed as tokyo SHUTS DOWN during new years. just as well, i was happy to stay home. after we pulled ourselves together, we visited a local shrine and did a bit of the praying. then we came home and crashed out for a while longer. it was recovery day.

Today we went to Shinrin Koen in Saitama with a bunch of people to have a picnic (yes, we know it's the dead of winter) , do the ropes course, and do the big bounce at Tramp-o-land. Tramp-o-land (as we like to call it) isn't actually a big trampoline in the ground but more like mounds of bouncey rubber mountains that we can jump on and catch some serious air. it was so much fun! i made lots of tuna sandwiches and good ol' PB and Js and everyone brought a bunch of other food that we munched on. it was a little too cold and it even snowed a few flakes but it dried up quickly and all the activities kept our blood flowing. everyone seemed to h ave quite a good time and i was happy to be physically exhaused for a change instead of mentally enhausted. it was a good close to our work break as us nova-ites go back to work tomorrow.

Resolutions: so i made a resolution not to wait in line for anything. yes, dusty pointed out the logistical problems with theis resolution while we were waiting in line (ha ha - the irony) to get into Vanilla. actually i meant more along the lines of not waiting for a guy, waiting for a promotion, waiting for . . . . . life to happen. i want to be more proactive in getting the things i want. life is short. other solutions? take better care of my friends and family, lose weight, excercise more, all those resolutions that i can't ever seem to keep every year. and definitely to keep in better touch with everyone. and to keep a better log of my exploits with this blog. yeah, we'll see how long these last!

i am off to jamaica in a couple of weeks for some (i believe well deserved) time off. yeah! i will be touring the Bob Marley stomping grounds foe a week, going to a wedding, then going hme for a week and a half. i was going to surprise my parents with my visit but it didn't work as my mom is coming back to japan while i am in jamaica to look after my grandad. i wanted to spend time with the whole family but that doesn't look feasible. oh well, i will take what i can get.

will attempt to keep this blog more up to date! hopefully i will have more hot news next time!

Halloween, the new school, and brewing animosity

Boo. yes, halloween has come and gone and no, my roommates and i didn't get to dress up like the taliban. turns out i wazs way too busy with the party prepping to do any of that shit. i don't even know if i changed out of my work clothes. how scary! i was a nova teqacher for halloween! ha ha.

the dinner went well. 23 people crammed into my tiny ass apartment and we had lots of gumbo, garlic bread, stick salad, punpkin fritters, and various other goodies. cory's friend Alfonzo (the fonz) who is here shooting a movie also came over which was nice. all in all, a nice halloween party. i look forward to doing it again next year.

The new school is BIZEEE! damn, i am busting my ass like no other and yet i can't catch up yet. i had a sit down with the head teacher today and we went over a bunch of stuff. it's hard because no one really has the time to show me all the happenings; so basiocally i gotta get it in bursts when peeps have the time. it is exhausting. but i remade a necessary spreadsheet for work last week so i felt pretty good about that. i guess i need to look at my small accomplishments. i'm teaching a lot more now and with more variety which is good but i'm just wrecked at the end of the day.

so i realized that i forgot to write about the mormon wedding (which wasn't a mormon wedding by the way). turns out it was just dinner which would have been cool but it turns out i was sitting just 2 seats opposite of someone who is brewing seething hatred my way which sucked ass. i didn't get to sit with my friends so there was no commisseration going on. kind of a yucky night.

well, that's all that's fit to print at the moment since (yes, you guessed it) i'm exhausted from work. need to cure the insomnia.

new chapter

yes, it's true! i am finally leaving the small school comforts of my branch (ikebukuro seibu guchi) and traveling about 100meters to the east to Ikebukuro Honko; one of the biggest and busiest schools in the tokyo area. i am also getting moved one notch higher on the food chain; i'll be going there as an assistant trainer. i'm not sure that this really means anythig at all. basically, i help make the schedule and give people papers to sign. but hey, it'll look decent on the resume and it'll give me a change of scenery which is also good.

so i've been making a big photo album to take to work (my own year book if you will) of all my students and of shots of me and my friends at work. it's a pretty funny album and i find that i have tons more stuff to put in it than my last album from the last school. i'm really going to miss some of them, they are fabulous students.

i am currently on day 8 of a 15 day stretch of working. yeah, it sucks. but i'm home early every nighth which makes it fairly decent. i hate working nights. if a student asks me a grammar question after about 4 in the afternoon, i tend to stare at them with my "duuuuuhhhhh . . . . i dunno" look on my face and have to ask them to ask me again in the morning.

this weekend is halloween and i'm having my annual (well, it's really only the second time i'm doing this) gumbo and smore-a-thon complete with scary movies and garlic bread. i'm thinking of doing pumpkin fritters as well (no oven so no pumkin pie, cake or cookies -- damn you no-oven Japan!) but we will have to see how ambitious i am.

mom and grandpa are in town and are supposed to come as well but we will have to see hoqw grandpa's mood is; he hasn't been very happy since he got back to tokyo and now he is vowing not to go back to the states which could be problematic. but we'll have to see what happens.

on another halloween note, my roommates and i will be wrapping towels around our heads and getting water guns to be the taliban. we realized that hollywood just recycles the same 3 middle eastern names: muhammed, sayid, and habieb. we don't care who's who. photos to follow . . .