Almost there!

I’m done with finals, so tomorrow I’ll be posting! Ironic that a study-abroad blog didn’t happen because of study abroad… Some things just aren’t meant to be. I will, however, be updating the gallery, etc… retroactively with info about my experiences…

For now, another video (Right-click and select “play”):

Questions answered…

Well - that settles THAT question.

Oops?

So I’m sure those of you who know me saw it coming… Bad time management for the win when it comes to finals!

I should be out by Friday, though, and will hopefully do at least some posting. For tonight, I have a tech link:

New Space Suit

Have a look-see. I’m not really sure I understand the technology, but it seems like one of those, “why didn’t anyone think of this before?” ideas. It’s interesting to note that most Sci-Fi these days still uses notions of pressurization. This idea would certainly revolutionize that at least…

Yet again…

Still no. Sorry folks - Finance comes first.

In the mean time, this is probably the most accurate (if cynical) review of Transformers I’ve read yet. Even if I don’t agree with the end conclusion, it makes some valid points and offers some good insight into the film. It’s a great read even if you’ve seen the movie!

Ack >_<

Once again I’ve left a post unfinished. Part 2 will be up tomorrow probably - some stuff happened tonight that put me out of the mood to write. To make up for it, here’s yet another Youtube distraction:

This one offers some rather interesting information about Japanese whaling practices. I really didn’t know any of this, but I’m not really surprised. These guys, BTW, are hilarious - I recommend watching other videos from “The Chaser’s War on Everything”. My favorite part is actually the terrified flock of Japanese school children.

“My Crazy Weekend” or “Why I’ve decided never to drink again (again…)”, Part 1

So as of this evening, the title of “Most Annoying Thing about Japan” has moved from “Japanese people who equate ‘foreigner’ with ‘two-year-old intellect’ or ‘derelict’” to the phenomenon known as “the last train”. Seriously - I know they were trying to “safeguard the moral fiber of Japan” *cough*savemoney*/cough*, but whose morals are they really safeguarding? The hordes of little children who are never on the trains past 10 PM anyways? The OLs (’Office Ladies’ - the beleaguered female workhorse of the Japanese economy) who wind up shacking up in Love Hotels with sketchy guys from work because they don’t have enough cash on them to get their own room? Maybe it’s the Clubbers who wind up shelling out an extra 2,000 yen (~$17) to stay at clubs all night, leading them inevitably to be far more inebriated on the way home and far more likely to be disorderly, damage property, or hurt themselves? I’m sure all these people’s moral well-being is well-secured by this ingenious policy.

I know mine has been.

In the name of cliché, I believe I’ll start my tale of weekend debauchery with Saturday night. Those of you who know me well will be pleasantly surprised to learn that I went to a club for the first time Saturday night. Let’s all clap now, because you all know full well that no good can come of such a thing! Well - suffice it to say that no good DID come of such a thing.

Eric, Brittany, Tatsu and I wound up at Club Pure Shibuya, which was celebrating its (apparently re-) opening by throwing a “all-you-can-drink all night long” party. In fact, we actually went to Shibuya specifically for this purpose. This is also, coincidentally, the evening when “The Japanese Banking System” lost the title of “Most Annoying Thing about Japan” as I discovered that the magic of my inexplicably-universal Debit Card apparently measured up to the strict metrics of the CityBank security door!

But that’s a rant for another post. Like all good adventures, there was some fumbling in the dark, some very awkward encounters with young Japanese couples heading into unmanned hotels for “rests”, and an all-out brawl that was witnessed by (though not interfered in by) a member of Tokyo’s Finest. These guys must have been Yakuza - they were basically beating the crap out of some poor guy in front of a club. I definitely heard his nose crack on one of the several occasions when an assailant kicked him in the face with a leather-booted foot - scary shit. Finally, though, Tatsu asked a bouncer on his way back from persuading the unruly gentlemen to leave where our club was and we were pointed in the right direction.

And the right direction it was! The drink menu was abridged, but the club was full of people and its occupants were at least very serious about their dancing even if they weren’t very good at it. Plenty of attractive girls. Those of you who know me will also note, however, that I’m not much of a dancer; I’ve been known to waltz, but club dancing may well remain forever out of my domain. I therefore did what any sane man would have: I proceeded along my way to drunken oblivion in a truly Japanese manner - and with a speed that had the bartenders pouring my next drink the moment they saw me heading for the bar. These things also, sadly, tend to be accompanied by competition. I say sadly because poor Brittany can’t hold her liquor like I can, and no sooner did I begin to engage the attractive girl behind me with a remark calculated to be dazzling and suave than I hear a sickening sort of gasp from behind me, and the next thing I know I’m helping Eric carry Brittany towards the women’s bathroom.

This, of course, leads to a miniature exodus of our little group from the crowded club full of booze hounds to an outside world already touched by a dazzling and unexpected daylight. And, of course, to Brittany taking her chance to pass out on the sidewalk opposite the club. With an hour and a half before the trains start up again, I found myself pretty much stuck taking care of her until then. That’s when I realized how drunk I was.

I don’t really want to repeat the experience any time soon, but in the end, we all at least made it home. I had made plans to meet a friend at 10 AM the next morning in Osaki to go see Tokyo Big Sight - a big toy fair - so I dutifully set my alarm before passing out on my bed for a few hours of sleep. I woke up to the second phone call of the friend I was supposed to meet in Akihabara at 1:30 PM - after the Toy Fair. I’d missed two calls from the earlier friend and I would, of course, be late to meet the second one too. Apparently my legendary alarm-setting skills fail me under the influence of 15 or so Gin and Tonics. Thanks, alcohol.

Other than that, Sunday was largely uneventful. I did visit a Maid Cafe for the first (and hopefully last) time and pick up some rather interesting Mugenbine Candy Toys, but other than that I really just spent the day nursing a hangover.

As I need to go to sleep now if I intend to be able to haul my ass out of bed for work tomorrow I’ll save the story of Monday and Tuesday nights for Parts 2 and 3 of this article. 皆様楽しんでね！