Routine: Teaching, Martial Arts, and Japanese Celebrities

Greetings Citizens...Okay it's been a few minutes so I'll give one long post on random stupidity:

I love the neon seas I occasionally drift into on pieces of floating trains 

Let's start with some mundane and boring news :D

SLOW DOWN life! You're moving wayyyy too fast. All I want to do is buy a playstation portable game or sit down at a local theater for something classy and cultural like Harry Potter...is he joking?

Well, I would love to see a movie and I certainly wish I had time for a video game! I used to always say, in America, "man, Petah, I bet you would be one productive muppet baby if you gave up even one of your many addictions or slothful habits" (pro gamer, cinema addict, expert nap taker, cigarette lighter repairman, the list goes on...) Now that I've completely given up on ALL of those things, in Japan, life moves at the speed of light.

shopping arcade

I'm in a perpetual state of need. My apartment still requires many little gizmos and gadgets, appliances and tools, decor and what not...as do I, in terms of accessories. I could really use a new watch and a new wallet. You would think, that being American and all, the American dollar would be obese and fat, by comparison to other forms of currency. That is certainly not the case. My Japanese dolla dolla billz, or yen, are always protruding out into the open air from my thin leather wallet, like the bellies of slightly overweight girls or boys while wearing high rise t shirts or...whatever you want to call them...*shivers. Japanese wallets are a few centimeters thicker. So I need to adapt...I-Ching, Nietzsche, Tom Cruise, Jamie Foxx, Collateral. Shopping here can be done in shopping arcades. They are a bit daunting and overwhelming, at times. Masses of locust like Nihon-jin flood them in search of every day desires. I feel like I'm crowd surfing. Once I step into one, I simply have to let the flow of the current of 5 foot 4 bodies carry my through in a lazy river like manner. Heaven forbid I want to actually stop to look at something or else cities might explode. 

suburban block

Hikone, located on Japan's largest lake (Biwa Ko) ...Osaka is about 1.5 hour distance, Kyoto is 40 minutes to an hour (depending on what train I take) and Nagoya is a mere 30 minute bullet train ride away.

It's times like those that make me appreciate the slower pace of things in my semi-rural, semi-tourist, lake town, conveniently located thirty minutes to an hour and a half train ride from 3 of Japan's 4 biggest cities. 

Work has been nuts. It's a roller coaster ride with ups and downs but the downs will continue to decrease in the following month or two, if I can only survive next week >_< It's always darkest before the dawn. I have a thing called the CM which involves demonstrations, work related, and all the staff in our area (Maybe 14 or so Native English speakers and about 50-60+ Japanese employees, 90% female...I guess teaching isn't the cool or macho thing to do for Japanese dudes). Then I have a sweet three day business trip for what might be my last time to Obama...Hiroko Sensei here I come for more merriment. Also, various challenging Kaiko, or super duper young 2-3 year old classes.

Meaningless to you I'm sure XD...couldn't get it to keep posting sideways ><

Step into my office

Okay, so last night I went out...shocker, I know, but first I got together with my performance supervisor and company and dabbled in martial arts :) It has been a long time so it was refreshing, although very little real training was actually done. We played around in a small room so I was intimidated to try to many acrobatics, but my butterfly twist, butterfly, 540 and aerial came off beautifully considering I have not attempted them in almost half a year. I think walking, jogging, sprinting and riding my bike practically everywhere on a daily basis, and with a backpack 80% of the time, has increased my leg strength to super hero levels. No wonder Asians are so good! After some messing around and interesting knife defense/locks/grabs/holds/breaks/ and other tutorials, a sweatier Peter made his way home.

My Japanese teacher has so much prepared for me at my Yasu school ... shout out to Naomi sensei, you rox my sox

Even empty subway trains are not as comfy as the cozy JR seats

Kiyotaka gave me a ring ring while on the train...apparently it's considered kinda rude to talk on the phone on any sort of subway or train here so everyone simply texts or emails, but on empty trains I sneak a convo or two in. He picked me up at my station and we rode off into the sunset on translucent steeds. We went to Yabs sports bar and gut wrenching...something...long name. It's a bar where all the Americans and other University of Michigan study abroad students come to unwind. It was interesting, considering I don't see ANY foreigners in my town ever, yet on this night, like cockroaches scurrying away from the light of education, here they were. Perhaps, seeing a non university student foreigner, or the fact that I rolled in with a local and bar owner friend was intimidating or daunting, iono. People were hesitant to come up to us, but I was fine shooting the breeze with Kiyotaka, Yabs, and a couple other tomodachis. 

As the night went on, and more empty glassed piled on the counter, the bar became absolutely packed. A bartender from yet another bar, Skyjoker, walked on in. Her name is easy for me to remember because I need only think of pokemon. Her name is said phonetically like "I'll catch you". Not too much worth saying but: there were various drinks, more wanderers' stories, more strangers met for temporary convenience, good food, good times. We made our way back to familiar waters sometime in the weeeeeeeeeee hours of the night...I'll never let that Japanese man drive again in that state - _ - ...at least with me in the car. I take my seat at my usual place in the bar and a normal looking man strolls in casually and saddles up beside me. Everyone in the bar gasps and the girls sitting around various tables whisper loudly and stare. Kiyotaka tells me the guy sitting next to me is like "the Jim Carrey" of Japan. I wouldn't have guessed by his half-asleep demeanor and coke framed glasses. I offer to switch seats with my friend. I'm asked by Joe, the owner, and countless people to take about 300 pictures of them with this character. I am now a professional iphone photographer. I knew I'd forget his name so I asked like 10 times so I'd remember...it didn't work -_- but I'll ask again next time I head out with those goofballs and post a picture.

After he bounced, I switched into autopilot with the guys and gals I was introduced to. My Japanese is improving at frightening speeds, but then again I have been here at least 2 months, immersed and forced to study and experience the language on a daily basis. Last night was the first time I caught myself simply asking questions about the people I met that I wanted to know, as opposed to asking the usual few and only questions I knew how to say in Japanese, even if I didn't care. It was like enlightenment...zen...feng shui...good thing I rotated my apartment plant 30 degrees last night...I knew it would make all the difference... ;)