new year's eve

well, new year's eve was new year's eve. what can i say? it came and went. it was fun. the later hours are foggy. got to see from friends i don't normally see. and though i wasn't with my closest loved ones, it was nonetheless festive and enjoyable. it turned midnight and there were streamers and poppers, singing, hugging, kissing, and free sake. mmmm . . . . free sake.

it started off with a two hour karaoke and nomihodai deal. constant screwdrivers and some singing. towards the end of that stint is when it starts to become unclear. . .

at the karaoke box - lida and amy -


my lovely lady, carolyn, singing with chucky


hiton and holly


pete and joe


ben and holly


it's cute, so another one of them


alexi and carolyn's very small kiss series






hiton self-portrait


and a u.k. new year's eve turning-midnight tradition. i had never seen it, and the next day after i had uploaded the pictures on my computer and was reviewing the night, i hadn't the slightest idea what the were doing. (the night's a little fuzzy, remember?) it didn't take me too long to recall . . .


why my scowl? i don't know; i'm happy about the baby!




hiton and joe


holly and i


ben, me, hiton, and holly





and yet another, but i like the shot. holly and ben




and on the way home. i won't show the rest. they're embarrassing.




happy new year.

christmas party galore!

i was pretty sad when my initial christmas plans fell through. initially, i had planned to go on a solo singapore trip; well, even before that, i had a friend that was going to meet me in singapore, but that fell through as well. good thing that turned out to be, because i had to cancel my trip due to complications with my plane ticket. three months of saving money, a hostel reservation, and perfect, sunny location, and that anticipation down the drain. however, the canceled trip turned out to be good for various reasons.

one of them was that i got to spend some time with some fellow joetsuins (is that right?) - japanese and western. and go to local christmas parties. and experience a japanese christmas and new year.

these pictures are from one of the christmas parties i attended. it was held at pta, the much publicized, favorite karaoke bar owned by master. i first went alone to another party after i got invited the previous night by a couple i met recently. i recognized a few faces there, and it was a more sedate, sit-down party. not my favorite, but a good experience none the less. next i walked to the close-by pta, and there ended up being many people i knew there. i was the only whitey, which i liked a lot.

a christmas singer


some guys we've met several times; i always fail to remember their names. nice fellows




master in the christmas spirit, trying to hide. he's hontou ni (really) camera shy.


kei chan and some guy i can't remember his name


IKEPON!


takahiro


master's getting serenaded


kei chan rocks! she's not as girly as many japanese females, which i like. she works construction - yes!


everyone got up and danced for this number. it was a snappy christmas song, although at this point in time, i have no recollection of what it was


dancing, in the mood. too bad i can't show video on here, i've got great footage of it


takurou, a new friend, and i


kumiko


see? i keep telling myself, there were good things to missing out on a challenging, worthwhile solo trip to sunny paradise.

the play comes to town!

last year, i participated in the niigata ken annual charity play. last year, the play was peter pan - or as it were - Peter jaPan to avoid potential copyright issues. the proceeds went to building houses and school supplies in papua new guinea. it took up a lot of time, but in the end, i was pleased i performed in it. the practices and subsequent shows took place on almost every weekend for some months straight. however, this year, i declined the opportunity to display my fine acting skills to cash in on a little more free time snowboarding.

every year, the play visits the biggest cities in niigata ken to make traveling for all involved fair. recently, it was time for the play to have practice in my town, joetsu. having been ages since i'd seen some friends and thespians, i took it upon myself to visit their practice and let some of my girlfriends snag a place on my floor that night. that evening, there was a charity party hosted at nova, our favorite dance club in town. part of the cost of getting in the party was going towards the pakistan earthquakes, and the other part was going towards the play fund for papua new guinea. so party we did! the night was a success . . . . we ended up raising a bit more money than we expected for pakistan, and there was a lot more people cutting the rug than we counted on! cheers to libations and charity events!

justine and kat


every year, i believe there's a secret santa event at one of the christmas practices to make everyone feel just a little bit more at home and to induce the christmas spirit. this year, everyone just put all the gifts on the floor in the center of their circle, and at the count of 3, dove for a present. how western of us. it was much more civilized last year. harmph. hahaha . . . although the faster didn't necessarily mean the better! gifts were in the 100 yen range, essentially a 'dollar store' present. except in japan, the dollar stores are much more superior!

and the results . . .




after the cold, dreary, and drafty practice, everyone dolled up and headed to a 2 hour nomihodai (all you can drink) before going to the dance party. kat


troy in the spirit. i love you troy!


debbie


james and debbie, james drinking my favorite screwdriver


sam and kate



carrie


mary and sarah


sarah and sam


unfortunately, i didn't bring my camera out at the dance party. or actually, perhaps it was a good thing . . . to all participants involved.

oh by the way, this year the play's the highly anticipated jungle book, directed by the fabulous mississippi mary. can't wait!

snow update!

i like taking pictures of the snow progress, and it’s now at its biggest and baddest! in fact, there are several parts of japan that are now having record snowfalls such as nagoya and fukui kens. the temperatures during the day are now getting as low as –1 degrees celsius, below freezing, in joetsu city. with the broken kerosene heater in my apartment, it ain’t too much fun.

in any case, everyone in japan has been taken by surprise and swept off their feet, and now are trying to scurry back to recovery by clearing rooftops, roads, and driveways. there have been deaths reported of people falling off of roofs and being buried in the snow and of car accidents. you would actually be surprised at how few car accidents there are however. the japanese, or at least the ones used to a little snowfall are pretty damn skilled at driving in huge masses of it. i’m relieved in times like these that i live in a place that’s adept and ready for dealing with these situations. besides the train being late everyday (NOT fun sitting in the literally freezing cold waiting sometimes for on upwards of an hour for the damned train to come) and traffic being backed up, life continues as we know it here in little ole’ joetsu. so here are some pictures. i believe we’re up to about 3 ½ meters – or over 10 feet. good thing snowboarding is nearby to take away my wintry blues.







2 weeks ago:


last week


see? there is some good behind all the wood blockades put around the trees in japan


that's the second-story windows you see on that building


aaahhhhh, snowboarding. it's damn cold out there; it looks sunny, but don't let that fool you. the top of the slopes will get you icy in no time flat


the sun is actually unusual. most times it's gray and blizzardy