O+)_an injection of [Яx])-------

Let's celebrate! My blog is 21 years old

2023-09-05T12:47:26Z

That awkward moment when you’re about to turn 40 and have no kids, but your LiveJournal informs you it’s just turned 21 and can now buy you a drink. 💀

For old times’ sake. 🥂

お誕生日おめでとう, LiveJournal. Thanks for all the memories we’ve shared here over the years (2002-2010 in particular). ☀️

★Tokyo Decadance★ 4th Anniversary! XD

2009-10-24T13:00:25Z

I'm going to the ★Tokyo Decadance★ 4th Anniversary Halloween Party at Christon Cafe in Shinjuku tonight! This is going to be awesome!! Mwa-hahahahahaaa!!! XD

Since I can't make it to Halloween Horror Nights (Universal Studios) or Howl-O-Scream (Busch Gardens) in Florida, I guess this will have to do.

Hope everyone is having a Happy Halloween this year~!!

-Richard

BIRTHDAY

2009-10-21T02:20:13Z

I turned 26 today.

I'm officially a 'Christmas Cake' in Japan now.

(They say you're "past your sell-by date" after the 25th... Japan is so cruel, lol)

Oh well, I had a fun party last weekend, and I'm going to Kyoto tonight for the Fire Festival on Mt. Kurama.

Hope everyone's been doing well! :D

-Richard

Beltain - Lapis Lazuli & Himalayan Quartz Crystal Skulls

2009-05-01T09:42:58Z

Today I unexpectedly acquired a Himalayan Quartz crystal skull from Nepal and an Afghani Lapis Lazuli skull (carved by Tibetan refugees living in India over 50 years ago) while celebrating Beltain at the Pagoda of Yakushi Nyorai (Buddha of Medicine & Healing) in Ueno Park.

Wheel of the Year

Here are some photos of the pagoda, the face of the Daibutsu (Great Buddha) that was once there, and the two new skulls that came into my path today.

Pagoda of Yakushi Nyorai (Medicine Buddha of Lapis Lazuli Light)

Face of the former Ueno Daibutsu

Maou-Son 魔王尊 - Afghani Lapis Lazuli Skull carved by Tibetan refugees in India

Maou-Son & Himalayan Quartz Skull from Nepal

Beltain Altar - May 1, 2009

The last week of March through the last week of May (just before the rainy season in June) is one of my favorite times of year in Japan. :)

Merry Beltain!

-Richard

P.S. I tend to update my facebook and MySpace a lot more often, so please add me on there if you'd like to keep in touch easier.

aintafraid2die @ 2009-01-12T09:30:00

2009-01-12T14:30:32Z

Don't you hate it when you have a lot to say, but feel too lazy to type it all?

I really want to start using my journal more often.

Does anybody on here still read this/remember me? XD

I'll try to post something more interesting tomorrow night. ;)

This is Halloween!

2008-10-30T15:19:13Z

I went to Tokyo Decadance's 3rd Anniversary / Halloween Special Event at Christon Cafe in Shinjuku last weekend.

I decided to upload a few of the photos I took now that it's officially Halloween in Japanland.

Hope you enjoy~! This is how we celebrate Halloween at crazy fetish parties in Tokyo:

MORTAL KOMBAAAAAAAAT!!!!

Yoshi, Brett, Izumi, Me & Soji

Candlewax!

Ouch! x_x

Devil Worshipping Fire Dancers!!! XD

THE CLAW!!!!!!

FIERCE!!!!!!!!!

HOT MESS!

OMG this girl's corset looked painful >.<

Me & Izumi w/ our new BFF Corset Girl<3

Random boys kissing (I didn't even mean to take this picture, lol)

SiSeN w/ Bubble Wrap Hair by kayteanese/[A]NARCHY

Cyber-Buddha... I think I had a nightmare with this guy in it once

So goth!!! D:

Madness

Tickety tack tranny hot mess out of control super tranny from Transylvania who's got pit hair and is not apologizing for it!

Poor Ayanami-chan :/

Accessorized

Wild & Crazy Kids

Last but not least, I took purikura with cloudy_pop and Izumi:

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!! (^A^)

Election Lulz

2008-10-24T01:17:02Z

I'm not trying to piss off anybody, so please don't take this the wrong way (I respect everybody's political opinion and encourage you to vote for whoever you believe in) and in fact, I am still researching the issues surrounding the presidential candidates before I make my final decision...

... but you have to admit, this is pretty funny:

I confess, I lol'd.

Tanjoubi~!

2008-10-20T20:24:49Z

It's my Birthday today (it's already October 21st in Japan).

To celebrate, I went out with twodromance, maxwellsdemon7, dekinakutesorry, cloudy_pop, Masa, Izumi, Danielle, Emil, and Helena to The LockUp in Ikebukuro. It's an "izakaya" style restaurant designed like a prison, where all the staff are dressed up, and they serve you drinks in beakers and test tubes, and then you get attacked by monsters at some point during your meal... XD

After dinner, Jessie and I went to see Kozi (ex. Malice Mizer/Eve of Destiny) perform with his new band, DALLE, at Tokyo Dark Castle's Halloween Event at Shinjuku MARS.

After that, we went out for some drinks at Bar ZIN in Kabukicho and called it a night.

I posted a ton of pics on MySpace & Facebook... you can check out the highlights here if you're interested:

My Birthday Party at The LockUp

Birthday Boy ;P

dekinakutesorry & karyu_manai got me this lovely Birthday Banana... I loves it! :D

Me + Banana + Kendra = Love

Mean Muggin' Ganstaz.

Tall Ren is tall.

maxwellsdemon throwing The Shocker.

I like ham.<3

REN'ZZA CHARGIN' HER LAZERZ!!! @A@

zomg! NOoOooOes!

twodromance striking a Last Supper pose

Masa looks all *niko-niko* ^__^

Emil, Helena and Izumi

Danielle, Emil and Helena

Izumi about to mix things up

Mmmmmmmm... their drinks are so fun XD

Our waitress, dressed as a pun'kin! :D

The Three Caballeros

Another waitress dressed as a prisoner

aintafraid2die, dekinakutesorry & cloudy_pop = Cool Kidz 8D

Russian Roulette Soba Noodles (one of them is extremely spicy and tastes like burning; the rest are all safe)

We all slurped the noodles on the count of three...

... and poor Emil got burninated D:

Ole Ole Oreo Drink~!<3

You mash up the Oreo with the mortar & pestal, then mix it in the drink... sooooo yummy~! :9

Another fun drink at The LockUp XD

Monster attaaaaack~! :O

Oh noes! He kidnapped Izumi! You bastard!!!

Lil' Jon was at my birthday party... YEAH! :o

Skeletor with jaundice and a tamborine.

Izumi & Me... he bumped his head when the monster kidnapped him, aww.

Freddy Krueger with an umbrella?

Helena looking terrified

Who wants a body massage?!?! :O

Masa praying for dear life

Ren scoffing.

Ghostface brings me a birthday cake with a sparkler on it~! :O

The chocolate says "RICHA-DO" in Japanese ;)

Birthday Banzai~!!!

Emil delivers the Parfait!

Rachel raises her trophy XD

OM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM

Jessie hiding from the parfait carnage

PWNED

MMMMMmmmmm.... delicious parfait~OMnomnomnomnomnomnom

Now that I can't stand up anymore... it's time to go! :D

Kozi performing with DALLE at Tokyo Dark Castle~!
(They allowed everyone to take pictures, so inb4 'you can't take pics at lives')

DALLE

They played a cover of "Tainted Love" that was amazing! I love them already! XD

Kozi is FIERCE

Is that a tattoo...? Tattoos are from the De-ville.

Badass MoFo

maxwellsdemon & aintafraid2die after the live

Dark Castle BFFs<3

China Blues after Dark Castle at Bar ZIN in Kabukicho... The End to a perfect night! KANPAI!

Hope you enjoyed the new pictures~!

I'm having a very Happy Birthday this year! ^_^

Ginza Kazoku 銀座家族

2008-10-09T18:54:21Z

I haven't written much about my job yet, but I really love it!

We are like a family at Ginza... everyone looks out for each other, and we're a really strong team when it comes down to business. Each month, our school has one of the highest financial and customer service goals in the entire company. When other schools can't make their goals, we have to cover the extra expenses where they fall short. In other words, the entire company depends on us to do well in order to keep things going when other branches hit hard times.

Since the time I started in July, our school has made its goal every month! XD

This is awesome because ALL of the Native English Teachers at Ginza are new (I've actually been there the longest, and that's only 2 months!), but this means our students really like us, because many are renewing their contracts to continue studying with us! :)

I am really happy about this! Just last week, one of my favorite students that takes 2 private lessons every Thursday with me renewed BOTH of her lessons for an entire year! She was thinking about quitting before I came, but later told my manager that she changed her mind because she really enjoys my teaching style, and will continue taking courses at the Ginza school until I leave. ^^;

All of the teachers at Ginza are awesome. Our manager, Mari, is also amazing! I love my boss! She actually bought me my 'hanko' (signature stamp) as a welcoming-gift to use for my new life in Japan, and always picks me up a milk tea when she goes out to run errands... she is so nice!!! aaaggghh!!! I don't know what I did to be so lucky, but I'm glad things turned out the way they did. ^^

Below is a photo that was taken at the 'Going-Away Party' we had for Andrea (Australia) and John (England), which also doubled as the 'Welcoming Party' for me (USA), Mhairi (Scotland), and Claire (England).

Ginza Family

Andrea, John, Keiko, Haruko, Marie, Mhairi, Mitsuko, Claire, and Richard

Since it's October, I also volunteered to design a graphic for our school's homepage to keep things fresh (I'm thinking about doing a new one every two months or so). Obviously, the theme for this month was Halloween. Aside from the fact that I hate my face in the picture (we had to do mug-shots on a red-background for the profile page, and I was like half-awake, and the flash washed out my face, but whatever), I think the graphic turned out decent. My boss and co-workers loved it, so I figured I'd share it on here as well (it's nothing special, but it works):

I honestly never expected to find a job I love so much, but oddly enough, I really enjoy teaching English! I've met some really amazing people through it, and I look forward to seeing how things progress over the year ahead. :)

tl;dr - I love my job and everyone I work with. I made a picture for Halloween. XD

Party Monster

2008-10-06T18:24:58Z

The past few weeks have been crazy...

I've been going to lots of parties, art museums, and restaurants around Tokyo with friends here...

First, I went to an awesome "Taco Party" with all my American friends in Ikebukuro (Rachel, Jessie, Ren, Kendra). Then I went to a "Hat Party" hosted by my British friend, Toby (he's a lawyer/acupuncture practitioner... interesting combination). The week after that, I met up with Brendan (an architect from Sydney) and a bunch of his Australian friends for "Nomihoudai (all-you-can-drink) Karaoke" in Shibuya. This past weekend, I went to a "Swedish Party" hosted by my friend Helena (a fashion design student from Stockholm), who made the most amazing Swedish food ever! XD I LOVE MY FRIENDS<3

Sunday, I hung out with Izumi, Danielle, Anna, and Shiki in Harajuku.

Izumi is a graphic designer from Kansai (Nara/Osaka) now living in Shinjuku. Danielle is a journalist from London. Anna is a Public Relations businesswoman/model from Sydney. Shiki is an actor from Gifu, currently living in Harajuku.

This was the fiercest purikura we took, so I decided to share it:

Shiki, Anna, Izumi, Danielle, and Me XD

I also found the Tokyo-equivalent to Spa World (in Osaka) called LaQua located in Tokyo Dome City. (In all honesty, Spa World is still superior, but this place comes in a close second with lots of nice spas, saunas, etc.)

I have a three-day-weekend coming up. I was hoping to go to Osaka, but I don't think I'll be able to make it this time :< I may visit the Kansai area in November or December though... maybe even spend the New Year there since I'll have time off from work.

My birthday is coming up on the 21st... I'm planning to have dinner with some friends in Ikebukuro on the 18th, then some of us are going out all night to Dark Castle to see the debut performance of Közi's new band, DALLE.

The weekend after that is Tokyo Decadance on the 25th, and then I'm going to Ren and Kendra's Halloween party on November 1st. XD

I love October!!!!!

...and God said...

2008-09-04T01:56:19Z

Let there be INTERNETS!!!

It took over a month, but I finally have an internet connection set up at my apartment!!!!

I seriously had to go through an online agent who referred me to a network company that referred me to an internet service provider that had to mail me an access number then arrange for a day to send a technician to set up the connection at a time when I didn't have work and would be home on a weekday (which is never) and then I had to call a tech support number and get instructions over the phone to set up the blah blah blah...

Oh my God, how I love you internets!!! *cuddles* n_n

Metronome Cosplayers

2008-08-25T17:52:28Z

So I was going over to twodromance and maxwellsdemon7's house after work tonight, and happened to see a group of Metronome cosplayers...... so naturally I had to ask for their picture or else I wouldn't be able to sleep tonight (pics or it didn't happen, etc.)

So anyway, when I told them I wanted a picture because I liked their Metronome cosplay, they were all like "ZOMG, you know what the hell we're dressed as?!" and afterwards they started clapping and stuff and told me I needed to go see them live next time, lol.

So long story short, I ran into some Metronome cosplayers straight-chillin' in Ikebukuro station tonight:

Stuff like that just doesn't happen in Florida... so forgive me for being easily amused.

-Rich

Tokyo Metropolis II - 2008.08.16 - Live Report!

2008-08-17T08:55:25Z

I met up with maxwellsdemon7 & aitreni for the live at Shibuya O-East last night.

I got there around 3:30 and the show started at 4:00. Arc was the opening act...

They were OK, but nothing out of the ordinary. I wouldn't mind seeing them again though.

Next up was Mello. I think the vocalist was may have been drunk or something. He seemed kinda spaced out, lol. I liked their guitar solos.

After that was Moran. They were pretty fun, and I liked their performance. Again, not much else to say though.

Kaya

I can sum up Kaya's performance in one word: FIERCE!!!!!!!

Kaya is officially my all-time favorite hot mess out of control super tranny from Transylvania who is not apologizing for it! When the curtains opened, he was on stage in an elaborate red dress and ready to kick it with 4 back-up dancers. It was kind of like watching a Britney Spears video with male dancers doing elaborate choreography with a drag queen. XD LEAVE KAYA ALONE!!!!

The male dancers cleared the stage for the next song, and then two over-the-top queens came out wearing bright wigs and dresses (kinda tacky looking for effect) ... and despite making convincing females, they didn't shave their pits all the way, so you could tell they were guys, which made the perfomance even more ridonkulous.

Kaya then did a long MC session, which was basically like an actual drag show. He sat down to take a sip of water, and as the fans were screaming for him, he kept ignoring them and motioning for them to scream more. Then he picked up the mic and introduced himself with really polite 'keigo' (honorific language), and was pretty sarcastic and sassy, which was a trip. He asked for a show of hands to see if anybody was new to his show tonight, and drew attention to the large number of guys in the audience (there seriously were a LOT of guys at this live... way more than I usually see at a VK event). After that, he called his back-up dancers out one by one and introduced them. Apparently one of them is a professional pole dancer... go figure. XD

For the final number, all of the dancers and both of the drag queens back came out, and two of the dancers (now shirtless) were holding huge pink "Kaya" flag poles on either side of the stage, which made for a really dramatic end to an amazing performance! By far my favorite show of the night. ^^

chariots

Next up was chariots! I went into this kind of biased because I really like Riku's vocals, so I figured I'd like chariots no matter what, and I was right. The first song started with some fun 'furi' (reminiscent of Phantasmagoria), and got the audience pumped with excitement... lots of headbanging... I got whipped in the face with so much hair, it's not even funny (thankfully the girls in front of us use condtioner, so my face is OK). I also did my share of headbanging, but I miss having enough hair to feel like it... :(

After breaking the ice with a heavy song, they did one of the more mellow songs, so the audience went silent and stood still through it. Riku did his obligatory emotional break down on stage, which is always entertaining to watch. I like that the band has some diversity to their music, but I really love the more energetic songs at lives, so whenever they do a slow one where the crowd stays still through it, I get anxious for the next one, which is usually more chaotic and outta control. XD

When that finished, the band took a break, and fans were howling "RIKURIKURIKUUUUU!" really fast in Riku-voices, so they sounded like a pack of wild animals... it was pretty awesome. XD Then they played another heavy song, and the crowd went nuts. Fans were diving, which meant Jessie and I had a bunch of 80 lb. Japanese girls flying at us everytime Riku roared during the chorus... Jessie had a few bruises after, but somehow I managed to survive without a scratch. Overall, it was an awesome performance. The other band members also took center stage and played back to back during the instrumental parts which totally brought back memories of the old Phantasmagoria lives, so I'll definitely be going to see these guys again soon. I look forward to seeing how they progress over the next few months. Go! Go! chariots!! XDDD

Versailles

Last, but not least, was Versailles! I really don't know much about them, and I hadn't listened to much of their music prior to seeing them live, but I was really impressed with their performance. I especially liked Kamijo's stage presence, and thought he put on a good show last night (but then again, I've liked him since I first saw the 'Fuyu Tokyo' video by Lareine, so again I'm biased, lol). The instrumental solos were also incredible... I think Versailles has a lot of talent and a lot of potential, so I look forward to seeing how they develop their music... I'll definitely be keeping an eye on them now that I've finally heard some of their discography. Apparently, aitreni said they're making a big announcement at the live tonight (Sunday). Unfortunately, I wasn't able to make it to tonight's show, so I'll be checking for her report on that once it's up. :)

After the show, we met up with Phil (a friend of mine from high school), who just moved to Saitama last week, and went out for All-Night 'Nomihoudai' (All-You-Can-Drink-Alcohol) Karaoke til' 5:00AM. I went through quite a few beers, so I got pretty 'jouzu' at the Nihongo songs by the end of the night. After that, Jess and I hit up McDonald's for Hotcakes in Ikebukuro, then went home and crashed until noon, and now here I am on the interwebs eating teriyaki burgers with Masa & twodromance! :9

Hope everyone else had a fun weekend too~!

-Rich

Usui Reiki Memorial - Saihouji Temple

2008-08-15T20:11:14Z

I added some new albums to my MySpace and Facebook from a trip I took to Saihouji Temple to visit the Usui Reiki Memorial today (August 15th).

The memorial is located at the grave site of Usui Mikao and his family in Saihouji Temple, Shinkouenji.

Usui Mikao was born on August 15, 1865 (143 years ago) and is the founder of Usui Reiki Ryoho, a form of spiritual practice used as a complementary therapy for the treatment of physical, emotional, and mental diseases.

According to legend, in 1922 Usui received the gift of Reiki during a 21 day fast on Mount Kurama (near Kyoto), and continued to spread Reiki until his death on March 9, 1926. He founded the Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai and initiated various students as Reiki Masters.

Usui's legacy is the recognition that a person should work on what can be improved and accept what cannot be changed in order to have an enjoyable, meaningful life.

The following is a translation of the essence of his teachings:

"The secret art of inviting happiness

The miraculous medicine for all diseases

Just for today,

(1) Do not be angry.

(2) Do not worry.

(3) Live with appreciation for what you have.

(4) Earn your living honestly.

(5) Be kind to other people.

Every morning and evening, join your hands in meditation and pray with your heart. State these principles in your mind and chant them sincerely with your mouth.

For improvement of mind and body.

Usui Reiki Ryoho"

-The Founder, Usui Mikao

Statue of Kannon at the Entrance to Saihouji Temple

Usui Memorial

Close-up of the Usui Memorial

Usui Mikao's grave site from a distance (the tree is growing from his plot)

Temple Guardians

-Richard

Versailles Presents Tokyo Metropolis II

2008-08-13T02:21:55Z

I might go see a VK live with Jessie this weekend...

Apparently Versailles is putting on a 2-day "Tokyo Metropolis II" event this Saturday (8/16) & Sunday (8/17) at Shibuya-O EAST

The artists will be:

Saturday

Versailles／chariots／Kaya／Moran／MELLO／他 (Other)
Opening Act : Arc

Sunday

Versailles／chariots／Sugar
RENTRER EN SOI／摩天楼オペラ (Matenrou Opera)／他 (Other)
Opening Act : ダリ (Dali)

The best part is, it's only ¥3,500!

I'm really looking forward to seeing Kaya, Versailles (I've never seen Kamijo live), and chariots (which includes Riku, the former vocalist of Phantasmagoria, one of my favorite bands when I was in Osaka)... I'm also interested in seeing how much Rentrer en Soi has changed since I last saw them like, 3 years ago. x_x

I'll probably write a live report, if anybody's interested.

-Rich

P.S. Is anybody else on here going?

New S.A.B. pics! XD

2008-08-09T17:33:08Z

I took pics with some new friends I made in Harajuku today.

SiSeN (DJ/Model)

Takuya Angel (Fashion Designer)

Good times! XD

-Rich

My First Week (Back) in Japan!

2008-08-02T14:30:21Z

I finally got a chance to update with pics of my new apartment (Oi-Machi), neighborhood (Shinagawa), and workplace (Ginza) in Tokyo!

Here are a few of my favorites:

Outside of my apartment

Inside my one-room-mansion

My house in relation to the rest of the universe of Tokyo:

Mitsumata Shrine in Shinagawa

Mitsumata Shopping Street

Happy Refresh Calpis Water!!! Big Can GET!!!

Japanese version of "Super Size"

There's a SEGA World in my neighborhood!! XD

Mitsukoshi (famous department store / where I go for bentos on my lunch break!)

My usual lunch from Mitsukoshi... yum yum!

WAKO (another famous department store across from Mitsukoshi with a famous window display that changes periodically)

Close-up of the current WAKO window display (it has an interesting astrology theme goin' on):

I spotted one of the rare and exotic purple-haired Obâchan's in Ginza!!! @_@

The sign for my school ("GEOS" in Katakana) next to a fierce looking Burberry ad

On a side note, they also have the suit Bruce Wayne wears in 'The Dark Knight' on display in the window of Giorgio Armani in the Ginza... I walk past it everyday on my way to work, and think, "Whoa, I work around the corner from the place Bruce Wayne shops for clothes in downtown Tokyo..." (You can see a few more pictures of it in the "Ginza" album on my MySpace)

Batman's fashion secret is in Japan!

If anyone's interested, I'll probably post more pics over the next few weeks.

Hope you enjoy them~!

-Rich

P.S. This last pic was taken in my classroom:

What do you think?? Do I make a decent salary man?? ~_^

Hello from Tokyo!

2008-07-27T07:54:48Z

Just wanted to let everyone know I made it to my new apartment in Japan safely.

Last night I met up with some of my new co-workers and their friends in Yoyogi park for fireworks, then we went out for karaoke in Harajuku til' 6:00AM ... a fun first night in Tokyo!

We passed the Meiji shrine on the way to the park and I spoke with a few guys from Sweden who were dressed up for Tokyo Decadance that night (it was just down the street from the place we went for karaoke).

We went out for breakfast at the McDonald's on Takeshita-dori after we finished karaoke, then I went back to my apartment and crashed for the rest of the day.

In case anybody needs to contact me, I don't have the internet set up at my apartment yet so I'm updating from a 24 hour internet cafe in Shinagawa. I'll try to check my messages at least once a day though.

Tonight, I'm hoping to meet up with some friends in Ikebukuro, and then tomorrow I have my first day of work at my school in the Ginza!

Hope everyone has been doing well!

-Rich

Tokyo Decadence

2008-06-30T17:49:29Z

I got an exciting update from the English 'Eikaiwa' school I'll be working for in Japan next month!

A few weeks ago, I was informed that I received my 1st choice for placement in the Kanto region: Saitama!

When asked for my preference at the interview in NYC, I requested: "Anywhere in Kanto (Saitama, Yokohama, Tokyo) or Kansai (Osaka, Hirakata, Kyoto)."

I was thrilled to hear this, but was informed that my placement was only about 95% certain, and could possibly change between now and the time of my departure.

A few days ago, I had to call the North American office to complete a conversation/phone call exercise in a Correspondence Pack they sent me with the Japanese recruiter to check my ability to speak Japanese over the phone. After the exercise, she asked if I had a few extra minutes, because she had some breaking news for me in regards to my location placement.

A little nervous, I said yes and expected her to tell me that the position in Saitama was no longer available, and that I'd be moving elsewhere, far from Kanto or Kansai.

She brought up the fact that my placement in Saitama was only 95% certain, and that my placement had in fact been changed.

I said that I understood, and asked if she knew where my new placement would be then.

She explained to me that the 'Personality' poster I designed and submitted was brought to the Head Office in Tokyo, and because it made such a strong impression, they decided that they would like me to teach at one of their top schools in Tokyo instead of the one in Saitama.

She then asked, "Is this OK?" ... Needless to say, I said "Yes!"

She then asked, "So, in regards to Tokyo, do you know where the main financial and business area is located? There is a place called the Ginza, which is where you will be teaching. So the company of course has very high expectations for teachers at this school, but we believe you will do well there."

I told her I knew of the Ginza and had spent time there while seeing performances at the nearby Kabuki-za theatre on a few occasions. I thanked her for the good news, and told her that I was most definitely up for the challenge of teaching at such a prestigous school.

Of course, this makes me a little nervous, because now the company will be paying closer attention to my performance, and must have fairly high expectations of me if they chose to transfer me to their top school at the beginning of my contract, without really knowing from firsthand experience whether I will be an outstanding teacher or not (I have every intention of living up to their expectations though since they were kind enough to offer me an opportunity like this at the start of my new career).

So now that much has been decided. As of today, I am scheduled to have a training seminar at the office in Vancouver, Canada from July 21st through July 24th. I will then fly out of Canada on the morning of July 25th, and will arrive in Tokyo Narita Airport on the evening of July 26th. My first day of classes at the Ginza school will be on Monday, July 28th.

Prior to leaving, I will be attending Metrocon in Tampa, FL July 18th and 19th (Friday and Saturday).

My flight for Vancouver departs out of the Tampa airport on Sunday morning, but I intend to stay up all night Saturday spending time with my friends in Tampa that I won't be seeing again for quite a while.

Here is my itinerary (in chronological order):

Fri 18 - Tampa (Metrocon)
Sat 19 - Tampa (Metrocon)
Sun 20 - Tampa to Vancouver
Mon 21 - Vancouver (Orientation/Training)
Tue 22 - Vancouver (Orientation/Training)
Wed 23 - Vancouver (Orientation/Training)
Thu 24 - Vancouver (Orientation/Training)
Fri 25 - Vancouver to Tokyo
Sat 26 - Tokyo
Sun 27 - Tokyo
Mon 28 - 1st Day at Ginza School

If you'll be at Metrocon or in the Tampa area that weekend, I hope to see some of you then.

As for my friends in Japan, I hope to see all of you soon!

I'm looking forward to this adventure!

-Richard

P.S. This is what the ‘Personality’ poster looked like that I designed. I figured since it would be the first impression my new employers, students, and co-workers would have of me, I wanted it to be creative and eye-catching, since essentially it’s a larger-than-life business card (meishi) that I’m presenting for people to develop their initial feelings towards me. Thankfully, it went over even better than I expected! The original instructions said to make a poster by taping 4 to 6 pieces of construction paper together with a collage of pictures that show information about your life, family, hobbies, likes, dislikes, etc.

Being the nerd that I am (and not wanting to send macaroni-pictures to Japan as a first impression), I made a full-size poster in Photoshop that would be the equivalent size of 6 pieces of paper and had it professionally printed as a high quality 20x30 laminated poster. This was the end result:

X-Posted: MySpace & Facebook

Redemption

2008-05-29T01:34:01Z

Where do I begin?

So much has happened over the past few months that I haven't had time to write about it.

I guess I can skip the prologue and cut to the chase:

I spent the first week of May (Golden Week) in New York City.

I was invited to an interview for an 'eikaiwa' position in the Empire State Building.

There were 20 of us there that morning, all dressed in business suits, resumes in hand, and from all differents parts of the country.

The interview was set up like a reality show with the following rules:

The interview was 2 days long with 3 phases. In order to make it to the next phase, you had to be invited back. Even if you make it to the final round, Japan will make the final decision as to who gets hired and who gets cut.

At the end of the first phase, they cut five. During the second phase, we had to work together as a team to present a group lesson. At the end of the second phase, there were only 9 of us invited back to teach a lesson by ourselves the following day. The first day ran late and ended at 8PM. We had to be back at the Empire State Building by 9AM the next morning, which only gave us 13 hours to get to our hotels, prepare our lessons, make materials, eat, sleep, etc. My lesson went well, and I was told that I would be receiving a phone call in two days with the final decision from Japan.

Two days later, they called and... I was accepted!

Before everyone warns me that I'm going to hate eikaiwa, let me just say that I've had my heart set on landing a position as an English conversation teacher in Japan since I was in high school, so even if I do end up disliking it, I want to experience it for myself and see how it is firsthand. I have always enjoyed teaching and have helped numerous students as a tutor at USF (for English and Japanese), so this job seems like a perfect fit for me.

At some point, I would like to go to grad school and get a Master's or Ph.D. and maybe even become a professor when I'm older... but while I'm young, I want to spend at least the next year of my life (24~25) in Japan again, and get a feel for teaching to see if it's something I'd like to make a career doing. :)

I'll be moving to Japan on July 26, 2008.

In all honesty, this trip is going to be a lot different from my last one (back in 2004-2005).

I'm not in college anymore. I'm not into J-Rock as much. I've grown up a lot. I'm a very different person.

But all those changes give me a whole new experience to look forward to this time around.

I plan on updating my journal more often once I get there, so I hope to stay in touch and reconnect with a lot of the friends I still have on here. :)

I hope everyone has been doing well, and look forward to writing more soon.

-Richard

P.S. Speaking of surviving reality show-style interviews, the first day I got there, I coincidentally ran into my favorite reality show celebrity at the Dean & Deluca coffee shop off Broadway:

Tiffany "NEW YORK" Pollard

I was actually looking for the theatre where 'The Little Mermaid' was playing and saw her get out of a cab that pulled up next door...

Nobody else noticed, so when I realized it was her, I asked if I could take a photo with her. She was really nice and her bodyguard even offered to take the photo for us.

You KNOW I have love for New York!!!<3<3<3

In case you were wondering, this is how dorky I looked for my interview (it was 'Midori no Hi'/'Green Day' during Golden Week in Japan, so I totally rocked a green tie with my outfit that day):

Oh my God, I'm a salary-man!!! D:

Hooray~!

2007-10-21T18:50:06Z

It's my 24th Birthday! :)

I hate...

2007-07-26T16:32:44Z

... those goddamn little hats.

I just want to knock them off peoples' heads and stomp on them.

So... does anybody else share my hatred of little hats?

I can't be the only one who hates them.

This is why...

2007-07-03T18:15:25Z

... you should never let emo kids near forks:

Remember, you're only hardcore if you go down the road; not across the street.<3

Moonlight Revival

2007-05-22T16:57:36Z

First off, I just want to say 'Thank you' to:

Lyn, Ashley, Matt, Rusty, Josh, Lyndzy, Andrew, Scott, Farrah, Chris, Marc, Sam, Eric, Aviva, Clayton, Sean, Kin-Z, Danny, Michelle, Ricky, Alan, Dani, Shay, and everyone else that gave me support and forgiveness while I was going through my depression over the past few months.

I'm glad to say that I'm feeling normal again... it's been a while since I've looked forward to anything, but now I'm working again, and planning to move into a house with my brother on June 1st, so I'll finally have some personal space again (I've spent the last few months sleeping in my family's living room... it wasn't a very fun experience).

I'm currently living in Daytona, and make trips to Orlando and Tampa at least once a month to see friends, so if anybody wants to hang out sometime, let me know and I'll see if I can get the days off to come visit.

I'm glad to know everyone has been doing well... congratulations to Andrew, Lyndzy, Ricky, Clayton, Marc, and Eric on their graduations... I'm proud of you all, and know you'll go on to do great things in your futures.

It seems like everybody is going in different directions now, which is kind of sad yet inevitable I suppose.

With everyone moving, I've decided that there's nothing holding me back from taking my own path in life; the goal I had all along in college but never followed through on because my love life fell apart during my last semester, and I needed some time (...almost a year now...) to recover and figure out who I am. I've had some ups and downs, but overall, I've become rather stoic, cynical, and heartless... which sucks, considering how happy I am when I'm head over heels for someone... but that's also the reason I get heartbroken so easily. I guess I needed to learn that lesson all over again.

I can't count the number of times I was willing to put my life on hold for a romantic interest... but at this point I've realized that life's too short, and if I want to live in Japan again, I should probably do it now while I'm still young, and see if I want to have a career there, or know for sure that American soil is where I belong.

In the meantime, I'm going to spend time with my friends and family in Daytona... then once I have enough money saved up to make the move, I'm peacin' outta here.

Once everyone goes their separate ways, I hope we can all stay in touch, even if it's just over MySpace... and if anything, you can always come visit me in Japan once I get there... it does get rather lonely sometimes... my dream was to move there with my soulmate and live happily ever sharing the world with that one special person I was meant to spend my life with... but so much for that wish. God fucking hates me. :(

I already lived there a year while I was in college, so I have confidence I can make it on my own again.

Well anyway, that's the update on my life.

I hope everyone continues to do well and live happily.

I miss you all, and hope to see you again soon.

-Rich

Winter Blues

2007-01-12T13:51:27Z

I've been feeling really depressed lately.

Does anybody else go through this?

Any advice on how to pull myself out of it?

I work from 8AM to 5PM everyday... by the time I get home, I'm exhausted.

Sometimes I don't even have the energy to eat dinner.

I have to be asleep by 10 or 11 in order to be up again by 6:30AM, so I figure what's the use?

*sigh*

Depression sucks. I hope this is just a seasonal thing... I don't want to feel like this any longer.

Thankfully I still have my friends... they've been helping me take my mind off things and feel hopeful.