Bye Bye Mon Cowboy

On Day 3 of our trip here in Sendai-shi (Sendai City) in Miyagi-ken (Miyagi Prefecture), it's raining so hard I think I should start gathering animals and building an ark!



It's Saturday, October 12, 1991 and I'm an assistant English teacher (AET) on the JET (Japan Exchange & Teaching) Programme living in Ohtawara-shi, Tochigi-ken, Japan.



This trip to Sendai with  my ex-girlfriend has been a washout, to say the least. It's rained everyday here and while I am sure the people and the sights are all beautiful, I haven't had a chance to really talk to any of the locals as they are all huddled up away from the rain.



It sucks. Oh well... at least I got to see Zuihoden, the tomb of Date Masamune (surname first), who was the founder or Sendai in the 1600s. It's located on Kyogamine hill, which is where all Date family members are honored in death.If you click HERE, you can see what Zuihoden looks like without a torrential rain spoiling my photography.



As such, Ashley and I decide to go home. When I call Matthew (my buddy who lives in Ohtawara near me) about how much rain there is here and that I'm coming home, he tells me that it is NOT raining there in Ohtawara.



Of course. I am the ame otoko (rain man), and it rains wherever I travel in Japan. It's getting so bad, my office the OBOE (Ohtawara Board of Education) is thinking of loaning me out to some of the drought-starved areas to give them a break.



So... Ashley and I ride the Shinkansen (bullet train) south back to Nasushiobara-eki (eki = train station), transfer to a local Japan Rail (JR) train and arrive at Nishinasuno-eki at around 12 Noon. We ride back to her place in Nishinasuno-machi (machi = town) and leave her there so that she can sleep until 4PM.



I ride back to Ohtawara and putter around for awhile until Ashley calls, and she rides down to my city and we go to dinner at Co-Co's. It's the first time in days that I haven't felt rain or snow on me but there is a hurricane-like wind blowing.



Ashley doesn't want me to even ask about the lumps she has developed on her head. They are soft, painful to the touch and first appeared on our first night in Sendai. So I don't bring it up, but I am concerned for her... and she must be worried too, but is trying to ignore it to be in a good mood.



Dinner is fine (I pay, for some reason), and we go back to the train station and go south again... this time to Mibu-eki and Mibu-machi as there is a party hosted by fellow AET Cathy - whom I slept with a few weeks ago. She, Ashley and Karen (who wants me for a boyfriend) all hung out together a few weeks ago, and I'm sure my activities with each came out in the conversation - probably that's what prompted Ashely suddenly asking me to join her on the trip to Sendai.



Don't think I'm a complete ass. Ashley and I are not couple, but do sleep together whenever the mood hits us... or rather, when the mood hits her. Personally, I want her back as a girlfriend. The fact the we aren't a couple pisses me off. I just don't like to lose. As well... Ii guess I'm still in love with her, despite all of the sex or women wanting to go out with me... and apparently, there are a few.



I, of course, have no idea why anyone wants to go out with me. I couldn't get a date back in Toronto, Canada prior to arriving in Japan in late July of 1990. No sex, either. Virginal... though certainly not any longer... unless I can become a born-again virgin. It's probably easier for a guy and doesn't require any sort of surgery.



I'm not really looking forward to this party at Cathy's... what with walking into the lion's den et al. I'm still unsure if Ashley knows I slept with her, and if she found out, it would either definitely ensure we weren't getting back together, or it could make her jealous to realize other women find me somewhat attractive or somewhat convenient.



Just to make sure, I pour 11 Kirin beers down my throat and have three shots of Ashley's Southern Comfort (she's from Augusta, Georgia, USA). The party is a dull, but okay, and I'm feeling no pain.



What I am feeling, however, is Cathy continually playing footsie with me under whatever table we're near, or if we're standing, she simply starts rubbing her foot, leg, hands on me. Maybe she's just doing this to frazzle me (success) or maybe she still wants sex with me. Believe it or not, I'm not interested. I can't believe that a guy who was a virgin a scant 15 months ago is now turning down the offer of sex, but I'm not reciprocating with Cathy. Just leave me alone to wallow in my drunken stupor and dream of a day when women are normal!



And then there's the terrible tale of Alan Broomhead - a delightful young fellow who is three-months removed from England (also where Cathy is from - she too is a new arrival, while Matthew (who is not at the party, Ashley and I arrived the year previous).



I like Alan a lot. But I still played a trick on him a few weeks ago, teaching him Japanese (the blind leading the blind, eh?) that he should use. You can read about that occurrence HERE. It's a funny story, and yeah... I'm an ass. Sorry Alan. I'm still sorry... but it is a funny one, right? right? Anybody?



It's 2AM when the effects of alcohol, footsie and jokes kick in and I crash asleep. As usual, I'm the last one to hit the hay, and I still manage to find Ashley and spoon up beside her.



To this day, I have no idea how that poor girl managed to put up with my snoring. It must have been horrendous after drinking like a fish in a tsunami. (And yes... I actually wrote that in my diary, so it's not poor taste, just precognitive bad timing 20 years earlier).



Somewhere wishing I was drinking with Matthew in Ohtawara,

Andrew Joseph

Today's blog is by French-Canadian kitten Mitsou: MEOW  I used to only try and date women who looked like her - which is probably why I didn't date much back in Canada.

PS: Sendai-shi, of course, was one of those areas in Japan that was hard hot by a tsunami on March 11, 2011.

I Can See Clearly Now

It's Thursday, October 10, 1991 and I'm about to leave on a short excursion to check out Sendai with my ex-girlfriend Ashley.



I was trying to figure out WHY, very suddenly Ashley asked me to go with her. I think that a short trip to Nikko-shi she took with some of the other female assistant English teachers on the JET (Japan Exchange & Teaching) Programme may have elicited some information that may have made her jealous.



For example, she may have learned that newcomer Karen wants me as a boyfriend and that we had made out, or she may also have learned from Catherine (another newcomer), that she and I slept together.



Ashley and I, while no longer a couple, are still a couple of friends-with-benefits. The truth that other women found me desirable may have spurred her on to try and get back with me.



Maybe.



Or maybe I'm just company. But to be honest, being a friend-with-benefits doesn't not mean going on a vacation together - it just means sex together. At least that is what I understood our arrangement to be. Back in 1991, there was no such term as 'friends-with-benefits' or if there was, I sure as hell had never heard of it, what with being a 25-year-old virgin when I arrived here in Ohtawara-shi, Tochigi-ken, Japan in  July of 1990 at the same same as Ashley.



Since arriving, I've been a bit of a dog. Whenever I haven't been a boyfriend to Ashley, I've slept with a lot of women. But still, since I hate losing, I want Ashley back. I'm so screwed in the head, eh?



Canadians say 'eh' at the end of their sentences apparently, as opposed to Americans who say 'hey' at the beginning of theirs. For example:

Canadian: "Get off the car, eh." Sounds polite, doesn't it?

American: "Hey! Get off the car." Not as polite.



Regardless... Ashley was at my place last night. Just sleeping. We get up at 8:30AM, pack my stuff up and then ride our bicycles over to her place. While she packs, I race back home to get my contact lens stuff that I had forgotten. It's only a 25-minute bike ride - each way between my city of Ohtawara and her town of Nishinasuno.



By the time I return, she's ready... so we ride out to the Nishinasuno-eki (Nishinasuno train station) go up a couple of stops on the local JR (Japan Rail) line to Nasushiobara-eki and the catch the shinkansen (bullet train) north to Sendai.



Ashley, of course, has no money and the banks are closed today for some reason, so I lend it to her until tomorrow. Like I said... if we were a couple, I'd have paid, but since we're not... it's share and share alike.



We get to our hotel in Sendai-shi (Sendai City). Not bad. Twin beds, though.



We toss our clothes down and go out walking in the rain. Whenever I travel in Japan, it rains, earning me the nickname of ame otoko (rain man).



We go to the remains of Aoba-jo (also known as Sendai castle) but first stop off at a nearby museum and look at the display of Edo era (1603 - 1868) weapons, masks, armour and clothes. It's fascinating!



Walking up a mountainous road, we arrive at Aoba-jo - or at least we arrive where it's supposed to be. The rain and humidity has created a dense fog, so I take a lot of foggy photos of the castle. I couldn't see a damn thing. We march back down the damn mountain road dejected.



Although it's no longer raining, the road is a bit slick, so Ashley holds onto my arm. See, I am good for something!



We then hike for 30 minutes to a McDonalds we asked a local about, buy some beer from a local liquor store and then head back to our hotel.



Ashley has developed some weird bumps on the right side of her head - like lymph glands. They weren't there this morning. They are painful to the touch. As such, we're not going to have sex. To make matters worse, my contact lens pick today to start bothering me. One of my eyes really hurts when I wear my contacts, and makes it uncomfortable



Somewhere not the right kind of wet,

Andrew Joseph

This blog's title is sung by Johnny Nash, and I chose it for its IRONY. 

PS: Click HERE for some photos of Sendai. Warning... I took them with a disposable panoramic camera, as my camera... well... you'll find out in a couple more blogs about my wonderful rife... Anyhow, I have no idea what any of these photos are of, or where exactly I took them...if anyone knows, I'd appreciate a heads up.

PPS: I out some goofy descriptions under the photos, except to show that it was raining, wet, foggy and that my eyes were bothering me.