Thursday and Friday I had to work but Paul and I still managed to have fun in the evenings.  Thursday we went out for all-you-can-eat shabu shabu (vegetables and meat cooked in a pot of water on your table) in Shinjuku.  Took us about 40 mins of wandering around in the rain to find the damn place, but it was definitely worth it once we got there ( Read more... )

 So many visitors ( Read more... )

 Friday was a holiday.  Mostly sat around and let my still-retarded ankle heal.  At night I had plans to eat dinner with the really cute grad student in my lab and her two friends.  Got to the train station at like 6:30 and waited about 10 mins before she arrived.  She told me her friends were going to be late so we walked over to a nearby ( Read more... )

No IP logging/not friends locked (for now)/please post anonymously.

Post anything that you want, and post it anonymously. Anything. A story, a secret, a confession, a fear, a love, an opinion -- anything. Be sure to post anonymously and honestly. Post twice if you'd like. Then, put this in your LJ to see what your friends (and perhaps others who you ( Read more... )

I was going to say something about all the thoughts and opinions that have been drifting through my head with regards to the first half of my time here in Tokyo.

...but I don't know how I feel about much of anything right now.  I'll come back to this if/when I make up my mind.  

Which hypothetical scenario would you choose and why?

1.  You are married by age 30 or 35 or whatever age feels optimal to you to a person that you think the world of.  A short time after this you have whatever your desired number of children is with said individual (even if its zero), and said children are wonderfully healthy, intelligent, and ( Read more... )

 Well, before I get into the main part of this entry, my weekend in Miyagi with Chris Grant, last monday was my first practice with the Juntendo Univ.  Kendo club.  I had wanted to try out kendo ever since coming here since obviously as a fencer I have something of a sword fixation, but only now, with the university students back from their main ( Read more... )

On tuesday my boss (Orita sensei) took me out to dinner at a chinese buffet with his wife Rumiko, his 8 year old son Yuki, and his 3 year old daughter Ayano.  I met his son this past summer in Baltimore when they came to visit Hopkins.  He speaks ok English since he lived in Baltimore for a few years when he was younger and went to an American ( Read more... )

I've had a lot of discussions (mostly with guys as they make up 90% of my friend base) over why they started dating a girl in the first place, and they almost unfailingly mention that they really liked all of the interests they had in common with a girl.  A lot of guys seemed to be obsessed with finding girls that share their love of video games or ( Read more... )

 Not a bad week all things considered.

Wednesday was a lot of fun.  The two New Zealand girls invited me to a party with their friend, a pediatric surgeon.  Apparently that dept has like a drinking and eating party once per month, and the guy really likes westerners (lived in the UK and New Zealand for awhile), so we were invited along too.  The ( Read more... )