the ego has landed

Do you ever get a little wistful for days of yore when you were totally angsty, depressed all the time, and heartbroken? I do. Well, not the feeling I had during those days because well...it wasn't fun. But sometimes I hear a bittersweet song that I used to listen to when I was mopey, and the nostalgia isn't sad, it's happy to me now. Mostly because it reminds me how much I have grown since I was 20 or so (and younger) and it reminds me of my capability to feel, even if it was stupid. Velvet Underground's "Pale Blue Eyes" and "Satellite of Love" send me into a whirlwind of nostalgic emotion when I hear them. I wonder how I cared so much about dumb boys and dumb situations back then. I'm sure you all can relate on some level.

So I'm totally on a Velvet Underground/ Lou Reed kick again. I used to call them my 2nd favorite band when I was younger, but I haven't really listened to them in awhile. It's been too long. My music tastes as of late have all been older music. Maybe it's because Japan's aesthetic can either seem incredibly old (like, Edo period) or very 1980s. Seriously. The buildings and colors and everything just make me think I'm in the 80s. Sans the power-perms and Jerry-curl, of course. It rules.

Anyway. Just this second, I felt a teensy little earthquake. I've lost count of the ones I've experienced so far, and I've only been here for 5 weeks. I guess there have been about 4-5? I can kinda see how the Japanese get used to them, as they seem to happening atleast every week. Typhoons have been hitting us here recently too. What is this crazy place I'm in?

One of my adult students brought in a gift for me today. It's actually kind of perfect.

I almost teared up when he gave it to me and said "Here is a souvenir from my trip to Osaka." Now, I know it's just a small thing to do, especially in a country when giving small gifts like this is customary, but I still think it's really cool that this 19 year old kid was walking around on his vacay and thought "Hey, I'll get this for my English teacher." Such a nice thing to do. And there's even a cat on it.

As far as events, I've been doing a lot. Last week I hung out with Nathalie a bunch, met a cool dude in Tokyo named Vaughn, and got drunk with Nathalie and my boss at Daruma, my local izakaya. And went to a Brazilian festival in Yoyogi. I'm thinking I'll go back to Yoyogi sometime soon, during the day. This Sunday I actually have to work, as it is one out of the three weeks per year that I have a six day workweek. boo.

With that said, life is still amazing, and I wonder how long my adventure will last. I have no idea what is in my future, and have no concrete plans. It's unlike me, but it's refreshing. I used to live my life in the past, and then in recent years I was always thinking about my future and ignoring the past. Now I'm somewhere in between, living all of it day by day, and it's fantastic.

yes!: I've lost about 11.5 lbs since I've been here. My clothes are starting to feel bigger. I like shrinking.

no!: patiently awaiting September 28th, when I start getting paid on the regular. Going into Tokyo as often as I do dwindles the funds!