Yes, I'm still alive...barely...

FUCK THE PIG FLU~!!! I was diagnosed with the damn flu 3 days ago. Now I'm quarantined here at home. Whatever. The fact that something AWESOME is going down this Christmas is keeping me grounded. HURRY UP AND GET HERE DECEMBER~!!! Lord Jesus, be with me...

But man, I haven't blogged since July. Time flies, doesn't it? I guess because I don't know who's actually reading this, I take blogging lightly. It's not that I hate blogging; I don't hate writing in general, but blogging DOES in fact take time and dedication. Though looking back at my previous entries, they've been lists of stuff I've done with just a sprinkling of what I've been feeling about the experience. I guess because I also post pictures that I feel I must explain - and that takes up time and energy. I suppose I should wait for people to ask before I give out any information. Saves me time and effort at least. ;)

Since Mykky's visit four months ago, Matt came over for a while in August. I surprised him with a chance to go to Earth Celebration. Man, was he thrilled. Matt was introduced to Yoli on the car ferry to Sado. Saiki was once again a perfect hostess allowing us to crash at her place. Tons of taiko workshops of course, the show, and a night playing with fire crackers. During that time, I've learned MUCH about myself and, of course, Matt. I'm glad he came, though.

In September, Saiki, Susan and I spent a week going around Kuala Lumpur - my first trip outside of Japan since my arrival. The food was amazing, though most of it was spicy. Stuff was SUPER cheap which made me regret not taking more money to load up on clothes and the like. Man, it was TOTALLY hot and humid, though~!!! I thought I was going to kill myself, it was nasty. But you know, it was really cool because everyone thought that I was Malaysian. It felt REALLY good to feel like I belonged rather than in Japan where everyone thinks I look like a fuckin' terrorist just because I have dark skin and a beard. Get over it Japan. Foreigners DO in fact live in your country. Read a history book. Anyway, KL was a neato place. I'd love to go back one day.

Now this month, I have something I've been planning - an early Thanksgiving get together with Kimi, Mitch, Andrew, Michelle, Lester, & Krystel (along with 2 others that I haven't met before). We'll be staying at a hostel and just kickin' it in Kyoto. We'll each be making a dish for Thanksgiving dinner. Just one thing though. I hope ALL my flu symptoms are gone by the time the first few head on over to the bio hazard site, I mean my apartment. When's that, you ask? IN FOUR DAYS~!!! That's just when the quarantine period ends. Wtf.

Ok, it's time for some soup and some sleep. Until the next blog...

...whenever that is...

Back from the "Dead"

Ok yeah, so it seems like f-ing forever since I've blogged. Thanks to Japan for letting me have fast, reliable internet at work. Ahaha, jk, Japan's technology isn't reliable when you need it. But over one month later and my supervisor telling me "Yes. You will get internet next week." each week DURING that month, I finally have internet. Lord be praised (seriously, that's not sarcasm)~!!!

TODAY:

* first day of school

* did a 自己紹介 (jikoshoukai = self introduction) for the whole student body in English

* did a longer 自己紹介 for the whole faculty in 日本語

* no one told me how to dress afterwards for...

* SCHOOL GROUNDS CLEANING (weeding...in the f-ing sun...thanks)

NOTES: The kids are so wild. It's good and it's bad, but hey, I'm a wild guy, too. I know how to think at the level of these kids. This is going to be fun, challenging, and...well...different. By the way, I've made friends with both of my English teachers. They're awesome and have been helping me out a lot~!!!

Let's now rewind back to the weekend before last.

EARTH CELEBRATION:

SADO ISLAND~!!!

EC weekend was SO amazing. It took me 3 trains and a ferry to get to Sado, a trip probably around 7 to 8 hours in total. I met a guy named Temu, a Japanese native that has been travelling the world since he was 19 years old (currently 25). He likes to breathe, eat and do tricks with fire. Japanese hippies are awesome.

So I spent my weekend with my friends, Jessica Saiki (Las Vegas, NV. - Sado), Yoli Haynes (San Diego, Ca. - Kashiwazaki?), Jay Soley (Tampa, Fl. - Kashiwazaki), and Susan Chiang (Fort Worth, Tx. - Sado). I also made a whole bunch of other friends in the Niigata area. Even made friends with a Japanese photographer. I even ran into a few familiar faces from the North American taiko community. Shout-outs to TAIKOPROJECT, Odaiko New England, and UCSD Asayake Daiko~!!!

Aside from Kodo hosting, there was a Brazilian drum and base group playing. The concert was OFF THE HOOK, but I wish I got my groove on a little more. In Japan, people don't believe in going out with a bang (C'mon, man, it's drumming. Seriously, wtf). Regardless, I'll always be a die-hard Kodo fan. I wish I had pictures of the actual concert, but security would actually confiscate your camera if they saw you taking photographs (granted, you'd get your camera back...I think). Btw, I'll be posting more EC 08 pictures on my Facebook later on...or now...which ever comes first. I'm too lazy to post more here right now.

To say the least, the whole weekend was full of good food, shopping, hippies, music, dancing, and just hanging out. Sado is a beautiful place - filled with lots of greenery and gigantor critters. On the way back, Kodo performed a casual farewell performance. It sent chills down my spine; it was SO good. Then, the whole ferry ride back to Naoetsu port, people were playing their okedo taiko on the upper-most deck. What a nice weekend. I'm looking forward to EC 09 FOH SHO~!!!

Well, that should be a good enough update on my life. There have been a lot of other things going on in my life - frustration, irritation, confusion, reassurance, realization to name a few - but that's for another day. Now I'm off to bed. I need energy to figure out my first lesson on Wednesday. "Mr. G." - as the kiddies call me - needs to prepare.

がんばりま～す！！！