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Fairly eventful day means a fairly long blog post. Endure through it and read if you like.

Started off going out to Kaihim to start working on the Spiderman movie for Jissen Nihongo class. We planned on meeting and starting at noon, but of course the time kept getting moved back and we really ended up meeting around 3. First thing we had to do? Why, create Captain Kougai’s (the villain) costume. Basically, he had a claw and helmet made out of aluminum foil, shoulder pads made of plastic bottles and duct tape, and a cape made of a bedsheet. He’s supposed to be a trash/pollution monster, after all. For the 20 minutes we spent on making the costume, it looked kind of cool. Kind of a backyard wrestler or something.

So we filmed most of the Spiderman movie. Derek’s Spidey costume definitely draws a crowd. I think we’re going to have to film at school on Monday to finish things up, and also to draw big crowds of girls again, haha. Taping and everything went pretty well for how unprepared and unorganized I was. The only problem with the late start was that, since it’s winter, the sun went down around 4 or 4:30. Meaning that we were filming the fight scene as the sun was setting. By the time we were done and packing up, it was dark. Hopefully it will look decent (maybe make it look like the fight took a long time?) Not like I’m going to re-do it.

After that, went to Sega Land for a bit, then Outback with everyone for dinner. Man those ribs were good. Also, since I had no money and couldn’t cash traveler’s cheques today (no ATM card yet after the whole Monday fiasco), it was a good chance for me to pay for everyone’s food with a credit card. Then I got the cash. Bingo.

That was about it I guess. This upcoming week is gonna be a lot of editing in the SALC.

Well I’m sitting here at the SALC (computer lab type place at Kanda) with Seth. We just ate a bunch of food at the cheap (quality, not price. almost like America) Chinese buffet. Derek just called me a minute ago, and man my phone must be the loudest device on the planet. I didn’t turn it on silent, and the thing was going nuts. Oh, it’s also the same ring tone as Kamen Rider Kaixa uses in the show, because I’m that awesome.

Maybe Mario Kart (Super Famicom/SNES) tonight at Isoroku’s. Koopa will dominate.

Starting tomorrow, I’m beginning work on a short movie. It’s technically supposed to be for my Japanese class, but I’ve got too much of a video/TV itch right now to let it just stand at that. It’s going to be a parody of Japanese super heros (like Kamen Rider and Power Rangers), with a recycling theme (have to have that for class).

Final Cut in Japanese might be interesting…

I haven’t really written anything about Y’s yet, mainly because it’s not usually eventful. It’s the best place to hang out on Friday with the A-team, 2500 yen (about 22 bucks) to pig yourself out. Fun times. HOWEVER, I thought I should point out one thing. With all the salarymen that go to Y’s also, there is one event of the night that ALWAYS draws a crowd. It’s when the staff makes the announcement that (roughly translated): “The fish head is done. Please eat.” I swear, every salaryman in the house gets up to scrape meat off of this giant fish head. And when I say giant, I mean it is bigger than my head. And that would be a lot of meat.

I actually tried some yesterday, it is pretty good. Tastes like fish. Some parts of it, like behind the eyes, are really good. Sometimes there’s slimy stuff on it. I’ve never been up there right at the beginning, but I’m guessing it’s a COMPLETE head. Meaning, eyes, brains, etc. Those salarymen love that. I think Dad would too.

Typhoon was pretty much a washout (oh man was that a horrible joke?). Sure there was a lot of wind and rain, but not the huge typhoon of destruction, at least not here in the Chiba and Tokyo area (down south got hit pretty hard though). I fell asleep around 9:30 since I was so tired. Woke up briefly around 11 or 12 to talk to my folks who called, and the rain had tamed down. Rip off.

Trains were a bit of a mess this morning, on account of the typhoon stuff. I guess some lines were still down, and the wind and rain that was still hanging around did some trouble I suppose. Was late for Japanese class (wow big surprise, but Hosoi-sensei never cares). Could have made it only 15 minutes late or so if I were in more of a rush. And by “more of a rush”, I mean not taking a morning coffee break at Starbucks near the IES Center. Man I hope no IES staff or teachers read this… Hahaha. Anyways, I had my “late note” from the station, and they were nice enough to not write the time on it, so: instant excuse. Musashino Line was a pain in the butt anyway, I think it was totally handicapped. Apparently that, Keio, and Tozai are all “weak” train lines. Hey great, all the lines between my dorm and school. I guess it’s convenient if you feel like grabbing a cafe mocha before class.

I hear rumors of another typhoon coming soon, who knows. This year is really odd for some reason with typhoons, what a lucky time for me to be here. Hopefully it won’t interfere with the IES trip to Nagano on Wednesday. Yes, I’m taking a vacation. And on the agenda, a “ninja theme park” and much more awaits.

I really do like Japanese food, especially noodles like Ramen etc. However, it really is nice to eat good old American junk food now and then, especially when I’m in a country who makes it a little harder to find. Thursday night, we went to Costco. Yes, they have a Costco here. There were 9 of us, and we got three whole (xtra large) pizzas. Me and Bryan put down the entire combo pizza (he had 7 pieces, I have 5). It was the greatest pizza I have ever had. Well, not really, but it was really good, and actually American pizza. The “pizza” place in one of the food courts near school serves something that is more like a taco bell quesadilla (it’s even folded in half).

Costco in Japan is almost exactly like the ones in the US, except for a few key differences. Instead of being 1 huge floor, the place is 5. The first two are the merchandice and service stuff, the top 3 are parking garages. Also, while there were huge wholesale boxes of Japanese stuff, the majority of the products sold there were American. Looks like Costco just imports huge amounts of stuff from the US, sticks a white label on them with Japanese ingredients, etc, price, and sells it here. They even had huge cases of SPAM.