Some people believe in spirits. Some people fear God, or many gods. I don't fear anything in particular, or at least in the realm of theology,
But you can bet your ass that today, the good folks at the CIBC are a Ryan-fearing people. You know, I kind of am, too.
It all started when I gave Ryan 140,000 yen to deposit into my savings account when he came to visit. A few days after his return, Ryan made his way over to the bank and deposit the money. Confused with the strange currency of another land - after all, at one point, the clerk converted it to $130, at which Ryan, in his gentle way, notified the gentleman of his error of a magnitude of ten -, Ryan was told that the amount could not be credited to my account right away but not to worry, within 72 hours the amount would be in my account.
Now by 72 hours did they mean three days or the time it takes for three seasons of 24?
A week passed and there was no money. I called the bank and left a message, and Ryan went to the bank and followed up. Ryan was told that everything should be resolved by the week.
That week came and passed, but my checkings account did not change. Unfortunately, neither did the credit card balance, whose billing date was looming ahead, and it was feeling kinda hungry.
I check my balance again yesterday, and see that a deposit was made into my account: $133.50.
Hmmm. Decimal's coming a little early on that amount.
So I call the bank again. After speaking to a like-named individual and making it clear that a banking error has been performed, I was transfered to the branch anew and spoke with the branch manager. His somewhat lack of quality telephone service notwithstanding and highly nuanced statements implying that Ryan may have ripped me off foregone, I was told that he would commence an investigation and that Ryan should drop off his receipt. After that call, I leave a message on Ryan's machine to that effect.
And there went the boom.
Ryan calls the bank and speaks with the individual who likes to calculate in tenths. It seems that the internal cheque which was supposed to adjust my account had been lost, resulting in them having to re-issue another one, which cleared and consequently credited my account for the right amount. At this point I can only imagine in how many dimensions Ryan communicated the fact that he was wrong, to which the clerk proceeded to recalculate anew and then realized that yes, there was indeed a zero missing. Apologies flowed profusely, and Ryan's tongue continued to lash, reminding the clerk of his folly, how he has to take time away from his patients to fix this mess, and how he hopes by the graces of God that the clerk's mother is not one of them. Amongst other choicely worded sentences.
Two hours later, Ryan is notified that the amount is credited in full to the account after jumping through a few hoops. Seeing that we jumped through a few of hour own, Ryan brings up the matter of compensation, and is currently waiting for a call-back from the manager. It's one thing if the bank makes an error. But it's another when the customer has to guide the bank in fixing it. Ryan is currently on standby, waiting for them to fuck up again, for he is on a roll, and alas his supply of bitchy poesis is vast and waiting to be unleashed.
On my end, I finally have money. And I daresay I wouldn't have it now had it not been for Ryan.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Monday, March 24, 2008
memoriesslashtears
Some time ago, towards the beginning. Eri, Nicky, and I were eating cheap ramen in some dive in Shibuya, sometime before the last train. Too Little Too Late by JoJo was playing. There was so much promise and excitement, of starting a new life - perhaps even my first - with my new friends. Time was expansive and boundless.
Some time later. Now. At home by myself, just having finished eating some oatmeal and watching Project Runway. Too Little Too Late by Jojo was playing. Two days after our going-away party, where an hour was spent in the bathroom crying with Eri and Nicky. Time is finite.
Some time later. Now. At home by myself, just having finished eating some oatmeal and watching Project Runway. Too Little Too Late by Jojo was playing. Two days after our going-away party, where an hour was spent in the bathroom crying with Eri and Nicky. Time is finite.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Ryan's visit, a photo story
So February 11th, 2008, after a strenuous 80 minutes of waiting at arrivals, Ryan finally came through the arrival gates at Tokyo Narita International airport and we were finally reunited.
But he and his bags were separated. They lost his bags. And Ryan had his first international experience dealing with an airline employee. It was interesting to watch. An hour later, he and his bags were finally united.
After getting home and slightly settled in, we went to meet Alex for a few drinks.
After random pictures with random people we decided to continue the drinking with cheap cans of chu-hi from the convenience store for discounted inebriation delight at karaoke.
The next "day", or , rather, 2 hours of sleep later, we caught the bullet train to
on which I introduced Ryan to the bento, which can be eaten for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Unfortunatley, I forgot that this meal differs significantly from eggs and toast, and so for Ryan it was a little strange.
A few hours later we arrived at Kyoto. The weather was a little eck, but we still managed to see Ginkakuji
Kinkakuji,
and do some shopping in Kyoto.. We stayed at a traditional Japanese inn, ryokan in Japanese, and raikoshan in Ryan's Japanese, where we had our meals served to us in our own rooms and had our beds set up and put away.
The next day, we took the bullet train anew
to Hiroshima. However, because of the snow, our train was delayed and so we missed our connection in Okayama. After half-an-hour of getting new tickets and running around the train station,
we finally made it to Hiroshima.
Hiroshima has two sides to it. Historically, it is claimed to be the only civilian target for a nuclear strike. While the air of mourning is ever present, a stronger message of "may this never happen again" rings through the silent air.
平和 へいわ PEACE
Where cranes mean peace
High schools across Japan and around the world send hundreds of cranes to the Children's Shrine in Hiroshima, which commemorates the children who died due to the nuclear attack.
These ruins, now called the A-Bomb Dome, used to be one of the city's major buildings before the nuclear bombing. Being one of the closest buildings to where the bomb exploded, the city of Hiroshima has declared to keep it standing in perpetuity, with thanks to international donations which have contributed to keep the remains intact, so that no one may ever forget what happened.
Nonetheless, Hiroshima is a beautiful city whose efforts to recover and persevere are widely apparent.
After the Peace Memorial Park we went to Miyajima, which is famous for its tall red gates which are partially submerged when in high tide.
We also found more random Japanese people who were more than happy to humor me with my shoddy Japanese and take a picture with us.
There were also random deer wandering about, who lent themselves to being pet if approached the right way. As Krystle said, only in Japan can you can pet stray dear. I'm sure in America and Canada they would be hit by cars or something of the like.
I have to say that Miyajima was one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to of all my travels, if only for its peacefulness, simplicity, and beauty.
After that, we went had supper and then drinks at Hiroshima's biggest hotel, or at least the one in the highest building, where we had the latter at the top floor. The Comos, according to Ryan, were complete shit, but the gin and tonics were among the best he has ever had, the servers spoke wonderful English, and the live entertainment was pretty good, too. That night I appeared to be quite pensive but I wasn't thinking about anything at all, surprisingly enough, apart from the fact that that night seemed like something I would do before leaving Japan for good, or at least for a long time, anyway. It was honestly very nice to have drinks with my best friend at a nice bar talking about this and that, and it was at that point that I realized that even though we don't speak very much at all, that our friendship still persists just as it did before and that alas nohing had changed.
The next day we went to the memorial museum, which was only fifty yen, thanks undoubtedly to the people of Hiroshima. We learned that every time a country conducts a nuclear test, the mayor of Hiroshima sends a message on behalf of the people who desperately wish for nuclear disarmanennt so that no one else bears what they have. After that, we went to have Hiroshima okonomiyaki. Ryan was a little offput by the affair. I thought it was marvelous and took Ryan's leftovers but left them on the bullet train. Drat.
By the way, in Hiroshima we met the biggest cunt i the world in the form of a horrid tramway employee.
On the way back home we saw The Fuj.
The next day we went to Yokohama and went to Landmark Tower, which has the world's second fastest elevator.
Drinks were served promtly at noon.
The next night was fabulous. Given proper editing, it would be fitting for a two-minute scene for The Rules of Attraction, but not for the reasons implied by the title as much as the chaos that riddled that movie.
While the drinks started to pour in Shibuya,
after an alarmingly noisy train ride,
and a photo-op in front of a dumpling restaurant nearby,
we made it to our final destination: Arty Farty, Tokyo's one of two (or three) more popular gay clubs, which is pretty much the size of the closet I came out of.
Such are the drawbacks of living it a somewhat repressive society. However, the small size makes it quite easy - if not inevitable, which can be a drawback when you want to avoid certain undesirables, such as the one's that you have blocked on gay.com - to meet new people.
Some were cute.
(Yes, in Japan it is still all the rage to make peace signs when you take pictures. It's backwards as hell but it's endearing and expresses a simple joy that makes us do it over and over again.)
Some were not. Such as this example, with the buttery teeth, bloodshot eyes, and poor taste in apparel. For some reason, Ryan took three pictures with his guy. I will spare the kind reader and only post one.
And some were partly unclothed.
And then there was us.
But as the night continued, Ryan continued to hit the bottle with the ugly man (FINE! I LIED! I SHOW HIS FACE TWICE! BUT I NEEDED A PICTURE TO KEEP THE STORY GOING, OKAY?),
and things just kept getting worse and worse until we made that eventual trip to the bathroom, and I swear, it was not to do our make-up and talk about boys.
Dramatis Personae
Pierre, ever patient ever more
Ryan, never more drunk before
Cute Military Boy
Alex
Phil
(sarcastic commentary)
Scene I
(in the bathroom)
Ryan: (VOMIT!)
Pierre: (rubs backs and consoles accordingly)
Ryan: Pierre, don't leave me, okay!
Pierre: Of course not!
Ryan: (VOMIT!)
(5 minutes later)
Ryan: (DRY HEAVING)
Pierre: Okay, Ryan, there's no more.
Ryan: I'M DRUNK!
You don't say?
Ryan: WHERE'S PHIL?
Pierre: He's out on the floor.
Ryan: WHERE'S ALEX?
Pierre: He's also on the floor.
Ryan: I WANT TO GO HOME!
Pierre: Ryan, that would cost at least 20,000 yen.
Ryan: I don't care! I want to go home!
(dialogue repeats itself with variations in loudness and location. after long last, Ryan finally passes out with Pierre at his side, waiting patiently for the trains to start running again so they may get home without paying 20,000 yen)
Cute Military Boy: Hey, your friend doesn't seem to be doing so well.
All of the things that statement could have been, it was definitely not news.
Cute Military Boy: Yo, I think he needs some water. Hey, are you okay? (rubs Ryan's back)
爆発！
Ryan, unfortunately awake from his peaceful slumber: I'M DRUNK!
The news flashes continue.
(previous scene repeats itself, with many futile trips to the bathroom, exclamations of drunken state, expressions of a deep desire to return home, and threats of vomit upon those who refuse to comply. Pierre at first tries to rationalize with Ryan, just to realize that doing so is like instructing a mountain to fly in Portuguese)
Pierre: SIT! (forces Ryan down) Do you want to go home?
Ryan: YES!
Pierre: Then you will do as I say!
After longest last, the time finally approaches where we can take a cab to the station and get home. Ryan was all for this.
The next day I received many concerned e-mails about our champion. While Ryan was a tad embarrassed, we didn't care: we've all been there and for us it's par for the course. Life goes on.
Understandably, that day we did not hit the bottle with as much fervor. After quite a late start, we went to my favorite kaiten sushi bar - because that's what we call it over here, not a BLOODY SUSHI TRAIN! SHIVERS!
After that we slowly - and I do mean slowly, for I made a miscalculation in getting to our destination which resulted in us taking the weirdest routing ever by subway involving 5 different lines and 700 yen - made it to Roppongi, where we met up with Rose and Chi for some drinks.
This was not before going to the Hard Rock Cafe to get a shot glass for Jeff, Ryan's brother, and took a picture next to Mannequin Bitch.
Anyways, the bar we went to had the worse Ceasar salad Ryan had ever experienced, and it was pretty rank, too. However, the bar was cool for all around the bar itself where the bartender was was and aquarium that surrounded it.
The next day, we set out to Shinjuku, where we saw NIcky and certain nameless individuals and had Indian curry lunch. After that, we roamed around a little and took this picture, which will always be a favorite of mine forever.
It was just so nice. I think at that point I was temporarily annoyed with just not having the alone space that I am used to and was a little less me than usual. But when I saw the backdrop, I knew that was just what the doctor for. I really do love my best friend.
We also took this photo, subsequent to a hair-brained idea that I had which alas did not turn out exactly as planned. It involved me setting the camera on a mailbox, waiting forthe light to turned, running to the middle of the street and then jumping up and down wildly while we waited for the timer to expire. I guess the picture beats the story.
We went up to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office, which has a free observatory at the top. From there, it's possible to see just how expansive Tokyo really is. Going there was quite humbling, to realize once again that I live in the biggest city in the world, in a world that is completely different from the one that is different from my own, and yet has become my world and alas not so different after all.
After that and a brief stop in Akihabara, we met up with Eri for dinner at Monsoon cafe. Ryan immediately fell in love with our waiter and proceeded to woo her whilst we ate. I don't know as to whether she thought Ryan was straight or not.
After that, we went to a bar that was quite cool...
Well, it was actually mostly made out of ice. Ice imported from some Scandinavian country, to be exact... well, sort of, anyhow. They gave us these silver jacket-like thingies...
that looked like they came out of a James Bond movie -well, so did the bar, too - and for thirty minutes we took pictures and drank very strong drinks out of glasses which were themselves made of ice.
The good thing is that they are completely yours to keep your drink chilled, eat, and throw at your friends. The bad thing is that if you need another one it's 800 yen. But it's not like they ran a risk of melting in there.
After that we went to meet up with Rose and Diane, who saw us coming and got all prepared to scare us from jumping out of nowhere, just to end up scaring the wrong group of people and consequently sending them running. We returned to the bar we went to the day before, where the fish were still alive and well and the waiter remembered who we were.
We don't know the girl on the far right, and it looks like she didn't know who she was herself at that point, but if you couldn't tell by now, it's not uncommon to take pictures with complete strangers in Japan.
A few hours later, punctuated by some sleep, Ryan and I went to Tsukiji, the Tokyo Metropolitan Fish Market, the biggest of its kind in the world. For those of you who don't know, operations start quite early at Tsukiji and thus it's best to arrive early. We got there at 7, which is when things start to die down. The tuna auctions, on the other hand, have long ended by then, with the first ones being sold at 5:30 and not open to the general public. A whole tuna, like the ones you see below, can cost thousands of dollars.
After a bit of walking, we decided to go for some sushi breakfast - once again, quite different from Western eggs and toast. We went to this sushi bar, where Ryan immediately spotted out two allegedly gay men and proceeded to make commentary almost as if they couldn't hear. They were from San Francisco.
After that we had some coffee at Starbucks, where I had a case of firey runs thanks to the food eaten the night before. We then did a little bit of window - or mirror - shopping in Ginza.
After surprising one of my students at my work, we parted ways, for I had to go to work. However, after work we met up at my work station - to which Ryan actually managed to get to all by himself! - and proceeded to The Melting Pot, a local foreigner bar where on Tuesdays they serve extremely fattening roast beef dinners for six hundred yen. Served with a Rachel Special, it makes the perfect night. Here's everyone.
As you can see, Brent, second from left, can never make a normal face when it comes to taking pictures, which is a shame because he's pretty cute. What's a further shame is that he is straight.
Here's Rose getting a disctinct lack of straight attention.
And here's my best bud and I.
The next day I made it late to work for the first time in life,. Bad Pierre, very bad Pierre. Ryan got a very expensive hat at Isetan, my favorite store in Shinjuku. I felt very happy to further corrupt the boy into engaging in expensive taste, although I do suspect his new -found success as a nurse has given him a head start in that department. That night we had a wine and cheese at my house. I bought the fine goods, while Ryan cleaned the place up and set everything up. Everyone knew that he did the latter, for the house was enitrely too clean.
And then the last full day came around. For Ryan's going-away dinner we went to the Sky Restaurants in Shiodome, located on floors 46 and 47. The restaurant was pretty nice, and the view was fantastic, so of course the tab was expensive, but anything for my Ryan. This time, dining at the top of a high-rise building, it was really goodbye.
Once again, this is where I live. This is where I have been living for almost 15 months. This is where I will live for another 31 days. And then, this will be the home that I leave indefinitely.
Here we are, one more time.
We took the Green Car home after waiting almost half-an-hour for it. The Green Car is part of a regular train, but you pay extra and get your own seat instead of standing in cattle class. Purchasing my ticket was quite nifty, all I had to do was order it through my phone, the amount is charged to my credit card, and then I wave my phone above my seat and the seat is claimed as mine. Gotta love Japan. Being close to midnight, the Green Car was full o drunken revelers making their last train home. One man kept waving his pass to claim his seat, but the light remained red. I guess someone forgot to pay... Ryan became amused with this and proceeded to record the festivities, which drew the attention of the mn sitting beside us. He was quite curious about Ryan's piercings, and then asked whether Ryan was enjoying his stay - of course, rough interpretation services were provided by yours truly. The conversation continued onto us being gay and that no we are not sleeping with each other and no that is not lie and yes we are actually gay and really we do mean it and you're sleeping with the girl sitting behind you but she says you're married to someone else and that you're only cowokers? It was fully worth the Green Car surcharge.
The next day, after making sure that he knew how he would get to the airport without incident, I said goodbye to Ryan at mine. That was twenty-six days ago. it takes a long time to type up a blog entry like this. And it's something that can be done right after the fact, still dizzy from the typhoon that was those two weeks. It feels like he only came yesterday; and for the following two weeks I would wake up and instictively look to where he slept, just to see that he was not there. I'm still somewhat in a state of shock that he actually came to see little old me: I don't think that 's reason enough but I guess he disagrees. Once again, Ryan, thanks so much for coming.
THIRD PIC! I LIE AGAIN! BU HA HA HA (and I daresay this is the worst!)!
But he and his bags were separated. They lost his bags. And Ryan had his first international experience dealing with an airline employee. It was interesting to watch. An hour later, he and his bags were finally united.
After getting home and slightly settled in, we went to meet Alex for a few drinks.
After random pictures with random people we decided to continue the drinking with cheap cans of chu-hi from the convenience store for discounted inebriation delight at karaoke.
The next "day", or , rather, 2 hours of sleep later, we caught the bullet train to
on which I introduced Ryan to the bento, which can be eaten for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Unfortunatley, I forgot that this meal differs significantly from eggs and toast, and so for Ryan it was a little strange.
A few hours later we arrived at Kyoto. The weather was a little eck, but we still managed to see Ginkakuji
Kinkakuji,
and do some shopping in Kyoto.. We stayed at a traditional Japanese inn, ryokan in Japanese, and raikoshan in Ryan's Japanese, where we had our meals served to us in our own rooms and had our beds set up and put away.
The next day, we took the bullet train anew
to Hiroshima. However, because of the snow, our train was delayed and so we missed our connection in Okayama. After half-an-hour of getting new tickets and running around the train station,
we finally made it to Hiroshima.
Hiroshima has two sides to it. Historically, it is claimed to be the only civilian target for a nuclear strike. While the air of mourning is ever present, a stronger message of "may this never happen again" rings through the silent air.
平和 へいわ PEACE
Where cranes mean peace
High schools across Japan and around the world send hundreds of cranes to the Children's Shrine in Hiroshima, which commemorates the children who died due to the nuclear attack.
These ruins, now called the A-Bomb Dome, used to be one of the city's major buildings before the nuclear bombing. Being one of the closest buildings to where the bomb exploded, the city of Hiroshima has declared to keep it standing in perpetuity, with thanks to international donations which have contributed to keep the remains intact, so that no one may ever forget what happened.
Nonetheless, Hiroshima is a beautiful city whose efforts to recover and persevere are widely apparent.
After the Peace Memorial Park we went to Miyajima, which is famous for its tall red gates which are partially submerged when in high tide.
We also found more random Japanese people who were more than happy to humor me with my shoddy Japanese and take a picture with us.
There were also random deer wandering about, who lent themselves to being pet if approached the right way. As Krystle said, only in Japan can you can pet stray dear. I'm sure in America and Canada they would be hit by cars or something of the like.
I have to say that Miyajima was one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to of all my travels, if only for its peacefulness, simplicity, and beauty.
After that, we went had supper and then drinks at Hiroshima's biggest hotel, or at least the one in the highest building, where we had the latter at the top floor. The Comos, according to Ryan, were complete shit, but the gin and tonics were among the best he has ever had, the servers spoke wonderful English, and the live entertainment was pretty good, too. That night I appeared to be quite pensive but I wasn't thinking about anything at all, surprisingly enough, apart from the fact that that night seemed like something I would do before leaving Japan for good, or at least for a long time, anyway. It was honestly very nice to have drinks with my best friend at a nice bar talking about this and that, and it was at that point that I realized that even though we don't speak very much at all, that our friendship still persists just as it did before and that alas nohing had changed.
The next day we went to the memorial museum, which was only fifty yen, thanks undoubtedly to the people of Hiroshima. We learned that every time a country conducts a nuclear test, the mayor of Hiroshima sends a message on behalf of the people who desperately wish for nuclear disarmanennt so that no one else bears what they have. After that, we went to have Hiroshima okonomiyaki. Ryan was a little offput by the affair. I thought it was marvelous and took Ryan's leftovers but left them on the bullet train. Drat.
By the way, in Hiroshima we met the biggest cunt i the world in the form of a horrid tramway employee.
On the way back home we saw The Fuj.
The next day we went to Yokohama and went to Landmark Tower, which has the world's second fastest elevator.
Drinks were served promtly at noon.
The next night was fabulous. Given proper editing, it would be fitting for a two-minute scene for The Rules of Attraction, but not for the reasons implied by the title as much as the chaos that riddled that movie.
While the drinks started to pour in Shibuya,
after an alarmingly noisy train ride,
and a photo-op in front of a dumpling restaurant nearby,
we made it to our final destination: Arty Farty, Tokyo's one of two (or three) more popular gay clubs, which is pretty much the size of the closet I came out of.
Such are the drawbacks of living it a somewhat repressive society. However, the small size makes it quite easy - if not inevitable, which can be a drawback when you want to avoid certain undesirables, such as the one's that you have blocked on gay.com - to meet new people.
Some were cute.
(Yes, in Japan it is still all the rage to make peace signs when you take pictures. It's backwards as hell but it's endearing and expresses a simple joy that makes us do it over and over again.)
Some were not. Such as this example, with the buttery teeth, bloodshot eyes, and poor taste in apparel. For some reason, Ryan took three pictures with his guy. I will spare the kind reader and only post one.
And some were partly unclothed.
And then there was us.
But as the night continued, Ryan continued to hit the bottle with the ugly man (FINE! I LIED! I SHOW HIS FACE TWICE! BUT I NEEDED A PICTURE TO KEEP THE STORY GOING, OKAY?),
and things just kept getting worse and worse until we made that eventual trip to the bathroom, and I swear, it was not to do our make-up and talk about boys.
Dramatis Personae
Pierre, ever patient ever more
Ryan, never more drunk before
Cute Military Boy
Alex
Phil
(sarcastic commentary)
Scene I
(in the bathroom)
Ryan: (VOMIT!)
Pierre: (rubs backs and consoles accordingly)
Ryan: Pierre, don't leave me, okay!
Pierre: Of course not!
Ryan: (VOMIT!)
(5 minutes later)
Ryan: (DRY HEAVING)
Pierre: Okay, Ryan, there's no more.
Ryan: I'M DRUNK!
You don't say?
Ryan: WHERE'S PHIL?
Pierre: He's out on the floor.
Ryan: WHERE'S ALEX?
Pierre: He's also on the floor.
Ryan: I WANT TO GO HOME!
Pierre: Ryan, that would cost at least 20,000 yen.
Ryan: I don't care! I want to go home!
(dialogue repeats itself with variations in loudness and location. after long last, Ryan finally passes out with Pierre at his side, waiting patiently for the trains to start running again so they may get home without paying 20,000 yen)
Cute Military Boy: Hey, your friend doesn't seem to be doing so well.
All of the things that statement could have been, it was definitely not news.
Cute Military Boy: Yo, I think he needs some water. Hey, are you okay? (rubs Ryan's back)
爆発！
Ryan, unfortunately awake from his peaceful slumber: I'M DRUNK!
The news flashes continue.
(previous scene repeats itself, with many futile trips to the bathroom, exclamations of drunken state, expressions of a deep desire to return home, and threats of vomit upon those who refuse to comply. Pierre at first tries to rationalize with Ryan, just to realize that doing so is like instructing a mountain to fly in Portuguese)
Pierre: SIT! (forces Ryan down) Do you want to go home?
Ryan: YES!
Pierre: Then you will do as I say!
After longest last, the time finally approaches where we can take a cab to the station and get home. Ryan was all for this.
The next day I received many concerned e-mails about our champion. While Ryan was a tad embarrassed, we didn't care: we've all been there and for us it's par for the course. Life goes on.
Understandably, that day we did not hit the bottle with as much fervor. After quite a late start, we went to my favorite kaiten sushi bar - because that's what we call it over here, not a BLOODY SUSHI TRAIN! SHIVERS!
After that we slowly - and I do mean slowly, for I made a miscalculation in getting to our destination which resulted in us taking the weirdest routing ever by subway involving 5 different lines and 700 yen - made it to Roppongi, where we met up with Rose and Chi for some drinks.
This was not before going to the Hard Rock Cafe to get a shot glass for Jeff, Ryan's brother, and took a picture next to Mannequin Bitch.
Anyways, the bar we went to had the worse Ceasar salad Ryan had ever experienced, and it was pretty rank, too. However, the bar was cool for all around the bar itself where the bartender was was and aquarium that surrounded it.
The next day, we set out to Shinjuku, where we saw NIcky and certain nameless individuals and had Indian curry lunch. After that, we roamed around a little and took this picture, which will always be a favorite of mine forever.
It was just so nice. I think at that point I was temporarily annoyed with just not having the alone space that I am used to and was a little less me than usual. But when I saw the backdrop, I knew that was just what the doctor for. I really do love my best friend.
We also took this photo, subsequent to a hair-brained idea that I had which alas did not turn out exactly as planned. It involved me setting the camera on a mailbox, waiting forthe light to turned, running to the middle of the street and then jumping up and down wildly while we waited for the timer to expire. I guess the picture beats the story.
We went up to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office, which has a free observatory at the top. From there, it's possible to see just how expansive Tokyo really is. Going there was quite humbling, to realize once again that I live in the biggest city in the world, in a world that is completely different from the one that is different from my own, and yet has become my world and alas not so different after all.
After that and a brief stop in Akihabara, we met up with Eri for dinner at Monsoon cafe. Ryan immediately fell in love with our waiter and proceeded to woo her whilst we ate. I don't know as to whether she thought Ryan was straight or not.
After that, we went to a bar that was quite cool...
Well, it was actually mostly made out of ice. Ice imported from some Scandinavian country, to be exact... well, sort of, anyhow. They gave us these silver jacket-like thingies...
that looked like they came out of a James Bond movie -well, so did the bar, too - and for thirty minutes we took pictures and drank very strong drinks out of glasses which were themselves made of ice.
The good thing is that they are completely yours to keep your drink chilled, eat, and throw at your friends. The bad thing is that if you need another one it's 800 yen. But it's not like they ran a risk of melting in there.
After that we went to meet up with Rose and Diane, who saw us coming and got all prepared to scare us from jumping out of nowhere, just to end up scaring the wrong group of people and consequently sending them running. We returned to the bar we went to the day before, where the fish were still alive and well and the waiter remembered who we were.
We don't know the girl on the far right, and it looks like she didn't know who she was herself at that point, but if you couldn't tell by now, it's not uncommon to take pictures with complete strangers in Japan.
A few hours later, punctuated by some sleep, Ryan and I went to Tsukiji, the Tokyo Metropolitan Fish Market, the biggest of its kind in the world. For those of you who don't know, operations start quite early at Tsukiji and thus it's best to arrive early. We got there at 7, which is when things start to die down. The tuna auctions, on the other hand, have long ended by then, with the first ones being sold at 5:30 and not open to the general public. A whole tuna, like the ones you see below, can cost thousands of dollars.
After a bit of walking, we decided to go for some sushi breakfast - once again, quite different from Western eggs and toast. We went to this sushi bar, where Ryan immediately spotted out two allegedly gay men and proceeded to make commentary almost as if they couldn't hear. They were from San Francisco.
After that we had some coffee at Starbucks, where I had a case of firey runs thanks to the food eaten the night before. We then did a little bit of window - or mirror - shopping in Ginza.
After surprising one of my students at my work, we parted ways, for I had to go to work. However, after work we met up at my work station - to which Ryan actually managed to get to all by himself! - and proceeded to The Melting Pot, a local foreigner bar where on Tuesdays they serve extremely fattening roast beef dinners for six hundred yen. Served with a Rachel Special, it makes the perfect night. Here's everyone.
As you can see, Brent, second from left, can never make a normal face when it comes to taking pictures, which is a shame because he's pretty cute. What's a further shame is that he is straight.
Here's Rose getting a disctinct lack of straight attention.
And here's my best bud and I.
The next day I made it late to work for the first time in life,. Bad Pierre, very bad Pierre. Ryan got a very expensive hat at Isetan, my favorite store in Shinjuku. I felt very happy to further corrupt the boy into engaging in expensive taste, although I do suspect his new -found success as a nurse has given him a head start in that department. That night we had a wine and cheese at my house. I bought the fine goods, while Ryan cleaned the place up and set everything up. Everyone knew that he did the latter, for the house was enitrely too clean.
And then the last full day came around. For Ryan's going-away dinner we went to the Sky Restaurants in Shiodome, located on floors 46 and 47. The restaurant was pretty nice, and the view was fantastic, so of course the tab was expensive, but anything for my Ryan. This time, dining at the top of a high-rise building, it was really goodbye.
Once again, this is where I live. This is where I have been living for almost 15 months. This is where I will live for another 31 days. And then, this will be the home that I leave indefinitely.
Here we are, one more time.
We took the Green Car home after waiting almost half-an-hour for it. The Green Car is part of a regular train, but you pay extra and get your own seat instead of standing in cattle class. Purchasing my ticket was quite nifty, all I had to do was order it through my phone, the amount is charged to my credit card, and then I wave my phone above my seat and the seat is claimed as mine. Gotta love Japan. Being close to midnight, the Green Car was full o drunken revelers making their last train home. One man kept waving his pass to claim his seat, but the light remained red. I guess someone forgot to pay... Ryan became amused with this and proceeded to record the festivities, which drew the attention of the mn sitting beside us. He was quite curious about Ryan's piercings, and then asked whether Ryan was enjoying his stay - of course, rough interpretation services were provided by yours truly. The conversation continued onto us being gay and that no we are not sleeping with each other and no that is not lie and yes we are actually gay and really we do mean it and you're sleeping with the girl sitting behind you but she says you're married to someone else and that you're only cowokers? It was fully worth the Green Car surcharge.
The next day, after making sure that he knew how he would get to the airport without incident, I said goodbye to Ryan at mine. That was twenty-six days ago. it takes a long time to type up a blog entry like this. And it's something that can be done right after the fact, still dizzy from the typhoon that was those two weeks. It feels like he only came yesterday; and for the following two weeks I would wake up and instictively look to where he slept, just to see that he was not there. I'm still somewhat in a state of shock that he actually came to see little old me: I don't think that 's reason enough but I guess he disagrees. Once again, Ryan, thanks so much for coming.
THIRD PIC! I LIE AGAIN! BU HA HA HA (and I daresay this is the worst!)!
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