Entries this day: Bike_delivery Class Lunch Sigh Story hmmm wild_skating_adventure

Bike delivery

8:15am JST Tuesday 21 October 2003

Woke up at 6:30ish cause the NHK (?) (Japanese public radio) started speaking in English and I was like, "wha?" cause it was no longer just incomprehensible yammering slowly seeping into my brain.

Listened to the translations; tried to comprehend. Of course the Japanese was spoken quickly and the English translations slowly. Not as many listeners in my demographic.

Up, found an email from janette (she found a problem with the search thing), shower, and took a million years to get dressed because I don't like cold weather and hoped to discover some way around experiencing it.

(It's not *really* cold today, but I'm planning ahead for when it does get cold.)

Anyway, it was a challenge riding my bike with one hand while monitoring the progress of Morisan's bike with the other. It's not something that I would like to do every day, but it is something that I'd get better at doing if I did it every day. Also, I would have a really strong left hand.

Didn't hit any people, cars, bikes, netc (etc for a list of things that are not included in the list) all the way here. Even rode up the short (4 meters long, 1.5 meters tall (when did I start thinking in meters?)) incline at the International Lounge.

Parked Morisan's bike and rode to the local alcohol shop to get some breakfast - a bag of shelled scallops with toothpick included. Good protein, though a little salty. Bought a Pocari Sweat (translucent white, not yellow) and headed back to the Lounge.

Happy.

Walked up to the front.

      CLOSE
 Please come later

Sad.

- - - -

Aw man. I don't want to drag the bike back home and back here next week. I considered writing a journal entry about what had happened so far, but decided I could write it while waiting for a response from Kobayashisan (who translated between Morisan and I that I would return the bike today) on what to do.

Called her. Watched a shinkansen go by as the phone rang. Left a message.

Thirty seconds later, a woman walked up the steps to open the lounge.

"nevamind!" (*)

- - - -

The International Lounge staff noticed what I was eating. "Kai," it's called.

"We usually eat these with alcohol."

"Really? Today, Pocari Sweat."

"And never for breakfast."

"Ah."

Ah as in meh.

(*) Who here remembers Rosanne Rosanna Danna? (I barely do)

Class

5:02pm JST Tuesday 21 October 2003

Class was a bit better this week than it was last week. I could swear that Kobayashisan (now this is a different Kobayashisan than the one mentioned earlier today. This Kobayashisan is Chinese and knows no English) was flirting with me. She would occasionally look into my eyes and smile as I was fucking up slash not understanding the Japanese in the class. Flirting? Sympathy? And during break we were (actually they were (they = Grace and Kobayashi, both women, both from China) and I joined them) looking at videos for loan and she leaned her leg against me. Damn I'm desperate for any kind of contact.

After class, though, poof; they both left with no fanfare.

After after class, I gave Morisan the key to her bicycle and tried to comprehend her Japanese questions. Thanked her thoroughly for the use of the bike. Wonder if I should have gotten her a gift of thanks. Probably would have if Koko and I were still hanging out. Or even if she would simply return any of my attempted contacts. (phone, email, hand delivered letter (via her mom))

Lunch

5:24pm JST Tuesday 21 October 2003

The view from the top of the Prince Hotel in Yokohama is quite impressive. 42nd floor is simply furnished with 3/4 couch type things and small tables. Along the inside of this circular room, food is available buffet style. Wow. I would definitely have taken janette up here for lunch had I known about it. I wonder how I can surprise her with such a lunch.

Liz invited me to lunch with her. She paid (sweet!) and we yammered in Japanese a bit (mostly she yammered and I tried to catch on slash keep up) and then in English, she asked me specifically about the usage of "any" in various contexts and then (fruitlessly) asked me some intricacies about baseball.

We flirted fo sheezy, but I'm a little uncomfortable with it because I don't really trust her.. She always seems to be withholding a bit of information, like she won't be totally honest. Won't answer questions, even after she says, "guess," and then just laughs at my answers. Stuff like how old her daughters are, um, okay that's the only example of that, but then when I was like, "so when can we hang out again?" she was totally evasive. Just "Of course we can. Later. definitely later."

(( Carla was recently describing this phenomenon... actuallly it was one of my students who said directly there is a habit in Japanese culture of non-close-friends saying, "oh yeah, we'll go hang out sometime," and then literally never doing it. ((In the US we say, "we'll have to get together sometime," or "give me a call sometime," which I guess is the same thing, but it doesn't seem as direct as "we will hang out sometime.")) And then Carla was telling me her Japanese friends always keep her at arms' length. "It's so cool to have a gaijin friend, but I can never meet their friends nor family." ))

So I was a bit put off by that, (damn am I imagining I can recognize Japanese cultural patterns?) but what am I going to do about it besides not really trust her?

The saddest part about it (that I can see) is I'm desperate for Japanese friends and will therefore take this kind of "abuse" (treatment) for lack of any other apparent options. Except for my students, I have only once had two consecutive hang out times planned. That was with Nami back when we went to Fujiku Highland (we planned that trip and then planned a movie (T3) in the interim) and I literally haven't seen her since ((even though I still owe her 10,000 yen!!!!))

Sigh

5:45pm JST Tuesday 21 October 2003

[mope]

I am JUST arriving in Shibuya (the train ride is long enough that I've been able to write the previous two entries) to see Fumi when she texted me:

�������@��������

�����������@��������
�������B�@����������
���@�����������@����
�����@�������������B
����

Sorry, jack, I can't meet you till next week.

(except written politely and in hiragana)

She is stuck at work, or so I understand from subsequent messages, which sucks for her I know. I guess she waited until the last minute to see if in fact she could meet me, but cannot.

At least:

!) I didn't go through the turnstiles at Shibuya

@) I got to write on the way here

#) I get to write on the way back

$) this is my worst problem right now

%) I got to hear a funny story

Story

6:17pm JST Tuesday 21 October 2003

I called DruDaddyG and he told me a funny story. He was listening to slash reading a CD at HMV (big music store chain). His mate was like, "aight snoops, let's roll," and they went to a restaurant where Dru discovered he was still holding the CD.

HAHAHAHhahaahahaaahhaha!

He was like, "What do I do???" hahahaha

He is unavailable for hanging out tonight, but we promised text messages tomorrow; he'll be in Yokohama. I may be in Yokohama in an effort to find the amusement park that Liz told me about today.

- - - -

I couldn't find anyone else to call: it's too early to call Nami (only after 7pm), I just called Miki yesterday, and a cointoss said not to call Rieko (she and I are going to a plastination thing on the 29th)

So I'm on the train going back to Tsunashima now.

If one thing goes as planned, I'll meet Cory for a Wild Skating Adventure tonight.

hmmm

9:39pm JST Tuesday 21 October 2003

Okay. I've just been chillin' and realized the following things:

I'm not really happy in Japan.

I could be playing/working with janette all the time instead.

I would miss people here.

Would I? True friends will last no matter what.

I could blow this popsicle stand (who coined that) and work with janette and sell art and read to her in bed

Why am I here?

There's a fear that if I leave here, I won't be able to come back.

Shit has got to get happier here or I'm leaving.

I can change my situation (housing, job), or change my attitude (release the pressure to learn Japanese)

What about taking pictures of all the coasters in Japan?

Need piles of fat cash to do that. (this is an assumption; I haven't looked into it really)

Often I try to do everything alone (even though my greatest fear is being alone). I wonder why this is. I wonder if they're inexorably intertwined.

I'm going to meet Cory to go skate in 27 minutes.

wild skating adventure

10:07pm JST Tuesday 21 October 2003

Unreal.

My skate clasp broke irrepairably when I strapped it on.

No, I'm not kidding.

Do I go and buy new ones? Probably.