Burnt Ash is out & Kanadian Kayo is back

¥5000 Between Friends: Dr. 352 & Ash Lee

With Ashley's time drawing to a close he decided to have one last 'hurrah' river party on Sunday night before he's off backing packing through Asia. So, I was really looking forward to this get-together, and then, out of the blue, I got an email from little Kayo, an old co-worker who has been in Canada for about the last 6 months, saying that she was back in Tokyo and wanted to come to the party. So she met me in front of my place and we headed to river where we found Ash and his girl, Haru, set up. The festivities brewed with a surprise visit by a team of paramedics attending to some drunken asshole and quickly fermented into nice evening with old friends. Most of the old crew showed up and some new faces did, too. Ashley is one of my closest roll dogs and was one of the key contributors to my "Big In '08" campaign. He will be missed for his undying optimism and 'gung-ho'ness for partying. But, on a lighter note, it is good to have Kayo back.

Kanadian Kayo & Jiimii

The Ice Cream Lady: Rie 31

Jimmy Bones & Rie

After the General’s BBQ I was pretty wiped out, but I had to muster up the energy for one last outing that evening, Rie’s 32nd birthday party. Hit up a cold shower, scooped a bottle of Zeller Schwarze Katz, and headed to Potluck. It was a struggle to stay awake, so with my present delivered and my glass of champagne downed I headed home and ended up passing out on the wooden floors of my apartment. What a fitting end to a superb day.

Ten-Hut: The General's Frat BBQ

I've known this cat for quite a few years: The General and The Bear

The General has recently founded a fraternity at his university, Tamagawagakuen, and Friday was the kick-off, kick-ass BBQ. Things started rather smoothly with the General over-sleeping after a drinking binge. He was supposed to rock up to my pad at 11am so we could scout a good location, but I got a call 11:45 that he had just woken up and that I needed to set the BBQ up with a few of his underlings. We got out to the river, Tamagawa, and were pleasantly surprised by the amount of dry, unclaimed BBQ real estate to park ourselves on. Immediately upon arrival bent over to pick up the 2 grills I was lugging and split my shorts from the top of the back seam down and up through the crotch. It was an omen for awesome day to be had.

The shorts went to Splitsville

With 3 confused 18 year olds running underneath my feet I assumed command and supervised the set up without a hitch and then the General showed up with the rest of his troops. The BBQ went on through the day and was a complete success. Paul even showed up about 5 hours late, but with a 24-pack to keep the good times rolling. I am already looking forward to the next Frat BBQ to which I have been invited for free.

Friday, September 14th, 2007

The Miracle Mile

Sunsets over Fuji and north Kanto

This week I have been diligently working on completing my blog and filling in the missing time spaces, so now it's pretty much a complete summary of my adult life (with some glossed over stories from the early years).

Note the watermark in the top two photos, it is about 6ft off the ground, which is about 10ft. above the current water level and 14ft. above normal. The water in the river has gone down about 15ft. and is STILL high!

Brazilian Festa in Yoyogi Park

After the cool sunset I hopped back on the Den En Toshi for Shibuya station where I met Paul and his friend, Canadian Dan, then we proceeded to Yoyogi Park for another one of the international festivals that are held at the NHK Hall entrance of the park. This time the country was Brazil. We ran into Oz James, Kumiko, Swiss Dave, Cam, and Sophi on the way there and they informed us the fest was closing up and the powers that be were running folks off, but we decided to try our luck anyway. We promptly parted ways, except for James who was showing off his purple finger and trying to hold my hand while telling me about how drunk he was (sorry bro, but gawddamit I'm going to miss you when you leave). So, Paul, Dan, and I were off again on our way. We ran into a few more of Paul's friends before running into the person who we were actually supposed to be meeting, Brian, an old friend whom I hadn't seen since February. Then we hooked up with a few of Brian's friends, Sabrina, Diana, and Rob, and had ourselves a small gathering. It was fun, but those kinds of things are usually done while drinking, which everybody besides me was doing. Anyway, it was cool chilling around the stragglers from festa and Paul even got the crew a few rounds of free beers. The Champ!

Sunset over Futako/GOOSH GOOSH

There was pretty nice sunset today from the top floor of my building, but I pretty much missed it by the time I changed and hurried up there. It was still nice. Getting over the hump-day of the week this afternoon (Sunday) was a Godsend. It has been really nice not drinking so far since my birthday, but it gets a little bit boring and lonely sitting at home almost every night. Anyway, I am saving money.

GOOSH GOOSH: The Most Boring Dude in the Universe
At the office, my coworkers and I have branded this lifeless lump on a log 'The Most Boring Dude in the Universe,' and, boy, he deserves the name 100%. I will give you an example of his complete social/storytelling/academic/linguistic/etc.... ineptitude. There were 3 students and I in the class and I had set the seemingly fun & easy task of telling an interesting anecdote about something that had happened to each of them recently. Two of them told fairly boring, yet comprehensible, anecdotes about their lame lives, which, sad to say, is all to common for the average Tokyoite. They completed the task, albeit minimally, and had succeeded in sparking some interest through a cohesive story. Then 'TMBDITU' started. First, he asked if "using my imagine" was ok, which I had to refuse because, of course, it was supposed to be an anecdote. So he thinks for a minute and begins: "I was very relaxing in my futon last night when sudden there is 'GOOSH, GOOSH' above my head. I was scary. Tear drop down my cheek. 1, 2, 3, 4. I move to next room. Drill above my head is 'IIIIIEEEE, IIIIIIEEEEE." At that point he stopped, at what was apparently the end of his completely pointless story, to look around the class like he was expecting applause or, at least, approval. All he found were empty faces and blank stares. Everybody was confused by his failed attempt at recreating, according to him, a mildly scary story and we decided to move on with the lesson without any further explanation. I found out later that the 'GOOSH, GOOSH' sound was his upstairs neighbor stomping around. Who cries from that? And what exactly does 'very relaxing in my futon' mean? Well, he is very boring and probably doesn't have any lovers besides Rosie Palm and her 5 sisters. Use your 'imagine.'

The Next Day

The following morning after the typhoon passed the water level had fallen significantly and people were out fishing in and BBQing next the the muddy waters of the Tama River. By my estimate the water had gone down about 3ft. (1m) since yesterday morning. There was still quite a bit of trash around, but it was much cleaner than usual since the flood took most of the garbage downstream. What a beautiful day.

The Aftermath

This is what I woke up to this morning. The Tamagawa River had completely flooded, overflowing it's banks and covering all our party spots and the baseball fields. I would say it was up at least 7 feet at the highest point. The rain has cleared away, but it is still windy as hell. There was lots of rain, but all in all, it wasn't such a crazy storm; nothing compared to a Florida Hurricane.

After & Before

Music and the Wind

the first band, Jelly (before I was reprimanded for snapping photos)

Tonight my good little friend Kotone invited Paul and I out to see her sister's band, Fuzzy Control, at Shibuya O-West (check out '6-Thu' for the show line up) in Shibuya's 'Love Hotel' district. It had been shitty weather all day, but it seemed to kick up a notch when we arrived in Shibuya. I think the typhoon knew Paul had on new Nike sneaks; I had worn old ones because I know typhoons can be crafty. Paul and I got in for free and got free drinks because we were with Kotone, but all I drank was water due to the antibiotics I am on for this sinus infection. After Kotone's sister, Satoko, played we headed backstage with Kotone's husband and friends to meet the responsible parties. It was killer. We met a bunch of semi-famous musicians, actors/models (half-breeds from Zoolander), some wealthy dude who may or may not have been an executive for Marshall Amps, and, last but not least, the owner of the club. Really fun night, but it sucks because today ends the week-long McDonald's ¥200 Big Mac campaign. boo woo. The typhoon is kicking again; time to hunker down.

Let It Rain

Chiho & I

Tokyo started feeling the effects of Typhoon Fito Wednesday morning and it should hit tonight, Thursday, and then be on it's way and clear again by Friday morning. I have been out M.I.A. with a sinus infection and generally feeling weak due to the heavy month of partying capped off with Sunday night's 'Birthday Bender.' However, I had to make it out of my studio sanctuary and brave the intermittent rain for a farewell dinner Wednesday night. Chiho, Oz James' ex-girl, will be leaving for England shortly and Kumiko organized a small and tasteful dinner party for her at La Boheme Qualita, which is a surprisingly classy joint for Shibuya. While I was waiting for Kumiko & Swiss Dave at Hachiko Square I saw some bizarre performance by what looked to be hippie Christian missionaries reenacting some sort of God vs. Satan battle with a ghetto blaster and acoustic guitar. There were about 20 of them. Needless to say it was weird. We met Oz James at the restaurant, then Chiho, Asuka, Eri, Bless, and Hana arrived. It was a very relaxing dinner with light conversation and I didn't drink due to the sinus infection. It was nice seeing Eri, Asuka, and Bless again; I hadn't seen them for a quite awhile. But most importantly, and the reason for going, it was good to see Chiho one last time. I guess I don't really even know her that well because we probably only hung out 5 or 6 times, but she is the type of person you can tell has a warm heart & pure character. That is pretty hard to find in Tokyo. I will most likely never see her again, but it was cool knowing her, even if it was briefly.

Let it rain

The Big 2-5 Birthday Bash: IBEX

The Birthday Boys: Jimmy & Jiro

Sunday night was the final party in the trilogy of "James's 25th Birthday." My friend, Jiro, called me up a few weeks ago and asked if I wanted to co-host this party with him for his birthday and two other friend's going aways, Andrew and Kareem. Of course I said, "Yes." Jiro's friend is the manager of the place and hooks him up whenever he sets up a party there; it's a pretty sweet deal. So I headed off about 7pm and met Shari, a UCF university friend who I never actually met until I lived in Japan, and Kotone on the train bound for Roppongi. We met Chiharu, Mayu, Kiho, and Rohan before heading to IBEX. An intersting thing happened while we were waiting, too. A group of Chilean Navy sailors approached me looking for a place to party, so I invited them to come party with us. I never would have thought I would be partying with Chilean sailors for my 25th birthday party. Anyway, we got there and it was kinda dead, but filled up very nicley rather quickly. All my other friends showed up at different times during the night. The QC Party was an amazing time. Big Shouts to all those who came; Paul, Matt, Rohan, Ashley, Chiharu, Mayu, Oz James, Kumiko, Dave S., Cam, Sophie, Manu, Derek, The Chileans, etc..........

Tanjyobi Omedetou! Potluck Birthday Party

After finishing up at the doctor, I headed home and got changed for my 2nd annual Potluck Birthday Party. Most of my close friends from the neighborhood came bearing gifts, which was an extra special added bonus. I really cleaned up with presents ranging from a new Comme Ca Du Mode wallet to a fine bottle of Moët & Chandon champagne. My Futako friends are the best and I love them all dearly. I am really not sure how long I will be in Japan, but I am surely going to have another birthday party in Potluck next year if I'm here. My friend Jin, the owner, even brought me a dish of fresh sushi prepared by another friend who is a sushi master. Life doesn't get much better with friends like these.

When I was 24 it was a very good year

Today marks the day of my birth, 25 years after the actual event. People always ask you 'Do you feel different?' on your birthday. I always used to say 'no' and I was honestly telling the truth, but this birthday something seemed to change. I am the QC! I spent the day at home, alone, nursing my injured knee contemplating the feat I had achieved the previous day, before I went to the doctor for my X-ray. If I am correct I am the first person in my bloodline, modern and ancient, to have reached the peak of Mt. Fuji. I have been a lot of places around the globe, but this was the first place I have been where it is very possible that not one of any of my thousands of ancestors had ever been. I felt them as they saw the world through my eyes yesterday. I grew somewhere deep inside and realized something: When I was 24 it was very good year.

War is Hell: Mt. Fuji

The Battle of Mount Fuji: Victory was ours, but heavy casualties were suffered. Yuko and I set out from Shinjuku on the Keio bus at 5pm on our way to Kawaguchiko at the 5th station up Fuji San. The weather forecast had constantly been changing, so we decided to just take our chances. We set out from the 5th station at 7:30pm under a full moon with partly cloudy skies. My plan was for us to climb during the night under the full moon and reach summit 30 to 45 minutes before sunrise so we could take in the moon from there as well. The recommended time from the 5th station to the summit is a hair over 400 minutes, so I figured we could take our time since I planned for Yuko being slower than molasses & constipation. She was doing surprisingly well despite her extreme altitude fatigue, so I, being the gentleman I am, carried her backpack. We hiked through the night; Yuko, with the clothes on her back, and I, with about 60 pounds of shit on my back. The night was bright with the full moon lighting our way and the weather being miraculously cooperative. Through the night it was mostly dry with only a few sprinkles until about 2:30am when we were just leaving the Original 8th station. The rain and wind picked up at once; we were soaked and surrounded by thick clouds of moisture and sand in the darkness. We trudged on and summited at 3:30, where the weather was getting worse and worse by the minute, about an hour before sunrise. The wind was gusting at 70-80mph by my estimate and had completely covered us in a fine grain mud of volcanic rock. My friends who had climbed in the previous weeks had warned me that the crowd of people was unbearable, so initially I was caught off-guard by the lack of climbers at the summit, but quickly realized that most of them were smart enough to stay home in these conditions.

So, Yuko and I huddled next to the mountain hut, shivering in the driving rain, watching bewildered first-timers wander in the relentless darkness and focused old-pros hunker down in disappointment. The hut opened up at about 4:15 and we promptly qued up for a seat inside where we spent the next 45 minutes thawing out and missing a beautiful sunrise under thick black storm clouds. At 5am the tour groups decided enough was enough and started down; we immediately followed suit. In retrospect, the ascent was a cake walk compared the the descent. The wind grew stronger along the descending route which lead to constant falls due to the soft earth. At one point a boulder about the size of a medicine ball became dislodged beneath my feet and started rolling toward the group in front of us. I had to run downhill and stop it with my leg (Have you ever stopped a rock with your leg? An object in motion tends to stay in motion.) which hurt like hell and after I almost fell over the side, which happened plenty of times. Another time we had to stop and huddle for about 15 minutes due to the voracious wind that was whipping around us. I can remember several times when I thought that I was going to die. We finally made it back to Kawaguchiko at 8am bruised & battered and had to wait until 11 for our bus back to Shinjuku. I sprained my knee so bad on the descent that I can't really walk at the moment and am going to see a doctor. It was definitely worth going, but I don't ever want to again. My advice? Make SURE the weather is going to be clear before going.

The Summit of Fuji at sunrise

B*Y*O*B & The 4 Muskateers

August turned out to be a month of many events at work, so, hence forth, I organized a small party on Sunday so we (my co-workers and I) could celebrate them together. There were 'farewells' for Ashley & Betty and 'welcomes' for Cam, Derek, and Christie. There were also 'congrats' for my boss & Derek and 'happy birthdays' for Cam and I. So I set up this small gathering at the NHK Hall entrance to Yoyogi Park. We partied there for about 3 hours and then tried to part ways. Rohan, Dan, and I had another drink at Hachiko, then Rohan and I hit the Den En Toshi Line. All would have ended like a normal night, but Rohan had to piss so bad that he got off at my station and hadn't realized that was his last train. We headed to Potluck to drink the night away where we caught up with neighborhood partners in crime, Kiyo and Baba. We got fuckin torn up and Kiyo presented me with his birthday gift: traditional Japanese flip-flops. Great Night. Next day wasn't so hot....

Feeling the Love: Hiro & Yuriko Suzuki

A monumentous and wonderful event; the celebration of love between two crazy cats who love to have fun and finally decided to make it honest; Hiroyuki and Yuriko Suzuki's wedding. These were my first friend's in Futako Shinchi and are also the most dear. I was thrilled to have been invited to their wedding and had been looking forward to it for close to six months. The day started early with a wake up call from Kiyo, then I met some of the crew at Potluck and we headed to The Westin in Ebisu for the festivities. Only Kiyo and Keiko were invited to the actual ceremony, but I tend to find those boring anyway since the reception and after party are the real crowd pleasers. The reception lasted all day until about 5pm when we departed for the after party in a beer hall about 20 minutes walk from the Westin.

After the after party Jin treated us all to a round of free ice cream and then we headed back to Futako Shinchi for the after after party at Potluck which we stayed at for a few hours then moved on to karaoke in Mizonokuchi for the final after after after party. It was really long day and an even longer weekend but it was well worth it. OMEDETOU Hiro & Yuriko! True Love comes only once and you have realized it.

Tamagawa Hanabi

Betty showed up in Futako Shinchi around 4:30 to help me stake out a spot and set up the party that I had planned for watching the annual Tamagawa Fireworks Festival. We got a spot easy enough with a great view of both the Setagaya & Kawasaki fireworks and waited for all the others to arrive. Rohan and Hana showed up a few minutes before the show started, then Paul and his crew came about half way through, and finally Yuko found us with about 10 minutes left. Kumiko, Dave, and Naoko never found us. I would be lying if I said that I had an absolutely great time Saturday night. The fireworks were OK at best and I was a little disappointed that more people didn't come. So after the fireworks Hana, Kumiko, Dave, and Naoko came to my place for a few drinks and then headed home. It was an OK day, but I've had better.

Mori Towers: Tight Night, Plan 9

This was are view, and boy was it fantastic. Eri came through on another 100% solid with one more Fantastic Plastic Machine show, but this time on the 53rd (top) floor of the Mori building in Roppongi Hills. I called Paul as a special guest and we hit the train at midnight where we met Kumiko, Swiss Dave, and Naoko. Rendezvoused with Eri, Cam and Sophie in Ebisu and finally with Hana, Hitomi and her friend at Roppongi Hills.

My ears popped on the ascent; that was my sign that tonight was going to be alright. We mingled, schuffled, and rubbed shoulders to latin house music (including a trumpet playing chick) courtesy of Tomoyuki Tanaka while taking in the Tokyo night skyline. It was a Tight Night.

Mini Hanabi

After work that Tuesday Yuko met me at the river, Tamagawa, for a miniture hanabi (fireworks) celebration. We both burnt ourselves a few times and had a heap of fun doing it. It was a really great day, although I could have done without washing my wallet.

Coolin' off in Kinuta Koen

Tuesday morning Hana drove over to pick me up and we headed to Kinuta Park for a well deserved dip in the pool. We had debated going to the beach, but decided it would not really be feasible because I had to start work at 5 that day. So after getting side-tracked a few times we arrived to find the pool completely jammed with families, there were probably more than 150 kids in the swimming area, due to the Obon holiday. There was a winding river with a pretty swift current and twin water slides that snakes around before emptying into a basin in the middle of the river loop. We swim around in the piss water, being called out several times for a 'break' (a.k.a. defecation removal), and I felt like a kid again. But later that day I accidentally washed my wallet which was very inconveniently left in the back pocket of my pants. Sometimes I wonder if there are forces working against me.....