Keith in Japan, Basketball on Japanese TV and other random thoughts

Well its been a while since I have made a real posting about things here in Japan. Pictures are nice but sometimes thoughts and words are better.

So the bad stuff first: I am currently sick with a cold, and well, it sucks. To add to the discomfort one of my wisdom teeth decided to shift. Thus, my mouth is a great deal of pain right now. The Yen (Japanese money) has also taken a big crap against the dollar. Which in simple terms means my money here is not as much as in the States!

But let's not dwell on the not so good!

The good stuff: I now have a wonderful woman teachng me Japanese (thank you Kazue!) And I hope to increase my speaking ability sooner than later!
I go into the Starbucks down the street from my work a lot. So the other day one of the staff at Starbucks started talking to me in English?!? I asked in Japanese if she understood English and she said a little then the other Starbucks staff started talking to me! To make a LONG story short I now have new Japanese Starbucks friends! I doubt if I will get free coffee out of it but at least we are on a first name basis!
I was sad that the Astro didn't make the W.S. last longer now can't watch baseball in the mornings before work! BUT I watched my first game of the NBA tonight! And although it wasn't the Lakers (or the Heat) it was still basketball, and that made me happy!
I am also no longer in Japan alone! My buddy Keith is currently in Kumamoto! WHOOOH!! And he is getting his first taste of Japanese life! Now he just needs a freaking cell phone! But there is nothing wrong with taking it SLOW! Keith GANBATTE!! (Do your best!)
The weather is getting way cooler (on the verge of COLD!) and I can now wear the blazers that go with my suits! And my students at work think I look cool in my full suits! (OH AND YES I AM WELL AWARE THAT THEY MORE THEN LIKELY LYING TO ME SO THERE IS NO NEED FOR SMARTASS COMMENTS!!!!) But it makes me feel good!
And lastly my family at home are all doing well and that ALWAYS MAKES ME HAPPY!

Random thoughts. . .

I still don't understand how tucking your pants into your boots became fashionable but that shit NEEDS TO STOP!

Vending machines in fall and winter serve HOT cans of coffee and tea?!? I know this because I burned the shit outta my hand the other day!

My Japanese gets better the more beer that I drink. (Proven FACT.) But it could just be me THINKING that it sounds better. . .

My little kids at work STILL think my name is "Blue"! D'oh!

Most Japanese high school kids have cooler cell phones than mine.

My co-workers from the U.K. refuse to call chips, "chips". They call them "crisps". I guess they never got the memo. . .

Most of my Japanese students do not like the taste of turkey. . .dude what the hell! That's not right.

I am now driving in Japan on a semi-regular basis. It is very strange, I have to keep telling myself that it is OK to be on the wrong side of the road!

And lastly to answer the recent comments,

1) A "Gaijin" is a person that is, not Japanese, they are in Japan. AKA a foreigner. Me.

2) Yes, normally I would pray in a church but here they are called "temples" and yes God can still hear me.

3)"Manga" are Japanese comic books. But they are NOT just about superheros. They are about everything from baseball to love stories. Many, many Japanese people read them young kids to adults.

4)I didn't understand the point of the "smokers style" (see recent posts) either. I just thought it was a very creative concept for a "shop"!

5)Most streets in Japan are really really narrow! And really hard to drive on!

shizzle.