Mark news.

I got an email today from an old friend and it made me happy.
I will be working OT again this weekend.
I washed my work shirts yesterday. I don't do that very often.
I have a cold. It's the first time I've had one in years - at least one worthy of coughdrops and orange juice. It's blogworthy.
So for those that care, here is what life is sometimes like for Mark:

3 days of my week are like this: I wake up at 8:30 and catch the 9:04 train. It takes me ten minutes to get to the station and I eat breakfast! Crazy. Work starts at 10 and ends at 5:40. I listen to my Ipod for the train trip and sometimes when my coworkers are talking too loud...even though I do like them. After work on these three days I go to BJJ. Usually I stay there until about 9:15. At 9:30 they end, they all get in a circle, say things in Japanese, and take turns bowing. I leave early just to avoid being THAT GUY. I get home at about 10. Then I usually eat dinner...ideally something that I cook that night. Then the next morning I take it to work. Jiu Jitsu is honestly the first hobby I've ever had...well climbing was almost a hobby.

Anyway, those are three days of my week. The other four will come in Chapter 2. Maybe 2 and 3. Well, we know I will probably forget to finish this "blog series" and you will all die extremely curious as to what I do with four days of my week. Well, I actually have a lot of things that I mean to do. I have them sitting out, visual reminders that I should be doing them. But like I said, I have difficulty doing things sometimes.

Anyway, I am glad that I have friends who, every now and then, remind me that my life should have some direction. And I believe it does. I am in that stage where I think I am pointed in the right direction, I just haven't moved. I think I have been in that stage for too long. Honestly, I am getting sick of it. I promise that someday the "Mark's daily life blog series" will be something worth reading. Until then, you're just going to have to deal with a bunch of nonsense.

I finally got some ass from the neighbor

ass
Originally uploaded by terw0015.

Ikoma is a strange city. From what I understand, there are 30,000 people that live here. And from what I have experienced, after midnight, there is no place to get any painkillers at all. Yesterday I had this terrible headache. I tried to go to sleep at like 9pm. By midnight I was going crazy and decided I needed some meds. I started walking around the city. First to ampm, the local convenience store. Five different types of contact solution...nothing for a headache. Wandering around the city for awhile I ran into a 7-11. Again, lots of contact solution, but no meds. I don't understand it...not only the lack of things to treat a headache but what's the deal with the contact solution? Anyway, I paid a visit to my nice neighbor Valerie from Mauritius. She wasn't sure if she had anything, but she dug threw her first aid kit that she got in Germany and...well, she was pretty sure that these pills she had were for a headache. I don't know why she thought that. It was just white pills and on the back of the packaging it said ASS. That's it. Well, you know you have a bad headache when you are willing to take random pills labled ASS. Anyway, I think they worked. So, to all of you who expected some raunchy story about my late night encounter with the neighbor...I'm sorry. And Valerie, for being in my blog under such circumstances...I'm sorry...and thanks for the ASS (I have bufferin now if you ever need it).

My name is Mark, can I stay at your place for a few days?

I am going to spend a week in Tokyo this December. I am looking forward to everything except the part about it being "the most expensive city in the world." I guess coming from the "second most expensive city in the world," it shouldn't be that big of a deal. But of course, we are talking about the "cheapest guy in the world."

So far, on the internet $60 a night for a hotel is the average cheap price. So I could do that....or....

try to get random people from myspace.com to let me stay with them. I will let you know how it goes.

I remember road trippin in the early college days and being bummed out that we had to pay $30 for a hotel room - and that was before splitting it between five people.

And I did pushups yesterday. First in 7 months.

wanna make out?
Originally uploaded by terw0015.

I ironed my bed. I put my mattress outside. I slept in pants, socks and a long sleeve shirt. I changed my soap. And believe it or not, I went to the doctor!! About 20 pills ago, my entire body was covered by these. Hands? No, red bubbly sores. The worst part wasn't being so ugly, I'm used to that, it was the itching. The mosquito in the previous blog was able to fill itself to the MAX without me even noticing. Why? Because my entire body felt like it was being attacked by mosquitoes at all times. I hope the pic turns out. Its a cellphone one. I think in a few days I will write a blog about what I have actually been up to - in case anyone cares. Later

mozzy

mozzy
Originally uploaded by terw0015.

Well enough with the stupid story. I don't have the energy. But a warning to all mosquitoes: I like my blood, if you take it, I will kill you. First I will electrocute you. Then, I will photograph your stunned self. Then, after taking a Qtip and reclaiming my blood, I will take another picture. If you happen to be an extraordinarily large mozzy, I will put it on my blog.

An Introduction to Torture

The thing that sucks about blogging is you never really tell everything about your life. Not that you should or anything. But sometimes when you want to blog about one simple little thing, you realize that you will also have to incorporate three or four other entirely new events just so it will make sense. So that is what I will be doing here in a 2-5 part series I will call "torture." Of course, sometimes I say I am going to do something, I take one step, and then I stop. So maybe I will forget to finish and it won't make any sense. And for those that read my blog once a month or who stumble upon it by some cyberspace mishap, they will have to read it in reverse order. As far as I know, there is no way to change the settings so the first part is always shown first. Of course I could write it all in one blog. Or I could write it backwards. But really, one chapter at a time is hard enough for me. Actually, now that I think of it, it's going to be one of those that you can start at any point and just read all the way around again. Like a circle, it has no direction. Are there really books like this? That just loop around? Well if there aren't, there will be soon. So stay tuned.

Shopping at Costco

This blog is one of those advice blogs. Not one where you (worried in MN) write me with your problems and I give you advice - but one where I write about my problems and others give me advice. But I just want you to know that this isn't a sympathy blog. I don't expect you to feel sorry for me because of my huge problems. You don't need to get me a card or anything. I am just looking for advice. And besides, most likely you suffer from the same problems. Be assured, there are many of us out there. Or maybe you don't even know about it. Better to find out now and take care of it than to let it compound, like I have. This problem is one that I have been suffering from for about 6 years or so. I don't remember the first time it happened. And although I have always been aware of it, until now I have never thought about searching for a solution.

I think it is a problem that affects many college age students as well as recent graduates. When I go grocery shopping, I follow a simple shopping pattern and, over the years, it has become a habit. I walk up and down every single food aisle in the store. I look at every different product. If something looks good I buy it. The problem isn't with the food, it's with other shoppers who do the same thing. So maybe I'm in Costco and there are 20 aisles for me to go through. I am going through each one. Back and forth, while some other person does the same thing. Except...they are going the opposite direction. This means that I have to pass them one time for every aisle. Big deal. But if there only happen to be a few people in the entire store then I am sure you can see how this is weird. I know what you're thinking. Just say "hi" and you have a new friend, yaaay! Well it doesn't always work like that. Sometimes you say "hi" and they just glare at you like you're retarded. And then the problem enters the second stage. You have to walk by them again in about 60 seconds and then again until you have both covered every aisle in the stupid store. Do you greet them again as a way to show that their badassness didn't faze you? That would of course be my advice to someone who has the same problem. But easier said than done. All I know is that fleeing the aisle ranks or reversing course is shopping treason for all I'm concerned. Do you stare at some product and pretend that you are adding up the carbs as they pass by again? And again? And again? And what about cuddly couples? They always appear to feel obligated to break their embrace and get back to shopping. And I always feel like I'm crashing someone's party. Oh, here's Mark again...

So other than the options I've already discussed, I can only think of one more really. And that's not saying anything at all. Of course, walking by someone 20 times in a store, making eye contact, and then looking away without saying anything also seems rude. So...avoid eye contact? That's how I lived for the first 19 years of my life and it sucked.

So, for those of you suffering from this same problem, please feel free to post your thoughts. You can remain anonymous if you wish.

Unless of course there is some universal walking direction that everyone already knows and I have been walking the wrong way all my life (that may explain a lot of things). If that's the case, I'll feel pretty stupid. It would explain the occasional odd looks I get. And my friends would be huge jerks.

Nothing to do with ESL

Well, I have been here for six months - the contract is half way over. Do I have any money? No. But my piggy bank (aka brain) has been filling up with other things such as... cultural knowledge! All of the things that I, at one point, found confusing about Japanese people/culture can be traced back to one thing.

Japanese men hate their wives.

Of course I don't mean to stereotype, but I believe this best explains some of the cultural oddities that I have encountered.

One of the things that baffled me early on was how people would just line up at the crosswalk and wait for the little green man to flash. I of course would just walk around them, look both ways and cross the street. Not only would I do this while the man was red, I would cross at a diagonal. I can't remember the last time I felt like such a rebel - probably while chewing gum in my 10th grade confirmation class. Anyway, my early theories on why they were not crossing the street:
a. respect for the law
b. a fear of being the first one to do it and having everyone else look on in shame
c. not wanting to look both ways but well aware of the consequences of not doing so

But after many conversations with different husbands and wives I am now convinced that Japanese men hate their wives. The sooner they cross the street, the sooner they get home. This, coupled with a few other cultural aspects creates J culture. While to many outsiders, J culture consists of geisha girls, temples and statues all competing for attention with robot dogs and bullet trains, J culture is completely different.

J culture consists mainly of work and shopping.

Men seem to work 70 hours a week - and they don't really like their jobs. Women seem to shop for 70 hours a week - spending the man's hard earned cash. Do the men care? No. Do they complain? As far as I know...no. Why do they do this? Well, because...Japanese men hate their wives.

The more they are at work - the more they are out of the house - making money to keep their wives out of the house. Where I am from, this would never work. The working man would not give his wife any money. Thus he wouldn't be forced to work 80 hours a week. The woman would have to get a job. Then for whatever reason they would get divorced. But in Japan they don't seem to split up quite so often. It's not as cool I guess. The stress then builds until the man can no longer take it and is forced to seek refuge the only acceptable way - avoidance. This also explains things such as karaoke and pachinko - numbers 3 and 4 on the J culture list. I will save those for another blog. So, what this all boils down to is - next time you see someone waiting for the "walk" sign to signal them across an empty street - go up and say "hi." Help them out, they hate their life. Unless of course they are 5, then it's because they have poor depth perception, short legs, and cars can't see them.