A Put Off Post...

I'm still alive!

Sorry I haven't posted in awhile. Classes and daily life have been so busy that I've been putting this (and other things that I should be doing) off.

Well, my last post was on Thursday... Friday, I believe was a normal day except I went out bowling with two girls from the dorm, Lauren and April, and three other guys; Sean, Ryan, and Justin. It only cost 200 yen per game with the student ID and the shoes were 300. Not bad at all. That was all we did since Ryan needed to get back to the dorm since a blister popped in his foot while bowling... I think I bowled a 76 then an 88. I'm so good.

Saturday I woke up at about 10:00 and biked to Makino Station and took the train in the opposite direction of Kyoto, to Osaka. My goal was to find Den-Den Town (Nihonbashi?), the electronics district of Osaka to see how that would be, and Osaka-jo, the castle. That and I planned on getting lost and finding other cool things.

I took an express train that skipped most of the local stops, but there weren't any seats left, so I stood. I didn't mind though since it felt like the train was just gliding over air, I've never ridden on anything so smooth, it was amazing. So quiet too.

After arriving at Kitahama station in Osaka, I followed the signs to the subway and eventually figured out which station I needed to take from there; it was pretty easy too... And I popped out right in the middle of Den-Den.

Den-Den is filled with old and new videogames, toy stores, electronics stores, and... porn. I popped into a few of the game stores to see if anything interesting was there, and they mostly had everything that was ever made.

The biggest electronics store, which was about 6 floors, they had everything... Robots for a few thousand dollars, robot / car kits, new laptops, old laptops (old ThinkPads for 300 yen, Dad,) and tons of accessories. I bought a webcam since I left mine at home, so I can video-chat with a certain girl over skype.

I went into some toy stores too. One it seemed like you can sell to them the 100~200 yen vending machine figures that you don't want and buy the ones you want. Typically anime, manga, or video game characters, or Japanese folk characters. I tried looking for a big bookstore too, for some manga that I wanted to buy, but no luck... The ones I want aren't popular since they aren't about giant flying robots piloted by teenagers with magical powers being chased by victorian vampires, or what-have you.

I did spot a sign for a Maid Cafe. Lonely dorky guys go to them to be served by girls in elaborate maid outfits (not the dirty kind,) and they be overly nice to you while you sip an $8 coffee. This is what I've read about them though, I don't have any desire to go into one... I doubt they would know what to say to me, haha.

After that I grabbed some food and then asked for directions at the Subway for Osaka Castle... with grains of rice on my chin. Oops.

It was a bit of a walk from the subway, but I first ran into an NHK building, with an old storehouse that was preserved outside of it. Was pretty cool.

First I entered the castle garden and marveled at the giant moat for a good while. I met a Korean guy and we took pictures of each other in front of it. I looked around at a shrine in another part of the grounds and then the Castle popped up over the trees... It was amazing. First I had to make it through some gates though, where I ran into the Korean again and we took pictures in front of a gate, haha. His Japanese was a little better than mine though.

The Castle cost about 600 yen to go in. When I got in, I was a tad dissapointed to find that it was a museum that looks like a castle... You couldn't tell that you were inside of this magnificent looking building once you got inside of it. It had some interesting artifacts and it recounted the many seiges that have befallen the castle... But I suppose I should've done my homework and gone to Himeji instead. The view at the stop of the castle was spectacular, however. You could see all of Osaka. I spent a good deal of time up there.

I should also point out that I took the stairs instead of waiting in line for the elevator (I would have done stairs were there no line,) and on the way down I counted 217 or so steps from the top. Phew.

I then went straight back as it was about 5:00 or so and getting dark... No problems on the ride back to Makino. When I went to get my bike though I nearly tore off another similar bike's parking receipt... And on my way out the parking guard noticed this, but didn't say anything... oops. My keychain also got stuck in the spokes and flew off into the road... luckily I found it, while confusing a few bystanders.

My bike's name is "Battle Home". Maybe the bike comes from a long line of strong bicycles, or maybe it picks on me and thinks that every time I try to bike home, it's a real battle... I'm not sure. It's a good bike though. I must say that I absolutely love biking to and from school, and to and from the grocery store most of all. Its just fun riding it around and now I'm not bad at all, so I can weave with other bikes and deftly avoid obachans (Grandmas) and the little metal poles that are sticking up everywhere. It's a shame you can't do this in America, since everyone HAS to drive due to how everything is planned out, and when they do implement bikes they do it wrong... Plus only the maniacs who bike ridiculous lengths to and from work who just drive everyone else insane give bikers a bad wrap... Oh well.

Sunday I mostly studied and rested my feet. Monday and Tuesday it just rained.

Today the rain finally stopped and it was great outside. I found the cafeteria behind the library that is less crowded... You go to two vending machines, put money in, and get a ticket for whatever food item you want... then you give it to the ladies behind the circular counter / kitchen and you get your food. Not a bad place.

In Negotiation we started a fun new exercise about a private hospital, where the white, middle-class people in the area are moving out and poor immigrants and minorities and just poor people in general are moving in. The residents want better access to the hospital and need more assistance, while the hospital wants to concentrate on research and their amazing open-heart surgery program. The hospital then buys land for a new research facility with nurse dorms and the citizen's group storms the office and does a sit in, and now both sides need to negotiate. Tracy asked who in the room reads Ayn Rand, Marx, or who is a hardcore Capitalist... and then made people join the side they most likely didn't want to join. It was pretty funny. He then had the hospital people go somewhere, presumably a classroom since he said that us concerned citizens could not meet in a private building, only public spaces. And then he said we'd negotiate on Friday and class was over, an hour early.

I love things like this, the smell of uncertainty, fear, and anticipated chaos in here, with grades precariously dangling on the precipice of it all... Our side went to talk outside of McDonalds and then eventually went into the cafeteria, scaring Japanese students away. Two leaders emerged (one who just wants people to shut up and get things done, and the other one, an obnoxious, uncertain chatterbox...) and we picked the one who wanted to get things done. We split into various factions such as local religious leaders, school board members, lawyers, etc... A Japanese girl, a girl from Singapore, and myself represented minorities in this... And they had some fun preconceptions about the USA since that's where this case is based. "No, not many Buddhists or Muslims... Yeah, Protestants, Catholics, all Christians..." That and the fact that our countries do healthcare differently confused them, and we had a hard time thinking of what other groups we could call on for assistance since they don't have issues like this...

And the last thing of interest concerns cooking. Last night I realized I had bread that was unused, and two eggs left. So I made Eggs in the Basket, or Toad in the Hole, whichever you call it. It was quite good. Good with the huge bread slices here too. Today I bought two 32 yen bags of noodles, more eggs, an onion, and a carrot, and 220 yen worth of bacon-ish beef. I fried it up in a pan with some paprika, a pepper mix, chili powder, and salt, and it was really good! I was surprised. I have leftovers now too... This is something I could easily make back in the US too, although I'd have to make my own noodles. Spaghetti is a bit different... So that made me feel better after the chili incident.

But that's about all for now. Check out new pictures of Japan here!

http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2041799&l=1feff&id=19304454