Thursday, September 08, 2005
Mission Accomplished
Today was a busy day and I'm happy to report I got everything done that I wanted to do. Okay, everything important at least.
Stairs to nowhere? What a country!
This morning I had one vocabulary quiz and one lesson test in my Japanese classes, both of which went through without a hitch. I realized I had made a few small gaffes on my lesson test after it was complete, but we're talking small so there's no reason I won't get an A. Moments like that, I have to remind myself that an A is an A is an A. Worrying about getting a 95 instead a 100 is meaningless.
I met Kazu in the computer room and helped him with a writing assignment he had for an English class. The bad news of the day: it seems there are no Tigers tickets to be found, so I'll have to wait until the spring. That's too bad but it's no tragedy. Afterwards we ate lunch in the cafeteria. Kazu introduced me to two of his friends and we ate together. Actually they had already finished, so Kazu offered to eat the remaining rice in their bowls. I see his ravenous eating habits haven't changed a bit! They spoke mostly in Japanese so I only got five or six percent of their conversation. I suppose that's better than nothing.
Once we had eaten, Kazu and I (along with one of his friends) set off on our mission to Hirakata City station. I also hit the bank to exchange more money. It was a pretty decent walk to make, especially given today's intense heat now that the wonderful typhoon winds were long gone. The Japanese may consider September 1st the beginning of autumn but I consider that insane. This is summer, hands down. In two weeks, let's see where the weather is at. I'd like to think it will drop down below 86 degrees by then!
Our true destination wasn't the train station but nearby City Hall, so Kazu's friend got on a train. We hit city hall in order for me to attempt to procure a "temporary" registration card. I wasn't sure exactly how to ask for it but it ended up being easier than I expected. I merely began by explaining that I wanted to buy a mobile phone and the guy gave me something to fill out right away. I guess he does this a lot! The whole procedure was pretty painless and it only cost 300 Yen. In hindsight, I had been worried about nothing.
The next step, however, was the big one. We went to actually acquire the phone! The first challenge was finding the au shop. I had printed out a map of the store's location, as well as their address, but here in Japan addresses don't mean a whole lot unless you know the area backwards & forwards. Even taxi drivers will usually ask for directions if you give them an address! The shop claimed to be "across" from the train station but we couldn't see any signs. We asked someone for help and he sent us walking several blocks away (past City Hall, in fact) where we did find a store. It wasn't the exact au store we had been looking for but they were open so it didn't really matter.
At this point, Kazu's help was invaluable. Sure, they had an English-language packet explaining all their rates, but the clerk and I would have been unable to communicate at all had it not been for Kazu interpreting. I was fully prepared and I presented all the paperwork I needed to show. The form I had to fill out was pretty long and I needed Kazu's help in several places. Basically, anything that didn't ask for my name or a number, Kazu had to fill out for me. He's a real sport for helping out with all this.
I should digress a bit at this point and gush about the tremendous service here in Japan. While I couldn't understand most of what the clerk said, I could tell the language she was using was extremely polite and respectful at all times. For example, when she read my name back to me she appended the suffix -sama. This is because I am the customer and she is (officially) honored to have me in the store. Whether she means it or not is irrelevant. I don't give a crap if after I walk out she and her co-workers all have a laugh at my expense, but while I am in their presence custom demands that I be treated with respect. And I dig that, I really do. It's something I'm going to really miss when I go back to the States, especially in New York where you're lucky to receive eye contact from anyone in a service position, let alone a vocal response like "thank you."
Back to the story: once the deal was hammered out, she told us it would take about twenty minutes to set my number up. I was a little surprised it would take that long but I was in no hurry to go back outside so we just chilled in the corner. Kazu and I actually ended up having a pretty graphic "male" conversation about personal habits (you don't want to know). One of the fun advantages of a language barrier is being able to discuss private matters in public without fear of embarrassment or offending anyone.
When the phone was ready, she went ahead and put it into English mode for me and helped me establish my phone's e-mail address. Another little fabulous service moment took place when she passed me the phone to input my PIN number: rather than hand it to me, she placed it on a blue handkerchief and slid it across the desk. DAMN THAT'S HOT!! Is this a good time to mention that the phone was free and my student discount is a full 50% off the regular monthly fee? Yes, I think so.
Our mission accomplished, I celebrated by eating some Baskin Robbins ice cream. We actually ran into a few students we knew over there; one girl from Albany and the other from my Justice class. They were finished but didn't stay to chat, unfortunately. Still, I had my ice cream to enjoy. I asked Kazu to take a picture of me and this is what I got:
A bit more to the left, Kazu...
As the Japanese might say, 携帯ＧＥＴ！！
After my snack break I realized it was almost dinner time. I decided the best plan of action was to hang out at the station for a while, have some dinner, then return to the dorm via the bus. Kazu doesn't live in the dorm, he had a train to catch, so we parted ways. I took a stroll over to the nearby store/mall, VIVRE.
Most street performers here at the station don't ask for money, they just play for fun. Guess these guys missed the memo.
VIVRE is somehow one store with many stores within. I'd compare it to a mall, except the free-flowing space feels more like a department store. I first hit the basement level and explored the food aisles. They had quite a selection of beers, wine, and sake, including other Japanese-only alcoholic beverages like "The Fruit Sparkling," a name I will laugh at until the end of time. The prices all seemed higher than other Japanese food stores which didn't surprise me at all.
I took an elevator to the top floor, figuring it would be simpler to work my way down than up. Plus, the floor directory said something about "game" so I was immediately intrigued. Sure enough, the sixth floor was dominated by a fairly spacious arcade (the Japanese actually say "game center"). There were lots of UFO Catchers and several Print Club machines, but my eyes widened when I saw something special. It was a game, nay, the game I had been looking forward to playing for the past four years since I left Japan last time. I saw the Golgo 13 arcade machine!
For those in dark, I will try to elaborate (you might want to read the above link as well). Golgo 13 is a long-running manga about a professional assassin (codenamed Golgo 13) who travels around the world, killing people for money and having a lot of sex. Think of James Bond only without the responsibility of a government agency or any sense of humor. A superficial sign of the game's hardcore attitude was the "No Smoking" sign hung on the front. This was the middle of an arcade clearly aimed at children and teens and they felt the need to warn players of this particular game not to smoke. I have to admit, seeing that sign really gave me the urge to light one up!
The game puts you in Golgo 13's shoes, arming you with a sniper rifle and giving you several tasks to complete. Each one is introduced comic-book style and entirely in Japanese, so all I can do is enjoy the artwork (and pull the trigger). Sadly, the sights were way off and all three of my targets survived despite my pinpoint marksmanship. Given the game's amoral tone and use of a sniper rifle, you'll never ever see this game in the United States so I feel obligated to play it whenever I do encounter it. Since this particular machine wasn't working very well, I shall have to find another!
Annoyed by Golgo 13's disappointing technical difficulties, I cheered myself up by banging on the drums of Taiko no tatsujin for a while. I picked some slightly more challenging tunes this time: "Love Machine" by Morning Musume and the William Tell Overture. I only got to play two songs this time, it seems this location is on the stingy side. Still, beating a drum is very exhilarating. My friend Joe can tell you all about that...
I spent another hour or so walking through the store but never felt the urge to buy anything at all. I ended up eating dinner at Yoshinoya (again) and coming home. I don't really have any homework right now but I've got to figure out how to operate my phone before I go to class tomorrow. You see, the instruction manual is in Japanese and right now, I don't even know how to turn it off! I've already sent out my phone number to everyone who I thought might want it. If I left you out, send me an e-mail and I'll be happy to include you. As far as the phone's e-mail address, I'm pretty sure it only accepts e-mail from similar phones. My test message was received but it was illegible.
The weekend is almost here, what shall I do? I haven't made any plans at all! Stay tuned to see what ancient site (or modern wonder) I visit next!
Stairs to nowhere? What a country!
This morning I had one vocabulary quiz and one lesson test in my Japanese classes, both of which went through without a hitch. I realized I had made a few small gaffes on my lesson test after it was complete, but we're talking small so there's no reason I won't get an A. Moments like that, I have to remind myself that an A is an A is an A. Worrying about getting a 95 instead a 100 is meaningless.
I met Kazu in the computer room and helped him with a writing assignment he had for an English class. The bad news of the day: it seems there are no Tigers tickets to be found, so I'll have to wait until the spring. That's too bad but it's no tragedy. Afterwards we ate lunch in the cafeteria. Kazu introduced me to two of his friends and we ate together. Actually they had already finished, so Kazu offered to eat the remaining rice in their bowls. I see his ravenous eating habits haven't changed a bit! They spoke mostly in Japanese so I only got five or six percent of their conversation. I suppose that's better than nothing.
Once we had eaten, Kazu and I (along with one of his friends) set off on our mission to Hirakata City station. I also hit the bank to exchange more money. It was a pretty decent walk to make, especially given today's intense heat now that the wonderful typhoon winds were long gone. The Japanese may consider September 1st the beginning of autumn but I consider that insane. This is summer, hands down. In two weeks, let's see where the weather is at. I'd like to think it will drop down below 86 degrees by then!
Our true destination wasn't the train station but nearby City Hall, so Kazu's friend got on a train. We hit city hall in order for me to attempt to procure a "temporary" registration card. I wasn't sure exactly how to ask for it but it ended up being easier than I expected. I merely began by explaining that I wanted to buy a mobile phone and the guy gave me something to fill out right away. I guess he does this a lot! The whole procedure was pretty painless and it only cost 300 Yen. In hindsight, I had been worried about nothing.
The next step, however, was the big one. We went to actually acquire the phone! The first challenge was finding the au shop. I had printed out a map of the store's location, as well as their address, but here in Japan addresses don't mean a whole lot unless you know the area backwards & forwards. Even taxi drivers will usually ask for directions if you give them an address! The shop claimed to be "across" from the train station but we couldn't see any signs. We asked someone for help and he sent us walking several blocks away (past City Hall, in fact) where we did find a store. It wasn't the exact au store we had been looking for but they were open so it didn't really matter.
At this point, Kazu's help was invaluable. Sure, they had an English-language packet explaining all their rates, but the clerk and I would have been unable to communicate at all had it not been for Kazu interpreting. I was fully prepared and I presented all the paperwork I needed to show. The form I had to fill out was pretty long and I needed Kazu's help in several places. Basically, anything that didn't ask for my name or a number, Kazu had to fill out for me. He's a real sport for helping out with all this.
I should digress a bit at this point and gush about the tremendous service here in Japan. While I couldn't understand most of what the clerk said, I could tell the language she was using was extremely polite and respectful at all times. For example, when she read my name back to me she appended the suffix -sama. This is because I am the customer and she is (officially) honored to have me in the store. Whether she means it or not is irrelevant. I don't give a crap if after I walk out she and her co-workers all have a laugh at my expense, but while I am in their presence custom demands that I be treated with respect. And I dig that, I really do. It's something I'm going to really miss when I go back to the States, especially in New York where you're lucky to receive eye contact from anyone in a service position, let alone a vocal response like "thank you."
Back to the story: once the deal was hammered out, she told us it would take about twenty minutes to set my number up. I was a little surprised it would take that long but I was in no hurry to go back outside so we just chilled in the corner. Kazu and I actually ended up having a pretty graphic "male" conversation about personal habits (you don't want to know). One of the fun advantages of a language barrier is being able to discuss private matters in public without fear of embarrassment or offending anyone.
When the phone was ready, she went ahead and put it into English mode for me and helped me establish my phone's e-mail address. Another little fabulous service moment took place when she passed me the phone to input my PIN number: rather than hand it to me, she placed it on a blue handkerchief and slid it across the desk. DAMN THAT'S HOT!! Is this a good time to mention that the phone was free and my student discount is a full 50% off the regular monthly fee? Yes, I think so.
Our mission accomplished, I celebrated by eating some Baskin Robbins ice cream. We actually ran into a few students we knew over there; one girl from Albany and the other from my Justice class. They were finished but didn't stay to chat, unfortunately. Still, I had my ice cream to enjoy. I asked Kazu to take a picture of me and this is what I got:
A bit more to the left, Kazu...
As the Japanese might say, 携帯ＧＥＴ！！
After my snack break I realized it was almost dinner time. I decided the best plan of action was to hang out at the station for a while, have some dinner, then return to the dorm via the bus. Kazu doesn't live in the dorm, he had a train to catch, so we parted ways. I took a stroll over to the nearby store/mall, VIVRE.
Most street performers here at the station don't ask for money, they just play for fun. Guess these guys missed the memo.
VIVRE is somehow one store with many stores within. I'd compare it to a mall, except the free-flowing space feels more like a department store. I first hit the basement level and explored the food aisles. They had quite a selection of beers, wine, and sake, including other Japanese-only alcoholic beverages like "The Fruit Sparkling," a name I will laugh at until the end of time. The prices all seemed higher than other Japanese food stores which didn't surprise me at all.
I took an elevator to the top floor, figuring it would be simpler to work my way down than up. Plus, the floor directory said something about "game" so I was immediately intrigued. Sure enough, the sixth floor was dominated by a fairly spacious arcade (the Japanese actually say "game center"). There were lots of UFO Catchers and several Print Club machines, but my eyes widened when I saw something special. It was a game, nay, the game I had been looking forward to playing for the past four years since I left Japan last time. I saw the Golgo 13 arcade machine!
For those in dark, I will try to elaborate (you might want to read the above link as well). Golgo 13 is a long-running manga about a professional assassin (codenamed Golgo 13) who travels around the world, killing people for money and having a lot of sex. Think of James Bond only without the responsibility of a government agency or any sense of humor. A superficial sign of the game's hardcore attitude was the "No Smoking" sign hung on the front. This was the middle of an arcade clearly aimed at children and teens and they felt the need to warn players of this particular game not to smoke. I have to admit, seeing that sign really gave me the urge to light one up!
The game puts you in Golgo 13's shoes, arming you with a sniper rifle and giving you several tasks to complete. Each one is introduced comic-book style and entirely in Japanese, so all I can do is enjoy the artwork (and pull the trigger). Sadly, the sights were way off and all three of my targets survived despite my pinpoint marksmanship. Given the game's amoral tone and use of a sniper rifle, you'll never ever see this game in the United States so I feel obligated to play it whenever I do encounter it. Since this particular machine wasn't working very well, I shall have to find another!
Annoyed by Golgo 13's disappointing technical difficulties, I cheered myself up by banging on the drums of Taiko no tatsujin for a while. I picked some slightly more challenging tunes this time: "Love Machine" by Morning Musume and the William Tell Overture. I only got to play two songs this time, it seems this location is on the stingy side. Still, beating a drum is very exhilarating. My friend Joe can tell you all about that...
I spent another hour or so walking through the store but never felt the urge to buy anything at all. I ended up eating dinner at Yoshinoya (again) and coming home. I don't really have any homework right now but I've got to figure out how to operate my phone before I go to class tomorrow. You see, the instruction manual is in Japanese and right now, I don't even know how to turn it off! I've already sent out my phone number to everyone who I thought might want it. If I left you out, send me an e-mail and I'll be happy to include you. As far as the phone's e-mail address, I'm pretty sure it only accepts e-mail from similar phones. My test message was received but it was illegible.
The weekend is almost here, what shall I do? I haven't made any plans at all! Stay tuned to see what ancient site (or modern wonder) I visit next!
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Did you climb that "existential staircase?" Glad you got a phone. The weather is finally cooling down a little bit here. Still in the low '80s, but it's been nice and dry--much better than when you left!
Have a great weekend!!!
:)
Have a great weekend!!!
:)
Hmmmm.
Its quite hard seeing as all I know of you is from other comments I've seen you leave on Hyde's blog.
1 - What species of animal do you think the world could lose if it was to you to choose one species to save the rest from extinction and why?
2 - The traditional one I guess - biggest regret?
3 - Describe your perfect day, from the moment you wake to the moment you sleep It can even include stuff that's impossible like talking to the dead or learning you have wings to fly with.
4 - Money's no object, what do you buy first?
5 - You can get a team of top class scientists to do anything you want, do you a) pick a cure for cancer. b) bring the dead back to life c) get them to make you an invisibility cloak or d) come up with the perfect meal?
コメントがあります？ Type something, please. It's less work for me.Its quite hard seeing as all I know of you is from other comments I've seen you leave on Hyde's blog.
1 - What species of animal do you think the world could lose if it was to you to choose one species to save the rest from extinction and why?
2 - The traditional one I guess - biggest regret?
3 - Describe your perfect day, from the moment you wake to the moment you sleep It can even include stuff that's impossible like talking to the dead or learning you have wings to fly with.
4 - Money's no object, what do you buy first?
5 - You can get a team of top class scientists to do anything you want, do you a) pick a cure for cancer. b) bring the dead back to life c) get them to make you an invisibility cloak or d) come up with the perfect meal?
When leaving comments, please don't remain Anonymous. Click on "Other" and pick a name!
Be sociable! No sign-up is required!
unpaid advertising...I'm no sell out!
