Friday August 22, 1997: 11:30pm
Ah yes, the Epson company party. What an interesting experience. The whole building (6 floors of us) gathered in the cafeteria at around 6:15 or so - and that's when the eating and drinking began... yeah, there was a lot of both! At first I thought they probably woulnd't have a lot of vegetarian food, but when I went to the buffet to take a look... wow... salad, corn, baby corn (yum! Jon - yum!), pita bread... pasta with funky sauce.. french fries... and CAKE! That's just the vegetarian stuff, there was tons more. Anyways, for some odd reason I decided NOT to start with dessert, which was a horrible idea. Why? Well, the cake - *gasp* - ran out before I got to it! Oh NO!!! This couldn't possibly be happening to me! (It's OK, I'll get over this in a couple of days, but for now I'm in a state of shock) Well, ya live and learn. Ah, and it was all-you-can-eat and all-you-can-drink (beer & sake) which is always cool. I didn't really take advantage of it though, like I usually would.
Wow, they had entertainers there - first it was the Flamenco dancers (Ole!), and then this lady who did the most incredible gymnastics... with a BICYCLE!! I won't even attempt to explain. THen, there was this guy who actually could put REALLY sharp knives at his throat (tip pointing just under the Adam's apple) and got 2 volunteers from the audience (one being Behera-san! That was hilarious!) to push them into him... yet they didn't pierce his skin. Man, they were pressing in so hard that I had to look away a few times. You know, I oculd just see the headlines "Tragedy Strikes at Company Party when Magic Trick Goes Awry"... or something to that effect. Needless to say, this guy was cool. Oh, and after that guy there was some guy on an extra, extra high unicycle who did *the coolest things* with bowls, a mug, and a spoon.
Then, there was *the bingo*. Ah yes, we each had a fan (as our entrance ticket) which had a number on it... our bingo number. Actually, they called it bingo, but it was more like a draw. A good draw though... among the prizes were MD players, a mega stereo, fax/telephone, a colour laser printer (Epson, of course!), digital cameras, regular cameras, Sony play stations, and a trip for 2 to Guam!!! Woah!! And with all that said, I wont something!! Yes!! A whole Y1,000 ($12) gift certificate at Sogo! Ok, so you can't win everything..
Oh, I met some guy Geraldo (pronounced "heh-rahr-do" but more complicated) from the States. Stanford actually. He's been working in the Hino office, on the 2nd floor, for the last 2 months! Yet, I'd never seen him! Anyways, he'd seen me (I - uh - kinda stick out around here) and heard about me (I also get talked about a lot) and we finally got to meet. Cool. But I think he said he's leaving in a few weeks. Oh, he said that there were just tonnes of students in his program at school that are over here in Tokyo. Crazy. Hm.. he's been here 4 months but spent the first 10 weeks in Kyoto doing language study. Just a bit different from my schedule!! Anyways, we're gonna "do lunch" on Monday. Should be fun.
Hey hey hey - today was the freshman's (Hiroge-san's) turn to lead the hirukai (daily meeting) - his first time. Well, for the first time ever, I understood the WHOLE speech! Wow, I was so surprised! I mean, usually I catch quite a few words, and I always knkow what the topic is - but I've never understood the whole darned thing. It was so cool. Ew, Monday is my turn. I must choose a topic!
Saturday August 23, 1997: 11pm
Wow there is the best thunderstorm going on! I mean, the lightning and the thunder are in unison - which means I guess it's pretty darn close! Oh, and hte thunder is so loud and it's raining really hard too - funky. This almost makes up for getting *caught* in this thunderstorm on my way home from work today. Argh, I went in at 11am to type up my trip and make a few changes to the homepage. I was almost positive that I'd be outta there by 2, tops. Yeah right. I was there until 7!! That's 8 HOURS of typing, and yes, I was actually typing for a good part of it. THEN, just as I'm getting it all set up on the Waterloo server, the Epson firewall went down and I couldn't finish. So after 8 hours, I barely had anything to show for my efforts. How annoying. Oh well, I'll do it on Monday, I guess.
I was going to go to this fireworks display in Tachikawa tonight, but I assume it's been cancelled because of the storm. Maybe it'll be on tomorrow.
Sunday August 24, 1997: 8pm
Oh nooooo! Oh NO! I just got off the phone with Bianca (I was just thinking this afternoon that I should really give her a call) - she had horrible news! She said that she climbed Mt. Fuji a week or two ago, and it was the WORST thing she's ever been through! Oh no! She went on to tell me all the details... how on their way up they'd seen buff American dudes who were on their way down... and how these dudes said it was the toughest thing they've ever done - but she didn't believe it could be so bad... and they kept on going up... oh, she said it was so tough and that I really souldn't think about climbing... but, but... Jon and I were planning to climb it in September! Oh no! I told her this, and she said to convince him not to go - or to say that it was closed or something (actually, she said hat if it snows they won't let you go up to the top! I hadn't known that). But there's no way. I can't NOT climbe Fuji-san... Oh, but it sounded just horrible. Yeah sure I'm fit, but so is Bianca... oh man. Ah, she said it smells *really bad*... and it's VERY cold. And considering that Bianca has lived in Ottawa, I trust her opinion of cold. And it took them 8 HOURS to get up (my guide book had suggested 4.5 hours for the ascent) so I'll keep that in mind. Then, after telling me about how horrible it was going up, she then told me that going down was even worse! Everyone she was climbing with took several tumbles each. At least she got great pictures, but she said that it was so terrible that she doesn't even feel good about the climb. Oh no! She was _really_ trying to convince me not to go.
Anyways, Bianca's leaving for Australia (home) on September 19th, so we're gonna do dinner on Wednesday, just in case she gets too busy before she goes (or I get to busy... whatever) - should be great fun! I'll inquire more into the Fuji thing then...
Monday August 25, 1997: 9pm
Well, I *almost* made it through tonight's lesson without an incident with the textbook... right up til the last 5 minutes, in fact. Then the workbook had to come along and mess things up. Argh. Darn the workbook. Anyways, today I saw the biggest raindrops EVER. No seriously. Yeah, I could see where the saying "raining cats and dogs" came from. Luckily, I just got home before the sky let loose. I breathed a sigh of relief *sigh*. Then I realized, wait a second, I was just dropping by to pick up my textbooks... Ah well, what would a Monday night Japanese lesson be without biking in the pouring rain? Surely that wouldn't do (but I'm not bitter...)
OH... that guy Spock caught up to me on my run again today. Wow, he is really annoying. I think it's because he talks/mumbles to himself. I assume he does this because he feels awkward taht we don't have any conversation whatsoever (at 5:30am I'm not exactly the most talkative of sorts). Well, I could take running with the guy if he'd just shut his trap! I don't want to be mean or anything, but my run is when I have my time of peace, when I get to think about whatever I please. I find this very hard to do with Spock mumbling things every 30 seconds. Actually, he said that he had been waiting for me across the bridge. Oh great. SO, tomorrow I'm going to do my alternate route! I knew it would come in handy sooner or later...
Tuesday August 26, 1997: 10pm
Well this morning was the first morning since June that OUTSIDE my apartment was cooler than INSIDE my apartment. This is worthy of notice. You know, I keep my air conditioner set at 28C. Not much "air cooling" you may say... but if I put it any cooler then the heat wave that hits me when I leave is just too much. Anyways, does this mean it's cooling down a bit here? That's what I thought... but it was just regular mooshy atsui [remember, "humid and hot"?] on my way to my Japanese lesson.
Ok. One peculiar thing I've noticed about Japanese men is that they have no qualms *whatsoever* about taking a whiz in any place, at any time. Surely I jest, you say, but NO! I tell no lies! New meaning to "if you gotta go, you gotta go", let me tell ya! For instance, in Kyoto there was this guy doing his business right downtown, at high noon. It's not like there weren't TONS of people around - oh no - and he didn't seem drunk either.. at least he had the courtesy to face the building, as opposed to the street I was walking along!
And this is most definitely not a singular occurence. I distincly remember the first time I witnessed this odd ritual - it was on my run. I saw the guy whip it out and thought "hey, that guy looks like he's... no... not out in the open... ohmyGawd he really IS!". Since that morning so long ago, I have seen this at *least* 7 or 8 times. Usually on my run - maybe it's all that running water or something.
Wednesday August 27, 1997: 10pm
Ah well today was pretty darn cool. It started off really great because for the second day in a row it was warmer in my apartment than outside when I left for my run. Perfect! Then, the sun was just stunning. A true tequila sunrise sun - red on the bottom and gradually becoming bright orange at the top. I just stared at it for the first half of my run. And then, since I ran my alternate route, no Spock!
On top of this, work was good. I got stuff DONE. I fixed problems I've had for weeks. Sure, I also created problems, but hey, you win some you lose some.
At lunch time I met up with Geraldo, that American dude who works on the 2nd floor. So we chatted for awhile. Coincidentally, he climbed Fuji-san this past weekend, so I got to hear a second opinion. Yes, he said it was probably the toughest thing he's done. And like Bianca, it took him about 8 hours to get up - he didn't see the sunrise at the top because they only left at 10:30pm. And when it got close to sunrise the path was just *packed* with people - like, you couldn't even move. All these people are the ones trying to make it jeeest before sunrise... Oh, and he confirmed that it was darn cold - he even had chapped skin to prove it.
And tonight I went to Bianca's for dinner and it was great! Mmmm.. she cooked stir-fry... yummmy! Wow, and she showed me her pics of climbing Fuji and they were truly incredible. I mean, there were clouds below... SO FAR below the top.. and the sunrise was orange and just beautiful. Wow, they made me *really* want to go climb.
Bianca's leaving somewhat soon, so she gave me just TONS of stuff that she won't be taking back. It was like Christmas!! That's so cool. Oh, and I saw the infamous shower! You know, the one where you have to pay for your hot water! Craaazy stuff! We also had Kahlua and coffee... chased some bugs outta her room.. and I even got to ride the Shinkansen!! Ok, it was Bianca's bike (double riding, of course) but she calls it the Shinkansen...
And of course it was great talking with her too. Hopefully I'll see her again before she leaves!
Thursday August 28, 1997: 11:30pm
Fabulous! Today was pretty snazzy - for more than one reason (oooh - ahhh). Well, I'll get right to it. At around 11am I started getting bombarded with emails from Levon (I must've gotten 6 messages in 5 minutes or something) cuz she wanted to know my work number *urgently*. Cool, so I send it to her, and within moments my phone rings. I actually answer it (that rarely happens) and it's her! She told me all about the apartment and how she's fixed it all up... and Lisa's moving into my room next week sometime.. and Levon's got me all excited about some mystery package she's sent me in the mail! Anyways, we musta talked for a half hour (so much more fun than trying to find that bug in my code) and it made me so happy!
Of course, I got about 5 hours of sleep last night and not much more in the last 3 nights... so by 3 or so I was ready to fall over. Ugh.
Oh yeah, and Dave was supposed to be emailing me from Hirooka (where his business trip was to) sometime during the day to tell me when his train would be getting into Tokyo tonight, and to suggest a place to meet. I had told him that I wasn't going to be home until 9 (because I had a festival to go to) so phoning me would be useless... so I was really hoping he would email. But no... I checked all the time for a message but none came... so at 5:15 when it was time to leave work... I just thought "Well, his fault" and headed over to Koenji where this huge festival was taking place.
Ok, now I found out about this festival from Simon, who's dancing in it! He said that it would be a fun festival to go to, but I wasn't expecting to enjoy myself *quite* so much! So, I arrive at the Koenji station and already it is just PACKED... before I can even go through the wickets! Really, they had policeman lining people up to put their ticket through - it was crazy! I actually stood still for a good 5 minutes...
When I got out of the station I headed towards a medium-sized street because I could see a dance group heading in that direction. I could tell they were a dance group pretty easily because the girls were dressed in summer kimonos with these funny-shaped hats (you know those boat-shaped hats ids make out of newspaper? They're just like that but in straw), the men were in their summer wear with bandanas tied all around their face (that couldn't possibly be comfortable), and then there were the musicians with all their bongo-looking drums and other instruments that I *swear* I have never seen before. Anyways, it was actually quite difficult to follow these guys because the streets were just loaded with spectators, other dance groups, vendors, yada yada. The actual festival hadn't started yet.. but as I was standing on the sidewalk near this dance-group, suddenly the drums started beating and the music playing... the crowd let out huge yells and shourts.. oh, I guess it's starting!
Now what I hadn't realized is that the festival is actually like a parade.. spectators line the streets ALL around the Koenji station (I mean, a goood 5-6km squared area musta been blocked off for this!) and the dance groups (about 40 people each) dance _slowly_ down whatever streets they want. Now if you can picture this, it's *very* cool. Each group has their own musicians playing Japanese traditional folk music EXTRA loud. The music has got a really great beat - I was groovin down within minutes. Then there are the dancers themselves - so beautifully dressed (they're in costumes so they look very coordinated) and the dances are choreographed very well. Their moves are very slow but it looks great.
So there I was, watching the very first group go by, when this guy handing out fans (they hand out fans at EVERY festival, I swear) gives one to me, and says "Dance!". I look to where he's pointing - and there's a dance group of the *strangest* dressed people. Like, the cross-dresser, the gorilla, the girl with the silver wig.. fabulous! So I say to him "Me? Dance?", and he's like "Yeah sure!" - I hesitate - then grab the fan and join in! Oh, it was great! You could dance any way you wanted and yell whatever you wanted and do whatever you wanted. Actually, the cross-dresser was the leader of the group and she (he?) was leading the yells. I'm not sure what they were saying but I was yelling it just as good as the rest of them!
I was at the festival for about 2 hours - I danced with this group for a good chunk of it! I didn't see Simon but I wasn't really expecting to because there were just so many people. So I headed back to Hino... I was going to go home and wait for Dave to call - but as I was crossing the street in front of the station, I happened to glance into a phone booth... and lo and behold is Dave.. phoning me! "You lookin' for me?" Ah! I guess he'd been bumming around for an hour or so which isn't so bad at all. Anwyays, it's great to see him! We walked back to my apartment - there's just so much to talke about! He showed me pics of Sapporo and told some purdy funny stories. We compared kanji knowledge (I think he knows more) and stuff like that. Cool. Ah, but it's late now and I must go to work tomorrow.
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