warning

Japan is a beautiful country and I love it so don't come at me with the go back to your country bs. Just be kind with someone who is going through some rough time.

So I was just thinking how unfriendly of a country (in general, ofc there are exception!!) Japan is. Like I'm trying my best to learn Japanese yet I feel like people just don't give a sh*t. I've just read some other post saying the minute someone at customer's service noticed their were dealing with a foreign, despite Japanese fluency, they turned into the "I can't help you" mode.

I come from a country where English is not our first language and I'd say not many people speak it, but I'm sure no one will ever turn you down if you need help or if you're looking for some specific service (like doctors etc). And I'm not implying my country is perfect or better, not at all. There are plenty of issues. But immigrants are treated with a little more respect, like they're actual human beings even though they don't speak our language.

I'm really sorry for the long post. I just wanted to let it all out because my Japanese seems not to be improving and I feel sad about it. Maybe I'm just not smart enough to master it. Plus summer 😂 oh god, every year I forget how bad it is.

I’m a woman and whenever I’m at the beach or a pool, I notice that probably at least half the men there are wearing underwear underneath their swim trunks and I don’t get it. Doesn’t that basically defeat the whole purpose of wearing a bathing suit, since they’re made of a material that’s meant for the water and underwear isn’t?

I’m part of a neighborhood book club that’s been meeting for about a year. It’s mostly women in their late 20s to early 40s, and I’m the only guy. We rotate houses every month and honestly it’s been one of the better ways I’ve met people since moving here.

The club recently got into dark romance. It wasn’t my suggestion, but everyone voted on it and that’s just where the group ended up. We spend most of the meetings talking about character development, plot, whether the MMC is actually redeemable, etc.

No big deal right?😒

I’m friendly with everyone, but I don’t hang out with any of them outside of book club. I know a few of their husbands from saying hello if they’re around before or after meetings, but that’s about it.

After our meeting a few days ago, I was loading a folding chair into my car when one of the husbands came outside and asked if he could talk to me.

He told me he’d appreciate it if I stopped coming to book club. I asked why, and he said his wife has become “way too excited” about book club ever since they started reading dark romance, and that it was “weird” having the only guy there discussing those books with a group of married women.

I laughed at first because I genuinely thought he was joking cause sometimes guys can be funny like that but turns out he wasn’t joking lol.

He said he wasn’t accusing me of doing anything inappropriate, but that the whole situation made him uncomfortable and that it would “solve a lot of problems” if I just found a different hobby. 💀

I told him I wasn’t there to flirt with anyone. I’m there because I like reading, everyone in the group voted on the books, and I enjoy the discussions. I also said if he has concerns about his wife’s interest in fictional morally questionable men, that’s probably something they should talk about together. 🤔

He got annoyed and said I was intentionally missing the point. I eventually just told him, “I’m not quitting a book club because you’re insecure about fictional men. If it’s THAT big of a deal, just join?🤣

Now I’m wondering if I should’ve handled it differently. I don’t want to create tension in the neighborhood, but I also don’t think it’s reasonable to ask me to leave a group I’ve been part of for a year because he’s uncomfortable.

AIO here?

James is reportedly toying with living in New York while playing for the Sixers, commuting to games and practices by helicopter. Several basketball insiders posted on X this weekend that James could commute by chopper, and noted NBA insider Shams Charania said the option to live in New York while commuting to Sixers practices and games by helicopter added to Philadelphia's appeal. James has not disclosed where he'll actually live.

That presents two issues: being a supercommuter isn't easy on the taxes, and there's an ongoing campaign under mayor Zohran Mamdani in New York to ban helicopters.

The appeal of the helicopter option is speed. A helicopter flight between New York City and Philadelphia takes about 45 minutes, covering roughly 150 kilometers, compared with a car ride of about an hour and a half. Charter operators already run the route regularly, connecting multiple Manhattan lounges to several Philadelphia heliports.

He wouldn't be the first Sixer to make this exact trip. J.J. Redick, who coached James with the Lakers last season, commuted from his family's home in Brooklyn to Philadelphia while playing for the 76ers from 2017 to 2019.

Wilt Chamberlain did something similar decades earlier, living in New York during the season while playing for Philadelphia and running a nightclub in Harlem.

I'm sure I have many popular ones I sprinkle in there but there are a few that I feel are a 10 precenter quotes just for me. When I get a little pep in my step I sling "Roots' beginning to work" from the little 1985 Police Academy writer team's Rustlers' Rhapsody.

What movie quote falls out of your brain from time to time?

Sources say that the Lakers would still like to sign Kuminga and make him their starting small forward … provided that the 23-year-old is ultimately willing to accept a contract structure on the Lakers' terms.

Will the two sides be able to find a middle ground? The risk for the Lakers, of course, is that Cleveland has not gone away and who knows if a new Kuminga suitor or two materializes should the summer drag on without a resolution.

I have been repeatedly told by league sources familiar with the teams' dynamic that the Lakers and Hawks never held meaningful discussions on a sign-and-trade proposal that would have landed Kuminga with the Lakers in exchange for Jarred Vanderbilt and a 2032 first-round pick swap. It has also been stressed to me that Kuminga, to this point in free agency, isn't looking to be boxed into a three-year structure (as required by league rules to complete a sign-and-trade) at a number he deems below his market value.

There's optimism within the Kuminga camp, even after last summer's seemingly interminable wait for a new deal with Golden State in restricted free agency, that there could be more movement and more earning potential as the offseason unfolds.

I’ll probably get roasted for this, but I honestly think a lot of people care way too much about what bike other people ride.

Like, someone buys a cruiser and suddenly the sportbike guys have 15 reasons why it’s slow. Someone gets an ADV bike and apparently they need to prove they’ve ridden it through the Sahara 😂

I also think some bikes are just more fun than they are “good” on paper. Give me a bike that makes me want to go ride around for no reason over something that wins every spec sheet argument.

Maybe I’m completely wrong though. What’s your motorcycle opinion that would probably get you downvoted?

I'm a huge fan of talking to just about anyone anywhere if they're down for a conversation, but I'm told that this is not the vibe in Tokyo, which I completely understand and respect.

Are there any places in Japan where strangers are fine engaging in random casual conversation, or is the rest of Japan just as quite/reserved?