Wednesday, July 10, 1991.
I'm in Ohtawara-shi, Tochigi-ken, Japan. I have just spent yesterday evening attempting to seduce my ex-girlfriend Ashley. Aside from my breath smelling like her feet, all I got was a quick peck on the lips. I thought it was going to happen—she had even showed up at my apartment, drunk out of her mind... but nope, it just wasn't meant to be.
I am dead on my feet today after about three hours of restless sleep—trying to figure out what I have to do to get her to sleep with me. I had previously floated around the idea that even she didn't want to be boyfriend/girlfriend, we should be friends with benefits.
Now I'm unsure WHEN that term came about, but I was using it 20 years ago when trying to convince her of this crazy scheme... I figured, why not? She trusted me already... and I was good at what I was doing—so why not enjoy the benefits. I was pretty sure that was all I wanted a girlfriend for anyway!
I think.
At Nozaki Chu Gakko (Nozaki Junior High School) I have three classes to team-teach with a Japanese teacher of English. We play games and have fun and hopefully it encourages them to want to learn more.
I see the music teacher here—she's a few years older than me (maybe 46 to my 26?) with very white skin, and she's very attractive in a 'cougar'/Summer of '42 sort of way. We're friends, but I'd like the benefit of the doubt that she likes me in a Mrs. Robinson way that will make me graduate to older women.
Whew! That was a log of cunning lingo in that last paragraph.
I spend my lunch hour chasing the kids around the classroom having fun, but it is 28 Celsius and I do get quite hot and sweaty.
I'm home from school at 3:30PM because the teachers have a meeting, so I head over to my back doctor early. Inside, I find him asleep on a table, so I leave him alone for another 10 minutes, before purposely making some noise to let him know that there is some one out in the waiting room (me).
Having electrical stimuli on my neck and back loosens up the muscles making my joints easier to manipulate back into place. It feels good.
You know that crap that chiropractor's all over the world tell you when you ask how often you should see them: three times a week (for a few weeks) then twice a week; then once a week; once every two weeks and then once a month? Well... in my case it was excellent advice, because it worked. I used to have terrible back pain upon arriving in Japan—and even wore a velcro corset to hold myself more erect— and now I don't because I have no more pain. Pure and simple.
I go home and clean up a bit and wait for one of my two bosses from the OBOE (Ohtawara Board of Education)—Kanemaru-san to arrive for the chili dinner I was cooking for him.
When he comes we have a couple of beers, watch some sumo on television and then go for my kyudo (Japanese archery) lesson. I am just awful today. Forget about hitting a target, I can't even hit a non-target.
I'm unable to pull my elbow back far enough to get enough power on the shot, so everything is low.
My first practice shot I go completely wild from eight-feet out.
My second shot nearly takes my own face off—never stick your head through the bow.
But I do get a bit better; enough for Kanemaru-san to suggest I try shooting at the real target some 60 meters away. But, since the big target is broken, I shoot at a smaller one from the same long distance. I can barely see it thanks to my astigmatism, but I know it's down there.
My first shot goes into the grass.
My second shot isn't much better.
My third shot almost makes it down to the target.
My fourth shot—I missed it by a couple of centimeters! I was just a tad too low.
Every time I shoot, though, I see two targets. My eyes are really bothering me today—lack of sleep I hope.
My next two shots hit the target... just not mine.
On the plus side, I didn't kill anyone.
After we're done, Kanemaru-san and I head back to my place to eat dinner. While it's heating up, we each polish off two more beers causing him to go downstairs to get six more.
We feast! I think it's pretty good, but he does say I can make it a little hotter for him next time. Great! I did dumb it down on the heat level because I wasn't sure if he could take it or not. As well, he says he will take me to a curry house on Friday to burn my "innards out for good." I swear that's what his Japanese-English dictionary translated for us word by word.
How strange this all is.
When I first arrived in Japan, I thought Kanemaru-san was cold and distant and that he didn't like me.. and on, no... I had to spend a year here? I didn't know it was because he couldn't speak English.
Now... he's one of my best friends here. We can communicate!
How strange this all is.
When nowadays I have to try and seduce Ashley via alcohol to make her amorous towards me.
Life is good.
Life sucks.
Matthew and his girlfriend Takako come over with his cute red-headed sister Krystina who's over from the U.S. visiting. They take an extra futon and some bedding material. I wonder if they knew I was wasted.
Oh... and farmer Suzuki Tokunori (family name first) at who's party I was at on Sunday, he comes over and drops off a National Geographic magazine for me and a video tape of the 1991 All Star baseball game that was held in my hometown of Toronto.
It's weird how some days I just can't believe I'm in Japan.
Somewhere wondering how the heck Kanemaru-san drove home,
Andrew Joseph
Today's blog title is by: Queen: BENEFITS
PS: Okay... he didn't drive home drunk. He called his wife (they live maybe 30 minutes away) and she came and dragged his drunk butt home.
I'm in Ohtawara-shi, Tochigi-ken, Japan. I have just spent yesterday evening attempting to seduce my ex-girlfriend Ashley. Aside from my breath smelling like her feet, all I got was a quick peck on the lips. I thought it was going to happen—she had even showed up at my apartment, drunk out of her mind... but nope, it just wasn't meant to be.
I am dead on my feet today after about three hours of restless sleep—trying to figure out what I have to do to get her to sleep with me. I had previously floated around the idea that even she didn't want to be boyfriend/girlfriend, we should be friends with benefits.
Now I'm unsure WHEN that term came about, but I was using it 20 years ago when trying to convince her of this crazy scheme... I figured, why not? She trusted me already... and I was good at what I was doing—so why not enjoy the benefits. I was pretty sure that was all I wanted a girlfriend for anyway!
I think.
At Nozaki Chu Gakko (Nozaki Junior High School) I have three classes to team-teach with a Japanese teacher of English. We play games and have fun and hopefully it encourages them to want to learn more.
I see the music teacher here—she's a few years older than me (maybe 46 to my 26?) with very white skin, and she's very attractive in a 'cougar'/Summer of '42 sort of way. We're friends, but I'd like the benefit of the doubt that she likes me in a Mrs. Robinson way that will make me graduate to older women.
Whew! That was a log of cunning lingo in that last paragraph.
I spend my lunch hour chasing the kids around the classroom having fun, but it is 28 Celsius and I do get quite hot and sweaty.
I'm home from school at 3:30PM because the teachers have a meeting, so I head over to my back doctor early. Inside, I find him asleep on a table, so I leave him alone for another 10 minutes, before purposely making some noise to let him know that there is some one out in the waiting room (me).
Having electrical stimuli on my neck and back loosens up the muscles making my joints easier to manipulate back into place. It feels good.
You know that crap that chiropractor's all over the world tell you when you ask how often you should see them: three times a week (for a few weeks) then twice a week; then once a week; once every two weeks and then once a month? Well... in my case it was excellent advice, because it worked. I used to have terrible back pain upon arriving in Japan—and even wore a velcro corset to hold myself more erect— and now I don't because I have no more pain. Pure and simple.
I go home and clean up a bit and wait for one of my two bosses from the OBOE (Ohtawara Board of Education)—Kanemaru-san to arrive for the chili dinner I was cooking for him.
When he comes we have a couple of beers, watch some sumo on television and then go for my kyudo (Japanese archery) lesson. I am just awful today. Forget about hitting a target, I can't even hit a non-target.
I'm unable to pull my elbow back far enough to get enough power on the shot, so everything is low.
My first practice shot I go completely wild from eight-feet out.
My second shot nearly takes my own face off—never stick your head through the bow.
But I do get a bit better; enough for Kanemaru-san to suggest I try shooting at the real target some 60 meters away. But, since the big target is broken, I shoot at a smaller one from the same long distance. I can barely see it thanks to my astigmatism, but I know it's down there.
My first shot goes into the grass.
My second shot isn't much better.
My third shot almost makes it down to the target.
My fourth shot—I missed it by a couple of centimeters! I was just a tad too low.
Every time I shoot, though, I see two targets. My eyes are really bothering me today—lack of sleep I hope.
My next two shots hit the target... just not mine.
On the plus side, I didn't kill anyone.
After we're done, Kanemaru-san and I head back to my place to eat dinner. While it's heating up, we each polish off two more beers causing him to go downstairs to get six more.
We feast! I think it's pretty good, but he does say I can make it a little hotter for him next time. Great! I did dumb it down on the heat level because I wasn't sure if he could take it or not. As well, he says he will take me to a curry house on Friday to burn my "innards out for good." I swear that's what his Japanese-English dictionary translated for us word by word.
How strange this all is.
When I first arrived in Japan, I thought Kanemaru-san was cold and distant and that he didn't like me.. and on, no... I had to spend a year here? I didn't know it was because he couldn't speak English.
Now... he's one of my best friends here. We can communicate!
How strange this all is.
When nowadays I have to try and seduce Ashley via alcohol to make her amorous towards me.
Life is good.
Life sucks.
Matthew and his girlfriend Takako come over with his cute red-headed sister Krystina who's over from the U.S. visiting. They take an extra futon and some bedding material. I wonder if they knew I was wasted.
Oh... and farmer Suzuki Tokunori (family name first) at who's party I was at on Sunday, he comes over and drops off a National Geographic magazine for me and a video tape of the 1991 All Star baseball game that was held in my hometown of Toronto.
It's weird how some days I just can't believe I'm in Japan.
Somewhere wondering how the heck Kanemaru-san drove home,
Andrew Joseph
Today's blog title is by: Queen: BENEFITS
PS: Okay... he didn't drive home drunk. He called his wife (they live maybe 30 minutes away) and she came and dragged his drunk butt home.
