stairs part 2

stairs from the top
Originally uploaded by Drew In Japan.

view from the top.

Sniff Sniff . . .Do I smell like ass?

Before I get started with today's ramblings I would like to say a BIG THANK YOU to eveyone who has been posting comments (NOT the damn spammers, but everyone else!)! I would also like to say WELCOME and THANK YOU to all the people in Japan who read this site. I hope that you like it! BTW, Kazue, if you see me on the train PLEASE say "Hi" I don't bite!
I would also like to say sorry for the last picture posts, there was/is something wrong with flickr (where I post my pictures). It kept telling me that it could not post the pictures every time that I uploaded it. Damn site! And one more little note I will be removing any and all spam "comments" on a more regular basis and AS WELL AS responding to legit comments on the blog!

OK now on to my rant.....

I love riding the trains in Japan. Period. There is just something about them that rocks. I get to see the countryside and the ocean whiz by everyday at 75 mph! It's fun! Anyway, somedays the train is packed (not Tokyo at rush hour where people force more people in than can fit on the train) but very, very full! There is no "personal space" on packed days. This is what leads into my rant of the today. When you have no personal space between fellow train riders you can smell a lot smells that you would not normally smell with an extra 3 feet in between people. Example, what shampoo someone is using, what perfume someone is wearing, and what someone's O.B. smells like.....
Now, when I was younger my dad gave me a speech about O.B. He explained the importance of deodorant and why it was a good idea to use it on a regular basis. I don't think that everyone in Japan got a similar speech. There are some people that ride the train that really, really stink! You know that smell of old sweat from gym clothes that have never been washed. That is the kind of smell that I get on the train standing next to some people.
The funny thing is that for about 4 weeks I thought it was ME that stunk! I know that I sweat A LOT and I know that my sweat STINKS. So I assumed that it was me everytime I got close to someone! I was so concerned that I was the one that smelled I started to have a complex about it.
Yeah, well, that was in the summer, it's fall now and the weather is MUCH cooler. Thus, I don't sweat. So I KNOW it ain't me that's stinky! I have been told by many other gaijins that the deodorant here in Japan just isn't that strong. I just wish I could share my supply of American deodorant with all the stinky people on the train. Ugh! Sometimes a want to gag it's so bad!

Now please keep in mind that this DOES NOT MEAN that in some way I am LESS stinky than Japanese people or that I am some how better than them because I use good deodorant! No, all I am saying is......I want to share my deodorant, with everyone! That isn't very hygenic, though, is it? ;)

BTW I hope everyone likes the new pictures I posted. shizzle.

They are steep!

stairs from the bottom
Originally uploaded by Drew In Japan.

I climb these stairs everyday at least 5 times!

Where I do most of my thinking. . .

Where I do most of my thinking. . .
Originally uploaded by Drew In Japan.

Downtown Shizuoka

downtown Shizuoka
Originally uploaded by Drew In Japan.

From last night out on the town. It's really bright. The energy bill must be through the roof!

Kusanagi train station

Kusanagi train station
Originally uploaded by Drew In Japan.

A city in between Shizuoka and Shimizu.

camera phone!

Pictures for blog 007
Originally uploaded by Drew In Japan.

Mobile phone

Pictures for blog 006
Originally uploaded by Drew In Japan.

And in this corner weighing in at 200lbs........

So this morning on the train it was pretty packed. There was no "personal" space between people and the smell of B.O. was thick (more on B.O. later). But I have come to find out that this is the way Sunday mornings are on the train. I have come to accept it because I can not change it! Anyway, the train was packed and the strange thing about Japanese people is once the train gets to the station everyone is SOOOOO SLOW to get OFF THE DAMN TRAIN! It's like everyone is afraid or in amazement that we made it to the station in one piece! Anyway, there are stories that I have heard from fellow gaijin (foreigners) about the "pushy" old ladies that just force their way out of the train moving everyone in their path. The first time that I had heard about these old ladies I laughed it off as bullshit. Some of the gaijins that I know are bigger than me! There is NO WAY some 60 year old, 80 pound, old lady would ever be able to move me! HA!

How wrong I was.........I was pushed this morning while getting off the train. And I don't mean a little soft pardon me push. I mean a "I'm going to make you my bitch if you don't get the F*CK OUTTA MY WAY" push.
And at first I thought maybe it was some high school kid that was on the judo team or something. Or maybe even I pissed off business man, mad that he had to go into work on a Sunday. I was like a push that you would give to some one that you were trying to start a fight with!
So I turn around ready to start some shit! No one and I mean no one is gonna push me like that and get away with it!!!!! HELL NAH!!!
But what do I see....a 4' 9", 70lbs (MAYBE!), 60+ year old women walk past me! Without even a "sumimasen" (that is the least polite way to say sorry) she walks past as if she had done no wrong! For a moment, just a brief moment, I actually thought about pushing her back and yelling "Yeah, B*TCH BRING IT, you wanna go right here and right now!!" That's the kind of "push" it was.

Man, no wonder crimes against older people are non-exisitent here. Those old ladies could f*ck someone up if they wanted to! Now I'm not even worried about the yakuza thugs (Yakuza=Japanese mafia) beating me up, I watch my back for the little old ladies!

Next post: Dude! Do you people know what deodorant is?

Hope everyone likes the pictures from the 'hood

Sorry that it took a long time to get some pictures up from the area where I live. The weather was a little shitty on Thursday. And I would like to give a little shout out to my cousin Carlos for offering me the Simpsons DVDs. Don't worry tho...I miss them but I can live without them for a little while! Now on to some seriously funny shit........

I was riding on the train last week. I was heading home from work, I had had a couple of beers with my co-workers when I saw the strangest thing. In my two months in Japan I have seen some weird stuff....but this was beyond comparison. I was sitting on the train and in walks a "cholo". I was in shock. I had to do a DOUBLE TAKE to make sure I was not drunk. He was a Japanese "cholo" BUT a "cholo" none the less.
He had his hair slicked back and he had a FISHNET over his slicked back hair! He had on his "gangster locos", he had a zoot suit style mustache and fu-man chu goatee and the deal sealer was his shirt......It had picture of the Virgin MARY with letters in "old English" on the BACK!?!?!?!?!
For a split second I thought he was Mexican! He had the look of a "cholo" down to a "T". I swear that if I had had one or two more beers in me I would have taken a picture!
I told my coworkers the next day about what I had seen. Of course, this was after a LONG explaination of what a "cholo" was. BUT much to my delight I was told that there were MANY Japanese kids that dressed like that. AND they hang out at a park close to where I work! My quest is to take pictures of these kids and to show them to you! I have a purpose.
Andrew

Everywhere..........

Around the hood 029
Originally uploaded by Drew In Japan.

You might not be able to find a pay phone in the middle of NO WHERE, but you can be as sure as shit the there WILL BE a vending machine!! For all your drinking needs!

My "village"!! HAHA!

Around the hood 027
Originally uploaded by Drew In Japan.

inside joke.....

Officer, I didn't see any stop sign........

Around the hood 024
Originally uploaded by Drew In Japan.

why are you giving me a ticket?

I likea rice......

Around the hood 022
Originally uploaded by Drew In Japan.

Wait, wait, rice doesn't start out white?!?! Your kidding, right?

Rice patty

Around the hood 011
Originally uploaded by Drew In Japan.

There are a lot of these small rice patties in my 'hood.

The 'hood

Around the hood 008
Originally uploaded by Drew In Japan.

Another picture of the same river....I can't remember the name.

My 'hood

Around the hood 006
Originally uploaded by Drew In Japan.

This is the "little" river that is VERY close to my house. During REALLY bad typhoons it can fill up to the top.

A bench mark and some reflection

So today is the day that 2 months ago I came to Japan. And tomorrow will mark 5 months since I quit my last job. Those are some pretty big steps in my life. I thought I would stay at my last job for a long time but, then things went to shit. For a time after I quit my last job I started to question if it was a good move or not. I guess I was just scared about leaving something that I had been doing for so long.
The little bits of information that I hear from my last job re-affirm that I did make the right call to leave. I hope that my current job will keep me happy for a least a little while. So far, so good.

Being in Japan the last 2 months has been a blast. It's still a little odd to have people stare so much at me on the trains and on the streets but hey, I could care less so long as they don't attack me! HAHA! I wish I could say that my Japanese has improved leaps and bounds in the last couple of months but, that would be a BIG FAT LIE! It has gotten a little better but NOTHING to brag about.
I have been eating really well lately, a lot of sushi. And good stuff not that over priced stuff from home. Noodles and rice for days, you can't go wrong with that!

I do miss home every once and a while but, I do get to see MLB in English every other day on one of the Japanese channels, BUT only teams with Japanese players on them, damn it. Don't get me wrong I like watching baseball but I REALLY don't like the Yankees. And they show A LOT of Yankee games! Stupid Dodgers they need to get a couple of good Japanese players so I can see their games!
And I REALLY miss Family Guy and The Simpsons! (And American Dad)
And I do miss Mexican food, seriously, I realy miss it. I could really go for a HUGE plate of chili verde and beans right now! My mouth is water just thinking about it!

I hope that everyone is enjoying the crap that I write on this site. And I hope that the pictures I post give everyone a good idea about where I am and what I see everyday.

So life like!

Downtown Shizuoka 017
Originally uploaded by Drew In Japan.

Man, I could go for a six piece meal with extra mash potatoes!

Everybody needs a little KFC!

Downtown Shizuoka 016
Originally uploaded by Drew In Japan.

Col. Sanders is outside ot EVERY KFC!

Hey let's get some McDon.....HEY!

Downtown Shizuoka 012
Originally uploaded by Drew In Japan.

Can I getta large fry with that wasabi shake?

Downtown Shizuoka

Downtown Shizuoka 009
Originally uploaded by Drew In Japan.

This is another picture from the downtown area. It is very close to the train station.

The window view from my work

Downtown Shizuoka 014
Originally uploaded by Drew In Japan.

This is the teachers' area at my work. From the outside....of course!

Downtown Shizuoka

Downtown Shizuoka 002
Originally uploaded by Drew In Japan.

I know that I said I would post some pictures of my 'hood. Well this isn't quite my 'hood...it's the downtown area close to where I work.

Planning for the worst

So from what I have seen and read in the news New Orleans and its people got the serious shit end of the stick. And I don't just mean with the hurricane. Lack of communitcation by who ever was in charge seemed to add to the pain and suffering to those people. That is weak. My father-in-law even made the comment (in Japanese of course) "What happened to America, I thought they were a strong nation."
I felt pretty dumb about then, THANKS DUBA!! You prick.

Anyway, I started thinking about the mind set of the people here in Japan. They plan for the worst. They plan for the worst not to be doom and gloom all the time, but because they know that the shit WILL hit the fan, not IF it will hit the fan. They want to cover their asses and be ready for ANYWAY. Because seriously, a lot can happen in one day here. A typhoon and an earthquake happened in the SAME WEEK last month!

I wonder sometimes if more people in the U.S. should start thinking this way. Hell, more people around the world. I mean can you really put a dollar price on a human life? Is the well being and safety of an entire city's people worth more than the government want to spend on dams to make the city safe?

Sigh.

OK. On to the lighter side of Japan......

I have only seen like 5 street names in the 7 weeks that I have been here.
And everyone still seems to know how to get where they are going!?

You can not open an account at the video store without a bank statement.

A six (6)oz cup of coffee at Starbucks cost about $2.25 And I still buy it...........sigh

At work I am the last teacher at my office from the U.S.

ALL porn in Japan has mosaics covering all the actors private parts, which makes me wonder.....is it still porn?

I have to carry a card with me at ALL times that says I am a foreigner. You mean, I don't look Japanese?!? Why didn't they tell me....(sobbing uncontrollably)

There are a lot of 650cc engine cars driving around in Japan. For those of you that don't know engines sizes thats about 3 cylinders......and I kinda want one!

Pictures of my 'hood next post.

damnit!

Well I have some bad news for those people that like to post comments. I got my first round of spam comments this morning and that means that I have to end the pulic comments. I don't want to have to deal with that crap....SO if anyone wants to post comments in the future you will need to registered on blogger. I will be changing the settings so that only registered peeps can post comments.

Sorry I know that it kinda sucks but I got a really perverted and strange comments on my last post and well there is only room for one pervert on this blog....and his name is DREW!!!!

On the plus side my buddy Keith told me that I need to start responding to posted comments and from now on I will. I think thats a pretty fair trade.......laters

The shit hits the fan....

It's it pretty late here so this won't be a long post but I just want to say that my thoughts and prayers are with the people in New Orleans right now. From what I have seen on the news here it looks like a pretty bad there. And I hope that they get help soon.

I will talk about this more tomorrow.


One other thing I would like to wish my wife a very happy birthday. Her birthday is tomorrow so if you can post a comment and wish her well. I know it will make her day!

I could go for a beer right about now

VFSH0035
Originally uploaded by Drew In Japan.

No, I did not alter this picture in ANY way. But, I can tell you that this can of beer will set you back about 1 FREAKING dollar!?!?!