But that doesn't mean my eyes will soon be turnin' red

Okay, I promised photos last time, but, do to intrigue and cell phone issues, they are not going to be here this time round. Apologies. And away we go.

What can I say about last week? Busy? Oh, heavens yes. Entertaining. Sometimes, other times mind blowingly dull. They say god looks out for drunks and fools. Apparently this doesn't apply to those who are stubbornly idiotic. My story begins Saturday morning as I awoke to the pitter patter of raindrops on the window pain. Saturday, as you well know, is my Sirobara Chorus practice. It is located near center Tokyo and usually takes about an hour and a half to go to. My conundrum was this: I didn't have an umbrella. I didn't want to buy an umbrella. Why? Because I'm a man and it comes with the territory, that and not asking directions (which we'll get to later).

We haven't hit monsoon here in Japan (technically we never do), but the weather was doing its level best to convince us otherwise. The sheets fell in droves and then would suddenly stop. I can only assume these pauses were to scout my position and allow my hopes to rise for a brief instant before drowning them in the next downpour. I decided to capitalize on their bravado and make a mad dash for the local trainstation. If I could only make it their I would be able to plan the next stage of attack while the clouds, for all their bluster, waited impotently outside. I timed my exit, and with an eye on the sky I wove my way through the sparse Saturday traffic to my destination. Safe again, I thought about giving the sky another bird to occupy its time.

There are two stations I could take to get to Tokyo University. The long way around would practically leave me at its doorstep to skip merrily to class. The shorter trip cost 30 yen less (about 35 cents), but would involve me navigating unfarmiliar roads by foot and would take about 15 minutes under the best of circumstances (I have walked to but never from the station).

If Daniel should try the new route and save some pocket change, turn to paragraph 7

If Daniel should play it safe and caugh up the extra dough, turn to...well I already said I was stubbornly idiotic.

So yeah, Ochanomizu station. Stepping outside, I struggle to place the landmarks. From somewhere above mother nature watched as I picked a roads, travelled a few hundred yards down it only to backtrack. She knew she had to bide her time as I could always take the train to the closer stop. I finally hit upon a route the seemed proper and began down it. Slowly at first, so as not to arouse my suspicion, droplets began to rain down from above. It was only enough to hasten my step and not drive my back to the station. By the time I had caught on to her ploy, I was halfway between the station and what I thought to be Tokyo University (it wasn't). With only a meager understanding of my location and precious time before practice ticking away, I was an easy target for the heavy artillary. I dashed hither and thither, under this overhang and the next doing my level best to keep dry and figure out where to go next. Finally, I had to cede victory to the sky and weathered the storm as I while I found a reliable street map. Dripping wet, but on time, I arrived at practice.

Well, at least I wasn't with the American first term student who were sight seeing in Kamakura this weekend. I believe around this time they were on Enoshima (described in a previous blog as Hyrule), which left them completely open to the elements. (Damn, the Song of Storms is an instrumental so no referencing it)

Dream until your dream comes true

Monday, wish it were Sunday. Cause that's my fun day...sorry drifted off there for a minute. Well another week has past in it was pretty busy. Most of it was of the boring study variety, but Saturday was pretty interesting.

Okay, so we have a choir concert at Tokyo University's branch campus. I show up up at the main campus about two hours before the concert wondering where everyone is. Through a bunch of texts and cell phone calls I come to realize that I have travelled about 10 miles out of my way and need to backtrack like crazy. I make it there about 10 minutes before the concert.

Luckily, for the purposes of the current concert, I'm not an integral part, rather I am am of the derrivative spectator variety (heh, math humor). I don't have a formal outfit so I couldn't participate, which is all well and good because I currently don't have the songs memorized. I missed to many practices flitting back and forth between Kyoto, Tokyo and the United States. Well, next time maybe I can find some sort of outfit that will work.

Well the concert itself was fun. We gathered 9 chorus group from Tokyo University. Considering that Sirobara (white rose) Chorus group have 70 people in itself, I'm surprised that the college could put together so many. Well, we were good. Out of what I saw, we were the most professionally dressed. Another chorus showed up in street clothes, a decision which I firmly support due to lack of anything but. That group ended there show with "Hail Holy Queen". Yeah, I didn't recognise the title either, but its that one "traditional" church song that you heard in "Sister Act", the one that kicks the tempo up a notch mid-song. Something I hadn't expected while I was in Japan.

The last group I heard (left early with the rest of Sirobara) sang opera. There is just something innately interesting about watching a Japanese person, not the most physically imposing, belt out an Italian solo in fortissimo.

And then that night we drank. If I continue to talk about Sirobara, you'll notice this pattern cropping up.

That's it for this time. Hopefully, I can find stuff to take pictures of next time. I have a few on my cell phone that I plan to upload from the cherry blossom viewing. Given the quality of my digital camera, my cell phone probably has better resolution. Anyhoo, see you next time.

And that time over at Johnny's place

I have very little time to write this blog so here goes nothing. Don't mind my stream of conciousness (not that I every wrote in a coherent narrative save the one about the earthquake).

Okay, finally back in Tokyo and its been really busy. I've had back to back choir practice for two days and I still can't get all the lyrics right. That, and the one song in english has no, I repeat, no melody. The other, its just a matter of overcoming the language barrier and coping with the speed. Did I ever mention that I had joined a choir group? For some strange reason most of the members are economics majors. Go figure.

Sunday went to a hanami party (cherry blossom viewing picnic) with fellow choir members. A few thing to know about these events: 1, a cherry tree is in full blossom for only about a weeks worth of time so you usually get one go at it, 2, drinking. Oh, yes the drinking. For those of you farmiliar with the Japanese people, you know they are usually very reserved. Well after they get drunk, they are just like any other college student, loud and incoherent. Very interesting to see. My group played a game called "osama". The only people terrorized are those playing, I promise. Actually, "osama" translates to "king" and is a twist on truth-or-dare. You deal out chopsticks with numbers and 1 "osama" on them. Whoever is "osama" gets to decide something for one or more of the numbers to do. The king doesn't get to know who he's making do it until afterwards. Let's just say the more fun dares I can't talk about without ruining my already dubious creditability (that and I don't thing I could get ahold of those pictures).

Okay, that's about it for this week. Trying my hardest to get my sleep schedule working. I now have morning class, which means I don't get to lie in bed for hours thinking about how much I don't want to go to class (is there a word for morning insomnia?). No, with my 6:30 alarm, I have time to take a shower, eat and go. I think I ought to try a more creative approach to sleeping, perhaps involving head trauma...

(note to those who take this blog seriously (*caugh* mom), I'm getting enough sleep, just would like more)