New York, and back

Hello people. I have not posted for a while, as I have been busy traveling to Japan, China, and most recently, New York City and back. I've had fun. I definitely miss the city now, and my friends. I don't know, as I return, especially from the Spirit Bound trip to NYC, I feel very alone. It's a strange sensation. It seems that all my friends are very busy, and I have a lot of time, but no one to spend it with. Maybe I've watched Lost in Translation too many times. It seems the only excitement in my week is going swing dancing on Thursday. Other than that, I don't really know what I'm going to do, except things that are really depressing, like cleaning out my room so my dad can move. Something I don't want to happen. I wish I could call that one girl that I've talked about before, and just go chat or get some coffee, but like everyone else, she's always working. And of course, when other people get off work, I am on work this weekend. Oh well. I suppose it could be worse. I really want to go see Batman, or Star Wars again. I've only seen it 6 times so far. I also miss Myra. That had nothing to do with Star Wars, but I miss that girl. I need to find some sort of hobby, or find more stuff to do. My life right now just seems so rootless. I long for the exciting life I found in Tokyo and New York, full of lights and music. Speaking of music, I really want to go back to New York and see Chicago and Wicked on Broadway. I hope I will be able to. I guess that's the difficult part of traveling, you always have to come back. But still, it just sort of puts you on a downer for a while, thinking of how exciting life would be if only you were someplace else. I think the thing that gets me the most these days is how people never seem to call me. Being, with only a couple exceptions from my high school, my friends never call me to ask me to do something, especially females. Are my personality traits so geeky as to warrant such treatment? I don't know, maybe. But, I can't really change it. I like who I am. I just wish I could find people who find what I like enjoyable as well. When you dress up as a Jedi though, it takes a little searching. I think I can handle it, I just want it to speed up faster. Right now, I'm writing this at my best friend's house. And his girlfriend is over, so I am just very uncomfortable. I sort of know this woman, so it shouldn't be this bad, but I am not good with people. Especially when my friend and I have a relationship so deep, and I really wanted to talk to him. The presence of this girl, not her or his fault by any means, just is making things difficult for me. I need to work on social situations. Because I think this person is very nice, but the signals I am sending out mean otherwise, I think. Anyways, I'm out. Have a good night everyone.

Lost in Translation

If any of you have not seen the movie with the above title, I highly recommend you go out and see it. Tonight, I sort of felt like the main characters in said film, in that I sort of wandered around Tokyo. Today we went sightseeing. We had two guides, of whose names I forget. Both music students, one played pretty hardcore jazz trombone. We saw the Imperial Palace and surrounding gardens, the Sensoji shrine in the Asakusa district, and Ginza, which is where some of the action of Lost in Translation took place. Afterwards, I walked around Tokyo for most of the night by myself, which I enjoyed. Benjamin is still sort of sick, so he hit the sack early. I wandered about, bought some film, some Japanese soccer paraphenelia, some food, a book. After dropping it off at the hotel, I took the subway back to Ginza. God knows if I'll ever be in Tokyo again, and I really wanted to see all the neon. I was not disappointed. I don't know, it was both peaceful and overwhelming all at once. I felt very small, alone in a huge city, with no knowledge of the language, and little of the culture. But at the same time, I felt very much at one with the people and the city. It both made me rejoice in my single traveler-ness, and wish for a companion. Anyways, I stopped in some pub type establishment and had some Japanese beer called Yebisu. I'm of legal age here, so my conscience was clear. It was also very small. After that, I took the subway back to the hotel, got some ice cream, and now find myself writing in this thing, my last night in Japan. I will miss this country very much. I can really see myself spending a significant amount of time here in the future. Too many thoughts to write down here. I'm a little nervous for China, but I think it will be fun. I don't know if it can top this though. I'm not quite sure if I like Japan better than France, but it is definitely equal. One last thing. I think Japanese women are just beautiful. A large majority of Japanese women in my general age bracket just look beautiful to me. Physically at least, I don't know about their persona. Just wanted to share that with you.

Travel

You know, one thing I hate is foreign travel in large groups. We rode the train today in Tokyo over to Musashino, and people were just so loud and annoying. These people just do not know the concept of blending in, or traveling inconspicuously, or cultural respect, or anything. It just angered me. When I travel, I like to blend in as much as I possibly can, and act like the natives. When in Rome, do as the Romans, etc, etc, etc. I just think it's a genuinely good idea. Another thing I hate is flirty people. One of my roommates here is just so dumb when it comes to flirting and such. Man, it is annoying. This morning, I got up and walked around Tokyo for a while, near our hotel. I really enjoyed it, and think I'll get up early tomorrow to go eat breakfast and such. Although, I did sort of accidentally jack someone's latte from Starbucks this morning. I ordered a mocha (in Japanese!), then thinking I was the only one waiting for anything, took the first cup that came up, and walked out. Yeah, it definitely wasn't mocha, and definitely was not the size I ordered. So, looks like I won't be going back there again tomorrow. Another thing I hate is traveling in a foreign country where I don't know the language. Like Japan. I wish I knew Japanese, so I could communicate and more fully experience this place. I'm really digging Tokyo, it's just ver friendly. Insanely big, but friendly. Tomorrow night, I'm going to go to Ginza, which is the district with all the neon, like in Lost in Translation. I'm looking forward to it.

In Tokyo

I am currently in Japan, Tokyo to be more specific. The Metropolitan Hotel, to be even more specific. As such, I have not updated for quite a long time, as I've been quite busy playing concerts, and just hanging out. I have spent time in Osaka, Kagoshima, Kumamoto, Utsonomiya, and now Tokyo. Sunday, I will travel to Beijing until Thursday. My feelings on this trip are too extensive to effectively document in this blog, so I'll keep it short. Basically, you all need to come to Japan, and stay in the homes of the Japanese. With full confidence I have decided you will not find a more caring and just generally nice people on this Earth than those of Japan. I have been welcomed with such enthusiasm and joy, I can't believe it. It has been going just great. The fact that about 60 years ago, we were dropping nuclear bombs on this country just augments everything. My host families, especially Chie in Kumamoto, have been inhumanely nice. Everyone here is just so nice and polite. This culture is unlike anything I have ever seen. Completely modern, probably even more so than the United States, but covered in a unique Japanese tint. It's hard to explain, but I can try upon my return to America. I wish I could stay here longer, or live here for a while. These people and this country are beautiful.