Japan Fashion Note (JFN)

From time to time I will be including some random trend or fashion related news I stumble upon. Since Japan is the place were lots of trends begin I will try to help my folks stay ahead of the curve.

Browsing through the Japan Times today I found this wonderful article about a fusion of Japanese and African culture. WAFRICA is the brand name of the clothing line. This designer has taken the patterns and fabric of traditional African garb and combined it with the pattern/style of kimono. It's fabulous. I'm going to try to check out the store next time I'm in Tokyo to see if the pieces come together as nicely when they aren't on a professional model.

This type of blending of cultures is what I am really interested in. When something can be artistic and beautiful and still maintain pure elements of each culture and still have a classic and traditional feel the artist has done a very good job.

Have a look at the site and let me know what you think.

No Class Tomorrow!

Well, no formal class that is. Tomorrow, my Japanese class is taking a field trip one of the most famous mountains in Japan, Mount Tsukuba. It conveniently located on the outskirts of the city I live in so it makes for a great day trip. It is known for its "Twin Peaks" and a magical toad oil that is believed to cure all types of skin ailments. I'm not really sold on this magical oil stuff, but I'm going to buy some if it isn't too expensive just to see what the hype is all about. The mountain really has an interesting history (read: follow the link above to Wiki for more details) so I'm looking forward to learning more about it.

Yet another thing that intrigues me about my new home is that the contradictions are endless. I really can appreciate the emphasis that is put on nature and respect for nature...and at the same time, I can buy a box of 5 cookies where each cookie is individually wrapped. They have just recently picked up the "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" phrase.

My PSA to the people of Japan: "Just Say No!" to disposable chopsticks and plastic shopping bags people.

After we ride up the mountain, we are scheduled to have a fancy lunch (that cost me nearly $20 so it better be good!) at a nearby Japanese style hotel (旅館) and then off to some museum that I think is going to be extra boring. Maybe they will prove me wrong...

More info and pictures to come after the trip. Now I have to lay out my school clothes and pack my bag to make sure I have everything I need (including hand sanitizer, tissues, and hand towel - most public bathrooms don't have towels!).

OH NO SHE DIDN'T!

So, after I finished my post yesterday, I studied for a little while longer and then went to the laundry room to check on my last batch of clothes. Just to set the scene (as Fun Richie would do), our laundry room is pretty small and is made up of two washers, two dryers and a sink. My room is directly across from the laundry room so I hear when both the washer and dryer stop. I had already washed and dried one load and was waiting for a dryer to open up to dry my second load that had just finished washing. To my surprise, in the 10 minutes between when my washer stopped and I went to go check on dryer availability some &^%$# moved my clothes out of the washing machine and put them on top of the other machine! Which, pissed me off for several reasons: #1. Don't touch my stuff. #2. The top washing machine is filthy. Housekeeping sucks here. #3. The washing machine hadn't been stopped more than 10 minutes. Have a little patience.

I went back to my room to craft the below note and went back to the laundry room to put my load in the open dryer and turned it on leaving the note on the face of the dryer.

I came back 45 minutes later to find that my wet clothes were BACK in the washing machine and someone had taken my things out of the dryer and put theirs in. I WAS SO HOT! I couldn't believe it. They had to have taken them out right after I left because they were still soaking wet.

I can't tell you what I did to that person's clothes but let me say that my grandmother would not be proud of it. And after I did it, I put my things back in the dryer, and left both my room door and the laundry room door open in case the fool had the guts to come back to try it again. What agitated me even more was, when I came in there to check on them I was ready for bed and had I test today so I was trying to be a good student and get to bed early. No such luck. Didn't end up getting in bed until almost 2am.

The good news is I DID WELL ON MY TEST. It was a Kanji Test (Japanese characters like this 漢字) for 5 chapters. It was pretty tough but I saw my teacher this afternoon and she told me that I made better than a 90% and she would give me my test back on Wednesday. うれしい！(Happy!) I will have two more of those in the next two weeks as this intensive program comes to a close and I'm confident I will do well on each of them.

I saw something last weekend that I just HAD to share. So I was walking past this park near my friend Keith's house when I saw this pile of stuff neatly stacked in one of the corners of the park. From afar it looked like old boxes and bags, like a homeless person would carry around with them but there was no one in sight except me and Keith. I got closer and low and behold, it was some homeless person's stuff! Apparently after they are done sleeping for the night, they stack up their belongings and go on about their day. There was a futon, shoes, clothes, and suit bag! I was in awe. You know in America, that poor person's stuff would be gone the moment he/she left it there. Either the police would have come to dump it or some other homeless person would be there to snatch it up. And it wasn't just one person either, these are two separate stacks.

Oh, and I'm sure you are wondering what kind of park is this? Yeah, its the best Tokyo can do with creating "Greenspace" (Jody would be cringing). Underneath the highway, they have fenced in and bricked an area with benches and a jungle gym. It's pretty sad, but at least they are trying.

The Wait Is Over

As you can probably imagine, many things have happened since my last post. After I returned to Tsukuba following Jody's death I just really wasn't in the mood to blog or do much of anything other than study (and watch my US TV shows!) to be quite honest, but I have slowly been coming around. I even went to Karaoke this past Friday! Very different from my days as a JET where we would go in large groups and easily spend a good $75 each on drinks, food and Karaoke just because we had the money...

I am a student now and believe me, I know my financial constraints but Karaoke absolutely sober is just not fun! So I indulged in a few glasses of Plum wine, which definitely helped loosen up my vocal chords, while my fellow broke student friends drank unlimited glasses of coke and ate ice cream. To each their own. I sang a few favs "Barbie Girl by Aqua", "Macarena", "You oughta know by Alanis Morissette", "Turn your lights down low" (that one was for JB), and my new all time favorite "My Life by Bon Jovi".
I still don't think I've really found my niche yet here in Tsukuba, but that will come with time.

As for what I've been up to since I got back...

Well first, a friend of a friend, Mr. Van Hunt was performing in Tokyo at the Cotton Club. My angel got me tickets so I took a friend to the show. It was excellent (as his shows always are) and my table was the rowdiest (which it usually is). Here are a few pics.















I went to Tokyo for Halloween and hung out with CJ, Cool Keith (not the rapper) and Samurai Diva Romy (and her cutie pie daugher Moon). Halloween in Roppongi was sick as I assumed it would be. I got to see a lot of old friends and met a few new. Saturday I went to watch a Tokyo Apache basketball game. Japan has a new pro league only 3 years old and the Tokyo team is coached by none other than the father of Mr. Kobe Bryant himself, Jellybean Bryant. The game was cool and Tokyo won!

Since then I've been in Tsukuba studying hard with 2.5 weeks left of the intensive Japanese language course. Each night I have between 3 and 5 hours of homework. Never any less than 3hours and I haven't even started the MBA course yet. YIKES! But Alas, that is what I am here for right? To study.

I finally looked at the school year schedule (for the first time yesterday) and realized I have a few breaks coming up. This school is on a trimester system and we have a one week break 11/22-30 and then Winter Holiday 12/26-1/5 and another 3/7-3/31. We have nearly the entire month of March off! We will see how it all shapes up, maybe I can find a 3 week long gig here that can help suppliment the coming months?

Well kanji test at 10am, so I must be going, but you won't have to wait that long again. I feel my voice coming back and boy do I have lots to say.

RIP Phoenix

On Saturday October 11, I was at a party in Yamanashi with some folks for the JETs AD Kanto Cookout when I received the bad news. I found out that my ex-boyfriend of nearly 3 years, Jody Brooks, had died suddenly at a nightclub in Atlanta, GA. Jody was only 34 years old, far too young and far too soon. I can still hardly believe he is really gone. I left the party immediately to go make arrangements to get back to the US. My friend Lindsey was able to find me a one-way companion pass so I figured I’d find out how I was getting back to Japan once I got home. Lindsey sent me an email late Saturday night to let me know I was booked on a flight that was leaving Sunday at 4pm, and so I left October 12^th.

I heard a few people say that this was the worst week of their lives. I can definitely see where they are coming from. I have never felt so horrible physically and emotionally in my entire life but I was able to find comfort in meeting the different people from each part of Jody’s life. His family and friends are amazing, just like he was, and knowing how many people from all walks of life absolutely ADORED him really made me feel better. He will always be missed but will live in my heart forever. I truly loved him and I know he loved me. Although we weren’t together when he passed, we were friends and for that I am eternally grateful. My life will not be the same without him in it. I love you Jody and I’m so glad I told you while you were still with us. Rest in Peace, my Phoenix.

I left Japan Sunday October 12^th and just returned today October 22^nd and I have a lot of make-up work/catching up to do. I am both hopeful and prayful that I can regain the focus I had before I left. I have to be honest, getting back on that plane to return to Japan was much more difficult this time around than it was when I arrived here October 2^nd. School is tough, my living situation is less than ideal and I haven’t really made too many new friends just yet. I know all of that will come with time and patience so I’m working on being patient.

One thing that made the trip back easier was the fact that I rode business class! Another good friend of mine was able to find me a companion pass on which to travel back to Japan and hooked me up!(Thanks LB!!!!) I swear it’s the only way to travel. You can select when your games and movies begin, three course meals, always a full bottle of water on your tray table, seats that recline so far you are almost horizontal, oh, and your computer can plug into your seat without any special adapter or anything J I didn’t even have to use my iPod or take out any of my books. One really great surprise was when I was flipping through the CDs they had on the R&B selections, Algebra was there! Algebra is a very talented Neo-Soul artists who just happens to be Jody’s neighbor in Washington Park. She also sang two very touching pieces at his Memorial service. Misunderstood by Nina Simone and One Sweet Day by Mariah Carey.

I was reminded of a very important lesson this past week, No one is promised tomorrow. We know not the day or the hour when we will breathe our last breath. Don't live your life with regrets. Love hard. Laugh often. Live your life.