...And, There's MORE!

add to the list:

being happy for Rob's thai hooker bf, Ate
trying not to gag while Patrick learned he was gay and proceeded to do dirty things to a ladyboy
playing with the world's most destructive starfish (in terms of eating coral)

oh yeah, it was a fantastic trip...but now it's back to reality...

well, I've been here a while actually...but it's been busy gettin back into the swing of things...seeing people, going snowboarding...then I got a pretty nasty cold...

also, I've just been horribly lazy...there's lots going on at the moment...and it's just taking a while to sink in, y'know?

anyways...there will be more to read here and there in the next 2 weeks...

I gotta let y'all know what I'm thinking...and you'll have your thoughts on whatever I put down and as always, it'd be nice to hear from you...but at the same time, I kinda gotta do this and figure it out on my own...

so yeah...2 weeks will decide whether it's 6 more months...or 18 more...

watch your step on the way outt folks...and I'll see ya when I see ya

posted by Herb 9:28 PM

He's allliiiiivvvveeeeeee

Well, here I am...haha...been a while, ne?

A few select individuals have been privy (or harassed) with the sometimes daily/for others, weekly happenings of my life out here...

all's well and fine...

the only problem is, that I officially have no idea what I'm going to do next year...I have no clue...just keep putting off thinking about it and all the things that will hafta factor into this decision...I do suppose it's not that huge of a dilemma...going home wouldn't be the worst thing...but leaving here (and the money), all the opportunities I have here (and the money), and just the general feeling of having unfinished business out here (not having seen enough of Japan, not having travelled enough...and the money) would truly be a bit shit...

I won't go into detail on all this now (a rant that will undoubtedly be seen on the Across The Sea blog due mainly to the fact that I'd find it annoying to post it twice...but also with additional notes in amendment form here)...but here's where I stand at the moment...oh, and don't tell my parents this...not even Tina...she doesn't know yet...

I've tentatively decided to stay...I only make this announcement because it's down on paper...even though the official deadline is in February...due to budgetary reasons for the coming year, I had to put down on paper whether I would or wouldn't...

The thing is, I have until that February deadline (specifically, the 8th) to opt out of this...should I choose to do so...but I had to say yes for now, because it'd be easier to go from a yes to a no...than to go from a no to a yes...comprende?

I may well get outta this...and I may not, I suppose...this will definitely require additional thought...meaning, it'll go right to the wire...

sigh...

watch your step on the way outt of this one...it's a doozie

posted by Herb 8:37 PM

I Am Slowly Going Crazy...

You know that point of the evening...where you're in the middle of an allnighter, instead of caffeine, you've had a couple beers...you've only gotten 4 hours of sleep in the past 50+ hours...you start to hear strange noises in a basically empty airport...your friends are wusses and passed out...and you're kind of alone to fend for yourself and the good of the group?

I...I think I'm there...and I'm a little afraid...

Must...stay...awake...must...not...miss...flight...must...go...on...vacation...

but going crazy...

posted by Herb 3:56 PM

Shake It Like A Polaroid Picture II

Alright, so to coincide with the picture update in the Japanblog...here's one for here...most of these are just pics that were the 2nd-place finishers behind the ones on the other blog, but some, I'm sure you'll notice which, could NOT be posted for the perusal of the fam...

August 2k6 - Me, Ryoko, a Retarded-looking Drew and Jo at a Fireworks Festival

September 2k6 - The Trains Out of Nagoya

October 2k6 - Kitty, Me and a Passed-out Rachel On My Birthday

November 2k6 - Kitty, Rowena and Takeshi

December 2k6 - Carol, Steve, Kasper, Drew, Lena, Nick, Wim and Joyce From North Pandan Island in the Philippines...the next day, we dove at 9am, haha

January 2k6 - Me, a Passed-out Nick and Angie At The Office Enkai (Party)

February 2k6 - At Minoji...the Damage: 5 Hot Sake, 13 Beers, and 8 Chu-hi...and They'd Already Cleared Alot

March 2k6 - Penis Festival! Only In Japan...So Messed Up

April 2k6 - Erin and I at Misfits, After The Rolling Stones Concert

May 2k6 - Sharon, Me and Makoto, Public Drinking Outside Osaka Jo (Castle)

June 2k6 - Rach and I Under The Bright Lights of Nagoya

So there ya have it...a lil taster of what I'm up to in this crazy ass country...not to say there ain't alot more, but yeah, that's it for now...

What else is there? check back later to find out...for now, watch your step on the way outt...

posted by Herb 11:16 AM

What The World Needs Now...

Soooo...more about the madness of Saturday...

I can't believe Matt and Libs are finally...Finally parents! we'd been heckling them for 2 weeks and telling her she should just pop the darn thing out already...and now it's finally happened! yay! I'm so happy for them! we're gonna go to the midwifery tomorrow, I think, to see them and him...I wonder what they're gonna name him...

Wade Wilson...and Ilya Wilson have been thought over...but we'll see...frankly, I'm not crazy about them, hahaha...but hey, it's not my kid, right? haha...

And Ayony...oh Ayony!

The wedding was super fun...super Super fun!

4 of Tony's friends from home, another from China (who's workin there), and his big brother and parents made it over here for the wedding (again, a really darn good turnout!!), and everyone was so happy and talkin and sharing stories on the trouble Tony would get into as a kid, haha...it was a really great time...

Too...much...drinking...though...haha...

wedding reception nomihodai...starting at 6:30
after party at a Jbar nomihodai...
karaoke nomihodai...
then a bar for football (Yanks and Italy) and drinks til 5:30am

altogether, amounts to alotta booze...haha...

Aya has alotta hot university friends, haha...a good good night allround, haha...fun times, fun company, good food, new friends...just an awesomely awesome day/night, haha...

And now, it's back at school, haha...but it's okay! the countdown has begun...4 weeks until school is out for summer break, and 5 weeks til I'm beaching/swimming/scuba-diving/snowboarding/hiking/eating/drinking my way through New Zealand and Fiji!!

Will this trip rival the awesomosity of the Philippines and Vietnam? the potential seems to be there...hoorah!

On a sidenote, I miss hockey horribly, haha...I can't believe they pushed it to 7 by winning 5 and 6...unbelievable...goooooooo Edmonton! let the oil flow! gambare!!

later homies...much peace and much music from Jland...now, watch your step on the way outt...

posted by Herb 9:05 PM

We're Off To See The Wizard!

So...it's time for another randomly scheduled update! as I'm sure you've seen, I'm heading off to New Zealand and Fiji this summer! yay! (see: Japanblog)

So I guess my visit home will have to be delayed until possibly Christmas time, bah well...it'll only make y'all miss me more! muwahaha...

I hope y'all are havin a hella good time back home...Summer's peakin it's perky lil head, and while it's gettin ridiculously hot here already, I'm sure y'all are gettin some great weather back home...

Things here are good...they've been better, but they're pretty good at the moment, I suppose...I don't know if it's travelled through the grapevine yet, but I'm single once again...no big deal, things are cool, and I'm over it...but yeah, single once again...

My world here is gonna be pretty nuts in the next two months...it's all one big countdown to NZ and Fiji, but what a countdown it's going to be...

I have good friends leaving the country for good...one of my best friends included...one of my friends is going to have her baby any day now, so I'll never see her and her husband anymore...one of my friends got married, and we're having the ceremony/banquet in a couple weeks (why they weren't together? I dunno...), and just things are changing...we're settling into this group dynamic we've got going, and everyone just seems good and comfortable with eachother now...and soon, that's going to change...

But hey, change is good right? It's brought me here...it's leading each of you down the paths you're walking...

So, here's to change...CHEERS!

Now watch your step on the way outt...and I'll see you in December!

posted by Herb 1:38 AM

Somebody Save Me...

Alright...so what happened to Ange is just another thing in a series of unfortunate events which have transpired in this country...somethings, kinda funny when you look back on them...other things, not so much...downright frightening and messed up in fact...allow me to recount my tales, and those of some of my friends, for your viewing pleasure!

-A- That Time Coming Home From Steve's
So...this one time, me, Nick, Angie and Robert were going home from our friend Steve's place...on the way home, a random salaryman outta freakin nowhere appears behind us at a stoplight...he's obviously drunk off his knocker, and is stumbling around...the next thing we know, he puts his arm around Angie while talkin to her...she freaks out, and moves away from him...then he comes over to Nick and starts rubbing his shoulders, hahaha...Nick bugs out, so he comes over to me...he starts talkin to me, and then starts stroking my arm...so I obviously freak out...and move the heck away from him...

All this time, whoever's not gettin harassed is laughin their asses off...and then the light turns green...and just as Robert is about to ride off, the guy hops on the back of Rob's bike, throws his arms around him, and start caressing him and feeling him up...so Rob's trying to ride away, and the guy is clinging on for dear life, and touchin Rob all over, haha...and Rob is really homophobic when it comes to guys invading his personal space, so he's all yelling and screaming at this guy...

We finally caught up with Rob 1 or 2 blocks later...and he was hiding out in the doorway of some izikaiya...

Later that night, I get lost and it takes me about...4 hours or so to walk home...so I'm hella tired and I finally get to my subway station, get my bike and go on home...I park my bike and start walkin up the first of my 4 flights of stairs, when I hear a motorbike come screeching up to my apartment...I'm still walking up the stairs at this point, and I just hear some guy kill the engine, and start running up the stairs...I look down, and all I see is this guy in a baby blue bike helmet racing up the stairs...

Despite the long trek home, I was still slightly tipsy (although significanly less so than before)...but I'm like, oh man...this guy is gonna murder me! so I start racing up the stairs, and all the while, I can still hear this guy following me up...I get out my keys, turn my house key the right way, open my door and bolt inside as fast as I can...

Then I turn around to look out the peephole, and sure enough, the guy runs up to the 4th floor...and starts gazing at my door and at my neighbour's door...I'm just watchin this guy, still a lil buzzed and a lil terrified...and the guy grabs my neighbour's door by the handle and starts pulling it and slamming it against the frame...he's totally goin mental, and I'm just sittin there watchin him...then suddenly he stopped, and turned to my door and just stood...watchin me...

Then, he turned around, and just ran back downstairs, fired up his bike, and took off in a hurry...pretty messed up, ne? that shit had gaijin-home-invasion-urban-legend-movie-of-the-week written freakin all over it...

- B - That Time Izzie Was On A Bike
One of the JETs who left last August when we newbies got here was named Izzy...nice friendly Brit girl, met her just the once, but seemed totally chill...okay so, apparently, there used to be a weird Japanese guy who lived somewhere near her...she'd always see him on the way going home, and he'd kinda follow her for a lil bit...he was totally weird/creepy/a lil more than slightly pervy...

One time, she was walking on her way home...and he shows up on his bike...and he's only driving with one hand...and he keeps circling around her...he comes closer for a better look, and she sees what he's doing...yup, he's givin the lil general a good workout with the other hand...I forget now how this story ended, but that's screwed up, huh?

- C - That Time Going To Poke-park
One day a long while ago, when I was still living with the host family, my host mum decides to take Ayaki (host brother) to Poke-park...a pokemon-themed carnival-kinda-thing that was stopped off in Nagoya...so we're walkin down the street...and there isn't that much in that area...it's basically just a street running alongside the overpass for the train...

So we're walkin along, and it's kind of a busy street...a good number of people were on it...and I look to my right and what do I see? about 5 meters away from us...there's a bum lying in a corner passed out with a 2L carton of sake beside him...and, he's not wearing his pants...or his draws...he's completely just hangin out...while hangin out...

Naturally, Ayaki sees and starts pointing and laughing at him, haha...oh Ayaki, what a funny kid...then me and my host mum quickly pushed him away...

~

That's...enough disturbing storytelling for now, haha...there are more stories...quite a few more actually, haha...but we'll save those for a rainy day...

But like I said, hella safe country, but lotsa frikkin weird shit randomly happens sometimes...not too often, but often enough...

Peace out homies! and watch your step on the way outt...

posted by Herb 1:40 AM

Where Is My Mind?

La la la!

Hi kids!

I maybe went off on a tangent on the other blog...but I really do want to congratulate you guys who finally finished...haha

Way to be slowpokes!

I guess the times have finally changed, huh? We're all officially at that next point, and yet, we're still together...I think that's a testament to not only our compatability, but we're ability to change and adapt to eachother...

Think about how different we are now as compared to just a few years ago...we're all working on different things...we're all chasing new and exciting dreams...we're all pursuing different goals...we're all growing...but surprisingly still growing together...

So I say, not only congratulations to you who are now finished, but also to us as a group...as an almost-family (y'know which roles we'd be...we've got the genius aunt, the absentee uncle, the quirky older cousin...etc)

We've gone through thick and thin, and we're still pushin forth together...

Now...someone take that next plunge and get married...I grow weary of this tired new stage in life...haha

Peace out...and watch your step on the way outt

posted by Herb 8:36 PM

Let's Get It On

My parents are going to read my most recent blog and absolutely freak out, hahaha...and then they're going to write me an email and tell me not to get a Japanese girl pregnant...I can tell you now, it's gonna happen, hell, I'll post it when it does, hahaha...

But damn...10 days...that's hella crazy, frik...

I really meant what I said about them though...that this just speeds up the course of their relationship, but by no means deters them from the path I honestly thought they'd set off on...

I
N
S
A
N
I
T
Y

I'm so happy for them though, one of my best friends here getting frikkin married in 2 months...

What will I have accomplish by the time they get married?

- I will have gotten alot better at boarding (I think we're headed up this weekend for one last day-trip before the end of the season)
- I will have acquired very mediocore Japanese skills (they won't even be good enough to warrant spelling it "skillZ")
- I will finally have the internet set up at my place by then (VERY likely)
- I will continue to raid used CD shops across this huge city and amass a wonderful collection of Japanese versions of discs

Other than that...not much, haha...

Once again, congrats to them!! I'm so happy for em...

This is the life I lead here...there's so much more excitement and drama than at home, haha...consider that, and watch your step on the way outt...

posted by Herb 4:17 AM

Here N'There

So...here's the deal...drama goin on here, haha...but not with me, well, there's some drama, but we can talk about that later...

I have these friends...let's call them...Anne, Nate, and Naomi

I'll give background, then I'll fill ya in on what I think...and what others think...and then, I'd like to hear what y'all think...

So at the beginning of the year, Anne and Nate kinda like eachother...but nothing really happens...Anne is kinda stringing this guy along, and won't break up with him cuz they had already planned on going on a Christmas trip together...and she doesn't want to not have sex with him during the trip...so, as a selfish girl, she puts Nate on hold assuming he won't go out with anyone else, and strings along her soon-to-be ex so they can be sex-buddies on the trip...

Meanwhile, Nate begins to secretly go out with someone before Christmas...it's all kinda hush-hush, then I go away on my trip to the Philippines, and a few weeks after I get back, he fesses up and tells me about it...meanwhile, Anne's now ex has gone back to New Zealand...and she's officially single again...

The night after Nate tells me, he gets super retardedly drunk, and tells Anne that he's seeing someone...she's crushed and super upset, and so me and her have a drink the next night so I can talk her head straight...I can't sympathize with her dumbassness and I basically tell her that this is her fault for assuming she could have Nate whenever she wanted, and that she should basically shut up and stop playin the victem (obvisouly, in slightly nicer words)...when matters of the heart do not concern me, I can be strangely objective and blunt...especially when it's plain you've screwed up and this is your fault...

Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago...I'm at Anne's place...her and Nate are kinda friends now, and things seem cool...she tells me that a couple of nights ago, Nate told her in confidence that he's not too happy in the relationship right now and that he'd break up with Naomi if he thought Anne and him had a chance at anything, then he and asked what she thought he should do...and this got her thinking that she still kinda liked him again...

Instead of helping him sort things out, she decided to exacerbate the situation and tell him that she still liked him...BUT, that she didn't want a relationship...at all...whatsoever...she just wanted to tell him cuz she thought he should know...and that he deserved to know...even though nothing was going to come of it...and then, she kisses him, and then they drunkenly make out...

And drunken make-out sessions are totally not a big deal...when there aren't feelings involved...but when there are, and especially if those feelings are NOT mutual, it's just a stupid thing to do...and if you're the one who doesn't feel that way, but you initiate, you're really fucking up here...

So then, Nate being the good guy that he is...breaks up with Naomi, to see if Anne is sure she doesn't want something out of this...he feels, there was something behind the make-out session (seeing as how Anne just told him she still likes him)...

So, what does Anne do about this? nothing...instead, she starts having a kinda random friends with benefits relationship with this other friend of ours, Tim...

SOOOOOOO...

that's what happened...

I maintain...that Anne was being a selfish bitch...she was WELL AWARE of the fact that telling Nate and following that statement with kissing him would lead to him breaking up with Naomi...I don't understand the whole "him deserving to know" idea...he only deserves to know if you're willing to pursue something...if you like him, but don't care to show it, fuck off...

The girls however, have taken to the notion that Nate was being unfair to Naomi...and that what Anne did was right...because afterall, if Nate feels so strongly about Anne, he shouldn't be with Naomi...and due to those circumstances, Anne did the right thing...

I get the whole unfairness to Naomi business, and I understand where the girls are coming from...but I don't in any way think that it was Anne's place to fuck up Nate and Naomi's relationship...it wasn't the perfect ideal relationship, but that's for Nate to sort out...Anne shoulda played the friend card, and not complicated matters...

Anne's involvement in the situation amounts to her breaking them up for the sake of it...cuz she thought they shouldn't be together if Nate still liked Anne...

It's clear though...that Nate wasn't just stringing Naomi along...he genuinely liked them both (and if that's a situation you can't understand, then nevermind all this)...he just liked Anne a lil more than Naomi...but he still did in fact like her...

So my position in all this, is that Anne shoulda fucked off and not messed with them...it wasn't her place to intervene in a seemingly imperfect relationship...especially if she was gonna bugger off and become sexbuddies with Tim...

The girls' position, is that Anne did the right thing...cuz Naomi didn't deserve to be in that relationship...and if she couldn't see that, it was right for Anne to step in...

Now, What Do YOU Think??

Ponder that, and watch your step on the way outt...

posted by Herb 2:06 AM