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| 17 aug 2001 "-do YOU have an entourage? -i'm a paranoid shizophrenic.� i AM my own entourage!" that picture is one of the better pics i snapped of the concert in hakodate.� that's kris on the left, shoji in the middle, and maz on the right.� maz looks ripped, doesn't he?� the concert was really good (hell, it's the REASON why i went to japan in the first place)... but... by some idiotic twist of fate, we thought the concert started at 8pm, but in fact it started at SEVEN!� fuck me.� in a way, that really hurt my trip, because I WANTED TO SEE THE FUCKING CONCERT!� we missed the first three pieces.� fucking bummer. there is so much talent and brilliance in this trio of musicians that it makes me awestruck.� it extends far beyond just the ability to play taiko.� there were turntables, japanese flutes, guitars, even kris playing a koto!� this group has so much potential for generating great music... i'm glad that they're expanding beyond taiko into other things.� shoji has this neat setup in his room to write computer-generated music, a la aphex twin and autechre.� it's cool shit... something i would have liked to do had i been instilled with a single ounce of self-motivation. this group is inspiring.� and i can't wait to see them when they're much more polished and have had more time to play together than just the two weeks they had.� i will be their number one fan.� ichiban! speaking of "ichiban," i coined a phrase that seemed to amuse the japanese speakers.� i was in this place called curry house in hiroshima back in 1995, and they rated their curry in spiciness and asked me what i wanted.� i told them i wanted their "ichiban taihen" (#1 terrible) curry.� fortunately for me, they understood what i wanted, and the curry was so goddamn spicy that my arms went numb from the elbow on.� but "ichiban taihen" is just a ridculous phrase, and in some cases, it could be highly offensive, like "give me your most terrible sushi."� what, they might pull out some moldy, crusty green tuna and slap it on some rice or something!� heh. boy.� my jet lag is continuing to fuck me up.� i couldn't sleep last night.� i finally decided to get up and have a smoke to calm my brain down.� so i got dressed minimally (shorts without underwear), and went to the balcony for a cigarette.� when i finished, i checked the clock on the VCR, and it read 4:04.� fuck me.� i'm still sleeping according to japanese time.� yup, i woke up at 1pm again today.� my coworkers must LOVE me now. cyn mentioned that maybe a lot of online journallers are "thinkers," and we thinkers may often be plagued with insomnia.� i think it's true.� my brain is always running when i'm awake.� when i'm alone, it's even worse, because i'm always carrying on a conversation with either myself or some other person in my head.� i can't stop!� it's a curse!� i just keep thinking and thinking and stuff, which is why the time when i'm trying to sleep is when i come up with a lot of ideas for my journal.� (unfortunately, sleep usually erases all memory of that material)� but yeah, the point is, when i'm just lying there in bed, i can't get any mental rest.� i'm just constantly thinking, and i can't fall asleep if i'm like that... wonders how i can get any sleep at all in the first place. sigh.� hyperactive brain.� which is kind of why i love television and movies so much.� because i temporarily put a stop to all that mental activity, and i get kind of "dumbed down" and just enjoy the show. it's 7am in japan.� and i'm exhausted.� somebody help! shit.� tomorrow will be a big test, because i have to get up before 10am.� i don't even know if that's possible.� like i said yesterday, i gave up on trying to use my alarm because i just feel like shit when it goes off. goddamn it.� i can't stand being a slave to shit like jet lag.� where is my willpower?� where is my "mind over matter" ability?� jet lag is stupid crap.� i should be able to conquer this stuff, right? yesterday, i got a random AIM request from somebody.� she turned out to be one of my readers, stefanie.� neat!� i had previous made an implicit challenge for someone to look me up on AIM and approach me, and she had the courage to do it!� it was neat.� i apologize to her because my boss came into my cube to chat with me, and i didn't notice that she had to go for a dinner appointment.� oh well.� but anyways, i was wondering something... how come most of the people who approach me are women?� that's not to say that i haven't gotten e-mails from guys, but i wonder if both the writers and audience of these online journals are predominantly female.� maybe expression isn't as important among guys.� it's not as "manly" or something, right?� *ponder* stefanie made an interesting point about my attitude toward amms.� i'm gonna mull over it a bit more before i start talking about it though; i haven't given it enough thought.� it basically involves her being more of an icon (or a media figure) rather than a real person.� tell me if you don't understand what i'm talking about. feeling lazy.� and HELLA tired.� my coworkers tell me it'll take at least a week to get over.� what IS the deal with eastward jetlag?� why is it so much worse than westward jetlag?� somebody explain that one to me! there are two things that give me my version of PMS.� one is the heat.� so that explains why i was grouchy in japan.� my god.� don't EVER go to honshu (the main island) in august.� and the other PMS factor for me is needing a haircut.� it bothers me to no end when my hair is all scruffy.� so that's why i HAVE to get a haircut today.� you know what?� i've been going to the supercuts on el camino between stanford and tower records since... 1992!� isn't it amazing?� almost ten years!� that's like over 100 haircuts at the same place!� $1000 spent at this one place!� i'm not saying they cut hair well... because sometimes they really butch the shit out of my hair.� but i guess i'm just loyal for some unjustifiable reason.� some of the people who work there have been there since i started going... wow.� imagine that... working at supercuts for a decade.� my friends and i used to have nicknames for some of the people there... the two i remember are "joy luck club" and "opera singer," but i haven't seen them for years now. ok.� i'm gonna try to load myself up with caffeine.� fight the power! "i ain't happy i'm feeling glad i got sunshine in a bag i'm useless for not for long the future is coming on" |