Friday May 16, 1997
Yes, that's right, watashi wa nihon de sundeimasu ne! I arrived in Tokyo yesterday morning and I finally have time to write down some of my thoughts. Well, I arrived at 8:30am at the Narita airport, but only got to the Hino station at noon. Both Hidaka-san and Miyasaka-san came to pick me up. Surprisingly, I didn't get lost on the subway ride to Hino! I surprised them, and even myself! Actually, I'm finding it very easy to get around - and I'm getting along with the language much better than expected. Of course, I find it a bit peeving that the guys at work think that I don't speak Japanese because I'd like to practice. Well, I'm sure they'll start to speak to me in Japanese a little bit more in a few days.
Today I moved into the apartment. I think it's very nice! It's definitely big enough for just me, alhtough it does only have one room. Not all the furniture is here yet - the rest arrives on Sunday.
Tomorrow I think I will go shopping for groceries and apartment stuff. Maybe I'll go back to Electronic City, where I was this evening, to get myself an electronic translator, and perhaps even a stereo!
Today I got to see Dave before he heads up to Sapporo! Tonight we had dinner (chocolate filled crepe) and wandered around Electronic City for awhile. Also, we stopped off at a small bar and shared a bottle of sake (rice wine). It was my first time trying it and wwwooah! it tastes like straight vodka or something, but is in fact only about 13%.
We both agreed that Tokyo isn't nearly as expensive as it is said to be. I mean, there are two things that stand out immediately as being expensive - restaurant food and transportation. But I can avoid both of these, hopefully! Actually, I was thinking that every weekend I would take JR into Tokyo for a day and explore. Well, maybe for the first few months. I guess I should do Tokyo first, and then the rest of the country.
Ha! A guy fell asleep standing on the JR tonight and actually fell onto the people in front of him! He then fell onto the floor where he stayed for about 2 stations. Weird.
Saturday May 17, 1997
So today was my first day to myself here, and I got lots done! First thing when I got up was to walk to Tachikawa (about an hour's walk) to get some apartment stuff like dishes, pots, trash bin, etc. But since I arrived before the store opened, I looked in a large department store nearby. And I was quite surprised to see how cheap the clothing was. Well, it wasn't dirt cheap, but it wasn't any more expensive than in Canada, and that's for sure. And the bookstore was very extensive although mostly Japanese books. They had a large sports store (potential running shoes!!) and were selling kimonos, so I should go check those out. I did catch some prices on the kimonos and it seems that they are very expensive. Then again, these were very fancy. I liked how the sales people at the store didn't hound me like they do in Canada!
Anyways, I got all the apartment stuff, etc. Later on in the day I got groceries... neat! It was fun since I couldn't figure out most of the foods. But I bought quite a bit of "experimental" food - why not? As long as it's not meat.. and the prices weren't so bad at all! Just the fruit - they were ridiculously priced.
I also went to get a hanko (signature stamp) made. It's gonna be cool! I can't wait to get it, I'll be stamping everything I see.
And last but not least, I went and bought a kick-butt stereo! It's awesome. I decided against the mini disc player. But I bought a mic as well, so I started my first talking tape, this one's going to Jon. Wow, I wasn't expecting to be able to fill up even a half-hour, but I managed to take up over 50 mins already! I guess I really love to talk! Not much of a finding, I suppose. I have a tendency to babble on.
I guess that's what I'm doing right now.
Tomorrow I'm going to clean up the apartment properly, and wait for the rest of the furniture to arrive.
Monday May 19, 1997
Well today was my first day of work - sheesh! Loooong day.
It started off with my alarm not going off so I didn't get to go for my run. Then, I could barely see because my eyes were all puffy. It's probably this damn rock pillow. And then, to make matters even worse, I could NOT figure out the hot water heater, so I took a freezing cold shower when I was already cold.
Then, I left late, and thought I was going to be late for work. Believe me, I was almost in tears. Luckily, the rest of my day was much better!! And anyways, these were the only bad things that have happened since I got here.
Well, work was OK. At least I got my email working, which is cool! I got an email from Jason... he'll be down to Tokyo soon (next weekend actually) which is really cool. It'd be nice if I could see him a bit when I'm here.
I lasted through the day, I mostly just installed stuff and got my computer set up, etc. Tomorrow I discuss my release schedule with Hirabayashi-san! Huh! My RELEASE SCHEDULE!?! What do I know about a release process? Ah well, this should be - ummm - entertaining. I also start my Java learning tomorrow, neat! Of couurse, learning may be a bit boring, but I can't wait until the implementation!
Well, I studied some Japanese tonight, and it's slow going, but rewarding. And most importantly,
Tomorrow should be a wonderful day...
Tuesday May 20, 1997
OK, well I didn't have hot water this morning, which really upset me. Yeah, I mean, I was having a fit! I guess it's because I was having a wonderful morning upto that point... and I just thought it would ruin my day, but actually, my day was pretty good.
I think I found a good running route although it's a bit short (1 hr.). I'd like to lengthen it, so maybe I'll check out a map tonight.
Work was good - Hirabayashi-san explained everything to me, and made a "welcome-booklet" which contains so many useful things. And I started to learn Java, although I haven't gotten much further than the introduction (which happens to bee 100 pages!) I think work is going to be fun.
So tonight I figured out the hot water AGAIN. Wow, this time I was very, very happy. I did a little dance-thing, I was so happy. Of course, I think that I almost blew up the place a few minutes ago.. oh oh.
Well everyone at work is being very nice to me! I think they find it weird that I bring my own lunch. OK, I'm going to go check if I've blown up my bathtub or not.
Wednesday May 21, 1997
I had a very good day today. First of all, it was beautiful weather. I woke up thinking it was cold, but once I got out in the sun, it was just perfect for running. So I lengthened my route, but it only extended it by 6 mins! I'm a bit suspicious about that - maybe I'll try again tomorrow for a longer route. Actually, I have an idea, I just have to consult the map.
The hot water worked, as had hoped. I think that made my day just there!
I was at work about 5 mins to 9 - I was one of the first ones there. Of course, it's not that odd because the office only opens at 8:45, officially. Today I caused a fuss with my hanko! I brought it in to work, and Hidaka-san asked if he could see it. When I showed it to him, he seemed quite surprised that it was in kanji! So much so that he proceeded to show everyone in the office! It seems that I'm the only foreigner they know of that has a kanji hanko. Cool! Because I love it! Actually, they seemed even impressed!
Slow going on the Java. This afternoon, directly after the floor meeting we had our group meeting. The sole purpose of this meeting was to have all 6 of us introduce ourselves in detail - mostly for the sake of Gupta and I. So Hidaka-san went first, in English. He's 33 and like to drive and shop as hobbies. Next was Tsurumi-san, who is only 26. He likes to ski, fish, and play Pachinko, which is a Japanese gambling game - a cross between pinball and a slot machine. Wierd. I just realized that I don't know how to spell "weird". wierd? weird?? Next was Gupta-san. He's only 24, and is from India. I think he's only here for a short time, like me. And then it was my turn. I had decided that I should introduce myself in Japanese because then they would get a feel for my level. They seemed to believe that I didn't speak too well. Anyways, just by stating in Japanese that I would introduce myself in Japanese caused a mini-commotion! Even this afternoon I've noticed thhat they're speaking to me more in Japanese.
Well, we ended up spending an HOUR on me. They wanted to know about my schooling (since gr 1!), and also about the schooling system in Canada. I discussed my running PRs with Hirose-san, and my tennis level with Hirabayashi-san. I hope we get to play sometime! Well, Hirabayashi-san was next. He's also 33, and like to shop for clothes (he explained his buying strategy to us) and driving fast. Also, he plays tennis. And he likes to research sight-seeing places in other countries and print them out. And takes pictures of his kid (3 yr old daughter) and send email to unknown persons! Last was Hirose-san, 33. He's the runner! He runs home from work. And he doesn't own a TV, so his other hobby is to read, but, get this, non-fiction! Wow. I hear he is a very, very, very smart guy. And boy do I ever believe it!
Oh! I had an email from Mikey this morning which was cool! I thought that maybe he just didn't want to mail me or something, but I guess they're having problems with their server at work. And, I got an email from Jon, and it seems that he may actually come out here in Sept!
Tonight is the X-Files, supposedly. In 20 mins or so.
Thursday May 22, 1997
Well I got my first letter today!! It was from Frans. A big fat one, although it had about - oh - 6 words on each page! It was really great of her to send it, it made me happy. Now I'm working to get Mikey out here as well, that'd be fun - he could go exchange philosophies with Buddha or something.
Well today I actually progressed in Java - finally! Yeah, I think I'm getting to the interesting stuff now. Good.
Friday May 24, 1997: 2:15am
Well today ended up being wonderful. I just got back from my welcome party about 15 mins ago - woah - 2am! So my party started at 7pm at a Thai restaurant not too far away by tube. There wasn't too much vegetarian food on the menu, but I asked the waitress myself if they had anything, and she UNDERSTOOD me! So they didn't have anything, but they said they could make Gupta-san and I special dishes.
Everyone was drinking beer, wow, did they ever go through a hell of a lot of it! And it was lots of fun! Everyone was laughing and making jokes. I didn't feel out of place at all, even if I couldn't understand what they were saying all the time. What was important was that they made me feel comfortable. It was great! Plus, the food was good. Hot though! Although I was the only one who could eat the Tamiyagi (is that the name??) soup without jugs of water. It was a really funny scene.. each person one at a time taking a teeny taste of this soup... then each person going "Ahh! Karai!!" and then drinking a load of water. I wasn't planning on having any because I was already stuffed, but I was asked to try it. So I was expecting something really hot, but it wasn't so bad. Not as hot as sambal, I don't think. So I kept on eating it...yummy! Thai food is *good*. Just not made for vegetarians. Well, there must've been about 10 courses! Wowsers!
At the end I had to give a short speech - which I wasn't prepared for, but pulled off, I think. They were all pretty drunk so maybe it didn't matter.
And at the very, very end they showed me a little Japanese tradition of signaling the end of a gathering: Hirabayashi-san gave a little speech for me, which was lovely, and then everyone clapped once in unison. It's a sort of "Cheers to you" clap, I think.
So we left the restaurant at 9:15 or so... and... Hidaka-san asked if I would like to karaoke. Umm... me?? Back in Canada I had vowed that I would never, ever, ever touch a karaoke machine. Ever. But, I found myself saying, sure! I mean, when in Japan, do as the Japanese, and if that includes karaoke, then so be it! Plus, it could be fun!
So, I got on the karaoke machine - count it - not once, not twice, but 4 times! Yoiks! It was so much fun! There were about 13 of us now, and we were at the karaoke place for at least 4 hours. Actually, there were lots of songs that I knew. They almost always sang Japanese songs, but that was fun too! We had our own room, so there were no strangers. Wow, these machines are fancy things! They're hilarious. One song, Hirabayashi-san sang, but he set the machine so that his voice sounded like a woman's. *This* was absolutely hilarious. I mean, to look over in his direction, expecting to see a woman, but seeing a man belting it out... there are other settings, such as a Daffy Duck-type setting, and a voice-lowering setting. I haven't laughed so hard in a long, long time.
I'll have to tell Jon that one guy sang "Hey Jude". And they even had "Jesse's Girl"!! I was definitely tempted. But, Levon'll be disappointed, no Hip.
Well, we left... and put a close on my welcome party. Oh, I think I'm going to enjoy it here!
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