There is this amazing ramen place called Miso-ya on the west side of the station. It's essentially the equivalent of going to Hodads in OB when you want an amazing burger. This place, like the best burger place in San Diego, has two things on its menu: a bowl of ramen, and a bigger bowl of ramen. They fry up tender slices of pork, sprinkle in an unhealty amount of green onions, and load the bowl with the best damned noodles your tongue has ever had the experience of salivating all over.
But Ramen wouldn't be complete without making it spicy and hot as hell itself. In front of you is a pepper shaker type object which has a special spicy blend of peppers only available in Nagano. To the left of this spicy pepper is a jar filled with a red spicy-paste, equally delicious as it is scorching. Once you put in the red pepper-type stuff and the red hot paste, the bowl isn't only as hot as hell, it starts to look like it. The broth turns a surly shade of red, in turn tinting the color of noodles as well. You don't have to use any of these spices, of course, but that's like eating Mexican food without drenching it in hot sauce - it just isn't done.
I ventured to Miso-ya a few hours ago, looking forward to the spicy-red deliciousness that was about to ensue. The inside of the tiny place is one long bar that wraps around the kitchen; there are about 15 bar stools fixed in place, only about a foot from each other. You are pretty much elbow to elbow with the other sadists cramming all that spicy stuff into their mouths. I took a seat at one of the stools and placed my order.
As soon as my food arrived, a middle-aged Japanese guy in a suit sat to the right of me. He placed his order and I took the first bite of my ramen. Deliciousness swirled around my mouth, and tears came to my eyes; out of pure happiness or because I knew I'd be sitting on the toilet shedding real tears in 6 or so hours, I'm not sure, but it was a joyous moment. The ramen being also hot in temperature make it difficult to simply 'eat' the noodles; you have to half inhale them so they are cooled down by the time they enter your mouth. Luckily in Japan making slurping sounds is the norm. Japanese have had years upon years of perfecting the art of sucking in food while making sure it goes down the right pipe; I've only had about 8 or so months at establishing this new art.
During the second slurp, I felt a chunk of hot-paste enter the back of my throat. I've had this happen before, and I can usually control it well enough so that I can finish swallowing my current mouthful of hell and then wash down the stuff in my windpipe with a few gulps of water. Unfortunately this was too much for my inexperienced throat to handle; I started uncontrollably coughing. I tried keeping my mouth shut as well as I could but a noodle creeped out of the corner of my mouth, and a good amount of broth sprayed back into my bowl. To be fair, I did keep my head down as to not spew on anybody else.
Unforunately for the Japanese suit, the sight of a foreigner hacking up bits and pieces of ramen back into his bowl, then continuting to eat out of the same bowl was too much for him. He picked up his briefcase and hastily moved to the far corner of the bar.
Sorry guy, but once I reach your level of noodle-slurping expertise I'll try my best not to gross out the Japanese population with my eating habits any more.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Cribs, Part Deux
It's been a good six months since I've been here, and I thought I would show how my apartment has changed since then. It's a bit lengthy, but there are flippin' ninjas (literally) and broken paper walls, so it's worth grabbing a beer and beef jerky, settling down in your chair for 8 minutes and watching my video.
Enjoy.
Enjoy.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
$500 and 6 months later, I have internet
Why pay for something you can get for free? It seems like decent logic, and most of the time it holds water. Of course when "for free" actually means "stealing", the question loses its protection of being a rhetorical question and becomes more of a philosophical one; if you can download an mp3 for free instead of buying it, is there really any harm in downloading it? Even though you aren't stealing anything physical, as in going to a CD shop and stuffing Fall Out Boy's latest craptastic release under your sweatshirt, are you still "stealing"?
In the same vein, is hopping onto someone else Wifi signal stealing?
When I plopped my laptop down in my room for the first time and switched it on, I didn't spend any time philosophizing what it is to "steal" - I smiled, shouted "free!" to myself and let myself become a zombie in front of my 14 inch screen. When I first got to Japan, I didn't have any friends, co-workers (I didn't work for three weeks), cell phone, or toilet paper; the things that usually make you feel comfortable in any living situation. So when I arrived in my apartment the first and discovered that I had a free, instant, connection to the rest of the world, my friends, news, and vast amounts of midget porn, I wasn't about to wonder if it was "okay" to borrow the wireless signal. After all, if they really don't want someone using it, they could lock the signal, right?
The months rolled on, I got my foreigner registration card (which I needed in order to sign up for anything; internet, cell phone, bank account, etc), and I had a decent amount of green stuff stored in my bank account, but using something that was free seemed like a hell of a better idea. I wasn't heavily using the internet by any means; it was just a way to check my email and chat to friends occasionally; I also figured it was good karma for keeping my own internet connection open back home.
But all good things come to an end... kinda. The signal started becoming finicky, cutting in and out. Sometimes it would cut out for days on end. Needing my internet fix, I was desperate to find a way to get connected again. I looked at the box my mobile phone came in, and inside I found a cable that allowed me to connect it to my laptop. A few minutes later, I had my phone acting as a modem, connecting me to the internet. "Great!", I thought. I used it sparingly, knowing it was somewhat expensive. I checked my mail and news with it occasionally for a week or so until my free wireless signal finally kicked back on.
A week later, I started getting messages from my cellphone provider, saying something the lines of "Uh.. Mr. Peterson, we need you to contact us regarding your bill for next month, thank you". I figured 'Whatever, an extra 50-100 bucks isn't gonna kill me". But their persistence continued; after two more messages from the, I finally called them back. My "light usage" ended up costing me over $500.
Needless to say, I was pretty damned shocked. It would have been cheaper to sign up for internet from the get-go, but of course I didn't realize this months back.
Hindsight is 20/20!
In the same vein, is hopping onto someone else Wifi signal stealing?
When I plopped my laptop down in my room for the first time and switched it on, I didn't spend any time philosophizing what it is to "steal" - I smiled, shouted "free!" to myself and let myself become a zombie in front of my 14 inch screen. When I first got to Japan, I didn't have any friends, co-workers (I didn't work for three weeks), cell phone, or toilet paper; the things that usually make you feel comfortable in any living situation. So when I arrived in my apartment the first and discovered that I had a free, instant, connection to the rest of the world, my friends, news, and vast amounts of midget porn, I wasn't about to wonder if it was "okay" to borrow the wireless signal. After all, if they really don't want someone using it, they could lock the signal, right?
The months rolled on, I got my foreigner registration card (which I needed in order to sign up for anything; internet, cell phone, bank account, etc), and I had a decent amount of green stuff stored in my bank account, but using something that was free seemed like a hell of a better idea. I wasn't heavily using the internet by any means; it was just a way to check my email and chat to friends occasionally; I also figured it was good karma for keeping my own internet connection open back home.
But all good things come to an end... kinda. The signal started becoming finicky, cutting in and out. Sometimes it would cut out for days on end. Needing my internet fix, I was desperate to find a way to get connected again. I looked at the box my mobile phone came in, and inside I found a cable that allowed me to connect it to my laptop. A few minutes later, I had my phone acting as a modem, connecting me to the internet. "Great!", I thought. I used it sparingly, knowing it was somewhat expensive. I checked my mail and news with it occasionally for a week or so until my free wireless signal finally kicked back on.
A week later, I started getting messages from my cellphone provider, saying something the lines of "Uh.. Mr. Peterson, we need you to contact us regarding your bill for next month, thank you". I figured 'Whatever, an extra 50-100 bucks isn't gonna kill me". But their persistence continued; after two more messages from the, I finally called them back. My "light usage" ended up costing me over $500.
Needless to say, I was pretty damned shocked. It would have been cheaper to sign up for internet from the get-go, but of course I didn't realize this months back.
Hindsight is 20/20!
Sunday, December 30, 2007
I'm back!
Long story short (well, I'll write about it later and make it longer), I've been without internet for a while. But I finally got it hooked up and I'm ready to start letting the world know once again what it's like for a whitey like me to live among the land of rice eaters and katana-makers.
Well, enough words. Enjoy this video
Well, enough words. Enjoy this video
Monday, November 5, 2007
America has Walmart, Target, swap meets, Craiglist, and
Japan has 100 yen stores.
And no, it's not the same thing as an American 99 cent store filled with defective crap made 15 years ago. This is high quality, real stuff you can actually USE. I made a trip to a local 100 yen store Saturday looking to get something for my keychain; I came back out with 16 other things.
But at least I took pictures to show everybody!
A nifty washing rag thingy. I haven't been here long enough to have accrued old shirts for rags, so I broke down and spent a hundred big ones on this pretty piece of cloth.
It might be difficult to see what the three items are in this picture, but for 300 yen, I was able to buy myself a photo album. The black item at the top is the folder, and the two clear items are transparent plastic sleeves that fit inside the folder.
An ice cube tray? That has a lid?! For 100 yen?!!?. Oh yes. It's true.
I only realized how creepy it looked to stuff my hand in the basket after taking the picture, but I was trying to give some perspective of how big the basket is. That basket now houses all of my gadgets; mp3 player, cell phone, Nintendo DS, camera, etc.
Not only was the tape measure 100 yen, but it's ORANGE. Can't beat that.
Hooks! Now I have something to hang my 'coons from when I go huntin' with my Beagles.
More hooks. I have these up and am using them as a makeshift hat rack.
Spray bottle. It's getting pretty cold, so I decided that dousing my head in ice-cold water isn't the most pleasant way to wake up in the morning. A few sprays applied to the fuzz on my head works great.
My bathroom no longer smells like a bathroom. Now it smells like a bathroom that took a breath mint.
What can I say? I love baskets.
More hooks. It's 'coon season.
If I need to tell you what these are, you shouldn't be reading my blog.
Ruler to measure how big my 'coons are.
Japan has 100 yen stores.
And no, it's not the same thing as an American 99 cent store filled with defective crap made 15 years ago. This is high quality, real stuff you can actually USE. I made a trip to a local 100 yen store Saturday looking to get something for my keychain; I came back out with 16 other things.
But at least I took pictures to show everybody!
A nifty washing rag thingy. I haven't been here long enough to have accrued old shirts for rags, so I broke down and spent a hundred big ones on this pretty piece of cloth.
It might be difficult to see what the three items are in this picture, but for 300 yen, I was able to buy myself a photo album. The black item at the top is the folder, and the two clear items are transparent plastic sleeves that fit inside the folder.
An ice cube tray? That has a lid?! For 100 yen?!!?. Oh yes. It's true.
I only realized how creepy it looked to stuff my hand in the basket after taking the picture, but I was trying to give some perspective of how big the basket is. That basket now houses all of my gadgets; mp3 player, cell phone, Nintendo DS, camera, etc.
Not only was the tape measure 100 yen, but it's ORANGE. Can't beat that.
Hooks! Now I have something to hang my 'coons from when I go huntin' with my Beagles.
More hooks. I have these up and am using them as a makeshift hat rack.
Spray bottle. It's getting pretty cold, so I decided that dousing my head in ice-cold water isn't the most pleasant way to wake up in the morning. A few sprays applied to the fuzz on my head works great.
My bathroom no longer smells like a bathroom. Now it smells like a bathroom that took a breath mint.
What can I say? I love baskets.
More hooks. It's 'coon season.
If I need to tell you what these are, you shouldn't be reading my blog.
Ruler to measure how big my 'coons are.
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Riddle!
Is there anything weird with this paragraph? What if i said a very crucial letter in the alphabet will remain unused during the entirety of this passage? Can ya believe dat?! Usually in any letter, magazine, text, etc, this letter WILL be used, but I've carefully muted this letter.
..But i did make a single mistake (and by accident! but I figure this makes the riddle quite difficult with the added challenge. It is a very small, and if this passage is hastily read, it will be easily missed.) Where is it?
..But i did make a single mistake (and by accident! but I figure this makes the riddle quite difficult with the added challenge. It is a very small, and if this passage is hastily read, it will be easily missed.) Where is it?
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