optimusprimed

Mon, 30 Jul 2007 08:00:07 GMT

So, I know of about 4 people who would ever look at this journal.

Two are in Arizona
One is in Massachusetts
One is in Tokyo

I usually don't have any motivation to write anything at this blog, but I might as well write something today.

Basically, I started this blog to record aspects of my life in Japan... but I quickly became bored with writing in English for (at the time) 3 people.

Anyway, I guess as some sort of conclusion, I'm going to write something today as I'm leaving Japan tomorrow - and thus the record of my life in Japan will be coming to an end.

Japan was bittersweet. It's easy to kill a day, or a week and not have any human contact. Tokyo has perfected the art of buying from machines. Movie tickets, transportation, even restaurant meals can be purchased without talking to anyone. Therefore I really felt the burden of trying to get myself out in society and make meaningful relationships.

Tokyo was not parties every night, it was not fun every day. It was not fun every week. Recently when asked about Tokyo's good points, I couldn't answer well... But on reflection, I'm filled with the feeling that Tokyo is probably my favorite place I've ever lived in, and many aspects of Japanese society were rather agreeable with my way of thinking/philosophy of living. IE: Japan was not a forced fit for me, --unlike my exchange student comrades who partied together and tried to make their experience match their American college life.

Therefore I've decided that even though I'm leaving Tokyo tomorrow. I'll come back here for a period of time (not as a vacation). The wheels in my mind are turning... Unlike my friends who jump the gun and plan on returning as soon as possible for a shitty job with JET or for an English teacher job, It'll be a few years before things are lined up just right for my plans... but I'll be coming back. Thats just the way its going to be.

Now for the moment, !!must get into law school!!

Fri, 20 Jul 2007 09:43:47 GMT

I had my last class in Japan today.

If you had a few days of free time, where would you go in/around Tokyo? Search the internet and give me ideas ;) Maybe I'll buy you something.

Tue, 29 May 2007 14:26:46 GMT

One of the cool things about rap, is that the vocals don't have to match pitch with the instruments. Thus, rap is extremely easy to remix.

Here is a remix of one of my old rap songs. I was listening to some of my old songs today, 懐かしい... Wonder if I'll ever rap ever again.

http://www.zshare.net/audio/2063797fc52d79/

^Me tearing up a classic Lyn Collin's break.

Fri, 04 May 2007 14:54:13 GMT

Well its finally happened. My friends entry page has ZERO entries on it.

This doesn't mean zero that I haven't read, but literally it is blank because none of my friends have posted anything in the last several weeks.

I'd like to say kudos on not spending as much time on LJ as I have checking to see if there is anything new.

I'd also like to take this time to express my dislike of LJ.

"Live Journal is a poison"

That will be all for now.

Fri, 30 Mar 2007 04:26:31 GMT

I sang Radiohead - Paranoid Android at Karaoke last night, which as it turns out is a really fun song to sing if you've got the range for it.

Fri, 16 Mar 2007 08:33:55 GMT

Ok.. so, I've done some thinking and decided that I am basically... James Bond

Shall I count the reasons why?
1. I speak a few foreign languages
2. I've flirted with foreign women
3. I like British sports cars
4. I am currently in a foreign country
5. I am knowledgeable to a ridiculous extent regarding a wide range of trivial facts
6. I prefer shaken over stirred
7. I know martial arts
8. I play every instrument

These reasons aside, I don't shoot people, or have assasination attempts on me... and I have yet to be in a climactic chase scene or struggle with a supervillian in an underwater sea base or secret space station. But I'm still young, and theres time for all that later.

Fri, 09 Mar 2007 12:24:45 GMT

Status update on good, ok, and bad things in my life.

Good:
-I know enough Japanese to have interesting conversations/read books
-my internship report/essay is done and passed in
-there is a TGI Fridays in Shibuya

OK:
-my hair is longer than it has ever been
-I own a pair of tabi socks
-I registered for some classes at ASU that historically have filled up quickly

Bad:
-friends aren't returning my emails (email=the way to contact people in Japan)
-I'm not getting out of the house enough as of late (related to above)
-it is cold enough that I feel cold, but warm enough that I turn off the heater after 3 minutes of heating. (rinse and repeat a few times each hour)
-I need to practice Japanese and shigen more, but I don't
-my headphones broke :((((

Seeing as how I can't think of anymore good, I suppose my life is biased towards bad.
Whoo! Emo LJ post

Fri, 23 Feb 2007 14:14:59 GMT

Well this turned into perhaps my longest rambling post.

So this last week was fairly uneventful. I didn't have any travel plans, my friends were busy in different ways or sick, no school to keep me busy or force me to into a setting to speak Japanese. Basically, I spent the week looking for reasons to get out of the house and failed. On the other hand, there were few reasons to stay IN the house except that it costs money to go places in Tokyo... As a result, most of this last week was fairly unproductive, and I've decided that I don't like feeling unproductive, especially if there is something (like studying Japanese) that I technically 'should' be doing but don't quite have the discipline to book it for long every day.

Speaking of productive, I've decided that the reason I like to create music as apposed to say... playing video games, is the artificial feeling of productivity I get with creating a song. I've gotten to the point that I can make a fairly professional sounding song if I put my mind to it, its in my power, and thus I feel that its productive, I literally create something that is equivelant to something people sell. Sure, I haven't sold any of my music yet, I don't even have 100 dedicated fans... but I can delude myself that it has that potential to appeal. This is in contrast to the feeling of productivity gained by say playing a game and leveling up a character. I get no enjoyment out of this, nor a feeling of productivity at this stage in my life, and the work put in cannot be traded for anything (though there are exceptions, as I remember diablo and everquest items being sold on ebay)

So anyway...
One of the things I miss most about the USA is casually hanging out. Without the dorm or friends in close apartments setting, I can't just walk 5 minutes to get to a friends house. Many of my friends live a half hour or more away by train, and dropping by would be semi socially akward if they don't expect it.

Anyways, I figured something like this would happen during spring break (2 months long), so I signed up for an internship teaching English at some elementary and junior high schools. (starts in two days, lasts for about 9 days) However all is not as easy as it seems, since elementary school kids basically don't speak English at all, I basically have to give various presentations in Japanese about America. My task for tomorrow (as assigned by the internship supervisor) "Make a 15 minute presentation describing America/Americans/American culture" I asked for some more clarification... "Oh you know, like habits, food, houses, clothes"... MRRRRRRRR! Not only was I raised with the "We are a multi-cultural society, everyone is different, everyone is good" idea... but I've experienced the differences between east and west coast and I'd say we're a pretty random place. If I were Japanese, I could simply point to something like sushi or kimonos and say "thats definately Japanese"... oh well, I've come up with some stuff already anyway, I just haven't decided how to explain American football or basketball, as I'm not quite versed on the rules of those in English XD. Of course I've also got the fear that after I say "are there any questions" I'll get asked a question that I don't understand or can't answer due to my own shortcomings in Japanese.

Fri, 02 Feb 2007 15:32:05 GMT

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Yh8G9d0exrA

German

Ooh look, I did a meme

Tue, 30 Jan 2007 11:24:30 GMT

All the things you ever wanted to know about me.

*TELL ME ABOUT YOURSELF - The Survey*
Name:	John
Birthday:	6/13
Birthplace:	Connecticut
Current Location:	Tokyo
Eye Color:	brown
Hair Color:	brown
Height:	6'6"
Right Handed or Left Handed:	right
Your Heritage:	American
The Shoes You Wore Today:	sketchers
Your Weakness:	I can't play piano and sing at the same time
Your Fears:	Dying and not expecting it
Your Perfect Pizza:	pepperoni. Keep it simple, too much other stuff ruins it
Goal You Would Like To Achieve This Year:	read Japanese newspaper
Your Most Overused Phrase On an instant messenger:	also
Thoughts First Waking Up:	So cold...
Your Best Physical Feature:	HAHA!
Your Bedtime:	having to wake up at 7 makes me sleep by 11
Your Most Missed Memory:	what?
Pepsi or Coke:	coke
MacDonalds or Burger King:	burger king
Single or Group Dates:	group takes off the pressure a bit
Lipton Ice Tea or Nestea:	nestea
Chocolate or Vanilla:	vanilla
Cappuccino or Coffee:	cappuccino
Do you Smoke:	no
Do you Swear:	not so often, but yes
Do you Sing:	yes
Do you Shower Daily:	yes
Have you Been in Love:	yes
Do you want to go to College:	I'm in college
Do you want to get Married:	yes
Do you belive in yourself:	yes
Do you get Motion Sickness:	only on ridiculous fair rides that spin you around
Do you think you are Attractive:	yes
*Are you a Health Freak:*
Do you get along with your Parents:	yeah
Do you like Thunderstorms:	cool to watch
Do you play an Instrument:	yes
In the past month have you Drank Alcohol:	yes
In the past month have you Smoked:	second hand?
In the past month have you been on Drugs:	no
In the past month have you gone on a Date:	we didn't call it that though...
In the past month have you gone to a Mall:	yes
In the past month have you eaten a box of Oreos:	half a box, split it with a friend
In the past month have you eaten Sushi:	yes
In the past month have you been on Stage:	yes
In the past month have you been Dumped:	no
In the past month have you gone Skinny Dipping:	no
In the past month have you Stolen Anything:	no
Ever been Drunk:	yes
Ever been called a Tease:	no
Ever been Beaten up:	no
Ever Shoplifted:	no
How do you want to Die:	I reject this fucked up question
What do you want to be when you Grow Up:	professional rocker
What country would you most like to Visit:	England, but I know it won't be like how I want it to be
*In a Boy/Girl..*
Favourite Eye Color:	don't care
Favourite Hair Color:	anything but blond
Short or Long Hair:	either or
Height:	taller the better?
Weight:	That's of course relative to other factors
Best Clothing Style:	Mod
Number of Drugs I have taken:	0
Number of CDs I own:	less than 10 music cds
Number of Piercings:	0
Number of Tattoos:	0
Number of things in my Past I Regret:	2
CREATE YOUR OWN! - or - GET PAID TO TAKE SURVEYS!

Sat, 27 Jan 2007 14:28:37 GMT

So... as some people already know, I make music. Particularly psychedelic rock.
Won't you visit my myspaces and perhaps leave a comment? Its ever so lonely being an unknown artist.

http://www.myspace.com/newenglishsound

http://www.myspace.com/theabelincolnband

Tue, 16 Jan 2007 09:43:34 GMT

I hate blogging.

Even now, it just feels like a chore.
Some people blog so they have memories or something, but that thought doesn't appeal to me - that I should be writing every detail about Tokyo so I can read it later.

I guess I'm more "live for the moment"

At any rate, my semester is almost over. Just another few weeks and I've got a two month long spring break. (Though I have classes through July)

Alright, I've decided I don't feel like blogging anymore at the moment, so I'll just leave it at that with no details regarding my plans.

Tratler!

Mon, 18 Dec 2006 12:22:00 GMT

So as some people know... I am in a band, in Tokyo, and I play live.

http://rapidshare.com/files/7983156/Tratler-GandalfGoldenEarringsCover.mp3.html

Heres the only recording I have at the moment, it is definately not our most shining moment... but feel free to bludgeon your ears with our sound.

Yes, the band's name is Tratler. We decided this yesterday in two minutes when we had to have a name to play the gig.

Mon, 20 Nov 2006 09:53:09 GMT

So today I saw an ambulance making its way through the crowded Tokyo streets. In addition to the sirens, etc... there was totally a person inside the ambulance apologizing to everybody for the disturbance through a megaphone.

Tue, 07 Nov 2006 11:38:06 GMT

I am sick of people telling me how great they are.
Exhibit A: "I studied Japanese for 2 years... but don't get me wrong! Before that I studied it on my own for 4"
-----------

Japan is totally a culture where everyone does all they can to obscure their true nature.
You can see it at any shop/business when people speak to the customers with honorific language, always with a smile on their face, always in a happy tone.
You can see it, when Japanese talk to a stranger and deliberately make an effort to raise their voice in pitch to sound friendlier.
You can see it in the recent trend of middle schoolers/high school children jumping in front of trains due to massive societal/social pressure.

As one of my exchange student friends so interestingly said regarding Japanese culture/society today "the Japanese don't know how bad they have it"

[/end generalization

Thu, 02 Nov 2006 11:55:40 GMT

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So, the other night was a special dinner. It was special because there was a ton of food, and also it appeared that my host father's mother came to dinner. Since my host father is about 59, my "host grandmother" as it were is probably around her 80s or 90s.

Anyways, I had a little conversation, and it went like this. (Translated into English for my non Japanese speaking friends benefit.)

Me: Hello, let me introduce myself
HG: My! Look at that, he certainly is tall!
Me: My name is John <last name censored 'cause the net is a scary place>
HG: So tall! So Tall!
Host father (to grandmother): He is speaking with you.
Me: I'm American, its nice to meet you.
HG: I wonder how many centimeters tall he is?
Host father (to grandmother): He is speaking to you, he can speak.
Me: I'm about one hundred ninet---
HG: Yes I wonder how many centimeters?
Host mother: He is about 194 centimeters
HG: Wow! So tall, so tall...

Today I practiced in the studio with my band, on Saturday we will be playing our first live set. The songs shall be:
Beatles: Hard Days Night
Beatles: Please Please Me
Beatles: I want to hold your hand
The Clash: London Calling
The Clash: Remote Control

Practice today went pretty well, although no one but me had practiced "Remote Control" much. My guitar playing friend plays the wrong chords the entire song through, the drummer routinely invents his own drum beat to accompany, and I sing in the most outrageous cockney accent you've never heard me use. I like our version much better ;) Its definately punk

日本語がうまいね

Thu, 02 Nov 2006 11:50:02 GMT

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Federal Duck

Mon, 23 Oct 2006 09:33:16 GMT

Federal Duck is a long defunct rock band that released one album in 1968.

This is a tribute page to them with some songs for download/the hearing:
http://www.myspace.com/thefederalduck1968

The lead guitarist was Dave Barry (the comedic writer/columnist)

I think if there were more bands like Federal Duck, the world would be a better place.

はじめました、BBCのジョンです。

Sat, 07 Oct 2006 13:29:42 GMT

Well, yesterday I joined the BBC.

AKA the British Beat Club at Waseda. In the words of the club leader "we are a lazy club".
The club is loosely centered on members' interest in old British blues and rock, however since attending some meetings, it appears the musical tastes really vary to include punk, and soul from various decades (and hiphop).

Its been raining a lot lately, and I just discovered this morning, that all of the books and papers in my backpack were totally wet, and therefore kinda warped in that way paper gets when wet. this includes my excellent Japanese dictionary, all my Japanese textbooks (softcover, purchased last week) and all my course papers and schedules. Meh, at least they are all still readible.

Tonight while watching tv with my host mother, she would periodically point at a Japanese woman and ask if she was "my type". I told her I like many types.

Also, I totally watched a show that had transexuals ballroom dancing and getting judged. -one harsh judge was saying how masculine one had danced, needless to say this person did not win.

Wed, 04 Oct 2006 14:13:18 GMT

Hey! Heres a small report about Japanese news by me.

Todays top stories: (real stories)
There are two red cars in a parking lot, parked far away from each other... HOWEVER, someone keyed a small X on a corner of the hood of each of them! Police are stumped as to why.
Is 7/11 the cheapest convienience store in Japan? Up next... is it truly convienient???
-following this was sports so I tuned out.

As far as breaking news in a major city like Tokyo, I would expect better stories (not saying they don't exist, or that these stories represent the news 24/7, but still...)

Finally, as the news is reporting on a story (every story), they play dramatic music!(not just when introducing a story, but throughout the reporting) Isn't this totally awesome? Its another subtle way to get the public to get emotionally involved. Or perhaps, just make people think they are watching a movie. I mean, with the music selections they had during the sports reporting, they made a baseball game into Braveheart.

Mon, 25 Sep 2006 11:03:26 GMT

Well, almost a week into my trip and I had my first MAJOR language breakdown. Up to know, I've been holding my own asking for directions, talking about music / different places and things in Tokyo/Japan... but today I encountered a new issue; requiring a whole new set of vocabulary for which I was ill prepared for...

Ordering fast food!

To add complications to my rusty ability at understanding keigo (very formal Japanese), the location was particularly noisy, and the person taking my order was particularly soft-spoken.

Word of the day? "Setto" which means "meal" or "combo" (AKA: "would you like fries and a drink with that?")

Sun, 24 Sep 2006 10:38:18 GMT

http://download.yousendit.com/B4A36C5C29511C45

Highlights this time around include: the worlds largest ferris wheel, Tokyo teleport station, Palette Town, pictures of the sky, the king of alarm clocks, a beach in Tokyo (complete with windsurfer), and some more typical pics.

Fri, 22 Sep 2006 13:12:20 GMT

http://download.yousendit.com/2698ABC909193818

Here are some pictures I took. I don't feel like going into big detail on any of them, or bothering with html to have them display here atm. There are pictures of foreign students, my room, and the surrounding neighborhood of my house -and while it may look busy with neon lights and whatnot - this is by no means downtown Tokyo ;)

Tokyo

Wed, 20 Sep 2006 11:48:17 GMT

Japan is great. I am in Tokyo, I am speaking Japanese 24/7. I am being understood, and I am being misunderstood. Things are good.

1 day

Sun, 17 Sep 2006 03:44:52 GMT

Well, I've just got one day before I leave for Japan now. Tomorrow will be a very busy day as I will be packing, copyrighting my album, worrying, and buying any last minute item I may need.

I think before I go, I should list the top ten things "I think I may miss" while I'm gone, despite whether they (or comparative things) are readily available in Japan.

1. Friends+family
2. Guitars, organs and microphones
3. Submarine sandwiches
4. My bed
5. Using ATMs whenever I please
6. That 70s Show
7. Staying up late (2-3AM local time)
8. Sleeping late
9. Driving
10. Being able to phonetically read anything

To paraphrase a friend "It wasn't until I was on the plane going to Japan that my situation really hit me."
The situation of course, was studying in Japan for a year AKA what I'm about to do. Calling my host family last night really made things sink in for me. AND did you know phones ring differently in Japan? It sounds kinda like what I'd imagine a phone ringing under water to sound like.

Anyways, this will probably be my last post from the USA, so -thats it.