La La Lupo & Ooboke Da Noite

The first day back to work was tough but it wasn't as tough as my jackass friends not coming to Futako that night for the annual neighborhood matsuri. Yuko came late and then I choked on squid and had to wait 15 minutes for some takoyaki. fun.

After a drink with Yuko at Potluck I settled in with my crowd and got loose. My new friend Nana introduced me to this wrestler chick who I strawberry-talked. She wasn't feeling it so she put me into a submission hold which hurt a whole bundle, but I strawberry-talked my way out again. After a few wise whispers she blushed bad in front of all and let me go. Boy that hurt. I accused her of being a Lemon wearing a Lime's clothing and then SHE submitted. She gave me her beer and left. It was a successful evening.

Couldn't ask for more...

Saturday started beautifully with amazing weather as I woke up still drunk from the night before. I rarely get Saturday's off and I sure as shit wasn't going to waste this one. In fact, I had come back from Osaka early to attend Helene's, my French friend, birthday picnic (it was also her boyfriend's birthday) in Yoyogi Park. Hana came threw around 2 and we headed there to meet up with everyone. Nils, another friend comrade, arrived at the exact same time and the picnic kicked off nicely. Sam showed up later and then Ash and Betty came much later. It was a really cool afternoon chilling in the park with old and new friends. Hana left early for some dinner cruise but she picked me up later that night for karaoke in Ichigao. It was a perfect Saturday and I couldn't have asked for anything more.

Forty Ounces of Yellow

Upon my 6am arrival on my midnight bus to Yokohama I made my way directly home, showered, shaved, and headed to the US Embassy in Tameike-Sanno to apply for a new Social Security card. I thought the process would be long and painful, but only took about 10 minutes and I was on my way home for a well deserved nap. Eri had invited me to Yellow for another performance by the Fantastic Plastic Machine later that night, so before that my new neighborhood friend, Yuko, came over for a drink, then Matt met us at my place and we headed to Roppongi on the last train. We caught up with Eri and her entourage and preceded to Yellow where it became known that Yuko hadn't brought any ID. I was felt bad about her not being able to get in, but that was her fault. I hope she learned her lesson. Anyway, It turned out to be a killer night partying with Matt, Eri, et al. and I actually met somebody from Miho's hometown, Tatsuno, where I had been a few days before. By the end of the night I had managed to lose everybody several times, but still was kickin' it going stud by myself. I ended up leaving alone, after Matt had apparently left for Gaspanic to pick less classy ladies, and accidentally entered the Hibiya Line. Miraculously Eri came out of nowhere to save me and pointed me back to the Oedo Line. I was so tired and drunk that if it had not been for her I might have ended up in Puerto Rico. Great Night, but sadly enough I didn't bring my camera.

Osaka: Burger & Fries

Junko's Farewell
The original reason for the trip to Osaka this time was to attend my friend Junko's going away party. It was the first night and it was great not only to see Junko again, but Miho had contacted an old friend of mine from Orlando, Wataru a.k.a. Sonic, and he made a special trip to Osaka for the party. It was also nice seeing my other Osaka friends Angus, Anderson, etc... Things got really sloppy by the end of the night starting with whiskey 'shots' that were really nearly full glasses and ending with some of Miho's jackass friends breaking beer bottles in the street, committing misdemeanor trespassing, and taunting police. They were boneheads but it was all worth it to spend the evening with Miho, Junko, Sonic and some of the others.





Himeji
Early the next morning Miho and I arose and started on our day trip to her hometown, Tatsuno, and Himeji in Hyogo. We were greeted by her mother at the perfectly rural train station (the ticket gate wasn't in operation and there was nobody to check my ticket) in Tatsuno. It was cool seeing Miho's home and being in the place where she grew up because I don't get that chance with many of my friends. After we had an afternoon snack her mother drove us back to Himeji to tour the Himeji Castle. The castle was beautiful and as an added bonus we saw some nutty dude walking a cat around on a leash.






Shikoku
The next day we got up early and departed for Shikoku, the smallest of Japan's four main islands, in a car we had rented the night before. Our first stop was Naruto in Tokushima on Shikoku's north eastern tip. It is famous for these amazing whirlpools created in the Naruto Strait. Our next stop was in Kazurobashi in southern Tokushima prefecture near the border with Kochi. It has this really old wooden bridge with gapping holes that one can easily fall through. We headed back to Osaka exhausted without having eaten Sanuki udon in Takamatsu which we had planned to do.





Wakayama
Once again we headed out early, but this time for the splendid beach town of Shirahama in Wakayama. Shirahama beach is unique in that all the sand was brought in from Australia. It was sweet being back in a beach community with the smell of the ocean all around; loads of memories from Florida, Sicily, Turkey, Brazil, etc. came running through my head. I even got to see a nice rack of tits provided by some topless drunk chick. After the beach we headed to Sandanbeki, an extremely tall set of cliffs jutting up from the rocky shore, which is most notably known as a desirable suicide location. It was cool but creepy. We headed back to Osaka tired, but still managed to get out to meet Junko one last time for dinner, drinks, and karaoke.






And the last day was spent piddling around Osaka for souvenirs and chilling with Miho. She is such a great hostess. It was a great vacation.

Fortnight of Freedom/Off for Osaka

The Fantastic Plastic Machine
Monday the 16th Eri invited Oz James and I to her friend's birthday party. Her friend just happens to be a famous DJ, The Fantastic Plastic Machine, that works with RIP Slyme among others. James and I met for drinks in Shibuya where we ran into one of my old friends from Harajuku, Mike. I decided to invite him and his friend along, which James has deemed a bad decision, but things were fun that night. We rocked up to Omotesando around midnight and commenced the partying. It was sweet, the dude to chick ratio was great and I met a load cool chicks (and a few too young). Mike licked one.

Welcome Back To Tokyo

On Wednesday Kumiko threw a party in Shibuya for the arrival of her boyfriend, Dave. He is good friends with both Dirty Dave and Oz James from Sydney, but the strangest thing is that he was born in Herisau, Switzerland. Herisau is about a 20 minute drive from St. Gallen, the city in which I spent a majority of my time. He said that I am the first person that has ever heard of that town and I don't doubt him. Small world. Anyway, It was all great fun that night with way too much drinking (of course) and another night of a killer dude-chick ratio. The shitty part is that I lost my wallet that night. R.I.P. gator skin Perry Ellis....

Amelia the Kiwi & Jane of Oz

After work Saturday night I bolted to Youga for a birthday party for two of my friends, Amelia and Jane. They are two super sweet ladies of the Polynesian persuasion who have had great parties every time I am invited (coincidence? probably.). I met up with Paul and Steve at the station and we headed to the bar which was this snazzy sidewalk cafe under the Tomei expressway. Cool night. They tried to get me to come out for an all-nighter in Shibuya, but I had to refrain from letting 'Jimbo the Animal Man' out of his cage. I think it was a wise decision.

Samba Shinjo/Tama BBQ

After work on Sunday I headed to Musashi Shinjo to meet Paul for a Carnival parade that was being held there. The troop that performed was the same that does the parade in Asakusa every year. There we met with Mark, Makoto, Yuko, and two others. The festival was small, but lively and I am really glad I decided to go. I felt like a was back in Salvador, Brazil for a minute. When the parade wrapped up we headed back to my neighborhood, Futako Shinchi, for a massive party at the river. It was some dudes birthday and he said they had been drinking all day. It showed; there were about 50 wrecked people stumbling around under the bridge in the mud. That party wasn't the best but it was a good way to end a Sunday evening. And it just so happens that I ran into Harajuku Mike again that night. What a character... enough said.

On most of the other nights I went out and did the regular dinner & drinks with friends and ladies. I also busted my ass a few days trying to sort out my missing wallet which is still a mystery. My consecutive working days stretch is now at eight and I have two to go more before I am off to Osaka on the midnight bus to see Miho and surprise Junko at her farewell party. Good times and Go for the Gold!

'Go for the Gold!': Doggy-style with legos.

The Colonel

I have been pretty busy this past week and have been to a quite few bangin' parties. I will post those up soon, but I just got this link to my friend's, Colonel Sanders, website from New Zealand. Do yourself a favor and check it out. They are amazing. Thanks Karen!!!!

The Colonel's Website

Keeps getting better....

I lost my wallet. This sucks on so many different levels. Shit.

Train in Vain????

jimBo Rose Original Productions. The Clash.

Supernatural Disasters

Bad luck, good luck, or neither? This last weekend a Typhoon narrowly missed Tokyo and then a earthquake hit Niigata. Neither had any great effect on me other than lots of rain and my office building shaking for a minute. But it sucks for all those whose lives were destroyed over the 'holiday' weekend. It's my guess the two disasters missing Tokyo was an incredible stroke of good luck. Losing your wallet with everything in it including,but not limited to, your cash, credit card, ATM cards, resident card, social security card, newly purchased train pass, etc. is decidedly bad luck. I hope that doesn't happen to me tonight!

All Inked Up and Ready to Go

Today I saw the Far Right and met the Far Left. It was a marvelous day.

My new friend Kotone invited me to her tattoo appointment at NS7.DEPT tattoo studio in Shinjuku because I had mentioned that I was thinking about taking in some ink last time we spoke. She is a really cool chick I met whose father turns out to be a famous drummer endorsed by Yamaha and who played with my good friend 'Carl' Louis DeAndrade in the past. Small world. We had to make a pit-stop in Shibuya along the way to drop by one of her father's schools and upon exiting the station we realized it was a lot more crowded than usual. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was giving a speech on top of one of those all-to-common black vans, the symbol of the Conservatives. The Far Right.

Shinzo Abe blowing hot air at Hachiko Square, Shibuya in front of my office

The tattoo joint in Shinjuku was a lot more lax than I had anticipated it being. There I met the two artists, Yu-chan and Sezuki, who are covered with elaborate designs and traditional Japanese dragons. They were super cool and we all chatted while Kotone was discussing/planning her next design, which is going to be an abstract scorpion composed of Chinese characters (I have been talking about scorpions way too much recently). It turns out that Sezuki is an extremely talented artist that previously worked for the Yakuza, has been in several movies, written a book, and appears in tattoo magazines monthly. She said she would hook me up with a discount because I told her she looked 18. What a cool chick. The Far Left.

Yu-chan, Jimbo, and Sezuki

Farewell, My Dear Lea.... Au Revoir

It has really turned into the season of going-away parties and unfortunately last night I had to attend another 'Au Revoir' party in Potluck for my new French friend, Lea. But it still was a kicking ass & taking names party. It turns out there was a another birthday party for my friend, Red, that was going on at the same time. She turned 25 and there were also about 25 heads all up in Potluck (Coincidence? I think not) and I was mingling and mixing my way into both parties. It was great fun, but it sucks to see another friend go, especially a person like Lea. Oh well, I guess that's life (again).

Jimmy Bones and Lea the Great

Ameba Thanks Party

One of the perks of living in Tokyo and having friends with cool jobs is that they invite you to killer parties. The night of July 4th was supposed to be a BBQ night to celebrate the US Independence Day, but that was rained out. Eri quickly came through and invited Hana, Asuka, and I to this amazing party that was thrown by Nigo, the owner of A Bathing Ape. Although it took Eri a few minutes of convincing the bouncers to let me in, they eventually gave in and we scooted through. Everything was free from the candy to the Cristal Champagne, so we quickly settled into a groove and loosened up. I met one of the guys from RIP Slyme, Ilmari, and a K1 boxer, Takehiro Something. But the best introduction I got that night was to Shiro, the owner of Unit in Daikanyama. For some reason he really took a shining to me and invited us all back to his club for drinks. It was a sswwweeeeeeeetttt night!

Fast Times at Shibuya High

Shit. Life has been a teeter-totter of unimaginable ups and downs the last few weeks. I wouldn't even know where to start and I am not going to go into details about any of the happening for now, but I can say that I have learned a lot about myself and a whole lot about my friends, and have also grown as a Man. I met new friends and famous people who I have new clue about. My nerves and dignity were tested, but my will and inner strength prevailed. Ups and downs, baby. Ups and downs.

Stinky Pointer feat. Ema

UCF!! University of Central Florida

The Boys are back in Town: Peppe, Jimbo, & Funaki

Today was really cool though. I met Sally and Patrick, who will shortly be departing for China, in Shinjuku and spent the afternoon with them eating Chinese 'hot pot' (nabe), then chatting over life's mundane details such as scorpions and David Beckham. It will be really sad when Sally leaves, she has become a good friend since her arrival and is already missed in the office. Oh well, I guess that's life. Good Luck, Sarry Ri!

Ohhh, SSAAARRRRRYYYY

some people just never get to see Fuji....

Take the Good with the Bad/ 'When I was 23 I bought a squirrel in Ibaraki!'

It was a strange week this week with some crazy times but also, sadly to say, bad news.

Friday night was a major night. I had a concert in Youga to attend directly after work. ‘Carl’ Louis De’Andrade, one of my co-workers and good friends in Tokyo, hosts a open mic jazz night every few months at his friend’s bar in Youga. Louis is a really cool dude and has had a pretty fucking cool life, too. Anyway, I arrived late around 10 and promptly started getting my fill of the brew because it was all-you-can-drink and I only had 2 hours left by then. I had gotten word that my ex-‘living partner’ was going to be in attendance, so I had Ash, Sam, Rohan, and Betty working defense in case she tried anything psycho, but she didn’t and the concert went off without a hitch. Another old friend from work, Junko, came and Trenton came as well. It was a really cool open mic with various jazz and acoustic performances capped off with my personal favorite of the night: “I Want You Back” by the Jackson 5. By the time ‘nomi hodai’ finished we were already ‘schilaquered’ but Louis needed help carrying his and his daughter’s instruments back to his office/studio. Well after that he invited Ash and I back to his crib, which is sweet, to crack open a primo bottle of 18-year of Tequila and that’s when things started to get hairy. We 3 were tipping back shots of the best whilst Carl’s kid was mixing up cocktails for us and his wife was getting irritated because ‘she doesn’t like it when Carl drinks.’ Ash and I ended up leaving around dawn and getting a little lost in Youga before taking a taxi back to my neighborhood. Once there Ash almost got hit by a car while sitting in the road trying to take a picture then caused a scene at the convenience store under my apartment and topped it off by trying to fight me. What a night. I found a sandwich on my floor the next morning. It was delicious.

Evolution of a bruise, courtesy of 'Bruce' 'Ash' 'Lee' (get it?)

Sunday I went drinking with Eri and her friends, Sho and Emo. They were a couple of really cool fashion designers. And Monday I went out again with Eri and Oz James. It was really cool chilling with them again. I hadn’t seen either one of them for a month. Nothing really crazy though, just drinking, talking politics and catching up. Tuesday I went for a few drinks with my old French roommate, Manu. He is a cool cat who unfortunately got bent over by our company and was forced to leave Japan for a bit. Fortunately he is back but is also struggling to make ends meet at his part time job waiting tables in a French restaurant. All in all it was a relaxing few nights.

There is absolutely nothing like being back on a university campus with tons of hot young honey babies grilling you with everything they have. On Wednesday I headed out to Machida where The General is attending school at Tamagawagakauen (Tamagawa University). It was amazing; these uni chicks were literally tripping over their feet when they caught a glimpse of me. What great feeling. Then The General and I took in some more sugar faces while having dinner and beers before I took off back for Shibuya to meet Toshi. Toshi and I knocked a few cold ones back at my Shibuya favorite, The Funky Chicken. I was pretty wasted, but it was still an early night. And that brings us to tonight; another fairly relaxed evening: dinner and drinks with my good friend, Kumiko.

Back in Uni with The General

Back at it: Big In '08.5

These last few weeks really remind me of mid January coinciding with the kick off of my "Big In ‘08" campaign. I have been throwing fliff like Frank from The Professor Brothers. It is awesome partying every night but I am sure my wallet will be hurting in a few weeks. Whatever.

My work-week started early on Thursday to cover my last help shift from when I went back to Florida last month and I am sure glad that is over with because I am tired of working 6-day weeks. Anyway, I was working in Gotanda and it just so happens that the night before, news broke of a high court ruling against the company I am working for (big surprise). That day there were a heap of weirdo idiots calling up trying to get refund, one dude even threatened to burn the building down. I can understand why these people are so angry but they are really taking it out on the wrong people. Sure staff has their share of everyday fuck-ups, but the complete and utter ineptitude of the upper, middle, and lower level management in my company is 100% to blame. That was a tangent.

I had to work in Shinagawa Seaside the next day, which is kind of weird place, but after that I headed to Azabu-Juban for my buddy Toshi’s concert. It took me a really long time to find the place, but after I got lost 3 times another friend, Johnny, met me and took me there. It was really ‘Yuppie’ style loungy-bar called ‘The Baron’ and I was really curious why there would be a punky type band playing there. But after went down stairs the atmosphere totally changed and so did the drink prices, they went from ¥500 to ¥900 in a matter of 20 stairs. Hurtful, but it didn’t stop me from getting shitty and I missed my last train home then caught the train to Nakameguro with Toshi, his brother, Taka, and Taka’s girlfriend. Toshi and I drank for a while and then I decided to go for broke and take a taxi back to Futako Shinchi. Ouch…

I was still pretty good and drunk most of the day Saturday, but I was in my home environment of Shibuya and work went by quickly. I met up with Toshi again after work and we went for pre-drinks at the ‘Standing O Lounge’ in Shibuya, which is a really cool place that one of my friends, Kimura, is bartending at. After that we headed to the ‘Ruby Room’ because Johnny was going to be DJing there, but we actually bumped into him and a few of his buddies on the way. Kumiko was in the area, so I put her on the guest list (apparently Toshi is the unofficial booking dude and can get folks in for free, which is fucking awesome), but she got lost on the way. After I left to catch the last train home some hooker asked me if I wanted a BJ on Dogenzaka, then I caught up with Kumiko and we took the last train together. It was cool seeing her because I hadn’t seen her since she left for India last month. So that night turned out to be kind of chilled out which my body needed to be prepared for work early the next morning.

After work Sunday afternoon I bolted home, showered and headed for Yooga for Amelia and Jane’s house warming party. They are couple of really cool chicks from New Zealand and Australia, respectively, and they have a sweet crib about 2 minutes walk from Yooga station. Some of my Mizonokuchi friends turned up including two of my best buds, Paul and Matt. Julian was also there and it was cool seeing him again. It was pretty much a typical house party, but we got to hear a crazy story from the dude named Bob who I used to take Japanese class with. He recounted how he has been feeling fatigued, losing weight, and having bizarre nose bleeds over the last few years after swimming in some questionable rivers around the world on his travels. The doctors could never figure out what was happening so he just went on about his life until that morning he sneezed and out came worm. Everybody, of course, cringed at that point and the story more or less turned into a Q & A press conference and then evolved into an advice committee. So after a few hours of house partying I had to make my way to Roppongi for Trenton’s birthday party which I was already 2 hours late for. I had accidentally made commitments for 3 events that night before I realized that they were…… all on the same night. Paul fortunately, or unfortunately, cancelled his BBQ so that left me with only the house warming and Trenton’s thing, which was manageable. So I was on the train and coincidentally ran into Alister, the singer from Sunset Drive (Toshi’s band), and had a chat with him. I met up with Sam, one of my coworker’s at Roppongi crossing and then Ashley met us for to take us to the place. It was cool, but I got more drunk than I had planned for and consequently missed my last train again so Ash and I decided to stay and go for karaoke with a few of the crew then get a taxi home after that. Well, here’s where it gets interesting; a mystery woman takes the cab home with us, pays the bill, goes out for drinks with us in my neighborhood at 3am, then disappears step by step into the dawn dusk. Who are you……..?

Amelia, Steve, and I

me and Trenton

Monday I was surprisingly sober after the events of Sunday night, but work was still shitty. After work Kumiko came over and we were supposed to check out this new café in my neighborhood, Fil.Albero, but it is closed every Monday, so we just went to Potluck for drinks and then to my pad to polish off a 6-pack that Ash and I had bought the night (4:30am) before and not even touched. It is really cool having Kumiko back. Her and Ashley are probably my two best friends in Tokyo at the moment.

Tuesday was pretty chilled out. Ash came round the ever so popular Potluck for a few drinks then peaced-out and I visited the Sandman in Dreamland early from the week long beer fest. Wednesday Kumiko came over in the afternoon to finally go to that café which turned out to have a pretty cool view, but failed to really impress me, so we got beers and took off to the river where we met my friend Sato, his wife and there two dogs. I really love my neighborhood because most days, no matter what I am doing, I can randomly bump into my friends. Anyway, after that we went back to my place and Kumiko helped me sort out some tax shit that has been giving me a headache, then we ate and she went home. She has truly become a genuine friend.

Today I went on a stroll through the neighborhood and down to the river a snapped some photos with my trusty side-kick, the Canon IXY 900IS. Here are a few:





So that is last week in a nutshell and it is 8pm on Thursday night. Who knows what tonight might have in store…………..

Lephty Lucy & Wrighty Tidy

It has been an eventful week. The river drinking has become an almost ever Sunday affair and is frequently filled with fireworks. It is clutch as summer starts rolling in from now.

Last Wednesday Paul, my Bronx friend, and I took a trip to the Electronic Town of Akihabara. It was my first time and it was really interesting seeing so many geeks together in such close proximity, but the novelty wore off after about an hour and we headed back to Shibuya to meet one of his lady friends and then to Futako for river beers. It was a relaxing day off.

Friday Helene, one of my French friends who I used to work with, came over after work to shoot some pictures of me for her upcoming photo exhibition. The whole thing is going to be about the lives of Tokyoites coming home after work and their feelings. I am really excited she chose me as one of her models. Well, after we were finished with that, one of her friends Nils, also French, came through and we went for drinks in my neighborhood spot, Potluck. After a few drinks they convinced me that going out all night to ‘La Fabrique’ was a really good idea, so we caught the last train of the Den En Toshi line bound for Shibuya. It was blast, they were right. Helene’s boyfriend got us all in for a discounted price and we raged until around 5am.

I was still drunk almost all day on Saturday from the previous night’ s escapades, but I got an invite from my buddy Toshi to see his band, Sunset Drive, so I headed to the Ruby Room after work and proceeded to nibble on a late strand of doggy hair. I saw some old faces and met some new ones. It was another cool night.

Sunday I almost passed out after work, but I held on and went out with my two good Futako friends, Kiyo and Baba. We drank at Potluck and then at Kiyo’s place for awhile before we went for sushi at another local spot that I had no idea existed (like so many others in my neighborhood). It turns out that another friend from Potluck is the sushi master/owner of the place and he hooked us up rather nicely. We were getting pretty drunk and they kept tricking me into eating the most spicy shit like wasabi rolls and the whole root of ginger, when in walks in a very important looking older dude. He looked really important because he was old and the woman who followed was about half his age and had a stacked rack. Kiyo elbows me and says, ‘He is famous man.’ He was actually the drummer of an old greaser rock band called ‘Yokohama Gimbai’ and when I mentioned that I was drinking with him the next day to some of my students they were quite impressed. Anyway, his wife gave me some sake and they seemed generally interested in my presence. It was cool. We went back to Potluck for more drinks and were fucking drunk after that. Bed time.

I was once again shitty for work on Monday, but for some reason I had an incredibly fun day. Who would have thought? After work I jetted to Yoyogi park to meet some coworkers, Ash, Rohan, Betty, and Dan, for the tail end of their picnic. We drank and played Black Jack and 31 for a few hours then changed spots and played a game Circle of Death. 31 and Circle of Death are my two favorite card games ever. After a bit, Dan peaced out, then Ash took off with his lady, leaving Rohan, Betty, and I to ponder the meaning of life. We soon were on foot back to Shibuya for sushi. After sushi, Betty headed her way on the Yamanote line and Rohan and I caught the Den En Toshi. I was about to flop from so many days of drinking, but I convinced Rohan to come for a beer at Potluck. We ended up chillin in Potluck for two hours playing 31 again. I won 500 yen off Rohan and we called it a night. Chalked up one more solid day.

Tuesday night Ashley and I hit a familiar watering hole in Shibuya, Jinpachi. The place is famous for its cheap ‘nami hodai,’ or all you can drink, which is only 1300 yen for 2 hours. I thought it would be dead because it was a Tuesday night, but as we entered our ears were filled with the cries of screaming idiots. It was cool at first, because it seemed like such a lax, party atmosphere, but we were quickly annoyed by some random salary men trying to talk with us. Whatever. We shooed them away and got our fill of beer. There were no women to look at in there that night, so we proceeded to have pretty deep discussion about our current situations in life and what we intend to do to make them better. Thanks Ash, I needed that talk.

Now I am looking forward to next week. I have 4 party invites and I am counting on next week being better than this last one. Hit ‘em up, gun ‘em down.

We Didn't Start the Fire

This a really cool video Papa G sent me, We Didn't Start the Fire. Check it out.

Nothing much else crackin' in T-Town, Japan at the moment. Summer was coming with a vengeance, but all of the sudden today I could see my breath. Weird.

Hopefully I will have more exciting news and/or crazy and funny stories next time.

Jimbo Out

PS. I just got word that Gabriel the Tank will be making a Tokyo Cameo come August.

Shaking off the Cobwebs

With the departure of j4 after a belly-filling evening of tabihodai shabu shabu and namihodai with j1,2,4, Chiho, Hana, Eri, and Shinji, the partying has momentarily ceased with a quick spike in my intellectual and creative electro brain waves. I haven’t seen Oz James in week (you still alive?) and only drank with Ashley one night. I have taken this time to dry out somewhat and refocus, and the winter slag seems to finally worn off with my renewed drive to get back into shape.

Nothing special to report on this week, other than I’ve been busting my ass working and have a few weeks of working weekends ahead of me due to the days I have to make up for the leave I took to go back to Florida.

One point of note is the Thai festival I attended before j4’s ‘Ganbatte’ going away party last Sunday. The atmosphere was really upbeat even though I got there an hour before it was officially supposed to wrap up. It would have been a lot cooler if I had been drunk and been with friends, but I had neither at the time. You can’t have everything every time…

Hopefully next week will be more exciting, but something tells me that I am in for more of the same ole’ same ole.’

1st week back in Tokyo: May 2007

Coming back to the reality of Tokyo was kinda sad. Two of my friends, Dirty Dave and ‘Colonel’ Karen Sanders, have gone on their respective ways for different parts of the globe. But on the other hand it has been another non-stop whirlwind with less than 30 hours sleep since I have been back. Chillin almost every night with the regulars never gets old.

Had drinks with Ash and Kiyo on the night of my return and it has snowballed out of control since then. I don't really even remember Monday or Tuesday, but I sure as shit remember Wednesday. The party of J-Cubed did two hours of 'namihodai' in Shibuya then Eri took Oz James, Oz James 2 (j4), and I to this swanky fashion party in Omotesando. The place would have been really happening another time, but we weren't feeling the atmosphere so we bounced for Roppongi.

J-Cubed: James, Jimmy, Jimbo

So it was like this: Three assholes named James looking for a good time in Roppongi. What do you do? You guessed it. Titty Bar. It was actually the first time I went in Japan, and I think it will be the last. We met up with my Nigerian Tout friend, Prince, and he promised to give us a good deal. Fuck That. We were in the club for a grand total of ten minutes when the staff asshole came with a bill of 13,800 yen. I immediately got red in the face and we had a standoff after I threatened to kick the his ass. We left, but I still paid. The night went downhill from there and I won't go into details, but j4 lost his phone and I cursed every Nigerian on the street that night.

Friday Kumiko and I went to The Funky Chicken Disco Yakitori. It’s a Soul/Funk/Disco-themed Yakitori bar in Shibuya’s ‘Love hotel’ district that is constantly blaring tunes from James Brown, The Tempations, etc. I love that place. After I parted with Kumiko I hit up my local watering hole, Potluck. There was this French chick there that started buying me beers and pizza. She was really cool, but also had incredibly offensive BO. So after I got really shit-faced I told her I had a girlfriend and got my bill which was only 1000 yen. Sweet!

Saturday night my Canadian buddy Alex had his last concert at the Ruby Room in Shibuya before returning to Canada, so I hit that up then met up with Ashley, Oz James, j4, Kumiko and Kumiko's Horde (there were 8 of them I think) for the bus ride to this club called Ageha. Man, this place is fuckin rockin! A few buds say it’s the biggest club in Asia, and they could be right. But one source (Ash) said, "It’s the biggest club in South East Asia!" To which I replied, "Japan isn't in South East Asia." Ash: "oh..." So maybe it is or isn't the biggest..... Who knows?

Anyway, Eri put us all on the guest list (except for Ash and Chez, but that was my fault) and we partied like rock stars until 5. This place even played South beats like Rick Ross, but the best part is that it is kinda classy and expensive so there is less of the Shibuya street scum. I have shotty memories of dropping drinks and grabbing random girls while dancing on the edge of pool over looking the river and Odaiba. Like I said before, Great Night.

The Fall of a Legend: Paul J. Leslie, Sr.

The Family

The Friends

The Boundless Beauty of Florida

I was back at home within 36 hours of receiving the call from my sister. It was a hassle to get a ticket so quickly, but my good friend, Kiyo, from my neighborhood, Futako Shinchi, helped me find one that Sunday afternoon even though he was still inebriated from the night before. It was strange being back so quickly; I felt as though Tokyo and Ocala had somehow merged into one place, like I had bridged the gap of our parallel Universe. The viewing tough and the funeral was harder, but my family and friends were there to keep my head above the water, like they always have been. Even though the circumstances were utterly opposite of ideal, I managed to have a good time with my people and bask in the boundless beauty of my home. It was spring so the weather was pretty hot, like usual, but was also uncharacteristically dry. There had been raging wild fires throughout Florida and South Georgia for the month before until then, so every night we got a bright red and pink sunset. I was only back for a few days, so I paid my respects to the grandfather that gave his whole life to serve his family and I was once again headed back for the Beast; Tokyo.

Pimp Daddy Leslie