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二人目のミスター
I guess I did a lot today.
In the morning I went to the bank and paid rent (it turns out I'm just a moron and have no idea how to put a passbook into a machine).
Then I bought a bento from Tonkatsu Wako and went off to Meiji Jingu stadium to watch some Tohto League baseball, since I have no clue when I can again. I really just wanted to see Toyo University's team, they were the second game of the day, so I sat through the last few innings of Chuo vs. Aoyama Gakuin's game, then watched Toyo vs. Kokugakuin. It's nice because NOBODY goes to these games so you can just walk in and sit behind the dugout, which is what I did, and I shot like 500 photos. Toyodai literally has like 15 guys from Urawa Gakuin HS in their club, and like 5 on the active team right now. I was lucky because I got to see sophomore lefty Takahiro Fujioka pitch today's game, and he's pretty good. What's scary about Toyo's team is that they are STILL super-strong AND they are almost all underclassmen -- I think the only major player on the team that's a senior is captain Shuhei Kojima (who is pretty awesome). Maybe Tsukasa Tsuzuki too (also from Uragaku).
I came home and had like 20 minutes to finish cleaning off the table in my upstairs room before running back to the station to meet up with Simon and Pau, who came over tonight to watch Mr. Rookie. We also kinda wanted to play Catan, but ended up spending an hour or two talking and watching the Yakult-Chunichi game instead, so didn't really have time after the movie... just means they have to come over again some other time! That was really fun and I'm glad I could show them that movie, especially Pau, since it pretty much is just a gratuitous Hanshin Tigers movie. The funniest part is that I managed to not give away the ending (or certain appearances of certain players in it).
You know, it bugs me how temporary it seems friendships are here in Japan. It's so hard to make friends in the first place, and then everyone just leaves anyway. Pau's leaving in August and Simon's making noises about moving to Okinawa. I'm sure I'll leave too, of course, but...
The thing is, Japanese friendships seem to be pretty much permanent in a lot of cases. I remember how at GEOS, when we'd talk about "who is your best friend? how long have you known them?" a lot of people would tell me that their best friend was someone they had known since like, elementary school or junior high school, and they were still close and spent a reasonable amount of time together, even 20-30 years later. I don't know why it works that way, aside from that it seems like people here really like to form a group and stick to it.
I was watching the kids at the junior high school I work at go home the other day, and as usual certain groups all just stick together. There's two boys in one of the classes I teach and they're obviously best friends and always stick together, and refuse to partner with anyone else during class talking time, things like that. Anyway, I was watching them walk out of school together and one of them said something, the other one kinda slapped his shoulder, which caused the first one to punch the other one back, and next thing you know they're on the ground mock-fighting... and a minute or so later they get back up and keep walking, like nothing has happened at all.
I totally have this vision of those two boys, 20 years from now, wearing suits and working for some company somewhere in Tokyo, stuck at work overtime, finally getting to leave at like 8pm... they leave the office together, and one of them asks the other if they want to get a drink, the first one says he doesn't feel like it, the second one slaps him like "what do you MEAN you don't feel like it?" and the first one punches him, and there they are on the ground fighting. And then they get up and go drink a beer. And so it continues for the next 30 years after that, until they retire.
I kind of envy them, aside from the inevitable dry-cleaning bills someday.
On that note, I'm heading to sleep. Tomorrow is a "do nothing day", by which I really mean run errands and do laundry and clean and try to catch up on some blogging and so on and so forth.
In the morning I went to the bank and paid rent (it turns out I'm just a moron and have no idea how to put a passbook into a machine).
Then I bought a bento from Tonkatsu Wako and went off to Meiji Jingu stadium to watch some Tohto League baseball, since I have no clue when I can again. I really just wanted to see Toyo University's team, they were the second game of the day, so I sat through the last few innings of Chuo vs. Aoyama Gakuin's game, then watched Toyo vs. Kokugakuin. It's nice because NOBODY goes to these games so you can just walk in and sit behind the dugout, which is what I did, and I shot like 500 photos. Toyodai literally has like 15 guys from Urawa Gakuin HS in their club, and like 5 on the active team right now. I was lucky because I got to see sophomore lefty Takahiro Fujioka pitch today's game, and he's pretty good. What's scary about Toyo's team is that they are STILL super-strong AND they are almost all underclassmen -- I think the only major player on the team that's a senior is captain Shuhei Kojima (who is pretty awesome). Maybe Tsukasa Tsuzuki too (also from Uragaku).
I came home and had like 20 minutes to finish cleaning off the table in my upstairs room before running back to the station to meet up with Simon and Pau, who came over tonight to watch Mr. Rookie. We also kinda wanted to play Catan, but ended up spending an hour or two talking and watching the Yakult-Chunichi game instead, so didn't really have time after the movie... just means they have to come over again some other time! That was really fun and I'm glad I could show them that movie, especially Pau, since it pretty much is just a gratuitous Hanshin Tigers movie. The funniest part is that I managed to not give away the ending (or certain appearances of certain players in it).
You know, it bugs me how temporary it seems friendships are here in Japan. It's so hard to make friends in the first place, and then everyone just leaves anyway. Pau's leaving in August and Simon's making noises about moving to Okinawa. I'm sure I'll leave too, of course, but...
The thing is, Japanese friendships seem to be pretty much permanent in a lot of cases. I remember how at GEOS, when we'd talk about "who is your best friend? how long have you known them?" a lot of people would tell me that their best friend was someone they had known since like, elementary school or junior high school, and they were still close and spent a reasonable amount of time together, even 20-30 years later. I don't know why it works that way, aside from that it seems like people here really like to form a group and stick to it.
I was watching the kids at the junior high school I work at go home the other day, and as usual certain groups all just stick together. There's two boys in one of the classes I teach and they're obviously best friends and always stick together, and refuse to partner with anyone else during class talking time, things like that. Anyway, I was watching them walk out of school together and one of them said something, the other one kinda slapped his shoulder, which caused the first one to punch the other one back, and next thing you know they're on the ground mock-fighting... and a minute or so later they get back up and keep walking, like nothing has happened at all.
I totally have this vision of those two boys, 20 years from now, wearing suits and working for some company somewhere in Tokyo, stuck at work overtime, finally getting to leave at like 8pm... they leave the office together, and one of them asks the other if they want to get a drink, the first one says he doesn't feel like it, the second one slaps him like "what do you MEAN you don't feel like it?" and the first one punches him, and there they are on the ground fighting. And then they get up and go drink a beer. And so it continues for the next 30 years after that, until they retire.
I kind of envy them, aside from the inevitable dry-cleaning bills someday.
On that note, I'm heading to sleep. Tomorrow is a "do nothing day", by which I really mean run errands and do laundry and clean and try to catch up on some blogging and so on and so forth.
no subject
At least, both places are interesting enough that there is a steady supply of new wandering people to replace the ones that move to Okinawa or Aberdeen.
no subject
Oh, so every once in a while they're able to leave early, you mean?