Fun Times in NYC

It doesn't get much better in New York than fall.  Especially the kick-off when the weather just has that hint of cool in the air.  When you haven't turned on your window unit in 3 days.  When the layers start re-appearing in your wardrobe.  When the sunset looks like this.

Technically this photo is from last week, but in recognition of his incredible achievement knocking out the great Roger Federer today, you should know I got to see my favorite tennis god live last week, thanks to my great friend Kevin and the threat of that silly non-hurricane.

And today I got to spend time in Madison Square Park in the late summer sun watching some of the best tennis ever with 2000 other New Yorkers.  Seriously, where else in the world can you do this?

And where else can you tramp around SoHo with your shmoomster bar-hopping from Aldo to Calvin Klein (complete with underwear models in their skivvies), boozing it up with the rest of the fashionistas, spotting celebrities, milling through the cobblestone crowds, and close-up window shopping for free?!  I mean, drinking in stores-cum-club/bars?!  Brilliance!  Brava, Bloomberg!

I'm not sure how there's no background people in this picture since everywhere we were that night was crowded, but go us!

We even had a "Who wore it better?" faceoff to complete the Fashion Week event!

I may be struggling to get a job, but with fall around the corner and the US Open winding down its short two weeks, I'm not struggling to have some fun in the city!

Down Under in the Far East

G'day mate! Happy Australia Day!

Here's a query for you... where's the best possible place to celebrate Australia Day? Okay. Maybe not best possible. But how about surprisingly amazing?

That's right, folks. In Roppongi at an Aussie bar with a bunch of Aussie ex-pats wishing they were at home.

I mean, I kinda feel bad for England. We've got Independence Day... the French have Bastille Day... Canada Day, ANZAC day, Cinco de Mayo, St. Patrick's Day, Oktoberfest... the list goes on.

What day is special to Brits? Harry Potter Day?

Anyway, I invited myself along/crashed the One Man's party all you can drink and eat party since Evan happened to mention it on Monday night and it was my day off Tuesday and I was already intending to be in Shibuya. I went shopping and spent altogether too much money on stuff I don't need, but then, that's what Shibuya's for, right?

Speaking of Shibuya. How about this?

I nearly fell over in the street. I'm SURE I shouted, and I definitely turned around, followed this girl, and tried to discreetly catch her sweatshirt on film.

I KNOW that's a sweatshirt from my high school. I KNOW it. I can't prove it, but one can only see the same Blue and White with a Mustang emblem and the word Taylor in that font for 3 years before it's imprinted in their brain forever. I wish I had thought to ask her where she got it, because my guess is it's just from some random secondhand vintage shop in Harajuku and she paid 80 bucks for it not knowing or caring what it said. BUT HOW DID IT GET TO JAPAN for some short girl to claim she's a mustang wrestler?

Ah. The small world in which we live.

Whatever. I definitely had goosebumps walking down the street flipping OUT for about 15 minutes.

And then, later, I realized why the Japanese have such bad teeth!

When you advertise like this, no WONDER no one gets corrective dental care. Why would you, when Dental Labor is not just gross, but DOUBLE gross?

Back to the Aussies. So I show up, not realizing, that DUH, unlike the BBB stage which is an American-style show in the AMERICAN section of the park and therefore has quite a large majority of Americans, 80% of the ShowBase cast is Australian. They're cheaper, closer, and less problematic to hire from a Japanese perspective (except for the fact that they can party like rockstars every night, which actually is culturally acceptable here, so that point is moot).

And the temporary flag tattoos came out and the drinks started flowing!

After that, much of the evening is a blur, but I do remember Evan and I somehow wandering the streets near Hatchobori station, because we somehow exited the wrong end of the tracks and had no idea how to get to the familiar section of the transfer. Luckily a nice train attendant and/or police man told us how to walk the couple blocks above ground, and SUPER luckily, it worked.

I learned that every Aussie around the world is glued to their government run radio station to see what song will be voted #1 after every person in the country votes since the first of the year. Sounds like People's Choice Awards, only something people actually care about!

I also know that I was good about sticking to one drink for the evening, only lowering my guard to do one shot from some other awesome Aussies at one point, and making sure that I had at least ONE Aussie beer (even if it was cruddy XXXX) before the evening was over.

I'm pretty sure we were loud and stumbly and crazy (which I despise whilst sober) though I have no idea, because I was trying to be quiet and polite on the train. One just never knows how well that's working...

And for some strange reason, the guy next to Evan had a black laptop bag with a marie claire label. Which just bothered me. I'm pretty sure I mentioned it a few times since I still remember it today...

But we got home safely, quite early in fact (10 PM), and I was out by midnight getting ready for my trip to Hakone today.

Too bad I woke up at 5 AM. And felt fine.

Until I had to ride the overheated, overcrowded commuter trains to Shinjuku at 7:45 AM and wanted to die. Thank god for McDonald's, orange juice, and sleeping on the train to Hakone t0 get rid of heartburn and the shakes.

And that, my friends, is the way to celebrate Australia Day like a American-Japanese Aussie!

WTF, Japan? Parts 4 and 5

Okay, Japan. What's going on with you?

We've had this beautiful, beautiful warm weather and it's been quite pleasant, and then out of the blue last night, you decided to pelt us with rain, wind, and hail that doesn't even fall under the umbrella of a typhoon. Oh. And it was frakkin' SAMUI too. (That means COLD). So going to the Hub basically felt like braving Antarctica to get a drink.

WTF, Japan?

Are you a) trying to make me sick, b) trying to aggravate me, and/or c) are you just plain baca?

Cuz I'm pretty sure the the temperature dropped a solid 30 degrees in less than 2 hours, and that's just not okay. I know it's November and all, but do you think you could possibly let us wake up a few mornings and feel the crispness of the air before you let full-on winter blow in? I mean, I was wearing shorts to work YESTERDAY because it was so hot. And I wasn't the only one...

So seriously, Japan. Make up your mind. And give me some time to adjust so I don't get the swine!

You did score one victory, though... Blowing out all the smog so it was clear and blue, and then letting me see Fuji-san from the train not once but twice today, well, that was pretty awesome! Especially the part where it was sunset and the sky was orange and purple. Thanks for that one.

But seriously, give a kid some warning!

And while I'm on a rant, what's up with your random national holidays? I get that 20 years ago you realized y'all work too hard and made up a bunch of random days off so the rest of the world wouldn't judge you so harshly... But seriously, Culture Day? WTF does that even mean?

WTF, Japan?

And shouldn't you be doing something "cultural" like going to a museum, or the ballet, or Big Band Beat, or a lecture on Japanese history? Why must you antagonize me on my precious Tuesday off by setting loose the masses when all I want is a quiet breakfast and to run a couple errands?

Because, see, my work schedule doesn't really condone those things, so I'd appreciate it if you didn't keep dumping your national holidays on my off days. There's a reason why I wanted the middle of the week off and not Fri/Sat/Sun.

See, your people don't really have spacial awareness, so I tend to avoid crowds at all costs. Places like the outlet mall, Harajuku, Shibuya, and frankly, just about ANYWHERE are much better during the week when I can avoid being cut-off by clueless Nihon-jin every 5 seconds. Heck, it feels like FROGGER half the time when I'm walking or riding my bike. I feel like at any minute I'm gonna bump into some idiot and get a GAME OVER screen.

So I'm not really appreciating you trumping my mid-week with bogus reasons to let the wild locals out of their work cages.

And speaking of wild locals, when did the adorably kawai (cute) Japanese children turn into monsters? I know you don't celebrate Halloween, so it can't be a sugar high from the loads upon loads of candy from strangers that American children are hyped up on for the next few weeks.

I mean, seriously, was it your goal to have EVERY 4-year old in the Chiba area scream in ears today? Cuz, honestly, I just wanted some peace and quiet after a night out of drinking in your awfully smoky bars.

WTF, Japan? Maybe you should think about rescheduling your national holidays and screaming children around me!

And yes, I'm kidding, but only like 93 percent.

Get it together, dude.

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!

Bravery

The last few days have been a bit interesting...

I think I've mentioned here before that I seem to be braver here in Japan than I ever would be in the States. Especially when it comes to trying new things...

I've tried octopus. And I liked it.

I've tried bathing in public naked. And I liked it.

I've tried nato (fermented soybeans). And I hated it.

But I've surprisingly embraced and jumped right into each experience.

And this week I tried something else new... Doctor Fish.

Although my face clearly shows the fear and disbelief that overshadow the bravery.

I think the dichotomy of Patrick's face and Tom's shaking hands perfectly capture the essence of the human reaction to this experience.

Now, according to our attendant at the onsen, these fish are completely harmless to humans. In fact, to reference high school life sciences (since I'm probably the only kid in the States to have graduated high school and not taken Biology), they exist in a completely symbiotic relationship with us. (Yes, I like my SAT words). Apparently there are places in Turkey where you can let them help you not just by dipping your feet in the pool, but by fully immersing yourself! You can even let them inside your mouth!

Which, by the way, I won't be doing.

But basically, they get REALLY excited when you enter their pool of water because their dinner is your dead skin.

That's right, they don't bite you, but they help you out by polishing your skin so they can eat it!

Now, if that isn't gross enough, imagine a whole swarm of 500 of them going crazy because you just put a huge feast in their tank. Aka, your feet.

Well, I don't have to imagine it, because I did it.

Though that one is actually Evan's foot.

Oh, and by the way... it TICKLES.

I mean like my-brother-giving-me-a-tickle-tantrum-and-I-have-to-scream-"uncle"-to-make-it-stop tickles. I'm talking about 4 grown men in the quiet, peaceful onsen shreiking and giggling at the top of their lungs so much so that the Japanese keep peeking over the railing at us because it tickles so much. Mostly because it feels like 85 little rods are sucking at your feet and making crazy vibrations like an automatic massager! Especially if you close your eyes to try and forget that they are hungry fish, which, of course, you can't, because they actually are hungry fish.

Especially when they go in between your toes to get the extra juicy stuff.

And I'm pretty sure they don't get full because we had 4 pairs of feet in that tank for 15 minutes and they were buffing our feet till the last second!

But despite our fears, we tried something new for Patrick's birthday, and you know what? I started to get used to it after about 5 minutes and I started to relax. I might have even enjoyed it!

And my feet were pretty smooth after the fact.

Though those fish definitely can't eat through a dancer's hard-earned callouses in 15 minutes. Thank goodness! I need those things!

So yes, I've been brave and had a new adventure. An adventure that the kid who used to get scared when he jumped in the lake to go waterskiing because he thought the fishies would bite his feet probably never thought would actually happen in his wildest nightmares.

But that grown-up kid actually let fish bite his feet. Well, all right, not bite. More like buff and polish and suck.

But I think the sensation and fear was the same.

Especially because this time I could see the swarm of them just waiting to go to town on my feet. Which is pretty darn scary.

And speaking of fears, we watched "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" the other day in the dressing room, which is remarkable because that movie scared the CRAP out of me when I was a kid.

And now, of course, I realize what a brilliant, and slightly scary for children movie that is.

Because I'm starting to see why I was so scared of that as well as "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory", the Wicked Witch of the West, and "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom".

I'm pretty sure I didn't do well with unconventional deaths to children and cartoons, and I definitely didn't differentiate imagination and make-believe from reality. Because, you know, actually, watching a cartoon get "dipped" to death is kinda creepy.

Maybe I just had problems with people melting and/or getting sucked into tubes.... hmmm.

We also had a karaoke party for Joseph's bday last night which was SO MUCH fun, especially now that I'm not nervous about karaoke anymore. Thanks definitely to those private karaoke rooms on the cruise ship and all the wonderful parties we had there. It was sublimely fun to amaze a new crowd of performers with my drunken rendition of "The Sound of Music". In the original key.

And after all was said and done in my last blog, I opted out of the club night Sunday night in an effort to stay healthy. And it worked out well because my 5 show day was actually fantastic yesterday and a great way to go into my weekend.

And finally, Evan and I headed into Harajuku today (which was INSANELY busy because of the National Holidays that comprise "Silver Week") such that I finally got my amazing high tops. And it was well worth the wait.

Tomorrow, I finally get to explore Tokyo Disneyland, though I'm sure it will still be super crowded from the holiday, but maybe I'll get to see my favorite, Pluto!

Time to get some more sleep for more adventures! WOO HOO!

Fuji-Q and Lalaport

I have had a really good weekend.

First off, Patrick, Maddie, Christine and I were all awake and ready on time, the sun actually decided to be my friend and shine (for the first half of the day, at least), and we didn't have too much trouble finding the bus stop at 7 AM in the morning!

Secondly, our trip to Fuji on the bus was peaceful and stunning, and I got to know Maddie a little better, though I already knew she was as coaster crazy as I was!

We went over Rainbow Bridge, and I have to say that Odaiba looked a lot better with the sun shining from the bridge. Though I still can't get over that they have a small model of our friend Lady Liberty...

facing INLAND! WHAT?!?! (I have a picture of it on my camera, but that's still being fixed -- the pictures here are courtesy of Maddie!)

We had a rest stop halfway there, which was nice to grab some water and snacks, but when I went to use the restroom I had the strangest experience. There was a long line of urinals, and at the entrance end there was a group of five people doing something with the exhaust fan up near the ceiling over the first urinal. I went about 8 spots down, and luckily it was after I had finished peeing that I realized one of the five people was a woman. In the Men's bathroom literally 2 inches from men peeing in urinals. And no one seemed to care.

Call me crazy, but that's just weird.

We finally got to Fuji-kyu (or Fuji-Q) about 10:30 AM and we were thrilled and excited to go!

That's the actual Fuji in the background there, peeking out above the clouds.

We even got to be the power rangers (I'm green!)

We got right into the park, though we had some confusion about having to trade in our tickets for day passes, but luckily a nice man walked up to us and switched out our tickets so we didn't have to wait in the long lines...

If only we had known that was only the beginning...

S0 we jumped right into the first ride, Dodonpa, a coaster that shoots you up to 178 km/h in 1.8 seconds, and then sends you on a long trip around the park before you go straight up and over and straight back down a huge hill. We picked it because we thought it would be a nice warm up and friends told us there was usually no line for a great ride, but the sign said 2 hours (as had Fujiyama). We figured it would be shorter than that, since that's what usually happens.

Boy, were we wrong. Patrick's face says it all.

We actually waited closer to 2 hours and 20 minutes for a 60 second ride. But we had the joy of riding in the zebra striped car, and Christine and I somehow got the front row! (They assign you seats in Japan; you never get to pick or try to let people pass for certain seats). What followed was one of the craziest accelerations I have experienced in my life. I think I left my stomach back at the start, because even though they counted down 3-2-1 (in English, which I just realized was the case, which is kind of bizarre since nothing was in English), the sheer force of shooting off that fast was like a good old-fashioned drop.

All I remember was the sheer force of the wind in my face and screaming with excitement over the whole wonderful (though slightly jerky) ride. And Christine and Patrick definitely were not ready for that extreme a ride. She was bright red, didn't make a sound the whole ride, and couldn't really talk for a good 5 minutes after the fact.

We then hurriedly rushed over to Fujiyama and played switcharoo in line so we could pee and get food. (We didn't feel bad since we were following the precedent the other Japanese were setting and the fact that the lines were SO LONG. It's not like the park was even that overcrowded. Just long lines for the coasters.) It was at this point that I realized what a great group we had assembled. Chrissy and I know each other from Catholic and therefore had a lot of fun stories and memories to tell, as well as a lot to catch up on after 5 years. Maddie is as gung-ho coasters as I am and Patrick was the good kind of nervous about coasters that loves them once he's ridden them. They're both from England now and also had so much to share with us. Just a pleasant day chatting with them.

The weather changed a bit and became cooler and cloudy, but no rain! Phew! Fujiyama's line went a little faster than expected, and this time we got to ride in the very last car! This traditional steel coaster was the first "hyper" coaster and was the world's tallest when it opened. I don't think we were prepared for what an awesome and long ride we were in for! I think it might be the most complete coaster experience I've ever had in my whole life. Just tons of drops and bunny hills and a HUGE lift hill. And when you make the first big turn you just have this view of Fuji to your right that is insane.

I think I screamed with joy the whole time, the guys thought I was crazy for keeping my hands up the whole time, and I literally was shouting like a frat boy at how awesome it was when it was over. I truly couldn't believe its amazingness.

As you can see.

We also had a fun encounter when were pulling out to start the ride. This random Japanese guy waved at us, then blew us a kiss, everyone shouted "Gambate" and started clapping, and all the people in line laughed when I started shouting "iki masho" (let's go!).

Since the lines were so epic, despite our over 6 hours in the park, we weren't able to ride for Eejinaika since it was already full for the day. So we rode the log flume boat ride that gets you soaked, and bought 100 yen raincoats to protect ourselves.

I, however, really did not want to ruin my Puma high tops by getting them wet, and so I brazenly used my BGP and tried and nearly succeeded at getting on the ride with bare feet. But the guy in the booth caught me and I pretended not to understand and got kicked off the ride. I didn't really feel like getting wet anyway. But then I realized they were actually holding the ride for me while I put my shoes back on (!) so I hurriedly rushed and got back in the front seat where we were assigned. I wrapped my feet in the raincoat and also in my personal raincoat and somehow prevented them from getting soaked on the ride, until I got off and dumped a huge puddle right down the back of my calf! But it turned out alright and they weren't ruined at all (PHEW).

We then debated what ride to ride next (the hamster coaster line was too long and I vetoed another water ride after that last madness) so we finally decided on the wild mouse coaster, which was a lot of fun and turned out to be our last of the day!

We then had to head out to catch the bus, and despite our worries that the bus was late and there were SO many buses at the stop, we didn't get too freaked out. And close to departure time, a really wonderful employee came out to ask where we were going, told us our bus would still be coming, and then made sure we got on the right bus when it arrived. When we hadn't even asked for help! It was SO incredible of her. (Unlike that woman in Nikko).

We then rode the bus home, napped from exhaustion, and I was in bed early!

All in all, I had phenomenal day, but I'm bummed that for such an expensive and time-consuming trip we only got to ride 4 rides, and I didn't get anywhere near the crazy 4th dimension coaster. But...

it means I get to go back another day! WOO HOO!

Today was a bit simpler.

I slept in and then got moving right away.

I went to Lalaport in Minami-Funabashi which is an amazing mall and did some nice shopping.

I ate like a fat kid and had Krispy Kreme, Wendy's, AND Cold Stone. Yes, you should judge me. And I tried the coconut cream pie concoction which is ridiculous.

I went to IKEA and got a few more things for my room.

I finally did laundry (3 loads!) and then Blair and I had piano time and worked through her book. It felt so good to work out my fingers...

And then I cleaned, got groceries, cleaned, moved furniture, and started to make my room a home. It's so wonderful!

Now I'm way overdue for bedtime, but just reliving this wonderful weekend!

Pure Imagination

I'm a little confused by something here in Tokyo. See, I thought I was coming to work in a show with professional grown-ups.

Instead, I often have this eerie feeling (accompanied by requisite "wooooo woooo" sounds) that time has somehow reversed itself and I'm back in high school. In the locker room. Where boys are awkward and immature and rude and the girls are catty and insecure. And I for one, have never wanted to go back to that place.

Now I'm all for having a good time at work, especially when we're going to be there 9 hours a day, but I do have to say that I'm not comfortable with mean, degrading humor that puts other people down. The kind that takes their dignity and steps on it over and over with a spiky track shoe. I just really don't see the need to be impolite and insulting. There are plenty of ways to make people laugh without hurting someone's feelings. A lesson I learned well from my wonderful dad and the immeasurably wise Reenie.

So. Instead of stooping to a low, nasty, teenage level, I have decided to remove myself from negative, insulting, and occasionally discriminatory humor and bigotry, and in turn, I reminded myself of something I LOVE!

Reading a good book.

I think sometimes, when I don't have a good book and sometimes am not quite sure what to read next, my soul gets a little lost. Cuz my brain loses a healthy outlet of imagination and instead I constantly create strange conversations in my head. Especially in the land of Nippon where 90% of the day I can't communicate with people.

So I picked up a delightfully free copy of "Flesh and Blood" by Michael Cunningham (the guy who wrote "The Hours") from the dozo bookshelf downstairs. I've read quite a bit of his work and enjoy it, and this book is turning out to be one of my favorites so far. He has a phenomenal understanding of the human psyche and writes inner emotional monologue so well. And so now, I have this lovely escape from high school into a fantastic journey of fiction. And I'm thrilled.

Especially because my crazy imagination and willingness to suspend disbelief usually mean that when I read, I immerse myself in a story. I remember sophomore year of college when I was reading the incredible "A Density of Souls" by Christopher Rice, that I had been reading in my top bunk at Flather for about 2 hours one afternoon. And when I got up to go eat dinner, it was sunset, and I remember being cold and shivering and unsettled at the table. It was a good ten minutes later that I realized I had become so involved in the novel, that I personally was behaving as if the same Category 4 hurricane in the novel was right howling outside the old North windows, when in reality it was a beautiful fall evening outside. Not to say that we didn't eventually have Isabella hit DC junior year providing a four-day weekend, but basically it just was windy outside and the rest of our neighborhood lost power.

I don't think anything trumps my utter fear of and complete belief in the Wicked Witch of the West when I was 3 or 4 and Mom took me to see The Wizard of Oz at YGP. (This was obviously before I began my formative years there). I was so frightened by her and believed her to be so real and evil that I wouldn't go within 20 feet of her during the Meet and Greet after the show.

Once, too, when I watched Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom at 10 years old, I didn't even make it 20 minutes into the movie, yet that night I had to sleep with the light on because I thought the teddy bears in the walls were going to jump out of the wallpaper and attack me like the ninjas in the movie.

And I had nightmares for a month in second grade after seeing the original Willy Wonka (because that image section before the boat trip is so creepy and bizarre) that I was gonna blow up into a blueberry. So yeah. There's that utter suspension of disbelief at work.

So I'm reading something other than guidebooks in Japan and it's making me a much smarter, more relaxed, and much happier Tophs.

Oh. And I went to Shibuya today again and basically let some Japanese salesman play dress up with me as the doll. It was crazy the things he was trying to get me to buy, but then I had to use the awful "maybe" tactic so I could get out of there without spending any money. I also went back to Harajuku and salivated over those Puma high-tops I want so badly. I'm thinking they might be my opening night gift to myself. I finally found a pic of them online too. And yes mom, I know you hate them already.

Dress rehearsals for me start tomorrow! Woo hoo!

Michael J. Fox is my Hero

Today was a pretty uneventful day.

After the earthquake wake-up call that is.

Just basically the following, in order: being really lazy in bed, discovering the completely brilliant waste of time that is Farmville on facebook, rehearsing for a mere 2.5 hours, having my first and utterly delicious Kua'aina Burger, BGP in the hat store at Ikspiari with my cast, and finally some delightfully marked down goods at Muji.

Oh. And Back to the Future was on the movie channel and I vegged out and enjoyed every second of it! I also finally added some pictures of Yokohama, though I didn't quite get motivated enough to blog about it. You can see the album on the fachay here. Hopefully tomorrow I can post pics of Kamakura!

Other than that, I am overdue for further exploration of Tokyo tomorrow with the new kids, and then on Thursday, back to my Japanese friends at Summer Party that I miss so much! And it's only been 5 days since I last saw them...

Oh and today was delightfully much cooler after the typhoon winds blew out some of the heat. At least for an hour or so...

Nighty night, don't let the bed bugs bite. And when I wakey, I hope the earth don't be too shaky!

A few of my favorite things about Japan (and one not so favorite)

My first favorite thing: Japanese children.

There is something about babies and children here in Japan that is just completely f'adorable. I don't know why they are so cute, but every time I see one, my heart melts just a little bit. There was the cutest baby in Pan Jewel the other day that I just couldn't help from giggling at with its chubby cheeks and crazy hair. Then yesterday in the course of an hour, I saw a baby on the back of a bike (pretty awesome), babies in strollers with plastic to protect them from the cool mist being pushed by grandparents, and finally children on the train... I literally got on to see two sets of kids on both sides of the train with their shoes neatly on the floor (so they don't dirty up the carpet seats) staring out the window in awe and goofing off bopping their mom on the head. When we pulled up to Maihama, the TDR station, the little boy started clapping his hands and jumping up and down on his knees saying "Mickey, Mickey, Mickey, Mickey, Mickey!" Frakkin' adorable.

Second favorite thing: Mickey and friends.

Yesterday we did our quick-change rehearsals and full dresses in the big studio for our final day before we are in the Hotel ballroom. First of all, seeing Mickey and Minnie and all our friends in their different outfits was really awesome. The show looks insanely awesome! So many colors and themes, and you really understand where we are in each scene due to the look of the costumes. Awesome. Secondly, just think about this for a second... like 10 years ago, going to the parks, Mickey was this elusive character you hoped you would get to see at the park. And here I am, singing a duet with him, singing to him onstage, hugging him, high-fiving him, etc. Pretty unreal. The little kid in me kinda freaks out that I just get to like hang out with Mickey and friends like it's NOT A BIG DEAL. For example, Donald Duck and I were goofing off yesterday before the run and he was commenting on my exceptionally long legs, so I encouraged him to crawl through! And he did, no problemo. No joke, yesterday Donald Duck and I essentially played leap frog. How many people can say that? Also, Goofy is very proud that he is still taller than me with his hat, though Ai-san pointed out that our eyes are at the same level! And I think my favorites are Chip & Dale. They are so funny in our show and I love it when they all speak in Japanese! When they bounce around and dance it just makes me giggle. Best moment, though? When I gesture to Mickey at the end of Dr. Jazz and say "Mickey Mouse!" and he laughs and says "That's me" than does a little "Boop Boop a Doop" ending. Hi-larious.

Third favorite thing: Tokyo adventuring.

Campbell and I went into Harajuku and Shibuya yesterday after work, had delicious Kebab street food, and managed not to get into trouble shopping. Though I might be back soon for that 50% off bag at TK. I'm surprised at how Western and tourist-y those areas are, though in truth we didn't stray too much off the beaten path since he was just showing me the sights and introducing me to some of his favorite things. I think I even found the hotel where Bestie and Chad stayed during WSS! That intersection is SO INSANE! I loved it. We also explored the Maronouchi buildings down by Tokyo station and he showed me some great spots to find American goods and Cold Stone, etc. I just can't believe how awesome Tokyo is!

Fourth favorite thing: New friends.

As I stopped in the Ito for my milk and cereal last night, I (re-)met Shiloh and talked all about her recent climb (the night before) of Mt. Fuji. It inspired me that maybe I will venture out and climb it today (though maybe not) or definitely before the month is out. And on the way home we ran into Eric (from BBB) and Jessica (one of the mermaids) who invited me out for my first Hub experience. Had a great night out, and found out that 2 J-size Tarantulas will mess you up pretty good when you have been rehearsing and not drinking for a week. I have to say I'm glad I'm blogging and not getting out of bed yet. I met most of the new Mystic Rhythms people, and Miles and Tony who will be my new dancers for BBB, as well as Luis from the Cirque show. Had a pretty great night but was drunk and tired by midnight so I made my way home and passed out!

Fifth Favorite Thing: BGP or Baka Gai-jin Power

Campbell introduced me to the fact that yes, when in Rome, we try to follow the rules like not crossing without the green walking man and not talking on the cell phone on the train... but we do have the power to get away with breaking conventions (and very occasionally rules) because we are foreigners and sometimes really have no idea what's going on. For example, there are vending machines on the train platform, but it is generally frowned upon to eat on the train, yet what is a gai-jin to do when he buys ice cream and the train comes a minute later? Eat on the train, and just chalk it up to BGP (translated: Stupid/crazy Foreigner Power). Stuff we'd pull in DC on the Metro as "tourists" despite the fact that we lived there and could clearly read the signs that said no eating or drinking.

Least favorite thing: Smoking in Japan.

Now everyone warned me people smoke like chimneys here, and while that may be true, they've passed a bunch of laws such that people only smoke in designated smoking areas. I've seen maybe two people smoking whilst walking (which isn't allowed) and have literally not been around smoking at all. But I'm guessing one of the reasons I don't feel very great this morning is that I've been a New Yorker for too long now, and going to a smoky bar has entirely 100% been wiped out of my existence. But for some strange reasons, it's still okay in Japan. And I haven't been to any of the restaurants in Tokyo proper that have smoking sections, but I'm sure I will soon discover them. I hated arriving at the Hub last night and instantly walking into a den of smoke, and then coming home reeking last night. It's just really not fun, and for anyone who doubted the transition 5/6 years ago in NY, I can't even begin to describe the difference it is to go back now. Just awful. And as always, it was one of the smokers there last night, Miles, who confirmed that he also doesn't like smelling like a den of filth and that he is one of the biggest supporters of bars being non-smoking. So there you have it. Time to jump on the bandwagon, Japan!

All in all a good day... time to go adventuring today and buy a camera and see what happens!