I am one of life's anticipated moments...

Anticipation is often accompanied by some unwelomed guests...there's excitement, of course, but also fear, anxeity, angst, and trepidation, all rolled up into a bunch of little balls that bounce around your stomach. But once the "moment" of anticipation has arrived...those little balls are no more. How do they go away I wonder? I wonder if there was like some pill you could take that would shoot those little suckers down so you wouldn't have to go through all of that anxiety. I guess one should welcome anxiety...it's a soft of adrenaline rush. Like when you're driving crazy fast, or rushing down the slopes on a snowboard..as with all things...embrace it!

I am an unsettled feeling in the pit of my stomach....

Big props to JonJon and Ivy on their recent engagement! Words are too small to describe how happy I am for the two of you!

Anyway, to some random ish...I got cut playing basketball last week outside with my coworkers...Here is a lesson in how NOT to take care of a wound...

This was the cut the day after...

Not too bad right? I cleaned it out w/ alcohol and kinda just left it as is...a little neosporin and then I headed out for the weekend...


Turns out that a few days of chlorine and pool water isn't very good for an open cut...


Some of that stuff comin out is fat...in the words of Chris..."YUM!" Well there's an alternative to dieting!


So after gettin it checked out..everything's okay. Tetanus shot was taken 2 years ago, and everything else checked out okay too. Doc said I waited a little too long to get it checked out now it's gonna scar nice and good. It looks all purple because of the stuff she told me to put on it...smells like grape jelly.

Alcohol, Peroxide and Iodine actually AID in scarring. They're great disinfectants, but they also kill the "baby" cells that help regenerate the skin. So in the future, use warm soap and water, and saline if you have to. And that my friends, is the lesson of the day...

I am the transition back...

I am soooooo frickin tired. I've actually been sleeping lately, over 10 hours the other day(total, that is) and about 8 hours last night...so wtf is going on? Maybe it's not good sleep...couch sleep definitely would fall into that category. So maybe my double digit hours of sleep are only equivalent to like my usual 4 or 5...or maybe even less, because I can usually function on 4 or 5 horus of sleep w/ no problem. Man, I need a new bed...I can't wait. I'll probably start shoppin for one soon.

Distraction (dĭ-strāk'shən) noun - an entertainment that provokes pleased interest and distracts you from worries and vexations [syn: beguilement]
- it's good to be distracted sometimes. You need a break from the norm, something different. A chance to forget all your worries. And this weekend was just that...a much needed distraction.

I swear, this is the year of big changes. When I look back at 2007 come Dec 31st...so many things will be completely different. So many people going through dramatic changes in their lives. So weird that everyone's goin through it at around the same time.


This is such a cool sign. I wonder if the people get tired waiting on the other side all day long.

I am another slow start...

HAPPY POP'S DAY!!!

Yesterday's father's day was pretty good. The fam and I went to Grand Lux Cafe and had a scrumptious, yet way over-proportioned dinner. We barely got through our appetizers...and practically NO one even got half-way through their entrees. Luckily I had the soup and salad and half samich combo, so I got through okay. But of course everyone had room for biegnets...mmmm, biegnets. I don't even know if I spelled that right.



So I said that my aunt(pop's youngest sibling) is here form the PI. She'll be staying w/ us for a while, and it's good to see her. So she brought a bunch of stuff w/ her...


This is a letter pop wrote to my lolo and lola when he was in med school...he was in med school back in the day, frickin crazy...


His writing was so straight...and if you could read it, it was all in english...and that was back in '62...frickin 45 years ago. He had to drop out of med school to take care of the family and unfortunately his path never led back to the medical field...i love my pop. He has really shown me what strength and love for family is all about...

Slow week so far, even though I came in at 1PM today. I woke up kinda sore from my game yesterday so I needed to catch up on some rest. Didn't sleep much on the weekend either...so I guess I was tryin to catch up. Can't wait for the weekend though, yay.



Here's a pic of my godson, Jalen, and his older sister Mikayla. I don't think I've posted a pic of him yet. But ain't he a cute little guy?

I am a weary brown eye....

As per my last entry, I didn't have internet access from my hotel room in Tokyo...so these are the late posts...

June 10, 2007
(1:02 AM tokyo time)

I am the midnight train to...Shinagawa...

Here I am in Tokyo. It was a good day. Met up w/ an old friend from college, Brian. We met up, had dinner, had a few drinks and just reminisced about the old days. Crazy it's been so long since we were in college. Life was great back then, it really was, so much less to think about and worry about...just classes and whether or not I was gonna go, he he he...if one could only go back in time...





Tokyo is an incredibly busy city. I checked in to my hotel...and chilled for a while before heading back out to Ueno Park for a few hours and just checking the sites. So many people man, it's crazy. This city is so full of people, I can't believe how many people are out and about doing this and that, it's just crazy.


I met Brian here, in Shibuya. This is the Hachiko. Legend has it that this faithful friend was waiting here for his master, unaware that his master had died...and the dog waited and waited and waited...until he turned into the statue...at least that's how much I got from the story. Pretty cool...i love Urban Legend.







It is truly an incredible site to watch an entire city close down. We were having our drinks and Brian looked at the time, and was like "Oh sh#$, we gotta go." And go we did. Everyone was rushing for the last trains to their respective homes...or homes for the night. People running, and then...



everything empty. It's amazing that just a few hours ago, this same area was bursting at the seams with people, and now...you could hear a pin drop. Talk about clockwork...

_____________________

June 11th
(10:00AM Tokyo Time)

I am a short weekend...

I'm already packin up to go home, making sure I get everything together before I go out and about one last time before I head to the airport. I get this weird paranoia about forgetting stuff, esp when I'm as far as Japan...it would just suck to forget something...cuz you probably won't get it back...

Anyway, I would post all my pics, but then what would be the use of looking at my flickr set? he he he...here are some other highlights from my trip.




mmmmm, ramen!!!


Ueno park...thanks for the suggestion Belle!




The shoe store Bri and I checked out in Kichijoji. I ended up buying 3 pairs of kicks...2 pairs of the nike free 5.0's and a pair of Jordan XI's.


Brian, his gf Miwa, and me after having Brazilian Curasco...mmmmm


My FAVORITE pic from this trip. This is my view from my seat when I was chillin at Starbucks(the highest grossing in the world) overlooking the intersection out of Shibuya station(the busiest intersection in the world...it is said that over 1.5 million people cross this intersection everyday).

Too bad I don't have more vacation time to spend out here...

I am an eagerly anticipated departure...

I'm finally goin home. I'm at the airport, using the last of my 100 yen coins. I've been wanting to post forever, but didn't have internet access at my hotel in tokyo, and too lazy to find an internet cafe(and not wanting to lug my laptop around of course)...so I have them nice and saved and ready to be posted when I get home.

I have to admit that it has been a very tough week for me. But the weekend was really cool, I got the chance to meet up w/an old friend from college...Brian G. So thanks B for takin me around and showin me the spots! Especially the kicks!

Man, what a long long week...and I get to board my flight with the wonderful thought that I have to go straight to work upon my arrival...W - T - F. I have to get a bunch of paperwork done by wednesday, so I'll probably take Friday off or something.

Next post will be from Cali...

See you on the other side...

I am the boy who cried wolf...

Before I get into the meat of my entry...I completely packed wrong for this trip. People said it was hot..so I packed all shorts(asides from my suits that I have to wear to work) and one pair of jeans. So what's the weather like this weekend in tokyo? 90% chance of rain...WTF...grrrreat. Oh well, there's always shopping I guess.

Anyway, no one will ever believe this story; I have no pictures, and no witnesses, but I believe it in my heart of hearts...and God knows I'm telling the truth...so I shall tell it anyway...

So Jem drops me off at the airport at about 9:30 on Saturday, and I get in my check-in line...the E-ticked one, cuz I already checked in the night before, I love internet man. Anyway...so I get in line at UA Terminal 7 and there's this Pilipino family in front of me...two guys, a lady, and two kids, who are constantly running around playfighting the ENTIRE time. It was amusing at first, but then it started to irk me a bit, cuz they kept falling all over the place and running into people...so I was thinking, "hey dudes, control your kids.." I look at who I thought was the dad, and I thought he looked JUST like Manny Pacquaio...you know, the Pacman...anyway, I shrug it off, becuase I'm thinking, how come he's not accompanied by more people? So we run into each other again in the security line, and I SWEAR I think it's him...but then my better judgement gets the best of me and says, "Dude, he's just w/ his family and no security...at all? Come on." So again, I shake it off...we even made eye contact at one point and I have the typical guy-to-guy head nod. So it was all good. I was gonna ask him if anyone ever told him he looked like Pacquaio...but dude, he does look like him, so I'm sure he would've been hearing it for the millionth time...so I thought better of it. So now it's Wednesday, Japan time, and I'm chattin w/ Chris and Iya and tell them about it and ask them if they knew if he had kids. Iya tells me that he has 3; two boys and a baby girl...there was no baby girl there that day, so i thought it wasn't him. So I asked her to search for some pics of them(because I can't from the office). She e-mails me a few pics, and this one sold me



It was HIM! Because that was the wife that I saw and even that dude on the far left! Dangit! So if I knew right then and there...I would have THIS pic instead.



Darnit...i'm so bummed. I should just follow my gut next time and take the pic first and even if it's NOT him, I'll still just tell people it was...ha ha ha. Maybe my mind is seeing those people now that I see that pic...but it wasn't THAT long ago...and it all adds up. It really does!!!!

I am a small light at the end of the tunnel...

Hey, the housekeeper found my phone! Sweet! I wish I had a personal one all the time :)

Speaking of cleaning ladies, the cleaning lady here at work comes into the bathroom WHILE you're in there...and I'm in the BOYS bathroom. They don't even say anything, they just come in and clean. I thought it was just a one-time thing cuz it happened last night, but it happened again today! There were like 4 dudes in there and she just came in, changed the trash, mopped and then walked out! Wtf?!? ha ha ha.

Frickin didn't get out of work until 10:15 today...WTF. I'm so glad to be rid of that place for the week...I've worked more this week than I do in two back home...sheesh. And YES, I work back at home. Glad to be done though...some people are just too frickin negative for me...takes all of my energy not to slap them...

Tokyo, here I come!

I am the three universal languages...Love, Sports...and Alcohol...

Today felt like there was a Taiko Drum party in my head....

My goodness, Japanese people can drink. Such little people...yet they can drink so much. It's probably cuz they work so many hours. Work hard, play harder, I guess. We pretty much started drinking right around 7 and went right up to 10 and I was pretty blasted by that point(see above). We went w/ two of the upper mgrs here, they wanted to take us out to get some food and drinks...so we just went to some small sushi bar. These other guys wanted to go out too, younger guys...ones that used to work w/ me in Torrance, but i couldn't say no to the managers...the younger guys speak English...the mgrs...not so much. Though the head guy did a little bit, and did all he could to make me feel as comfortable as possible. But my PM the guy w/ me, kept the convo in Japanese...so...what did I do? Just drink and drink, beers, and then some sho ju....til at one point I thought I could understand japanese, he he he.Wow, that entry was pretty drunk. I don't even remember uploading my pics to flickr last night, let alone rotating them all so that they're upright. And I seem to have lost my phone...great. Of course I had this nice hangover whilst working another 12-13 hour day...krikey. Days are far too long here. Even my hangover went away before the work day ended...

At lunch some people were talking about setting up a J-shuttle(exchange) program for people from my dept with Iwaki. I thought about it for a bit, it might be nice to be away for a while...but not here...it's too smalltown for me. It's crazy how people are totally smalltown or big city people and can't fit into the opposite of what they are. One of the guys at work left recently and moved to Tennessee, a really small town there, to work for Jack Daniels(how sweet is that?). Anyway, I was talking to him before he left and he said how much he hated LA and is so looking forward to moving to a small town. He always loved being outdoors and camping and just smalltown life I guess. So he found his way to a small town, good for him. As for me, i don't think small-town life is for me. Esp here, small town, and the work days are hella long. I clearly could not handle that. Lunch is on campus...so there's no running errands, goin to the gym, or eating outside. I don't even know if there are restaurants except for way back in town. So yeah, no J-shuttle for me...I hope it's not a mandatory thing, he he he.

je suis un homme qui boive trop d'alcohol

Je suis....drunk?..mais il n'ya pas un personne que je peux parler avec....je n'est pas happy...where the effff is severytone? seven thirety and noe one is awake ? don't awnywone have worok earlet today? Sdamn you guys....somseotne scoem to iwake. I'm lonewty and ads. Fowrget you guays them....heh heh hesh

Time for drinking!!!




owhg oh.


ghtta laove ysou some biro!


me thinsweks me dranks too miych.
...

Lkanepie!!!




wathat?


I llwiek too pee


hwoe maney is wtaht?


Dwomeo ararigato gozaiaiemasu!!!!

I am a bald face in a sea of brown faces...

What is another Japan trip w/o pics...

I love international flights...free alcohol:



"Sometimes I like to hold these in my had and pretend I'm an giant..."

I'm BAAAAAACK!


I forget how small my closet was...


This is how I have to dress for work everyday...I hate dressin up....argh


And awaaaay, we go!


Every morning before work officially begins, they all do morning exercises...to music and everything...


Lunch at the cafeteria...it's like high school. Crazy too, cuz so many people eat there, we have to go in shifts...


Electronic menu's...what will they think of next?


Mmmmmmm....beer. What better way to relax after a 13 hour day at work?


And...when in Rome...err...Japan....

More to come later...

I am a sore feather...

June 05[4:07 AM Iwaki Time]

It's quite surreal to be back here, in this incredibly small room, amongst people that I can barely understand, in a city that is 6000 miles away from home. I forgot how long the trip was out here...11 hour flight, plus two trains totalling another 3.5 hours and a 15-minute walk to my hotel with all my luggage; it can definitely make one a little tired. With the wait time at the airport and dealing with customs once you get out the trip from start to finish can take up to 18 hours. Crazy huh?

The flight wasn't too bad though, we had a tail wind, so it was 1.5 hours shorter than usual. There was a bit of turbulence, but not too bad. I only got dizzy if I was trying to read at the time. I haven't been afraid of flying lately as much as I used to. That paralyzing fear has kindof subsided, and not to sound all morbid or depressing or anything, but it's because during one of my flights, at one point a thought came into my head that, if this plane were to go down today, it wouldn't really matter, I would be okay with it...and that I wasn't afraid to die. I know, not the greatest way to get over one's fear of flying, but hey, that's just the thought that popped into my head. But since then, flying isn't so bad. Not to mention the great thing about international flights...unlimited Alcohol. I got my neighbor accross the aisle(who didn't drink) to ask for some extras, he he he

Anyway, I digress...I'm in Japan...again. A year and a half from the last time I was here. I forget how small this room is...goodness. Small is relative though, because at least I fit perfectly on the bed...I remember one of my coworkers, this white dude named Tom, had to sleep slanted, along the diagonal of the bed...that must have sucked, he he he. I definitely liked the weather back then though, cold. Right now it was overcast in the morning, but it heats up during the day, which means, it's even warmer inside, cuz they dont' do AC here. Blech. Speaking of work...it's crazy. I can't believe the long days we put in here...we got to the office at 7:15AM and left at 8PM. I'm glad I'm only here a week...sheesh. Feels like school though, everyone's dressed the same, we go to the cafeteria for lunch, and I'm stuck here til it's time to go home. No errands, no gym, no anything. I could not work here for an extended period of time...heck, just knowing I have to be here for a week is already taking it's toll on me(I said that already). A few people out here that used to be in our Torrance office want to take me out and get me drunk..but I'm gonna have to pass on that tonight...I'm not feeling too well, and I want to run in the morning. I have my GPS receiver w/ me, so at least I can get an accurate count of how far I'm running. Just 2 miles will be enough for me, I think.

Here's to a week of work, and a weekend of travel and adventure, and maybe the chance to meet up with old friends...