From SFO to KIX

My final day in the states. On the plain, waiting to go to Osaka, where I currently am.



Some notes that I wrote on the way...

- There was a man who was probably of high status in some Muslim sect that I sat next to while waiting in JFK. He was wearing a long black robe, with a matching, black head wrap. He smelled a little raw, but other than that seemed like a very nice guy.

While boarding the plane, I was slightly upset by a lady ahead of me in the line, because she made a very ignorant comment about that guy. Something like "I hope that man in the black robe isn't on the same flight..."

But kudos to the flight attendant who she said this to, because she kind of rolled her eyes and assured her that he posed no threat. Sometimes I feel embarrassed to see people like that lady...


- When I came to the waiting area for my flight from SFO to Kansai International, I noticed a familiar looking man sitting rather far from the other passengers.

Lo and behold, who could it be, but Billy Blanks of Tae Bo, and "Billy's Boot Camp" as it's called in Japan. He was on my plane, and I spotted him again in front of the line when I went through customs in Japan, but I opted to not bother him. I thought it might be a little awkward.

July in Union Square

Uploading some sketches that I did before I came to Japan.
Here's one from Union Square in July, before I went to Miami, and eventually to Japan in August.

...Without a doubt, I miss New York.

Memes I've missed

Sorry for the random post.

There are a lot of things going on for me here in Japan, but I'll start writing about that in due time. I got internet rather recently and it's bit hard to organize myself, start writing, and get the ball rolling.

In the mean time, via Lifehacker, I found the Internet Meme Timeline featured on the Wired Blog, and created by BK Gupta of Dipity.

Looking at it, I noticed a few memes that I missed in the past year.
So, I present them to you, my reader(s).

First, is Yo Tengo Miedo. Which was interesting to me because it was a meme in Spanish (Mexican, I believe.) It's interesting to see the memes that each section of the world has. Of course there were some other foreign language means that were brought to my attention, but I can somewhat understand what's going on in this one.

Basically, this guy is being stopped by the police for being drunk, and I guess they want to do a breathalyzer test on him. He displays his degree of inebriation by constantly say, "I'm scared, I'm scared" and so on.




Next is a video that features IT/Helpdesk humor, which I found amusing. I worked briefly as a tech in college, I didn't do very advanced work...but I understand how things are. Actually, if you've worked with people or in the service industry you should understand this.



Finally, is the most recent meme that I've missed. Which is that Oprah got pranked by Anonymous. I'm not going to explain about this. I'll just provide the necessary links and you can learn on your own.

http://www.encyclopediadramatica.com/IT%27S_OVER_NINE_THOUSAND! (ads are nsfw, click at your own risk.)



Enjoy.

A small update

So...I'm in Japan.

I want to make this short...because I'm in an internet cafe and I can't stay too long. I won't have stable internet for at least another few days, but I'll be able to get into more detail once I do.

So, let's see...

I've been　in Osaka, Japan for almost 3 weeks now. My trip over here was fine, and until recently I was staying with an old friend. Luckily but not without an incredible amount　of hassle and frustration I was able to acquire an apartment of my own...but that's the first jumped hurdle of many many more that are here in　the land of the rising sun.

I'm here teaching English, which is what everyone and their mothers do to teach English...and I haven't started yet, but tomorrow is my first official day.

Right now, my mood is a sloshy mix of excitement, frustration, lonliness and hope. ...though my frothy mix of feelings is tipping over with large helping of frustration.

Most of it lies in that I truly am a "foreigner." I'm a spectacle, a walking curiosity, yet I feel untouchable and at times unwanted.

This could be for a myriad of reasons, but I'm afraid that being an unstereotypical black guy on top of being a foriegner itself has a smidge of blame in this.

I don't want to knock Japan at all. I do like it, and when I've been introduced to people or had obligated interactions it's been nothing but good. But my day to day　involves being gawked at and mentioned in passing by people who don't think I can understand Japanese.

Of course, this could all be something with me too, and maybe I should be all smiles and put on a show of sorts...

Anyway, like I said I'll explain in more detail late, but from my understanding, it seems that I have to walk on eggshells and be a model citizen to get by.

Ugh...well...there are a lot of good things here besides that, and I'm happy to have good friends, good supervisors/coworkers, and most of all, my lovely girlfriend for their support and company.

Alright, I guess my time's up. I feel bad that I wrote what is seems to be a mostly negative entry, but I'll write a more balanced, in-depth look into my life once I can get internet.

...With pictures too!