絶望した！ハードロックは絶望した！

Birthday party for the epic win. We started out at Hard Rock cafe at Ueno Station - always a classic. It was beyond incredible. In addition to the obligatory mass of rock memorabilia, we got to watch an amazing performance of bartending flair - the guy was incredible. At the end, he was standing on the bar, balancing a bottle of vodka on his forehead and juggling four more. It was incredible. We were lucky enough to get a picture with him afterward. We also had a pyrotechnic birthday dessert delivered to us after dinner and played around a bit in the rock shop afterward. Later, we hopped on the train and went back to Ikebukuro to do some karaoke. We went for two hours with soooo much good music. We finished up with a sensational rendition of Yellow Submarine that was the perfect end to the night. Here are pictures:

A rousing rendition of Tina & Ike Turner's "Proud Mary".

Our whole group plus our waitress and the incredible bartender.

During the show.

Our crew gathered 'round the table.

Looking smug with dessert. Sideways.

Flaming birthday dessert!

Restaurant logo burned right onto the tortilla.

Most. Incredible. Branding. Ever.

Friends Joe (left) and Paul (right) from school.

Friends Elena (left) and Clio (right) from the house.

Baby's first drink as a legal American adult - One Mint Julep.

Paul at karaoke, rocking some Green Day.

Clio, teaming up with me for the theme song from "Axis Powers Hetalia", a mutual favorite anime of ours.

絶望した！誕生日は絶望した！

Well world, I finally get some respect in the eyes of America. Japan beat them to it by a whole year.

As of 1 hour and 24 minutes prior to the typing of these words, the Earth completed it's 21st circuit around the sun since the time I was born. I am now officially completely out of the teenager status (as some relatives still believed I was a teen through age 20). Since I'm in a place where I've been able to do all the things a 21-year-old can do in America, it doesn't feel incredibly different from yesterday. Still, that's the way birthdays tend to be.

Still, I received more e-mails and cards from people all over the world than I could possibly have expected, along with a ton of Facebook greetings. I am SO feeling the love right now. Even though we're all over the place, it's still been a very happy birthday. AND it's not over yet- I'm having a little shinding with some friends at Hard Rock Cafe - Ueno Station tomorrow night after an all-day choir rehearsal, so that should be a really fun time. Celebrations on Thursday were also fun - my friend Dana called me out in class that it was my birthday despite my objections. (Hey, you got to, it's tradition ^_^), and we had a little bit of cake at the house afterward (pictured below). My housemate Clio even got me a little present - a case of chocolate cigars from Seibu - classy and tasty - win-win!

As far as presents go, I've ended up with some fantastic things. The biggest one for me is the jacket that I'm wearing in the pictures below. Anyone who can identify it in the comments section wins a cookie when I come home. Well, on with the photos.

Happy birthday!

And all of Harry Hill's people said...

"CAKE AFTERWARD!"

Just like me!

The obligatory anime-style licking-the-knife picture. Sideways.

絶望した！チッピチップスは絶望した！

For those of you who translate the titles of these posts, the word in the middle this time is 'chippy chips'. If you aren't aware of the significance of this wonderful phrase, you need to watch more British comedy metatelevision.

Since the last post, things have been chugging along with school. I'm getting along well with all of my teachers, including the ones that seemed a bit abrasive or tough to work with at first. It's a lot of focus on correct grammar and such, and I'm starting to get positive feedback from my instructors that I'm improving. That feels good, really good.

On the church front, I attended my first choir practice on Thursday night, and was received quite warmly. Not only were they happy to have a new member, but they were especially happy to have a new member who sang tenor. I have always been a tenor, and until further notice, I will always be a tenor. We're working on John Rutter's "Gloria", a three-movement suite that we'll be doing on the first Sunday of advent (first Sunday of December). We've got a full-day practice this upcoming Saturday, so I'm playing hooky (with advance notice) and spending the day singing my lungs out. It's a tricky piece, but working on it with this group is fantastic. The TUC choir is a bit smaller in membership than my choir back at SMBC in Houston, but they have just as much passion and enjoy the work just as much. I feel right at home with them. We also practiced on Sunday morning during the education hour, even though we had the week off from singing in the service. After the service, I went and joined the new members' class - an introductory course on the history and works of the church, accompanied by a great lunch. I am now officially an associate member of Tokyo Union Church - holding a membership here while retaining my membership at South Main in Houston. I'm already hooked up with a couple more groups - including a Theology Literature Group that's going to start meeting a week from Wednesday. We're reading "The Shack" by Wm. Paul Young - a book I've been wanting to read and one that has been recommended to me several times.

The other big news story happened directly prior to the composition of this post and is thus the basis for the title of this post. A very good friend of mine from school, Dana, has a membership at the Tokyo Costco, and she invited me to go along with her to do shop for oversized wholesale goodies. As she described it, the Tokyo Costco is "an American's playground." Boy, was she right about that one. If I didn't know better, I'd say I was right back in Oregon at the Costco in Troutdale. Same gigantic items, same Kirkland brand, same ridiculously low prices, same merchandise - including several things that I've been pining for but could not find elsewhere. I brought a decent amount of cash, figuring that this food would keep me going for a long time. I try to budget about 3500 yen (about $40) per week for food, and I found some things here that will last me much longer than a week. Among my purchases were such diverse items as:

Ground beef for burgers

Burger buns

Cheddar cheese

Tortilla chips and salsa (chippy chips!)

Asparagus

A 100+ serving box of Quaker Oatmeal (the real breakfast of champions)

A bottle of cinnamon sugar (to accompany said breakfast of champions)

Cashews

Chocolate-covered raisins

Cheese bagels and cinnamon raisin bagels

One bottle of Malbec wine (my favorite)

And all that sort of thing. Of course the beauty of Costco is in the price - all of this, which will easily last a month and a half (some things longer than that) all came out to just over 12,000 yen (around $130).

The last great thing about Costco in Japan is that for an incredibly low price, they will send your purchases to your home via post with two-day shipping. Since Dana and I had taken the train there, lugging multiple Costco-sized bags was not exactly a viable option, especially since rush hour was approaching fast. We each took some things home that needed immediate refrigeration, and the rest will arrive on Wednesday. Talk about great service!

Now I've got to press some patties to freeze for when I need them and study some kanji for two tests tomorrow.

絶望した！

絶望した！カイジは絶望した！

With my background as a trained anthropology student, it is not like me to make broad, sweeping generalizations about different cultures, whether in a positive or negative light. However...

Japanese movie theaters are absolutely and undeniably better than American movie theaters.

Well, that's that out of the way. The weekend was (or rather still is - I have tomorrow off) an excellent one. I've already discussed my new church in Omotesando in my previous entry, so this will be about the rest of the weekend. After school on Saturday (with the curriculum pushed back a full day due to the typhoon earlier in the week) I had a lazy-ish afternoon at home, finishing up new homework and relaxing. That evening, I went out to the Humax Ikebukuro Cinema 4 to see a movie that had just come out that day. The film was 'Kaiji', and was based on the anime of the same name. I had gotten hooked on the anime in my first year at Rice thanks to a fellow member of Jo Mai, Rice's anime club, and the news that there was going to be a live-action remake of it was very exciting news for me - further amplified by the fact that I could actually go and see the thing. I first became aware of its existence via a train advertisement - further solidifying my belief that I made the right choice in living on the Yamanote line.

So, as to the movie itself. First off, the Japanese theaters go out of their way to make seeing a movie more than just sitting for two hours and leaving it at that. Instead, the experience of seeing a movie in Japan is closer to that of seeing a live theater show in the States. To begin with, there are no pre-screening advertisements or gimmicky little plugs for TV stations. It is a blank screen, and the music being piped in consisted of the themes from both the Kaiji anime and the new movie. The movie theaters are squeaky-clean, too. No sticky floors or weird smells to be discovered. Once the lights dimmed, there was one reminder about turning phones off, one trailer, and then the movie was rolling; not to mention the fact that the screening started at eight o'clock on the dot. Afterward, there was a small shop off to the side selling merchandise from the movie, including programs [read: playbills] and CDs of the soundtrack (exceptional in and of itself), in addition to many other fun little trinkets and such.

The movie itself did great justice to the series, particularly in the casting. Every role was true to the show, well acted, and very believable despite the far-fetched storyline. Some of the fun little quirks from the show were even replicated with great skill. Of course, some creative license and trimming took place due to the different resources of a live-action movie. The plot remains virtually the same, but one of the main characters, Endo - a loan shark, is played by a woman, whereas Endo was a male in the original series. This causes a small change to the movie's ending, and Endo has a much more significant part in the whole story, but it doesn't diminish from the movie at all - in fact, it actually changes the end of the story in what is still an appropriate fashion for the story as a whole. I won't divulge the whole plot in order to allow any with prospective interest in the series to enjoy it for themselves. Otherwise, you can wiki it and find out what happens for yourself.

Naturally, the movie was presented entirely in Japanese with no subtitles. While this might be considered a handicap for some, I actually enjoyed it all the more - seeing it in its natural presentation. Of course, it helped that I knew the gist of the story and had some degree of Japanese in my head. What this did for me more than anything else, though, was allow me to separate the plot of the movie from its production value a little bit more cleanly than when I watch one where I can understand 100% of the dialogue. As a result, I really noticed things like the use of music, the cinematography, and all of the small subtleties in the movie that can be overlooked due to absorption with the plot. I was very impressed. The director, Toya Sato, is incredibly gifted as a moviemaker. His direction and use of unusual camera angles and shots is of a caliber that I have rarely seen. I'm going to have to check out some of his other movies to see more of the magic he works.

Furthermore, I was able to better appreciate the ability of the actors to convey the story of Kaiji through methods other that dialogue. Everything from facial expression and body language onward suddenly became much more of a factor for my experience of the movie. The cast did not let me down. Not only did they reflect their characters from the original series, but each of them gave his or her new depth and substance. The lead, Tastuya Fujiwara (playing the title role), had already made a fan out of me after an exemplary performance as Light Yagami in the Death Note movies. The fact of the matter is that anime characters are generally very difficult to play in a live action setting without looking like a total spaz. Fujiwara has found the delicate balance between the energies and caricature of an average anime character and the limitations and reality of an actual human being. He maintains that balance throughout the movie and puts on a very praiseworthy performance. The character of Kaiji is definitely not an easy role to play - you'll see the many reasons why if you investigate the series, but Tatsuya Fujiwara carries it naturally - as do the rest of the cast.

In short: great movie, perfect cast, exceptional production value. Win.

絶望した！協会は絶望した！

After a month of settling in and getting into a groove with school, I finally found a church to go to here in Omotesando, Tokyo - Tokyo Union Church - and I think it's a great fit. Not surprisingly, a large part of my liking it stems from the fact that it is very, very similar to SMBC. Granted, SMBC isn't nestled between a Giorgio Armani and a Louis Vuitton, but that's neither here nor there. The worship services are at the exact same times and presented in an almost parallel format (8:30 being a bit more traditional and 11:00 being more contemporary). They even do the Doxology right after the offertory! I was welcomed with open arms from the moment I walked in the door and immediately chatting with four or five people who helped me get an idea about the church and its operations. I'm already in touch with people about joining the sanctuary choir, and I can't wait to get going on that. The sanctuary is much smaller than SMBC's, but it still comfortably accommodated everyone in the place.

One thing that was a bit different was that instead of coming down to the front of the sanctuary at the end of the service, newcomers were asked to stand in their spot and introduce themselves to the congregation with a microphone. It's an English-speaking congregation with people from all different countries, including many from Japan, in attendance. I just did a little spiel about myself, my home church, and I finished with the phrase, "...and I'm glad I found y'all." This led to some very interesting results. When the pastor got up to give the sermon, he started with a (supposed) tangent about how people speak differently in the American southeast, and in particular about some of the wonderful and unique words we used. Referencing my use of the word 'y'all', he talked about how it's weird that in English that there is no standardized pluralization of 'you', and how that can sometimes make reading of the bible difficult in distinguishing when the 'you' being referenced is a single or multitude. The entire sermon that followed was about the interconnectivity and plurality of the church and how while an individual relationship with God is important, equally important is the ideal of fellowship and interconnectivity between people in the church. I don't know if this is what was planned beforehand, but now a whole congregation in Tokyo has gone out from this place with the message of 'it's not just about you, but about y'all.'

We even did a little language lesson, with everyone in the congregation practicing saying 'y'all'. It was great.

More on the events of the weekend in a separate, upcoming post.

絶望した！

絶望した！宿題は絶望した！

Just a few quick points, and then I've got to go do two more days' worth of homework. The one downside of class cancellations.

1.) Yes, I did survive the storm - it was mostly heavy wind with some medium to heavy showers here and there,

2.) Yes, school was canceled today (if you couldn't surmise it from the prescript for this list).

3.) Yes, I was very happy that school was canceled today, even if it means more homework now.

4.) Twitter is up and running (Heaven help me): http://twitter.com/ZetsubouSeito

Now to homework.

絶望した！

絶望した！天気は絶望した！

This one is just a short notice to allay any fears you may have concocted due to recent weather information regarding Japan.

1.) Yes, a tropical storm is forecasted to hit the Tokyo metro area tomorrow night (approx. 24 hours from the publication of this post).

2.) No, you don't have anything to worry about - safety measures are being executed through Keio, Sakura House, and the US Embassy (just in case).

3.) This weather has been classified as a tropical storm, not a typhoon. I survived Hurricane Ike, I can deal with this.

4.) If at all possible, I will try to get some good pictures.

5.) 絶望した！

In other news, I am considering opening up a Twitter feed (yes, I know, it's self-subscription to big brother, yada yada yada...). I do have my reasons, though. I will still maintain the blog, but I have a feeling that were I to blog all of the events of the coming weeks in any amount of detail, it would essentially be a constant loop of waking up, going to school, coming home, doing homework, eating, watching Olbermann, and going to sleep. As such, I think that a Twitter feed would allow me to get out the basic quirks of the day without having to dedicate entire posts to what can be said in under 30 words. It's for your benefit as much as mine. More info to come.

Still getting used to having three different teachers for Japanese - especially when it now looks as though none of them are afraid of pulling any punches when it comes to minute details of work. The term 'grammar nazi' came to mind, but that's a bit harsh at this point. Still, this is a weak area for me in some respects, so it's going to take some extra work and probably decent amount of frustration and nitpicking, but it's something that must be done. I'll do it, but it's not going to be pretty.

Oh well - storm's a-brewing. Better go eat something.

絶望した！

絶望した！一日休みは絶望した！

I think I'm starting to get the hang of this. Not too much to report, other than that classes are going well (if long). In all, it's a good thing because with the amount of time that I'll need to do commute, classes, and homework, I'll have about 70% of my time filled. Add in another 15% for work (when it finally comes around), and I'm going to have a practically full schedule full of progress and good work. Plus, it means that I'll have plenty to distract me from the continuous flood of anime and other wonderful distractions this town has to offer. I have to concentrate, and it's good to load up. Since my last posting of my class list, one significant change has been made - I dropped Meiji Diplomacy because of inconvenient scheduling (I would have had a massive block of time on campus with nothing to fill it while waiting for this class to start) and I decided to swap it out for a graduate-level seminar on Kant, offered by the international center. All my professors are fantastic, and it should be a very solid semester. Japanese classes meet for two 90-minute blocks on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, and so things tend to become a little weary towards the end of each class. Still, I'll either get used to it or learn to deal. As long as I have a good breakfast before dashing out the door, I'm usually all right.

The one thing that's been a bit of a stunt over the last few days is learning to deal with package deliveries within the city - primarily being on the receiving end of them. Unlike in the states, where you just have to have a mailbox and a place to drop the box, packages over here require a live person-to-person transfer. Consequently, you are given a timeframe of when the package will be delivered, and you have to be home in that period of time. Also, apparently there is more than one building in this area that uses the same numerical address that this house uses, so it apparently was delivered to the wrong one last time and sent back to the local depot. I got in touch with the delivery service and we have supposedly sorted out the issue. It should arrive sometime between 2-4 PM today, so I'm relatively housebound until it's delivered. Also, if the delivery service has an issue finding the place, this time we've got phone contact as a backup plan. We'll see how it goes. If I do get it today without a hitch, then I'm taking myself out this evening to find Mister Donut, which seems to disappear after being found. Odd little adventures...

絶望した！

UPDATE: I got the package, so all is right with the world.