August 28, 2003
There are no benches outside. If I've been walking for about an hour or two, and I want to sit down to rest for a moment, I CAN'T. In Japan, you cannot stop, you must always go. If you stop moving, people will bump into you, and you'll cause a traffic jam on the sidewalk. Today for example, I wanted to buy a sandwich and sit outside to enjoy the weather. No way. I got the sandwich, and after walking for 15 minutes, found nowhere to sit. So I parked my ass on a bike rack, the only thing I could find which could sustain my weight, and ate my lunch as people walked by, staring at me. That's the first thing that bugs me, the second thing is tape. Yes, tape. I'm walking around in Ginza, I smell something nice, a bakery! I see little muffins in the window, muffins are my greatest weakness. I go inside and use hand gestures to request the appropriate muffin. Once selected, the muffin(which is about half the size of my fist), is wrapped in a little plastic bag, then taped shut. The bagged muffin is then placed in a larger bag, which is also taped shut, and the handles are twisted, further impairing my ability to access the muffin. If I say nothing, the double bagged, double taped muffin is then placed in an even larger paper bag, which is also folded and taped shut. Once outside the bakery, it takes me about 10 minutes to access the muffin and 30 seconds to consume it. I don't like tape. That's it really, but those two things kinda suck. My friends tell me there are ways to avoid the tape by saying something in Japanese, but I haven't learned it yet. As for the bench issue, well, as my friend tried to explain the other day, it's a ploy to get you to spend money at coffee shops and department stores. If you're tired and want to sit, your only options are to get a cup of coffee and sit down, or to be surrounded by designer clothing and enticed by department store music. The Japanese are brilliant people. I hope New York and Boston never learn of this anti-bench technique. Heck, another day, another sesame seed muffin. I'm home now writing letters to relatives and trying not ot let the heat get to me. I had a nice dinner with Makiko last night, we hit this Italian joint called Ducky Duck(?), and enjoyed shrimp and tofu pasta, and ham and asparagus pasta. They have a salad bar, and Makiko motioned for me to wait at the table as she went to prepare a salad for the two of us. She returned with a seaweed, lettuce, tuna, sesame, tomato creation which was delightful. I love sesame salad dressing! It was a nice evening, and we walked around Ginza afterwards. I'm moving into my new apartment soon, on September 10th, in Fudomae. I wish I lived there now, rather than take a 1 hour train all the way back to Nagayama at midnight, I will be taking a 10 minute ride over to Fudomae to my quiet, private apartment.

August 26, 2003
I have decided on my new apartment. I will be living in Fudomae, one stop away from Meguro, and about 10 minutes from Shibuya. It's a private apartment, with a kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, and porch. It's fully furnished with a microwave, gas burner, fridge, bed, computer desk and chair, and a washing machine(in Japan, most people hang their clothing out to dry). Makiko's been a huge help for me, she did a lot of the talking for me when I was looking for a new apartment. I took her out for a nice lunch afterwards, then we went out to see this interesting Chinese film called, "Hero." I got a book which will help me work on my basic Japanese conversation skills. I'm practicing even harder now, I try to put in about an hour to two hours every night studying.

August 22, 2003
I love teaching kids, it's so much fun, and it's great to watch them learn and use English. They're so creative, today, one of my students drew a picture of me with giant ears and fangs, so I drew a picture of him with frog feet and a beak. It was great fun, I'm really enjoying teaching. As for design, I'm getting a few freelance jobs from some local companies, and I'm still working on some big changes for my website. This weekend I'll be looking for a new apartment, the search is still on. I've found a few lead, but they want a big deposit, so they're out of the question for now. I'll keep everyone posted on my progress in that department. Not much else is new, I'm home cleaning my room now and doing my laundry.

August 17, 2003
Had a rough day today. It was long, tedious, and tiring. After work I drank beer with some friends at a "going-away" party for a coworker. It was somewhat relaxing, but still not what I needed. I'm sitting in my apartment now, wondering when I'll wake up tomorrow and what kind of strange meat I'll eat for breakfast. I need to stop eating chocolate baked goodies and egg biscuits for breakfast. There's just no way those things could possibly be healthy. Each time I eat those choco-things, I keep telling myself that some scientist in America proved that a little chocolate a day is quite good for you. Science is not a good excuse for eating sweets. Tonight I had chicken yakitori(little meat sticks) and a beer, chased by a little box of Kuro-chan(friendly crow?) banana choco-balls. I need some sleep. I just updated the photo gallery with new shots of Machida. I like Machida, it's a nice place, but when I shot the photos, my favorite taco truck wasn't there. I love eating tacos in Machida. There's a truck which sells these funky tacos with curry chicken, avacado, and egg. They're really nice, the guy who makes them wears these crazy outfits and drives a truck covered in Reggae stickers, rainbows, and neon signs. If I ever see him again, I'll take a picture and post it in the Machida gallery. Those are the best darn tacos I've had since I left the States.

August 13, 2003
So far, my transfer has been approved, and I'm moving next to the heart of the city. Makiko is going to help me look for a new apartment, and my new school location will be in Yoga(yes, that is the area name). I'm learning Japanese, as fast as I can, and I study every night. It's a bit difficult, but it helps being surrounded by it everyday. I've also been able to make some wonderful contacts with a number of designers and artists around th city. It's great to have other artists to talk to and discuss ideas and concepts. I'm a little tired though today, I've been working a lot of hours, and doing a lot of traveling. I'm just getting over a fever too, which has been taking it's time leaving.

I'm hearing a lot of interesting things from America. Georg is leaving soon for his European adventure, Andrew may also be taking part in a bit of traveling as well. Ryan and Ryan are gearing up to make their move to Florida, and Jenna's already left on her roadtrip. It's really inspiring to hear about everyone's adventures, I hope that some of you find the time to make a stop in Japan later this year. I know my Japanese friends would love to meet some of you! Try to keep in touch and e-mail me photos!

August 8, 2003
A typhoon is coming to my area of Tokyo. It's already begun to rain heavily, I wonder what tomorrow will be like. Nothing eventful today, just another day of work, and excessive amounts of green tea.

August 7, 2003

It's been a boring day, I went to Shibuya this morning for two hours, then returned to Nagayama. I'm putting in a transfer request tomorrow, so I can move closer to the city. Nothing new, nothing exciting today.

August 6, 2003

Yesterday I did a lot of traveling, it was an exhausting day. I had a great time though. I met up with Makiko in Harajuku, who I gave an English lesson to, and then she gave me another lesson in hiragana. I'm already beginning to understand some hiragana, I can see it on the train and in street signs. It's a lot of fun learning another language, especially when it surrounds you and you have a lot of opportunities to practice it. Today is another hot day, I don't know what to do today, so I'm sitting at home with the air conditioner on. I really don't know when I'll have time to visit a new place to take photos, I have a lot going on right now, once I sort everything out, then more photos will be added to my website. I hope everyone is doing well in America!

August 5, 2003

Today is way too hot. I spent the day exploring the JR Yamanote Line again. This time I went to Tokyo(yes, there is a stop named, "Tokyo"). Tokyo turns out to be a very boring place, the only thing I found was the Pokemon Center. That place is way too scary to ever return to. Nothing's really new, the apartment hunt is on, but I haven't found anything yet. I'm spending a lot of time with Makiko, who's been teaching me hiragana. She's a great teacher! I'm already learning so much, I study every day. Here's a photo of some Doraemon graffiti in Shibuya.

August 1, 2003
Ahhh,... the start of a fresh month. I'm still looking for a new apartment, with Sagamihara in mind. However, my friend Hodaka is helping me look for a new place next week, I want to look in Kichijoji! This week was really exciting, I had a three day vacation which I used to spend time with my new friends. Last night, I was in Kichijoji with my friend Seth. We've been discussing a collaboration for an online illustration project. Two nights ago my friend Hodaka invited me to see an exciting show in Shibuya, where her friend was performing. It was quite an experience, as some of you may know from my e-mails. I had a great time, the music was fun, and her friend is a very talented dancer. The martini I had was also excellent, honestly, the best martini I've had since I got to this country.