It's Sunday, July 7, 1991.
I'm both mentally and physically drained - so of course the phone rings at 8AM to wake me up. Now, normally I wouldn't jump out of bed to get the phone, but this call had a funny long-distance ring to it, so I figure if someone is cool enough to call me long-distance, I'm cool enough to pick up the phone.
It's my friend Rob from Toronto. I really haven't seen Rob for 11 months since arriving here in Ohtawara-shi (Ohtawara City), Tochigi-ken (Tochigi Prefecture), in Japan. He has a new phone number and new news and we chat for an hour. It feels pretty good to talk with him but—and I don't know about you–but when I get up in the morning, I have to go to the bathroom to empty out various orifices. Finally, I can't take it any longer and have to cut short our talk. But - I feel good now.
I go out and get my hair cut at Nakamura... in Ohtawara, we have a barber who speaks English and likes foreigners. I'm not saying there are people who hate foreigners, but it's always nice to go where you feel comfortable.
Read THIS blog for a short example of what the haircut experience was like for myself and Matthew.
Afterward, I go shopping for food, do laundry (I'm always doing laundry ne (eh)?
At 2PM I'm ready for Suzuki Tokunori's party--he's another funny Japanese man - and he's a farmer to boot. Hmm... perhaps all of the really funny guys in Japan have the surname of 'Suzuki'?
Because we're foreigners, Matthew and I are not charged - but all of the Japanese people are... I guess this enkai (party) is part of the Ohtawara International Friendship Association - and you can't charge your international friends.
Shoko—the girl from a night school English class I teach for extra-curricular kicks (and money) is there. I really like her and I think she likes me, but there's still a language barrier and I wish I could go over and say hello.
Because of that—and because my ex-girlfriend Ashley is there—I get drunk on a lot of beer, but I do eat well to try and temper it.
I play some card games with the kids who are there. They always seem to appreciate some attention from the adults (even if it's a gaijin-foreigner... or perhaps more so when it's a giajin).
Except for a brief "Hi", I don't speak to Ashley.
I usually feel lonely at parties surrounded by people who know each other. For some reason, my outgoing personality reverts to the old shy Andrew whenever there are a lot of people around. I even walked away from the party to look at the flowers Suzuki-san grows just to get away from everyone.
But, here in Japan, I can never be truly alone as people always like to wander over to see what I'm up to - what great practical joke I'm thinking of next. The whole 'funny guy' stuff I do–that's all spur of the moment, however.
Matthew is talking with Shoko. I wish I could.
As we're leaving the party, Matthew tells me he was telling Shoko all about me. She likes me! She was worried about my break-up with Ashley, as in Japanese 'tradition' when you break-up, you never talk to that person again. That's seems harsh. But because of that difference in North American/Japanese culture, she thought I was still going out with Ashley.
Matthew corrected Shoko. What a guy!
Matthew's girlfriend Takako drives me out from the party back home and then waits while I pick up some clothes before driving me out to Nasu Shiobara-eki (eki = train station) where I meet Mona, a high-school assistant English teacher - and the girlfriend of Tim Mould, another buddy.
I like Takako for a number of reasons. She didn't have to drive me anywhere, but she did. That train station wasn't even necessarily close by—maybe eight kilometres away—but she did. She offered, and I accepted. Matthew did alright by her and she by him.
At the train station, Mona and I hop aboard a train and head to her place--which I have forgotten where it is exactly.
As we get off the train, it begins to rain.
Ame otoko (Rain man).
She and I are going to head down to the Immigration Office tomorrow to pick up our papers (we had previously gone down to file that paperwork a week or two ago when I made out with one of her friends at a night club in Tokyo).
Mona Maas is about 5-10, long dark brown hair and is very well-proportioned with twinkling eyes that radiate a wonderful sense of humor and very high intelligence.
She's too smart to sleep with me, I guess... even though I have always only wanted a woman who was as smart or smarter than me. And, truthfully, that's all I have ever slept with or dated.
Needless to say, I sleep in the loft of Mona's place listening to the rain clatter against the roof.
Somewhere just sleeping on top of a woman,
Andrew Joseph
Today's blog title is crooned by Bob Dylan: STONED. By the way... I do a great Dylan impression... because I can't sing extremely well, I can do the Dylan whine. He's still a fine musician. Obvious to me, the 'stoned' aspect in this song is another way of saying that four letter word for intercourse. Starts with an F and ends with a K, and has the letters U and C in the middle. And that is how you swear without swearing in this blog.
PS: It's strange that I don't swear in this blog considering I have a mouth on me that would make a Catholic school girl blush while trying to pick-up a sailor.
I'm both mentally and physically drained - so of course the phone rings at 8AM to wake me up. Now, normally I wouldn't jump out of bed to get the phone, but this call had a funny long-distance ring to it, so I figure if someone is cool enough to call me long-distance, I'm cool enough to pick up the phone.
It's my friend Rob from Toronto. I really haven't seen Rob for 11 months since arriving here in Ohtawara-shi (Ohtawara City), Tochigi-ken (Tochigi Prefecture), in Japan. He has a new phone number and new news and we chat for an hour. It feels pretty good to talk with him but—and I don't know about you–but when I get up in the morning, I have to go to the bathroom to empty out various orifices. Finally, I can't take it any longer and have to cut short our talk. But - I feel good now.
I go out and get my hair cut at Nakamura... in Ohtawara, we have a barber who speaks English and likes foreigners. I'm not saying there are people who hate foreigners, but it's always nice to go where you feel comfortable.
Read THIS blog for a short example of what the haircut experience was like for myself and Matthew.
Afterward, I go shopping for food, do laundry (I'm always doing laundry ne (eh)?
At 2PM I'm ready for Suzuki Tokunori's party--he's another funny Japanese man - and he's a farmer to boot. Hmm... perhaps all of the really funny guys in Japan have the surname of 'Suzuki'?
Because we're foreigners, Matthew and I are not charged - but all of the Japanese people are... I guess this enkai (party) is part of the Ohtawara International Friendship Association - and you can't charge your international friends.
Shoko—the girl from a night school English class I teach for extra-curricular kicks (and money) is there. I really like her and I think she likes me, but there's still a language barrier and I wish I could go over and say hello.
Because of that—and because my ex-girlfriend Ashley is there—I get drunk on a lot of beer, but I do eat well to try and temper it.
I play some card games with the kids who are there. They always seem to appreciate some attention from the adults (even if it's a gaijin-foreigner... or perhaps more so when it's a giajin).
Except for a brief "Hi", I don't speak to Ashley.
I usually feel lonely at parties surrounded by people who know each other. For some reason, my outgoing personality reverts to the old shy Andrew whenever there are a lot of people around. I even walked away from the party to look at the flowers Suzuki-san grows just to get away from everyone.
But, here in Japan, I can never be truly alone as people always like to wander over to see what I'm up to - what great practical joke I'm thinking of next. The whole 'funny guy' stuff I do–that's all spur of the moment, however.
Matthew is talking with Shoko. I wish I could.
As we're leaving the party, Matthew tells me he was telling Shoko all about me. She likes me! She was worried about my break-up with Ashley, as in Japanese 'tradition' when you break-up, you never talk to that person again. That's seems harsh. But because of that difference in North American/Japanese culture, she thought I was still going out with Ashley.
Matthew corrected Shoko. What a guy!
Matthew's girlfriend Takako drives me out from the party back home and then waits while I pick up some clothes before driving me out to Nasu Shiobara-eki (eki = train station) where I meet Mona, a high-school assistant English teacher - and the girlfriend of Tim Mould, another buddy.
I like Takako for a number of reasons. She didn't have to drive me anywhere, but she did. That train station wasn't even necessarily close by—maybe eight kilometres away—but she did. She offered, and I accepted. Matthew did alright by her and she by him.
At the train station, Mona and I hop aboard a train and head to her place--which I have forgotten where it is exactly.
As we get off the train, it begins to rain.
Ame otoko (Rain man).
She and I are going to head down to the Immigration Office tomorrow to pick up our papers (we had previously gone down to file that paperwork a week or two ago when I made out with one of her friends at a night club in Tokyo).
Mona Maas is about 5-10, long dark brown hair and is very well-proportioned with twinkling eyes that radiate a wonderful sense of humor and very high intelligence.
She's too smart to sleep with me, I guess... even though I have always only wanted a woman who was as smart or smarter than me. And, truthfully, that's all I have ever slept with or dated.
Needless to say, I sleep in the loft of Mona's place listening to the rain clatter against the roof.
Somewhere just sleeping on top of a woman,
Andrew Joseph
Today's blog title is crooned by Bob Dylan: STONED. By the way... I do a great Dylan impression... because I can't sing extremely well, I can do the Dylan whine. He's still a fine musician. Obvious to me, the 'stoned' aspect in this song is another way of saying that four letter word for intercourse. Starts with an F and ends with a K, and has the letters U and C in the middle. And that is how you swear without swearing in this blog.
PS: It's strange that I don't swear in this blog considering I have a mouth on me that would make a Catholic school girl blush while trying to pick-up a sailor.
