I NEED MONEY

Lots of new things happening in my life.

1) First, I went on vacation; a real one. I went to Bali Island, Indonesia. It was about $700 for the return flight, 5 days at the hotel and charter service around the area. Growing up in Canada, visiting the US a few times and now living in Japan has been educational. It's interesting to see how cultures are different and alike. The trip to Bali was my first time to a developing country.

The Balinese guide YURI-san spoke very little English, but his Japanese was top-notch. The driver was Balinese as well but he barely ever said anything. Kind of like I NEED MONEY from HOW HIGH. These 2 plus me and Rina made the team. We communicate in Japanese with Yuri-san, we tell him what we want to see and where we want to go and he tells the driver. This was a 2 day service that we paid for, useful for up to 12 hours per day.



Here are some things that I found interesting...

-The street vendors are seriously desperate for your money; they will put their arm around you and call you buddy, boss, pal, amigo etc... just ignore them and don't make eye contact or even try to respond unless you're interesting in fake Oakley's for $20 that you can bargain down to $2. With any of the street vendors you can negotiate the price down to 50% of their original offer.

-You can see families of 3 riding on scooters; husband in front, wife in the back, newborn in the middle. There is heavy bike traffic in Bali, these scooter bikes outnumber cars at least 10:1. The way these people drove had me anticipating an accident but I never seen any the whole time there. Even when these bikes took 90 degree turns at 50 mph.


-The locals are really laid back and spend a lot of time just sitting around outside on the streets ... kind of like the steps back home. I liked this, in Japan things are so busy and nobody has anytime. I remember back home with the homeys just sitting outside and thinking for hours what to do... eventually we did nothing but spent most of the day thinking of something to do. Skate, chill, women, basketball, work, chill, women, eat, chill etc. Here I feel like it's work work work, women. It's nice to see other countries enjoy being lazy, not in Japan though.

-The women have an exotic touch, dark skin and eyes, slim bodies with slight curves, and natural skin. At the massage parlor an attractive woman gave me a full body massage but her hand strength was like the hulk. Such a delicate looking woman with such power. Was there some kind of switcharoo while I was blindfolded?

-There are temples and stone sculptures everywhere. If you're interested in sightseeing things like ruins here it is. The beaches are beautiful, all of the Australians are drawn here for this it seems. The Japanese are into sightseeing. I'm into chillin.

-Everything is cheap. This was amplified by the fact that I was coming from Japan. Japan is the type of place where people pay $6 for a cup of coffee, where watermelon is $40 and it's smaller than a basketball. In Bali you could get a fresh coconut filled with different kinds of 100% natural fruit juices for $1, a meal with a good size steak for $6.

-Wild monkeys that steal from people in the parks. There's this forest on the edge of a cliff, the drop is about 80 ft. down into the water, in some places rocks. The monkeys like to run around this area and mess with people.


-My hotel was 10 seconds from the Oct. 12th 2002 Bali terrorism site where over 90 Australians and 100 locals were killed. Like most monuments it draws loiterers. Great place to sit down and chat because it's next to a busy street. Lots of people passing by and lots of things to see while sitting on the steps.


2) I moved from my spot in Kanayama to Shiogama. Shiogama is on the east side of Nagoya and close to Meijo University. Here is some advice. If you're living in Japan move as little as possible. You're going to have to pay about 3months rent at the beginning in order to get into your new place.

Some helpful vocab if you're renting in Japan...

REIKIN thank you money / key money
-I like to call this fuck you money. This is how I feel to the landlords. Key money is usually at least 1 month's rent. Consider this like wasting $600.

SHIKIKIN deposit
-This should be the only thing you need. But not 3 fuckin months worth. The deposit is not really a deposit since it's only partially refundable. The most you get back is about 50%, even this is rare.

HOSHONIN guarantor
-The guarantor must be a Japanese citizen with a perfect record, must have a stable career plus handsome salary. Handsome meaning manly, no women please. And they usually have to be over 35 years old. 2007, welcome to feudal Japan.