久しぶり - hisashiburi

I don't care what you people think. We really don't have internet access. I know we've appeared online a couple of times, but we do get email and facebook on our phones. Also, there are computers tapped into the web in our basement; however, they're standing consoles and our feet hurt all day, every day from walking. So, posts are gonna be far and few between for a few days. Internet comes for real on Thursday. It's times like these you realize how much of a slave you've become to technology. It doesn't really bother me as much as it should. It bothers me much more that it takes a whole goddamn week to get internet in Japan.

This is one of the problems I have with Japan so far. They have a lot of novelty in terms of innovation, but let's face it, they're not as super tech savvy as we once thought they were. Escalator tunnels that look all sci-fi are actually yellowing with age and smoke. It takes 7-10 days and 20 signatures to rent an apartment and 7 more days to get internet.

Everyone here is a salaryman. Nobody seems to have a real business title. And the reason everyone does the same job is that it takes 7 days and 20 people with 50 steps in between to get goddamn internet. *bitterness* It is entertaining to see beer commercials clearly targeted at only salarymen though.

That aside, Prospect Axe has been pretty good to us. When we were considering units within the building, we were also gunning for an East view. Nishi-Shinjuku is on the West side of Shinjuku, and Shinjuku itself is on the West side of central Tokyo. As a result, the best view is really to the East. Unfortunately, the train tracks are also right next to us to the East. V found it pretty unbearable, but I think she's getting a little better. It doesn't bother me too much, but I've found that if I do wake up early on accident, then going back to sleep is nearly impossible. Unfortunate oversight.

The room was not as clean as we had hoped, so really we've spent the last few days cleaning and furnishing with basic items. It's not that difficult to clean when the space you need to clean is so small. I literally think I could wipe every surface in our apartment in two hours. We still have some other things to buy, but everything is certainly livable at least.

Side note: I just spent 15 minutes trying to use Blogger on Google Chrome, switching to Internet Explorer, getting fed up, downloading Firefox on a public machine, and then sighing in relief. I don't understand why it's so difficult to compose effectively in other browsers, especially Chrome.

We've walked around the entire area pretty much, and we also checked out Don Quixote in Okubo, which is essentially Tokyo's Koreatown. I wanted to eat everything in sight, but we were just there to check out prices on household items since it's in walking distance. I've only been to the one, but Don Quixote is like a Target with more crap and brand power packed into half the space. V was having a really good time and I was having a panic attack. We did find a lot of American goods there including Tide and Snuggles. We toyed with the idea of buying them but couldn't really justify it since we had bought Snuggles a few days before (also known as Fa Fa).

Or ULTRA Fa Fa actually. Can you really pass up buying something called Fa Fa? The name is so intoxicating that V has resorted to calling me that from time to time. As yet, I refuse to answer....but it is enticing. It's like being called "Snuggles" wasn't cute enough. The Japanese dug really really deep and came out with "Fa Fa." The name does feel extra fluffy, but I have an image problem with fatness so it's probably not the best name for me anyway.

I might answer to "Fa Fa" if V answers to "Nonoko."

Well, we're mostly settled in now. Obviously we can't be totally comfortable (or blog effectively) without internet, but despite the train and the strangeness of our bed, I think our new place will be quite cozy.