Waddup Now Bruddahh

YOo, how is everything? My brother Ohki came and kicked it with my sister Yuki and I Aki (we two both live and work in Okinawa) this past weekend, and it was really, really nice to be back with the family siblings again. It's always kinda new after we've been apart for a while, but for sure after a while there's that feeling of chilling out with bloodrelatives that definitely comes back. We went out to eat pasta and drank coffee and Ohki got lobster-burnt at the beach... Enhancer that shit, bro (the Yuki hookups)! Here's when we ate in the tree-restaurant near the airport on Sunday night.

The food was allright but the service was shit
so I had to down hot clams and salmon so
we wouldn't miss Ohki's flight. If you're ever
in Okinawa, check out the tree-restaurant; it's on
the right when you come into the city out of the airport.
You can't miss it. I don't necessarily recommend eating
there, though. Although they had a bigscreen playing
The Making of Blue Planet, which was minimally
cool. Questionable, but cool. How about this essay-type
caption for two photos? Yeah

So, getting goodly busy these days with a different kind of work from teaching... I'm getting the chance to learn to be a cameraman for Live City! Siiick! I like cameras, and cameras are suuper dope to work with, just like the amazing people here. Yeah, reminds me of good ol Kam-Ra back home- how you iiisss homie? I'd like to thank people. Thank you, momma. Later, more to come. Peace my fleece. For Fuji.

Happy Fourth of July

Living in a foreign country, it's easy to feel detached from my home country. But just leave it up to all the Armed Forces stationed on Okinawa to bust out them barbeques and meaningless tattoos and footballs and strong come-ons to the local girls out on the beach. It's a crazy type culture out here, you meet some down people both Okinawan and American, and the interactions between all cultures is right interesting.

But I always tell people I meet- and they are always like "Oh, you're from Los Angeles, you must have like 28 bullet holes in your front door and your aunt must carry a gat"- and I'm like, damn, people really do base a lot of what they know about America on television and movies. I guess it's an obvious thing. But I always say, sure there's crazy shit going down all the time, but there are also some of the best people and great moments happening in the U.S.A. even now. Reality is reality, and there are lots of misconceptions of the reality of the U.S.

Anyway, it's good to be able to rep my country and connect back to my blood at the same time. And there's always the new experience. I'm getting a bit used to work and life here, but I don't ever want to forget all the little thangs that make it fun- like aasaa(seaweed, good in soup) getting stuck all up in my naplocks when I go for my morning dip in the ocean. Gotta make sure to wash it out though, aasaa could get mighty stank.

So America, America, America, I miss you, all the good and the bad. The people, the people. Happy Fourth! Then on to Bastille Day! I don't see nothing wrong with the French. Ou revoir, baby. Is that from a Van Damme movie? Naw, he doesn't say baby, that's hasta la vista. Who remembers that Van Damme movie set in Quebec where he says ou revoir, something? Damn, let me know if you know... anyway, laaater dudes. Chyeahh

Finally Some Vision

YOo, I hope you are well, and getting some good meals up in the system. I ate some really good cutlet curry right quick at a manga-kissa, which is this pretty dope concept where you go into a cafe/restaurant with walls filled with madd comic books (the good Japanese kind) and kick it and read, write, eat, drink, fiddle fingers. And its also dope cuz I just looked at the word マンガ喫茶　written in Roman alphabet and it seems like a place where all these people get together to make out with Spiderman, Ranma 1/2, and Captain Tsubasa. But alas, that is not the case. Well, I guess you can kissa the pages if you want. The cashier/server/all around boss lady probably wouldn't be havin none of that, though.

I finally got my camera running again, and so here are some photos from a snorkel trip some of my students and I went on yesterday. I'm in the classroom and the office all day on weekdays, so it was really nice to get out with our school's marine crew, WaterWorld.

The ocean at Sesoko, up on the northwest side.

I still can't really calculate how many kph equals
how many mph... we were going like 120 kph, which is
like as fast as a doped up donkey, I guess.

Nice block.

Yeah WaterWorld! See all them W's?
Represent, foooooooooooooo

And this here is a photo I took after the Surfball tournament we had held last Saturday down on the south part of the island. Surfball is a sport we invented when I went to school here a couple years ago, and it's siiiick. Keeps you madd fit too, cuz it's crazy on the lungs and legs. Check the site if you want, though it's all in Japanese: www.surfball.jp

Nothing like a beautyful sunset after a long day
running around on the beach.

So while I'm at it, I'd like to promote one of the main projects we're doing at our school. Yeeeaaahh publicity, homiiee. My sister Yuki is a madd talented screenwriter, and she writes and produces a badass TV show called Live City, it's all kinds of wicked, and everything is done by the students, from the shoot schedules to the cameramen to the acting. It airs on Okinawan TV on Saturday mornings at 10:55, and it's in its second season, and getting reeeal interesting. You could at least see the pictures and stuff on the Japanese website: www.livecity.tv

I'm blessed to be a part of something as great as this. I have the awesome job (no joke, it's so good to see all the different places and work with such a commited group of people) to drive the crew van whenever I can. I like driving. Allright, I gotta translate this song for class, thanks for the comments, and please let me know how you're doing. I miss yall. Peace for your niece.

Keeping in with the TaiChi

Starting position. I have a friend named Pepe here, so I hooked up a photo.

Duuuude, how it iiisss. Hope you're doing well, if you're reading this at all, sorry for the long intervals in between. Damn I want to see that movie Darjeeling Unlimited. I've been trying to either run or swim in the ocean every morning if I have time, but it only seems to work if I can get to sleep before 1 am. Maybe I'm just lazy. The ocean is getting madd nice, warm even in the am, cleansly. And also a bit of TaiChi everyday, thanks Baylen, I'm trying to keep it up. I need to learn more, get a master or something.

A note on the Pacific: it's definitely not as salty and soupy as the Indian along the west coast of Oz. It's real nice and kind of soft, like the coral reef put in some kind of elixir or something that makes it all ex-for-e-ating or whatever. That's what I feel like, like my skins freaking ex-for-ee-ating when I sweeeem in ze oshun.

Good busy days, the school is going well. I want to give props to Dr. Han for training me well, thank you.

Right, I gotta eat some foods. Ahhh damn the Okinawa-soba is good stuff. Had some for lunch today, which is pretty rare. Yo, eat while you can! That's what they say.... Laaater.

The Joys of Fridays

So I was talking to my friend the other day, he's from New Zealand, one of the downest dudes that I know. He was like, remember how you were all high from your trip, don't let that buzz come down, don't forget to keep it going. And I thought that that is like a lot of things... there are a lot of things that can bring me down, getting used to a certain way of living, always a sniff of stagnancy when you start that "getting used to" business. So at least as my own mindset, I'll be on my travels for a while longer, even if I go home during them or even if I get into a certain rhythm.

I've created a pretty crazy schedule for myself these days, with teaching and getting a faculty-type system together, curriculums, texts and meetings. But I find the things that are just as important- taking a swim in the ocean for 10 minutes, going for a 20 minute skate, zoning out at my desk for a couple seconds (that one I just did.. duuuuuhhhhh)- are hard to find time for but so crucial. I want to give thanks, and to be able to know that I'm so damn lucky to be doing what I'm doing. Woooord.

A location-descriptive list: CDs strewn, white walls, pen lines, humidity, Port of Pearls the book, the Calypso, my ￥100 mug, backaches, library, Aesop, Japanese words, vending machines, little cars, a fire extinguisher that says Hatsuta on it. AAnnd the Belafonte:



Yeeeah, watchoo know about daatt? Thanks, Steve. Right then, take it eeeasy, thanks for reeeading.

In the Week of Gold

Today is Children's Day in Japan, and everyone is on vacation and all the malls are busy and people gather in large swarms where there are Golden events. Why golden, you say? Well, that's what I asked, and the answer that I got from these foos, my friends, my co-workers, is that this is a period in Japan where there's a bunch of national holidays lined up, so it's like a second spring break in the middle of May, and it's called GOLDEN WEEK. siiiick.

So yeah, hope you're doing well, and my week is about chillin and getting ready for the next long semester at this school. Yeeeashh, along with making up conversation worksheets and stuff, I'm also doing a marine class and we're going to choose boats- be like Jacques Cousteau on the Calypso or Charles Darwin with the Beagle- and do madd research on an imaginary journey so we can get some knowledge and do something to help save the dying coral reefs of Okinawa. I'm also teaching English playing sports and stuff, saying like "Pass the ball!! Here!" Good times, good times... This teaching thing is pretty dope, but that's probably because the institution I work for is pretty free and still developing, rather than already set in educational values, methods, and rules. I'm real lucky to be given this opportunity to try things my way. We'll see how it turns out.

So yeah, I've also been running around on the beach three times a week, playing this sport we invented... Everyone keeps telling me I look all dark, but I can't really tell myself. Dipping in the ocean after a morning of running full speed- mmm, nice. And never forget the food, the food, so lucky to have food! Way different from my college-writing days when I lived on trail-mix and Folger's. Hahaha- Hope you're all doing well back in LA, in Australia, in Japan, everywhere.

Woo Gnarl's Barkley Odd Couple, and also Nat King Cole and Thelonious these days...

Of Mopeds and Cold-Sunny Days

Hellooo from this side of the Pacific. I'm at my other home now, this here home, with all my Japanese homies and other random people. It would be really easy to write something about the American occupation situation here on Okinawa, where a good amount of the land and economy is controlled by the US government, but I'm simply just another American occupant, so I can't really rant or whatever. That said, there are a lot of people from the midwest here, which is different for me, coming from a Southern Cali upbringing. Okinawans are a great people- chill, kind, and good cooks, who live really long. I really like being on this island, where the spring air is crispy like Japanese KFC I had the other day (it was allright, but no Popeye's)

In other news: I recently picked my fro, I bought an Oolong tea from the vending machine two days ago and I got a bottle of water, fresh is the word, my Honda moped speed-demonizes everyone, and I haven't had much clothes to wear because I have only what was in my backpack for 6 months.

Sorry there are no pics, the battery on my camera died again. I really should get a rechargeable one. I miss you all back in LA, hope things are well. It's nice to think.....
of Clouds and Hot-Tasty Foods.