I'm Back

Here's some random stuff.

1. I've realized that I think about a lot of stuff that may not be the most interesting subject matter to the people I see everyday. So rather than using bad conversation as an outlet, I think I'll start blogging again.

2. I often feel like I'm not getting enough done, but I also feel like I'm always busy doing stuff. I'd like to start keeping a journal of the stuff I get done - blogs are good for that I guess.

3. I think my blog would be better if there were some special features that don't seem to exist, so I've decided to code up my own CMS/blog app. Before doing that I really needed to redo my personal website. In the mean time, I'll just use good old blogger.

So what did I do this week?

I'm looking forward to going to Yoshukai Karate International's Natsu Keiko 2012 (training camp).  In order to prepare, I'm working out my own 10 week training schedule.  I just finished my first week, which was like this:

• Day 1: 3 hours kata and drills
• Day 2: 4 mile run
• Day 3: squats, bench (5x5)
• Day 4: rest
• Day 5: 1 hr BJJ
• Day 6: 40 min bag work
• Day 7: rest

In other news, I did get some work done on my personal site. I moved the contents from my 1and1 shared hosting, over to my dedicated machine, so that I can customize my stack. I also deleted pretty much all the content and replaced it with a design template I bought on ThemeForest.

Lastly, I started blogging again. Woot!

Okay, that's all folks. Talk at you soon.

Going to California With an Aching In My Heart

I don’t know if I was just dozing off or heading in the opposite direction. I have this faint memory of just a moment earlier, thinking that I shouldn’t have chugged that last bit of water, and that I should not have had that Coke. I have a real aversion to using restrooms on airplanes. No idea why. I was sleepily doing the math: what’s 1 liter + 12 oz.? I think that thought ended – interrupted by something resembling sleep. Then sleep or whatever ended – interrupted by something that sounded like a garbage bag full of bottles crashing to the ground (and mostly shattering). What a strange sound on an airplane.

Something about that rude awakening (or whatever) was a catalyst for a rapid series of thoughts. Not really thoughts. More like introspections? I was reading Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, and now my own voice sounds all deep (in the mystical sense, not in terms of pitch). Mostly I just want to capture all the things I thought in the span of a few seconds before they’re gone. These thoughts always seem so profound when they occur and then seem dumb later. It’s hard to tell if that’s because grogginess makes them seem valuable, or if some significant part of the thought process is forgotten once all the senses are fully recovered.

What’s on my mind, secondarily, is my mom. What’s on my mind, primarily, is blogging. Addressing this primary thought, I’m concerned with wanting to do it, doing it, people reading it, and wanting (or not) them to read it, in no particular order.

I guess I should take a step back and assume that YOU are reading these blog entries like chapters in a book.

No, wait. Before we even do that, let me say that there’s a good chance this is going to be a really long entry. Continue at your own risk (since there seems to be a fear of reading things online that are more than 200 words or so, I must presume there are consequences – actually I presume no such thing, and am merely being an obnoxious combination of sarcastic and condescending).

Okay, so stepping back in case YOU have some expectation of continuity in the Arian’s Adventures blog. As you may discern from the dates of the posts, a lot of adventuring has not been recorded. The last entry being from the morning of the day of my departure from Japan. To that end there are two things worth sharing here. One is some description of what has happened since then, and the other is an attempt to explain why I’ve failed to capture any adventures in blog form since I returned.

First things first. I returned from Japan to a humble apartment in New York City, which is shared by my fiancé (see earlier posts), and future sister in law. I had a couple months worth of adventuring there, before Susan and I spent most of the summer in Florida. I was there (FL) to keep the grandma out of trouble while my pops and step-mom took a road trip. None of those plans really went according to plan, and the focus (if there was one) of my time in Florida shifted. I won’t try to recall ten weeks worth of activity – even in a long blog post. Suffice it to say that I got to spend some real quality time with family and friends, and it was all over simultaneously too soon and not soon enough.

I returned from Florida to NY around the middle of August. Since then I’ve been hammering away at professional endeavors, practicing Brazilian Jiu Jitsu at the Renzo Gracie Academy, and generally adapting to my surroundings. Earlier today, in my mind, I referred to that last bit as looking for Buddha in the sewer. If you look for him, you won’t find him. If you don’t look for him, you won’t find him. But he’s there. Faith!

Okay, so the second thing I was going to address is the act of blogging itself. More specifically whether I want to, and if so, why don’t I do it? The fact is, I think about it often and feel compelled to do it. The problem is that I get tangled in a complex web of ambivalences.

I just have to interrupt myself to mention how annoying I find the endless pilot and crew announcements. Don’t these guys have anything to do besides talk?!

Anyway, ambivalences. On one hand I want to share my thoughts and experiences. On the other hand, I’m embarrassed to admit that any part of me has the arrogance to think that anyone cares. If no one cares, isn’t it rude or at least pointless to share it? Separate from that, I also find the conventions of blogging a bit frustrating. As a rule, everyone knows you shouldn’t write more than a couple paragraphs, or no one will read. But sometimes I feel like I can’t make a point without a whole lot of words. That’s another embarrassing weakness.

Anyway, the solution I’ve come up with is that I’m doing this for me. I don’t think anyone is reading. It’s probably better that way.

Well, I was definitely right to anticipate that once the cobwebs cleared, the above doesn’t sound particularly purposeful. I’m going with it anyway.

So now that I’ve gotten the background stuff out of the way, it’s time to get on with today’s “adventures”. I’m flying from New York to Los Angeles. Once I land, I’m picking up a rental car and driving to Monterey, CA. My mother was born near there.

At this point there is an important fact that I’m not sure I ever shared in a previous post. If there is anyone reading, this fact is likely already known to them (you). Last summer (July ’08) my mother passed away rather suddenly.

My aunts and uncle have planned to scatter her ashes near the place of her birth. I’m on my way to meet them. So, this is the thing that was on my mind when I awoke from that crashing sound earlier. I feel so strange. I don’t mean I have a strange feeling, I mean that I feel like I am strange. I feel a little anxious about this event, but I’m not sure why. I think I feel suspicious of this ritual. What is its purpose? I suspect its purpose is to create some kind of sense of closure. My first reaction to that is that I don’t need any closure. But I think it would be more honest to say that I don’t want any closure. I think about my mom often, and at those times I miss her. It’s not a heavy sadness, and it’s not at all a burden to carry. I think I’d just as soon continue carrying it indefinitely. That’s probably not a healthy solution, but that’s just what I feel like.

What is it about me that is strange? I doubt the feelings I’ve described are very strange. I think I feel like I’m strange, because I have a tendency to analyze my feelings. Not just observe them, but really take them apart. Look at them from every angle, and poke and prod them like a biologist examining some kind of caterpillar. I dissect them into so many pieces. But then I find all these contradictions and even uncertainties. I end up being at once super-aware of my emotions and feeling very little.

I just need to get off this plane and get on the open road. Even though I’m arriving late, I plan to drive for a couple hours before settling into a hotel. I want to get to I-5, north of The Valley while there’s no traffic. Plus, there is nothing more relaxing than a couple hours on the open road and a night in a cheap motel room.

Last Day!

Ok, so I admit... I'm the worst blogger ever! I wanted to post a new blog entry, before leaving Japan, but I didnt' get to it. I will post it - I still have a little more to say about Tokyo! Anyway, since I have to leave to go to Narita airport in about 3 hours, I'll just settle for the following video. This video was taken by my buddy/roommate, Aaron. It shares what I've seen every day for the last three months, as these are typical routes for us.

Ok, video won't upload for some reason (prob too big). Get back to you on this one.

Anyway, be home in 18 hours!!!

Peace.

P.S. Yes, I know this makes me the all time worst blogger... jeez... get off my case!

Just Another Day

For the first time in a while I managed to get up fairly early today. The plan was to take Shiela to the Kinokunya bookstore in Shinjuku, so she could get an English-Japanese dictionary. This bookstore is AMAZING! It really makes me wish I could read Japanese. Luckily, at least one of the eight floors that make up this monolithic Barnes & Noble dwarfer is dedicated to foriegn language books. Most English language books are pretty pricey, making it generally a better deal to buy them on Amazon and have them shipped (even express international shipping is cheaper). But, if you just want to pick up something that's not very expensive to begin with (e.g. dictionary), then Kinokunya is the place to go.

The plan was to follow that up with a local English language yoga class, that I found through an ad on Facebook (apparently I'm the first to respond to that ad that displayed a month ago). As it turned out, the bookstore didn't open until 10am, and the yoga class started at 11am, so we decided to save the bookstore for another day. I still got up at 8:30am, despite getting to sleep at 5am.

The yoga class was ok. I think I had much higher expectations because this guru spent five years studying with BKS Iyengar, whose books on the subject of yoga are some of the most highly regarded. I'm used to doing a broader selection of poses than we did today. The interesting thing is that I enjoy doing the most challenging poses, because the discomfort helps me to mentally detach, and spiritually focus. On the other hand, we only practiced very rudimentary poses today, but I discovered that I still stand to improve greatly on those. This discovery created a kind of discomfort of the ego, which ultimately had a very similar effect. In any case, I'm sure I'll try it again next week.

Afterward, Hampton and I found a neat little cafe that provided Japanese style seating. It's sort of sitting on the floor, except the 'floor' is actually an elevated platform. Shoes are left on the real floor, and you sit however suits your comfort, in front of what is essentially a coffee table. As always, the food was great.

Aside from all that, I've been working on a 'flash card' web application to help me accelerate my Japanese language study. I already built the basic functionality when I first got here. Now I have an enormous list of words that I want to be able to upload into the database via a CSV file. As always, it's just one cryptic error message after another. I'm thinking about dropping Rails and going to PHP. Probably won't though.

Anywho, I think this all might be a bit mundane for a blog entry, but sometimes even Arian's Adventures are mundane.

Getting in the Raivu Hausu

When The Kap’n was here visiting, we pushed it pretty hard. I mean, this city is so dense that by the end of my three month trip I’ll have barely covered the shops, bars, restaurants, cafes, museums, parks, etc., that reside within a five block radius of my apartment. So to try to squeeze in a comprehensive set of experiences in just a week is impossible, but we tried anyway. Combining that with pulling a few all-nighters for work, and a few all-nighters in the local bars, left me with a nagging cold that has persisted since he left. This hasn’t really slowed down the adventures (or stopped me from hanging out in bars), but it has caused me to sleep a lot more.

Aside from sleeping more, there are a few other noteworthy developments that have taken place over the last several days. First, we got a new roommate. She’s an Australian girl that is here for a month as a consultant for a new waxing salon. Going forward, if she comes up, we’ll call her ‘Sheila’ (since I don’t typically use real names - I don’t know why… I just don’t). Sheila is replacing our former roommate - a Taiwanese girl, studying graphic design here in Tokyo. We’ll call her ‘Queenie’, if she comes up (but she probably won’t, since she moved out).

Secondly, I noticed some advancement in my rock climbing skills. Unfortunately, I have mixed feelings about this activity. It’s a lot of fun, and it’s pretty good exercise. Unfortunately, it seems to mostly work the muscles in the hands and forearms, which makes playing guitar very difficult.

Thirdly, we discovered a new favorite neighborhood Chinese restaurant. When I worked at LMB, they catered our lunch everyday. On days which we had Chinese food, it was so bad - imho - that it literally ruined Chinese for me forever. I simply couldn’t imagine eating it anymore - good or otherwise. In Tokyo, it’s the opposite, but the same problematic outcome. The Chinese food is so good that it has ruined Chinese food for me forever. I can’t describe it. It’s the same familiar dishes, but with flavor and texture so extraordinary, that to this point I never believed something so delicious was even possible. Of course, extraordinarily delicious food is the standard here. Interestingly, it seems that some restaurants have an elegant theme, and some have a casual theme, but this doesn’t affect the price or quality. Quality is always as good as possible. Price is always pretty normal for a casual restaurant in LA - $12 - $18/plate. Mind you, there’s no tipping in Japan. So, it really evens out, even in cases where the price is a little higher than the US.

Lastly, we found a favorite (tied for like top five favorite) neighborhood bar. It’s called Daze, and I definitely recommend checking it out if you’re ever in the Harajuku area of Tokyo. Although seriously, good luck finding it. Everything in this area is obscure. It’s just a vast, endless, network of tiny, one lane streets, that combine every kind of shop and residence, like the organized chaos of a Zen garden. I even know of a custom clothing shop that is upstairs from a small bar, and can only be accessed by entering that bar and going up the stairs in the back. However, that bar can only be entered by first entering another bar and passing through to the hidden entrance in back. That street facing bar, is on the corner of two tiny, one lane streets/alley ways, and all together there are no signs for any of these businesses. For that matter, these streets - like most streets in Japan - don’t have names.

Let me add that I usually don’t enjoy going out to bars very much. Here it is quite different, though. The bars are very small, usually only accommodating between six (small bar) and fifteen (large bar) people. And, I mean - that’s it! It’s like hanging out in a big closet with a bar in it. The benefit is that everyone in the establishment tends to socialize. Everybody ‘cheers’ together, and engages in one large group conversation, etc. The only downside is that there are no smoking bans in place here (except outside, for some reason), and everybody in Japan smokes.

Anyway, I digress. We found this place called Daze, which is tucked away on the third floor of a building that sits on a small alley between two parallel allies. It holds about 12 people comfortably, and has an upscale vibe to it. As is often the case, the bartender is also the owner. But, he’s also a part time sound/recording engineer. He supports many bands in “live houses” (what they call live music venues) around Tokyo. After mentioning that I play and teach guitar, he asked (maybe in a somewhat challenging way) if I’d like to play a guitar that they already have set up with the house PA system. Being just drunk enough, I accepted. He seemed to like my playing, and on a subsequent visit, has offered to get me gigs here the next time I visit (as long as I play his place first). Sweet! That is exactly the kind of connection I was hoping to find.

Those are the adventures for today! Peace, yo!

Battle of Roppongi Hills

Wow, so much has gone down since my last entry that I don’t even know where to begin! I guess I’ll begin with where I left off in my last entry!

So, The Kap’n came out to Tokyo for a visit. This really represented a turning point in my experience here, because showing him around was my first experience with trying to be really self reliant in this country. I pulled it off quite well indeed, if I do say so myself. My ability to speak Japanese is still no where near conversational, but it does seem to be adequate for survival. I can order food (not so easy, being vegetarian in this country), get directions, shop, ride the subway (also quite complex), etc.

What did we do with my amazing travel guide skills? Mostly we hung out in bars every night until the sun came up. Good times! We did also manage to squeeze in a visit to Meiji Jingu, which is a fabulous Shinto shrine dedicated to the 19th century emperor Meiji, who is considered the father of the modern era of Japan (and unfairly villainized in the movie The Last Samurai). We also strolled the grounds of the Imperial Palace (where the current emperor lives), which I must admit was more than a little underwhelming. It seems that the best - and presumably only interesting - part is closed off this time of year. We tried to go to the top of the Tokyo Government Building, which has an observation deck with a supposedly spectacular view. I asked how we could get to the top and I was told that it’s not possible. Huh? Oh, closed. When is it possible? Huh? What’s that word? Suiyobi… that sounds familiar… hmm. 10 minutes later - oh … WEDNESDAY! They’re closed on Wednesdays… of course! Sheesh. Anyway, no matter, because we also went to a museum in Roppongi, followed by a trip to the top of Roppongi Hill (see picture), which is another incredibly tall building with an observation deck and a stunning view. We were also pleased to discover a great modern art museum and a really swank bar at the top. More good times! We finished up by hitting the main strip in Roppongi. Let me just say that if you ever visit Tokyo, don’t go to see the nightlife in Roppongi. Holy geez, what a jarringly unpleasant experience compared to the rest of the city. FYI, it’s considered a ’gaijin’ district. That is, it is filled with foreigners, hence being the only part of town filled with rude, pushy, obnoxious, dirt bags, and signs that say “beware of pickpockets”!

At this point, I have to share a really unusual phenomenon. Japanese people are generally very courteous and polite and mild mannered. Apparently there is a need for pushy con-artists that cannot be fulfilled by their culture. Thus, African migrant workers to the rescue! In any of the areas of ultra-heavy foot traffic there are African immigrants posted at various corners and doorways that randomly engage passersby and try to solicit them. The solicitation varies depending on the neighborhood, but generally ranges from going to some particular strip club, to getting a “massage”, to “hey, come with me if you like to have a good time” (I don’t know if this is for prostitutes for drugs, or just to go get robbed in an alley). My understanding is that these migrant workers are actually more like indentured servants, employed either by more successful African or Russian “businessmen”. They are annoying, but generally tolerable in most of the places I’ve been. But, in Roppongi it was a nightmare. We were literally accosted by about six different guys in the span of about ½ block. And, each one of them was determined not to take “no” for an answer (even though they seemed equally determined to make the question totally unclear).

Anyway, the bulk of our adventures took place in the wide selection of small bars that populate my neighborhood. But, I’ll save that for my next installment!

In the mean time, I had a special request to discuss any experiences I may have had with “eastern style” toilets. Okay, so for those of you that don’t know, these are basically a hole in the floor. They are a minority, but not totally uncommon in public restrooms. I really don’t understand the concept at all. They essentially require the user to squat down, but they don’t provide any hand rails or anything. In theory they are supposed to be more sanitary, because the user doesn’t actually make contact with the commode. But that theory fails in practice because a.) there are aim issues that make the surrounding floor less sanitary; and b.) the hover technique has been providing a no contact solution in the western world for thousands of years (that’s an estimate). Anyway, I personally have not had any experience with these, aside from seeing them in some public restrooms. While I’m on the subject, however, I’ll add that the western style toilets here are actually more clever than those in America. First, the handle flushes both directions - one way is “big”, and the other is “small”, thus enabling water economy where possible. The second difference is that when flushed, the water that fills the tank actually pours first from a faucet, into a small sink, and then into the tank via the drain in the sink. The value of this is that the user can wash their hands with the water that is used to fill the tank. Unfortunately, this too fails in practice, because it has never occurred to the Japanese to place a soap dispenser/dish or towel rack anywhere near this little sink. Instead those things are placed next to the “real” sink, which is usually just outside the room that the toilet is in (the toilet has its own room, as opposed to the multi-purpose “bathrooms” we’re used to).

I hope that answers your question Ambular.

Anyway, I have a LOT more to write about, and only three weeks left in my trip. So, I’m quite sure I’ll be a much busier blogger over the next few weeks. I hope I still have a few readers left to look forward to the next exciting installment, when I wrap up the details of my week long fiesta with The Kap’n.

Guilt

Ok, so I was feeling a little guilty that I haven't posted anything recently. I've been working around the clock - literally! I had a few days there where I got back to sleeping from 12am - 8am. It was great. But then I worked from 10am - 10am, and I was all messed up again.

I've really settled into a routine here. But, things are about to be shaken up! My buddy The Kap'n is coming out to visit for a week. The adventure will begin in a few hours, with me trying to make my way to the airport. The timing is perfect, as I've just finished the bulk of the work for a huge project, and the rest of this week should be fairly mellow as far as work is concerned.

Anywho, I need to get what little sleep I can. I just wanted to throw something out there for you - mostly because of the guilt I mentioned above.