new entry

so the neighbor who was so kindly allowing me to anonymously access their wireless network has ceased to be so kind, so I am back to no internet in my apartment. I am going to go ahead and buy the 250 dollar bond necessary to get a phoneline so I can get regular internet access(which, after the exorbitant(sp?) setup fee, is really cheap and really fast).

I went to see cursive last night with a guy I met at another show. He was pretty cool. He plays in a band called Double Negative that is "punk rock with horns". The whole pop punk thing is really big here, but he is down with going to other kinds of shows, so hopefully we will in the future. I told him he could pick the next show.
As for the show last night, cursive did well. I could tell they were a bit jetlagged, and they took a few songs to get warmed up. They were sans cellist this time, which actually made them sound a lot smaller. Tim Kasher kept making contrived faces and acting like a jackass, but I somehow came away from the show remembering why I like them. they played some new stuff, which sounded cooler than most anything off of the ugly organ(which I think kind of sucked).
Afterwards, this guy vicente(from work) took us to a place where we had noodle omelets(consisting of fried noodles, squid, a pancake, and eggs). They were served with ketchup and mayonnaise and were really really good. Kazuma had to ride his scooter all the way back to saitama(about an hour away), and vincente was sick/hungover, so we all went home after the show. vicente said he might be in to playing some music, which I am eager to do. we'll see.

Today I went to machida(town with huge department store city at the center and not much else on the periphery) to go buy some khaki pants. Each time I go to machida, it reminds me more of providence. Perhaps there's a weird noise rock scene there, too. I doubt it.

I am still working on getting my hiragana/katakana down. Kanji is coming very slowly. I think I am getting better at speaking though. I managed to get a wrench for my truss rod(speaking japanese.....mostly) at the guitar store today. I was worried that would not happen.
my roommate keeps taking his guitar into the living room(which is very small and right next to my door) , playing the same thing over and over again, and whistling. I think he needs to start playing open mic nights, b/c I am not so into being his constant audience. I said hi this morning and he beatboxed back at me as he was heading into the bathroom.
I am going to start taking pictures of cars here, b/c for some reason(perhaps the fact that they are taking cues from america's domestic car designs) all of the japanese cars are far more aesthetically pleasing than the versions sent over to the states. Example: Nissan - possibly the ugliest cars in the states, but well-designed here - look much more like volkswagens. i will post them on flickr.com

I have to go back for training tomorrow morning. We are getting paid the equivalent of 9 bucks an hour to go over the same crap I just went through 2 weeks ago. When asked why we had to go, the staff said 'to meet the other employees' who have to endure training. Thanks.