[#6] Which Do You Prefer?

Reading Sonny and Hay-chan's weblog tonight made me think about something that I always wanted to share with you guys -- something funny from my real experience. Yes, you can always find jokes from life!

It happened on the plane I took back to Shanghai from Tokyo in July this year.

The plane's crew members were all Chinese and soon after the plane took off, the female announcer started talking the usual 'attention' words first in Chinese then in Japanese. Obviously her Japanese was not so well (coz the announcers on planes usually get trained for a few simple dead words/sentences in a foreign language, so sometimes the pronunciations, tones, etc. can be awful) and that plane was full of Japanese or Chinese who have been living in Japan for at least a while so everyone on board noticed that. At first, people just felt funny but tried to be polite, so nobody reacted or said anything. But after 3 minutes (or longer) of weird sounds coming non-stop into our ears, one guy (girl?) started laughing and that's when every one burst out laughing too! Finally she started her third version of the announcement -- in English. That went pretty well, mostly because her English was much better than her Japanese and also because most of the passengers didn't seem to understand English that much. (I even heard a couple sitting behind me talking, one said: 'Her English sounds so much better because I don't understand English'!) Anyway her English was good indeed, very few accents, very few but just one or two that was enough to blow me off from my seat! That's what she said:

''... ...

We have also prepared delicious lunch for you. Please take a look at the menu we just gave to you. Today's lunch includes Japanese Male and Chinese Male...

... ...''

Obviously she meant 'Meal'! Nobody noticed that but I was already laughing to death. If I were not trying to be a modest (meaning = a nice, not naughty, straight) Chinese boy, I would have asked: 'Uhh...Can I have both?'

Hugs to you all!

[#5] "Quake Fuss"

Since I'm working overnight today...as usual, I'll just update my weblog a little more, with something maybe not so mild like the cheese cake I'm eating now

Japan is a country with so many earthquakes and we, Charlie's An...Heros, are so brave to live in this Vibrating City, getting used to all kinds of big and small quakes that come up to us almost every month, week, sometimes every day! To those who haven't lived in Japan before: Japanese houses are small and low and the walls are made by really light materail so they won't kill people when they fall from an earthquake. (Well thank God that my dorm is made by concrete...so we can...Die Hard?)

Especially recently, said by the specialists that the movements of the earthshell underneath Tokyo area is getting more and more active and it has been toooo long after last time's infamous 'Hanshin' Mega-Quake (named by ...^e^). Also we are experiencing more and more earth-moving, house-shaking action from the nature a lot more that before...is it a sign of something bad coming?

Am I already making you nervous? Read on!

Tokyo is the capital city of Japan with tons of high buildings and rarely has earthquakes hitting as the seismic center. But long time ago, one earthquake specialist predicted that Tokyo would have a semi-big earthquake in August this year, and it really happened, Lv. 4, just a few days after the predicted date in August, I was travelling with my dorm-mates at that time...what's more, as if this is not happy enough for everyone, he or the same group of scientists predicted another Huge one coming this November! And this time, around Lv.8!!! Not just him, all the other Dr.Earthquakes say the same thing and now everyone is talking about it! We hear suggestions from different people such as: 'Go and buy some water and food NOW! Just in case, coz when something happened, there'll be no food in the stores at all.',which is kinda...annoying, but can you ignore?

I'm thinking that probably everyone should get out of this country in the beginning of Nov., like Hay-chan, packing up his Gucci shoes and Shewwww, leaving on a jet plane, for a holiday. I'm stucked here, not afraid though. Maybe just because I haven't met one Mega earthquake before yet, so actually even a little bit exciting to think about that. We live in Japan and already got used to soooo many earthquakes that sometimes I respect myself sitting or lying there without doing anything when the room is shaking, sometimes for a long time! Coz most of them are small and harmless so people feel them but never spend too much time thinking about them. But who knows what's gonna come next? If that predicted Godzilla-Leveled earthquake really came and I happened to be in the middle her arms, maybe the only question I should ask myself, also the only question I'd have time to ask myself then will be: To Pee Or Not To Pee? (of course on my own pants)

WISH US LUCK! 

[#4] Hummingbird in Tokyo

Japan is a place where 90% boys dress in fashion while 90% girls do their make-up and play with their Keitai (mobile-phone) non-stop on the train. Though that's not the point of this weblog.

Living in Tokyo, this crowded city sometimes makes me feel...at home. I came from Shanghai, a big city in China, well it is big but is still only 1/3 the size of Tokyo...with about the same population! So Tokyo is already full of people, Shanghai is 3 times more! Now close your eyes and try to picture that! Are you seeing...hell? 

A few major different things.There are more bicycles in Shanghai while only cars in Tokyo (Almost no bicycles in sight. If you happen to find one, maybe that's hay-chan...); more sky-scrapers in Shanghai, more easy/small/low houses in Tokyo; more busy crowded trains in Tokyo, more busy crowded buses in Shanghai; Tokyo is an international city and Shanghai is becoming one.

Oh forgot to say, another different thing from home is that there is more music in the store in Tokyo while more music in life in Shanghai. Anyway, this weblog is not supposed to be about Shanghai but after I came to Japan, one day I suddenly found out there is no one humming to himself as walking on the steet. There are tons of people wearing earphones on the train but it's just like a ritual or something to keep themselves from the world, coz they don't seem to be enjoying, occasionally you'll find someone nodding his head or moving his body against the beat from his headphone, just slightly yet just enough, you will soon know that he is really enjoying his music. Well maybe it's strange for me to put 'humming to oneself as a measurement'. It's true that there are a thousand ways to enjoy music in our lives and in some countries, humming to oneself in public isn't such a polite thing. But I came from where people are always humming something every day, boy and girl, young and old. You can always hear all kinds of melodies walking past by you, floating through the old brick lanes, flying from your neighbor's balcony or harmonizing with the radio (usually old people love to sing Peking Opera with the radio with windows open in summer, so everyone can hear). Nobody is shy there! It's so weird that I have never heard a note on the street or seen one mouth moving, even when people are by themselves here in Tokyo (there are bands singing on the road sides, they are alive, but I'm talking about the robot-like real people). Everything seems so neat and tidy and full of discipline, perfectly matching the busy and quick steps of this modern city and the cold concrete office buildings. Yes, I love humming to myself, not that I have a gorgeous voice or anything like that. It never has to be loud. When sometimes it gets loud and happens to be heard by the 'salary-man' walking ahead of me who stops to stare at me strangely in the eyes as if I'm a miniature of Godzilla walking and singing and taking over the city, I never care. I'd love to walk past him and hum on! Bit silly? Umm...Hopeless, hopeless.

I dun know if this is true. Once I saw from a movie that in Italy, people sing a lot, both publicly and privately. I believe not only Italy, many other countries are like this. To stop them singing (not just humming!) is just like to stop their blood going through their veins. I've never been to Europe but if that's true, I'd love to live in these countries for a while or a lifetime! Humming birds are happier when there are flocks of them around, guess so are humming people!

Tokyo is the city on the top edge of fashion and style. Music is updated every second with the most trendy beat in the world...yet nobody is humming...Such a pity!

[#3] Bazaar

What a tired weekend! It was my dorm's annual bazaar held by YMCA today. We started since Saturday night shopping, chopping, stirring, burning. We made 2 different kinds of curry, a Tapioca dessert as usual and had to cook tons of rice and stir the curry for whole night. I only had 2-3 hours sleep before I got up to take my turn to stir in that huge pot with a spoon. But anyway, at 10a.m., we were ready to serve! Two kinds of curry, one is the normal kind which we put almost everything into, so-so delicious. And the other one is Indonesian curry made by garlic and chicken, very delicious. Tasting that just made me think: 11 guys really CAN make something you can eat!

Oh forgot to explain that my dorm is on 5th floor, the top floor of  the building and other four floors are used as YMCA's facilities. And this year, we weren't lucky enough to get the good place for selling-- a tiny corner on the second floor. Since there weren't TOO many people today and also we had made enough preparation last night, it seemed to be a very calm day...very calm until he showed up at the entrance of the building.

I haven't seen him for more than a week but he came to the bazaar because I invited him. He didn't show much smile like he used to when he saw me at the entrance, a place that was already crowed by moms and children and obasan-s. I didn't know he was already there, I was doing promotion with a dorm-mate for our 'dorm curry' and was carrying a note with prices of the food and happened to come to the entrance...and there he is. I saw him first and I said hi and told my friend that I'll take a break. I led him to the second floor where our dorm-curry was sold, he bought one and went into the 'restaurant' -- which was still a classroom this morning before the bazaar and sat at the far end of the room, facing the door. I put a little bit of  both curry into his plates, went to his table and served to him. He looked at me and smiled, that's the kind of smile that says: you look cute when you are a waiter. I didn't go up to talk to him when he was eating. I was busy or was pretending to be busy all the time. After he finished, he went out of the side door to wait for me and I took a break and went upstairs with him to the 5th floor, my dorm.

Everyone was downstairs so the whole dorm was empty. Walking past the public living room and toilet, and through the long corridor, my single room is on the right side at the end. I stepped in, he stepped in. He looked around, very carefully, seemed like every little decoration of my small room was interesting to  him. I like Spiderman, so my room is full of -- well not really full of, you know what I mean -- Spiderman clock, Spiderman figures, Spiderman posts and even a Spiderman neon light. He stood there, very quiet for about a minute and suddenly something dramatic happened... He cried. He stared at me with his tearful eyes while I was looking at him, surprisingly. I wasn't very much shocked but still was surprised that he would cry in my room, but somehow I understood why...

We had been together for 2 years and 4 months, my first relationship...that lasted untill just 3 weeks ago. It's such a painful thing to accept the fact that I had to leave him, for him! That's why I have been devastated for such a long time. We had been in love like other happy couples in the world. He used to be the only person I think about during the day and I used to be the same to him. Now we still think and care about each other, but things have changed. He said he needs a break from this relationship. He also said a lot of things, by which I was confused, shocked and deeply hurt, for the first time in my life! He is my first boyfriend, but I felt so hurt not because this is my first relationship or he was the first guy I fell in love with, or he was the the first guy who taught me how to have sex...guess it's simply because I Love Him and I still do and I'm sure about that. He wanted me so much but now he wants to quit. It hurts me but also hurts him! He knows I'm a nice guy and doesn't want to hurt me but he has to be honest with me/with himself, to admit that he hasn't been very happy with me during the past 2 years so he has to leave me. Then when he saw me being painful, he got all painful himself too...What an awful situation! After a long time, I somehow came to understand it's no good for me to stay in his life anymore coz what he wants now is freedom while all I want is still him. And after another long time, I finally accepted the break-up. But that was ABSOLUTELY no easy decision!

Now he is in my dorm. We have always been talking about my dorm, a place I have never invited him to see. I always went to his appartment. We'd watch TV together, eat, laugh, also fight, all in his appartment. That's kind of unfair, I know. Because he is 13 years older than me, because when my dorm-mates find him they will suspect, because there are some homo-phobics in my dorm, because a lot of stupid, unidentified reasons, I kept him away from my dorm for two years. Now he is here, standing right inside my room! I invited him all of a sudden, coz I suddenly felt that this bazaar is a perfect chance to do something I would always regret if I hadn't done, and I'm glad he came...even after we broke up! Two years and four months, we have been knowing each other so well and of course he knew I like Spiderman. He said later that when he was looking around my room, lots of thoughts went through his mind. Of course, he was crying! He finally saw THIS is the life I'm living, it's so strange, isn't it?

As he was wiping off his tears, mine fell off. I knew that I can't go out with two red eyes coz I've got some bazaar to attend, some curry to sell and some friends waiting for me downstairs. But how could I control the tears flooding out from my eyes? My room was so tiny and between me and him, it was just one step or less, I just wanted to take that one step and hug him and kiss his face and tell him how much I hate to break up with him...but instead, it was just powerful silence taking over the whole room. Coz I knew that if I ever hugged him, had him in my arms at that moment, I would never be able to let him go.

We both calmed down and had a little chat, he took a few photos of me with his new camera. I told him that I couldn't stay long and he understood that. He said he would be somewhere around this building looking at other booths. After he left, I went to the kitchen to boil some tea water for the bazaar but my mind was somewhere else. I stood there like an empty shell.

Why do you have to leave me if you still have tears in your eyes?

I rushed out just like crazy, wanting to find him in the crowds of this building, didn't know why. Yet it didn't matter if I really found him or not. Maybe because I just wanted to talk more or see him once more in my dorm building or...just call me crazy. I searched booth after booth, now I still can remember the sore feeling came up to my nose again and again. I tried to look sharp today coz I was gonna be a waiter so I put on a nice DKNY shirt with a nice tie. But when I finally couldn't find him in the building and stopped searching, I realized  that I was standing there, with that nice outfit, plus two dirty kitchen glove and was carrying a huge pot in my hands...

LYRICS: That's Why (You Go Away)    -- by Michael Learns To Rock

[#2] Something about ^e^

Now I'm sitting in my office and thinking about what I should put on my Xanga...Yes, here is a new start for me as a Xangarian now! ...To tell ya the truth, when Xanga was first introduced to me by Haychan, I was like...how on  earth is Xanga pronounced?!  Isn't that so funny?...but wait a minute, think I still don't know the pronunciation now! Haychaaan, HELP!

Speaking of a new start, let me begin from where most people will do: introducing myself...skipping the basic profile you can view from the left though. I grew up in  Shanghai, China (as Haychan had mentioned, in weblog QuickE) till I was 20 (...umm, good old time:) and then after 2 years of university majoring in Japanese in Shanghai International Study Univ., alone ('coz my parents were in Japan then), I also came to Japan in 1999 and started university here. My major is commerce/business now. But soon enough, I realized that this major is no fun at all! Now I know that business is just something you will learn shortly after you really get into business, say,  after graduation. You need to learn through real working process but definitely not to spend 4 YEARS in college! What a waste! What's more, in Japanese colleges/ universities, you need to take at least 8-10 subjects per year untill graduation and most of them may have nothing to do with your major. I know how that sucks but I'm being a very good student now because I've gotta graduate I lived with my parents for the first half year in Japan and was working as a waiter in a restaurant at that time (coz I had no problem speaking Japanese even when I first got to Japan). Then I started planning for my own life...well in another word, I was bored, so I moved out to live in a dormitory in central Tokyo, along with 10 guys from  China, Korea and Japan. Living away from my parents makes me feel like I have much more own space and freedom. Actually this is also a runawy because at that time, my mom started to get suspicious about my sexuality and started her small 'attacks' (well I assure that there is going to be a whole chapter about this later...). Obviously it's not a good sign and it was getting more and more difficult for me to stay so close with my parents (GOD Japanese houses are small!) , yet still wanted to start my own life, so I made the move by myself and I'm happy about that.

Now, I'm a senior student and had lived in this dorm for almost 4 years. I have changed jobs (part-time) from Restaurant Waiter to School Co-op Cook, then English Teacher, Computer Operator, Researcher for TBS (one of the biggest TV stations in Japan) and now I'm a Foreign Currency Dealer. That's why now I have to work till very late sometimes, but I'm really enjoying it!

Ok, this is getting a little bit toooo long. since I've just started Xanga, I'd better save some stuff for ya for later, a lota stuff actually...since we have plenty of time, ne! I'll tell ya some more stories about my family, my yet-to-be coming out fantasy and the not-so-famous TVCM I took (as Haychan mentioned in his...wait, why the hell he has to mention everything! I'm gonna call him Big Mouth Hay 'coz he's already spread zillions of nick names for his friends!)

Oh, almost forgot to say that I'm soooo happy for a friend of mine who just found a cute spunk bloke and is enjoying life now! When I just called, it sounded like l happened to disturb their...uhh...little something...something dirty maybe...and I'm so not telling you who HE is!

And BTW gorgeous boys and girls! I was soooo glad to see your comments on my first weblog already! You know, they are very import to me! I'll keep on with your logs too...I know it's gonna take a little while though  Also soooo happy for Clark8 and Sonny, the happiest couple in the world!!!

Hugs and later!      ^e^

[#1] Welcome to the World of ^e^!

Ok, after a loooong-time strugle with my computer problem, I finally decided to give up my pathetic IE system and logged on Xanga using my company computer! Happy with that Haychan? Bet you are!

Yes, thanks to Haychan,  here I am now! That 'norty' guy loves to show his friends something interesting...sometimes something weird though...but anyway hey, this time BINGO! He showed me this website which really amazes me in various ways! That's why I can't wait to become a member too. After clicking around, putting on a photo and starting this first entry, I'm getting all excited now. There are so many new stuff to see here, so many new things to try, so many new buttons to let me click away!  ...See, I'm already having fun now!