Long Overdue Update...

It's been almost four months since I last updated my blog. I would like to say it's because I've been busy, but in truth it's the reverse - I haven't much of interest to talk about.

Earlier in the week, I went to the FIAT CAFFE in Aoyama with Yagi-san. The name is quite literal - it's a club run by the car manufacturer. This was a fun night with a lot of great music and live performances (including the fabulous "Tokyo Panda"!) I also had the opportunity to meet Kuniaki Haishima for the first time, who was the music composer for the TV series ULTRAMAN MAX, KAMEN RIDER KABUTO and SH15UYA, among many others. I've always liked Haishima's music, particularly SH15UYA, so it was great fun to have a chance to talk to him. Haishima also performed on keyboard and served as host for the night.

(Haishima's song "Play" from the SH15UYA soundtrack)

I'm also currently in the middle a long and tedious process of getting a new apartment. For the last six months I've been living in a guest house in Chiba-ken which, while adequate, has a lot of drawbacks; nothing around the area, 40 minutes away from my school by train, sharing a kitchen and bathroom with about 30 other residents.

Me and my best friend Coline have found a nice place in Asakusa with two bedrooms, our own kicthen/dining, bathroom and even a balcony. The rent is also less than what we're both paying now. We visited the place on Thursday and will hopefully be signing the contracts this coming Monday. I'm just hoping no one else gets there first, as there are a lot of other people interested!

Last week, me and Coline were also scouted on the street to appear in a short segment for the TV show ZOOM IN!! SATURDAY for Nippon TV, which aired this morning. We were invited to have a free meal in a train-themed restaurant in Akihabara. We're students, and thus in no position to pass up free food, so we went along. For better or worse, all shots of me were eliminated from broadcast (although Coline did appear in a brief shot). This is probably a blessing really, as I later discovered most of this segment of the show is primarily about laughing at foreigners and the dumb things they say. But now the world will never see me talking into a toy train like a mobile phone (yes... glad I was cut.)