The importance of tea-time and how it's killing me

So if you were to recently ask me what I am up to on my days off from teaching, touring or being a general hindrance to the populace of Shimane, besides the obligatory sleeping, eating, playing the harmonica etc...one of my first answers would be drinking tea! I've always felt that tea-time has been an integral part of Japanese culture but boy little did I know how much of a motivational force it can be.

In Shimane, I turn into a tomato everynight

So living in the country side has many benefits. Getting boiled alive every night is not one of them.

I'm a narcissist but at least you can't see my underwear!

 FINALLY POSTED PICTURES!!
Fashion dilletantes will tell you that Tokyo has replaced Paris as the fashion capital of the world...and I gotta agree. It's not that Tokyoites dress any better than Parisian, it's just that the people here,hm..how do I say it in a good way, are more er, adventurous with their fashion. What I mean by this is that it seems that EVERY kind of fashion out there is on display here ALL the time. The definition for adventurous is school girls who shorten their formal school skirts to MICRO LOOK AT ME AS I BEND OVER TO GRAB MY BAG WHEEE skirts.

Props to however took this pic. (This means I did NOT take this picture)

Aanyways, it's not just school girls who are adventurous, salary men can also be quite adventurous - like the 40 year something salary man dressed in purple with an afro i saw a while ago. God I wish I had a picture but boy the only way I can describe him is he was super-righteous! Wherever that guy is, you know he's probably single-handedly working to bringing disco back!

Anyways, to enlighten you on Japanese fashion is not the point of this blog entre! There are books written about that stuff! Rather, this is for me to show off the various fashions that I've purchased in Tokyo! Hurrah for narcisism!

Is whale meat worth international scrutiny and humiliation?

So I've been asked what whale meat tastes like...and let me tell you, it's not bad. Although whale does not have a distinctive taste as say salmon, tuna, or sea urchin etc. it does have some flavor to it. The closest flavor I've had to whale sushi I think is horse sushi. Both meats have a quite  subtle and light flavor that is best enjoyed with some garnishes of onions and garlic. Overall, whale has  a nice dark red color like meat yet has the smooth texture like fish - nice!

you: Tue, where are you from? Me: er....hm......um.....daddy and mommy's love?

One of these things is not like the others...

So this problem has been plaguing me for about 15 years of my life now...ever since I realized I wasn't in Kansas Vietnam anymore. What follows is just me angsting like a 40 year old virgin..sorry!

I moved from Vietnam to stay with my mum in Japan when I was about 6. Before, I never thought of Nationality or anything like that til some of my schoolmates asked me what kind of a name is Tue and why I write it in katakana (the foreign word writing system). At that time, I just shrugged, said I wasn't born in Japan and we all went back to trading pokemon. Only if those salad days could return (pokemon too of course).

Final Fantasy XIII

Ok, so lately I've been playing quite a bit of Final Fantasy 13 so I thought It'd be a nice thing to blog about.

Anyways, the game has gotten a lot of bad rep lately for being too "linear" and  not having many elements of RPG ie. towns/buying/selling etc. so here's what I think about XIII

Graphics - drop dead gorgeous!
Music - who's Uematsu? The new guy is master class
Battle - The best battle system in any RPG
Story - I can't understand most of it but from what I can, it's good
Characters - LIGHTNING!! Loving the pink hair! At least they all here a reason to be there unlike half of XII

Becoming an "adult" in Japan and what I did as a "child"

January 11 is the day when you transition from a child to an adult in Japan. It's the day of dreams - when 20 year old school girls abandon their micro-skirts for super expensive/bright/flashy kimonos. Their hair is all permed/styled and colored, their obi knots are tied in beautiful patterns, their shoes are super polished - basically they (and by extension, their parents) go ALL out on at least looking the part of an adult. It's quite a beautiful sight to see so many elegant kimono-clad women wandering all over Tokyo - even if it's only a temporary beauty (most will go back to their mini-skirts tomorrow).

Stop procrastinating and JUST DO IT! Nike!

A certain smart someone once told me, “If you’re having fun while procrastinating, what’s wrong with that?” That advice has come in quite handy. What is wrong with that? Instead of doing what you should be doing, if you’re still doing other things you want to do, then isn’t that also time well spent? Nothing is wrong with that right? Hm…well, things are not quite that simple. I’ve been blindly clinging on to the obvious meaning of the above quote like a love sick puppy and I’m finally at the point where any fun I have while procrastinating has been thoroughly hammered down into non-existence by the weight of the things I have to do.

What language do you think in?

I don't remember who ever it was at Macalester College that posed me the question, "now that you more or less can do 3 languages, which language do you think in?" But whoever it was, you owe me for making me think so much!!

When I was asked that question, I easily and dismissively answered English, as that was the only language with which I could coherently and confidently discuss about the benefits of globalization or flirt with attractive people in. And although that has not changed (or at least the former, anways, ; ]  ) I feel that were I to be asked the same question now my answer would not be as nonchalant. I have been away from America for 8 months now speaking and learning Vietnamese/Japanese. Although English is still and far my best language, my English is more or less at a stage of stagnation - it has not improved because I have not actively sought to improve it. Rather, it has regressed a bit - to the point where sometimes, although still infrequent, I naturally lapse into Japanese words or Vietnamese words. It's not that bad when my partner is multi-lingual like me but when my partner only knows English, for example, I have to take a bit of time to think of the right word in English, even if it's simple words that I've used many times before.

Christmas in Japan is a time for couples - but for us singles...

My goodness, what an eventful and different winter break this has been in the 夢の街 that is Tokyo life. Did you know that Christmas time in Tokyo is THE time for couples? My goodness - as soon as you hit around the 23-25th, couples just dot the streets. Everything seem to be in pairs - couples deals (guy buys one gets one free), couples tickets (guy basically buys one pair ticket at the same cost as it would to get 2 individual), restaurants would set more tables for 2 (that guys can reserve) etc. etc. Love was in the air. Literally - even Tokyo Tower had a giant heart that could have been mistaken as an indicator for a love hotel lovingly slapped on its facade.

Unlike the states and other Christian countries where there are still some semblance of the "traditional" Christmas spirit, Japan is commercialism to . Forget Jesus, how about some couple Disney tickets complete with 2 lovely matching heart necklaces? Why you shouldn't have!!