parasitegirl | Entries tagged with via ljapp

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Joe and Ozma love Kazuya

My workshop participants.

Nin, Joe and me on our rapid train home.

It’s been a rewarding weekend of dance. It will take time to emotionally process it all. I get a little teary when I think about it and I don’t think that’s >just< because my Lexapro dose is being reduced early for spring.

Kazuya, a lovely dancer and sweet soul who lives up in Mito (Ibaragi prefecture), invited me and Joe to come up and perform in two shows (with him and his students) and to teach workshops the following day. This was Kazuya’s first time organizing an event and instructors.

“Next workshop start time is 30 and half.”

Kazuya doesn’t speak much English but he took on the challenge of TWO non-Japanese guests. My Japanese is ok and Joe speaks and reads less at a lower level than I do. Kazuya can use some basic words and phrases in English. He went out of his way to try using English us. I only asked clarification questions when I couldn’t figure out what he meant. When I was backstage and he wanted to know if I had more flyers to distribute it took me a few beats and a Japanese question for clarification to figure it out because he kept asking “Too many flyers?” and looking expectantly at me.

I’m honored that he cares about me and Joe enough to take on the language challenge. Talking about money, accomodations, and expectations in a clear fashion is hard even when all parties are speaking the same language. Kazuya understood his limitations and enlisted help to make sure everything went smoothly for me and Joe. Our mutual friend Nin and Kazuya’s student Miki translated during negotiations and while we were there.

Kazuya simply doesn’t let language issues get in the way of expanding his dance horizons. I think he’s traveled to England twice to attend bellydance conventions (Shimmy in the City?)

Ibaragi prefecture, where Kazuya lives, is north of Tokyo and thus the range of bellydance styles there is more limited than it is here. Kazuya travels to Tokyo, Saitama and Chiba to attend workshops, perform, and to teach but his home base is in Mito. He teaches bellydance (raks sharki style) and hip-hop to students in Mito. He wants his students and his dance community to have access to styles that are not locally represented which is part of why he asked for workshops about ATS (Joe) and Turkish Roma dance (me!). He also wanted teachers who could make their styles accessible to beginners while also teaching about the history/context their styles come from. Most of all Kazuya invited us because we’re performers and people he respects and cares about, on stage and off.

I’m not a big name in Japan. I’m not yet a large draw and I’ve only taught a handful of workshops. That’s part of why this has all been emotional. The faith, respect, and feelings Kazuya showed for both of us was…wow.

Joe is a full-time dance teacher (at multiple studios with many workshops under her belt) performer and event organizer and is argueably best known for running Deseos Productions. It’s as Deseos Productions that she’s organized the Tokyo International Belly Dance Competition as well as bringing over a wide range of guest teachers throughout the year. Her main focus is American Tribal Style and Tribal Fusion. She is delightfully picky about making sure students know what is what and that her performances are labeled in a precise manner that reflect what she is doing.

In the spirit of full-disclosure, She’s also a dance buddy who came through Devidasi studio when I did. I’ve performed in many events with her and consider her a close friend. When she opened up a studio I was the first teacher she asked to join her in the venture. It was my first teaching home. The studio did not last but our friendship didn’t waver. She was also who I first spent the earthquake aftermath with. When my train lines resumed I packed a bag, my laptop, and food and went to her place in Tokyo to be with her and her son. We eventually all went down to Nagoya together, thanks to Stephen Carter and Rumi, and soon after got our friend Nin (and her cat) to join us.

Kazuya wasn’t JUST organizing one shows. He organized two shows in one day. Most of the dancers in the shows were his various students (including two groups of elementary school-aged hip-hoppers) which mean that he was rehearsing them, cheering them on, and helping them all day before and during the show. During that he also found time (with his English-able student) to pick us up at the station, bring us to his studio, get us coffee and snacks, transport us to the venue, order food for us between shows, buy AMAZING flowers for us, and take us to our LOVELY hotel.

AND HE PERFORMED IN BOTH SHOWS.

He arranged a breakfast for us the following day, he picked up us to get Nin (our workshop translator) at the station, got coffee in us (locally famous Tokugawa Shogun Coffee), brought us to the studio rented for our workshops, did check in, helped attendees order food they could snack between workshops….reassured Joe and me we when we fell asleep on the studio sofa during eachother’s workshops only to BOLT awake confusing the vibration of the base for EARTHQUAKE…. and THEN he took Joe, Nin, and me for local food (and a beer) after workshops and got us to our trains on time.

And it went SMOOTHLY.

He made us feel like amazing performers and like family.

And I can’t stress how fluid, skilled, and heartfelt a dancer he is and the love his students feel for him. His dance family is his family…and we love him.

Later I will write more about each day…because there was a lot of silly and lovely…but for now…yeah. Wow.

Last night I tore through choreographing a drum solo. Who knows if that choreography will remain with me on stage but having an outline of how to react drilling into your body can only help. It’s a drumsolo that I have choreographed before (Dum Dum Tak…which is silly) but nothing ever really stuck. Previous notes cut off mysterious…which I have taken to mean that my past choreographies didn’t really make sense with the music. When I lock in and it feels right I tend to retain the muscle memory.

This time choreographing went smoothly and I’m able to drop into the music randomly and figure out my place.

The rest of the week I’ll be practicing that, another choreography, and the choreography I will be teaching on Sunday.

I’ve got costumes in progress that are being put on hold as I gear up for the weekend.

I’m slowly opening up for more local commissions as I figure the small income and networking brought in by doing so can’t hurt. My next commission, however, will be a doozy.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the dancer but she’s having difficulty explaining what she wants. I am making pants, inspired by the pants Kathleen Crawley-made for Elizabeth Strong and were worn in BDE’s Immortal Desires. They are drop-crotched and billow out on the side.

Other image pictures involve very romantic pants and skirts

She wants them to billow/balloon out at the hips. She may also want some ruffle accents to tie in with Nubian dance costume…and the other strong image source? Ultraman and Masked Rider with a dash of Marvel Heroes.

And the crazy thing is….I think I am starting to understand what she wants. I think it’s going to look “Insect Orientale” in the end.

I’ve reached a point where I can’t write any more about my lesson plans.

This month at city hall I am bringing in my teaching materials, one bag at a time, and organizing them and labeling them clearly. Then I am checking my Japanese descriptions of the lessons and writing up English descriptions of what I did for each lesson, how I used the materials, and why.

I can usually do that for the first half of the day and then my brain goes…blah.

I am at blah brain. Tonight I will be substitute teaching for a dancer teacher who has the flu…so I just need to ride-out the blah.

At the end of my work day I will bring home more stuff from my desk. The process will repeat for the next week and a half. After that…I am not sure how to stay busy.

I’ve started relocating my plants. On a nice day last week I relocated the spider plant that was taking over the paper cutter area in city hall to the studio.

My iPod died a few weeks ago. I finally realized that I’d need a new one. Using my quick-to-die iPhone 4s isn’t an option for the amount of music I have. I’m counting down the days (7 more) until my 2 year contract is up and I’ll get the next model. My current one can barely hold a charge for any reasonable time. For the last few weeks I’ve just had a couple podcasts and my playlists for the classes I teach.

I also came to the realization that over the last 10 or more months my listening to music has gone way down and has been replaced with podcasts, mostly comedy…and now that was being impinged on by my iPod fail. There is nothing wrong with podcasts but realizing that I’ve been so stressed that I’m not investigating new music or the music I already have…and I PERFORM AND TEACH DANCE pushed me over the edge and I went to buy a new iPod classic so that I could have my boatload of music with me.

Well, I went to a BIC Camera only to find that brick and mortar places aren’t getting sent classics anymore. I’m sad to see that the classic is getting phased out in favor of touch screen iPods. I JUST WANT SHITLOADS OF MUSIC! I have an iPhone and iPad. I don’t need games or toys or crap on my iPod. Please. I love having 160GB. I have a lot of music.

From inside BIC Camera, on my phone, I ordered one on-line from the Apple site and paid for it at my convini. A few days later (during the mini-blizzard it arrived). I synced all my stuff with it. After my iPod stopped loving my computer. I would plug it in the UBS port and it would say “Connected…HA HA! No! I am disconnecting myself before you can click or do anything. HAHAHAHA!”

On Tuesday, our holiday, I took it into the Mac geeks. I had an English speaking “genius” but my problem was so odd that she thought she was hearing me wrong…I’m glad I brought my computer so I could just show her. They just replaced it. No charge. No clue why there was an issue.

I was happy. I wasn’t overjoyed that I had to go into Ginza on my day off but a quick look around at the stress-distorted faces of OTHER people at the Genius bar…including a woman who was just squatting near and window and glaring…little anger daggers shooting out of her eyes. I was chipper to have a quick fix and be out of there.

I am listening to music again. All good.

And the trip to Ginza wasn’t all bad. I dropped by to see The Rooster briefly. I don’t know if we’re dating or what because he fucked up around New Years but he’s been contacting me and patching things up a bit. I’m in a rather apathetic place about it…but he’s still cute and I’ve got nothing to lose.

We were going to get coffee on Tuesday but there was a flour and chicken shortage. It was the cook’s day off so he had to get food supplies during the break between lunch and dinner and man the kitchen once dinner started. I stopped in, said hi to the afternoon host, and hung out in the tiny kitchen getting fed tea and cheese borek for half an hour.

It’s nice to watch people who are not me cook…then I went to the Apple store…and then I caught a late coffee with Wataguy (who also works in Ginza) and we caught up on how the jobs and lives are going. Home…cooked (the BUTTERBUR BLOOMS OF BITTERNESS) and got a good night’s sleep.

Butterbur blooms! What a great idea!

I cook every day. When I can I drop by the small local market near me (open 11-4) and get local produce. Because of my work schedule this usually means going on Sunday, around 10:30, to line up with old ladies who WILL PUSH AND SHOVE. They will not hesitate to take you out of the game. They are mean.

This Tuesday was a holiday so I went there around 11:30 (much of the coveted produce was gone) and got some more mizuno, shiitake, tomatoes and something called fukinoto(u). It’s not unusual for me to buy items I have no idea how to cook. I can do this because I have the internet. I can look things up or simply post a picture on FB and ask, in Japanese, “I have this, now what do I do with it.” Occasionally I get something that stumps most people (Ice plant : Mesembryanthemum crystallinum…which is fine raw of tosses with tomatoes and a light dressing). But other adventures, like with Yurine (lily root), yamaimo and taro have turned out well. I long ago resigned myself that enjoying locally unique produce is essential to me being a healthy vegetarian and it’s cheaper than trying to hunt down exotic ingredients…MAN do I miss artichokes in summer. With fukinoto (butterbur blooms) almost every reply was to make tempura.

I don’t make my own tempura. I consider fried foods to be better made by people who are not me. I don’t want to deal with the mess, the tempermental nature of oil, the fact that first fryings are a waste because the oil isn’t quite broken down enough, or having to look at how much goddamned oil it takes.

My student, Chiyo, linked to a Japanese recipe page for shiitake and fukinoto stir fry. I made it, I’m pretty sure I read it all correctly (but should have had a bit more oil) and then I ate it.

WHOAAAAAUUUGH. BITTER! BITTER! Attack on my mouth. It is far more bitter than bitter-melon, which I love. The whole mouth experience was complex.

Using the dubbed voice from early Iron Chef judges: “I find that my mouth’s emotions are confused. It’s an exciting taste but I am not convinced that it is a good taste.”

http://hkexpatcooking.wordpress.com/2011/04/26/butterbur/

But when you’ve made a WHOLE BUNCH of a food it only makes sense to figure out how to eat it all. This afternoon it’s in my bento scambled with and egg, served over rice, with a sprinkling of sesame. There’s a little bit left at home…if bento time goes well I will repeat the process.

I am now very stubbornly set on I finishing what I have made and BUYING SOME MORE to try to defeat it. It seems like a bit of parboiling first and longer frying might help.

The chemicals are supposed to help asthma/hay fever/muscle aches…unless you eat too much and then it is LIVER POISON, so I don’t plan to be over zealous in my attempts to be the master of it…and I never know from day to day what will be in-stock at the market.

Ahh, Japan Adventure.

Time to think out loud…or think out type…or whatever.

It’s January 22nd, 2014.

Main Job Update:

This is my last trimester in the schools I serve for this job. It’s a short term so I’m teaching at each one (of 15) - bamb bamb bamb - only one or two days until moving on. Each visit is my last time at that school. It’s emotional at time. A few teachers have hugged me and talked to me about how they’ve appreciated working with me. Some students have asked me if I will be back when they are, say, 2nd graders, and I stall and smile. And then there are the perks: If I am facing a hellish class I can smile and think “Sayonara Shitzippers!”

This job ends at the end of March but my lessons/school trips end at the end of February, so I am almost halfway through the school…then I’ll be at city hall doing goodness knows what.

Lil’ Ninja Training:

This is what we’ll be calling my new job. Next Tuesday I’m taking a day off from Main Job to be Awesome Exciting New Lil’ Ninja Teacher to do an example team-teaching class with Marcus. The kindergarten school Marcus took me to quite liked me. They will probably become my main school. The kindergardens are private schools, so they do a good deal of primping how amazing they are in front of the parents of incoming/potential students. That’s the group we’ll do some team teaching with…of..ummm…2-3 year olds.

I need to listen to the “In the morning” song Marcus sent me. Lil’ Ninjas makes all their own songs…so in the future you may get some exciting Garage-Band recordings of me rocking out with prepositions. Lil’ Ninjas hopes to eventually have teaching products they can also sell.

I will be doing some time with The Hungry Caterpillar during this demo. The Hungry Caterpillar is not usually a Lil Ninja book but it is something that ALL OF JAPAN LOVES. JAPAN LOVES THE CATERPILLAR.

And…well…I did toot my own horn. If there is something that all teachers who have worked with me agree about…I am an AWESOME book reader. Seriously. Mekyria can also vouch for the fact I can recite much, if not all, of The Hungry Caterpillar, while intoxicated and not in possession of the book.

Purchases I have been justifying due to future Lil Ninjas and more bellydance teaching:

Melodia Ruffle Capris. If I can make these bottoms part of my daily work uniform I will be happy.

(http://www.melodiadesigns.com/product/dance-collection_XTRA_RUFFLE_CAPRI_W12_P.html)

Dance!:

Hiromi and I do well as team smoozers. Neither one of us really feels comfortable in the roll alone but when we attend events together we do well at it. Last weekend we went to a lovely show (Safaa Farid & Band Nogoum from Egypt, Karim Nagi and a slew of Japanese dancers). Truth is this show/event could have really bummed us out because of the things we weren’t doing (dancing in it or organizing any of it).

Karim came last May, hosted by Hiromi, and this time would be brought by an Egyptian group. His frequency could mean lower turn-out for future ws with him if Hiromi brings him too soon or a change of sponsors….but we also realized it could ALSO mean an increase in Karim’s public profile here and better opportunities for all. He did ask Hiromi how she felt and she and I talked about it and felt…well...what I’ve said above

Karim did negotiate to have Hiromi as a translator for the WS, because they work well together. The organizer already lined-up a volunteer translator but Hiromi and I talked and figured that he have gotten people interested in the studio due to her translations at events AND that the organizer could pay (us) in tickets to the show. So we had two tickets to a pricey show.

I insisted that we get there early instead of killing time at Tullys because pre-show is always a good time to talk with other dancers there to watch.

Good thing…because the organizer needed Hiromi to do some quick translation/demonstration for Karim in the first set. And Bless H if she didn’t get the studio plug in as soon as she stepped on that stage.

Also, it was a pretty relaxed time pre-show. Karim and other musicians were hanging out in the lobby noodling around and joking, so we got to catch up. The organizer looked at both of us and asked Karim, in Arabic, which one of us spoke English and which spoke Japanese. Karim replied that we both did both…and then told us that they’d taken one look at us and assumed that we work as a team somehow. I don’t know how that would work on stage…maybe they thought Karim would speak to me in Arabic, I’d translate Arabic to English and Hiromi would translate from English to Japanese.

Hiromi and I seemed to be a hit with the musicians who now all have photos with us…for reasons I don’t quite understand…as I was never on stage translating.

We also got to catch up with many a dancer…and provide introductions for each other. Zizi has probably met Hiromi many times but never remembers her. ZizI and I enjoy each other so I was able to introduce her again… and Zizi made Hiromi promise to protect me on the way home because she thinks of me as cute and vulnerable. Zizi is probably the only person on the scene who calls me Ozma-Chan.

Hiromi was ready to duck out after the final bow and I stopped her. “Noooo!!! Now is when we hang around to tell everyone how much we loved them…you ask the organizer what time to be ready at the WS tomorrow (don’t admit you have no idea when the WS start) and we HUG PEOPPLE GOODBYE!”

And it seems to have worked. We’ve met a few new folks and a dancer we both admire contacted Hiromi to ask what’s up with us, do we co-run the studio, are we partners. Hiromi explained that it’s not an official partnership but that we supplement each other’s weaknesses and strengths and both are bi-lingual.

The following day Hiromi did the WS and I went to a Hafla to represent us. Midori, who sometimes takes Roma and Zill classes from me, has had haflas in Harajuku before. Last time I went to support my students performing (and met students who went on to take Yokohama WS with me) this time Aya and I both performed. Aya is teaching at our studio and the studio Midori works at…and I was introduced to Midori’s students and visiting students as her zill teacher and a good teacher for Roma…which was fun. I kicked it old school.

Dance Classes:

We have killed Tuesday night classes. It was a drain on my time for no students. My Saturday NKH Kashiwa Culture Center lesson also folded. This month I teacher two classes Thursday night and two on Saturday morning. We still have the studio SPACE at NHK culture center through April so they are letting us hold two mini-WS (80 minutes) in March..so I am prepping a mini Zill WS and mini Roma WS.

This means I’ve had time to rest up.

Starting February I will teach three classes on Thursday nights. I figure if no one shows for the new class then I can relax and slowly prep for the other two classes with students. If people come..win.

In mid-March Joe and I are being brought by Kazuya up to Mito (In Ibaraki…I think) to take part in a studio show and teach WS the next day. Looking forward to this.

In mid-April Fig-Fig (where Hiromi models…they import costumes and such and organize events) has hired us to duet and solo in an upcoming show.

And I’ve gone somewhat public about being more available to teach privates and freelance once I change jobs.

It's official! My contract ends March 30th and I will not renew it.
My bosses thanked me a lot.
Onwards to more dance and, as my mom calls it, Ninja Baby Training!

As I have mentioned in decluttering, many of the on-line resources for doing it are cluttered with Zensters who can be rather up their own arse about the purity of the space they’ve cleared. These sort of sites make me want to pile up my tackiest items and revel in my poor taste and consumer stupidity.

Here is a simple, well spoken, article on decluttering. Don’t let the fact that Apartment Therapy has issues and is linked to (my now-hated) The Kitchn.

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/what-not-to-do_1-168836

Here are the 5 tips on what not to do…truncated and commented on.

1. Organize First; Buy Second. Do not go out and buy a ton of storage pieces and supplies before you sort through your home.

AMEN!

Buying containers to put things in comes with the risk of having more containers of random shit in your abode than you started with… and nothing being better organized for it. Before I started decluttering, no amount of more things to put things in would have solved anything. This didn’t stop me from magical thinking and buying… but it didn’t solve anything. One of my apartment problems was the amount of opaque containers I had random flotsam in and behind. It was only after I had gotten rid of stuff (trash/recycle/freecycle/given away) that buying containers made sense.

And, decluttering also helped me realize that I already HAD containers that could be put to better use.

The tool I found really helpful in searching for the correct containers/shelves after much decluttering was Penultimate for my iPad and a tape meassurer…but a notebook/cellphone notes and cell phone photos would do the trick. Penultimate allowed me to take pictures of the space I needed a container or shelf in…draw the measurements onto those photos…and keep those images with me when shopping.

I also had to learn that sometimes a trip to buy containers and shelves will be a waste of time and that accepting that is better than feeling like I have to buy something that “miiiiight” work and bringing home a waste of money and space.

I have relied on Ikea and Muji a lot in decluttering…but that’s because it’s easy it for me to check sizes and availability of items before I make a trip.

2. Don't Bite Off More Than You Can Chew.

You speak the truth! Look. Decluttering can be emotional…and for me it can be a sign that my meds are off. Set limits. Do it a bit at a time. Declutter smartly.

Organizing is a different creature. If done over a large area it involves a time when things are unorganized. Tackle small areas at a time. When you know you need to tackle a big area make sure it’s a room or space you can do without for a little bit if it’s still out of control when you need to get on with your life. Have faith that it will be worth it. Nothing was ever better organized because you didn’t sleep. Organizing takes problem solving skills and that means that you need to be able to think. Lack of sleep is likely to cause you to lie to yourself, hide stuff, and come up with half-assed solutions. Allow things to be a bit of a mess in the in-between time as long as you continue to set aside a little time, each day, to rectify the disorder after you’ve figured out your re-organizing strategy.

3. Complete Each Task -- Completely.

In theory I agree with this but “Never keep bags for charity or boxes for friends in your home to deliver later. Do it now. Finish the process.” is the writing of someone with a car, time, no one else to be in charge of, and no crazy Japanese trash regulations. You can keep stuff in your place if you have a timely plan on how to get it out….like under the cloak of darkness when the Trash Jawas can’t bust you.

4. Rome Wasn't Built In A Day.

Despite the title this rule is less about taking time and more about understanding that you’ll have upkeep to do. “You should expect regular upkeep, but just be glad that the new system is far more efficient than the old one.”

Yes. I have found that a less cluttered space that is organized in a manner that makes sense is easier to keep clean…and that the process of how best to organize my things is ongoing.

5. Good Enough is Enough.

Werd. I want a space that works for me and is comfortable to live in…if I get close to that I am happy. It’s never going to be photographer-ready. I’m probably always going to feel like I need to clean-up a bit before friends/lovers/whatevers visit. That’s fine. I just don’t want that clean-up to be a huge undertaking.

Now for a dose of BAD advice.

“Time to put that dusty teacup collection to good use. Our contributing design expert Samantha Pynn lined a dresser drawer with cups and saucers for a perfectly pretty storage solution.”

In what world is filling a dresser drawer with cups and saucers to put your jewelry in a good idea? Hi! I’m gonna fill this square space with circular breakables in irregular sizes and pour my jewelry into it.

And not bad but not right:

I also came across a well-meaning picture of a hanging shoe organizer being used to store a “child’s Barbies” that made me laugh. I put the following in quotes because the off-brand Barbies were all dressed neatly…so neither Barbies nor really toys played with by a child.

Clean, combed, dressed Barbies. These would not represent my experience (or my mother’s experience) with Barbies. Mother knows that most Barbie’s general fate is to be thrown, half-naked or totally naked, into random boxes. If they are lucky they will keep their hair/heads and won’t be chewed on, melted, or flayed. In my foundation year of art school we all had to draw a collection of something for one of our classes. I put out a call to my friends.

“Give me your mutilated Barbies!” I said.…None of those friends said “Are you fucking crazy…what do you mean mutilated Barbies?”* I got myself a nice pile of mutant Barbs.

*I am sure that girls who had vast collection of horsie figures and such probably also had Barbie who survived but these girls weren’t well represented in my friends from high school I contacted*

So while dollies seem like a nice way to illustrate shoe-holders as toy racks it doesn’t represent how I think Barbies are played with. Even well-maintained Barbies need smaller pockets for things not worn, single shoes, and such…so when I saw the image I laughed…knowing that any shoe-holder of MY barbies would be less like this…

http://www.chatelaine.com/living/declutter-tip-repurpose-shoe-holder/

And more like a horror fodder like these dolls…

http://www.viralnova.com/while-this-is-definitely-the-most-horrifying-thing-imaginable-its-also-not-what-you-expect-omg/god

( Read more... )

Current Location: Japan, Chiba-ken, Nagareyama

Last night I put the translated information about my upcoming two workshops in Yokohama up onto FB. This was followed by a minor OMFG HOW AM I GOING TO GET EVERYTHING DONE. Then I fell asleep early.

The workshops are October 27th and November 3rd. The thing I worry most about is having too much to present. I mean, Huleya asked for something that pings on my strengths but my specialties tend to be things that are not in the Japan BD sweet spot and are considered a little intimidating. I’m giving her what she asked for.

Hello, 9/8.

Hello, 9/8 with zills.

Hello, 9/8 with zills with Turkish Roma movement.

It’s an intimidating thing to take and to teach. I occasionally mix all three when I am dancing but that’s improvisational. I have shyed away from teaching all three at once and I HAVE a Zill choreo class AND a Turkish Roma class.

Suffice to say, if the current Turkish Roma class wraps up on Mustafa soon…they will be my testing ground…if not for the whole choreography then for combinations I pull from it for the first workshop on basics. I probably won’t teach my Turkish Roma students the whole thing because I am using a song I’ve choreographed for them before and that can be confusing.

Anyone want to be my youtube study buddy? I might film clips of myself breaking down combinations to practice teaching them ( and getting them strongly in my body).

I may also hit the studio earlier today to work on choreography before I teach…but that runs the risk of exhausting myself. I don’t know yet.

Current Location: Japan, Chiba-ken, Nagareyama

In lighter news….my hair stylist.

I’ve been going to the same stylist for six or more years. There’s an Aveda salon two stops away from my apartment. They don’t speak English but they got my hair right the first time they dyed it because they have products that are gaijin-hair friendly.

I had a traumatic hair dying experience my first year in Japan…followed by 2 years of growing it out and cutting it myself. Then there followed the English speaking colorist/stylist that make me PROMISE more than once that I would NEVER CUT MY OWN HAIR AGAIN…but for years it has been KOMA at the nearby Aveda.

Koma is an odd man. As my Japanese gets better, I understand the depth of his oddities. He used to look like a tan Vincent Price with orange hair…but now he’s a bit more middle-aged Asian Mick Jager.

http://www.roku63.com/freepage_19_1.html

He’s big into art and wants to discuss it…and as much as I would like to reciprocate, he’s never learned to simplify his Japanese.

He really thinks I should be making more drawings.

Around four months ago Koma bought his first smart-phone. He has been driving the young-uns at Aveda crazy ever since. No smartphone is intuitive enough for Koma. This has been confided to me by Ume and a few others who’ve been my “optional hand massage for charity” hand-attendants. I usually get a few assistants working on my hair as Koma directs…I suspect this is because I provide valuable FORIEGNER HAIR time. When Koma is out of earshot they tell me that my trouble understanding Koma isn’t just because of the language barrier…he’s just strange and random.

Two months ago, apropos of nothing, Koma asked me if I like gorillas. I broke down laughing. He grabbed one of the young-uns because he thought they might be able to translate his urgent question…which I obviously hadn’t understood. When I stopped laughing I explained that I understood his question, it’s one I have heard many times…but it’s usually from 1st or 2nd graders, not adults.

It turns out that Koma has an app on his phone that applies a different gorilla face to every contact in his phone…and that he needed to share that fact.

Last month it was giraffes. Yes, I said…I like giraffes. That established, Koma proceeded to show me all the photos of giraffes he had found online. Koma has no interests in Okapi, but that might be my pronunciation. If you don’t know what an Okapi is, my Japanese explanation is probably very confusing “One lives in Ueno. It’s a sibling to giraffes but has zebra butt and horse color.”…I didn’t try to verbalize “I think okapi is the only mammal that can lick the inside of it’s own EAR!”

Yesterday was another hair day.

Koma has learned how to set up a blog. I knew this from his appointment reminder postcard. He is now blogging a picture a day. He’s got a good eye for nature shots. He showed me a fabulous photo of a swan he’d taken. He was nearly clapping and jumping for joy as I praised him in my awkward Japanese, trying to talk about contrast/ composition/ and persistence.

Koma still feels about Facebook the way he once felt about smartphones. It is scary, confusing, a trouble, and not worth the effort. Like with smart-phones he doesn’t appreciate it when I say “Even my mother can use it!” I shouldn’t tease him because if he does get on FB…the assistants will never forgive me.

He is no longer putting up with my attempts to read on my iPad while I get my hair treated. Now that he has his smart phone (and his Goo blog) he plunks it into my hand and directs me what to look at while he does my hair…if I pick up my iPad he wants to see my pictures.

Sometimes, after I have spent too much time with 1st and 2nd graders, I reflect on how much of my Japanese vocabulary is young-child specific. I am ready for a trip to the zoo and goddamned day of the week but I regret that that skill doesn’t get used much in the adult world…and then I talk to Koma.

Current Location: Japan, Chiba-ken, Nagareyama

I am heading to the studio. Attempts to revive the plants have gone so well that I will be repotting a few today.

I've also added some of my evil-eye beads to metal wires for extra potted goodness AND I have taken a permenant marker to a 100 yen pot so that all who enter know: leave the drama outside, here thar be turtles.

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My desk is swiftly becoming a small garden. Most of this is due to performing acts of rescue/propagation involving the many plants here within city hall.

This building is full of pot-bound plants trying desperately to escape. I don’t blame them. I don’t worry much about my desk garden. If this place hasn't killed them, they can't be killed.

We’ve visited many schools this week to observe lessons. In doing so we’ve also seen our fellow city-hall education workers thriving. Teachers get swapped around between schools…and as they gain more experience they risk having to spend a year or two in the city-hall section of education before being released back into the schools in higher positions.

Our former supervisor and the vice-head of the department are now in the schools again…thinner, happier, and more comfortably dressed (track suits, most of them)…and generally beaming with life.

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Current Location: Japan, Chiba-ken, Nagareyama

Sometimes I am reminded of how much I am my mother’s daughter.

Attempts to subconsciously repress stress about work have failed. I am now exhibiting classic mother “Work Issues Brain”. I’ve yet to flood a basement or leave the parking break off long enough to A) allow the car to hit another house B) allow the car to hit another car. This is because I avoid taking baths in my own apartment (it’s leftover behavior from the earthquake) and I don’t have a car. Instead, I’ve been pocketing the studio keys and taking them home with me and this I showed up at my trainstation only to have to walk 10 minutes back to my home for my wallet.

Afterwork I have to go to the studio and replace some keys.

ETA: I went home after replacing the keys...and 100% forgot I had a shrink session scheduled.

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