a history of me

つづく... (Click here to read more)

Tonight was date night, again. For the record, this was not the same young woman I met on Sunday. This was an entirely different person although I also met her through the personal ads on Craigslist. Unfortunately the results were very similar. The witty, fun banter we shared over e-mail was gone. Instead, there was awkward silences among strained conversation.

What changed from Sunday? Why did I expect this to be different? Well, for one thing, we had exchanged photos so we each had an idea of what the other person looked like. We also went to a place I knew was good, Cafeteria, rather than blindly walking and picking a random stop. Unfortunately, this choice wasn't as perfect as I had hoped as the poor weather forced us to sit inside, where it was on the noisy side (not so great for talking). The food was still awesome though (no, I didn't exactly stick to my new regulations although I did drink a ton of water).

My first instinct is to blame myself. After all, I'm the common element in these dates, right? It seems to be a more likely answer than the notion that two different girls whom I met online would suddenly clam up in person. Do I have a weird vibe? Do I look radically different in person than in my photographs? Or is it something more simple: perhaps all of us were more comfortable communicating with a keyboard rather than verbally? I don't know the answer, but I know I'm not going to stop anytime soon. Any date you can walk away from is a good one (kinda like landings).

つづく... (Click here to read more)

No, not my ass. I just saw a fucking house being driven down 2nd Ave. Where the hell are the taking it?

Dinner was great. I ate at that izakaya I discovered last week. As per my new orders I didn't eat anything with rice nor did I have any beer. I had a イカ納豆 appetizer and for dinner I ate lots of 焼き鳥。I should tell you the pub's name so everyone can try it: 有吉。 I highly recommend it.

That's Ariyoshi, sorry.

つづく... (Click here to read more)

No, I'm not ending the blog, not on the threshold of high adventure and potential romance. I went to see a nutritionist today so that I could clarify what doctors have told me for years: I need to improve my diet. She hit me up with a lot of ideas and suggested combinations of foods that should make an impact. The big change is no more eating "bad carbs" as opposed to "good carbs." I know that sounds a little childish but she explained it better than that. The "bad carbs" include bread, rice, pasta or potatoes. When I asked how long this regiment should be followed, she said "for life."

I didn't say anything at the time, but how can she say that with a straight face? Those four things are eaten by billions of people around the world every day. Am I really going to arrive in Japan and casually tell my host family,「すみません、私はご飯を食べません。」("sorry, I don't eat [cooked] rice")? No fucking way. I'm going to do my best and stick to these ideals as long as I can, but the idea that I've eaten my last grain of rice is pure fantasy.

More importantly, I've got to start exercising somehow, some way, somewhere. I don't know how I'm going to do it but I have to. Still no update on working or schoolwork for that matter.

Fuck, I've never wanted to eat a whole pizza more than right now...

つづく... (Click here to read more)

My job search feels like it's going nowhere. That interview I did last week? Total bust. It appears they only wanted people willing to work for commission which has two major problems:

• I won't get paid until the end of the summer.
• I have no way of knowing how much that check will be.

In brighter news, I may have another date this week. No details since she might be reading this (she found my blog, clever girl!) but I feel very good about this. She saw my picture and wasn't horrified.

In lighter news, it appears that my left leg is covered in mosquito bites, no doubt from Saturday's party in rural suburbia. I understand the need to escape the city every now and then but I loathe insects, I really do. This beautiful city is remarkably bug-free. I haven't even seen a bee in weeks!

つづく... (Click here to read more)

I went up to see my friends last night. We all got together for a party at Dylan's house. Imagine my surprise when my sister was at the party! No one told me she was even invited. We all had a great time. We played poker (no money at stake) for a long time and we had more than a few drinks. I had bought something called Arrogant Bastard Ale to try but it tasted like shit. I need to pick a drink and stick with it; these random high-alcohol brands are terrible more often than not.

We stayed up very late talking about a broad range of topics, most of which I dare not repeat here. Nothing perverted but trust me, they're not to your liking. I don't remember when I went to sleep but I was up real early this morning. I ended up thumbing through Dylan's bookshelf to pass the time, spending most of my time reading Naked by David Sedaris. It was damn funny and I had to struggle to keep quiet so as not to wake my sleeping friends.

I came back to the city in the afternoon and I had a blind date with someone I met on Craigslist. My sister was all nervous about it, warning me that she might try to rob me. Nothing like that happened of course, but it didn't work out so well either. Maybe it was nerves, maybe it was the pressure of seeing each other for the first time, but we didn't get along in person nearly as well as we had gotten along online.

After we parted ways I went over to the Otafuku for a little dinner/pick-me-up. Walking to the bus stop I was ran into Ken-chan from Albany! He actually spotted me crossing the street and called out to me. He was with a bunch of friends on their way somewhere so we couldn't chat, but that was cool to see him there.

Another long week of job searching ahead. Dammit this is dull.

つづく... (Click here to read more)