It's Thursday, May 30, 1991 - I'm in Kobe-shi (City of Kobe) for a renewer's conference for returning assistant English teachers on the JET (Japan Exchange & Teaching) Programme. I'm having girlfriend problems (Ashley), compounded by the fact that I have some feelings for another young woman - Kristine South - and the two of them have met and are apparently chummy. At least it feels that way after each ditched me sometime last night.
It's a really boring day of long-winded speeches. I don't see Ashley at all, but during the lectures/speeches, I sit beside Kristine and wish we weren't separated by some 500 kilometres during our everyday stay in Japan. She in Shiga-ken, me in Tochigi-ken. But... she's ten inches away from me right now. What a pity I don't have 10 inches to help me bridge the gap.
Kristine and I write notes to each other so as not to interrupt the lectures. It's so high school. At least it would have reminded me of high school if I could have a beautiful woman/girl sit beside me and write notes back and forth. Hell, no one ever sent me notes. Well, does detention count?
I tell Kristine - again this is me being stupid - all about my problems with Ashley. Why would I do that? Granted I shouldn't tell her how happy I am (I'm not), but why bring up my girlfriend at all? Could it be I value her input?
Kristine more or less tells me (actually she pretty much just up and told me) that Ashley and I should break up.
I'm deathly afraid to lose the first woman who ever slept with me so instead I bargain with Kristine that maybe Ashley and I should take a break - to refresh our energies - because that would be better than an all out break-up. Also, it's obvious to me20 years later that I did not value her input on this particular topic. I'm an idiot, folks.
With the lecture over, I agree to hook up with Kristine (no not that type of hook up! And why not, Kristine!?) at 8:15PM.
Matthew, Ashley her Japanese local friend Mayuko and I go to dinner. It must have been non-descript, because my journal entry mentions nothing else about it.
But... I'm pretty sure I ditch those three to go back to the hotel to meet Kristine.
She's there with a whole gaggle of her Kinki Block (that's the area - it's called 'Kinki') friends (fellow JET assistant English teachers). They're all pretty nice and most of them are people I met that first night in Tokyo when I initially met Kristine. You can read about that wonderful adventure HERE.
I spy the gorgeous Andrea (no last name remembered now... or then, apparently) with the long blond hair and the even longer legs. She is being harassed by some guy who talks too much, and it appears as though this distressed damsel is in need of some rescuing. So I do.
I call her over like she's an old friend I haven't seen in a while - which is true. She smiles, gives me a hug and says she owes me a beer.
Myself and the Kinki kids go out for a night on the town. I'm the only person in this group not from this area.. I'm from 500 kilometres away... and I'm sure I'm intruding, but because I'm with Kristine, it's all cool. Or, maybe they didn't care where I was from and just enjoyed me being around. Or maybe it was so I would occupy Kristine to stop her from bossing everyone else around. Kidding, Kristine!
We head to the Pardise Garage for, in no particular order: dancing, drinking and sweating. Plenty of each. I get that beer from Andrea, but not much else. On the plus side, I think everyone there knew I was really interested in Kristine - except perhaps Kristine.
Regardless... we all had a good time even though the sexually-charged evening did not end up in sex... maybe it did, but I wasn't involved... and in this blog, that's what matters.
I'm back at my hotel at 2AM. I see Ashley wandering around the lobby with Matthew and wait until they separate. I ignore her - why not, I'm not getting a kiss - and then catch-up to Matthew and head for the room we are sharing with Doug Maitland. These two still have the single beds... and me, the one of us three who probably should have scored with at least three women tonight, get's the fold-out bed. Revenge shall be mine again, I'm sure.
For some reason, I call up my friend John K. back in Toronto and get the shock of my life when he tells me he's going to come to Japan. Whoa. Soon. Double whoa.
That was unexpected.
Still, I drift quickly to sleep and think of Kristine, Ashley and Andrea and wonder why I'm sleeping with two guys - again.
Somewhere snoring like a jet plane with asthma,
Andrew (Revenge) Joseph
Today's blog title is by the Beatles: BACKINTHEUSSR. Why? Because Georgia is always on my mi-mi-mi-mi-mi-mi-mind.
PS: Ashley is from Augusta, Georgia, back in the U.S. of A.
PPS: Tune in about 8 hours when I post a piece on Japan's current space programme. It has nothing to do with Kristine, Ashley or myself... but it's a cool story.
PPPS: A big happy birthday to my friend Rob Jones! YAY!!!! Thanks for being my friend!
It's a really boring day of long-winded speeches. I don't see Ashley at all, but during the lectures/speeches, I sit beside Kristine and wish we weren't separated by some 500 kilometres during our everyday stay in Japan. She in Shiga-ken, me in Tochigi-ken. But... she's ten inches away from me right now. What a pity I don't have 10 inches to help me bridge the gap.
Kristine and I write notes to each other so as not to interrupt the lectures. It's so high school. At least it would have reminded me of high school if I could have a beautiful woman/girl sit beside me and write notes back and forth. Hell, no one ever sent me notes. Well, does detention count?
I tell Kristine - again this is me being stupid - all about my problems with Ashley. Why would I do that? Granted I shouldn't tell her how happy I am (I'm not), but why bring up my girlfriend at all? Could it be I value her input?
Kristine more or less tells me (actually she pretty much just up and told me) that Ashley and I should break up.
I'm deathly afraid to lose the first woman who ever slept with me so instead I bargain with Kristine that maybe Ashley and I should take a break - to refresh our energies - because that would be better than an all out break-up. Also, it's obvious to me20 years later that I did not value her input on this particular topic. I'm an idiot, folks.
With the lecture over, I agree to hook up with Kristine (no not that type of hook up! And why not, Kristine!?) at 8:15PM.
Matthew, Ashley her Japanese local friend Mayuko and I go to dinner. It must have been non-descript, because my journal entry mentions nothing else about it.
But... I'm pretty sure I ditch those three to go back to the hotel to meet Kristine.
She's there with a whole gaggle of her Kinki Block (that's the area - it's called 'Kinki') friends (fellow JET assistant English teachers). They're all pretty nice and most of them are people I met that first night in Tokyo when I initially met Kristine. You can read about that wonderful adventure HERE.
I spy the gorgeous Andrea (no last name remembered now... or then, apparently) with the long blond hair and the even longer legs. She is being harassed by some guy who talks too much, and it appears as though this distressed damsel is in need of some rescuing. So I do.
I call her over like she's an old friend I haven't seen in a while - which is true. She smiles, gives me a hug and says she owes me a beer.
Myself and the Kinki kids go out for a night on the town. I'm the only person in this group not from this area.. I'm from 500 kilometres away... and I'm sure I'm intruding, but because I'm with Kristine, it's all cool. Or, maybe they didn't care where I was from and just enjoyed me being around. Or maybe it was so I would occupy Kristine to stop her from bossing everyone else around. Kidding, Kristine!
We head to the Pardise Garage for, in no particular order: dancing, drinking and sweating. Plenty of each. I get that beer from Andrea, but not much else. On the plus side, I think everyone there knew I was really interested in Kristine - except perhaps Kristine.
Regardless... we all had a good time even though the sexually-charged evening did not end up in sex... maybe it did, but I wasn't involved... and in this blog, that's what matters.
I'm back at my hotel at 2AM. I see Ashley wandering around the lobby with Matthew and wait until they separate. I ignore her - why not, I'm not getting a kiss - and then catch-up to Matthew and head for the room we are sharing with Doug Maitland. These two still have the single beds... and me, the one of us three who probably should have scored with at least three women tonight, get's the fold-out bed. Revenge shall be mine again, I'm sure.
For some reason, I call up my friend John K. back in Toronto and get the shock of my life when he tells me he's going to come to Japan. Whoa. Soon. Double whoa.
That was unexpected.
Still, I drift quickly to sleep and think of Kristine, Ashley and Andrea and wonder why I'm sleeping with two guys - again.
Somewhere snoring like a jet plane with asthma,
Andrew (Revenge) Joseph
Today's blog title is by the Beatles: BACKINTHEUSSR. Why? Because Georgia is always on my mi-mi-mi-mi-mi-mi-mind.
PS: Ashley is from Augusta, Georgia, back in the U.S. of A.
PPS: Tune in about 8 hours when I post a piece on Japan's current space programme. It has nothing to do with Kristine, Ashley or myself... but it's a cool story.
PPPS: A big happy birthday to my friend Rob Jones! YAY!!!! Thanks for being my friend!
