Top 11 of 2011... Part 6

Since it's Christmas Eve and my little sister's birthday, it's only fitting that we should reach the point in the countdown celebrating MY birthday weekend, right?  That's not selfish, right?

#6.  Birthday Blowout

A large part of the reason that my birthday this year was so special was that I was home in my favorite state, Colorado.  The second part had to do with being with my favorite family and friends, even ones from out of town (thanks to a wedding!).  And the third part was all in thanks to Jordan, a serious contender for most unbelievable best friend.

It started the night prior to my birthday.  A Mexican dinner downtown with family that led to adventures in Uptown that happened to concur with Gay Pride weekend.  The night ended with dill-infused vodka, and lots of merriment.  Can't complain there.

Jordan wins for birthday day planning, starting with a hangover breakfast at Chick-fil-A (before I stopped supporting them, YUM!), and a trip down memory lane slipping and sliding at Water World in Hyland Hills!  The park was EMPTY and we had so much fun we didn't need to stay all day.  Hooray!

We next had tea and sandwiches for lunch downtown, and a nice quiet dinner and birthday cake with Jacque.  Bonus points for the candles being lit in binary.  Serious bonus points.

Surprisingly, the celebrations didn't end there.

Saturday morning arose with a glorious hike up to St. Mary's Glacier, having never been there all these years in Colorado.  Got some sun, snow, and great time with the best friend and his future fiancee...

 We may have even slid down the side of the mountain like we were skiing.  The wind was crazy but it was off the hook!

Then, I got to go to one of my best friend from childhood's wedding, and best was there to celebrate (she may be dating the bride's brother).

 Even had a mini middle school reunion!

 And of course, I was so popular in birthday land that I had to leave and go meet my sister for PICKLE SHOTS!!!!  Can you tell they're my favorite?  Yet another great night of dancing and drinking.

And last, but most important, got to celebrate with Momma both Father's Day and a late birthday dinner with homemade Pizza...

Jealous?

How's 29 gonna live up to that?

Thursday

The weekly rundown:

First, I finally broke the Radio City audition glass ceiling this year and didn't get a "Thank you!" after I sang...  I think I finally had some idea of what to sing when I walked in the room.

Too bad I got let go at the final cut today after working my tail off in the callback.

Guess that glass ceiling just got a little higher.  At least I don't have to wait 2 months to find out I didn't get the job though, right?

Oh, and on that note, Wednesday was frightfully cold and rainy, and after keeping us out in the cold for 2 hours, the nice folks at Radio City didn't bother to tell us we wouldn't be able to leave once we got inside and would be held hostage until our number was called... 4 hours later.   With no chance to eat.

WTF, Radio City, WTF?

Secondly, I am looking forward to this weekend to finally sleep in past 7 AM.  Seriously, when did I turn into my father?

Third, it was my father's birthday today.  This year was the year I kinda forgot about him for part of the day (because I was busy pulling up for Radio City) and it just felt weird.  Thank goodness I had the afternoon to spend some time at home, and pizza and beer to eat my feelings for Thursday Night Pizza Party.

Sadly, that tradition has fallen by the wayside now that the old apartment is gone, but Kate and I resurrected it partially this evening.  We just need to get some of our good friends back in the game of Grey's and Papa John's.  At least in time for the dramatic season finale next week.

Fourth, well, that's really all.  My life isn't that interesting now that I'm not living in Japan anymore.  I really miss it, so much so that I found an amazing Japanese restaurant on 49th and stopped in to have a bowl of ramen after the cold imprisonment yesterday.  Sapporo was 99% authentic, though I wish it hadn't been two Hispanic guys cooking my food.  And the ramen noodles were a little thin... And not quite white-yellow enough.  But the broth and pork were spot on.

Seeing the Japanese people's faces when I shouted "gochi so sama deshita!" as I left the restaurant was PRICELESS.  They so didn't see that one coming, nor the fact that I understood half of what was happening in the restaurant.  It made me feel oddly at home.  Sigh.

I'm heading to see Leslie Jordan's show tomorrow night (since he was so great at the Easter Bonnet), and I was devastated to hear that Doris Eaton Travis passed yesterday.  I met her years ago doing Will Rogers and have seen her at the Easter Bonnet twice since then (the last time still kicking away only 2 weeks ago), and sadly our last-living-at-106 Follies girl has joined my dad on the other side.  What an honor to experience her joy and memories 3 different times.

My father was a man who understood the importance of words and the power of listening.  Something I'm still learning every day.  A man who believed "sainthood is achievable", that "something worth doing is worth doing right", and who taught me the true power of music with his guitar strums.

Happy Birthday, Dad, I love you.

Freezer in the Garage

So I've a lagged a little bit this past week in keeping this blog up-to-date on my life.

So you're guessing I'm gonna tell you about it, right?

Hold your horses, kiddos!  This one's a spur-of-the-moment food-inspired (what else do I blog about?) obsession!



SAMOAS!!!!!!!

No.  Not the people of the island nation where "Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains" takes place.  I'm talking about GIRL SCOUT COOKIES!

Do you know how long it's been since I've had a delicious caramel coconut chocolate-covered chewy nougat?

I don't even know how long it's been.  It's been that long.

See, Kate just went to switch her laundry at the laundromat, and, attempting to win the race for best roommate ever, bought 2 boxes of Samoas, and a box of Thin Mints (in case those were my favorite) since they just happened to be sitting on the counter for 3 bucks a box at the counter.

SERIOUSLY, NYC?  You can't track down cookies in New York using your web skills or phone books or even stopping by the Girl Scout Association office on 23rd Street, but they just happen to show up at our laundromat the first week of May?!  I'm not complaining, but WHOA!  Seriously, if you go to the website to buy cookies it sends you the contact information for the little girl closest to you selling them.

You'd think GSA would have figured out by now they could just sell them in the grocery store, or make them available through Girl Scouts year-round.  And don't they know that putting little girls' contact info on the internet is a BAD idea?  Hmmmm...

But back to my food obsession.

My mother, being the best mother ever, brought me a box of Thin Mints while I was in Japan.  Seriously, who thinks of that?

Only the kind of mother that would buy something like 50 boxes of Girl Scout cookies each year when we were growing up, and putting them in our freezer in the garage, to make sure our cookie cravings were satisfied all year round.

That's Mother Day award-winning kind of stuff, right there.

Of course, she went above and beyond and would keep like 15 12-packs of pop on a shelf out there (for camping trips and variety, etc.), a dozen loaves of the best raisin bread EVER from South Dakota, and all the pheasants my family would shoot each November in South Dakota.  And when you consider that we were of family of 6 with 3 very hungry growing boys... well, she's a food rock star.

Even better was the half of a cow we kept in the freezer one year.

Seriously.  Kate doesn't believe me, but one year we split a cow with the Boersma's from a butcher in Greeley, and I remember loading up our suburban and going out to cow-town and filling up the backseat with white-butcher-paper-wrapped steaks and ground beef that we had purchased.  We must've eaten that stuff for a whole year.  And it was REALLY good.

I'm not sure where all this nostalgia is coming from, but let's just say the GSA are taking me back to some great memories of my mother and her food-providing skills.

I even remember in high school how liberating and adult-like it felt to purchase my own box of Samoas from one of the girls in English class and then keeping them in my locker.  I would pull one or two out during passing periods and savor the delicacy of my very own Samoa that I never had to share with a brother or sister.

That was heaven.

And now, we have two whole boxes in our freezer to savor at our leisure.

And thank you, Mom, for making sure our sweet-teeth were always satisfied.

The Transition Begins

I'm home.

And I have blonde(r) hair now. Cut like Sawyer's. I love it.

It's amazing what those 10 extra Volts do to my hairdryer. Power and a perfect amount of heat manage the curly puff so much better!

And it seems (not to jinx it or anything) that I might be *almost* over my jetlag, since I slept from 12 to 7:15 this morning and only woke up once, and simply rolled over and went back to sleep. Though waking up 3:30 tomorrow morning to work the Bronx Zoo event probably isn't going to help...

My body has definitely not adjusted to American tastes, portion sizes, or food quality yet. I had Papa John's for dinner last night, and I foolishly ate 4 pieces. I forgot how much bigger they were than Japanese L size, and my stomach instantly cramped up. Note to self.

I've had Dunkin' twice now, and a small iced coffee seems just obnoxiously huge, and one donut was too much. Now we know why Americans are fat.

Which, seeing them walking the streets of Astoria, by the way, has devastated me. I told everyone in Japan that obesity was much more of a problem in middle America since most people in NYC walk and take public transport, but it's a lie. Wake up, people... we're fat and our food supply is completely bastardized.

9 months ago, I would have defended it to the T, saying "look at me, I eat whatever I want". Now I'm thinking those 26 years are gonna show up with health problems and weird chemical reactions down the road. I'm not saying there aren't good choices, but we surely need to eat smaller and fresher portions. I mean, I was in the grocery store overwhelmed at how HUGE everything was.

But don't worry. I'll still eat pizza when I want to, maybe just a few fewer slices.

And I'm so glad to have cereal again, though seeing 100 square feet of cereal space was literally overwhelming. I never thought I'd say this, but there might actually be TOO many cereal choices.

Japan. You changed me.

It's been gorgeous and sunny here and I've started the moving-in process (it sucks), but I'm also avoiding it well. I think I'm taking my vacation from vacation these two days and just moving at a slower speed than the rest of the city. Thankfully too, since yesterday the NFL draft and Obama ground Manhattan to a halt and they were shooting a new film at the Ditmars stop. No thank you.

I'm heading into the city to take care of all my union dues and address changes, and then meeting up with Erin and Meg for dinner or a drink. Dropped off my comforter to dry clean and did laundry this morning since it seems the girl using my stuff didn't bother to wash or clean anything. Missing pillows, pillowcases, and found a pair of underwear in my fitted sheet. Just gross.

Welcome back to NY, Tophs. The grit of Times Square awaits.

I think I miss Japan.

A whole helluva lot.

Snorkelling

I never thought I'd say this in Thailand, but I was COLD today.

Partly that's because the skies opened up and POURED on us this morning, and I figured it would be better to just go shirtless so it would be drier later on. And part of that's because the rain was just that cold.

Luckily, since we had booked this trip in advance, the day turned nicer as soon as we hit our first of 4 islands, and the sprinkles only lasted another 15 minutes or so. I guess it just seems to be the way of life that when I go snorkelling, like I did on the Great Barrier Reef, that it's a cloudy and partially rainy day. C'est la vie.

The good news is, despite being forever spoiled after visiting one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World, the reefs were quite beautiful today. The sad news is that so many people who cannot swim and don't understand how to observe without touching are the ones visiting these reefs. And I hate seeing such delicate life forms being ruined by tourist development. It seriously saddens me.

I loved our 4 islands because they were all unique experiences. The first, Koh Yak Yei, was a small, rocky outcrop of coral surrounding the bigger island Koh Rang. We visited a beach there second, which had stunning sand and delightful waters, and I got to take a breather from inhaling salt (no pun intended).

The third island was my favorite, Koh Tang Lang, and it was an even smaller rocky coral outcrop, but it had the depth of underwater mountains and valleys that really make coral spectacular to me. While the colors and species weren't as varied as in Australia, it was beautiful to swim with the fearless fish and observe them swimming in and out of the coral caves.

Our final stop was in reality a beach resort, on Koh Wai, with a pier and all. It gave us an opporunity to walk a nice sand beach again, take some really wonderful pictures, and see sea turtles being rehabilitated and conserved. I loved that they were the sea turtles that look just like "Dude, Crush", and I might have quoted several lines from the movie at them. HA!

We rode in the songthaew there with a family of 6 Germans, two of whom happened to be Thai-German. I finally figured out that the Thai mother and her daughter moved to Germany and she married the German man, which was why they spoke Thai and German. The other couple was also from outside Hamburg, so I got an amazing refresher course on my German. I was shocked at how much I remembered and how things started to come back to me while we were with them all day. The Thai-German daughter spoke a little English, so she acted as translator for everyone involved, and she seemed interested in me and Evan in that typical Thai way.

I'm so sick of feeling like the people here are nice but they want something from you, be it to be their boyfriend, to give them money, or just to mooch off you in whatever way possible. It definitely is by far my biggest pet-peeve about this place.

They served us 2 meals and some delicious fruit on the boat, and luckily my stomach held out all day... For dinner we stopped in town and had delicious over-priced hamburgers and chili fries because it was just what we needed after a long day in the sun. Luckily I didn't get burnt, but Evan suffered a very similar fate as I did in Australia. Ouch.

Now it's early and we're beat. It seems we've done everything cheap there is to do on the island, so we haven't exactly made a plan for tomorrow, but I could sit on our beach all day and be just fine! Looking forward to a good night's sleep, and tonight's dinner made me look forward to home cooking and real New York food.

Bangkok to Koh Chang

Oh, what a beautiful two days it has been...

As soon as we landed, we made fast friends with the tall German guy who'd been sitting in front of Evan the whole flight. It was fascinating to hear his tales of travelling around the world the last 10 weeks and what he still has left to do with his mate. I'm jealous, to say the least.

As usual, I began the trend of picking the slowest or most inconvenient line or option possible with Immigration. I seriously think our entire flight got stamped before we made it through. Oh well... Money, baggage, everything went smoothly including stopping by the information and hotel desks to find a cheap (and safe!) place to stay for the night. We quickly got a cab to the hotel, though in the end we think the guy ripped us off 100 baht or so by taking a seemingly long route around (by my map) and possibly overcharging us on the tolls. In the end, I chalked it up to what my sister said: "You're gonna get ripped off once or twice and don't worry about it".

Unfortunately, I haven't been so skilled at avoiding it, and it's probably happened 3 or 4 times already. Which just goes to show that I'm not sure the Thai people are as "nice" as everyone seems to think they are. They speak excellent English and often greet you with a smile, but they definitely don't have the service quality of the Japanese, and it often feels like they're only nice to you when they want your baht. Which gets old. QUICKLY.

Our hotel was perfect for what we needed, and we were close to the bus terminal for our trip today, though we ended up booking it through our hotel (another possible ripoff). We were mostly concerned with staying away from the dangerous protest areas and the red shirts, though I truly believe the violent times have passed. We did see a group of red shirts on motorcycles and a pick up truck filled with them while walking, which just left us skittish more than anything.

We decided to venture up Sukhumvit where we got a taste of Thai traffic (they're super crazy and apparently red lights don't mean stop), street food (super spicy and super delicious), and the national anthem (when it plays at 8 AM and 6 PM everyone, including us, stops what they're doing and stands for it). One of the highlights of our trip was seeing 15 guys or so playing volleyball on the street court in the park, and they invited us to join in. We were just hitting at first (they could KILL like crazy!) and our friend Rui despite being super short was jumping for his life. Eventually it transitioned to a game, but I sat out so I could catch some video and photo footage. It was just so kind of them to let us join in!

We continued wandering, and walked quite a ways in retrospect, to eventually wander through a park, get some great pics of the night skyline, and play on a teeter totter. Too bad the Thai kids were rude and stole the apparatus while we were setting up a picture. We got really lost and a little jittered by the stray dogs in this huge compound where the security guard wouldn't let us photo the gorgeous golden lit-up temple. So we snuck around the corner and BGP'd it!

Eventually we made it to the Suan Lum Night Bazaar which was AMAZING! The shopping there was incredible, though once again, my bargaining skills got me ripped off on my first purchase. I did much better on the second two, and I clearly got the bottom line on my adorable new shorts and tank outfit because the guy called me out for trying to rip him off! I also snagged some great T-shirts by a local artist who was the brother of the shopkeeper. His work really inspired me, and for the cheap-o price I had to support such great art.

Despite the oppressive humidity (and I do mean oppressive), we had some great food at the night market, and stopped at an A&W for a rootbeer float on the way. Yes, that's baca, and I don't care because I've been living overseas for 9 months and if I want an A&W rootbeer float, I'm'a get one... Especially since we don't have 'em in NY. So there.

It took a bit to get a taxi home, and with our newfound bargaining skills we got home reasonably, but in the end, still couldn't win out and get the meter price. Just chalking up the 10 dollars I lost to tourism. And the scammy nature of it all here.

Kinda late to bed, and 7 to rise, but we had an INCREDIBLE free breakfast at the hotel today. Delicious orange marmalade, great toast, and some of the best scrambled eggs and bacon I've ever had. Now I don't know if that's because I haven't had an American breakfast in 9 months, or if it was just that good, but my taste buds don't care. YUM.

We were REALLY confused when a van showed up to take us to Koh Chang from our hotel this morning, since we had asked thorough questions to the hotel front desk clerk the day before when we booked it, and received answers about double decker situation, movies, A/C, etc. Turns out, it was just a cab to take us on what amounted to a free driving tour of Bangkok to go meet the actual bus!

Good thing we got the V. I. P. treatment!

Ha ha! Actually the bus was quite comfortable, and they reserved the front section of the bus for those of us with hotel transfers, so Evan snagged us the upper front seats, right behind the VIP sign, directly in front of the TV, with nice legroom and perfect picturesque views for the 5.5 hour ride.

We watched G.I. Joe (it's really bad) and the countryside before our first rest stop where I had amazing green curry pork for about 40 baht. I also finally got to take my picture with the Thai Pepsi in a glass bottle. Our second leg consisted of more scenery, 2012, and a rest stop that wasn't quite as charming. We finally got to Laem Ngob to catch the ferry about 2:30 PM.

Fortunately and unfortunately, it's the Songkran (Thai New Year) holiday here. The traditional rituals of pouring water on the buddhas has morphed into a 3 day country-wide water fight, with pickup trucks full of people pouring trash cans of ice water at roadside clumps aiming right back at them. Our bus got sloshed probably 15 times, and the driver's assistant kept opening the sliding window to throw cups of water out the window. It was so cool to experience, but after hour 5, it got old stopping every 500 meters or so to dodge another water fight.

The ferry was phenomenally busy, but the ride itself was stunning and gorgeous. Once again, we had trouble figuring out how to get one of the taxi pickup truck thingies to take us to our hotel, but it worked out in the end. Evan thought it was amazing that he got to ride standing up on the back tailgate, and I nearly got thrown out the back several times as we went uphill and the 6 people sitting next to me (including a rather fat Japanese guy) slid down the bench with the help of gravity. Luckily we survived, and even more luckily, I knew to look out for our hotel because I had to pound on the ceiling to get our driver to stop since it was the first one. A lot of help he was...

Adding to the adventure was the fact that our hotel was 600 m down a well-paved road. And by down, I mean a 37% grade slope of a hill. Evan let gravity just roll his bag down the hill, and all I'm thinking about is my sore knees and how we'll ever get up the thing when we leave! Getting to our hotel turned out to be another adventure as well, since they had no record of my reservation. They couldn't find anything for 15 minutes after I showed them my passport, explained when I called, detailed the room and 6 nights' stay, and we started panicking. They basically told us there were no rooms, but they could pitch a tent on the beach for us tonight before a room opened up tomorrow.

I asked if the reservation wasn't under Evan's name, and they said "Christopher? He's Christopher?" At which point I realized they were morons and had my reservation in front of them the whole time, they just didn't bother to figure it out properly. I'll blame it on the language barrier, I guess. A guy on a motorcycle with a sidecar luggage carriage thing (I rode side-saddle on back) took us the 100 feet to our bungalow, and we were finally home!

The adventure was more than well-worth the wait, when you realize it looked like this:

So I put on the swimsuit and sunscreen right away and was in the bathwater. Seriously, it must be 89 degrees in that water, much like our pool in Houston in the summer. It's insane how warm the water is, though the sand is actually a little softer further down towards the more developed end of the beach. I'm so thrilled I did my research and booked our quiet private room at this place, because we basically have the northernmost pristine stretch of sand to ourselves, down to the rocks, which we explored thoroughly (sadly, sans camera). There isn't any sealife where we swim, but the rocks were teeming with abalone and really awesome crabs. Sadly there's a lot of trash too...

Hopefully we'll see the monkeys that are wild in the jungle stretching behind our resort, and tomorrow we're stoked because we're going to ride an ELEPHANT!

We took a walk down the beach, saw 8 million more people that left us happy we chose our hotel, and had a beverage at a bar on the beach. Vacation is here! Walking through town, we got to experience Songkran full-throttle as Thai women poured giant buckets down my pants, over my head, and even over my backpack. For some strange reason, they put baby powder on their faces too, though I'm not clear on why yet.

We ate at our hotel BBQ for dinner, with some incredibly delicious beef, chicken, tomato, and pineapple skewers, and some not so delicious corn on the cob. This was only enhanced by the incredible fire show that consisted of 3 teenage guys basically practicing their stellar color guard tricks, minus the flags and with FIRE. It was ridiculous.

We ended up making friends with a Swedish guy named Peter and 3 Thai girls that were celebrating one of their birthdays, and they made us start drinking with them. Our night ended up turning into going down the beach into town to go dancing at the club, and we saw a great live band that reminded me a lot of Next Stage on the ship. Though I'm not sure they were actually that live in the end... the DJ was conspicuously turning tables (and band-booth signals were made) while the performance was in progress. Nonetheless they played a bunch of great music, segued each song into the next, had 3 great singers one of which was a killer female, and their only flaw were their obnoxious volume and suspect harmonies.

I have to say I'm disappointed in the club though for being so loud (I used the LP paper towel ear plug trick), and not only that, but for blasting the music outside the beach. Even after a 15 minute walk home and with the roar of the waves, I can still hear the bass when I'm outside. That's just asinine. The bass was just too much for me after an hour or so, so I came home to get some rest before elephants tomorrow, and I'm sure Evan won't be too far behind.

Whatever the case, I'm really on vacation in Thailand, and it's amazing. I've lost all sense of time and worry, and now it's only about adventure and enjoyment. More Thailand awaits!

Another Week Goes By

Well, aren't I the little delinquent?

I have good excuses, I swear. But let's just get to the recap!

So I spent my final day with the family Sunday having a GREAT day! The weather finally warmed and cleared up a bit, and we decided to take it easy and enjoy the sunshine. We shipped off to Shibuya, where we briefly wandered the alleys before stopping by Yoyogi Park, which ended up being our main stop of the day, much to our surprise.

There was not one, but TWO huge food fairs going on, and we spent a solid hour or two getting free samples, trying AMAZING produce, experiencing a myriad of smells and flavors. It was really remarkable. We stopped for Yakisoba (since my aunt had been clamoring for it for the previous 10 days) and it was quite delightful. Since we weren't super hungry, we decided to keep exploring and make our way to the actual park and have a picnic and play some Pinochle.

The afternoon was simply delightful, and we headed back to the fair to get some Hiroshima-style Okonomiyaki, though sadly there were no more grilled oysters! We had some beer, chocolate-covered soybeans, sakes, oranges, and more along the way! Simply OISHII!

Then I overwhelmed them by making our way down Takeshita-Dori to get the true Harajuku experience before heading home. We had one last fantastic night at karaoke, and all too soon it was time to wrap up their amazing vacation.

Monday I headed back to work brain-dead, exhausted, and looking forward to sleeping in my bed instead of on the floor.

By Tuesday, I had another excellent meal at an izakaya (a type of Japanese bar where they make home-cooked food) called Kakaiya, for Kasi's birthday. Though the night became a bit pricey, the food was PHENOMENAL. I came home reeking of fish, but those SHRIMP! And the best miso soup I've ever had, delicious red and long fish, amazing octopus, and TUNA SPARERIBS. I don't think I can really talk about anything else for a long time. yummmmmmmm.

Wednesday was my first day off back to myself, and I had lunch at the Oriental Hotel before seeing Sherlock Holmes with a Japanese friend. We ran into my favorite supervisor after the movie and they loved it too! And then it was time to welcome Gamble back to town and to head down to the Hub for St. Patrick's Day!

It was kind of an overwhelming night now that all the new casts are here, but it really rocked when I got to play darts and won ALL 3 GAMES! That's right, kids. I can hit a double bulls-eye like no one else in Urayasu, which means I've won 4 out of the 5 games in Japan so far.

Batting .800? Eat that, Yankees.

Thursday night I got to see my Summer Party peeps for probably the last time, which really made me realize how much I'm going to miss this place. It showed me how much I've grown, how many great friends I have, and that I am moving REALLY FAR AWAY again. Whoa. Monsoon was delicious as always, but it's the memories of those friends I'll treasure forever. They really rock.

Friday night I sadly couldn't celebrate my friend Todd's birthday since I already had rehearsal for the Saturday night Kasi's birthday show (we might as well call it the BBB Senior Showcase). That was a big bummer, but I committed a while back, and didn't wanna let people down since I was involved in so much. Rehearsal went smoothly, and all was set for the next night.

And Saturday night was the day of the show y'all! We had a GREAT time putting on our little show, despite the typhoon strength winds. But my favorite part was when we full-on mischievous-high-schooler-style STOLE a piano from the practice rooms right underneath our security guards' noses... While we're not really sure this wasn't allowed, we just kind of did it without telling anyone just in case.

And by the way, pianos not mounted on real casters are HEAVY. Just fyi.

So we got the piano in the room, I danced the opening to Chorus Line, sang a Fantasticks love duet with Blair, and then accompanied Chris and Destiny in their Ragtime medley. And then it was time for a drink, honey! The rest of the show was great, and the singers made fools of ourselves reenacting the Christmas Chippendale video as a surprise finale.

And then it was time for this Grandpa to hit the hay while everyone else went to the final Ageha night of the contract. And boy am I glad I did!

Today was a normal day of work, and the singer boys went out for a final Capriciosa dinner one last time together. Evan and I made some more plans for our trips, and now there're only 10 days left. I can't believe it's really happening and accelerating towards the end, but it's coming either way!

In other news, please keep my grandfather in your prayers as he is in the hospital for some very large kidney stones and some colon issues. And luckily my niece's chipped tooth was fixed nicely after she tumbled down the stairs!

Whew! What a week!

Visitors!

Well, the Olympics are almost over, I'm still obsessed, and I haven't had a chance to update my blog!

I've actually been THAT busy.

Because, well, in typical Topher-in-Japan fashion, I got sick right before my friends arrived, and had to go on drugs and vocal rest once again.

Then, Cathy and Meg arrived and we had a WHIRLWIND seven day tour of Japan. No, not just Tokyo. JAPAN.

Seriously, them girls are travelling crazy nuts, and their feet paid a heavy toll for their efforts.

The first two days they enjoyed Tokyo while I fought with management at work over sick tracking. Luckily, the girls were awesome enough to take my computer to the Apple Store on their second day so it could be repaired! YAYZA!

The night they arrived, we had a delicious noodle dinner at the station, and the oishii Japanese meals got better from there. The second night we ate at the amazing Yuuzan Yakiniku place across the street, replete with our own private room and delicious barbecuing fun! The third night we ate at the Tonkatsu place in the Atre I've always wanted to try and it was MECHA OISHII.

Monday morning we set off early (as we did most days) for Kyoto, and the girls were unfortunately at their most exhausted. We had a beautiful day for the Philosopher's Walk, though we didn't make it to Ginkaku-ji, the Silver Pavilion and final stop on the walk. Luckily, it's not the top sight to see in Kyoto and isn't actually covered in Silver like the Golden Pavilion (Kinkakuji) is covered in gold on the other side of town.

We visited the amazing Nanzen-ji, which was down the street from our hotel and got to see amazing zen gardens and a view of Kyoto from the upstairs of the main gate. We also stopped for a great bowl of noodles along the way, and visited the many Buddhist temples. I can only imagine how beautiful it is in sakura season.

But we had a fantastic stay at our ryokan, with a large, gorgeous room and very friendly English-speaking staff. Sadly, most of the guests were gai-jin, but our keiseki dinner was AMAZING. I only wish we would have had a traditional onsen with a beautiful nature view instead of an ofuro tub with no view.

After dinner, we left exhausted Meg to sleep, and I forced Cathy to take a walk with me through Gion. It was AMAZING, because we saw the old traditional street that seems like it is a glimpse back in time when geisha houses ruled Kyoto. And we walked down one of the famous streets on the canal, and I actually got to see two geisha with their patron and mama-san despite the fact that it was Monday night. Thank you, universe!

Day 2 we had the most delicious boiled tofu (a local delicacy) for breakfast and set off on our side trip to Nara. We had a great time hanging out with all the deer, seeing the amazing giant buddha (though I have to say I like the open air one in Kamakura better... something about the sunshine), and had an amazing mountaintop view from one of the temples. I had to wait 20 minutes in line behind an annoying school group to reach enlightenment, but I have to say it was worth it.

Even if old Japanese tourists are rude and cut in line.

Basically there's a skinny hole cut in one of the huge pillars holding up the largest wooden structure in the world (and it's 2/3 the size of the original one!) over the buddha and if you can squeeze through apparently you will reach enlightenment. So yeah.

I did that.

We also travelled outside of town to see one of the great temples there, but sadly the very old pagoda was covered up for construction. There were some really awesome artifacts there, but the 800 yen cover charge was a RIP OFF. Especially when your top sight was covered. Rude, Nara, rude.

The girls loved the Nara Deer Boy character we saw everywhere, but I just found him creepy.

That night we had shabu shabu at the ryokan, but I'll be honest, I liked the tofu better than the beef. Topher likes Tofu! HA!

Wednesday morning we had originally intended to hit more of Kyoto, but the girls were really interested in visiting Himeji castle, about an hour and a half side trip away. And I am SO GLAD WE DID.

It's one of the most historic and preserved castles in Japan, mostly because it never has been under attack. Most of it was built from 1601 to 1610, and it is an incredible maze of engineering and architecture. And sadly, they will cover it up in April for 5 years to do more preservation and restoration, so I'm thrilled I got to see it before it goes under.

Now, Nara should really learn a lesson, because we got in for 600 yen, and had a 2 1/2 hour FREE volunteer English guide take us through the ENTIRE complex. He gave us tons of history that we would never have otherwise learned, and pointed out some fascinating details in the complex. By the fourth gate, I realized I would never have been smart enough to successfully siege that castle. It was GENIUS in its construction.

After we left Ken, we had curry for lunch, and visited the gorgeously new garden built just West of the castle. And then it was time to head back to Kyoto, leave the girls for their last night at Yachiyo, and head back to Tokyo myself.

I had a couple hours to kill, and I thought about climbing the hill to Kiyomizudera, but I refrained, and took a trip to the top of Kyoto tower instead. It was lovely to see the city and see Kiyomizudera and some of the other sights through the free binoculars. And basically I realized Kyoto is HUGE and SPREAD out and very difficult to see in one trip. So I'm looking forward to heading back with momma in a few weeks to see more of the town.

After that I explored the amazing architecture of Kyoto station, walked through the skywalk at the top, grabbed some dinner, and jumped on my shinkansen back to Tokyo feeling like I needed a vacation from vacation!

Then back to work while the girls spent a day in Hiroshima. They came to the park on Friday and it was wonderful to have the great energy that comes when you know you have friends in the audience. For their final night we went to the onsen for an amazing Chinese food dinner, lots of wonderful soaking, doctor fish, and foot massages. Then home to pack, where the girls were AMAZING enough to each take home a suitcase of my winter clothes for me.

And now, I'm exhausted, recouping, planning my Taiwan and Thailand trips, and gearing up for 2 weeks of more wonderful guests in only 2 days! AHHHHH!

It's really happening. My guests are here, the new cast is here, and I'll be home in the states in 2 months. How wonderful!

Sapporo Yuki Matsuri Part 2

Day 3, Thursday. Teine, Ramen Yokocho Alley, Susukino Ice, Park View Spa.

The day started bright and early with a hangover. And the despair of losing my camera.

Luckily, the fresh, cold air and hot breakfast buffet helped, even if I was still a bit woozy as we headed out of town on our ski shuttle bus for 3. That's right, the full-size charter bus took 3 people up the mountain! HA!

Of course, we foolishly assumed this meant we might end up having the mountain to ourselves, forgetting the joy of school trips and ski school. In the end, though, we did pretty much have most of the upper mountain to ourselves and it was AWESOME!

Did I mention that skiing is a great hangover cure?

We chose to ski at Teine because it basically had two mountains we could ski for 6 hours for 3700 yen, and the fact that it was only 45 minutes out of Sapporo. Not only that, it was used for some of the slalom and downhill runs during the '72 Olympics, and it has crazy beautiful views of the city.

Oh. And the ocean. Nobody told us about that, and I don't mind a bit. That surprise was well worth the wait! I mean, I could practically see Russia from my house! (wink, wink).

My brother has told me about this awesome race in Seattle called the Ski to Sea, where the relay of 8 or 9 people on 6 different types of transportation goes from the top of the mountain to the ocean... And I thought the Japanese should definitely adopt that idea at this place.

Anyway, we started out the day renting our skis (which they were so kind as to have in giant foot sizes for Evan), and then working up our nerves on the bunny hill courses on the lower hills with 8 million people. Did I mention that there's an amusement park at the top for summer -- bizarre! Anyway, somehow we learned that we got to cut in front of everyone in the lift lines with our passes, and we never questioned that decision. That privilege was AWESOME!

After a couple wimpy runs from me, we jumped in the express gondola to the upper mountain with a bunch of kyusai (9-year-old) kids. Naturally they spoke very little English and it was then I figured out how little conversational Japanese I speak. But they were awesome and adorable, especially this one kid who kept saying, "Whhhaaaaat?" And "doko?doko?doko?doko?doko?doko?" (where?where?where?) and cracking us up. We do understand enough to know that one kid basically said to the other, "They're Americans. Of course they can't speak Japanese," which probably could have made me mad, but didn't. Cuz they're right.

So we get to the top of the mountain and see the beautiful view for the first time, take some pictures, and make our way down what we hope to be the easiest trail, only to discover ourselves at the top of quite a scary blue/black. Luckily we found a narrow but slightly easier side trail to get down, but the long run that followed didn't do anything to boost my confidence. And so, about an hour in, as we were returning to the top, I was getting frustrated with myself.

So I started skiing down the back bowl where the actual easy trail was, and Evan and I separated for a bit. Somehow not having to compete with or impress him really forced me to suck it up and stop being a wimp, and I suddenly found a couple trails in the back bowl I really liked. And thus began our love affair with a certain course for the next few hours. We basically skied there all day, with very few groups to get in our way. About 1 some fresh powder started falling which was awesome since the slopes were just starting to get a bit icy.

And I absolutely had to stop and eat PB&J at the top of my FOURTH mountain in Japan. The first in Hokkaido! YATTA!

From there the day just got better and better and we made our way down the mountain to the lower one, stopping along the way to call and change our bus reservation to the 5 PM one. Now how that was ridiculously easy to do, despite not speaking Japanese, yet in 3 days I couldn't actually get 10% of the people I asked to help me find my camera, I'll never understand. But I'm thankful we didn't have to hang out in the lodge for 3 hours with nothing to do!

Once back in town we ventured down to Ramen Alley for a DELICIOUS post-skiing dinner of Sapporo miso ramen. Man was that noodle bar oishii and cheap!

On the way home, we stopped to gaze at the finished ice sculptures at the Susukino site, along with a couple receiving their finishing touches. They were stunning, though I have to say I think, in the end, I like the snow sculptures better.

You can't really complain about the chainsaw and firetorch though! AWESOME.

Back at the hotel, I started making some phone calls about my camera and made a little headway with the police, but no really avail.

So we headed up to the 14th floor to the onsen where we soaked and relaxed and zen-ed out whilst overlooking the gorgeous snow sculptures for the next day's festival.

It doesn't get much better than that, folks!

Day 4, Friday. Odori Koen Site, Sapporo Beer Museum, TV Tower, Sapporo to Tokyo.

Friday dawned with grey skies, but super delighted spirits! It was SNOW FESTIVAL day!

After a final delicious breakfast and checking out of our hotel (I'm pretty sure they missed something cuz they only charged me 40 yen for all my phone calls, including one to Urayasu, as well as our 500 yen per person onsen visit... but we didn't complain) we walked across the street and began our journey through the Festival!

And look who was right across the street watching us every step of the way... AHHH! I can't ever get away!

Basically, the sculptures were as amazing as we had expected, but breath-taking in that must-be-seen-to-be-believed sort of way.

My favorite was the Asahiyama/Maruyama Zoo Sculpture because the detailing was just AMAZING.

Similar to Hiroshima, there were tons of school children practicing their English and interviewing foreigners, and we humbly obliged them. Luckily we didn't have to rush through the day, or we'd have been up a creek!

About 20 minutes in, a random Japanese man came up and started talking to us, and translating to some of the students. He seemed quite interested in chatting with us and offered to walk the loop with us. As we learned a bit about him, he seemed nice and harmless, so we let him play tour guide for the next few hours.

It turns out, we were hanging out with an 80-year-old man (!) who basically was just bored and likes showing foreigners around the touristy areas. He gave us all sorts of information and stories, and we learned about his daughter and granddaughter in New York and his grandson who recently came back to Sapporo for university. Basically, he was the kindest, coolest grandpa ever (besides my own, of course).

It started to snow quite heavily halfway through the morning, but we trucked on through till he took us to a cheap little Japanese cafeteria for lunch. We would never have found this place without him, but basically it was a cafeteria in the bottom of an office/government building. But for 560 yen, I had miso soup, rice, sushi, pickled vegetables, and tempura in a set. Talk about a bargain! It was fantastic too.

And then, he took off to go play Go, the Japanese chess-like game. That's how he spends his afternoons, and we had a great new friend to remember!

The sun came out a-shining, but it was still -10.2 C, and we thought we'd head to the Beer Garden for one last attempt at finding my camera. By this point, the restaurant had been called 5 or 6 times, and they were quite annoyed at being asked, but we perused the grounds to no avail. We decided since we were out there again (and had chased a bus 5 blocks and failed to get on it to get there), we'd take a tour of the free museum that unfortunately was not nearly as cool as Coors. It had some interesting memorabilia, but was definitely not a factory tour of the process.

Still got some good beer to bring home though.

Then we headed back into town to go up the Sapporo TV Tower and have a great view of the Festival. Saw some awesome snowboarders on the jump in the middle of the park, and an incredible performer playing an electronic organ. She was INSANE!

Finally, we headed down to the international competition section of the park (where 16 teams compete to build the best sculpture in 3 days) to have some delicious Iranian Kebab Pitas for dinner. It's experiences like meeting the owner of the stand who speaks 4 languages and lives in Japan selling kebabs, that make me grateful for and ashamed of my own life all at the same time.

Seriously. He speaks 4 languages. And sold me a delicious kebab. I don't get it.

And from there, it was a journey back to the airport for souvenirs and our short flight home.

Basically, it was one of the best trips I've ever taken and merely a sampling of how much that island has to offer. I can't wait to return someday and explore more!

A Japanese Dinner Party

So last night my friend Nikki held a wonderful little party in her room. And even though we got kicked out of the downstairs lounge because we hadn't filled out the proper party application (since we had Japanese guests and food), we had a great time.

Some of Nikki's friends from church brought a bunch of food and their families and made mochi and gyoza for us! Mochi is special rice that is pounded into a sticky dough and then topped or filled with just about anything. Gyoza are dumplings that the Japanese stole from China and absolutely adore. They're usually filled with ground pork or beef or shrimp and dipped in a soy/vinegar sauce. And I love them.

It was really fun to make them, like when you're a kid helping mom make Christmas cookies!

But the BEST part of the evening was when the little girls made us origami cranes and wrote our names and favorite words in Japanese calligraphy. It was AWESOME! We each got to leave with our own personal souvenir of Japan. Words cannot express how much that truly touched me.

And, even though the girls were completely intimidated by the gaijin, their parents could speak English, and they couldn't understand why we didn't like nato (fermented soybeans)... they absolutely went NUTS over the frozen berries Nikki pulled out of the freezer. They ate like you had to at my house if wanted seconds. And it was the first time I've seen ornery Japanese children fight like siblings. Made me proud!

And though that was simple and I didn't take any pictures... I'm sure it will be one of my favorite memories from Japan!

Sumo Inspiration

Oh my goodness.

It's been a pretty boring couple of days around here, which is why I didn't bother to update.

Until now that is.

I mean, I could tell you about making chili and playing piano for Rachael before hanging out with Evan last night, or the fact that the Japanese really nearly messed up my upcoming trip to Hokkaido by changing all our days off...

but those things aren't really that life-changing.

However, today was a life-changing day. Maybe a better word would be life-affirming.

I don't know why. I'm not really sure what about watching giant men wrestle each other around a ring and Brazilian BBQ would seem inspiring on the surface. But there it is.

I'm awash in inspiration today.

Everything around me just seems new and exciting and inspiring to the artist in me. Which is probably why I got that incredible photo of an ume (Japanese plum) barely blossoming from my camera this afternoon!

Guess I'm finally getting out of my funk, ne?

I had the incredible opportunity to go see one of the 3 major Sumo tournaments at Kokugikan today with a friend of mine. Now going into today, I didn't know much about sumo wrestling except the 5 minutes I had seen on TV the other day, the fact that giant men in loincloths try to knock each other over or out of the ring, and that going to one of these semi-annual 15-day tournaments is really awesome.

So, we got 2nd level seats for Day 10 of the tournament, and I did a ton of reading late last night on the website before heading there this morning.

As it turns out, sumo is really a fascinating sport that grew out of ancient Shinto rituals and was refined and regulated by the Shogunate in the Edo Period. And by the end of today, I learned that the sport is much more fascinating and awe-inspiring than it appears on the surface.

Yes, there is a lot of waiting in between the matches, which are usually about 10-15 seconds long. But it is limited to 4 minutes, and by the end of the day, the waiting during staredowns only adds to the excitement and anticipation of which rikishi will prevail. And you get to watch about 100 matches over the course of the day that only get better as the day progresses.

I guess over the years I've just found other country's sports so interesting. I got completely wrapped up in cricket and the Ashes Test when I was visiting Australia 3 years ago, and today I was completely wrapped up in sumo. And I think that's because when I stop and take the time to learn about the culture and rules and regulations behind a sport with someone who understands it and can explain it, the more I delve into it, the more I become a fan.

So I had the incredible experience of learning about the levels of wrestlers, and touring the museum which showed off the two years when 4 yokozuna (the ultimate level of Sumo of which only 69 men have reached in the past 300 years) were competing at once.

And I was in awe. Of how incredible these men are.

And despite being giant oversized men who fight for a living, they are surprisingly kind and generous and artistic individuals.

So today, I felt like a Japanese citizen watching these men wrestle in a sport that has heavy roots in the spiritual culture of this country. And boy did I get mad when all those gai-jin were behaving like jerks.

Except the awesome ones who are sumo wrestlers. They knocked my socks off.

And after that, I ate Brazilian Barbeque until I was stuffed. But I don't think I'll be eating chicken hearts again. That was just too much for my brain and stomach to handle.

And now, with a full belly and a day watching Japan's national sport (when I've never been to an NFL game), I feel incredibly inspired and fortunate at a life that has led me to this -- living in Japan and experiencing unbelievable new and foreign things.

And that my friends, was a pretty awesome day.

And I'm going to the Ghibli (JapAnime) museum tomorrow.

Seriously. Who could ask for anything more?

Enjoy the video below of the day! It includes a sumo match, part of the pseud0-"zamboni-ing" of the dohyo (including an awesome watering can!), and some of the rituals that lead up to a match...

Random Musings

To get back in the swing of things, here are some random thoughts I've had through the past week...

First, you should definitely check out pics of my Miyajima/Hiroshima trip by clicking here.

Secondly, Groundhog day hit HARD this week, and somedays it was all I could do to force myself out of bed and go to work. Guess that part of it makes it easier to head home... But it also meant that several nights this week I came home and was so braindead I couldn't even finish Christmas errands, respond to emails, or update this blog. Wow.

Third, I just figured out that the Japanese really have NO concept of Christmas the way we do. They enjoy the pretty decorations and the "season", but I realized today on the way to work that every store has a different slogan for the Christmas season and they all don't make much sense. Seriously... I remember these from today alone.

Precious Christmas

Brilliant Christmas

Happy Merry Christmas (my personal favorite)

Pure White Christmas

Glittering Christmas...

And the list goes on... WTF, Japan?

Fourth, things are getting a little out of control on the BBB stage sometimes. Seriously, I couldn't keep it together and stop laughing today when a baca fan was sitting Stage Right wearing a wedding dress/Harajuku girl/millions of yards of print cream fabric MUU MUU concoction. Seriously. That woman was crazy, looked crazy, and to add insult to injury was quite an overweight Japanese (which are rare here) with a short, mannish haircut and I just couldn't stop snickering. Oh, and who doesn't love it when Goofy knocks himself over with the Santa bag. I die.

Fifth, I miss real sausage. I just can't always take the weird weiners they have here. Some Jimmy Dean and a pepperoni pizza. Yeah. The Japanese can cook just about anything. Except that.

Sixth, I think that Japanese Disney only has 5 Christmas songs in their catalog. I never thought I'd freak out when I heard Mannheim Steamroller in Tomorrowland. But I did. Even worse, there isn't a show or parade or place in Maihama that doesn't have some version of "Jingle Bells". They have seriously worn that tune to death. Wtf, Japan? Learn some new music. I know it doesn't mean anything to you, but come on!

And finally, today I miss my family. I love them, it's the holidays, and I want to be with them. All of them. Friends too.

So until tomorrow, sweet dreams.

E.(N).T. telefonieren nach Hause

Okay. So the title of this entry is a really bad pun. Especially since it's in German. And I live in Japan.

But do you get the alien reference? 'Cause that's pretty much what I thought for a second when I saw this:

For those of you not in the know, that is neither an upside down pink V, nor a picture of the feminine nether regions, but in fact a picture of my vocal chords. (Meanwhile, I apologize for the poor clarity of the upload of a picture of a picture that was printed out).

Basically, that's what I saw when the Ear, Nose, and Throat guy scoped me today. No, he didn't creepily give me a once-over like some perv on the train... He put a camera down my throat attached to a long metal rod and it tickled!

Though I only gagged once, and that was whilst trying to breathe after holding quite a long extended falsetto "aaaaaaayyyyyy" and before having to repeat said singing... and did I mention there was a metal rod down my throat?

And everyone, keep the comments clean, my grandparents read this blog.

Luckily it wasn't one of the ones that has to go up through your nose 'cause that probably would have REALLY tickled.

But basically the amazing Japanese doctor (thanks for the recommendation, Chris!), looked in my nose and throat and chords and told me that I have acute chorditis vocalis inferior. Which I have now come to understand means my chords are quite swollen, most likely caused by a cold/sinus infection.

I'm guessing singing 18 shows this week didn't help either...

But, the good news is, despite my Gemini internal debate of hemming and hawing, Kathryn lovingly mothered me into going even though I somehow made it through 5 shows yesterday feeling better than before. The REALLY good news is I seem to have caught my problem before a polyp could have developed in the next few days.

So I'm supposed to not sing for 3 days, but well, that clearly can't happen.

The doctor is working his magic trying to get me through the special event and Kathryn's visit Friday, and hopefully clearing me to sing a day early. So I have to go back tomorrow morning, but for the next 5 days I have 5 wonderful Chinese herbs/medicines as well as a shot in the arm of anti-inflammatory today and a 2 minute session of anodization.

And did I mention 95% of this happened in Japanese?

Now you know while I felt like an alien.

But I am MECHA impressed with the efficiency and care of the Japanese system. My possible "long wait" was a mere 5 minutes, and I from the time I walked in until we had forgotten our umbrellas in the lobby was only 45 minutes. And there are like 7 nurses and you get passed from station to station and are never waiting around for your various treatments.

Bam, bam, bam! You are in and out like a fox in a henhouse.

And the visit only cost 140 bucks INCLUDING the scope and medicines, and that, of course, will be reimbursed by insurance.

And the US is fighting this kind of system... really?

In visiting news...

Kathryn is here! And we had such a great dinner at Monsoon last night, a late start in the FRIGIDLY rainy day today, and a lovely afternoon at coffee. One benefit to a fall without Pumpkin Spice Lattes?...

The Caramel Eclair Latte. Salty and sweet with little crunchies. Yeah, be jealous, 'cause none of you are getting any in the States.

And we ate at the most amazing Curry House upstairs in the Daiei and it was phenomenal. It seriously has 3 booths a bar, but it's like the Chipotle of Japanese Curry and NO foreigners go there, so it was DELIGHTFUL. And after my doctor visit, Kathryn made an amazing spaghetti, and I made garlic bread and baked cinnamon apples for Evan and Blair and ourselves. And it was DELICIOUS.

And now I should go to bed since I have to go back to the Doc early tomorrow and I have a long day of rehearsing to my sick track.

Keep me healthy, Lord!

A week of 2:30 AM

So it's starting to seem that 2:30 AM is my normal bedtime, 6 hours of sleep at night is normal, and my social life is trumping any chance I have at updating this blog.

That's just "dame" (pronounced DAH-meh). Aka BAD.

But, in the interest of somehow keeping a good blog going, I'm at least going to update now, and hope to reestablish my daily habit. Because I'm really not a fan of the "at the end of my weekend" thing.

So. Here's why I've been so busy.

Thursday and Friday were pretty simple in retrospect. Just a day of work followed by rehearsal till 10:15 or so. And then backdated emails and phone calls until 2:30...

Saturday was a really fun night out with Melanie and Scooter, my friends from Chicago. First off, I got my camera back. Secondly, we had some delicious shaved foie gras and a pretty authentic paella. And finally, some tasty drinks at a charming little English pub. Akasaka is a perfect little blend of the nightlife of Shibuya/Shinjuku with less crowds, same foreigner-friendly attitudes, and better Nihon-jin to gai-jin ratio. Aka I liked it.

And catching the last train home leads to a 2:30 AM bedtime...

Sunday night, Hiro and I went to Hiroo (notice how that extended "o" means something entirely different, yet the irony is not lost on me) for Mexican food. He said he liked Mexican, but since he's only ever made tacos for himself, I had the pleasure of introducing a Japanese to nachos, banana margaritas, and chimichangas! Making the world smaller one day at a time, folks...

So that led to drinks at the Hub and a 1 AM commute home, which then naturally established that lovely 2 AM pattern...

Monday, I worked all 5 shows, which despite my gorging of the previous night, somehow merited a superfluously necessary trip to Outback with Joe. Man, those ribs and chicken and bloomin' onion were tasty! And we had another FHE ("Mormon night") with Sina and Nikki which meant that I pretty much continued my overeating fest from Outback with blue blueberry jello and no-bake cookies.

Now I know why we Americans are fat. And I also remember what overeating 3 plates of food at Thanksgiving feels like. Which, by the way, is my favorite holiday and I'm not looking forward to missing. Though eating pains aren't particularly lovely...

But again, this all just means you get home at 1 AM and somehow force yourself to sleep at 2:30.

Tuesday, I had sworn Michael into a Costco trip (it only took me 100 days to get there!) and we had quite the adventure at Kaihin-Makuhari. First we tried out the famed Italian restaurant Capriciosa that everyone raves about. It was quite delicious, though I am a bit confused about all the fuss. Maybe it'll turn out to be like Kua'aina. It gets better the longer you're here...

Then we continued our trek (and I do mean TREK replete with 4-wheeled suitcase, 2 cabs, 1 shuttle bus, and a bunch of confusion) to the warehouse, which was wonderful and bizarre and home-y and satisfying and even slightly disappointing. I mean, I got Tilex and muffins but they didn't have tortilla chips or cereal. WEIRD. But we had a lot of fun shopping and adventuring and continued said adventure that night in Nichome, a neighborhood in Shinjuku.

It was nice to get out and about and see the nightlife everyone enjoys on a weekday. And we didn't stay out all night or take a cab home, but as I've mentioned, the last train leads to 2:30 AM bedtime.

And finally, today, Wednesday, I got my rear out of bed, found Dean & Deluca in Tokyo Station, visited the Institute of Nature Science Study Park in Meguro, and headed over to Harajuku. I got my haircut (finally, it's been since August!) and did plenty of window shopping. I didn't succumb to the 22,000 yen Marc Jacobs jeans or the 7000 yen Puma shorts, mostly because well, see,

The thing about going out every night and staying out till 2 AM and adventuring to Costco that I forgot to mention is...

I'm BROKE.

Not really. But you know you've had an expensive week when you got paid 8 days ago for the next 31, and you have HALF your per diem left. That doesn't exactly amount to budgeting.

But see, dinners out, Costco, haircuts, and multiple train trips into Tokyo (at 8 bucks a pop round trip) tend to add up.

So I window shopped and took pictures and enjoyed the STUNNING sun. It's been really beautiful ever since the typhoon Monday night blew out all the grey. And I'm thankful for that.

But I did have to make it back to work by 8:30 for sound check, and even though I got out early, by the time I made phone calls and activated my credit card and checked my e-mail, it's 2:30 AM. My apparent bedtime.

So. Those are my habits I'm looking to fix.

Early to bed, updating my blog daily, and living on a budget.

Gambate to me!

Perfectly Placed

I learned a few important things today:

1. Mickey and Minnie are the cutest when they do impromptu ad libs. For example, Minnie telling Mickey to cover his eyes, and then running away when he clearly expects a kiss as he does it, and then seeing the surprise on his face (even though he can't change emotions) when he sees she's not there for their final kiss/bow? Well, that's just amazing.

2. Have I mentioned Mickey on security cam? When he's showing off and dancing around cuz he knows you're watching him on the video screen? Yeah. I can Candid Camera the Mickster. Ha.

3. If you hug a giant white cat, even though it has your human friend inside it and isn't made out of real cat hair, it will still shed ALL OVER your black tux. Which doesn't make the costumers very happy. Nor does forgetting your vest when you have to ride up from the orchestra pit. Though Japanese SM's can run REALLY FAST.

But anyway,

I woke up today and it was raining outside. Not really raining. Just enough to make you wish you could stay in bed all day.

Which I couldn't, even though it should've been my day off. But I didn't really mind since I had had one of those great sleeps where you wake up refreshed, and it included that nice little semi-wake up an hour early when you realize you get more sleep and said "extra" sleep doesn't leave you feeling worse like it sometimes can!

And I knew I was getting breakfast across the street at the bakery since they were closed yesterday. Which is just delicious.

Anyway, the rain somehow didn't bother me on the way to work and even left me in a good mood.

And I was hoping against hope for B shift. Something about the thought of going back to sleep or simply resting for the first few hours of work just seemed delightful.

Which is odd because we all usually crave A shift since you only have to do 2 shows and then have all afternoon to chill. But I really wanted to curl up and read and nap and do shows once I felt more awake. And luckily, I got it!

And so, after pluggin in my earbuds, jamming out to Next to Normal and curling up on our futon, I was out for the majority of the first show. Yoga left me stretched out and relaxed without being too zen, and then at lunch I had a delicious udon soy soup that had grated yam on the top and was basically like having grits in your soup. Weird, I know, but actually quite tasty!

And somehow that all added up to the usually-gross-and-food-coma-tose third show instead feeling like it was just "perfectly placed". Like that awesome song they added for the stage production of "Poppins". It just was practically perfect in every way. Well-executed, the right amount of energy without crossing the line, and simply a lot of fun.

And that's where that ended. By the fourth, and especially fifth shows, I still felt perfectly placed, but somehow my brain decided to play tricks on me and make mistakes. Like forgetting my vest, or singing alternate melodies (aka BAD ones) because I was doing new gestures, or full on doing the choreography on the wrong foot. It's not that anything was really bad; it was just comical that my body and brain had different ideas about how to do the show.

Nonetheless, the day was a lot of fun, and it was really nice to feel that perfect placement in the show, rather than being overhyped or on comatose autopilot or worst of all, not really wanting to be onstage.

Though truly, since I love what I do, that really doesn't happen very often unless I'm in a right cruddy mood.

And, now, as you can see, I am inspired and motivated to update rather than not feeling up to it for three days. And so, I think this blog might just also be "perfectly placed".

Chefs Procrastinate Sayonaras

So I'm still learning some things about myself that I should share with you.

I'm a procrastinator at times. But mostly because I have to feel motivated or inspired to do something. I often easily choose not to make a phone call or clean the dishes or do my laundry because I'm not feeling inspired to do it, which means I won't do my best work, and therefore I put off said task until I know I'll do my best.

Like updating this blog.

I just haven't been able to put forth my best inspired work for the past 4 days until right now. 1:30 AM. When I easily could have written all this down the whole time I had the day off.

I even tried! Really I did.

But I wasn't inspired then and I'm inspired now. And here's the latest adventures:

Saturday night, despite my food hangover, I pigged out all over again at our impromptu taco night at Blair's which was simply delightful. Mostly because we got to enjoy a good home-cooked Mexican meal sans awkward Japanese flavors. But also because we had a lot of fun preparing food for each other and working together. We even had Top Chef Quickfire-worty desserts from Myles and Kasi. So I can't complain...

Sunday was not my favorite day of the week, but it got a lot better when after work, Destiny, Joe, Blair and I stopped off at Kua'aina for some delicious burgers! It only proceeded to get better with stops at WeGo, where I tried on these awesome pants that sadly ended up looking like Teri Hatcher's pedal pushers, and Override, which is infamous for its hat-trying-on pleasure. It continued its amazingness when I had my first Dipper Dan experience at the station with one of the most delicious crepes ever.

I think you've figured out by now that this week was all about FOOD.

But even better, I finally had a chance to talk to Destiny and Joe and connect with them one on one. It's amazing how getting the opportunity to share a few hours of shopping and some food opens the doors of communication and suddenly your shared fears and concerns and loves appear. We really got to know each other better and now I feel like I have some great mates in the cast who are on the same page as me and I understand well. So brava to a great night.

And finally, Monday I had the pleasure of performing for 6 of my AMAZING Summer Party friends in the 2nd row at our last show of BBB! It was such joy seeing their friendly faces and connecting with them, especially when I got to pick Cho-Cho to sing "All of Me" to! Woot! The adrenaline rush from performing for your former co-stars onstage is magical. And naturally, we all met up with some other friends who had to work and had a big reunion party at Roti's House with a bunch of food and drink. I'm not sure I always knew what was happening, but I had a blast communing with my near and dear friends.

And somehow, through all of this, it just didn't seem right to write.

So today I spent most of the day in bed, doing laundry, on the couch catching up on Fall TV premieres, and just generally enjoying the freedom a cloudy grey day provides. I had intended to go exploring this weekend, but Chris needed my Wednesday off so I'll now be off Saturday, which is a nice break before Christmas show rehearsals start. I'm so excited for that! And the day ended with a trip to the onsen with my buddy and next-door-neighbor Evan (think his Joey to my Chandler and it'll make perfect sense).

While there, I found myself really unable to calm down and relax for about the first hour, despite the hot water and amazingness that is the onsen experience. Finally, as I restlessly kept switching pools and positions, I realized that I was unsettled because I was accessing some buried stress.

See, it turns out my roommate Chad is moving out, which basically means there aren't enough long-term roommates in Astoria to keep my apartment afloat and resign the lease. And so, in the past few days, I found out that we're giving up my place, my stuff is gonna have to get moved out, and Andrew might also borrow my furniture at his new sublet.

Which, frankly, is just surreal when you live 7000 miles away.

And so now, I'm starting to realize, I have a lot to think about and decisions to make. Like how and when to move and the fact that I'm trusting my dear friends to take care of all of this for me (which I LOVE them for). But the fact that I'm not able to go "home" anymore without the ability to move out and say sayonara to the Newtown place just really left me unsettled, I guess.

The hot water finally helped and worked me out, but it's just not easy to think that I won't have my home anymore, my grocery store, my mailbox, my balcony, my Chinese place. Those little things we inexplicably become attached to at each place we live. Just like I'll miss Pan Jewel across the street here when I leave. But at least I'll know it's coming and I won't say goodbye 7000 miles away.

But, as I said, the hot water helped and my procrastination hath ended. I'm ready to write, and now I'm really ready to finish and sleep. Phew.

Carb Overload

I had a wonderful evening last night.

But today is a little bit like being hungover. Not from drinking, though.

More like an emotional drain coupled with a carb-bingefest hangover.

I mean, seriously, I ate last night like I was 16 at Thanksgiving Dinner again.

3 pieces of fried chicken breast, 2 helpings of baked ziti, corn, a baked sweet potato, and then chocolate cake, ice cream, and Hershey's Kisses at Christine's amazing dinner party for Steven. Which was followed by 3 helpings of Destiny's cheesy garlic mashed potatoes when they arrived, more ice cream... and that was just the first party.

Then at Eric's wine & cheese night for the BBB cast, despite the fact I was already stuffed, I had several servings of jalapeno cream cheese and crackers, a tomato/basil/mozzarella/prosciutto skewer, a delicious walnut cheese dip, and chocolate covered strawberries.

I mean, the two glasses of wine I had pale in comparison.

Luckily, I didn't have to traipse back to the Hub to finish Steven's goodbye since I had already missed Hayden's sayonara, and I didn't have to worry about missing the onsen party for Lozzie's last night since they made an appearance earlier at Steven's.

I mean, 4 parties in one night is a tad excessive, but I feel so blessed I had invitations to 4 parties and groups of friends.

But now I'm so sad that 2 people I really adore, and 1 I didn't have the chance to get to know as well, are already flying back to their home lives. It's wonderful to be making so many new friends, but it's a shame that so many people are leaving mere weeks after I've met them. Couple that with the fact that I was an absolute PIG last night, and well, it's like a hangover that doesn't actually have any physical pain.

In other news, I've started reading "The Fountainhead" and I'm wondering why it ever took me so long to pick up a book that clearly is about to delve deeply into philosophy on art and life. I've only read 30 pages into the book and it's already had such an intellectual and emotional impact on me.

I'm also thrilled that TV is back and I can start having wonderful entertainment for my long days at work. "Glee" is amazing and every performer's fantasy of a TV show, even if the plot isn't all that groundbreaking. "Grey's" premiered yesterday and I'm so stoked to get home and watch it, though it just won't ever be the same without Thursday Night Pizza Party on Newtown. I've got P. Runway, Top Chef, and Survivor back to fill my reality kick, and Brothers & Sisters and Dollhouse and Private Practice will soon be back to fill the void as well! Now if only I were in the States to know which other new shows I should be watching...

Finally, in summation, the last show today had me in a great mood for two reasons. One, there was this incredible little girl in the front row that was just a perfect audience member and I got to sing to her. I love those days. And secondly, have you ever seen Mickey on a security camera? In black and white? Cuz I have...

It's pretty darn awesome.