Someone Finally Put My Favorite Dana Carvey Skit on YouTube

Hakone Trip!

I spent Friday and Saturday in Hakone with the JASSO crew. Hot springs, good food, and don't forget that nauseating bus ride up the mountain to Ashinoko lake! Someone (and I'm not naming names) managed to wolf down two McDonald's cheeseburgers while the rest of us tried to keep our breakfast down on those hairpin turns.

Don't forget the monkeys! The monkeys in Japan tag-team tourists to get people food. They perch themselves on top of cars and wait for careless travellers to unload their belongings. When these pour tourists try to chase away the obvious aggressors, the hidden ninja monkeys jump in the car and unwrap anything they can get their hands on. This friendly little sucker hissed and almost decapitated one of our group. Apparently we're not worthy of his time since we came by train.

California pics

A windy drive on the cliffs south of Carmel, CA.

Goofing off at the chapel on Nob Hill.

Norman Mailer

I was going to write about my horribly long and boring day at Kenkakubarai, but somehow my day seems less significant compared to the death of Norman Mailer. His passing is shocking and a great loss for the literary world. I guess that about sums it up. The Executioner's Song and The Fight are two of my favorite books. He witnessed some of the defining social events of the latter half of the twentieth century, and still had time to write for Playboy. ;) With skill as versatile as that, it's easy to understand why he was so successful. What a sad day...

Cool Stuff at Egawa's Office

Dropped off my fridge and washer at Egawa's place this afternoon. His office is right up the street from Mugaido, but I had never been up there to hang out. I finally got the chance to chill at his place today, and I had fun playing around with all of his bad-ass toys. Buck knives, Sixty-inch flat screen TVs, Pepperidge Farm Goldfish (he has them shipped over from the US), and this super awesome statue of The Predator. Sweeeet. Egawa's got himself some cool toys.